Hi Genki – Japanese cuisine

HI GENKI Restaurant (6680 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC)

HI GENKI Restaurant is a Japanese restaurant that is tucked away inside a Japanese Senior’s home at “Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre.” This Japanese restaurant provides very generous portions with a decent price that doesn’t break the bank.

I first discovered this restaurant 3 years ago after going to one of their Japanese festivals during the spring season. It looked like a dining lounge for seniors after walking in from the entrance. You will be greeted with some old school cushion chairs at the entrance and no doubt, it looks like an Old Folk’s home. When you walk past the chairs, you’ll see a dining lounge where the restaurant is located. Beware, there is always a long lineup at this restaurant during both lunch and dinner hours; and the wait time varies from 30min – 60min on a weekend. They serve both lunch and dinner with the same menu during both of the dining times.

I haven’t been there during the weekday but my partner and his friend went there Thursday night and said the lineup was 30min long after 5:30pm. So if you were to head over to HiGenki for lunch, make sure you go before 11:00am so you can beat the rush. On the other hand, if you go during dinner hours, make sure you go before 5:30pm. It’s always nice to go with a group of 3-4 people so there is more variety of food to try during your meal.

Spicy Chicken Karage Donburi – costs $9.50 and it is pretty good in terms of meat texture and flavour. Having the extra spicy kick at the end of every bite enhances the flavour of this rice bowl. I enjoyed how moist their chicken was and it was cooked to perfection, not overcooked at all. I highly recommend this rice bowl if you haven’t tried it before.

Pork Katsu Curry Rice – costs $9.50 and it’s a HUGE portion. I couldn’t believe how much curry and rice they gave us in regards to the price. It comes with a nice green salad on the side. The deep fried pork (pork katsu) was really nicely cooked and it wasn’t overcooked at all. The pork mixed well with the curry sauce and I love how much curry they scoop onto your rice. The curry is not spicy at all, it’s a Japanese curry with a scent of sweetness to it. I was kind of disappointed that it wasn’t even mild spicy, I wished there was at least a hint of heat to it which would have kicked it up a knot.

Kakuniku Don – costs $11.50 (house special) and it was sooooooo good. This is a beef short ribs rice bowl and it was cooked to perfection! I wanted to eat more every time I placed a piece of meat into my mouth. The short ribs were so soft and tender which was a great addition to their menu. The sauce that it was marinated in was phenomenal, the flavours were so rich with a hint of sweetness. I LOVED this rice bowl and I would encourage anyone to try it if you see it on their house special menu.