Suika

Ambiance: Dim light dining, Bar, Light Dining, Clean

Seating/Wait time: Don't come here without a reservation! Otherwise you'll be waiting a LONG TIME, for your convenience here's there phone number: (604) 730-1678

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual, I noticed a lot of people did do dressy casual.

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: 

Torotoro Cha-Shu
$6.80Very soft, yummy, but nothing special so you can do without this 

Tako Karaage
$8.80Great and different, better than the average calamari

Three Kinds of Sashimi
(3 tuna, 3 wild salmon, 3 Ebi)
$12.80
I like how they serve wild salmon, as opposed to the cheap quality salmon 

If you order this, you don't need to order the Amaebi Kimchi to try the sweet prawns

Amaebi Kimchi (4)
$5.00
It looks tasty, but the kimchi overpowers the sweetness of the natural flavour of the shrimp

Negitoro Battera (6pcs)
$9.80
This was not a good sushi, it was kind of bitter because of the scallions, it looks nice, but order the Aburi "Shime-Saba" Sushi, maybe that one is better.  This one is not tasty at all. 

Personal Remarks:  Lots of buzz from friends about this restaurant and it's been Number 1 on Urbanspoon for quite some time, it's hard to resist the urge to try this place out.  Especially, with that photo on the front page all the time taken by Benny of the kim chi spot prawns.

This restaurant does not have any pictures of their food and their description doesn't help much.  Ordering food off the menu took a lot of time because I like to see what I am about to eat.  When restaurants don't have pictures on their menu, it's hard to decide on what to order or even try "new things".

But if I don't try new things, I won't know if the food is good or bad.  Before sitting down I already knew that I wanted to order the Amaebi Kimchi as for the rest of the other stuff I ordered, I had no expectations whatsoever.  

When the Amaebi Kimchi came out, it was A LOT smaller than what I expected from Benny's picture.  They were only about 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch in length.  And I thought there would be more than just 4.


The comments about the rest of food ordered are captioned under the pictures.

Sushi wise, they only have 2 sushi rolls on the menu, this is NOT the everyday sushi restaurant.  This is a Japanese Tapas restaurant.  When you come in, there is a huge bar and that is the place to be sitting if you want to get the authentic Japanese feel.  

These kind of Tapas bars are very popular in Japan.  After a hard day at work you would find a lot of business men at these Tapas bars enjoying these small snacks with beer and their colleagues.  However, customizing this restaurant to Canadian tastes, they've included tables for your dining pleasure.  

All items on the menu are small plates and there are no entrées, but Vancouver, we eat these like share plates.  This is another great way to enjoy this restaurant and try everything on the menu.  

If you come here, don't be the designated driver, to get full pleasure out of the food you definitely need to order the Sapporo Beer to complement the food.  Don't sissy out with water~!  In Japan, train stations are close and convenient so everyone can get drink and eat.  However, in Vancouver, our heavy drinking and driving laws, Suika's sort of in the middle of nowhere and it's hard for everybody "tank" out and drink -OH(alcohol) with your meal.   

The items here are quite expensive, but you're paying for the ambiance, because when you're in here you feel like you're not in Vancouver anymore with the Japanese waitress and decor.  

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Stonegrill at the Met

Ambiance: Clean, feels like a diner or a Red Robbins

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats, no wait time. 

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: 

Lobster Chipotle Panini
$11.00

Stone Grill Lobster
Vegetables sides and Potato
$26.00

Personal Remarks:  Waste of time, Waste of Money! This is a poser fine dining restaurant.  

I'm going to get right onto reviewing the food.  The Panini and side yam fries was disgusting. The yam fries were cold and stale the panini itself was just so bare bones.  It was like frozen seafood from Costco or Superstore with some cheese.  It was not good.  Biggest waste of $11.00.

The "Stone" gimmick is so overrated.  The cheapness of the sides made this so unappetizing.  Powder mashed potatoes and the cheapest assortment of vegetables made this so disgusting.  The stupid garnish did nothing for me.

The thing that frustrated me the most is that all the sides seemed like they were fresh out the microwave and the lobster is going to be cooked in front of me.  But it took nearly 30 minutes for the food to reach the table.  In fact the restaurant was not busy at all either.  My assumption is it took them 5 minutes to get everything ready but they dragged on the time so it seems like they actually prepare the food fresh or they're just waiting for the food to defrost.

Nothing about the food made me want to come back.  I'm glad that the stone does work and the lobster got cooked.  After feeling so ripped off, next time I want lobster, I'm going to T&T and buy a fresh one from the tank then grill that baby in front of me.  It will only cost me $13.00 only and I don't just get the tail.    

Value: 0/5 Overall: 1/5

The Red Wagon

Ambiance: Hipster, downplayed vibe, like an "I don't care" basic feel

Seating/Wait time: Busy during lunch, there is a communal table for singles, not many seats in the restaurant


Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service!


Crowd: Anyone


Meal: 

Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich
Pickled vegetables, jalapeno, cilantro, mayo, baguette, chips
$10.50

Personal Remarks:  With the spectacular reviews and recommendations I was expecting to have my mind BLOWN***.  Instead, it was just ~meh!  But don't hate me Red Wagon, I'll be back to try something else, hopefully, I'll get mind F***** the second time around.


It was the boys day, and we decided to come here and see what all the buzz was about.  It was recommended that there is nothing worth trying here unless it had pork on it.  There were only 2 choices, this crispy pork sandwich or the pancakes.  We came here at 2:00pm.  It felt too late for pancakes so we all ordered a crispy pork sandwich.

The menu didn't have pictures so we had no idea what to expect.  It turns out a western crispy pork belly sandwich means the same thing as a Vietnamese bun.  Not impressed!


Paying $10.50 for a Vietnamese sandwich, it better be freaking amazing.  It just wasn't, I could have went next door and ordered 3 and got a discount on the 3rd sandwich for the same price.  

The crispy pork belly is what you would get at a Chinese butcher shop up the street at John's Market .  Except here they cut the meat away and you just get the skin and fat.  


This is a simplified Vietnamese sandwich, the only difference is, they use "crispy pork belly".  The bun wasn't toasted like a Vietnamese sandwich and by the time the chips came out, they were cold.  


This dish was extremely fatty and when you're eating it you can feel the fat drip down your hands.  The taste is there, but it's definitely not worth $10.50.


I would not order this dish again, and I don't recommend you trying it either.   The ingredients are so simple that you're better off making this yourself at home.   For the same price you can re-create this dish yourself.  


Let's do the math, you order the Vietnamese sandwich next door for $3.75, go to John's Market to buy the crispy pork belly for $5.00.  You go home and replace the meat from the Vietnamese sandwich, cut out only the skin and fat and stick that into your Vietnamese sandwich.  You not only saved money, but you have leftover meat for later.  The chips here are nothing special anyways.  You can use the left over money to buy yourself a drink up too.


You are better off trying another dish on the menu.

Value: 2/5 Overall: 3/5