Last weekend I visited Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano (web site, map, 3116 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-732-7249).
I was sad to read on their website that they are closing on July 12th 2009. Hope this is only temporary and they will be back soon! Here’s your chance to experience this great restaurant before they close.
[A] hot appetizer we had was this noodle wrapped and deep-fried shrimp served with a spicy mayo dip. The contrast between the crispy exterior and the plump, juicy shrimp inside was superb […] Each [sushi] piece was densely packed, making it feel more filling than it already was […] The fish was good, each fresh and succulent, and not too big that it would take more then one mouthful.
All the dishes were beautifully presented and were a creative notch above the typical Japanese restaurant you’ll find around town.
I enjoyed the Sashimi Salad ($7.50, pictured below), a delightful arrangement of green salad topped with a variety of raw seafood.
For an appetizer I ate the Ebi Chili Mayo ($5.50, also pictured below), which is a generous serving of deep fried prawns covered in mayonnaise and sprinkled with Japanese masago (smelt roe) garnish. These were some of the best Ebi Mayo prawns I have had around town – it’s a shame the restaurant is closing soon or else I would definitely go back to have them again.
As for sushi, we ordered the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll, which is reasonably priced at $5.50 (also pictured below) – and you can see from the photo that it was very pleasing to the eye.
The chef at Sai-z makes quite a daring and delicious decision to combine papaya, avocado, and salmon. The roll we ordered also had some lettuce in it, and I felt the lettuce made the sushi a bit too watery, but it was refreshing and tasty nevertheless.
My vegetarian friend ordered the Vegetarian Sushi Combo (also pictured below) which was great looking, yummy, and affordable (maybe around $6 to 8?).
A complimentary Salmon Skin appetizer from the chef at SaiZ Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sashimi Salad from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant ($7.50)
Vegetarian Sushi Combo from Sai-Z Japanese Tapas restaurant in Vancouver.
Ebi Chili Mayo prawns ($5.50) from Saiz Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.
Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll sushi ($5.50) from Sai-z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Another shot of the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll Sushi from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Tropika on Robson (web site, map, 1128 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-737-6002) is a popular Malaysian and Thai restaurant located on the second floor overlooking Vancouver’s trendy Robson Street shopping district (downtown), between Bute and Thurlow streets.
The restaurant has won numerous awards for their innovative and unique decor, and more importantly for their food. Their menu, which is full of wonderful mouth-watering photos, makes choosing dishes a snap – even if you’re not so familiar with Malaysian or Thai cuisine. Simply look at the photos in the menu and let your eyes decide what to eat!
On a previous visit (over two years ago) I enjoyed the satay skewers and the Hainanese chicken.
This time we tried the following dishes (all pictured below): Indonesian spring rolls filled with chicken ($2.50 each), some delightfully puffy roti canai bread served with a special sauce ($2.95), the marvellous sambal clams ($13.95), an hot and sour eggplant hot pot with minced pork ($11.95), and the pineapple fried rice with ham and chicken ($12.95).
An interesting drink that we tried was the Coconut Juice served in a real coconut (also pictured below). This was a huge coconut filled with some refreshing and slightly sweet coconut juice, that we could enjoy with a straw.
In addition to Tropika’s Robson Street location, the restaurant also has a couple of other locations: Tropika Cambie Street (map, 2975 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-879-6002), and Tropika at Aberdeen (map, unit 1830, Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-233-7002). More info is on their web site.
Indonesian Spring Rolls from Tropika on Robson Street ($2.50 each)
Roti Canai bread from Tropika on Robson ($2.95)
Sambal Clams ($13.95) from Tropika on Robson
Hot & Sour Eggplant Hot Pot with Minced Pork ($11.95) from Tropika on Robson
Pineapple Fried Rice with Ham and Chicken ($12.95) from Tropika Restaurant on Robson Street.
Coconut Juice served in a fresh real coconut (around $4.00) from Tropika Malaysian and Thai restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
H-Mart (wikipedia, website, map, 200 – 550 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada) is a Korean-American grocery store chain with many locations throughout North America. In Vancouver they are on the second floor at the corner of Robson and Seymour – a prime spot in the downtown shopping district.
As you enter the store, your eyes are greeted with a foyer full of small electrics, including rice steamers and griddles. From there, you enter a world of household necessities including ‘Joy Gloves.’ Which brings up a point. Some product names just don’t come through translation to have the same impact in English as they did in their native country’s language.
[…] The prepared foods are tasty as well. The kim-chee from the refrigerator case is top notch, as are the fried beef and sesame chicken. In the freezers are everything from squid and octopus to red bean ice cream. Try some of the gyoza or steamed dumplings for a treat. There are also frozen ducks in the case labeled ‘duck, parts missing.’ It’s best to not think too hard about which parts are absent.
I really like their gyoza and kim-chee, as well as their prepackaged sushi which becomes discounted near the end of the day.
But a little-known feature of this grocery store is the food court that is at the north side facing Robson street. Here you can get a variety of popular Korean dishes such as the spicy tofu soup, spicy beef broth, seafood pancake, and many more (menu shown below).
I tried the Item #5 which is described as “Mixed Vegetables and Rice in a Stone Hot Pot” ($8.50, pictured below) – it is called Bibimbap in Korean.
The ingredients are arranged artfully on rice in a super-hot stone bowl, and it’s up to you to mix them up and wait a couple minutes for everything to cook.
In the photos below I’ve shown what the dish looks like before and after mixing the ingredients. It tasted fabulous – the combination of rice, egg, vegetables, and meat was quite filling and satisfying but also was non-greasy and seemed healthy.
The stone bowl remains piping hot for a long time; after resting my chopsticks on it for a minute the wood became almost too hot to touch. The dish is served with some kim-chee (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) and a warm soup broth with green onions.
After enjoying Item #5 for a second time, I’ve decided to make the H-Mart Korean Supermarket one of my regular dining spots. Visiting the food fair is like taking a mini vacation to Korea – most of the other patrons seem to be talking in Korean, and many of the signs are in both Korean and English.
Bibimbap Korean food ($8.50) from H-Mart Market in Vancouver BC Canada - before mixing the ingredients.
Korean Bibimbap dish after mixing the ingredients in the hot stone bowl.
H-Mart Korean Food Fair Menu, located on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver.
