the dining diva

One of the great things about being a transplant to Vancouver is that you get a lot of visitors. And what better excuse to explore your city than acting as a tour guide?

So when my university friend, Erik, was in town for a conference, I jumped at the chance to show off the culinary delights of my city.

I was dying to try Le Marrakech – one of the city’s only Moroccan restaurants. I tried to make reservations a few days before, but the system said that they were offline and to check back soon – which I did, and got the same result. So I tried calling, only to get voicemail. But then I just assumed it was ‘cause I was calling during the day and they didn’t open until five.

But when Erik and I walked up to the restaurant and there were bars on the doors with a giant padlock (and it was 5:30 p.m.), I knew something was up. After doing a little investigation later on, despite the fact that there’s nothing up on their website, it seems that Le Marrakech has closed. Their phone lines have now been disconnected, but other than a “closed” notation on urbanspoon.com and foodvancouver.com, there’s nothing to let the general public to know it’s gone. Too bad. I was looking forward to some good Moroccan. Any suggestions?

So there we were, on a random Tuesday in the middle of Gastown. Really, the options were endless. But we decided to check out Guu. I had been to their Thurlow location a number of times, and wanted to see how the Gastown location was different.

First thing of note – it’s a little hidden. We actually walked by a number of times before finally calling directory assistance to get the exact address. Even then, we had to get directions from a security guard next door. Look for the sign and it’s up a flight of stairs.

The venue itself is miles larger than the Thurlow location – which is not necessarily better, just different. And at 5:30 p.m. there was no line-up – virtually unheard of at Thurlow.

Guu is izakaya – which is, as I explained in the Hapa Izakaya review, essentially Japanese tapas. But unlike Hapa – which is sleek, modern and borderline fusion – Guu is straight-up authentic. Well, this coming from someone who’s never been to Japan. But that’s what people tell me anyhow.

The menu can be a little confusing, especially if you’ve never been to an izakaya restaurant before. It took us a while to navigate it and decide how we wanted to order. But one thing that was definitely calling my name was the sake mojito.

I’m not big on cocktails these days – they’re usually too sweet for me. But the mojito (if done well) is typically the exception. And this one was great. Not too sweet at all, and the sake added a nice dimension to the drink. In fact, (and maybe this is the dangerous part) I think you couldn’t taste the alcohol in it as much as you might with a rum version. Nonetheless, I stuck to one. After all, it was a Tuesday.

So after himming and hawing, we came to a conclusion: kimchi pork bibimbap, yaki udon, duck breast, sho lon bo, guu tataki, and maguro with five colour sauce.

The duck breast came first. It was tender and delicate, and the light sauce that came with added some dimension to it. It was served atop a small salad, which gave it a nice crunch.

Our guu tataki was next. The beef was lightly seared and served with plenty of very finely sliced green onions, which seemed to be doused in rice wine vinegar, and added a bit of tartness. It was also served atop shredded diakon, which also gave the dish some texture variation.

The kimchi pork bibimbap is a Korean hot stone bowl – similar to the ishi-yaki at Hapa. Our very polite sever arrived with the bibimbap and proceeded to whip the hell out of the dish. I then let it sit for a while to let the flavours to meld. Although it was quite flavorful, it was still kind of one note – spicy. Which isn’t entirely too bad, but I think I preferred Hapa’s ishi-yaki, with the tomatos and sprouts and other accoutrements.

The yaki udon was tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary. Worth ordering again, I guess, but given the many other awesome things on the menu, I would rush out for it.

I wasn’t sure if I had ever had sho lon bo before, but I will certainly again. They are traditionally a dim sum item, which apparently translates to “soup dumpling.” According to Wikipedia, sho lon bo “are traditionally filled with pork, but variations include other meats, seafood and vegetarian fillings, as well as other possibilities. The characteristic soup inside is created by wrapping solid meat gelatin inside the skin alongside the meat filling. Heat from steaming then melts the gelatin into soup.”

Mmm. Whatever. Little pops of salty, warm flavours bursts – that’s how I describe them. Mental note to self for next dim sum trip.

We finished our meal with the maguro with five colour sauce. Maguro is tuna in Japanese and I was intrigued, yet nervous, to order this dish. I usually like my raw fish quite basic to let the natural flavours shine through. But thankfully they didn’t smother the fish with the sauce, allowing you to add as much as you like.

It was a very pretty dish, indeed, and the tuna was laid atop some equally buttery-soft avocado (doesn’t avocado make everything taste better?). The sauce(s) was a nice compliment to the rich flavour of the tuna and avocado. And the whole dish was topped off with some crunchy sprouts. They sure seem to pay attention to texture at Guu.

After we finished our meal, the place was noticeably busier (which seems to be an odd trend with me – really – I don’t go for dinner that early!). One of the things that I’ve always appreciated about Guu (or any other Japanese restaurant), is that there isn’t the whole, “I’m not your server, so I can’t help you” attitude. Our bill came right when we wanted it, along with some frozen grapes (trust me – they’re delicious!).

So it wasn’t exactly the exotic culinary adventure I had in mind for my out-of-town friend, but I think it was definitely a great example of the solid and creative food offerings this city has to offer.

Guu Otokomae (Gastown)
#105 -  375 Water Street
Vancouver | BC
604.685.8682
guu-izakaya.com