Shibuya Nuts
Shibuya Nuts is an Asian bistro on Denman featuring mainly Japanese cuisine with some Korean and Chinese dishes. Their signature dish is the grumpy pork bibimbap ($9), the famous Korean stone bowl rice. It came with spicy pork and assorted vegetables, and the server mixed it up for us when it came. The rice was moist from the juicy pork and the sauce, and the bean sprouts were fresh and crunchy. The pork was tender and savoury with a piquant spiciness.
I've wanted to try the ham-bak steak ($9) for some time, since I see it all the time in Japanese dramas. It's a pretty common Japanese dish, but its origin stems from the hamburger patty. To be honest, I didn't have very high hopes because the presentation looked just like those food replicas on display. I just didn't think something so picture-perfect and artificial-looking would taste good. Surprisingly the ultra shiny gravy was actually very tasty. The rice was the slightly sticky kind and it was cooked well. The centre of the egg was still raw, but the edges were nice and crispy. The only problem was the beef patty which was a bit overcooked and slightly hard, especially around the edges.
The ham-bak came with a side of salad to balance out the large chunk of meat. The lettuce and the red and green peppers were very crunchy and refreshing.
The ebi curry katsu don ($8) was also quite good with its rich curry sauce, tasty shrimp and breaded pork. It was very thoughtful of them to cut the shrimp up into little bits that added a crunch to the texture.
I wanted to get the spicy tuna roll, but it was sold out, so I tried the ginger unagi roll ($5.50) instead due to the server's recommendation. I think any sushi chef would frown on the presentation because the roll was literally falling apart and the rice was very loosely packed. There were 5 pieces of sushi and they were all different sizes from 1 cm thick to 3 cm thick. Presentation aside though, the combination of ingredients was innovative and pickled ginger went quite well with the savoury eel.
Everything tasted pretty good and the prices were reasonable. The service was very friendly, but a bit slow since there was only one server working the floor. I think this is a great place to have a casual lunch or to share a few tapas with friends.
I've wanted to try the ham-bak steak ($9) for some time, since I see it all the time in Japanese dramas. It's a pretty common Japanese dish, but its origin stems from the hamburger patty. To be honest, I didn't have very high hopes because the presentation looked just like those food replicas on display. I just didn't think something so picture-perfect and artificial-looking would taste good. Surprisingly the ultra shiny gravy was actually very tasty. The rice was the slightly sticky kind and it was cooked well. The centre of the egg was still raw, but the edges were nice and crispy. The only problem was the beef patty which was a bit overcooked and slightly hard, especially around the edges.
The ham-bak came with a side of salad to balance out the large chunk of meat. The lettuce and the red and green peppers were very crunchy and refreshing.
The ebi curry katsu don ($8) was also quite good with its rich curry sauce, tasty shrimp and breaded pork. It was very thoughtful of them to cut the shrimp up into little bits that added a crunch to the texture.
I wanted to get the spicy tuna roll, but it was sold out, so I tried the ginger unagi roll ($5.50) instead due to the server's recommendation. I think any sushi chef would frown on the presentation because the roll was literally falling apart and the rice was very loosely packed. There were 5 pieces of sushi and they were all different sizes from 1 cm thick to 3 cm thick. Presentation aside though, the combination of ingredients was innovative and pickled ginger went quite well with the savoury eel.
Everything tasted pretty good and the prices were reasonable. The service was very friendly, but a bit slow since there was only one server working the floor. I think this is a great place to have a casual lunch or to share a few tapas with friends.
So this is the place that took over the location of the old Yoshoku-Ya? Looks interesting, worth a try?
ReplyDeletePeter
I would say the food is solid, but portions are not very big for the price. Still worth a try though... If you are ok with spicy, try the bibimbap :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, the name doesn't sound very inspiring, but I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! I truly appreciate all comments and suggestions as we're always trying to better our service and customers' experience.
ReplyDelete- Andreas, Owner
Thanks for dropping by and reading the review :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with everything!