Munchie Adventure: Kingyo Izakaya 金魚居酒屋, Downtown Vancouver

After a very satisfactory lunch last time, I decided to bring my friend here for her birthday!! When I got here though, it still wasn't open, they're pretty strict about their opening times I guess, since we got there around 5:23pm, and they open at 5:30pm xD Greeted by a friendly waiter, we were soon seated at a table. (I made reservations earlier, so I guess that helped) There were four of us, so more variety could be ordered! =D

Restaurant: Kingyo Izakaya 金魚居酒屋 (visit their website here)
Location: 871 Denman Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Izakaya, Tapas
Price range: $10-20 per entree




Date of visit: October 1, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

We were so excited!! We already had a few things we wanted to order in mind, but there was also a special menu besides the regular one. First we got a Tako-Wasabi ($3.80), and ordered it half half, so we could try both the raw and cooked versions. We were worried we'd run out of tako, but it turned out to be the opposite. We ran out of seaweed first =P I felt the wasabi flavor was a bit strong for my liking, and I couldn't taste the difference between cooked and raw. Taste was good overall, don't think I'll order it again though.

Then came the Yellowtail and Avocado Carpaccio ($9.80). It was pretty in presentation, but the fish itself wasn't that special. Trying to fit everything in one bite though, gave me a good flavor explosion. It's ok. Kinda small for $9.80 xD

The waitress took our order down wrong, and this came. I would've liked to have it, but being on a student budget, $22.00 for Stone Grilled Kobe Beef was too much-- no matter how amazing it looked.

We actually ordered the Stone Grilled Beef Tongue ($8.20), which was the same amount of fun. And I really liked it. Thinly sliced and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, the beef tongue was tender and had a bit of "crunch" to it. It was really good.

Grilling it was fun too! The rock started to get less hot after a few pieces, so it took longer to cook, but all good.

While we were all being awed by the beef tongue, the My Ebi-Mayo ($8.80) came. It was nice presentation, and the prawns were quite large and fresh. Too much sauce for my liking, not very spicy, and too oily. Had to drown it in lemon juice after a few bites xD

The Chicken Karaage ($7.80) didn't disappoint. It was juicy inside and crispy on the outside. I didn't try the salt, cuz I felt it tasted good on its own. Added a bit of lemon on it, and it was golden.

I wanted to order their "Our Famous Invincible and Undefeated Tan-Tan Noodle" ($8.80), but decided we were at a Japanese restaurant, so we ordered the Clam Ramen ($8.40) on the special menu instead. Personal preference, I don't like clear broth for my ramen, but the others thought it was really good. The ramen was chewy and there were a lot of fresh clams. Soup was a clear shiitake mushroom base I think.

Sushi! We ordered the Pressed Mackerel Sushi ($12.00), which was supposed to be lightly seared, but I couldn't see it. It was really good though. Not as good as Miku's was last time, but pretty good. The mackerel wasn't fishy at all! I was pleasantly surprised.

Around this time, we decided we weren't really full (well, ok, except for me), so we ordered two of the Stone-Grilled "Kakuni Bibimbap" ($9.20). When it came, the waitress mixed it up for us, luckily we had two, so I got a pic of it unmixed =P

I thought it was too salty, and it was agreed upon by the others. "Suika does it better" was what my friend told me.

For dessert we ordered their Salt Caramel Tiramisu ($5.80) (front), I didn't like it. It was way too cakey, tasted more like chocolate cake than tiramisu =/

We also got their Frozen Matcha Creme Brule ($6.80) (back). I really liked this! It was crunchy on the top, and the ice cream bottom was so creamy and smooth. The green tea flavor was well balanced with the cream.

They also gave us frozen grapes on a sticks, looked pretty, and well... they were frozen grapes. That's all =)

Overall, I was disappointed, besides the hilarious "Happy Birthday song" they sang for us. But that's the staff, and not the food. I'd have to say lunch was wayyy better.