Tozen Sushi Bar

We all are aware that there are a tonne of Japanese restaurants in the Lower Mainland.  Most of them are not Japanese-run and many are your typical average neighbourhood spots.  Then you have the upper end of the spectrum where you find predominantly Omakase-focused Japanese restaurants.  Let's not forget about the bigger, great value places such as Sushi Garden, Tentatsu and Nanaimo Sushi.  Those serve a purpose and whether you think they are good or not would be subjective.  In the past 5 years, we've seen another class of Japanese restaurant emerge to fill that gap between really high-end and middle-of-the-road spots.  Sushi Hil is an example where the quality is definitely above-average, but it doesn't reach the level of establishments such as Okeya Kyujiro.  Prices reflect that too.  Another one is Tozen Sushi out on Broadway near Oak Street.  I've been there before, but decided to do a revisit recently.

We got a variety of deluxe and regular items beginning with the Bafun Uni.  Yes, this was the good stuff that comes from Hokkaido.  We much prefer this over local uni due to its more intense sweetness and to me at least, less fishiness (or none at all if it is fresh).  The one served to us was exactly that being creamy and custardy with an intense sweetness.  No need to add anything as this was delicious all by itself.  However, it did include nori strips as a serving vessel.

Onto a more typical item, we had the Assorted Tempura for $17.00.  Considering smaller, less fancy spots charge roughly the same or just a bit under that price, this was a great example of the generally reasonable prices at Tozen.  It was also a good portion size consisting of 2 pieces each of yam, kabocha, green bean, lotus root and prawn.  I found each item to be at its optimal texture while the tempura batter to be fairly thin, crispy and light.  It wasn't too greasy either.  I would've liked to see a bigger dish for the dip as it was far too small.

Going for something also regularly found at most sushi bars, we had the 4 pieces of Tuna Toro.  Although the presentation was a little lacking, the toro itself was excellent.  Each piece was super buttery and soft.  Practically melting in our mouths, the toro had a clean smell and taste (as fresh as flash frozen and then defrosted can get).  We found the brightness of the sea to be present and also a wonderful natural sweetness.

Unlike my previous visit, the Corn Karaage was terrible.  They were in very large pieces, which hindered the deep-frying from making them uniformly crispy.  Rather, the whole thing was soft and doughy with barely any any crunch from the outside.  I did enjoy the pops of sweetness from each corn niblet, but that didn't help things much as the mushiness of each piece was off-putting. 

We moved onto 2 orders of the Bluefin Nigiri Set featuring 1 piece each of negi bluefin, akami, chutoro and otoro.  If I had to compare this to something similar, I've had this at Sushi Hil (where they no longer offer this combo) and the one at Sushi Hil is superior.  With that being said, this particular offering at Tozen was still very good and we were satisfied.  All the different cuts of bluefin were fresh and clean with a nice sheen.  Naturally, the otoro melted in our mouths while the chutoro wasn't far behind.  Nice sweetness on them too.  Akami was meaty of course, but still plenty tender.

Okay, I hate to be so negative, but really, there was no other way to describe the Scallop Motoyaki and the Oyster Motoyaki...  They were awful.  I've never had a motoyaki like this before where the overcooked scallops and oyster were mixed with onions and mushrooms while topped with an inordinate amount of melted cheese.  There was no mayonnaise sauce to be found.   If this was called a gratin, that would've been more accurate.  Not sure why this was prepared in this fashion.  We even let our serve know this.  I've had superior versions at AYCE places, no joke.

Thankfully, our 2 versions of Chawanmushi turned out to be excellent.  We chose the Dungeness Crab & Ikura as well as the Mushroom.  Served hot, the egg was silky, smooth and not watery.  It was tasty too with an impactful sweet smokiness from the dashi and soy.  With the mushroom, it added earthiness and plenty of umami.  As for the crab and ikura, there was brininess, sweetness and a touch of sea.  We really enjoyed this.

Getting back to the deluxe items, we went for the 2 piece Seared Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Nigiri.  Love how they presented it in a box with smoke.  Once the lid was lifted, our senses get the smokiness from sight and smell.  Popping the nigiri into our mouths, the smokiness hit our palate first and then the richness of the beef came next.  With nicely textured sushi, rice, it helped cut the heaviness of the A5.

We ended off our meal with a sneakily delicious Beef Yakiudon.  For $18.00, we felt it was a fair price for the portion size and overall execution of the dish.  Noodles were textured how we would want it to be, tender but with a rebounding chew.  This was also seasoned properly with a certain meatiness with sweetness from the mushrooms and the onions.  They weren't skimping on the ingredients either.  Overall, we enjoyed our visit to Tozen, but the corn karaage and motoyaki were real downers.  It was confusing to us since all of the other dishes were done right and genuinely delicious.  How could they mess up so badly on these as opposed to everything else?

The Good:
- Well-priced for a bit more premium Japanese experience than the usual
- Modern and upscale decor
- On point service

The Bad:
- Corn Karaage and Motoyaki were legitimately terrible
- We informed our server, but no one from management spoke to us

Elem

Saying that restaurants are facing an uphill battle these days is a huge understatement.  With the state of the economy and rampant inflation, it is tough go for most businesses.  So when I heard that there was a break-in at Elem, I just had to go back and support them.  I went twice within a month and this particular post is a combination of both dinners.  On a happier note, Elem has recently won Vanmag's "Best New Restaurant".  Truly deserving and congrats to Chef Vish and the Elem team!

For the longest time, the featured bread on the menu was the rye parker rolls.  Well, they now have Milk Brioche Buns now and for this dinner, it was served with whipped butter topped by serrano & lime butter and lime salt.  Loved the fluffiness and butteriness of the buns.  The butter was super light and airy while having a brightness from the serrano.  It really wasn't spicy either.

If you don't already know, Elem is also known for their cocktail program and we went for the Anar and Mango Rasmalai.  For the anar, it was a light mix of gin, pomegranate and cardamomo.  Definitely floral and mildly sweet.  Along the same lines, the mango rasmalai was also comprised of gin mixed with mango and cardamomo.  With the addition of clarified saffron milk and saffron white chocolate paint, we had even more floral notes.

Believe it or not, this is only the 2nd time I've had the Yellowfin Tuna Bhel!  It wasn't because I didn't like it, but rather, no one I ate with ever wanted to order it.  Well, this time I did and yep, I know now what I was missing.  Beyond the buttery pieces of tuna, we found the classic flavours of a Bhel being herbaceous, tangy and bright.  Love the added crunch as it needed it.

One of their newer dishes was the Elk Tartare.  Not gamy (to me at least), the lean elk was surprisingly buttery and tender.  It was well-seasoned and beautifully topped with edible flowers.  What put this dish over the top was it rested on bone marrow.  The generous amount of buttery and sinful bone marrow only added to the luxuriousness of the dish.  Completing things was the crunchy housemade chips.

Normally, I'm not one to order a salad for any meal, but since I've had the Glorious Organics Salad before, we got it.  Despite its basic plating, you wouldn't have guessed that it consisted of a bevy of greens, 

elderflower-tahini dressing, walnuts and ricotta salata.  Just something refreshing and light as an interlude between heavier dishes.  The mix of greens afforded bitterness, pepperiness and sweetness to go with the floral and nutty dressing.

Hitting some featured cocktails, we had the Milo/Corn and the Elderflower Highball.  With a small piece of fresh corn on the cob, there was no mistaking what the milo/corn was about.  This was a combination of cognac, Nestle Milo and milk-washed corn.  Slightly strong due to the cognac, but also malty due to the milo and sweet from the corn.  I though this was a creative drink for sure.  As for the elderflower, it was floral as expected, but also not weak due to the fermented rice vodka.  With some peppercorn, there was a slight bite at the end.

For my past 2 visits, I was able to enjoy one of their classic dishes in the Dungeness Crab Toast.  Loved that they brought this back on to the menu with a slight twist.  For the aerated sauce underneath, it was Tom Yum and that added classic lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf aromatics to already briny and "crabby" flavours.  The generous amount of fluffy crab sat atop a soft slice of milk bread.  Best to order more of the brioche to soak up all that delicious sauce!

Another dish I do not get to order often at Elem is the Grilled Lamb Skewers.  Yes, once again, nobody that eats with me loves lamb.  Well, I decided to order it anyways and eat them by myself!  These pieces of lamb were super fatty, which in turn, made the meat buttery and soft.  However, due to the charring, there were some crispy and smoky bits on the outside.  Due to the fat, there was no mistaking it was lamb as it was gamy (which I love).  Providing a carmelized sweetness, the medjool date glaze was also syrupy and thick.  This all sat on ginger labneh which was creamy, tangy and bright.

Of course a salad wasn't enough in terms of veggies, so we had the Purple Broccolini.  The next time we were here (just 2 weeks later), they had replaced the broccolini with the New Potatoes.  Although simple in its preparation, the broccolini had a punch of brininess from the bagna cauda and white anchovy.  Some pecorino provided more saltiness and nuttiness.  As for the potatoes, they were still a bit firm yet still tender.  At the centre, there was a toma cheese fonduta that was creamy with just a bit of tang.

With a cute crab cracker on top, the Mezcal Sour was the best cocktail of the bunch.  It was smoky from the crab shell mezcal and also slightly tangy from the strawberry vinegar.  Add in the chili oil and there was a kick.  Definitely riding the line between savoury and sweet.  Topped with a spoon of sweet and nutty taro sorbet, the aptly named Taro also consisted of rum and coconut.  By itself, the cocktail was a bit aromatic with definite hits of rum.  I decided to mix the taro sorbet in and that balanced things off with some sweetness and the aforementioned taro notes.

 

Another variation of an OG dish we had was the Duck Fried Rice.  Featuring tender and flavourful pieces of confit duck, the rice ate quite meaty and rich.  Each grain of rice was discernible and nutty.  Adding in the side of chili crunch was imperative to add texture, aromatics and even more nuttiness.  It wasn't spicy per se, but added a background smokiness instead.  Herbs on top were more than garnish as it provided brightness and relief from the heaviness.

 

Gloriously green, the Spring Risotto was beautifully executed.  Spreading nicely on the plate while being creamy and rich, the rice was still chewy with a bite.  Yes, the whole thing did taste green with the brightness and sweetness of the peas as well as the earthiness of the nettles.  A soft poached egg on top added some silkiness from the yolk.

 

For both meals, I ended up ordering the BC Halibut.  Good call as each time, it was prepared well.  The fish featured a crispy hard sear which was seasoned properly.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  It sat on top of a coconut curry that was creamy, earthy and of course aromatic.  There was also some crunchy bak choy and soft chunks of potato.

 

Prepared medium-rare, we had a beautiful Wagyu Bavette steak.  This was rather meaty, yet still wasn't difficult to chew.  The fat content ensured that the meat was flavourful on its own.  However, the smokiness from the salsa borracha was definitely evident and helped add depth-of-flavour and umami.  Some crunchy and vibrant gai lan was served on the side.

The last 2 cocktails I'll talk about are the Mai Tai and the Lemongrass Gimlet.  Topped with a spoon of passionfruit ice, the mai tai consisted of 3 types of rum and pistachio orgeat.  Hence, we had some floral sweetness as well as hits of rum.  The passionfuit helped make this fruity and light.  That lemongrass gimlet was so refreshing and dangerous.  The combination of Lebanese gin, pandan and yuzu was pretty sweet and fruity.  I could easily down 10 of these, no joke!  But then I would be out like a light too...

 

The first of these two recent visits, we had the Chocolate Tart to end our meal.  This was a substantial slice of rich chocolate cremeux that was only semi-sweet with an appealing bitter finish.  Texturally, this was smooth and silky where it melted on contact when put into our mouths.  Nice contrasting texture from the butter hazelnut crunch on the top.  we found a scoop of salted milk ice cream on the side.

One of their newest desserts is the PB & J with a disk of evaporated and condensed milk atop banana coffee.  We found crunchy peanuts and mixed berry jelly on the side.  This tasted like we thought it would and that in itself was a success.  That disk was so creamy and despite having condensed milk, it was purposefully sweet.  Definitely lots of peanut aroma and texture while the jelly was sweet with a slight tang.

 

Beautifully plated, the Lemon and Rhubarb consisted of house-made lemon ice cream with elderflower, poached rhubarb, bee pollen, butterscotch, hazelnut crumble and a ginger almond disk with shiso glaze.   I would say this would be one of the best composed desserts I've had at Elem.  A good combination of floral, tangy, sweetness and slight herbaceousness to go with the contrast in textures.  So there you have it, 2 of my recent visits to Elem.  I think by revisiting some of their greatest hits, with a twist, is a good move for the menu.  Also, they seemed to have leveled up with their desserts.  They are more composed and dare I say, more "normal".  I'm happy for them winning best new restaurant by Vancouver Magazine.  I'm looking forward to what is coming next!

The Good:

- They brought back some classics (but with a twist)

- More composed desserts

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Maybe due to the limitations from the break-in, they didn't have any daily features

Kingyo

Here is one of the classic spots in Downtown Vancouver - Kingyo Izakaya.  It all started here and it has spawned into a restaurant group that encompasses Raisu, Rajio, New Fuji, Toyokan Plaza, Toyokan Bowl and Takenaka.  They also have locations in Toronto, Seattle and Tokyo.  But here we were to grab some food at the original located on Denman. 

Before we even ordered anything, they started us off with a complimentary item in the Deep Fried Nori.  Yes, they coated the sheets of nori with tempura batter and dropped it into the deep fryer.  If you've ever had something similar in a snack bag, this was much better as it was fresh, crunchy and benefited from the umami from the seaweed.  Served on the side was a tomato dip with some fried garlic.

Our first actual dish was the Deep Fried Fresh Corn.  I was only mildly happy with these as the coating was a bit gummy and dense.  However, the corn itself was excellent being plump with pops of intense sweetness.  The addition of soy butter helped add saltiness as well as the nuttiness of butter that paired well with the corn.

On their featured menu, they had both Aburi Pressed Bluefin Sushi as well as the Wagyu Pressed Sushi.  These were quite solid with chewy sushi rice more than enough topping to balance things out.  I enjoyed the buttery bluefin more than the beef.  The beef was a bit chewy.  Loved the combination of yuzu kosho, teriyaki sauce, ikura and tobiko on the tuna as it offered sweetness, brightness and saltiness.  For the beef, there was some spicy mayo with a small piece of seared foie gras, sliced black truffle and ikura.

We ended up with a dish that would be found on almost every Japanese restaurant menu outside of Japan - Chicken Karaage.  Sure, it is merely fried chicken, but not all are made equal.  This one was definitely better than most.  It consisted of chicken leg meat that was nicely marinated with hits of saltiness and ginger.  The coating was thin and fried until crispy.  It was served with a lemon wedge, which we squeezed onto the chicken.

One of the other daily features was the Beef Croquettes.  These were doused with a homemade gravy that was thick and starchy.  It had sweetness and tang which helped lighten up the dish.  By no means was it heavy though as the creaminess of the potato was light and airy.  Mixed into it was of course the tender beef and also a good amount of melty mozzarella.

One of my favourite cuts of pork is the cheek (and also the jowl).  So I ended up ordering the Grilled Pork Cheek.  This was at its buttery and fatty best with a classic rebound texture.  Since this was marinated in miso, there was a rich umaminess to it with a background saltiness.  This was served with a 7-spice blend on the side for dipping.  However, I didn't even need that.

Back to the featured items, we tried the Grilled Duck Breast.  I was a bit so-so with this dish as the duck fat was pretty flabby.  It wasn't surprising though as most Izakayas I've been to do not render the fat much (and also the type of duck has a significant layer of fat).  The duck itself was juicy but a bit chewy.  It did have a measured saltiness to it.  On the bottom, there was some creamy foie gras potato and on top, some fried carrots, arugula and Japanese pickled plum.

The most stunning dish was the Deluxe Sashimi Bowl.  The small amount of sushi rice was topped with tuna tataki, bluefin chutoro, sockeye salmon, Atlantic salmon, akami, hamachi, hotate, uni, ikura and spot prawn.  Very nice selection of sashimi that had a nice sheen and was nicely textured.  There could've been much more rice to go with the bounty of fish though.

One of my all-time favourites when it comes to Izakaya dishes is Ebi Mayo.  This version here was solid with large tiger prawns that were meaty with a sweet snap texture.  They were lightly battered and fried until crispy.  Unlike some other places, the amount of chili mayo was balanced where each prawn was coated on the bottom, but not drenched.

We finished off our meal with the Uni Miso Udon topped with crab and ikura.  Coated in a silky and naturally sweet miso cream sauce, the slippery and chewy udon noodles were fully flavoured.  Nice taste of the sea from the uni, crab and ikura.  As you can see, the food is pretty appetizing at Kingyo and they continue to have high standards in terms of food quality and execution.  Sure, not everything was perfect, but overall, it was good.  One of my go-to Izakayas in town.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Good quality

- Good service

The Bad:

- Bill can add up if you are hungry, but things are expensive all across the board right now

Soi Ram (Dinner Service)

I generally don't throw around the term "hidden gem" because almost anything that is good which is not part of a restaurant group has been defined as such.  However, there are times when something is indeed not that well-known, other than to the locals.  This would be Soi Ram located in Ladner Village.  Yah, those who know, will know that the food is legit here and the wok hei is on point.  Yet, I'm sure most people who haven't travelled to Ladner for some of the best Thai food in the GVRD.  I've been here before during lunch, but I finally got a chance to return for dinner. 

Unfortunately, the picture of the Spring Rolls don't do it justice.  These are thicc and stuffed full of perfectly cooked veggies.  Normally, the veggies (and vermicelli) are obliterated by the deep fry and hence are rendered mushy.  Not these ones as they were still crunchy and vibrant while encased in a crunchy wheat wrapper.  They were just a touch greasy this time though.

A dish I've never had before was the Tam-Bour Wings featuring a glaze consisting of fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind and a secret spice mix.  This was essentially a fish sauce caramel with the beautiful tang of tamarind.  This was impactful with a briny sweetness accented by some spice.  The wings themselves were crispy with rendered fat.  Inside, the meat was juicy, but not too wet, hence it didn't dilute the flavours.

Another new dish for me was the Waterfall Beef.  This is strongly related to crying tiger beef but made better.  Tender, but with natural meat texture, the slices of beef were completed flavoured by the roasted rice, fresh herbs, citrus, and spice.  Since this was technically a salad, the veggies completely benefitted from the aforementioned flavours as well as the texture of the beef.

At one point in time, Sen Pad Thai had the best Pad See Ew in town.  Currently, the award goes to Soi Ram.  The wok hei was so evident from just the smell as the dish hit the table.  You could taste the smokiness as well as the intense caramelization of the gai lan and glass noodles.  Those noodles were chewy and full of elasticity.  There was a bit of brininess to compliment the sweetness.

One other dish I've had here before was the Pad Kra Pow.  The portion size was super generous as you can see in the picture.  Easily 3 or 4 times the amount of pork as the one found at Sud Soi.  Furthermore, the wok hei on this one was also on point.  Strong flavours and the classic smokiness ensured the accompanying rice had something to play with.  

Served as a rather large portion, the Chicken Green Curry was delicious.  Yes, I've had this before too and the chicken was perfectly prepared.  It was moist and tender (not dry like most other places).  Creamy and aromatic, the green curry had some brininess, spice, herbeaceousness from the basil and sweetness.  Eggplant was tender, but not mushy, while the peppers were still vibrant.

Finally, we had The Alley made with homemade taro, sweet corn, tapioca and fresh coconut slices in a sweet coconut soup. This was topped with homemade coconut ice-cream and crispy rice.  This was super-refreshing and surprisingly measured in sweetness.  Loved the aromatics of the coconut and the pops of sweetness of the corn.  So there you have it, another delicious meal at Soi Ram.  Excellent Thai food located in quaint Ladner Village.  Love the food, the people and also the reasonable prices.  This is a place worth travelling to for a meal.

The Good:

- Delicious eats with wok hei

- Reasonable pricing

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Not the most accessible location for people in the GVRD, especially during rush hour (but I would suffer through that!)

- Fairly limited menu, but has all the essentials