Izakaya Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Four Beakers

Kingyo Izakaya: Lunch Time

May 10, 2014

We came to Kingyo Izakaya during lunch on a weekday and it was packed! My coworkers wanted sometime really really good, so i suggested we come here. Sadly, I am directionally challenged, so I didn’t realize how far it was from our office.

We wanted to get the Kingyo Bento Box set that is limited to 10 a day, but sadly it was sold out by 11:30am. So, we opted for their regular lunch menu.

AAA+ Beef Fillet Steak Bowl ($14.80) has beef fillet steak with balsamic vinegar, wasabi, butter soy based sauce, served with a poached egg and seaweed on top of rice. It also has miso soup.

Chicken Karaage Wasabi Oroshi Bowl ($9.80) has deep-fried chicken garnished with wasabi and daikon served with mayo and lettuce on top of rice. It has miso soup too.

Fresh Seafood Chirashi-Zushi was the April special on their menu. The chef special changes every month. The dish comes with miso soup.

It has a bed of hot rice topped with a lot of seafood, ikura eggs, sprouts, tobiko and egg. Really good and filling for lunch. Looks really pretty too. I enjoyed it.

Porkloin cutlet/Tonkatsu combo ($13.80) has the deep-fried pork cutlet covered in panko bread crumbs and deep fried. It comes with cabbage salad, miso soup and rice. It was an impressive dish and very fun to eat. The cutlet was also thick and tender with the crunchy exterior crust.

Overall, we had a great time at Kingyo for lunch. It is a tad pricier that some other places for lunch, but it is really good.

We Rate Kingyo:

Address:
871 Denman St
Vancouver, BC V6G

Website:
http://www.kingyo-izakaya.ca

In Four Beakers

Tokyo Thyme: Time for Japanese Food

April 25, 2014

Tokyo Thyme has been on my “to-eat” list for a very long time, but it’s always out of the way for me as I live and work far away from Kerrisdale. M was very skeptical like he usually is. We both wanted to see if this restaurant has some good sushi.

The restaurant is decently sized. We came on a Friday evening for dinner and it wasn’t packed at all. There was a larger party there, but it cleared out quickly. It has a homey feel to the restaurant.

Red and White Tuna Stack with Quail Egg ($15.50 +$0.50) has a tower of red and white tuna, and avocado. Topped with Seaweed, green onions and the quail egg. It is served with sushi rice and seaweed.

Its really beautiful and its a pitty you have to mix it together and ruin the pretty layers.

Once you mix it together, you take the seaweed, put on some rice and the mixture. Fold and enjoy. It did taste great but its pricey.

Tuna Tataki ($12.50) is seared tuna served with spicy ponzu sauce. It’s another beautifully presented dish and come with 6 pieces. It tasted great.

Homemade Dumpling was the special on the menu when we dined here. I thought they were ok.

Sesame crusted tuna steak ($13.50) has seared tuna covered in black and white sesame, served with spicy sauce and mixed greens. Yet again, its beautifully presented and it’s very original compared to other restaurants.

Mmm yummy. Even the salad was good.

Tamago Nigiri ($1.75) was delicious. The eel was warm and had a delicious sweet and smokey taste.

Unagi Nigiri ($3.95) was good as well. M really loved it.

Toro Nigiri ($3.25) was melt in your mouth delicious. It’s very fatty and is just so good.

The food quality at Tokyo Thyme is fantastic and original. The downside is the portions are smaller and the prices are higher than most. In my opinion, it was worth it because they use fresh ingredients that are higher quality.

We Rate Tokyo Thyme:

Address:
5405 West Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.tokyothyme.com/

In Izakaya

Itadakimasu Izakaya: Japanese Food on Main

April 24, 2014

Itadakimasu Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant on Main street. They are only open for dinner and they have some good drink specials at night. We came here for a triple birthday party as they had great drink specials and good price on food.

Sapporo Pitcher ($9.99) and Large Geikkaikan Sake ($5.99) are an amazing deal.

Daily Cute Temari Sushi Box ($12) has 10 assorted ball shaped sushi. They are essentially nigiri’s in a different form. They definitely look amazing, but once you taste it, its quite standard. Nothing different tasting.

Beef Tataki ($10) has seared rare AAA beef tenderloin marinated in ginger soy and mirin. It also has ponzu sauce in gelatin form.

Chicken Karaage ($6) is marinated chicken thats been deep-fried. It comes with 6 pieces and its delicious as always.

Geso Karaage ($6.50) is deep fried squid legs. Squeeze some lemon to it to add some more flavour. I thought it was a bit bland.

Pari Pari Ebi Mayo ($7) has crispy prawns with a spicy chilli mayo sauce. It was good! We all enjoyed it. The sauce has a nice level of spiciness.

Butter Mentaiko Udon ($8) has udon noodles tossed in a butter and cod roe sauce. It is garnished with shreds of seaweed. Simple and delicious. You just mix it all together before eating.

Tsukemono ($5) has assorted pickled vegetables. It was alright.

Tako-yaki octopus dumplings (10 pcs – $7.50) is topped with tonkatsu sauce, kewpie mayo and bonito flakes. It tasted pretty average.

Toro sashimi was delicious and always enjoyable.

Tuna Tacos ($7) comes with 3 pieces and it contains seared tuna, coleslaw, yuzu, pepper, mayo, and some garnishes.

Tuna Tataki ($8) has Shichimi crusted tuna, ponzu jelly and scallions. It comes with 8 pieces.

Fried Udon Noodles ($7.50) has pork, kimchi, and fried udon noodles with garnishes. It was a tasty dish.

Overall, the food was good and a plus are the cheap drinks! I’d definitely come back.

We rate Itadakimasu Izakaya:

Address:
4148 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.itadakimasubar.com/

In Dessert

Hapa Izakaya: Japanese Tapas on Robson Street

January 13, 2014

Earlier last month a few of my friends and I were dining at the Hapa Izakaya in Coal Harbour. I’ve been to Hapa several times and had no issues, but that particular dining experience was horrible and I felt bad for my friends. I won’t delve into it, but you can read it all on thefoodqueen.ca. We were invited back to any Hapa Izakaya location to have a re-do of our meal.

Hapa Izakaya has a reputation for delicious Japanese food with pretty waitresses according to some of my Toronto friends. I spend more time staring at food than at people. Thats why I spend more time snapping pictures of food than of my friends. Horrible habit, but hopefully that will change one day.

The Robson location is quite large, so there is tons of room to accommodate large groups. We came on a snowy day, so that’s why this place wasn’t packed. No one wants to brave though the snow for some eats. Vancouverites fear snow, no matter how much there is.

Pint of Sapporo is my drink of choice at a Japanese restaurant. It’s light, crisp and refreshing.

Hello Kitty ($7.50) is a cocktail drink made of strawberry puree, calpis, absolut vodka, and soda. It was a fun drink and it did not taste too alcoholic.

Shigoku Oysters ($2.99) was recommended by our waitress and is OceanWise. It is from Washington and flavour profile is salty, mildly sweet with a water chestnut finish. It tasted pretty darn good.

Hapa has a large selection of fresh oysters with 17 different varieties. Very impressed.

Ahi Tuna ($11.99) is OceanWise and is beautifully cut. Yumm.

Sockeye Salmon ($10.99) is also OceanWise and are good cuts.

Beef Tataki ($9.99) is a very popular dish. It is made of lightly seared AAA beef with a sesame-chili sauce. I didn’t like it because of the sauce, I much prefer it with garlic chips and ponzu sauce. Just a personal preference.

Bintoro ($9.99) is made of OceanWise albacore tuna sashimi that is lightly seared. It also has Ponzu Sauce and fried garlic chips. Delicious!

Cho Wagyu ($12.49) is a fun dish. You get a super hot stone and you get to cool your own kobe beef. It comes with garlic ships, green onion and ponzu sauce.

Beef Short Ribs ($12.99) has grilled AAA beef short ribs with an apple-soy marinade. Its really good! The meat is quite tender and very flavourful.

Karaage ($8.99) has fried boneless chicken, and a soy ginger sauce.

Teriyaki Mochi Gnochi ($5.49) comes with 2 pieces on a stick. It’s a deep fried potato gnocchi with a teriyaki glaze.

Spicy Pork Ishi-Yaki ($9.99) has rice, minced pork, garlic sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce, and spicy miso in a hot stone bowl.

Ebi Mayo ($8.99) has tempura prawns with a spicy mayo sauce. It was ok, but needs more mayo.

Kaki Fry ($9.99) comes with 6 pieces. It is pan-fried sawmill bay oyster, and panko breaded. It comes with tartar sauce.

Gindara ($11.49) has baked OceanWise sablefish in a sake-miso marinade with some veggies on the side. The skin of the sable fish was crispy.

Polenta Fries ($7.99) has polenta tempura, soy-balsamic reduction and arugula gel. All the fries are piles up in a stack like Jenga. It’s a fun dish to share.

Oyster Risotto ($13.99) is a new item on their menu and it is served in a hot stone bowl. It contains rice, oysters, mozzarella, onion, carrot, mushroom, green beans, and a cream miso broth. It was a filling dish and it really good. I love mushrooms and oysters.

Chocolate Parfait ($5.99) is a mishmash of different ingredients. Blueberries, corn flakes, brownies, cake, and chocolate ice cream.

Creme Brulee ($4.99) is topped with fruits and cookies.

Matcha Roll Cake ($5.49) has matcha cream with the match cake. Good for those green tea lovers out there.

The desserts were all pretty comparable.

Overall, if you are looking for some delicious Japanese tapas and some drinks for a girls night out or a date, this is the place to go. But it can get pricey compared to some of the other izakaya restaurants in town.

We rate Hapa Izakaya:

Address:
1479 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://hapaizakaya.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1479+Robson+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=1479+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+1C1&z=15 “]

In Izakaya

Rajio: Rockin’ Rajio Dining Package

August 24, 2013

Rajio is owned by the same people who have brought us Suika Izakaya and Kingyo Izakaya. It is located close to the UBC campus. Rajio is Japanese for Radio, so you will notice their logo is a radio.

Vaneats.ca and Rajio teamed up to bring a $18 dining package that features 4 items:

Kushikatsu Set
Dynamic Balsamic Sweet & Sour Pork Rib
Mini Carpaccio
Choice of Cold Tapas

The packages is available from August 12th, 2013 till October 12th, 2013 in limited quantities.

I came with M after work and we really love the look of the interior.

Complimentary cabbage with a light sesame dressing. It’s really good and addictive. Plus, guilt free since it’s all veggies. I could eat this all day.

Bang Bang Chicken was my choice of cold tapa. It has steamed chicken with jelly fish and okra with a sesame dressing. It was a nice and light start to the meal.

Mini Carpaccio came with 3 types of fresh fish. When we came here, there was tuna, yellowtail and sockeye salmon. It is topped with crisp lotus roots. One delicious dish!

Kushikatsu Set is one of their specialties. It had 6 deep fried skewers with chicken, scallop and lotus roots. I actually found the coating on the skewers to be a bit thick, so it’s hard to appreciate the ingredients hidden inside.

The skewers are paired with some special sauces – Onion, teriyaki yuzu kosho, kushikatsu, tartar, and lemon salt. My pick was the kushikatsu since it paired well with the fried coating of the skewers.

Dynamic Balsamic Sweet & Sour Pork Rib are pan-fried stewed pork ribs marinated in Rajio’s original balsamic sweet sour sauce. You can definitely tell they were fried and then sauced. The outside has a nice crisp texture and then the tender meat on the inside. Yummy. It’s a good contrast between the earlier items in the package.

Items excluded from the package, but are great to add on.

Tuna Salt Tataki was beautifully presented! If you recognize what it is topped with, you know thats my favourite snack! It’s the dried noodles that are addictive. Really good!

Negitoro battera is pressed sushi with tuna belly, scallions, tobiko & sesame topped with home made soy dressing & seaweed sauce.

Overall, the package is well put together and you get a taste of a few items on the menu. You can definitely get the package and split it among 2 people and add an extra dish or two to round out the experience.

Visit Vaneats.ca to grab the $18 dining pass before October 12th, 2013.

We Rate Rajio:

Address:
3763 W. 10th Ave.
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RajioJapanesePublicHouse

In Four Beakers

Kingyo: Best Japanese Bento Box in Vancouver

June 18, 2013

Kingyo has always been a great place to go at night, but I’ve never been here for lunch. Plus, working so far from Denman street, it would be a bit of a trek to go there, eat, and return to work in under an hour. Luckily Dpang decided to drive Magz and I. I’ve been looking forward to coming here for lunch for a long time.

For lunch, there is only one item that foodies must order – their bento box!

Related Links:

Deluxe Bento Box ($16) is limited to 10 sets per day. It comes with 12 smaller portion items off their regular menu. If you’ve never been to Kingyo or just love everything on the menu, the deluxe bento box is like a sampler of their menu. The price for the bento box is a bit high compared to the other bento boxes in town, but it is a fantastic item to order.

The items in the set do change from time to time, but I’m sure you can’t be disappointed. When we were here for lunch, our bento box came with:

Rice
Miso Soup
Pickled Vegetables
Deep Fried asparagus
Salad
Chicken Karaage
Braised short rib
Tuna tataki
Truffle egg
Sesame noodles
deep fried fish
and one more dish I have forgotten what it is.

We were not disappointed by any of the items that are part of the bento box. You will definitely get full and walk out of the restaurant with a case of foodcoma. Good luck going back to work resisting the temptation to nap.

We Rate Kingyo:

Address:
871 Denman St
Vancouver, BC V6G

Website:
http://www.kingyo-izakaya.ca

In BBQ

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill: Delicious Japanese Skewers

June 10, 2013

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill serves a bunch of tapa dishes and specializes in skewers. They have a few locations in Vancouver and one in Toronto.

M really wanted a good dinner, so I suggested Zakkushi. After all these years, I have no idea why we’ve never gone together. When we got here, we thought the exterior was pretty cool. It’s all covered up in dark wood. Very nice.

Sakura Cocktail ($7) has lychee liqueur, grapefruit juice, calpico and soda.

Toro Sashimi ($9.50) has 5 pieces of the sockeye salmon belly. It’s not the same texture as the tuna toro, but was more chewy. The quality nonetheless was very fresh.

Karaage ($5.80) is deep-fried chicken with an oroshi sauce. It’s different from most places as it comes with a shredded daikon, ponzu, and green onion sauce. Anything fried is delicious.

Tsukune is a chicken meatball and on their menu, they have 5 different kinds, but we stuck with the cheese and norimayo flavours.

Cheese Tsukune ($1.90 each) has white cheese melted on top with some pepper. It was really good! The cheesiness of the cheese and the juicy chicken meatball tasted really good.

Norimayo Tsukune ($1.90) is topped with mayo and seaweed. It’s really good! You really need to try this.

Zakkushi Set ($8.80) has 5 skewers momo (Chicken thigh), umeshiso yaki (chicken thigh with shio leaf and sour plum), Me Maki (garlic shrubs wrapped with pork), p-toro (Crunchy juicy pork), and oropon beef (AAA grade beef with diakon and ponzu sauce). It was a nice set of skewers to order if you are indecisive. You get a little bit of variety from the skewer menu.

Negi P-Toro Don ($7.50) has p-toro pork, green onion sauce, picked veggies, half boiled egg, and seaweed on top of rice. We mixed this all together and it was so good!

We also ordered Oden, but I was too excited about it that I ate it before taking a picture. The sake flight was good as well if you are into sake.

Overall, we had a great time here and will definitely be back. The food and atmosphere are awesome. It’s best to make a reservation ahead of time if you don’t want to wait for a seat. They also have a semi private party area for large groups.

We Rate Zakkushi:

Address:
4075 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.zakkushi.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4075+Main+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=4075+Main+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5V+3P6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Fairview

Suika Snackbar: SupaSUIKA Dining Package

May 13, 2013

I’ve been to Suika Snackbar several times in the past few years and it’s always been a great experience. They have sister restaurants located around town – Kingyo and Rajio. Suika means watermelon, Kingyo means goldfish and Rajio means radio. I find it funny how all those restaurants are named after things.

Vaneats.ca and Suika have teamed up together again to offer another dining package. It’s $35 and you get the following:

Salmon Battera
Magical Mojito Pitcher
Steak Salad
Ma-Po Rice Cake

I came with Mandu and KoreanGirl to check out the package since there was a mojito pitcher that is more for a group rather an individual.

It’s pretty busy usually, so it’s always best to make a reservation. Most of the tables we saw when we arrived had reserve signs too. To avoid disappointment, definitely reserve!

As always, this is their amazing light installation that catches everyone’s attention.

Magical Mojito Pitcher (Regular $28). You can choose from watermelon, pomegranate or aloe. We had a hard time figuring it out, so we asked the staff which one was most popular and they suggested the Suika Mojito, which is the watermelon flavoured one. I’m not a fan of artificial watermelon flavour, so I didn’t particularly like the flavour. They didn’t skimp on the alcohol because I turned bright red like Rudolph after having one glass.

There was enough in the pitcher to fill up 6 glasses. Pretty good amount. For 3 people, it was enough for us on a weekday.

Steak Salad has diced & marinated AAA beef filet steaks on a bed of organic greens, then topped with watercress and beets.

The steak pieces were done to about medium rare and was a tad chewy. It was still a pretty solid dish and we enjoyed it.

Ma-Po Rice Cake is deep-fried rice cake with spicy ground pork sauce. It comes with 4 pieces and has the sauce drizzle on top of each piece. My friends loved the stickiness of the rice cakes and the savoury sauce.

Salmon Battera is topped with sockeye salmon, salmon caviar, spicy cod roe mayo, Japanese basil, and then avocado shiso between the rice.

Overall, the 3 of us enjoyed the #SupaSUIKA dining package from Vaneats.ca. $35 for the 3 food dishes and the huge pitcher of mojito is worth it. There are also other items on their menu that will definitely make you drool. If you spilt this package with a few friends and add a few items on the side, it’s not too expensive.

Items not included in the SupaSUIKA Dining Package (Delicious things I ordered in addition to the package)

Deluxe Suika Box ($12) comes with a set of 9 assorted appetizers. If you are a person that like a little taste of everything, you’ll enjoy this box.

Deep Fried Chicken Cartilage with curry spice. It was an interesting dish to try. Who knew chicken cartilage would be tasty. It’s the curry spice that really makes this dish mighty delicious. Don’t worry, there is chicken meat in the dish and not just cartilage.

Corn Kakiage is one item you must order everytime you eat at SUIKA. It comes in 3 pieces and really good.

Tokyo Oxtail Ramen is another good choice too. It has slowly braised oxtail and noodles in a soy based broth topped with green onions.

Words of Wisdom:

Corn Kakiage, chicken kaarage, Deluxe suika box, Tuna tataki, Sashimi shake salad and ebi mayo recommended.
Nice decor and good service
If it’s your birthday, the staff sing to you
Pay parking on Street
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Downtown

Guu Garlic: Lunch Time

April 7, 2013

Guu Garlic is open for lunch from Tuesday to Sunday 11:30am till 2:30pm. It’s a nice place to go for lunch if you want to spend about $10 and have a good Japanese meal. I was never able to make it here during a weekday since my office is too far away. M and I were downtown during St. Patricks Day and was looking for a place downtown to eat. As we wanted something Japanese, we decided to go to Guu as they have lunch specials.

Ramune is a Japanese soda and they have their own Guu branded bottles. The bottle is sealed with a marble, so when you open the bottle, it makes a ‘POP’ sound. Imagine it as like a 7-up, but without the lime flavour.

Pork Cutlet on Rice ($9.25) was the St. Patricks Day special. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any extra green to this dish besides the green onions for the garnish. Anyways, the meal came with miso soup, and pickled vegetables on the side.

The pork cutlet was nicely cooked with egg, cucumber and green onion on top. M did enjoy it and the size was perfect for lunch. He thought the pork was nice and tender without bones.

Deep-Fried Assorted ($9.20) comes with karaage, cream croquette, pork tenderloin, pickled vegetables, miso soup and rice.

Fried things for lunch probably isn’t the most healthiest thing, but when it’s at an izakaya, they make it taste amazing. The chicken karaage and the cream croquette is always a hit. I’ve never had pork tenderloin battered and deep-fried, but it tasted great as well. It was a good thing that there were vegetables and miso soup to complement these items. I’d probably order this again during lunch.

Overall, pretty good choice for lunch. When looking at their lunch offerings, there’s a lot of fried items. It’s a nice space to eat too if you love the izakaya feel.

We Rate Guu Garlic:

Address:

1698 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.guu-izakaya.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1698+Robson+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1698+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+1C8&gl=ca&t=m&z=14 “]

In Delta

Akari Japanese Restaurant: Sushi In Delta

March 10, 2013

Akari Japanese Restaurant is located in Delta at Strawberry Hill. I would have never thought to have Japanese food in this area. Plus, I never frequent this area anyways. The restaurant has been around for 15 years and is operated by Koreans, so you will see some of that influence come out in their cuisine.

This place was packed on a weekend and was quite busy.

When we sat down, we received some tea.

M and Scarface as usual always orders a coke wherever they go.

Complementary edamame beans arrived soon after.

Secret Castle Salad ($11.95) contains crab meat, salmon, tuna, avocado, tobiko, and sprouts with 3 kinds of dressing. This item was pretty impressive and looked amazing.

You can see the layers of all the ingredients. You need to dig in to discover all the ingredients in this.

Spicy Delight ($6.95) contains salmon, tuna, tobiko with a spicy sauce served in orange cup.

Akari Island ($8.95) has spicy sashimi wrapped by seared salmon, and tobiko on top spicy house sauce. The salmon that wrapped around the roll could have been a bit more smooth or seared more lightly.

Crazy Roll ($10.95) is a deep-fried California roll with Tobiko. You can substitute it with black rice, so its more healthy.

Black Cod Miso Yaki ($12.95) the cod is marinated with miso and sake and then grilled. It is served on a hot plate with vegetables.

Akari Roll ($10.95) has tuna, salmon, Aasparagus, tobiko, ebi, avocado, crabmeat with a soy wrap instead of seaweed.

Rock Cracker Roll ($10.95) contains double prawn, cucumber, avocado, crab meat on top with deep-fried scallop, spicy flakes, and tobiko.

Coffee Ice Cream came with 2 scoops and was very enjoyable. We were surprised this was even an option since most places only have green tea or mango ice cream. This was our favorite.

Green Tea Ice Cream was the other ice cream we got. It was good and was a good way to end the meal.

Overall, Akari Japanese Restaurant is good if you live in this area. It isn’t the best but one of the better ones in the Delta area.

We Rate Akari Japanese Restaurant:

Address:
7261 120th Street
Delta, BC

Website:
http://www.deltaakari.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=7261+120th+Street+Delta,+BC&hnear=7261+120+St,+Delta,+British+Columbia+V4C+1B4&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Izakaya

Rajio Japanese Public House: Japanese Izakaya Near UBC

February 19, 2013

Rajio is owned by the same people who have brought us Suika Izakaya and Kingyo Izakaya. It is located close to the UBC campus. Rajio is Japanese for Radio, so you will notice their logo is a radio.

I came here with Food Queen and Gastrofork for dinner as we were craving some good ol Japanese Izakaya food. Some of the items are similar to Suika and Kingyo, but they do have a few differential items on their menu like skewers and a crazy huge steaks.

Their decor is quite cool and the lanterns are soothing.

They have a cool bar too. They take reservations and have lots of seating. I didn’t take a picture of the other seats, but its not just a bar.

Complimentary cabbage with a light acidic dressing. Probably one of the healthier appetizers since its vegetables! Guilt free.

Corn Karaage ($4.80) was different that we anticipated. At Suika, they make is really different, more like a corn fritter. Eating the corn karaage was like a nice buttery corn on the cob, but much smaller.

*Y* Ebimayo ($6.80) are battered tiger prawns topped with a chili mayo. Delicious as always!

Kimchi Sobameshi Stone Bowl ($8.80) it has yakisoba noodles, ground pork, cheese, kimchi and vegetables on rice in a hot stone bowl.

Tuna Salt Tataki ($5.80) was beautifully presented! If you recognize what it is topped with, you know thats my favorite snack! It’s the dried noodles that are addictive.

Tako Wasabi (3.80) is chopped raw octopus in a wasabi sauce. You are given few sheets of seaweed so you can wrap it up together. It’s not an item for everyone since it is spicy. I enjoyed it.

Hellz Ramen ($8.80) is noodle in a clam and shrimp broth seasoned with spicy miso and spicy pepper topped with egg, ground pork and pickles. Contrary to the name of the ramen, it wasn’t too hot.

Octopus Balls ($1.50 each) is like a takoyaki on a stick. Tasted alright but you definitely need to add some seasoning to enhance the flavour.

My favorite condiment was the lemon salt.

Premium Kushi Katsu Set ($12.80) was a featured set that came with the following skewers: shiitake mushroom stuffed with shrimp, asparagus wrapped with pork, stewed pork belly, shiso chicken meat ball, lotus root stuffed with chicken, shiso wrapped shrimp, and seaweed wrapped rice cake.

I thought it was ok, but not as mouth-watering as Zakkushi’s skewers.

Smooth pudding ($3.80) was so good! It was like an inverted caramel pudding. You must get this!

Mango Pudding ($3.80) wasn’t what I expected. it was like a subtle tasting mango mousse with mango slices on top.

Almond Tofu ($3.80) the top has some gelatine and pieces of citrus. It was our least favorite. When you think almond tofu, you don’t really think of this.

Overall, pretty good dinner with the girls at Rajio. If you are around the area and love Japanese food, you definitely want to stop by for dinner. There is pay parking on the street.

We Rate Rajio:

Address:
3763 W. 10th Ave.
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RajioJapanesePublicHouse

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=3763+W.+10th+Ave.+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=3763+W+10th+Ave,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6R+2G7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Izakaya

Sushimoto: Mouthwatering Aburi Sushi in Burnaby

December 8, 2012

Sushimoto is a Japanese restaurant located at Holdom Station in Burnaby. It is just steps away and is a hit in the neighbourhood. They have the usual good stuff you can find at a Japanese restaurant – sushi, sashimi, and rice bowls.

The interior isn’t too large, so it’s hard to fit large groups if it’s a busy night. There are bar seats and booth seating.

Complementary tea comes in cute cups.

Complementary Spring Rolls are a nice treat before the meal.

Mad For Garlic Gyoza was very disappointing, it sounded more exciting than it tasted. It just reminded me of the ones you would find at grocery stores…also they fell apart very easily.

Baked Salmon Kama was OK, but there were bones, so not great for little kids.

Korroke comes with 2 pieces of different varieties. One is filed with plain potato and corn, the other was like curry.

Ika Geso Karrage comes with a side of sweet chili dipping sauce. The squid was lightly coated and good.

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi comes with 9 pieces and was very vibrant and red. Fresh and delicious.

Tuna Tataki is awesome as usual! The tuna is lightly seasoned and seared. It is topped with garnish and ponzu sauce.

Prawn Tempura was crunchy on the outside and delicious. Don’t leave it too long or else it will go limp.

Toro Aburi and the Unagi Aburi was very very delicious! The toro just melts in your mouth. Both items are torched and topped with teriyaki sauce.

Negitoro Roll comes in 6 pieces. Delicious too.

Kapa Roll and Mango Roll.

Amusement Roll has cream cheese, cucumber, salmon, egg, crab meat, ikura, Mayo and unagi sauce. The roll was pretty average and the addition of the cream cheese made this interesting. Other restaurants usually have it in the Philadelphia roll. The cream cheese worked well!

Words of Wisdom:

Street Parking
Large variety in menu
Sashimi, Aburi Sushi = good!
Make reservations to avoid waits.

We rate Sushimoto:

Address:

2221 Holdom Ave S
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2221+Holdom+Ave+S+Burnaby,+BC&hl=en&hnear=2221+Holdom+Ave,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5B+2Z9&t=m&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Sushi K Kamizato: A Hidden Gem in Coquitlam

November 28, 2012

Sushi K Kamizato is run by Chef Keith and his wife Chika in Port Coquitlam.

It is Japanese owned and they serve awesome sushi and its very different from Sushi Town or California Sushi. The owners stay true to their roots and make sushi like how it can be found in Southern Japan. They use the best fish they can get their hands on and it really shines in their dishes. Chef Keith has made a name for himself and previously worked at ZEN in West Vancouver and also has catered to Gwen Stefani.

Salmon and Tuna Karaage comes complementary when you sit down. It’s really addictive and a great start to the meal.

Sake is a good accompaniment to the meal. I usually like light beer to go with Japanese food too.

Gomae is very different from what you would find at other restaurants. Their spinach is not frozen and is fresh. It is lightly dressed with sesame and you know you’re eating something good.

Agedashi Tofu was lightly fried on the outside and had a delicious clean taste. The order comes with 4 pieces.

Gyoza comes with 5 pieces and was alright. Nothing too special about this dish.

Tuna Tataki Salad has spinach, peppers, carrots, and the chunks of tuna tataki on the centre. It’s pretty good as well.

Grilled Aburi Saba comes with some sauteed cabbage on the side. The saba is very tender, flavourful and is always something that we order when we come here. Remember to squeeze a bit of lemon on it to add some acidity.

Chirashi Don was quite expensive, but it comes with a variety of their freshest ingredients. If you are a lover of raw ingredients, you should try this out. It also comes with miso soup.

Caterpillar Roll has crab meat and cucumber in the center with slice of avocado on top.

Chopped Scallop Roll comes with 8 pieces and has lots of large chunks of scallops. Very fresh and yet again delicious.

OceanWiser Roll is a must try when you come here. It has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado. It has its own sauce, so you don’t need to dip it in soy sauce.

Spicy & Shout is a specialty roll made out of spicy salmon, cucumber in the center and it’s topped with crunchy bits on top.

Ika Nigiri isn’t my favorite item since it does have a strange texture for my taste buds. My sister likes this.

Chopped Scallop Nigiri is really good if you are a fan of chopped scallop!

Seared Toro nigiri was SO GOOD. Mouth watering good and you can’t help but to have more. It’s usually sold out if you don’t get there in time. You must order this!

Marinated Saba Nigiri is marinated in-house and is so fresh and flavourful.

Overall, I was impressed by their menu and how creative they are with their dishes. They aren’t trying to be like the other sushi restaurant around town. If you are looking for something different and creative, come to Sushi Kamizato!

If you want the best experience, sit by the bar and talk to Chef Keith! He has a great personality and goes out of is way to impress his guests.

Words of Wisdom:

Small restaurant
Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
Fresh ingredients
Grilled Aburi Saba, Tuna Toro Nigiri, OceanWiser Roll, Tuna Tataki Salad, Agedashi Tofu, Salmon Sashimi, Tuna 4 ways, and Spicy & Shout Rolls is recommended!

We Rate Sushi Kamizato:

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SushiKKamizato

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2850+Shaughnessy+St,+suite+2105&hnear=2850+Shaughnessy+St+%232105,+Port+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3C+6K5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Four Beakers

Guu Otokomae: Guutine, so Canadian Eh?

November 19, 2012

Guu Otokomae is located in Gastown and is very close to Waterfront Skytrain. M and I came here very late at night, so we were able to get a table effortlessly. It’s usually best to have reservations, but we just thought about coming here last-minute.

When we came here, we ordered most of the items off their special menu.

Ramune is a Japanese carbonated soda, which Guu has worked with to have it specially branded for the restaurant. it’s a fun drink and M gets one every time he is at Guu.

Tea

Guu Tataki ($6.20) is seared beef sashimi with ponzu sauce, garlic chips and green onions. There’s really nothing I can say about this dish since its so delicious!

Chicken Karaage is a must have item here! So good!

Crab Shrimp Cream Gratin Croquette comes in 2 pieces with a sweet chilli mayo sauce. Really delicious too.

Guutine is their special poutine – Japanese style. This is made of deep-fried yam fries with a miso gravy topped with cheese. M and I both didn’t like it. It was quite heavy tasting and was a very strange creation.

Tempura Banana with Coconut Ice cream was something that M ordered. It was a wonderful combination of banana and the coconut.

Words of Wisdom:

Very busy during the evenings
Best to get reservations
Closest Skytrain: Waterfront

We Rate Guu Gastown:
Address:

375 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

www.guu-izakaya.com/gastown.html

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=375+Water+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=375+Water+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6B+1B8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Four Beakers

Kingyo: ‘Simply Kingyo’ Dining Package Review

November 17, 2012

Kingyo is a Japanese Izakaya restaurant that is located on Denman Street. It’s a great place to chill at night over some drinks and dishes. The environment is lively and they have a variety of different of dishes.

Vaneats is offering a 4 course dining package for $22 that includes the following:

Tomato Kimchi Tofu Salad
Tuna Tataki
Stone Grilled Kobe Beef
Clam Ramen

Tomato Kimchi Tofu Salad has kimchi marinated tomatoes, greens, tofu, ginger and a sesame soy dressing. The salad was very refreshing and was a good start of the meal.

Tuna Tataki is a lightly seared tuna with ponzu & ponzu jelly. The size is half the size of a regular order, so it has only 3 pieces. The taste was good as usual and the ponzu jelly and the garlic chips really make it awesome.

Stone Grilled Kobe Beef comes with super hot stone grilled marinated kobe beef with 2 sauces. The size is also half the original size too. It’s a fun interactive dish, so you can watch your beef sizzle until you feel its ready to eat.

Clam Ramen has ramen noodles in a soy based clam soup with shrimp oil, garlic onion oil & fish powder. You have 4 pieces of clams which was pretty good and the broth had a very nice fragrant flavour.

With this package, I felt that most of the dishes were very small, so it will be hard to completely satisfy 2 people. You probably need to order more dishes on the side to be full. I didn’t feel like this package was as good of the value as their last package.

Words of Wisdom:

Make reservations on the busy nights
Have lunch and dinner
Good variety of items on the menu
Good place to bring a date

We Rate Kingyo Japanese Izakaya:

Address:
871 Denman St
Vancouver, BC V6G

Website:
http://www.kingyo-izakaya.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=871+Denman+St+Vancouver,+BC+V6G&hnear=871+Denman+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6G+2L8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Izakaya

Minami: Yummy Aburi Beef in Yaletown

October 22, 2012

When I came back from vacation, I headed out to Minami with @Lensflaaare and @Floyvr to see what all the hype was about Minami. Minami is the sister restaurant of Miku. They are popular for their aburi sushi.

It’s located really close to the Yaletown Skytrain on the Canada Line.

Unlike Miku, the atmosphere here was more dark and intimate.

Jasmine tea comes in tea pots. It tastes good and goes really well with their food.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi is pressed rice with local salmon, jalapeño, and miku sauce. This is their most popular item from both Miku and Minami. It’s so good!

Slow Roasted Beets & Watercress Salad has yuzu creme fraiche, fig, candied sesame cashew, fig chutney, and a yuzu chardonnay vinaigrette.

Kaisen Soba Pepperoncino has shrimp, squid, scallop, sweet pepper, shiitake, and jalapeno. This dish was ok, not too spicy, but I felt it was a weird combination of seafood and spice.

Aburi Carpaccio has a organic 64 degree egg, asian pear, market greens, lotus root chips, and jalapeno-garlic ponzu. It was fun popping the egg and letting it go all over the raw meat. I enjoyed the nice clean flavours.

Overall, the food was good, but our server was always in a rush and not very attentive. If I had a choice of going to either Miku or Minami, I would go back to Miku. I didn’t enjoy the ambiance or the service as much.

We Rate Minami:

Address:
1118 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.minamirestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1118+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1118+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Miku Restaurant: Aburi Sushi Gourmet Cuisine

October 4, 2012

Miku has been around since 2008 serving delicious Japanese food. They are best known for their aburi style sushi. It’s sear-flamed sushi. You won’t need any soy sauce or wasabi with any of their items.I’ve heard much about it, but it took me a long time to finally dine here. The thing is that it is a bit expensive and dinner can burn a hole in your pocket.

The interior is very open and has lots of natural light. It is highly recommended to have reservations as they are really busy.

Green Tea was good! The servers also did a great job diligently filling up the cup too. It was never empty.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi ($14) has local salmon pressed and dressed with soy & Miku sauce, topped with jalapéno. This is what you must get! It’s so good!

Aburi Sashmi ($25) is a trio of aburi sashimi paired with house made sauces

Rainbow Salad ($18) has 6 kinds of sashimi, avocado, organic greens, and tosazu jelly. It was really good! The acidity from the jelly really complimented the delicate taste of the sashimi.

Soba Pepperoncino ($15) has squid, sweet pepper, shiitake, jalapeno, garlic, and tempura bits.

Green Tea Opera ($10) has green tea sponge infused with espresso and frangelico liquer, green tea butter cream, dark chocolate ganache, azuki bean cream, green tea sauce, and green tea ice cream.

Cherry Panna Cotta ($10) has vanilla bean panna cotta, cherry and amaretto infused sauce, cherry compote, sesame crumble, almond tuile cookie, cherry vanilla ice cream and sorbet. The presentation was really cool! I was definitely impressed.

Overall, I loved the entire meal! The service was amazing with great attention shown by the servers. This place is expensive for certain dishes, but you will fall in love with their aburi sushi for sure! Its a great place to take your girlfriends or your significant other.

We Rate Miku restaurant:

Address:
1055 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
mikurestaurant.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1055+W+Hastings+St+Vancouver,+BC&hl=en&hnear=1055+W+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+0B2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Fairview

Suika Japanese Snackbar: Stingray, Pig Foot, and Other Odd Dishes

July 17, 2012

Suika Japanese Snackbar is owned by the same people who created Kingyo Izakaya. It is located on Broadway near Fir St. I’ve been to Suika Snackbar a few times and it’s a great place to dine with friends over yummy Japanese food.

The famous chandelier!

Chicken Karaage ($7.80) is deep fried chicken pieces with a side of salt and pepper. Very yummy! I usually order this when I go to any Izakaya restaurant.

Corn Kakiage ($4.80) are corn niblets fried in cilantro batter, soy sauce and butter. It’s one of my favorite items! It comes with 3 pieces and the butter definitely enhances the flavour!

Tonsoku ($6.80) is a sauteed pig foot until it’s crispy. It is flavoured with soy butter. On the menu it says “Don’t try, if you never had”. Just because of that line, it made CandiedZen and I eat it! When it arrived at the table, it was indeed a pig foot. It tasted good, but it’s not for everyone. There’s not much meat on it, so you are basically eating skin, fat and cartilage.

Sweet Balsamic Sauteed Portabella Mushroom ($6.80) was a very interesting dish. It looked really weird, but with the balsamic vinegar, it was sweet.

Eihire – Dried Sting Ray ($4.20) was something that caught our eye on the menu. CandiedZen and I were so curious about how this would taste! It is also accompanied by a chili sauce and mayo. The look of it was quite weird as I commented saying it looked like very thick feet skin. I think I ruined M and CandiedZen’s appetite. hahaha. The taste was like dried squid, so it tasted totally fine.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio ($9.20) had lots of slices of tuna with mayo, onions, tobiko, and pea shoots. It’s a pretty solid dish to order at any izakaya restaurant and Suika does a good job at making this. Yum.

Words of Wisdom: