I have been to this restaurant recently, or rather their first BC downtown location and was impressed. So when their second location opened up by my place I didn’t hesitate to go. It is nice that the Burnaby area by Brentwood is expanding with a mall face life and the boutique-like restaurant options to match.
I met up with @misseileensoo for dinner. And seeing as this was her first time visiting the chain, I took the ordering reigns. We started with a large warm sake as we were celebrating. She wanted to treat me for my birthday and who was I to decline such an offer?
Already knowing how dense a bowl full of tempura can be, we decided to share one serving and accented it with fresh appetizers. I went with one that I have yet to try from my last visit. The Seafood Tendon is 2 Prawns, 1 Squid, 1 Sole Fish, 1 Seaweed, 2 French Beans, 1 Baby Corn, 1 Lotus Root, and Ikura (Salmon Roe) over rice with their Kohaku Tendon Sauce. It was the same consistent, lightly battered and fried tempura as before. With half the fun still being able to sort through each element and pair it with the perfect bite of rice. Rice that gave the dish a base and its saucy flavour. Although as great as this was, a highly recommend ordering sides with it for balance.
Every main comes with a serving of pickled ginger and traditional Japanese miso soup. The soup is prepared with seaweed, abura-age tofu, and green onion.
For additional sides we turned to the Tuna Tataki, which is gently seared tuna in a citrus sauce. Be warned you don’t get too many pieces, and are basically paying for the quality. At $8.50 an order and $2.12 a piece I expected more. The latter is basically the price of a nigiri, each. And here we were only getting a slice of tuna that did nothing to really fill us. But at least it offered us the reprieve from all the deep fried above, that we so needed.
Similarly we got more greens from the Sashimi Salad. Considering this had more elements, this side at $9.75 felt a little more worth it. Mixed green with salmon and tuna sashimi, cherry tomato, and mixed seeds, served with Japanese sesame dressing. It was a lovely side salad. The citrus vinaigrette was similar to the above, with the freshness of the greens and the crunch of the nuts for texture.
For dessert we had their Japanese soft cheesecake served with housemade strawberry coulis. I have already had this, but for those who haven’t it is a must try. Served in a cute cup with shovels for spoons, you dig up the fluffy cheese cake to reveal a centre of jelly. Sweet, yet mild for a nice subtle note to end on.
We were so ambitious that we also ordered two of their milk tea drinks; served in jars, with pop top lids that your crack open and fit a straw through, like with soft drinks. Each beverage is made with 100% organic milk. The Hokkaido milk tea is your classic milk tea beverage. Where as there is no missing the honey dew in the Japanese crown melon milk.
In conclusion, I am happy to have such a trendy spot in Burnaby. This speaks to the grow of the area and the need for such social businesses to expand out of the downtown core. With this and many more such restaurants opening, I am hoping my friends will come to me in Burnaby more; instead of me driving to them in Vancouver.
Tendon Kohaku Brentwood
1901 Rosser Ave #106b, Burnaby, BC V5C 6R6
(604) 973-1912
kohakutendon.com
