Oysi Oysi

Oysi Oysi
1136 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC

Those of us who live in Vancouver know that the sushi is hit-or-miss. Once you find a place (or places) you like, you most likely stick with it. However, what if you can’t make to that place for a reason or another? For example, what if you want to meet for lunch with your friend(s) on a work-day? And what if this place is not a place you have been previously? You would, of course, look at sites like Urbanspoon, Yelp (though in this case, caveat emptor) or, in the case of Vancouver, dinehere.ca, for comments and opinions. But, what if these opinion are so wild, so all over the place? Aside from hoping for the best, that is… In a way, that’s what came to my mind after my friend TX and I agreed to meet in Oysi Oysi.

Located in Alberni Street, the picture in the area has changed a lot in the last couple of years. Previously it was home to several Japanese souvenir shops; nowadays, it is home of Tiffany’s & Co (Alberni and Burrard), the Shangri-La Hotel and the recently opened Market by Jean-Georges (Alberni and Thurlow). However, despite all these changes, Oysi Oysi is still in business, so that means they are doing something right, right?

We walked in at exactly 12:00 noon on a Friday and the restaurant was already quite busy. In fact, there were even people queueing outside during our meal. After a quick look at their menu, both of us decided to order their Oysi Oysi set menu, which was composed of:

Your almost staple miso soup.

Tempura – it included shrimp.

Salmon and tuna sashimi.

In TX’s case, beef teriyaki.

In my case, chicken teriyaki.

The meals include a bowl of rice, which I did not take picture of. On the note of pictures, I apologize for the lack of clarity/sharpness on some of them; this was due to the lightning in the area we were seated. Anyway, back to the food. It did take a little bit to arrive but not that long, which is an important consideration when you have to walk several blocks to get there for lunch. The food was mixed. Some pieces were cold, as expected – the sashimi; but others were unexpected – the tempura, which was not even lukewarm. My suspicion of the later might be related to the time of the day, that is, they are not made to order bur rather they were already fried and sitting there to be serve to quickly feed the lunch rush. The chicken, served on a bed of bean sprouts, wasn’t grilled. Rather, it’s texture/taste seemed to be either pan-fried or cooked on a flat-top grill  and then served with a sweet sauce on top. 

Overall, I found my meal average. But, at just under $10 (pre-tax, pre-tips), it wasn’t bad; just it was not good by any means either. The fact there were a lot of people queueing outside seems to indicate others like it. Just not me.

Tagged under: Japanese • Lunch • Sushi • Vancouver