May 2011

In Downtown

Nuba: Amazing for Lunch

May 31, 2011

Since another one of my coworkers was leaving, it was another lunch outing at the office. We chose Nuba since it was a decent walk from the office and has a reputation for delicious food. They did not take reservations, so we needed to come up with a plan to steal a table for 8. One of my coworkers and I just hopped down there 30 mins. earlier to wait for a table, to our surprise there was an empty 8 person table. This was PERFECT! All the tables were packed…. Except for the large table.

Nuba has a pretty good selection for the lunch menu. I stuck by choosing one of the plate options rather than the Pita options are because you get hummus, tabouleh, and tzatziki. Those were the 3 things I really wanted to taste since it’s been a while since I visited Nuba.

My Coworker ordered the pita and even though it was quite large, she was a bit disappointed because it did not look as impressive as the plate.

I ordered the Lamb Kibbeh Sainish ($12). It has 2 halal lamb patties, lots of vegetables, pine nuts, burghul (kinda like rice). Of course it did include the hummas, tabouleh, and tzatziki. A lot of the flavours are very strong and does takes your taste buds to the middle east, but they work so well together that you will not be overwhelmed.

The halal lamb patties were similar to the meat you would find at the donair/ shawarma places. (But of course better!). You really need to smother the patties with the tzatziki sauce.

Overall, great lunch at an affordable price! I would totally come here again for lunch. (Dinner is good too).

Words of Wisdom:

Go for the plate options and you will not be disappointed
Under $15
Hummas + tabouleh is so good!
Vegetarian friendly

We Rate Nuba:

Address:

207 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
nuba.ca

In Fast Food

Tim Hortons: BLT Bagel Disappointment

May 30, 2011

I’m always in a rush to actually eat breakfast, so there are days when I resort to eating Tim Hortons because it’s so close. Today, I wanted to try something a bit different on their menu, go I got the BLT Bagel, which is part of their breakfast menu.

I was super disappointed by it. The bacon strips were extremely thin and you could barely taste it. The egg was also quite bland. This was a very horrible bagel. I think McDonalds would have been a better choice for breakfast.

I don’t think it was also worth the price. BLT’s should really have more than just flimsy dainty pieces of bacon. Safe to say, I will never order this again.

In Hastings-Sunrise

Bao Chau: Good Pho & Meh Spring Rolls

May 29, 2011

ConsultingGirl was craving for some pho, but wanted to avoid a few of the horrible places in Burnaby, so we drove a bit further to go to Bao Chau. Since it was another game day, everyone was out Downtown or glued to their screen at home. This is my favorite time to head out since there are no lines and the restaurants are empty.

This place was indeed empty. Only a few tables were occupied. The decor is quite dated, so don’t expect too much from their interior.

I started with the Bao Chau House Special Beef Noodle (Smaill – $6.50). I chose this because it has a little bit of everything. Tendon, tripe, beef balls, and other slices of beef. This is one of the better pho I have had. The broth is quite clear and it’s not too murky.

ConsultingGirl had the Pho Tai Bo Vien – Rare Beef and Beef balls noodle (Small – $6.00). The beef is indeed rare and you can tell when it arrives at the table. What people usually do is to let it sit in their hot soup so it cooks.

The sides of basil and bean sprout were very fresh and it did not look like it was reused or old. I am very picky when it comes to these things because some pho places do like to reuse old customers bean sprouts and basil. This scares me.

We also ordered the 2 Spring Rolls ($3.50). The spring rolls have vermicelli, carrots, a bit of beef and mushrooms. We found the spring rolls to be a bit under cooked. The outside was nice and crunchy, but the inside was a bit doughy. The wrapping was a bit different from other spring rolls and also it is sprinkled with salt and pepper on the outside.

We thought this would be the best spring rolls, but it fell a bit short. In the past, these were spot on, but I guess the quality isn’t too consistant.

Overall, we did like the pho, but spring rolls were a bit of a disappointment.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in rear
Under $10
Any of the pho with rare beef tastes pretty good

We Rate Bao Chau:

Address:

2717 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

In Fast Food

Triple O’s: Missing Pickles

May 29, 2011

Up at SFU, there really isn’t too many to places to eat at. One of the more convenient and popular places is Triple O’s in the Academic Quadrangle.

Since it was Tuesday, They have a deal called “Triple O’s Tuesday”, where you get the original burger for $3.33. The burger is very sloppily put together with lettuce, tomatoes, Triple “O” Sauce, and the beef patty. There is also supposed to be pickles with it, but they did not give us any. By the time I figured this out, I was too lazy to go back for pickles.

The burger tasted ok, but it’s not the best burger. It’s something just to satisfy your craving. I added the combo to it since I knew just eating the burger wouldn’t be enough to fill me for lunch. You get thick cut fries and pop to it. I’m not a huge fan of the fries since they were not very crispy.

M was very very hungry, so we got the Double Double Combo (~$9). It is essentially the original burger, but with 2 patties and 2 slices of cheese. Yet again …no pickles. M did enjoy it since it had all he wanted – meat.

Overall, don’t expect perfection from the SFU’s Triple O’s. I only go when it’s convenient and I don’t want to walk far.

Words of Wisdom:

Triple O’s Tuesday Deal
Under $10

We Rate Triple O’s:

Address:

8888 University Dr
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.tripleos.com

In Pub/Bar

The Diamond: Drinks and Appetizers

May 27, 2011

Flo has always wanted to try out The Diamond, but they were always too full. We were having a little SFU get together and when she asked if they had space. Flo jumped at the chance to go.

The Diamond is located on Powell on Carrall, but it’s on the 2^nd floor, so be sure to look out for the sign and the stairs to enter. They are more of a drinking lounge rather than straight up eating. It’s the place to go after work to kick back with a few drinks and a little bit of food.

For the FourSquare users, do check-in because you will find some tips so hilarious. The first tip that popped up was from someone I knew at SFU and he basically said to never go to this place…we were already here so, it’s wasn’t like we were gonna get up and leave. Good thing I am not a good listener because I did enjoy the Diamond.

Their food menu is not very extensive and really will not fill you up. I find this place best to have your pre-dinner meal and then head off somewhere else if you are hungry. For example, after this, we headed to the night market to eat again.

Since HikingMan doesn’t drink beer and Flo wanted a virgin cocktail, someone had to drink right? I got the Asahi Super Dry Lager ($6). What can I say? I really love Japanese Beer. Some say local beer is good, but I have a secret love affair with Japanese, German and Austrian Beer. Perhaps one day I will go in-depth about this.

Flo started off with the Tuna Tartare ($13). There is a block of tuna and avocado cream drizzled with ginger sake dressing and a side of tomato chili Jam. You also get 4 wonton crisps to eat the tartare with. This is one of their more expensive dishes, but it has a lot of great flavours combining together.

Flo then got the gyoza ($7) since FourSquare kept telling her it was one of their best dishes. Inside the gyozas are pork, mushrooms and cabbage. The sauce that the gyozas come in smells so good! It is a mixture of soy, mirin and sesame oil. Even thought this dish is under the “Bigger” category, it really was not that big.

I ordered the Rock Cod Sub ($12). Inside the sub is rock cod with Morrocon spice rub, greens, cucumbers, hint of lemon, tomatoes and a nice Japanese Mayo sauce. The sub was pressed in a Panini presser, but the sub was still nice and chewable. Yet again, it did have nice flavours, which I was surprised. The sub does drip a bit when you eat it, so make sure you don’t eat it too close to you or else you might stain your new clothes.

HikingMan ordered the BBQ Short Rib Sandwich ($12) and he really thought the tender beef was spot on. Basically if you order, the sub, you can’t go wrong.

Overall, great drinking place, go small eats, but this is not the place to have a full dinner.

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go here for light food and drinks
Gets full at night

We Rate The Diamond:

Address:

6 Powell St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.di6mond.com

In Event

2011 Chinatown Night Market Food Vendors

May 26, 2011

When I was driving to Yaletown to meet up with Flo and hikingman, I noticed these orange tents near Chinatown. This meant the night market was on! After a light dinner, we decided we would have dinner #2 at the night market.

The night market runs from May 20th – Sept 11th on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It starts at 6:30pm and goes till 11pm.

Since it was the first week of the market, it was pretty packed but not as bad as the Richmond Night Market. Every time I go to the Chinatown Night market, I feel a bit of nostalgia because I would always come here as a kid after church with my friends. It was always so much fun. Times have changed and the Night Market has been reduced to one small block with limited vendors since the Richmond Night Market started.

The main focus for me is always the food since I don’t really buy anything else at the market unless there is a good deal on socks. Since there are not that many food vendors, I thought I would give you an inside scoop of the food vendors here.

Bar-B-Q

Skewers (Pork, beef, lamb,chicken): 4 for $6 *Cheapest at the market but on the burnt and dry side*
BBQ Squid Tentacles: $3.50 * Not worth the price! You get 2 small pieces on skewers*
BBQ Corn on the Cob: $3.50
Charcoal Grilled Squid: $3.50
BBQ Shichamo (Capelin): $3.50 for 5 pieces
There’s other items here but I wasn’t really paying attention since I was lining up for skewers

Bubble Gallo Tea House

The only bubble tea vendor here
Decent variety of flavours but they make drinks with powder

Dim Sum Express

Pork Buns: 2 for $3.50
Shrimp Dumplings: $3.50 for 5 pieces
There are also other items as well, but the quality of Dim Sum is not that great
The vendor is the same as the Dim Sum Express Food Cart in Downtown

Spicy Hot Pot Cool Noodles

$4.50 for a bowl of their noodles

Mini Donut

8 pieces for $3.50 (2 flavours)
12 pieces for $4.50 (3 flavours)
Lots of different flavours for donuts

Pizza Wrap

$5 for a whole pizza wrap
$3 for half a pizza wrap
Pop & water $1.50

Night Grill

1 skewer: $2.50
3 skewers: $6

Hurricane Potatoes: $3
Flavours: Original, Salt & pepper, Roasted Garlic & Pepper, BBQ, Ketchup, Salt& Vinegar, Cheddar Cheese, and Cajun Spice
It’s like half way between chips and a potato. I really liked this!

Buy a Hurricane Potato and get a skewer for $1.50
Skewers cost more than Bar-B-Q, but these are more tender and juicy

Mini Bubble Waffles

1 for $3.50
2 for $6.00
3 flavours – original, strawberry & chocolate
Strawberry is made by adding powder into the original batter
Chocolate is just adding chocolate chips into the original batter.
Waffles are really sloppily made

TakoYaki

6 balls for $4.50
9 balls for $6
Takoyaki is all pre-made prior to the night market, they just reheat the balls
Can choose from different toppings – seaweed, wasabi, cheese and green onion

As you can tell the balls are quite small and not very impressive

Wheel Cake

$1 per one wheel cake
Fillings: Red Bean, Custard, Peanut Butter, nutella
Most popular flavours – Nutella & Custard
Peanut Butter is crunchy peanut butter, not smooth

I got the custard one and it was pretty good

W&T Snacks

Rice Noodles in Fish Soup
Tempura
Chicken Karrage
Onion Rings
Vietnamese Rice Rolls

The Chinatown Night Market is not as impressive as the Richmond Night market, so don’t go out of your way to come here. If you are in the area after dinner Downtown, you can just take a stroll over here after dinner.

Foodology Picks:

Wheel Cake
Night Grill for Skewers and Hurricane potatoes

Closest Skytrains: Stadium, Main Street/Science World

Information:

Date: May 20, 2011 to Sep. 11, 2011. Every Fri., Sat. & Sun.
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Venue: Keefer St. / Main St.
(Between Main & Columbia St.)

In Cafe

Higher Grounds: Tea & Coffee Place

May 26, 2011

I’m usually pressed for time when I move from the SFU Burnaby Campus to the SFU Harbour Center Campus. Time does not really permit me to have a big snack or even a lunch when there is 1 hour between class and the bus ride can take about 45 mins.

I was really dead and tired one day, so I decided to quickly go to Higher Grounds for some tea and a small little something. Their prices are quite reasonable and won’t break the bank compared to some other places. The Simon Fraser Student Society runs it and the money goes back into the school.

I ordered a soy London Fog and a chocolate cookie with white chocolate ($4.60). The London Fog was perfect, I find it so much better than Starbucks and way cheaper! It’s not too sweet or too bitter, but just right.

The cookie was also pretty darn good and hits the spot. Having the white chocolate chips inside made this cookies just melt in your mouth.

Overall, it’s my favorite place to go on campus for tea and a snack.

Words of Wisdom:

The food isn’t that good
Go for the drinks and pastries

We Rate Higher Grounds:

Address: Maggie Benson Centre
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC

In Dessert

Qoola: Do It Yourself Frozen Yogurt

May 24, 2011

I was just at Metrotown and I had a little sweet tooth craving. I really didn’t want anything unhealthy or anything super sweet and chocolately. As I strolled around, I decided to go to Qoola. They have ‘do it yourself’ frozen yogurt, so I could get as little or as much as I wanted.

Qoola is located near the Skytrain entrance to the Mall. You can’t miss it. Everything is self serve, so you just go around first by grabbing a cup and fill it up with your flavours of frozen yogurt.

Once you have that desired amount, you can begin the fun part by putting on all the toppings. You can choose from cereal, sprinkles, and all those other sweet toppings.

I love my fresh fruit, so I gravitated towards the counter with the containers of fresh fruit. I loaded on the Strawberries, kiwis and pineapples. I honestly find that is the best combination. It’s very fresh, simple and real.

This came to $4.15! Pretty good price and under $5. I got the plain frozen yogurt with a few scoops of strawberries, kiwi and mango. All the fruits were fresh and it did not seem like it was sitting there for a long time.

Overall, I like the ‘Do It Yourself’ concept. You can choose how much you want and you can choose your own combinations of toppings.

Words of Wisdom:

Steps from Metrotown Skytrain station
Under $5
Do it yourself

We Rate Qoola:

Address:

2250 4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Address:
www.qoola.com

In Bakery

BonChaz: Things Do Change…But Not For The Better

May 23, 2011

Did I ever tell you I love deals? As a student I love to save a bit here and there.

Since BonChaz had their ‘back to school’ promotions, they were giving away free coffee for the first 3 days of school. Plus, with a 15% off discount with a student card, I was sold. I am so Asian; I just love deals but I always spend more than expected.

Flo and I headed down for some lunch and coffee. It seemed like it was getting busy around lunchtime.

Flo got the Smoked Salmon Sandwich ($6.95). It has smoked salmon, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, salt and pepper. One thing that really lacked in this sandwich was the amount of smoked salmon.

I ordered the Roast Beef Sandwich with soup ($4.95 + $1.95). The Roast beef sandwich has lettuce, tomatoes, salt, pepper, cucumbers and 2 slices of Roast Beef. I too found the amount of meat lacking.

Apparently, you can get double the amount of meat for $2.

The soup was a chicken and herb soup and it was good! Had good amounts of chicken and vegetables.

Afterwards, we got our free coffee and ordered a BonChaz. I am not usually a black coffee type of person, but since it was free, I took the time to mix in the cream and sugar. I don’t really know if this was good coffee or bad coffee.

The one thing I noticed about the BonChaz was how small the filling as gotten from my previous visits. It did take a while to figure out where the filling was located.

Overall, we were both very disappointed this time around. Sandwiches could have used more filling and the BonChaz definitely needed more filling. When I visited them previously, it was good but now… not so much.

We rate BonChaz:

Address:

426 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.bonchaz.ca/

In Bubble Tea

The One: Good Alternative to Bubble World

May 23, 2011

SkinnyBones was back in town after 1.5 years of exchange to Korea. Flo and I decided to meet up with her to catch up over some food near Kingsway.

Since The One on Kingsway looks super cool, we decided to check it out. They serve the usual type of Taiwanese food found in places like Bubble Word and Beef Noodle House.

The menu was fairly large and it took a while for us to see what we wanted. So, the waiter kept coming back to check up on us about 3 times, up to the point where they stopped approaching our table. Eventually we had to flag them down to take our order.

I ordered the Pineapple and Banana Milk ($6.75). The taste of the drink was really fresh and had a lot of banana inside. It was great but it was lacking one thing – pineapple. I tried really hard to distinguish the tastes from each other, but in the end I concluded that they left out the pineapple or just put in one small piece. I didn’t bother asking the waiter because it was still pretty good and I didn’t feel like complaining.

I ordered the Chicken nuggets with Noodle in Soup ($9.50). This meal is pretty huge and it comes to you to the table on the huge tray. The large bowl of noodles has the vegetables already cut up, which is good because you don’t have to be that weirdo at the table spending forever trying to chew through you vegetables. If you have kids, it’s a good dish to share with them.

The chicken nuggets live up to their expectations and were really good! The meat was nice and tender. The batter was quite light and enjoyable. It took me a while to figure out what was on top, and it was fried basil. It was a nice touch because all the nuggets that would be sitting under the basil left had a slight hint of basil to it.

SkinnyBones ordered the Beef Curry with Rice ($8.50). Since she just came back, she was not use to such large portions. You will probably get stuffed from this. You get your curry and the rice, and on top of that, you get 4 side dishes. These vary on every visit. She did like it but it was just way too big for her.

Overall, this is not a bad place to go. It’s a good alternative to the usual places near Kingsway like Bubble Word, Estea and Beef Noodle House. Don’t expect this place to be perfect either since service is a bit lacking.

Words of Wisdom:

Large portions
Under $10
Fried Chicken Nuggets!
Free parking in the front lot

We Rate The One:

Address:

5908 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
theonerestaurant.ca

In M's Food Court Corner

M’s Food Court Corner: Thai Express

May 22, 2011

Welcome to the first article of many of M’s Food Court Corner. I will be reviewing the different food court restaurants in Vancouver and the tri-city area specifically for young bachelor’s with no money like me! I won’t be going to the same chains in different food courts, but if you find a better than average chain at your favorite food court, be sure to let me know!

The first M’s Food Court Corner restaurant I reviewed is the recently opened Thai Express in Lougheed Mall. I also saw that there is a Thai Express in Surrey and it looks identical! I actually went to this Lougheed chain twice and will recount both times that I ate there.

To start off, Thai Express looks uber classy and modern! I love their brand and the black and green. It definitely is more appealing and attractive than any other Food Court restaurant. I ordered the General Curry with Red Sauce the first time and the Green sauce the second. Anything that starts with General in Thai Curry refers to the deep fried chicken bits that they add to the dish. I have to say General chicken is delicious and fits very well with any of the curries.

They have 3 types of curry sauces to choose from: Red, Yellow, and Green. Red is the spiciest and has a special ingredient – bamboo! Yellow is medium spiciness while Green is the mildest of them all with a special ingredient – eggplant. When I first had Thai Express my Korean side screamed for hellfire, and thus I chose the Red sauce curry ($7.58) thinking I would becoming a raging fire breathing dragon. Alas, it was not that spicy. So mild in fact, adding sriracha sauce would’ve made it meh.

The green sauce General Curry ($7.58) was actually more flavorful because it wasn’t trying to be spicy. I’m no fan of eggplant, but it worked in the Green sauce curry. The bamboo in the red sauce was bland. Both curry dishes comes with a nice helping of delicious white rice and I had no problem balancing out the rice with the curry.

I didn’t get the spring roll the first time around, but apparently they come together if you “combo” it up with a drink and your selection of entrée. The eggroll did not look good and tasted like a badly made grocery store bought one. It was weird it was put in a paper bag like some bread.

The price was normal for this sort of food from a food court. I recommend getting the Pepsi ($1.88) to balance out the curry.

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Awesome branding and look. It’s cool to watch the chefs make your curry in a flash of fire in front of you while you wait.
I recommend trying it once. It is sort of pricey for Thai, but you pay for the uniqueness.
Pass on the Spring Roll.

M’s Food Court Corner Rating: (Not to be compared with Design Girl’s “real” restaurant rating.)

Thai Express Locations:

Park Royal
Central City
Richmond Centre
Lougheed Mall
Pacific Center

Website:

www.thaiexpress.ca

In BBQ

Hog Shack: Burnt Ends Adventure

May 22, 2011

One day, I was in class and I get a message on Twitter from @Kathygko about an EatUp at Hogshack. She heard they had the burnt ends available, so she grouped a bunch of people together to chowdown on the tasty treat.

I’ve always wanted to go to Hogshack but the drive down to Steveston is always so daunting. It’s 1 hour away from where I live, so it’s always unappealing. Since I knew I would be in great company for the famous burnt ends, I really couldn’t say no to the opportunity. Plus, it was a very nice sunny day! I took M with me after class at SFU and we headed all the way down there. Since I am foreign with Richmond Highways and roads…we did indeed get lost twice. There was even one point where we started heading back to New Westminster. (In my defense, highways are tricky).

Eventually we made our way to Steveston, wow! Honestly, I never knew this place existed since last year. I am a horrible Vancouver-ite. Hogshack is located in Steveston with lots of other amazing restaurants around it as well.

We had the Burnt Ends with 2 sides ($15.95). Burnt ends do not sound very appealing at all, but are ok tasting. Burnt ends are the fatty meat parts of rib ends. They have a nice smokey taste to the burnt ends. A few sides you can have with the dish are coleslaw, mashed potatoes, yam fries, baked beans, Spanish rice pilaf, vegetables, potato wedges, fries and corn bread. I was in a healthy-ish mood, so I got the Spanish Rice Pilaf and the vegetables. M on the other hand got yam fries and the rice pilaf. I didn’t particularly like the sides, they were quite bland and could have used a bit more salt.

The first few bites of the Burnt Ends were really good! Nice tender and fatty! Mmmm! After a while, I noticed some pieces were not as tender as others and the BBQ sauce was a bit overwhelming. I don’t think I am a BBQ person. Heck, I don’t even like BBQ chips. The whole sweet and salty tastes don’t work well with me. That’s just my personal taste, so don’t disregard this as a bad dish at all. After a bit of discussion, some of use actually prefer the BBQ at Memphis Blues over Hog Shack.

Evie and Jen were the latecomers, so they ordered something different since they were not too hungry. They had the Pulled pork sandwich ($12), which has pulled pork, coleslaw, BBQ sauce in a nice bun. On the side, they had the poutine. It has hand cut fries, gravy and curds. They both said theses were really good.

(L to R): @jamtjr , @makukiko, @foodologyca, @kathygko, @VVLao and @jen_chu7 .

With all this food, we were indeed in good company! We had lots of laughs and crazy discussions. Thanks Kathy for organizing!

Overall, I found that the burnt ends were ok, but not super amazing or anything. One thing I want to do is try their Flatliner Challenge. Perhaps next time I will try this out. If anyone else wants to do the challenge too, please let me know and we can be gross together!

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking on streets, or pay near the parking lot
Flatliner Challenge, eat in under 5min and its free
Burnt Ends

We Rate Hog Shack :

Address:

160-3900 Bayview Street
Richmond, BC

Website:
www.hogshack.ca

In Four Beakers

Toshi Sushi: Amazing Sushi

May 20, 2011

I ventured out to eat since the Canucks were playing. This is prime opportunity to go to the popular restaurants without waiting! I always wanted to try Toshi Sushi but was always turned off by the long long waits. ScienceNerd and I went to catch up on good ol times and of course take the insults that he throws at me.

Vancouver

ScienceNerd is not one to make many choices, so he just got the Dinner Box ($16.95). This huge box includes fried oysters, tempura, sunomono, 6 pieces of sashimi, 2 pieces of nigiri, miso soup, and 6 pieces of their specialty rolls. The items in the dinner box do change often, so it is best to ask them what is in it. ScienceNerd really enjoyed it! It has a bit of everything from Toshi Sushi, so you can’t really be too disappointed in it. Great quality, fresh ingredients!

I on the other had decided to go with the individual rolls. I started off with the dragon roll. What makes this roll so appealing is the amount of beautifully cut slices of avocado with the trail of tobiko on top. Inside the roll are cucumbers, shrimp and eel. This was a really good roll and I would definitely recommend this!

Next up was the famous Box Roll. It has a very unique look that resembles a box. On top, there are salmon, prawns, scallops, and a lemon. In the center of the rice, there is avocado. I really liked the taste of this roll except the lemon was cut a little bit too thick, so I got the taste of the bitter rind. This is still pretty good and unique.

Next I got a piece of Ikura with quail egg. I am use to ordering the tobiko with quail egg but when I saw ikura with quail egg, I thought it would be cool to try something different. Chewing on this for a bit, it has a very liquid-like texture as the little ikura burst. It was a bit strange at first, but it was good. This nigiri is not for everyone, so you might hate it.

At this point, we were quite stuffed, but it felt like the waitress was pressuring us to get dessert, so ScienceNerd got the apple crumble. As you can tell, this is a very filling dessert! It has some good pieces of apple inside. The apple crumble is topped with a caramel sauce.

I ordered their strawberry cheesecake. I wanted their green tea cheesecake instead, but the waitress kept on telling me to order this one. I was not disappointed! The strawberry cheesecake was very very fresh and you can really taste the essence of the strawberries!

Overall, it was a great dinner. Not too expensive and we got some quality food. I would come again and wait in line just for their sushi.

Words of Wisdom:

Decently priced
Free parking on streets
All the sushi is pretty good!

We Rate Toshi Sushi:

Address:

181 E 16th Ave
Vancouver, BC

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Belgian Fries: Poutine, Poutine, Chili Dog

May 19, 2011

M and I were getting a bit hungry, so we decided to try Belgium Fries. I have heard a lot about their popular poutines. I’ve never been to Montreal, so I’ve never been close to real authentic poutine.

We lined up at the counter to order, but it took us a while because there were so many options. There was so much that we just decided to share 2 medium poutines and a chili dog.

We started with the Montreal Smoked Meat Poutine (M- $8.60). This had a huge bed of fries topped with cheese curds, Montreal Smoked Meat slices and gravy. This dish was plenty hot and looked so good. The Montreal smoked meat was very tender and quite delicious! The first few bites of the poutine were really good until it got really boring and quite salty. The fries eventually got fairly soggy and felt like a chore to eat.

Deluxe Poutine (M-$9.10) is similar to the other poutine but it has bacon, mushroom, onion, and red pepper instead. This was M’s favorite, but he did feel the same thing I did with the other poutine.

We both couldn’t finish it because the medium size was really big. I think it would have been best to share one medium between 2 people if you are not a large eater or you are watching your weight. Imagine how many calories are in that.

We also got a Chili Dog (~$4) out of curiosity. It also has lots of beans and corn inside. Nicely toasted bun and it tasted quite good. Not many problems with this item.

Overall, I found the poutine to be quite disappointing, but maybe it’s just my taste. I loved the meat and all the toppings, but the amount of limp fries and salty gravy made me feel obese. The poutine is a great item to share with friends, but you will not feel happy eating the whole thing by yourself.

Words of Wisdom:

Metered parking on street or free in residence area
Under $10
Best to share

We Rate Belgian Fries:

Address:

1885 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.belgianfries.com/bfblog/?p=640

In Coquitlam

Cold Stone Creamery: Invading Vancouver

May 18, 2011

I have a lot of Korean friends and they were raving about how Coldstone was finally in Vancouver. Apparently it’s really big in Korea. Fabo took CubedTee, M, ScarFace, TanGuy and myself to the Coquitlam location.

When we got there, I expected to see a store that was on its own, but it seems like Coldstone can only be found in selected Tim Hortons. I guess that’s how they are bringing Coldstone into the Canadian market. The Coldstone at Metropolis is also inside a Tim Hortons.

Coldstone is very similar to Marble Slab Creamery, but instead of a cold marble surface to mix you ice cream, they have a cold stone, thus the name.

They have interesting names for their 3 sizes of ice cream – Like It, Love It and Gotta Have It.

One their menu has some premade flavours and topping concoctions, while the other one had ‘do it yourself ‘options, shakes and smoothies.

I decided to go for the ‘Do it Yourself’ option because I didn’t like any of the combinations. I chose my size – Love It, and then I chose the Cotton Candy Ice Cream.

The third step was to “pick from an endless combinations of mix-ins”. I thought we could pick any amount of toppings we wanted… so I put 5 toppings into mine – Skor, KitKat, Reese’s, almonds and walnuts. After the 3^rd topping, the person making my ice cream started giving me a funny look and I didn’t know why…until I went to the cashier…

Since I ordered so many toppings, can you imagine how hard it was to mix the toppings into the ice cream?

When I got to the cashier, I was charged for the base price ($3.69) + Waffle bowl ($0.85) + 5 toppings ($4.25). The toppings came out to be the same price as the bowl and ice cream……WOW. This small sundae became a $9 treat. Note to self, read signs carefully.

Since this was entrenched in so many nutty toppings, I could not taste any of the cotton candy ice cream! Every single bite was packed with nuts. Ya… I should never misread signs.

Everyone else got the Signature Creations so they didn’t have to end up like me.

M ordered the ‘Peanut Butter Cup Perfection’. It has Chocolate ice cream, peanut putter, Reese’s and fudge. This was very peanutty and sweet! If you are a chocolate and peanut fan, you should get this. If not, you may want to get something else.

Fabo had the ‘Coffee Lovers Only’. It has coffee Ice cream with Skor, almonds and caramel. This is her all time favorite.

TanGuy was feeling a bit girly today and got the ‘Our Strawberry Blonde’. It has strawberry ice cream, graham crackers, strawberries, caramel and whipped cream.

CubedTee has the ’Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip’. It has mint ice cream, chocolate chips, brownie and fudge.

There are lots of options and yes, the combinations are limitless…but with a price. For myself, I did not really take a liking to Coldstone. The concept is quite neat, but if I wanted some quality ice cream or gelato, I would go elsewhere.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Busy at night
Signature Creations are the way to go

We Rate Cold Stone:

Address:

650- 3025 Lougheed Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

In Coquitlam

Pho Hoa: All the Way to Coquitlam

May 17, 2011

Meeting up with Cubedtee and Fabo for dessert but, M, ScarFace, TanGuy and I didn’t eat dinner. Clearly, we were not very smart that day since usually dinner comes before dessert.

Since we were starving, we went across the street to Pho Hoa. Cheap, Fast and easy! As long as the food is edible, we were happy.

I ordered the #22 – Julienne Pork & Grilled Pork Chop.

You are first given soup and the sweet sauce for your rice. The soup was very hot… VERY HOT temperature-wise. I think almost everyone had to wait for a while for the soup to cool. The soup was pretty oily and just reminded me of the soup that goes into the pho. It was a bit salty as well.

When the dish came, we were presented with the pork chop, the julienne pork, rice, fried egg and vegetables. The pork chop was very oily and the meat was quite thin and had a few bones. The taste was average but the meat was tender. I did enjoy the julienne pork, but it never seems like pork since it’s all so thin.

Overall, the meal was pretty average. Nothing special, nothing too horrible. I found that Pho Hoa finally got a facelift. Their interior is newly painted and looks more modern. Even the website got a facelift.

Word of Wisdom:

Lots of parking in parking lot
Under $10

We Rate Pho Hoa:

Address:

750 – 3025 Lougheed Highway
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.phohoa.com

In Bakery

Beard Papa’s: Cream Puffs and More Cream Puffs

May 16, 2011

I was having a stressful day at work, so during my lunch break; I headed over to Beard Papa’s for some cream puffs. That’s the usual thing that cheers me up, sweets! I’m actually not a big fan of sweets, but I do love my cream puffs!

The location on Robson does not have many flavors and they have a schedule, so they only have 2 flavors available per day. They just have the usual flavors that you would see in the other Beard Papa’s.

I grabbed it to go as usual since I didn’t want to be the one in the office that makes everyone else jealous. I went home with the little baggie and shared it with my sister. Sharing is caring right? Eating it all by myself would be a little bit selfish.

I gave my sister the Chocolate Cream Puff ($1.75). She quite enjoyed it as usual. The cream is quite light and it is usually filled up very nicely so the cream tried to escape as you take a bite.

I had the Green Tea Cream Puff ($1.75). I think one of my favorite is the green tea. The green tea taste is very subtle and not too potent.

Some people don’t like the size of the cream puffs and think it’s too big. They do have mini cream puffs but it’s only in the original flavor. Sounds interesting, but you might end up eating more that you initially intended to.

Overall, I enjoyed it and the best was to really eat it is with the company of others.

Words of Wisdom:

Original Flavour is best
Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate Beard Papa’s:

Address:

548 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.beardpapascanada.com

In Brunch

Amelia: Cheap & Affordable Breakfast

May 16, 2011

PedoGirl and I went off to Amelia in New Westminster to FINALLY check out their breakfast. They are known for their affordable breakfasts and Chinese food. You could say Amelia is a hole in the wall restaurant with outdated décor and some good simple breakfast.

There are 2 Amelia Restaurants in the area, but Amelia Café is no longer part of Amelia. They sold the place to other people.

Since we arrived at 2pm, we didn’t know if we wanted to have breakfast or their Chinese food. After much discussion, we decided to order breakfast.

We started off with our pots of tea. PedoGirl got the Red Tea and I stuck with my usual Green tea. They come in small little teapots. There’s really not too much to it since they are just made from tea bags.

As they were about to close soon, they gave us a plate of their fried wontons. The wonton skins were really crispy and not too hard. I think these could be my guilty pleasure because I would want to eat them all day if I had an unlimited amount of these. They would rank 3 in my list of favorite fried things to eat, after ebi mayo and chicken karrage.

PedoGirl ordered the Bavarian Scramble ($6.25). It has diced Bavarian Sausage scrambled with veggies and cheese with pan-fried potatoes and toast. The melted cheddar cheese on top of the scramble made the eggs so much more enjoyable. Cutting into the omelet and then pulling away the stringy cheese is very enjoyable. Haha.

I ordered the Workman’s Special ($5.95). This has 3 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, pan fried potatoes and toast. I ate this breakfast with ease. Perhaps I am a Workman? If you have a large appetite, this may not fill you up.

The dish was pretty average, but I really loved the bacon! Super crispy to perfection! The sausage was also good.

Afterwards I drank 2 cups of coffee since they needed to get rid of it during closing. I was so wired afterwards! Afterwards we went to Starbucks to get Fraps…I was too hyperactive to function.

Overall, Amelia is not your amazing awesome OMG to die for breakfast, but it is cheap and gets the job done. They cater most to seniors and to the residence in the area. It gets busy on the weekends near peak breakfast time.

Words of Wisdom: