Kitano Shokudo

So here we go with another restaurant in Canada's 100 Best Restaurant list in Kitano Shokudo.  From the outside, it wasn't very apparent what we were looking at.  Walking in, you would still be a bit confused with all the eclectic items from DJ equipment with records to a print of Monarch butterflies.  Formerly Otto Bistro, this small Japanese restaurant is run by Chef Hiroshi Kitano.  Sure, the menu features supremely high-quality sashimi that you can also get on top of rice in a chirashi don or maguro (bluefin) don, but there are some fusion dishes that are equally as good.  We stopped by for lunch to see what it was all about.

Starting with the 8-piece Sashimi, we were treated to 2 each of the Bluefin Akami, Ora King Salmon, Hotate and Shima Aji.  It might sound like an easy way of describing the sashimi as excellent, but it really was.  The quality of the fish was top-notch and served at the right temperature.  Cuts were precise and presented in the right size.   I particularly enjoyed the scallop as it was buttery soft and super sweet. 

As if you weren't eating enough bluefin these days (should stop because high-mercury levels), we had the Bluefin Futomaki.  This thing featured a thin layer of soy rice and equal amounts of akami and chutoro.  This thing was stuffed full of bluefin and well, need I really have to say it was delicious?  The picture itself tells the whole story.  Supremely sweet with the taste of the sea and also that classic soft texture with the chutoro being fatty and buttery.  Just a bit of real wasabi and a dab of soy was enough.

We tried 3 of their noodle dishes including the Duck Confit Mazemen.  It featured a massive duck leg that had the crispiest skin.  Nicely salted too.  I thought the duck meat was trending towards the drier side, but it was still quite good and not overly seasoned.  The al dente noodles were great and the combination of dashi and onsen egg made for a smoky, silky and aromatic flavour profile.  The wealth of green onion and red onions wasn't really my thing, but it did add brightness and some sharpness.

The most fusion dish of the bunch was the Mushroom "Pasta" as it combined sauteed mixed mushrooms, butter and chives with an egg yolk.  There was pecorino as well, but we opted for it to be on the side because it can be pretty overwhelming.  This was delicious with the earthiness of the mushrooms and silkiness of the butter.   Extra creaminess was thanks to the free-range egg yolk.  Al dente with a nice bite, the noodles were fully seasoned by the components.  After I added in the pecorino, there was a nutty saltiness which as brightened up by the ample chives.

Our last noodle was the Shoyu Ramen with chicken, clam and fish broth.  Really nice sweetness with certain silkiness from the slow and long cook of the chicken.  I noticed there was quite a bit of umaminess to the broth due to the combination of components.  Once again, the noodles were beautifully chewy and held up until the end.  We found a beautiful runny seasoned egg along with a few slices of medium-rare duck breast.

We ended off our meal with 2 scoops of Sorbet including Passionfruit and Strawberry.  These were really refreshing and quite creamy despite it being all ice.  Flavours were pretty natural-tasting and the sweetness was measured.  Great finish to a solid meal that featured high-quality ingredients that were honoured in their preparation.  Although I've had better in Vancouver, it is still a nice little spot in Montreal that offers delicious eats at a reasonable price.

The Good:

- High-quality and fresh ingredients

- Carefully-prepared

- Quaint

The Bad:

- Enjoyed it, but I've had better though

 

Shinya Shokudō

As many times I've been in the Seattle/Bellevue area, I do not recall ever doing something late night.  That would include activities in addition to eats.  This was about to change as Jackie and I were checking out some Japanese Izakaya at Shinya Shokudō.  Located right in the heart of Bellevue, it is open late until 1:00pm and offers up a full menu of share plates and also an array of drinks.  

About those drinks, we had a few of them including the Chillchee, Osmanthus Breeze and Shinya Choco Cloud.  Definitely on the sweeter end of the cocktail spectrum with these, but at the same time, they didn't skimp with the alcohol.  Hence, it still packed quite a wallop.  I loved the Chillchee the most as I love lychee and that definitely came through.  I thought the Shinya Choco Cloud was more of a boozy milkshake.

We a great selection of chicken parts (mostly offal) in the Tori Horumon Combo.  We got 2 each of the cartilage, heart, upper heart, gizzard and liver.  This was more about textures than anything else.  There was the crunch from the cartilage, chewy bounciness of the hearts and gizzards while we had the creaminess of the liver.  They were lightly grilled where we had some smokiness.  I would've liked a bit more char on everything but the liver.

To compliment our first set of grilled skewers, we added the Seafood Combo consisting 2 each of Shrimp, Salmon, Hokkaido Scallops and Eel.  I thought the shrimp were perfect being bouncy and still juicy.  Although not looking like it, the salmon was fairly moist.  Couldn't say the same about the scallops as they were overdone.  Eel was perfectly buttery and smoky.

To get a taste of some appies without ordering every one of them, we opted for the Small Dish Set.  This featured Chicken Karaage, Tamagoyaki, Salmon Sashimi, Takoyaki, Wakame Salad and Hotate.  Nothing particularly amiss with this as things were pretty standard and serviceable.  I did think the salmon and hotate were texturally on point and tasted fresh.

On that note, it wasn't a surprise that the Chirashi Don was good since it featured the same salmon and scallop sashimi.  It also added salmon toro to add a rich butteriness to the bowl.  A big dollop of ikura provided pops of briny sweetness.  That same ikura was great with sweet and creamy Hokkaido uni in the Temaki.  The Foie Gras Temaki was rich and buttery but nicely tempered by the chewy sushi rice.

Honestly, we weren't going to order the Spicy Vegan Ramen, but it came highly-recommended.  Well, I do have to say it was pretty darn hot!  Yah, it was spicy and kept my tongue busy for awhile.  Now I like spice, so it didn't bother me.  That was probably the best part because there was not meat for me.  LOL.  Noodles were al dente while bamboo shoots, corn and tofu were there to compliment.

Not that we didn't have enough food already, but we also had the Curry Katsu Omurice.  This was a fairly large dish with plenty of rice underneath a thin blanket of egg.  I would've liked it less cooked but it worked for this application as there was plenty of moisture from the earthy and sweet curry.  The pork cutlet on top was lean, but still tender with a crispy panko crust.

One of the best deals we found on the menu was the Sukiyaki for $20.00.  Served in a small hot pot on a butane burner, we found sliced beef roll with vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and shrimp.  We added udon for an extra charge.  Nothing complex about this dish, but it was a lot of food cooked in a rich soy dashi broth.  Beef was buttery tender while the shrimp had a meaty snap texture.

We had one more rice dish in the Unagi Don, that featured 2 large pieces of soft and buttery glazed unagi.  Rice was chewy and dry enough to withstand the moisture from the eel.  Again, for $21.00, this wasn't bad for so much unagi.  Overall, our experience at Shinya Shokudō was good considering the portions sizes and reasonable pricing.  I wouldn't classify it as a classic Izakaya as the menu trends more towards bigger dishes and Kushiyaki.  But it is good for what it is and is open until 1:00am to satisfy your late night cravings.

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

The Good:

- Ample portions

- Inexpensive

- Decent eats

The Bad:

- Not really an Izakaya in the authentic sense, but it is good for what it is

- More aggressive char on some of the skewers

Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (Dine Out Vancouver 2026)

Now this is a Vancouver classic... Kobe Japanese Steakhouse has been around since 1968 and has been delighting customers with grilled-in-front-of-you eats complete with a show.  I've been here numerous times over the years, but believe it or not, the last time was in 2011.  Yes, there are far too many places to dine at and getting around to ol' favourites is difficult.  Well, I'm happy to report that things are still going strong here and they are offering a Dine Out Vancouver menu for 2026 that is only $60.00.  It is complete meal were Jackie and I previewed it prior to the start of DOV on January 21st.

The meal started off with a bowl of Shabu Shabu Soup which consisted of chicken & beef stock.  It was a clear and clean soup that was mildly seasoned.  It had some fried onions which added sweet aromatics.  There was also sliced mushrooms and green onion.  Of course we were here for the teppanyaki and our chef gave us a show that included many fireballs, an onion volcano, shrimp tail tossing and plenty of sound effects from the metal spatulas and seasoning shakers.

With our food being prepared in front of us, it did heighten our anticipation as the smells and aroma made us salivate.  The Teppan Shrimp was seasoned and tossed in a good amount of butter and lemon.  It seared up well and had a buttery snap to go with the brininess.  Prepared at the same time, we had a good amount of Vegetables including zucchini, onions and mushrooms.  It was cooked well so nothing was mushy and there was enough seasoning as well.  Two sauces were provided for dipping including a mild Ginger and a punchy Garlic & Mustard.  That garlic & mustard was my favourite and went really well with the steak and chicken (that you will see in the few pictures).

In addition to the shrimp, we also had Tiger Prawns that was cooked in a liberal amount of butter.  These were meaty with a sweet snap and went well with the ginger sauce.  For the base DOV menu, there is a 5oz Sirloin steak included, but for another $14.95, it can be upgraded to a 6oz Beef Tenderloin (which is in the picture).  These were seared on all sides with butter, seasoned and then cut into cubes.  More butter and seasoning followed an extra sear.  These little morsels were buttery tender and although there was good flavour already, I dipped it into the Garlic & Mustard sauce.

Our last course was the Teriyaki Chicken and that was probably my least favourite since it was chicken breast.  It wasn't overcooked per se, but wasn't juicy either.  At least it had lots of sauce to add moisture.  Went well with the provide bowl of rice.  Dessert was a choice of Mario's Gelato: Vanilla Tofulatti, Matcha or Mango.  We tried all three of them and believe it or not, the vegan Tofulatti was my favourite.  Flavour was mild and sweet enough while the texture was somewhere between ice cream and sorbet.  The Matcha and Mango were rather sweet, yet pretty creamy.  Overall, for $60.00, the DOV menu at Kobe is a good value with more than enough food for one person.  Sure, it isn't the most amazing meal in the world, but the food was good for what it was and you get a show to go with it too.

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

The Good:
- It's a fun night out
- DOV menu has enough food
- Meat quality is good

The Bad:
- Will never be a "fine dining" experience, but it isn't trying to be

 

Toyokan Bowl

I've always been a fan of the Kingyo Group of restaurants in Vancouver (they have spots in Seattle and Toronto as well) that include Raisu, Rajio, New Fuji, Takenaka, Kingyo, Toyokan Plaza and Toyokan Bowl.  This formerly included Suika, before the fire closed it for the time being (or maybe forever?).  Now their newest pair of restaurants include Toyokan Plaza and Toyokan Bowl.  For this visit, Steph and I focused on the restaurant found upstairs in Toyokan Bowl.

Before we got to the main event, we began with some small plates such as the Ika Yuzu.  Since the ika was marinated in soy sauce, it gave the appearance of jellyfish.  However, it was pure ika with its unmistakable chewiness and sweetness.  We also found some brininess in the form of herring roe and this was all served with crisp cucumber slices.

We also had the Aromatic Sea Bream marinated with a Yamagata-style dashi.  With the finely chopped veggies, the sea bream took on the sweetness and herbaceousness of the ingredients.  It retained its firm texture, yet wasn't chewy.  This was all brought together with a light soy-broth which was definitely there but not the dominant flavour.

We got a double-dose of duck with the Shio Koji Duck Carpaccio as well as the Duck Soba (which was an add-on to one our bowls).  Although the layer of fat could've been a little less flabby, the duck itself was tender and full-flavoured.  The carpaccio was sweet and a bit spicy while the udon was nicely chewy with an almost smoky dashi.  Duck was more natural-tasting due to the lack of dressing.

Now for the stuff we were mainly here for... The first to arrive was the Bluefin Otoro and Hokkaido Uni Box.  In between we found some house-marinated ikura as well.  This was pretty good with buttery slices of otoro that melted in my mouth.  It was fresh-tasting with the essence of the sea.  As for the uni, it was also good without any bad pieces.  They were custardy and naturally sweet.  The rice underneath was chewy and served only as a thin-layer.

Going into something more heavy, we had the Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Box.  Marinated in shio-koji and then sous-vide, this beef was melt-in-our-mouths worthy.  It was finished off with house-made Japanese steak sauce and seaweed sauce.  If this wasn't luxurious and silky enough, there was an onsen egg on the side.  This all sat on a thin layer of chewy sushi rice and when mixed with the egg, there was custardy textures to go with the buttery beef.  Of course we got a mouthful of umami from the beef and sauces as well.

We left the best for last in The Emperor which only could be described as a chirashi don on steroids.  What we had here was all 3 cuts of bluefin (otoro, chutoro and akami), salmon, hamachi, seabream, hotate, datemaki, bluefin tartare, lobster, uni and spot prawn.  Oh yah, this was a lot and things had a nice sheen and flavours were clean.  The uni slid off and was a bit unsightly, but things ate well and there was more than enough to go with the sushi rice.  Yah, this was $70.00 but with all things considered, I do not think this was unreasonable.  In the end, we enjoyed the food at Toyokan Bowl and thought the pricing was in-line with what we got.  Sure, it is on the higher end, but we weren't eating California Rolls here!  Do I think this is the best in town?  No, I've had better quality ingredients, but that was only at higher end Japanese restaurants offering pricey Omakase.

The Good:

- Bougie bowls

- Reasonable pricing considering what you are eating

- Eclectic bowling theme

The Bad:

- Service was friendly, but trying to flag someone down after ordering was difficult

Nomo Nomo

It always seems like there are some cool spots opening up along Commercial Drive.  Well, there is now another in Nomo Nomo.  Consider it a yōshoku izakaya that features share plates with a full service bar.  I would definitely say the place has style and the subsequent lively atmosphere to boot.  It is a cozy and compact place that has about 24 seats including ones at the bar.  We ended up sitting there for our visit and yes, we made a reso.  Highly recommended that you do!

Despite being share plates, these were far from "small".  Case in point, the Kabocha squash was a pretty generous portion, especially with the whole burrata taken into account.  There was a double-dose of squash where the roasted kabocha sat atop a smooth and sweet winter squash puree.  Really enjoyed the heightened sweetness from the roasted squash.  The radicchio dressed in umeboshi vinaigrette really brightened things up and added crunch.  As much as I love burrata (and this was a good one), maybe it wasn't needed?

We had the Hen of the Woods next and it was another fairly generous portion of roasted maitake mushrooms.  They had a dry exterior, yet the inside was juicy and tender.  There was a wealth of flavours in this from the fatty and salty guanciale, tangy pickled shimeji and the sweet corn soubise.  There was a little of everything in this where the pickled shimeji provided that critical brightness to cut through the slight heaviness of the dish.

I really thought the Scallop Crudo should've been served first due to the relatively heaviness of squash and mushrooms.  But in some sense, it could be seen as a palate cleanser of sorts.  The slices of Hokkaido scallops were buttery and sweet while dressed in a ponzu sauce.  We found some pickled radish and sunflower sprouts on top.  This was a pleasant dish were the tangy and slightly salty ponzu added flavour to the dish while the radish offered up crunch and more tanginess.

Although the appearance of the Prawn Toast seemed to be heavy, it was really not.  Set atop a Chinese donut (Yau Tiew), the prawn tiger prawn mousse was light and bouncy.  The donut itself was airy and lightly crispy on the outside.  Unlike other yau tiew that I've had, this wasn't greasy.  However at the same time, I don't mind the grease, as it is part of any fry bread.  On top, we found a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce.

I really enjoyed their take on another seemingly typical item in the Croquette.  Now there was an actual potato croquettes underneath made of potato salad.  Hence, they were creamy and light.  On the outside it had a firm crunch.  To top it off, literally and figuratively, there was some torched king salmon, ikura and unagi sauce.  Nice combination of textures as the crunch from the croquette contrasted the soft buttery salmon.

One of my favourite items was the Tamago Sando.  Again, what was presented was completely different than what I was expecting.  What we found was toasted milk bread with a imitation crab and egg salad with red crab on top.  With a bit of black truffle, there was the usual earthiness and aroma.  Loved the texture of the salad where I found the sweetness of kewpie mayo and a bit of brightness from the chives.

One of the two featured items of the night was the Wagyu Sliders.  Essentially, these were little burgers with two meat patties each.  Served on toasted Hawaiian rolls, the whole concoction had a soft feel to it.  The meat was tender and moist while the buns were fluffy beyond the crispiness of the exterior.  I would've liked to see something crunchy for more texture.  The burger sauce was quite Asian-tasting and was a nice compliment to the beef.

On the menu, there was a Tomahawk Pork Chop, but it was replaced by a Pork Collar instead.  The dish itself was still prepared similarly to the menu description with caramelized apple, apple kimchi and mustard tare sauce.  The fatty collar was prepared closer to medium-rare and hence, was rather flabby and chewy.  That in itself wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was tough to eat.  Flavours were nice though with the tare having a good balance of sweet, salty and sharpness.  Apple kimchi was crunchy while the caramelized apple was intensely sweet.

We ordered the only option for dessert on the menu being the Cookies and Ice Cream.  Crispy and light, the chocolate chip cooked acted as a serving vessel for the matcha gelato.  It was fairly smooth and was topped with strawberry & red bean coulis.  I found the coulis to be tangy and mildly sweet.  Overall, I found the meal to be decent with some highlights as well as some things that could've been improved.  I liked the Prawn Toast, Tamago Sando and Mushrooms.  The Kabocha was fine but the burrata didn't need to be there while the Pork Collar was too chewy and undercooked.  I am open for a return visit and would like to see the evolution of the restaurant as time goes by.

The Good:

- Creative spins on their dishes

- Excellent service

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Some refinements needed

- Not the most spacious of places

Niwa

Recently, Air Canada released its list of the best new restaurants in Canada.  One of the places mentioned is Niwa out on a strip of great restaurants on Powell Street near Victoria Drive.  After great meals at other nominated restaurants such as Le Violon, Elem, June, Linny's and Pancée, I was excited to check out Niwa.  Viv and I went to celebrate her birthday with their Chef's Menu for a reasonable $85.00.

Our meal began with a few snacks including Assorted Pickles, Seiglinde Potato Salad and Country-Style Berkshire Pork Pâté.  These were pretty standard items in many tasting menus I've had as of late.  The pickled celery and radish were crunchy and punchy, but we thought the carrot was a bit bland.  Potato salad was creamy with crunchy onions and pops of roe.  Pate was firm with light meatiness.  It came with a small dollop of mustard and a slice of gherkin.  

One last snack was the Sablefish served as a cube of reconstituted meat.  It was fluffy and tender with a wasabi kick.  We added the Uni Shooter supplement and it was served with seaweed and ponzu.  For mine, it was bright and sweet, but Viv's was funky and not as fresh.  Our last supplemental dish was the Fife Bread.  It had a crunchy crust with a soft and chewy centre.  It was served with a squash compote that had sweet and earthy melon vibes along with a pork butter that was melty and baconesque.

Onto our next course, the Tofu Pocket was stuffed with mochi and mushrooms.  It sat in a dashi that was smoky and had the essence of dried orange peel.  We enjoyed the texture of the chewy tofu skin pocket, but the mochi in the middle was too soft and a bit slimy.  We would've liked to see it firmer.  As for the mushrooms, they were flavourful with a great texture.

We moved onto a salad of sorts with the Kohlrabi dressed in black vinegar and chili oil.  Combined with Asian pear, there was a mix of hard and soft crunch textures.  We had some natural sweetness, but with the black vinegar, it was the most dominant flavour.  There was a bit of spice for the chili oil, but it was muted.  This was fairly pleasant and light, where we were leading up to the next item.

That next item was our favourite dish of the meal, the Golden Eagle Sablefish.  Although we felt the dish could've been seasoned more aggressively, the overall execution was good.  Each large piece of sablefish was buttery and soft while barely cooked through.  The fish itself could've been salted more, but the preserved matsutake sauce had enough umami to make up for it.

As a side for the sablefish, we had the Crawford Farms Turnips with sweet onion.  This was quite good with soft turnips that still had a bite.  Of course there was some natural earthiness here and it was complimented by the fermented saltines of the miso on top.  Furthermore, the charred Ailsa Craig onions added both crunch and natural sweetness.

At this point, we thought our meal was over, but then came the Stewed Pork Shoulder Rice with seaweed.  This was a pretty rustic dish if you can imagine.  It was served over chewy sushi rice.  In general, this was a hearty and comforting item with tender and fatty pork.  Mixed in with the seaweed, scallions and chewy sushi rice, each bite was meaty and filling.

Finishing off the Chef's Menu, we were presented with the Brown Butter Ice Cream Puffs.  I enjoyed the creamy, nutty and sweet ice cream.  It was further enhanced by the Irish whiskey caramel which was pretty sweet.  The choux pastry was decent having an airiness to it while crispy on the outside. Overall, the Chef's Menu at Niwa was decent, but not particularly impressive compared to the other best new restaurants nominees (as per Air Canada) I've visited in 2025.  I do think the Chef's Menu is a good value though and I'm curious about the evolution of the restaurant as it moves into 2026.

The Good:

- Fairly good value

- Attentive service

- Nice atmosphere

The Bad:

- Food is decent but not memorable

- Pretty dark in there