Tag Archives: Chinatown

Ramen Butcher

Located in the heart of Chinatown, my friend who had recently gone to check out the restaurant wanted to go again, so the five of us went for a super late lunch at 3pm. I was expecting a lineup, but to our luck, we had a big table to our self. The decor was modern, hipster and a mix of art and Japanese culture. On a warm day, the inside was a bit too warm. It would have been nice to have the windows open, or the door left open a crack to have some ventilation.

The menu was more than I expected. Usually, ramen-ya were quite simple in their menu selection so you knew what to get right away, but I was indecisive. Finally, I decided that I wanted something light and refreshing, so I ordered the Tori (chicken) $9.95.

My friend said that they have some special offers everyday, and this time their sandwich board in front said that by following them on Instagram gets you free Cha-shu (slices of pork). My friend did, so he had cha-shu on his ramen which were fatty and thick.

The presentation is really nice. Care is put in for placement, and reminds me of ramen in Japan. The broth was light, but really good. The noodle was a bit too al dente, once again. I wonder if I can ask them to cook a little longer next time… that’s what I should start doing when I go out for ramen, rather than trying to eat something I don’t want when I’m paying for it. Maybe even for 30 seconds longer. The chicken meatball was a pleasant surprise. It was good meat with garlic and herbs. Very tasty!

The great thing about this ramen-ya which I have not yet seen anywhere else in Vancouver, is the free seconds. The system is known as kae-dama (替え玉), where customers who have finished their noodles can request a “refill” to be put into their remaining soup. But that means you can’t drink your soup one the first bowl because they only give you extra noodles – not soup. The ‘kaedama’ was small, but good enough. This time, the noodles were even harder, and more difficult to eat.

Overall, the taste was fantastic but I seriously need to ask them to ‘over’ cook next time. There was a bit of confusion as the two of us wanted the kaedama, and I thought my friend ordered to the staff, but they brought us the bill instead. When they returned, they only had one kaedama for my friend, and not for me. But other than that, it was good. Average pricing as well. Will be back!

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Tsuki Sushi Bar

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My friend was raving about this place so we went for dinner before our Lego movie (which was surprisingly “awesome!!” btw) at the theatre in International village (aka Tinseltown mall). The restaurant was new. Modern, clean with a high ceiling which made it very open and airy. The cool, modern furniture also complimented the contemporary slick-ness. My friend wanted to sit at the big table with benches in the middle of the restaurant.

kanipon $6.25 negitoro roll $3.50 and 2 aburi salmon nigiri $2.15 each

I ordered negitoro roll $3.50, 2 aburi salmon nigiri $2.15 each and kanipon $6.25. So this is the first restaurant that I’ve seen where you had the choice of making your choice of nigiri into an aburi (flame-searing) for an extra 25 cents. I was extremely disappointed with the kanipon which was 1/3 crab meat, 1/3 cucumber and the last third seaweed. I am not sure what kind of fancy crab the crab meat came from but the portion was really small. I could have gone to T&T and bought a fresh whole crab for under $10. Nothing special to note about the flavour. The ponzu was a bit overpowering…

The negitoro was slightly disappointing as well. From the top it looks fine, but when you flipped it over, there weren’t that much rice and tuna at the other end. This means that when they made the role, they didn’t cut the ends off. This is not the only place that I have seen this, but I guess I noticed it even more after the disappointing kanipon. Taste wise was satisfactory though. The salmon aburi was interesting. It was flamed, so it shrunk. I was hoping for something that tasted like the oshi sushi but it didnt. I guess it’s not really the same thing…haha. Pricey for $2.40 each…

My friend also raved about the washroom a lot. He is studying interior design and said if he could design rooms, it would be the washrooms. He made it sound like it was the best washroom ever. With all the hype and raving, I was expecting to be blown away. When I went to find the bathroom, I got a bit confused and thought it was the staff bathroom because it was not what I was expecting. Clean, yes. Ok, there are mouthwashes and Q-tips available, but this is not the first time I have seen this. The shelf and small cupboard is vintage with candles as decor, but other than that, it’s a pretty normal bathroom. I have seen far greater bathrooms that this, so I couldn’t quite see what my friend saw in it. For the price of the food, I would just expect the washroom to be tidy and clean.

The service was excellent, but food didn’t really impress me, mainly for the outrageous price. After reading other reviews, perhaps I need to order something different off the menu. But it’s unlikely that I would return, unless my friend really wanted to go back.

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Blenz in Chinatown

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A trendy one right across from T&T and International Village Mall, often occupied with Korean students late at night. There is usually only one staff working at night, but the service is prompt and friendly.
Unfortunately, being in the location that it is, you will always have one homeless man either harassing the staff or doing suspicious in the cafe which ruins the trendy cool-place-to hangout atmosphere. The one Korean guy that works the night shift is usually good with them, and will either tell them to leave or stop what they’re doing – unlike some staff at other restaurants/cafe.
The furniture and decor is very unique to this location, and it’s one of our favourite Blenz.

I really like Blenz drinks. I’d go more often if it wasn’t so expensive. I do find that the drinks taste better than Starbucks. After going a bit healthy, it’s nice to have options for having drink non-sweet. I usually have my matcha as it is. It’s nice being able to customize your drink. Starbucks does it to, but I find Blenz is more pure. They also use higher quality ingredients, and make drinks from raw ingredients rather than using processed syrups and flavours.

Unlike Starbucks where every one of them will look pretty much the same almost anywhere you go, each location of Blenz has a unique style or look to them. The decor will be different. The furniture will be different. The atmosphere and the type of people that come will be different. I hear they are expanding, so hopefully, we’ll see more of them elsewhere!

Their trademark Matcha Latte~

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