Oishinoya Broadway

Boy, this location along the Broadway corridor at Cambie has changed hands a few times!  First, it was Ramen One, where it emulated Ichiran's lonesome dining within your own cubby with minimal human interaction.  Then we found 404 Coffee Lab taking over the entire space (they were only a small window attached to Ramen One at first) offering up beverages with some food options.  Now the place is an outpost of the Oishinoya chain dishing up various version of Gyudon as well as some other rice bowls.  They didn't do much in altering the layout of the restaurant, so introverts rejoice!

So after ordering from the kiosks in front, we merely took our receipt, picked a cubby and sat down.  We placed our receipt by the service window and after a short wait, presto!  We got our rice bowl sets.  Before I get to those, the cubby itself is more than just 3 walls.  Rather, you have your personal water station (so you don't need to ask for water) as well as chopsticks, spoons and napkins.  If you needed condiments, they have it all including shoyu, garlic ra-yu, togarashi, furikake and fried garlic.  Believe me, that garlic ra-yu or chili crunch, is fantastic.  You can put that on anything and it will taste better!

Since the basic bowl wasn't interesting enough for a picture, we went for the Ontama Gyudon featuring an onsen egg.  This was placed atop a good amount of thinly sliced fatty beef.  We found green onion, onion and pickled ginger rounding out the ingredients in the bowl.  With the silkiness of the runny egg, the chewy rice took on a different texture being more moist but still having a bite.  The beef was buttery and tender while conservatively sauced.  This was intentional because we could customize the flavours with the aforementioned condiments.   We got this in a set which added 3 small side dishes including edamame, kimchi and wakame as well as a Miso Soup.

My favourite of the bunch was the Cheese Gyudon as they did not skimp on the torched cheese on top.  I could really taste the cheesiness, but it wasn't overwhelming.  There was a bit of smokiness and nuttiness.  Again, the fatty beef was tender and the stringy cheese on top added another layer of texture.  I've already gone over how the garlic ra-yu could enhance even shoe leather, but it really went well with this bowl since it was relatively neutral-tasting.  Just a bit of spice (the chili crunch itself was more nutty than spicy) and some crunch really enhanced the rice bowl.  Moreover, to give it even more boost, we sprinkled in some togarashi.  For this set, I opted for the Chicken Karaage and a Miso Soup.  The karaage featured a crispy thin batter while the chicken itself could've been juicier.

Our last version of the beef rice bowl was the Kimchi Gyudon.  This was essentially the basic gyudon with a bunch of kimchi on top.  If you were expecting some briny and spicy version of Korean kimchi here, that is not what we got.  Rather, it was plenty tangy with some sweetness and mild spiciness.  By itself, it needed a bit more for it to be tasty kimchi.  However, when combined with the fatty beef and chewy rice, it was not bad.  The tanginess and crunch brought some life into the bowl and even the slightest of spice did help provide more impact.  Instead of the chili crunch, adding some shoyu and fried garlic did the trick.

Onto a couple of non-beef rice bowls, we went for the Unagi Don.  This was a pretty standard version where we found 3 big fillets of buttery unagi.  It was lightly glazed so it wasn't too sweet.  It sat on a bed of chewy rice which accepted the sweetness of the unagi well.  Since this was also a set, we were able to try the Ebi Tempura as well.  I found the batter to be a bit thick, yet it was still uniformly crunchy.  The ebi inside was still moist and buttery.

The last thing we tried was the Bara Chirashi consisting of salmon and tuna mixed with cucumber and green onion.  Seeing that this was not a sushi joint, the sashimi was decently fresh and vibrant.  With a bit of shoyu and mixed together with the rice, this was rather pleasant and light.  Overall, the rice bowls at Oishinoya were well-portioned and did the trick.  Nothing particularly fancy here, but the pricing is fair and you can get full, even with the small size.  Great for people on the go or ones who'd rather not converse much with anyone.

*All food and beverages were complimentary except for the cost of one of the sets*

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Well-portioned, even for the small size

- Great for those who want to be left alone

The Bad:

- Obviously, not great for groups

- Currently with the Skytrain construction, it can affect you, depending how you get there

Sushitei Hondoriten

Walking around the Hiroshima Hondori, we were debating where to eat for lunch.  We briefly considered one of the lineups for Okonomiyaki but we didn't have that much time.  Ichiran was another option, but been there, done that.  Finally, we settled on a local chain in Sushitei Hondoriten.  Sure, it isn't the most premier sushi in town, but with limited time, we were not being too picky.  After walking upstairs, we were quickly seated and after perusing the menu, it was pretty simple with a few sushi combos available. 

My daughter decided to go for her usual in the Seafood Chirashi.  This was fully-loaded with tamago, unagi, hamachi, salmon, shima aji, hotate, akami, snow crab, ebi, tako and ikura.  Yes, this was filling and plenty satisfying.  As you can see from the picture, things were fresh with a nice sheen.  Indeed it was as the flavours were clean and sweet.   Tamago on the lighter side and not as layered as we would've liked though.

My son ended up with the Ikura Kobore while I had the Variety Set.  Both were somewhat similar except for a few minor differences.  They both had unagi, ebi, mirugai, tamago, akami, shima aji, chutoro, ika, uni and ikura.  The difference was that the Variety Set had hamachi and salmon while the Ikura Kobore had more ikura.  Again, nicely constructed nigiri featuring clean flavours and textures.

For Viv, she had the Sushi & Tempura Set which included a Clam Red Miso Soup.  This was a rather large bowl and in fact, we all had one.  Nice rich and fermented flavours with plenty of umami without actually being salty.  Didn't get a lot of brininess, but the clams themselves were buttery.  As for the Tempura, the batter was super light and crispy.  Things were cooked just right.

For her sushi plate, she had tamago, ebi, salmon, ikura, unagi, ika, akami and hamachi.   What has said about the nigiri has already been said, but I thought this set was a good value consider it included the soup, tempura and sushi.  Overall, we were satisfied with the sushi we had at Sushitei and it was well-priced too.  Service was a bit hit and miss as we had a hard time getting more tea and water.  Otherwise, this is a good option for those who aren't too picky about their sushi restaurants.

The Good:

- Fresh

- Not expensive

- Easy to get a table

The Bad:

- Service was a bit hit and miss

Morimitsu's Sea Bream Rice and Yasubei (Hirome Market)

On our stop in Kochi, we visited their shopping district as well as their location of Daimaru.  We actually had a purpose there as Viv's only dressy sandals broke.  We were able to score something that was reasonably-priced and we made our way to the Hirome Market for some lunch.  We ended up at Morimitsu's Sea Bream Rice for Kochi's specialty, Katsuo no Tataki (or Seared Bonito).  There were many stalls in the market that served this dish, but in reality, we ended up at Morimitsu's because there was a table available.  You see, the certain tables are reserved for specific stalls only.

Naturally, we went straight for the Katsuo no Tataki in 2 forms.  The first was the Seared Bonito Rice Bowl and the second was the Seared Bonito Set Meal.  The beautiful bonito was lightly-seared and hence, it was still plenty rare in the middle.  Texturally, it was sort of buttery but definitely more meaty.  It was a bit smoky from its preparation while being lightly sweet.  I enjoyed how it wasn't fishy.  The side of soup was a clean-tasting sea bream and mountain yam.

To get some variety into our meal, we had the Sea Bream Sashimi Set Meal with the same accompaniments as the Seared Bonito.  With a beautiful sheen, the sea bream was fresh and naturally sweet.  It was a bit firm, yet still was easy to eat.  The side of cooked bonito was rather firm and chewy, but it was tasty with sweetened soy.  I liked the clean taste of the sea bream broth as it was lightly sweet and refreshing (even though it was a hot soup).

I went for a variation of the last set meal with the Torched Sea Bream on Rice.  If you can imagine, the texture on this was quite different where the slices of fish were almost buttery, yet still with a somewhat firm texture.  It was naturally sweet and had a fresh taste.  Nice char on the outside which was a bit smoky.  It was simply topped with nori and green onion, which added brightness and umami.  When mixed with the rice, it was a light meal.

Of course that wasn't enough food for me, so I had to get a Kochi specialty at the nearby Yusubei stall - Gyoza.  These were small little ones which were uniformly seared on the bottom.  Hence, they were crispy with a thin wrapper.  Inside, the meat and cabbage filling was almost airy and super light.  Really enjoyed these and we should've ordered more!  Gotta say that this was a fun experience, if not a bit chaotic.  It is part of the deal and we would do it again when in Kochi!

The Good:

- Fresh ingredients

- Reasonably-priced

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Finding a free table is nearly impossible, unless you stand by one and wait

Honke Shibato 本家 柴藤

While in Osaka, we wanted some interesting eats and although we weren't in Nagoya, we wanted to get some Unadon (or some form of Hitsumabushi).  So why not visit one of the oldest spots in town?  Honke Shibato has been around since the Kyoho era (which is the early 1700s!) and dishes up authentic Osaka-style grilled eel.  This family-run operation is on its 15th generation It is pretty unique where the eel is crispy, firmer and isn't precooked prior to grilling.  They are on the pricier side, but hey, we were on vacation, budget doesn't count right??? (Yes, Viv was complaining about the prices...).

For my meal, it included a few starter items including Uzaku (Vinegared Unagi & Cucumber) and Umaki Tamago (Unagi Omelette).  Being tangy with some crunchy cucumbers, the vinegared unagi was refreshing and appetizing.  The umaki was fluffy and stuffed full of unagi.  The inside of the omelette was still runny and hence the texture was silky.  Since the grilled unagi was stuffed inside, the texture was softer, unlike the crispier ones found in the unadon.

On that note, here we found the Osaka Mamushi featuring plenty of crispy grilled eel.  There are three options for the amount of eel.  This one is Sakura, which is right in the middle at 7450 yen.  Atop of the fluffy, yet still chewy rice, the grilled eel wasn't melt-in-our-mouths tender.  Rather, it had a chew to it with some crispiness while the inside was indeed soft.  Due to the minimal sauce on the eel, it was not as sweet, so we could get the smokiness.

So the most unique way of eating grilled eel is in the form of Hitsumabushi or what is called here: Ohitu-Mamushi.  This involves a four-step process.  First, you eat the eel with the rice to get baseline flavour.  Second, you add the wasabi, green onion and nori for a different taste.  Third, you pour the dashi into the bowl and eat it like a soup.  Last step is to eat it however you like!  I've done this a few times before and my favourite step is adding the dashi as it soften things up and adds an extra level of aroma.  When it was all said and done, we were full and satisfied.  My wallet was quite a bit lighter too.  The staff there are super nice, they even took pictures for us in front of the restaurant.  Depending on your budget, this would be worth a visit.

The Good:

- The eel is prepared differently being crispy on the outside and not oversauced

- Focused menu serving only eel

- Like everywhere we have gone, the people are super nice

The Bad:

- Expensive

- May be hard to get a table during peak times

Gamamaru Shokudo

Normally, late night spots dishing up eats that go well with beers and the sort are reserved for Downtown Vancouver or small enclaves of restaurants on Main and Fraser Streets as well as Central Richmond.  So when we found out that Gamamaru Shokudo is doing that very exact thing, but in Fleetwood, it piqued our interest.   In addition to soju and beers, they have a menu that is a mix of Japanese and Korean late night favourites.  We ended up trying a bunch of dishes to go with our soju.

On the topic of Soju, we had a bit of a sampler consisting of peach, grape and mango.  Really dangerous as these went down easy.  I liked the mango the most as it was lightly sweet and tropical.  This went well with the Kushikatsu including baby crab, cuttlefish nugget, snow crab, pork belly, garlic beef, scallop, cheese menchi and teriyaki menchi.  These were really good with the 2 menchi skewers being the most flavourful.  The meat was tender and hey that slice of processed cheese!  Made it taste like a cheeseburger.  Crabs were crispy and briny while the snow crab was delicate.  Scallops were buttery soft despite being fried.

We had 3 different Oshizushi including Saba, Salmon and Unagi.  The one thing that they all had in common was the generous amount of the main component.  They were sliced a bit thicker than usual which resulted in more impact and texture.  The rice itself was a little on the denser side, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.  Nice torching on the top and for me, the salmon was my favourite with smokiness and sweetness.

On the menu, they have a section of share plates that included the LA Galbi.  This was a decent portion of meaty shortribs.  I really liked how they had marinated these so they were tender but still retained a considerable amount of chewiness (in a good way).  Too often, these are over-tenderized and hence, are too soft.  In terms of seasoning, they were a good combination of savoury and sweet with good caramelization from the grilling.

One of my favourite items was the the Clam Nabe.  The broth was so clean and pure tasting with the natural sweetness and brininess of clams.  The clams themselves were plump and buttery.  They were just barely cooked through.  All of them were open and the broth was not sandy.  We also had the Tako Bomb which was colourful with its combination of green onions, octopus, salmon, garlic chips, diced tsukemono and quail's egg yolk.  As expected, there was varied texture and flavours when mixed together.  We ate this with strips of nori.

We got a bunch of carbs to round out the meal including the Mentaiko Yaki Udon.  This was a good version due to the perfect texture of the noodles.  They were prepared properly where each strand was chewy with a nice rebound.  Beyond the great mouth-feel of the noodles, the creaminess of the dish was also on point.  It was creamy without being too heavy.  Of course the cod roe was at its fishy briny best completely flavouring the dish.

So I'm sure you've heard of Omurice before, but how about Omusoba?  Same concept but with noodles instead of rice!  The yakisoba was covered with a soft omelette while aggressively drizzled with yakisoba sauce and kewpie mayo.  As much as it looked like to much sauce, it was actually not that noticeable after mixing everything together.  The soba, much like the udon, was perfectly cooked with a springy chewiness.

We got the Sukiyaki Nabe for good measure and being a nabe, it was not as salty and sweet as the regular version.  Hence, the soup was drinkable and lightly flavoured.  The beef was marbled and hence was tender while the veggies added some relief from the heaviness of the other items.  Last dish was an Unagi Don and yah, they loaded up with so much buttery unagi, that we couldn't see the appealingly chewy rice underneath.  The unagi was evenly seared and drizzled with just enough sauce.  Simple, but well-executed.  As you can see, the food is pretty solid here at Gamamaru.  The prices are also quite reasonable, so you can order lots to share without breaking the bank.  Nice addition to the Fleetwood neighbourhood of Surrey.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Well-prepared eats

- Reasonable-pricing

- Open late and lots of parking

The Bad:

- Sushi rice could've been less compacted in the pressed sushi

Guu Toramasa

Back in June, we attended the OMD concert at the Orpheum.  It was actually supposed to be in 2024, but Andy McCluskey needed a knee replacement.  Okay, that was a legit reason and we hung onto our tickets for almost a year to see them perform.  Before that, we needed to get some eats and once again, we didn't have a plan.  We wandered around Robson and noted down some options, but eventually settled on the Osaka-themed location of Guu, specifically Guu Toramasa.  For those who are unfamiliar, the Guu chain of restaurants are Izakayas, where people grab some drinks along with little plates to share.

We got a bunch of classic dishes as well as some we've never had before.  Of course we've had the Salmon Yukke on many occasions and this version was rather familiar.  The cubed Atlantic salmon was tossed in a sweet teriyaki sauce with garlic and sesame seeds.  There wasn't a touch of spice as per usual but this way, the natural sweetness of the salmon was still apparent.  I personally love shrimp chips and this was a light and crispy vessel for the salmon.

I think we might've had the Jellyfish & Mustard Green Stems on Tofu before, but not in such a big portion.  In some sense, the amount of tofu was a bit overwhelming considering that the topping wasn't able to flavour it all.  Hence, we were eating big chunks of plain tofu.  Now about that topping, the combination of tangy and crunchy mustard green stem along with the delicate crunch of the jellyfish was delicious.  There was a bit of spice as well.

The tofu dish was one of three for only $18.00 with the other two being the Grilled Capelin and the Seaweed Salt French Fries.  I thought the capelin was pretty good with a well-seared exterior and still moist interior.  As for the fries, they were surprisingly good.  They were the starch-covered variety, but deep fried to perfection.  The outside was crispy and light while the inside was creamy potatoey.  Nice flavour on them too.

Probably my favourite dish was one of the simplest.  This was the Sake Steamed Clams with yuzu in a dashi broth.  As you can clearly see, those were actual yuzu rinds.  Hence, we weren't just looking at some yuzu extract.  So we got the tangy and floral nature of yuzu, but also with the rind present, there was a bit of bitterness.  Sitting in a subtle broth, the sweetness and brininess of the clams came through.  They were buttery and plump.

Another good dish was the BBQ Eel Omelette which was quite large.  It featured folded soft cooked eggs which were fluffy and a bit runny.  That was the perfect texture in our opinion.  Inside, there was a decent amount of buttery unagi that was sweet and a bit smokey.  On the outside, it was topped with bonito flakes, nori strip, green onion and a drizzle of unagi sauce.  So there was no shortage of umami as well.

You might be wondering at this point, why there wasn't any takoyaki nor okonomiyaki...  Well, yes, those are Osaka favourites, but we just wanted to eat other dishes like the Kaki Fry.  These breaded oysters were fried properly where the coating was crispy while the oyster itself was still a little rare in the middle.  Hence, they were soft with creamy centre and plenty of briny sweetness.  They were drizzled with tonkatsu sauce and served with tartar.

Completely covered in scallions, the Tontoro was actually a pretty large portion.  However, I felt this dish was lacking.  The pork jowl was not that fatty and also a bit dry.  Not the desired texture for this cut of meat.  It was grilled decently though and it did also taste quite good with enough seasoning and it was also sitting in a bright yuzu ponzu sauce.  I just wished the tontoro was bouncy and fatty like it should be.

Another classic Izakaya dish we had to get (or specifically "I" had to get) was the Ebimayo.  These decently-sized prawns were coated with a light batter than was crispy and didn't feel like it was there.  Inside, the prawn was meaty and had all of the good taste of prawns (sweet and a bit briny).  It was drizzled with a balanced amount of chili mayo so I could taste the creaminess (with some spice) without being doused in sauce.

Now look at the picture above.  Does that look like Otoro to you?  Well, it certainly didn't eat like it either.  Not sure what they served up, but it was the worst otoro we've ever had or it wasn't otoro.  Whatever it was, I checked the receipt and we were charged for otoro.  Since we were in a rush to finish, I didn't bother complaining about it.  However, this is completely unacceptable given I spent $23.00 on 3 pieces.  Granted, this was "Marinated Otoro" and obviously seared on the outside, but it was not fatty nor buttery.

We decided to add some veggies into the meal but regretted doing so.  The Baked Broccoli was super lifeless and not very delicious.  The positive was that they were cooked perfectly being crunchy and completely vibrant.  Despite being topped with teriyaki sauce and mayo, there was just no impact nor taste.  It was like plain boiled broccoli.  I would skip these if I were you.  So overall, we had some good dishes but also some bad dishes.  With all of the other options for Izakaya (including better Guu locations), I'm not sure if Guu Toramasa should be at the top of any list.

The Good:

- Excellent service

- Pricing is ok for Downtown

- Unlike most Izakayas, this spot is roomy

The Bad:

- Food was fine, but some dishes were plain bad