May 2011

In Japanese

Togo Sushi: Fast Food Sushi

May 15, 2011

Hello Internet! RomanJ here! This time we went to Togo Sushi inside Guildford Mall located in Surrey. I usually avoid going to Togo Sushi because I always dismiss it as a fast food sushi place for mall employees. However this time, my sister and I had a deep craving for sushi and we didn’t want to drive all the way to Vancouver. Since we were already in the mall doing errands, we decided to try Togo Sushi.

Togo Sushi in Guildford Mall is surprisingly nice. It’s brightly lit with dark wooden seats and nice décor setting the atmosphere. To order you have to go up to the counter, place your order then wait at your table with the number. The sushi arrives all together on a plate.

We ordered, assorted sashimi, Alaska Roll and a Maki combo consisting of: a California roll, dynamite roll and a tuna roll.

The Assorted Sashimi ($11.95) has some pretty big pieces of sashimi. Salmon sashimi was surprisingly not bad, however the Tuna sashimi was a big disappointment. The tuna was very cold, making us speculate that it was pre-cut and refrigerated.

The Maki combo ($8.75) was probably the best deal on the menu. The California roll is nothing spectacular but standard, the dynamite roll was surprisingly good; the tempura in the roll was fresh, and the Tuna roll was decent.

The Alaska Roll ($3.95) was extremely good, beyond my expectation from Togo. I believe the salmon covering the roll added the extra flavor to the roll.

Togo Sushi is a decent sushi place, where people can go to get a quick fix of sushi. It does have some decent rolls, however I would not go here looking to try new exotic rolls. Togo Sushi does cater for the people who are on the go and it’s decently price.

Words of Wisdom:

Maki Combo ($8.75) probably the best value on the menu
Fast food Sushi

We Rate ToGo Sushi:

Address:

2320 Guildford Town Centre
Surrey, BC

Website:
www.togosushi.ca

In Cafe

Next Noodle Bar: Quick and Easy Lunch

May 15, 2011

Another lunch, another restaurant, but today I found it so difficult to choose where to go, so I strolled up and down Robson Street and saw this restaurant – Next Noodle Bar. I thought it sounded cool and the food items did not seem very expensive, so I took a seat inside.

The inside of the restaurant is quite large.

They have a large menu, but I decided to stick to the lunch specials because it was quick. If I had an unlimited lunch break, I would probably go elsewhere. Sadly, in reality, we do have to be limited to 1 hr…or less sometimes.

I chose the Egg Foo Young ($7.95). It has the egg omelet with shredded chicken, and sweet chili sauce. Inside the omelet, I really could not identify the vegetables in the omelet because it was so well cooked that it became crunchy near the sides.

This dish also comes with daily soup, almond pudding, bok choy and salty peanuts.

I did not really have a liking to this dish. The sweet chili sauce threw me off and it did not go well with the dish. I have never had egg foo young before, so I don’t have a benchmark of what it should taste like. All I know is that this dish was not for me.

For $8, it was not a bad price! The food did come quick and there seems to be a few good items on their menu.

In addition to the meal, I ordered the Fried Chicken Wings ($5). It comes with about 6 pieces of chicken wings. These were well prepared and it is the type of chicken wings I love! Simple and deep-fried! The size of the wings were quite large and had lots of meat. I’d come back just to have the chicken wings.

Overall, the food was cheap and don’t expect all-star quality at these prices but you will be somewhat satisfied.

Word of Wisdom:

Under $10 lunch special
Good for lunch if in a time crunch
Fried Chicken Wings
Some items are a hit and miss

We Rate Next Noodle Bar:

Address:

560 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Aki Japanese Restaurant: Hidden Gem

May 13, 2011

TaiwaneseGirl and I were hunting for a place right in the middle of where I work and where she lives. Aki Japanese Restaurant on Thurlow sounded pretty good.

Aki Japanese Restaurant is hard to locate if you just pass by. You have to go down a flight of stairs to get there. TaiwaneseGirl was super late to lunch. She first somehow wrote down the wrong address and ended up at Canada Place. She eventually came close to the restaurant but couldn’t find it at all even though I was trying to guide her while talking on the phone. She passes by this block often and she swears there is no Japanese Restaurant…guess who proved her wrong. Hahaha.

Apparently I remember going here 3 years ago but I don’t remember a thing at all. I even have a business card from them, but yet again I don’t remember anything. There are days when having a food blog is handy, clearly it is true that I have a short memory. I don’t remember eating either… I must have been drugged! JK I think I was a birthday party but didn’t eat since I came late.

It was lunch time and I heard they had decent priced lunch. Sure enough the lunches are cheap and decent quality.

TaiwaneseGirl started off with the Tuna Nigiri ($1.95) and Sockeye Salmon Nigiri ($2.25). She was impressed by the thickness of the sashimi as well as the quality. The pieces are not as big as Sushitown in Burnaby, but the quality is there!

She then got the Katsu Donburi ($7.75). It comes with miso soup and pickled vegetables. It is a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and sauce. She got really full after this.

I ordered the Lunch Box A ($10.75). This combo has miso soup, sunomono, short ribs, tuna and salmon sashimi, chicken karrage, pickled vegetables and rice. This was amazing! Cheap and good quality! I would totally have this again and again! You get a little bit of everything and you are not spending a fortune on this.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience! For a lunch, everything did some quickly so I was not late going back to the office.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Decent pricing
Good quality
Lunch Boxes best for lunch

We Rate Aki Japanese Restaurant:

Address:

745 Thurlow St
Vancouver, BC

In Food Carts

Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels: Skewers, Skewers, Skewers

May 13, 2011

Hello Internet! Roman J. We checked out one of the new food trucks called Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels on 49^th and Cambie. It is literally right outside Langara’s Canada Line station. This food truck serves skewers, asian subs, and rice bowls.

It was like a mini night market, but you don’t have to travel to Richmond to get a taste of delectable street food.

Abbytizer, BactadThingUp, and I went to try out this food truck. We ordered a few skewers such as the fish ball skewer, curry skewer, beef skewer, lamb skewer, and the teriyaki chicken sub.

The Fish Ball Skewers (3 for $5) are extremely good and well priced. We had sauté skewers and curry fish balls. When we received our fish ball skewers they were fresh out of the pot, and very hot. The fish balls were soft and juicy when you bite into them. They just melt in your mouth!

The 2 Beef Skewers were tender and seasoned with sesame seeds. The lamb skewer was also tender. Abbytizer, BactadThingUp and I agree that the skewers were delicious.

Teriyaki Chicken Sub ($4.50) was ok. The bread was really thick, making it hard to taste the flavor of the lettuce, purple onions, and the chicken teriyaki. If the bread was less thick, I believe the sub would have tasted better.

Fast Track Fusion Meals on Wheels, is an excellent place to get Fish ball and skewers on the go. Plus, this is a meal that will not break the bank! Great for students, great for cheap people, great for anyone. I highly recommend getting any of the Skewers.

Words of Wisdom:

Best deal are the skewers, 3 for $5
Near Canada Line Station
Cheap and quick

We rate Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels:

Address:

6450 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

2001 Flavours Pizza: Cheap and Fast

May 11, 2011

2001 Flavours on Seymour has been a very popular pizza joint which rivals a majority of all the pizza joints in that area. Even though their prices are a few cents higher than the other pizza places, it still remains a favorite amongst their customers.

As for their name, I doubt they have 2001 flavours. It reminded me of the gelato place on venables….but with pizza. Unfortunately, they only have a hand full of flavours per day. Don’t go in expecting 50+ flavours since they probably only have maximum of 8 at a time.

I have not been to a majority of the pizza restaurants, but I am willing to pay a bit more for some good pizza. I came here a year ago and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pizza. It is just the way I like it.

I came here for lunch the other day for a quick cheap bite. I found it funny how it is located beside 2 pizza places.

I got their 2 pizza and a pop combo ($4.75). I got the meal lovers and peperoni, green peppers and mushrooms.

The pizza slices are quite sizable with lots of toppings. The meat lovers had ground meat, peperoni and bacon bits. I thought it was very good because the dough is thin so the bottom is crunchy. I love this type of pizza where it is crispy throughout.

I did spend a while eating the first slice since it was big and I didn’t want to get sauce on my face. Because I ate so slow, my other pizza got cold and the pizza was not very crunchy anymore. Boo…urns. (Simpsons reference). I still did enjoy the pizza even though it was cold, I do love mushrooms. They could have had more mushrooms on the pizza.

Overall, good deal for under $5. Its quick and satisfying. If you are watching your waist line, you may not enjoy this. Carbs, FAT, Carbs, FAT. Its good to have pizza once in a while. 2001 Flavours is in no way your artisan pizzas or anything fancy shmancy. It is the large greasy slices of pizza people just love.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $5
Take out/Sit in
Limited seating

We Rate 2001 Flavours Pizza:

Address:

595 West Pender
Vancouver

In Food for Thought

The Attack of the Spot Prawns

May 10, 2011

As you have heard, spot prawns are in season! Since it was Mothers Day, we decided to indulge in those tasty creatures. We went to T&T to get enough for the dinner. They were selling for $11/pound. We got 4 pounds and it filled up a grocery bag. They wrap the prawns in wet newspaper to keep it alive till you begin cooking them.

If you don’t plan on cooking them right away, put them in the fridge so they can just chill there. It kind of puts them to sleep.

The prawns were quite big, so you might be tempted to play with them. My sisters were playing with a few of them. When they began squirming, the little sister started screaming and ran away. We didn’t do anything to the prawns before cooking. There are lots of different ways to prepare the prawns, but we just decided to boil them. That’s the only way my family likes to eat them.

When the water came to a boil, we dumped them into the pot. This was a 2 person job – one person prevented them from jumping out of the pot and the other just dumps them into it.

We tried our best, but one prawn was brave and just jumped out of the pot. These prawns are fierce! hahaha. My little sister started screaming again and ran away because she feared the prawns would attack.

They all got into the pot and we just waited till the water came to a boil again. Clearly, I was anticipating this meal.

We kept it simple with the boiled prawns, vegetables and a hot pepper infused soy sauce. We didn’t use any chopsticks or utensils for our meals. We were basically animals ripping the prawns apart and dipping them in the sauce. Since all our hands were so gross, we just used our hands to eat the vegetables. Very gross, but that’s how we did it on Mothers Day.

Since the prawns were quite big, we all finished it very fast between the 5 of us. My mother kept saying how she would have preferred getting the smaller spot prawns so she could sit at the table eating for longer.

Do you have any interesting prawn stories?

In Bar and Grill

Milestones: Date Night

May 10, 2011

Milestones was having Date Night on April 27 where it is basically buy 1 get 1 free. Since I had no date, I would do what any normal asian would probably do…bring their army of women just to get the deal. InsecureGirl, KoreanGirl, CanuckGirl and I headed over after work to be there to get the deal.

We went to the Milestones on Robson since we didn’t want to walk too far to any other Milestones. It’s not a bad location, but we knew it would be more busy than the one near English Bay.

When we arrived, there was already a 15 minute line up. Clearly everyone wanted a piece of this deal. Since the wait was not too long, we stayed and just made fun of each other till a spot freed up.

When we got to our table, they had a suggested menu with their most popular items. You weren’t limited to this list, so you can choose anything off their usual menu.

I ordered a Honey Lager ($5.49) and some hot water.

InsecureGirl ordered the Milestones’ Original Bellini ($6.49). It has run, peach liqeur, sparkling wine and boone’s sangria. This is a very popular drink and you can’t go wrong with this.

We started off with Milestones’ famous hot spinach & artichoke dip ($10.99). The dip is made from creamy spinach dip with artichoke hearts and various Italian cheese. On the plate were also sour cream, salsa and red tortilla chips. I found that the sour cream and salsa didn’t add much to this dish since the main feature is the dip.

Another appetizer that we ordered was the Calamari Steak Strips with Andouille Sausage Ragu ($10.99). The calamari are cut up into strips rather than the usual calamari rings. It is lightly dressed and fried. You get 2 dips, one with the ragu sauce and the other was the preserved lemon aioli, this reminded me more like mayo. Most of the people at the table preferred the ragu sauce.

For the main, CanuckGirl and I both ordered the Certified Angus Beef Top Sirloin with Trio of Signature Steak sauces ($21.99). We both chose to have ours medium rare. The 3 sauces that come with the dish are – Worcestershire, spiced mustard and gaucho sauce. There is also asparagus and cherry tomatoes on the side. I thought this dish was quite average. Not the best.

InsecureGIrl and KoreanGirl both ordered the Regular Cut of the Slow Roasted AAA Prime Rib ($22.99). It was done medium rare and had very savory au jus sauce with asparagus, tomatoes and mashed potatoes. The cut of meat was particularly fatty for both of them. So, as they were being girls, they would cut out the chunks of fat and there was a large amount. The other parts were ok, but it was not the best quality.

Overall, if you are to getting steak, it is not the best place to get a good quality steak unless you pay a bit extra for the more expensive choices. For myself, if I were a guy, I would not take my date here. Maybe I’m wrong, but it screams ‘cheap’ if a guy takes me here for Date Night… or at least for a first date. You gotta impress the girl. I do like the concept and it does seem to be working since there were couples there.

Words of Wisdom:

Monday – Girls Night (4 Bellini, 4 Appies = $40)
Wednesday – Date Night (2 for $50)
Milestones’ famous hot spinach & artichoke dip + Calamari are both good!

We Rate Milestones:

Address:

1145 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.milestonesrestaurants.com

In Bar and Grill

St. Regis Bar & Grill: Good Meal in Good Company

May 9, 2011

As the semester came to an end, it was time to bid adieu to the other coop students that I was working with. The whole office headed down to St. Regis Bar and Grill for some delicious food. They usually head down to Steam Works but they wanted a change, so since they knew I blogged about food, they asked me to compose a list of good restaurants near the office. I really had no idea, I am not a food expert, I just eat…and eat.. and eat. I used trusty Urbanspoon and Yelp to compile a list.

Since St. Regis Bar and Grill was across the street, they felt it would be the best option. They had good appealing food at a decent price. They serve up the usual pub style food. Walking into the place, it was more like a bar. Don’t expect your fancy or anything. It is a legit bar with lots of TV screens, perfect for watching the Canucks games too!

With so many enticing choices on the menu, I had to go with the Sirloin Beef Dip ($12). In side the garlic baguette, there is a lot of thinly sliced sirloin beef. You also get a cup full of red wine au jus. For your side, you can choose between fries or salad. Of course, being a woman, I chose the salad.

If you eat the Beef dip with out the au jus. It really isn’t spectacular. When you do dip it into the sauce, the bread immediately soaks up all the amazing flavors. IT IS SO GOOD! Hands down, best beef dip I have had in a while.

Overall, we all had a good time. Great food, great company. What else could you ask for? You probably want the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup right?

Words of Wisdom:

Vegetarian friendly
Beside Granville Skytrain
Great for watching games
$10 – $15 for lunch
Fish & Chips and the Sirloin Beed Dip Recommended

We Rate St. Regis Bar & Grill:

Address:

608 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.stregisbargrill.com

In Italian

Campagnolo: Slow Service + Disappointed Meal

May 9, 2011

Since it was Tuesday and Campagnolo is part of the Telus: Taste of Tuesday, we went to finally try out Campagnolo. They offer a pretty good deal where you get a free appetizer and dessert with purchase of an entrée.

A group of 6 of us decided to head down, since it was game night, we knew it would not be too busy. We parked in the back lane and wanted to go into the restaurant but it was blocked off by the dumpster and random items.

We walked around to the front and sure enough, we found our way in. Walking through the door was pretty cool! It felt like a tunnel and you just end up inside the restaurant.

As we sat down, the waitress didn’t inform us of the deal even though I knew about it, I didn’t want to say anything yet. When it got to the point where it did not seem likely that she would tell us about the deal, I spoke up and asked if there was the Taste of Tuesday deal. Sure enough, she said there was the deal. There really were no promotions about it in the restaurant at all. (Until at the end of the meal).

With the deal, we were limited to ordering the secondi for our entrée. Some of us wanted to try the pizza but there were no substitutions allowed even though it was the same price as some of the appetizers. We felt limited by our choices since we could only choose from 4 mains. There was no way around to get the pizza, we would have been happy to pay extra for that option.

We ordered all our items but service was very very slow. The restaurant was half empty, but we still had to wait 30 mins between each course. We felt the waitress was not being very attentive either. Perhaps this was because we were young looking and not super dressed up. Maybe it was just because the Canucks were playing? Whatever the excuse, we did not feel very welcomed. I don’t think I remember her smiling either.

M and CanuckGirl started off with the Beef Carpaccio ($13). It has several thin slices of raw beef topped with parmesan, salsa verde and herbs. You also get lemon to add more taste as well as focaccia to accompany the meat.

TaiwaneseGirl had the Peasant Chicken Soup ($9.50). The soup is made of chicken broth with black kale, lentils, parmesan and bread. She had a hard time choosing her appetizer since she did not like olives or beans. Since the description did not have all the ingredients, she was not aware of the beans. The soup was small and she just thought it was just ok.

FragileBoy ordered the Brushetta ($9). It has mushrooms and mozzarella on bruschetta drizzled with olive oil. The bread was nicely toasted and the toppings were yummy.

InsecureGirl and I both ordered the Seared Octopus ($13). It has nugget potatoes, olives, lardo (Cured back fat), and frisee lettuce. I actually liked this dish. I was surprised about the flavour profile of this dish. The seared octopus was tender and not too chewy. Having the olives and the cured back fat really accentuated the flavour! If you were blind folded, you might think this is just pork. I was pleasantly surprised.

As we dive into our main courses, M and FragileBoy both ordered the Red Wine Braised Beef ($24). The braised beef sat on top of soft polenta and topped with kale, marrow and gremolata (lemon zest +herbs). M said this dish was fairly salty. I tried a bit of it and it was indeed on the saltier side.

TaiwaneseGirl ordered the Fish of the day (~$25 ish) and it was trout. She did not know what was a trout, so the waitress had to explain to her it was similar to Salmon but not closely related. The trout is served on top of potatoes and kale. The salmon was nice and flakey.

InsecureGirl and CanuckGirl both ordered the Sloping Hill Pork ($21). It has the pork cut up into slices and served with ricotta gnocchi, fava beans and artichokes. One thing that everyone else noticed was how different the dishes were. CanuckGirl’s pork was well done and InsecureGirl’s dish was more of a medium rare. You can really tell the difference in the photos. Major inconsistencies here. When I think about it, I don’t know what InsecureGirl did not send it back. Since eating undercooked pork can give you worms. Perhaps I am wrong?

I ordered the Polderside Chicken ($21). It comes with the slices of chicken, black lentils, swiss chard, and artichoke. I found the chicken to be a little bit on the dry side, but when I dipped it into the sauce it was a bit better. The dish was ok, but it really did not amaze my taste buds.

As we moved into dessert, M, FragileBoy, CanuckGirl and TaiwaneseGirl ordered the Tiramisu ($8). They all thought it was a good tiramisu. Very nice strong coffee taste!

InsecureGirl ordered the Vanilla Panna Cotta ($8). This has pannacotta with fruits on top. She did enjoy this dessert!

I ordered the Terrina di Cioccolato ($8). This dessert needs to be explained by your server because I literally thought it was just fruit and nuts. As you can clearly tell from the image, it is a brownie! Very nice brownie indeed! It was very chocolaty and had dried fruits and nuts embedded into the brownies.

The dishes definitely had their pros and cons. At the end of the meal, the waitress kindly split our bills, but she would only do one credit card transaction at a time. She would take one person’s bill, go to the back to do the transaction through their computers in the back. Half of the table didn’t realize this and get super confused because we all had our cards ready, so it would make more sense for her to take all our cards at once rather than walking back and forth several times. Perhaps having those portable transaction machines would work better as well.

Overall, I had a very bad impression from the meal. I gathered feedback from my friends and they did not feel satisfied. One person in our group was a huge fan of Campagnolo from previous experiences, but he was VERY disappointed and just shook his head. We all came to a consensus that if we only ordered an entrée, we would be disappointed. Since we did get free appetizers and free dessert, it was ok for the price we paid. We all paid around $25, which is a good price. Even so, the food was disappointing overall.

With all the raving reviews, we wanted to like it, but they fell short of these expectations.

Words of Wisdom:

Be aware of special deal restrictions
All desserts are spot on!
Free parking at rear
Reservations only for 8+ parties

We Rate Campagnolo:

Address:

1020 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.campagnolorestaurant.ca

In Three Beakers

Hamilton Street Grill: Dinner in Yaletown

May 8, 2011

I have recently began volunteering for the 48^th Annual National Chefs Conference and we had a little get together meeting at Hamilton Street Grill with the Social Media Team and the Chair; we talked about so many amazing things such as the dynamics of a restaurant business, amazing local chefs, and of course our plans for the social media push. Don’t worry; I am not pushing the viewers of Foodology to get tickets to the event. Nor am I looking to get into the restaurant business, its just a fun pass time.

I just decided to volunteer because I wanted to appreciate where my food comes from and to see food as an art and rather just…you know… food.

The chef made this on the house for all of us. This is the Radicchio, brie and Strawberries. This was very simple, but surprisingly, the flavors went well together. This brought together bitter, salty and sweet together and it was good!

LondonGuy had the Lamb Shank ($26). The lamb shank is braised with Red wine , caramelized onions, and sits on a bed of herb mashed potatoes and vegetables. The lamb was very very tender, falling off the bone!

A few other had the Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon ($24). It has whipped goat cheese, peperone sausage and vegetable risotto, and a balsamic reduction. They all seemed to have enjoyed the dish.

I had the Vancouver Island Scallops ($26) It has pan-seared scallops, vegetable risotto with a lemon butter sauce. Very good dish, but small portion. I didn’t get too full from this. The scallops were well prepared, but I prefer my scallops to be more seared and charred on the outside.

HrGirl ordered the Pork Belly with a side of greens (~$20). The pork belly sits on a bed of vegetables. Small portion as you can tell

Overall, we had a great time and it was a good place to have a meeting. We probably spent 3 hours just chatting away. It was a Monday night so it was not too busy inside.

The food way pretty good, but it is quite expensive for small portions. I didn’t feel the food was very mind blowing or super unique. I probably wouldn’t come here unless it was for a special occasion.

As I was washing my hands in the washroom (Yes, washing hands are good), I saw this! Telus is having a promotion with a few restaurants in Downtown for Taste of Tuesday where the appetizer and dessert is free with purchase on an entrée. It only applies on all Tuesday in the month of May. 3 courses for about $20 – $25 are not bad. I treat it as another version of Dineout Vancouver but a bit cheaper.

Words of Wisdom:

Expensive with small portions
Lamb shank very good!
Pay Parking on street

We Rate Hamilton Street Grill:

Address:

1009 Hamilton St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

In Cafe

Meat & Bread: Tale of the Dry Bread

May 8, 2011

I was at a conference at SFU Harbour Centre and when it came to lunchtime, a group of us headed over to Meat & Bread. I chose it since it was close and I knew people would just love it.

During the peak of the lunch hour, we still found seats for our large group. Even though most tables were full and seat all taken, the turnover time is quite fast. Just have a little patience and seats will free up. Since the line up for ordering was long as usual, we had a fun time watching them prepare the porchetta.

Since I have not had the porchetta ($8) in a long time, I ordered that with a dandelion and burdock soda.

The porchetta sandwich was interesting this time. The meat was delicious as usual, but the crunchy pork skin parts were different. Before the crunchy bits use to be a bit bigger and very hard to chew. This time, they were chopped up thinner and had more of a airy crunchiness to it. My friend ordered the same sandwich as well and she was afraid she would not be able to chew at the skin bits. As she ate the sandwich, it was no problem for her.

Another thing I noticed with my sandwich and not anyone else’s was that my bread was very hard and wrinkly looking. The bread is supposed to be a bit soft, but as you can see clearly in the picture, it looks hard. It’s like a wrinkly old man.

Everyone else’s sandwich was fine, but I as unfortunate to be plagued with the bad bread. All the other bread they had looked fine, so I don’t know where this odd shaped one came from. I really wanted to like the whole meal, but sadly the dry bread really affected the sandwich. Thus, I had to give Meat & Bread a lower rating this time.

This is what the usual bread looks like….major difference right?!

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go early to ensure nothing is sold out
Porchetta is the most popular but the other sandwiches are also delicious
The sauces are a must try
Dandelion & Burdock Soda is good!

We rate Meat & Bread:

Check out their website: http://meatandbread.ca/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Thailicious Cuisine: Delivery Service

May 7, 2011

It was another adventure looking up food on Yummy Web since M did not want to move or do anything. It was already getting pretty late and there were not many places open…nor did we want to drive. Eventually we thought about just getting some Thai food from Thailicious.

We ordered online, got a confirmation call and soon they arrived at the door. They accept both cash and cards. There is a $2 delivery charge.

We opened up the first box and lying inside were 4 Thai spring rolls ($6.50). Surprisingly for takeout, the skin was still crunchy. I find that with keeping fried items in a box, it just ends up steaming itself and going soggy. M was impressed by the spring rolls even though they were vegetarian. I don’t think he knew it was vegetarian hahaha. What is with men and their hate for vegetables? Anyways, The spring roll is filled with vermicelli and vegetables. It comes with 1 sweet/sour peanut sauce and 1 container of pickled vegetables.

M ordered the Sautéed Chicken Thick Red Curry ($11) with a side of Jasmine Rice ($1.50). The sauce is a thick red peanut curry sauce made with coconut milk, bell peppers and Thai sweet basil. Topped with sliced kaffir lime leaf. M liked it, it had great flavour and good sizable chicken pieces.

One thing we did notice was the curry was very soupy and not “thick” at all.

I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai ($13). This has pan-fried rice noodles with their special sweet and sour sauce. It also has egg, tofu, bean sprouts, chives and topped with ground peanut.

This container was very hot and stayed hot for a while. This only had about 2 pieces of shrimp, so I was a bit disappointed. You need to dig around till you can actually find it. I ate the noodles and then discovered it was hiding under neither. When I tried squeezing the lime into the pad thai, nothing came out. It seems like the lime has been sitting out for a while.

The pad thai was bland and really was not very special. I probably would not order this again.

With all these items adding up, it was quite expensive and not the best. The next day, we got another phone call from Thailicious saying our order was ready. We were really confused since we got our order the day before. It seems like something weird going on with their ordering system.

Words of Wisdom:

Order online/phone
Delivery/ pickup
Expensive
Only good thing are spring rolls

We Rate Thailicious:

Address:

1428 Vernon Drive
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.thailicious-delivery.com

In Food for Thought

Hot Pot restaurants in Vancouver have strange names

May 6, 2011

Did you know Hot Pot Restaurants from all over the Lower Mainland have hilarious names? Some of them I have to admit are pretty lame, makes no sense, and are probably bad english translations. I just had to compile a short list of Hot Pot Restaurants in Vancouver to show you guys how funny they are.

Of course this does not apply to all Hot Pot Restaurants. Some have normals ones, but I found the list above to be quite funny. Just so you know, I haven’t been to these Hot Pot restaurants, so I don’t know if they are any good. I just know, they make me giggle.

Do you know of any other Hot Pot restaurant with strange names?

In Downtown

Beentoo Sandwiches and BBQ: Where have you beentoo?

May 6, 2011

A new restaurant – Beentoo just popped up across the street from where I work. My coworker and I wanted to go try it out. We thought it would be Japanese food since the name is very close to bento. Clearly it was not since it is a Sandwich and BBQ restaurant.

Once you walk inside, it kinda resembles McDonalds…Long narrow interior with ordering counter at the very end. Once you look at the menu, it is not anything like McDonalds! Sure they have a usual burger but what got me intrigued were their variety of burgers – Korean Spicy chicken, lemon grass chicken, pulled pork… etc. There are also wraps and other healthy alternatives.

I ordered the Korean Spicy Chicken combo ($6.79). You get your sandwich with a pop/coffee and a choice of side. There were good sides to choose from – yam fries, Caesar salad, garden greens or chicken corn chowder.

I was curious about the chicken corn chowder, so I ordered that. It was your average chowder.

The Korean Spicy Chicken Sandwich is really good! The chicken steak is very moist and not too spicy. Just a little bit of a kick, but it will not overwhelm your taste buds. The chicken seemed very fresh but the main key thing is moist.

When I went, they were having promotions of giving free drinks with purchase. Today I looked over and there is no tax. They are really doing a huge push to tap into the market of catering to international students. On the 3 blocks of Seymour, there are tons and tons of international students.

Overall, I did like their burgers. Even the lemongrass was pretty good!

Words of Wisdom:

Has promotional deals going on ….No Tax, Free drink
Lemongrass chicken burger + Korean Spicy chicken burger!
Under $10
Closest Skytrain – Granville
Limited seating

We Rate Beentoo:

Address:

552 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.beentoo.ca

In Food for Thought

V Fresh Lemon Tea Drink with Basil Seed

May 5, 2011

At T&T, it is easy to find a variety of drinks from around the world. I often walk up and down the drink aisle and every single time I see these weird Thai drink that I am deathly afraid of.

Since I was really bored that day, I decided to buy this and try it out.

Even though I did buy it, I spent a while looking at the basil seeds suspended in the drink. It kinda reminded me of floating mould. Not very aesthetically pleasing. It probably took me 2 days till I had the courage to drink it. Even M was quite afraid of what I had bought. I know they are edible but you have to agree they look nasty.

When I finally took a gulp of this, it tasted ok. You don’t taste the basil seeds and the flavour was just like water and honey.

I personally didn’t like the flavour of this drink since they honey or sugar was a bit too much. I think I will stick to having my basil seeds from desserts at Bubble Fruity.

In Chinese

Kalvin’s Restaurant Chowdown Recap

May 4, 2011

A month or so ago, there was a discussion on Chowtimes about having a chowdown at Kalvin’s Restaurant. After much discussion, Kevin from 604foodtography decided to take charge of the chowdown. He put up a post on his blog and sure enough, a great group of 15 got together to have the ultimate chowdown at Kalvin’s Restaurant.

I met a few other bloggers too which was super exciting. The ones that were in attendance were – The Friday Lunch, The Petite Foodie, The Daily Slif, Sea Salt with Food, Ed Eats, Chowtimes, Sherman Food Adventures, Yum O Rama, and of course 604Foodtography. There were also non bloggers too that join in on the festivities.

I’ve actually never heard of Kalvin’s Restaurant until I saw it posted on Chowtimes. This is why I love reading other blogs as well; you really discover all the hidden gems in and around the city.

Kalvin’s Restaurant looks like any other Chinese restaurant, so it is quite easy to miss as you are wandering around Victoria Drive. I arrived promptly at 6pm and the restaurant was not busy at all, most of the tables were reserved, so you know it would be a busy day for them as the night went on.

Our table was huge! We had a table that actually fit 15 people. It was like a huge table for huge families, but in our case, a huge table for hungry bloggers and foodies.

Since there were 14 of us, it was tough to figure out what we all wanted to order. Good thing no one had allergies, so this made the process easier. Kevin took the reign and just ordered a huge array of dishes from the menu. Since I can’t read Chinese to save my life, I am no help in that department.

Before I go and start talking about all the dishes we had, what is so awesome and highly amusing about being at a table of foodies it that most people had their huge SLR cameras ready. For a bit I felt kinda inferior since I carry a Canon G10. Still, a great camera, but not an SLR. Ben from Chowtimes brought along his point and shoot camera so I didn’t feel too embarrassed. Every time a new dish would come to the table, everyone had their cameras ready to take multiple shots, eventually people at other tables started staring at us. Kevin commented saying there was a lady at the next table over just staring at us and shaking her head.

After the pictures were done, everyone dug in!

The first dish that arrived was the Fondue Spicy Pork with Organ Stew (Large – $18). If you aren’t Asian, you will probably be disgusted with this dish, it have all the nasty stuff that usual people may not be accustomed to be eating. The most “gross” ingredients you will find in this are pieces of intestines and pork blood. I found this dish to be a bit too spicy for my tolerance level. I was gobbling tea like no tomorrow.

The next dish that arrived was the Pork & Ton Choy in BBQ Sauce ($11.50). Essentially, the name of the dish is how you would describe it. I didn’t really think there was anything too special about it.

The next one was the 5 Spice Beef in Chinese Pancake ($5 per order). I think we had 3 orders of this. This is a green onion pancake wrapped with 5 spice beef. This is probably one of those usual item you would order as Taiwanese snack at those Bubble tea places. I found that I tasted more of the pancake more than the beef. As you can tell, there was one slice of beef, hoisin sauce and no onions… pretty disappointed.

The next dish was the Spicy Pig’s Ear ($4). I personally love spicy pig ear. Some may say it’s gross, but I just love the texture and chewing on the cartilage. I didn’t think this is was too bad, it was quite average and not too spicy.

I think the Shredded Fish with Yellow Chives ($11.50) was a memorable dish. The fish was quite delicate and well prepared. I think this would be a great dish for little kids since you know there are no bones. I remember as a kid, I would try my best to avoid fish because sometimes there are bones.

This was the Chicken with 3 spices (S- $10.50/ L- $20). You are probably wondering what are these 3 spices – soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine. I liked it! Having those 3 ingredients marinated the chicken very nicely. Great flavour.

The Shredded Beef with Green Onion ($9.75). It was pretty average. Nothing super special.

This dish is the Red fermented deep fried pork ($5). This was probably the one item that I really wanted to try! The pork had a nice light crunch on the outside since it is deep-fried. It was unique and I have never seen anything like it.

This dish – Cold Bamboo Shoot Salad with Mayo ($7.50) was quite a surprise. No, like actually! I don’t think any of us remembered ordering this. Even looking at the bill, it wasn’t on it. Maybe they threw it in because we were such a large party that ordered lots? No clue. This was an interesting dish yet again; bamboo shoots with mayo on top. When I think of bamboo shoots, I think of long tough sticks. In this dish, it was more like fruit with a bunch of mayo dumped on top. I honestly find mayo very strange on cold items, so I was not a fan of this dish. BUT I did enjoy the bamboo on it’s own.

This dish is the Hakka Style Eggplant with Shredded Pork ($8.50). Hakka style basically means the type of cooking in Southern eastern China. The eggplant is cooked till it is mushy. I love eggplant; some people don’t like it because of that texture. In this dish, I found it slightly bland, so perhaps a bit more seasoning would have done the trick.

The next dish – Diced Chicken & Peanuts with Chili Pepper ($9.75) was HOT. Too hot for me to handle! It looks somewhat innocent until you get those red chili peppers in your mouth. BAM! Burning sensation in the face. Sorry, I can’t comment too much about this dish since all I really remember was hot.

This was the Prawn and Pineapple in Mayo ($16). I usually love prawns to death, but this dish was not for me. Hot prawns with mayo…and then fruit with mayo. In my mind, the only mayo that shall ever touch prawns would be in ebi mayo. Fried items + mayo = good. On the bright side, the prawns were nice and big.

String Beans with Minced Pork ($8.50) is your average type of dish found in a restaurant like this. Nothing too special about this dish.

Crispy Salty Peppery Chicken ($6) is your staple dish at a Taiwanese restaurant. At bubble tea joints, it would be a snack…served on rice, served in noodle…etc. Having the item available here was very interesting since its not usually what you would order. The inside was very moist and you can see the juices run from the meat. I thought the seasoning was fine and the skin was nice and crunchy.

I’m sure you know these are Shanghai Style Dumplings ($6). These were ok, pretty average and are not the best dumplings. This was not bad either.

We had quite a fun time with these dumplings to see who would puncture the dumplings first so the soup would spill. The first person to do so was Karl from The Friday Lunch. We all had a good laugh.

Finally! The last dish of the meal was Chicken with Sesame Oil & Wine in Hot Pot ($16). This was a very delicious deep flavored soup. The chicken was tender and went well with the soup. This is the type of soup I would love my parents to make. The first few sips were good but the after taste you could take a bit of the wine. Even though it had wine, you would not get drunk.

Wow, that was a lot of food. 17 dishes in total for 14 people. The bill came out to be $250.32. After tips each person paid $20.50. It was not too bad since we had that many dishes. The service was not bad either, it was amazing that the chefs could crank out so much food in a short amount of time! This dishes came so fast that there were times when we ran out of table space.

By 6:30pm, there were lines outside….as we left there was still a large line up.

I have to give a big shout out to Sherman of Sherman’s Food Adventures for sending me the names of all the dishes. Without him, I would be guessing what everything single dish would be called. Another thanks to Kevin (604Foodtography) for bringing us all together!

Overall, I think Kalvin’s Restaurant was just ok. There were a few average dishes and a few spectacular dishes. For myself, I would probably not revisit this restaurant since it’s a bit out of my way to get to.

If you have finished reading this huge post, you have read a total of 1500 words!

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking on adjacent streets
Reservations are a MUST
Largest table size = 15
Red fermented deep fried pork and Shredded Fish with Yellow Chives

We Rate Kalvin’s Restaurant:

Address:

5225 Victoria Dr
Vancouver, BC

In Dessert

Presidents Choice Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream Sandwiches

May 4, 2011

M and I were shopping at Superstore since there was No Tax! You can save a few bucks here and there but hey… I am Asian so I am entitled to fight others in the name of discounts.

We were walking up and down the aisles … then up and down more aisles… then I saw it in the distance; a HUGE freeze display of Presidents Choice Ice Cream Sandwiches.

You are probably asking why I am so excited over this. When I was a kid, I would often take their cookies and scoop ice cream between to cream my own version of the ice cream sandwich. Clearly, they never ever tasted right.

The ice cream sandwiches come in 2 flavours – Vanilla and Chocolate.

I prefer vanilla, but M prefers chocolate, so I really can’t tell you which one is better since it’s all about personal preferences. Essentially, the Ice cream sandwiches are made out of 2 chocolate chunk cookies with a large amount of ice cream in the middle. I personally found this ice cream sandwich ok, it was hard to taste the ice cream when there are chocolate chunks all over the place.

My all time favorite is still the usual rectangle ice cream sandwich with the black soft cookie.

In Dessert

Beard Papa’s: Good Desserts For a Bad Day

May 3, 2011

M was feeling a bit down, so I surprised him with some Beard Papa’s. He loves chocolate, so I thought I would get him one of their cool cakes. I love cream puffs and since Beard Papa’s is in Metrotown, I thought it would be convenient.

There wasn’t much of a line but there was a bunch of people just staring at the lady making cream puffs. I found this rather annoying because I just wanted to order. I stood behind a few people for a while and they weren’t moving in the line or talking to the people taking the orders. Turns out they were just looking.

I ordered and I was on my way with my little paper bag. I also saw the nutrition information and yikes….I was scared for my health.

They have a few more products since I came a year ago. They had this thing called ‘Paris Brest’. It sounded a bit scary at first, but it’s just a donut looking pastry with custard. If you want to be more technical, it is a Choux pastry shell with fluffy custard filling. It is a commemoration of Paris Brest et Tour, the worlds oldest existing bicycling event. This should not be mistaken with Tour de France.

It was pretty good and it reminded me of the original cream puff but in a different form.

The other item I got was the Fondant Au Chocolate. It is their version of a chocolate lava cake. It has a very nice oozing chocolate center when you break the cake with your spoon.

This is probably my favorite item from Bearded Papa since I love chocolate lava cakes. Yum! It is usually best served warm, so stick it into the microwave for a few minutes and it should taste amazing.

We rate Beard Papas:

Address:

4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.beardpapascanada.com