tatsu japanese bistro: real (and real good) japanese on the drive

for my mom's birthday, my family wanted really good japanese food so we ventured down to the drive and got to tatsu japanese bistro. after reading great reviews, i had high expectations and they were DEFINITELY MET AND SURPASSED. one note is that the service is extremely slow (when i went) but the food is so good that we really didn't care too much! 

garlic tai roll ($9.95): slices of tai sashimi wrapped around different fillings in a ponzu-garlic type sauce. SO GOOD. my dad loved this so much in such an unexpected way because in the pictures, it looks too "fancy" to be good but the flavours were perfect! i love the little fruits they have as decoration too! 

5/5

japanese seafood pancake (okonomoyaki) ($11.95): served fresh, this pancake with cabbage and seafood topped with mayo and okonomi sauce was a bit smaller (and lacked seafood) for the price we paid but it wasn't too doughy and still yummy! 

4/5

tatsu special bento ($16.95) : small udon in soup, nigiri, dynamite roll beef teriyaki, ebi sunomono, and sashimi. at first we thought it wouldn't be enough to just order one box but BOY WERE WE WRONG. just the vibrant colours and assortment of different food made our eyes light up and our tastebuds went crazy as we were actually eating the food. the sashimi is SUPER fresh and the ebi sunomono…just look at it…theres tam ago and berries! the beef teriyaki was also great with REAL beef chunks (not globs of fat) and a thinner sauce. 

5/5 + BONUS AMAZINGENESS POINTS 

scallop tataki roll ($7.95): california roll based with chopped scallop on top lightly seared. delicious and again, beautifully plated and uniform. 

4.5/5

overall: as you can see, the plating is gorgeous and the food is delicious, plentiful and authentic. prices are not too high but definitely more than your weekly sushi fix. a must try if you're in the area
favourite dish: scallop tataki roll
score: 5/5
would i return?: definitely

delicious cuisine: a disappointing miss

delicious cuisine is not very delicious and heres why...

wontons in chili sauce ($4.95): not exactly expensive but small portion, tiny wontons with mostly skin. not memorable but satisfied the craving

2.5/5

five spice beef roll ($4.95): again an okay price and tasted generic but not something i would come here for. at least they had a decent sized meat chunk in there.

2.75/5

spicy beef noodle soup ($8.25): my favourite of the meal. beef was really soft and tender. noodles were not handmade (i don't think…) but were al dente and soup was not oily either

3/5

assorted seafood and tofu hotpot ($17.95): TINY TINY TINY portion for such a high price…and the seafood is like the frozen bagged ones from t and t…i do NOT RECOMMEND YOU GETTING THIS…

0/5

house special smoked duck ($19.95): this was not horrible but the price was super high and I've had better…skin was soggy and a bit salty overall

2.5/5

overall: i'm really disappointed with the food here… seems that nothing is made in house but the prices are so high! and with all the great taiwanese joints in richmond, i will not be coming back here.

zipang provisions: looks like a bar, tastes like sushi

for my mom's birthday dinner this year, we wanted something japanese but not just sushi and not just izakaya. its getting harder and harder to find new restaurants to try! so we went to visit what i call hipster sushi at zipang provisions. the outside looks NOTHING like japanese food and will easily be passed if you're unprepared. 

asari butter clams: didn't try this but my parents thought it was good? 

nanban chicken: this was one of our favourite dishes. the deep fried chicken was covered in a tangy sauce then topped with tartar/mayo. fried up crispy, although a bit heavy, scraping off some of the white sauce made this one of the best chicken's I've had! 

4.5/5

black cactus roll ($7.80): raw tuna, tempura bits, mayo, masago and spicy sauce rolled in black sesame seeds: not bad but nothing special and a bit pricy for what we got. a thicker layer of rice than expected but i liked the crunch of the sesame seeds and freshness of the fish. 

3.25/5 

salmon oshizushi ($11.80): salmon pressed sushi with jalapeño and creamy sauce: compared to minami or kishimoto, this fell quite short. the sear didn't do much to enhance the flavour and the whole piece tasted like a salmon maki but with a bit of sauce. 

3.25/5

east meets west roll ($8.80): avocado, unagi and black pepper wrapped with proscuitto: my favourite roll of the night! the salty from the pork and the fatty sweetness of the unagi and it's sauce blended together really well! 

4.75/5

okonomiyaki ($8.80): japanese pancake with seafood bits inside. this was a bit doughy and salty but i love okonomiyaki and wasn't bad for the price! 

3.75/5 

overall: the food at zipang is a tad pricey and a hit or miss kind of place but i enjoyed my meal! what was good was REALLY GOOD. nothing was bad but it wasn't special for the price we paid. i would return to try more special rolls and their lunch sets! 

green lemongrass: a clean place for vietnamese eats

along kingsway are rows and rows of vietnamese eats but green lemongrass has a modern interior and exterior with a more diverse menu that drew my mom and I in one sunday evening. 

beef stew (with garlic bread) ($9): this vietnamese classic was delicious here! the bread was light and dipped perfectly into the thin broth. flavourful and with chunks of beef and a slightly spicy tang. 

4/5

hu tieu kho (small - $7): seafood, pork and rice noodles tossed in a garlic soy sauce again was delicious! not too small either, the rice noodles were not clumpy and the bowl was filled with the ingredients. not a fan of pork innards but the rest is great! 

4/5

overall: although prices a bit higher, the food is quite delicious and there is plenty on the menu to choose from.

score: 4/5

favourite dish: hu tieu kho

would i return: yes!! 

ikura japanese restaurant: lunch boxes for seven bucks!

so much good food in marpole area…and my family (of three…look at the amount of food…) decided on ikura japanese restaurant. they have really good lunch box deals and special rolls all at a good price! food is not exactly authentic (chinese run) but it is definitely enough to satisfy sushi cravings. 

lunch box d (beef short ribs, sashimi, assorted tempura, salad, miso soup) $9.95: the tempura batter was a little thick and theres a huge hole for the wasabi making the box look incomplete but the sashimi was thick and tasted fine! beef short ribs were a tad chewy

3/5

 hamachi tataki ($7.95): i actually really enjoyed this. nice thick slices of hamachi in a ponzu type sauce not too salty! 

3.75/5

lunch box b (chicken teriyaki, assorted tempura, miso soup, california roll, tuna roll and small salad) $6.95: same hole in the middle but for 7 bucks..this was an amazing deal. same comments as above but i actually liked the chicken more, it was not dry! 

3.5/5

crazy girl roll (spicy tuna and avocado topped with ebi and avocado in a spicy mayo) $6.95: probably my favourite thing from here. all my favourites together in a roll that was a good price too! only complain is that the rice was a bit thicker than i like.

3.75/5

papaya roll (salmon, papaya topped with tuna, bonito and a sweet sauce) $9.25: least favourite thing here…found it really expensive for what was give…the tiny piece of papaya is not worth 10 bucks and there was DEFINITELY a wasabi component that i did not like. 

1.5/5

soft shell crab kaarage ($6.50): didn't try it but seemed a bit thick on the batter?

overall: the food was good for the price that we paid. this amount of food was enough for a huge lunch box of leftovers!