Kawawa Japanese Restaurant (Burnaby)

Kawawa Japanese Restaurant, which is located in Metrotown Mall, receives a lot of negative reviews online (on multiple websites including Yelp, Urbanspoon, and even Facebook), but if you’re in the area or hungry after shopping for hours, it’s not a bad place to go to for cheap All-You-Can-Eat during lunch time. It’s only C$12.95 per adult Mondays to Fridays (C$13.95 on weekends and holidays). And it actually goes later too, as they offer All-You-Can-Eat from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. So, if you’re unfortunate enough to be stuck for hours in your office because of meetings, etc., for example, you still could take advantage of that menu even past the traditional lunch hour. Let’s just say Kawawa is good for those who were too busy with work-related stuff and couldn’t go on their lunch break till 2:00. 🙂

With the poor reviews I’ve read online before, I see a pattern. People complain about the freshness of the sushi, the bad attitude of the servers, and things like that. I’ve read too that certain people don’t bother leaving tips as a way of protest! Anyway, I’d been to Kawawa several times before, and I can’t argue with the lack of service at times, but again, if you’re paying only 12.95 for All-You-Can-Eat, well, you get what you pay for, right? 😉

Anyway, I returned to Kawawa on Tuesday afternoon at around 2:00, and ordered the typical dishes that I’d had before. I will say that I was okay with the service on this visit. They weren’t rude or anything, and I felt as though the dishes came out promptly. As I’d indicated before, I’m no sushi expert, so even if certain things weren’t “fresh,” that’s to be expected because again, it is All-You-Can-Eat, after all. So I didn’t have any complaints. (Believe me, though, I’m not simply an easygoing person who likes everything he receives. There have been times at other establishments where I’ve not had a good dining experience and I’ve let them know about it. So…I don’t always leave positive reviews and think everything is hunky-dory. 🙂 )

Oh okay, if there is one complaint, it is that I was expecting to catch the start of the early playoff baseball game but they had a different channel on, so there…. 😉

Chicken Karaage 

Spicy Tofu

I always order Chicken Karaage when I am having All-You-Can-Eat, and more often than not I enjoy it. These deep fried chicken wings tasted delicious. I think wherever you have chicken karaage, it all probably tastes the same. All I can say is I liked the ones here at Kawawa, but obviously I didn’t want to just stuff myself with deep fried chicken wings, so I ordered just two pieces. The Spicy Tofu weren’t that spicy, but that was fine since I don’t really like food that’s too hot. Nothing special but it is what it is: spicy tofu. Nothing more and nothing less. 🙂 As for the Lemon Chicken, I didn’t like it that much and likely wouldn’t order it again. Just didn’t like the taste that much.

Lemon Chicken

Green Salad

Another dish I always order is the Green Salad. It was pretty good. As you can see from the picture above, there was a lot of dressing. Not much to say other than I liked it. One other dish I never fail to order is the Beef Teriyaki. Again, I thought it was delicious, but I didn’t order a second dish since the point wasn’t to stuff myself with the same food over and over and over again. Well, all I would say is that the chicken karaage, green salad, and beef teriyaki could be considered my “staple” whenever I go have Japanese All-You-Can-Eat, and it’s probably difficult to screw up such simple dishes, so I felt that they were all pretty good at Kawawa.

Interestingly, one of the servers came around and asked me if my food was okay. I kid you not! This was probably the first time (and the last time) that I’d heard that question in an establishment like this one. From reading all of the negative reviews online and from personal experience, this is definitely not something to be expected! And most certainly not to be repeated either, hahaha.

Beef Teriyaki

Tuna and Salmon Sushi

B.C. Roll

Kimchi Salad and Salmon Roll

I also had some other sushi rolls and Kimchi Salad as well, followed by “Fresh Fruit” (which were simply two slices of orange) and Mango Pudding. Overall, I was fine with the food that I got served. I mean, it’s not like I went to a fine dining restaurant or anything like that; it was 12.95 All-You-Can-Eat sushi and I had my “staple” food and was full from what I ate. So, no complaints whatsoever on this visit. Again, this place is convenient since it’s in the mall, so if you work in the area or just finished your shopping (or are in the middle of it), this is a decent choice during lunch hour, which, by the way, goes past 3:00.

Fresh Fruit and Mango Pudding

When: Tuesday, October 7, 2014
What: All-You-Can-Eat Sushi
Where: Kawawa Japanese Restaurant, Metropolis at Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway Burnaby, BC  V5H 4M1
How Much: C$12.95 per adult during lunch (11:30 to 3:30)
Final Thoughts: No complaints. I had the food that I wanted to eat, and it wasn’t too, too expensive. My quick and not-so-expensive food requirements were met. As for the poor reviews that others have left on other sites, well, those same people have probably acknowledged that the quality of “All-You-Can-Eat” sushi isn’t as good as what’s served on the regular menu. You walk in knowing exactly what you’ll be getting, and therefore, have no right to complain about taste or quality. All I would say is that for the amount of money you’re paying, you know what you’re getting yourself into. 😉