(No website found at time of publishing) – Cambie Street & 15th, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada
How I heard of this place: Roya and Martin were craving Japanese fare and considering the area of town we were in, Bayan selected Japanese Restaurant Shiro.
Type of cuisine: Japanese food – soba or udon noodles, donburi, sunomono, tempura, maki, sashimi, temaki, etc.
Ambiance: Walking in, through two panels of fabric and between two tall cubicle walls, you are greeted by the staff from all over the restaurant – behind the sushi bar and throughout the space. The space includes a sushi bar as well as table and chairs nestled closely together in the small establishment. Dark chairs and tables are decorated with napkins, chopsticks and small side plates for soy sauce/wasabi.
What I ordered: We had three orders of miso soup ($1.25 each), one order of assorted sashimi ($13.25), one of the katsu don ($6.50) of pork and egg on rice. I ordered the spicy tuna roll ($4.25), smoked salmon roll ($4.15) and an asparagus/ebi roll ($4.75) with boiled asparagus and prawn, rolled in sushi rice with masago and mayonnaise. Our two dining companions ordered one asparagus/ebi roll, two smoked salmon rolls, one salmon cone ($2.95) with mayonnaise, a California roll ($4.30) with real crab, avocado and masago, and a small dynamite roll ($5.95) with prawn tempura, rice and seaweed.
What I loved: The spicy tuna was my favorite of the sushi options. The katsu don was also very tasty, full-flavored and perfectly crispy.
Why I loved it: The food is delicious, the service friendly and the food amazingly fresh!
Cost: Average ($4-$20 depending on the rolls, cone or dish selected)