Oka-San
3578 Fraser St. | 604-620-9898 | OkasanKitchen.com
Open Wednesday-Monday, noon until 9pm.
In case you haven’t frequented any restaurants for the last six months, Hawaiian food, especially poke (pronounced po-kay), is taking over restaurant menus across the city. It’s hardly surprising. The traditional seafood salad shares several characteristics with ceviche and Japanese shime (marinated seafood), which are both popular local dishes. In fact, Japanese food and culture, thanks to its longstanding presence on the islands, has had a heavy influence of Hawaiian cuisine, which makes it a perfect fit for Vancouver’s diverse palate.
Oka-San opened on Fraser Street around eight months ago, and has been turning out its own mix of home-style Japanese-Hawaiian fusion ever since. The restaurant name means “mother” in Japanese and refers to the comforting menu you might find at “momma’s house”—if your momma was a dab hand at the stove, that is. The restaurant also serves 49th Parallel coffee and housemade iced teas flavoured with raspberry or lemon. It’s not licensed, and there don’t seem to be any plans for that to change.
There is some sushi and sashimi on the menu, but they’re definitely not the star attraction, although the raw bar has some standouts like the tuna gomae. The real draws here are the “momma’s plates”. These are combo dishes featuring your choice of main, one item from the raw bar, and one side dish. They range from $11.95 to $16.95 and include everything from a classic unagi don (on white or brown rice) to poke, which is featured in several dishes. Oka-san’s poke is fresh, citrusy and light, made with ahi tuna and loaded with avocado, tomatoes, seaweed, cucumbers and green onion. Get it on its own as an appetizer ($8.95) or as a main in the combo ($13.95). I tried the braised and chilled eggplant in bonito broth, which was tangy and silky. The gyoza off the appetizer menu are also good, especially the pork with XO sauce ($7.95). Other nods to Hawaii include the spam musubi ($5.95 for two pieces). Spam, you say?
Yeah, you heard right. I’ve never been a fan of canned meat, but these thick caramelized slices of processed pork are surprisingly good, layered on top of sushi rice and topped with a slice of tamago and wrapped in seaweed. It’s essentially a monster nigiri that packs a big, meaty punch. (Want to try this elsewhere? Honolulu Café on Kingsway also serves it.) Moco loco ($13.95) is also available. This is comfort food at its finest and dirtiest. Rice is topped with a hamburger, fried egg and gravy. Oka-san’s version features mushroom gravy and a side of macaroni salad (because, carbs), and it’s become a guilty pleasure, despite the rice being a bit clumpy on several occasions.
There might be one or two desserts on the specials menu, but if you come across the butter-baked mochi cake ($3.95), order it fast before it runs out. Otherwise, stick to the Hawaiian dishes and the ice teas, which will fill you up nicely for lunch or dinner. Service can sometimes be a little slow during peak hours, so be prepared for the occasional wait, but it seems to be slowly improving.
Food: ★★1/2
Service: ★★1/2
Ambiance: ★★★
Value: ★★★
Overall: ★★1/2
All ratings out of five stars.
*: Okay, nothing memorable.
**: Good, shows promise.
***: Very good, occasionally excellent.
****: Excellent, consistently above average.
*****: Awe-inspiring, practically perfect in every way.
Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. In addition to obsessively collecting cookbooks, she is a judge for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
