Today we were in the area and looking for lunch, so decided to visit Dosanko, a traditional and authentic Japanese bistro that we both liked and haven’t visited in a while.
This is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, who started offering the food they make for themselves at home, commercially to the public. And you can feel the heart they put into their cuisine.
We ordered familiar staples and were able to try some newer menu items during our visit. Starting with their best selling Uni Pasta. Local wild Red Uni (sea urchin) from Fresh Idea Starts Here, House made Tagliatelle style pasta with semolina flour, house uni cream sauce, onion, cream, lemon juice, ikura (salmon eggs), and scallion. This is only available in limited quantities daily, so be sure to call ahead and reserve your bowl before you come down, if needed. These were thick and starchy lengthly noodles, fully coated in this fragrant umami cream. Enjoyable to slurp through the lips, its texture is completely satisfying as -comfort dish.
Another must order is their popular Omu-Rice. This is a Japanese omelette prepared using 6 free range eggs, placed atop of veggie fried rice. You have the ability to further customize your omelette with the likes of cheese, tomato sauce, Hayashi sauce seasoned beef, and/of a Curry sauce pork; all at an additional cost. We took the owner’s recommendation for the cheese and beef, and found all the textures and tastes together amazing. Creamy whipped eggs as soft as pudding, ground beef done in the most gourmand patty possible, and crispy rice at the base of it all.
The practice of eating this is to slice the omelette in half and have its more liquid than solid centre roll down the mound of fried rice it is perched on. To finish it, the Hayashi sauce get drizzled over top ceremoniously. “Hayashi sauce” is a rich and savory Japanese gravy made from sliced beef, onions, and mushrooms, simmered in a demi-glace and tomato-based sauce. This was another homey dish that offered a splash of flair. The texture of the egg and sauce mixed-in gaveq bites a sticky rice quality, heavily soaked in sauce.
Another item I would recommend is their Beef Belly katsu-Sandwich. The Beef belly is panko crusted crispy, before being sandwiched by their housemade bread alongside tonkatsu sauce, organic mustard, and cabbage. Another fantastic bite flavour-wise and texturally. The meat was equal parts crispy and juicy, the bread soft, and the vegetable crispy. If all came together so harmoniously.
And as full as you are, I recommend finding room for dessert. They have a Molten Chocolate Cake with Matcha lava inside instead of the traditional chocolate. And it is topped with Matcha ice cream on top for a lovely combination of hot and cold matcha flavour. However, by the time to got to it the ice cream managed to cool the cake down and the centre was no longer runny like lava. Nonetheless it was a lovely dessert where the natural sweetness and bitterness of both the chocolate and matcha came together well in a gooey brownie-like bite. Be warned, if wanting to order this yourself, you should do it at the same time at the start of your meal, as there is a 30 minute wait for the cake to be baked to order.
In contrast we also got one of their shaved ice dessert. During the time of our visit they had just switch to more spring inspired flavours so this is their Passion & Merengue Yakigori. Japanese fluffy shaved ice (Kakigori) with Italian Merengue, passion fruit curd, and vanilla ice cream. This comes with some pageantry as an ounce of Triple Sec and Brandy are poured over the peak of meringue over ice, and set a flame to burlee. Where the last dessert was warm and decadent, this was citrusy and refreshing. The egg cream globbed on to the shaved ice, thus allowing it to remain in chunks, and hold its crunch longer to be enjoyed with spoon scoops. The sweet and tart flavours of this dessert ebbs and flows and it is a joy for the mouth.
I have never had a bad meal at Dosanko, and after each visit I am always left wondering why it took me so long to revisit. Definitely a destination restaurant worth driving to if you love home style Japanese food as much as I do.
Dosanko Restaurant
566 Powell St Unit #100, Vancouver, BC V6A 1G9
(604) 251-2020
dosankorestaurant.ca
