BonQuLa Fusion Restaurant & Cafe

BonQuLa, 凡く～ら, denotes the words ordinary, eat and enjoy, in Japanese. After being there for the first time, I find myself more and more attached to this restaurant. A lot of their dishes are made of combinations that you generally won’t come across in other Japanese restaurants. BonQula’s Japanese Chef, Kaori Kuruyama, serves a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine, as she studied French cuisine at Culinary Arts in Vancouver Community College, this might explain the creativity in their specialty dishes. Here are some of the photos I’ve accumulated after many visits to this pleasant restaurant.

Needless to say, the decor of BonQuLa is very warm and welcoming. I find the wooden piano and photos of their customers really add personality to the environment. It always makes me feel like I’m in a home of a Japanese family, so comfortable and relaxed.

This Agedashi Wasabi Mochi is a must-try if you go to BonQuLa. Generally, you would find Agedashi Tofu and Agedashi Mochi on the menu, but wasabi flavoured? Maybe not. Please don’t think this Agedashi Wasabi Mochi is going to give you a fiery taste, it actually brings out the sweet and aromatic side of wasabi. Aside from the lingering sweet taste from the wasabi, this Agedashi Mochi has a nice crispy outer coating which creates a wonderful balance in texture with the soft, chewy and gooey mochi within. The Mochi is also accompanied with a subtle sweet soy sauce which really puts this dish to perfection.

I found this Agedashi Shrimp Mochi a little salty for my taste. It’s almost like a savoury version of the Agedashi Wasabi Mochi, it just tastes salty. You will still find the sweet soy sauce and the crisp in this dish, however, don’t expect to find shrimps in it!

This cold Tofu Salad comes with a sesame dressing and cinnamon apple chips on top. It is a delicious salad, perfect in the summer heat!

The Tuna Cocktail is beautifully presented in glass dish that is levered and underneath is a glass container filled with coloured water. The fresh sashimi and chilled avocado makes this sashimi appetizer very refreshing.

Kawari means a ‘change’ or ‘something different from usual’, it describes sushi with unusual toppings. Vancouver restaurants have been creative with their rolls to suit the taste of diversifying customers, so a lot of sushi maki would fall into the Kawari sushi category. This BonQuLa Kawari Sushi is mainly made of crab meat and avocado (which isn’t really unusual to most Vancouver eaters) but what’s special is the boxed-pressed sushi form. It is known as Hako-zushi and it originates from Osaka. It’s not generally offered in Vancouver restaurants so it would be an interesting sushi to try if you visit BonQuLa.

All the sushi and rolls I’ve tried so far have been delightful eats with a distinct tangy taste from the vinegar-based seasoning in the rice. Generally, you would rarely pick up the taste of the vinegar in sushi but BonQuLa prepares their sushi rice a little differently. The taste of vinegar isn’t sharp but it is quite evident. I find that the vinegar penetration plays a great part of the taste and it really enhances the taste of the sashimi. Another difference between normal Japanese restaurants and BonQuLa is that their sushi is very loosely packed. I’m not entirely sure of their intention but if you were to eat sushi with fingers, sushi is traditionally packed loosely so that the sushi rice would fall apart in one’s mouth before chewing. So do handle the sushi with care with your chopsticks!

Omurice, a typical dish that consists of pan-fried rice wrapped in a thin sheet of fried egg, has always been a popular hit in Japan. BonQuLa’s Omurice is prepared very well as the fried egg wraps around the rice all around completely, not just the top but underneath as well. I personally enjoyed this rice omelette very much with the sweet curry, although my parents thought it was made too sweet. Besides the juicy pork tenderloin cutlet, there are also chunky beef bits in the curry. This would make a delicious meal for a meat lover.

Tencha is the ingredient for Matcha green tea that is mostly known for its used in tea ceremonies. The name of this Japanese dish is Ochazuke, it is basically made of hot green tea, dashi (Japanese cooking stock), cooked rice and savoury toppings. In BonQuLa’s Ochazuke, they incorporated roe, seaweed and tempura prawns. In this simple yet delish dish, you can enjoy the faint sweetness from the rice and the fresh aromatic taste of green tea all at once.

Both the Tofu Gratin and Baked Halibut are very flavourful dishes that I found quite heavy and filling. They would be good dishes to order to go with your rice but after consuming these full-flavoured dishes, you might not be able to enjoy anything else. Nevertheless, I loved every bit of it.

To be honest with you, I am very picky with my gyoza and I rarely order gyoza for that reason because not many would satisfy my appetite. I only ordered gyoza that night because I was intrigued by the word ‘syuriken’ (a Japanese weapon in the form of a star). I definitely fancied the presentation of this gyoza but sadly, the gyoza was too oily, in and out. So this is a dish I wouldn’t order again.

I would most definitely praise their Chicken Karaage. They were fried perfectly, extremely crispy and not greasy. I liked the taste of their soy sauce marinate along with a tad bit of salt drizzled on top.

This Ice Cream Cake isn’t available all the time I believe. It comes in two flavours, green tea and vanilla. I didn’t find this dessert too special, it’s just ordinary green tea ice cream with bits of strawberries and sponge cake wrapped around it. It is a fair dessert though.

Like I’ve said earlier, BonQuLa is a Japanese restaurant that I’ve made many visits to. It is simply because it’s a little more interesting than the many regular Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. It may not have mastered all of the dishes but a lot of them are quite unique. So if you ever want a twist in Japanese cuisine, BonQuLa is the place for you!

Love,

Rachel