Suika

Suika

As you can see, no one else was there. We came in right when the doors opened.

Salmon Carpaccio. This is one of the best I've had. The pieces are actually thin, like carpaccio is supposed to be, the bedding of sauce is so so so good. We almost ordered another. The only downside: This is way to small to share.

Live Oysters. I know this place is supposed to be "Modern Izakaya" food, but that jelly ponzu just didn't work for me. I asked for regular ponzu.

Ebi Mayo. They should really invest in taking the time to actually cover the Ebi... with Mayo. I liked the batter which was a nice and soft, thin layer. But seriously, it makes it so much better when the whole pieces are covered.

Tuna Tataki. This one was my least favourite of the meal. I found it to be very bland and extremely dry. The sauce was good (same as the Salmon Carpaccio plus a sweet and sour sauce) but it didn't help either of my problems with the fish.

Grilled Duck. This came out last so we were just about getting full, so you can tell how good it was when I say it went from plate to my belly in seconds. Ok maybe not seconds, but you get the point. It was fast. You would think you would need to order a side of rice for this was the tomato and apple slices were more than enough.

AAA Beef Filet Steak. I know I said the duck was the last one that came out, but when we saw this at the table next to us, we just had to order. Im a huge sucker for hot stones, I must admit. I don't really know how I felt about this one because by the time this came out (which wasn't too long of a wait) we were stuffed and were starting to regret ordering this and 3 desserts. I liked the cut of steak, the seasoning was a little off. I found it was the deep fried garlic I was using to make the meat more flavourful. They were so addicting.. like garlic chips almost. I also found myself drowning my steak into the sauce they gave us. I probably won't be ordering this again since this costed us $16 for a not-so-flavorful steak.

Almond Tofu with Blueberry Sauce. I usually don't like almond tofu, especially the ones at chinese restaurants where they sort of taste like medicine.. No offence to people who like it, or make it, or serve it at their restaurants. I have learned the trick to mask that medicine after taste! Blueberry sauce, duh. This was pretty bomb.

Yukimi Diafuku. Whoever makes these sticky rice cakes, NEEDS to give me the recipe. Seriously, i couldn't get enough. My girlfriend said you can buy these, ice cream and all at T&T. I couldn't imagine it to be this soft though, sitting in the freezer for that long, i don't think so! My only complaint is that they should get a better quality green tea and red bean ice cream because this one was hard and chunky.

Matcha Brûlée. One thing: TOO MUCH MATCHA!! It was way too over powering and a little hard to eat. Texture was great, just the matcha was way too much. I liked the red bean sauce and they put just the right amount. Is it me or does this seem like a different version of the ice cream one...


Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Website: suika-snackbar.com

Ebisu

Ebisu and Daimasu are 2 places I will probably never stop coming back to. I know, it really isn't anything special but its such a go-to place for me, especially during happy hour. And have I told you guys how much I love the lighting in this place? My iPhone pictures turn out amazing!

Yep, 5pm mojitos. Don't judge me.

Beef Short Ribs $4.99 during happy hour. I like how this comes with pickles on the side. I have got no complaints on flavour with this one.

Royal Miyagi 99 cents/pc. during happy hour.Now, this is what brings me back every time. We order 20 oysters for the 2 of us almost every time we visit. The ponzu is amazing, the oysters are so fresh, its addicting.

Oyster Motoyaki $6.80. The very first time I tried this, I thought it was really good. I no longer have the same opinion. I like how there is a lot of spinach and mushrooms in it, but this dish is quite oily. I'd still order and recommend it once in a while, however I have had better.

Cosmic Gate $18.95. The other combo next to this on the menu is called Above and Beyond, I thought it was kind of funny. I love ebisu for their HUGE menu with pictures with every item. If you're new to sushi or izakaya food, this is the place for beginners.

Link to my first post on Ebisu:
http://eatdrinkreeepeat.blogspot.ca/2012/03/ebisu-dirt-cheap-fresh-oysters.html
Address:
827 Bute Street
Vancouver, BC
Website: ebisu.ca

Kingsway Sushi

I was a very happy camper after eating here for the first time. Kingsway Sushi is a very popular all you can eat sushi restaurant in Vancouver. Every time I pass by, it is always super packed here! They offer many menus which you can check out on their website down below. We had the regular Dinner Menu for $24 which is sort of expensive compared to other a.y.c.e. Since we had a table of 11, I couldn't take pictures of everything but heres some of the things I found interesting, and worth trying. 

Scallop Sundae. Raw chopped scallop on a cucumber roll, topped with a lychee! I have never seen, eaten or heard of anything even close to this! The lychee compliments the scallop and mayo surprisingly well. A must-try!!!

Deep Fried Scallops.

Sashimi! The pieces are bigger than most all you can eat.

This one was my favourite. Excuse all the blurry pictures.. I couldn't get any good pictures with the hungry party I was dining with! Before I could get a hold of a plate, it would already be empty. You can imagine how hard it was to snap these pics! This is the beef sashimi. The pieces were very very small but does it really matter? It was AYCE!

Deep Fried Ika.

Their Oyster Motoyaki was okay. Not like I was expecting much. At least they were in actual oyster shells! I was fairly disappointed at the fact that for $24 a person, you don't get a choice of raw oysters. Even on the Deluxe Menu which is $31, you still have to pay an extra 60 cents for one fresh oyster. Ridiculous.

More Sashimi.. mmhm.

The Rolls. They didn't have that big of a selection but they came out pretty big.

Spicy Scallop Cones. Fresh.

The DInner Menu only included 2 desserts. This one is the Mango Pudding, with NO cream! =( The little mango pieces inside made up for it.

Double Boiled Egg White and Milk Custard. Ok, I don't even know what to say for this one. It smelled like boiled eggs whites and tasted like them too. Apparently this is a very popular dessert here but not in my book.

Overall, I had a good experience. The service was pretty bad as expected at a Chinese owned restaurant and the food was good. It was probably even better with the good company I had, this visit. I probably wouldn't come back but I don't regret eating here either. I just can't do without raw oysters!


Address:
#110-3665 Kingsway, 
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://topgungroup.com/restaurants/kingsway-sushi/

Guu Richmond: A " You had to be there" Izakaya

If breakfast and lunch = brunch, what is lunch and dinner? Supper? Or is that another word for dinner? Anywho, we arrived at Guu @ Aberdeen Center around 5 with grouchy bellys. We had already tried Guu Garlic on Robson and loved it. We are on a mission to visit all the Guu locations. If you don't know, Guu is a chain of  Japanese restaurants that offer authentic izakaya dishes. They are known for yelling out Japanese at you everytime someone walks in, leaves, orders something, or when a dish is ready to be served. The atmosphere is quite nice and to me, makes the food much more enjoyable. Especially when its busy, this place is crazy loud!

Aside from the regular menu, they often change their special menu with many dishes to choose from. I think this is nice cause their menu isn't all that big.

 Thought these were cute.

 It wasn't all that busy which was an advantage for us cause the service was great! The servers were very energetic and seemed like they really loved their jobs.

 Kimchi Udon $7.80. Great. Couldn't ask for more from an udon dish.

Marugo Steak $8.50. The Ahi Tuna was similar to Tuna Tataki but ALOT more flavorful and the seasoning was fried with the fish instead of in a sauce on top. This was awesome and cooked very well. The inside was  cooked enough that I was able to eat it since I do NOT like sashimi.

 Scallop and Enoki Mushroom wrapped in Bacon $4.80. How cheap is this seriously!? This one was my favorite of the night. The scallop ones had 2 huge pieces of scallop and the mushroom ones were just dainty. YUM, I will definately order this again. Too bad it was on the special menu. They should really infer to switch this one to the regular. That's mustard on top if your wondering. I really don't favor in mustard but it really went well with the bacon.

 Now this one deserves a big THUMBS DOWN. Takoyaki Agedashi $7.80. First of all, was not worth that much. Secondly, it was just nasty. I didn't expect it to be drowned in SOUP... yeah soup. Ima stick to my regular takoyaki, thanks. So should they. I ate one and left the rest.

Whole Grilled Squid with Spicy Mayo $8.50. This tasted the same as any other place, good. Of course I ordered a side of regular mayo. I always wished I could eat spicy but I think god hates me. 

 Hotate Mentaiko $3 each. Love their plating! 

This came out with the bill. Complientary frozen grapes. I hate grapes but they were so good haha! Im going to be trying this at home. 

Price: Our bill came to $45. Not bad considering the great atmostphere of this place. The price is comparable to bbt restaurants but the food was MUCH better. They also serve liquor here which is a plus!

Overall, the service, ambiance, food and everything in between was GUUUUUU'D. I was a very much happy camper. 10/10