Mrs. C and I were cruising in BBY and we decided to make a return trip to HG. The place hadn't changed much since last visit. It was pretty basic in the dining hall, but everything was clean including the nearby w/c. Service was great, and they had lots of daily specials to choose from. I was tempted to get the famous 2 mackerels with rice and salad, but instead I went for the deep fried breaded salmon (also with salad) with a couple of potato croquets on the side instead of rice. My beloved dining companion had the tempura cod and prawns with rice and salad. All the food was terrific, except that my salmon was a little overdone. As for value it was cheap and we both ate well for 20 bucks. In Japanese, "genki" means (among other things) "strong". I would say this place is still going genki.

I eat at Hi Genki for lunch every chance I get. I loved their home-cooked meals and don't even mind that they do not serve sushi at all. Although their menu is a little bit limited, they normally have a large daily specials list including such things like eel and prawn tempura don, or seafood salad, or japanese hot pot. It's not your ordinary Japanese restaurant as you probably wouldn't know about it unless you knew where it was, or you happen to drive past it by accident. My favorite menu item here for lunch is the mix fry (when they offer it). For about $7, you get an assortment of croquettes and fish filets served with rice and salad. The staff here are always friendly and accomodating, I've never had a sour or moody server yet. The ambiance can throw you off at first. The restaurant is located in an old person's home in Nikkei Japanese village in Burnaby and has a cafeteria feel to it. In the summertime they open up the patio, which is very nice.
Be ware of heavy lineups during lunch. The longest I've had to wait so far was about an hour and for lunch, most can't afford to wait that long.

Cafeteria like setting in a sterile enviroment. I did not see any value in the foods. When an unspectacular California roll cost $4.95 I deducted a value point. Free underground parking was a big bonus with all the snow on the ground. But then again there is no above ground parking. Restroom very clean.

We were craving Japanese food tonite and I remember Hi Genki. I wanted to eat something cheap, but in a quiet setting. Hi Genki was quiet, not too busy.
I like how they display their specials of the day, just before you are seated. Everyday, they have different special display. But they also have a set menu to choose. Their prices are very reasonable and portion are large.
The waitress are wonderful and enjoy practicing their english on us as we were the only non-Japanese customers. Great service in a cafeteria setting. Very clean. Its a nice place to come for dinner if you have a family. Not a great place for a first date. Ambiance is more fitting for a quiet family setting. We noticed that there were quite a number of young families eating there.
If you want down to earth authentic Japanese food, this is a place to eat.

I eat here about 2 or 3 times a week. It's about 5mins from my place and it has some of the most authentic Japanese food you can get for under $10.

It gets crowded on weekends so be prepared to wait.

Nothing here sucks so feel free to pick a dish and try it out.

My personal favourite is the Spicy Chicken Karaage.

Like all the other reviewers mentioned, this place does look like a cafeteria but even though the decor is lacking in style the main highlight of this restaurant is the food. I went there for lunch and had the agedashi tofu which was topped with green onion and bonito shavings as well as drowned in a sweet soy sauce...yum! I also had the Oden (hot pot) with fish cake, tofu, veggies. Delicous broth and delicate taste although i found the hot dog in the hot pot to be a bit strange. I was served with a side of rice cooked with mushrooms and carrots. I would definately frequent this restaurant more often a lunch and I definately recommend it!
The food is so comforting and delicious I will be back to try many more dishes!

My sister kept raving to me about this place so I decided to try it with my boyfriend when we were in the area one day. It was pretty easy to find, as well as parking. I ordered the deep fried chicken teriyaki donburi. It was different for sure...it had large purple/greenish leaves all over the rice (didn't care too much for the taste), large portions of chicken and rice. I couldn't finish it so I just ate the chicken and left about 1/3 of the rice. My boyfriend ordered the sashimi bento. His comments were that it was good, but that it was comparable to other Japanese restaurants we've eaten at. We also got the potato croquettte...it came with a sauce that tasted like Lea&Perrins sauce. It was okay but kind of pricy. I wouldn't order it again. For tea, we had to flag down the waitresses...the place wasn't that busy but they weren't that attentive. To get the bill, we had to wait 10 minutes too. For 2 ppl, bill came to about $28. I probably wouldn't go there again because there are other places in Burnaby that I prefer. Ambience...there's none to speak of. But what do you expect for a retirement home? It's just a place for some home-cooked style comfort food, I guess.

I am always in burnaby and this place has got to be one of the regular places i visit when i eat out. this place's high merits lie within it's traditional, everyday japanese cuisine that japanese IN JAPAN, would normally eat. this place's cuisine is one of those types where family moms in japan would cook up for their family to eat and also make bentos for their husband and kids to take to school and work. it offers hearty food at extremely good values - and the authenticity is definitely there. due to this restaurant also acting as the primary cook for the old people's caretakers home apartment complex, the restaurant's food is light and low in sodium - although their miso soup is at times a bit salty for my taste.

anyways you must try this place to realize the difference of this place and the hundreds of Japanese restaurants that are opened in gvrd.

A disclaimer: I lived in Japan for ten years and know homestyle Japanese food inside and out. My partner says I cook miso soup better than his mom. But we were both really happy to find this place.
Yes, it's a bizarre location. I'm sorry some reviewers couldn't get past that. But once the food is in your mouth--it's a religious experience. I had oden, a sort of hot pot dish, and the broth was so delicate, and flavored with real pieces of yuzu (a citrus fruit found in Japan) peel. And the rice that came with, flavored with shiitake mushrooms, carrots and pieces of fried tofu, was awesome. And then there was the pork cutlet in brown (hayashi) sauce my partner had. So good.
My only regret is that they're not licensed. A true Japanese meal like that would have been great with a bottle of beer.

My family went to Japan on holiday and became addicted to tonkatsu, a breaded and fried pork cutlet. By far our favourite way to eat this is in a "donburi", a bowl of hot rice topped with cooked egg, soy sauce, onions and the marvellous tonkatsu. When we got back home to Burnaby, my cravings for "katsudon" became overpowering. Enter Hi Genki!

Since discovering this restaurant's charms in June, we've become regular customers. The staff are polite and friendly, and very patient as I try out my Japanese on them. I never feel like I'm being given less attention for being non-Japanese, as sometimes happens in other restaurants. The atmosphere, as others have mentioned, is clean and comfortable though you never forget you're in the cafeteria of a seniors' home. However, once the food arrives (and it's always quick, piping hot and marvellously inexpensive) you forget the surroundings. This is great Japanese home-style cooking, with hot rice, miso soup and a lovely variety of fish and meat dishes. Portion sizes are generous; I can never finish all my rice! The daily specials rotate often and there are even sample plates near the entrance, just like you'd find in any restaurant in Japan. (Note their samples are real, not made of plastic...) Their udon gets my teen daughter's seal of approval, and best of all, their katsudon takes me right back to the katsuya in Tokyo... it's addictive. おいしいよ！