Christine L.
Yelp
I ordered omakase. Chef Koji Kobayan created an epic meal for us.
We ate so many things, so I'm just going to highlight a few dishes. We tried the Rice Cracker with Deep Fried Salmon, Potato Salad and Yam Crisp. The crunch of the batter against the soft creaminess of the potato salad was killer. The salmon itself was flavourful, made even more richer with Koji's special homemade teriyaki sauce.
Our fourth course was the Matsutake Soup with Crab. The soup arrived boiling hot. The broth was clear and clean, which allowed the subtle flavours of the crab and mushrooms to shine. The wild BC pine mushrooms were thinly sliced, with a fragrance similar to sake. Drinking this soup felt so nourishing - simple but refine.
A4 Wagyu Nigiri. The wagyu was torched and and then a ton of black truffles was shaved on top. The flavour of the truffles was gentle and earthy. The texture was feathery and light. Seared, the wagyu gave off a mouthwatering smoky flavour. I loved the crunch of the salt. I thought this was an elegant bite.
My favourite course was the Lemon Dengaku. Dengaku is similar to a cheesy seafood motoyaki but a billion times better. Half a lemon was filled with mussels, crab, scallops, asparagus, enoki, and matsutake mushrooms, then baked with a creamy, sweet miso sauce.The flavour and freshness of the the seafood wowed me. The sauce had the perfect amount of saltiness in it. The lemon wasn't overpowering - just enough to perfume each bite.
Koji created a beautiful platter of nigiri for us. This was an advanced sushi tasting. Each nigiri pairing was an adventure. The bluefin chu toro was topped with sturgeon caviar. I liked how the salty pop of caviar mingled in with the fatty creaminess of the toro. The "Mother and Child" sockeye with ikura and chrysanthemum petals was another winning salty, creamy combination. The hamachi (yellowtail) was juicy. I found the lime zest with the kanpachi subtle. The cuttlefish had a pleasant crunchy texture. The bluefin tuna in the negitori with shredded kombu was soft and buttery.
Totally worth it and then some. If I were in Japan, our bill would have been four times as much. In Vancouver, at least double. Sukiyaki House imports a lot of their seafood from Japan and source some of the freshest seafood, which makes sense why the food is even better than I can get in Vancouver.