02/017/2010 - Shogun Japanese Restaurant

What was ordered:

Gyoza (large order = 6 pcs) - Mostly veggie... I think there was a little bit of meat... too be honest, I was too disappointed to pay more attention ...

Shrimp Ramen (soy sauce based soup) - came with 3 pcs shrimp tempura, 3 baby shrimp, bean sprouts, shredded carrot, green onion.

Miso Shrimo Ramen - same as above, only with a miso-based soup.

The Verdict:

TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT! Everything was bland in a bad way.

The gyoza's were obviously pre-fried, kept heated, and quickly refried before serving. The chili oil that came with it tasted like sesame oil with spice. The noodles were too soft, tasteless (unless you consider that soapy noodle-ey taste a flavor) and was not enjoyable in any way. The soy based soup tasted like a very light vegetable water, only darkened with a little soy sauce. The miso was just as bad, but it had more flavor... in a weird sweet way... so kind of like a sweetened super diluted sesame paste. And the portions were small-med. There wasn't very much noodle (not that I ate most of mine anyways...) and the veggies were minimalistic. The only redeeming factors were the shrimp and the tea. The shrimp was fried perfectly, albeit there was too much batter. Half of the "shrimp" consisted of batter. I'm pretty sure they serve oolong tea, but I could be wrong. This was actually quite nice. Not too strong and not too diluted. Oh... and if you really don't care what you eat or if you don't have any taste-buds, they are very speedy. The gyoza's were out in 3 min and the noodles came very soon afterwards.

Needless to say, we were very disappointed. I was recommended this restaurant by a co-worker and when we walked by Shogun during lunch time they were very busy. At 5:15pm it was quite the opposite. There were only 3 tables, including ourselves. Service was alright, our tea was refilled and our order was taken promptly. Funnily enough, it was hard to get someone's attention when we wanted to pay. And another thing, this restaurant is Korean-operated, if not owned.

Shogun Japanese Restaurant
595 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 684-6899