I had the chance to try out the Taste of Yaletown a few weeks ago (it's on until October 29!) at Minami , which has three menus, one for lunch and two for dinner. The Minami Zen Platter, available at lunch, is only $25 and gives you a taste of their legendary dishes as well as some new tastes too. Starting off with the Signature Sushi, you get a nice assortment of Aburi nigiri, a roll as well as the oishi sushi all featuring their renown aburi-style of searing the fish. The platter also includes Aburi Bincho, accompanied by a creamy gomae sauce with a touch of heat from the wasabi-masatake. There is a light salad, the Minami Chopped Salad, with some baby greens, miso tofu, crisps and some chopped chicken. The umami-soy vinaigrette is a light dressing that complements the salad quite nicely.
The Ebi Fritter is light and crispy, with a bit of chili aioli and balanced with a soy-balsamic reduction. Rounding out the plate is a bit of spiced couscous.
And the other item on the platter is the Kurobuta & Kobe Meatball, bathed in miso-chicken jus with a few fingerling potatoes.
And for dessert, you have a choice of ice cream for sorbet. All in all, this is a great deal for $25. Their dinner offering is $45, although they do have a $35 option for vegetarians, which I will review next. The appetizer is the Minami Appetizer Trio, with a serving of the Aburi Sushi Sampler, a light Citrus Salad as well as a Brome Lake Duck Confit Drumette. The Aburi sushi is just tasty as you would expect, and the citrus salad is fresh and light. I loved the Aburi grapes! The Duck Drumette is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, perfectly executed. For the main course, they have a unique Surf and Turf. For the Surf, you get their Sakekasu-Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish, which is melt in your mouth tender. The fish flakes off easily and it has a rich and sweet flavour. I could eat this everyday! Partnered with the sablefish is a serving of marinated Japanese eggplant, I had never had this before but it sure was tasty. For the Turf, you are treated to Fraser Valley Pork done two ways. The first part of the duo is a Braised Pork Cheek, which is super tender. The second part is a complete textural change, with a Crispy Kakuni Pork Belly. The skin is crunchy, not just crispy. There is a bit of salsa on top, with a miso Asahi glaze. Both items rest on a bed of rapini and the greens definitely benefit from the juices of both the sablefish and the pork. It's one of the best Surf and Turf plate I've had. To top this meal off, there is a Mixed Berry Sakekasu Bar. It's a miso pecan-walnut crumble, paired a vanilla-sakekasu & rhubarb-ume ice cream, and with a salted caramel sauce drizzled on top. It is as tasty as it is beautiful.
There is a lot of Sakekasu in this menu, and I didn't really know what it was. It turns out it is the lees which are leftover after all the liquid is removed from the fermented rice used to make sake, and is a key component of the umami taste. The $35 Vegetarian Menu starts off with a Minami Garden Trio. There is the Minami Garden Plate with fresh veggies and a delicate quinoa and avocado roll wrapped in soy paper, and some spinach shira-ae, a crumbled tofu. There is also a Kaiso (seaweed) Salad, which is paired with some frisée and a soy vinaigrette. I loved the little lotus chips on top. And to finish off the trio is the Miso-Tofu Sansai Gyoza, pan-fried to perfection. The entree is a serving of Crispy Tempeh, surrounded by a whole gamut of vegetables, such as a roasted mushroom medley, fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions, haricot verts. The dressing is made with maple-sherry vinegar and soy-balsamic reduction, topped with some Aburi corn and bell pepper salsa. The dessert is the same as the $45 menu above.
So whether you want to stop by just for lunch or a night out, I'd say any of the three menus are worth a try. I've already booked my table for the 24th; dinner before the Canucks versus Red Wings game! Note that not all menu items listed above are available throughout the year, some are just here for Taste of Yaletown 2015. Note: I was hosted for this tasting by the nice folks at Taste of Yaletown.
Back in October, I went to WE Day with Sherman and we decided to finish off the day with a bit of sushi. It's hard for two foodbloggers to go to a place neither of us has been, so thankfully, he was willing to do a "revisit" to a place that I hadn't visited before. This is what led us to Zipang Sushi. All photos are courtesy of Sherman. "Thanks!" Given that this was midday (and they were about to close after lunch), and he had already had lunch, we wanted to order light (and quickly). We started with their Assorted Sashimi. The salmon was amazing, and I really enjoyed the tako. The slices were cleanly cut and care was taken with the presentation. We wanted to try their rolls too, so we gave two of them a try. On either side is their Triple S roll, made up of Salmon, Scallop and Shrimp. I enjoyed the rice to filling ratio on this and could taste the sweetness of the scallop and shrimp quite clearly. The other was the East Meets West, filled with unagi, avocado and topped with prosciutto. As with most fusion cuisine where they pair Western flavours or ingredients with Asian flavours, the result could be a hit or a miss. The prosciutto seemed a bit dry and out of place with the roll. However, this would be an excellent choice for those who are squeamish when it comes to raw fish. I love Salmon Kama and when I saw that they had it, we had to order it, and boy, I'm sure glad I did. The skin had a good crispy char to it, and the fleshy collar was juicy and flaky. They served it with some grated daikon. Add some soy sauce to it and make a paste to dip the salmon into. The sweetness of the fish and the saltiness of the soy is a great umami sensation.Although I wouldn't normally order Assorted Tempura, Sherman wanted to to give us another hot entrée to try. The prawns were really sweet and I loved the light coating. I normally have to peel apart some of the coating, but it was unnecessary here. The veggies were a bit heavy, more because of the thick portions they were cut into, rather than a heavy batter. Overall, this was a good place for a nice light lunch and I'd definitely come back if I was in the area again.
Take Note:
Closed on Mondays, and closes between 3-5pm.
Lots of options for non-raw fish lovers
Give the Okonomi a try, mini-pizzas. or the Takoyaki!
There has been an "Opening Soon" sign at 49th and Oak for about six months now, and a few weeks ago, they finally opened! It was a sushi place called Sushi Mura. They have taken care to make themselves look a bit better than the usual Chinese-run Japanese places that have homemade menus riddled with typos.First things first, I really wanted to try out their Tako Sunomono, since it is one of my favourite Japanese dishes. I was delighted by this version. Lots of fresh slightly crunchy tako pieces, sliced not too thick and not too thin. I hate the super thick slices at some other sushi places. And the vinegar dressing was just right, with a good blend of sweet and sour tang. I really liked the abundance of vermicelli as well. The shredded carrots and red cabbage gave the dish a great blend of textures. For our other appetizers, we tried their Ebi Gyoza, which was a whole prawn mixed with ground pork. The wrapper was on the thin side, which is what I prefer, but they sure could have used a bit more colour. The filling was plentiful and this was a great appetizer.We also got an order of regular Gyoza to try. And as you can see, these have a bit more colour than the Ebi Gyoza. However, they were just a touch on the greasy side. The part where the two skins met was a bot too thick, something that I didn't notice with the Ebi one. The dipping sauce was probably from a bottle, but add a bit of the 7-spice powder and you've got a winner. For a heavier dish, our first choice was the Chicken Teriyaki. The dish came piping hot, with a side of white rice. There was plenty of chicken, and lots of stir-fried veggies, ranging from carrots, sprouts and cabbage. There could have been a bit more sauce, but otherwise the dish was a success. Yum! Crispy and flaky battered Prawn Tempura. The batter was quite light and the dish wasn't greasy at all. The prawns were a touch small, but had a sweet taste.We also got their Deluxe Sashimi, and I thought this was wonderful. The presentation was pretty, there were lots of daikon and other garnishes. The cuts were clean and the pieces were fairly uniform in size. I really enjoyed this dish and loved the variety of seafood on the plate. We also tried their Awesome Roll, which seems more like a California Roll with some salmon and masago on top. There is also some sauce and tempura bits too. This was okay, nothing special and I doubt I would order it again.
Take note:
Service was okay for us but many complaints online by others.
Food comes out randomly, cooked items arrived before sashimi.
After attending the Grand Opening of Minami back in the summer, I'd been hankering to return for lunch. As luck would have it, one of my friends that moved away was back in town and was craving sushi. So here we are! I have been to Miku and became a fan of their Aburi style sushi. These are the amazing Pork Gyozas, with a bit of pork belly on the side. As my friend said when he bit into it, "well, you don't get these in the freezer section of Superstore". And that's an understatement. The pork in each of these gyozas is very flavourful and is super juicy, not XLB juicy, but way better than others I've had. The dumpling skin is seared to a crisp on one side, and then left untouched on the other side. The wrapper itself is thin, and doesn't compete with the pork filling at all. Here is a closeup of one of of them, see the crispy goodness of the skin, and if that wasn't enough pork or crispiness for you, add the pork belly with its signature fatty layer and crackling topping, and you'll be blown away, just as I was. They also feature a different Miso Soup daily and today's version was one with mushrooms and tofu. I missed the seaweed normally found in miso soup, but the earthiness of the soup itself won me over. And this is a big bowl of soup, super comforting on a cold and wet Vancouver day. In addition to the gyozas, we also got the Minami Zen set to share. It's a seasonal selection of four items, as well as five aburi sushi, as well as the miso soup above. The Braised Beef Short Rib with Mashed Yukon Potatoes was amazing. The short rib was fork tender and juicy and the potatoes did an excellent job of soaking up all the leftover juices. Definitely a winner in my books. Although I didn't try this, I have had their Ebi Fritter before at their grand opening and I recall it being very good as well. The crispy batter is light and the aioli offers just a hint of spice, along with some heat from the seven spice salt. You can order this as an appetizer off their dinner menu too. Next item I tried was the Aburi Albacore Tuna Sashimi. Topped with a sweet onion relish, the fish was sliced thick and was a good sized portion. With a cool centre, the fish was creamy in texture and very sweet as well. And perhaps the most iconic item from the Minami menu, the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. Local salmon slightly seared, and topped with a jalapeño and a bit of miku sauce, the beauty of this is the second piece of salmon hidden inside the sushi itself. It's creamy, smoky, and just a bit spicy, it's a perfect little morsel. I could gladly eat this for days.
Take Note:
Minami Zen is $24 but is more than enough for two people to share
Miso Soup is quite large, and probably enough to share, no need to order a second one
Another roll worth trying is the Una-Kyu, especially if you like eel.
A few weeks ago, a friend told me about Itadakimasu Izakaya on Main and I decided to give a try. There aren't any other izakayas in the area, although there are some sushi places in the neighbourhood. The phrase itadakimasu technically means "I humbly receive", but when said before a meal, the meaning changes to "let's eat".
We started off with some hot Gekkeikan Sake, much needed on a cold night. As part of their specials, if you order over $15 worth of food, the large sake is discounted from $7.49 to $5.99, a pretty good deal. They also bring over a tray of assorted and mismatched sake cups and you get to pick your own.
Our first dish was the Lotus Chips. They arrived piping hot but were just a tad oily. I would have liked a napkin in the bowl to absorb some of the excess oil. They were thinly sliced and very crispy. Seasoned with just a bit of salt, this was a great starter. This is their Daily Cute Temari Sushi, 10 little balls of assorted fish on rice. The detail to decoration is very cute, and I loved the little egg and carrot stars on some of the tuna and salmon pieces. I also liked the ikura on the tamago and the black tobiko on the tako. I liked the assortment, which included beef tartare as well as ebi and unagi too. The little coleslaw on the side was refreshing too. Here is a closeup of the Tako, with a bit of black tobiko (regular tobiko that has been coloured with squid ink). For me, the fish to rice ratio is better as balls versus the normal nigiri sushi - I didn't worry about filling up on rice. The rice itself was a little crumbly though, falling apart when picked up by chopsticks. Still the best sushi rice ever has to be Miku. Up next was the Grilled Kobe Beef that we cook ourselves! Yes, I get to play with fire. This was a little pricey, $18.50 for 100gm, which was about 12-14 thin slices. You can also try this cooking style with beef tongue, which is significantly cheaper at just $7.50 for 100gm. So the little stone stove comes lit and all you do is place your beef slices onto the grill. They provide you with a new pair of chopsticks for cooking with, so you don't contaminate between cooked and uncooked food. Here is a close up of the Kobe Beef. See the fatty marbling throughout? I know it's not "real" Kobe beef, but it's the closest we can get outside of Japan, Macau and Hong Kong. The teaspoon on the side holds a sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt. After placing the beef onto the grill, sprinkle some of this on and do the same when you flip it over. The meat doesn't take long to cook, just a few minutes on each side. And you don't want to cook it to anything more than medium. Despite the fattiness, it can still toughen up when overcooked. Our last dish of the night, the Sukiyaki. Served in a hot stone bowl, this had some beef slices, konnyaku, cabbage, carrots, fish cakes and some enoki mushrooms as well. The broth was very sweet to begin with, but seemed to get saltier as it sat at the table. This was a slight disappointment in terms of what was in the pot itself, I would have liked to see a bit more variety, perhaps some tofu and some udon noodles too?
Take Note:
Servers are Japanese, English sometimes limited
Bright atmosphere, nothing like other izakayas
Has your usual suspects (ebi mayo, takoyaki) but other interesting items too
One night, in search of a light dinner, I went to Coast for some oysters and sushi. Their oysters are always great here, with a good selection and very cleanly shucked. I have been many times before, and this is definitely the lightest dinner I've had here. Here we have a Dozen Oysters, made up of some Gigamotos, Kushis and one other variety that escapes me. The fresh horseradish is quite mild, so if you like yours spicier, you'll likely need more than this. Their seafood sauce benefits from a few hints from the Tabasco bottle, but their mignonette is perfect as is. This was the Sushi Tile of the evening and is meant for two people. You have an assortment of sashimi, nigiri and some rolls as well. For the nigiri, we had Flounder, salmon and ahi tuna. This was the first time I had flounder as sushi, I think. I was a little thrown off by the presence of the skin, but it was actually quite mild. On the sashimi side, we had snapper and yellow tail and ahi tuna, fresh and very sweet. Both the rolls had a bit of spiciness to it, one being the tuna and the other being salmon. I found the taste and textures to be identical except for the fish and would have preferred a contrasting roll instead of two of the same.
Take note:
Solid oysters, great deal at Happy Hour
Sushi tile features fresh fish of the day but can be pricey
Save room for the sides, either the lobster poutine or the prawn mac and cheese
Several years ago, I visited Takurabune because of a write-up about them in The Georgia Straight featuring their Nabeyaki Udon. Nabe (from Nabemono) actually means one pot, and their udon is served in a hot stone bowl or pot, and is a wonderful comfort food. However, I never got the chance to try many of their other dishes until I revisited recently.
To start off most Japanese dinners, I really need to kick things off with a Tako Sunomono. Something about the tangy rice vinegar dressing and the slippery noodles just serves to whet my appetite for sashimi. The tako pieces here were fresh with a firm bite to them. I liked how they were sliced thinly and the serving size was just right for an appetizer.
This is their Assorted Deluxe Sashimi, with salmon, tuna, snapper, tako, amaebi and surf clam. Good selection, clean knife cuts, this was definitely a finely executed dish. Good attention to detail with the slicees of cucumber and lemon, I also appreciated the fact that they used shiso leaf as the green, instead of lettuce. Our next dish was their Dynamite Roll, with a tempura prawn and some avocado and tobiko. The roll was rather rice heavy, but that's all too common a complaint. The prawn was fresh and just a bit warm still. And I do enjoy my Ikura, so we got two pieces, one for me, and one for everyone else to fight over. I would have liked to see more ikura on the sushi, instead of having the nori be taller than the filling. What was served was good though, each little piece popping in my mouth like bubble wrap. Another family favourite is the Chopped Scallop Cone, we decided to go for this instead of the roll version and we were glad we did. These cones were filled with scallop right to the very bottom, and the rice was actually still warm. The nori was a bit chewy as a result, but could also be the fact that we didn't eat it the minute it landed. They should invest in those holders that keep cones upright to reduce sogginess.
This was probably my mom's favourite of the night, a simple Grilled Sablefish. The fish itself was buttery and flaked easily, and most of the flavour came from the nice char on the skin. This was served with some cubes of taomago - some homemade egg omelet. The layered texture and the sweetness of the egg was echoed the textures and flavours of the sablefish - this was the first time I've actually enjoyed tamago.
Here is a close up of the multi-layered Tamago. Although it's called a Japanese omelette, it's actually more of a crepe, with layers and layers of egg rolled onto itself. See a recipe here.
This was my first time trying Unagi Kabayaki, where the fish is split down the middle and then deboned and gutted and then cut into uniform portions to be grilled. The sauce seemed more sweet than savoury, and the thin filets seemed overwhelmed by the sauce. And compared to the sablefish, the grilling of this dish was much weaker. To finish off the meal, we tried the Beef Yaki Soba. The portion was a good size, with lots of noodles, sprouts and cabbage as well as quite a bit of beef. My only complaint on this was that it was a bit too greasy, but the flavour was spot on.
Their dinner offering is $45, although they do have a $35 option for vegetarians, which I will review next. The appetizer is the Minami Appetizer Trio, with a serving of the Aburi Sushi Sampler, a light Citrus Salad as well as a Brome Lake Duck Confit Drumette. The Aburi sushi is just tasty as you would expect, and the citrus salad is fresh and light. I loved the Aburi grapes! The Duck Drumette is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, perfectly executed. 
For the main course, they have a unique Surf and Turf. For the Surf, you get their Sakekasu-Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish, which is melt in your mouth tender. The fish flakes off easily and it has a rich and sweet flavour. I could eat this everyday! Partnered with the sablefish is a serving of marinated Japanese eggplant, I had never had this before but it sure was tasty. 
To top this meal off, there is a Mixed Berry Sakekasu Bar. It's a miso pecan-walnut crumble, paired a vanilla-sakekasu & rhubarb-ume ice cream, and with a salted caramel sauce drizzled on top. It is as tasty as it is beautiful.
There is a lot of Sakekasu in this menu, and I didn't really know what it was. It turns out it is the lees which are leftover after all the liquid is removed from the fermented rice used to make sake, and is a key component of the umami taste. 
The $35 Vegetarian Menu starts off with a Minami Garden Trio. There is the Minami Garden Plate with fresh veggies and a delicate quinoa and avocado roll wrapped in soy paper, and some spinach shira-ae, a crumbled tofu. There is also a Kaiso (seaweed) Salad, which is paired with some frisée and a soy vinaigrette. I loved the little lotus chips on top. And to finish off the trio is the Miso-Tofu Sansai Gyoza, pan-fried to perfection. 
The entree is a serving of Crispy Tempeh, surrounded by a whole gamut of vegetables, such as a roasted mushroom medley, fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions, haricot verts. The dressing is made with maple-sherry vinegar and soy-balsamic reduction, topped with some Aburi corn and bell pepper salsa. The dessert is the same as the $45 menu above.
