Tomoya Japanese Restaurant- I Highly Recommend The “Black Sun”!
On a random cold night, Meta Knight and I spontaneously decided to go to Tomoya Japanese Restaurant, a place we’ve passed by every time we go to Cattle Café but never tried.
Tomoya is located in Burnaby and is across from Metrotown.
The inside of the restaurant is brightly lit and seats twenty
or so people comfortably. We went during prime dinner time but there were
barely any customers. :/
or so people comfortably. We went during prime dinner time but there were
barely any customers. :/
I have heard many good things about their “Black Sun” and
their Specialty rolls. The prices are steeper than Oyama (post here) but it’s
reasonable. They used to have a daily special where one special roll is half off for the day, but when I asked, the waitress said that they stopped the promotion and is now only offered for take-out orders only.
their Specialty rolls. The prices are steeper than Oyama (post here) but it’s
reasonable. They used to have a daily special where one special roll is half off for the day, but when I asked, the waitress said that they stopped the promotion and is now only offered for take-out orders only.
They gave us miso
soup to start off the meal which was a nice surprise. I still don’t know
why they gave us miso soup because I don’t think it comes with any special
rolls or items on their menu. Mabybe it’s just free for everyone who orders.
soup to start off the meal which was a nice surprise. I still don’t know
why they gave us miso soup because I don’t think it comes with any special
rolls or items on their menu. Mabybe it’s just free for everyone who orders.
We first got the Black
Sun ($8.99) because that was their most popular item (and most blogged
about). It essentially is a mix of chopped scallop, salmon sashimi, and tuna
sashimi in mayo dressing. It is put into a ring mold and then topped with generous
amounts of black Tobiko and a quail egg to resemble a sun. The plate was decorated with large amounts of
wasabi and regular mayo.
Sun ($8.99) because that was their most popular item (and most blogged
about). It essentially is a mix of chopped scallop, salmon sashimi, and tuna
sashimi in mayo dressing. It is put into a ring mold and then topped with generous
amounts of black Tobiko and a quail egg to resemble a sun. The plate was decorated with large amounts of
wasabi and regular mayo.
I just found out that Black Tobiko is actually just Tobiko
coloured with squid ink!! Fun fact of the day 😀
coloured with squid ink!! Fun fact of the day 😀
This dish was absolutely delicious. The Tobiko provided a
nice bite to the soft and mushy sashimi that’s beneath it and the wasabi mayo
was the perfect pairing for the sashimi. We literally licked the plate clean!
nice bite to the soft and mushy sashimi that’s beneath it and the wasabi mayo
was the perfect pairing for the sashimi. We literally licked the plate clean!
Next we got the Admiral
Roll ($9.25) which is “soft shell crab with spicy tuna tempura topped with
tobiko and special house sauce”.
Roll ($9.25) which is “soft shell crab with spicy tuna tempura topped with
tobiko and special house sauce”.
Meta Knight thought the soft shell crab was really good and
meaty. However, the roll failed to impress us to the same degree as the
specialty rolls from Oyama.
meaty. However, the roll failed to impress us to the same degree as the
specialty rolls from Oyama.
For carbs, we got the Nabeyaki
Udon ($8.50) to fill us up. It surpassed our expectations
and blew us away with how great the quality was!
Udon ($8.50) to fill us up. It surpassed our expectations
and blew us away with how great the quality was!
The shrimp tempura was crispy and fresh, the udon noodles
were cooked to a perfect al dente, and the soup broth was incredibly flavourful
(but was it due to MSG? I don’t know 😛)
were cooked to a perfect al dente, and the soup broth was incredibly flavourful
(but was it due to MSG? I don’t know 😛)
Here’s the damage. For $15-ish bucks per person, it was
alright. The Black Sun blew us away, but I don’t know if it was good enough to
warrant another visit if the other stuff were just meh and more expensive. By the way, I have no clue why it says “Hot Rod Prime Rib/ Marine Drive” on top of the bill…
alright. The Black Sun blew us away, but I don’t know if it was good enough to
warrant another visit if the other stuff were just meh and more expensive. By the way, I have no clue why it says “Hot Rod Prime Rib/ Marine Drive” on top of the bill…
Based on these reasons:
- highly recommend the Black Sun!
- prices are a bit more expensive than other Japanese restaurants
- they don’t have the daily special half off speciality rolls anymore (only avaliable for take out)
Service Rating: 2.5/5
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $$-$$$
Overall Rating: 3/5
Happy Eating!
courtesy of http://honolulueats.wordpress.com/page/2/
:0 The black sun look friggin amazing!!! I've passed by this place a lot but I was super super unsure about it.
I think I'll need to try it out. Great find!
Haha yes absolutely give this place (and the Black Sun)a try 😀
Business registered name (aka, legal name) vs. trade name. In this case, the business is legally registered as 14981 Marine Drive and all legal-type documents (receipts, taxes, et al) will be under that name. For other purposes, you can use a trade name, in which you would use it for promotion, ads, et al. So, you will know this place as "Tomoya" instead. After all, that sounds better than the other name.
I have been to Tomoya eons ago and I have mixed feelings about it. Food is quite decent if you stick with rolls and cooked food. But, for those dishes that require a different type of skillset, namely, sashimi and nigiri sushi, I found it was barely acceptable (too many jagged cuts). The weirdest experience I had with them was that I ordered an appetizer along with my main dish – and that appetizer arrived halfway after I was eating my main dish.