Japanese restaurants are very popular in the Vancouver area, but not all of them are of equal quality. While the more recent trend seems to be the rise of ramen shops, I still very much enjoy some good sushi and sashimi. And oftentimes, the smaller sushi places are the better ones.
That’s partly why I was drawn to Gohan West Coast Japanese Restaurant. If you didn’t know it was there, you really wouldn’t know to look for it. It’s surrounded by a number of condo buildings in what would otherwise be a mostly residential side street. It’s easy to see the major chain restaurants on Lougheed Highway near Brentwood Town Centre, but Gohan is hidden behind the Joey and Save-on-Foods.
Despite calling itself a “West Coast” Japanese restaurant, there really isn’t all that much on the menu that I would call “fusion.” Yes, there are the “fancy” maki rolls that you find on a lot of Japanese menus in Vancouver area restaurants, but the rest is fairly standard fare. For our dinner, we opted to get one of the set menus and then add a couple of items on top.
As part of the set menu, we were given a small tuna tataki appetizer. The fish was seared just enough and the little garlic chip on top was a nice touch. Fresh and refreshing.
Also as part of the set dinner menu, we opted for the three pieces of nigiri sushi instead of the California roll. The fish tasted quite fresh, but it wasn’t quite as chilled as I normally prefer. I wouldn’t say this is the best sushi in town, but it is certainly far from the worst.
The entree portion of the set menu consisted of chicken teriyaki and a croquette. It is normally served with a bowl of white rice too, but Susanne opted to double up her green salad instead. There is also a bowl of miso soup, not shown. The teriyaki was nothing to write home about, not being all that much better than what you’d get from a standard food court.
Off the regular menu, we also ordered the ebi prawn gyoza. This is basically a prawn wrapped in a gyoza skin and deep fried. The dipping sauce had some mayo in it, but there was no mayo on the gyoza itself. This was fine, but it wasn’t all that special.
We also ordered a chirashi don, which is a bowl of rice topped with several pieces of sashimi. Again, I wished the fish was chilled just a bit more, but everything tasted fresh. There was also quite a bit of fish in this chirashi don, which made for a fairly good value.
Overall, I’d say I was pretty pleased with Gohan. The sushi may not be quite as good as Sushiholic, but everything on the menu is reasonably priced, the fish is fresh, and service is prompt. Since it is so close to my new neighborhood, I’ll likely be back.
Something about warmer sushi that just makes it not right to me. It looks good, but I would be wary if mine was out too warm.
It wasn’t warm (or even room temperature), per se, but it wasn’t “chilled” enough either.
I thought that is what you meant.
To me anything that isn’t really chilled just doesn’t have the right flavor feeling. It’s something that is embedded in your mind when you eat sushi. It’s a state of mind that would turn me off to the meal if it wasn’t the right temperature. A little warmer than normal wouldn’t make me not eat it, but it wouldn’t be the enjoyable experience that I have come to enjoy.
I love sushi and sashimi! Japanese food is also very popular among Singaporeans, and there are lots of restaurants all over the island.
The chirashi don looked good!
I have just started to get into sushi, but I really like Japanese steak houses. I like the hibachi style and the show isn’t bad either.
I always loved Japanese steak houses. They are really different and every time I go in there, they provide free drink for a chekin in Foursquare !
My elder sister is going to Japan next month for some official work..This restaurant will be perfect for her to enjoy the weekends.
Raw meat or fish. Even looking at it nauseates me if it’s brought before me at table.
Michael, what dictionaries do you use?
That’s quite typical for a lot of Asian cultures, but you’re really missing out. Rare meat and fish offer a whole new dynamic in flavors and textures.
As far as dictionaries, I usually use the define:word function in Google.
I’ll 2nd the Define:word in Google. I also use Dictionary.com
In the part of Asia or China where I grew up and now live, meat or fish must be cooked before being eaten. Maybe the animals and fishes are grown differently here. Even eating partially cooked meat or fish can get people really sick because they carry disease, bacteria or viruses.
I thought you would say Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Longman, etc. I have an army of English dictionaries.
OMG, these foods are so colorful and attractive. They kind of trigger my appetite.
I too agree with you.it is mouth watering.