Suika: Suika Me Silly Dining Package

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Suika Me Silly” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and bought an additional one for a friend to keep the review as unbiased as I could. This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.

I’ve been to Suika before and its always seems so busy, even for a weekday! Suika is a Japanese Snack Bar on Broadway. They are similar to the other Izakaya restaurants in Vancouver. VANEATS.ca is offering a “Suika Me Silly” Dining Package in October, which has 6 different items for $16. I came with InsecureGirl to see if the dining package lives up to expectations.

The first thing I noticed was that almost all the tables had reservations! I felt bad since I didn’t make a reservation beforehand, but they were nice enough to find a table for us. (If I accidentally took your table, I am very very sorry!!!!)

I love their lights! It’s made from old Japanese glass bottles. Seems pretty cool and makes good photos.

Before InsecureGirl and I dug into the dining package, we needed our fix of Japanese beer! The dining package does not come with drinks, so you have to order it on top of the dining package.

Asahi Black ($6.40) is InsecureGirls pick of beer. Asahi Black is a dark lager made with barley, maize and rice. Even though it is called “black”, it is in no way like Guiness! It’s not very heavy or bitter. Just like the normal Asahi, it is still crisp and light, but with a strong nutty taste.

Sapporo Pint ($5.80) is my favorite beer of all time. The taste is light and crisp, but not as heavy as the Asahi Black. Its great with raw food and doesn’t leave a strange taste lingering in my mouth.

“Beef Tataki”, smoked AAA beef filet tataki.

This is the first dish that will arrive at your table. It is thinly sliced beef filet with the accompaniment of crisp garnishes. InsecureGirl and I both liked it, but I found the slices to be a little bit too thick for my liking. InsecureGirl didn’t think it was too thick, but it is a bit thicker than the beef tataki at Guu. It’s just personal preferences. If you just focus on the quality, it’s pretty good. The beef is nicely marbled with fat, so it is tender.

“Ma-Po Rice Cake” and “Corn Kakiage”

This will be the second plate that will arrive at your table. It has 2 different items.

“Corn Kakiage”, organic corn niblets fried with cilantro batter, soy sauce and butter

We really really loved this dish. Its something different that most restaurant. Plus, corn is just delicious! The cilantro batter holds all the niblets together and doesn’t fall apart too easily. The addition of the butter complements the corn nicely…thus thats why butter and corn is so popular.

“Ma-Po Rice Cake”, deep fried rice cake w/spicy ground pork sauce dusted w/Japanese pepper

InsecureGirl and I did not really like this dish. The sauce tasted nice, but we didn’t think it matched well with the rice cake. If they had fried tofu instead, it would have been good. It was just so hard to eat the rice cake since it’s so sticky and had to chew.

I personally find that rice cakes are a korean thing and the ma-po sauce is a Chinese or Taiwanese thing. It was just weird mixing the two. Some people may disagree.

“Negitoro Battera”, pressed sushi with tuna belly, scallions, avocado & sesame topped with home made soy dressing & seaweed sauce

InsecureGirl was not really impressed by this dish since she’s had it during a previous dinner here. She finds that there is too much rice and the flavour of the negitoro does not shine through.

I found that this pressed sushi falls apart quite easily, but the seaweed sauce was a good accompaniment to the negitoro. I also agreed that it can be hard to taste the flavour of the negitoro with all the rice.

Not that many restaurants offer the “pressed-sushi”, so it is something new to try.

“Aburi Shime-Saba Sushi”, seared cured mackerel pressed sushi served with mustard soy dressing

Yet again we both found that is also fell apart easily and had a lot of rice. The mackerel on top tasted very nice. It does have a fishier taste than salmon, but some people like that.

“Matcha Brulee”, frozen matcha creme brulee with fresh whipped cream & red bean sauce

This was really good. I have never had frozen matcha creme brulee before. It was like eating ice cream.

Overall, we felt that the ‘Silly Me Suika’ provides a good value for $16. To a newcomer to Suika, it’s a good way to get a sense of their menu offerings. Usual dishes are priced at $7ish, so you do save money.

You can purchase the Silly Me Suika Dining Package at VANEATS.ca for $16, there’s only 50 available, so get it fast! Starts October 1st and is redeemable till the end of the month!

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