MBO Vancouver :: Clubnews

Vancouver Openings, Closings and Restaurant Buzz

Posh

Location: 1123-3779 Sexsmith Road, Vancouver, BC

ith the overabundance of culinary talent in Vancouver, restaurateurs are constantly seeking out new and interesting selling points for quality cuisine. The prevalent trend in locavore restaurants held precedence for about a year, but has since petered out leaving room for something new to take the city by storm. It seems that new trend lies in Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki is a meal that you cook yourself in a big silver bowl on a burner that is embedded in the middle of the table you share with your guests. It’s just like a mini wok and you get to wrap your legs around the gas tank, which can be a pleasant thing to do in the midst of winter. First the Japanese cabbage smothered in sukiyaki sauce heats to a simmer. Then your choice selections from the lengthy mix of extra ingredients are tossed in courtesy of, well, you and cooked to perfection.

The sukiyaki at Posh is Osaka style, which means it turns out to be more of a hot pot than a soup dish. Diners receive a kettle of concentrated soy and organic fruit broth and a kettle of water to dilute it. The broth is cooked up with sweet Chinese cabbage and the guest’s choice of about thirty ingredients including beef, pork, tofu, shitake mushrooms, chrysanthemum leaves, pumpkin chunks and rice cakes. An egg is cracked into a side bowl for dipping cooked ingredients into post-pot and pre-plate.

The interior is fitted with wood paneled walls, white leather chairs, warm red booths and black stone tables. The gas stove tables and the impressive hood fans over the booths give the eatery a futuristic feel. It feels like if you cooked your sukiyaki just right a little munchkin from Mars would shoot out of the hood fan to give you a congratulatory high five.

Marketing master Peter Leung and Tony Kuo of Vogue on Richmond Street have already opened three Posh eateries in Vancouver with four more on the roster. All seven restaurants will be serving the same dish and nothing more.

The sukiyaki style of eating makes the meal a collaborative and creative experience. Conversion flows easily because everyone is mentally stimulated by the task at hand. I would venture to suggest Posh as a great first date place if it wasn’t such a mess. The pot tends to spit and the last thing anyone needs on a first date is a big wet shirt stain.

The real grabber at Posh is the price. It’s all-you-can-eat Sukiyaki for $13.88 for dinner and $9.88 for lunch! With a marketing scheme this bullet-proof and a formula this easy that pumps out quality product how could sukiyaki manage to avoid becoming Vancouver’s next culinary trend. Oh yeah, Posh uses local organic produce too. –J.T.