November 2010

In Japanese

Bon Crepe

November 4, 2010

Bon Crepe is located outside Konbinya Japanese convenience store on Robson Street. Before work, I was scouring Downtown for some good and quick food. SInce most street carts close before 5pm, I needed to find something fast and filling to get me through 3 hours of work. TaiwaneseGirl always tells me to go to Bon Crepe for amazing crepes. Since I was in a hungry snack mode, I got a savory crepe rather than a sweet one.

I settled on the tuna corn salad crepe ($3.53). What is different about their crepes compared to other places are the texture of the crepe skin. It was soft and chewy unlike places such as Cafe Crepe. It was the perfect size for a snack! As for the ingredients they used, I really wish they used fresh ingredients….tuna was canned…corn was canned…

The crepes are reasonably priced and I would go here again to try their sweet crepes, but maybe not their savory crepes.

Words of Wisdom:

No seats, more like grab and go
Some ingredients are not fresh, so choose which crepes your get wisely
I heard the sweet crepes were better than their savory ones

We rate Bon Crepe:

In Japanese

The Eatery

November 3, 2010

The Eatery features a twist on the traditional japanese food. All their rolls are super creative and features rolls you probably have never heard of. Try eating a Captain Crunch roll, or and Ichi Roll. You have probably heard of the traditional Alaska rolls or california roll, but why try that when there are so many types of rolls.

Looking at the inside of the restaurant, there are so many items hanging off the walls to glance and stare. The inner decor is very hip and funky. Located a few minutes away from the UBC campus, it is a perfect place to have a date or a nice hangout and try some unique rolls. After the Advanced Screening of Due Date, FratBoy, JojoCake, Canuckgirl, M, Bebe Yeoville, KoreanGirl, BigBaby, DJMikxter, and MathBoy headed over to The Eatery.

At each table, there are candles stuck into beer bottles. The Eatery is very dark and are lit by candles and red lights. I was tempted several times to drink the candle.

I had the virgin mango margarita ($4.95), it was very sweet and not what I expected. Very concentrated and strong.

I ordered the Jalapeno popper roll ($6.75) and the Italian Stallion roll ($5.95). The Jalapeno popper has smoked salmon, jalapeno, cream cheese, and deep fried with a tempura batter. It was alright, but it did not have the Jalapeno popper feel to it. The italian Stallion has prosciutto, papaya, eel and cream cheese, with hot pesto sauce. This roll tasted really nice and the papaya is a real surprise when you eat it.

M, CanuckGirl, and DJMikxter had the CHICKEN KATSU CURRY ($11.95) which is breaded deep fried chicken on rice. You can have a choice of mild, medium, or hot curry. The Katsu was very meaty and breaded nicely. M said he would have it again.

Words of Wisdom:

Sunomono is really poor quality compared to other japanese restaurants
Have daily specials for different days of the week
Good Curries
Some rolls are of poor quality
Good athmosphere

I do like the concept of The Eatery, but the execution of some of their rolls are of low quality. Maybe I am not use to the flavours since I’m a huge fan of traditional japanese food and flavours. If you go here, I think you are paying more for the atmosphere more than the food.

We rate The Eatery:

Check out their website: www.theeatery.ca

In Bar and Grill

Little Billys Steak House

November 1, 2010

Little Billys Steak House is a gem that is hidden in North Burnaby near SFU. They specialize in steaks, seafood and traditional greek dishes.

One thing I really don’t like about this place is the very very cramped entrance to the restaurant. When you are with a group of 6 waiting for your table to be set up, you are literally standing next to the person seated at the bar. I took this shot from the back of the restaurant.

To start off a nice meal, I decided to try Becks beer ($5.75) and my grandfather got a Heineken ($5.75). Both beers were good, I wish they would fill it up closer to the top of the glass. I probably got 1/5th less.

My little sister got a shirley temple. It’s grenadine, 7 up, OJ and some cherries. Very delicious and great for kids. It’s not on the menu, but they can practically make anything.

Depending on what you order, they will give you a green salad with balsamic vingar or a greek salad. They both taste really good and fresh. You won’t be disappointed with either. These come included in your meal, just read the menu and it should say which one is included.

My grandfather ordered the Lamb Chops ($24). It had about 5 or 6 lamb chops with vegetables, rice, tzatziki , and potato. The lamb chop was very soft a tender and not tough at all.

My mother had the Halibut ($25). It is a pan seared halibut fillet with a Greek style lemon butter sauce. It also came with vegetables and potato. $25 for this was quite expensive but my mother seemed to like it.

My dad had the 9oz Beef Tenderloin ($30), it comes with vegetables, and your choice of either a baked potato, mashed potatoes or fries. He chose the baked potato, which you could add on sour cream, chives and bacon. It was delicious and cooked right at medium. My little sister even stole a few bites off his plate.

WorkingGirl has had the Paidakia Ribs ($24) a few times and this time, the quality has gone down. They use to be very plump and large. This time, it looked very small and thin like a starving animal. It also comes with potato, rice, tzatziki and grilled vegetables. She really hated the potato since it was very lemony and not potato-like. I guess its the greek way of making potatoes.

I got the roast lamb ($21). It is a marinated lamb shoulder baked in a special mustard sauce. It was very tender, and the meat fell off the bones nicely. I know the picture looks very ugly, but it was delicious. In contrast to WorkingGIrl, I did like the potato since it was not bland and boring like regular potatoes.

My little sister had the gorgonzola Mac and Cheese. They were very accommodating when making her meal. My little sister doesn’t eat a lot, so they can do half orders of most items on their menu. She loves Mac and Cheese, so she chose this option. But, the waiter suggested different types of cheeses since gorgonzola is a type of pungent mouldy cheese. In the end, we got Cheddar/Mozzarella Mac & Cheese (Half order), which came out to be $7. The noodles of the mac and cheese are not the usual tube shapes, they are curly!!