Delectable Delights with Matty Boy, Viv, “Grandma”, Shorty, and Phil
With several locations around town (and one in Richmond), Ebisu is usually the go-to place for Japanese food, besides AYCE places, though if those are really “Japanese” is up for debate, for large groups of people. After finally managing a get together for skating at the Robson Square Ice Rink, we were famished, so off to Ebisu we went!
Since it was early, we were able to access their happy hour specials (in particular, the wings one).
I ordered the large $9.99 Chicken Karaage for dinner because a friend of mine ordered it on the last occasion I was here and boy did it smell good!
Matty Boy got the Ebisu Miso Ramen. For some reason, the miso was on the watery side (perhaps not enough miso, or maybe it wasn’t allowed to sit long enough). For $8.99 it’s on the steeper side for the portion size, and unfortunately, the quality didn’t make up for it (not on this visit at least).
Here’s the fated Large Chicken Karaage Order ($9.99). Holy, it’s a lot bigger than I previously anticipated. This could easily satisfy 2 people. It was very well seasoned and crunchy on the outside while maintaining a good juiciness on the inside though!
The Spicy Ketchup dip left something to be desired, though the mayo one went great with it!
These are a variety of those 39 cent wings as shown previously. The flavour of this one is, surprisingly, “Sudden Death”. Featuring a slow burn, these wings are extra tasty, but deadly if you aren’t a spice person; Phil learned the hard way after eating them hastily and paying for the burn later. Forgive the blurry-ness of this photo, I suppose the wings were too hot for the camera as well.
As part of the happy hour deals, you can get 2 different rolls for $6.50. This roll was the dynamite roll. They were alright, nothing spectacular, though a little on the mushy side.
The other roll that we ordered with that 2 for $6.50 combo was a chopped scallop roll. I enjoyed this one the most as the scallop had a very nice texture, compared to the tempura in the dynamite roll.
Yet another variety of the chicken wings, honey garlic. They must’ve been pretty good as Shorty spent a good part of an hour licking her fingers after every bite.
Viv got the Kamei Katsu Don. It’s basically Pork Katsu (deep fried Pork Cutlet) on a steamed egg on rice. Viv noted that the egg was a little on the overly watery side which made the whole affair very slimy tasting. Like the Ramen, the price of $9.99 is a little on the steep side.
Good:
-Quick service
-Nice decor and atmosphere
-Sushi isn’t too bad
-Their chicken (wings and karaage) are good
Bad:
-Miso Ramen very watery
-Pricey (especially if you get drinks)
-Cramped Seating (at times)
-Can have long waits
Closing Comments: If you have a large group and aren’t up for AYCE, but still wan’t Japanese, this is probably your best bet
Overall Rating: 3.4 PBJ’s out of a possible 5
