Corner store comfort food at Zenya Japanese Kitchen

There’s something happening in Vancouver malls. Little shops have sprouted up in the last few years, authentic cuisine catering to people looking for more affordable lunches. We’ll never have the affordability of places in Richmond, but some places are trying.

One of those is Zenya Japanese Kitchen, located in International Village at 88 W Pender St. in Gastown, a shop serving what I’d describe as a mix of Japanese convenience store specialties and comfort food.

The menu is packed with all your favourites like curry, donburi and udon. But where they excel, and I think are carving out a small niche for themselves in Vancouver, are their onigiri rice balls.

Onigiri are small triangles of sushi rice encased in a seaweed wrapper. Considered to have been created in the Heian period, between 794-1185 AD, the seaweed was added in the 17th century. Within the rice you’ll find different Japanese fillings like fish and other meat. In a way, it’s the ultimate grab-and-go snack, a salty carb ball that can fill you up quickly on your way to wherever you’re going.

After a long night with friends who happened to be in Tokyo at the same time as me, I remember stumbling into a 7-11, grabbing a fistful of onigiri, and paying a few dollars, knowing as I hoovered it down that the thick triangle of rice would ward off whatever hangover I expected the next morning.

First, the price. At Zenya, you can grab one for the drop-dead price of $2.99 to $3.99, depending on the flavour. Grab two and you get a halfway decent miso soup for free. It may not fill someone like me up entirely, but for around $6-$8, you can’t ask for a more filling combo.

Authenticity is also embraced. Japan is known for little perfect design tweaks, in buildings and food that, for a lack of a better word, just make sense. Rather than wrapping the seaweed around the rice, plastic separates it, maintaining the crispy, salty seaweed rather than a congealed, damp mess. Zenya does the same.

The meal itself is embedded with Japanese norms. It’s considered extremely rude to walk and eat in Japan. With onigiri, that’s basically impossible, as you have to stop and unpack the seaweed from the wrapper, slowly wrapping it around the rice. With our grab-and-go culture, it’s a requirement to slow down, even with food that eventually is easy to eat on the move.

Zenya’s flavours also embrace and go slightly beyond what a normal convenience store offers, at least the ones I visited. You’ve got spicy salmon and tuna mayo. But there are also fermented mustard greens and other vegetarian options.

The ume (plum) and konbu (seaweed) onigiri were a real surprise, a tangy bite that tasted different than any I’ve ever had. Spicy tuna was what you’d expect, but is always a hit. Pork katsu, another option, was less katsu, and more like pulled pork. It was good, if a bit cold, compared to the warm rice surrounding it.

Any visit to a Japanese convenience store isn’t complete without an egg sandwich. Zenya’s is a little more expensive than in Japan at $4.99, and a little smaller and less filling. That’s to be expected in Vancouver. But they’ve replicated the flavours, using what had to be Japanese mayo (Kewpie I assume), alongside smooth and chunky egg filling. Spot on.

A miss was the tonkatsu curry. Traditional Japanese curry is a milder version of the Southeast Asian variety you’re probably used to, thicker with a darker brown colour, a more robust flavour, and none of the spice. Like many Japanese foods, they’ve taken it from others and remixed it into what it is today.

Zenya’s curry was spot on, a rich flavour that perfectly combined with the rice. But the tonkatsu left a lot to be desired. Usually it’s a deep-fried pork cutlet, a golden sheen with juicy cooked meat inside. Zenya’s, unfortunately, was overly dark browned deep-fried crust and dry, hard-to-eat pork on the inside. It could very well be a one-off mistake, given the quality of the rest of the food.

Zenya’s genius is not only in most of the food, which is itself worth a visit but also in the clear focus on affordability. Onigiri was one of the most affordable food items during my visit to Japan, a quick, easy and satisfying snack that didn’t break the bank. I’m happy to report that Zenya has embraced that with gusto.

PS - They seem to have some great lunch deals. When I last visited, they had a $8.99 beef udon special in a remarkably large-sized bowl.