Marulilu Cafe - Cozy, Cheap, and Calming

I always go down to Broadway and Cambie for food and groceries, but I don't know why I never noticed Marulilu Cafe until I saw it on a several foodies blogs. Marulilu Cafe is conveniently located right across from the Broadway City Hall Canada Line station. It's a small and cozy brunch/afternoon cafe with an affordable menu offering Japanese and western foods.

On other foodies blogs, I've heard a lot about the Japanese style breakfast which consists of grilled salmon, Japanese plain omelet, rice, miso soup and your choice of natto or tofu. So I've heard a lot about natto, (fermented soybeans), which have a very unique taste and texture and is high in protein. I'm always up for trying new foods, whether it be traditional or innovative, so I chose natto. 

Japanese Style Breakfast (grilled salmon, Japanese plain omelet, rice, miso soup, natto) $6.99

This is a very plain breakfast, as compared to a typical Chinese dim sum meal. Even the grilled salmon was only mildly seasoned. I did not like the salmon very much as it wasn't wild salmon so the colour wasn't appetizing to me.

Natto beans

I wasn't too sure how to eat the natto beans because the waitress did not explained. INside the styrofoam box were two small packages of soy sauce and mustard, in which I mixed in some of each. I just did a quick google search and apparently, the natto is traditionally mixed with the green onions as well and eaten on top of rice. They were super slimy and had a really funny taste that is hard to describe, but I didn't like them very much either. 

The Japanese style breakfast is great for those days where you want to eat healthier and more bland (perhaps after a big greasy dinner the night before). I felt like I was eating at a Japanese person's home because it didn't taste like restaurant food. Nevertheless, this can definitely fill you up. 

My friend ordered an eggs benny with salmon. The eggs were nicely poached and covered with hollandaise sauce. I think it would've been nice if it came with a piece of toast. 

Eggs benny with salmon $6.49

There are several items the menu that I want to try, such as chimichanga, okonomiyaki, ome-don, and rice burgers. I think it's so nice that they have a variety of Japanese food that you'd probably find in a typical Japanese home. Another thing I really like about this place is the instrumental anime music that they play. Very calming and soothing! Yay to Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke soundtracks!