Aka Tom Bo (Lonsdale, North Vancouver, BC)

We were running some errands in on the North Shore recently, and got the grumblies. Since M used to live along the Lonsdale corridor, we searched around looking for some familiar eats. Since it was a Sunday, a few of our "usual" joints were closed (ahem, Hachi Hana. And we're still sad that Okra has closed up. Does anyone know where Joe has gone?).

We drove around for a while before succumbing to hunger-rage (the point where we *almost* don't give what we eat, so long as we get to eat!) and deciding on Aka Tom-Bo on Lonsdale at 8th Street. The place used to be a "pizza and sushi" restaurant prior to the current management taking over, and to be honest, we've rarely had a dine-in meal at Aka Tom-Bo. There used to be a ridiculously inexpensive party platter, which if we picked up and paid in cash, would cost us a little over $18, and would feed both of us for a solid two meals, plus a light lunch for myself.

The good times have passed, however, and although the current management offered the same "grandfathered" deal to us for a while, we felt kind of bad and stopped ordering our special deal. It was time to try the dine-in experience!


A lot has changed from when we used to frequent Tom Bo. For one, pizza is no longer served! Another is that there are a seemingly endless selection of specialty rolls, many of which contain cream cheese. As we're not fans of cream cheese in sushi (kind of defeats the our purpose of eating sushi - we choose this fare when we feel like something "light"), we opted for an assorted sashimi and a lunch special which included a miso soup.

The miso soup was nothing special; although some people would say "WTF with the spoon in the miso soup!". :p Us, we just removed the soupspoon from the bowl and sipped from the bowl.


The assorted sashimi included 12 mouthwatering pieces, 2 each of salmon, tuna, saba, tako, tai and toro with a garnish of tobiko. All the fish were fresh and flavourful For $13.99, the assorted sashimi could be a little expensive to some, but the quality is what you are paying for here. And there is no "cheapie filler" of hokkigai here - just tako and yummy fresh fish. We would order this again.



The lunch special we ordered included three pieces of the ocean garden roll, and a whole dynamite roll and unagi-avocado roll. This plate, along with the miso soup came to $7.99. The ocean garden roll is essentially a California roll and salmon held within a thin sheath of carefully trimmed cucumber. It is delicious and refreshing.

The tempura prawn in the dynamite roll could have been a little hotter, but flavour-wise, satisfied our deep-fried food craving. The bbq eel and avocado roll was garnished with toasted sesame seeds. The roll didn't require a dunk in wasabi soy sauce; it was flavourful enough on its own.

Overall, we enjoyed dining in at Aka Tom-Bo. Since the chances of us getting take-out from there is close to nil as we live across the water, that's a good thing! A plus is that Aka Tom-Bo is open on Sundays whereas other places (like the beloved Hachi Hana) is closed. Ahhh, the North Shore (the city where merchants make too much money and close on Sundays), you gotta love it.

Aka Tom-Bo also offers rolls that are prepared with soy paper instead of nori, and a variety of combos and bento boxes. On weekdays, the restaurant is packed with business people and health care workers from the nearby offices and Lions Gate Hospital. With a deal or two and a large menu, Aka Tom Bo is sure to satisfy any appetite.

Aka Tom-Bo
751 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver BC
P: 604-929-9999

Zakkushi (Main, Vancouver, BC)

Had the pleasure of visitng Zakkushi twice in the last little while and enjoyed most of my experience. The first time it was a girl-gabbing session with Izzo. Initially we were set to go for tex-mex...I even called both places for reservations, but the Tex-Mex place sounded confused and initially didn't know how to take a reservation (what?!), then told me that there were lots of spaces open and to come right in. Meanwhile, Zakkushi took my reservation and told me politely that if I was late by fifteen minutes, they would be giving my table away. I don't know about you, but if you tell me I have limited options (like the last cannoli, or the last seat, or the last of a limited produced entree), I tend to hoard. lol! I am, afterall, my mothers' daughter.

In the end, we arrived almost five minutes late past their fifteen-minute restriction (as I am, again, my mothers' daughter and hadn't really made a 'concrete' reservation with Izzo. :). The host waved off my apology, and we were seated promptly in their section of tables for two along the north wall.


What izakaya visit would be complete without an ebi mayo? It was one of the first things we ordered; it was a slightly smaller portion (and weight count)  than other izakayas, but the taste and workmanship were there. We also ordered a zakkushi set which included a grilled skewer each of momo (chicken thigh with sauce), oropon beef (beef with Japanese radish and ponzu), me maki (garlic wrapped with pork slices), p-toro (crunchy & juicy pork - pork belly, I believe?), umeshiso maki (chicken thigh wrapped with shiso leaf and plum). The grilled items were all succulent, with an almost perfect balance of bitter char from the grill, and juicy tender bite of the respective meats. This is a must order for next time, or for zakkushi beginners.

Part of the reason why I like eating with Izzo is that we like a lot of the same foods. Moreover, she likes foods that M would not usually eat, either. This makes me very happy! :p One dish that I *knew* would catch her eye was the ahi tuna poke. Of course, she did not prove my instincts wrong, and it was one of her first choices.


Fresh, buttery red tuna chunks with cubes of smooth ripe avocado, fresh green onion, a simple sesame soy sauce, and garnished with a dollop of crunchy tobiko. The poke was served with a wooden spoon and nori sheets for wrapping. We enjoyed this a lot; the play on the contrasting textures and simple flavours made this another must-order.


The next round of ordering included bukakke soba, chicken wasabi, and uzura age. I almost spit out my tea when I was reading the menu where the above items were listed (google / wikipedia at your own risk!). I'd only seen it referred to in the old RBJ forums as something quite perverted. Thus, I had to order it, just to see. lol (Yes, I know I opened myself up for some serious heckling.)

The bukakke soba came first: cold soba (buckwheat) noodles, poached egg, deep fried shrimp, and crunchy tobiko served with a side of hot broth. It is meant to be served by mixing the ingredients together and moistening with the hot broth. The bukkake soba was refreshing in that it was filling, but probably the least greasy thing we that night.

We were warned that the skewer of wasabi yaki (grilled chicken topped with wasabi) was quite hot (temperature and spice level) but found it to be lacking spiciness. While it wasn't disappointing, it would have been nice to have a spicier wasabi, or more of it to taste it was it was intended to be.

The uzura age, takoyaki style (quail egg  breaded and fried, topped with takoyaki ingredients like seaweed strips, takoyaki sauce, bonito flakes, and mayo) was addictive and rich. While it was only on their montly "fresh sheet", I hope that it makes it to their regular menu!

There was also an order of "teriyaki norimayo sausage / teriyaki-seaweed-mayo-black hog sausage" (also from the monthly fresh sheet) on this first night. When I suggested it to Izzo, she heard something else. Hint? Say the text within the quotations above. Yes, girls are quite perverted when there are no males around!


The night was rounded out with an order of the amazake affogato. Vanilla ice cream topped with matcha powder, served with amazake, an unfiltered, fermented sake-like sauce. There is a little alcohol in the amazake, and it was paired nicely with the bitter matcha and sweet, smooth ice cream. I'd order this again.

On the second night, M and I made a last minute reservation. Unfortunately, we were seated in the group area along the south wall which held a bunch of drunk twenty-somethings celebrating a birthday. It was all good though - it added to the atmosphere of the izakaya (although I informed the host on our way out that the birthday boy would need a bucket very shortly).


We started with a flight of sakes - I liked that there was a range; one daiginjo, one ginjo, one junmai. They differed in their unfiltered / filtered states, and degree of polishing of the rice grain itself. I have to go back to "sake school" to remember what the differences were! The sakes went well with a lot of food we had (although it didn't last long) - I was impressed by Zakkushis' selection.

An order of kakishiso (shiso leaf-wrapped oyster in tempura batter) was up first. The dish could have been hotter and the tempura crispier. The oyster could have used some seasoning as well - this was not one of Zakkushis' stronger dishes.


Another disappointing dish was the barisoba salad. The menu describes it as being green salad, nori, green onions, crunchy soba noodles, and chefs' special dressing. What we got was exactly that, but there was so much of the strong balsamic dressing, and the dressing was so salty, that we left a lot of it on the plate. When the waitress came to collect the plate we let her know about it, but her response was indifferent ("Oh, was it?").

If you follow my twitter, you may have caught my tweet about the next dish, Uzura Maki. Quail egg wrapped in seasoned pork slices, then grilled. It was so good. The quail egg was rich, and complemented by the juicy, seasoned pork. Kind of a delicious twist on eggs and ham, perhaps?


We also ordered a pair of the teriyaki norimayo black hog sausage (five times fast). As usual, it did not disappoint. Juicy flavourful sausage, topped with teriyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and strips of seaweed. At right, wasa beef. Much like the wasabi yaki on the previous visit, the wasabi did not show. It barely registered on the spiciness scale, but at least the beef was flavourful.


The next dish was torched at the table. The sake butter on our beef sirloin steak was melted by our server. Was it necessary? I guess not, but it was a good show! :) The beef was tender - M really enjoyed his choice. The butter? We couldn't really detect strong sake notes, but the sweet garlicky butter paired well with the beef, as expected.


We finished our meal with a takowasabi ochazuke. Ochazuke is a traditional Japanese snack or light meal that is prepared by pouring a mixture of green tea and dashi (fish broth) over rice. It is traditionally topped with rice crackers, nori, tobiko, togarashi, umebushi, or other ingredients. We chose wasabi octopus. I enjoyed this dish. You *could* taste the wasabi here, and the octopus texture differed nicely from the warmed rice. I'm guessing that ochazuke is an acquired taste - because of its' "blandness", it is usually consumed by older people. Oh well. I'd order it again!


Zakkushi
4075 Main Street
Vancouver BC
P: 604-874-9455 

Sushi Garden (Lougheed, Burnaby, BC)

The large sign for Sushi Garden has been up at the vacant commercial space at the corner of Lougheed at Douglas for months. For the longest time, it seemed that even with the installation of the new shiny signage, Sushi Garden wasn't going to open at the storefront next to Churchs chicken - the "For Lease" signs were still up in the paper-lined windows, and the unit itself showed no life.


View Larger Map

Just last week, however, Sushi Garden finally opened up shop at 4269 Lougheed Highway. We dropped in for a quick weekday meal and were surprised to see it already packed, with a small lineup for take out, and a small lineup in the waiting area as well.



Being tired from a workday, we pondered the menu for a while before succuming to weariness and deciding on the basics: california roll, chopped scallop roll, dynamite roll, a tuna & salmon sashimi, and mentaiko udon.

The food arrived nearly all at once; it made photography a little tricky as I couldn't move it around as much, and, combined with the flimsy / light tables, we nearly shocked a neighbouring table with a shower of hot tea.

The rolls were all good, although even M was careful to note that he wished the sushi chef who had made the dynamite roll had made the california roll and the scallop roll as well. But, it was Sushi Garden! At the prices they were charging, it was reasonable and went down well.



The sashimi was just ok. We were tempted by the large assorted sashimi platter that the couple next to us were having - on a side note, the guy looked a little like Edlau. Was it? I didn't want to stare, so I didn't get a good look. Anyways, we would not order the tuna & salmon sashimi again.

The mentaiko udon was good, with briny cod roe notes and hints of dairy / butter as well. I'm thinking that they soaked the salted cod roe in milk to rid of some of the salt? It was good, and the noodles were not overdone. Service was harried as the four waitresses could barely handle the volume and turnover of tables while we were there. M witnessed one waitress attempt to wipe down a table; instead she flung rice and sushi particles onto the floor and a piece hit a diner in the back - I wished I had seen that!

The dining area is quite large, and although the space looks narrow from the outside, there was ample space for waitresses and take out customers to dart about without bothering diners. That being said, the waiting area could stand to be larger as I foresee lineups going out the door. The decor is a little nicer than their Kingsway location, with dark wood and slightly more comfortable chairs. It is still all very utilitarian and the operation is efficient. (...As a matter of fact, it looks a little like something I could replicate in Cafe World or Restaurant City on Facebook! haha!)

Sushi Garden was very wise to open up a location on this strip of Lougheed: far enough from the Korean restaurants of North Road and the older eateries on Hastings, yet close enough to all the new apartments in the Brentwood area. There are four other Japanese restaurants within walking distance to Sushi Garden, so in a pinch, you could fulfill your sushi cravings if there was a long wait at Sushi Garden. However, Sushi Garden is strong where the neighbouring restaurants are weak; Sushi Garden has larger capacity, higher product turnover, and more efficient (not necessarily experienced though!) service. Parking is free out front and on the rooftop and the location is relatively close to Gilmore skytrain station.

Judging by the packed restaurant last night, the neighbourhood was waiting for Sushi Garden to open! Hopefully they can maintain the newness / cleanliness - just like their Kingsway location, it's a good place for a quick meal or takeout.

Sushi Garden (Lougheed)
4269 Lougheed Highway
Burnaby BC
P: 604-294-0104

Shoryumen & Fumisen (Richmond BC)

This post is brought to you by baby E, hereafter known as "(e)". (e) is an adorable three month old baby boy of my friend H. Doesn't he look Supercute? I only took a couple photos of him, but he was aware and looking at the camera for most of them.

When I wake up in the morning, I groggily check my email, facebook, and twitter. Yesterday, I logged on to twitter *right* as Jonnek1028 was tweeting about Tenku Bakudanyakis' "new friends", Shoryumen and Fumisen. Literally right after I tweeted back about wanting to visit the Elmbridge parking lot for lunch that day, I opened up a message on facebook from H about the same stalls. I decided then and there that I'd try them for lunch!

Shoryumen and Fumisen, following in the Tenku Bakudanyaki model, are yatai, or mobile food carts selling various hot foods. In this case, Shoryumen is a ramen stop, while Fumisen sells a variety of temaki, or what they call, "gourmet sushi cones".



Since I visited Tenku Bakudanyaki last, they've relocated about 10 meters north, and an inukshuk composed of shipping containers has been erected by the city of Richmond as a welcome to the Olympic tourists visiting the Olympic Oval which is a mere two blocks away.



When I *finally* got to the location (after circling a bit, and doing a couple u-turns on Gilbert road), I was greeted by H and (e) and after glancing around a bit, we entered the stall that is Shoryumen. Being that it was, essentially, a cart, I was impressed how sturdy it was and how the proprietor, Kan Odaka had accomplished a clean look by simple wood grain and black countertop. The intimate environment also allowed us to chat with him while we ordered and ate our ramen.

The customization is what is key in Kan`s budding yatai mura / food stall village. At Shoryumen, you can choose from four soup bases, including Kuro, a soy sauce-based soup, Aka, miso, En, sea salt, or Ton, rich pork stock. In addition to soup base, you may choose from a variety of toppings, including seaweed, bean sprouts, fishcake, egg, bamboo shoots, green onions, pork, corn, butter, cabbage, kimchi, black mushroom, pickled plum, garlic chips, and wild vegetables. Toppits are $1/each or $3 for four toppings. All orders come with seaweed, veggies and green onion; you may order additional noodles, vegetables, or meat for $2 extra.



I ordered the Ton soup base with fish cake and corn, while H ordered an Aka soup base with pork and corn. After learning that take out was available, (e) ordered a Ton ramen to go. You know, he was full from his milk-brunch that he'd had before. ;) Just kidding. (e) ordered it for his daddy!



(e) had the best seat in the house. That kids got VIP schmoozing skills man!

As mobile food carts can create a lot of waste, Shoryumen offers a solution - purchase a reusable bowl for only $2.25, or bring your own bowl in and they will take 50 cents off your order!

As for the ramen? It was done perfectly al dente, and the broth (I can only speak for the Ton) was rich and flavourful. As I stood there finishing my meal (I am one of the slowest eaters evaaar.), I decided that the "butter" topping made perfect sense - adding butter to the Ton soup base would make it decadently rich. Would someone like to accompany me in the near future? :)

H found her Aka soup base very flavourful as well. The pork in both cases was tender and added to the experience.

I cannot express how excited I am that there is an accessible ramen place that I can go to solo without feeling out of place. Yes, I know there are other ramen places in Richmond, but there are huge lineups and waits at those locations for lunch. I hope Shoryumen doesn't get *too* crazy busy in the next bit, I am hoping to make regular visits to satisfy my ramen pangs!



Fumisen is another "customize your meal" yatai.

You start by choosing from a nori / seaweed or soy crepe wrapper, then your rice. There are about eight proteins to choose from, and you can also select two extra "vegetable" toppings and from a selection of four sauces. So by my calculations, that makes for 10368 possible combinations! ...right? Please correct me if I'm wrong - it's been a while since I've done "real" math and although I aced math in high school, I just spent about ten minutes checking my math and I'm not sure I'm right. Help!

Edit: Thanks to Kim, the actual number of combinations available is 4608. Here's a curveball though. Notice how both H & myself got tobiko, apple and avocado? I guess if the chef is happy that day, there will be about 10752 possible combinations?

Here is (e) trying to make up his mind while looking at the Fumisen board. Decisions, decisions...



As Kan had suggested trying the apple topping to add texture and flavour to our sushi cone selection, and to try the soy crepe, we obediently did - on all three orders!



The man pictured above takes down your order (pen and paper - afterall, if anything, I think I pointed out that there are a LOT of combinations, yes?), then washes his hands and starts your order. Afterward, the cones are placed in the plastic holder above.



Pictured above: (1) Soy crepe, salmon rice, unagi, tobiko, apple and avocado with wasabi mayo for H, (2) Soy crepe, sushi rice, crab cake (kamaboko), tobiko, apple and avocado with wasabi mayo for me, and (3) Soy crepe, sushi rice, scallop, topiko, apple, and avocado and wasabi mayo for OH, Hs' hubs. Yes, I know...we're so original that we ordered the exactly same "veggie" toppings. :p It was good though - and although the cones were accompanied with a packet of soy sauce, it was unnecessary as the cones were flavourful enough.

Kan has big plans - plans to open a stall for eating / waiting, a dessert stall, as well as plans to open other yataimura in other locations. And Yum-O-Rama is looking forward to it!

Shoryumen, Fumisen, and Tenku Bakudanyaki

12831 Clarke Pl
Richmond BC
Twitter: @yatainoodles @bakudanyaki




Edit:
More photos at my flickr set.
A post in Chinese about Fumisen and Shoryumen at VincentandKimmy.com. Sweet, I'm learning Chinese by osmosis! :)