Thursday, December 30, 2010

Guu With Garlic!



First time going to the Guu with Garlic on Robson Street, and it was really yummy. I was super surprised at the quality and the ambiance in the small restaurant.

Ambiance: Love the bustle of the restaurant and the very traditional and japanese decor. There was a smaller room where diners kneel whilst eating and of course, there are tables and seating along the bar. It is a bit tight but it's quite bearable.
Food:
What we ordered:
First up : Korokke
It’s basically mashed potatoes with some creamy sauce and corn with a deep fried coating. It’s light and crispy, and the mashed potatoes were super fluffy. It also came with a sauce that was slightly tangy but also thick. Super yummy!
Second: Beef Carpaccio

Beef Carpaccio is slightly cooked ( very thinly on the sides) but mostly raw beef slices. This dish came with a creamy wasabi sauce that wasn’t too spicy and a plum sauce drizzled on top. It also included some fried garlic pieces and radish. It’s probably one of the best beef carpaccios I’ve ever tasted and my mouth is watering right now….


Third: Ton Toro
Ton Toro is fatty pork cheeks that have been cooked. It’s really soft meat and the outsides are slightly fried whilst the inside is super tender. It’s a bit salty for my taste but overall, the sauce that came with it ( sour ish) helped offset all the sodium haha.
Fourth: Salmon Carpaccio
                                                         

Although similar to beef carpaccio, the salmon differed slightly. It wasn’t cooked at all ( which I didn’t mind), was thin sliced, and came with a different sauce. However, the quality remained the same and it was amazing. The flavours were so vivid and totally burst on the tongue.

Fifth: Tuna Tataki
                                                         

Tuna tataki, is pretty much the same as the carpaccios, however it was slightly pan seared ( just the edges), although it still retained some element of rawness. The sauce it came with was salty but light. It was really fragrant and seemed to melt on my tongue.

Sixth: Ume-Shiso Udon
                                                       
Our last dish, this was more of a filler than an appetizer. It as made with ume ( plum) so it had a bit of a sour but tangy sharpness to the noodles and also had some meat ( beef or pork? I’m not quite sure). The noodles were chewy and tender, and the accompanying herbs and sauce was flavourful without being heavy.

Guu With Garlic on UrbanspoonService: Excellent service! I am actually quite happy that we booked reservations because by the time we arrived ( 15 minutes late), the restaurant was packed. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. They even phoned me at 7:10pm to ask if I was coming still and charged nothing for it! They were extremely attentive and I never had an unfilled cup of tea!
Price: Price was pretty good, with dishes priced around $5-7 depending on what you pick. It's reasonable, especially for the quality.