Last summer, they had a grand opening at their new location on Hastings. We returned with a group of 15 people for the Christmas holidays. The lady there who I have seen for many years at the old location was still there and was serving us.

The restaurant now had a modern feel but with traditional Japanese decor. Their tatami rooms that they had all along the walls of the old place were no longer incorporated, instead had chic like bar seats, modern slick booths or tables with chairs.

I ordered a Chawanmushi $5.95 with prawn and vegetables in steamed egg custard. It was really fluffy and served in the traditional dishware, it always reminds me of Japan. It’s rare to find a good chawanmushi, let alone any restaurants serving them in the first place.

Yakitori $5.50 for two skewers of grilled chicken with traditional BBQ sauce. Really good. Would have liked more of the charcoal-y taste though.

I also had a Salmon Nigiri $3 and Tamago Nigiri $2.75. Now I don’t like huge pieces of nigiri, especially with a ton of rice to cheap out, but this was ridiculous. There were barely any rice underneath. I also got confused on the menu because the nigiri were under ‘Sushi’. Yes, sushi is the broad category. Everything with fish and rice together is sushi. Nigiri-sushi is the one with the fish on top and rice underneath. Maki-sushi is the classic rolls with the seaweed on the outside. Oshi-sushi is sushi the ingredients pressed usually into a box shaped mold. I’ve never seen it categorized like this anywhere else, so I was a bit perplexed. But maybe that’s just me.

Others ordered what looked to be some amazing dishes, and they seemed to enjoy it.

Tiger Mayo $11.95 Almond coated prawn deep friend served with homemade cajun mayonnaise sauce.

Sashimi Vancouver $25 (9 pieces) Sockeye Salmon, Yellowtail, Tuna Belly and Albacore Tuna.

Service was pretty good. The server allowed us to take one booth just for jackets and bags as it was winter time, and a lot of people had bulky things. The price is higher, but it’s always been high for Kamei Royale. Quality is always good though. I might have mentioned this in the previous post for the old location. If you have a guest from out of town and want to take them to a Japanese restaurant, this is the ‘safest’ place to go, meaning you will get consistent good service, food and atmosphere.

Taste:    Price for Value:

Atmosphere:     Service: 
Location: