Print
Restaurants

Heart, Hard Work Credited For Success Of New Restaurant Yaki Express

By Miriah Hamrick, posted Feb 1, 2023
Siblings Bear and TK Van opened Yaki Express together. One of the changes they made to the building was installing this glass window so customers can watch the kitchen staff freshly prepare each order. (Photo by Miriah Hamrick)
The name of the newly open Yaki Express says it all. The word yaki has two meanings according to TK Van, who runs the restaurant with her brother Bear Van. It refers to food cooked over heat, like the hibachi items grilled fresh for each order, as well as sweetness, reflected in the friendly service they aim to provide to every customer.
 
“For us, my brother and I, we just believe in love and trust,” TK Van said, adding that they “do everything with heart.”
 
Heart and hard work are evident in the fresh, creative food served at Yaki Express, starting with the foundational ingredient for both hibachi and sushi: rice. The restaurant buys a high-quality grain grown in the United States and carefully prepares each batch to ensure the best flavor.
 
“To make rice, you can’t be lazy. You have to tend to it: You have to stir the rice, you have to add this and that,” TK Van said.
 
Much of the fare on Yaki’s menu is prepared with the same intentional approach. The egg rolls, for example, are handmade by Bear Van with chopped meat, shredded cabbage and slivers of carrots wrapped in a thin, flaky and ultra-crisp wrapper.
 
“It’s his recipe and it’s not like other egg rolls. It’s different. It has this flair,” TK Van said.
 
Like other appetizers on the menu, the egg rolls are served with Bear Van’s signature chapu sauce, a sweet and tangy dip that lends brightness to fried items. The sauce derives its name from TK Van’s daughter’s first word; although it’s a made-up word, the family interpreted it to mean “I love you” because it was often delivered alongside kisses.  
 
The top-selling hibachi item is the Sumo combination plate, which includes hibachi filet and shrimp plus teriyaki chicken on a bed of freshly sauteed vegetables and fried rice. A lighter, more complex take on the syrupy bottled versions, Yaki’s teriyaki requires hours of prepping, cooking and cooling to make. Other accompaniments available at the restaurant’s sauce station include ginger sauce, white sauce and hot sauce – again, all homemade.
 
For sushi, Yaki offers classic rolls as well as a selection of Bear Van’s specialties, including the popular Dirty Old Man roll. Despite the name, the roll is fresh and bright with creamy crab salad, avocado, cucumber and masago tucked inside rice and seaweed and topped with chunks of tuna, salmon, red snapper and crab stick dressed in a creamy, spicy sauce and dusted with sesame seeds.
 
Secret menu items are available for those who know to ask. One option is the Grizzly, a roll named by TK Van in a nod to her brother and the abundance of fish in the offering.
 
“My brother’s name is Bear and bears love fish. So I named it Grizzly because it’s so much fish,” she said. The Grizzly roll is stuffed with chunks of tuna, salmon and red snapper plus crab stick, cucumber and avocado. Slices of tuna, salmon and avocado are wrapped around the roll, which is finished with all three of Bear Van’s sushi sauces (including chapu sauce) and sriracha dots.
 
In February, Yaki is unveiling another secret menu item: the Sweetheart roll. Shaped in a heart, the roll is filled with cream cheese, spicy crab and spicy tuna and topped with fresh salmon, spicy mayo and dots of eel sauce.
 
Located at 5709 Oleander Drive, Yaki Express is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
 
Have a tip for Restaurant Roundup? Email us at [email protected].
Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
Gretchen roberts 2021

From Contracts to Offshoring: 7 Powerful Gross Margin Growth Levers

Gretchen Roberts - Red Bike Advisors
Pfinder john zachary

Business Owners: Do You Sponsor a Retirement Plan For Your Business? These Are Things You Should Know Going Into 2025

John B Zachary - Pathfinder Wealth Consulting
Untitleddesign12 11724100328

The Value of The Endowment

Daniel B Winslow - New Hanover Community Endowment

Trending News

Avelo Airlines To Establish Base At ILM, Add Three Nonstop Destinations

Cece Nunn - Dec 4, 2024

Local Ice Cream Shop Earns National Honors

Staff Reports - Dec 3, 2024

Wilmington-area Residents Appointed To State Panels

Staff Reports - Dec 3, 2024

A First Look At A Planned Aquatic Center And Recreation Village

Staff Reports - Dec 5, 2024

Local Leaders Talk Ongoing, Future Projects At Power Breakfast

Emma Dill - Dec 4, 2024

In The Current Issue

Couple Gets Moving With Beach Carts

The idea for the Beach Mule, an electric beach cart, came to company owner and founder Will Parker while on the Bald Head Island ferry....


Raising A Different Kind Of Glass

While at events, Carter Jewell realized something was missing: an alcohol-free option that wasn’t just water or soft drinks. Something that...


Branching Out

Live Oak Bank’s latest spinoff emerged last month with the announcement of its $4.8 million seed round....

Book On Business

The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.

Order Your Copy Today!


Galleries

Videos

2024 Power Breakfast: The Next Season