Van-Ya is the place my sister have been raving about for the past little while. It is pretty much her favorite place to get nabeyaki udon at the moment. She finally brought me there last week to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Not surprisingly, she ordered the nabeyaki udon, because it’s her must get here. I decided to get their Chirashi don because I wanted a variety of sashimi. We also shared a agedashi tofu and okonomiyaki.

The agedashi tofu had a nice thin crispy layer of batter. It was served with green onion and daikon on top. The tofu was nice, but the sauce was a tad salty to me.

The chirashi don had tuna, salmon, egg, salmon roe, saba, surf clam, shrimp, squid and red snapper. This sounds like a lot of sashimi but I got through them fairly quickly, and found myself wishing there was more sashimi towards the end of finishing the dish. It’s probably because of the cut of their sashimi, quick small and thin. And there was only 1 piece of salmon. I need at least 2 pieces of salmon in my chirashi don.

My sister was so excited for her nabeyaki udon. I did have a small bowl of it, and I did like the broth, because it wasn’t overly salty. It’s a nice warm and comforting bowl of noodles to eat on a cold rainy day, but I didn’t think it was the best nabeyaki udon ever.

The okonomiyaki was a Japanese style pancake. Unlike the usual seafood okonomiyaki I’m used to, Vanya used ground beef instead. It was delicious. It’s also a warm and comforting food to have on a cold day because it came pipping hot.

I left some what unsatisfied with my chirashi don (more fish please!), but this is a nice little joint for the neighbourhood.

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Van-Ya
5615 Harold St
Vancouver, BC V5R

Hi Genki is a restaurant situated in a Japanese old folk’s home in Burnaby that I’ve heard so much about. I finally I went in for lunch with my sister, specifically for their Japanese lunch boxes. We got there around noon, and we already have to wait for a table.

I was in the mood for curry, and I ordered a pork katsu curry. I also ordered some agedashi mushroom for appetizer.

The Agedashi Mushrooms came first in a small dish, topped with bonito flakes, grated daikon and green onions. These were so amazing. The batter was light and crispy. I loved the sauce at the bottom, it was a little bit sweet and not too salty. The bonito flakes on the top added real nie flavors to the mushrooms.

The pork katsu curry was a really filling dish, the portion was really generous. The pork katsu itself was really yummy, the batter was crispy and the meat was juicy and tender. The katsu was smothered with Japanese curry, which had carrots and onions in it, it tasted really authentic. As yummy as it was, I think this dish would be perfect for dinner, but for lunch, it’s just a bit too much.

My sister ordered their daily special, which was Japanese Hamburg with rice.  It was deep fried hamburger patty with steamed rice and salad. It was not too bad, the patty was still quit juicy. The whole dish could get quite dry, but it came with some tangy korokke sauce in a squeeze bottle.

I’d recommend this place for those who wants to try something different than the typical Japanese lunch boxes we’d find today. The food was authentic, you just got to come early as their lunch and dinner hours are quite short.

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Hi Genki
6680 Southoaks Cres
Burnaby, BC V5E
(604) 777-0533

Kura is another Japanese restaurant near my work place on Kingsway in Burnaby. Their menu is fairly large and have a large assortment of Japanese dishes. They’ve been in Burnaby/Vancouver for 17 years now, and they have cheap promotions to celebrate that anniversary. They’ve also been in Tokyo for 25. Their menu is fairly cheap. I ordered a Chicken Teriyaki combo ($8.95), agedashi tofu ($3.95), and a small beef sashimi ($5.95). My brother ordered a sushi combo (Combo F) for $13.95.

My combo came with miso soup, the chicken teriyaki with rice, half of a California roll, and 4 pieces of tempura. The miso soup had lots of tofu and green onion in it which I like. The chicken teriyaki was moist and salty and sweet. Pretty good, but I wished the skin was crispy. It came with prawn, egg plant, sweet potato tempura. Nice and crispy, a tiny bit oily though. The vegetables were nice and tender inside.

The agedashi tofu was just OK though. It wasn’t very crispy, because the outer crust wasn’t too thick to begin with, and it also soaked in a lot of the sauce tentsuyu. The beef sashimi was nice and fresh and only $6 for the small ($10 for the large). It came on a bed of daikon, and a sweet sauce. I liked the little kick from the green onion. I wished they gave more sauce though, because after just dipping 3-4 pieces of the beef sashimi, there wasn’t much left, and beef sashimi without the sauce isn’t very good. You really need that sauce to bring out more flavours, and the kick was nice.

My brothers sushi combo came with a large assortment of sushi and sashimi, and also came with the miso soup, tempura, and California rolls. For some reason though it came with a bowl of rice too, so he was really stuffed.

Our waitress was very friendly and very efficient. She was very busy and seemed kind of rushed. I think there were only 2 servers during the lunch time rush. She was quicky jumping from table to table. She did a really good job. I’d definitely be back here. Another good place to eat at by work.

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Kura Japanese
4300 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

(604) 451-3331

Tang Tang is a really small shop, a bit hard to notice it, as it’s kind of hidden in the back of the complex. We went in and sat down, and waited for a few minutes to get a menu (though only one person was in the restaurant at the time). We both decided on ordering a bento box as well as some sushi on the side.

I ordered the chicken teriyaki bento along with 1 inari and 1 tamago nigiri. The lunch bento’s are a really good price at just $6. The chicken and rice is fairly small though. It also comes with a california roll, a spring roll, and a green salad, so there’s a good assortment of food. The chicken was pretty bland as it seemed like it wasn’t seasoned before it was cooked. Most of the flavour just came from the teriyaki sauce on top. The california roll was also one of the most flavourless I’ve ever had. I couldn’t taste anything except for the bit of soy sauce that I dipped it in. I think it was missing mayo. The tamago on the other hand was pretty good, airy, and a nice sweet flavour.

My brother ordered the BBQ eel bento and a chop scallop roll. He also wasn’t too impressed with the bento and probably wouldn’t go back. The chop scallop roll was a bit spicier than he would’ve liked.

Overall the food was pretty mediocre, but the prices were pretty cheap. I don’t know if I’d go back, because there are a few better options in the area like Sushi Garden and Kura.

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Tang Tang Sushi and Fish Market
4429 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

(604) 438-4884

Sushi Garden is located on Kingsway near Metrotown, on a block that is embedded with probably 5 other sushi restaurants. For a Japanese restaurant with 5 other competitors competing right beside it, this restaurant was doing pretty well on its own.

I went there for lunch last week, and this restaurant was busy! I arrived just a little bit past noon, and all the tables were filled, and there was a big line up. What a popular place it seemed. I didn’t have enough lunch time to wait for a table, so my friends and I settled for take out instead.

The  menu had standard Japanese items, but the ones that stood out the most were their sushi rolls. They had very interesting names, and different ingredients than other regular sushi rolls. It kind of reminded me a little of The Eatery.  Ordering food there was not easy for me, because I wanted to try a lot of things. In the end, we ordered a Spicy Salmon Sashimi, a Island Roll, a Crab <3 Papaya Roll,  a House roll, a Tropical Dynamite Roll, and a Tako Yaki for appetizer.

The best dish I ordered out of the bunch was the Spicy Salmon Sashimi. It came with a mountain of salmon that was doused in their spicy sauce. I’ll give you a warning, the spicy sauce, was hot! It’s got a really nice after heat to it and it was so good. There were also chunks of diced cucumber and a bed of daikon at the bottom, they added a nice texture to the dish.

The Island Roll was cooked tuna with Kiwi Sauce. I was a little hesitant about the cooked tuna, but got sold on the Kiwi sauce. The roll overall was what I expected, very average. I didn’t really liked the cooked tuna, it felt it it was just canned tuna, and the Kiwi sauce on top was pretty mild. I probably won’t get it again.

My favorite roll of the meal was the Crab <3 Papaya roll. It had a nice big chuck of deep fried crab, and rolled with a big chuck of papaya (I love papaya). The crab meat and the sweetness papaya went really well together. It was very nice on its own, not much soy sauce needed.

The rest of the meal were pretty average. The Tropical Dynamite Roll had 2 prawn tempura, cucumber and cream cheese, rolled in rice and a very thin sheet of egg. I wasn’t too sure what was so tropical about it, the cream cheese certainly did not remind me of the tropical.

The House roll was pretty standard, on the menu it said it has ‘lots of stuff’ in it, but it was just salmon, imitated crab meat and eggs. Nothing really special.

I liked this restaurant in general. I had some pretty good food. I wish I didn’t have to order to take out, because I’m sure the food would taste even better when they’re freshly made. It was a Korean-owned Japanese restaurant, it was nice to see they put their own spin on their dishes like the Spicy Salmon Sashimi, I’ve never had it like that anywhere else.

Note: Parking on the street. Avoid lunch rush, arrive early or a little late for lunch.

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Sushi Garden
4635 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H
(604) 436-0104

I never ever noticed Sushi Oyama, or even the building, even though it’s right by NCIX (for us geeks) on Kingsway. Well, I was kind of shocked seeing that it was a Japanese restaurant in a stone house. Their Grand Opening Sign is still up, but my friends had already been there 6 months ago. At the front was a nice water-fall wall thing (I had a picture but I underexposed). The restaurant had two separate rooms with two separate sushi bars. They also had an upstairs, but I wasn’t sure what was up there.

We looked at the menu which was,decent selection. First thing that hit me was wow, this place wasn’t that expesnive, and wow Sushi Tengoku is uber expensive! I found that they had some rolls here that I could eat too. They also had a Chicken Katsu roll, but for only $3.99! I had to order this to compare. I also just ordered a tamago maki. I ordered just a little bit because we were supposed to go running in the pouring rain shortly after. The chicken roll was crispy too, but it was better at Tengoku. They also kind of cut the roll a bit to thin, and the chicken would sometimes fall out, as I picked it up. It was decent, and cheaper, but I think it had a bit less meat. I don’t normally get the Tamago Maki, but I noticed that the seaweed was a bit tough to chew. The egg was better than what was at Sushi Tengoku. I guess I should have ordered the nigiri.

Wheel was on a protein only diet, so he just ordered some sashimi. My other friends totally underestimated the amount of food they were getting. They ordered 4 different rolls, and sashimi. The rolls were huge and really pretty. They ordered the Smoked Salmon and Cream cheese roll – which was basically smoked salmon on top of a cream cheese and crab roll. (I tried this and I’m also allergic to this kind of smoked salmon.. DAMN!).  They also had the Red Roll which had scallops and tobiko in a roll and topped with tuna, this one was kind of spicy. For their third roll they had  the Mango Dice Roll, which is basically a cali roll with mango inside, and a piece of shrimp on top. They also had the Oyama Roll which was salmon and avocado inside and topped with  black sesame or green roe (alternating), and some larger roe on top. These rolls are all very pretty and surprisingly not too expensive. These rolls were about $7 for most of them. I think all of the rolls were under $10, and the sashimi was $7 something.

My friends’ favourite roll was definitely the Oyama Roll (soooo good), then the Red Roll, then the Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Roll. The Mango Roll was not so good. They really liked this place because they had a nice variety of special rolls, and the price wasn’t too high. Very good value here. They couldn’t finish their food, and it was their first meal of the day.

The service was very friendly, and they refilled our tea many times.

You may end up driving past it, and not notice it, but you should definitely give it a try if you happen be close by. It’s just a minute or so from Metrotown (on the way totowards New Westminster).

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Sushi Oyama
5152 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

(604) 568-1012

Nao Sushi is one of my frequent restaurants to visit for lunch. I’ve tried most of the items on their menu, and never had a disappointment.

Today I ordered a Chirashi Don ($12). This was a big lunch. The don came in 2 stacked bowls, one with all the sashimi and one with the rice. There was a lot of sashimi, there was salmon, tuna, shrimp, octopus, surf clam, eggs and scallop. The sashimi were in very big pieces too, but it was good for me because I was craving sashimi.

What makes this chirashi don different than others was that it had sweet shitaki mushrooms and dried shrimp seasoning on top of the sushi rice. They were really good together with the rice, and they opened up my appetite a lot.

I had another good lunch here, the only thing I was a little peeved was that my tuna sashimi were still a little bit frozen.

The waitresses were always really nice, and the atmosphere was modern and clean. There’s always a lunch rush here, it actually gets really busy during lunch, so make sure you make reservations or arrive before 12pm.

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Nao Sushi
7060 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5E
(604) 521-3131