One of my longtime friends was telling me that her favorite sushi restaurant in Vancouver is Green Leaf Sushi. The challenge, at least for me, is that it is located on West Broadway and almost Alma Street, a hop and a skip away from the UBC Point Grey campus. And I’m practically never out in that part of town. So, imagine my excitement when I heard a second location had opened by Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby. That’s Green Leaf Cafe.

‘Green Leaf’ was chosen as our go to place for lunch.  It had been quite some time since our last visit — we were anxiously-looking forward to this opportunity of another dining experience.  We (my lady and I) arrived at the restaurant just before the doors were opened, and ’open’ light turned on at 11:30 am.    

Service from everyone was very friendly, cordial, and helpful throughout our stay.  I believe every one of the several servers working during our time there, stopped by our table at least once, to ensure we were being well-taken care of, and enjoying what was ordered — in what I thought was a very caring way, and definitely not being overly-attentive.  

What we ordered:  (dishes named and described as listed in the restaurant’s menu)

—  Casual Plates:  “Osaka Style” Tako Yaki (4 pcs), Deep Fried Dashi Tofu (spicy, deep fried battered tofu in “dashi” broth, 7 pcs), Crispy Chicken (deep fried soy garlic seasoned chicken, on bed of lettuce, 5 pcs)  —   Fritters:  Prawn Fritter (deep fried battered prawn, 6 pcs), Snapper Fritter (deep fried battered snapper, soy glaze and wasabi mayo, on bed of lettuce, 6 pcs)  —  Fresh Oshi (“pressed” Osaka style):  Sockeye Salmon & Avocado (6 pcs)  —  Pasta + Udon:  Beef Yaki Udon (stir pan fried beef udon noodles).

Service from kitchen to table definitely brought a delightful “sensory surprise” — everything ordered came to our table at the same time.  When laid out, almost covering our table, it sure looked good — with all the colours, and shapes & sizes of the various presentations.  I believe we both let out a quite loud ‘wow’ — I do know we sure received warm and wonderful smiles from our servers when they saw our reaction to their delivery!!  

Food preparations were as good as hoped — a wealth of distinctive textures, flavours and tastes.  If I had to pick ‘standouts’ — for me:  snapper fritter, dashi tofu, the fresh oshi, and beef yaki udon — for she:  tako yaki, dashi tofu, snapper fritter, and avocado halves of the fresh oshi.  The prawn fritter and crispy chicken preparations were just ‘ok’  — prawns lacked distinctive flavour, chicken, though flavourful, the very small pieces (‘slivers’) were too thickly-battered.

All-in-all, a much-enjoyed lunch dining experience once again at Green Leaf.