When I'm at the downtown library around noon or we have an 8 p.m. date at the Vancouver Playhouse, EbiTen (388 Robson Street) tends to be the default food stop. A little blink-and-you-might-miss-it spot, it delivers reliable quality. (And the clientele is, reassuringly, largely Japanese.) With two large prawns, a piece of fish, and five vegetables, the assorted tempura not only boasts feather-light batter but, at $4.65, doesn't dent January budgets. Nor does the tempura-plus-sushi combo ($6.50), but you do pay for tea. Fans of takoyaki (deep-fried octopus balls) note that they do those as well, in sixes, eights, and tens ($2.95 to $4.75).