Izumi-Tei

December 31, 2012

Izumi-Tei

A Japanese all you can eat lunch for $10.00 is unheard of in Vancouver as our cost of living is relatively high for a North American city. Izumiya is a giant Japanese supermarket right off the main No.3 Road in Richmond where you can eat authentic sushi from their fresh food section or dine in their sit-down buffet area, Izumi-Tei. We decided to opt for the buffet as we were starving and ended up stuffing ourselves full! Service was pretty much nonexistent but you can’t really expect much from a buffet. Sitting time is one hour.

Ebi Fry (6/7)

This was made extremely well and we were lucky since we managed to sit down when a fresh tray of ebi fry came in. Ebi fry is basically a prawn tempura, but crispier due to the use of panko (Japanese bread crumbs). Even though the prawns were on the small side, the panko crust was made perfectly and we ended up gorging a few every time we went up!

Spicy Chicken Wing (5.75/7)

(top right)

These were massive chicken wings that included the drumsticks as well. The sauce was spicy enough that it didn’t overpower the sauce itself but rather complement it. We enjoyed them but they were a bit messy to eat.

Sushi (5/7)

We tried a variety of sushi rolls including: California roll, dynamite roll, tamago, and the Inari tofu puff. The sushi was fairly good considering we only paid $10 for the buffet while a pack of sushi would be $4.50 at the fresh food section. The dynamite roll was probably the best one out of the selection.

Gomae (4.75/7)

(bottom left)

This classic Japanese appetizer was made a bit too heavy, as the sesame sauce definitely weighed down the spinach too much. It was fairly tasty, but not of high quality.

Salmon Rice (4.75/7)

This was plain but fairly good. It wasn’t very salty and was generously loaded with salmon chunks.

Takoyaki (4/7)

The takoyaki (octopus dough balls) bar was quite interesting as there were several condiments and toppings to put onto the takoyaki. The takoyaki itself was quite cold, which pretty much ruined the entire dish.

Beef Teriyaki (5.75/7)

This was surprisingly good as we didn’t expect too much from this dish since the appearance was quite unappetizing.

Chocolate Soft Ice Cream (6.25/7)

This chocolate ice cream is very unique as it is in between a gelato and a sorbet made into a soft serve format. The ice cream isn’t very creamy nor sweet, but eating it was extremely refreshing and cleansed our palates at the end of the meal.

Cheesecake (5.5/7)

These cheesecake squares were quite tasty but we believe that they came from Costco.

Cream puffs (5.75/7)

These cream puffs were from Costco as well and they were just as delicious!

If you’re hungry and not a food snob, Izumiya’s buffet is definitely worth a try! At $10, you could always just have a large salad and top it off with their delicious ebi fry! Diana said she wouldn’t come back, but Gabriel will end up here again in a few months just to eat their ebi fry, sushi, spicy wings, and ice cream!