Izakaya
Posted At: Thu 6 Oct 2005	Posted By: Derek Nobuyuki信幸 Wallace
Categories:reviews , Restaurant Reviews , Restaurant Reviews Japanese , Restaurant Reviews Downtown , life
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http://log.antiflux.org/lavina/archives/000780.html

Hapa Izakaya
1479 Robson
Japanese Tapas

We had planned to go to Guu but were given poor directions. Guu is actually on Thurlow not Robson, but we ended up at Hapa Izakaya another Japanese Tapas joint.

Again with the sleek and chic interiors! There are round tables up front where you have to take off your shoes but we sat at a cozy booth in the back. Hapa serves small Japanese and Korean appies, no sushi to be found here.

The menu is really wild, alot of mackeral, other fishes, seafoods, pickles etc.. The Kabocha dip was tasty tho I think their choice of melba toast was just so wrong. Cheap sake as well, can come in a very neat bamboo column about 3 feet long and little bamboo cups, 8$.

The weirdest thing we tried was the raw squid. Even the waitress warned us /not/ to order it if we really wanted squid. It was small slices of raw squid marinated in it’s own ink. 3 votes for NEVER AGAIN, 1 vote for i’m not touching that, 1 vote for it’s not so bad (me), 1 vote for can we get some more? you really have to try it tho, it’s chewy, bitter, salty, fishy, and brown.

I have to say this isn’t really a dinner place, the dishes are cheap but quite small and don’t expect to be really full after. And noisy!!! they do the group welcome and goodbye in japanese…

I really want to try Guu. Anyone been?

Posted by lavina at November 27, 2003 11:32
correction: guu with garlic is on robson, the original guu on thurlow

Posted by: larmina at November 27, 2003 02:07 PM
more yummies at hapa: takoyaki. yum. renkon gyoza. yum. the mackerel that gets blow-torched at your table (they let you do it yourself if you ask). and so much other stuff. yum yum yum.

i’ve been to the guu on robson, and to the new one on water st. both are good, though the one on water seems kinda empty on weekdays. the robson guu is adorable… if you ever go there, you’ll know immediately why.

Posted by: michal at November 27, 2003 03:00 PM
i was looking for the phone number to Hapa Izakaya…and look what google returned! anyhow, guu is pretty good btw, really beats yopo!

Posted by: alvin at February 19, 2004 08:23 PM
I’m planning to go to Hapa this Saturday for a birthday dinner - can you tell me a little more about why you think it “really isn’t a dinner place”? I don’t mind small plates - it gives me an excuse to order a tonne of them.

Posted by: bigjako at April 15, 2004 04:46 PM
Just to let you know we went on Saturday and had a wonderful time - the food was excellent, but you are right, they are small. It took us 7 dishes between two people to fill up, but the prices were reasonable enough.

Posted by: bigjako at April 19, 2004 09:14 AM

Hapa Izakaya is amazing…
japanese (+korean) fusion izakaya cuisine…
While Guu is great too.. the Guu on robson and the Guu on Thurlow always feel crampt (Guu in gastown is spacious feeling though) where Hapa Izakaya is so much larger…

Renkon Gyoza is always amazing…

I just took a group of 12 people there for my birthday last night…
for the private room, it’s 12 dishes + 2 cocktails/person or so for ~$39/person!!!
so we opted to squish into a larger roundtable at the back…

I can see what you mean about not a dinner place… but to it’s credit… it is an izakaya… so tapas is to be expected rather than large meals… however… like bigjako said… 7 dishes between two people… you can easily fill your stomach with a much greater amount of variety… but of course that will burn a very large hole in your wallet… (to combat this… we went for cheese fondue at the bubbletea place a couple doors up right before hapa… then dessert afterwards ^_^)

But whether it be any of the three Guu restaurants or hapa izakaya… you know you’re in for quality food… and “authentic” –for Vancouver’s standards– japanese cuisine…

Derek Nobuyuki 菫｡蟷ｸ Wallace
http://press.derekwallace.com
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Minato Sushi
Posted At: Mon 6 Jun 2005	Posted By: Derek Nobuyuki信幸 Wallace
Categories:reviews , Restaurant Reviews , Restaurant Reviews Japanese , Restaurant Reviews False Creek
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Minato Sushi

Where are they? Broadway and Oak St. (992 West Broadway)
Claimed Style of Cuisine? Japanese

What was ordered?

• Tonkatsu, $7.50
• Agedashi Tofu, $3.95

How is the setting?
it seems pretty typical japanesey restaurant… typical “irrashaimase” and “doumo arigatou gozaimashita” machine at the door…

Their Claims?
Established for 13 years; Authentic Japanese Sushi Chef; With good food and fair prices; parking in front of restaurant

Their menu?
Their menu is extremely typical: sushi, noodles, donburi, etc…

Parking?
it’s in that little plaza with 7 eleven.. parking is tight… and pay….
HOWEVER! they do offer to reimburse your parking as long as you buy a parking ticket in that lot

The Staff?
three kinds of staff i’ve seen… Sushi people, kitchen people, and hostess/waitress… the first two groups didn’t say much… but the hostess was very friendly…

Authenticity?
it’s what you expect from the region… odds are it’s chinese run, own, operated, etc…
HOWEVER, they’re not all yelling in cantonese nor do you have to order in cantonese to expect your order to be correct.

My Opinion!
This place is alright… i’ve only eaten there twice, but i’d eat there again…
hostess was quite friendly… and was never trying to rush me out…
the price is a little bit expensive for lunch… but the quality of food is quite reasonable

nobu rating: 笘�笘�笘�笘�笘�笘� 6/10 I’d eat there again!