Scout magazine reported that they are expected to open this weekend on Saturday, May 25, 2013. If you haven’t tried Lucky’s Doughnuts yet, checking out the new store is a perfect excuse to indulge.

 I love ramen, but I’m always stuck in a rut and order the miso version. This time I branched out and tried the toroniku shio ramen ($13). The shio broth was simple and lovely. You could really taste the salty pork flavour in this broth and it had a creamy element to it. I’m glad I tried it because I really enjoyed it.

The noodles were springy and bouncy and there was enough of them to fill me up.

The toroniku ramen is served with all of the toppings on the side and it comes with pork jowl meat instead of the regular meat they use.

The pork jowl was ridiculously tender and fatty. It just disintegrates in your mouth. It’s like pork butter. The rest of the toppings were the same as the other bowls of ramen and I just dumped them all in my soup.

This visit made me see why people are obsessed with Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. Although the toroniku ramen is expensive, the meat is excellent and it is worth a try, at least once.

Recommendation:

Yes, for amazing ramen and pork jowl.

The festival will be running at BC Place Stadium from:

May 24 – 2pm – 9pm

May 25 – 10am – 9pm

May 26 – 10am – 5pm

Tickets to the festival cost $16 at the door, or $14 if you buy online. You can read more about the vendors and specific schedules on the EAT! Vancouver website.

I visited the Richmond Night Market this weekend with my Mom so I could compare it to the Summer Night Market.

Habanero Taco Grill is new to the night market this year and they sell a few different types of tacos. Habanero Taco Grill contacted me before the night market opened and ask me if I would come by and try a complimentary taco.

I got one slivered beef and one chicken marinado taco.

The slivered beef is made with sautéed seasoned beef, caramelized onions, and cilantro covered in a rich avocado sauce and Mexican crema. Every bite of this taco was delicious. The meat was very tender and had tons of flavour. I loved how creamy and rich the avocado and Mexican crema sauces made the taco.

The chicken marinado taco is made with shredded chicken in a chipotle tomato sauce with avocado and cilantro topped with a smooth green sauce, Mexican crema, and cheese. This taco was good, but not special. I preferred the beef one over this one.

Mogu is a food truck located in Vancouver that sells Japanese inspired street eats. They are also new to the night market this year. I’ve visited them before and I liked their food.

My mom and I shared the large size sweet and spicy chicken karaage ($7). This comes with five large pieces of chicken covered in a sweet chili sauce.

The batter was light and crunchy and the chicken was very juicy. This tasted really good, but a couple of the pieces were undercooked. I got sick after visiting the night market and I’m suspicious that the undercooked chicken is what caused it. It is a shame that this happened, because taste wise, this was actually my favourite item.

There was also a ramen stand, called Sho Ramen, that I had previously not noticed. I was going to get a cold, icy dessert, but since it was rainy, windy and cold out, I wanted some warming soup.

I got the miso tonkotsu ($5) soup. It was a bit challenging to eat while walking, but it was manageable.

The noodles were actually better than I was expecting. They weren’t the dried instant noodles and they had a good bouncy texture.

The toppings were also good. It was filled with corn, green onion, nori, bean sprouts, and some sliced pork. The portion of pork was tiny, but then again, the soup was only $5.

The broth was a bit bland and could have used some more depth and richness. This ramen was good, but don’t expect restaurant quality.

Wanting to try something different, I hit up the Korean food stand.

I got the spicy rice cakes ($5). They freshly made a new batch so these were very hot and fresh.

The rice cakes were thick and chewy. The spicy sauce got my nose running and it had great flavour. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have got this and ramen because I had so many carbs I thought I would die. This dish is very filling and best shared with a few people if you want to sample other items.

I can’t go to the night market and not get bubble waffles, so we stopped at QQ Egg Puff. This stand has more flavours than the other stand at the market and the logo is super cute.

I got the mango egg puff ($4.50). This waffle had a great texture. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The mango flavour was pretty strong and it had a sweet fragrant taste. My Mom ordered the coconut flavoured one and I still think that one is my favourite.

I had a good time at the Richmond Night Market, until I got sick after. This wasn’t all of the vendors faults though, and I would still probably return, I would just be more careful about the food that I eat.

Recommendation:

Yes, for a fun event with street food.

The ordering process here is very confusing. They have a separate menu for take out and for eating at the bar. I wanted to get some sushi to-go, but I had to sit at the bar and order it to go and they couldn’t take my order at the counter. It was all very weird and confusing and they definitely need a better system.

I ordered the Kona combo plate, which comes with a luau california roll, salmon sashimi, and tuna poke ($13.99). Many of the items on the menu are pretty expensive, but this combo plate is the best deal they have.

The luau California roll is made with jumbo lump crab, avocado, and pineapple. The roll tasted fresh and I liked the addition of the pineapple, but I wish that the pineapple had been a bit more ripe and flavourful.

The salmon sashimi was okay. It wasn’t cut in the best way and I’ve had fresher. I’m used to eating better salmon sashimi in Vancouver, so this item wasn’t great for me, but it was edible.

Lastly, the tuna poke was my favourite. Tuna poke is made with cut up tuna sashimi and it is mixed with a sauce and served with littler crackers or chips. Here they had wonton crisps, which I think was a good choice with the tuna. The tuna was in a spicy and creamy sauce and it was great. If I came back here, I think I would just get an order of that.

My experience here wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t bad, it was just a bit unorganized. Overall the food quality is decent, but I’m spoiled with incredible Vancouver sushi, so the only item that stood out to me was the tuna poke. There aren’t many sushi places on the Disney properties though, so it is fine if you just want to get your fix and you aren’t expecting the best sushi of your life.

Recommendation:

Yes, for tuna poke, but no for sashimi.

Like the Be Our Guest restaurant, the theming is from Beauty and the Beast. From the outside it looks like a quaint little tavern and the inside is like a man cave. It has a massive fire place with big chairs, wooden tables, taxidermy, and of course, large pictures of Gaston.

LeFou’s Brew ($4.49) is a special drink made with frozen apple juice, toasted marshmallow flavouring, and topped with passion fruit mango foam. This drink is delicious and something more special than all of other drinks in the park.

The apple slush is sweet and combined with the toasted marshmallow flavour, it tastes like a liquified caramel apple. I’m not sure why it tastes like caramel, but it does, and its delicious. The passion fruit mango foam is a nice touch. It adds a interesting foamy texture on top and it gives the drink another fruity layer.

This drink is a must try if you want something sweet that will also cool you down.

The main food item that they sell at Gaston’s Tavern is a roasted pork shank ($9.50). This is a similar idea to the popular turkey legs that you see around the park as it is a large chunk of meat and you eat it straight off the bone.

I love a good turkey leg, but as soon as I tried the pork shank I was converted. The pork meat is super moist and it is fall off the bone tender. Being roasted on the bone added so much flavour to the meat. There were some fatty pieces, but the fat just added to the deliciousness.

I loved both the pork shank and the LeFou’s Brew drink. The theming of Gaston’s Tavern is also special and it was just an all around good experience.

Recommendation:

Yes, for a great drink and a meaty meal.

I came here with my friend Melissa after telling her about it for weeks. The owners are super nice and were talking to us while we were there. They told us about some upcoming changes that will be coming to the restaurant. Their one year anniversary is in June and after this point, they are redoing the menu to focus more on sushi items and less on the cooked kitchen items, because that is what they want to specialize in. The sushi here is special, so I think that is a good move on their part.

I love the simplicity of the seared yam roll and how delicately it is made (it’s not on the menu, but you can just ask them to sear it). The roll is filled with small slices of tempura yam, avocado, and cucumber. On top they put this spicy creamy sauce and then sear it. This is a great vegetarian option and one of my favourites when I come here. It is also significantly cheaper than the special rolls and still very tasty.

The house roll is filled with crab, tuna, salmon, and avocado and then topped with the same spicy, creamy sauce and then torched. Once again, this roll is not overly complicated, but it was very delicious. When the ingredients are super fresh and good quality, sushi doesn’t need to be fancy to taste good. This is definitely a new favourite.

The oceanwiser roll is one of their specialty rolls that is filled with marinated salmon belly , cucumber, and shrimp and then topped with more salmon and avocado. There is also a drizzle of some sort of black sesame sauce.

This roll was super creamy from the avocado and had a smooth cool texture from all of the salmon. The addition of sauce to the roll added a nice moisture and hints of flavour, but still allowed the main ingredients of salmon and avocado to be savoured.

The goodbye yellow brick roll is filled with crab, yam tempura, shrimp and cucumber. It is then topped with mango salsa and a mango and raspberry drizzle.

I really like the sweetness that the mango and raspberry sauces added to the dish. It wasn’t over powering, but it was definitely present. The mango salsa had a bit of spice to it, which helped to offset the sweetness of the other sauces.

The roll itself was also great. Nothing inside of it really stood out flavour wise, but everything tasted great together. I especially loved the bit of crunch that the yam tempura added.

The seared tuna toro nigiri is another one of my favourite items I always end up getting when I’m here. It is a must try if you come here.

Like always, the tuna toro was incredibly tender and it almost melts in your mouth. The searing adds a wonderful smokey flavour that goes really well with the tuna.

Once again, I was very pleased with my experience at Sushi K Kamizato. It’s rare when you can have a meal where you order a bunch of items and everything was equally delicious. I will definitely continue to come here on a regular basis.

Recommendation:

Yes, for the best sushi in the Tri-Cities.