Vancouver, BC
Way back when, it seemed like Japanese izakaya style restaurants were located exclusively in the downtown area. Now, there are more and more izakayas popping up outside the downtown core! Itadakimasu was on my radar for a while but I didn't have much reason to venture to Main Street so I never visited this place. On a Friday night, W and I were hanging out at Oakridge Centre so I decided, "Hey, we're sorta close, let's go there for dinner!" LOL... Oh, and my apologies for the crappy photo quality...
When we arrived, the place was packed and we were relegated to sit at the bar. The bar stools had no backrests so by the end of the meal, my back was stiff and sore... They need to get more comfortable bar stools.
Anyway, after looking through their regular menu and their fresh sheet, we decided to order 6 items to share.
Daikon Salad ($6) - radish salad topped with deep fried potato sticks with plum sauce
From the fresh sheet, this salad was a cool and healthy way to start the meal. Ok...maybe not that healthy due to the deep fried potato sticks. They were so good though! Crunchy and lightly salted, it went well with the sweet and tart plum sauce dressing. Hiding underneath the greens were also slices of daikon (white radish), cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.
PARI PARI Ebi mayo ($7) - crispy prawns with sweet chili mayo
This was on their regular menu. It wasn't on the description but the prawns were actually coated with rice crispies! I was worried that the chili mayo sauce would be too spicy for me and was actually kind of skeptical when W wanted to order it. I'm just a worrywart haha.. The sauce just had a little zingy kick to it and it was delicious!
Daily Cute Temari sushi box ($10) - 10 assorted flavours of "ball shaped" sushi
Oh, the power of facebook! I saw a friend post a photo of Itadakimasu's temari sushi box and I immediately squealed at how cute it looked! I vowed to try it if I ever went to the restuarant. Lo and behold, I have ordered it! The appearance was certainly cute but the taste was mediocre. The sushi rice was really bland, like it hadn't been seasoned or mixed with any vinegar at all. The sashimi was kind of dry too. A little disappointed, yes, but I'm still glad I tried it.
Pacific Roll ($11) - salmon teriyaki, cucumber topped with tuna, rice pearls and ponzu jelly
Also from their fresh sheet, I chose the Pacific Roll to see how their specialty rolls fared. Aside from the bland sushi rice, everything else was great! I especially loved the burst of tart citrus flavour from the yuzu jelly on top of the tuna.
Tsukune ($2.50 each, min. 2 orders) - skewered chicken meat ball with salt, teriyaki or sour plum & Japanese basil
These minced chicken "sausages" on bamboo skewers were pretty good too. The inside was still juicy while the exterior had a bit of char from the grill. The one glazed with sour plum sauce was my favourite because I liked the liberal sprinkle of shiso leaves (Japanese basil). It was sweet, tart and a little minty-herby. The flavour of the teriyaki (on the left) skewer was predictable (sweet and savoury) but it was still tasty.
Gindara Saikyou Miso ($9.50) - grilled miso black cod
The last dish that came was the grilled black cod. The fish was quite small in size but the sweet, salty, umami flavours were huge in impact! Nicely grilled with some char marks, the dark crispy skin contrasted with the smooth, soft and flakey white flesh. Overall, this was a fish well done. Just wished the piece was bigger to warrant that price...
With a more subdued atmosphere (no loud music or yelling by the servers like Guu), I thought it made for a more pleasing and relaxed meal. Of course, if it was the rambunctious and energetic atmosphere you're looking for, perhaps heading to downtown would be a better choice. If I was ever back in the area and was craving for izakaya appies (no sushi!), I would definitely head to Itadakimasu.
No comments:
Post a Comment