Aki Japanese Restaurant

Aki Japanese Restaurant
•One of the oldest Japanese restaurants

•Busy during peak hours 

•Considered a hidden gem by many

Recommendations

•Chicken Karrage
•Black Cod

Verdict
K

I met up with some wonderful SFU Food bloggers Janice(Good Eat), Amy(Food Queen)and Diana (Foodology) at Aki.

Aki is famously known for being one of the oldest Japanese Restaurants in Vancouver and being a "hidden gem." It's age is probably comparable with KoKo Sushi and the food does have its similarities between each other.

We started off with clams in sake. The clams were fresh and the broth was simple, a good pairing but nothing spectacular. I couldn't taste much sake in this at all.

The Assorted Sashimi(3 kinds) was fresh but fell below my expectations. It was than Samurai Sushi but not as good as Guu.
I liked how the sashimi was nicely marbled with good meat:fat ratio.

The Chicken Yakitori was tender but didn't have crisp edges or char from grilling.  It's a forgettable but "safe" dish.

The Chicken Karrage was served piping hot. Very juicy and I liked the crunchy batter. My previous experiences with this dish have always been at AYCE establishments so I was very impressed. 

I don't normally eat fried foods but if I was to re-visit Aki, I would order this again.

The Black Cod was nicely grilled. Flaky and flavorful with the miso marinade. My favorite dish of the night. 

It was a bit over priced for what was given and the large serving plate made the portion appear even smaller.

The Spicy Tuna Roll was mediocre. I suspect it's made of left over Tuna Sashimi and mixed with spices. A disappointing dish. The spices were quite strong and I could not taste much tuna.They were just the right size to pop into your mouth and rice to spicy tuna was well proportioned.

The Yakisoba was what I consider, "Food Court Quality"-quality comparable to Kobiniya etc. It was oily and had little flavor. Oh, did I mention that it had way too many veggies? I didn't like it.

Aki didn't impress me but it's a no frills, home-y Japanese restaurant and a good change from going to all the the trendy Izakayas popping up in 604.