Gyo-O

I had a lovely lunch of Assorted Oden at Gyo-O recently. It was a simple meal, but Oden isn't something that I see often around here so I was very happy to be able to order it at Gyo-O. There's another restaurant in Richmond that's supposed to specialize in Oden, and I had tried it one time but found it quite disappointing. While there was a wide variety of Oden to choose from, we weren't very impressed with the food when it arrived at our table. Oden is meant to be a hot wintertime stew but the broth that was served with our oden was not at all hot.

This Oden at Gyo-O was much better. The broth was hot as it should be, and the size of the food was impressive. The tofu and daikon were both massive! Such humungous chunks of tofu and daikon. I'd had Oden in Japan not too long ago, and the daikon there was also huge. This daikon at Gyo-O was quite comparable in size. Possibly slightly larger even. If I have a craving for Oden, I don't think I'll bother searching for any other place in Vancouver to have it. I'll come straight to Gyo-O again!

My friend was with me and she ordered a Tendon bento box. She said the rice texture was a bit off, and ended up pouring soup over her rice to moisten it. The tendon though, according to her was very nicely crisped.

Service:  Good
Parking:  Plentiful and free
Location: #2137 - 3779 Sexsmith Rd., Richmond, BC

I'm used to having Korean spicy salmon sashimi dish with cucumbers and go choo jang sauce but their spicy salmon sashimi dish wasn't spicy at all and a lot smaller portion compared to Korean Japanese restaurant. Their portion is quite small for what it is ...(I don't think their spicy salmon sashimi dish is worth it at all). However, their lunch box is worth it! I would recommend their lunch box and I like how they are an authentic Japanese restaurant! I love their ambiance as I feel like i'm in Japan when i'm inside their restaurant and their service is decent.

We stopped by for dinner after a quick Yelp search. The menu looked interesting and extensive. There were some items that were unique that I do not normally find at many Japanese restaurants. I decided to order the uni, salmon and ikura don as it was on sale. The portion size was just right although some people might find the portion size small. The sashimi was fresh. The blue fin tuna was melt in your mouth buttery smooth. The aburi could be better and torched a bit more. My kid ate most the beef udon so he liked it. Broth was on the salty side.

Service was really good. Staff checked in on us regularly. Food also arrived fairly quickly. Prices were higher than average, but I think the quality of the food was worth it.

Not quite as good as I remember. I used to come all the time and wanting to try out their udon bento, I decided to revisit and was a little bit disappointed with the food but perhaps my tastes have changed?

We ordered the:
Seafood Yukke Don - this used to be one of my favourite dishes but I dont think I realized how much actual RICE there was compared to the amount of topping. The seafood is in small amounts and when mixed together, you could definitely taste the flavour but it was one dimension in texture (mushy all the way through).

Ebi Prawn Tempura - 5 pieces of prawn and 2 green beans, this was a bit over priced as there was nothing special about the tempura and there were two pieces that looked like they were not freshly fried (darker in colour).

Deluxe Bento with Udon - the best of the day because of the variety but I found that each item was a bit mediocre. The chicken karaage was large pieces but it was not very flavourful while the udon noodles needed a good dousing of sauce for flavour. The takoyaki was fine and the california roll was surprisingly good (nice texture and flavour for the rice) but the saba was quite dry and seemed overcooked.

Overall, I had come wanting to try their udon and dont see a return visit anytime soon as their high prices for mediocre food are not too appealing.

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE
The portions (and dine-in seating) can be small, but they go big when it comes to good eats and good service, making for a pleasant dining experience and a consideration when looking for Japanese food in the area!

=== 2. FOOD
Pan-Fried Gyoza ($13.00)
You get 10 pieces at this price, and while each piece is small, they are clearly handmade and packed with flavour and a piece of shrimp in each!

Spinach Gomaae ($5.50)
Small - less than half a small serving dish full. It's good and peanut-y in flavour, but...the size-to-price ratio makes me wonder if I can pass on my veggie intake here...!

Salmon Sashimi ($14.00)
Seven pieces of what could be Atlantic salmon come in this dish - other places serve up to nine pieces, so while the flavour is there, the value may not be...

Prawn Tempura Bukkake Udon ($13.00)
Six pieces of tempura: four shrimp and two green beans along with seaweed and a soft-boiled egg served on top of soup-less udon. Pour in the provided shoyu, give it a stir and hey: a great meal will be had! I just wish there was a little more udon in the bowl...

Seafood Ramen ($15.00)
The miso soup base works well here - it goes along quite nicely with the mussels, shrimp, and abalone. This is a nice heart-warming dish certainly now during winter, but likely all year round!

=== 3. SERVICE
Polite and attentive; it was great when providing meal suggestions and relatively quick for food service. Water service is DIY: you can get cold or hot water on your own from a carafe and dispenser with plastic cups on one side of the restaurant.

=== 4. ENVIRONMENT
It's a small place to begin with; COVID made it smaller with plexiglass dividers separating tables. There are only a few two-seat and four-seat tables as well as we a couple of bar seats available, so bring your big parties elsewhere. The cozy nature makes it easy to enjoy good wait service, but I would leave wheelchairs and baby strollers at home if possible. Parking is plentiful in the Continental Centre parking lot.

Not very flavourful and way too overpriced. Wouldn't come here again personally but the food was alright.

Food was great! The chicken karaage was super crispy. I also had spicy salmon don that came with miso soup and was just enough for dinner. For the price, I was hoping for the salmon don to come with sushi rice. However, it does include other garnishes to complement the salmon. Seating was a bit uncomfortable because the table was divided into two by a gigantic menu.

Gyo-o is a hole-in-the-wall authentic Japanese restaurant with tapas/sushi style dishes and has been one of my favourites since my high school days. The interior is very cozy with loads of decorations on the walls of the restaurant. Every time I go, I consistently order the same things and you can never go wrong with them. The chicken cold ramen salad ($16) is one of my all-time staples and when I went yesterday (after not having been since pre-covid), I noticed the portion was MUCH bigger than before, with a fistful of salad, ramen and 5 generously large pieces of juicy karaage. My friend and I also ordered the aburi salmon battera (8 pc $15) and the salmon toro steak don (rice, salad, salmon, miso $18). Portion size and prize were standard, taste was rich and flavourful (not sockeye salmon though FYI). For around $25 per person (b4 tip), we were stuffed and had leftovers to pack home.

Service was quite fast however, due to Covid, seating had been significantly reduced with only a few tables and 2-3 spots at the bar area. This resulted in a bit of a wait when we went. In addition, the hard wooden seats are a bit uncomfy...guess it forces me to practice good posture haha...

Beautiful restaurant, not too loud. Ordered Deluxe Yukke Don which is a bit on the salty side, but great otherwise.

So I finally got to visit this place since I often made dinner plans in Richmond on Mondays and this place isn't open on Monday!! It's also funny how this place often get confused with kyu kaku in Richmond or yuu that's conveniently across the parking lot. As expected, it was a homily little authentic Japanese small shop. Everything looked scrumptious and what my friend I got did not disappoint. I got the chicken patti on rice and my friend got the mixed season on rice. I'll definitely have to come back again and try the other items! The takoyaki was also decent but nothing was too impressive/ outstanding about it. Service was good and super quick. You help yourself to your water and tea which I didn't mind. I just find it not very sanitary during covid.