Junsei River Japanese Restaurant (visitor reviews, map, 570 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-683-2633).
Recently opened in the former location of the Prima Taste Singaporean restaurant in Vancouver, Junsei River serves many of the favorite items you can expect to find at a Vancouver Japanese restaurant. Items include sushi, Teriyaki, tempura, sashimi, salads, and cones. The restaurant is a-la-carte, and the portions are of decent size and reasonably priced. Vancouver has such a high standard of sushi restaurants, and I found Junsei River to be in keeping with most downtown sushi places.
Running a restaurant must be a tough business, especially the first few months after a restaurant has opened. The restaurant needs to establish a regular clientele, a good reputation, and impress their guests so that they will keep coming back. I think it is better to give a brand new restaurant some time and a chance to figure things out before pronouncing it “good” or “bad”; unfortunately some of the reviews that I read on the community review dining guide site www.dinehere.ca are a tad negative!
But never fear, my experience at the restaurant was a good one. We went on a Saturday afternoon after visiting the Vancouver Public Library book sale, and sat at one of the tables near the large windows. The restaurant has some very appetizing photos of their food on the wall, and these helped me decide on a few items.
I ordered an Ebi Sunomono salad – my favorite – ($3.25, pictured below), which is a cold vermicelli noodle salad in a sweet tangy vinegar and sugar broth, topped with some generous butterflied prawns. It was definitely up to snuff, but I could have enjoyed a bit more noodle in the salad.
I then tried the Cone Combo ($6.25, also pictured below) which included a spicy salmon cone, an imitation crab meat cone, and a tuna cone. The cones are stuffed with sushi rice and topped with seafood wrapped in the slightly salty nori (roasted seaweed). I ate them so quickly I don’t even remember what they were like – my only memory is a brief moment of pleasure while the seaweed stuck to my tongue, the cold and yummy seafood, followed by the satisfying sticky rice.
To finish off this light lunch, I enjoyed the 1/2 Kishu Roll ($5.00, also pictured below), which tasted fresh and had a great combination of crab meat, egg (tamago), fish cake, cucumber, salmon, Japanese pickle, and masago (smelt roe).
I love big sushi rolls filled with lots of interesting ingredients. There are very few foods that that can make me feel as healthy and satisfied as sushi. However, if I was being picky, I would have noted that the rolls were not entirely tightly packed with filling, with a few “air holes” in the sushi next to the edge of the roll. This minor mistake didn’t stand in my way of enjoying the sushi rolls.
The service was fine, and the restaurant was not very busy. I’ll give Junsei River another visit sometime, as their location is really convenient for me.
There is also another new Japanese restaurant across the street from the Telus building just one block away, and I’m going to try that one too! Can Vancouverites ever get tired of sushi?
Ebi Sunomono Salad from Junsei River Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada ($3.25)
Cone combo (Japanese sushi food), from Junsei River Japanese Restaurant ($6.25)
1/2 Kishu Roll from Junsei River Japanese Restaurant (Vancouver), $5.00
Another shot of the Japanese Sushi Cone Combo from Junsei Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Another shot of the 1/2 Kishu Roll from Junsei River Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.
The fashions presented at THELOOK09 are by local designers and fashion boutiques Jules & Eve and FAB Clothing, and the hair and makeup artistry is by Blanche MacDonald.
This fashion show is a fundraising event for the JCC Teen Lounge, making it a great way to show your support for youth in our community:
The JCC teen lounge provides a place for teens to learn skills through sports, leadership programs, afterschool care, fitness and community partnering programs. Most importantly, it is a safe place with responsible young adults that get to know each teen by name and act as a sounding board without judgment. It works as a gathering place for fun and mentoring. Building teens holistic health is what the youth department does best.
Attention Youtube fans! Are you interested in the world of fashion design, modelling, makeup, or hair artistry? Here’s your chance to get noticed!
Create a 30 second video blog answering the question “What does living a healthy lifestyle mean to you?†and upload it to Youtube, you’ll get a chance to win two VIP Passes to the fashion show, and have the opportunity to meet some of Vancouver’s top fashion designers, TV personalities, and other people like yourself who are interested in fashion and healthy living.
When you upload your video, make it a video response to this video, which explains the contest rules. The full contest details can be found here. VLOG contest is about Healthy Lifestyle is open to all ages.
Click above for more details on THELOOK09 Youth Fashion Show in Vancouver BC Canada.
THELOOK09 Youth Fashion Show
On Tuesday, May 12th 2009 (Same night as the election)
7:30pm – 9:30pm
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (open to all)
A popular steakhouse in Whistler, Monk’s Grill is located next to the ski runs at Blackcomb Mountain, right in front of the Wizard Express chair lift. The restaurant has ski in / ski out access and is next door to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. It is also within walking distance to the Four Seasons Resort & Spa in Whistler.
During the summer, Monk’s Grill is in the centre of the Whistler “Summer Family zone” which includes activites such as: 18 hole Links mini putt, flying trapeze, farmer’s market & crafts fair, Kiss the Sky bungy, climbing wall, and horseback rides.
Chef Shaun Anderson and Monk’s kitchen create “a fusion-style menu with a French/European background” (from their website). Their Spring menu which runs till April 30th features a choice of:
Pan Roasted Wentzel Duck Breast, Lotus Root Chips, Shanghai Bok Choy, Oven Dried Blueberry Jus
or
8oz NY Strip loin, Melted Cambozola Cheese, Roasted Garlic Jus
I’m interested to make a trip out to Whistler in the coming months to give Monk’s a try. Feel free to leave comments below, regarding your experiences at Monk’s Grill in Whistler!
