Pretty Sis introduced me to +Alpha (UPDATE: now called Alpha Sushi Bar), another izakaya restaurant located in downtown Vancouver.
I first thought that it’s probably a lesser known Japanese tapas restaurant due to the “monopoly” by Guu. However, Pretty Sis says that this place gets busier the later it gets, so I guess this gem isn’t unknown after all.
Their menu isn’t too big. It’s actually extra pages stuck onto the front and back empty pages of a real book. The front has the drinks, while the back has the food.
A good thing that everyone would appreciate is that most, if not all, of their drinks are under $10.
So we each ordered a drink. At the back is Pretty Sis’ Sake Martini, which is her favorite drink here. The soothing, smooth flavor of sake really accentuates this drink. The pretty blue color makes it easy on the eyes.
I had the Sakura Yogurt, which was heavenly. You will only enjoy this if you like yogurt. It was creamy, sweet, and smooth. And it was only $5.75, in an ok-size portion. You know I’m big on portioning~
As we were both not that hungry, we ordered two items to share.
Above is the Tuna Garlic Pepper Sashimi ($8.50). This is also Pretty Sis’ favorite, and she apparently orders it everytime she comes to +Alpha.
The tuna was fresh, and was lying atop a bed of seaweed and onion relish. A dollop of minced, marinated fresh garlic is on the side. This was very good.
I picked the Cuttlefish Anchovy Dip ($7.50). The cuttlefish was tender, but what makes this dish was the garlic anchovy dip. It was good, pungent of both garlic and anchovies, which I liked. The cuttlefish itselt seems to have not been marinated, so you will need the dip. I did enjoy this, likely due to the fact I love squid/calamari/cuttlefish.
One last thing I ordered was dessert, delightfully named the “Miracle on Richards St.“. It’s a creamy vanilla milk pudding, topped with cassis jelly ($3.50).
It was indeed very creamy, and milky. I finished this slowly to savor the flavor. I love this stuff~
It was a nice small meal. Thanks Pretty Sis for recommending this!
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