I finally got to Suika last week and it’s great. Kingyo is still better (and always will be, as long as their seared saba pressed sushi is on the menu), but Suika is a more casual and better priced sister restaurant that I expect to frequent regularly.

The yummy factor:

- Pressed toro and avocado sushi. Toro on its own is buttery and fresh. Pressed down with avocado it melts on your tongue and is even more delicious.

- Beef filet & garlic fried rice. Tender cubes of beef tossed with rice and lots of crispy fried garlic. Satisfying, but you definitely need gum after this one.

- Plum marinated Ika Karaage – Loved the plum marinate, give the Ika a delicious flavour. The breading on the squid was a bit greasy and texture tough…but still tasty. Would probably try the chicken next time

- Tofu salad – Cold tofu, fresh greens, tasty sweet and spicy dressing. Tofu can be good.

- Agedashi tofu – comes with two big pieces of crispy fried shrimp, all sitting in a warm sauce for dipping

A fun room too – dark lighting, a projector playing on the bar wall, a fun sake/booze bottle chandelier, and open kitchen.

You can go to Suika for a quick bite or  spend an evening with a group of friends. Most izakayas are located downtown, so Suika is a welcome restaurant just across the bridge. It’s also near the Arts Club Theatre and a great spot for dinner before a show.

Suika
1626 West Broadway (@ Fir), Vancouver
604 730 1678

I suspect it was a favourite because it’s  cheap to reasonably priced, the portions are good, the fish is fresh, and there’s a few quirky rolls to make the menu fun (ie. The Salifornia roll, a california roll with salmon and then tempura fried).

Is it gourmand? No. Is it my favourite place? No.

BUT, for the price, you’re getting pretty tasty food, HUGE, fresh pieces of sashimi (most restaurants would cut 3 pieces from the chunks you get at Sushiyama), all delivered in an efficient and friendly manner.

For those days you want some no-frills, basic, yummy Japanese with no Toshi lineup – this is a great choice.

Sushiyama
371 East Broadway (not West Broadway, like Google says!)
(604) 872-0053‎

Fresh fish rules here and the restaurant only services sushi, sashimi, rice bowls, miso, and a small selection of salads and appetizers. There’s no teriyaki or tempura or yakisoba here and you wouldn’t want it anyways because the fish is that good.

For nigiri/sashimi, my usuals are hotate (scallop), toro (tuna belly), saba (mackerel), and sake (salmon) – I’m never disappointed at Ajisai. For those who love fresh fish, you know what that perfect sushi experience is like – a burst of flavour that melts in your mouth with a buttery texture sliding down your throat. Pure joy.

I also enjoy the toro taku roll (tuna belly with pickles) and the saba pressed sushi is awesome – nice texture, that fresh saba flavour, and a good vinegar bite from the rice.

And remember – the mountain potato appetizer is not the same as regular potato. And by saying this I’m not encouraging you to order it – mountain potatoes are an acquired taste I have not acquired.

When you open the door of Ajisai, you’re greeted with the most delicious smell of a good Japanese restaurant. It’s a small, tastefully decorated restaurant with a few tables and a sushi bar. You can generally get in for lunch but dinner can be a wait at times. They also accept take out orders.

For the quality of food you’re paying very reasonable prices. The lunch bento box is $8.50. Spinach gomaae runs $4. Rolls and pressed sushi range from $2-10.

While Ajisai’s address is on 42nd Avenue, it’s actually part of a store complex in between 41st and 42nd, near the Curves. A little tricky to find, but worth the effort.

Ajisai Sushi Bar
2081 W. 42nd Ave (b/w Maple & E. Blvd, near Curves and London Drugs)
Vancouver
604-266-1428

For lunch, one of the best deals in town is at the original Guu location on Thurlow St where the most expensive lunch item is $8.00. My guilty favourite is Agemono – assorted deep fried things. It usually includes a fried pork cutlet, croquette, and fried chicken with rice, japanese pickles, and potato salad (strange sounding combo, but tastes good). When I am trying to be good, it’s grilled mackerel, super crispy and full of salty flavour. Mmmmm. Grilled beef, chicken, and Japanese curries are also popular menu items. Have your lunch with lots of green tea and you’ll be ready for the rest of the day.

For dinner, my favourite Guu is the Gastown location – Guu with Otokomae. The room is more open compared to to the other locations, it’s got a a great drink list, and once upon a time it was easier to get into, although expect line-ups now. The food is accessible, interesting, and affordable. Some favourites from my latest visit:

• Off the fresh sheet: yaki soba with a salt & pepper sauce and bean sprouts
• Fried croquettes with a light and creamy filling
• Chicken karaage – fried chicken, which the Japanese do so well
• Flavourful grilled beef and vegetable skewer
• Off the fresh sheet: Toro tataki with a citrus flavours

They seem to have added some Chinese dim sum to the menu also, which seems a bit strange – haven’t tried it yet. The menu offers lots of selection – go with friends and order as much as you can. For 3 of us including beer, the bill was $60. A great price.

If you’ve never been to a Guu before, think of a casual, dark restaurant with a jovial staff that’s always yelling out welcomes and goodbyes as customers come and go. Each location has its own theme and flavour, but it’s always fun. For example, here is how the Thurlow restaurant describes themselves:

This is a short trip to Tokyo.
Don’t worry about things in your life.
Get drunk and have fun! Our friendly staffs will help you to forget everything.

The other Guu locations are Guu with Garlic on Robson Street and Guu in Richmond. They’re all good and they all have different menus, so put them all on your list and find your favourite.

Guu – various locations

Guu Original
838 Thurlow Street (near Robson)
604-685-8817

Guu with Otokomae
#105-375 Water St. (near Richards)
604-685-8682

I went to Miku a few days ago with a couple experts: Husband Dan, who lived in Japan for a year way back when, and a friend who lived in Tokyo for four years and knows good sushi. Miku Restaurant is the seventh restaurant in a Japanese chain of six restaurant. This is the company’s first venture outside of Japan.

Overall, Miku is a great addition to Vancouver’s excellent Japanese restaurant scene and I would recommend it to people looking for a refined and different dining experience. We tried several dishes at Miku – many were amazing, a few were okay, and a few fell short. Highlights:

• We went for the specialty – a lot of aburi style sushi. The concept is cool – with each fish, the kitchen prepares it and tops each fish with a different kind of sauce. So, there was hamachi with an avocado sauce. Albacore tuna with a miso sauce. Salmon with a matsutake sauce. Some of the sauces were paired perfectly with the fish, while others were a tad over-powering. The kitchen seems to mix up the fish/sauce combo regularly.
• Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi – sushi pressed in a box with two layers of mackerel and Miku’s signature “secret” sauce. So good.
• Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi – pressed sushi with two layers of salmon, topped with a cream sauce, Miku sauce, and a thin slice of jalalpeno, which is meant to counter the richness of the other flavours. Good, but a little too creamy for me. And if you don’t like spice even that sliver of japlapeno will be a lot for you
• Crunchy scallop roll – a chopped scallop roll adorned with tempura bits and a sweet seaweed
• Ebi Fritter – Miku’s version of Ebi Mayo, with a light as air beer batter
• Calamari – Tender, thick rings of squid drizzled with a sauce of green, red, and orange peppers
• Chicken Nanban – chicken pieces marinated with lemon and herbs, fried, and slathered with a house made tartar sauce. The dish didn’t work for me, but Dan enjoyed it
• Try a bottle of Japanese plum wine with your dinner. It’s a light and sweet drink that pairs well with sushi.
• And the main nitpick from all of us – the rice was a little too soft. Some of the sushi fell apart too easily…less moisture in the rice would have rectified this.

If you go to the website you’ll find a way too long and cheesy video about the restaurant.

Miku sushi is a great restaurant taking some innovative approaches to Japanese food. Some approaches work and others don’t, but I appreciate Miku’s take.  If you’re in the mood for an upscale dining experience or just want to see blow torches in action, give it a try.

Miku Restaurant
#2 – 1055 West Hastings Street
(Guinness Tower)
604-568-3900

Overall, Irashai’s strengths are in their fresh seafood and unique rolls. The room is large with high ceilings, a big bar, and huge booths. The restaurant feels very open, which makes it great for hosting large parties and social gatherings.  I just booked a holiday party at Irashai for about 90 people.

Danielle from Irashai came by after we were seated and recommended several items for us . I found our dinner at Irashai was very good, with some ups and downs. Highlights:

• Red Tuna Carpaccio – generous slices of fresh red tuna with a miso and mayo sauce drizzled on top. The fish was fresh, but the sauce was quite strong and over-powered the fish.
• The best stuff at Irashai are their feature rolls (called “wrap corner” on the menu) – all have fresh fish, beautiful colours, and big portions. We liked the Wild Fish Roll with salmon, tuna, hamachi, and green onion. The Summer Roll with prawn tempura, cucumber, mayo, masago with marinated tuna and avocado was a nice balance of flavours, and the Alaska Crab Leg Roll featuring crab leg meat and mango, lightly deep friend with a lemon mayo sauce was different, but good.  Having been to Japan and eaten a lot of Japanese food, the picky part of me would say the sushi rice was a little too mushy, but I’m probably the only person that noticed.
• Kari Kari Chicken, small pieces of deep fried chicken with a honey mustard sauce – these little bites would be good bar eats, but my dining companions weren’t big on this dish.
• Yam french fries – a specialty of the restaurant, these are crisp and crunch tempura style fries with a tasty asian dipping sauce
• Grilled sable fish – beautifully cooked with great flavour
• Service overall was good, but we didn’t seem to have a designated waiter. One person took our order and then we never saw them again. So, attentive but not personalized.

I look forward to having lunches and group gatherings at Irashai Restaurant. Overall the food is high quality and the menu is interesting, though not traditional Japanese. It’s a fun approach to the cuisine though, so if you’re looking for something different give it ago.

Irashai Grill
1368 W. Pender Ave (@ Broughton)
604-688-8697

I used to live three blocks from the Zakkushi on 4th ave and I still return again and again. The focus of Zakkushi is on their grill, which uses a high quality Japanese charcoal. I don’t know much about the technicalities, but the flavour from this grill is excellent. Smoky, charred, sweet. Mmmmm.

The first Zakkushi to open was on Denman St, then 4th Ave, and now Main St. The menus at each location are similar, but with a few things specific to each location. Looks like the Main St. location also does sushi rolls, which the other two don’t.

Anyway, enough of logistics…the food. Here are my all-time favourites:

• Zaru Tofu: fresh, soft, cold tofu on ice. If you love tofu, order this.
• Takowasa: diced octopus mixed with a wasabi dressing in a mini martini glass. Incredibly flavourful and fresh with that wasabi kick
• Yakitori (grilled items on bamboo sticks) – Asparamaki – tender green asparagus wrapped with fatty bacon and grilled. Harami – tender grilled beef topped with radish and ponzu sauce. Shiso Maki – juicy chicken with shisho leaf (note – shisho is a very strong herb. I like it, but it can be an acquired taste)
• Spinach salad with cripsy fried lotus root on top
• Mentai Kimchi Udon – the menu description reads: pan fried udon with seasoned fish roe and kimchi. Okay, to some this may sound funny. But trust me…it is SO DAMN GOOD. You have to try it.
• Banana Gyoza – deep fried bananas and ice cream for under $4? I’m in for dessert here

I find the prices at Zakkushi very reasonable. You can eat like a king for not much money. My meals for 2 average anywhere b/w $25 to $60. If you find Kingyo or Hapa too expensive for regular visits, go to Zakkushi.

One warning – Zakkushi is not the biggest restaurant.  They do take reservations, so call them if you have your heart set on a certain time.

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill Diner
3 locations (4th & Cypress, Denman & Robson, Main & 25th) – details here

I love sushi, but I typically eat my sushi sitting down in a restaurant. Sushi to-go has never appealed to me. Instead, I do wraps, or burritos, or crepes – anything that is self contained that I can eat while walking to the next location.

My only wish is they were open longer (they close at 5:30pm/6pm) and they had more locations – I’d go here all the time for a light snack or a healthy lunch on the run. But until then, it’s my snack stop every time I’m at Broadway & Granville.

Michi Sushi & Catering
1513 West Broadway St
Vancouver, BC
604.736.4244

Near the corner of Main & 11th is….nothing, really. There are some stores and restaurants, but you’d never guess hiding amongst everything is Ping’s Cafe, a Japanese Restaurant specializing in Western influenced Japanese comfort food.

Ping’s does not look like much on the outside and they don’t go out of their way to advertise their location. Ping’s is marked with a basic, slightly dirty looking white sandwich board plus a similarly basic restaurant sign. Even the name was haphazardly developed- the website describes how they found the sign when renovating the restaurant and kept it.

When you walk in, it’s another story.

Beautiful white room, minimally but beautifully presented with soft grey banquettes and cool light fixtures and art. It’s nothing like the outside.

Food is delicious and well priced. You can order a bunch of small plates and share, or order some bigger plates as a main course. I opted for a bunch of small plates.  Some highligts:

• Bang Bang Tofu Salad: Fresh, crunchy, and a tasty sesame dressing
• The Ping Dog: A surprisingly tasty grilled bratwurst dog with pickled beets & ponzu sauce
• Ping Fries: Yummier than I thought. Crisp fries topped with mayo and a sweet yoshoku sauce
• Ebi Gyoza: Handmade dumplings
• Sake Drunken Chicken: Tender pieces of grilled chicken with a hint of sweet sake
• Tofu Furai: Deep fried tofu triangles with a chilli mayo dipping sauce. Junk food at its best!

Pings Cafe
2702 Main St, Vancouver
604-873-2702

Hours:
5:00 – 10:30
Friday and Saturday : 5:00 – 12:00
Monday Closed

I recently started going to Temaki Sushi on Broadway @ Arbutus and it fits the bill of a good, cheap sushi restaurant.

Menu is standard with your usual boxes, teriyakis, california rolls, and tempura. But there is a chef’s special page, plus daily specials – a sign that there is a little something to this place.

The fish is fresh and tastes good. All menu items are well prepared. Portions are generous. My husband gave the miso soup a good review tonight.

I love the chef’s roll, which is fruity, crunchy, and buttery with mango, tempura bits, and fresh tuna.

I see myself returning to Temaki regulary for straight forward, quick, cheap eats.

Temaki Sushi
2-2156 Broadway West
Vancouver
(604) 738-4321