Gyoza Bar + Ramen's dry-run preview tasting and grand opening on West Pender Street on September 4 and 8, 2014.
Gyōzas and ramen are among two of my favourite edible things and staples of the Japanese diet. Throw in Aburi Restaurants (of Miku and Minami fame) and their track record of top notch high end Japanese cuisine/dining and you have a highly anticipated recipe for this finally opened (slightly fusion style) Japanese noodle soup and dumpling eatery.
The long and narrow space (formerly home to the appropriately named Tunnel Nightclub) is adorned with a rustic wood finish, exposed brick, and polished concrete urban look and feel. The partially open kitchen and prep area offers an intimate, inviting atmosphere with a peekaboo window, allowing diners to watch fresh house made ramen being prepared.
We tried all five varieties of their gyōza dumplings. Their signature crispy Fraser Valley pork teppan gyōza (cooked in a round iron cast pan) was well-cooked and tasty but very sticky and difficult to separate. It was good but I have a feeling, this one's probably going to improve over time and hopefully be easier to eat (something they're already working on.
My dumpling highlight was the chili shrimp gyōza (with pickled daikon, soy marinated ikura and wasabi chimichurri) full of shrimp flavourful goodness.
I quite enjoyed the vegetarian Harissa tofu gyōza (with kabocha, yuzu-coconut sauce, pineapple salsa, and apple slices), its fried texture, mixture of ingredients, and pleasing presentation.
The miso short rib gyōza (with jalapeno-soy glaze, feta, cherries, mushrooms, and zucchini) was jarring at first with the beefy flavours inside the dumpling, but grew on me with all the fresh flavours inside, although you kind of forget its a gyōza. The pulled beef was very tender.
Another interesting offering was the very Chinese Hainan chicken gyōza (with ginger scallion rayu, bok-choy and chicken dashi) with its moist, steamed taste. This will take some getting use to.
As for the ramen, the special Kaisen tomato-saffron seafood ramen (with mussels, clams, prawns, and scallops) had a unique, very flavourful quality if you're into a seafood and tomato base.
The Tamari-Shoyu Tonkotsu pork ramen (with Aburi pork char siu and tamago) was very tasty with a smooth, thick broth and my favourite so far. The specially made bowl was deep to hold the rich, flavourful soup and house made noodles. It nearly killed me to finish the generous contents as the deep and cavernous bowl (specially made by local artist Hide Ebina) was deceiving in how much ramen it held. Also, notice the perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg.
I also dug the Umami-Shoyu chicken ramen (above) as well as the Mediterranean salt shio chicken ramen (both with chicken char siu and tamago) with their rich flavours and a crisp aftertaste.
The Southern inspired creole spiced steamed prawns (with mussels, chorizo, corn, and baby potatoes) was a surprising dish full of cajun seafood tastes. The ingredients were well-cooked (served in a bag) and fresh tasting yet felt slightly out of place with the ramen and gyōzas.
Gyoza Bar is off to a promising start with time and dedication put into introducing and launching their signature dishes with some Japanese flavours. I'm most excited about its promise and improvements in refining the menu. The variety of dumplings and ramen styles offered is refreshing and intriguing.
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Gyōzas and ramen are among two of my favourite edible things and staples of the Japanese diet. Throw in Aburi Restaurants (of Miku and Minami fame) and their track record of top notch high end Japanese cuisine/dining and you have a highly anticipated recipe for this finally opened (slightly fusion style) Japanese noodle soup and dumpling eatery.
The long and narrow space (formerly home to the appropriately named Tunnel Nightclub) is adorned with a rustic wood finish, exposed brick, and polished concrete urban look and feel. The partially open kitchen and prep area offers an intimate, inviting atmosphere with a peekaboo window, allowing diners to watch fresh house made ramen being prepared.
We tried all five varieties of their gyōza dumplings. Their signature crispy Fraser Valley pork teppan gyōza (cooked in a round iron cast pan) was well-cooked and tasty but very sticky and difficult to separate. It was good but I have a feeling, this one's probably going to improve over time and hopefully be easier to eat (something they're already working on.
My dumpling highlight was the chili shrimp gyōza (with pickled daikon, soy marinated ikura and wasabi chimichurri) full of shrimp flavourful goodness.
I quite enjoyed the vegetarian Harissa tofu gyōza (with kabocha, yuzu-coconut sauce, pineapple salsa, and apple slices), its fried texture, mixture of ingredients, and pleasing presentation.
The miso short rib gyōza (with jalapeno-soy glaze, feta, cherries, mushrooms, and zucchini) was jarring at first with the beefy flavours inside the dumpling, but grew on me with all the fresh flavours inside, although you kind of forget its a gyōza. The pulled beef was very tender.
Another interesting offering was the very Chinese Hainan chicken gyōza (with ginger scallion rayu, bok-choy and chicken dashi) with its moist, steamed taste. This will take some getting use to.
As for the ramen, the special Kaisen tomato-saffron seafood ramen (with mussels, clams, prawns, and scallops) had a unique, very flavourful quality if you're into a seafood and tomato base.
The Tamari-Shoyu Tonkotsu pork ramen (with Aburi pork char siu and tamago) was very tasty with a smooth, thick broth and my favourite so far. The specially made bowl was deep to hold the rich, flavourful soup and house made noodles. It nearly killed me to finish the generous contents as the deep and cavernous bowl (specially made by local artist Hide Ebina) was deceiving in how much ramen it held. Also, notice the perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg.
I also dug the Umami-Shoyu chicken ramen (above) as well as the Mediterranean salt shio chicken ramen (both with chicken char siu and tamago) with their rich flavours and a crisp aftertaste.
The Southern inspired creole spiced steamed prawns (with mussels, chorizo, corn, and baby potatoes) was a surprising dish full of cajun seafood tastes. The ingredients were well-cooked (served in a bag) and fresh tasting yet felt slightly out of place with the ramen and gyōzas.
Gyoza Bar is off to a promising start with time and dedication put into introducing and launching their signature dishes with some Japanese flavours. I'm most excited about its promise and improvements in refining the menu. The variety of dumplings and ramen styles offered is refreshing and intriguing.
1 reactions:
OKAY LET'S OPEN THIS UP AND TELL THE TRUE STORY....THEY STOLE OUR CONCEPT 100%
When the Aquilini's made the announcemnet that they were firing the current catering company yada yada earlier this year - we had in 'in' so to say (buddy of mine knew them) to get to the top of the chain with a package we designed especially for them. A totally customized package delivered right to their desks filled with ideas, pictures of all our Dawgs at Dinky Dawgs Granville Station, our recipes for all the Dawgs, Sea Dawgs, all of it in glorious full colour. An irresistible pitch....or so we thought until yesterday. We never heard back from them, not even a "Dear Dinky Dawgs, thanks for applying, we are not interested..."
THEY SAID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - YOU KNOW WHY KIDS? CAUSE THEY FU*KING RIPPED US OFF PLAIN & SIMPLE - THEY STOOD ON OUR HOT DAWG GENIUS SHOULDERS OF YEARS OF HARD WORK AND TOOK THE NEXT STEP, THEN THEY PUT A LABLE ON IT AND NOW THEY'RE SELLING IT, THEY'RE SELLING IT!! THEY WIELDED OUR BRAND LIKE A KID WITH HIS MOM'S RECIPE BOOK AND BEFORE THEY EVEN KNEW WHAT THEY HAD - THEY RELEASED IT TO THE MASSES - THEY WERE SO BUSY THINKING IF THEY COULD WHEN THEY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IF THEY SHOULD!!!!
Luckily - we made TWO COPIES of the entire package. Time to see what our our Rock Star Lawyers with really shape teeth have too say about this...
WE AT DINKY DAWGS WELCOME A FULL BLOWN DAWG CHALLENGE AT OUR SHOP, ROGER'S ARENA?RIP OFF A SMALL BUSINESSMAN LIKE ME - I DON'T THINK SO - HEY CHEF ROBERT - BRING YOUR NOISE DOWN TO MY SHOP AND LET'S HAVE IT OUT FACE TO FACE ON CAMERA???
YOU BRING YOUR FAKE DINKY DAWGS AND WE'LL BRING OUR GOURMET AWARD WINNING DAWGS - NOTHING CHANGES THE FACT WE ARE STILL THE BEST DAMN DAWGS IN TOWN!!
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