It's difficult for us to judge the food at Ajijiman Hanabi because so many of the items we came for were sold out. We made a trip out here from Burnaby because we wanted a good quality yakisoba sandwich, but these were sold out. We had also learned that matcha ice cream was on the menu, and were looking forward to trying that too, but alas, this item also was not available. A sign above the shop advertises taiyaki, but this apparently is not even on the menu at all, so again we were disappointed.

We ended up getting okonomiyaki, which is pretty rare in Japanese restaurants in the lower mainland and was authentic and tasty. This is not "fast food", as it took 15 minutes for them to cook our okonomiyaki. We were surprised by the presence of cheese in our beef okonomiyaki, though, not having encountered this ingredient in the dish when we ate it in various cities throughout Japan. It seems that it's one of the huge variety of ways that okonomiyaki can be cooked, though, so we tried to keep an open mind and didn't find it unpleasant. That said, I think all three of my family members would request "no cheese" if we ate here again.

Ambiance is hard to give a high rating to, as well, since the restaurant is located in a busy mall food court. However, Ajijiman Hanabi does their best with attractive signage and authentic Japanese plastic food in little cases near the cash register.