Dosanko

The Yoshoku scene in Vancouver can often be described as limited.  Other than a handful of places, it really isn't a thing here.  However, yoshoku cuisine lovers rejoice as there is a newly opened spot in town called Dosanko.  Husband and wife team of Nathan and Akiyo Lowey (formerly of Capagnolo and Tojo respectively) have taken over the spot that once housed Fat Dragon, where they now serve up Japanese home-style cooking that are interpretations of Western dishes.  Mijune and I decided to hit up the place, but were unaware that they had been only opened for a week (hence the lack of signage).

We started things off with Aki's Salad consisting of greens, sesame, lentils, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, beets and blueberries.  It was lightly dressed with a koji vinaigrette.  Despite the list of ingredients, the salad itself was fairly simple and straightforward.  Things were fresh with varying textures.  This was refreshing, yet I would've liked to see a touch more acidity to wake up the flavours.  Next up was the Kimpira sporting burdock and carrots pickled in a sweet and spicy soy sauce.  The mouth feel of the crunch was appealing while the sauce was well-balanced with a hint of sesame.

If the next item looks like chicken karaage, your eyes don't deceive you.  Stated as Zangi on the menu, it is merely the name of the dish in Hokkaido.  Their version was quite good coated with potato flour, it was lightly crispy (could've been more so) and easy on the grease.  Each piece was juicy and succulent while being well-seasoned with garlic and ginger.  If one needed more punch, it was served with a side of salt.  Consisting of a few different items, the Tempura was coated with a super airy and light batter.  It was a touch oil-logged though.  The veggies included onion, purple carrot, green bean and shiso leaf.  The shiso leaf was actually the greasiest, but I enjoyed it the most due to its flavour and crispiness.

One of our favourite dishes was the Miso Saba.  The mackerel was tender and flaky while maintaining its meatiness.  It was mild-tasting, which was a good thing as the sauce was pretty potent.  At Dosanko, they do not used bottled sauces.  Rather, everything is house-made.  Hence, the sweet miso sauce was intense and concentrated.  It tasted original and not very typical.  The syrupy sweetness was pretty strong, but there was enough saltiness to even it out.  Since it was a pretty warm day, we were happy to see the Hiyashi Chuka (cold ramen) hit the table.  These handmade noodles were very al dente and were flavoured with a tasty sesame soy dressing.  On top, there was tender shredded chicken, cucumbers, carrots and sesame.

Presented in a hot clay pot, the Curry Rice was bubbling hot.  On top of the rice was a generous blend of tender ground pork, cheese and pickles.  The result was a rich concoction that was meaty and stringy from the mozzarella.  The flavours were sweet, but fairly mild.  We found the dish comforting, but would've liked to see a rice crust (despite it not being a prerequisite of this particular dish).  Served with house-made tonkatsu sauce and sesame seeds that we would grind ourselves, the Tonkatsu was lean and meaty.  We would've liked to see it tenderized more, but it wasn't chewy.  On the outside, the panko coating was appealingly crunchy.  We loved the tangy, sweet and slightly peppery tonkatsu sauce as well as the side of koji mayo.

Another classic Yoshoku dish was the Okara Hamburg Steak with Rice.  The patty consisted of minced beef, pork and okara (soy bean crumb).  It resulted in a meaty and lean patty.  It wasn't dry though and it sported a caramelized sear.  The sauce was sweet and tangy with concentrated depth.  As a result, the root veggies were super sweet where they soaked up the sauce.  This went well with the side of white rice.  Moving away from all these larger dishes, we tried the Gomaae featuring string beans marinated in a sesame dressing.  I found the beans to be lightly crunchy.  The dressing was sweet and lightly aromatic. 

Onto dessert, we had the Coffee Jelly Parfait, Cherry Tart and Matcha Mille Crepe.  As much as the food up until this point had been pretty solid, the desserts needed some work.  The coffee jelly was too stiff and too mild-tasting.  We found the mille crepe to be rubbery and dry while the matcha was barely detectable.  The best of the bunch was the cherry tart as it boasted sweet and tangy cherries on top.  The pastry cream wasn't too sweet, but wasn't smooth enough. It was pretty unfortunate that the desserts didn't match the savoury items in terms of execution because it is nice to see another Yoshoku restaurant in town.  But it had been open for only a week, so there is still some time to grow.

The Good:
- All house-made sauces and food
- Nice people
- Good to see another spot serving Yoshoku cuisine

The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Desserts need some work
- An A/C unit should be their next purchase

Mikan Cafe

For all of the available types of Japanese cuisine in the Lower Mainland, Yoshoku gets no love.  It's all about the sushi and ramen here sprinkled with some Izakaya action.  For those who are unfamiliar with Yoshoku, it refers to Japanese-style Western dishes such as their take on Salisbury steak, spaghetti, curry, pork cutlets, sandwiches, desserts and the sort.  One of the few that exist is Cafe L'Orangerie in Marpole (which was only average in my opinion).  It seems like they have branched out have taken over (or more like merged) with the old Poutinerie Jean Talon out on Broadway at Fraser.

We decided to check it out after on a beautiful Sunday after ice hockey.  To start, we went with the ol' favourite of Jean Talon with the medium-sized Poutine with home style meat sauce and cheese curds.  Exactly how I remembered, the fries were super crispy and light with a starch coating not unlike the one found at Costco.  The meat gravy was flavourful, yet not salty with a background beefiness and sweetness from the veggies.  With a bounce and light squeak, the legit cheese curds were generous.  For myself, I went with 2 dishes starting with the Ebi Sandwich served on ciabatta with shredded cabbage, tonkatsu sauce and sweet mayo.  The crispy breading on the ebi held up to the sauces while the shrimp itself had a sweet snap.  There was an obscene amount of sauce which meant it was tangy and messy to eat.  I would've preferred a softer bun though as everything spilled out with every bite.

For my second item, I went for their daily special being the Baked Japanese Curry Doria consisting of rich and creamy rice, mushrooms, onions, Japanese curry, chicken broth and eggplant topped with mozzarella cheese.   This was a modest portion where the layer of melted cheese was substantial and stringy.  Underneath, the tender eggplant was far from mushy while the rice was on the softer side.  It was decently flavourful in a subtle manner despite the presence of curry.  I would've liked to see a bit more of it as the dish could've used more impact.  Milhouse ended up with an actual curry in the Pork Cutlet Curry with rice.  I've had this before and it was not different featuring sweet and thick curry with lots of tender bits of veggie.  There was more than enough for the rice and lean pork cutlet which was tender despite the lack of fat.

Kaiser Soze went for the Masago Spaghetti with squid and fish roe.  This arrived emanating an seafoody aroma which was quite intoxicating.  One bite and it was pretty evident that the briny seafoodiness of the masago was the dominating flavour.  It was in a good way though with a certain sweetness accented by a light cream sauce.  The spaghetti itself was nicely al dente and properly seasoned.  JuJu decided on the Hayashi Beef Spaghetti with hamburger steak.  Similar to the meat gravy on top of our poutine, this ate hearty with a mild meatiness and slight sweetness.  The steak itself was fairly tender and loose with the sweetness of onions (maybe too many onions). 

For dessert, I ordered a slice of their Blueberry Cheese Tart which was in a beautiful shade of milky purple.  One bite and the essence of cream cheese was very strong (in an almost yogurt-like manner), but the blueberry came through as well.  It was not overly sweet and the texture was in between light and heavy.  This visit to Mikan was a bit strange for me.  They are affiliated with Cafe L'Orangerie and my visit there wasn't exactly that impressive nor memorable.  Now I'm not saying Mikan blew my mind either, but I thought it was better for some odd reason.  But really, considering the lack of Yoshoku cuisine in Vancouver, there is really no competition for Mikan and Cafe L'Orangerie.

The Good:
- Friendly service
- Inexpensive
- Decent

The Bad:
- Food comes out a bit slow
- Pretty small place, not good for big groups
- Limited menu