June 2011

Anducci´s Italian Kitchen: Something About Their Walls…

June 29, 2011

It was TaxMan’s Graduation Day, so we celebrated at Anducci’s. It’s one of his go to places near Lougheed Mall when he can’t think of anywhere else to eat.

M and I were the first to arrive and we really could not help but touch the wall. It’s like they had extra plaster, so they decided to smear it all on to the wall into the weird blobs. I think I spent a large portion of the dinner poking and touching it.

There are a lot of choices on their menu, ranging from pastas to salads to pizza. Here are a few shots of their menu.

As we waited for our meal to arrive, the amazing bread with balsamic and oil arrived. I LOVE this bread!

CatGirl got the Laverne & Shirley Pasta ($17), which has tiger prawns and roasted chicken sautéed with onions, garlic, and lemon juice in white wine sauce. She also thought it was all right and a bit salty.

M ordered the Carbonara Pasta ($16), it has capicola (Cold Cuts), garlic, cracked pepper, cream and parmesan cheese. He really liked the pasta and was happy with the amount of capicola.

ScarFace ordered the Mixed Seafood Pasta ($17), it comes with prawns, scallops, clams and smoked salmon sautéed with garlic in dill cream sauce. He thought the pasta was alright, but a bit on the expensive side when you can go to Anton’s to get a HUGE plate for a cheaper price.

You can choose between the spicy tomato sauce or the dill cream sauce.

I thought I would be a bit different and order the Chicken Avocado Wrap ($11). It has roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and Italian dressing. You can also choose between soup, salads or fries.

I really liked it! It was quite big for the price and definitely worth the price. Avocados were nice and ripe, greens were quite fresh, but the chicken seemed a bit on the dry side. Nonetheless, still pretty good.

Overall, it was not a bad dinner. We were all full by the end.

Words of Wisdom:

Expensive for pasta dishes
Well priced sandwiches and wraps
Free parking in the front

We Rate Anducci’s:

Address:

9604 Cameron St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.anduccisitaliankitchen.com

In Food for Thought

Orange Julius: Orange Juice and Juicing Fruit

June 28, 2011

What can be better than a ice cool juice during the summer? When I was a Lougheed Mall, I just had to get a large Orange Juice to quench my thirst.

I really don’t like any of the other drinks at Orange Julius since they taste super sweet. I really like juice. I don’t like a million flavors in my juice. It’s just a personal preference.

What is super interesting is how the freshly squeezed orange juice is submersed in ice, but it was not very cold at all. I found this quite odd. For about $5, I didn’t mind too too much since I would rather not sit in my kitchen squeezing oranges for 30 mins. Making orange juice with real fruit is really difficult if you don’t have a machine.

When I was younger, I thought I could juice an orange with the rind on….so when it came down to drinking it, it tasted SUPER bitter.

Do you have any weird stories about juice?

In Food for Thought

Starbucks: Frappuccino Hidden with Whipped Cream

June 28, 2011

Nothing says summer like a good ol’ Iced Frapp from Starbucks. Since M and I strolled all the way to New Westminster to go to the pet store, we saw Starbucks and really just wanted a Frapp! Surprisingly it was quite busy, but we really didn’t mind since there is usually a long line up at any Starbucks during peak hours.

M had the Mocha Coconut Frappuccino. He really loved it since it has a hint of coconut taste with the nice mocha flavour.

If you like coconut and chocolate, this drink is probably for you.

I ordered the Green Tea Frappuccino, but I was quite mad about my drink before it was even given to me. You see, as you wait for your drink, you usually stare at the person making your drink because there really isn’t anything else to stare at.

As I was watching her make the drink, everything looked normal. When she poured the drink into cup, 1/5^th of the drink fell onto the counter. To cover this up, she just put more whipped cream on top.

I looked at her, she looked at me and we gave each other an awkward look. Since there was a long line behind us, I just took the drink and left.

Has this ever happened to you?

In Japanese

Sushi Town: Quantity over Quality?

June 27, 2011

I always came here in high school since it was less than a block away. For a student, it is the perfect place to eat for cheap. Ever since M kept getting very sick after eating here… we knew that something wasn’t right. He didn’t just get sick once or twice, but three times. Later on we found out some of the chefs do not wash their hands after smoking and/or going to the washroom. I am sure this happens at other restaurants as well, but it’s just kinda gross when you know about it.

Since I was kinda sick of campus food and BusanGirl insisted we go here for Alaska rolls, I agreed. It is a fact they have some damn good Alaska rolls.

We arrived at noon on a weekday and it was slightly busy.

My greatest fear of Sushi Town is the scary machine that hangs above the back table.

Their menu layout has changed too.

BusanGirl had the chicken teriyaki ($7.95). It has bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, chicken and teriyaki sauce. You also get a bowl of rice too. She said she liked it. The chicken was nice and tender as well.

I ordered the spicy tuna sashimi (half order $5). I had this a long time ago and I was never disappointed. This time, I was disappointed; the tuna was chopped up in very ununiformed pieces. Some pieces were as large as their usual sashimi pieces.

I then got the Chicken karrage ($3.95), which comes with 6 large pieces of wings. I really love these simple types of fried chicken wings. My favorite!

We then shared the Alaska roll ($3.95), it has avocado, cucumber, tobiko, salmon, and topped off with their citrus sauce. For $4, it’s a good roll.

Overall, the food isn’t too bad. You really can’t go wrong with the rolls.

Words of Wisdom:

Poor Service
Well priced dishes
Best to share items with friends
Very busy during peak hours
No reservations
Good specialty rolls
Amazing Alaska Roll
Not the most cleanly restaurant

We Rate Sushi Town:

Address:

5935 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

In Downtown

Aladdins Shawerma Cafe: Decent Shawerma

June 26, 2011

Every time I pass by Babylon Café, I wonder how the other shawerma restaurant compares. This place is a few shops down from Babylon Café called Aladdin’s Café. One major difference is that you can sit inside Aladdin’s Café and with Babylon Café, you can’t.

M and I decided to take our lunch here since all he wanted was meat, meat and more meat. It was quite busy during lunchtime, but most people were doing take-out.

We lined up and we really couldn’t help all the different types of currency on the wall. It was super cool looking at all the bills.

The service was pretty weird, it took them a while to acknowledge we were there standing there waiting to order.

I ordered the Shawafel Platter ($9.45). It came with two small falafel patties, chicken, rice, salad, hummus and 2 pieces of pita bread. I did enjoy the combination of both the falafel and the chicken.

This dish tasted all right, but I really couldn’t feel a little dis dissatisfied with the dish. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but it might have been the amount of chicken.

M got the Chicken Shawerma Platter ($8.95). It has tzatziki, rice, salad, pita and of course the chicken. He thought it was all right, but nothing too special.

I think we were not very impressed because we are just so use to the large portions we would get at Donair Town at SFU.

We ended the lunch with some old school Strawberry Crush Sodas. It tasted pretty good, I never usually get sodas but I was glad I did.

One thing I thought was odd was the hookah’s as decorations. I guess it’s normal but it was weird having it in your face when you are trying to eat.

Overall, it was decent but I feel like Babylon Café is a bit better.

Words of Wisdom:

Open for late night eats.. especially after concerts or clubbing
Under $10
Decent food
Limited seating

We Rate Aladdin’s Shawerma Cafe:

Address:

720 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

In Fast Food

Mc Donald’s Iced Mocha Review

June 26, 2011

After going to Eat! Vancouver, I think I am now hooked on McDonald’s Iced Mochas!

It’s made from espresso, ice, chocolate syrup, and milk. It is topped with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup. The best parts are really the whipped cream and the chocolate syrup on top. It kinda reminds me of the chocolate syrup that goes into the sundaes.

I like to suck up the chocolate syrup with my straw before I drink the iced mocha.

At first, I really didn’t know what to think of the drink since it tasted pretty different from iced mochas from any other coffee joint I have been to. In a way it tasted like their normal iced coffees with chocolate syrup.

If you are a real coffee expert, this is probably not the best place to get your mochas. I am not an expert on coffee, so if it’s drinkable, I am satisfied.

Nonetheless, it’s still quite decent and it’s good to cool you down on a hot day. For about $3.49 for a large size, it does it’s trick. This drink is only available at McCafe’s, so if you are at a regular McDonalds, you have to stick with the iced coffees.

In Food Carts

When Japadog goes to SFU

June 25, 2011

Japadog comes up to the SFU Burnaby Campus once in a while to help support student clubs or charities. It’s really great that they support students and their causes.

The last time they were at SFU, they helped out with the Japanese relief and this time, the Stepping Bridge Organization (not sure what they do). The student club I use to be a part of researched into getting Japadog to SFU as well, and they make about $0.50 per Japadog sold. It was a few years ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still the same case.

As you can tell, the prices are $1.50 higher than in Downtown.

Nonetheless, people still line up 30 mins to get a bite of the awesome Japadogs. I got lucky and arrived prior to 12pm before the lunch time crowd arrived. I probably spent 5 mins in line.

CandiedZen and Fabo both had the Okonomi Japadog ($7.75). It has a pork sausage, cabbage, mayo, okonomi sauce and dried bonito.

They both said it tasted fine, but it was a bit on the small side.

I ordered the EbiChili Japadog ($7.75). It is made with a shrimp sausage, chili mayo, dried shrimp, red pepper and fried onion.

This is by far my favorite Japadog! When you bite into the shrimp sausage, it s not just shrimp paste, it’s bits of shrimp put together. The addition of the fried onions was very very good!! Everything worked very well together surprisingly. The dried shrimp on top initially turned off my friends, but I really didn’t mind.

Something didn’t seem right about the Japadogs. Its either the bun was bigger or the sausages were smaller. If you look at the images, you can really hardly see the sausages.

In the future, it’s probably best to head Downtown to get your fill of Japadogs for their regular size. If you do want to support your fellow students for a good cause, totally get one on campus! I really didn’t mind spending a little bit more to help a fellow student organization out to raise funds. Raising money is not as easy as it seems.

In Downtown

Good Late Night Eats at “The Refinery”

June 24, 2011

Hello Internet! It’s Roman J here with another food post. Today I explore a hidden gem in downtown Vancouver. After attending the Bruno Mars concert with Abbytizer, we were on the hunt for quality food. Not just fast food or restaurant chain food but late night quality food. Walking down Granville street at 12am with several restaurants closed and only fast-food joints open, Abbytizer and I stumbled across this restaurant called the “The Refinery”.

This restaurant is hidden beside Sip Lounge. Abbytizer and I mistook it to be the upstairs of Sip Lounge, little did we know it was another restaurant. The Refinery has an upscale feel with hardwood floors, modern decor and a large bar. They also had a dj pumping electro music. The music wasn’t too loud, you could still have a conversation with the person next to you. With a name called “The Refinery” they have a large selection of wines and drinks. We ordered the beef salad, sopressata and arrancini balls.

The Sopressata ($14.00) is composed of Sicilian spicy salami, taleggio, roasted red pepper on flat bread. This is literally a rectangular mini pizza. The spicy salami was not that spicy. Both Abbytizer and I enjoyed this flat bread.

The Beef Salad ($12.00) is composed of beef tenderloin, arugula, tomatos and croutons with candied horseradish. The salad although small in size, was delicious. The beef with the dressing along with the leaves blended well together.

Arrrancini Balls ($12.00) is deep fried truffled risotto with tomato relish on top. They came in a set of 3. Abbytizer enjoyed every bite of this meal. The deep fried truffled risotto was hot and had a crunchy outside with a smooth texture inside.

For dessert we had Profiteroles ($8.00) with amaretto cream and chocolate sauce. Profilteroles are good in general, but what added that extra sweetness was the fresh chocolate sauce.

Abbytizer and I loved the food here. The service was good too! The server/bartender made abbytizer a personal drink off the menu which consisted of pineapple juice, vodka and other ingredient.

Overall, we would come back even the though the portions are a bit small. We recommend this place to anyone looking for a quality late night food.

Words of Advice:

Quality food, open late till 2am
Service is good
Small portions

We rate The Refinery:

Address:

1115 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.therefineryvancouver.com

In Fast Food

McDonalds Mc Rib Review

June 21, 2011

I couldn’t help noticing the ads on some bus stops saying the “McRib is Back”. I don’t remember having it in Canada. Perhaps I wasn’t cool enough to get it back then… or I just didn’t notice it. Nonetheless, it was new to me and I just had to try it out.

When we ordered the McRib, we were super confused when it came with salsa. I really doubt it was for the fries. I also doubt it was for the McRib either, probably a mistake.

Inside the box is the sandwich, which has a large ground pork patty, onions, pickles and bbq sauce. I was actually surprised at the taste. For a Mc Donalds Sandwich, it was not bad at all! The meat is quite nice and not tough. While eating the Mc Rib, it was a bit drippy, so make sure you don’t drop any sauce on yourself. The sauce was similar to bottled bbq sauce, but a bit on the sweet side.

They even tried to make the patty look like ribs too. It looks super fake, but it’s McDonalds… what can you really expect. It’s probably not the most healthy thing you could be eating, but its good to have something bad for you once in a while.

M got the sandwich as well and it just reminded him of his childhood in Arizona. They have the sandwich in the States way longer than in Canada. Eating it gave him nostalgia.

Overall, decent sandwich and it’s something thats not on the regular menu. It’s only a few bucks, so it’s not like it’s going to burn a hole in your wallet.

In Four Beakers

Sanpachi Ramen: Offers up Vegetarian Ramen

June 21, 2011

I love ramen places that have combos. I really just can’t stand eating just a huge bowl of ramen. I am the type of person that just wants a little bit of everything.

One thing I noticed about their menu was how it changed. It used to be much bigger and straightforward. This time, the menu was a bit flimsy and slightly confusing.

KoreanGirl, VeggieGirl and I came back from a long meeting and really wanted to eat! Since we wanted ramen, the closest place to get some was at Sanpachi.

KoreanGirl got the Mini Cha-syu combo with Spicy Ramen ($11.95). She really liked it for the price. She was even pretty full and had to pack the rice.

She’s been to the other ramen place – Santouka Ramen and she felt that the broth at Santouka Ramen was better for the spicy broth. For Sanpachi Ramen, the broth was decent and she didn’t have to pay way more.

I ordered the Mini Cha-syu combo with tonkatsu ramen ($11.95). I really really like their tonkatasu ramen. The broths is quite rich, so not everyone like it.

I enjoy having the mini cha-syu rice because it breaks up the taste from the ramen.

Since VeggieGirl is a vegetarian, the only option for her was the Sai Sai Ramen ($9.95). She really wanted a miso ramen without meat, but they could not make it for some reason. It’s really just taking out the meat…so she was confused.

The Sai Sai ramen is made of vegetable soup stock with bamboo shoots, seaweed, tomatoes, carrots, snow peas, corn, onions, bean sprouts and ramen noodles. The ramen was not bad at all; it is quite large so you will get full. One thing she did notice was that there were a lot of bean sprouts. A LOT!

Overall, we had a good time. Decently priced ramen that didn’t break our student budget.

Words of Wisdom:

Decent ramen at decent price
Around $10
Combos are my favorite

We rate Sanpachi Ramen:

They are located at:

770 Bute Street
Vancouver, BC

In Brunch

5 Spot: Long Line for Breakfast

June 19, 2011

During the last long weekend, KoreanGirl, TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I headed down back to Seattle for a day. We wanted to try some more jaw dropping restaurants as well as to get a little bit of shopping done.

Our first stop was at 5 Spot Restaurant. We arrived about 2 hours too early since I really gunned it down the highway at 160 km. Since there was no one on the roads and nothing was open, we just slept in the parking lot till it opened.

10 minutes before they opened, we started seeing a lot of people starting to line up, so we got out of the car and joined these early birds.

Soon enough, the restaurant was packed. We were super excited because we didn’t know what to expect.

Here’s a look at their menu.

The water even came in jars!

I started off with Green Tea ($2.50) since I need caffeine in the morning.

TaiwasneseGirl had the Herbacious omelette ($8.75). It has fresh chopped herb omelette hash browns and toast. She found the omelette to be average and nothing too special. She did like the hashbrowns. Extra crispy just the way she likes it.

CanuckGirl ordered the Breakfast Special ($10.25). It has some scrambled eggs with hashbrown and toast. There was something in the scrambled eggs but I don’t really remember what it was. She did like it and had no complains.

I ordered the K-Bob’s Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs ($10.75). Tenderized steak double dredged and fried. It comes with 2 eggs with potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit. I really did not like this dish. Since the steak is double dredged, you get more breading compared to the meat. It just ended tasting like fried flour with salt and pepper.

I loved the potatoes that came with it!

Porkopolis Rumble ($9.75) has scrambled eggs with house-cured pork belly, caramelized onions, thyme and cheddar. It is also served with potatoes and toast. KoreanGirl was not very impressed. The menu description sounded pretty good, but she really did not like it very much.

Overall, it was just ok food. I don’t think we really found this breakfast very unique. Just ok. Perhaps their lunch is better.

Words of Wisdom:

Free street parking in the front
Go early or wait in line
Decent portion sizes for price

We Rate 5 Spot:

Address:

1502 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.chowfoods.com/five/index.aspx

In Chinese

East Fusion Food: “Design Your Own Combo” Lunch

June 19, 2011

Mandu and I were out to lunch again. We always seem to have similar working schedules, so it just seems right to grab lunch since we are a skytrain apart.

One day. I was passing by Tinseltown, I saw this crazy open restaurant across from this Daiso looking store. They had some pretty good priced lunch, so I really wanted to try it.

The space is very open, so you do get a lot of natural light from the windows of the mall.

Looking at the menu, they have a “design your own combo” for $9.95. You choose a soup, appetizer and main and it’s just that simple. At this point, we really didn’t know if the quality would be good or not. We were prepared if this was bad or not since its only $10.

I started off with the Spicy & Sour Seafood Soup. Very good balance between the spicy and sour! I usually don’t get this soup, but I wanted to take a gamble and I really liked it!

Mandu started off with the Sweet corn Seafood Soup. It was an average corn soup. It was good.

For the appetizer, we had the vegetarian Spring Roll and the Deep-fried shrimp wontons. They both were nicely fried and just tasted average. Nothing too exciting but really was not bad at all.

For the main, Mandy chose the Coconut Curry chicken with rice. She really enjoyed the dish. Very good and it came with a lot of sauce! You won’t run into that problem where you have too much rice and not enough sauce.

I ordered the Beef with Satay sauce in fried crispy noodle. The dish was pretty good as well. Lots of good sizable beef slices and the noodles were deliciously crunchy. I am usually picky about how crunchy my noodles are and they did not disappoint.

Overall, we were super surprised at how decent the food was for such a good price. The service did suck though. The waitress was not very good at all; she was hard to wave down and was very slow in getting us more tea and the bill. I’m usually ok with it, but what ticks me off is when you and the server make eye contact and acknowledges that you need service…but never comes back.

Words of Wisdom:

Cheap lunch specials, most items under $10
Closest Skytrain – Stadium
“Design your own combo” is a good choice if you want to try several items
Service is a bit slow

We rate East Fusion Food:

Address:

88 West Pender St.
Vancouver, BC

In Fast Food

M’s Food Court Corner: The Return of the KFC Double Down

June 15, 2011

Welcome to another M’s Food Court Corner! Today I tried the Double Down from KFC at Brentwood Mall. Yep, they just had to bring this heart attack in a box back for a limited time. For those who never heard of this infamous creation of gluttony, the Double Down is 2 chicken breasts put together with Swiss Cheese, a sort of an aioli sauce, and bacon in the middle. No bread; the chicken is the bread!

I tried taking down the Double Down when it came to Canada late last year. However, the three attempts I tried it, I couldn’t finish more than half of it. The reason was that the 2 chicken breasts were unbearably salty. Like literally eating rock salt with bacon and cheese. I asked the KFC workers on the third attempt to make the chicken breasts less salty, but they said they couldn’t change anything! I should’ve said, “Screw you guys, I’m going home” but nope, had to bite a block of salt that is the Double Down again.

I wouldn’t have taken the Double Down ever again, even if it came back, but a recent commercial on TV from KFC said that the chicken breasts were the Colonel’s Original Recipe. I decided to do another plunge of faith and I’m happy to announce I was not disappointed. First the price is of course ridiculous, $6.99 for the Double Down by itself and $8.99 for the combo. Might as well get the combo. I guess if it was any less expensive, Canadians might get as fat as Americans. They said it would take 5 minutes to prepare so we just sipped on the Pepsi for 10 minutes. 15 minutes later, our Double Down’s were done! I actually saw them dunk breaded chicken breasts in the deep fryer so I was pleasantly surprised KFC’s commercials wasn’t all lies.

The return of Double Down comes with less salty original recipe chicken breasts, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. Still a little bit salty, but what do you expect with bacon, cheese, and fried chicken? The chicken was delicious, and the cheese was plentiful. The bacon was not that great however. Definitely worth shaving a few minutes from your life span to try.

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Paying $6.99 for just the Double Down isn’t worth it, just get the combo for the drink.
Double Down is very hot! No bread to save your fingers from hot meats!
If you tried the Double Down last year and didn’t like it, give this new one a try.

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

KFC Locations:

All Major Malls

In Downtown

Cham Mani: Good Quick Lunch Combos

June 15, 2011

A new Korean restaurant opened up on Pender and I just wanted to check it out. The interior seemed very simple and would work for a quick lunch.

Cham Mani serves the usual Korean dishes such as Kimbop, Ramyun, Duk Bok Gi and rice. There are several Korean restaurants that serve about the same type of item. Notably the closest restaurant that is almost the same as Cham Mani is Kimbob & Ramyun.

Their menu is pretty straight forward if you know what’s what on the menu. If not, perhaps it’s best to ask the cashier what they would recommend.

Like most Korean restaurants, water, tea and utensils are all self serve.

I started off with Combo B – Ramyun and Kimbop ($7.95). It comes with 2 sides – pickled radish and kimchi radish. They tasted all right but they were not the best sides I have ever eaten. I think they might have made the sides themselves.

The Ramyun was also pretty good! This dish is essentially just instant noodles. I was just expecting to just be instant noodle in a pot. They add vegetables like bean sprouts and onions into it to taste better. It totally worked!

The Kimbop was made very well. Kimbop is just the Korean version of sushi. It held firm, sliced nicely and tasted good. I love to dip my kimbop into the ramyun soup, but maybe that’s just my way of eating things. ..not sure if anyone else does that.

Mandu ordered Combo C – Duk Bok Gi and Kimbop ($6.95). Mandu’s meal didn’t come with side dishes, so she did feel a bit sad. I am sure the waitress just forgot to give it to her.

She agreed the kimbop was pretty good. She was also craving it today, so it worked out perfectly! The Duk Bok Gi is Korean rice cake with hot sauce. She loved it because it was not just rice cake and hot sauce. They had a bit of vegetables into it as well. It was pretty spicy too.

Overall, Cham Mani is affordable and is great for quick lunchs. It is slighly better tasting than Kimbob E Ramyun, but Cham Mani’s decor is not very nice.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain – Granville or Waterfront
Under $10
Best deal is with the combos
Quick fast lunch
Small restaurant, not good for large groups.

We Rate Cham Mani:

Address:

529 West Pender St
Vancouver, BC

In Bubble Tea

Big Orange: Fresh Fruit BBT at Metro

June 14, 2011

Just before watching the movie at Metrotown, M and I decided to get a drink at Big Orange. Big Orange has been in Metrotown for a while selling bubble tea. A few years ago, their shop was shaped like a big orange too.

Their bubble teas come in so many different flavours! They have the regular powdered bubble teas, fresh fruit bubble teas, smoothies, juice, slushies and ice cream. They are all around $3 – $5 per drink.

M ordered the Pineapple smoothie. The smoothie was milky and did not go well with the sourness of pineapple, according to M. It was good that it didn’t have ice chunk left overs that you get from poorly slushed drinks.

I ordered the fresh mango bubble tea. The drink was pretty good. Nice and smooth with no large icy chunks. It kinda reminded me of a smooth instead. I thought bubble teas were supposed to be milky, but this drink was not milky at all. Very ironic since M found it weird his smoothie was milky.

I always love looking at the image on the lid. Makes me feel super lucky when it’s a horoscope and its the right astrological sign. Too bad I’m not a gemini.

OH! Also, I love poking the cartoon figures in the face with my straw! Serial killer in the making.

Overall, it’s a convenient place to grab bubble tea at Metrotown before the movie. If you want to take it into the movie with you, make sure you hide it because they won’t let you take it inside. It’s best to stuff it in your bag and start drinking it inside the movie theatre.

Words of Wisdom:

Fresh Fruit all the way!
Under $10
Bubble tea and desserts
One of the better places at Metro for Fresh Fruit BBT

We Rate Big Orange:

Address:

4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.bigorange.ca

In Event

Eat! Vancouver 2011 + National Chefs Competition Recap

June 10, 2011

Eat! Vancouver is back! It’s a food and cooking festival featuring products and restaurant in the city. It’s on this weekend and costs $16 for an adult. There’s tons of vendors, competitions, samples and of course … celebrity chefs!

It is located at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (the new convention centre near the Olympic cauldron). There’s so many vendors that I can’t even cover in this post because there are soooo many.

There so many vendors from yogurt to dips. Yummy yummy samples!

Island Farms was selling ice cream for $1. Jack Links had a booth too and they were giving away packages of jerky!

Mc Donalds was my favorite. They were giving out samples of their lattes, vanilla lattes, and iced mocha. The iced mocha is SO cute and tasted really good!!

There were chips + dips as well as crackers and breads.

From flavoured soy drinks to raw vegetables. A few vendors were selling their products at a discount and is quite worth the deals.

Motts was there giving out samples of their beverages and selling full containers for $1.

Since the Canucks were playing at the same time as Eat! Vancouver, they even had a large TV screen. People were about to have heart attacks watchings…so many “ohhhh”, “yeahhhhh”, “noooo” and (insert screaming noises) were heard from the crowd.

Bonchaz was there selling mini Bonchaz for $0.50. I had their mini chocolate Bonchaz and having them fresh out of the oven is so goood!

Donnelly Group had some pretty damn good samples! Small drinks and small appies.

Food Network hosted a celebrity stage!

Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) was there! Honestly I don’t really know who he is but he is famous for being a food and culinary TV personality. He looked familiar to me, but it’s probably because I saw him on Rachel Ray’s show.

Connie DeSousa,Top Chef Canada Contender was there as well. She is a co-owner of Charcut Roast House in Calgary and she was giving a demo on stuffing a pigs head. The pigs head was freaky! She even skinned it!

The main reason I was at Eat Vancouver was to volunteer for the CCFCC National Chefs Competition. I was there with my friend to help CCFCC tweet and blog. We basically observed the contestants cooking and looked cool in our chef jackets. Honestly, I am sure both of us are not very good cooks at all. A few people approached us asking which cooking school we came from, but we are proud to be SFU students.

There were 8 different chefs from around Canada were competing and it was super cool watching them do their thing! It was like watching Food Network Challenge, but in real life.

They made some AMAZING FOOD! SUPER AMAZING! I even got a chance to share a few plates with the other volunteers and man, this was good food. Too bad it cost the attendees $100 to eat a 3 course meal from the competition.

There were even some judges rating all the food that each contestent created.

Another cool section of Eat Vancouver was the “Bite of Vancouver Restaurants”. You can buy sheets of tickets to be used to redeem food from a few restaurants. The tickets were 10 tickets for $5 of $10 for 20. Clearly I went for the 20 tickets! Most restaurant items cost between 4 – 8 tickets.

Calabash Bistro was there serving up a few of their dishes.

Dona Cata Mexican Food there as well. They have some good tacos.

EBO had a booth too and they had items similar to the ones that they had at the Foodie Feast.

For 4 tickets I got the Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar which has passion fruit gelee on top. It is also served with a bit of peanut butter Ice cream! The Vanilla Berry Mocktail comes with it! The add dry ice to it, so it creates the bubbly, smokey effect.

Gerard Lounge

Fishworks

Goldilocks was there too and they are known for their amazing desserts.

Gorilla Food is known for their all vegan menu items.

Gramercy Grill

New India Buffet

Maurya Indian Cuisine

Milestones was there too.

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe

Yummmm

Organic Lives

There was a lot to do. If you actually take your time to go to every single booth to take a look, it won’t make it seem like you wasted your time and money going here.

There is also a 19+ area where all the alcohol companies were located. Since I was volunteering, I didn’t think it would be right for me to be seen sipping on a few samples of beer since I have the “asian glow”. I turn beet red when I did a little bit. (So sad 🙁 )

Eat Vancouver is still open on Saturday (10am – 9pm) and Sunday (10am – 5pm)! More exciting activities are gonna be happening as well!

Friday was not that busy, but Saturday is supposed to be super busy and packed.

More info here: http://www.eat-vancouver.com/

In BBQ

M’s Food Court Corner: Gourmet Barbeque

June 10, 2011

Hello to another Mark’s Food Court Corner! Today I will be reviewing Gourmet Barbeque in Lougheed Mall Food Court. Guess which mall I live close to? No not Lougheed, but I do find myself there quite a lot.

Gourmet Barbeque isn’t a chain as far as I know, it has a similar looking food court restaurant right next to it, so I figure its owned by the same person. Gourmet Barbeque when I first saw it looked sketch; I think the sign and menus threw me off a bit. Don’t let the appearance fool you, this place is awesome!

Gourmet Barbeque serves everything from Greek to Chinese food. I sometimes get their Lamb Pita, because their lamb has a nice unique smoky taste. However, today I decided to get, what I always get, the Chicken Curry on Rice ($5.49). Awesome value for a plate of rice with generous serving of chicken curry. The curry itself is unique. It’s not straight up Chinese curry but close to it. Chicken is boneless, which is a bonus, and it also has carrot and potatoes. Not spicy at all, but pretty flavourful. $5.50 for a big plate of rice and curry from a food court? Definitely a must get!

To switch things up, I got their Spring Rolls ($2.99). Nothing special here, but has a nice chewy/crunchy texture. Eating both dishes I was stuffed out my mind!

So if you are at Lougheed Mall, don’t go straight to a chain food court restaurant try out the Gourmet Barbeque!

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Curry Chicken a must!
Great value, good food.
Get a medium Coke from the fountain with the Curry, matches perfectly!

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

Gourmet Barbeque Locations:

Lougheed Mall

In Coquitlam

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta: 2 for 1 Pasta

June 9, 2011

JoJoCake’s Birthday was here and she wanted suggestions to have a small get together. Fabo always keeps telling me to go to Jimoco Café & Pasta to try their pasta. Since it was close to where JojoCake wanted to eat, we just decided to go there.

There are best known for their pasta and their 2 for 1 deals. When we arrived, there was a huge grand opening sign for 2 for 1 pasta…according to Fabo, they have always had that deal since 1.5 years ago.

Jimoco is quite narrow inside, so there are not that man seats. It is highly recommended to call ahead for reservations.

Here are shots of their menu.

Garlic bread arrives and it was all right. It is lightly buttered on one side and not a lot of taste to it.

A few of us shared the Calamaretti Fritti ($6.50). It is just fried calamari. It tasted average, but the price was decent.

Fabo and KoreanGirl both ordered the Linguine al frutti di mare ($7). It has seafood in tomato, sauce. It is Fabo’s favorite pasta here. It has 2 clams, 2 mussels, shrimp and scallops.

CanuckGirl got the cream version of this.

JojoCake had the Penne alla bombay ($7). It has chicken and tomatoes in a curry cream sauce.

I ordered the Risotto al frutti di mare ($7). It is risotto with seafood in a cream sauce. This dish was very very rich and got me full pretty fast. The first few bites were pretty good, but eventually it was a bit too creamy and fatty for my liking.

Overall, it was pretty average food. Nothing really outstanding. The only strength is just the cheap price. This place is quite popular with the Korean community in Coquitlam.

Words of Wisdom: