September 2010

In Gastown

Chill Winston

September 28, 2010

Wandering down Gastown with CanuckGirl, TaiwaneseGirl, and BebeYeoville for some lunch, we were growing very hungry when we found out Guu was closed. We wondered until we saw this huge restaurant called Chill Winston. People have said this place was good, so we decided to go in for lunch.

The exterior of the building looks very inviting with its red flags and masculine exterior. It screamed modern, hip and classy. When walking inside, we were drawn by the abundance of comfortable lounge chairs, intimate ambiance, and a very stocked bar.

Looking at their vast menu, we decided upon the Shrimp salad, Pulled pork burger and daily pasta.

Canuckgirl and BebeYeoville had the pulled pork burger($15). The pulled pork burger had pulled pork, onions, pickled carrots, thai chili’s, in-house smoked cheddar, caramelized apple spread, and cucumber spears on a vietnamese bun. On the side of the dish were fries. CanuckGirl and BebeYeoville were not keen on the fries because they were really thick. It would have been better if they had skinny fries. All in all, the pulled pork burger was quite mediocre and not very special.

TaiwaneseGirl has the Daily Pasta ($14). This changes every day to ensure the freshest ingredients are used in the dish. I’m not sure what exactly was in this dish but there was green pasta with a nice piece of fish on top. She said it was good, so it must be.

I had the Shrimp Salad ($13). It contained pan-seared prawns with avocado salsa, red onion, toasted cashews, cherry tomatoes, and red wine vinaigrette. I really enjoyed this dish but I really hated how the pan-seared prawns left a lot of black pepper bits in-between my teeth. The avocado salsa was nice and refreshing and was like an intermission to the dish.

Words of wisdom:

Daily specials are a must!

Chill Winston is a hidden gem in Gastown for the young, hip and classy individuals. Great ambiance resonates from the decors around the restaurant. Chill Winston is a good place to go with your best gal pals or a nice romantic date. This place is a bit pricey for what you get, so do watch your wallet. You are really just paying for the ambiance.

We rate Chill Winston:

Check out their website: http://www.chillwinston.com/

In Bar and Grill

Stella’s Tap and Tapas

September 27, 2010

Having passed by Stella several time and talking about it, we finally went. It has always been in the corner of our sight when we go to Havana’s. it seems like a good place from the outside and sounds like beer.

IndecisiveGirl, Fragile Boy, M and I went for some late night food as usual. We walked in and the first thing we saw was the bar and wondered where we would sit. Then we looked over to the right side and saw a very nice little dining area. Not exactly what I expected from a bar type of place.

To start of any meal at a place like this, it called for Stella Artois ($5 special). All of us had one except for M…he had Pinapple Juice. Stella’s has a wide variety of drinks. LIKE A LOT! There was an entire menu dedicated to alcohol…this wasn’t a small menu either.

After looking at the menu, we settled on Tapas and mussels. We ordered the fish Tacos, Beef Carpaccio, Cheese Steak, poutine, and 2 pounds of mussels.

First we had the Fish Tacos ($10), it had Achiote baked white fish, corn tortillas, salsa fresca, white cabbage, crema and chimichurri. Overall I thought it was quite bland and boring. There was no flavour and the taco fell apart fairly easily.

Next was the Beef carpaccio ($11), parmesano reggiano, crispy capers, fleur de sel, spanish onion shavings, and garlic rouille. it was alright. I think I’m really use to Japanese Carpaccio. Could have use a but more acidity.

Then there was the “Filet”-delphia Cheese Steak ($12) – filet mignon medallions, snow goat cheese croute, and cranberry salsa. This was ok, the meat could have been a bit warmer. Not what we expected from this disk.

Belgian Poutine ($8) – Stella’s frites, fresh cheese curds, Blanche de Chambly & miso gravy, and topped with green onions. This dish was good and very gooey!

One pound of Bombay Mussels ($14) which had a sauce made up of Zucchini, red pepper and fresh cilantro in a Madras curry broth. This tasted good and with the left over soup, you can dunk bread into it.

One more pound of Mariner Mussels($14), which had a sauce made of Garlic, shallots, white wine, fresh herbs, and monte au beurre. In simpler words, this is garlic butter sauce. It was good. The mussel meat was very plump. On the bad side, it tasted a bit alcoholic.

We ordered 2 Baskets of bread ($2.5 x 2) to accompany the sauce from the Mussels. Expensive bread, and not worth it….6 pieces of bread for $2.50….not worth it.

Words of Wisdom:

Go get Mussels!
Try a beer
Stay away from Tacos
Bread costs money….

If you are ever on Commercial Drive looking for a place for tapas and a few drinks. Go to Stella’s for mussels and beer, you won’t be disappointed. WIth their large selection of drinks, you will get so confused!

We rate them:

Visit them at: http://stellasbeer.com/

In Mount Pleasant/Main Street

Splitz Grill

September 26, 2010

M here, is it just me or am I the one who’s reviewing all the really really junky foods? This time me and DesignGirl went to Splitz Grill on Main. The outside of the place is nothing to write home about. Inside however, it is very spacious compared to other burger places I’ve been in.

Ordering in Splitz Grill is like a school cafeteria. You order then move down the line and pick the toppings and sauce you want for your burger. It was really nice to get to choose your veggies for your burger like Subway. They even had Alfalfas! DesignGirl got their normal burger and I got the double stacked one. (I was hungry!)

We ordered it with onion rings and poutine for sides. They gave us plastic cups for the fountain drinks, and it was sort of lame that refills cost 25 cents extra. Vera’s has free refills, and so does any non-greedy food place with self serve fountain drinks. And even McDonalds now that I think of it! The onion rings were subpar. At least they were better than Burger King onion rings, (no onions in those). The fries in the poutine were very greasy and tasteless. Very disappointing.

The burgers themselves were great! They were about the same as Burger’s Etc. burgers but not as good as Vera’s. One thing better than Vera’s were the buns. The buns were very strong, so the meal wasn’t as messy as it could’ve been. I’m still curious why every burger place doesn’t use buns as strong as Splitz.

The bill came to be about $35. Very pricey considering the bill racked up more for the sides that were not worth it.

There are a lot of burger places out there that are better than this place. Why would you pay the same price or more for less quality? Would recommend going once, just to try alfalfas in a burger and marvel at the strong bun. If you are ever on Main Street, check it out!

Rate:

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Uncle Fatih’s Pizza

September 26, 2010

M here, and tonight I decided to order in for once. Who says take aways and delivery food are subpar to eating at a restaurant? I went to Uncle Fatih’s Pizza online and let me tell you, their website is awesome! It beats Dominos’, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut’s website hands down! I chose Uncle Fatih’s thanks to Sherman’s Food Adventures. (Link: http://www.shermansfoodadventures.com/2009/03/uncle-fatihs-pizza.html) Like Sherman, I thought Uncle Fatih was Uncle Faith. I still call it that!

Unfortunately, they could not deliver to my house, even though I live pretty close to their East Broadway branch. No matter I ordered online for a pickup. I was worried the order didn’t go through for a nervous 30 minutes, when the phone call came.

I rushed down there at 11:30 PM and I was surprised on how packed and clean this small pizza place looked. It was VERY clean. If it was slightly bigger, it would’ve made an awesome pizza parlour. A group of people eating pizza at 11:30 at night is a good sign that the pizza is cheap and delicious.

I ordered the Meat Lover’s Large pizza and believe me, it is loaded with meat. In my personal opinion, the best pizzas are the ones with extra pizza sauce and good cheese. Unfortunately there wasn’t an excess of both of these on this pizza.

What lacked in sauce and cheese are the toppings! Ground beef literally fell off because it had no cheese surface to cling to. The ingredients were delicious and was on par with major chain pizza places. There was no option online to add extra anything, so next time I’m going to order by phone!

The large pizza came to a measly $16.95, so awesome price for awesome pizza.

Have Faith in Uncle Fatih’s Pizza and order now on their awesome website: http://www.unclefatih.com/! Why pay more for pizza when you can get great quality pizza at Uncle Fatih’s Pizza? 2 slices and drink for under 5 bucks is a deal when you are on commute in Commercial station!

Rate:

In North Burnaby

Burgers Etc. BBQ House

September 26, 2010

M here, and one fateful evening DesignGirl and I went to try what CTV calls the best burger in Burnaby at Burgers Etc. One great first impression of Burgers Etc. is that they have back parking which is awesome! The front of the restaurant looks quaint and the interior is well decorated with Jazz!

The menu in my opinion is pretty lacking in variety. I went for the Best Burger and DesignGirl ordered the pulled pork sandwich. One thing very impressive is all the stuff you can add to the burger including egg, jalapenos, and others. However, each addition is a dollar more, which could rack up the bill if you wanted the works.

I did want the works, but decided to add egg and cheese. I love eggs in burgers!! Both DesignGirl and I got sides that wasn’t the default fries. I got my burger with the side of potato salad and it was pretty bland. More like a store bought Ziggy’s one. DesignGirl’s coleslaw was also terrible.

I ordered a milkshake to spoil myself for this visit, and the chocolate milkshake was sweet and refreshing. Similar to all the milkshakes sold by Red Robins or Denny’s.

The burger however was delicious. The egg and the burger patty made the whole eating ordeal messy, but pleasurable. It definitely is the best burger I have eaten in Burnaby. Note there are no Vera’s in burger. The burger patty was well cooked and juicy, but it just doesn’t match Vera’s burgers…

Nonetheless, DesignGirls pulled pork sandwich was the best pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever tasted in my life. Now I thought sloppy joe’s and pulled pork sandwich are the same things, but you won’t find this pulled pork sandwich in the school cafeteria! The pulled pork just melts in your mouth with such a good sauce that is not overly sweet or salty.

In the end the 2 meals came to about 26 dollars, so an average price for a great pulled pork sandwich and burger.

Definitely go to Burger’s Etc. for their Pulled Pork Sandwich! If you have extra money around why not go there to add everything on top of Burnaby’s Best Burger? You won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect too much from the sides!

Rate:

In Downtown

Re-Up BBQ Foodcart

September 25, 2010

Re-Up BBQ Foodcart is one of the new foodcart vendors in Vancouver. After hearing all the buzz about this foodcart on Twitter and Urbanspoon, it was time to see what the hype was all about.

One day after work, I headed over to visit the small place. Even though it was a rainy and cold afternoon, people were still lining up for their BBQ sandwiches.

At first I was skeptical about the size and taste of the sandwich but my view would soon be changed. As I was lining up, I realized I had no cash…apparently it is cash only, so I went across the street to HSBC to grab some cash.

I rushed back into the line before more people lined up. Looking at the small menu, they had pulled pork sandwich and 3 different drinks. Small necessarily does not mean bad, it just means they specialize in that one product.

I obviously ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($6). They first take a hoagie type of bread and cut it in half, add the pulled pork, add sauce, and put in a layer of flavored coleslaw. They make it in front of you, so you know it’s fresh and what are the items the put inside.

This sandwich was FAT! If you are hungry for lunch, this will fill you up! Look at the pictures! It’s huge. It was pretty messy eating it because of the sauce and coleslaw. Perhaps I was eating it incorrectly and trying to take pictures at the same time.

I also chose the Southern Sweet tea ($2) to go with the sandwich. It was hard to make that choice, so I asked the guy what he recommended. It tasted good! Better than Nestea or Brisk. I enjoyed it and I would get it again.

After HST, this drink and sandwich came to $9. I guess it’s an ok price since it fills you up.

Words of Wisdom:

Bring cash
Contents of this sandwich may fall on your clothes

If you are near the Vancouver Art Gallery, stop by this little place at the corner of Hornby and Georgia Street. For under $10, the Pulled Pork Sandwich will stuff you!

We rate Re-up BBQ Foodcart:

Find them at:

Downtown
700 Hornby street
Vancouver, BC V6Z

In Three Beakers

Subeez Cafe

September 21, 2010

Subeez is apparently the #1 brunch restaurant in Yaletown. MedicalGiraffe suggested we go here.

We walked into Subeez and I could not be drawn by the crazy candleholders. It was covered in wax.

Looking at the menu, there are a lot of choices. So, we asked the waitress.

The entire décor where we sat was kinda industrial looking… a lot of metal. On the plus side, the bar is stocked.

We started off with our drinks. I ordered a cappuccino and MedicalGiraffe ordered a juice.

I ordered the Mushroom and Goat Cheese Benny ($11), which had two soft poached eggs, hollandaise, mushrooms, goat cheese, and fresh basil on an English mushroom. In addition there was a salad and hash browns.

The eggs were perfectly poached and when you cut the egg, yummy ooooey goooey yolk pours out. That is when you have the perfect benny.

MedicalGiraffe had the Huevos Rancheros ($11) which was a mixture of scrambled eggs, black beans, cheddar & jack cheese in a spinach tortilla. It is then topped with salsa, sour cream and with a side of hash browns. I know MedicalGiraffe didn’t take a liking to it.

Words of Wisdom:

Go for breakfast
Can’t go wrong with any of the eggs benny’s

Subeez is a good place to go for breakfast/lunch but I’m not sure about dinner. For $15, you can get some yummy breakfast to start off the day.

We rate Subeez:

Visit Subeez at http://www.subeez.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Havana

September 20, 2010

Oh Havana’s…how much I love thee. When I am in need of a drink or some oh so yummy food, I turn to you.

Havana’s on Commercial serves up Latin American and Cuban cuisine. When you walk into the restaurant, you can’t be helped but to be drawn towards the wall. People have scratched it up and have written on the walls…and then there are old photos of people up. Kinda creepy, but it’s interesting to look at.

On a nice summers day they have air conditioning inside! They also have a patio on the outside to soak up the sun.

To start off the whole meal, MedicalGiraffe and I had a pitcher of Champaign Sangria because if you plan to have more than one glass (which you will), you save more money. I think it was $25 compared to about $8 per glass. It’s a big pitcher, so 2 or 3 people will be a bit tipsy after drinking so much.

We ordered the Halibut ceviche ($12) with warm corn tortilla chips. The tortilla chips were nice and crunchy. The Halibut was just ok but not super compared to the Tuna Ceviche. I have yet to try the crab ceviche.

Medical Giraffe ordered the Goat Cheese Salad ($12), which had fresh greens, crumbled caprini goat’s cheese, fresh strawberries and champagne-ginger vinaigrette. I tried a bit of it and I never knew this before but GOAT CHEESE IS AWESOME.

I had the Tuna Burger, which the tuna was nice and seared on the outside and pink on the inside. It also came with choice of salad or fries or both. I would recommend getting both the fries and salad since both are really good to try out. I particularly like the fries because they are thin. I think it was about $15 or $16. I’m not 100% sure since it’s not on their website.

As we were eating our meal, we noticed a couple outside eating shrimp. Since I am addicted to shrimp and all things seafood. We decided to order the Shrimp cocktails ($9). It had 15 pieces (not 30 as per the menu), house made cocktail sauce, and lemon. The house cocktail cause was very spicy and was kinda in your face. I think they added either wasabi or horseradish to it.

I’ve been here a lot, so let me impart some words of wisdom:

Do no order the Tostones ($7 Fried plantain chips), tasted burnt and Super fried
Sangria is a must, or the mojito will do
If you are a man who loves meat, try The Burger
Do check out the art gallery in the back of the restaurant near the washrooms

Havana’s is my favorite spot to go to! It has AMAZING Sangria and lots of choices on food. I always end up spending about $25 here by ordering appetizer, entrée and sangria.

We rate Havana’s:

Visit Havana’s Website: www.havanarestaurant.ca

In Four Beakers

Rodney’s Oyster House

September 20, 2010

MedicalGiraffe and I went here because we both love oysters. Rodney’s Oyster House is really popular and has a great “low tide” option between 3pm to 6pm! $1.50 per oyster…who wouldn’t want that? (I guess if you don’t like oysters…then you probably wouldn’t like it).

The inner décor reminded me of the décor in a boat because of all the ropes and nets hanging inside. Even the exterior of the restaurant makes you think of the ocean with the white wooden panels. The ambiance was quite nice and what added a big PLUS was how friendly the staff was.

Their menu’s are even on a piece of wood. Very different from most restaurants I’ve been to.

We sat at the bar in front of the clam steamer contraption and had really good conversation with the Oyster Shucker man and the other guy in charge of making all the steamed mussels.

We started off with a glass bottle of Coke and a bottle of Keiths. All bottled and nothing super special.

We decided since its 3pm, we should get a dozen of the oysters from the low tide menu. We even watched the Oyster Shucker man prepare it. He even went step by step on how he goes about shucking them.

As we waited patiently, we got some bread with butter.

When the oysters arrived, it came with a whole platter of sauces – Worchester sauce, 2 types of Tabasco sauce, vodka pepper sauce, and 4 of their house sauces.

The low tide oysters were the Fanny Bay Oysters. Fanny Bay Oysters are from BC and they have firm meat, a mild brininess and a pronounced cucumber finish. I enjoyed them. We tried the different sauces on them as well.

The vodka pepper sauce was horrible in my opinion. It really just tasted like vodka.

The Worchester sauce, and the 2 Tabasco sauce are all the standard type of sauces to put on oysters. It’s really worth trying their house sauces for the unique taste, which you can’t buy from stores.

The sauces on the right side are quite mild and works their way to a sauce called “Back from Hell”. I reassure you, that sauce is hot and will leave a stinging sensation in your mouth even if you put a little tiny bit of it. If you have the will power to test it out for your self, why not.

As we were eating the oysters and talking to the Oyster Shucker Man, we got a lot of samples of the different types of oysters to see how oysters are really different. We had – kumamoto, stellar bay, some other one that I don’t remember. Some were creamy, some were really salty, and the other was sweet. 6 free oysters and we were really happy!

After eating a dozen and a half oysters, we decided to have the pan fried oysters, which apparently is one of their other specialties. I lost the picture of my camera, so I can’t show you but they were golden brown and had a nice nutty flavour to them. This dish came to about $10.

In total we spent around $40.

Rodney’s Oyster House is probably one of the best places to go to if you want to get your Oyster craving out of your system…or make you come back for more until you run out of money. Go between 3pm and 6pm because that is when you get most of the deals.

We rate Rodneys Oyster House:

Visit their website: http://www.rodneysoysterhouse.com/

In Dessert

Michi Waffle & Expresso Bar

September 19, 2010

Walking along Robson Street CanuckGirl, TaiwaneseGirl and I were looking to find something to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Michi Waffle & Expresso Bar caught my eye with their really pretty storefront display.

Walking into their store, the décor was very nice, simple and clean. Just the type of décor I like.

When I looked at their menu, I was confused and it took a while to see what waffle options we had. There was a small waffle menu near the fridge…and then there was the main menu on the wall that had the drinks and the waffle platters. Perhaps they could have had the menu in one booklet to give consumers all their options.

After thinking for a while we got the 2 waffle platter for $9. We chose the chocolate waffle and the original. It also comes with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, banana, and strawberry sauce.

Once the platter arrived, we dug in! The original waffle was quite boring and not too interesting, but when you added the ice cream on it, it tasted good. On the other hand, it might have been the ice cream that was really good. The chocolate waffle was the original waffle but covered in chocolate sauce. I particularly liked the chocolate waffle because of the extra texture it gave the waffle.

The banana did not taste like the banana’s you would buy at the store. It was a bit starchy and different but good.

Overall, it is one of the better waffle places I have been to because the waffles were crunchy rather than bland and boring. Plus, the plating of the waffles looked good and appealing to the eye.

After devouring that, I got thirsty, so I ordered a latte. Yes, I love latte’s; they are like cappuccinos, but with more milk and less foam. The coffee was good and their latte art is quite unique. Reminded me of Café Artigiano. You can tell they are skilled baristas by the machines they use and the foam art they produce.

They could really make more than just coffee and waffles. I think if they had more variety than just waffles, more people would go to this place.

The ambiance of Michi Waffle and Espresso Bar is the perfect place to have a conversation. If you go there on a date or a meeting, it will leave a lasting impression.

We rate Michi Waffle and Espresso Bar:

Visit their website: http://michicafe.com/

In Chinese

Roaming Dragon

September 19, 2010

I heard about Roaming Dragon through Twitter when they followed Foodology. They had some very nice branding, so I decided I should try it since it’s pretty close to where I work.

Roaming Dragon specializes in Pan Asian Cuisine and ARE ON WHEELS. If you stand on West Georgia and Thurlow intersection, look out for the red truck because that is the sign of the Roaming Dragon Truck!

When I saw it, I was so excited because there was a long line up and face it, the truck is really cool compared to the other street carts.

The menu had 5 different items – Fried Rice Ball, Chicken Karrage, Korean Tacos, Soba noodle Salad, Duck Salad and Pork Belly Sliders. These are $6 each, 2 for $10 or 3 for $15. They also have a drink menu to quench your thirst!

You order by going to the window and tell them your order, before you order; you can look at their display to see what the food looks like. They are small portions, so you probably want to order more than one to get full unless you just want a snack.

Once you order, you wait on the left and wait for your name to be called.

We ordered the Japanese Chicken Karrage, Korean Short Rib Tacos, and Roaming Dragon Fried Rice Balls.

TaiwaneseGirl had the Chicken Karrage, and they are quite different from what you would find at a Japanese restaurant. This chicken is basically marinated chicken, then fried and covered in passion fruit and plum sugar sauce. At first it looked really cool and nicely put together. The taste was very interesting because the chicken was sweet due to the sauce. TaiwaneseGirl didn’t like sweet flavour of it. I tried a bit of it and the texture was alright but the sauce made the chicken feel colder. TaiwaneseGirl commented that the dish tasted very non-asian.

CanuckGirl had the Korean Short Rib Tacos, which contained braised Korean short ribs, mushrooms, spinach, carrots and kimchi. We all agreed the tacos were pretty good and it did have the asian taste to them unlike the chicken karrage. The meat was tender and had flavour to it!

I had the Roaming Dragon Fried Rice Balls, it was better than I expected! It has Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, chicken, bamboo shoots, mustard greens, and rice. Then its breaded and fried. After, it’s topped with Curry and Teriyaki Sauce. The balls come on skewers so its easy to each with minimal mess. I did enjoy this a lot and if I passed by the street again, I would pick it up.

3 smalls dishes for $16.30 is quite steep especially for such small portions.

Try Roaming Dragon out if you pass by, but if you are looking for a large meal, this is probably not the place to go. The Fried Rice balls are worth trying!

We rate Roaming Dragon:

Check out their website: www.roamingdragon.com

In Chinese

Chinese Skewer King

September 19, 2010

I saw Chinese Skewer King on my way to work and I thought it was the funniest thing because they abbreviate is as CSK, which is my friends SFU e-mail name.

On our street food vendor adventure, we decided to stop by after going to Roaming Dragon. You can’t miss this place because it is super red and yellow.

They had a few types of skewers – pork, lamb, tofu and vegetable. I wish there was chicken or beef but I guess it’s a bit harder to cook. They were almost sold out by 12:30pm so we just hurried and got lamb. We could even choose the degree of spicy we wanted on our skewer. I love having options, make me feel involved with the food I get to eat. We order “a little bit spicy” for ours.

The 3 skewers came out to be around $5. I guess if you compare it to HK or any other asian country, this is obvious expensive. I am waiting for the day when Vancouver will have $1 or $2 skewers. But with inflation, I doubt that will happen.

They gave us the skewers in a brown bag and then an extra Styrofoam container…really a waste of resources…especially in Vancouver where it’s all sustainable and stuff…lies…

I found the skewers to be very tasty and I couldn’t figure out what spices were on the meat, but TaiwaneseGirl said it was some asian spice. Our choice of “ a little bit spicy” worked for me, but apparently not for CanuckGirl, she got a large granule of spice and basically felt like her tongue was all numb and ON FIRE.

Overall I think the taste of the skewers were nice an authentic and asian. I would go again if I pass by! For $2.50 per skewer, it’s a bit expensive but where else downtown can you find skewers for $2.50? If you are in the area, stop by!

We rate Chinese Skewer King:

Check out their website: http://www.chineseskewerking.ca/

In Chinese

E. Tea

September 19, 2010

E. Tea is probably my favorite place to grab a snack when it’s late at night…or when you want to use credit card/ debit card at a bubble tea place.

BebeYeovil was super hungry and wanted some food because her parents left her all home alone. So, we went out to E. Tea.

We walked in, sat down and took a look at their menu. They basically have the typical types of food and drinks you would encounter at a bubble tea place.

BebeYeovil ordered a Taro Toast and Beef Roll.

I ordered Chrysanthemum Black Tea. What I like about E. Tea is that they use real leaves to make this drink rather than just syrup.

I go here frequently, but I would not say this is a great BBT place to go to. The food is decent and on par with Bubble World, some drinks on the menu are slightly below average because of the powder and syrup the use. I am a big advocate of fresh ingredients.

The have wifi too…the password is their phone number.

If you are looking for a cheap BBT place for drinks and food, E. Tea may be your place to go. For under $10, you can get a decent meal.

We rate E. Tea:

E. Tea is located on:

Renfrew-Collingwood
3281 East 22nd Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5M

In Mount Pleasant/Main Street

Burgoo ( Main)

September 18, 2010

I always pass by Burgoo on Main and seeing their bright blue sign, so on Tuesday, M, FragileBoy, InsecureGirl and I decided to go here after classes.

We heard good reviews of this place so we were excited! The interior décor was nice and mostly wooden, so it reminded me of a barn. But maybe that ties in with their theme of comfort food cause a lot of comfort food comes from the south.

On the table, there was nice candlelight and fresh flowers too!

We started off the meal with our drinks. Fragile boy ordered the Burgoo Pale Ale, he said the beer was not bad but it was a bit sweet compared to the types of beers he drinks. I tried a bit of it and I did not understand what he was saying cause I always think all beers taste the same.

I got the Caipirinha which is a Brazilian drink made out of sugar cane rum, sugar, ice and lime. I first heard about this drink when I was in Europe 2 years ago during an exchange to Vienna, Austria. The drink is pretty strong, so I turn into Rudolph.

M had the Homemade Strawberry Lemonade, which reminded me of freckled lemonade from Red Robins. There were the strawberries and syrup on the bottom and the lemonade on the top. When you looked at the glass, it has a gradient to it.

Before all our dishes came, they gave us bread!

M ordered the crab bisque, which contained a smooth crab and red pepper cream bisque with tarragon, and chopped parsley. M liked the soup but too bad it did not have bits of crab in it.

We all shared the Gooey Cheese Grillers. It was golden brown and extra crispy on the outside. On the inside the gooey gooey deliciousness was composed of melted Mozzarella, Gruyere, Emmenthal and white Cheddar! I have never had a sandwich with so many different cheeses. Emmenthal is used in cheese fondue…fyi. So it tastes like a cheese fondue in a sandwich. We didn’t order the salad with it, so instead of $12, it was $8!!

FragileBoy got the Beef Bourguignon! One of Julia Child’s dishes from her cookbook! If you saw the movie “Julia and Julia”, you would know the dish is made of red wine braised beef with caramelized pearl onions, carrots and mushrooms. This was served over mashed potatoes. FragileBoy liked it.

M’s main dish came which was the Kentucky Burgoo, which is basically like a stew. It contained slow cooked meats with lima beans, corn, tomatoes, cabbage and okra served over Burgoo biscuits. Burgoo Biscuits were essentially scones. He chose the Burgoo biscuits and he regretted it because he felt the mashed potatoes would complement this better. FragileBoy and I commented the stew was slightly sweet.

IndecisiveGirl ordered the tasty chicken sandwich with the pacific chowder. The Pacific Chowder had smoked salmon, seafood and potato, finished with green peas and fresh herbs. Her tasty chicken sandwich came in a multigrain bun with roasted chicken, apple, cucumber and greens with house Dijonnaise. She seemed satisfied with her meal, but for some reason she had a lot of trouble holding on to her sandwich.

I had the Ratatouille Provençale. For some reason, I thought of the ratatouille movie. I expected something completely different that what arrived at the table. The ratatouille had oven-roasted vegetables in savory tomato and garlic baked with parsley, breadcrumbs and Chevre, finished with extra virgin olive oil. It came in a bowl type of thing and was predominantly tomato sauce…so it felt like eating pasta with red sauce without the spaghetti. The pieces of vegetable were small and not like the images I see on Google. I was fairly disappointed with the dish. I could only eat about 1/4^th of it because it was fairly bland. This could have used some hot sauce if they had any.

I would not come again for dinner or eat from the comfort section of the menu. It was a bit too heavy for me and way too “comfortable” for my pallet. I would consider coming for lunch and having more gooey cheese grillers!

When the bill came, it was in a very cute dim sum container. It was bit a bit random, but I assume it complemented the international aspect of the menu.

Dinner came out to be about $20ish per person.

If you love grilled cheese sandwiches and comfort food, go to Burgoo! Their menu showcases comfort food from various places of the world. For about $15 – $20, you can enjoy a delicious dinner. Just watch out for what you choose on the menu because comfort food does not mean it’s healthy for you.

We rate Burgoo:

Check out their website: http://www.burgoo.ca/

In Korean

Pork Belly Beer House

September 18, 2010

At first glace, you would think Pork Belly Beer House is the most shady place you have ever seen. A restaurant with no name, crappy interior décor, lots of white fans everywhere, and lot of plates and soju bottles everywhere equals major sketch. If you are Korean and know your way around town, this place serves all you can eat Pork Belly! Pork Belly is basically like bacon but so much more thicker.

Interior is quite small.

When we sat down, we looked at the menu and just went with the $16 buffet, which included meat, salad, side dishes, soup, rice, and pop. Totally worth it and you get more than the $10 option. We wondered how they could keep their prices so reasonable but we concluded that the crappy décor probably kept their costs down.

Once the meat arrived, we did not waste another second to put the meat on the grill. All 9 of us were really excited to eat it but sadly we had to wait till it was nicely cooked.

It would have been nice if our salad, rice and soup all came at the same time…. These items came half way through our meal. Totally not a “buffet” if they don’t give it to us in the beginning.

When the meat is done, you can put it in the lettuce with kimchi, bean sprouts, jalapeño, and garlic. Once assembled inside the lettuce wrap, you can dip it into the miso paste or in the salt and pepper sauce.

If you grill the kimchi, bean sprouts and the garlic, it will make the wrap a lot better! Thanks to BusanGirl for that tip!

To add to this buffet, we got beer and Soju. I am a light weight, so having both got me a bit tipsy.

The service was not great since they would forget an order and take way too long refilling our food. Conversing in English would have probably been a problem but luckily I had 4 Koreans with me to do all the ordering.

Also, some of the meat the gave us was VERY FATTY ( 85% fat and 15% meat). It was pretty gross and they “boys” table got that so I think it ruined their start of the night since their meat did not cook well cause it had so many fat streaks in their pork belly. The “girls” tables got lucky since their meat turned out nice and brown.

The damage of the bill came to be over $200… but after splitting it up, it turned about to be about $26 per person.

I would advise you to not eat this often…maybe once or twice a year because this is quite fatty. We left this restaurant smelling like BBQ, I woke up feeling oily, and one person spent a while in the washroom…if you know what I mean…

When you go here, make sure you have a Korean with you. The service may be pretty crappy and if all the items in the buffet do not arrive, do ask them because you are paying for it. The pork belly should be nicely marbled with fat….and not strips of fat…so send it back if there is too much fat. Remember you are paying for all you can eat pork belly and not all you can eat fat.

We rate Pork Belly Beer House:

Pork Belly Beer House is located:

Robson Street/West End
841 Bidwell Street
Vancouver, BC V6G

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Megabite Pizza

September 18, 2010

Megabite pizza at Commercial Skytrain is probably all commuters dream! This is probably some damn good cheap pizza you have ever had if you are heading to Vancouver or Burnaby.

I was heading back from The Town Advanced Screening, M wanted some pizza from Megabite since he heard it was decent pizza and super cheap.

Walking into the place, there were about 10 different types of pizza to choose from if you are into individual slices. Everything looked SO delicious but I came in for a whole pizza.

When I was ordering you can choose up to 3 toppings, they have lots of toppings to choose from. I decided to have grilled chicken, Chorizo sausage, and pepperoni…. But the cashier made a mistake so I ended up with grilled chicken, chorizo sausage, and pineapple. Pineapple isn’t my thing but M liked it.

The wait was about 15 minutes and it came in a box obviously. It was a bit weird waiting inside cause the interior seemed pretty dirty and sticky so I just waited outside.

You can also add extra sauce to your pizza free of cost. Theres ranch sauce, chili flakes, cheese, and hot sauce.

Price List:

Slice – $2

2 slices and a pop – $4.75

Small pizza – 5.99

Medium pizza – $8.99

Large Pizza – $ 10.99

XL pizza – $13.99

If you need a quick bite or need some pizza to recover from clubbing, Megabite pizza has huge slices of pizza for $2! There is no need to ever go to Panago, Dominos, or pizza hut ever again! It’s not the BEST pizza in the word but it’s good for the price.

We rate Megabite Pizza:

Visit Megabite’s website at: http://www.megabitepizza.com/

In One Beaker

Highland Pub (SFU)

September 18, 2010

Grabbing a bite with my good pal – ScienceNerd, we went to SFU Highland Pub because it’s close and it was the only decent food on campus, which is cheap.

Even though the Highland pub was under renovations, there were very minimal changes done to the pub. The menu was the same, the décor was the same, but the only thing different was the interior of the kitchen. It looked more organized and clean.

The menu is still the same offering pub-like food.

We ordered a coke and ginger ale, nothing fancy or alcoholic since it is during the afternoon. After looking at the menu, we both decided to have the Roasted pork bun. It also comes with your choice of salad or fries or both.If you wonder what is in this roasted pork bun, it has slow roasted pork loin shaved thin and piled on a potato scallion bun with BBQ mayo and applewood smoked cheddar. The sandwich was decent, but I was not very satisfied with it because the meat was cold and dry. My favorite part would be the applewood smoked cheddar and the BBQ mayo but that was it.

There service was strangely pretty good today but on a regular day, the waitress and waiters would be uber slow and the food would be really crappy.

After going to the highland pub for a few years, it has had some improvement in the quality of the food, but the items on the menu are really a hit or a miss.The items on the menu ranges from $7 – $11, so if you are a student that wants cheap decent food without going all the way to Cornerstone, then this is basically your only option. The only way to have good food at SFU is to go off campus.

We rate the Highland pub:

Visit their website: http://highlandpub.ca/

In Downtown

Japadog

September 17, 2010

JapaDog crossed my path as I went to the Advanced Screening of The Town starring Ben Affleck. So, I decided to grab one because it’s quick and always satisfying. They also have several flavours at all their locations so it’s kinda like a scavenger hunt to try all the different types.

One thing I noticed from a few months ago is that they got a new cart, which seems more shiny and cleaner than before!

The Burrard and Smithe is the original locations of the world famous Japadog. It’s so famous that even my relatives in Hong Kong know about it. The line ups during lunch times is really long, so its best to avoid the lunch time rush.

I ordered the oroshi, which starts with a Bratwurst smokie, which is pork. For the toppings, it has grated radish, green onion and soy sauce. It’s very simple but it a major improvement on the traditional hotdog. I love really thick smokies since it does have a lot of flavour compared to those small dinky hotdogs. The grated radish adds a nice texture to the Japadog. After a while, eating it was quite a drag because it was the same flavour. I should have added a bit more sauces to this…perhaps some wasabi mayo or more soy sauce.

Overall, good experience and good fast food!

They also have super unique types of japadogs such as the edamame one where the sausage has beans. They do have regular hotdogs too, but why have that when you can have a JapaDog!

For about $5 to $6, you can get a japadog of you own! No need to go to a regular hotdog stand when there are JapaDog stands springing up all over downtown Vancouver!

We rate JapaDog: