So when it was Remembrance Day on Wednesday last week, we made the excuse to also dine out the day before. After all, it felt like a weekend, albeit a short one.

We went to Miku because we heard so much about their unique version of sushi. Having never been here before and guided by the reviews we read, we went there with a perception of exclusiveness and authentic Japanese culinary experience. After all, they are located at a part of downtown that we thought is an expensive area to operate a restaurant.

Miku is located on West Hastings just west of Burrard. It is just a street away from the new Vancouver Convention Center.

As usual, we were at Miku early at 5PM. They were at the midst of setting up for the evening. We were greeted by the restaurant manager, Erica, who turned out to be our perfect host for the evening. We were given a choice of seated at the bar or the tables. We opted for the tables simply because we felt kind of odd eating in front of the chef, especially when we want to take pictures. On hindsight, it would have been much better seated at the bar because that was where the action is.

Miku is modern and certainly upscale. The service was impeccable.

While their menu is not overly large (it was a 3-pager only), the menu was rather overwhelming to us as a lot of them are in Japanese names. I am sure you know the feeling when you have menus you simply have no idea what they are. I must say that our waiter was really good and patient with our questions and help us navigate the menu.

I got something Japanese for the drink. This is called the Nakano Brewery Ume Shu ($8 for a glass). I like this … it is a well-balanced complex Japanese plum wine. Even Suanne likes it too. It does not reek of alcohol and is light. The only thing is that the ice dilutes it pretty fast so it is best taken early on.

We started the night with two orders of sushis. The above is their signature Miku Roll ($15). This roll has salmon, uni (sea urchin), snow crab and cucumber and rolled with tobiko.

While this does not look particularly pretty, it is amazing. What makes this different from others is the way it is prepared …

… Aburi-style. Erica explained to us that the Aburi technique of searing is copyrighted. When I saw that they were making this, I asked if it is OK if I take a picture of them making this at the bar. I scampered over and took the picture above.

We had seared sushis before. This is is different in that they had a bigger torch and seared with a charcoal which gives out crackles as it is seared. The charcoal is supposed to give it a smokey flavour while the searing serves to liquify the oil in the ingredients. It looked fancier but am not sure if the charcoal really makes a difference.

Two things we love about the Miku Roll … you see the fatty looking thingy topping the roll above? I thought it was some fatty meat or something until we asked our waiter who said it was their very own Miku Sauce. It was great and was curious what exactly it is made of. When we got the chance, we asked Erica who said that it’s a secret recipe that she is not privy to that info. Maybe she did not know? LOL!

The other thing that is amazing here is the tobiko (flying fish roe) which was seared making it really crunchy. We had a great time popping all the tobiko which scattered inside our mouth. Nice!

Our second sushi is called the Premium Aburi Sushi and described as the Chef’s Selection of Assorted Aburi Sushi. With a name like that you cannot go wrong right?

There are a total of 7 pieces of sushis in this $18 offering. Each of the sushis were paired with …
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Miku Restaurant on West Hastings, Vancouver (820 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Restaurant Review, Vancouver

Guu in Aberdeen opens for lunch at 11:30am. That is still ok with us. Since we were there at about 11:00 am, we had some time to do some groceries shopping before our lunch. Polly likes to do her groceries shopping on Friday as most groceries places are packed with people in the weekends. As for me, I like to do my groceries shopping at the beginning of the week as I seldom cook during weekends.

Guu is a Izakaya type of Japanese restaurant.  All the servers will greet you the moment you enter and leave the restaurant.  They are full of enthusiasm.  I like their high spirit.  The only other Asian restaurant that practice such greetings are Taiwanese restaurant.  However, they are more subtle.

Polly likes Guu’s cup and condiment holders, especially the cup with the fish imprints.  Chinese restaurants usually have toothpicks at the counter but in Guu, they actually have them on the table.  What a nice touch.

We ordered two items to share.  The first item was called the Guuu’d Box.  It’s on the lunch special menu.  This bento box costs
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Guu in Aberdeen, Richmond (143 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments
Post tags: Cake Meet, Japanese, Restaurant Review, Richmond

As much as Nanzaro and Arkensen love Japanese sushi, the reason why we had not gone to one more often is because Suanne just doesn’t like raw fish, period.

But Shabusen Yakiniku House is different. It is both a Japanese AYCE and a Korean BBQ AYCE.

There are two Shabusens in Vancouver. There is one in downtown Vancouver. We went to the other one on Granville.

In case you don’t know, the word Yakiniku means grilled meat in Japanese.

For an AYCE, Shabusen looks a lot posh and better than all the other AYCEs we had been to. The whole place is bright with lots of ceiling high windows and skylights. It was actually a beautiful day eating here despite the it being rainy the whole morning. The Fall colors looked so good at this time of the year.

Every table had a gas grill in the center. That is for the Korean BBQ. See the bottle above? That is the BBQ sauce but really, we hardly need to use that because the meat were already very well marinated.

Service was kind of slow here. The waiters and waitresses seems to walk around with their eyes peeled to the ground all the time. It is as if they are afraid that if they get eye contact with the customer, they will have to do more work or something. It was so hard to get their attention when we wanted something from them.

The AYCE is $13 for weekdays and $13.50 for weekends. Dinner is is $22.

The selection at a glance looks a lot smaller than places like Kingsway Sushi and E-Bei. The above was our first round order where we max out our order of Sashimis.

We left these 32 pieces to the boys. These alone kept them very happy.

For Suanne and I, we were quite contended with the Korean BBQ. There are three choices … chicken, beef and pork.

In our greed, we ordered a total of EIGHT plates of BBQ meat. That was way too much and we had a difficult time finishing all of them. We did not feel good about wasting food.

For once, I was the one who did all the cooking. Oh yeah, believe it or not [giving myself a pat on the back].

BBQ is a guy thing for some reason. Suanne was happy to let me do all the work while she enjoys my cooking.

Well, I must say that I did quite well. The meat was super …
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Shabusen Yakiniku House on Granville and West 14th, Vancouver (146 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: All You Can Eat, Japanese, Korean, Restaurant Review, Vancouver

When I suggested we go to Samurai Sushi for lunch, they were happy. They knew that Samurai is the sister restaurant to the Banzai Sushi House in Richmond. Their claim to notoriety is their ridiculously large rolls.

No serious.

If you have never seen their rolls, I am sure you will laugh when you see it for the first time. Their biggest is what they call the House Roll. It is so big that you can’t even pick it up with your hands without it breaking apart.

We did not expect the place to be so small. There is some seats along the bar and about 2-3 tables. That’s all. Banzai in Richmond is a lot bigger. Here, they have a lot of take out business.

Their picture menu is pasted along the wall.

The above are pages from Samurai Sushi’s take out menu.

We got seated on the sushi bar and get to see three chefs at working making the sushi … and the ridiculously large House Roll (click here and here to see how massive they are).

I so wanted to take a picture of the chefs at work but they have such a serious look on their face their I thought I better not. I wanted to show you the rolls that they had already made. You will be surprised how many they already made ready to go. There must be over a hundred rolls neatly stacked all over the place.

My choice was the $9.75 Mixed Combo. It consists of 2 tuna, 2 salmon and 2 ebi sushi.

The salmon …
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Samurai Sushi House on Cambie Near 41st, Vancouver (224 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Restaurant Review, Sushi, Vancouver

So, I brought Polly to Cafe de Waraku for our cake meet.  We were there just past 12:00 noon and the place is still pretty quiet.

We were told that the cafe has opened for about 5 months only.  It has simple decorations with a few colourful art pieces on the wall.  It is clean and neat.

We like their menu which has colourful pictures.  It makes selection much easier.  The menu highlights that their items has no msg added and low in sodium.  Good for those health conscious people.

Since it’s already noon, we ordered one of their lunch special pasta to try.   The pasta comes in three type of flavorings, i.e. Japanese stir fried in original flavour, in cream sauce and in tomato sauce.  We picked one in original flavour with eel and egg.  This costs $7.99.  The noodle is simple and tasty.  We totally enjoyed this pasta.

The lunch special comes with a free drink.   So, I opted for a coffee, thinking that it will be just dripped coffee.  To my surprise, the coffee is pretty good and it even has some crema on it.
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Cafe de Waraku in Richmond (142 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Cake Meet, Japanese, Restaurant Review, Richmond

Many would claim that Kintaro’s Ramen is the best in Vancouver.  If I recall correctly, Rey even said that Kintaro has the best Ramen outside of Japan … something like that … something like wow, you just gotta try it!

We had seen lines outside the small restaurant before and it was something that put us off trying Kintaro.  This time we were there at 5:30PM, just before dinner rush hour.  There were tables available at that time.  However, by 6PM there were already people patiently waiting outside the restaurant for a table.

Despite its popularity, the restaurant is unbelievably small and if I could add, spartan.  I guess it is the charm of a place like this.  It is its simplicity that adds to the charm.  In Kintaro, it is all about Ramen, and about Ramen.  I always believe that a setup like Kintaro is best left as it is … i.e. they should not change a proven formula by expanding this place or remove the long lines!  LOL!

I absolutely had no idea what they were all shouting about throughout the time we were there.  They shouted the moment we walked in … each time a customer walks out or make an order.

Service was polite.  They were polite and patient when they took our orders even though we had so many questions on their menu.  I guess it was OK then because there were not so many customers.  When the lines starts to form, they were politely coming around very fast the moment we put down a chopstick asking if we are done.  I understand that they wanted to turn the tables as fast as they can.  They did it politely and we understand.  Kintaro is not a place where you would dine … I say spending 45 minutes here is stretching it a bit too long during peak hours.  It’s order-eat-pay-go here.

The Red Pepper Mix above (called Shichimi Togarashi) is a common Japanese spice mix used for soups and noodles.  It’s a mix of 7 kinds of ingredients.

Kintaro’s menu is a simple 1-pager.  We opted for the one that stated “Kintaro’s BEST!”.  It is the Miso Ramen ($8).

At the time of ordering here, you need to decide on the richness of the broth (rich, medium or light) and either you wanted fat or lean pork.  We asked for RICH broth and FAT pork.

Kintaro’s menu says that their soup is flavored with a blend of soy bean pastes from 4 different Japanese regions and twelve spices.  Whatever it is, the soup was very flavorful.  The broth was way too rich which somehow made us feel full.  We should have asked for medium instead.  You could ask for additional toppings ranging from $1-$2 but we did not bother with that.

There were 2 big slices of rather thick pork with mouth-watering marblings.  This was like the ultimate in pork … goodness-delicious melt-in-your-mouth type.  It was way better than the rather comparatively pitiful ones we had at G-Men — no comparison really.
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Kintaro Tonkotsu Ramen on Denman, Vancouver (366 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Ramen, Restaurant Review, Vancouver

Update 31-Aug-2009: Please note that this offer has lapsed and no longer available at Ebisu.

Read on because there is a summer treat for you … courtesy of Ebisu on Robson and Chowtimes.com.  It is going to be quite a treat, so you may want to pay a little bit more attention to this post!  :-)

Suanne and I dined at Ebisu about a month ago.  We had a great time and we blogged about it here.

A couple of Thursdays ago, Ebisu on Robson launched their new menu with the introduction of a few pretty interesting and new dishes.  At the same time, they had also prepared the Spring/Summer specials.

Suanne and I were back at Ebisu to sample the new items on the day of the launch.  More importantly, we were there to work on a three-way-win plan.  Ebisu gets to introduce their new menu on chowtimes … and at the same time Chowtimes gets to inject some fun (and value) to our readers.  Most important of all, chowtimes readers gets a free dessert.

Like these …

You may get any of these items above as a treat from Ebisu and Chowtimes.  Oh, wanted to be clear that this is available only in Ebisu on Robson and Ebisu on Broadway.  I’ll share with you the details further down this post because I wanted to show you what Suanne and I became a “guinea pig” for you Vancouverites.  He he he ….

Deon, Ebisu on Robsons General Manager, hosted us.  We started off one of their new sushi rolls.  The one we tried was the Ninja Kicker (above).  This roll is targeted for those sushi lovers who craves for a little bit more spiciness in their roll (hence the name).

Suanne and I loves this roll a lot.  It is certainly a departure from the normal sushi rolls and is perfect in many ways.  If you like a kick to your rolls, I am quite certain you will love this.

Suanne and I learned a lot from Deon.  It was interesting how they developed their new menu.  The Ninja Kicker has all the elements of a good creation.  It is pleasing to the eye with a good balance of colors.  It has a combination of contrasting texture. The prawn tempura adds crunch to the texture.

This one has an element of surprise in the taste department.

The secret to the Ninja Kicker is the sauce.  All Deon would say is that they started this from a base … the humble Thai-style Sriricha hot sauce.  The sauce is darker than Sriricha sauce, that much I know.  It has a level of sweetness and with a strong flavour.  The spiciness leaves a lingering heat in the mouth.

Tuna Tataki is one of the more popular Japanese dishes.  On the surface this looks kind of normal …
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Free Dessert from Ebisu Robson and Broadway! (1,156 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments
Post tags: Izakaya, Japanese, Restaurant Review, Sushi, Vancouver

We tried a lot of dishes.  If you were to ask us what is the one dish we like a lot, it is the one above … the Summer Roll.  This is created by Ikoma.  I was telling him that this beats Tojo’s BC Roll and California Roll by miles.  You should try it but do read about it on the live blog entry.

Here are some (boring) stats of the live event:

• Total logged on to the event: 92
• Total watched the event for more than 1 minute: 61
• Total comments by readers: 89
• Total comments by chowtimes: 169
• Total images shown: 27
• Total replays viewed as of 04Jun 8PM: 476

For those who logged on to the event, thanks … especially to those who help kept us entertained in between dishes.  There were a lot of new things we learned from the commenters.

Here are the rest of the pictures … enjoy.

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Restaurant Review, Vancouver

ZuuShi Garden is on the same row as Master Hung BBQ Restaurant.  Parking here is quite bad for some reason.  I think it is because of the crowd that Master Hung draws during meal times.  ZuuShi Garden has a few “ZuuShi only” parking lots so at least you stand a better chance getting a spot here.

ZuuShi Garden is brand new.  They had just opened for five months.  The decor is sparse and uncoordinated but otherwise it is very neat and clean.  We were attended by a very sweet and helpful young waitress.  We like it here.

ZuuShi Garden has a wide ranging menu with quite unique choices.  This is certainly not just any run of the mill sushi joint.  We did notice too that they have quite a number of vegetarian options on the menu.  Check their website here for the menu.

Arkensen opted for the Sake Don (Salmon Sashimi).  This is just $8 with the salmon sashimi served over warm rice and thinly sliced daikon.  Arkensen likes it that way but I thought that combination kind of odd personally.  Is such combination common in Japanese cuisine?

Suanne ordered the $8.50 Beef Ramen.  This ramen looked somewhat “busy” with lots of stuff.  The ingredients included thinly sliced beef, carrot, broccoli, corn and bean sprouts.  The broth is not salty.  As a matter of fact, she found it quite bland and could detect a lightly miso flavour.  Serving is large and more than enough for one person.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of ZuuShi Garden on Garden City and Blundell, Richmond (159 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Restaurant Review, Richmond

I think over the past year, Metro Vancouver had just discovered Japanese cuisine beyond just sushi and maki.  It had been the rage these days to be seen having Ramen instead of wonton noodles.  No more sushi too — that is so passe.  You must tell everyone you are going to a Izakaya.  Beer?  Drink sake instead.

Even the humble hotdog too had a renaissance of sorts.  All thanks to Japadog with its amazingly long lines for a taste of the Japanese hot dog.  Where Vancouver has its Japadog, Richmond, not to be left out, now has …

… Bakudan Yaki.  Oh yeah, Richmond cannot be left out of this craze for Japanese food.

Tenku Bakudanyaki is operated on a virtually empty parking lot on the intersection of Gilbert and Elmbridge Way.  This is a quiet stretch in Richmond and quite out of the way to most people.

View Larger Map

Yet over the past few weeks, word of this new Japanese food truck had spread far and wide like wild fire.

Bakudan Yaki is basically fritters made into a ball and then topped with an assortment of sauces and seasonings.  The above is their Original Bakudan Yaki.  I don’t know what the brownish topping is but it tasted like okonomiyaki sauce.  It is also topped with Japanese mayo and bonito flakes.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Tenku Bakudanyaki — Richmond’s Answer to Vancouver’s Japadog? (361 words)

© ben for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 27 comments
Post tags: Japanese, Restaurant Review, Richmond