Rajio Japanese Public House

Date night at Rajio in Kitsilano 

Took me a while to write about Rajio Japanese Public House located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. I have been procrastinating due to the lovely weather were having in Vancouver (it only started to get nice and hot after Canada Day). I've been too busy enjoying the sun and attending barbecues. So here it is Rajio -  a quaint little tapas restaurant opened by the same restaurant group who owns Suika and Kingyo. T was the one who told me about this restaurant because a friend of his was at Rajio not too long ago to try out their famous 1kg Steak. This got me curious because I love steak and I wanted to see how big a 1kg steak was and how much of it I could eat!

Seasoned Raw Cabbage - Hamachi Sashimi - Tuna Ceviche

We started with some appetizers first. We got a complimentary bowl of seasoned raw cabbage and we ordered a plate of Hamachi sashimi and a Tuna Ceviche. Both the Hamachi and Tuna Ceviche was delicious no complaints there, but the bowl of raw cabbage was way too salty. I would of liked it better if they hadn't put so much sauce on the cabbage.   

Whenever there's oyster on the menu I will always order a dozen or two. Since T and I were going to tackle the 1kg steak we decided to share a dozen raw oysters. The oysters arrived on a bed of ice and they were topped with green onion and a jelly-like sauce (which I have no idea what it was). The oysters were very fresh my only complaint is that there weren't enough wedges of lemon! Three slices of lemon isn't enough for 12 oysters. 

And... finally the famous Super Rib Steak! After all the appetizers and oysters I was surprised that T and I was able to eat more then half of this gigantic 1kg steak! The steak was cooked fairly well, the inside was medium rare - very juicy and tender. Closer to the outside of the steak it was slightly over-cooked, but still not too bad. I loved how they served it with wasabi - a very good replacement  for horse radish. I was totally satisfied with my meal at Rajio and I packed the rest of the steak to-go for E because I knew she would enjoy it. I would probably come back to Rajio just so I can try the rest of their menu. As for the 1kg steak, I think it's a one-time dish for me, unless my friends want to order it. The place is small so make sure you make a reservation or go early!

Bye for now.

The Joy of Reading

We love to read, don't you?

Update July 9 2013

E bought this for me because she knows I am a big fan of James Rollins. The Eye of God is his newest book, I didn't think he would have another book published so fast since he just released The Blood Gospel not too long ago. I enjoyed this book a much better read then Dan Brown's Inferno, but still not as action packed as his other books. I also though the ending wasn't as powerful as his other Sigma Force novels. Overall an enjoyable read.

Update May 3 2013

The second installment to The Selection was a bit of a downer. There wasn't enough excitement for me to look forward to the third book. America turned out to be super indecisive and meek and the Prince wasn't as princely anymore after his little rendezvous with Celeste.

Update April 26 2013

I got a chance to read an E-Book that was written by a friend of mine. I was still in Hong Kong at the time of his E-Book launch and I must say I am super proud of him for writing and publishing his very first book! The title of the E-Book is How to Ice Skate: Beginner's Guide by Ben Cheung. Ben has been ice skating since he was a little youngster and he has been a professional ice skating instructor in Vancouver for more than 10 years. How to Ice Skate: Beginner's Guide does a great job covering all the basics of ice skating from the types of safety gear to balancing and being confident on the ice. I remember the first time I learned how to ice skate was in elementary school, where all the younger kids were given a cone and off we went. As a kid falling down was no big deal, but the older I got the fear of falling down became more irrational. What I liked about this particular skating guide was that it covered balancing techniques off the ice and on the ice. I also learned how to "fall down" properly without injuring my wrists or my tailbone. I would of wished for more visuals but overall I thought it was a pretty good skating guide and as a beginner myself I found it quite easy to follow the tips and tricks.

Probably some spoilers

So I finally got my hands on the second book of Mara Dyer, E and I were looking for it while we were in Hong Kong. I was so excited when Chapters Indigo sent me a post card with 500 Plum Points for my birthday, so I immediately went to Chapters after visiting my coworkers at work to drop off some Tim Hortons. I was actually very excited to read the second installment of Michelle Hodkin's The Evolution of Mara Dyer. I must say, it kind of surprised me a little bit with the way she chose to develop the story. Now I am more curious to see how the story is going to end. It's not a bad second book, it makes you want to read the third one just so you can find out if Noah really did die.

Some of these books were from a thrift store - Peony in Love, The Hunger Games, Private, The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle (I am trying to collect all of Nicholas Sparks' books)

The two James Rollins books are Blood Line (which I really enjoyed, more so than The Devil Colony) and The Blood Gospel. Whats really interesting about The Blood Gospel is that he co-wrote it with Rebecca Cantrell. But here's the thing... James Rollins finally jumped into the "Vampire" bandwagon, I actually had a good laugh about it once I found out the supernatural part of the story was about Vampires. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed The Blood Gospel and he and Rebecca Cantrell did an excellent job of putting a lot of flare and heartache into the story. I can't wait to read a sequel!

I just bought The Choice at 

Commercial Press Books - Jan 14 2013

E lent me The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I can't wait to read the second book!

Oh the joy of reading!

I have never read any of Nicholas Sparks books before, but I have watched his movies The Note Book, The Last Song and The Lucky One. I think what sparked my interest in reading his books was when I saw the movie trailer for Safe Haven during Breaking Dawn Part 2. Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough are both cast as the main characters in Safe Haven and I love them both, so why not read the book first before the movie came out? So after buying Safe Haven the E-book and finish reading it in one day I decided to read some of other Nicholas Sparks books just for kicks, and I must say I enjoyed all of them! 

I also bought these E-books during my trip to read at coffee shops while I waited for friends to get off work. I loved most of Jodi Picoult's books, they are always a good read. As for Julie Kagawa I have read all of her Iron Fey series before I left on my trip. The Iron Fey series was a fun and light read and she ended the series with a short story called Iron's Prophecy, which I thought was great because it gave me a sense of closure for her 3 main characters. So, because I enjoyed her Iron Fey series so much I decided to read her newest series called The Immortal Rules, which in my opinion wasn't as good. The book is about vampires, zombie-like vampires and humans living in a corrupted and diseased post-apocalyptic world. The Immortal Rules reminded me of Vampire Diaries mixed with I am Legend the movie and a dash of The Book of Eli.

I bought this book Unsaid by Neil Abramson at the giant book store located inside Hyson and I loved it! Neil if you're reading this, I know you're a very busy lawyer but please write more books.

I bought this book at the Commercial Press in Causeway Bay and I am currently reading it. I loved all of Mitch Albom's books (The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, For One More Day). I think after reading this I might as well pick up his other novel The Time Keeper. Buying books in Hong Kong is slightly cheaper than Vancouver, I save on the tax and the exchange rate is in my favour.

Kamei Baru - Grand Opening

This past Thursday Kamei Baru had their Grand Opening event! 

The Kamei Group has been around since 1972 and it's nice to see that they are continuously expanding. E and I got a chance to attend this event, and when we got there the place was super busy. Surprisingly we bumped into some old friends that we haven't seen for a very long time! 

The traditional Sake Breaking is suppose to bring good fortune and harmony to the establishment. After the Sake Breaking, shots of it was passed out to all the guests 

It was a busy night, a lot of bloggers attended the event and it was quite nice to meet some of them and put a face to the food blogs I read and follow! There were a lot of tapas being served that night. It was hard trying to snap pictures of everything since the servers were so busy serving all the hungry guests. I think what E and I liked the most about  this event was that they had an oyster bar upstairs. The oysters were all freshly shucked and served with lemon, green onion and a ponzu sauce. They also had an endless supply of wine and sake too! Overall it was a good night the staff was really friendly and the tapas were delicious. We also got a gift-certificate and a VIP card to use the next time we dine at Kamei Baru.

Enjoy, because we sure did.

Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House

Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House – There’s something for everyone!

South Granville is located mere minutes from downtown Vancouver, and is easily accessible from all over the Lower Mainland. South Granville is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, and as such it is rife with history. You’ll find the Stanley theatre, one of Vancouver’s most iconic and historic buildings, mixed in with a myriad of more modern fare. This bustling neighbourhood is well-known for being one of Vancouver’s premier shopping districts. As you walk amongst the plethora of businesses you’ll find great boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and quaint little cafés. Nestled in the heart of it all is where you will find Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House.

The newly renovated restaurant opened in the summer of 2011, and features a bright and modern interior. Diners will be seated in a spacious and beautifully decorated dining area with an exquisite stone fire place as the center piece and delicate orchids lining the bay windows.

Natural light streams in from the large floor to ceiling windows and opens up the dining room area, providing diners with a relaxing atmosphere as they enjoy their meal. For those that enjoy watching their meal be put together, they can choose to be seated near the hustle and bustle of the sushi bar - where Kyo’s chefs prepare the fresh seafood, and put together delicate pieces of sushi.

Kyo provides two menu options for diners to choose from: an A-La Carte menu for those who know exactly what they want, and an All-You-Can-Eat menu for those who want a little bit of everything. The All-You-Can-Eat menu has a variety of Japanese and Korean appetizers such as tako and ebi sunomono or kimchi and sweet and sour radish. Kyo’s All-You-Can-Eat menu also features an extensive selection of maki style sushi rolls as well as specialty rolls and cones. Some of the favourites are the Aburi Salmon and Aburi Hamachi. There’s also fresh salmon, saba, tuna and even tai sashimi as part of the All-You-Can-Eat menu.

If you are not a fan of sushi, fear not! Because Kyo’s All-You-Can-Eat menu offers deep fried or cooked dishes too, as well as a Korean barbeque option. The Korean barbeque option allows diners to get interactive with their dining experience. Each table is equipped with a Korean barbeque where they can grill their own food! For the ones that have a voracious appetite chicken, beef, lamb, and pork are readily available. The meat dishes are pre-marinated in savoury sauces, such as the black pepper beef short ribs and honey garlic pork. If meat is not your thing, there is also a variety of seafood fit for grilling too! There are also vegetable options like eggplant and zucchini for those that want to balance out their meal.

If you’re looking for a place to accommodate large parties and special events, Kyo has three Japanese style rooms and a very large VIP room that can sit up to 50 guests comfortably. The VIP room is great for hosting special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, corporate dinners and just about any kind of large social gathering.

The next time you’re in the neighbourhood, go and watch a show at the Stanley Theatre then grab a bite at Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House. The best part about Kyo is that there’s something for everyone!