Torafuku

we visited during dine out, and managed to snag a table without waiting. hooray!
food had such clean flavours. we wanted to eat all the things again, from the smoked cabbage steak appy — who would have thought?! it was AH.MAH.ZHING. — to the jello condensed milk ice cream salted caramel deliciousness desert. i recommend taking your server’s suggestion — i had the cod and was slightly less enthusiastic than my bestie who took server-lady’s advice.
my only complaint was that our dishes didn’t come out at the same time, even though they had a small menu and lots of kitchen staff… other than that, a wonderful meal and we’ll be back to try their regular menu! hooray for delicious food!

The food here is delicious and the cocktails are consistently excellent. The service is friendly and efficient. I’ve been here twice, and after last night, I have to say, the servings are too small. I get that it is small plates, but these are Very Small Plates. I get that fish and meat are expensive, but they could throw on a few more of the lesser expensive items, like the vegetables or the gnocchi. Our gnocchi dish had exactly 4 (very tasty) gnocchi on it. Come on guys – it’s potato and flour. Maybe because it was restaurant week, they were cheaping out?
Not as good as Bao Bei.

Made a reservation for two for Dineout Vancouver and was looking forward to trying out the place. Upon arriving at the restaurant we were promptly seated. However despite the available booth seating, we were seated at the bar, which was unfortunate as we were looking for a more intimate experience. We were then handed the menu and told that we would not receive an appetizer each, but rather one appetizer shared amongst two people. This was a bit surprising as the cost per person is $ 30. We got a sashimi salad for the appetizer which was okay. It was somewhat of a simple dish, as my girlfriend remarked that she could probably make it at home. The entrees arrived next. I got the steak while my girlfriend got the fish. The portions for the entrees were a bit small, especially for $ 30 each. The beef was decent but the fish was a bit bland.
Overall, I would not recommend the restaurant. I believe there is better food out there at a far better value.

I have to say this place is a 4.5 star for me cause the food and service is good. It lost half a star only cause more than half their menu has sesame oil or seed or paste in it and I happen to be allergic to that. I understand it’s not their fault at all cause I understand food taste and smell better with sesame oil. If it wasn’t for my stupid allergy I would have had almost everything on their menu.
Asides from that we still ordered the calamari, kick ass rice, carbonara and the mochi and veggie. I didn’t touch the kick ass rice but I had everything else. My friend pretty much finished the kick ass rice herself and tried the rest of the dishes with me. I have to say all of them are really good. The carbonara was made with homemade noodles that felt a like udon which was really good. I agree with most of the people here that Kick ass rice and calamari is the thing to get.
Overall, it was worth my time to come by to try it out. I would suggest others to give this place a shot. It’s at walk able distance from main street skytrain station too. Parking is very limited to street I believe. But definitely worth it to try out.

Contemporary, Fusion, Dine-​Out Vancouver, Worth it
I have introduced to this place by my friend who made a reservation for the four of us for Dine-​Out Vancouver. What I would definitely come back for: the taste and its innovative menu.
First, the restaurant is very clean and simplistic in décor. The bowls and plates are handmade we were told. It does give way to its beautiful presentation in its food.
Second, a few favourites of the night was Bird’s Nest for appetizer which was a scotch egg nestled on top of a crispy vermicelli nest, mixed in with Japanese mustard pickles. My favourite main was Kare Kare which was seared beef blade steak on a bed of 3 grain risotto mixed in with peanut ragu, oxtail and some pickled veggies. The BEEF! It was medium rare done to perfection! I was told Kare Kare is actually the name of a filipino dish which a peanut sauce. A great contemporary spin on a dish. The only note of improvement is that the crispy tofu could be more flavourful as it was quite bland actually, so could have skip it as a side.
Third, I loved the presentation on the Mousse on the Loose for dessert. Beautiful and creative. It is made up of a dark chocolate mousse mille feuille, white chocolate crumble and a kumquat compote and a few gold leaf on top.

This place was good+. Food, good. Presentation/​plating was amazing, even instagrammable, if your heart is still ²⁰¹⁴⁄₂₀₁₅. Décor, good if on the cold side both aesthetically & literally. Fantastic service, attentive and kind without any pushiness or pretension.
Out of several dishes sampled, Kickass Rice 2.0 was the standout star. Those who remember 1.0 from the food truck, expect smaller portions, lovingly presented in cubist shapes but still packing punch when it comes to the well-​balanced flavour combinations.
Overall: Nice flavours and ambience, great service, lower on value — pricing is fair but portions are minimal. Great place for drinks over tapas-​style shared plates, nice place to stop in on a date, but don’t view it as a place for a proper meal unless you’re a light eater.
Bathroom was very clean (pics), posting b/​c it matters a lot to some of us.

Nosh and Nibble came here for an early summer dinner and I got a great taste of the following wittily-​named items:
Welcome to the Gun Show ($ 12)
This is Not Tortellini ($ 12)
Dr. Octopus vs. Mr Tuna ($ 12)
«Calamari» Done the Right Way ($ 10)
Rye So Messy Chicken Wings ($ 12)
Crowned 2015 Chicken Fight Best Dish — rye and gochujang marinate, mango glaze, ramen crumble, kfc sauce. so good. so tender and ramen noodles so good.
Kickass Rice 2.0 ($ 10) Aburi style torched pork belly with kickass rice in a box. rice was so good and box was sharply cut.
Welcome to the Gun Show was a bowl of local mussels, tomato, coconut milk, lime and cilantro. I liked the coconut milk soup and the mussel shells were all populated. They also came with a side of chipotle crispy potatoes. These weren’t as spicy as chipotle might suggest, but they were crisp, dunked well with the mussel soup, and was probably the most filling item on the menu.
This Is Not Tortellini was a plate of Chinese pork dumplings shaped as Italian tortellini accompanied with shiso, ginger, garlic, scallion, and angry tiger sauce. This was a beautiful creation and the most aesthetically pleasing dish of the night. The angry tiger sauce gave a nice zing, and there was also okra pleasant. I’m not a big fan of okra for its sliminess and this plate didn’t change my mind about that unfortunately.
The Dr. Octopus vs Mr Tuna was an octopus salad with tomato, jalepeno, scallions, crispy nori, tuna crudo, and romesco sauce. Just so everyone knows, tuna crudo is not tuna sashimi. It’s an Italian-​style way of preparing raw fish with extra ingredients (like romesco sauce) instead of just a nice slice, though here it was a nice slice. I wasn’t too keen on the pairing of tuna and octopus as the two just seemed like very different bites (think chewy vs. soft), but maybe that was the whole point. I would have preferred these to have been separated into two dishes with equally witty names.
«Calamari» Done The Right Way was Humboldt squid, onion, tomato, lychee, arugula, and sweet chilli dressing. These were very lightly fried so I liked that they weren’t too oily and another plus for presentation. For anyone used to a Western style Calamari where you get a huge appetizer, this is not the focus for Torafuku’s «Calamari».
The Rye So Messy Chicken Wings, billed as «2015 Chicken Fight Best Dish», came with rye and gochujang marinate, mango glaze, ramen crumble, and kfc sauce. For anyone who likes a crispy or messy wing, the ramen crumble gives them even more crunch and you’d probably enjoy the wings here too because inside the crisp skin was an incredibly tender body.
I’m not sure where 1.0 went, but Kickass Rice 2.0 was aburi-​style torched pork belly with kickass rice in a box. The rice tasted very good; soft but just a touch chewy. Each piece looked laser cut which added to its presentation and the pork belly on top was very supple.
In a few words, the food here is some of the most aesthetically pleasing Asian fusion food in the city. You’ll be recommended to order between 2 and 3 plates, so you can look to spend around $ 32 before tax, tip, or drinks if everyone is ordering the same number of things.

Tora! Tora! Tora!
An all around solid experience although the room was a little on the cooler side of things, thankfully I was wearing a sweater but my date was a bit chilly.
Keep in mind the plates are smaller and intended for sharing, the 2 of us ordered 4 items and it was perfect (especially considering I ate more than half the food).
Service was solid and the food came out pretty quickly, the Dr. Octopus vs Mr. Tuna and Nice to Meat you came out super quickly. Both were very nice dishes, great flavours and the tuna carpaccio was a highlight.
Shortly thereafter came out the Kickass Rice 2.0, I was expecting a bowl of some sort but nope, they came out in pressed rectangles. Very delicious.
The Gone Fishing took quite a bit longer to come out than the other dishes, not that we were in a rush or impatient but I started to wonder if they forgot a dish. The flavours were delicious and the dish was quickly gone.
I’d like to come back to try some of the other dishes.

Had a few dishes here. Gone fishing (which included sable fish, crab & congee– not my favourite dish), Mr. Tuna vs. Dr. Octopus (which included albacore tuna carpaccio… this one was my favourite) and «Lucky Tiger» Ramen (which included pork belly, leeks and a great broth — fairly decent). It’s definitely worth trying this place. However, I wish there were a 0.5 option. In reality, I would rate this place a 3.5.

Overall Rating ³⁄₅
Nicely put, this place is ok. Great effort for food. But there was alot of dishes I didn’t like. Wasn’t a fan of alot of the flavors, and textures.
Here are some dining tips:
No Resos. First Come, First Serve. Sometimes shared seating at a large community table. Bar seating is small. Portion size, It’s a good place to eat if you have 4 people or more people. Dishes are a pretty good size for sharing. Could even be alot for 2 unless you two are super hungry beasts lol.
Now on to the food…
DIRTY BIRDY FRIED RICE
I enjoyed this dish. Was easy to eat and pick at. Loved that they used brown rice. Wasn’t dry or anything like that. But this was nothing special.
CALAMARI THE WAY I LIKE IT
My favorite of the night. Really nice textures and flavors. This is definitely a MUST.
BROWN COW
Wasn’t really a fan. I will order anything with oxtail in it because I love oxtail. But this dish really didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the sauce (it was a little sweet for my taste), or rice cake.
VEGETARIANS ONLY
Not a fan. I usually like mochi. But this was just a weird weird dish. Even tho it says «vegetarian», you hardly get a vegetarian feel for this dish. Felt more like deep fried carbs!
RYE SO MESSY CHICKEN WINGS
Way too much going on with this. Overly fried, and had a sauce on it i wasn’t a fan of.
I also had 2 specials:
NEGITORO RICE
Wasnt a fan. Very mushy. Maybe would have been better with hot sauce.
MUSSELS with POTATOES
I forgot the real name for this. The presentation was beautiful. The potatoes were really nicely fried. I couldnt stop eating them. But the mussels were made in a tomato cream sauce. I couldnt quite understand it. With the theme of the restaurant being «asian fusion», my mind was playing tricks on me. I wanted to taste red curry, or coconut with the mussels. Didn’t get that from this dish.
DESSERT
They only have one dessert, and its not even on the menu.
It was really amazing! It was a chocolate bar, and it had crunch matcha garnishings, raspberry purée dots and various other cute garnishings. I wanted to order two of these!!!
DRINKS
The bartenders are skilled here. The drinks are very good. Tasty, not overly sweet, not watered down, and very balanced.
Overall, I’m not a big fan of the food, but the atmosphere here is great for snacking, drinks and dessert. The menu needs more protein and vegetables on its own. Many of the dishes were mixed with carbs which made me feel like I didn’t have much ordering options. The food is visually appealing, but the flavors/​textures just don’t hit the spot.

I had a lovely dinner here with my girlfriends on Tuesday night. The service was fantastic – friendly, attentive, and informative – and the food was delicious. I was blown away by how innovative each dish was, from name to plating to taste.
Favourites of the night:
— Comfort High (cocktail served hot that is basically holiday cheer in a cup)
— Wannabe Carbonara (the perfect marriage of Italian and Asian noodles with a creamy, egg sauce)
— Vegetarians Only (crispy mochi goodness; filling!)
— Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna (I’ve never seen anything like it!)
— Kickass Rice 2.0 (pork belly aburi that melts in your mouth)
— Magic Stick (This dessert was so heavenly that we had to order a second one to share. Imagine a chocolate ganache bar with amazing matcha crumbles and different fruit sauces. Now stop imagining and go to Torafuku to experience it in person.)
I got there at 6:30pm and snagged a booth, but it did start filling up after.
I’m looking forward to coming back!

If your looking for something contemporary, flavourful and hip… you have to eat here.
Torafuku presents an novel, ultra-​modern yet economical restaurant in the Chinatown/​Main St area. If you visit here anytime soon there is probably a 45 – 60 min wait on a weekend evening. The staff were knowledgable and helpful managing this medium size restaurant.
In terms of quality, the food here is exceptional. The Dirty Bird Fried rice was good along with the Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna, the Me Like Papaya was extremly underwhelming however a few dishes definitely stand out as some of the tastiest things I’ve ever had in this city. The «Calamari done the right way», «Vegetarians Only» dish and «Rye So Messy» Chicken wings are nothing short of exclusive tastes in a city full of unique restaurants from beautiful places from around the globe. Don’t think about it too hard, just come eat here.

A solid 4.5 stars. This place hit all the right spots for me — a combination of trendy, modern and creativity that provided a really fun dining experience. We came here last Friday night for dinner around 8pm. Be prepared to wait (we waited 30 mins for 2 people) since they don’t accept reservations. You can put your name down, grab a drink somewhere else and they’ll call you when a table becomes available.
The tapas portions were fair and we were completely stuffed after 4 dishes shared by 2. The dishes that we ordered seemed to differentiate slightly from their menu descriptions, but overall each dish uniquely combined different Asian flavours (from Japanese to Caribbean to Indian to Chinese to Korean). Each dish was great but if I had to rank them, starting from the best, it would be: Mussels, Octopus vs. Tuna, Brown Cow, Ramen.
Torafuku Ramen ($ 12 — out of duck, replaced with pork belly that night)
The pork belly is absolutely tender and had hints of Chinese cha-​siu favour. The broth is sweetened from the corn and the thin ramen noodles are cooked slightly al-​dente. Asian fusion result: Japanese meets Chinese.
Welcome to the Gun-​Show ($ 12 — mussels in butter chicken sauce that night with frites)
Plump juicy local mussels in a coconut butter chicken broth. Very interesting take on the classic mussels. We absolutely loved the broth. I wish we were given bread instead of fries to help soak up the delicious broth! Asian fusion result: West meets Indian
Brown Cow ($ 13 — braised oxtail with Korean rice noodles instead of sticky rice cake that night)
The oxtail was super tender, to the point it was almost in shreds. The sauce has flavours of the Caribbean with an interesting pairing with Korean rice noodles. Very hearty dish packed with tons of interesting flavour combinations. Asian fusion results: Caribbean meets Korean
Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna ($ 12 — cooked octopus and tuna sashimi)
I’ve never had octopus cooked so perfectly and tenderly before. It was not chewy at all! How??? The tuna sashimi was melt-​in-​your-​mouth buttery — so fresh and delicious.
Overall the service is good but there was a slight delay and wait in taking our initial order. I will definitely come back to try the other menu items.

Been there, done that.
No plan to return,
any time coming soon.
Why?
Too trendy for me.
Ambiance just too noisy.
It drives me nuts.
Sit straight whole time,
coz no seat back.
And my back hurts.
Food is yummy, but
not filling at all.
Spent $ 30 still hungry…
Otherwise,
Service overall very good.
My actual rating 2.5÷5.

From the popular Le Tigre food truck, chefs/​owners Clement Chan and Steven Kuan have finally opened up the hotly anticipated Torafuku («lucky tiger» in Japanese), a modern Asian eatery, located between Campagnolo and Electric Owl on Main Street near Chinatown.
As the name suggests, the Le Tigre team is aiming for something different with Torafuku while remaining true to the same flavour inspirations. Diners at the 48-​seat location can expect a blend of seasonal tastes from Japanese to Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese in an izakaya dining experience with tapas style dishes ideal for sharing.
To start, the Me Like Papaya salad (with green papaya, julienne carrots, tomato, red cabbage, green beans, chilli, peanuts, and naam jim) was full of fresh flavours with a nice bite to it. The This is Not Tortellini (with pork, shiso, ginger, garlic, scallion, and angry tiger sauce) was fine but needs another revisit.
The Kick-​Ass Rice 2.0 (Aburi style torched pork belly with rice pressed in a box) was solid and flavourful but needs a little work staying assembled. I found the elaborately named Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna (octopus salad with tomato, jalapeños, scallions, crispy nori, tuna crudo, and romesco sauce) understated but scrumptious and immaculately presented.
Everyone seemed pretty psyched for the Vegetarians Only dish (with crispy mochi, seasonal veggetables, mozza, and torched mayo) and it did not disappoint with a unique, deliciously creamy fried texture. It’s dangerous but was easily a highlight.
The cocktails from bartender Max Borrowman were also fairly on point, particularly the Shogun 75 (a take on the French 75 with vodka, green tea syrup, yuzu, kaffir lime, basil, smoked pear bitters, and sparkling wine). It was very citrusy and refreshing.
The Dirty Birdy fried rice (with chicken liver, prawns, tofu, chilli, egg, and brown rice) lived up to its name as a messy but satisfying rice bowl with plenty of fixings. The Rye So Messy chicken wings (with rye and gochujang marinade, mango glaze, ramen crumble, and KFC sauce) were dynamite and mighty tasty (challenging Phnom Penh and Pidgin’s wings) thanks to that ramen crumble.
Torafuku already has an eclectic, diverse menu of tasty items for any mood. The space will also serve as Le Tigre’s permanent nighttime location and commissary for the food truck.
It’s already definitely worth a try for its twists on modern Asian dishes and an overall pleasant dining experience from inside and out in a lovely space.

This new Japanese tapa restaurant is up beat, trendy and unique. It is a cool place to try high end Japanese tapa food with cheaper prices.
I ordered four dishes as follows.
1– chicken wings
Pros/​cons– the display of this dish was very attractive and looked delicious, but the chicken wings were over seasoned.
2– mint in the Kissass rice
Pros/​cons– the pork bell on top of rice with mint and some veggies tasted great, but the portion was quite small with 6 small pieces.
3– Go Fish (Market) dish (Taiwanese style rice porridge)
Pros/​cons– a raw egg, green onions and tuna on rice. Mixed everything together. I wouldn’t say it tasted excellent. It was alright.
4– calamari and lychee
Pros/​cons — there were so many different types of calamari out there in Greater Vancouver. This is considered a special dish as Torafuku added lychee to the dish. Each piece of calamari was big but there were only 7or 8 pieces.
Overall, each dish was unique and very personal as you could see the chefs put time and affords to create each dish. However, some of the food was over seasoned that the original flavour of the food was gone and only the spice or seasonings could be tasted.
I went to this place with my boyfriend after work. I was supposed to be relaxed and chatted with him but the environment was busy and crowded and it was very noisy with loud music. I could not talk at all unless I shouted out loudly.

OVERALLl:
This is a great tapa place. Opened for around 2 months now. The menu is fun and playful to read. Good food, service and drinks. Just be warned if you’re a big eater (used to american size) not so good, as the portions are on the small side. If you’re like me and likes to try lots of different dishes and share food, this would be an ideal place to go.
FOOD:
Calamari done the right way $ 10:
My friend said it is the best calamari he’s had thus far. I thought it was great. Crispy and light and not too greasy. The calamari has a panko batter with a good strong flavour of garlic.
Rye so messy chicken wings $ 12:
The chicken was flavourful (korean spices) and crispy (panko batter). The chicken meat inside was juicy. It had a unique ramen crumble, which added good texture if you re-​dipped your chicken into the panko and ramen crumble for extra crunch in each bite.
Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna $ 12:
The flavours where well balanced. However never special about this dish. It tastes like any other sashimi done right and fresh. The octopus was tender and not too chewy.
Kickass rice 2.0 $ 10:
The pork belly was sliced thinly so it didn’t taste to fatty. The flavours aren’t really strong, but well balanced and clean. Best to start of with this dish before having other more rich dishes.
Chocolate truffle dessert:
If you are a chocolate lover, then this dish if for you. It was rich in chocolaty flavour with a hazel nut wafer crunch. The wafer crunch, kinda became soft, so wasn’t so crispy. Some passion fruit crumple, berry compote and almond ice-​cream (you can taste the almond and not too sweet) on the side. Each component tasted good by itself and as well as together. You can experiment and make different combinations. If I had the stomach room, I would have this whole thing to myself!
DRINKS:
Moscow Mule $ 9:
It was ok I have had better.
Shogun 75 $ 12:
You definitely taste the yuzu, basil and a hint of the bitter pears. It’s not too citric or sweet.
SERVICES:
The service is quick and staff is on top of things and friendly.
AMBIENCE:
Modern and hip looking. There are some booths to one side of the restaurant, so great for a group of friends. Then on the other side there is this long communal table. Great to get ideas and see what other people have ordered. They can get quite busy during weekends and peak dinner hours, so head there a bit earlier so you don’t have to wait as long as they don’t take reso.
PARKING:
Lots of street parking meters and free 1 or 2 hours spots around.

If you like Le Tigre, you’ll like this place! Initially, I thought it was more Japanese than fusion, but either way, I wasn’t disappointed.
By the time my friend and I got here on a Sunday night, most of the best-​sellers on their menu were sold out, so I’d definitely want to stop by again to try those. However, the dishes we ordered (chicken wings and mussels) were still scrumptious and definitely good for sharing. They also had an amusingly named selection of really great cocktails; it was pretty hard to choose just one.
Update (1÷18÷2016): came back here for Dine Out Vancouver 2016, and I’d definitely recommend it. Bring friends though so you can try everything because that’s what I ended up doing.
The appetizers are shareable between 2 people, but there were 4 of us, so we ended up getting both options. The unanimous favourite of the table was the «Bird’s Nest». The sashimi salad was great too, but the scotch egg was just cooked perfectly and the crispy vermicelli added a nice texture to it. Out of the mains, I liked the «Magic Mushroom». The steak on the Kare Kare was tender and melted in my mouth, but because I’m a Filipino, I expected more of the flavours of the sauce to come out. However, dessert just killed it. «J-​E-​L-​L-​O» was an interesting mix of textures and the flavours complemented each other really well. I tried so hard to savour it, but I couldn’t wait to put the next spoonful in my mouth.
Plating was exquisite too, but I couldn’t handle my excitement and just started digging in.

Loved the décor and service, but the food was all pretty meh to me. Large communal table, some booths and tables for four. Food came out quickly.
Had the chicken wings, veggie risotto, calamari, fried rice and oxtail. Everything tasted vaguely similar — somewhat spicy and with an egg on top. I was really looking forward to the chicken wings but thry were just too spicy for me.
Their cocktail list looked good though, I’d stick to drinks next time. Didnt see any desserts.

Ohh maaa gaawwd!
Extremely high class food & cocktails without being pretentious or snobby. That’s how I’d sum it up. So much creative love going on here, from the cocktails to the names of the dishes. «Rye so messy» chicken wings are a game changer, as is the People’s cocktail (I think that’s the name).
Enjoy your voyage on the seven seas of flavolicious excellence.