A new Japanese style cafe just arrived in Vancouver. Daigyo Cafe officially opens its doors on Robson Street on February 18, but the soft opening was on Feb 9. Here’s a quick look at the inside and some of its menu items.
According to the press release, you will “find a variety of sweet and savoury goods, such as Japanese coffee, Japanese pressed sandos, tea-infused desserts, beverages, and soft serve ice cream. Most notably, Daigyo specifically sources ceremonial-grade, premium organic matcha from Japan’s Shizuoka region.”
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.
High tea these days is so expensive! Most places are now charging at least $50 per person, and that’s considered “affordable.” I cringed when some afternoon tea menus are priced at $60 or more and that just feels like a lot of money to me. So when my friend CC told me about this $70 tea set at Tsujiri, I naturally assumed it’s $70 per person. But no, it’s $70 for two!! Can it be too good to be true?!
Hello 2023!! 2022 is a wrap and there’s so much to be grateful for and to celebrate. With things returning to a new normal, I had the pleasure of discovering a lot of new places last year. Many are worthy a repeat visit and of them all, here are my 10 favourite bites/sips. Now keep in mind this list is about the specific item listed, because one can’t possibly like everything at every single place. These dishes just really stood out for me. Interestingly, only a couple of these places were hosted tastings. The rest were paid out of our own pockets. Also remember, restaurants rotate their menu on a regular basis so what I had listed here may not be available anymore (and I will try my best to specify below), but I’m sure you would find something you like if you decide to visit these restaurants sometime soon.
And without further ado, in no particular order, here are the 10 items:
Hello Nori opened its first location on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver earlier this year. They specialize in sushi hand rolls (temaki). It became popular very quickly, with line ups at the door. Since I’ve been almost a hermit during the pandemic, I haven’t ventured out downtown for a number of months. Finally last month with a nudge from my friend CC, we went to check it out.
Hello Nori has a rather small menu, which isn’t a bad thing, keeping it focused and making food prep easier. They have a few set menus or you can order a la carte. They may also have a couple of featured items on the “fresh sheet”, which were ikura and futomaki when I went. While their set menus offer decent selections and a great sample of their hand rolls, I opted for a la carte because I had my eyes on the unagi hand roll.
Food
Toro – which is their version of a Negitoro (toro with green onion) – there’s nothing spectacular about it but it’s flavourful.
VanFoodies.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.