Nan Chuu 南廚
HC suggested tapas at Nan Chuu a couple weeks ago, but we ended up going to Koto Izakaya instead. That was a bad decision, but I got the chance to try the place out on Tuesday night after class. Kish and I were looking for Japanese food, and Nan Chuu is one of the few Japanese restaurants in Richmond that is open late on a Tuesday. We started with an appetizer of eggplants and zucchini ($4) that was served cold. The sauce tasted the same as the type served with agedashi tofu.
Kish ordered an Asahi Big Boy ($26), a giant 2 L bottle of dry Japanese beer. I am not really a fan of pale dry beers though; I prefer dark malty ones like the Asahi Black. But in any case, trying to polish off the whole bottle with Kish was an interesting experience :)
We didn't realize how large the thing was until the waitress emptied it into a pitcher for us. This shows how much beer was left after we had each finished 2 glasses!
I also asked for hot tea ($1) because I assumed it would be complimentary with the meal. I realized it wasn't when the waitress asked me whether I wanted green, jasmine or oolong. I opted for oolong and was given a teabag in a cup of hot water. Oh well, at least I could get free hot water refills to re-steep my teabag.
I was surprised that beef yukke ($7.50), or beef tartare as we know it, was available on the menu. Not a lot of places serve this dish, so I always get it when I can. The raw beef was topped with green onions, seaweed and a raw quail's egg. The meat was seasoned with a savoury soy sauce that made it quite salty but tasty nevertheless.
The chikuwa cheese ($5.50) was one of the weaker items in my opinion. There wasn't a lot of cheese inside and the flavour was very mild. But the chikuwa was fried very nicely with crispy batter that was not too oily.
The assorted sashimi ($12.50) was impressive since the salmon, tuna and scallops were all very fresh.
We ordered the takoyaki ($3.75) to see how it would compare to the one at Koto. It was MUCH better. The texture was nice and soft, and there were bonito flakes on top.
We ended the meal with ebi mayo ($6.50), fried prawn in a creamy tangy sauce. While it was not bad, I like Ichiro's version a lot more.
Overall I was happy with the quality of all the dishes. Prices are a bit high, but you get what you pay for. Nan Chuu is going to be one of my go-to places for late night Japanese eats.
Kish ordered an Asahi Big Boy ($26), a giant 2 L bottle of dry Japanese beer. I am not really a fan of pale dry beers though; I prefer dark malty ones like the Asahi Black. But in any case, trying to polish off the whole bottle with Kish was an interesting experience :)
We didn't realize how large the thing was until the waitress emptied it into a pitcher for us. This shows how much beer was left after we had each finished 2 glasses!
I also asked for hot tea ($1) because I assumed it would be complimentary with the meal. I realized it wasn't when the waitress asked me whether I wanted green, jasmine or oolong. I opted for oolong and was given a teabag in a cup of hot water. Oh well, at least I could get free hot water refills to re-steep my teabag.
I was surprised that beef yukke ($7.50), or beef tartare as we know it, was available on the menu. Not a lot of places serve this dish, so I always get it when I can. The raw beef was topped with green onions, seaweed and a raw quail's egg. The meat was seasoned with a savoury soy sauce that made it quite salty but tasty nevertheless.
The chikuwa cheese ($5.50) was one of the weaker items in my opinion. There wasn't a lot of cheese inside and the flavour was very mild. But the chikuwa was fried very nicely with crispy batter that was not too oily.
The assorted sashimi ($12.50) was impressive since the salmon, tuna and scallops were all very fresh.
We ordered the takoyaki ($3.75) to see how it would compare to the one at Koto. It was MUCH better. The texture was nice and soft, and there were bonito flakes on top.
We ended the meal with ebi mayo ($6.50), fried prawn in a creamy tangy sauce. While it was not bad, I like Ichiro's version a lot more.
Overall I was happy with the quality of all the dishes. Prices are a bit high, but you get what you pay for. Nan Chuu is going to be one of my go-to places for late night Japanese eats.
... I started salivating when I saw the beef yukke.
ReplyDelete>_____< Damn Calgary and their lack of good Asian food!
The assorted sashimi looks good! I love scallop sashimi and it's not often that they have that for assorted sashimi plates. AND the tuna is like tataki? +1!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love how you go to ALL the places on my wishlist. good to get a sneak peek first :)
@pyaria: Wish you were here :(
ReplyDelete@Janice: Haha great minds think alike? :P You should share your wish list with me to give me some ideas of where to go!