Dine Date: December 15th, 2007
Caroline and I really wanted sushi one Friday night. We were doing some Christmas shopping on Robson street when the hunger bell rang. "Da ding-da ding," it chimed. So we decided to go this neat yakiniku downtown. There are only a hand full of yakiniku restaurants in Vancouver, with Shabusen being one of them. There is also another Shabusen on Grandville (2993 Granville Street).
For those of you who haven't done the yakiniku thang, it's like a Korean BBQ but Japanese style. They have all these prepared meats cut up and you get to grill them right at the table. Personally, when I go out, if I'm paying for my meal, I would rather have someone else cook the meat for me. After you're done grilling, they have this soy sauce mixture that you dip the meat into; very tasty.
That night we didn't have a reservation so we decided just to wait it out even though we knew this place is notorious for huge line ups. We got there at 7:10pm and the host at the door said the wait will be over an hour. So we put our name on the list and came back 30 mins later. We didn't get to eat 'till 8:15pm.
When we got in, we had two dinning options, to eat off the menu or go for the all you can eat option. So we went for the all you can eat, which costs a little under 20 bucks. On the menu was all the regular sushi fare. But when ordering, the number you write on the slip to order refers to the number of sushi pieces and not the number of sushi rolls. One of my favorite items was the deep fried squid rings; it was called Karachi something or other.
I did order some squid to BBQ but it came out awful. I had to hide the squid in bowls so they wouldn't charge me extra for the un-eaten food. I ordered an Alaskan Roll that was rolled as loose as BC Place's inflatable roof. Also I need to mention the bathroom were yucky. A bathroom remodel is in desperate need here. After washing my hands in the washroom, I contemplated holding them over the hot grill to sanitize them.
The service was really fast, which makes me believe they pre-make the sushi head of time instead of having them made to order. Although the sushi rice in the rolls are not dried up like the all you can eat sushi at Richmond Sushi. The fine server man filled my tea cup as soon as I took my last sip. And at the end of the meal, they give you this coffee flavored gelatin dessert topped with simple syrup and this evaporated milk derived sauce.
For $20 bucks, it's a bit on the pricier side, but the sushi is pretty good. Service is fast and the place is always packed. I would come back here again, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here.
Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 5/10
Atmosphere: 4/10 (gross bathrooms)
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