DINNER AT SHIBUYA IZAKAYA - Central 16 Ave N

Izakaya is an informal Japanese gastropub. It is a casual place for after-work drinking. Patrons will drink, usually sake or beer, and order tapas to share. Shibuya could be the place as it does have many appetizers and sushi on the menu. This was the third and last leg of the birthday pig-out. I tried to be conservative this year because the sad fact is, as you get older, your body's metabolism slows down. As this was somewhat a last minute choice, only a couple of my friends were able to join me. I wanted to try this place out for their sushi rolls as they have a lot of varieties that does not have avocado in it. I was also here a month ago during lunch on a weekday to try out their ramen too. Before last month, I haven't been here for a long time. When it first opened back in 2007, my friends and I thought it was expensive and the food was okay. Now, the price is comparable to other Japanese restaurants, and the food has gotten way better.

Located along 16th Ave N, just east of Edmonton Trail, it is somewhat difficult to get into if you are traveling west bound on 16th Ave N. You will have to turn left on Edmonton Trail to get in from the back way. Also, parking my be difficult as Bubblemania is a popular place too and there isn't much parking spaces in the lot. As you enter, you get only one person, sometimes a couple of people, yelling the typical Japanese greeting. I know for a fact that most, if not all, of the wait staff are Chinese as I can eavesdrop on what they are saying. The inside of the restaurant is small and modern. The servers were all nice and attentive. As soon as one of our dishes were done, they took it away quickly.

Pictured Lotus Chips $3 and Salmon Isobe Age $8.50

I didn't have a chance to take pictures of all the rolls that we got. Like I said, not many of my friends know I write a food blog, and I don't want to be a typical Asian (other people too) and take lots of food pictures before eating. I do that when I'm on vacation :) This is what we ordered:

Lotus chips ($3) were delightful and very crunchy. They were perfectly seasoned as well. These were on their Specials menu.

Salmon and Tuna Isobe Age ($8.50 each) are simple rolls. We order one of each, salmon and tuna. My friend and I agreed that the salmon tasted better. The salmon and tuna were rolled with green onion in seaweed. The seaweed is dipped in tempura batter and quickly fried. The rolls were a bit crunchy and also small. I couldn't taste the green onion, and it would have been nice to. The sauce it came with was a bit spicy and it went well with the rolls.

Mango Tonkatsu Roll ($8.95) is from the Specials menu. It sounded unique and had a weird combo of ingredients that we decided to order it to try. This roll consists of kale, asparagus, tonkotsu, and mango all rolled together with rice and seaweed. The sauce dotted around the plate was a wonderful mango sauce. We just dipped the pieces in the mango sauce and eat it. There is no need for soy sauce and wasabi here.

Unagi Melody ($15.75) is what my friends order, and it looked good. I can't deny them for avocado. This roll has crispy tempura, avocado, unagi, cucumber, flying fish roe, and mayo.

Saba Blaze ($12.50) was something my friend looked forward to since she remember she liked it so much. This roll is like Nigiri sushi. The rice is rolled around a shiso leaf and a ume plum. A piece of saba (mackerel) is placed on top. When it gets to the table, they torch the top of the saba to give it a nice char. This dish has a fishy taste because of the mackerel, and I could also taste the plum and shiso leaf too.

Shibuya Roll ($13.75) was an additional roll we ordered after we thought there wasn't enough food. We were wrong. We couldn't finish this roll. This roll was another tempura style seaweed roll stuff with unagi, green onion, cream cheese, and cucumber. It had a nice crunch, and the sauce that was drizzled on top was nice and sweet.

Tonkotsu Ramen $12.50 and Chicken Karaage $6.75

From a previous visit, I went in during lunch on a weekday to try their ramen. And of course with the ramen, I wanted something crunchy so I ordered chicken karaage. The chicken karaage was not crunchy. It was very soft which made me think that the chicken was not fully cooked. It looked cooked, and I didn't get sick. The karaage wasn't really seasoned well, and it came with a lemon wedge and a sweet chili dipping sauce which I found weird. The ramen was just ramen as this is not a ramen specialty shop. The ramen has a light and salty pork broth with two pieces of lean char siu. There was half soft-boiled egg, green onion, and a couple sheets of seaweed as well. The ramen is not one of my favourite compared to all the ramens I have tried.

Overall, this place is on my list of sushi places that I can eat at. The service here is quick and attentive. All the sushi that comes with their own sauce don't need the usually soy and wasabi dipping mix. This place is open late and for lunch from Monday to Saturday, and for dinner only on Sundays.

Shibuya Izakaya
449 16 Ave NE
403-277-8823