Hapa Robson - Duck Congee!

Okay - on a Sunday night date night and we headed down to Hapa on Robson. We have to get the edamame, but I'm not a huge fan of the soy they use, so I asked for the dish to be done with just salt. So that B can get his soy fix, we got it on the side. 

Not sure what it is, but it looks like something is missing...can you guess what it is? 

Ah...now, that's better, edamame with sake...yes, all is right in the world. I am allergic to bamboo so we couldn't get the cold sake they're known for, so we opted for the hot sake. 

We got the Pork Belly Lettuce Wrap to start, because once he sees Lettuce Wrap on the menu, it's impossible to deter him. So we get this and it's amazing. Tenderly cooked pork belly with a crispy skin, along with some fried wonton skin strips and pickled cabbage, it's a tasty and so rich in textures.  

Place a piece of butter lettuce down on your plate, top it with a slice of the pork belly and add some of the wonton skins and pickled cabbage. It's a ton of flavours and textures exploding in your mouth. Every bite is a good one. 

I am not a fan of cooked scallops, but if they are raw or dried (chinese-style), I i love. So we also got the Scallop Roll, beautifully presented here with white and black sesame and slightly spicy mayo-based sauce. Yum! Love the touch of tobiko on top. 

The next thing we tried was their Duck Hot Pot off their Fresh Sheet. Loaded with veggies, the pot is loaded with slices of duck in a soy dashi broth. So soothing on a cool day. We had read on the menu that they can use the leftover broth to make a congee, with rice and egg. Well, we had to have that! 

They whisk an empty (except for broth) pot away and return with it loaded with rice and egg. They add some seaweed as a garnish and it's like a whole new meal.

In a rare case of far-sightedness, we each saved a piece of duck to have with the congee, so this is what we ended up with as part two of the Duck Hot Pot. A ridiculously great part two, if you ask me.
I've been to Hapa many times and I've learned that although I will always love the standbys (Ebi Mayo, Ishi Yaki and Negitoro for me), their fresh sheet is filled with innovative dishes that are well worth trying.