Oh, hello little bowl of mussels – BOOM! SMACK! What’s up fries…or poutine…is that…tofu? WHAMP! If you’re confused, it’s because you haven’t been to Haikan which will drop kick the sh!t out of your taste buds with amazing flavors!
Daikaya started it all with a traditional ramen house downstairs, and a more detailed menu and sophisticated bar upstairs. With that success came Bantam King (see our review here) – think winner, winner chicken errthang (ramen, dumplings, fried, OH MY)! Now, Chef Katsuya and the team at Edit Lab have come to Shaw (North Shaw if you want to be a jerk about it) and Haikan is bringing some serious A-game. Same quality ramen noodles sourced from Japan, same kick-ass funky interior custom designed for the boys, but there are some serious flavor combos and new bar offerings and canned Sake that will keep you coming back for more. Bring your friends, bring grandma, bring an appetite. Haikan is the real deal!
We recommend the cocktails, some funky canned Sake we can’t remember the name of, Sapporo Black (yeah, that’s right, what, that just happened and yes it’s a real thing), the crab rangoon, any ramen you want, and the tofu poutine fries.
Enough talk, let’s get into it.
EDINBURGH GIN, YUZU, SNOWPEAS, WASABI
YOKAIICHI SHOCHU, HONEY & GRAPEFRUIT SODA
NITAMAGO (SEASONED EGG), KEWPIE MAYO, TROUT ROE, SCALLIONS
CUCUMBER IN A RAYU-SHOYU DRESSING
FRENCH FRIES, MAPO TOFU, GROUND CHICKEN, MOZZARELLA CURDS, FRESHLY GROUNDED SZECHUAN PEPPERCORN
So, yeah, that’s a good overview. Haikan is really a step above the rest. Quality ingredients, amazing service, and flavor combinations that will knock your socks off! Go there, now.