VanFoodies.com

Opening on Feb 2, one of Vancouver’s popular ramen shops Zubu makes its mark downtown on Hornby Street. The new restaurant is spacious and I have learned that it has 3 exclusive menu items that are not available at other Zubu locations. I was invited to a media preview and let me tell you more.

Food

First of all, drinks. Their cocktail menu is quite unique, using Asian spirits as well as Asian flavours. We tried the Yuzu Cream and Suutsu Fashion and they were both delicious. Suutsu Fashion is their take on Old Fashioned, smokey and citrusy. Yuzu Cream was creamy and refreshing – and all flavours that I enjoy.

Now, the exclusive items. The Beef Tongue was worthy of a repeat order. It’s sous vide so it’s cooked to the perfect, intended doneness, evenly pink inside. There were lots of meat pieces, and they were tender and flavourful. The server poured a butter sauce at our table and it made everything else tasty, including the bean sprouts. There was nothing left on the hot plate when the server took it away.

Next, especially for first time customers, the Ramen Flight was the perfect preview of 4 types of ramen at Zubu, including Classic Shio, Chicken Ramen, Tonkotsu AKA and Mazesoba. There was a small portion of each kind, and the presentation was simply cute in the little containers. I appreciate that the server told us the eating order so we would sample from the lightest to the richest noodles. Of the four, my favourite was the Chicken Ramen with Tonkotsu AKA as a close second. If the Tonkotsu AKA wasn’t the spicy kind, I probably would have preferred the Tonkotsu. But the Chicken Ramen broth was rich and flavourful, without being too much. For just $21, I would recommend this to those who can’t decide on just one flavour of ramen, like myself!

Then, for vegan customers, or customers who are interested in vegan options, they have the Truffle Vegan Ramen. I really enjoyed the vegetable broth and kale noodles. The bowl includes a few pieces of vegan wontons – I wasn’t a big fan of them but I hold quite a high standard when it comes to dumplings, so I could be just overly picky about them. If you are not a vegan person but want to order this noodle, you can also add a seasoned egg on the side.

Besides the exclusive items, we also tried a couple other menu items. The Assorted Seafood Plate was a lot of fun to eat, and is designed for sharing between two people. I would suggest adding the Sushi Hand Roll Set because there aren’t enough wonton crisps to finish everything, and it’s just better to turn these little dishes into hand rolls.

I’d say for those who want more than just two bowls of ramen here, they can consider ordering the Assorted Seafood Plate, Sushi Hand Roll Set, and a bowl of ramen. And there should be a fun date-night dinner for two people.

But then, you must save room for the Aburi Cheesecake because it’s not just a spectacular show at the table. I was expecting the cheesecake to just be delivered to the table, but they actually torched it at the table. And we got to watch the exterior of the cheesecake to melt and a brulee crust to form on top. It was a mix of warm and cold, soft and hard. A very fun dessert to have!

Final Thoughts

Of course, being a newly opened restaurant, there may be kinks to work out, new staff to become familiar with the menu and the space. I really enjoyed the media preview, and I certainly see myself return again in the near future.

Zubu Downtown
869 Hornby Street, Vancouver
604-423-5699
byzubu.com