Revisited : Shabusen Yakiniku House - Vancouver, BC

As the title says this was our revisit to Shabusen. The first one was long time ago. I think most likely the ownership has changed though quality wise I couldn't tell the difference. As far as I know most of restaurants changed ownership without changing their crews. Anyway let's talk about the food.

We went there on Sunday the price was $20.95 for lunch. That price included bbq option. I was glad because I was curious how the bbq like. The first time we went there we didn't have bbq option since it was only available on weekends. Their menu seemed to have changed. Now bbq option is also available on weekdays. Look at picture of the menu.

What I liked about the buffet in Vancouver is dishes seemed more fresh because they are made to order. Which is different from what we are used to in SF Bay Area where everything was more like cafeteria style. Line up and help yourself to what you want. For our first round we ordered one each of barbecue meat option : beef, spicy pork, chicken and pork chop.



Sushi is ordered per piece and we ordered ten pieces of spicy tuna, two pieces each of california roll, avocado roll, prawn tempura roll, kappa maki and salmon maki. Just for different flavor we also ordered one order of cone scallop sushi. Sashimi is also ordered by piece and limited to eight pieces per person. So we ordered four pieces each of spicy tuna and spicy salmon.

Now the verdict. The size of each portion for the bbq was actually pretty decent. We are not meat eater so our first round pretty much hit us on the spot and we stopped right there. The meat though not the best quality but marinated well and flavorful. The cut was thin so it wasn't chewy. The grill was a hit and miss. Make sure to test a few area to see which area has bigger flames and rotate your meat or else they turn to charcoal.

Of all the roll sushi I enjoyed the spicy tuna and prawn tempura the most. For fans of sashimi, don't get the spicy version because they came with some orange color sauce that has color of sriracha but in my opinion didn't add any heat to the sashimi. Same thing with spicy tofu, not worth the precious space in my tummy.

Worth mentioning was the chicken karaage which was made with chicken drummetes. Freshly fried chicken is always good. We also got yam and zucchini tempura which was delicious and freshly made.

For second round we added some house salad, sunomono salad, goma-ae and a few pieces of gyoza to wrap up the meal. The salad was good and refreshing. The tanginess of the dressing took away some of the greasiness feeling that came with eating meat. We should have ordered them earlier to go with the bbq. I learned a new dish that day called goma-ae which is a spinach salad with sesame dressing. The sesame dressing was actually creamy and rich. It seemed like a simple dish that could easily be recreated at home.

All in all we thought it was a fair value for the price. Quality of the sushi was pretty decent. Sashimi was not bad just make sure don't order the spicy ones. BBQ option was good.

Shabusen Yakiniku House
755 Burrard St #202, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1X6
(604) 669-3883
www.shabusenyakiniku.com