Episode #211: Ramen Izakaya Okawari

Richmond, $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.izakaya-okawari.com

I suppose we all have our off days from time to time. This time, Tamsen and I were on our way to visit Ramen Izakaya Okawari, and we agreed to meet at Richmond Centre. I got to Richmond Centre 15 minutes early due to a few lucky transfers. Tamsen, on the other hand, somehow ended up at the airport all because he was trying to make a post on Instagram. He tried again and then ended up getting off one Skytrain station too early. By the time he walked over to Richmond Centre from Lansdowne Mall, we realized that he also forgot his hoodie at home, so he was basically freezing. I had no choice but to fire the facepalm cannon at full throttle.

Due to the name of the restaurant, I previously thought they only served ramen, but I learned from Tamsen that they also served sushi. An assortment of manga posters, manga books, and toy cars lined the dining space. The place was somewhat busy for lunch, but not so much that we had to wait for a table.

The menu had by far the most typos out of any menu I have ever seen. It didn't take me that long to find a must-try.

Oh damn, that looks delicious...

At no other sushi restaurant in Greater Vancouver can you find the exclusive crap meat being served. As a bonus, the roll also came with Tamsen's favourite topping: chopped scallop.

Snow Mountain Roll - B+

The scallop on top of the roll had a nice sweet flavour enhanced by a moderately light application of mayonnaise. Tempura bits added some crunch to the roll, and the ingredients worked together nicely. However, at $12.95, the roll is very expensive for what it is. Besides the tempura bits, the roll really does not taste that different from a regular chopped scallop roll, which is much, much cheaper.

Miso Soup - B

Next, we had the $9.95 Lunch Set with 6 pieces of oshizushi, which started off with a bowl of Miso Soup. The Miso Soup was standard fare with green onion and wakame (seaweed). It was slightly salty, but there was a good amount of miso paste as well.

Saba Battera Sushi - C+

Aburi Tuna Oshizushi - C

Aburi Salmon Oshizushi - B-

The oshizushi was quite affordable, but also quite disappointing. The Saba Battera came with chewy saba, and there wasn't enough saba to balance the flavour of the rice. With the Aburi Tuna Oshizushi, all I could taste was rice. The salmon in the Aburi Salmon Oshizushi came in thin slices too, but at least there was a hint of seared flavour with this one.

Salad - B-

The Salad came with mixed greens and was dressed with a light amount of tangy, fruity ponzu. There was very little dressing, so the salad ended up quite dry. I was almost tempted to dip the Salad in my bowl of ramen to see if that would help.

Takoyaki - B+

The Takoyaki was the highlight of our meal. Although a little floury, it had sufficient flavour and leaned towards the sweeter side. There was a juicy, chewy piece of tako in each piece, and the mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce were well-balanced.

Okawari Ramen - B

Going for the most Asian-sounding ramen on the menu, we went for the Okawari Ramen, which came with grilled chicken, bean sprouts, and green onion in a whole chicken-based ginseng herbal broth. A plump Chinese date served as the centerpiece for the ramen. The noodles were on the thinner side and did not really have that distinctive egg-like ramen flavour. The grilled chicken was on the tender side, and the broth was light. The ginseng flavour is not overwhelming, but also quite hard to notice.

The service was quite friendly and efficient. As with many of Richmond's other sushi restaurants, we found the food very expensive for the quality. We spent close to $50 on an average meal that left neither of us full. Fortunately, we always have a backup plan in cases like this. Yes, it was once again time to stuff ourselves by ordering the largest sizes of bubble tea we could find in the area.

(Thanks, Tamsen, for your contributions to this post.)

Episode #191: Sho Bu Ramen

Coquitlam, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.facebook.com/shoburamen

One thing I don't like about school is that it makes everyone too busy to join me on my sushi adventures. I seem to be the only one with my priorities straight—sushi first, education second. As soon as my two-week summer break started, I seized the opportunity and messaged several of my friends to have sushi with me. Somehow, after the scheduling process was complete, I ended up having to have sushi for every single meal two days in a row. Oh, the horror! Joining me for the first leg of my sushi endurance test were my sister and my two homies, Angus and Tamsen.

Sho Bu Ramen is a small Korean-operated restaurant with about 20 seats and is located in a desolate and slightly decrepit-looking mall known as Henderson Place. On the left side of the entrance, こころのラーメン is Japanese for "ramen from the heart." On the right side of the entrance was a bowl of noodles labelled with the kanji for "life." It sure seemed like eating the ramen would provide us with everlasting health and longevity, so into the restaurant we went.

(menu - click to enlarge)

Dynamite Roll - B-

Since I had pretty much just woken up, I decided to start my day off nice and easy with a simple Dynamite Roll. Made with just one prawn, the balance of ingredients was off as the taste of lettuce began to dominate the roll. The prawn tempura also ended up being quite greasy.

Red Mountain Roll - B+

Very helpful was the fact that none of the ingredients for the special rolls were listed on the menu, so I just went for the last and most expensive roll because that is totally a smart way to order. I was handsomely rewarded with one of my biggest nightmares: cream cheese in my sushi. Nonetheless, the Red Mountain Roll, a California Roll with cream cheese inside and spicy salmon top, was a nice blend of flavours. The spicy salmon had a bold kick, and the buttery flavour of the salmon complemented the creaminess of the cream cheese, which was conservatively used. 

Shobu Combo

The $11.50 Shobu Combo is perhaps the best deal at Sho Bu Ramen and comes with one full-sized ramen, a mini donburi, and a small salad. The combo was sufficiently large that both Angus and my sister were full after sharing one together. However, since Tamsen ordered an entire combo for himself (and helped me finish some of my sushi), I wasn't going to let myself be out-eaten by someone who was slimmer than me. With my pride at stake, I followed suit and ordered an entire combo for myself too.

 Salmon Sashimi Donburi - C+

The mini Salmon Sashimi Donburi included in the combo was not exactly a highlight. Although the seaweed provided some much-needed flavour to the donburi, the rice was dry and the salmon did not taste very fresh. 

Salad - B+

On the other side of the spectrum, the Salad was quite acidic and vinegary and almost came with too much flavour. That being said, there was ample moisture within the salad, and if you like a little zing, you may find this enjoyable.

Cha Shu Ramen - A-

Fortunately, the Cha Shu Ramen was a delight, featuring well-balanced broth that absorbed the flavour of the tender chashu. The ramen noodles also exhibited a characteristic egg-like flavour and were very filling. I had a significant amount of trouble finishing this bowl of ramen, but I fought with every ounce of my strength and managed to conquer it. I felt like I had just made it to the top of Mt. Everest. Meanwhile, my mates had to watch me slowly slurp noodles for a good 20 minutes after they were all done.

During our visit, we received friendly service, although the service was rather sparse as the staff frequently stayed behind the counter. With its decent ramen offerings, this place has started to become popular among those who live or work nearby. After spending just $15/person on lunch, I was already so full I could barely walk. However, much to my chagrin, Tamsen strolled right into the food court just a few moments later and casually proceeded to get a bubble tea and an egg waffle for dessert. Sigh... I had no choice but to ultimately admit defeat.