Sushi Town (visitor reviews, 5935 East Hastings, Burnaby, BC, phone 604-294-6155) has got to be one of my all time favorite Japanese restaurants. It’s run by a young Korean chef who takes his food seriously, and the quality, portion size and freshness of the seafood are outstanding considering the modest prices.

The Ebi Sunomono salad (pictured below, $3.50) is cool and refreshing; thin noodles are served cold in a clear sweet-and-sour broth topped with fresh cooked shrimp and a garnish of lemon. The various maki rolls are delicious, such as the Futomaki (half order, $4.00), chopped scallop roll ($3.75, pictured below), and the “Awesome Roll”.

Regarding the Awesome roll (pictured below), frugalgourmet writes on Dinehere.ca:

“The roll is slightly baked and served warm, topped off with a delightful combination of green onions, bonito flakes, barbeque sauce and spicy mayonnaise. It provides some great flavor and texture contrasts (crunchy/soft; sweet/salty; piquant/creamy). A meal on it’s own – 8 generous pieces for $6.95.”

The Chicken Karage (deep fried chicken wings, $3.95) were also very tasty – what juicy and tender chicken!

As the restaurant is located in Burnaby, it is a bit of a trek from downtown Vancouver (about a 30 minute drive). However, Sushi Town doesn’t seem to have trouble attracting diners to its suburban location; it was fully packed on the Saturday evening with several large families and smaller groups too.

Ebi Sunomono salad (shrimp and cold noodles in a sweet and sour broth)

Futomaki and chopped scallop roll

The signature dish, of Sushi Town: “Awesome roll”

Bistro Sakana Japanese Restaurant (web site, 1123 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC, phone 604-633-1280) is a popular lunch (and dinner) spot in Yaletown; it’s a more upscale version of the ubiquitous family-owned Vancouver sushi restaurant, but is not as wild as some of the higher-end Izakaya or fusion Japanese restaurants. At lunch, Bistro Sakana offers healthy Japanese box combos that are cleanly and attractively presented, such as the Lunch Box A (some of which is pictured below, around $14).

 

The Oriental Buffet near Guildford Shopping Mall (15140 – 101st Ave., Surrey, BC, phone 604-583-8893) is a huge all-you-can-eat restaurant that has a big selection of Chinese and Japanese items (some of which are pictured below).

Be adventurous and try some Peking Duck on a crepe with hoi-sin sauce and green onion, or how about some Japanese sushi, Chinese dim-sum, deep fried crab legs (pictured below), or the old favorites such as barbecued pork or chicken, popcorn shrimp, mussels, sweet and sour, wonton soup - you name it!! Finish off with some icecream, cake, jello, or mango pudding for dessert.

This restaurant is very popular with Chinese tour groups; the tour buses pull up and the high volume of customers keeps the food fresh. Dinner per person is a reasonable $14.99 plus tax; various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are also available at an additional cost.