this post is filed under Cuisine - Japanese, Location - Vancouver
So since my last visit, Hapa Izakaya has gone through some renovation. They took over the place next door and the space is now considerably larger. The new area, like the rest of the restaurant, is beautiful, and has been integrated very well. Sleek dark wood, minimalist furniture, and a hiply-dressed (not to mention cute) waitstaff give the place a cool, modern vibe. The menu has also enlarged a bit, and includes everything I can remember from the old menu plus a number of new additions. The place is bustling, but thankfully the prices remain very reasonable. We actually went on New Year's Eve - wow, I sure am behind with these photos...
kobe beef tataki with special blend barley miso dip, seared at the table - C$9.8
nama harumaki - fresh rice noodle stuffed with crab, avocado, mayo & lettuce - C$6.8
aburi shime saba - fresh marinated mackerel, seared at the table - C$6.8
They really enjoy breaking out the flamethrower in a can at Hapa, and I must admit I enjoy the show. The tableside searing also ensures the dish is hot when you eat it, which can often be a problem with tataki dishes. The beef tataki was really great - more rare than it appears in the photo, as it was only seared on the top side. It had a very nice, soft texture that went well with the accompanying sauce. The nama harumaki was sort of like a very strange play on a California roll, and was also quite good. The rice noodle wrapping was the perfect counterbalance for the mayo-ey mix inside. The saba was great just like last time. We noticed this time that the yogurt (or something - not sure what it is) sauce with the salad on the side was good for killing off what little fishiness remained after the searing. I think this is still Geoff's favorite dish here; then again, he is a saba lover and I am not.
ebi chilli omelet - egg omelet topped with deep-fried shrimp and chilli sauce - C$6.8
negitoro - fresh tuna belly, chopped with spring onions, served with toasted garlic bread - C$6.8
The ebi omelet was by far the weakest dish of the night. It tasted pretty much like shrimp with scrambled eggs, a very typical Chinese combination. The "chilli" sauce should more accurately be called tomato sauce, and a pretty bad one at that. It's too bad they drenched the entire dish in it. The negitoro was good - a little more complicated than a sushi-style negitoro in its flavor, but appropriate for this type of eating (lots of small dishes) and a good match with the bread.
ishi-yaki - rice, minced pork, garlic sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce, spicy miso cooked in a Korean hot stone at the table - C$7.8
cod roe gratin - C$5.4
Ishi-yaki was the third repeat dish (along with the saba and negitoro), so I already knew what to expect - hot, flavorful, textured rice with tasty ingredients. The cod roe gratin was delicious. The gratin changes every day, and I guess it was just our lucky that we got cod roe. I'm not sure what the deal is with cod roe, but so far it's 2 for 2, considering this dish and the mentaiko udon I had at Gyoza King. Actually, Hapa also has mentaiko udon on their menu - it's on my to try list. Anyway, back to the gratin. A wonderful, cheesy, flavorful mix that also had some vegetables in there. My only complaint is that we didn't have a loaf of baguette or something to eat it with. We had to settle for the ishi-yaki, which had too much flavor of its own to be used as normal rice, and some remnants of the garlic bread from the negitoro. The gratin was probably too salty to eat by itself, but mixed with some kind of carbs it is just delicious. I could make a meal of it with a bowl of white rice.
annin tofu - almond-scented coconut and milk pudding, topped with maple syrup - C$3.5
Somehow we had a bit of room for dessert. We almost ordered the panna cotta (I love panna cotta!), but the waitress suggested we try the annin tofu, which she said was much better and sounded very interesting anyway. Turned out to be a great decision. This pudding was rich and creamy without being overly filling or sweet, and screamed almond flavor. One might even call it refreshing after all the food we ate. Good stuff!
So I've heard a few negative comments about Hapa randomly around the net, but we had a good experience. One minor misstep worth noting is that the timing of the dishes coming out wasn't very good - after the first few, a lot of them sort of came out at the same time, and we couldn't really keep up. We managed though, and the food was good. Just don't get the ebi omelet...
Hi Arthur,
That meal sounds great. We really wanted to try this place out when we were in Vancouver last, but couldn't fit it in. I think we may need to take another trip up there to check it out!posted by megwoo on February 18, 2005 12:54 PM
Definitely try it next time! Not only for the food, but the room too.
posted by Arthur on February 24, 2005 03:50 PM
Hi Arthur - Thank you for leaving a comment on my site. I love your site, it makes me feel homesick a lot! Look forward to reading your coming posts.
posted by keiko on February 27, 2005 08:58 AM
Thanks for coming, Keiko. I too miss Japan, though it was never my home!
posted by Arthur on March 2, 2005 10:59 PM
Hi Arthur -
Just read both your reviews of our place - appreciate the honest feedback and for taking the time out to try us a second time while you were in town.Just noticed a comment from "Fred" who wrote after your first visit. It caught me a little off guard to say the least. I'm not sure I actually had the "pleasure" of meeting this gentleman. For starters, while I may look like a "white guy", I'm actually a fourth generation "hapa" (half) Japanese Canadian. As far as me mentioning that I was the owner "seven times", that's reeeally odd. The only time I will mention it is if I am directly asked. While having a restaurant makes me somewhat of a public figure (and open to criticism from people who don't know me), I have to admit it's a little disheartening to hear a comment such as the one Fred offered. The person he described certainly wasn't me.
Oh, just wanted to touch on your comments regarding timing of the dishes. To put it bluntly, we don't do "timing". Izakaya style food comes out as soon as it's humanly possible to get to the guest. We have five different stations getting dishes out and what a guest orders will often dictate the speed of delivery. For example, our fish station can get out the sushi/sashimi based items much quicker than say the fry station where only a finite amount of chicken or ebi can be fried at one time. Having said that, your server should have taken notice of the amount of dishes you ordered, the size of your table and either staggered the orders going in or at least mentioned to the chefs that "table C is pretty full - hold back on the saba for ten minutes".
Anyways, that's my two cents worth. Please say "hi" next time you're in Vancouver. Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Justin
posted by justin ault on March 22, 2005 08:41 PM
Hi Justin - great to hear from you! I think it must be a first for a restaurant owner to comment on here. I wasn't sure what to think of Fred's comment either - I do think I've seen you in the restaurant, and you seem like a nice enough guy. :)
As for the timing, it wasn't a major problem. The food was still great, and hey, it was New Year's Eve! I'm sure I'll be back again the next time I'm in Vancouver.
posted by Arthur on March 27, 2005 02:53 PM
I am flying up to Vancouver with my family this weekend. We love trying new Japanese restaurants in every city we visit. Can you recomend several sushi and izakaya restaurants. We are spending 5 days in Vancouver.
posted by victor on July 19, 2006 09:55 PM
Gyoza King, Hapa, and Guu for izakayas. Ajisai for sushi. You can do a search for them all at the top left corner of the page.
posted by Arthur on July 21, 2006 04:38 AM