Episode #226: Kimu Japanese Cuisine (2nd Visit)

Vancouver (Southeast), $ (Budget)
www.kimucuisine.com

Every semester, I try to organize a sushi meet-up so the TAs in my office can meet and get to know each other. This time, however, my attempts to organize were more or less a fail. Despite drawing a huge availability schedule that spanned our chalkboard and personally bugging each TA to fill out the schedule, more than half of the TAs ended up cancelling hours before the dinner for various reasons. Somehow, 15 confirmed guests became 7, and plus-ones almost outnumbered TAs that actually share the office with me. Nonetheless, the dinner went on with Andrea, Angus, Anya, Ashton, Patrick, and Sean in attendance.

Even though the restaurant still displays a "Grand Opening" sign, it has actually been open for many months. It has been gaining popularity, and now, it is one of my go-to places for casual group dinners.  Their menu features a great assortment of fusion dishes, most of which are Instagram-worthy.

As is usual for dinners with me, no ordering took place until around 45 minutes after we had sat down at our table, by which point the restaurant began to get busy and the service became sparse. We placed all our orders at the same time, but for some reason, my food came way later than anyone else's.

Belly King Roll - B+

After awkwardly staring at my friends enjoying their food for a very long time (some of them were already finished), my Belly King Roll finally arrived. This roll came with avocado, negitoro, seared sake toro (salmon belly), jalapeño, capers, garlic chips, balsamic reduction, and pesto olive sauce. Despite its small size, the roll was very successful texture-wise, especially with the smooth and soft seared salmon. I thought the salmon could've used a bit more smokiness though.

Spicy Crunch Roll - B+

Since Sean was with us, we got the obligatory Spicy Crunch Roll. A deep-fried California roll topped with spicy tuna, tobiko, tempura flakes, spicy house sauce, and BBQ sauce, the Spicy Crunch Roll packed a lot of flavour, and it was nice that the batter was not too hard. The spicy tuna had a delectable, soft texture, but it was slightly overwhelmed by the aggressive use of chili sauce.

Beef Gomae - B

Next, I had the Beef Gomae simply because I'd never seen the dish at any other restaurant before. It was essentially beef sashimi accompanied by gomae. The beef was tender and went well with the sweet gomae sauce, but the tangy ponzu sauce on the bottom complemented neither the beef nor the gomae. I had to let the ponzu sauce drip down before each bite.

Rainbow Sushi Pizza - B+

In honour of one of our guests, who really likes colourful things, I ordered the Rainbow Sushi Pizza, which came with crab meat, salmon, tuna, ebi, hamachi, tai, unagi, tobiko, BBQ eel, and wasabi mayonnaise. The crispy layer of rice at the bottom was slightly overdone, but the mixture of creamy sauces and smooth cuts of fish worked well. The tai and unagi were the highlights among the seafood.

Hamachi Toro Nigiri - A-

Madai Nigiri - A-

Shima-Aji Nigiri - A-

Uni Nigiri - B+

Ordering my nigiri turned out to be quite laughable for my entire table because they had run out of most of the more expensive types of nigiri. After having my order rejected again and again (feels bad), I finally ended up with the nigiri above. The nigiri was fresh and came in generous cuts. The delicate sweetness of the shima-aji and the smooth texture of the madai were highlights. There wasn't a lot of uni in the Uni Nigiri, but it still had a nice, creamy texture.

While the service was a little sparse as we came at prime dinner time on a Saturday, it was at least friendly. Once again, I enjoyed the innovation and the consistency in execution. I can foresee more adventures to Kimu, as there are still many creative dishes that I haven't tried yet, such as the Dontoro Bites, the Volcano Eggplant Seafood Yaki, and the Honeymoon Roll. Okay, maybe that last one will have to wait...

Episode #206: Kimu Japanese Cuisine

Vancouver (Southeast), $ (Budget)
www.kimucuisine.com

About two months ago, when Kimu Japanese Cuisine first opened its doors, my Instagram feed exploded with pictures of sushi in virtually all the various forms I could imagine. At Kimu, there's the Sushi Cake, sushi with kimchi on it, and enough species of Sushi Pizza to give the pizza place next door a hard time. They might as well add sushi pasta and sushi fries to round off the selection. There were more things that I wanted to try than I could stomach, so I had Kyle and Emperor Enoch (thanks for the nickname suggestion, Luke) join me on this adventure.

Emperor Enoch doesn't exactly have the best of luck when it comes to traffic, so I had a good 20 minutes to comb over the menu and sip some hot green tea to relieve myself from the cold weather outside before his arrival. I was quite surprised by how quickly the restaurant began to fill up, despite its rather inconvenient location. By 5:30 p.m., the place was bustling, and by 6 p.m., it was full. All that Instagram coverage combined with very reasonable prices seemed to have worked wonders for the restaurant.

Okonomiyaki - A-

Oddly enough, first to arrive was the Okonomiyaki, which was a success. The pancake was soft with a slight crispiness around the edges. There were plenty of bonito flakes on top, as well as a good balance of Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise. 

Bomb Roll - B+

Arriving quickly afterward was the Bomb Roll, which consisted of mayonnaise, lettuce, avocado, cucumber, masago, prawn tepura, spicy tuna, and chopped scallop. Of course, we ordered this because the name suggested that it would be bomb. Indeed, it was neatly constructed, and the flavour of the prawn tempura was projected well. However, the other ingredients were a little hard to discern. A light spiciness added some depth of flavour to the roll.

Sushi Cake - B+

The Sushi Cake, which is effectively Kimu's poster child, consisted of sushi rice dough, crab meat, avocado, shiitake mushrooms, torched salmon, spicy tuna, tobiko, BBQ sauce, spicy mayonnaise, balsamic reduction, garlic chips... actually, scratch that. Simply put, the Sushi Cake consisted of sushi rice dough and the entire T&T Supermarket. If you want a single item with as many sauces as possible, then this is it. I liked how the dough was crispy and not too chewy. A seared flavour was evident in the creamy seared salmon, and the garlic chips provided a nice zing. To top it all off, the Sushi Cake was only $9.50!

Aburi Salmon Nigiri - B+

Aburi Tuna Nigiri - B+

Aburi Hamachi Toro Nigiri - A-

Aburi Amaebi Nigiri - A

Aburi Hotate Nigiri - B+

Aburi Beef Nigiri - B+

Next, I had the Aburi Sushi Combo, which came with six pieces of Aburi (seared) sushi. The highlights were the hamachi toro, which was topped with a light helping of spicy mayonnaise, and the soft and creamy amaebi, which had the best seared flavour out of all the pieces. The other pieces were decent, and the sushi rice was packed correctly.

Salmon Sashimi - A-

Tuna Sashimi - A

Hokkigai Sashimi - B

Hamachi Sashimi - B

Ika Sashimi - A

Tai Sashimi - B+

Finally, because we all needed something Snapchat-worthy, we ordered the Deluxe Sashimi, which came with three pieces each of salmon, tuna, hokkigai (Arctic surf clam), hamachi (yellowtail), ika (squid), and tai (snapper). Most of the sashimi was very fresh, including the creamy and buttery salmon, the very melty tuna, and the soft ika. The parts of the tai near the scales were chewier, but it was otherwise quite soft. The hokkigai could be sweeter, and the hamachi was slightly fishy, though smooth.

The service was sparse at times due to the high number of customers, but overall, we were more than satisfied with the food given the prices. There wasn't a single item we found below average. With wallet-friendly prices, ample creativity, and well-prepared food, this restaurant deserves the customers it is getting, and I have Instagram to thank for this great find.

Episode #186: Sushi by Yuji

Vancouver (Southeast), $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.facebook.com/sushibyyuji

For the longest time, I have sworn that I would never become a Mac person or an iPerson. My previous experiences with Apple products were full of scratching my head for hours trying to figure out how to do the simplest of tasks. However, when my third Android phone began experiencing elderly issues, such as a highly inaccurate battery indicator, my curiosity gave in and I decided to go for an iPhone 6. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Luckily for me, a very patient sales representative offered to spend over an hour setting up my iPhone and teaching me how to use it. After my training session, I mastered the art of turning my iPhone on, and it was time to celebrate my epic achievement with some sushi.

Sushi by Yuji is a small authentic sushi restaurant that has garnered the attention and acclaim of many of Vancouver's food bloggers due to its finely executed nigiri sushi. The prices were actually not as high as I was expecting, but the ambience is very informal, and the restaurant does not look like much more than a take-out place. As Sushi by Yuji focuses mainly on sushi, the menu is not extensive, and there is no tempura.

Marinated Tuna - B+

The first dish to arrive was the Marinated Tuna, a small appetizer consisting of marinated small cubes of tuna, wasabi, sesame, and daikon. The smell of sesame was quite strong here, and the tuna had an excellent melty and soft texture. However, I didn't exactly expect the tuna to be almost wholly marinated with wasabi. With each bite, it felt like a missile was being shot up my nose. By the time I finished all of the tuna, my nose felt very... umm... mesmerizingly tranquilized.

Deluxe Assorted Sushi

Next, I had the Deluxe Assorted Sushi, their most extensive nigiri sushi combo. The nigiri was neatly presented, which prompted me to take out my phone and send a picture of it to my friends. At the same time, my next dish, the Tanuki Udon, also arrived. I wish they had given me a bigger table, because with two large dishes, my Canon G7x camera, my phone, my notebook and various eating utensils all sprawled out on my table, my hands were flailing about trying to grab the right things. I literally looked like I was doing the starfish in my seat. 

Negitoro Roll - B+

The Negitoro Roll was well-constructed with melty tuna, and the seaweed was remarkably easy to chew. A few pieces felt slightly rice-heavy, but in the other pieces, the rice structure was good.

Tuna Nigiri - A

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - A-

Ikura Nigiri - A

Negitoro Nigiri - B

Chopped Scallop Nigiri - A-

Overall, the nigiri came with very generous cuts and was a rather good deal at only $19.50. The tuna had a wonderfully melty texture, and the sockeye salmon had a nice smoothness despite the slightly flawed cutting. The ikura (salmon roe) featured a rich flavour and a bubbly texture and went well with the sushi rice, which was not packed too tightly. The Negitoro Nigiri had a little too much green onion, so there was not much of a tuna flavour left in it. The chopped scallop was decent with a pleasant creamy, sweet flavour.

Hamachi Nigiri - B+

Tako Nigiri - A-

Engawa Nigiri - A

Saba Nigiri - A

Onto the bottom row, the hamachi also came in a rather huge cut and had a smooth texture, but it was slightly chewier than expected. The Tako Nigiri (octopus), however, was sliced thinly to avoid chewiness and had a well-balanced flavour. The Engawa Nigiri (halibut fin) had a nice bouncy chew to it, and its delicate, sweet flavour went well with a dip of soy sauce. Finally, the Saba Nigiri was fresh, smooth, and overall, an excellent finish to the Deluxe Assorted Sushi.

Tanuki Udon - B

For my filler, I ordered the Tanuki Udon, which came with bits of fried tempura batter, green onion, and ginger. This was simple and inexpensive ($7.75), but quite standard fare. The flavour of the ginger on top thoroughly permeated the broth, which was the sole unique characteristic of this udon. One thing I liked about this udon was that the tempura batter crumbs were served on the side, or otherwise, who knows what it would have become in the 30+ minutes it took me to finish the Deluxe Assorted Sushi?

I received friendly and patient service even though the restaurant was quite busy during my visit. If you are looking for the absolute best sushi in Vancouver, Sushi by Yuji is not the place to go, but it does offer consistently superior quality at reasonable prices. As such, my experience here was quite enjoyable. In fact, it was so enjoyable that I completely forgot about paying the bill until the cashier gave me a weird look (she was too polite to say anything). Oops...

Pejoy Biscuit Sticks

As soon as I paid my bill, I was rewarded with a packet of Pejoy biscuit sticks. According to Pejoy's website, Pejoy is Pocky's friend and is supposed to melt away your stresses for the day. Well, that's definitely worth paying the bill for!

Episode #177: Kawa Sushi

Vancouver (Southeast), $ (Budget)
www.kawasushi.weebly.com

One of the most horrific things that can happen to anyone in the world just happened to me. Yes, my shower drain got clogged. To make matters worse, there was a pool of discoloured water left in the shower base, and neither a plunger nor a wire hook would clear up the blockage. I tried to brainstorm a few possible causes of this catastrophe, which included a dead rodent in the pipes, a tree branch growing in the wrong place, or perhaps a very plump spider, which would be the most terrifying of nightmares. After nearly spraining my back trying to unclog the drain and almost falling face-first into the crap-infused water, all I fished out were a few stray pieces of hair. I give up. Since I had no way of using the shower, I decided to cleanse myself by going for some sushi instead.

Being the classic indecisive me, I had my office mates help me pick out a restaurant. After they had mentioned about 20 different sushi restaurants that I had previously tried and blogged about, one of them came up with Kawa Sushi. I had never heard of this Japanese restaurant before (which is rare for me), so off I went to try it.

When I went inside, it smelled as if they had decorated the whole place with Chinatown-flavored air fresheners. Well, pretty much all the neighbouring shops and businesses were Chinese, so maybe that makes it okay? The dining area was nothing fancy, although the menus were clean and nicely designed. The menu featured many low-priced items, and the restaurant got quite busy soon after I had ordered.

Unagi Nigiri - B-

Saba Nigiri - C

Toro Nigiri - A-

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - C+

Chopped Scallop Cone - B

The Unagi Nigiri tasted like no other unagi I have come across. It was lightly fried and also a bit tough. The Saba Nigiri was a little disappointing as the saba was fishy, and the rice was too tightly packed. The Toro Nigiri was the best piece of nigiri, featuring soft, melty, delicious toro. The Sockeye Salmon Nigiri surprisingly went for $1.10 a piece (far cheaper than another other Sockeye Salmon Nigiri I have seen), but unfortunately, it did not taste very fresh. The Chopped Scallop Cone came with delightfully soft and sweet scallops, but the seaweed that encased it was rather tough. About two bites in, my cone disintegrated into what looked like a DIY sushi kit randomly dumped onto a dish...

Shrimp Tempura Salad - C

I ordered this purely for its novelty, but I was a little concerned when it arrived. The panko batter felt rather hard, and there was very little shrimp meat inside the shrimp tempura. Moving down the salad, the bell peppers and the zingy carrot-based vinaigrette went together about as well as a toddler and an out-of-tune piano. The vinaigrette was also too acidic for my liking. The only plus to this dish was its generous portion size.

BBQ Prawn & Bacon - B+

Faring much better was the BBQ Prawn & Bacon, which came with four plump BBQ prawns wrapped with a flavourful layer of bacon. There was sufficient moisture throughout the prawns, and this was undoubtedly my favourite dish during my visit. It would be nice if the tails were fully removed from the prawns. 

Kym Roll - C+

The Kym Roll consisted of asparagus, tuna, avocado, tuna tataki, spicy sauce, onion, and "garlic flashes." There were many special rolls on the menu, but I decided to order this one because the word "flashes" was very intriguing to me. The "garlic flashes" added a nice crunch to the roll, and the amount of spiciness was very right. Unfortunately, the tuna tasted very wrong. The tuna on top was unevenly seared and tasted fishy, while the tuna inside had as much flavour as the plain, watery congee my mom used to make me eat if I consumed too much junk food.

The waitress was remarkably hardworking and efficient at providing friendly and attentive service to every patron. I was very impressed. If all women were like that, the world would be a fantastic place. Based on this visit, cooked food seemed to be Kawa Sushi's strength, whereas the freshness for some types of raw fish became problematic. The prices here are some of the most budget-friendly that I have seen in this region, but the quality of the food appears to match those prices.

Episode #161: Aji-Kura Ramen & Sushi

Vancouver (Southeast), $ (Budget)
www.ajikura.ca

Warmer weather has certainly arrived in Vancouver earlier than usual this year, which roughly translates to a long-lasting, durable allergy season. With my nose running like a boss, I went to visit Aji-Kura, a relatively new Japanese restaurant located on Victoria Dr. in one of Vancouver's various Chinatowns. As I had expected, the restaurant is Chinese-operated, and the food on the menu appeared to be quite budget-friendly.

The restaurant is not very large, but it features clean, modern decor. The menu is also quite extensive, so in order to try both their ramen and their special rolls, I decided to do a Sushi-a-thon. Best of all, they showed consideration for my sushi needs by including special rolls in their Lunch Special menu.

(Lunch Special menu - click to enlarge)

1st visit:

Usually, when I see low prices at an unfamiliar restaurant, my brain automatically equates that to smaller portions. I ordered what seemed like a logical amount of food to me, but the waitress asked me if I was sure about ordering so much food (here we go again). It turns out that I am not very good at reading the fine print, and thus, I accidentally ordered myself two miso soups...

Miso Soup - B

The two miso soups came from the Lunch Special combo and the donburi I ordered. With green onion and seaweed, the soup was standard fare. Although the consistency of the soup was on the thinner side, I liked how it was not too salty. 

Wakame - A-

The Lunch Special combo also came with a small portion of Wakame, which was amply dressed and came in thin, easy-to-chew pieces.

69 Roll - B+

Being a very mature person, I decided to pick the most appropriate special roll: the 69 Roll. I mean, if I can't experience the 69 in real life, then at least I can experience it through sushi, which probably works just as well. The 69 Roll came with torched wild salmon, unagi, cucumber, crab meat, and avocado. The salmon exhibited a good amount of searing, and the roll featured savoury unagi as well as copious amounts of crab meat. The pieces were on the larger side, and the roll was decent texture-wise.

Saba Nigiri - B

Inari Nigiri - B+

Chopped Scallop Nigiri - B+

I decided to pair my 69 Roll with some nigiri, and the nigiri demonstrated good rice formation. The saba was chewier and smoother in texture than expected, but fortunately, it was not too salty. The inari was sweet and juicy, and it would be great if the rice was also seasoned. The Chopped Scallop Nigiri was amply sweet and came with a good balance of ingredients, but I had to deduct some marks because the seaweed was falling apart.

Salmon Sashimi - B+

Tuna Sashimi - C-

Hokkigai Sashimi - A-

After the combo, I tried some of their raw fish via the Appetizer Sashimi. The Salmon Sashimi had a delectable smooth sheen and was sliced generously, though I had to dip it in quite a bit of soy sauce to get enough flavour. The Tuna Sashimi was served too cold, and after letting it sit for five minutes, the interior was still frozen. Unfortunately, tuna popsicle is not exactly one of my favourite foods. Moving on, the Hokkigai Sashimi had an appealing chewiness and demonstrated superior freshness.

Ebi Mayo Don - B+

Finally, I was presented with a huge Ebi Mayo Don. With six tempura prawns and a large bed of rice, this was easily twice the size of what I was expecting. Now, I don't know what kind of high I was on, but I managed to finish the whole thing (along with everything else above). I enjoyed the texture of the sushi rice, which had an appealing amount of stickiness and was amply dressed with mayonnaise. The small piece of lemon added a nice citrusy touch. The batter on the prawns was on the thicker side, and the tamago was not particularly outstanding. 

2nd visit:

Since the Lunch Special combo was such a good deal, I ordered from it again, but with ramen instead this time.

Miso Ramen - B+

This is literally the first time I have had ramen since I started this blog. Do not worry. To make sure my rating was reasonable, I ordered the same dish at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka soon after this visit to do a comparison (I'll also admit that what really lured me into Hokkaido Ramen Santouka were their ice cream floats). While the tonkotsu-flavoured broth was no match for the heavenly broth at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, the pork here was actually better. It was very tender and savoury, and the ramen noodles exhibited that distinctive ramen flavour well.

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - B

Next, I went for the three-piece Sockeye Salmon Sashimi as part of my Lunch Special combo. Sliced into quaint elliptical prisms with a shear in the horizontal direction, the sashimi demonstrated questionable knife skills. It had a mild, sweet flavour but was not particularly smooth in texture.

Unagi Oshi-Sushi - B-

At just $9.25, this was an excellent deal, and the oshizushi was presented beautifully. This particularly oshizushi featured torched eel, wild salmon, yuzu, and creamy sauce. The construction of the individual pieces could have been neater, and the rice was slightly too dry this time. I also found the unagi overly chewy, and the tangy yuzu was not the best match for the sweeter unagi. To sum it all up, the sushi tasted okay, but the texture was problematic. 

Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream - B

For just $1 more, I added the Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream to my combo. This took a long time to come out, but since I wasn't in a hurry, I sat there and stared at my empty plates to see if they had forgotten about my ice cream. It turned out they did. When it did come, I found it slightly too cold, but the mochi had an enjoyable soft texture. It would be nice if the black sesame flavour was richer.

I wasn't a big fan of the service, as it was rather unenthusiastic and the waitress seemed to be having a bad day on both occasions. However, my wallet was a big fan of the prices. Overall, if you look past the service, Aji-Kura is a case of satisfactory food for very good prices. Perhaps the next time my mom goes shopping for groceries and weird Chinese soup ingredients in the vicinity, I can stop by to try more of their enticingly named special rolls. 

Episode #91: Van-Ya Japanese Restaurant

Vancouver (Southeast), $$ (Moderately Priced)

Standing as a true testament to time is Van-Ya, an authentic Japanese restaurant located just off of Kingsway near Joyce-Collingwood Station. Van-Ya first opened its doors in 1988 and has received many positive reviews from various Vancouver food bloggers, prompting me to visit the restaurant myself. Somehow, my entire family ended up tagging along. We were lucky enough to see the Skytrain break down once again and get caught in the traffic jam that ensued. Just another typical Vancouver day...

Arriving at 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, I expected the restaurant to be full, but that was not the case. In fact, the restaurant was nearly empty. The interior decor isn't much better than Sakura Sushi, and it was quite cold inside due to the strong air conditioning. There was also a limited assortment of items on the menu. On the other hand, the waitress was quite friendly, and with so many positive online reviews, I continued to hope for the best.

Tuna Sashimi - A

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - A-

First to our table was the Small Sashimi, which consisted of three pieces of Tuna Sashimi and two pieces of Sockeye Salmon Sashimi. The cuts were quite small, but the sashimi was a couple notches fresher than your standard Japanese restaurant. The Tuna Sashimi was not too salty and deliciously soft, while the Sockeye Salmon Sashimi had a nice buttery sweetness. 

Dynamite Roll - B+

The prawn tempura in the Dynamite Roll was quite hot when it arrived and had a rich taste. The sushi rice was well-constructed and didn't fall apart. My mom enjoyed this roll and decided to order another one toward the end of our meal!

Small Tempura - B-

The Small Tempura came with two prawns and one piece each of carrot, zucchini, and sweet potato. I found the oil to be slightly overused, but the prawns had a good snap. The vegetables were sufficiently soft and each packed a decent amount of flavour. 

Sukiyaki - A-

In the midst of my frenzy to write my notes down for all of the dishes above, my family finished almost all of the sukiyaki. Fortunately, they saved me one piece of braised beef! I enjoyed the Japanese sweet soy base, the easy-to-chew beef, and the flavour-absorbing thick vermicelli. My sister loved the Sukiyaki so much that she wanted to eat ten orders of it. I never knew there was a bigger eater than me in my family...

Seeing the abundance of teishoku sets (set meals) on the menu, I decided to try out some of them. Pictured above is the Black Cod Teishoku, which came with Miso Soup, Green Beans (dressed with sesame sauce like goma-ae), steamed rice, Agedashi Tofu, and BBQ Black Cod.

Miso Soup - B+

The Miso Soup was mild in flavour with green onion and tofu. The tofu was not the smoothest kind, but there were no significant mishaps with the Miso Soup.

Agedashi Tofu - C+

I found the Agedashi Tofu to be rather strange. The whole thing lost its crispiness from being soaked in sauce, and the batter tasted like flimsy flavoured plastic. Oh my dear lords. The tofu, on the other hand, had a decent soft texture.

Black Cod - A-

The Black Cod was the highlight of the whole teishoku, as expected. Served at a hot temperature with silky smooth meat, all of us enjoyed this dish. Yes, we did divvy it up into really small pieces.

The other set meal that we ordered was the Chicken Combination, which consisted of Miso Soup, the same green bean with sesame sauce dish, steamed rice, Small Tempura, and Chicken Teriyaki.

Chicken Teriyaki - B+

The chicken in the Chicken Teriyaki was mostly tender with no overage of sauce. The mildly sweet teriyaki sauce brought out the flavours of the chicken well and livened up the mix of bean sprouts and cabbage. 

As mentioned above, I found the service to be quite friendly. With the exception of the fried items, all of the dishes were above average in quality and prepared with care. The sashimi and the sukiyaki were the highlights of the evening. The prices do appear to be quite low on the menu, but the portion sizes are on the smaller side, hence the "Moderately Priced" rating. Van-Ya is one of the superior Japanese restaurants in the south part of Vancouver, and it is no surprise to me that the restaurant has stood for 27 years.