Hapa Izakaya @Kitsilano 1-A whole new experience ;)

The first Hapa Izakaya I went to was their Yaletown location (post here) and I didn't really like it. I like the food, though. It's just the atmosphere wasn't quite right for me...maybe that's just only me hmm :/

Anyway, so why would I end up in their Kitsilano location? Dine Out Vancouver is the answer to the question (yes I know it was long long time ago...) My friend invited me to go Dine out with her at Hapa; however, the Dine Out Vancouver menu was only available at their Kitsilano location. So before heading to the YVR airport that night, I decided to give myself a little break from all the school work, and went to Hapa with my friend as a treat for myself :)

Tokyo Thyme

It has been awhile since my summer holiday ended. I know there are various new restaurants opening here and there, and I can't wait to try them! During my two months in Hong Kong, I gotta admit that sometimes...I would miss the food here in Vancouver (i.e. SUSHI!). So when I came back, I just wanted to go to any restaurant, any.

Last weekend, EU and I finally decided to start our food journey together again. For some reason, we both wanted to go to Kerrisdale (maybe this was due to the perfect weather last saturday :P). At first, I thought we're going to the one we have tried before-Asa Sushi. Then when EU suddenly pulled over and parked her car by the roadside, I realized we're going to try something new today woohoo! Well, actually this was EU's second visit, but she was also excited to show me this little restaurant across the road. Aha...Tokyo Thyme...herbs from Tokyo? :P
(all photos are from her blog since I didn't know we're going to try a new restaurant...)

Japan trip-星岡茶寮

I remember this was the last day of our Japan trip. My dad decided to end the trip with a wonderful, perfect, filling meal.

We did not really plan for the last day, so my mom (and ahem, my sister) chose to make a last minute shopping at Isetan. We, well at least I, were totally exhausted after spending the entire day walking and walking around Shinjuku. My dad and I were too tired to bother finding a fancy restaurant for our last meal. At last, we went to Isetan for dinner again (To see the first dinner I had at Isetan, please read here), and we saw this Japanese restaurant that was hidden inside an alley.

Japan trip-うまい鮨勘(Umai Sushi Kan)

A sashimi lover, one of the must-go tourist spots is the Tsukiji Market. We went there in the afternoon and were planning to have lunch there. However, when we arrived, almost all the restaurants we saw were already packed with people! Disappointed enough, we then decided to go to somewhere else for lunch. While we were planning to leave, a small but quiet restaurant appeared in a aisle that nobody had noticed yet.

Without thinking, we entered this small restaurant and could not wait to try some fresh fish! (Sorry dad!) :P

(Picture from gourmet.livedoor.com)

Japan trip-雷門滿留賀(まるか)

Our plan that day was to go to Asakusa, the place where you will see that big red lantern hanging. I remembered the weather was brutal that day; we were all wet after taking the subway. So before we continued our journey, we decided to find a place to restore our energy first. The one restaurant that we were facing was Marukan, an old-style soba restaurant.

Japan Trip-Oto Oto: Desserts

Of course, we need some desserts to end our wonderful meal at Oto Oto right? ;) (Not to mention that we were already very full at that time)


My dad was already so full that he could not stuff anything more into his stomach. So the rest of us each ordered a dessert...
Greentea Ice-cream

• Decorated with a cracker.
• I didn't try this though...

Greentea and Vanilla Ice-cream with Brown Syrup

• It also came with some red bean paste with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
• If you look clearly, there are also mochi and some fruits with the ice-cream.
• Again, I didn't try this but my sister did enjoy this a lot (She loves desserts anyway).

Tofu Pudding with Pieces of Fruits, Served with Syrup

• The pudding was smooth and yummy. I enjoyed it a lot.
• It actually reminded me of their Soften Tofu I just had for dinner.

If you like to know more about Oto Oto or their other branches, please visit their website here.

Japan Trip-Oto Oto

Oto Oto is probably the nearest restaurant where you can find all kinds of Japanese food, which means it has both cooked and raw food that can satisfy those who don't eat sashimi, and also some/most of the sushis. My dad is the only person in the family who does not-or even cannot-accept raw fish. So, Oto Oto is the best choice for us.

We went there on the first night we arrived. It was about 8:30pm and this restaurant was already full; we had to wait for 20-30mins at least. We went to somewhere else of course, but before we left, we made a reservation for next day's dinner. There we go: this fancy, busy restaurant.

Japan trip-Isetan Dining

It's very common to find a lot of restaurants on the top levels (normally) of every shopping malls/centres in Japan. One of the must-go shopping places in Japan is Isetan. We went there one night, already exhausted after spending almost the whole day shopping in the same district. Then my dad suggested let's find a nearby restaurant for dinner. So we went to the top level, walked around to see what restaurants there were...lastly, we decided Isetan Dining because it has the most variety of food, which can satisfy my mom and dad.

Japan trip-Coffee Negishi

Underground restaurants are very common in Japan, almost every department store has a basement where you can find small shops, restaurants, bakeries, etc.

Since we lived near Shinjuku, the basement of Odakyu (one of the big department stores in Tokyo Japan) was the most familier to us. Most restaurants there are cafes. So when we decided to have breakfast one morning, the first coffee shop that appeared to us immediately became our first choice.

Japan trip-Cha-Cafe

My dad was constantly thirsty because he kept sweating and sweating and sweating like crazy (yea he sweat A LOT). Also because he did not feel too well in the beginning of the trip, so when we knew he really need to rest, we stopped and would find a place to get a drink, took a rest and recovered a little bit...

The same case happened when we were in Shibuya (Omotesando to be precise) one day. A cafe caught out sight immediately when we looked up a random building :D

Japan trip-Roku-Maru Gogenton

After staying in Hong Kong for about a week, I had to pack my stuff again and readied for another trip to Tokyo Japan.

I did not spend much time taking photos of the tourist attractions; instead, almost all the photos I took this time were all about the food! So, here is our first meal in Japan! :)

Miura Waffle Milk Bar Revisited-Free sample tasting!

I was twittering yesterday and saw a tweet from Miura Waffle Milk Bar, saying: "Free Samples Tomorrow (Sat) between 6-8pm! We will be sampling: HEC, Hoisin, Bulgogi, Wasabi Salmon & 2 new Sweet Waffle Sandos!"

"Free waffle samples". Of course, I knew I have to go and try some waffles that I didn't have the chance to try last time.

Miura Waffle Milk Bar-Interesting experience!

I don't like sweets, except for the Chinese desserts (think Red Bean Soup and Green Bean Soup, or even Mixed Bean Soup!). But the word "dessert" is always linked to EU since she is a fan of chocolate.

She introduced me to Michi Waffle & Espresso Bar on Denman Street two weeks ago, and it was surprsingly better than I thought; yet, I still prefer the bubble waffles rather than the Belgian ones. Anyway, I discovered there was a new(?) waffle store in downtown. "Waffle Milk Bar" reminded me of Orea which you can dip the cookies into the milk. So off we went to explore this interesting restaurant.

Kaide Sushi Bar

My aunt just arrived Vancouver on Thursday night (ahem, it should be FRIDAY MORNING to be precise), and she wanted to treat my sister and me to an easy dinner. To be honest, I didn't really bother to think where to go because to me, I will definitely go for Japanese restaurants; however, I was not sure whether my aunt likes Jap food or not. Also as far as I know, my aunt avoids quite a lot of food due to "health issues".

That being said, I left the planning to my sister. So at last, we ended up at Kaide Sushi Bar which was on both our wishlists.

Takifugu Japanese Dining-Japanese Tapas?

It's almost the end of May; I've been living a hectic life over the past few weeks. Busy weeks, busy weeks and luckily, they are finally coming to an end. Since I still got work to do tonight, I decided to stay in Richmond for an easy saturday dinner.

Scroll down the wishlist on Urbanspoon, and ah, Takifugu looked pretty good to me.

Mandala Iki Asian Bistro-Jap meets Chinese

Yesterday when I was strolling around Kitsilano, I noticed there were several restaurants that I would like to have a try. Originally, we planned to have dinner at Yuji's Japanese Tapas; however, they didn't open today (we did not know that untiil we had parked the car, LOL!). Disappointed enough, EU remembered that was another restaurant that had caught our sight. And so we walked along the 4th Ave, until we saw...

The Eatery-Astro Boy?!

There are a few restaurants that appear in both EU and my wishlists. When it comes to sushi places, we are always looking for special rolls, and of course, sashimi! (Well, at least for me)

Last weekend when we were strolling around Kitslano, I saw The Eatery, and that reminded EU of their loooonggggg menu. Since it coincidentally appeared on our wishlists, we decided to give it a try this weekend.

Juno Vancouver Sushi Bistro-Everything fits!

After watching Robin Hood in Richmond, it's time for dinner. It's a sunny Saturday in Vancouver today! EU suggested to try a Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond, but given the wonderful weather today, I decided to go for something farther. Then Juno came to EU's mind because it was on our Wish Lists. Yaletown? A good place for an easy dinner. Japanese restaurant? Oh yeah. So Yaletown off we go!

Guu Garden-A sashimi-base dinner!

EU and I were planning to have a nice, decent meal on Saturday night as a pre-Birthday dinner for me. Of course, it's to celebrate MY birthday, so no doubt I would choose Japanese cuisine ;) I was struggling which Jap restaurant I should go to. Downtown? Yeeaaa, it's Saturday, so I would probably choose a restaurant at downtown. Oh wait...isn't there a restaurant that EU and I had non-stop praising after trying it once? Oooh yeah, so there we went!

*(Ok, so this time it was ME who had forgotten to bring my camera! So all photos were from EU. Thanks loads!)

Matsuyama #2-Another good place for BIG sashimi

I am constantly craving for Japanese food, especially sashimi, no matter what the time is (yes, even in the middle of the night). So EU brought me to Banzai Sushi House few months ago because I can get LARGE portions with a relatively low price. Of course, you can't expect much from such restaurant, but it can surely satisfy my craving!

Still, I wanted to find a similar restaurant like Banzai...with a "higher level". I discovered Matsuyama long time ago and have made regular visits when I want to grab some Japanese food.

This Sunday, while I had no idea where to go for dinner, EU suggested Matsuyama. Japanese food? Sushi? Sashimi? Ok I am here.

Matsuyama Japanese Restaurant
110-8500 Alexandra Rd, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5.5
Price: 4.5
Service: 5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 5.5

• For lunch: Sun-Mon 11am-2:30pm
  For dinner: Sun-Thurs: 5pm-12am Fri-Sat: 5pm-1am
• Run by Chinese
• Have 2-3 Japanese chefs in the sushi bar
• Dine in/Take out (Free delivery with $25 minimum)
• Parking available
• Popular to locals/Chinese
• Lunch combos, bento boxes, and combos available
• Late night menu after 9pm
• Special rolls available
• Large variety in menu
• Gets busy at night

Wakame Salad-4/6

• $4.25
• Slightly over-priced. With a comparatively higher price, they did not serve a bigger portion of Wakame Salad compare to other Japanese restaurants.
• Nothing to shout about as this was pre-made.

Canuck Roll-4.5/6

• $4.95
• They offer quite a lot of specialty rolls, ranging from $4.25-10.95.

• Crab salad and asparagus topped with smoked salmon
• The smoked salmon smelt really good, and it certainly tasted good as well.
• The asparagus was a bit tough.
• Overall, this roll was well-executed; all ingredients were wrapped tightly and the sushi rice had its proper vinegary flavour.

Saba & Tuna Sashimi-6/6 for Saba, 5.5/6 for Tuna

• $10.95/9pcs
• Notice: They don't have 1/2 serving; you have to order 9pcs each time!
• Yes, the sashimi here is a bit pricier, but with its generous portion, I find it is quite worthy.

• EU and I both love the sourness in the saba! Does anyone know why saba sashimi always comes with a hint of sourness? For preservation?

• Oh, how I miss tuna sashimi! The last two times I had tuna was in Gyoza King and Sushi Oyama, but the tuna from both restaurants tasted mushy and bland; I was wondering whether it's not the season for good tuna sashimi :/ Ok, back to the tuna! The ones here were far from mushy; instead, they were fishy and chewy. I did have a good time enjoying these ;)

From its outlook, Matsuyama does look like a creepy restaurant as you cannot see through the windows from the outside. However, do give it a try! Maybe you will leave with something unexpected :)