604 Foodtography

I’m a fan of VANEATS.ca. They produce wicked videos for restaurants, which is forward thinking and really helps to showcase menu items. In addition to this, they also partner up with restaurants to provide Groupon like deals in limited quantities. For good reason, they deals are majorly discounted and offer great value. Recently (after I met them at Prestons) they contacted me and asked me to preview their upcoming package deal with Ebisu, and I happily obliged. Collaboration is good!

I should start off by saying that I’m no stranger to Ebisu. I celebrated my 19th birthday here and have also come for numerous other birthdays as well. There never seems to be a night where Ebisu isn’t busy. Pop quiz, what restaurant used to occupy the current location of Ebisu?

So what is this package?

CHEERS EBISU is…

1. Chikuwa Cheese, deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese
2. Cajun Tuna Tacos, seared fresh tuna & shredded mixed salad dressed with our tantalizing house ginger sauce
3. Tiger Mayo, deep fried Black Tiger prawns complete with our chefs sweet chili mayonnaise dip
4. Kansai Steak Sliders, sauteed sliced beef marinated in yakiniku sauce sandwiched with avocado, onions, mushrooms & mayo
5. Chicken Karaage, deep fried boneless chicken
6. Thunder Fries, fresh house-cut fried sweet potato sticks served with our popular house cajun dip
7. 1 pitcher of PREMIUM SAPPORO DRAFT

All that for $25. That’s not a typo, it’s really $25.

Let’s break it down.

Downtown Vancouver.

Pitcher of beer.

That’s at least $15 worth.

For another $10 you get SIX (6) different appetizers. That’s pretty much a no brainer, and personally, I’m going to be picking up package for myself. It’ll be handy to keep in the (figurative) back pocket if I’m ever downtown and stuck for ideas on some beer and eats.

Thunderfries, pretty much my favourite appetizer on the menu. Not your typical yam fries that come frozen in a box from Sysco, but rather  awesome. There’s also a surprise stick of mozzarella cheese hiding in there. Chicken Karaage, boneless big juicy well seasoned hunks of chicken. Even though Janice and I waited about 20 minutes for Jeff to arrive, they were still hot and moist. The Tiger Prawns were massive with a light tempura batter, and held up well with time as well.

Chikuwa Cheese, deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese. An interesting combination for sure.

There’s only two items in this package that aren’t deep fried, but hey that’s what makes food delicious. Right?

Cajun Tuna Tacos, super crunchy taco shells with ahi tuna avocado tomato and lettuce.

I’m going to have to agree with the others who have previewed this package, that the Kansai Steak Sliders were tad salty. Jeff liked his, I could have used some more guacamole.

Overall, I believe this is a steal of a deal and is perfect to take advantage of happy hour any hour. Starting November 1st, 2011 (that’s tomorrow!), you can purchase a CHEERS EBISU! package for $25 each on VANEATS.ca.  There are only 150 available and I fully expect them to sell out by the end of week. Redeemable till the end of month, so don’t delay.