Mia Stainsby
Sun
Gohan sushi chef Takeo Ishii holds a freshly made ‘deep south roll’ at the Gohan Japanese restaurant in Burnaby. Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun
GOHAN
1815 Rosser Ave., Burnaby, B.C. 604-205-5212. www.members.shaw.ca/ gohan1815rosser/index.html
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Back in 1971, Tatsuya Abe found himself in Winnipeg as a 19-year-old from Japan, tender as a peashoot, and without much English or an income. About the only thing he could do was respond to a “help wanted” sign for a chef in a Japanese restaurant.
“I didn’t have experience so what I did was take a cooking course in the college and started working for the restaurant,” says Tatsuya, whose last name is pronounced a-beh. “I think the restaurant is still there.”
And Abe is an enabler of those with a weakness for Japanese food. Five years ago, he opened Gohan, an airy neighbourhood spot across from Brentwood Mall with glass walls on one side and aggressive crimson on the other.
Gohan, which means “meal” in Japanese, is busy at lunch; around dinner, takeout seems to take over. For lunch there are combo specials as well as the regular menu. One can dine quite frugally here.
Abe’s 36 years in North America (including a stretch of time cooking in Hawaii) have influenced his cooking. There are insertions like chicken loco moco, a version of the Hawaiian rice dish with meat or fish or even egg atop rice with a gravy-like sauce. Abe created kushi katsu, which are chicken and pineapple skewers. He does gyoza with salmon. Tuna tataki takes a bit of a detour — it’s lightly seared, topped with roasted garlic drizzled in a thick, reduced balsamic-like sauce. A seafood spring roll with crab, salmon and avocado comes with a fresh papaya sauce — and the three large pieces fill you up.
Tokyo meat pie is pork and rice wrapped in phyllo, then deep fried. I was impressed with his agedashi, a delicate tofu dish sitting in a delicious broth, topped with fresh grated daikon. It’s one of the most popular dishes, Abe says.
The dynamite roll sushi we tried was fresh, with lively flavours.
Gohan isn’t easy to spot, tucked on the ground floor of a condo complex. “I used to live next door. I had two little kids and I didn’t want to be far away,” is his reply to people asking why he didn’t open on a busier street, West Broadway perhaps. If you live in the area and don’t know of it, it’s time you did!
But don’t go between July 27 and Aug. 4. Gohan will be closed for vacation time. Otherwise, it’s open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008