Sansei Seafood Restaurant – Hawaii 2013

There are 4 Sansei locations in the Hawaiian Islands… one of which is located on the 3rd floor of the Waikiki Beach Marriott.  Right next door is the d.k. Steak House (both of which are part of the D.K. Restaurant group).

Matsumoto Shave Ice – Hawaii 2013

As I mentioned on our visit to Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, our trip to the North Shore was a bit overcast and rainy.  We were driving though Haleiwa after a couple more car navigation snafus while stopping by Ehukai Beach (to see the Banzai Pipeline) and Laniakea Beach (to see the sea turtles) and noticed a long line of people standing in the rain waiting for shave ice.

Lawson Station (Moana Surfrider) – Hawaii 2013

Lawson Station has an interesting history.  For instance, from the name, you wouldn’t really expect to find a Japanese convenience store.   Lawson actually has roots in Ohio where it was originally known as Lawson’s Milk Company back in 1939 (that’s probably why their logo has a big milk container on it).

Marukame Udon – Hawaii 2013

Marukame Udon is a popular noodle shop in Waikiki located on Kuhio Avenue (a block over from Kalakaua Ave) and it’s not unusual to see patrons lining up late at night to try out their freshly made Sanuki-style udon.

Asa Sushi (Burnaby)

There is no end to the number of tiny sushi joints there are in the Lower Mainland.  Take, for example, Asa Sushi which is located in a small mini-mall on the corner of Rumble and Royal Oak in Burnaby (the same mini-mall as the Polish bakery BJ Bakery) and within spitting distance of Makoto.

Posh (Burnaby) – Crab Hot Pot Horrors

Back in early January, we visited Posh (located right next to Pho Tan) in Burnaby for a crab hot pot meal.  It’s taken me this long to write the post because I was trying to forget the whole experience ever happened.

Umi Sushi Express (Richmond Centre)

For the longest time last year, they were renovating the food court at Richmond Centre – it seemed like it would never be finished.  We had made a stop by the mall just before Christmas time last year to do some last minute shopping and decided to check out their new “dining terrace”.

Osaka Island – Japanese Food on Edmonds

I’ve been avoiding Edmonds Street for a long time due to all of the construction that’s been going for the last few months.  Well the road is finally starting to regain some semblance of normalcy so I felt it was time to start venturing out for some eats.  Osaka Island is one of the many Japanese restaurants that dot the Lower Mainland’s landscape.  Located in a small mini mall next to a Korean restaurant, Osaka has plenty of free parking in the area.

Black Dragon Sushi

Black Dragon Sushi recently opened up in the now defunct Happy Day Metro location trading off Korean for Japanese fare.  The interior decor has also changed a bit with red bright red booth seating accenting the black marble-like tables.

Nao Sushi – BBQ Salmon Cheeks

Nao Sushi is located on the same block as Anatolia’s Gate and Highgate Chinese Restaurant in Burnaby.  Speaking of Highgate Chinese Restaurant… I was originally going to drop by for a revisit because I came down with a bad cold and was looking for some spicy food to clear up my sinuses.  However, I was discouraged when I discovered that they weren’t open at 11:30am (like the hours of operation on their door stated)… don’t you hate it when that happens?

Teppan Kitchen

When I think of teppanyaki, I usually think back to the classic Three’s Company episode where Jack Tripper is trying to pretend (rather unsuccessfully) to be a seasoned Japanese chef.  I think Teppan Kitchen has been at Aberdeen Centre for a while but I usually get distracted by all of the other food stalls that I’ve never given it much thought… until now.

Kimura – Kimura sans Kimura-san

Kimura was widely known for their special omakase meals where the diners “leave it to the chef” to decide on the dishes.  As it turns out, I’ve heard that there was a change of ownership back in May of this year and Kimura-san is no longer at this restaurant.  In any case, I’ve never been a trusting type… so we wound up picking the dishes that we wanted to try.