Tag Archives: Japanese food

Kiku Sushi

I had a Social Shopper for $29 (value $60), so I had to make reservations for four people on a Friday at 7:30pm. Phone courtesy wasn’t all that friendly, but was able to make the reservations without any problems.

We ordered lots!

5 piece Gyoza $4.95 – it was pretty good and with everyone being hungry, we gobbled it up really fast!

5 piece Tako Yaki $5.55 – fairly large balls that were really crisp on the outside and hot and soft inside. I don’t recall seeing much ‘tako’ (octopus) in it, but it was pretty good. Everyone liked it.

Beef Tataki $6.95 – this was a bit of disappointment, especially to my friend who wanted the dish. The pieces of the beef was small and not that great. It looked like there were a lot of beef but they were just sitting on a mountain of shredded lettuce underneath.

Tuna Tataki (small) $7.95 – I really liked this dish. The portion was very big, the fish were tasty and fresh. The added daikon (white radish), green onions and 2 pieces of shiso was really nice and went really well when eaten together with the tuna. My friend who was disappointed in the beef tataki was impressed with this one.

Negitoro $3.50 – a bit on the dryer side, but still satisfactory

Dragon Roll $8.95 – very nicely presented. Tasty and fresh

2 Tuna Nigiri $1.25 – Sheepie had both. 2 Salmon Nigiri $1.25 – the salmon was a bit stringy and the rice was dry. Not the best, but I guess you get what you pay for.

Saba Shioyaki $7.95 – good decent size of fish. It was juicy and hot, but too salty for us girls so most of it went to my friend who ordered it.

Toro Sashimi $8.95 – I didn’t have any as I’m not a fan of toro and there were so many other food to eat. But it looked good and I didn’t hear any complaints.

After we ordered to our limit on the voucher, we were still hungry, so we ordered an additional Alaska Roll $3.75 and Chicken Teriyaki Roll $3.95. I was hoping for the Alaska roll that usually have the salmon or avocado on top of the roll with less rice, but this was a futomaki (big roll) version! But it did help fill us up!

Overall, it was a good dining experience. The food was pretty decent and the service was pretty good and servers came by to top off our tea cups from time to time. There are ample parking spaces and the restaurant is kept fairly clean. Nothing fancy, but satisfactory.

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Akasaka

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A fairly large and spacious Japanese restaurant run by Koreans in Surrey. Half of the restaurant has private tatami rooms, with even closing doors. We were there on a Sunday evening, and only the private rooms were occupied. The private room was very nice, and with the sliding door, we were able to shut out the noise and cold draft from the hallway. Unfortunately, unlike in Japan, the servers did not even make the effort to close it after they brought us tea or food, making it a little annoying for us to close it every single time, and eventually leaving it two-thirds of the way open.

The rooms were run down. The Asian artwork on the wall was ripped and had a hole as if someone had punched through it. The wall itself looked like it had gone through some war time. It was in serious need of renovation and upgrading.

Nice try on decorating, but rips and holes in the art? Better not to have it up in the first place if it is that damaged.

Scallop+Shrimp skewer $5.95

Tuna Tataki (small) $7.95

Negitoro roll $3.95

I ordered the negitoro roll $3.95, Scallop+Shrimp skewer $5.95 and Tuna Tataki (small) $7.95. The food came promptly except for one person’s bento box which took quite a long time. The negitoro was good. Scallop and shrimp was nice and juicy. The tuna tataki was ok. I think I’ve had better ones at Green Leaf for the same price. Could have used a bit more zest flavour in the ponzu. But overall, my food was satisfactory. I tried a bit of Sheepie’s Gangnam Style Chicken which was chicken enrobed in kimchi and a lot of oil. Kind of like those Chinese deep fried chicken with red sauce, but spicy. It was alright, but a bit greasy for me. Sheepie had the Viking roll, but he didn’t like how there was so much cream cheese inside. I didn’t try.

Service in terms of bringing food, tea and friendliness was satisfactory. Presentation of food was normal, prices were a bit high for the quantity and quality, but the taste was good enough to satisfy my dining experience. It’s a bit far to come all the way down to Surrey from downtown to dine, especially with all the good sushi restaurants in Vancouver area. But if you live in Surrey, or happen to be in that area, it’s an ok Japanese restaurant to check out.

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Sushi Oyama

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Been here many times, and the food and service has been consistently very good. Located near Metrotown, the restaurant is an impressive heritage house that was converted to the restaurant it now is today. It has a stone exterior, with Japanese-like interior. The waiting area has a striking water fall that makes it look like water is running down the glass wall.

The interior is spacious with lots of semi-sectioned off areas that make it feel a bit more private. There are private rooms available upstairs if you reserve for a large group.

The prices are good and the staff are efficient and mostly friendly. Sheepie and I ordered the Dinner for Two $23.95 to share. It came with one large udon, a plate of assorted sushi, chicken karaage, decent salad bowl, and 4-piece tempura. All of the food was decent, especially for the price. I wouldn’t rate the quality as excellent, but I was happy to see that the karaage was hot, crsipy and juicy with a lot of meat, unlike those cheap chicken wings you get at cheap all you can eat places that are all bones and no meat but grease.

Salad – nice and pretty. Tasted good too.

Assorted sushi

Four pieces of tempura

Udon

5 piece chicken karaage

For Lunch

We happened to be in the area, so we went for a late lunch. I ordered negitoro roll $3.10 and vegetable yakisoba $9.30. The negitoro was good, though I did have one time where the fish seemed a bit fishy. I ended up not finishing it, and giving them to Sheepie instead. But other than that one instance, it’s been good every time. The yakisoba is piled high! Look at all those noodles and veggies~. It was very tasty, but left you very thirsty afterwards >_<

Sheepie ordered the Red Roll (bottom) $5.40 and Red Crab Dynamite Roll (top) $7.90. They were both good, though presentation wise, they could do a bit better in keeping the rolls from looking so bulky and not look like they’re about to fall apart. I do wish they had less sauce on the Dynamite roll, but that’s just my preference in not really liking too much sauce. I find rolls with too much sauce kills the natural flavours of the ingredients.

Dragon roll – crazy roll!

We’ve been both happy with the service here, and continue to come back. If you’re looking for a place for decent price and food, check this place out.

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