Category Archives: Reviews

Food, Reviews

Palling Around with Contemporary Canadian Cuisine at Dachi on East Hastings

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With a name like Dachi (“pal” in Japanese), you’d think this was yet another modern Asiany restaurant but it’s actually a snapshot of contemporary Canadian/PNW multiculturalism on a plate that just works in a quiet, accessible, yet sophisticated way. Dachi was just four weeks old when we dined there and we saw influences drawn from Ukranian, German, Asian, and American cultures on the menu. Tight menu and booze list, very well curated. You can feel the experience oozing out of all the industry vets working there. If you’re into seasonal farm-to-table, small plates-style eating, you’ll love this place.

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Calgary, Food, Reviews

Impressive Kushiyaki & Sushi at Shokunin Izakaya in Calgary

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Shokunin follows a theme that I’ve noticed in Calgary — modern Asian food, not necessarily cooked by Asians, being done respectfully at a high level, and embraced by the dining public. Specifically: Anju (every iteration), Foreign Concept, Two Penny, and — now that I’ve finally tried it — Shokunin. I was really impressed by the quality and attention to detail with their kushiyaki/yakitori and nigiri sushi. The best nigiri I’ve had in an izakaya. Lots of attention paid to flavour, technique, and sourcing of ingredients. Pricing is fair considering the labour involved. I met up with local blogger Miss Foodie and homeboy Hungryslif for a quick shared meal before flying back to Vancouver. Read on for the blow-by-blow.

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Food, Reviews

A Delicious Punch to the Face at Ramen Gaoh in North Burnaby

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Moyenchow told me after our meal at Ramen Gaoh that this is by far the best ramen in the area. I agreed. I’d even go so far as to say that this would be worthy even if it was downtown rather than North Burnaby. Along with Grayelf, we beat the lineup on a Sunday morning during their grand opening weekend and came away impressed. Ramen Gaoh specializes in miso ramen, so if that’s your jam it’s worth a visit — especially if you’re in the area.

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Food, Reviews

Mixing It Up At Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba on Seymour

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Absolutely no relation to Kokoro Ramen (Instagram) on Victoria Drive, Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba opened up in late September 2018 and has been buzzing all over Instagram ever since. It joins an interesting student-heavy area of downtown, located right beside BCIT Downtown Campus and is close to other places like Gyoza Bar, Ramen Gojiro, Peaceful, Baghdad Cafe, Koala Kebabs, Cartems Donuts, Smile Diner, and Cinara.

I went for lunch twice in two days to see what the fuss was all about. Great to finally have solid mazesoba (soupless mixed noodle) in town. Prices are a touch steep but the place is loud and busy, so I think they’ll do fine with the student crowd (who actually seem have a ton of discretionary spending money when it comes to food).

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Food, Reviews

Lunch Quickie: Cubano Sandwich at Havana on Commercial

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It’s the new Havana! Newly recharged with actual Cuban food on the menu, courtesy of the group behind Postmark, Belgard Kitchen, etc. I stopped in for a Cubano to see what Andrew Morrison was raving about. In a nutshell: very good except the pickle element rolled over and died. Plantain chips were excellent.

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