I'm Only Here for the Food!

Daruma Sushi & Bar
775 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

In the last week or so, there has been a heat wave in Vancouver and, as a result, it has been sunny and warm. While not as hot as Panama (and, seriously, it will never be), it has been warm enough. And, while the sun is out, hey, how about having lunch in a patio! That sounded like a good idea; the only problem was… Where? Walking around my workplace, I saw a new restaurant with a single table outside. Hmmmmm…. OK, looks good! That place is Daruma Sushi & Bar.

I took the picture *after* my lunch. Yes, that “mess” on the table is/was mine… ^_^;;;

Thing started funny. I already checked their menu, which was pasted on the window, as well as their specials in a sandwich board. So already knowing what to order, I walk in and tell the waitress I want to sit outside and give her my order right away. Either I was saying things in a really odd way, too fast or who knows what but I had to repeat myself about four times. Anyway, with that sorted, I just sat outside, basking under the sun and looking around.

When it comes to food, I seldom queue up. That’s why I have not been in Kintaro in a while. Yes, that was Kintaro’s lunch “rush” queue. Oh, well…

One of the make-or-break issues for lunch rush is, of course, timing. If a restaurant can deliver good food in a timely manner, then we have a winner. Unfortunately, in this category, Daruma failed. Between ordering and getting my lunch, it easily took a bit over 30 minutes. Not a good sign… But, I wanted to take this lunch in a leisure way so I chose not to start peeking inside to see where my lunch was. Eventually, it came and here it is.

A bento box with a California roll, gomaae, teriyaki chicken and tuna and salmon sushi, with a bowl of miso soup. OK, let’s try again:

At first sight, I would have said it is your average miso soup. To a certain extent, it was. The extra green onions gave something for your to “chew” on. It end up being slightly above average, compare to the other generic miso soup I have had in other similar restaurants.

Chicken teriyaki on a bed of rice. I disliked the fact they were using white meat rather than a cutlet. But seeing past that, it was quite decent. The rice was warm and soaking that sweet sauce… Hmmmmm….

California roll. OK, I will go straight to this one – I did not like it. Don’t get me wrong, it is not that it was poorly constructed or anything like that. It was just OK. So… Why I do not like it? Well, first you must understand these are made with krab sticks, aka, surimi. These are basically grounded fish meats into a paste, shaped and flavoured to mimic the taste of other foods, in this case, crab. I would rather have the real thing rather than this tasteless substitute. Sure, I could have asked for a substitution but…

The goma-ae, in this case, boiled and drained spinach with a sesame dressing. While good in its own ways, I only wish it wasn’t overdressed (though they are not the worst offenders in this subject).

Tuna and Salmon sashimi. They were a bit larger than what I expected but, in the end, they were quite pleasant. No sign of it being frozen and, best of all for the tuna pieces, they did not have that really odd pink-ish colour seen in other places. Of course, it was not red tuna either; however, given the overall cost of the lunch, this is something I am willing to overlook.

Overall, it was a decent lunch. Though slightly pricier than Oishii Sushi which happens to be across the street ($12 vs $10), I think it was quite decent. (Can’t make a straight comparison as I have not been in Oishii yet). However, there is a stiffer competition: Yoshi, whose bento boxes are only slightly more expensive (just under $14). Would I come back? For lunch, I think I will, specially if I go alone. If in groups, I think I might end up instead in Yoshi.

Bonus!

To avoid any odd situations, I walked inside to pay. It showed that the operation was relatively small, i.e., probably somebody in the back for hot items, the waitress and the chef (who seemed to be Japanese, to those who care about this point, though don’t quote me on his ethnicity). They were gracious enough to let me take these pictures:

In an “I learned this from Iron Chef”-esque fashion, this is supposed to be the appropriate way to prepare the sushi rice, i.e., let the wood absorb the heat and humidity of the freshly cooked rice after it has been dosed with vinegar and other ingredients.

The chef mentioned these were not for decoration but for actual consumption. Yes, they are small crabs and, yes, they were alive.