Wasabi

We frequent this place a lot since it is so close to us AND most importantly it is really good food!

The location of this place is not prime at all. It is right underneath a condominium called The Lions and is facing the high traffic Georgia Street. Most people that would notice this place are probably too busy just driving past it. The atmosphere is also very simple so it may not attract people for that reason as well. The service, however, is exceptional and more than makes up for the simplistic atmosphere. The owners are very warm and personable and always smiling. You definitely feel like you are at their home enjoying some traditional cooking.

The food here is one of the best in the city. The spicy ramen soup is so addictive you will get cravings for it later! It has egg, wonton, spinach, chicken/beef, crab slices and ramen noodles. This soup is like a drug! Another favorite soup is the chicken udon soup. The broth is always very delectable and the udon noodles are super chewy fresh! Besides the soup being beyond amazing, the sushi is also very good. My favorites are the spicy and crunchy combos. The price of one meal is about $10 and the portions are healthy. I really like their gomae and sake. The gomae is the best I've had in the city, it is actually quite fresh and their peanut sauce is crunchy. I am not an expert in sake, however I know that I really enjoyed the sake!

This place is highly recommended by us if you want very good quality sushi and soup.

La Zuppa

Our very cool Chilean friends invited us to this restaurant in North Vancouver. It is a small, intimate restaurant with live Flemenco dancing and music.

The environment is lively and yet relaxing. A nice combination that makes you want to drink some wine and chill out. It is a bit difficult to speak to your dinner mates while the show is on, due to the heavy foot stomping of flemenco, but it didn't bother me. One of the friends that we went with found it a bit annoying though, so if you are sensitive to noise, this place may irritate you. The performers did rely on money from the audience so be prepared to make a small donation, that is well worth it. The service was friendly and fast. At the end of our dinner, we were not rushed to leave at all, in good Latin tradition. They would have even wanted us to stay longer to join in on some singing and dancing.

We started off by ordering a pitcher of Sangria. They do not skimp out on the wine and I assure you, you will not be disappointed with this drink. As a main course, we had four tapas to share between the four of us. A rack of lamb that was well done and served with fig spread. We also had garlic shrimp that was very juicy and well seasoned, cod fish and a Chilean classic, empanadas which done well. Tapas are small dishes so do not expect to be completely full afterwards, however the food tastes good and it gave some room for their desserts. We tried the flan and also a tiramisu cake and had it with expresso. The desserts were home-made and fresh.

The total cost of the meal for four with drinks and dessert included was around $140 which is a bit pricey.

This is a very good place to go for an intimate date or a double date. I will definitely come back again when I am in the mood for an international experience.

Radha Yoga & Eatery

We went to this place with a group of 15 people, 3 of which were herbivores and the rest of us were omnivores and quite inexperienced with the rich vegan vocabulary.

This restaurant is a discreet vegan hideaway located on Main Street near Chinatown. The big blue wooden door lures you to take a peak inside and the tall and narrow creaky stairs framed by yoga inspired art (multi-trunked elephants) lead you to the rustic home-style interior of the restaurant. The old red brick walls, beat up wooden flooring and white Christmas lights give the restaurant a casual and cozy feel. A selection of urban pop and indie rock is what you will hear in this very new-age eatery.

Considering we had such a huge group, I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient the service was. We all got our meals at roughly the same time, which was very impressive! The waiter was knowledgeable of the menu and gave good recommendations on what to order, when asked. This came in handy for me, since most of the menu items seemed very abstract. The price of the food was pretty decent, all appetizers were $8, all meals were $14 and all desserts were $8 and the portions were all big enough to satisfy.

I ordered nori rolls for appetizer, a succotash with amaranth cakes plate for main course and an apricot upside-down cake for dessert. I also had a delicious apricot juice to drink. The nori rolls were made with hempseed stuffing and were very unique to this place, I never had anything quite like them and I really liked them! The succotash dish was very hearty and wholesome. I had never eaten amaranth or knew what amaranth was before this dining experience so this dish opened a whole new world for me. A couple of friends that got the chard rolls were pretty disappointed in their bland taste and I don't blame them, they were really really bland! All people who ordered the cauliflower curry seemed pretty happy and I tried some as well and thought it was very tasty. The apricot upside-down cake was made with spelt flour and was made very well. It was not a typical dessert on any level and tasted a bit like eating very thick bread. I liked it, however some others were a bit disappointed in it.

Overall, I think this is a great place for vegans and vegetarians. I will definitely come back and recommend this restaurant to all of my veggie friends and my non-veggie adventurous friends.