Shirakawa

November 1, 2014Leave a comment

After Greedy Pig, we decided to look around for more food. We came across Shirakawa, which is tucked away behind some other boutiques. It’s definitely easy to walk past and not even notice that there is a walkway where more shops are located. It’s an Itoh Dining company, and one of the first in Vancouver. Itoh Dining is a high end Japanese restaurant company in Japan. Shirakawa is actually famous for their high quality beef, especially their Kuroge Wagyu beef. However, we came for their happy hour menu, which was offered from 5:30-6:30pm.

Mint Sake Lemonade

I went for their featured drink, which was also discounted for happy hour. It was the Mint Sake Lemonade, which I found very refreshing. It definitely was strong in the minty flavour.

Kome Dry, Honjozo, Yoshi no Gawa, Niigata Sake

We also decided to share the Niigata Sake. It was described to have notes of mild tropical fruit, and distinctively dry lending to an ultra-clean finish. I could definitely feel that dry feeling, which I wasn’t too fond of. Very strong for sure.

Kakuni

All their happy hour dishes are $5, which is quite a good deal. We decided to just order every dish on their happy hour menu, since there weren’t that many. First up, we had the Kakuni, which was slow cooked pork belly, with a teppan finish. It had a sweet soy reduction and on the side of the plate, there was some spicy mustard. This was probably one of my favourite dishes. The pork belly had a good amount of fat and meat, and the teppan finish made it have sort of a smoky flavour. Along with the spicy mustard, it was very appetizing!

Buta Katsu

Next was the Buta Katsu, which I thought was just average. It’s essentially panko-breaded pork cutlet. It is then topped with harvati cheese and black miso. I found that the sauce wasn’t very effective and didn’t bring too much flavour to the dish.

Teba

Next were the Teba, which our server highly recommended. It’s fried ginger soy marinated chicken wings, and they were definitely very yummy! I liked their batter as it was just the right amount and it didn’t feel oily.

Gastown Gyoza

The Gastown Gyoza was also a highly recommended dish by our server. The gyozas were filled with pork and mixed vegetables. It came with a jalapeno miso sauce which was very good. Definitely had a kick in the sauce.

Spicy Tofu

The last item on their happy hour menu was the Spicy Tofu. It was deep fried tofu with vegetable garnish and a spicy dashi broth. Contrary to what the name says, and that spicy dashi broth, it really wasn’t spicy at all. We ended up dipping the tofu in the jalapeno miso sauce that came with the gyozas. The tofu were deep fried to a nice golden brown though.

Amakaki

Since we were still sort of hungry, we ordered some items off their regular dinner menu. First, we got the Amakaki, which are house marinated oysters on a bed of ume dressed onions. The oysters were plump and fresh. The marinade was also very flavourful and refreshing with the oysters.

Kani Cream Croquette

We also ordered the Kani Cream Croquettes, which are cream croquettes filled with crab. The dish normally comes with only three croquettes, but we paid extra to add an additional. They remind me of risotto balls but filled with crab. Not bad!

Kimpira Udon

Lastly, we got the Kimpira Udon, which was probably my least favourite of the night. It was cold udon noodles topped with spicy burdock, renkon, pork bits and drizzled with a house rayu sauce. I didn’t find any of the dish spicy, and the minced pork was a huge fail since they would just fall through. By the end of the dish, there was a bunch of minced pork left on the plate as none of us could grab the noodles with the pork. They need some sort of a thicker sauce to go with it if they want the diners to eat the pork together with the noodles.

Overall, our experience at Shirakawa based mostly on their happy hour menu was very good. I find that their regular menu is quite pricey, so going for happy hour is definitely a good deal. Plus, the service was very attentive and friendly.

Hapa PDX @ Tidbit – Portland

October 21, 2014Leave a comment

I can officially say that our restaurant research pretty much came to a waste while in Portland, since the no reservation policy basically meant we were wasting too much time waiting. Driving to the other side of town, we were eager to try the famous Pok Pok, but of course, it was over an hour wait again. We wandered down the street and found Tidbit Food Farm and Garden, which is actually one of Portland’s newest food cart pod. It just recently opened in the summer and is located at SE 28th Place and Division St.

It’s pretty neat as over 20 food carts gather here and the best part is that there’s actual seating areas so you don’t need to stand around eating.

Super relaxing atmosphere with a fire pit and live music too! I believe this is open every day as well. Perfect when it’s sunny out!

There’s pretty much all types of cuisines here. I usually don’t like to get Asian food when I’m in America because I find that it’s probably not that great. However, I ended up going for a ramen food truck called Hapa PDX. It wasn’t even run by a Japanese, but tons of people were getting ramen here. There must be something good! Their name Hapa describes the fusion of their Japanese cooking techniques and Hawaiian recipes, so it’s pretty interesting! They have your typical miso, shoyu, tonkotsu ramens, and also a variety of rice bowls.

Iced Plantain Tea

For drinks, I got the Iced Plantain Tea, which was like a pineapple infused tea. A little fruity, but not too sweet. It was interesting and great to quench my thirst.

Shaka Bowl – Tsuke-men – pork belly broth, cold dipping noodles, egg, shitake, nori

Instead of getting the typical ramen, I chose the Shaka Bowl. They had a sign saying you could ask for a complimentary sample of the broth, so I did just that. The broth is made from pork belly, so it’s really fatty, but absolutely delicious! It had tons of pork belly slices in it too. The cool thing about this ramen is that you dip the cool ramen noodles into this boiling hot broth.

This was the bowl of cold ramen you get to dip in the broth. It came with shitake mushrooms, half a hard boiled egg, and some nori. A good amount for $8.50. I wouldn’t say it’s the best ramen I’ve had, but the broth was really unique and delicious! Not a bad choice at Tidbit!

Shishinori

September 27, 2014Leave a comment

Shishinori opened up quite recently and is located near Broadway and Cambie. S recommended to go here after seeing all the pictures on Instagram. You order first inside, and can take a seat anywhere. We ended up sitting outside sine it was a beautiful sunny day. Their menu consists mainly of salad rice bowls, and although I’m not a salad girl, I was quite impressed.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Bowl, Iced Acai Berry Tea, Matcha Jello

The bowls range from $9 up to $12. By adding an extra $2.50, you can turn it into a meal. The meal consists of your choice of beverage and dessert or soup. S got the Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Bowl, which came with thinly sliced ahi tuna carpaccio. I was suprised that there were so few pieces. She said it was more like eating tuna sashimi. Her bowl came with a large amount of veggies – it looked like a lot more than mine. She made it into a meal by adding the Iced Acai Berry Tea and the Matcha Jello. Her acai berry tea was super sweet though. It definitely looked better than it tasted. You would think that the iced teas would be rather strong in tea flavour instead. The Matcha Jello was also really odd… They added something similar to condensed milk on top, and the jello itself was barely sweetened. Quite disappointed with the jello for sure.

Curried Chicken Bowl, Iced Strawberry & Orange Tea, Matcha Jello

For myself, I chose the Curried Chicken Bowl. I was actually surprised how quickly our food came out. My curry wasn’t sizzling hot, so I have a feeling that the hot portions of the food are pre-made. It came with loads of potatoes, carrots, and not as much chicken as I would’ve liked. On top, there was also half a soft-boiled egg. There was also brown rice underneath, so even though it was only salad on the side, it filled me up well. The salad was actually really good. It consisted of different greens, onions, carrots, edamame beans, lotus root and a light soy dressing. The way they put everything together was just visually appealing. I also made it into a meal by adding the Iced Strawberry & Orange Tea. Again, it wasn’t as great as it looked. I found mine to be quite diluted this time. And of course, the jello wasn’t great.

Overall, Shishinori is a great place to grab a healthy meal. I guess eating salads don’t have to be so boring anymore. I would stick with their bowls however, and skip making it into a meal. The drink just looked pretty in the Mason jars, but the flavour needs work. The only downside about Shishinori is that they close relatively early – at 8:00pm. I wish we could sit around and order their desserts as well, but they already started cleaning up.

Red Tuna

September 25, 2014September 25, 20142 Comments

After a long hike at Garibaldi, we decided to grab food before heading home. Somehow after searching on Urbanspoon, we ended up at Red Tuna on Dunbar. My UBC bus used to go down this road every day, yet I have never noticed Red Tuna. Well, there were actually quite a few tables of diners here on a random weekday. I believe the restaurant is Korean owned, since their menu has a some Korean items and the servers looked Korean.

Combo

They have a regular menu with things such as specialty rolls, but they are over $10 each. All of us ended up going for their combos which seemed to be a better deal. I don’t remember exactly what Y’s combo number was, but it included an assortment of Tempura, 2 pieces of Tuna Nigiri, 2 pieces of Salmon Nigiri, Chicken Karage, Chicken Teriyaki on Rice, and a Salad. Y said that the nigiris were alright, but the chicken karage was pretty weird. Everyone also agreed that the sauce on the salad was terrible. No one ended up eating it. It sort of tasted like celery? Not sure, but it wasn’t your typical Japanese salad.

Sushi Boat A

As for myself, I went for the Sushi Boat A, which surprisingly did not come on a boat like its name. My order came with 2 pieces of salmon nigiri, 2 pieces of tuna, 2 pieces of ebi, 1 piece of hamachi, 1 piece of tamgao and a 6 piece roll of tuna maki. I found everything to be quite average. It wasn’t terrible, but nothing that was very memorable. The hamachi was probably the most memorable, being that it was extremely hard to chew on for some reason… Other than that, everyone was decent and I guess for under $15, this isn’t too bad.

All in all, Red Tuna is average, but I probably would not revisit anytime soon. There are much better sushi joints out there.

Ajisai Sushi Bar 味彩

September 23, 20141 Comment

Ajisai Sushi Bar is located in a little nook in one of Kerrisdale’s walkways. It’s pretty hidden, so you won’t notice it unless you actually walk down this alley. Offering a menu of authentic Japanese sushi, it’s a fairly small restaurant and is famous for the line ups. Luckily, when we arrived for dinner, it was only a 15 minute wait, which really isn’t too bad. Definitely not a great place for large groups though.

The seating is really just bar seats, with a line in front of the sushi chefs, and the other seatings against the window.

Tamago Nigiri

K and I started off with the Tamago Nigiri. The colour wasn’t the bright yellow ones you find at cheap restaurants, which is always a good sign. It was slightly sweet and there were some other ingredients inside, which made it very flavourful. I liked how you could actually feel the layered texture when you chewed on it.

Scallop, Red Tuna, Toro, Masago with Quail Egg, Negitoro, Baby Yellowtail

These were J’s selections. I’m not exactly sure which roll he got, so I won’t comment on that. However, the baby yellowtail was a special on the menu and he said was very good! He was ultimately satisfied with his plate.

Natto Negitoro Roll, Tuna, Negitoro, Unagi

K’s selections included the Natto Negitoro Roll, which I don’t normally see in many menus. I find that their menu has many half/half rolls, which is quite interesting. Her unagi was also quite a large piece!

Scallop, Chopped Scallop, Negitoro Roll

As for myself, I chose some nigiris and a maki roll. The Negitoro Roll was really good! It was filled with a good amount of negitoro and I liked how there was wasabi already in it. My Scallop Nigiri was very fresh and came with a piece of seaweed underneath which I found interesting. As for my Chopped Scallop Nigiri, it was one of the better ones I’ve had. The scallops were fresh and there wasn’t an overload of mayo.

Ika, Red Tuna

I also ordered the Ika Nigiri, which was very tender and came with a leaf underneath to bring it a minty flavour. My Red Tuna Nigiri was okay. I wish it was more tender. This one didn’t seem as fresh as the rest.

Overall, Ajisai is a great place to go for good quality authentic Japanese sushi. However, the prices are a little steep, so it’s not a place to go crazy unless you have a huge budget. Their menu has a lot more variety compared to say Sushi Hachi. You’ll find non-authentic rolls here as well, so I guess that’s why it’s so popular. Be ready for a wait here!

Moncton Cafe

September 21, 2014Leave a comment

I never really knew what Moncton Cafe was for the longest time. For some reason, I never notice it. Finally, we made a trip to Steveston to try out this Japanese restaurant. It features yoshoku, which means Japanese cuisine that has Western influences.

The restaurant was half filled but has steady customers. It feels like home in here, with wooden furniture and paintings of destinations around the world. Service is a bit slow here, but bearable. At lunch time, they have deals which include the an entree, soup, and salad at the price of just a regular entree.

Soup and Salad

Here is the soup and salad that came along. The Soup is a miso soup and comes in a little cup. Very typical and nothing too significant. The Salad was very good! I think the dressing made it so delicious. It’s zesty and very appetizing. It’s mixed with lettuce, corn and radish.

Hamburg Curry – hamburger steak with curry sauce over steamed rice

I chose the Hamburg Curry, which features the hamburger steak. The patty was moist and flavourful. The curry was a Japanese curry, with it being sweet with a hint of spice. It’s actually quite a big portion and you’ll be more than filled up after.

House Hamburg – hamburger steak with demi-glace sauce

J got the House Hamburg, which features the same hamburger steak but comes with a demi-glace sauce. The sauce came with mushrooms and was very flavourful. I actually preferred the demi-glace sauce to my curry sauce.

Vegetable Curry – pan fried assorted vegetable with curry sauce over steamed rice

K got the Vegetable Curry, which came with the same curry sauce but with an assortment of vegetables that had been pan fried. Very simple, but perfect for vegetarians.

Mentaiko Pasta – spaghetti with spicy cod roe cream sauce

S didn’t go for the rice, but rather the Mentaiko Pasta. The spaghetti was covered in a cream sauce, mixed with cod roe, and topped with seaweed. It was decent, but I didn’t think it was the best. The sauce could be worked on.

Overall, Moncton Cafe is a great place to go for yoshoku. I don’t think we have too many of these restaurant in Richmond. Portions are great for the price you pay, especially during lunch time. They also have other appetizers and desserts on their menu. We even saw takoyaki cream puffs! I wonder what that’s like!

Sushi Nanaimo

September 20, 2014Leave a comment

After hiking, we went to go look for some cheap sushi. We decided to go try Sushi Nanaimo, which is in the East Village. Sushi Nanaimo is very similar to Sushi Garden and is also run by Koreans. So, if you’re looking for authentic Japanese food – this is not the place for you. However, if you want cheap and large quantities, then this is a great option! There’s always a wait here, and we waited roughly 30 minutes to get a seat. We noticed that many people get take out here.

Spicy Salmon Sashimi (1/2 Order)

I knew the menu would be similar to Sushi Garden, so I went for my favourite Spicy Salmon Sashimi. Cubes of salmon with a spicy sweet sauce and topped with sesame seeds and green onions. It also comes with cucumber cubes. It’s not the most amazing salmon, but it does the deal for the price it costs. This was only half an order and was only around $6.

Agedashi Tofu

J ordered the Agedashi Tofu. Nothing too special. Typical fried tofu. The batter was light, but I felt the sauce to lack any oomph to it. Didn’t really do much.

Tray C – California Roll, Red Roll, Mangodise Roll, Chopped Scallop Roll, Dynamite Roll

Since we were quite indecisive in what to order, we decided to go for Tray C, which is supposed to fill 3 people. However, it’s more than enough for 3 people. It could probably fill up 4. It came with 5 different rolls, which were all fairly good. My favourite was the Red Tuna, which featured chopped scallop inside and topped with spicy tuna on top. The Mangodise Roll was also pretty good, which imitation crab filled inside, and ebi and mango on the top. The rolls aren’t spectacular, with them looking quite clumsily made. But what can you expect for the price you pay? Tray C also included the nigiris shown below and it came to a total of $36 for the two plates!

Tray C – Chopped Scallop, Ebi, Tuna, Salmon, Hokkigai (3 pc each)

As mentioned, Tray C also comes with 5 types of nigiris (3 of each type). The tuna and salmon is not as fresh, but they are large pieces. It’s similar to eating at an all you can eat restaurant, but slightly better. The Chopped Scallop was quite a disappointment. It didn’t taste fresh, but rather a little fishy. They seemed to add a lot of mayo to cover up the fishy taste. It was also very mushy.

Overall, I wouldn’t go for the nigiris at Sushi Nanaimo. However, their rolls are not bad for the low price. I also recommend getting their spicy sashimi. Don’t come into Sushi Nanaimo expecting authentic sushi. Just come in with a hungry stomach and you’ll be happy that you leave with your wallet still full.

Japanese Snacks

September 17, 2014Leave a comment

Last post to wrap up my trip in Japan is going to be about all the random snacks I had along the way. First up, was MOS Burger near the Shibuya station. We grabbed a quick bite here while waiting for our Airbnb host. MOS Burger is a fast food chain and the second largest in Japan after McDonald’s. I got the beef, onion and cheese melt. Tons of flavour from the onions and the cheese was really good.

In the mornings, we would sometimes go down to Family Mart to grab a quick snack. Family Mart is a convenience store, similar to 7-Eleven. We got the onigiris, which are rice shaped like triangles and wrapped with seaweed. Inside, they are filled with different ingredients, but ume or pickled plum is probably the most common. I chose the Spicy Tuna Onigiri, which was super delicious! It’s under 200 yen for one as well! Such a steal.

At Family Mart, we also found many alcoholic beverages. We got this lychee cider, which was so good! Wish we have this in Vancouver. Only 4% of alcohol content, so the lychee fruity flavour really comes through.

We also checked out Tokyu Food Show, which is connected to the Shibuya station. It’s located inside the Tokyu Toyoko Department store and offers many different stalls with food. We decided to get some nigiris at one of the stall. Here is the Tuna Nigiri, which was slightly disappointing. It wasn’t as fresh as the ones we had in restaurants and slightly overpriced.

We also got the Geoduck Nigiri, but it was only alright as well. All the ingredients didn’t seem very fresh for the price we paid.

Address: 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Hokkaido Milk is very popular, so we had to give it a try. Hokkaido milk has a very unique taste and is very creamy, but light at the same time. It has to do with what they feed the cows. You could definitely immediately taste a distinct flavour, which was very good!

While in the Harajuku area, we got hungry and spotted a crepe kiosk. It’s called Cafe Crepe Harajuku, and offers many pretty looking crepes. We chose the Matcha Tiramisu Crepe. The crepe was thin and filled with a slice of matcha tiramisu, topped with whipped cream and matcha powder. It was actually very good! Not too sweet!

While in Yokohama, I picked up this super cute bag of ramen at a shop in World Potters. It features the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo Bear. So cute! I have yet to try it, but hopefully it’s as good as how the package looks!

At the Cup Noodle Museum, we purchased this cute box of ramen. You add eggs on top of it, and it’s supposed to be sort of like a ramen pancake. However, we made it the other day, and it kind of failed. Definitely did not look as good as the picture. Perhaps it was because we couldn’t read the instructions properly. It wasn’t bad though.

At the Narita International Airport, we did some Duty Free shopping. We picked up this bottle of Sparkling Ume Wine. The packaging definitely caught our attention. We had it on the plane and it was really good! Sweet and fizzy!

We also picked up a box of the Yubari Melon Pocky. They were the giant Pockys, so they are individually packed inside. It actually had a very strong cantaloupe flavour. Yummy!

At the Narita International Airport, after you pass security and customs, there isn’t much to eat in our terminal. We ended up having a last meal of Japanese food. K got the Soba Noodles which came with a side of fried potato croquettes.

For myself, I got the Shoyu Ramen. It was quite salty and very oily! Not good at all…

This probably shouldn’t be in this post, since it was a Korean snack we bought, but I’ll throw it in here anyways. These were banana puffs! Crispy and light chips with a strong banana flavour. It’s weird how Koreans make banana flavoured everything… So weird, but so good. We found it at Walmart in Vancouver!

And here were our suitcase filled with our goodies. Just some of them actually… A trip to Asia isn’t complete if you don’t bring back tons of goodies!

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Japanese