Prima Taste Restaurant (570 Robson St. Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-685-7881) serves authentic Singaporean cuisine in a modern, stylish Robson street location, just east of the Future Shop on Granville and Robson. I enjoyed the Seafood Platter ($17.95, pictured below) which included a wonderful selection of seafood including prawns and squid, as well as spring rolls, rice, a tasty Singaporean condiment served cold (that I think was made of chilis), and a garnish of carrot.

A reviewer on Dinehere.ca writes (click here for review link):

I had lived in Singapore for 30 years before transplanting myself to Vancouver. For years I craved the savoury and south-east Asian flavors that uniquely belonged to Singapore, because of its modernity and ability to fuse cosmopolitan flavors. Anyway, I got really excited when I heard that this new restaurant opened. I had been disappointed many times by establishments flaunting the “Singapore” brand of food […] TEARS ROLLED DOWN MY CHEEKS and dripped into my soup as the first spoonful of Hainanese Chicken Rice entered my mouth…My only complaint is that the condiments of chilli, dark soy and ginger were too little.

Singaporean Seafood Platter ($17.95)

Prima Taste interior – the decor is sleek and modern

Another closeup of the Seafood Platter ($17.95)

Maruchu Japanese BBQ Dining (2065 – 4580 #3 Road, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone 604-214-3770) offers an authentic Japanese version of the popular Korean BBQ style dinner, where you are given marinated meats and cook them yourself at a grill at your table. If you’ve tried Korean BBQ before you’ll find the Japanese style quite similar, but perhaps a bit less spicy. Reservations are recommended, as the restaurant is quite small and gets full on weekends. Price per person is in the $20-30 range, depending on how hungry you are!

A plate of raw meat that is marinated and topped with sesame seeds and green onion.

A plate of marinated meat before we cooked it on the BBQ at the table.

The BBQ in action!

Ezogiku Noodle Cafe (270 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-685-9466) serves bowls of hot, steaming Japanese ramen noodle soup. A bowl of ramen soup costs around $7.25 plus tax, and you can also order some appetizers such as pan fried gyoza dumplings. I enjoyed the Kimchi Ramen (pictured below), which featured the traditional Korean spicy cabbage as well as barbecued pork.

Ezogiku Noodle Cafe is located near the Vancouver main library downtown, as well as BC Place Stadium, home of the BC Lions Football team. It’s also a short walk from GM Place Stadium, home of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team. The restaurant is within easy walking distance of hotels such as the Rosedale on Robson, Westin Grand, and the Hampton Inn and Suites.

Kimchi ramen noodle soup

The interior of Ezogiku Noodle Cafe on Robson.