eating our way through vancouver

we ate a lot in Vancouver. even though it was painful to eat, we still ate and ate and ate...

we started the trip with a visit  to hokkaido ramen santouka for some ramen. I ordered the house special toroniku ramen bowl which was simmered pork jowl meat (pork cheeks, I’m told) in a yummy broth made with pork bones.  oh my, the pork cheeks were possibly the best pork I’ve ever had!! it was so juicy and tender and flavourful; I didn’t need teeth to eat it because the pork pieces melted in my mouth.

we had ramen again a couple days later at kintaro ramen, one of the first and most well-known ramen places in Vancouver. The wait for a bowl of noodles was about half hour, pretty much average for this restaurant I was told.  The wait was worthwhile— we really enjoyed the ramen at kintaro. the broth was so rich and creamy. I ordered the spicy garlic ramen which had an ice cream scoop of garlic atop the noodles; it was delicious but daniel wouldn’t kiss me for a day and a half. no amount of gum and coffee rid that garlic breath.

we also had a taste of the famed japadogs, of course: pork weiners loaded with fried onions, teriyaki sauce, japanese mayonnaise and nori shreds. while tasty, I am a hotdog purist and prefer one smothered with just mustard and relish.

because vancouver is like the north american central for izakayas, we had to visit one. we went to kingyo on denman which served deliciously fresh sashimi and stone-grilled kobe beef.  kobe beef deserves all its hype; it was definitely tender, succulent and intensely-flavored meat that melted in my mouth.

our most favourite meals in vancouver had to be the ones at hachi hana. yes, we were there more than once—we liked the restaurant that much. the portions were generous; the price, more than reasonable; the food, heavenly. the first time, I ordered a plate of salmon and tuna sashimi for $10; daniel was skeptical at my order, thinking it wouldn’t be enough for dinner. but lo and behold, I was presented with ten pieces of brightly coloured sashimi, each piece an inch and a half thick. but it was the quality of the fish that had me at hello. creamy, smooth, melt in your mouth pieces (seems like vancouver serves a lot of “melt in my mouth” food); it was almost like eating salmon flavoured ice-cream (which may sound gross, but it was sooooooooooooooo delicious). and it was filling. The second time around, daniel and I shared a big boat of rolls, tempura, sashimi and sushi. Though full a quarter way into the meal, we just couldn’t stop eating because the food was so yummy. I unbuttoned my pants after that meal. don’t know how we can go back to eating sushi in toronto.

we also had non-japanese food during the trip (like a beaver tail; they’re the same out west as they are back in ontario), but it was the japanese meals that were the most memorable. If you can’t afford a trip to japan, I’d say visit vancouver for a taste of the country.