Gyo-O Review

Gyo-O is part of the Gyoza King family and therefore offers some  macarons that are made at Chicco, the dessert store of the family. I think I also spotted some of their own homemade beers that is also a signature part of the family but since I am not an alcohol enthusiast, I didn't pay much attention to it.

This restaurant is one of the few staple places I often come with either my parents or with my friends. The decor in the restaurant is quite unique as it has a painting on one side of the wall and has many wooden blocks with different Japanese phrases or seafood names on the other walls. My parents and I were in need of a quick dinner before my weekly ride back to UBC so we stopped by at Gyo-O for a bite. Since we arrived quite early, we were naturally the first people there but the store filled out soon after and was close to full by the time we left. 

Because of the hot weather these past days, I wanted to have something cold and I ordered the Spicy Salmon and Tuna Cold Udon. Normally, I try to avoid foods that are spicy because I don't handle heat too well, but this item offers a kick yet doesn't threaten to kill me with its heat. The onsen tamago made the spicy sauce more mild becomes the dipped sauce for both the sashimi and udon. The fish was okay and didn't really have any special to offer but the udon was really well done. It was very chewy but not undercooked. It is definitely one of the better udons I have had at restaurants. 

My mom ordered the Seafood Yukke Don and she really enjoyed it. It's basically a donburi with bits of salmon, tuna and wasabi squid topped with a onsen tamago and some sauce. She did claim her onsen tamago was a little overcooked as the yolk was slightly intact as opposed to mine, which was nicely done. Other than that, the sauce and other toppings were all fine. Normally, both my mother and I are averse to eating squid sashimi because of it's slimy and gummy texture but it was not a problem here since the squid pieces were cut up into small pieces. All in all, she did enjoy her donburi.

Although I tried to explain to my father that ramen should be saved for places like Kintaro or Sanpachi or other ramen joints, and that he should order something with raw fish here, he insisted on ordering ramen. After perusing through the few types of ramen they offer here, he settled for the Garlic Ramen with tonkotsu soup base. My father didn't have too much to comment about the ramen besides that fact that the noodles were ok al-dente and that the clams were pretty nice. He seemed to be fine with everything but didn't really seem to think there was anything "special" about it.

It ended up costing about $38 including taxes and tips for the three of us. Next time, I definitely want to try some of their snacks and possibly their dessert. This is definitely a place we come to often for reasonably priced and well made food.

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3.5/5

Cost: $