Kishu River has always been an oddity. They have "Happy Hour" pricing on certain items starting at 7pm. This translates into some awesomely priced dinner eats.Now I've been to Kishu frequently over the last year. Not too frequently though, since some of my friends are wary of the freshness of their ingredients given the low price tag. However, I've never had an issue with their food, which I always found to be well seasoned, appropriately portioned, and decently priced. The general feeling, though is that their hot food is better than their cold, which can be iffy with not so fresh raw fish.
They're a small family-owned shop, with what looks to be young teenaged kids waiting tables at times. They are impeccably mannered though - nothing like me when I was a teenager :p. Probably Vietnamese owned, as they have a small Vietnamese section of the menu. However, I've never had a chance to try their Vietnamese food as they aren't part of the happy hour discounts. Even though it's just the usual pho noodle soup and lemon chicken rice etc, I'm going to have to try them one of these days.
Today though, I decided to go with the seafood yakisoba, and negitoro roll (6pcs). The soba was stir fried in soy sauce with chunks of prawn, salmon, imitation crab, squid, cabbage, and onion. The noodles were al-dente and the portion was generous for the price ($4.17 with happy hour discount). The negitoro was pretty standard, although they probably used regular tuna instead of fatty (toro) tuna. I couldn't tell. For $8 flat including tax and tip, this was a decent meal.
The rest of my party decided to get oyako don, beef teriyaki don, prawn and salmon tempura, bento box A, and orders of negitoro and california rolls as well.
Mr. bento box A decided not to opt for any happy hour items. The bento came with chicken teriyaki (this was NOT served with egg or vermicelli which he would have got if he ordered a don), california roll, assorted veggie and shrimp tempura, green salad, miso soup, and a slice of orange. This is not a bad deal for $9.95, as a lot of Japanese joints jack up their bento box prices for dinner time. Mr. Bento must have been stuffed since he didn't eat his orange. 
The prawn and salmon tempura was interesting as not many places do salmon tempura. This dish was a real winner. I had a bit of the salmon and it was very well done. The batter was light and not oily or overpowering, and the salmon inside was moist and flavorful. This was not a happy hour item though.Everyone was happy with their food, and left satiated. I've always been happy with Kishu, and it's safe to say we'll be returning every once in a while.
Pros:
-very well priced "Happy Hour" discounts at 7 PM!
-friendly service
Cons:
-low prices may mean some sacrifices in ingredient quality (according to some)
-small shop can fill up quickly. No guaranteed seating for large parties.
-must order at least $5 for Happy Hour, which means at least 2 items with their pricing
Notes:
-open late
-happy hour discounts after 7 PM
-plenty of street parking or across the street at London Drugs complex
Menus: unfortunately, they have a large array of menus and I forgot to snap everything.
 | |
| Happy Hour Menu - January 2011 |
 |
| Menu Page 1 - January 2011 |
 |
| Menu Page 2 - January 2011 |
 |
| Menu Page 3 - January 2011 |
Dude.
ReplyDeleteTerrible food, the fish in the sushi tasted old; I thought they slaughtered some goldfish and used it!
The teriyaki beef was half bean sprouts and the beef looked... used.
The salmon sashimi was slathered in "spicy" sauce in order to distract from the fact that the fish tasted, maybe, 2 wks. old. Honestly, it had no taste. No fish taste. No meat taste. Just pure fibre taste.
The worst Japanese food ever. Plus, they trick you with the 40% off, because they never tell you how much it actually is. In fact, the California roll is 40% off, and it's still $2.75 ($4.50 for a Cali roll in Vancouver?) I call BS, sir. Go to Happy Sushi on Victoria Drive and 40 Avenue.