Yah Yah Ya Ramen - Richmond, BC

This is probably the best ramen place in Richmond. I heard from a friend that there's this new ramen place that opened. Being ramen lovers, Calvin and I had to go try it. Yah Yah Ya is located in the Union square mall, right beside Richmond Sushi. This place was only opened in July so we thought it would be empty but we were wrong. I think we waited around 20-30 mins for a table on a Friday night. The place isn't very big. There are probably around 10 tables. 

*update: We went back again on Tuesday night and there was no wait at all. 

Please keep in mind they are only opened until 9pm and their last call is 8:50pm so make sure you get there before then! 

You get to choose the type of noodle, the intensity of taste, the the amount of oil.
Noodles: hard, normal soft
Taste:  Heavy, normal, light
Oil: More, Normal, Less

Based on their menu, they also have the option of lean or fat chasiu but it wasn't available when we ordered.

The ambience is nice and relaxing.

I ordered my favourite Shoyu ramen and Calvin ordered his favourite Miso.  We ordered normal for everything. Below is the Shoyu.

Miso Ramen. There was a lot of bean sprouts in the Miso. We both liked the Shoyu base better. The Shoyu has a stronger taste where the Miso was more mild. Calvin said next time he will get soup with "heavy" taste instead of "normal". 

As you can tell, the chasiu looks kind of bland and it was. There wasn't really a taste to it. It pulled apart very easily but it basically felt like the meat was cooked in the soup for hours and has lost its flavour into the soup.

The noodle was decent though. We like our noodles slightly chewy and this was exactly that. The egg was pretty good though I would've enjoyed it more if it was marinaded longer.

We also ordered the gyoza and this was $5. They bring you sauces for you to mix on your own. All the pieces were stuck together so when we were trying to pick one up, the filling fell out. We weren't able to pick up one piece as a whole. The gyoza wasn't very special. There was more meat than veggies so the proportion wasn't very good. It was lacking some taste. I think they probably buy it outside though I can't be certain.

*Update: When we ordered it again second time on a Tuesday night, the gyoza was cooked better. We were able to separate them apart one by one without falling apart. The taste was still lacking but the skin was thinner.

Overall, I would definitely come back to this place again as I really enjoyed their soup base and their noodle. Although there are better ramen places in Vancouver, this one is pretty good too. 

Miku - Vancouver, BC

After having been to Minami, I didn't really see the need to go to to Miku given they have the same food. I came here because it was one of my girlfriends' birthday and she wanted to come here. I was very pleased that I did. 

First of all, the view was quite amazing. This is a new location for Miku and it is super busy. I don't think you would be able to get a table without reservation. I came late because of work and my girlfriends already ordered some food. 

They actually ordered a lot of food. They ordered the Aburi Sashimi Trio which has 3 types of flamed Seared Sashimi with signature sauces. Each one of the sauces went really well with the sashimi. The salmon had more of a mayo sauce, the one in the middle had more of a wasabi sauce and Tuna had a yuzu sauce.  The sashimi was obviously very fresh. That was a very mouth-watering dish. 

We then had the Miku Roll which had salmon, crab, cucumber, sea urchin, rolled in fish roe with seared MIKU sauce. The sauce was to die for but I feel the sauce overpowered the roll a bit. I couldn't taste the sea urchin one bit. I could taste the salmon, fish roe and the crab though. I could easily finished all of these bite-sized rolls in no time. 

As I was still enjoying the aftertaste of the rolls, the waitress brought over this ginormous plater and I had no idea what this was. I soon found out this was the MIKU waterfront platter which served 3. That was probably why my girls ordered it . This included chef's choice of sashimi, oysters, clams, mussels, jumbo prawns, kaizen poke, scallop ceviche and kale gomae. All for $78 which is a pretty good deal if you ask me. It equates to $26/person for all those seafood. I don't know if you can tell but it was a lot of food. The sashimi, clams, oysters were all super fresh. I didn't like the prawns that much though. It was lacking flavour. I wasn't sure if it was because they sat on top of a bucket of ice for a long time.

The kaizen poke was seasoned with miso and sesame which was good. The scallop was a bit sour with the citrus they added to it although it helped maintain the freshness of the scallop. The scallop was very fresh and full of flavour. Next time I would just ask to have a little bit less lemon.

Lastly, we ended with my favourite sushi, the salmon oshi sushi. This is one of their signature and it's just so so so good. After eating all the food above, I could still eat all the pieces. I really liked that they later the salmon with a piece in the centre. It really brings out the salmon flavour. The fact that the salmon on top was half seared just sealed the deal. The salmon melted in your month, just the right balance between rice, salmon and the sauce. 

I am sure you would know my thoughts on this restaurant by now. I would definitely go back again and bring others to here. Their food is just too awesome.