Takarabune Japanese Restaurant
6459 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC
South Vancouver is not a place known for late eats. In fact, most places might be closed by 9:00 p.m. (other than some bubble tea spots, which I do not necessarily look forward to). Sure, I could drive farther north to places likes Corner 23 on Cambie (visit pending) or west to Kitsilano. Heck, even Downtown Vancouver. However, when hunger strikes, you don’t necessarily think straight and, instead, you go for almost the first place you can think of and/or run into. That place this time ended up being Takarabune.
This Japanese restaurant is literally a hole in the wall, as it is located in a strip mall in the corner of 49th and Victoria Drive. However, it does not face the corner itself: unless you are driving south bound on Victoria Drive, there is almost no way for you to get to the strip mall. In my case, was it fate or coincidence? I did not care as I was hungry!
When I arrived, it was quarter after 9. Instead of looking at me funny (you know, last customer of the day), they welcomed me in. At this point, I must mention despite (?) the place is run by Japanese, there is almost no miscommunication or lost in translation here. The waitresses spoke in regular English and the menu is in plain English. Anyway, they did mention I had 10 minutes to decide, as it would be the kitchen last call. I must mention, even then, I was never rushed.
As for the menu itself, they have your usual Japanese fare, i.e., teriyaki, sushi and noodles. Since I noticed the itamae was starting to prepare to close, I chose not to order sushi. I did not want to order teriyaki either so, by process of elimination, that left noodles. But… Given the time of the day, would ramen be a good option? No, instead, I went for something else… (Will be back on that topic in a moment). And, to start, I had:
Readers would have noticed that I usually end up ordering this: goma ae. And, obviously, this would not be an exception. However, I was a bit confused. While not overdressed as the goma ae I had in Oyama Sushi a couple of weeks prior, it was under dressed. What made it disappointing was that it had a bit too many stem pieces. I mean, I know that a bunch of spinach will have both; just that, in this case it was a bit too crunchy and no “leafy-ness” behind.
As mentioned, I did not order ramen, yet I ordered noodles. Remember, there is more than one form of noodles! In this case, I ordered a nabeyaki udon, which is, to quote Wikipedia: A sort of udon hot-pot, with seafood and vegetables cooked in a nabe, or metal pot. The most common ingredients are tempura shrimp with mushrooms and an egg cracked on top.. So, from the picture, tempura shrimp? Check. Mushroom? Check. Cracked egg…. Wait, should there be one? Well, it somehow ended up at the bottom and, as a result, it was cooked through rather than poached. Although I could not “break” the yolk, at least it had a good mushroom taste. And, oh, the noodles, kept its al-dente texture. The one thing that I found odd was… The shrimp tempura. Did I miss the point of it being in the soup itself rather than on the top? I mean, once it hit the broth, any crispy texture from the batter is gone.
Overall, despite the small “problems” encountered, I found it was quite good. Not necessarily a Kintaro-like experience but good enough, specially considering this is South Vancouver. Would I come back? Sure, it was a good meal. And, oh, overall it was just $13.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
i think you should go back at a better time, if this is the restaurant that someone told me about, i think they are pretty good for a hole in the wall.
Dude, you were in my ‘hood! HAHA Victoria Dr has lots of good places to eat. If you do ever wander here let me know. There’s a taco place, good jumbo wontons…etc..*drool*
Koji, actually, despite I was getting there by closing time, my dining experience was quite good, as mentioned in the post. Would I come back? That would be an option; however, if it is for sushi, Shima-Ya has a bit of higher priority… ^_^;;;
Annie, I will have to say “depends”. Once you go past Jones Park (southbound) after 9:00 p.m., there might still be that BBT place on 41st or probably Mui Garden. However, by the time you get close to 49th, the options I can think of are: Neighbour’s Restaurant & Pizza House and Nishiki Sushi. Of course, and again, considering the time I made my visit, I shouldn’t have high expectations, should I?
WOW don’t know why you drive around that area that late. But Nancy’s is open late as well. The 2 restaurants you just mentioned are just bleh, with the exception that Neighbors has good homemade ice tea.
stay away from that bbt place at vic and 41……far far away…..
i agree with annie, nishiki is bleh, both times i went, the rice in the rolls tasted….mushy
Oh the crazy things we search out when the late night hungry pains strike!
I’ve been here! I vaguely remember it but I think it was good. You are right about it being tucked away, it’s literally in the corner.
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