Japadog the store!!!  It’s here and I was super excited to try it out.  It was a bit difficult to find because we went there during lunch time.  There was still a line which extended to the outside of the store.

I recognized most of the staff from the Japadog street vendor.  Service was still friendly and fast. It was soooo hectic inside that I couldn’t ask them questions about their new items.

Their new products were Tonkatsu, Yakiniku Rice, Sweets Dog and Negi Miso (coming soon).  Another change was the added option of ordering a combo which includes the japadog, shake fries and a drink (coke, 7-up, etc.)

There were also two sweets dogs added…..???  Umm…..dessert dogs…..I thought this was a bit weird. Nothing to say about these. There were two varieties: choco banana and age ice.  I didn’t try it during this visit because the idea of a banana in a hot dog bun was just too weird for me….

The interior was very festive looking. There were a couple of small tables and chairs available.  It was super packed when we came here so we couldn’t find a place to sit.  In the end, we ordered take-out and took our food to the Central Vancouver Public Library to eat outside on the steps.  The VPL is only a block or two away so it wasn’t a long walk.

We ordered one Tonkatsu combo with a can of coke and the japa shio shake fries and an Oroshi japadog.  The total bill was $14.27.

The wait time was very short.  We only waited 3 mins and our food was ready!  Our favorite part about Japadog is the wasabi mayo.

The Oroshi is basically a bratwurst sausage topped with grated radish and green onions.  This is Rockia’s favourite.  The japadogs were made a bit sloppy.  They were trying so hard to speed everything up that it translated into their food.  I felt like I was eating a sloppy joe.  They just slapped the bratwurst into the bun and stuffed the grated radish on top.  It was a bit messy……..

I wanted to try something new so I ordered the Tonkatsu.  I was surprised that it only had a piece of fried pork chops inside.  I thought there was supposed to be a hot dog of some kind in a Japadog…..(???)  I was very disappointed because it was a bit boring.  The Tonkatsu had a hard and oily fried pork chop with pieces of shredded cabbages and red cabbages on top.  It was topped with lots and lots of regular mayo.

I found the Tonkatsu way too oily.  The batter surrounding the pork chop was very hard and actually hurt the inside of my mouth trying to chew it.

I was very confused by the Japa Shio shake fries.  They had four different falvors to chose from: aonori, teriyaki, japa shio, butter and shoyu.  Aonori is Japanese seaweed and japa shio is sea salt.  I ordered the japa shio, but was super disappointed with these “shake fries”!!!  They were just normal fries!!!  We couldn’t’ taste a single bite of sea salt in it!  We were really confused why they were called shake fries.  Our conclusion was that they were probably so busy that they forgot to add the seasoning.  UGH!!!!

Another problem with these “fries” was that they were thin and super soggy.  They were not crispy and didn’t really have any potatoes in it at all.  I was very glad we only ordered one combo…..

Overall, I didn’t enjoy the Japadogs as much as I had in the past.  Ingredients were the same in the Oroshi, but they were just speeding through the construction of it and that translated to the sloppy taste as well.  The shake fries were a big flop because they were soggy oily fries with no seasoning.  I think they were trying too hard to invent new items.  But this was only one visit so I will probably go back and see if the experience changes.  I prefer going to Fumisen Creative Sushi, Tenku Bakudanyaki, and Shoryumen Ramen more.