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

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.


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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

Bentei Sushi (Burnaby, BC)

Being that the last while has been stressful and that we've been pressed for time, we have been eating our fair share of take out.

Actually, on the occasion that we consumed the three following dishes, we'd just found out that MB had been in an accident and had returned from the hospital. Initially, we'd had reservations at a Thai restaurant, but found out on our way there that MB was at Royal Columbia. We immediately changed our course and made our way to RCH - by the time we spent some time visiting with the family and MBs M, we were starving. As my father would say, between the stress and the hunger, we "didn't feel human".

Instead of Thai, we opted for a homey Japanese meal. Bentei Sushi, tucked away in a small strip mall off of Lougheed Highway would have to do the trick.



If homey was what we wanted, we knew we'd order a katsudon. Breaded pork cutlet with sauteed onion topped steamed rice. An egg was cooked over top of the pork, and the sauteed onion provided a savoury-sweet sauce to mix in with the rice. I still maintain that the katsudon at Vanya is my hands-down favourite (hence us referring to Vanya as the "pork chop rice place").



By chance, we also ordered a chicken teriyaki, which came with a helping of yakisoba, and salad. At $6.45, it was good value and in terms of comfort food, it hit the spot as well.



We also ordered a dynamite roll. At $4 a roll, it was good value as well.



On a separate occasion, I had a dynamite combo to myself. I also added on one piece of inari since the combo was only $8.80. The fish was fresh, and having hotate (scallop) sushi included in a combo was great! I love scallops, so I've already already aded Bentei Sushi to my phone book for a quick meal on busy workdays.

In short, I think I've found my favourite little sushi spot. Its proximity to home and quality make it a good take out restaurant for busy times.

Bentei Sushi
5901 Broadway
Burnaby BC
P: 604-291-0080

Vanya (Vancouver, BC)

I thought I had done a post on Vanya / Van-ya, but I guess I was wrong!

Vanya has been in operation on Harold Street in Vancouver for as long as I can remember. Originally, it was owned by an older couple and as far as I know, it is where me and my family began our love affair with sushi!

I remember going when I was in elementary school and working my way from the California rolls, to their special rolls - an ever-changing assortment of fish and seafood packed into a roll. We continued going to Vanya as we grew older - it made for healthy and hearty lunches, a quick eat-in or take-home dinner. Suffice to say, it helped out mom a lot as it was something that she would eat, and that us kids enjoyed as well!

A little over a year ago, Vanya changed hands to a younger couple, and for the first bit, the old owner / chef stayed on to train new staff. The food has held up their quality and standards, and prices have gone up a little, but that is quite understandable in todays' economic climate and inflation!

The restaurant serves a number of bentos / combos and also a slightly different number of bentos for take out. It is all good. :)

One one occasion with M, my mother and sister, (before work got all crazy!) we enjoyed a simple dinner. I didn't get all the photos I wanted, but here are some highlights!



Vanya serves fresh sashimi. Another perk is that they serve wild Sockeye salmon - better eat up before its all gone! Both the salmon and tuna are carefully picked over for bones and sliced beautifully and arranged.



The aforementioned Special roll - filled to the brim with fresh, mouth-watering sashimi, it makes for a healthy, low-fat meal for one, or the perfect dish to share. The dynamite roll is also tasty. My mother always says that Vanyas' tempura is the best; the perk of a small restaurant is that your food arrives quickly, and fresh, crispy tempura is what makes a dynamite roll excellent.



Here is one of my favourite dishes, katsudon, at Vanya. You could say that its one of my favourite comfort foods! Deep-fried pork cutlets with egg cooked onto the top, on a bed of carmelized onions. M is not necessarily great at remembering the names of restaurants, so for the longest time, I referred to Vanya as "the pork chop rice place! You know! How can you not remember?!?" Finally, he is remembering Vanya, so no need to call it the "pork chop rice place". You know. Less confusion. :)



Here's a last shot of the tempura. Crispy, fresh, tasty while still retaining moisture in the shrimp. Vanyas' yam tempura and assorted tempura are also very good.

As an aside, if you order the Nabeyaki Udon, be sure to order the tempura on the side. And in the summertime, be sure to try their cold noodle.

I'm glad Vanya hasn't changed too much with the new management - the place has a lot of nostalgia for me!

Vanya

5615 Harold Street [map]

Vancouver BC

P: 604-433-1303

Sushi Boy (Broadway, Vancouver, BC)

Sushi Boy! We've been in search of cheap good eats as of late. It's summer, and we'd rather be spending time outside than inside cooking. After some shopping downtown and along South Granville, we couldn't decide what to do. As we neared Cambie at Broadway, I remembered Sushi Boy, a small "bus stop" sushi joint that has been in operation since the beginning of time.

I remember it in the early days of when my parents (and myself) went to Dr Leung a couple doors down. As I'm writing this entry though, I wonder if Dr Leung is still there? Obviously Dr. Leung as in Dr. Leung...junior, as senior Dr. (Jack) Leung is retired.

As an aside, all the "lo wa kews" in Vancouver would remember Dr. Leung. That man / family must have a lot of connections with the older folk, as he was, in the 80s and early 90s one of the "premier" Chinese doctors in Vancouver. But, as time went on and Vancouver evolved, more immigrants resulted in more doctors as well. Seriously though! I knew people with elderly parents that lived in Coquitlam and *still* went to Vancouver to be seen by Dr. Leung.

Ahem. Yes - Sushi Boy has been there for a long time. And cheap eats they are!

We would have gone to Menya for ramen, or even Kanpachi, but we just wanted to get some food in the bellies before we went home - and Sushiboy was just the place!



We both opted for the same thing - the $4.95 special that is advertised in the window. For the mere price of a flavoured Starbucks latte, you get three pieces each of California and tekka (cucumber) roll, some noodles, gomaae (Spinach) salad, a green salad with fresh seasonal veggies, a small amount of noodle, a tempura prawn, a oshi (pressed) sushi, and your choice of beef or chicken teriyaki. We each also added on a smoked salmon pocket.



The surprise was in the amount of food you got. While we were expecting a small snack, M actually got a little full, and I *really* shouldn't have finished my meal. That piece of oshi sushi really made me full - I felt like I was the stay-puffed mochi man, although to be totally accurate, I was the "stay-stuffed rice lady" (doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it? :).

Remember the "Westcoast Pocket Trio" at the Cactus Club? Those babies (and I mean babies!) worked out to $4 (each!), plus tip. The smoked salmon pockets at Sushiboy were only $2.50, and were larger than the ones at Cactus. Works for me!



Now, Sushiboy is lacking in boobie-scenary (it is just Sushiboy himself plus a cashier), and immensely lacking in ambience (read: hole-in-the-wall sushi joint), and the food can also be lacking for some, but at these discount prices, I am certainly not complaining!

Sushiboy

409 West Broadway [map]

Vancouver BC

Phone: 604-879-5236

Ebisu on Broadway (Vancouver, BC)

My family has been enjoying sushi at 601 Broadway for the longest time. We were patrons of Kamei Royale and Kamei Robata in years past, and with its newest reincarnation and slight management tweaking, we still love eating quality sushi at Ebisu on Broadway.



First up, beef tataki, served with slices of sweet cherry tomato, radish, green onion, shiso leaves, radish sprouts, and a light vinagrette. A refreshing start to a huge meal...



Then some dynamite roll (one for each side of the table), spicy gyoza, and chopped scallop sushi. What I love about (now) Ebisu is that their ingredients are always fresh, and there is care taken when preparing each variety of sushi. In addition, they have a number of chefs (hot and cold sides) so the food never tastes rushed; instead, you can taste the food as it was meant to be. :)



Large appetites call for large party platters! We dug in and finished it in no time.



A favourite of mine is the mango paradise roll. You know those sushi places that serve you crunchy fruit on sushi? Well Ebisu is NOT that place - the mango was perfectly ripe and complimented the underlying smoked salmon and California roll quite well! The tobiko added a nice, slightly bitter crunch.



We also ordered the lobster sushi boat, which comes with fresh lobster, tuna and salmon sashimis, and a variety of other sashimis.



A distinguishing dish is their grilled ika / octopus. Come to think of it though, because I almost always go to Ebisu with family, I have *rarely* done the ordering, so I don't exactly know what this dish is called. The octopus comes pre-blanched and with a touch of marinade. There is also a small "grill" to prepare the octopus to your liking. After grilling for a short amount of time per side, the octopus is dipped in the sesame-soy sauce. Yum!



Next we had some uni (they did not have fresh uni that day, so we settled for frozen) sushi and oyster motoyaki. I am a huge fan of uni, so I savoured that little morsel like nobodys business! The oyster motoyaki, however, was surprisingly good, even though I hadn't "ordered" one at the beginning of the meal (you pay a steep price for eating food that you hadn't ordered in my family. heehee!). The motoyaki wasn't too heavy, but still had huge chunks of oyster and complimenting vegetables baked into the half shell.



Dads favourite is the salmon belly and the salmon kama (salmon neck). The salmon is grilled, so the skin gets blistery and crisp, while still keeping the flesh meaty and moist. Typically, the salmon (either one) gets grabbed up once it hits the table. I wasn't even able to get a photo of the salmon belly, it disappeared that fast!

We also ordered a number of tempuras (assorted and yam). Ebisus' tempura always arrives fresh and piping hot. As usual, fried food is always good!

Grandpas' favourite is the unagi-don (grilled eel on rice). It comes with a wonderful sauce and the rice does a great job of soaking it all up. There have been times, dining at Ebisu, that members of the family find only a skimpy piece or two of eel left - all the seaweed and rice is gone. *That's* how good the sauce is. :)



Finally, remember that lobster sashimi boat? After you are done eating all the sashimi, the staff will take it back to the kitchen and prepare a miso soup with the claws and shell. For an extra charge, you may add in noodles - ramen, udon, or soba. We usually opt for ramen, but they had ran out that day. So, we ordered udon. It hit the spot as I'd been craving some udon anyways.

Change your name all you want Ebisu / Kamei / whatever! Just don't change the food!

Ebisu on Broadway

601 West Broadway [map]

Vancouver BC

Phone: 604-876-3388

Clubhouse (Vancouver, BC)

The Clubhouse restaurant has been in operation for 9.5 years. I remember reading an article about how it was "the first izakaya" in Vancouver, and that began my subtle hinting to family, friends, and M about how we *had* to make a trip down to that industrial area near Mario's Gelato and Tantra fitness (rawr!) to try them out. Since Clubhouse is only open for dinner on weekends, and not open Mondays or holidays, it kept on evading my plans...

It wasn't until we were going home on Saturday from the beach that M and I got a chance to drop by Clubhouse for some of their hospitality and food!

As the reviews on Urbanspoon claim, Clubhouse has a slightly "eccentric" feel. There are murals of golfing greens and mountains on the walls, as well as stained glass windows in the front. Chalkboards around the bar area advertise the daily specials (we never *did* remember to ask what Geso was...), and there is a photo board that short people can only speculate are customer and staff photos (it is about 7-8 feet high...not around my eye level. :)

We ordered a half and half sashimi to start with. After a long day and the sun / sand at the beach, the tuna and wild salmon sashimi was a godsend. As I told M, "for once I like the tuna more than the salmon!"



Clubhouse also has a selection of "Holy Makis". What are Holy Rolls? They are rolls that have been coated with panko, deep fried *just* to brown the exterior, and served with a special dipping sauce. We speculated that sauce was a light ponzu sauce with finely grated daikon, but we'd have to try it again to be sure.

It was a great creation. The one we ordered was their Dave & Mike roll, which is apparently named after two of their regulars. They both work at YVR and the roll consists of tuna, salmon, asparagus, and red bell pepper. It was an excellent variety of temperature and textures with the warm crisp coating, solidity of the sushi rice, bite of the asparagus and bell pepper, and buttery salmon and tuna. The sauce was a great accompaniment to the roll - soy sauce would have been too salty; the ponzu sauce added the right touch of tang, sweetness, and savoury without being too overpowering.



Next up was the Alaska roll. I was expecting more from it - it was simply imitation crabmeat roll (shredded) with smoked salmon on top. M likes to combine things - admittedly, once we dipped it into the special dipping sauce that came with the Dave & Mike roll, it was much better!



We ordered the sashimi and the holy roll almost once we sat down and had a glance at the menu. M also ordered the Alaska roll and a mixed meat okonomiyaki in a second round of ordering. I had known that the okonomiyaki would take a while to arrive, but there was quite a fair wait before it showed up. We were not disappointed however - while it wasn`t the okonomiyakis we`d experience at other restaurants, it was a great change. It arrived on a sizzling hot plate and was a yakisoba casserole of sorts - with chicken, beef, pork shallots, and cabbage in the mix. It was quite large, so we had to pack more than half of it home.



Clubhouse has reasonable prices and extremely hospitable staff. Our server was more than pleasant, and being that it was warm day, she was always around to top off our glasses of water (about 4-5 times!). Another staff also answered our questions about the restaurant, giving small anecdotes. Apparently the current owner kept the original name from the previous sub & sandwich shop at the location. They decided to take a spin on the "Clubhouse" name and change it to an "after golf watering hole", hence the golfing murals.

The menu also advertises noodles, hot pots, and Japanese curries. There is also a daily "fresh sheet" and a section with names like "sumo wrestler combo", or WWF combo - up to 84 pieces of sushi on a platter to satisfy all your (and probably 4-5 of your friends) sushi cravings!

Clubhouse

255 W 2nd Ave [map]

Vancouver BC

Phone: 604-879-8998