Ebisu on Robson, Vancouver

Congrats Selina & Brian!

I just wanted to give a shout out to one of my oldest friends, who recently got hitched to her high school sweet heart.  I went back home to attend her wedding last weekend, and she had her stagette dinner @

 Ebisu on Robson

827 Bute Street

Vancouver, BC V6B2Y4

Tel: (604) 689-8266
Fax: (604) 689-8335

http://www.ebisu.ca/robson/

Wow. so i didnt know that Kamei group owned all of this: Kamei Royale, Ebisu on Robson, Broadway and Richmond, and Daimasu in Richmond and Burnaby, I'm pretty sure i've been to 5/6 of these. 

It's not my favorite japanese izakaya joint, or one i would go to myself, but not one i would vehemently protest (at least not on the outside)... i've been before with other friends and they have pretty creative rolls, and their menu looks pretty solid http://www.ebisu.ca/robson/menu-ebisu2.html, but somehow i've never been sold. i'm not sure what it is, i dont really have loyalties when it comes to food, if it pleases me, it pleases me. I find Ebisu, while offering an extensive and impressively solid menu, somehow, am a little bit undersold. There's a lot of bells and whistles that go on i think, they've got good cheap drinks and happy hour deals, and everything is really pretty! BUT, and there is a BUT, the food is..... its OK. i wouldnt even write about it if not just to tell you that, at the dinner, while everyone was being NORMAL and ordering a few tapas to share, or a few dishes to eat, i went a little overboard, (i blame being secluded on an opposite island. .... you know where im being surrounded by land instead of water,) and kinda ordered a family sized Fire & Ice Sashimi platter for myself... (see last picture)... um and also an Oyster Motoyaki (not pictured, ate it quickly... eating raw fish upon raw fish, i needed something in my stomach quick),  I later regretted having only devoured seafood, as we were going to the bar after and i had nothing to absorb the alcohol but raw fish... and then you have to burp/throw up drunken raw fish.... bleeeuuggghhh

Well, here are some pics, here's my neighbour's beef carparccio...food i didnt try... but looks pretty!

Black Cod Saikyo, marinated in sweet miso... i heard it was delicious

Ah, and this is my platter, for... myself... 6 oysters, raw scallops, spicy tuna in a huge chunks, ebi, and lots and lots of salmon and hamaci tuna. impressive eh!!!!! i thought so too!!! until my 20th bite of raw... haha. im such a greedy little fellow. 

omg. i just saw this on my friend's (jess 3!) fb.... ok. i think this makes all the difference in letting you know how ridiculous i am... and what a spectacle it was when i ordered this (plus another dish) for myself and other people had NORMAL sized dishes..... ok i shared. a bit. LOL... also check out the penis pictures on the table, one of my fav in front, the elepenis! haha. 

Guu with Garlic aka Guu Robson! aka 2nd Guu of all!

According to the Guu website, Guu Garlic was born in 2001 as the younger (what gender is a Guu?) to Guu Thurlow. Apparently with the concept of Garlic is SEXY? you know what i say to that? damn straight!!! garlic is sexy!!! (if everyone has garlic)... garlic for one, is uncomfortable without a good rinse.

anyway, last week i came back to Vancouver, and did the Sea Wall with one of my BESTEST FRIENDS <3 Jenny.  Look what we saw!

(I know this is not relevant to this eating blog unless i picked one up and ate its liver but come on! they're all in a row! so cute!)

Man. Vancouver is so beautiful! A long walk calls for a delicious meal! and so we go!!!

We had intended to go to Guu Thurlow, but after ending up in english bay (and a few stops at other options) we were like. let's just do this. Here we are, sitting at our stoup, while waiting for a seat... damn reserved spots!

Ohhhh!!! daily specials!!!! 

a delicious and refeshing melon type drink with a dollop of ice cream?  mmm!!! was there even alcohol in it? who cares! bring me another! 

We started with a Beef Tataki with a Ponzu Sauce.  hmmm did they change this?  I'm used to a different lay out with garlic chips on top, however, still delicious!

A staple at every Guu meal is the Pumpkin Croquette. why? hmmm deep fried pumpkin with a boiled egg drenched in tangy thousand island dressing, how does that NOT sound.. well. you just gotta put it in your mouth!  Jenny wanted us to order one for each of us... i almost want to admit i made a mistake to stop her... but... gotta fit up on other stuff... silly!

I had to take a picture of the inside, Guu Toronto, THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!!!! (this is how you do it!).... omg i cant tell you how disgusting the Guu Church is in comparison (beggars cant be choosers), if you want to see the Guu one, here is my Guu Church review

Jenny ordered this, Okonomi Yaki: deep fried squid and cabbage pancake with tonkatsu and mayo.  Hmmm. im not a fan tonkatsu, im not sure why. its a lil too tangy for me, and i also felt this was filler. but, a few days into being back in Van, i think i'm just picky. back to normal.

Salmon Yukke, the menu claims to have garlic sauce, green onions, and pine nuts. Which is what i was used to previously, with quail egg on the side, and shrimp crackers.  Today was a nice change with little garlic toasts instead.  I could have eaten a plate full of this! but i wont. because there is other food.

I wanted to try this Hotate Butter, Grilled Garlic Butter Scallop on Onion w/ Bonito Flakes and Garlic Chips.  Hmmm. if i must say, this was probably my least favorite of the night. There were only 3 scallops, and the bonito flakes were way to overpowering for me.  I would have preferred just Garlic Butter Scallop, or i would have also preferred if i had read the menu, because i know what bonito flakes are.....

MMM part of the daily specials, was this Steamed Mussels with Garlic, Sake, Butter & Brother... Jenny wasnt a big fan of mussels so... more for me!!!! the mussels were huge! and sake broth, couldnt go wrong, nothing better than hot sake broth on a 16 degree summer evening (beats this 40 toronto heat...)

Kaki Mayo - Oyster, Creamy, Cheese = how can you go wro... im having at heart a.. just kidding! i just took a long ass walk! It was really good except i wish i got more oyster! though i also like eating creamy and cheese!

Well! originally I wanted to order the Pork Belly off of the Daily Specials but Darn It! it was sold out, so the waiter suggest this, it was very delicious! he said.  Here I wouldnt think of ordering a Beef Tenderloin Pastry with Gravy Sauce, but i'm easily sold, on everything... don't try it. It was quite tasty... and there was quite a bite for $8.80. Man i love this place!

Oh! piece de resistance! Gin Dara. Man. I love Black Cod. (COD), its so amazingly melt in your mouth deliciousness.  It's a shame they always serve it in such small portions... i guess to leave me wanting... oh delicious fish. i want you... all the time...

How come the yaki udon always comes at the end? Is it like a, here is a carbo, because i bet you werent full from all the tiny dishes, filler up! well wrong! I was full! (for 20 minutes)

Here's the Bill, pretty reasonable i think! i would have paid double!... for double the food....

This was my neighbour's food. she got an BBQ Eel rice gratin 

She also got this sashimi salad. i think. i love sweet shrimp sashimi. 

Well! that was my Guu Vancouver Adventure. til next time!

New Izakaya: Raa Izakaya Sushi and Sake Bar @ Yonge and Sheppard..ish

Don't let the empty seats fool you, cause once we sat down, every 5 minutes there was a couple walking in.  So today I finally decided to check out the new Izakaya place down my street! Place was bustling! 

Raa Izakaya - Sushi Bar and Sake Bar

4848 Yonge St. Toronto

416-224-0075

info@raajapanese.com

Raajapanese.com

The restaurant itself is quite well put together, as i learned from the waitress at the end of the meal, the owner, who was walking around the whole time (see below), was a restaurant consultant who had a dream to open this restaurant, and it became a reality 3 weeks ago.  From the beautiful place settings and slate tableware, to the little touches like accent pillows on the banquettes, and wooden accents, and hanging lights, gorgeous!!!! But here's the con, man it was as expensive as it looked (like Melania Trump... she sure is expensive looking)

Here's the back of the owner's head, yes he's a white dude (who put a lot of thought into putting this together)

and in other news, let me add some CONS:

-There is a lighted menu in the front advertising Wagyu beef tataki in ponzu sauce. there was NO BEEF TATAKI. they changed the menu. i wonder if this has anything to do with wagyu beef coming from Japan?

-There was no Gindara: Grilled Black Cod. which i guess isn't their fault, cause black cod is so delicious, but it is their fault! for not having enough black cod. HUMF!

onward:

So to start, freebee from this kitchen is this fried seafood in some vinegar marinade, it was some white fish and a niblet of octopus.. tasted like the ocean, but otherwise, tasty

Kinpira $4.95

So, always wanting to try something new, i went for this Vegetable Appy called Kinpira (Lotus roots, Gobo, Yam Cake).  I really like lotus roots cause they always retain their nice chompability, love chomp chomp chomping em, it was interesting, like what was it, marinaded in some sweet soy slightly? plus the chewy cakes added nice juxtaposition (HA) to the crunchy lotus. it also tasted like it should be free. 

Spicy Deluxe Roll $8.50

Tuna, salmon, Hamachi and spicy wasabi tobiko.. $8 f*cking 50!!! if i had an $8.50 spicy tuna roll, it better do my laundry as well. wtf. welllll. in short, it was actually quite tasty and the fish was very melt in my mouth but. $8.50! I am so spoiled by Vancouver rolls.

Yakibuta $6.50

MMM Tenderous bbq pork belly with negi nuts sauce.  This was quite delicious (but what is up with the carrot hickory sticks?).. it was melt in your mouth fat and all, and amazingly tasty. This i will approve at $6.50.... maybe.

Snowcrab Croquette $7.95

Crabmeat, Creme Bechamel, tomato sauce

Soo this is new for me, i had no idea what a "Creme Bechamel" is.. but if i were a better student of Top Chef, should have remembered that they reference Bechemel, a thickened milk sauce, as one of the 5 mother sauces (Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato are the others.)

So this is what i have to say... innnteerresting.. its reminiscent to me in some chinese deep fried dish that escapes me right now that's like deep fried milk, but its interesting, and on a bed of tomato sauce... interesting...

Seared Peppered Tuna Carpaccio $13.50

THIRTEEN FIDDY!!!!

If you remember my Guu posts, ie. Guu Izakaya Church where i had BC Albacore Tuna Carpaccio @ $6.80, the tuna melted in my mouth... this one, did not, im not sure what kind of tuna it is, as you can see in the colour, this one is like a cassis syrupy purple/red, i mean in comparison, there is no comparison. However, stand alone, it was a tasty and decently done. there's a bunch of tomatoes and avocado on a bed of seaweed in the middle, so its a different mix up from my usual garlic and ponzu.

Seafood Yaki Udon - $13.50

What!!! ok im used to my Yaki Udon from Guu being in the $7-8 dollar range, however, we also needed a "filler" and i love yaki udon sooo i'm gonna have to make a BLLEEUGHH noise to this one. i mean, it is what it is, seafood, and udon and an emphasis on YAAeeuuKKKi! I mean nothing exciting or special about it at all, you got pieces of seafood like a whole octopus tentacle, and niblets of shrimp, perhaps a cameo by calamari, im not sure it was quick, some slivers of mushroom, red peppers and cabbage.. it is what it is. which is not much. not $13.50 worth.

Gyu Tongue Shio $7.50

Grilled Sliced Beef Tongue.

This was deeelicious! $7.50 delicious? verdict's still out. However, tongue was nicely seasoned, and super tender, it was like chewing on a crunchy piece of fat... um if you're into that, if not, it was like chewing on a seamless piece of crunchy tasty cow meat. yum!

Hmm and here's the bill... we got a 15% off from the bartender/hawker outside ... um i THINK this is a pretty expensive meal, i wasnt even appetizer full (1/4 full, if that makes sense), and felt the need to wander to the mcdonalds next door for an aftermeal meal..it was decent, and the decor was beautiful, the food was a decent attempt, however, slightly lacklustre from what i've been spoiled/accustomed to.  If this is your first go, i suppose you would be impressed. But, a nice try.

Costa Dorada, Spain: Tarragona and Cambrils, Spain, Snacks and Lunches

Last Summer, my good friend Jenny and I took a lil trip to Spain to relax in the beautiful southern beaches... I was a lil tardy, as usual... since i didn't pay attention to my ticket, and forgot how to read military time and ultimately... missed my flight... it was a crazy crazy 24 hours getting my ass from Toronto to Madrid, to charter to Barcelona, train to Barcelona Sants station from the airport, and catch the second to last 2+ hour standing train ride to Salou and cab it to the resort... but i made it! and will NEVER mistake 20:55 for 10:55PM AGAIN.... on our second day, we made a trip to Tarragona, Spain. It's a gorgeous southern Mediterranean coastal city, and as you can see from my pic above, boasts ruins from ancient roman times,

a few steps from our sidewalk snack break

mmm fresh spanish gazpacho

We went for a huge walk, as, we're (or i am) a horrible map reader, and was super parched for refreshment.  Since Gazpacho (a cold tomato based veggie soup), originates from Spain, I had to have it! And no wonder, a great summer soup, it was super refreshing, like herby/savoury yet fragrant, it was actually my first time! yum yum! 

fresh? or not fresh. but mussels aioli plucked from the sea.. beard and all

I also figured, hey im at the sea, might as well have some seafood, and ordered the Mussels Aioli, which i only knew how to pronounce from watching Top Chef... they love making aioli,  the waitress was so impressed i could pronounce it, and i was so impressed that she was impressed, so i went to figure out what the hell it was: Aioli is like a creamy garlic, olive oil, yoke sauce, and hmmm i think they grabbed the mussels straight out of the sea, cause parts of it was still attached to it... but the sauce was good!

A few days later, we took a catalan over to Cambrils, another fishing village on the south, to the east this time, of where we were staying in Salou.  What i LOVE about spain, is their prix fixe menus, i read that since lunch is the largest meal of the day, cheap prix fixe meals are sanctioned by the gov't .. awesome for me! I mean check this out. a drink (beer or mineral water), appy, main, dessert, for 11.90 EUROS. that's not even 20 bucks CDN for a great lunch.  and the food, do i even need to say, was great.

so here's my lil cervasa! otherwise, my preferred drink is Fanta. haha.

Here's a free tapas from the bar, we were outside at the patio, but i think if we were to hang out inside, that's were the freebees are. its like a fried tater cheese top.

Started off with some Calamari, great light breading, not overcooked or stringy, though i will reconsider ever ordering a squid dish for myself again cause it can get super heavy.

My main was this awesome grilled fish on top of deep fried battered peppers. I really liked the fried crispy veggies as a contrast to the fish, it just gave me some texture to play with. super awesome.

And look at this! decadent piece of awesomeness, I have no idea what i ordered, can you read what i ordered? but it was good, and soaked in sweet goodness. 

And here's Jenny's prawn salad! Those prawns are the size of giant fingers!

Guu Izakaya Church: Jessica checks another one off

http://www.guu-izakaya.com/

Saturday was an awesome day indeed, I went to the Toronto production of Billy Elliot, and it was just as heart felt and amazing as the New York production I saw in 2008. After the show, it was like 10:45PM, and we were hunnngry and since we were in the downtown area, and driving down Church Street, I was like…. Omg let's check out Guu! Guu Izakaya is one of a few brand named Izakaya (japanese tapa's) places in Vancouver, and one of the things I miss the most in Toronto.  There's such a concentrated population of Japanese people in Van so it trickles to the van culture,  like sushi on every block, and japadogs, and kumon… 

When we got in, we were informed that the kitchen was doing last call at 11:30 which meant we only had half an hour to order, which doesn’t sound difficult, but I like to order as I go along, so I had to make a decision. And QUICK!  I just started naming all the usuals to the waitress and she was like, WOW you know the whole menu… I was like. Heehee, im from Vancouver, so told me they had just opened up a new Guu @ Bloor and Bathurst… Damn it! Just when I thought I got to check all Guu's off my list, but another Guu to add to my experience!

As I understood, Izakaya's/Tapas are bar type foods to be enjoyed with alcohol (like a super epic glamourous pretzels and nuts) there's a lot of fried dishes, cause I guess  fried goes well with alcohol, and they're generally sharing dishes. To me I love Japanese Izakayas cause of the orginaity, flavour, and presentation packed into a small little dish. There are so many different dishes, and specials, that I'll never be bored, or afraid to try new things.

Each Guu has something unique to offer, both in experience and in the menu.

Guu Original – probably what I imagined being in Japan would be like, its a shoebox of a restaurant,  small open kitchen to the right and a bar all around it, few seats in the front and 2 larger tables with benches in the back next to the washroom. Its small, cramped, dark, and loud, but its a great experience. 

Guu with Garlic – I don’t know what you call it, but you can take off your shoes and sit into the floor like traditional japanese style eating, there's a small patio area on the side for the summer, its a little more brighter at this one, delicious!

Guu Aberdeen – its in richmond. Its in a mall? I dunno what it has to offer. Haha. Its a bit larger than the first 2 Guus, people seem to think the quality goes down when things hit Richmond, I thought it was decent!  

Guu with Otokomae – I have no idea what Otokomae is, even after googling it, so I just call this one Guu Gastown, to me, this is one and richmond would be one of the more spacious Guus, it's located in historic Gastown in Vancouver, with fireplaces, and to me, always seems like the more trendier Guu maybe cause of the clientele.

Guu Garden – is a little more "sophisticated" than the other guus, the ladies washroom feature decals on the wall and chandelier type lighting, there is an open patio in the front, it really is like eating in a garden, its open and fresh, 

And now we finally get to the first Guu in Toronto, Guu Church.

Guu Church – this was by far the loudest Guu I have ever been to, probably cause it's just one giant open space, when you go in, you've entered some sort of cafeteria, picnic style, family style eating area where the majority of the seating area are long tables with benches/seats.  I think there could a few more intimate tables on the side, and a long ass bar along open kitchen.  It's decently lighted, which is why I could take pics with no flash, I always love being greeted by the staff, love the service. It was a GUUD TIME.

Although the food wasn’t up to the standard of the Vancouver counterparts that I've become accustomed to… Hey take what I can get… 

eating view

Pumpkin Croquette AKA

"KABOCHA KOROKKE" Deep fried kabocha pumpkin croquette with a boiled egg inside

So this is a staple that I always get in Vancouver, @ Guu Original they usually have stacks of fried balls (heh) ready cause it's a pretty popular little dish.  

This was the first dish that came, and it looked the part, I was taken aback… However.. Something in the mix went a big wrong. 

Where was the pumpkin?? I'm not sure if I just had a deformed ball and they ran out of pumpkin and just decided to roll it around in flour until it formed a decent sized ball… It was more like batter and egg ball. Total disappointment :( especially when I knew what it could be! 

RAMUNE- Japanese Soda

 super yummy!  $.50 of each bottle purchased  goes towards a donation to support Japan.  

Beef Tataki AKA

GYU CARPACCIO" Loghtly seared marbled beef sashimi with wasabi mayo

This dish changes people.  When Chris and I were working in Vancouver, I told him I would take him out for dinner for always helping me/driving me home, as a thank you (chinese people thank via food), he was totally skeptical at first, as he'd always only had italian or "caker" canadian food as he calls it, but was open.  I think I wanted more to shock him by ordering the RAW beef, like, take that white guy! And after one bite, he was sold.  I think while we were in Van, he consumed 4-5 plates of these. I think he still dreams of it… But no longer! I can report that this beef tataki is just as good, maybe even better than the vancouver counterpart, if not better (from my Feb visit to Guu Gastown, the beef tataki was a bit… Meh)

Tuna Tataki AKA

"MAGURO TATAKI" Loghtly seared B.C. albacore tuna sashimi with ponzu sauce and garlic chips

How can you go wrong with BC albacore tuna with ponzu sauce and garlic chips… Mmmm melt in your mouth delicious! Always better when it comes from BC! haha

Beef Short Ribs AKA

"KARUBI" Salt&papper grilled beef short ribs with green onion sauce

Tender, they are what they are. Salt and peppered grilled short ribs. Cant really go wrong, though was not my favourite, as dish after dish was packed with interesting flavour, S&P just doesn’t do that much in this situation.

Ebimayo AKA

"EBIMAYO" Deep fried prawn in crispy batter with spicy mayo

Hmm again another disappointment from what I am used to in Vancouver. From the soggy shrimp, the overly heavy breading, in my opinion, soggy fried breading which cant even make sense but that’s what it was, the mayo wasn’t spicy enough… MEH

Special: Vancouver Uni

Ah uni.  The first time I had uni, I was in my late teens, and was not at an age where I appreciated the fine delicate texture and crescendoing flavour that uni brings to your tastebuds.  I didn't get it.  But then, last year, my food cousin brought me to this authentic japanese restaurant in Stevesten, and I had fresh uni, and it was sooooo amazing.  I can see what little sea otters risk being squewered to get at the delicious mustard yellow center. Sea Otters are foodies too!  I had the choice between Vancouver and Boston sea urchin, obviously everything is better from Vancouver, so I went with the Vancouver uni. Haha. Yet again, the BC grown dish did not disappoint. Haha.

"IKAPIRI" Deep fried calamari with spicy ketchup and wasabi mayo

This was  a first dish for me, usually we go for a grilled calamari with a spicy mayo, which is great, this wasn’t too bad.  The spicy ketchup was great, it was tangy and sweet, with a kick.  Calamari is such a filling food to eat, and the tangyness made me want to keep eating it.  Loved the fried wonton type bowl it was in. 

"KAKI FURAI" Deep fried oyster with 3 kinds sauce

Hmm. This is a new dish I decided to try as I panicked to pick enough food to order… Its.. A lil below MEH. Im an oyster fan, oyster gratin, oyster motoyaki, raw oysters.. These oysters, probably since you couldn’t just grab them out of the sea, like in vancouver, were a bit "fishy", it was nothing to write home about, except that one of their pink tartar like sauces featured boiled eggs… Weird! Yummy!

Grilled Black Cod AKA

"GINDARA" Grilled black cod with SAIKYO miso and white wine sauce

Love black cod, or butter fish, or yummy delicious flaky fatty fish! The flavours were amazing, I coulda licked the plate, this is a staple I get all the time.  My only complaint, which is a big one, is that, I could tell the fish was frozen. It didn't flake off the way I was used to, the texture was a bit mush, there were hints of unfresh "sea" like taste… I mean, what can you do, Toronto is the middle of land and a dirty lake… Sigh. 

Yakiudon AKA

"YAKIUDON" Pan fried udon NOODLE with beef and vegetables

This is always delicious, and to me, the filler starch portion of the meal, to make sure you don’t stop for a burger on your way home.  Delicious with tender (and minimal) slices of seasoned beef, with delicious chewy noodles. 

Ah. And the total. For 2. It's not the cheapest meal, not the most expensive either, prices range from $4-$10 dollars maybe, it can be cheap if you eat 1 or 2 dishes.  It's worth what it is. But im a greedy little pig who loves to stuff her face in deliciousness, so it was alllll worth it :)