Maruchu

Maruchu is a hidden away little gem in the middle of Richmond, near the same complex as where Hon's used to be.....used to be, that's still weird for me that the Hon's in Richmond is now closed. Anyway, Maruchu is quite possibly the only authentic Japanese BBQ place in town where you grill your own meat. It's kind of funny when I say authentic, because it's not really authentic to Japan. This style of BBQ is the Japanese interpretation of Korean BBQ, it's the way Japanese do Korean BBQ.....if that makes any sense at all.

I really like the atmosphere here - it's small and cozy, it doesn't try too hard to be trendy, and I feel comfortable as if I were at home. The ventilation is great, however after you leave, your clothes smell like your food, but that's all part of the experience and I wouldn't have it any other way.


These hours are from a few years ago, I'm not sure if they're still on this schedule.
P-Toro, pork belly, the fattiest and most glorious part of the pig. I love this stuff. but if you eat it all the time, it will take years off your life.
Tamago soup
P Toro
Negi shio kalbi
Tofu Salad
Tare Kalbi
Tare something - Forgot the name, tasted like marinated kalbi in cube form....oishi.


Stone bowl bibimba
Pork Liver


Honetsuki - Kalbi with bone
Remen - cold noodles




As I said, Maruchu is not a big restaurant with limited seating, and as a result, the place is often crowded and it's hard to get a seat. It's also no wonder because the meat here is really fresh, the maritated dishes taste great, and the servers work really hard and fast to get you the food.

Zakkushi

Zakushi first opened up shop on Denman near Robson as a little Japanese BBQ/grill place. It was a noisy little place filled with BBQ smoke and poor poor ventilation. After my first visit, my ears were ringing, my clothes stank of BBQ meat, I had a nice full stomach, and I was probably a little drunk......I loved it! It really reminded me of some of the places I went to when I was in Japan, and the nostalgia really hit me. This was all part of the charm, but some winy customer probably complained to health and safetly official now it's a lot less smokey - in fact, there's no smoke at all.

Since then, they've opened a few more shops and the one I usually go to now is the one on 4th Avenue near Burrard Street. It's a cozy little place, but the problem is, there's very little seating and the place is always full. Still, despite all that, I still like to go there as I don't have to fight through downtown traffice to get there. Sake to go with the snacks....actually, should be the other way around....snacks to go with the sake, but I guess we just don't drink that much...
Tako-wasa, one of my favourite drinking snacks.
Gomae

Bacon-wrapped asparagus and p-toro (pork belly) More P-toro goodness.
Beef carpaccio....I think.
Ahi-tuna salad
Chicken karaage
Grilled shishamo, a nice alternative to the typical deep-fried variety often found in crappy all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurants. This really is one of the ultimate companions to sake or beer.
I think this was black cod.

More p-toro
Tori-kawa

Beef stew - something that tastes like home. Mentaiko kimchi udon.

My friends and I have gone to Zakkushi on numerous occasions, even booked the whole place and had a few birthday parties there. The prices are reasonable for a drinking establishment. I personally don't go there to get full, but it's a defintely a pretty cool place to have a few drinks.