Location: 1690 Robson St.Vancouver,BC V6G 1C7

Phone: (604) 681-8121 | Hours: 11:00am – 10:00pm

Website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/index.html

Santouka Ramen

Last week, my mom and I were in downtown because I had to driver her to her doctor’s appointment and so we decided to stay in downtown for lunch. The weather that morning was on and off rain, but it was super cold! Well, cold for the normal Vancouverite. Normally we would go for dim sum because she’s a hardcore fan of “yum cha” (dim sum in Chinese). But, it was too cold. So, we decided to go for a bowl of hot ramen. I took out my BlackBerry while she was doing her check-up, and searched up ramen places in Vancouver and found Santouka Hokkaido Ramen on Robson. I had Kintaro on my mind, but I was in a mood for something new.

Santouka Ramen

We walked in 5 minutes before noon, and got seated right away. The restaurant was 80% full then, since it was lunchtime. But after we ordered, it was packed. There were at least 10+ people waiting in line. My mind quietly said, “yes! we beat the crowd again. Grin!” One thing that I didn’t really like about this place is the lack of room for your jackets and bags or whatever you may have. They have baskets on the sides (you can vaguely see one on the left-hand corner) for your belongings, but not much. Especially on a cold winter day.

Cutlery

The setup of the cutlery on the table reminds me of many Pho places in Vancouver. You’ve got your chopsticks, spoons, spices and napkins. It’s pretty much the same at Santouka, but they also have toothpicks! I wonder what could be stuck between your teeth when you’re having noodles. I was rather intrigued by the setup, it was just too nicely stacked.

On to the food.

Shio Ramen

I decided to go with the originals. I think there’s a tactic with trying new food, if they can’t make their original menu good, they can’t be far off with their special menu. Their originals included Shio Ramen (Salt Flavour), Miso Ramen (Miso Flavour), and Shoyu Ramen (Soy Sauce Flavour). There was also a Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Choice Pork Ramen), which was pork cheek (jowl) meat served with their signature ramen. I decided to for their Shio Ramen. A signature ramen which is served with a mild and creamy soup seasoned with salt. It’s served with 2-3 slices of pork, and topped with a Japanese pickled plum. I thought the broth was rather salty for my liking. It was really creamy though, which I liked. You can pick from a regular size or a large size, this is the regular. I think the large size is mainly more noodles and a bigger bowl, not necessarily more ingredients. The regular bowl was a good one person serving, I wasn’t stuffed, but I also wasn’t hungry. It was just the right amount.

Dan Dan Men

When it comes to food, my mom is quite the expert! And quite the adventure type as well. She ordered the “Dan Dan Men”, which was the chef’s special only available in winter. I was actually quite surprise they served this at a ramen store. In Chinese, we also have this and it’s also called “Dan Dan Men”. I had a small spoonful of mom’s broth, it was not too spicy. Actually, not spicy at all. There was no meat in this bowl of noodles. And I was surprised they served this with the same ramen from their normal ramen bowls. For $10.95, I don’t think it was quite worth the whole 11 dollars. But, it was a good try.

Overall, good food. Prices are on the more expensive side for a bowl of noodles, which makes value only fair. The temperature inside the restaurant was hot! I literally had to take off all my clothes, just kidding! The lack of space for belongings needs to be improved. The ambiance is quite modern and clean for a ramen restaurant.

Location: 1166 Alberni Street, Vancouver, V6E 1A6

Phone: (604) 682-8833 | Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00am – 2:30pm; 5:00pm – 10:30pm, Sat-Sun 10:00am – 2:30pm; 5:00pm – 10:30pm

Website: http://www.kirinrestaurants.com/index.php5?page=downtown

Kirin Downtown Vancouver

Kirin Restaurant is a fine-dining Chinese restaurant chain in the Vancouver area. It currently has 5 restaurants in the Lower Mainland. I came here a few weeks ago with the family, plus my girlfriend and her parents and another uncle and auntie, which were regular visitors here at Kirin.

The Lobby

As you can see, the “bo cheung” (which means manager on duty in Chinese) was standing there welcoming us. You can say it’s favoritism, but it does occur at many Chinese restaurants. And you get the special treatment if you know the staff there. It’s almost like FourSquare or Gowalla, you become the mayor after going to the same place over and over. From the last time I’ve been here (at least 5-6 years ago), they had a major redesign. The lobby was completely different and the lightings were just glowing.

The Lighting

Here’s a better picture.

The Wall

My girlfriend insisted I take a picture of the wall. I think it was the colours that stood out, giving the restaurant a very modern and contemporary look & feeling.

The special thing about this Kirin, compared to the other 4 is they are renowned for their Northern Chinese delicacy. And this is the reason, we are here this morning. Because we were VIP’s, we were seated inside the VIP room and before we wanted to order anything, the auntie had went ahead and ordered somethings over the phone. Impressive!

Sticky Rice Roll

Because we were in such a big group, I decided not to hulk out my camera and took pictures of my own portion. This was a sticky rice roll wrapped inside is Chinese fried donut (we call this “You Zha-gui” in Cantonese-Chinese) and shredded dried pork. It can be eaten as is, but I really like it in sweet soy milk.

Soy Milk (Salty)

Since we ordered salty soy milk, I decided not to dip my sticky rice roll in. The salty soy milk was dipped with the same Chinese fried donut and I found this one having a bit of spiciness in it.

XLB

Northern Chinese dim sum can’t miss this little steamed bun. The all famous “Xiu Long Bao”. It’s a steamed dumpling that has lots of juice inside. The XLB’s that are served here come very close to some of the Shanghainese restaurants in Vancouver.

Tea Smoked Duck

This is another famous Northern Chinese dish. It’s fried duck smoked with the smell of tea. It’s not the normal tea that you drink out of everyday, of course. I have had tea smoked duck before at other restaurants, and I have got to say that this is one of the best. If it’s made to perfection, the meat should be really juicy and if the duck is not too fat, the skin could be eaten with the meat. Mmm…juicy!

Wonton in Chili Sauce

This dish is called “Hung Yao Ciao Sao” in Chinese. “Hung Yao” is the Chili Sauce, but if you asked for “Hung Yao” just on its own, people will not understand what you want because it’s just a name mainly for this dish and mainly describing the dish is hot. There’s nothing really special about this dish, it’s one of the cheaper dishes and perfect for sharing.

Orange Peel Beef

I wasn’t sure if this was orange or mandrain orange, but this was a stir-fry beef dish. It’s got a really strong scent of orange peel. It was interesting to try, but I don’t think it was my favourite. Not a big fan of oranges.

Spicy Beef Tendon

This is a dish that can be found in most Chinese Dim Sum places, but one special thing about this dish is that its spicy! Usually restaurants would just add a few green chili on top to spice it up, but here even the sauce is spicy. I found the spice to be a little too much, but for the spicy lovers I think it’s just perfect.

Pan-Fried Dumpling

For those who know how to make dumpling, it’s pretty easy. But, it’s the frying part that makes it perfect! To make the bottom just a little burnt but not too much is almost an art. This place has done a perfect job in what I call a pan-fried dumpling. Not alone that, the juice inside the dumpling was almost as much as the XLB. It was quite remarkable because usually dumplings don’t have as much juice inside the wrap.

Deep Fried Tofu w/ Meat Sauce

I’ve never tried this dish anywhere else. It was merely my first time and was it good! I’m a major fan of deep fried tofu, but I also don’t like how it’s deep fried, which makes it very dry. This dish was the combo of the two. The meat sauce mixed really well with the tofu. I’m not sure if this dish is a Northern chinese delicacy, but it’s highly recommended if you like sauces.

Man Tao

This was a steamed roll dipped in sweet condensed milk. It’s definitely a Northern Chinese delicacy, but nothing special here. Tasted just the same as other restaurants.

Green Onion Cake

This was rather special compared to other places. We call this “Chun Yao Bang” in Chinese, in which inside is Chinese green onion mixed with a tad of salt and either pan-fried or deep-fried, usually like a pancake. But here, they made it like it’s almost like a mini-croissant. The filling was more due to the fact it’s like a puff rather than a pancake. This was pretty good.

Walnut Tong Yuen Dessert

This was another of their specialty that is rarely found in other places. It’s pureed walnut sweetened soup, the walnut is actually grinded there. The “Tong Yuen” is a really big Chinese mochi inside is filled with (in this case) sesame paste. It was perfect to my liking because it wasn’t too sweet, I don’t really like very sweet desserts.

Overall, the food was pretty good. I would come back for the food alone. The ambiance is really nice after they redecorated the entire restaurant, a lot fancier than before. I would say their washrooms could definitely be on the list of “best washrooms contest”. Here’s the secret, if you go to this restaurant for lunch/dinner, your parking is FREE. They will reimburse you for the parking ticket, and you can park there till 11PM at night. Great for those who want to take a stroll on Robson on a nice day out. Service was remarkable, mainly because we were VIP’s, so I’m not sure if they will treat other customers the same way. The toal came to $15/person after tips, and we had a table of 11. So, it was about $165 including tips. Not the cheapest for lunch, but really we had like a mini-dinner. Our bill also was knocked-off for the dessert which would have costed another $30, good treat! That is it, until next time. Feel free to leave me any comments below.

Dinehere.ca

Urbanspoon.com

Location: 832 Cardero Street, Vancouver, BC

Phone: (604)688-3632 | Hours: Sun – Thurs 4:30PM – 1:00AM, Fri – Sat 4:30PM – 2:30AM

Website: http://www.chungdamahn.com/

Chungdamahn

Have you ever noticed why I put a picture first before I start ranting? It’s because pictures are more appealing and like the favourite saying “a picture is worth more than a thousand words”. Today, we’re visiting a Korean fusion restaurant on the quiet end of Robson Street. This place is not very noticeable because it’s not on a busy street. I would say that this place is not really suitable for minors because 8 out of 10 tables were having alcoholic beverages and two, the waitresses were rather “sexy” dressed. But then again, when my girlfriend and I were there on a Saturday evening, there were families with small children dining in.

The kitchen

The kitchen was an open-kitchen. And interesting enough, they had bar tables like the ones at Japanese restaurants. As I see it, it’s more of a restaurant than a lounge (that might change as the night progress though).

Lighting

The lighting was so dim that…

Cutlery

…there was candle lighting on the tables.

Nurunggi Tang

This was one of their special hotpot, it’s filled with assorted seafood stir-fry and pressed rice. The seafood was the usual variety, the prawns; the squid; and mussels stir fried with corn and onions. I liked the soup because it was sweet to the taste. I’m quite impressed at how Koreans mix their soup bases, it never really disappoints. The pressed rice was this crispy rice which (IMO) should not  mix with the seafood and served on the side because it was already half moisten when it came to the table.

Nurunggi Tang

Here’s a close up of the above dish.

Galbi

This was something new on their menu, I guess they didn’t have a full kitchen before. This is their Korean styled beef short ribs. If you like a little burnt on your short ribs, you would like this dish. But for me, I thought it was a little on the burnt side. The beef short ribs weren’t the premium ones you would find at Korean supermarkets, as you could tell by looking at the fatty parts all over.

Bean Sprout with Galbi

The raw bean sprout were served with the beef short ribs with a sauce that was a little spicy.

Spicy Tofu

This was on their hand-written menu, it was tofu in a spicy sauce. When we ordered this, we asked the waitress how spicy it would be? And she said, it’s only a little spicy. When this came to the table, I realize that Koreans can be really eat spicy food! It was HOT! My mouth could literally shoot out fire! So, after telling our waitress this ain’t what I expected…

Spicy Tofu

…they watered it down with their special soy sauce. But, as you can see, the top part was still real spicy. In fact, this was too spicy to our liking. We had to drink lots of water (I know water doesn’t help) to cool ourselves down.

Overall, I think they have a good selections of korean dishes and fusion dishes. But, nothing that was too appealing that would make me want to come back a second time (Maybe, cause I’m not an alcoholic). Next is the price, this place ain’t cheap. I think it’s on par with other Korean restaurants, but I wouldn’t know because this is my first review of a Korean restaurant. The service was good, the staff were patient and friendly. Update: Almost forgot the washroom business! (The most important thing in a restaurant IMO.) Well, the girlfriend never really uses the public washrooms because asian restaurant washrooms are gross. Their floors are usually flooded, water flying toilet seats, etc (ok I’m exaggerating, but you get the point). So, she had to go after drinking so much water from the Spicy Tofu, and this is my first “the door was broken, literally falling off type of broken”. I couldn’t help but LOL. So, there you go ladies…if you need to go to the washroom here! (Hopefully by then they would’ve fixed it!)

So the question of the day, have you tried Korean Fusion food? If so, what’s your favourite dish? Be sure to leave me a comment below!

And don’t forget to “LIKE” me on Facebook!

Location: 827 Bute St, Vancouver, BC 

Phone: (604) 689-8266 | Hours: Lunch: Sun – Fri: 11:30am – 2:30pm, (Closed Sat), Dinner: Sun – Thurs: 4:30pm – 12:00am, Fri – Sat: 4:30pm – 1:00am

Website: http://www.ebisu.ca/robson/

Ebisu on Robson

I’ve stopped by Ebisu for lunch years ago, that was before I started writing this blog and way before I got into taking pictures of all the food I eat. It’s literally becoming a habit now if more than anything. Ebisu is very accessible right off Robson and Bute, I believe it’s right behind the Starbucks. It’s also got a clear view overlooking Robson St. as it is located on the 2nd floor. Even though Ebisu serves Japanese food, it’s not authentic Japanese at all.

Just a glass of water

Lychee Iceberg

Kirin Ichiban

It’s more of a place for drinks and hangout more than a Japanese restaurant. Now, here’s my simple question. How could a Japanese restaurant charge for green tea? Green tea here is $1.50 per cup I believe. I find it really hard to believe because Fuji (one of the best rated authentic Japanese restaurants in Vancouver) does NOT charge for its tea.

Anyhow, I was down here with a group of ten from church that evening for dinner. Too bad we skipped out on Happy Hour, everything (well, not everything) but some things would have been much cheaper if we got here before 6PM. The menu here is extensive and not really for those who are indecisive. They have a wide selection of specialty rolls and dishes, but I have to warn you it is not your cheap sushi joint. I shared the meal between myself and my buddy @anothersamchan.

Beef Short Ribs - $6.99

We got the beef short ribs. It was nothing spectacular just marinated with typical korean BBQ sauce. In fact, it was a bit too salty to taste. For $6.99, I think the portion well reflected the price.

BC Blazer - $9.80

This was one of their many special rolls. Most of their specialty rolls were around $8-12, which I thought were a little too expensive but considering its location and its customers, I could understand. Here was the description of the BC Blazer on Ebisu’s menu “Crab meets avocado wrapped with seared atlantic salmon, green onions on spicy Japanese mayo & teriyaki sauce with dancing bonito flakes”. It could also be easily said “a California roll topped with all those dressings”. I had not realized until the order came and by then it was a little too late. The roll was alright, I could taste the California roll inside and no so much the salmon.

Toro Inferno - Before

Toro Inferno - After

The Toro Inferno is another one of their specialty sushi’s. It’s box-pressed shiso and sesame sushi rice and the toro is seared at the table. It’s a little bit of a show-and-tell presentation more than anything. The toro gave a bit of a fishy smell when it was seared. But, the taste was better than its smell.

Toro Inferno

The pressed sushi was a little disappointing however as the rice doesn’t even stand in one. It fell apart right away when I gripped it with the chopsticks. I wonder how their nigiri would come out if I had ordered nigiri.

Well, that’s it! Three dishes between 2 people, I was done for the night. My first impression, it’s definitely pricey Japanese food. Yes, pricey. There’s a difference between high-end food and pricey food. High-end is when you pay for what you get. And pricey is exactly the opposite. The service was quite attentive. Our server did a pretty good job taking care of such a large group. And of course, gratuity were added automatically with such a large group. If you were looking for more authentic Japanese food, this isn’t the best place. However, if you’d just want to sit down for a drink and grab a bite, then this is the perfect place to be.

Here’s other dishes people ordered at the table:

Shellshocker - $7.95

(Atlantic Soft Shell Blue Crab & Prawn tempura accompanied with an assortment of fried vegetables)

Mentaiko Yakiudon - $8.95

(Japanese thick noodles panfried in marinated egg roe of Alaskan cod, bacon and Oba leaves.)

Kimchi (+$1)

Chikuwa Cheese - $4.50

(Deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese.)

Colossal Cheese Yakitori

(An enormous skewer of tender spring chicken smothered in mozzarella & cheddar cheese basted in traditional BBQ sauce spruced up with fresh green onions!)