Benkei Ramen - Thurlow

Restaurant: Benkei Ramen - Thurlow

Cuisine: Japanese/Ramen Noodle Shop

Last visited: January 26, 2010
Area: Multiple - Vancouver, BC (Robson Street/West End/Downtown)

747 Thurlow Street
Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5.5

Service: 5

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Japanese owned/operated
• Specializes in Ramen noodles
• Limited menu
• Few appetizers
• 2 locations in downtown
• Heard Thurlow location better than Robson
• Casual, quick
• Busy/line ups at peak hours
• Stamp card available
• Can’t select richness of broth, but can select flavour
• Add on’s/extra noodles available
• Free green tea (Matcha powder, not leaves)
• Lunch and dinner
• Open 7 days
• $5 minimum charge/person
• Small discount with valid Student ID

**Recommendation: Miso Ramen, Spicy Ramen

Bankei Ramen specializes in ramen noodle soup bowls and just opened its newest location on Thurlow. According to my friend who has frequented the one on Robson, she claims that the charshu (bbq pork) is tenderer at the Thurlow location…and I trust her, she goes often! I haven’t been to the Robson one yet, but I think I’ll stick to Thurlow, although parking is more difficult at this location.

Bekei Ramen’s biggest competition is Kintaro Ramen Noodle Shop on Denman. Kintaro allows you to select the fattiness of your pork and richness of your broth whereas Bekei has standard pork and 5 different flavours broth. I’m not going to say which is better because although I’ve been to Kintaro, I haven’t written a review for it yet. Overall Benkei Ramen is excellent, although the toppings were inconsistent – some of us had more toppings than others. Benkei beats G-Men Ramen broth, but G-Men Ramen still does the best soft boiled egg.

Surprisingly my group arrived at 6pm and we didn’t have to wait although I hear they are very busy during peak hours. They were a full house at around 6:30-7pm and there was a line-up out the door. This was another “must try” in Vancouver for my Austrian visitor who had never tried ramen noodles before. I already brought him to Sushi Garden, Japadog, Shanghai River, East is East, and La Belle Patate.

On the table:

**Miso Ramen 6/6

• Rich chicken and tonkatsu soup combined with our special Miso sauce with green onion, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and charshu (BBQ pork) $7.30
• Added hard boiled egg (+$.50) and corn (+$.50)
• I really enjoyed this! The broth was more flavourful than the Shiro Ramen. It tasted richer to me even though the Shiro is supposed to be richer. There was a slight kick and I think they put a splash of worchestershire sauce in it. The broth tastes like it was stewed for hours in ground pork.
• The noodles are chewy and cooked to al dente which means they have texture and are not melting in your mouth soft. I think they’re great.
• The charshu is slowly stewed and really tender, so tender the texture is almost like you’re eating luncheon meat…but tastes way better! The taste is a bit sweet and also salty, but not too salty. It’s relatively lean with a little bit of fat around the edges. They’re a bit on the small side – smaller than a hockey puck.
• I have to add an egg! The egg is still better at G-Men, but this one wasn’t bad…I prefer mind a bit more undercooked.
• 2 of us had only 2 bamboo shoots, but everyone else had at least 4 so it was a bit inconsistent with the toppings.

Shiro Ramen 4.5/6

• We thicken the soup by stewing pork bones and meat, then adding sea salt to create a richer taste. Shiro Tonkatsu Ramen contains a lot of calcium and collagen, which is a source for beautiful skin and strong bones. This Ramen is especially popular with women. Served with green onion, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and charshu )BBQ pork) $7.80
• Added corn (+$.50)
• This one smells like whale’s pee…the Austrian noticed it first and I totally agree. I hate that he said it cause it almost ruined it…it doesn’t taste like it though! I could definitely taste the pork flavours in this one more than the Miso Ramen. However the Miso Ramen broth had a stronger flavour overall because of the Miso. This one is savoury, but after the Miso it tastes very “clear” although it is rich. If you just want to taste pork flavours then go for this one.

**Akaoni Spicy Ramen 6/6

• Spicy Miso soup with ramen served with ground pork, charshu (BBQ pork), green onion, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts $7.80
• Added hard boiled egg (+$.50) and corn (+$.50)
• The picture makes this one look really spicy but it’s really not. I would say a medium on a spiciness level. It’s as spicy as those instant Kimchi noodle bowls you get at Costco. This was basically the Miso Tonkatsu broth with Kimchi oil/paste/sauce. It was excellent! Tres excellent!
• The ground pork is the added bonus to this ramen bowl, but it all sinks to the bottom (like the corn) so you need to fish around with your spoon.

Japadog Hot Dog - Review 2

Restaurant: Japadog

Cuisine: Japanese/Fusion

Last visited: January 24, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)

Northwest corner of Burrard & Smithe, in front of Sutton Place hotel
Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6

Service: 3

Ambiance: n/a...it's a hot dog stand

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Japanese hot dogs
• Pork, beef, turkey, veggie options
• Special for Kurobuta sausage: 100% pure all-natural Berkshire pork
• Most popular for Terimayo hot dog
• New Terimayo hot dog menu: ft different versions of mo st popular hot dog
• New Edamame hot dog menu
• Hot, fresh w/exotic Japanese ingredients
• Japanese operated
• Japanese condiments: wasabi mayo etc.
• New condiment - special plum sauce from Japan
• Long lines, busy at peak hours
• Attracts locals, tourists and famous people
• Second location at W Pender & Burrard
• $4.75-6.25

**Recommendation: Terimayo, Okonomi

Now I know I really like Japadog. I gave it a 6/6 in my first review for it and I still give it a 6/6. Overall everything is tres excellent here. Also I know it’s high on my list because I had an out of town guest visit and there was only so little time to try so much food and Japadog easily made it as priority.

It’s easy, quick, very “Vancouver”,different, and affordable! This is definitely an item my guest would never be able to find in Vienna, Austria!

I was planning on ordering the Terimayo, but upon arrival I noticed a new sign featuring their new item the “Edamame Dog”. Obviously I had to try it! They offer a few different versions of it so in the end I decided to go for a combination of the new and the old. I opted for the Edamame Terimayo!

On the table:

Edamame Terimayo 4.5/6

• Bratwurst, Edamame, Teriyaki sauce, Japanese Mayo, Seaweed $6.25
• I wish I liked it more. It was good, but I was expecting more.
• I love Edamame so I thought this would be a great idea, but I actually like the regular Terimayo better than this.
• There are no surprises here. It’s a bratwurst with Edamame beans and that’s it. The bratwurst was slit and the Edamame beans were actually placed in between the slits.
• Since they used a bratwurst it’s not as flavourful as the 100% beef Jalapeno and Cheddar smokie in the Terimayo. It was exactly the same as the original Terimayo but they replaced the sausage. I think the beef would have overpowered the Edamame beans, but at the same time the brawurst didn’t do much for it either. I needed to add a lot (more than usual) of wasabi mayo to give it more flavour.
• The Edamame just added texture, but not really flavour. There was nothing really special about having them in there and I couldn’t even really taste them. I wanted more Edamame flavour or even just more to it. It was too simple and even tasted too simple.
  
• 
• A couple bites after I noticed that edamame was also found throughout the hot dog and that was the only part that impressed me…otherwise I would have felt a bit ripped off.
• It’s actually a bit pricey for a hot dog, but it is really good so I don’t mind.

Twinkle 2 - Bubble Tea

I think it's advertising some special, but I can't read it. Please leave a comment if you can translate. Thank you.

Restaurant: Twinkle 2

Cuisine: Taiwanese/Japanese/Chinese/Fusion
Last visited: November 27, 09
Area: Richmond, BC
Unit125 – 8291 Alexandra Rd.
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2 (I’ve only tried 3 things)
Service: 2

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 2

Additional comments:

• More Taiwanese than it is Japanese
• 2 locations on Alexandra Road, Richmond
• Different owners for Twinkle 1 and Twinkle 2
• Busy at night time/late night snacking
• Small portions
• Extensive bubble tea menu
• Confusing menu (parts Chinese, lots of additional charges etc)
• Some creative creations and exotic flavours
• Great for snacks, lots of options
• Serves alcohol/beer/coolers/vodka cocktails (I’m surprised)
• Clean interior, youthful atmosphere
• It’s under $10, but it’s actually quiet expensive compared to others
• Board games/magazines available
• Attracts young Asian crowd – not a rowdy one
• Minimum charge $3.50/person
• Free parking, but lot always full
• Open late
• Cash only

**Recommendation: Taro Coconut Slush

I’ve been to Twinkle (the original location just down the street) on more than a handful occasions over the past few years. It’s not my go-to bubble tea place in Richmond, but when it comes down to bubble tea, what’s open, nearby, and convenient – it’s an option.

I actually came to Twinkle 2 for the first time over the summer, and I thought it was owned by the same people. However I think they franchised it because I tried using a free bubble tea card and they said my card was only valid at Twinkle (1). So they’re different owners – and FYI these promo cards no longer exist at either location because someone stole the stamp.

On this particular visit to Twinkle 2 it was for a mid-afternoon snack. There was hardly anyone there, but at night it gets quite busy. They have quite a selection of food although I found it more Taiwanese in flavour than I did Japanese-Taiwanese fusion. The menu is more Taiwanese in general and they offer a lot of creative bubble tea flavours that I haven’t seen at other places. There’s a lot of selection but it’s one of those places where it seems like they’re adding $0.50 here $1.00 there and I can't read it so it get’s confusing and quite pricey. It is more expensive than most bubble tea places.

On the table:

**Taro Coconut Slush 4.5/6

• Taro Coconut Slush $5.85
• I always get pearls, but I didn’t this time because I was going to have a rather early dinner and wanted to be hungry for that.
• This is pretty much the thing I will keep coming back for. It’s not so much that it’s the best here, but it’s the only place I have found that offers it. I’ve also tried the Matcha Coconut Slush, which is really good. The taro one is just a bit sweeter, but both are good and not available at other places.
• My biggest problem with this drink is that they don’t make it with milk. It’s ALL milk powder and that really bothers me. If you’re going to used milk powder than you can’t charge the price of using real milk. It’s $5.85 with tax and tip NOT included…that’s a pretty expensive bubble tea.
• I think they mix taro, coconut, and milk powder to create this drink. Then they just add water. It’s not as sweet as a regular taro bubble tea. The coconut really stands out but they balance each other really well.
• It was nice and thick, rather light tasting and I like the glass they serve it in. I still enjoyed the drink, but I just think it’s expensive for what they’re using.

**Satay Beef Ramen 2.5/6

• Satay beef ramen. Served with your choice of soup base: tonkatsu, miso, or spicy $6.85
• This dish usually wouldn’t be my choice, but I was still curious to try it. I ordered it with tonkatsu soup.
• It was ramen topped with lettuce, corn, 1 fish ball, 1 small artificial shrimp flower cake thing, ½ an artificial crab stick, ½ a fish cake, 2 bamboo shoots, nori, bean sprouts and beef.

• I appreciate the variety they tried to give, and I understand them trying to meet costs, but c’mon…those topping are pretty weak. I would rather have fewer toppings, but good ones. Actually I would rather have wonton noodles…but that’s completely different.
• The tonkatsu soup was surprisingly good. The broth was rich, creamy and white which is a common characteristic of pork-bone soup. The noodles were chewy and also a good part.
• I couldn't even taste the flavour of the beef because I couldn't get past the fact that it was not tender at all. It was old and really tough and I left that almost all to the side.
• The bamboo shoots were also very hard and woody, and I was literally gnawing on them so those went to left as well…to the left, to the left…like Beyonce would say.
• The ramen bowls come with a free drink from a small selection of drinks, but there's all these options and additional charges if you want pearls, or to make it cold, slush etc...I got confused.

G-MEN Ramen Noodle Shop - Review 3

Restaurant: G-MEN Ramen Shop - Restaurant Review 3
Cuisine: Japanese/Ramen
Last dined: October 30, 09

Area: Richmond
#1101-3778 Sexsmith Road
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5 (went down ½ a point since they changed the seaweed that comes with ramen)
Service: 2
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Specializes in big bowls of authentic Japanese ramen noodles
• Serves mini donburis and gyozas as appetizers
• Can't select richness of brother/fattiness of BBQ pork
• Small/limited menu
• Not homemade noodles
• Started by owners of Gyoza King Chicco Cafe & Naan Chu,
• Japanese servers, Japanese chefs, popular to Japanese diners
• Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Line-ups, whole party must be in attendance in order to be seated
• Busy/crowded all the time
• Extra charge for green tea
• Free parking

**Recommendation: Tonkotsu Miso Ramen (only served at dinner), Wasabi Nori Ontama Mini Don, half cooked free-range egg (Ajitama), Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen

This was my 3rd time at G-Men Ramen Noodle Shop. I want to try everything on the menu. It’s one of those restaurants where the menu is small, so it’s possible…and I’m determined. I want to give the best recommendations possible.

I came for lunch and tried the Natto set. My friend ordered the Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen and I was really disappointed because they changed the seaweed that comes with their ramen. The waitress said the quality of the shredded ones they used to use were no longer good…so they decided to switch brands. I think they should just find a new supplier and stick to the shredded kind because it tastes so much better.

Added note: In my 1^st restaurant review for G-Men Ramen Noodle Shop I said that it was better than Kintaro’s. However I would like to explain this is a bit. It’s not necessarily better than Kintaros, but it’s different. Kintaro’s is a much richer broth (even their light broth is richer than the one here). Kintaro’s is more Japanese whereas G-Men is still Japanese, but the flavours are somewhat catered to Chinese tastes. I think older Chinese people will like G-Men better, but younger people may like Kintaro’s better.

My 1^st restaurant review for G-Men Ramen Noodle Shop

My 2^nd restaurant review for G-Men Ramen Noodle Shop

On the table:

• Natto Ontama Tofu Teishoku Set 2/6
• Fermented soy bean, half cooked free range egg, & tofu on rice $7.50 (I think it was $7 or $7.50)

• Natto: is a fermented soy beans with bacillus subtilis, which is a good for you bacteria. This is the ingredient that causes the natto to be super slimy. When yo u pick it up it creates spider web strings and is super sticky. It’s a traditional Japanese food that is commonly eaten for breakfast on top of rice and it carries several health benefits.
• I never thought I would meet a Japanese food I didn’t like...ok I didn’t NOT like the natto, but I wouldn’t order it again. If it was there I might eat it, but I would go for a lot. It was different. It’s one of those traditional Japanese foods that Japanese people grow up with...it’s definitely an acquired dish and taste.

• Natto is super slimy and the texture of thick mucus. It tastes like your eating smoky beans coated in mucus. Now doesn’t that sound delish!? It’s stringy, sticky and the slimiest thing I’ve eaten to date. It’s less starchy than beans, not really salty, but almost h as a hickory smoked taste. The taste wasn’t bad, surprisingly bland, but the texture was not for me. Every time the natto touched my lips it left a coating of slime and left them really sticky.

• How to eat Natto Ontama Tofu Teishoku Set?

• 
• I felt like such a rookie when they brought me my natto set. I saw all these small dishes and had no idea how to eat it. I actually had to call one of the Japanese waitresses over to teach me how to eat it. I wanted to do it right. There was some translation issues and it's not like she sat beside me coaching me so I didn't do it exactly right. Too bad, because I don't know if there will be a next time. I was like a white person going to Chinese hot pot for the first time…what do you do? Toss everything in? Eat in separately? Where do I start? And what do all these sauces go with? There were just so many components.
  

• 

• Step 1: Toss in the small dish of green onions and mustard. Add soy sauce if you want
• Step 2: Mix it thoroughly. The green onions and mustard helped break it up for me. It cut the sliminess a bit and brightened up the flavour.
• Step 3: After some research, you're actually supposed to add the natto and egg on top of the rice. I reversed it. Anyways, I didn’t like that the rice wasn’t premium sushi rice. They gave you a huge bowl of it and it’s still sticky, but it tastes better when they use it for their mini donburi. However the egg is delicious. It’s one of my favourite things here because they make it perfectly. It’s really half cooked and the yolk makes a great sauce combined with the shoyu sauce it’s served with. Shoyu is a Japanese soy sauce that is sweeter than regular soy sauce. This side dish was pretty much the only thing giving my meal flavour.
• Step 4: Mix again if you wish…as little or as much as you want. At this point I definitely over mixed mine. You’re actually supposed to eat it over a bed of rice. Mine looks pretty gross - it was almost watery I had no idea what I was doing.
• Step 5: Take the soy sauce bottle in the middle of the tray and pour it onto the tofu until desired. Eat with rice or in between your meal. This was a chilled soft tofu served with bonito flakes (dried squid) on top.
• Step 6: Have the miso soup to start or drink it in between your meal. I really like their miso soup. I would give this 4/6. It has real tofu in it and real soy bean skins. It’s not the powdered instant stuff.

• It was almost a vegetarian dish, except for the bonito flakes. I wanted some meat or gravy or something with more flavour and texture. Everything just felt mushy and slimy – the tofu, the beans, the egg. I wanted texture, something crunchy or something I couldn’t swallow without chewing. But it is a for breakfast so it’s not meant to be hearty or saucy. If they made my recommendations it wouldn’t be authentic even though it would probably taste better.
• * Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen 4.5/6
• Authentic light "torigara" chicken soup thin noodle seasoned with housemade shoyu flavour, topped with BBQ pork, half ajitama (egg), yuzu (citrus Japanese fruit similar to tangerine), seaweed, black wood ear mushroom and green onion. $8.50
• I took away one of the stars. Although this would be the thing to order if you're coming for lunch. If you look at my review #2 I gave it a 5.5/6, but for some reason it didn’t taste as good this time. Part of the reason is because they changed their seaweed to those rectangular ones. This means you get less and you can’t get seaweed in every bite because there’s only two big pieces. It’s not as good because you can’t disperse it and they’re chewier. Even they know it’s not as good. If they’re going to downgrade their seaweed they need to compensate somewhere else. I miss the shredded seaweed.

• It’s still good and I would still order it if I was coming for lunch, but I just don’t crave it anymore. It’s a soy based soup and it's sweeter and more flavourful than the other ramen bowl they offer at lunch - the ToriGara Shio Ramen. Unlike Kintaro's you can't select the richness of your broth, or the fattiness of your BBQ pork; but I think this Shoyu broth in particular tastes better than Kintaro's.

G-MEN Ramen Shop - Review 2

Restaurant: G-MEN Ramen Shop - Review 2
Cuisine: Japanese/Ramen
Last dined: October 30, 09

Area: Richmond
#1101-3778 Sexsmith Road
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 2
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Specializes in big bowls of authentic Japanese ramen noodles
• Serves mini donburis and gyozas as appetizers
• Can't select richness of brother/fattiness of BBQ pork
• Small/limited menu
• Not homemade noodles
  
• Started by owners of Gyoza King Chicco Cafe & Naan Chu,
• Japanese servers, Japanese chefs, popular to Japanese diners
• Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Line-ups, whole party must be in attendance in order to be seated
• Busy/crowded all the time
  
• Extra charge for green tea
• Free parking

**Recommendation: Tonkotsu Miso Ramen (only served at dinner), Wasabi Nori Ontama Mini Don, half cooked free-range egg (Ajitama), Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen

This was my second time at G-Men Ramen shop and this time I came for lunch. It was more busy this time and they changed the wait system. It's now basically self-service and you write your name on the clip board hanging outside the door and wait until your name is called. This place is getting ever so popular and if you're not there earlier you can guarantee a 15-20min wait. It's fine for small groups and don't expect to stay long because there's a constant line-up at the door. Nonetheless the food was once again worth the wait, and I'll still go back.

To see my G-Men Ramen Shop - Review #1

To see my G-Men Ramen Shop - Review #3

On the table:

• Mentai Mayo Mini Don 4/6
• Salted cod roe with mayo on rice $4.50
• Their mini dons are mini, but they're still very filling as an appetizer. I really like these. One of the few items where the dish looked better than the picture. I like their wasabi nori mini don better, but this one is still very good.
  
• This one is perhaps more traditional Japanese than the other one.
• The orange ball you see is the salted cod roe. It's almost like masago, but even smaller and the texture isn't crunchy. It's more soft and bitty and the flavour is more mild than masago - it's not as salty or strong.
• It was quite rich and creamy and the mayo they use is a Japanese mayo mixed with something else which I'm not sure of. Japanese mayo is made with apple cider and it's a lot more flavourful than American mayo. It's not as oil based too. I'm not sure what they mix it with here, but whatever it is, it works.
• They give you a lot and you mix all the ingredients together before you eat it.
• I loved the texture of this dish. The seaweed melts down from the hot Japanese rice and the mayo makes it all creamy. It can be thought of as the Japanese version of risotto...almost. The rice is nice and sticky and there's a few salty flavours going on which makes the dish delicious! It's not fishy tasting either. It's simple and so good.
• 
• Not how it was served, but someone started on it already =/

• **Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen 5.5/6
• Authentic light "torigara" chicken soup thin noodle seasoned with housemade shoyu flavour, topped with BBQ pork, half ajitama (egg), yuzu (citrus Japanese fruit similar to tangerine), seaweed, black wood ear mushroom and green onion. $8.50

• This is pretty delicious! This is a soy based soup and it's sweeter and more flavourful than the other ramen bowl they offer at lunch - the ToriGara Shio Ramen. Unlike Kintaro's you can't select the richness of your broth, or the fattiness of your BBQ pork; but I think this Shoyu broth in particular tastes better than Kintaro's.
• 
• The broth is a dark colour and it's more like pork/beef broth. It made the ToriGara Shio Ramen taste like chicken broth.
  
• The free range egg is AMAZING and completes this dish! It's half cooked and it takes a true chef to make it this perfectly.
• I love the textures of all the toppings here and they give you a decent amount.
  
• 
• Special ToriGara Shio Ramen 3.5/6
  
• Authentic light "torigara" chicken soup thin noodle seasoned with shio (salt) flavour, topped with BBQ pork, half ajitama (egg), yuzu (citrus Japanese fruit similar to tangerine), seaweed, black wood ear mushroom and green onion. $8.50

• This was the other option for a ramen and soup bowl at lunch. I was able to compare the broths side by side and the colour and taste is quite different.
• 
• This one was definitely saltier and lighter in colour. It wasn't sweet and the flavour was more one dimensional. It wasn't bland, but just not as rich or strong as the Shoyo ramen bowl. Neither of the broths were oily but this one was clearer and more light.
• I liked adding the minced garlic condiment to the Shio ramen bowl. I didn't need it for the Shoyu ramen bowl because it would have been overpowering and you would have lost the natural flavour of their homemade broth. However for the Shio ramen it added another layer of flavour as well as a little garlic spice that helped enhance the soup base.
  

Japadog

Restaurant: Japadog

Cuisine: Japanese/Fusion

Last visited: September 30, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC

Northwest corner of Burrard & Smithe, in front of Sutton Place hotel
Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6

Service: 3

Ambiance: n/a...it's a hot dog stand

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Japanese hot dogs
• Pork, beef, turkey, veggie options
• Special for Kurobuta sausage: 100% pure all-natural Berkshire pork
• Most popular for Terimayo hot dog
• New Terimayo hot dog menu: ft different versions of most popular hot dog
• Hot, fresh w/exotic Japanese ingredients
• Japanese operated
• Japanese condiments: wasabi mayo etc.
• New condiment - special plum sauce from Japan
• Long lines, busy at peak hours
• Attracts locals, tourists and famous people
• Second location at W Pender & Burrard
• $4.75-6.25

**Recommendation: Terimayo, Okonomi

Japadog is Vancouver's latest trend in hot dogs. It's the Japanese version of an American favourite - a hot dog. Really popular to locals and tourists, this place also attracts celebrities that happen to be in town too. Definitely better than a normal hot dog, you can expect long lines during lunch or dinner hours. Help yourself to their unique Japanese condiments (free of charge) such as: Japanese mayo, spicy 7-spice seasoning (usually comes with Udon), and the new plum sauce etc.

On the table:

• Terimayo 6/6
• 100% all beef, Teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, fried onion, seaweed/nori $4.75
• This is the most popular hot dog and everyone's favourite. It's also my favourite. What a brilliant idea and combination of flavours. It's basically your favourite and most popular Japanese ingredients and fried onions thrown into a hot dog. Now how can you go wrong with that? The sausage is really plump, juicy, and coated with a standard Teriyaki sauce. It's sweet from the Teriyaki sauce and savoury from the meat and fried onions. It has great texture too because of the fried onions. Shredded seaweed is sprinkled on top before serving. The seaweed kind of melts as you eat it due to the steam from the hot dog. They put the Japanese mayo underneath the seaweed so the seaweed doesn't get soggy and chewy.
• This is a rather rich and hearty hot dog that is SO satisfying! You have to eat it with lots of wasabi mayo and it's even better. I stand by the wasabi mayo bottle when I eat this so I can reapply and load up with every bite :)



• Oroshi 3/6
• Bratwurst, grated radish, special soy, green onion $4.75

• This was good, but compared to the other two it was ok - that's why I gave it a 3/6 because if I didn't have the other two to compare this would have been good.
• The bratwurst they used is the white bratwurst. It's a thick sausage that doesn't taste that meaty and I don't recall them frying it. It's served warm and I feel like they boiled it instead of frying or grilling it. But correct me if I'm wrong. The meat is kind of milky and bland - it kind of tastes like a really soft hot dog - almost like a chicken or turkey meatloaf. The meat is really tender but it tastes kind of boring after eating a beef hot dog. Not as juicy or savoury, but now that I think about it I think it was made of turkey.
• They load the Oroshi with grated radish - the radish they use is daikon so it's not spicy at all. It tastes like nothing - like air. The texture is like eating very finely minced soft raw onions without the taste or crunchiness of onions. They squirt a sweet and slightly savoury Japanese soy on top of the mound of grated radish - that's basically the only flavour in this hot dog. Then they top it off with fresh green onions, and I topped it off with wasabi mayo - a must. You need it to give the hot dog another dimension or it's too plain...and wasabi mayo is just good too.
• I found this hot dog to be a little bland probably because it's turkey. It lacked flavour because there's probably not as much fat in the meat. and nothing fried on it and only one sauce. The only thing giving it flavour was basically the sweet soy sauce...and that doesn't even shine through too much. They don't pour too much of the sauce on it because it's a thin sauce. Adding more would have added more falvour but it would have also made the bun soggy and everything would fall apart. It's probably the "lightest" hot dog they serve. The bratwurst is juicy, but just not that flavourful - it tastes like a boiled sausage, so how much flavour can you get from that? Of course if they used a higher quality bratwurst it would have been more flavourful - but I don't really expect them to because it is just a hot dog stand.




• Okonomi 4.5/6
• Kurobuta sausage, okonomi sauce, Japanese mayo, fried cabbage, dried bonito $6.25
• Japadog prides itself for their Kurobuta sausage, a 100% pure all-natural Berkshire pork. It's the most highly prized pork in Japan and comparable to the standards of Kobe beef.
• I still liked the Terimayo better though, and most people would agree. I mean the sausage is good and it's not as heavy as the 100% beef hot dog. It carries a more gentle flavour than a beef hot dog. The Kurobuta sausage is very soft and tender and it tastes like a big version of those mini cocktail sausages they serve as hors d'oeuvres at parties.
• The okonomi sauce is like a tangy soy sauce with a slight kick at the end. It's a little sour, quite savoury, and then there's a kick - but not really a spicy kick...almost like how raw garlic has a kick.
• The fried cabbage is yummy - taste like stir-fried cabbage you get when you order Teriyaki plates from the food court. It's all shredded and they give you quite a bit. It's sauteed in a little Teriyaki sauce I think. It's kind of sweet and savoury. Then they top it off with dried bonito - which is dried flakes of squid. this almost tastes like fishy rice paper - it has a fishy taste, but not a very strong one. It just kind of melts away as you eat it, it melts away faster than seaweed does. It's not as crunchy or salty as dried seaweed though. Again, I topped this hot dog off with wasabi mayo! The perfect condiment for these Japadogs.