New eatery offers flavourful and affordable Japanese dining experience
Mark Laba
Province
Dorothy, a server at Posh restaurant on West Broadway, prepares sukiyaki at the table. Photograph by : Jon Murray, The Province
The word posh and the term all-you-can-eat seem at odds with each other philosophically. And on that note, could you envision Posh Spice wolfing down food at an all-you-can-eat crab buffet? Well, maybe. But that Posh Spice has nothing on Mariah Carey as I soon learned at this new eatery. But perhaps I should begin at the beginning and explain how two new experiences, Mariah Carey and sukiyaki, were introduced to me. For me it was the perfect marriage of pop culture and dining although I would’ve liked to hear her do a version of the “Sukiyaki Song” that hit the top of the charts in 1963. Oddly, the song has nothing to do with the dish — just another victim of the lost-in-translation syndrome but this time on American turf.
Dropped into this new venture with Peaches, along with Small Fry Eli, who we thought would enjoy the cook-at-your-own-table spectacle. No sooner were we three steps in than the poor lad began gagging. He didn’t like the smell of the veggies. Now this has nothing to do with this fine establishment — it’s just the whimsical nature of a four-year-old’s tastebuds and olfactory senses.
So my wife and son deserted me and left me to dine alone. Table for one is a bit odd looking here. Especially with the mounds of food heaped in front of me.
I decided to sit gazing out the window at the passing parade on Broadway but everyone at the bus stop was staring right back at me. This was a little unnerving. I soon realized it was due to the Mariah Carey concert being shown on the high-def screen behind me with Mimi, as her fans call her, sporting nothing more than gold lamé hot pants and a bra: One of many breathtaking costume changes, I soon found out. I changed seats at my table for four and took in the show.
It’s a swanky looking space, kind of retro-modern chic with some futuristic glints, great wood-panelled walls, big silver funnels over the red dining booths to suck up the cooking fumes, black stone tables upon which the cooking apparatus sits, and white-leather seats. In effect, my Uncle Al with his hair-sprayed pompadour and burgundy leisure suit may not look out of place here.
Now this is how it works. The burner is fired under a large metal bowl in which sits a hill of Japanese cabbage surrounded by a pool of sukiyaki sauce. Then you’re given a checklist of the various veggies and two meat selections. Alberta Grade A beef and tender pork shoulder, sliced ultra-thin, are your meat choices and the waiter was kind enough to bring me a sampler platter of all the various tofu species, along with lotus root, chayote, various mushrooms, bamboo shoots, taro root, bok choy, pumpkin, onion, fat udon-style noodles and thin vermicelli, yam, chrysanthemum leaves, iceberg lettuce and more. Throw it all in, let stuff cook, spoon it out and eat. A raw egg was provided, which I was instructed to mix up in a bowl and dip the food from my fishing expedition into.
I slurped and dribbled my way through the meal and found the fresh organic produce and the mildly sweet sukiyaki sauce invigorating. The meats were very flavourful and tender although some veggies didn’t work as well as others and remained in a more or less raw state even after lengthy cooking times. But then you can just order another cocktail and take a breather and when you realize that it’s all-you-can-eat for just $13.88 per person, or $9.88 at lunch, that’s a high note that perhaps even Carey can’t reach.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Bringing posh to the peasantry.
RATINGS: Food: B+ Service: B Atmosphere: B+
REVIEW
Posh
Where: 101-1788 W. Broadway, Vancouver
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-737-7674
Drinks: Fully licenced.
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., lunch 11:30 a.m.-
3 p.m.; dinner, 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.; Fri. dinner until midnight. Sat. 11:30 a.m.-midnight. Sun. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
