Over a year later I’m finally writing the last post about my trip to Vancouver from 2015, dinner at Tojo’s, one of Vancouver’s most well-known and acclaimed Japanese restaurants. Besides procrastination, I’ve been delaying this post because I was disappointed in the meal. After eating at a handful of Japanese restaurants since, I grew even more weary of reminiscing on my Vancouver omakase experience. However, I do think part of my disappointment was due to an error in my expectations based on the price.

Atmosphere: Walking into Tojo’s, I was surprised by how big the restaurant was, and quite modern. There were only a few seats at the sushi bar that looked into the kitchen, but there were many tables and booths in the dining area. For Saturday night, many of the tables were full but they weren’t at capacity. I spied Tojo himself a few times at the sushi bar chatting animatedly with the diners seated there.

Service: Service itself was efficient and professional. Our server explained the difference between the omakase options in the menu and explained each plate when it arrived. I also appreciated the complimentary dessert for one of our friends who didn’t decide to order the omakase. One thing that surprised me was how quickly each course arrived, which made me question how special the omakase was. It felt like the kitchen was already prepared before our orders were even placed. The only course that took some time was the sushi one, which our server came by to apologize for the wait as orders at the sushi bar were being prioritized.

Food: Omakase is available to be ordered at any seat inside the large restaurant, but is priced slightly higher at the sushi bar ($150. For myself, I ordered the 6 course omakase ($120) and The Hubs chose the 5 course omakase ($80), we shared the plates of each set. Between the two, the 6 course set exceeded the 5 course meal with an extra piece of sushi and higher quality ingredients. I didn’t feel any part of the $80 meal was special or unique, which is kind of the expectation for an omakase meal, especially compared to a similarly priced dinner at Yasu.

For the 5 course meal, dinner began with Tojo’s Tuna, a marinated tuna sashimi dish that was fresh and lightly seasoned. Next was a plate of 3 pieces of tempura, tomato, zucchini blossom and okra. All three pieces were lightly battered and not oily. The third course was an octopus salad with a light citrus dressing. I did like the texture of the octopus salad but at this point I was concerned if The Hubs would be full. Also, while good, nothing yet had been amazing. The fourth course was the “main” entree and unfortunately, the one I really didn’t enjoy, cod with zucchini, tomato and a cream cheese. This dish didn’t fit my palate with the cheese. I’ve always avoided ordering Philadelphia rolls, and that will not be changing. The last course was 5 pieces of sushi that included scallop, shrimp and salmon.

The 6 course meal began with a sashimi salad that included tuna, salmon and yellowtail. I liked the quantity and quality of sashimi in this dish. Next was a smoked salmon and Atlantic lobster salad. My third course was wild prawns with a balsamic sauce, which was good but I would’ve loved if the prawns were a touch less cooked. At this point I’ve lost track of one of the courses (dessert may have counted as the 6th) but I believe the next plate served was the smoked sablefish, which was my favourite dish of the night. The bowl arrived still covered and was revealed at the table. The sablefish itself was incredibly firm but tender and flavourful. One of my friends had opted to just order the sablefish entree and I was wildly jealous of his decision. Similar to the 5 course meal, my set menu ended with a plate of 6 assorted rolls and sushi.

Overall, dinner at Tojo’s wasn’t the highlight of the trip I thought it would, but I am glad I visited. A few of the dishes were amazing, like the sablefish, but fewer than I expected. I feel like ordering a la carte would’ve offered a much better experience than the omakase, which defies the definition for me.

Continuing my food adventure in Vancouver, I had grand plans to visit 3 ramen shops in one afternoon. We only managed to fit in two, as both stops had a minimum order of one bowl/person. Our first stop at Jinya Ramen Bar far outshined our second stop at Kintaro, which was disappointing in both their broth and noodle texture. Jinya Ramen Bar, was delicious. Originated in California, Jinya has multiple locations throughout the US and 4 shops in Vancouver. They just recently opened a Toronto location this May and there’s a Calgary location coming soon. I’ve yet to visit the Toronto location, but was very excited to spot the restaurant under construction after our meal in vancouver.

Atmosphere: Of the 4 Vancity JInya locations, I chose to visit the Robson St. one based on its central location. The shop had a good number of seats including two large communal tables. Most of the diner were pairs or singles and turnover was quick. We arrived right as doors opened for lunch and didn’t have to wait for long, even with a group of 4. The restaurant did ask that the entire party was there before seating anyone. By the time we left, a short queue had formed outside.

Service: With the quick turnover of tables, service was efficient and professional. There wasn’t any aspect that was memorable, positive or negative.

Food: Both The Hubby and I stuck to tonkotsu broth. He ordered the Premium Tonkotsu White with chashu, wood ear mushroom, seasoned egg, and thin noodles. I had the Tonkotsu Spicy, mild. The default topping on my bowl was chashu, bean sprouts, wood ear mushroom, green onion and thick noodles. I chose to add a seasoned egg and corn. For both our orders, the seasoned eggs was served on the side.

Breaking down the bowl, first up is the broth. I really enjoyed the depth of flavour and thickness of the broth. The liquid gold was savoury, milky, and lip-smacking good. The broth was quite salty. I had a sip of The Hubby’s broth, which was a blend of chicken and pork broth. The combination was less dense but fattier. As for toppings, I liked the selection of the default inclusions and how crunchy the vegetables were. I am used to the chashu being torched and more rendered than how Jinya served it. The chashu was very tender. Lastly, the noodles were perfect, had and excellent chewiness, was a good portion size and wonderful to slurp up.

During my short trip to Vancouver, dim sum was near the top of my must eats list. I reached out to a few Vancouver bloggers, and the consensus was to visit a location of Kirin Seafood, that was known to be a good balance between quality and price. My friends and I were able to squeeze in two dim sum meals over the weekend, with Kirin Seafood being the most memorable.

Atmosphere: Based on geography and scheduling, we made reservations at the Starlight Casino location of Kirin Seafood for Sunday morning, a few hours before our return flight to Toronto. Pulling into the complex, I was surprised by how many parking spots were occupied so early in the day. The majority of visitors were there for breakfast and the restaurant filled up quickly after the doors opened. The restaurant had multiple rooms and we ended up sitting in one of their regal private dining areas. While dim sum was a casual meal, the restaurant was elegant and I could see it being a popular banquet venue.

Service: Our reservation was for the very first seating of the day and the hostess directly us straight to a table. A server came by to take our tea order and drop off an ordering sheet. Being on a deadline, I was more conscious of the time than usual. Fortunately, dishes arrived promptly and we had plenty of time to savour each item and even contemplate placing a second order. There was always at least one server in the room checking on the tables, clearing plates and refilling tea. Service was efficient and professional.

Food: Usually at dim sum, I order 2-3 dishes per person. I also find going with a group of 5 perfect as most dishes have four servings, like the dumplings or baos. At Kirin, we stuck to 8 dishes, including dessert. All of the dishes were delicious and on par or better than some of my favourite dim sum restaurants in Toronto. If we had more time, I would’ve loved to try a few more their unique or special menu items.

As is, we stuck to ordering classic dishes, starting with fried turnip cake and curry tripe. The turnip cake had a great texture, held it’s shape and had a crispy fried exterior. I liked how tender the tripe was and the honeycomb texture was perfect for picking up lots of tasty sauce. For savoury items, we tried the steamed short rib and chicken feet. Both dishes were tender and had strong flavours. We also tried a steamed tripe dish that had a good texture, but I thought was a touch under seasoned. The two dumplings we tried was the classic shrimp, har gow, and one with an egg and vermicelli filling. Both of the wrappers were on point, thin, not sticky and with just a bit a chew. The tray of shrimp dumplings were plump and folded with even, pretty pleating.

The meal ended with Leaky Sand buns, baos filled with a salted egg custard. I liked the taste of the filling, which was well balanced between sweet and salty, but I wish the consistency was more leaky. Overall, dim sum at Kirin was a perfect meal to cap of my time in Vancouver.

Last October, one of The Hubby’s groomsmen got married in Vancouver. We flew out Thursday night and spent the weekend catching up with our West Coast friends and eating a lot of Japanese food. With only a fews days in the city, and a chunk of time devoted to the wedding, I had to prioritize and streamline my list of eats. Stopping by a Guu location was top of that list. I stopped by the Richmond outpost with two other wives, while our husbands were out at Groom’s bachelor party.

Atmosphere: Located on the second floor of a shopping mall, the izakaya was compact and cozy. Walking into the restaurant, we weren’t greeted with the loud exuberant cheers I was used to. Music was not deafening and it was easy to talk without the need to shout. The restaurant stayed fairly calm throughout the night.

Service: My biggest worry was having to wait for a table, but we managed to grab the last seats in the restaurant before a line formed behind us. Our table was at the front of the restaurant and a little isolated, making it hard to get our server’s attention. Generally, I felt the service was efficient but not as warm as I expected.

Food: For the two of us drinking, we tried two versions of frozen beer, one plain and one mango. The ice cold pints of beer were topped with a cap of frozen beer foam, delicious. For me, the added sweetness from the mango made the drink a must-order.

From the cooked food menu I stuck to two classics, kimchi udon and takoyaki. The udon was chewy and the takoyaki was crispy balls of batter. We also had a bowl of oden (not pictured), the perfect comfort dish and filling. From the sushi menu, we tried the aburi Punk roll that was topped with tuna, salmon, squid, shrimp, smoked salmon, surf clam and scallop. The roll was served and torched fresh at our table, a nice touch. That night’s sashimi selection included all of my favourites, so ordering was a no-brainer. We choose the sweet shrimp, scallop and o-toro tuna. Quality and freshness was top-notch, each piece was sweet and melted like butter.

Overall, Guu was a good choice for a girl’s night out. The Richmond location was quiet and calmer than a typical izakaya, better for conversations and catching up.

During our flight to Maui back in April, The Fiance and I had a stopover in Vancouver for 6 hours. Instead of sitting around the airport for all that time, we met up with a friend who was wonderful enough to pick us up from the airport and take us on a quick tour of the island. A tour that had to include a dim sum meal.

Atmosphere: From the large array of dim sum restaurants in Vancouver, we chose Continental Seafood Restaurant based on reviews and mainly how early they opened (10am). We were on a tight schedule and actually arrived a good 20 minutes before the doors opened. The dining space inside is spacious, each table was covered with a white linen tablecloth and I could easily picture the restaurant hosting a dinner banquet. While we were the first customers in line, the restaurant filled up quickly and by the time we left there was a queue for tables.

Service: When it comes to dimsum, I love the rolling service carts. I like being able to see dishes as I order them, discover new ones and be enticed by the sights and smells in front of me. The Fiance prefers to order from a menu, it’s boring but more efficient and you don’t have to longingly stare as a cart of har gow is pushed down the other side of the restaurant. The first half of the meal, all the carts served our section of the restaurant first, amazing, and then half way they rotated to serve the other side of the restaurant; fair, but sad. At one point, The Fiance was ready to get up and chase down a cart, but one of the other cart ladies was kind enough to flag it down for us and direct them to our table. Our tea was refilled constantly and it was quick to get the bill.

Food: This was our first meal after being up for about 8 hours so we were hungry and our friend has a healthy appetite. The amount of food we ordered would have easily fed 4 people and we could have skipped two or three.

• Shrimp rice roll – Good, I liked the consistency of the rice roll, not too thick a good texture
• Pork and Century Egg Congee – The congee was really flavourful, the rice grains had broken down and there was a generous portion of pork and century egg
• Zongzi – I liked the consistency of the glutinous rice and the taste of the filling, The Fiance would’ve liked to see more meat inside
• Shrimp and Shrimp and Chive Dumplings – The dumplings were cooked well and stuffed with shrimp, but had very thin wrappers which made them stick to the wax paper
• Braised Chicken Feet – Pretty standard, the skin was really soft and easy to eat
• Braised Tripe – I was expecting this dish to be the typical steamed tripe, it was a pleasant surprise and the flavour’s very similar to the chicken feet
• Shumai – One of the best shumai I’ve ever had, great light flavour and balanced between the mushroom and pork
• BBQ Pork Rolls – These were only ok, I would’ve liked the pastry to be more flaky
• Egg Tarts – Again, I wasn’t wowed by the egg tarts. The custard was lighter than what I prefer
• Sesame Rice Balls with Red Bean Filling – Of all the “desserts”, the sesame rice balls hit the spot, exactly what I was hoping for