Hapa Umi

I was excited to revisit this restaurant because my experience was very positive the first time I was here. I looked forward to trying different dishes on the menu. Upon entering the restaurant, we were warmly greeted, and taken to our spacious seats. The entire restaurant definitely feels upscale due to the design and lighting. 

We were handed warm towels by the waitress before the meal began, very thoughtful. Being quite a large party, we ordered lots of food :)

We started off with the Oyster Tempura. This was a great start to the meal, I loved the slightly sour taste on the oyster from the sauce. I did not think there was too much frying batter, I think it was just right. It was a joy to bite into each piece. 

We also ordered two rolls, one of them was the Umi Roll, I forgot the name of the other one. The rectangle-shaped roll was very interesting for me. The rice used was like sticky rice which was pretty cool. 

The other roll tasted similar to a California roll to me, there was crab inside but what made it different was the piece of fish on top of the roll. I didn't think this roll was that special; the rectangle-shaped roll was awesome though!

We also got the Tuna Tataki. I would say this is one of the best foods I've had in a long long time. The "inner portion" of the tuna was cool, while the "outer ring" of the tuna was harder and had a "smoked" taste. That mixture of hot and cold in perfectly cut slices was great. 

The next dish was the Kakuni Scallop. The scallops of this dish were the best prepared scallops I've ever had in my life. It was just the perfect texture, temperature, freshness. The pork however was very average I thought, I thought it to be a little too "tough", I much prefer the Chinese style preparation of this meat. 

Next was the Chicken Karaage. I thought this was a wonderful value. The size of this dish for the price was excellent. These are like chicken nuggets, there are no bones and it is all organic chicken meat. The moment I bit into the chicken, I was impressed. The karaage just crumbles easily inside your mouth, delivering a salivating taste...

Next is the Sablefish. My favourite part about this was the fish skin. It was crispy and delicious. The fish itself was also better than what I've had at other restaurants. It did break apart too easily and had a smooth texture.

This one was the Bavette Steak. There was some miso on the plate to dip the steak into. This one was good as the steak was delicious, but I nothing really popped out at me for this dish.

For our last dish before desserts, we got the Kani Pasta. This was prepared using dungeness crab. I loved the taste of this dish, it reminded me of the Chinese-style preparation of crab using milk cream. The pasta itself was pretty good as well.

We ordered three desserts, the Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake, and the Polenta Cake. My favourites were the chocolate cake and cheesecake. The chocolate cake just explodes in chocolate when you bite into it. While the cheesecake was just, good.

Overall: Pricy for me, but a great great meal with excellent service.

Hong Sushi

What a good reunion time today I had with some friends from last summer! After doing some bowling at Revs in Burnaby, I asked my friends which restaurant they recommend as they live in the area! 

They decided on Hong Sushi on Hastings. I was a bit skeptical on the cleanliness on the place since it's on Hastings, but I was positively surprised. Hong is mostly does take-out sushi orders and there are only two tables inside. Even though the inside did not have much decoration, it felt clean and comfortable. 

I was having a hard time picking what to eat, so decided to get the one that most people get because it's the best value: Sushi Special which included salmon maki, California roll, and yam roll, along with a miso soup. My friend remarked that this place gets crazy during lunch hour once school starts because of its proximity to a secondary school.

My friend also got the sushi special lol

The food was delivered promptly and there was complimentary tea. 

Appearance-wise, I was really impressed because this was a really cheap price but I really liked the neatness presentation of the rolls. This looks a lot better than other places with similar sushi specials.

The Salmon Maki were excellent, the salmon pieces were pretty big for being a maki, and it tasted fresh.

 The California roll were one of the best I've had in these type of set lunches. The imitation crab was cold and tasted fresh. The avocado was also fresh.

My favourite was probably the yam roll because it was still crispy. I've had yam roll at other restaurants where it just tastes soggy. But here, it came warm and crispy which I really liked.


Overall: The food is really good for a take-out place. I'd be interested to try out their others items but since I do not live in the area, probably won't have much opportunity.

Zakkushi (W. 4th Av.)

First time trying Zakkushi. At first I expected something like Guu, but it's actually really different. Almost all the food on the menu are grilled skewers. It is a little pricey, but the food quality is top... This is one of the better foods I've ever had... Here's some pictures of some of the skewers I had. Each one is ~$2. The set at the bottom was $8.20.

I definitely want to come back because the skewers are so very good... They have cooked it to the PERFECT level...I also got their sake ice cream for dessert

This was definitely something new for me, although the taste was a bit weird because the ice cream is sweet and the sake was bitter... didn't really like it.


Overall: I want to try their other locations and see how they are. The restaurant is TINY so make a reservation.

Ichiban-ya

Was thinking of going to Guu two blocks down Thurlow St., but the wait was approximately 40 minutes and people were hungry!

So we stumbled down the street and my friend suggested this place which has a rather interesting "hole-in-the-street" entrance. The restaurant is underground. Nowadays, I do not really care what I eat so I did not mind trying new restaurants.


Inside, we were greeted by the enthusiastic manager in a multitude of languages including Korean and Japanese, my friends and I thought this was quite funny.


I don't know why, but I've been having a sashimi craving these days, so I decided to get something I don't usually get: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi $11.95 and a Chopped Scallop Roll $4.95. I felt these prices were okay because the place looked pretty run down, but it felt comfortable.

I ended up liking both items that I ordered. The sashimi was fresh in my opinion. I know that some people don't like the sashimi were it feels like it's just taken out of the freezer, but honestly I could not tell, and I love when sashimi is ice cold.


The chopped scallop roll was the standard fare, nothing special, nothing bad.


Something to note, when paying the bill, they charged me extra $2 for "wild salmon" when I did not ask for it at all. Thankfully they returned the money after I asked about it, otherwise I would have gotten extremely annoyed.


Overall: Decent restaurant.

Tokyo John

Our party decided to eat somewhere on Cambie Street after visiting the Christmas lights display up at Queen Elizabeth Park (http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/bloedel/). I wanted to try the new NOA Pan-Asian restaurant, but my friends wanted sushi. So I went along with them...

We ended up at a new restaurant for all of us.

I read some reviews on Urbanspoon.com that the service was bad, I did not encounter this, I felt they were quite acceptable (filled up tea, prompt, polite) for this type of restaurant.

I was quite hungry after the long walk, so decided to go with the Deluxe Bento Box $17.95. It is a little bit pricey in my opinion versus other restaurants, so I was really hoping it would not suck!

The bento box arrived and the presentation was quite nice. All the food items were neatly placed in the tray and the miso soup came separately. 


I really enjoyed the Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, I actually like it better when it's freezing cold. The chicken teriyaki, tempura, California rolls, Dynamite rolls were the standard fare as at other restaurants so not much comment, decent food.

Overall: I would not mind returning and trying some of their 10th anniversary special rolls.

Motomachi Shokudo

Having just finished a beautiful and sunny morning shift near Stanley Park, decided to go with some coworkers to get some lunch. I wanted some place close by, so I suggested we head to Motomachi Shokudo for some ramen, since one of my buddies also wanted ramen. I had been here once before, and had the Dark Ramen, which was pretty good, I wondered if this time would be equally as good.

As it was pretty late in the afternoon, I was starving, so decided to also get a Gyoza 3.5/5. Unfortunately, my coworkers did not want any so I had to eat all four gyozas myself. My first impression was, why were there so many black burnt bits on the gyozas; I think this is pretty unhealthy and a little overcooked. Otherwise, the fried part of the gyoza wrap was crispy, this is a good sign. The contents inside was pretty good and had a mix of meat and vegetable. I would have liked if the gyoza came a little hotter.

As I already tried the Dark ramen last time, I decided to try the Shio Ramen $8.95 3.5/5. On first impression, it looked pretty good. I was disappointed that there was only half an egg, I sort of expected a full egg (egg is my favourite :) ). My favourite part about the ramen was the soup. It wasn't too fat and thick, I sort of preferred this type of soup compared to those ones served in Kintaro Ramen next door. Besides the soup, I also really enjoyed the one piece of BBQ pork, it was a perfect mix of fat and leanness. After tasting the pork, I regretted not going for the Extra BBQ Pork version for another 2 dollars. For the ramen noodles themselves, that was the part I did not really enjoy, I felt the noodles were a little too thin, I prefer thicker noodles like those at Kintaro, Benkei, or Ramen Sanpachi. But it was still alright nonetheless, and the quantity of noodles was good. I just wish there was at least one more slice of BBQ pork though.

Overall: It's pretty similar to other ramen places, but I prefer this one over Kintaro because I can actually eat in a relaxing way. I prefer Ramen Sanpachi over this one.

Ramen Sanpachi

Saw an ad in the Klip Magazine about the August special that Ramen Sanpachi on Broadway was having. Either a Tan Tan Men or Cold Ramen for the bargain price of $5.95! Regular price is $8.95. I've never been to Ramen Sanpachi before and I've never had Tan Tan Men before; I believe it is the Japanese version of Dan Dan Noodles, a Sichuan specialty from China. I was the first customer for their lunch hour. Entering the restaurant, I was greeted warmly by two friendly waitresses, and I was seated beside the window in a huge table which was very comfortable. From what I saw, the restaurant looks quite new and is also quite spacious, good job on the construction. I already knew what I was going to order. The food came quickly thankfully as I was sort of in a rush.

The kitchen is partially seen, as with other Ramen shops

The Tan Tan Men $5.95 4/5 is Ramen in a reddish, spicy chilli and sesame soup, containing minced pork, garnished with chopped scallion and chili and topped with the likes of spinach or Chinese cabbage (chingensai). The soup base was excellent, unfortunately, I am not a big spicy eater, but I could taste that it was good, I just did not have that much because it was a little too spicy for me. My favourite part was the egg, the yolk was sort of half solid, and I loved it. The minced pork were fresh and properly minced, ie. not too big pieces. The ramen noodles themselves were again excellent, very nice to slurp them into the mouth because of their smoothness and the easiness to chew them apart.

I was impressed with the portions given for this special offer. I thought that they'd make the portions smaller because of the special, but the portion was huge and all in all, this is a great deal for great food.

Overall: I'm glad I found a new place that I can go to for a quick and delicious meal.

Donburiya

Was looking to get some Donburi (Japanese-style rice bowl) before heading to Stanley Park for the Theatre Under The Stars show, which was quite entertaining by the way, definitely worth checking out in the summer. Today's weather was quite cool and wet for a summer day, I thought a nice bowl of hot donburi would be nice.


I found this restaurant through Urbanspoon, filtering for the restaurants that were most liked by others. Ended up choosing Donburiya. The prices were much cheaper than I expected as this is a Japanese fast-food style place; however, the seating was quite comfortable and the staff were friendly. Ordering food is like ordering at McDonalds where you place the order at the counter, however, the food is delivered to you by the staff. Self-serve free ice water is provided as well as some condiments.

 decided to try something new today, the Yakiniku:

Yakiniku (Medium) $6.50     5/5

+

• Charred taste (did not appear black) through out the entire rice bowl; this taste was just delicious and I remembered it for several hours after the dinner because it was so tasty
• The sauce they used was spread out through the entire rice bowl, other places I've been to usually just have all the Donburi ingredients on the top, and then tasteless rice on the bottom; however, the Yakiniku I had today was tasty throughout the whole bowl
• The BBQ pork was prepared to just the right level, I really loved that "BBQ" taste
• The lettuce vegetable they used combined with the salad sauce also added to the taste of the rice, sort of reminded me of the lettuce and salad combination in McDonalds' burgers
• The rice did not stick together or had too much sauce on it, so the rice was not overly softened and retained much of the BBQ taste from the pork = Yummy!

Overall: Most delicious Japanese Donburi I've ever had, and at an affordable price too. I'll be back.

Benkei Ramen

It was such a hot day today! After going for a walk in Stanley Park, I was hungry for some lunch. Since I had a stamp card from Benkei Ramen, I decided to have lunch there. I noticed that they opened the sliding door/window thing; this was great for bring the summer into the restaurant! Finally summer is here! 


I thought I was going to get a bowl of ramen as usual, but when I got the menu, I noticed they had Beef Curry with Rice and that it was a *NEW* item, so I decided to try it. Maybe not such a good idea seeing as the name of the restaurant was Benkei RAMEN, but oh well, let's see how it was:

Beef Curry $7.75    3/5

+

• Beef (I think it was Beef brisket) was delicious, there was just a little layer of fat, which was perfect as it wasn't too fatty or "old"

-

• A little too much sauce in relation to the amount of rice
• Besides the beef, it tasted pretty bland to me
• More of the delicious beef would be great

Spicy sauce

Overall: I like their ramen better!

Hapa Umi

I bought a Living Social voucher for a 3-course dinner at Hapa Umi for two for $45. Happened to have something to do in Downtown later this night, so decided to use my voucher at Hapa Umi. I have never been to Hapa Umi before, but have passed by outside numerous times; I have been interested since I saw them open their doors around a year ago. 


We made a reservation for early in the night, so when we arrived, there was only one other table. Immediately, I was wowed by the appearance of the restaurant. It just looked very nice, modern, comfortable, and sleek; definitely one of the nicest restaurants I've ever been to. One interesting thing is that I thought the washrooms were really cool. There are six individual rooms for the washrooms: three for men and three for women. I can honestly say I have never seen this type of arrangement in my life; very cool.

We were given the Living Social Special Dinner Menu, we could each choose from three options in the First Course, three options in the Second course, and a dessert from the dessert menu. My friend and I decided to get different items so that we could share and try more variety.


Here's what we ate:

First Course

Pemberton Meadows Beef Tataki 4.5/5
Green onion oil, spicy daikon

+

• Tasted very fresh
• The tastes just all go together when I put the whole thing into my mouth at once, my friend remarked that it tasted like dumplings?
• It was quite refreshing in the hot weather because it was sort of cold
• A very good first course to "open the stomach"

 

















Fanny Bay Tempura Oyster 5/5
Shiso tempura, miso vinaigrette, pickled shallots

+

• What can I say, um, well I love oysters, and this one is definitely one of the better tempura oysters I've ever had
• The tempura crispy layer was thin, and you can really tell that it is different than the tempura at those small Japanese restaurants that are all over Vancouver; a reason why I do not like tempura sometimes is that it is too oily and makes me feel full, but this one the crispy layer was just barely on the oyster, the oyster made up most of the "meat"
• Oyster was fresh
• The sauce was slightly sour, this gave a very unique and delicious accompaniment to the oyster

Second Course

BC Wild Spring Salmon 4/5
Pan-seared salmon, gnocchi, roasted cauliflower, cauliflower puree, grilled zucchini, miso-hollandaise foam

+

• I really liked the yellow sauce; it tasted really creamy to me, it had a sort of minty taste
• The salmon itself had good texture, it was seared just to the right level

-

• I did not really like the gnocchi made of potato; it's sort of like a potato dumpling, I guess I just did not like the taste

Tofu Two Ways 4.5/5
Tofu steak with crispy tofu, scallion-ginger soy, truffled hakusai, basil cream

+

• The tofu cubes appeared different, but I do not remember if they tasted different, the crispy layer was done perfectly; however, I thought the salmon would be a better choice if I had to choose between these two Second courses
• The truffled hakusai (cabbage) was so delicious! I ate the whole truffle at once, as I bit into the truffle, all the water from the fresh cabbage exploded in my mouth, that feeling was awesome and one that I will remember

Truffled Hakusai

Scallion-Ginger Soy

Dessert

Umi Cannoli 5/5

+

• A very nice end to a great dinner
• The chocolate ice cream was melt-in-mouth delicious
• All the berries were fresh
• The Cannoli with the strawberry was great, it was crispy, and I don't know what cream that was on top of it, but it was good
• I loved the white sugar sprinkled around the plate, it adds looks and taste to the dessert

Yuzu Tart 5/5

+

• Very strong citrus taste
• Cold
• Perfect texture

Overall: Hapa Umi delivered an amazing dining experience. The service was perfect (hot towels at start of dinner, server introduced the contents of each plate as it was brought to the table, attentive service, we never had to ask for anything, smile on face, I left a little drop of sauce on the table but she cleaned it off right away when she was taking the plate away, etc.) I thought that with the Living Social voucher, this was a really good deal for a high quality meal.