Ten Hachi revisited

So it was two days before my friend running the BMO Vancouver Marathon, and in his training schedule, it is time for carbo-loading. So he brings me to Ten Hachi for lunch, telling me the rice here is one of the best he has ever had. I have been to Ten Hachi with another friend before, and I remeber the food was really good, but I can't exactly remember if I ordered something with rice and if I did how it was. But sure enough, the rice is outstanding. It is soft but chewy at the same time, making you want to refrain from swallowing the rice just so you can enjoy it a little bit longer. And best of all, extra bowls of rice are free :D-

Ten Hachi in many way is a very unique restaurant. It is not exactly located in a business area, and it is not in a typical restaurant building. It is actually the restaurant attached to the Shaughnessy Village, a hotel/short-term apartment. And because of this, Ten Hachi serves breakfast - how many Japanese restaurant you know serves breakfast?!

You can also see the set meals at Ten Hachi come with miso soup and side dishes, but not the typical soup and side dishes (iceberg salad / gyoza) you see in other Japanese restaurant, the side dishes here are actually complex traditional dishes on their own - mashed potato/salad with colorful ingredients, candied salmon, konyaku (yam jelly) stewed in mirin/bonito fish soup, pickled veggies, and fish based soup with cabbage, seaweed, and sprouts. You can tell extensive effort had been put into the food here.

I was in the mood for something "light" so I ordered tuna sashimi - it tasted fatty and fresh as it should be. The fact that the shreds of daikon are not in curls means it is really cut with a knife by hand, not by that weird peeling gadget, skills man! Last time I was here I ordered the tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) and I was blown out of my mind. I was told whenever you go to a Japanese restaurant you never been before order two things - egg nigiri and tonkatsu. The egg nigiri can tell you where the chef learn his skills (northern or southern part of Japan), and tonkatsu tells you if he/she is any good. The tonkatsu in Ten Hachi was made (I think) the traditional way which a thick cut of pork is wrapped in ooba (perilla or the green beefsteak plant, that green thing you see underneath the tuna) so there is a extra layer of taste, then coated with egg then panko. And it was deep fried to a light golden color but the thick pork inside is well cooked through but moist. Yes, it is a definite great feeling when you can feel the chef's effort.

If I had to pick a small fault it would be the rice is not steaming hot. But overall great restaurant, A++, definitely I will come back to try the breakfast. And remember to grab a membership/stamp card so you can get free appy or free combo.