Guu Garden

I have mentioned in my previous posts on Suika and Guu Richmond that I am not a tapas fan. Many of my friends know this and claim that the only Guu restaurant I will enjoy is Guu Garden. So after finishing some shopping Downtown, I decided to finally make a visit here after years of hearing this is the only location that I would enjoy.

Guu Garden is located on the second floor and above Gyu Kaku. On a weekend evening, the restaurant was pretty slow with only a few people sitting at the bar and three to four seated tables. Out of every Guu location that I have been to, Guu Garden's interior has the most spacious as well as comfortable seating arrangements.

BEEF RIBEYE TATAKI WITH UME DRESSING AND SHISO WHIPPING DRESSING ($12.00).

The beef tataki tastes chewy, not flavourful and the steak lacks that nice bright red colour, assuming it is a good quality ribeye and fresh. As for the dressings, there is no flavour and does not contribute to the plate asides for the presentation. The presentation looks appealing with diced orange and red peppers, onion, a few strands of watercress and spring mix on the side.

DRUNKEN GARLIC BUTTER MUSSELS ($8.80).

The mussels are a medium size and not too small, but are slightly overcooked. By no means are the mussels dry and there is a clear broth flavour along with garlic but not even a hint of sake. The order also comes with eight mussels and may be considered overpriced (sort of a given at a tapas restaurant?). Regardless, Kamei Baru's mussels are a lot tastier.

ASSORTED ODEN, MISO WITH EGG, DAIKON, TARO JELLY, CHIKUWA, FLUFFY FISH CAKE AND MOCHI IN TOFU BAG ($6.80).

The soup has a clear beef bone and chicken broth flavour, without tasting salty. All the ingredients taste like what it is and the only memorable item would be the mochi in tofu bag. The tofu bag looks cute, thin deep fried tofu is always tasty, and the mochi tastes soft with a nice chewiness.

TONTORO SEA SALT GRILLED PORK CHEEK WITH YUZU PONZU ($6.80).

The grilled pork cheek tastes flavourful, tender and has a nice slight chewiness along with a light zesty ponzu sauce. The pork cheek is one of the only few dishes that we enjoyed and was definitely one of those "save the last bite at the very end so it seems like everything tasted good" kind of thing.

KIMCHI BIBIMBAP, PAN FRIED PORK AND KIMCHI ON RICE WITH EGG IN A HOT STONE BOWL ($9.80). 

Although the kimchi bibimbap has a nice meaty flavour along with tender slices of pork, there is no taste of kimchi (which does not really matter to me). The bibimbap also tastes a lot better and more flavourful compared to Guu Richmond's. In addition, I like how the waitress asked if we wanted her to mix this for us and of course I said no so I could take a photo LOL.

TAKO UNI WASABI, WASABI MARINATED OCTOPUS AND SEA URCHIN SERVED WITH FIVE PIECES OF SEAWEED ($4.80).

The dish has a strong wasabi flavour but the texture is overly mushy and slimy. The diced tako tastes too chewy and there is one small piece of uni. However, the wasabi marinade tastes overwhelming and the flavour of uni is lost. This was really unappetizing and we could not eat it.

YUKKE STYLE TUNA TARTAR WITH HALF BOILED EGG ($7.80).

The tuna tartar tastes overly sweet from the overwhelming sauces. The texture is also too mushy and gooey, partly because of the poached egg. If the diced pieces of tuna were less mushy to begin with, the texture after mixing may have been less gooey and taste more appealing, or maybe a quail egg should have been used instead. This may be a bad comparison but the tartar at most restaurants in Japan taste a lot better, tastier and have a soft firm paste texture. The tartar is also already prepared on a chip or piece of seaweed, so customers only need to pick up a piece and eat.

POSITIVES

- Friendly and attentive staff

- One of the Guu locations with better service (I do have to mention the restaurant was not busy)

- Spacious and comfortable seating arrangements compared to other Guu restaurants

NEGATIVES

- Majority of the food is not good

LITTLE THINGS

- Post on Guu Richmond [here]

- Post on Guu Garlic [here]

- Recommended dishes: Assorted oden and tontoro (3/5)

- Restaurant seems catered towards non-Japanese but most of the clientele are international Japanese students

- Wanted to order the pumpkin croquette but the waitress mentioned this location does not serve it. My friend ordered it here a couple of weeks ago and it may be only available occasionally?

- I prefer Suika and Kamei Baru more

Food: 2/5

Service: 3.5/5