First meal in Vancouver was a late night trip to Gyoza King with Geoff and Tiff. They serve a variety of different gyoza as well as a bunch of small plate dishes, from noodles to sashimi to anything.
negitoro - chopped tuna with green onion, quail egg & seaweed - C$4.95
bonito sashimi - C$7.95
hotate kinoko - stir fried fresh scallops with assorted mushrooms in garlic butter - C$6.25
Very good. The negitoro is tasty, but when it comes down to it I'd still rather have it in a cone with rice (rather than just wrapped with seaweed). The bonito (aka katsuo) is not listed on the menu but it's a frequent special, and worth getting. The ponzu sauce and onions are delicious together with the fish. The hotate is wonderful, thanks to the liberal use of garlic butter. The scallops were tender and the mushrooms absorb that garlic butter like nothing else.
ganso (pork & vegetable) gyoza - C$5.95 (10 pieces)
mentaiko yakiudon - pan fried udon with spicy cod roe & butter - C$8.50
The gyoza are fresh and homemade. The wrapping has a firm, chewy texture, and the filling is searing hot. They're nicely-fried and crisp on the bottom. The udon was the highlight of the meal, and for me pretty unexpected. It was extremely rich and buttery and simply delicious. To draw a far-fetched comparison, it was almost like a Japanese version of a good, buttery, fettucine alfredo. It was the first time I've tried udon like this, though Tiff tells me a lot of places are do something similar. I want to try the clam/garlic yakiudon on the menu, but if I go again i doubt I'll be able to resist ordering the same thing...
negitoro - chopped tuna with green onion, quail egg & seaweed - C$4.95
bonito sashimi - C$7.95
hotate kinoko - stir fried fresh scallops with assorted mushrooms in garlic butter - C$6.25
Very good. The negitoro is tasty, but when it comes down to it I'd still rather have it in a cone with rice (rather than just wrapped with seaweed). The bonito (aka katsuo) is not listed on the menu but it's a frequent special, and worth getting. The ponzu sauce and onions are delicious together with the fish. The hotate is wonderful, thanks to the liberal use of garlic butter. The scallops were tender and the mushrooms absorb that garlic butter like nothing else.
ganso (pork & vegetable) gyoza - C$5.95 (10 pieces)
mentaiko yakiudon - pan fried udon with spicy cod roe & butter - C$8.50
The gyoza are fresh and homemade. The wrapping has a firm, chewy texture, and the filling is searing hot. They're nicely-fried and crisp on the bottom. The udon was the highlight of the meal, and for me pretty unexpected. It was extremely rich and buttery and simply delicious. To draw a far-fetched comparison, it was almost like a Japanese version of a good, buttery, fettucine alfredo. It was the first time I've tried udon like this, though Tiff tells me a lot of places are do something similar. I want to try the clam/garlic yakiudon on the menu, but if I go again i doubt I'll be able to resist ordering the same thing...