Uma sushi is a neighbourhood restaurant tucked away on W 8th and Cambie. Famous for their sushi donuts that started at Richmond night market.
We started with Uma’s salmon on fire sushi donut – aburi salmon, avocado, crabmeat, masago and furikake. There is a layer of salmon in between the rice. It was fresh, simple and had hint of smokiness. The attention to detail and execution was outstanding. I could probably eat 2 of these to myself. They are quite small.
The sashimi donburi was again, simple but fresh and tasty. I would say this is an appetizer sized dish. The dinner donburi may be bigger.
Hapa Izakaya version 4.0. By now Vancouverites should be very familiar with Japanese tapas. Hapa Izakaya Coal Harbour formerly known as Hapa Umi, is popular amongst the after work crowd just happy to relax with cheap food and drinks.
Hapa Izakaya Coal Harbour used to be a upscale hapa but, I guess Vancouverites got so used to Hapa’s original menu and prices that it just did not fly. Now they have a menu very similar to all the other Hapa’s
Happy Hour Details:
3- 6 PM
Monday to Friday
Everything on the Happy Hour menu including the house wine and beer is under $5. I know UNDER $5!!!
Now the food…
Starting with my favourite dish the Ika, grilled squid, sake soy garlic marinade. The smoky flavour really came through. It was cooked perfectly, the texture was still crunchy.
Ebi Mayo, was overcooked and the batter was too thick.
Chicken Karaage, it was juicy and tender on the inside but the outside was not as crispy as I would have liked
Beef tataki, lacked flavor, I’m not a big fan of any dish squirted with a thick blob of chilli sauce.
Rennkon Gyoza, minced pork layered with lotus root and tempura. This was surprisingly nice, the lotus root added a crunchy texture.
Overall, it stood a little above pub food but, the atmosphere and service was so fun. The servers were hot. We sat in a booth so I was eye level with the server’s busty boobs. I couldn’t help staring at them, they were everywhere. It may be raunchy but, take it as it is, Hapa Izakaya doesn’t claim to be a Michelin star restaurant, it’s more along the lines of Cactus Club. If you are complaining about girls and guys flaunting their bodies (I might add, it wasn’t distasteful) go somewhere else.
Tableau Bistro, located inside the Loden Hotel serves a locally inspired French menu.
I’m sorry, I haven’t been blogging for a while, I was dying of exhaustion. It took me 12 hours of sleep on Sunday to fully recover from a week-long binge of drinking, eating and debauchery. Vegas is not a relaxing vacation spot. ;I’ve been thinking of going on a cleanse but, seriously who was I kidding, how could a restaurant blogger go on a cleanse and still be able to blog??
Now, I’m back!
I’ve been going to Tableau a lot these past couple of weeks. I always, love coming here, if I ever wanted to relax in a comfortable and nice environment, Tableau is the first place to come to mind and, admittedly it’s one of the closest restaurants to where I live. To my friends outside of downtown…I’m sorry I made you trek all the way downtown but, aren’t you glad you did?
This is a good first date spot. If your date turns out to be a bore you would also have other first dates around you for entertainment.
The service was attentive and the food for the most part was delicious. There were a few dishes that were off but, generally they rated 4/5. Tableau makes one of the best TWENTIETH CENTURY cocktails in Vancouver gin, white chocolate syrup, lillet, lemon and, egg white.
Absolutely DELISH!
I recently went to Bottleneck on Granville, review to come, I ordered the same cocktail and they came back with some disgusting licorice mouthwash concoction. Arghhh gag I can still taste it.
So on to the food….
Lamb chops – we all loved this dish. Unfortunately, this is a seasonal dish and is no longer available on their summer menu. The meat was so packed with flavor and the smokiness really came through. 4/5.
Lamb chops
Mushrooms on toast, I know, I was skeptical at first, it’s mushrooms on toast, how phenomenal could this be? Our server told us this was one of their popular appetizers so we decided to give it a try. ;I was pleasantly surprised, this was good! ; Expensive for what it is but, I’m a big fan of mushrooms and this is now one of my favourite dishes on the menu 4.5/5
Mushrooms on toast
French onion soup, crouton-less, the fragrant was amazing. This rich soup was so flavourful, after I finished the bowl, I was pretty much full.
French onion soup, crouton-less
Burger and fries – Gruyère cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato. I rate burgers by the quality of the patty and the condiments. The patty was juicy and the bun was toasted. Other than the Gruyère there wasn’t much that set this burger apart from every other burger. 3/5
Burger and fries
Rabbit Dijionaise pan-fried, although it tasted like it was braised. The meat was a sopping mess. 2/5
Rabbit Dijionaise pan-fried
Beef tartare, the quality of the meat was superb. 4/5
Beef Tartare with quail egg
Gnocchi pan-fried was nice and buoyant, often gnocchi’s are doughy, this was perfect. 4/5
Gnocchi pan-fried
Garganelli pasta with meatballs was simple and delicious. 4/5.
Garganelli pasta with meatballs
Steelhead trout with quinoa 3.5/5
Steelhead trout with
Banana cake and peanut brittle and carmalized and chocolate ice-cream. They ran out of peanut brittle, and cake itself was hard and too dense. 2/5 I was looking forward to the peanut brittle too.
Banana cake with peanut brittle
Coffee cheesecake, light in texture and also in flavor. 2.5/5
One of the more acclaimed culinary school tucked on Granville. The quality of food is superb. Compared to VCC’s JJ’s Restaurant the price point was a little more expensive.
Service was impeccable and welcoming. It’s kinda endearing when young to be cooks shyly serves you.
Butternut squash with apples, this was delicious mmm…$7
Arugula & beet salad, portion is smaller than usual but, still very refreshing.
Braised lamb butternut squash risotto and pear. The risotto was a nice switch to the usual cream and loads of butter. $19
I recommend reservations, this place gets packed for lunch.
The room makes me think of Whistler, gleaming wood and fireplace lighting with glamorous chandeliers hanging from their tall ceilings.
My weekend dinners are late in the evening and, by the time I’m about to eat I am lightheaded from starvation. I attacked the cheese bread like the first day after a no-carb diet.
Chicken Liver Toscana, it was tasty but, the slabs of pickles made it too sour. I would have preferred if it was served on something more inspiring than two pieces of toast. 3/5
One of my favourite ingredients is pumpkin. That being said, I’ve tried so many pumpkin dishes that I know when a dish fails to meet my crazy expectations. This Pumpkin Ravioli passed my test. The pumpkin really came through and it was so creamy 4/5
Roast suckling pig, Very moist and tender I love the mint. The rosemary however was overpowering. 3/5
Roast ling cod, well prepared but the dish fell flat. It was too simple and lacked the layers of flavor found in our other dishes. 2.5/5
“Prime rib that melts in your mouth, the Philly cheesesteak subs represents the true meaning of America’s obsession of overindulgence. Hunks of meat, melted cheese, bacon mayo and, onions all in a 9” toasted bun was my dinner, breakfast and lunch.
Similar to a cafe, they require you to pay and order at the front before you sit.
The prices ($9 – 14) were pretty decent considering the whopping size of the subs and fries.
The cowboy was a fatty sub of awesomess. Huge portions of prime rib, crispy fried onions, homemade spicy BBQ sauce, bacon mayo and aged white cheddar on a 9” toasted bun.
May be if I didn’t previously wolf down two meals within a span of an hour I would appreciate the cowboy more. I had 5 freaking burgers / subs that day! It was so huge I had to use a knife and fork. I loved the texture of the crispy onions and the flavor of the meat was very good. 3.5/5
Fries, are first boiled in sugar, water and vinegar, to take away the starch and to create holes so that the oil can penetrate it when frying. It is then refried twice for extra crispiness. We decided to order the truffle aioli sauce, side note, all sauces are made in-house. The fries are similar to concession fries, thicker and less crispy. That being said, for fries that were refried twice, I expected it to be crispier than what it actually was. 2/5
After the holidays, we all agreed we should incorporate healthier diet options hence, the vegetarian sub. Healthy my ass!! The good earth was loaded with so much cheese that it overpowered all the rest of the ingredients. It was as if they decided they needed a vegetarian option but ran out of time, an uncreative veggie option with only mushrooms, onions and peppers. The bun became so soggy after a few minutes because they failed to take away the water from the mushrooms 1/5
The meal was so stereotypical American is so many ways, a whole lotta sugar, sodium and vats of fat. I don’t think I could eat another sub for the next few months after that meal.
Food Persuasion 