“I felt like I got thrown into a battlefield without any protection other than a simple knife”, Chef Peter Ho jokes when asked about his experience opening Sumibiyaki Arashi. “I didn’t expect it to be so busy. As a first time restaurant owner, I worried about whether people would come, and if they didn’t, how we would get them in.” In hindsight, he didn’t have a thing to worry about. Since opening in March of this year, a spot at Sumibiyaki Arashi’s 14-seat counter has consistently been Vancouver’s most difficult reservation to snag – for some very good reasons.

First of all, Chef Ho is putting out more than just yakitori – literally. “Sumibiyaki (炭火焼き) means charcoal fire grill”, Chef Ho explains, which is the focus here. Unlike yakitori, it’s not limited to chicken. Having trained for eight years at his father’s seafood restaurant in Hengchun – the southernmost township in Taiwan known for its white sand beaches – Chef Ho’s prowess in selecting and preparing seafood according to the seasons shouldn’t be overlooked.

In fact, Chef Ho uses seafood as his choice medium for ushering guests into his omakase experience, as an homage to his roots. During my first visit to Sumibiyaki Arashi, the opening course was a refreshing sea bream sashimi whose skin had been gently singed by the charcoal, thus giving it a slight hint of smoke that accentuated the umami. The second time, it was a skewer of grilled firefly squid – a spring delicacy beloved in Japan. Another mainstay on his menu is twice-cooked tofu, first fried before being finished on the grill to produce a delightfully crisp skin around its silken interior. And for dessert: his flame-kissed spin on yaki imo – known as a humble and nostalgic treat in both Japanese and Taiwanese cultures – is unlike any roasted sweet potato you’ve likely ever had. Although traditionally slow-roasted whole without the use of direct fire, at Sumibiyaki Arashi it takes his team three whole days to prepare their version – slicing the sweet potato into thick rounds and coating it with sugar, before grilling it to a brûléed perfection.

Then there’s the yakitori, which is exceptional. While chicken is not the theme, it is certainly the protagonist in Chef Ho’s 16-course experience. Air-chilled chickens, sourced locally from Wingtat Game Bird Packers are delivered multiple times a week and precision-butchered each day for that night’s service. A chicken’s more plentiful parts (think wings, thighs, and tenders) are featured on the regular menu; while rarer, more adventurous cuts requiring specialized preparation (liver, skin, and chicken oysters, for example) are reserved as add-ons. According to Chef Ho, these limited skewers are a key attraction for many returning customers.

However, make no mistake: the regular menu is already designed to impress. Chef Ho even notes that he uses “too much egg”, because from the start he was worried that his customers wouldn’t leave full and satisfied. At this, I quickly assure him that the silky dashi steamed custard, ajitama and wagyu (his play on steak and eggs), and grilled quail egg courses are certainly not “too much”.

Thirdly, Sumibiyaki Arash is not a concept – it’s an autobiography. “Arashi (嵐) is me. It’s the last character of my name”, says Chef Ho – and Sumibiyaki Arashi is a natural extension of who he has been, who he is, and who he’s becoming. When I ask him to describe the Sumibiyaki Arashi experience, he replies, “So far I’ve adhered closer to the style of Torishiki [the yakitori restaurant in Tokyo where he trained] because that’s what I know, what I was taught. But slowly I can see myself doing Peter’s style more.” For him there are no rules, just a fine line he treads with intuition and integrity. “As I get older, I realize there’s nothing better than being a hundred percent honest and transparent with – not just with customers, but with everyone,” he says. Chef Ho is also excited about growing alongside his team, and claims that even a 0.1% improvement from today, compared to yesterday, makes him happy, because it means they’re still improving together.

Later, Chef Ho shares with me that his father’s hotel and seafood restaurant businesses were among those that went under due to the Covid pandemic. As a result, the dream that was Sumibiyaki Arashi suddenly became the biggest gamble he had made in his entire life to date, and all he could do was tell himself that the project must not fail. Through his restaurant, Chef Ho wants to reassure his father that things are going to be alright. “There’s always going to be good and bad days,” he says in conclusion, “But the next day is a new day – so start fresh. Remember your mistakes and move on. Don’t give up so easily, because sometimes you’ll find beauty in persistence. That’s how diamonds are made – pressure – and I want to be that diamond.”

炭火焼きアラシ Sumibiyaki Arashi

Neighbourhood: Mt. Pleasant

363 E Broadway

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