Shabusen - Vancouver, Canada

Decided to check out this place on the promise of combination of Japanese sashimi/sushi and Korean bbq buffet. When we got there on Wednesday afternoon we were surprised to find out that the lunch price was only $11.95. When we were finally seated, we found out that Korean bbq option is only available on weekends which of course has a different price tag.

Each of us were provided laminated menu and then two pieces of small paper menu where we could mark our order. We went pretty humble on our first round and finished everything with no effort. But got  a bit out of hands on the second round and felt too stuffed afterwards. And we noticed that some of the stuffs that showed up on our platter were items that we didn't order.

All in all it was a good value for the money. If you like sashimi, pick between salmon or tuna and they were fresh. Big chunk of fish but fresh. It's too bad that the spicy sashimi was flavored with some orange color chili sauce that didn't feel right. The chicken karaage were also good - freshly prepared and delicious.

Some of the side dishes on the menu didn't have any English explanation on it so we were in the dark as too what we ordered. On our second round, we went and ordered each of the item on the menu and one of the item that came was a tiny bowl of cold vermicelli on tangy sauce. Hmm.... Agedashi tofu had a thick coat of batter which we didn't like as much since we were used to a more lighter version. The tea looked like green tea but I guess they missed the roasted brown rice so it didn't have the typical sushi place fragrant. So I would say the food were not very authentic but hey for that price, I couldn't complain.

I guess we won't be pretty soon since we were just there visiting. I read a few reviews complaining about lousy service they got. But seriously, it's a buffet place, what kind of service do you expect ? While we were there, we didn't feel like we were ignored or anything. Nor did we expect to be check on every so often.

Shabusen
755 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1X5, Canada
(604) 669-3883