Our third day in Vancouver began with lunch at Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba. The Japanese noodle shop is known for their mazesobe – a dry noodle dish made with a sauce of soy sauce and pork lard topped with various toppings that’s all mixed before eating. I had to try it!
We arrived just before the lunch rush and were seated right away. We’ve never had mazesoba before, so it was nice to see directions for enjoying it. The unique dish was created by a Japanese chef in Hanabi who had a ramen shop in Nagoya. It did not have soup. It had spicy hot minced meat, raw egg yolk, nori (seaweed), negi (green onions), and menma (baby bamboo) on top.
I ordered a refreshing Tokyo Iced Milk Tea brewed with 100% organic black tea. We decided to get a few sides – edamame, pork gyoza, crispy yam fries, and I had to try their chicken karaage.
The sides were good and then the main dishes of mazesoba were served. I went with the Niku Mazesoba made with slow-braised chashu (braised pork belly), green onions, spicy minced pork, seaweed flakes, chives, minced garlic, grinded saba fish, and raw egg yolk.
My sister ordered the Vegan Mazesoba which was topped with seaweed flakes, cherry tomatoes, diced onion, minced garlic, lemon, corn, spinach, and a homemade Japanese tomato sauce.
Both had multi-grain noodles made in house.
Break the yolk, mix, and enjoy! You can add some vinegar to ease any saltiness and add extra chili flakes for a nice spicy kick.
The mazesoba was tasty and filling. You can even ask for free rice afterwards to eat with any remaining sauce and toppings. For dessert, I wanted to try the Hokkaido Crème Cup made with organic milk soft serve ice cream. It came with a cute little shovel for a spoon. It wasn’t that different from regular soft serve. I was expecting it to be a bit creamier.
By the time we finished our meal, the place was full and several people were waiting. We enjoyed our lunch at Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba. I thought I tried all the Japanese noodle dishes out there, but this was a more unique version that I really liked.
After lunch, we decided to check out the Museum of Anthropology. The museum is renowned for its displays of a world arts and cultures with a special emphasis on the First Nations peoples and other cultural communities of British Columbia, Canada.
It’s one of the most interesting museums we’ve been to. The art is really cool and the culture of the Aboriginal peoples is fascinating. The Raven and the First Men sculpture by Bill Reid is very impressive.
If you’re in Vancouver, you do not want to miss the Museum of Anthropology.
My sister continued to browse the museum for a bit longer and I caught a taxi back downtown to get ready for the hockey game!
Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba
551 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 3H6, Canada
+1 604-559-8872
Website
Museum of Anthropology
6393 NW Marine Drive
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
+1 604-822-5087
Website
