Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver


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Eating Out in RC: Sushi Taku

BY PAUL READ

Sushi Taku
4902 Joyce Street, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 454-1023

Greetings food fans. Again, I want to tell you about a relatively new little addition to our gem-encrusted crown of culinary wonder that is our community. Let’s have a warm welcome for owner Jason Kim and the staff of Sushi Taku.

Sushi Taku is located just a block north of Joyce Skytrain, on Joyce, at the corner of Wellington. You may remember this location as the former Thai Escape. Jason has done a really nice job on the renovations and putting the Sushi Taku stamp on the place.

With an extensive Japanese menu featuring all of your favourites: tempura, teriyaki (beef, salmon, chicken, seafood), nigiri sushi (available in black rice also); sashimi, donburi (on a bed of rice); udon and yaki soba noodles; maki sushi (a long list); special rolls, a variety of sushi and sashimi combos; four types of bento boxes and three types of party trays.

Taku Tray B

Taku Tray B features 43 delicious rolls.

On this occasion, my accomplice and I ordered Taku Tray B. This was 43 pieces of delicious rolls: California, dynamite, yam, chopped scallop, Alaska and sunny. Mmmm. With our pick-up discount, it came to just around $27. The two of us were left well stuffed with plenty left over.

So, let’s do the math.This meal would rate extremely high on the Gourmet/Gourmand Scale of Goodness. Not only do you get stuffed for McDonald’s like prices, we are talking supremely delicious and healthy as well.

So healthy in fact, that Sushi Taku was approached by Graham Bruce school to be the suppliers to their monthly sushi day. Every month, Jason and his staff feed around 100 kids with their delicious, healthy and affordable sushi. Nice. All I ever got in elementary school was a hot dog.

Taku Bento Box

The Taku bento box.

Another affordable and well-balanced healthy meal on Sushi Taku’s menu is their bento boxes. There are four options, all hovering around the $10 mark. Each comes with five items and miso soup. Some come with rolls, some with sushi, some with beef or chicken teriyaki and rice, or sashimi, and each bento box includes salad, fruit, miso soup and crispy prawn and vegetable tempura. There is also a vegi option. Bento boxes are a great option for dinner or lunch as you get a full meal with lots of variety. “They have been designed to feed a full-grown man well,” says Jason.

Among the special rolls offered at Sushi Taku , one will find the Collingwood Roll. Alright! This combines a dynamite roll with seared tuna and crunchy yam on top. Yes, Collingwood now has an official roll. One will also find some other custom made rolls by Jason and his crew such as the Pokemon Roll, which is double the size, and the Sushi Pizza Roll. Mmm.

So many rolls; so little time.

Sushi Taku opened six months ago on August 25th. This is Jason’s first restaurant of his own. He has been in the restaurant business for 15 years, starting as dishwasher and server. He then acted as chef and manager for his family’s business, Yanaki Sushi in West Vancouver. Jason is now bringing the experience, consistency, affordability and deliciousness of Yanaki’s to us here in Collingwood – via Sushi Taku. Go try Sushi Taku. Tell them Paul sent you.

Bon appetit.

Copyright (c) 2017 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News


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March 2017 issue of RCC News is here

RCC News March 2017

This issue of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News is full of the many wonderful people, events and programs happening in our neighbourhood!

Get your latest issue of the RCC News at your local coffee shop, grocery store, library and community centre.

Or click on the cover image to view the new issue.

In this issue:

  • Adult education time machine: Photos from Vancouver Archives
  • Eating Out in RC: Sushi Taku
  • Are you registered to vote?
  • March is Nutrition Month
  • Collingwood Corner: Old photos on Facebook
  • Art in Champlain Heights
  • Three Links seeks volunteers with pets to visit seniors
  • Collingwood Branch #48 – Final update

Do you have a local story to tell or an event to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.

The deadline for the April 2017 issue is March 10. We welcome story submissions from 300 to 400 words long. Accompanying photos must be high resolution in a jpg file at least 1 MB large and include a photo caption and the name of the photographer.


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Collingwood Corner: Joyce Street in 1914

BY LORETTA HOUBEN

joyce-1914-map

If you live in the Joyce-Collingwood area you will have noticed the recent upgrades to the Skytrain station, and will be aware that big changes are coming over the next 20 years. I recently filled out a survey from the city asking what sort of shops and amenities I’d like to see along Joyce Street in the near future. I put down my suggestions and then I wondered what used to be here way back in 1914, when Joyce Street was first mentioned in Henderson’s Directory.

henderson-directoryJoyce Street was named after Abraham Joyce, a school trustee for Carleton Elementary from 1897 to 1898. I discovered a 1914 map of the Collingwood area in the Vancouver Archive website. By comparing the map with the 1914 directory of street names it’s interesting to note the changes and additions to the area.

For instance, the address for Collingwood Baptist Church is 617 Joyce near Price Road. But anyone familiar with this area knows it is located near Monmouth Avenue and the current address is 4847 Joyce, but in 1914 Monmouth Avenue didn’t exist.

By studying the BC Directories online (1860-1955) sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library, you will become something of a sleuth! The website is easy to navigate. Here is the link: http://www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php

The 1914 directory lists residents and businesses with names of cross streets. There are names of the early settlers, along with many shops. A few are vacant, but there is a dry goods store near Archimedes, plus a Collingwood Electric Co., a grocer, and a Watson and Wood shoemakers.

Near Euclid there is a physician, three vacant stores, a shoemaker, a meat store, a barber and pool place, a dentist, a druggist and a dry goods store. Near Vanness there is an associated brokerage company, Fraser Brothers grocers, a postmaster, a Collingwood E. post office, a real estate agent, a bank of Vancouver Collingwood East branch, a restaurant, William H. and Son second hand dealer, a tailor, and even a Collingwood Theatre near Wellington Avenue.

Past Wellington there are homes plus Collingwood Baptist Church. I was amazed at the variety of businesses. Joyce Street had it all!

Near the west side of the Skytrain there was the Collingwood East station for the BCER tram that travelled from downtown Vancouver to New Westminster. Near Rupert Street the Collingwood West station was located, and near Boundary and Vanness the Park Street station was located.

These are shown on the 1914 map. There were also quite a few stations near Central Park, along the same track route that we now take on Skytrain to Metrotown Station in Burnaby.

Do you think the residents of Collingwood were better off in 1914? Or do you think that the future of Collingwood will compare to the variety of lifestyle once available here?

Loretta Houben is a long-time resident of Collingwood and coordinates the Seniors Connection section of the RCC News.

Copyright (c) 2017 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News