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Sakura Night

Meet the Master Chefs Behind Sakura Night

As it is the custom in Japan to celebrate the new season and sakura or cherry blossoms with seasonal food, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is proud to present the 3rd annual Sakura Night Gala

On Sunday April 2 at Stanley Park Pavilion, Sakura Night will showcase an array of Asian-fusion dishes from eight of Vancouver’s top chefs. Meet two of the Master Chefs behind the mouth-watering magic.

Purchase your Sakura Night event ticket here before it sells out! – it will be an evening to remember!

Chef Ryu Yamamura – Zakkushi
Chef Ryu Yamamura was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan where he received authentic training from local masters to become a renowned Yakitori Chef. After opening and running Okada Ryuhei, his own yakitori venture in Japan for two years, Yamamura was attracted to life overseas and decided to pursue the Canadian food scene and spread the joy of yakitori.

Photo Credit Leila Kwok

Yakitori is one of the most popular Japanese cuisine that has been around for more than 300 years. Yakitori is skewered chicken grilled over charcoal called “binchotan”. By cooking over the charcoal, it gives more flavour and rich taste.

Photo Credit Leila Kwok

Using charcoal is very sensitive and difficult. The special yakitori sauce used to grill yakitori is aged and thickened over time to give deeper taste and natural deliciousness.

Zakkushi will be serving charcoal grilled pork and chicken skewers at Sakura Night.

Chef Nobu Ochi – Zen
“The opportunity to sample Chef Nobu Ochi’s exquisitely crafted, beautifully plated selection of sashimi, sushi, and innovative maki is well worth a trek across the bridge.” – Vancouver Magazine

Photo Credit Leila Kwok

Zen Japanese Restaurant, the critic’s choice as the North Shore’s best Japanese restaurant, also won the 2014 Diners’ Choice OpenTable Award and was Vancouver’s first Japanese restaurant to join Ocean Wise, a Vancouver Aquarium program committed to the long-term health and stability of the greater marine ecosystem.

Photo Credit Leila Kwok

Chef Nobu Ochi will be serving Fish & Chips, a coconut prawn roll, a marine roll, and temaki made to order at this years Sakura Night. Chef Nobu Ochi’s selections were served while he was a guest Chef at Toso.

“Within 1 hour of opening, we had served all the 150 orders that I had prepared for the whole evening.” – Chef Nobu Ochi.

“This dessert will change your world!” – Bella Gelateria
Pink bubbly will be flowing and the dining experience will finish with a one-of-a-kind gelato sushi dessert created by Bella Gelateria.

Photo Credit James Coleridge

“This dessert will change your world!” – James Coleridge

2014 International Gelato Master of the Year by Italy’s oldest gelato association, MIG Exhibition
2012 Double Gold Winner, Florence Gelato Festival, Technical Jury & People’s Choice
2011 Gelato Pioneer Award “The Father” – Carpigiani Group, Italy

View the full Sakura Night menu here.

Purchase your Sakura Night event ticket here – it will be an evening for your palette to remember.

Thank you to our world-class sponsors for making this event possible:

Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio
Zen Japanese Restaurant
Zakkushi
Benkei Ramen
Hapa Izakaya
Masayoshi
Prestons Restaurant + Lounge
Bella Gelateria
Evolve Cellars
Stanley Park Brewing

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Cherry Jam Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Activities

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Celebrate spring with the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (April 3-28 2014):

 

 

 

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Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Cherry Blossoms in Vancouver – See them, bike them, EAT them!

Guest post provided by: Joyce Chua – Vancouver Foodie Tours

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Cherry Blossom season in Vancouver is a beautiful one. It signifies the beginning of Spring and adds a blush of pink to the city. Like in Hokkaido, Paris, and San Francisco, cherry blossoms have become a tourist attraction in Vancouver. What the public may not know is that the Cherry Blossom Festival is actually organized by a non-profit organization. As many of Vancouver’s 40,000 cherry trees originated as gifts from Japan, The Festival was created to express gratitude for the offering and celebrate the beauty and joy that cherry blossoms bring to the city. This following excerpt is from vcbf.ca:

The underlying purpose of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is a simple one embracing all citizens of all ages: we are blessed to have these trees and the more closely we look at them and the more we learn about them, the more enjoyment they give us. And, likewise, the more we are motivated to care for and nurture them. Vancouverites, who already enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle, now, through the efforts of the Festival have even more choices.

This brings a new level of meaning to the festival; we not simply enjoying nature, but we are actively fostering, growing, and supporting an integral piece of Vancouver’s history. Over the years, The Cherry Blossom Festival has become an opportunity for expression and appreciation through music, poetry, photography, art, design, craft and cuisine.

As culinary ambassadors for Vancouver’s multicultural food scene, Vancouver Foodie Tours is thrilled provide this guest post on Sakura Night and Vancouver’s 9th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. With both our Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour and the World’s Best Food Truck Tour, we aim to highlight the impressive cultural diversity of our chefs, their food, and their restaurants. Our Vancouver food blog covers all types of cuisine, making special note of places to visit in Vancouver that hold cultural & historical significance.

 This year’s highly-anticipated culinary showcase, Sakura Night, is looking more extravagant than ever before.

The standing dinner reception is held in Tojo’s Restaurant on W Broadway. As a quick foodie point-of-referral, Chef Tojo is accredited with creating the California Roll and the Dynamite Roll – staples in literally every sushi joint. But Tojo’s repertoire is anything but everyday; known for his impeccable technique, quality and innovation, he continues to be an award-winning industry leader.

Over 14 different dishes will be served throughout the evening, in addition to a cherry blossom martini. The night will feature an impressive line-up of chefs (Tojo included), from Vancouver icons like RawBar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, Seventeen89, and two Vancouver Foodie Tour favourites:Miku Restaurant and Bella Gelateria. If you haven’t had a chance to try Miku’s flame-seared sushi, this might just be the perfect opportunity. I’ve heard that Salmon, Ebi, and Saba will all be on-site! As always, Gelato Maestro, James, is gearing up for the occasion in style with a Sakura (salted cherry) gelato (using cherry blossoms from Tokyo) and Japanese plum wine sorbetto.

Sakura Night is sure to be an impactful one, as it is $150 to attend (with a $100 tax credit). However, it’s not often that the public is invited to enjoy an experience filled with such culinary acclaim and cultural significance, and it’s clear that The Cherry Blossom Festival intends to deliver. If you are making an appearance, don’t forget your pink tie! (Just kidding, they’ve specified that “pink tie attire” is simply more casual than black tie attire!)

For a full listing of Cherry Blossom Events, click here.

Categories
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura Night

Sakura Night 2014 poster

Get your tickets now for Sakura Night, an extraordinary dining experience to celebrate Spring hosted by Tojo’s Restaurant, featuring sensational Japanese cuisine created by Tojo’s Restaurant, Zen Japanese Restaurant, RawBar at Fairmont Pacific Rim, Seventeen89, Miku Restaurant and Zakkushi!

Guests will be welcomed with taiko and walk into the elegant Japanese ambience of Tojo’s, illuminated with cherry blossom video projection.

When: Sunday, March 30, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Where: Tojo’s Restaurant on 1133 W Broadway, Vancouver, B.C.

Get your tickets now.