Kitanoya Guu Otokomae ~ Photolog

375 Water Street
Vancouver, BC

 

After our happy hour at Cork and Fin, the second part of my post-birthday celebration dinner was at Kitanoya Guu Otokomae, located a few blocks away in Gastown. After this meal, I have finally visited all the Guu restaurants in Metro Vancouver! Yay!



 

Seaweed and Daikon Stick Salad (left)

Daikon sticks on seaweed salad dressed with seaweed mayo, topped with dried seaweed

Spinach and Sesame (right)

Blanched spinach dressed with black sesame sauce

 



The dressing for the salad seemed like watered down mayo and the whole salad was quite wet. Not one of my favourites. The gomae was not bad with the strong nuttiness from the black sesame.

 

Corn Croquette (?)

From the fresh sheet

Nikujaga Croquette

Deep-fried panko-breaded mashed potatoes with stewed beef, carrots, onions, served with tonkatsu sauce

This was creamy but thick and dense inside. It really needed the tonkatsu sauce to help make it less dry.

Salmon with 7 Friends

Diced wild sockeye salmon with otokomae's miso and garlic sauce, natto (fermented soy bean), pickled cucumber, pickled daikon, garlic chips, crispy wonton, green onions, diced cucumber, and fresh egg yolk; served with roasted seaweed

 

Just mix together and wrap in the provided seaweed like a soft taco!

Okonomiyaki

Deep-fried Japanese style cabbage and squid pan cake dressed with tonkatsu sauce, wasabi mayo, topped with dried bonito flakes and dried seaweed

Grilled Black Cod

Grilled cod with white wine saikyo miso sauce

The fish was soft and flaky but I would have loved to see some grill/char marks to give the fish a more savoury and smoky flavour...

Beef tataki

Seared beef topped with shredded daikon and green onions with a tangy ponzu sauce

Tender (but a little chewy) beef, tangy sauce, and crunchy radish makes for a refreshing palate pleaser!

Spicy Ika Calamari

Deep-fried squid with spicy garlic-tomato sauce

I wasn't too fond of the calamari as the sauce tasted a little like a hot sauce akin to kimchi.

Overall, the lively and spacious atmosphere was nice and the food was mostly excellent as per Guu's usual standards. It's just the patio chairs we sat on were quite uncomfortable. That actually made me want to hurry up and eat and leave. I think the original Guu and Guu with Garlic are the best out of all the Guu restaurants in Metro Van.