VanFoodies.com

For the last couple of years, the dynamics of Vancouver’s restaurant sector have shifted. More commissary kitchens have opened, some restaurateurs have closed their brick and mortar to switch to a ghost kitchen concept, some aspired restaurateurs and bakers are testing the water without a brick and mortar. It’s relatively lower-cost to run a restaurant operation without the investment of a physical location with equipment, tables & chairs, dishware and decorations, and everything else. It’s especially appealing during the COVID-19 crisis now when a majority of business comes from take-out or delivery orders.

Coho Commissary

Earlier in the year, Takenaka opened its door, figuratively speaking, by offering different types of Japanese bento boxes. It operates in one of the Coho Commissary locations in Vancouver. Their concept is inspired by the traditional bento boxes created by mom, while introducing a more artistic approach and bringing in fresh and interesting ingredients. The owner/chef Shogo Takenaka came from Kingyo Izakaya and its sister restaurant Raisu. Sous-chef Daiki Ishikawa was trained in Niigata prefecture, known for its finest quality in rice, sake and seafood. I was provided a few of their menu items for a tasting.

Food

Among the items I received, right away my eyes were drawn to the Kaiseki Bento.

It’s their signature bento box that comprises 9 omakase (chef’s choice) tapas. In my box, we had (from left to right, top to bottom in the photo):

• Saikyo-miso marinated grilled black cod
• Daily appetizer – pickled snap peas, eggplant and zucchini
• Chicken karaage
• Prawn tempura with mushroom sauce
• Aburi Sushi
• Yuzu tuna tataki
• Stewed pork belly
• Seasoned half boiled egg
• Beef steak with wasabi sauce

Based on this list, the choice of ingredients, you can tell that this bento box is thoughtfully put together with quality in mind. To me, the highlight of this bento box was the black cod, prawn tempura, tuna tataki and beef steak. The black cod was well seasoned with silky texture; the size of the prawn tempura was huge! The tuna tataki had a good balance of acidity from the yuzu; and the beef steak was so, so tender it was addictive. I must point out that it took me about 45 minutes to bring home the food, so everything was cold when I had it. It was still tasty, but I’m sure the black cod, chicken karaage, prawn tempura and pork belly would’ve tasted better warm. However, everything was still very tasty. I also appreciate the fact that some tapas were complemented with amazing sauces or another; for example, pork belly with mashed potato, tuna takaki with salad greens, and chicken karaage with a relish sauce.

The aburi sushi in the bento box is a nice segue into the Omakase Aburi Sushi, with 8 pieces of daily sushi seared with sauces and topped with garnishes. The choice of fish is a chef’s choice, e.g. salmon, yellow tail, tuna, etc. On this day, our 8 pieces of sushi were all tuna, topped with various garnishes including ikura (salmon roe), red and yuzu tobiko, shiso marinated kelp and yuzu-kosho sauce (made with fresh chili). Because it’s omakase, you wouldn’t know the choice of fish until you receive your order. To be honest, I would’ve liked to have more than one kind of fish in my aburi sushi box. While the fish was the same across the board, I did appreciate the variety of toppings that brought different textures and flavours.

Last but not least, there’s also Mini Seafood Bara Chirashi Bowl. It’s a half-size of the Seafood Bara Chirashi Bowl. Between layers of sushi rice, there was sashimi, crab meat, scallop, salmon roe, egg, radish sprouts, shiso marinated kelp and tobiko. The whole cup was so pretty with vibrant colours. It reminds me of a poke bowl, except the seafood is not marinated. To eat, simply the soy sauce provided and enjoy it like sushi in a bowl. The seafood tasted fresh and spoke of its quality. It was a good seafood to rice ratio, and I thought it’s a good amount of food for one person.

Tip: If you are ordering the Kaiseki Bento, you can add this mini chirashi bowl to your order for just $7 (instead of regular price $12), or $17 for a full size (vs. $23). That’s a saving of $5.

Final Thoughts

Not only did I feast with my eyes, but I was also very impressed with how the food tasted. The Kaiseki Bento had a lot of unique offerings, and the chirashi bowl had a wide variety of seafood. Takenaka will be having a food truck soon, hopefully in July. I can’t wait to visit them again and check out the food truck.

Takenaka
1370 Georgia Street, Vancouver
604-802-9982
takenakavancouver.com
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Disclosure: Food was provided to us complimentary of Takenaka. Views and opinions, however, are our own.