July 2011

In Japanese

Makoto Japanese Restaurant: South Burnaby Sushi Joint

July 31, 2011

Makoto is a Japanese restaurant in the Burnaby South area on Royal Oak and Rumble. I don’t normally go close to this area, but M wanted a short dinner meeting with ScarFace, ChinaHat and AwkwardGirl.

They are one of the top Japanese restaurants in the Burnaby South area, so I wanted to see if it was as good as people say. They sell the usual Japanese dishes you would see at any other restaurant.

The interior is not too big but they can configure the tables so they can sit 10 people. If you are doing this, you probably want to call ahead of time.

They have sashimi, nigiri, rice, soup salads, donburi, noodles, agemono, teriyaki, rolls and other combos.

M ordered the Chicken Yakisoba ($8.50). Yakisoba is fried Japanese noodles and their version includes snap peas, eggs, carrots, and onions. Topped with pickled red ginger and dried seaweed.

ScarFace ordered the Beef Yakisoba ($8.50), which is exactly the same but with different meat. They came way way later than all our meals. Tasted really good, but took way too long to arrive at the table.

AwkwardGirl and I shared the Dinner Combo A ($25.95) It comes with tempura, california roll, salmon roll, nigiri and beef teriyaki. You also get 2 of sunomono, miso soup and rice.

The miso soup is just the regular you would find at other places, they don’t add much to it.

The Sunomono has plenty of shrimp, which I like! Otherwise, nothing else is different about this dish.

The Tempura, which is the appetizer size was really good. It has the usual vegetables and 2 ebi and had a good amount of batter and crispiness.

The salmon and the california rolls were pretty good and well put together.

The 4 pieces of nigiri – salmon, tuna, ebi and tamago. They were quite decent, but the pieces on top are not as large as other places such as Sushi Town.

The beef teriyaki was really really good! It was thinly sized and has a very delicious sauce. The downside is that it was pretty small. The green salad on the side had a nice light citrus sauce and it was also good.

Overall, the food was pretty good. We found that the service was a bit slow and it would have been better if some peoples dishes arrived closer together rather than 10 or even 15 minutes apart.

Words of Wisdom:

Cash Only
Slow and mediocre service
Yakisoba is good!

We Rate Makoto Japanese Restaurant:

Address:

5213 Rumble St
Burnaby, BC

In Japanese

Hi Genki: Dining In An Old Folks Home

July 30, 2011

Located inside the Nikkei Home near Middlegate Mall on Kingsway is an assisted living home for seniors. Of all places, I would not have expected a Japanese restaurant would be inside here. Hi Genki is owned by Fujiya and operated within the Nikkei Home. They sell traditional Japanese food to the public as well as their senior residences.

M took ConsultingGirl and I here since he heard the food was really good.

Trying to figure out how to park your car is a bit confusing at first. Just drive into their underground parking lot, which has complementary parking. Follow the signs in the parkade and walk up the stairs till you see the front of the Nikkei Home. Then walk through the main entrance beside the receptionist to get to Hi Genki. It’s not too complicated, so you won’t get lost.

Their hours are a bit strange, so they are not always open all the time. Not exactly sure if “Sun-Sat” means the whole week or just Sunday and Saturday for lunch, so just call them to make sure.

They have a few special dishes that are layed out at the entrance. Don’t forget to grab a peak at all the dishes just in case something catches your eye. Plus, you will know what you are ordering before hand!

Their regular menu is in a booklet and their specials are on a hand written menu.

The Salmon Sashimi ($4.95) are the normal ones you would find at any sushi joint but was really nicely sliced. It’s not very large, but it is something light and refreshing.

Tonkatsu Donburi ($6.95) is deep fried breaded pork cutlet with egg. This was pretty large and had a lot of rice, you will get full. M really liked it.

Satsuma Curry ($8.95). has fish cake with curry sauce. The fish cake looked super cool and is embedded with carrots and other thin vegetables.

Deluxe Genki Box ($12.50) has salmon sashimi, assorted tempura, chicken teriyaki, rice and miso soup.

The salmon sashimi is the same as the one above. I really like sashimi because its very clean tasting compared to cooked salmon. The assorted tempura had the usual vegetables, but it was not the crispiest we have had. We found the chicken teriyaki to be a bit sweet for our liking. Plus, the size of the teriyaki was quite small and not as tender and moist as other places. Looked a bit burnt too.

The bento box was just ok, but nothing amazing.

Green Tea Ice Cream ($2.95) was yummy and it had a subtle green tea taste. This is probably the usual green tea ice cream of any other restaurant, I doubt they make it themselves.

The Mango Ice Cream ($2.95) was good as well, but it was more sweet than the green tea. I had a bit of both of the ice creams and after eating the mango, the green tea was over powered but the mango. The green tea was hard to taste.

M ordered the Ice Cream Cake ($2.95). It is basically not the “ice cream cake” you usually think of, but a roll cake with ice cream on top.

Overall, the food was good and quite affordable. It was quite interesting dining in such an unusual location.

Words of Wisdom:

Salmon Sashimi is good!
Very Affordable
Free Underground Parking

We Rate Hi Genki:

Address:

6680 Southoaks Cres
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.fujiya.ca/aboutFujiya/hiGenkiRestaurant.asp

In Downtown

TacoFino Cantina Food Truck: Taco, Taco, Taco

July 29, 2011

Tacofino is another new food truck hitting the streets of Downtown Vancouver. Located on Howe Street and Robson Street. Tacofino originated from Tofino, BC thus their name Taco”fino”. They have spent the past 2 years operating on the island, but has finally made their way here.

When you are strolling around the Vancouver Art Gallery, try spotting this large orange truck. There will also be a huge line up during at lunch, so you really can’t miss it.

Tacofino specializes in fresh fish baja-style tacos. All you need to do is go up to the window to order. They also have daily specials as well, which as located near the cashier.

Their usual menu features the Fish Taco, Tuna Ta Taco, Pork Gringa/Bean Gringa, Black Bean Taco, Chocolate Diablo Cookie and their Lime Mint Freshie. All for under $10.

They also have a cooler filled with water and different varieties of Jarritos Mexican Soda. These are some really really good oh so addicting sodas.

I stick with my usual Pineapple Jarritos. It has an amazing flavour that no other soda company can capture. I find it funny how the bottle says “Naturally/ Artificially Flavoured Soda”, so what is it really? or is it a combination of both?

If you are also wondering how you are going to open the cap of the drink, they have a bottle opener to the left of the cashier.

Tuna Ta Taco ($6.50 each) is my FAVORITE taco from the truck. Be warned, this is a messy messy taco to eat. If you are wearing white, beware!!

This taco has seared sesame albacore tuna with a subtle wasabi ginger mayo, cabbage, mango, salsa and seaweed salad on top. The ingredients are very flavourful and the tuna is just so fresh! All the elements blend together nicely to create the ultimate taco.

I do find this taco a bit pricey, but once you take a bite, its so addictive!

The Pork Gringa ($4.50 each) is another treat as well! It has spicy braised pork, sour cream and salsa in a quesadilla tortilla. Depending how crisp they can get the quesadilla, it can also get quite messy. Remember, white shirts be scared!!

Their pork is very flavourful and not too spicy. I would definitely order this again!

On another lunch here, I ordered the Fish Taco ($4.50 each). It has tempura cover ling cod with chipotle mayo, cabbage, and salsa. I personally did not take a liking to this taco since the pieces of fish had too much tempura batter. It was very hard to fully enjoy the flavour of the fish. Everything overpowered the fish and the main ingredient did not shine through.

Overall, I really love this food truck for their taco offerings! Such amazing quality and it’s something you need to try!

Words of Wisdom:

Tuna Ta Taco + Pork Gringa + Jarritos = Best meal!!
Really busy during lunch
Can get messy
If you get 2 tacos, you will be paying close to $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville Skytrain

We Rate Tacofino Cantina:

Website:

www.tacofino.com

Twitter: @TacoFinoCantina

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TacoFino-Vancouver/157314964322202

Vancouver

In Bar and Grill

The Keg: Lobster Summer Menu

July 29, 2011

M and I spent an interesting day shopping and returning things at Costco in Burnaby. Seriously, sometimes you can spend forever in all the aisles. Since The Keg is super close to Costco, we were super tempted for some meat!!

I really enjoy The Keg for their prime ribs, atmosphere and more meat.

I walked in looking for prime rib, but when I saw that they had a lobster summer menu that features their fresh batch of lobsters from the east. It sounded really good, so I had to try something off the menu.

Something wrapped in a white cloth came to the tables. Can you guess what it is? TA DA! It’s the complementary sourdough bread! It was a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s cut up into 4 pieces for you to share between 2 people. I found that eating one piece was good enough for me since I didn’t want to fill up my stomach.

Sometimes I wonder… how much bread do they waste in a month if people don’t finish it all.

M ordered the Tender New York striploin with mashed potatoes. M was so happy! 12oz of yummy yummy meaty goodness. He ordered it medium rare and it came out perfect. It wasn’t tough and it was seasoned with peppercorn on the outside.

I had the Seafood Sirloin ($27.95) grilled sirloin steak, topped with lobster, shrimp and scallops in a chive velouté sauce. Instead of mashed potatoes I ordered the house salad for the side. The salad was alright, nothing very special. Should have gone with the mashed potatoes…

I was disappointed by the size of my sirloin and the minimal seafood. The seafood really didn’t shine in this dish and as always, I could have always used more meat. Beside the size, I really loved the sirloin! Perfectly cooked medium rare with great flavour.

Overall, we really like this place for their steaks, but some dishes can be overpriced.

Words of Wisdom:

No reservations, so go early or go late
Slightly hard to drive to, so make sure you are driving from the south
Can get a bit pricey
Amazing steak and prime ribs

We rate The Keg:

Check out their website: http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/burnaby/burnaby-keg/

In Gastown

Vera’s Burger Shack: Waiting 40 mins for a Burger Isn’t Acceptable

July 28, 2011

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to Vera’s Burger Shack in Gastown with Mandu. Other restaurants in that area had line ups, so we decided to go to Vera’s since it seems it would be a fast alternative. Burgers don’t usually take too long to put together. We would soon realize how wrong we really were.

Looking at the menu, they had a really good deal on Fridays for their weekly specials. On Friday, you can choose any of the special without being limited on what day it is. I got the Big Chick and Mandu got The Stinger.

We were given our sides first. Mandu got the regular fries and I upgraded for Onion Rings. We decided to share since there were so many onion rings and fries. The fries were pretty average, I spent a lot of time searching for the crunchy ones. The onion rings were pretty good, but still not as good as A&W.

We spent a while eating these 2 baskets of sides and wondered where were our burgers.

We looked around and saw a group of others that were here before us and they were still missing a few burgers from their table. There were 2 more people on the other side of the restaurant waiting as well. Some of them kept going back to the counter to inquire about the status of their burger.

Mandu and I kept looking at our phones too since we are only permitted 1 hour for lunch.

40 long minutes later Mandu’s Stinger Burger arrives … then another 5 minutes till I got my burger. Seeing that we ate all the onion rings and fries, we really had no stomach to eat anymore. (Those sides are super filling!). You really can’t blame us since the burgers did take that long.

We were quite full but we decided to take the burgers to go. Another customer did the same thing. Since we both had dinner plans, we both never finished the burger. It really didn’t fit into our eating schedule. We didn’t want to spoil our dinner appetite. I gave my burger away and I think Mandu still has hers sitting in her fridge. Mandu told me to complain to the Manager about the slow service. I wanted to but I needed to go back to the office since lunch time was up.

I do what I usually do and complain via Twitter.

The person in charge of their Twitter account messaged me immediately after hearing the strings of complaints between other twitterers and I about the failed lunch. Later in the day, I also got an email from the owner about the situation, I replied back telling my experience and he told us to return for a complementary meal.

I have to say their social media presence and timing were pretty good! I wasn’t too upset about the experience but rather disappointed. I felt bad for Mandu because I just kept raving about how amazing the burgers were…I think it left a worse impression on her. I feel really bad when I take others to restaurants that are sub par since they assume I will take them to something amazing.

A week later we returned and the meal was compensated. It was a good thing since neither of us ate the previous burgers. I had a craving for something spicy, so we both got The Stinger Burger with Onion Rings.

As usual, the onion rings came with a lot in the basket! Same quality as before. I don’t know how Mandu did it, but she devoured her onion rings. I think she really has an obsession for them.

The Singer Burger has a beef patty, fried jalapenos, lettuce, sauce and cheddar. This turned out to be quite large! At times it would be hard enough to get my mouth around it. The burger was quite messy to eat, but it had the extra spicy kick from the jalapenos. Mandu didn’t like the burger and felt a bit disgusted by it.

I thought the burger was just ok and I prefer the Commercial location a bit better. I don’t like how the sides and burger come at different times. At the Commercial location, it comes at the same time.

Words of Wisdom:

Huge sides, save room in your belly and don’t eat all of it
Large portions
Closest Skytrain: Stadium or Waterfront

We Rate Vera’s Burger:

Address:

213 Carrall St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.verasburgershack.com

Twitter: @verasburgers

In Downtown

Bun Me Baguette Food Cart: Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches

July 27, 2011

Bun Me Baguette is one of the newer Food Carts in Vancouver. They serve up Vietnamese style baguettes. Who doesn’t love grabbing a quick baguette rather than the usual hotdog? This really reminded me of the NomNom Food Truck in the states…but with just Banh Mi.

It took me a long long time to figure out why this cart is called “Bun Me” Baguette. It sounds similar to “Banh Mi”, which is the Vietnamese word of these baguettes.

The prices are quite affordable for $4.25 each. It’s actually a pretty good price compared to the other food carts Downtown. You have a vegetarian option too if you aren’t into chicken.

To keep quenched from the non-existant Summer weather, Coke ($1.25) and Black Soy Milk ($0.75) seemed like a good idea. I have always had regular Soy Milk, but black soy milk was new to me. It tastes more grittier texture since it’s made of black beans and its a bit thicker. It’s supposedly healthier too. I actually just prefer the normal sweetened soy milk than the black soy milk.

I ordered the BBQ Lemon Chicken Baguette ($4.25), it is a classic Banh Mi stuffed with lemongrass chicken, mayo, cucumber, cilantro, and pickled vegetables. It was quite large and I felt kinda powerful carrying this down Robson Street. If someone robbed you, you could take this and hit them over the head with it…but then at the same time you might ruin your lunch.

I really like their bread since its tough on the outside and soft on the inside, the taste of the bread was pretty good as well. I found that the flavours were well put together, but I couldn’t help noticing the amount of meat. There really could have been more since it would have made the baguette more enjoyable.

Overall, it’s decent, but there just needs to have more meat. Maybe they should just have an option to double the meat for a dollar or something…that would be nice.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $5
Vegetarian Friendly
Closest Skytrain: Burrard or Granville

We Rate Bun Me Baguette Food Cart:

Address:

Robson St and Hornby St
Vancouver, BC

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bun-Me-Baguette/154294347972371

In Cafe

Renaissance Coffee: Quick Cheap Lunch for the SFU Student

July 26, 2011

As a student, we don’t really have that much money to spend on food. I’ve decided I would try to find some good deals for lunch whether it be on-campus or off campus. Sometimes I do get cravings so I will splurge if it’s something I can’t resist…thats why its just so hard to save money 🙁

At SFU, it’s really hard to find food that is decent and at a reasonable. I am sure we all have had our share of disgusting meals. One place I quite like is Renaissance Coffee at Cornerstone. At lunch they have some pretty good deals that won’t kill your wallet.

I ordered the Half Panini Combo with a Small Latte ($5.60). I actually thought it would be a bit more, but perhaps there was a discount when getting the latte. You get a soup of your choice and half a panini of your choice as well with the combo.

This is so much better than instant noodles or the horrible Koya Chicken Teriyaki that you can get elsewhere on campus.

The Latte was quite normal, nothing too strange about it. One thing to note is that when you order drinks and food together, the drink won’t be delivered to you, so you need to wait at the counter till your beverage is called.

The chicken soup has some sizable pieces of chicken and noodles. I kinda doubt they make it themselves since they have about 8 soups available. It’s still better than the Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

I got the Roast Beef Panini and it was nicely toasted on the outside. The inside has roast beef and mozzarella cheese. There isn’t a lot of meat, but it is gooey like a grilled cheese sandwich.

The food here is quick, but don’t expect amazing quality. For a student on a budget, this is not bad.

Words of Wisdom:

Long line ups during peak times
Free Wifi
Butter chicken at AQ Location
Panini’s & soups at Cornerstone Location
Usually the greek salad, pasta salad, wraps and yogurt are good choices for quick eats

We rate Renaissance Coffee:

Address:

8906 University High St
Burnaby, BC

In Aboriginal

Wild Salmon: Go Dine Here Before It’s Gone!

July 24, 2011

Wild Salmon is a pop up restaurant inside Vancouver Community College. It is entirely run by culinary students for the aboriginal cultural arts program. Students get hands on experience learning how to operate the front and back end of the house. They are only open from 11:30 – 12:15pm, so my coworkers and I were so lucky they still could serve us for lunch! 45 minutes for a seating is quite short, but they are quite kind and will keep on accepting guests till 12:30pm.

What really drew me into the restaurant are the low prices and the unique aboriginal cuisine! It’s not like everyday you get to eat aboriginal food.

The interior décor really reminded me of the Olympics at the aboriginal pavilion. All the art work is very interesting to look at.

Their menu is simple and short. Probably changes often as well.

As we sat down, we were served with Bannock Bread. This was the first time I have ever had this and I really liked it! It is a traditional simple bread that is fried.

We all got the Spicy Seafood Croquettes with smoked tomato jam ($4). It comes with 2 croquettes packed with seafood. All the flavors went really well together, but we noticed that it was not spicy at all. We really tried to see if it was a subtle spicy taste, but there wasn’t. It would have been good if it was a bit spicy to go with the sweet tomato jam.

Smoked trout with rhubarb, dandelion greens, and wild mushroom vinaigrette. ($4). It has 2 pieces of smoked trout and this was a refreshing appetizer.

Bora Bora virgin cocktail has pineapple juice, grenadine, lime, passion fruit juice and a few other ingredients. It comes with a plastic sword of pineapple and maraschino cherry. This drink was a bit on the sweet side, but it was all right. One thing I noticed was that the drink would separate after a bit of time, so you need to constantly stir it back together.

Traditional smoked salmon with parsnip dumplings and pumpkin sauce ($11). I really enjoyed this dish! It came with a sizable slab of smoked salmon. The skin was nicely crispy and had a nice smoky flavour. The parsnip dumplings aren’t exactly like the usual dumplings, but it was soft and chewy and went well with the pumpkin sauce. The fried vegetables were a plus as well and added more texture.

My coworker had the Crusted Sunflower seed halibut, watercress, and crispy sunchoke ($11). She enjoyed it and had a lot of fun identifying the unique flavours.

Venison meat loaf, sweet potato mash, with beat root tops ($11). The meat loaf was quite large and you can really get full off this dish.

Overall, it was a memorable lunch! It really isn’t everyday that you would get a chance to eat aboriginal food. Thinking about it, are there any aboriginal restaurants in Vancouver?

Words of Wisdom:

Under $15
Closes at the end of August
Open for lunch only
Call for reservations and to check hours

We Rate Wild Salmon:
Address:

250 West Pender Street (2nd floor)

In Downtown

NaanWraps Food Truck: Is It a Tree? Is It Green Lantern?…Nope, it’s Indian Food

July 23, 2011

I was randomly looking for a new Food Cart to eat at during my lunch break. I stumbled upon NaanWraps on Burrard. They operate on limited days, so you can’t always find them downtown.

Just look out for the large green truck and you know you have arrived here.

As the name of their truck suggests, they specialize in Tandoori Naanwraps. Their menu is quite limited and they tend to sell out of a few items.

Mango Lassi ($3.49) has yogurt, mango, and 2% milk. It’s a good refreshing drink for a hot afternoon. I love mangoes! They make them ahead of time, so you don’t need to wait for your drink.

Tanoori NaanWrap ($6.48) has tandoori chicken, bell peppers, onions, rice and mint sauce wrapped in Naan.

The wrap was larger than I expected and was definitely worth the money! The chicken was moist and the mint sauce was subtle and not too overpowering. All the ingredients worked well with each other and I had no complaints. I was super stuffed and walked back to the office happy.

Overall, good value for what you get!

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Credit, Debt, Cash
Tandoori NaanWrap is a must!
Closest Skytrain: Burrard Stn

We Rate NaanWrap:

Address:

400 Burrard st
Vancouver, BC

Twitter: @naanwraps

In Indian

Himalayan Peak: Naanwich, New Sandwich Technology?

July 23, 2011

Being on the SFU Burnaby Campus once a week still gives me plenty of time to check out their food. There really isn’t too much variety, but one of the better restaurants is the Himalayan Peak. They serve up Indian food!

There’s plenty of space for large groups or just a small bunch. They also take reservations. I would always go here with my coworkers for the all-you-can-eat buffets during lunch. Always a good deal for buffet.

Fabo and I ended class and headed here for their Naan-wich. I had it a long long time ago and I remembered it was a pretty strange concept.

When we sat down at the table, we instantly saw a little sign about the naan-wich. I read “A New Era in Sandwich Technology”, I thought it was a super weird tagline for the sandwich. I mean, how revolutionary can this be? Or do they just have horrible marketing?

The naan-wich comes in 2 choices chicken or vegetarian for $7. Since Fabo and I were meat eaters, we both had the chicken naan-wich.

The naan-wich was cut up into 4 quarters and resembled a quesadilla. I found that this was quite messy to eat since one of the naan breads would want to fall off as the other ingredients tried to slide off the other half. They really needed more stickiness on one side to stay adhered them together.

Fabo and I had different strategies of eating this and I just adopted the pizza way of eating this. You will need napkins. Even though this is so, the flavours were pretty good and naan is just so good! I really love naan bread!

The few days later, I was having lunch Downtown with my supervisor and she was taking about the “naan sandwich” at SFU, so I whipped out my camera and showed her. We thought it was a bit funny how it was such a coincidence that I had the photo on my phone.

When you pay your bill at the counter, you will find this strange bowl of candy with a spoon. It is Candied Fennel Seeds. It is very crunchy and tastes like anise or licorice. It refreshes your pallet after the meal!

Overall, it was a good snack and I really love the unique concept.

Words of Wisdom:

Regular items on the menu are quite pricey
All you can eat Buffet at noon is quite popular
Naan-wich is recommended or the paneer
No free parking anymore 🙁
SFU Student? Free Parking at UniverCity (they don’t check the 2 hr limit)

We Rate Himalayan Peak:

Address:

8901 University High St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.himalayanpeak.ca

In Brunch

Bandidas Taqueria: Veggie Bacon Strips, Veggie Bacon Strips

July 22, 2011

Waking up early is not my favorite thing in the world. Time is really best spent sleeping in, @wongers told me to meet up with the #YVRbreakfastclub at Bandidas Taqueria for some vegetarian breakfast and some good times with fellow twitterers such as @mananetwork @mini604 @wongers @alexglee @graceeeyang @EarlAlikpala
@gluttonwithacam @richerd and @alexglee .

Bandidas is near Commercial and they are quite popular for their vegetarian Mexican cuisine. I’ve heard much about this place but never had time to eat here.

The interior was pretty decent. If you want to go with a large group, it’s best to call ahead of time to let them know the size of your party so they can set up the tables before they open. They don’t do reservations, so it is best to go about 10 mins before opening to line up.

There wasn’t a huge line up, but it slowly did get filled up by other patrons.

They have a brunch menu and an all day breakfast section as well.

Its pretty cool how all their water are in jars.

Early morning breakfast is best with coffee! I live off coffee and thats what keeps me going and going.

Alan’s Breakfast ($11.75) has romaine, purple cabbage, cilantro, cheese, pinto beans, balsamic vinaigrette, guacamole, and fresh salsa, topped with two fried free-range eggs. It was basically a breakfast salad. I thought it was pretty good since the guacamole, salsa, and the beans really worked well with all the ingredients.

It was a light refreshing breakfast. I did get quite full from this as well.

I also added a side of Veggie Bacon ($2.25). I have never had veggie bacon and it really did not taste bad. Since they added some salt to it, it really mirrored the taste and crunchiness of bacon. When you try to taste the flavours of the veggie bacon, it is something familiar. I am not 100% what it’s made out of, but it reminded me of those asian fish sausages.

I found that the veggie bacon was quite expensive considering it was only 2 pieces.

Overall, we did have a great time. The waitress was really nice and accommodating. They forgot @richerd ‘s Horchata and brought it later on in the meal, they compensated him for the mishap by not charging him for it. The other items that people ordered seemed pretty good as well.

Words of Wisdom:

No reservations
All Vegetarian food
Good quality ingredients
Closest Skytrain: Commercial/Broadway stn

We rate Bandidas Taqueria:

Address:

2781 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.bandidastaqueria.com

In Four Beakers

The Dirty Apron: Baguettes and Brownies

July 19, 2011

I was planning a lonely lunch by myself until I went on Twitter and @nik_wong tweeted saying she needed someone to lunch with. We met a few days earlier at Social Media Day. Since she was a few blocks away, I thought why not. Food is best eaten with others. Since Dirty Apron is pretty good, we decided to go. We both have been here before and it’s never failed either of us.

I ordered the Montreal Smoked Meat Baguette. It has Montreal smoked meat, shaved fennel, comte cheese, champagne shallot mustard, gherkins and basil. The baguette was well flavoured but I wish there was more meat! One cool thing about Dirty Apron is how they use a few uncommon ingredients. It opens your pallet to new ingredients that you would normally never pick up at the store.

Nikki suggested I get the Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake Brownie, so I grabbed it and headed back to the office. This is one amazing brownie. It was moist, rich and has a subtle pistachio flavour. The 2 elements worked really well together. You probably don’t want to leave it out too long either, since it might dry a bit.

Overall, it’s a solid place for lunch.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking at Tinsel Town (Supposed to be for patrons…but it’s ok)
Cheap lunch
Specialty ingredients
Lots of seating

We Rate The Dirty Apron:

Address:

540 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.dirtyapron.com/

Twitter: @dirty_apron

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/115513438487855

In Four Beakers

G-Be Izakaya: Dragon Ball Z Inspired Sushi

July 18, 2011

The last time I was here, they were still doing a soft opening. After many many many month, they finally fully opened. Since M and I were not super hungry, we decided to grab a few dishes since we were in the area. G-Be Izakaya, as the name suggests it’s an izakaya restaurant serving up Japanese tapas.

The interior was still the same and is very very calming in here. It’s not very noisy compared to places like Guu or Hapa Izakaya. It’s a good place … for the older generation or people who want a quiet place to dine.

The menu has dramatically changed since last time. There are way more choices and includes pictures.

Tea still isn’t free, so you have to pay for it. I got the genmaicha green tea ($1.25). You get refills of your pot so it’s not too too bad.

Ebi Mayo ($7.50) was ok, but not the best I’ve had. I really don’t like how it was drenched in mayo. It really overpowers the delicate taste and texture of the shrimp.

Tori Kara ($6.00) is deep fried chicken covered in a rice crisp. The chicken is incredibly moist as usual. I really did not like the salty seasoning that comes with the dish. It was much better with a miso/sesame sauce like last time.

Salmon and Multi-grain Rice Croquette ($7.00). It’s a deep fried salmon and rice ball with a tonkatsu sauce. It’s actually pretty good and tastes super healthy with the multi-grain rice. Unlike the usual potato croquette, the rice does capture a lot of flavour from the salmon.

Dragon Ball “G” ($12) has eel inside the purple rice, covered in avocado and the signature soy-milk croquette on top. It also has a ceasar sauce on the side too. We really enjoyed this roll because it was named after the popular Japanese anime – Dragon Ball Z.

The sushi itself is not that incredible, but it’s really about the croquette on top. It kinda has a texture like mozzarella inside. The roll is quite expensive for what you get, but at least you can eat this and reminisce about the TV show.

Overall, it was good unique food as usual, but it did cost us a bunch for 2 drinks and 4 dishes. Since it’s located at the Grand Villa Casino, maybe thats why the prices are so high. Made me want to gamble a bit before eating dinner, but I know I always lose.

Words of Wisdom:

Free Parking
Most dishes under $10
Healthy ingredients
Expensive compared to Guu
Unique dishes

We Rate G-Be Izakaya :

Address:

4331 Dominion St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.g-beizakaya.ca

In BBQ

The Red Wagon: Pulled Pork and More Pulled Pork

July 18, 2011

M and I were craving some pulled pork, but going all the way downtown to ReUp was out of the question since we were in Burnaby. M looked around everywhere to find somewhere close by, but no luck for him. I started digging around and I looked at my “To Eat” list and discovered The Red Wagon doesn’t just sell breakfast, they sell dinner too! AND they sell pulled pork!

The inside is very rustic and looked outdated, but I guess thats the look they were going for. It was very simple and quite relaxing on a hot day.

They have a few strange things to look at! I think I was blind because I couldn’t find the red wagon anywhere.

Since Pulled Pork was on our minds, M ordered the Pulled Pork Pancakes ($12.50). It is layered with 3 buttermilk pancakes and pulled pork, topped with Jack Daniels maple syrup. Ya, you heard it right! JACK DANIELS MAPLE SYRUP, something Epic Meal Time would be proud of.

M thought the pancakes were amazingly fluffy, perhaps even the best he’s ever had. The pulled pork was very tender and matched beautifully with the pancakes. The syrup did not taste super potent at all. The only negative thing he had to say was that it was a tad expensive for pancakes.

There was a special deal going on – Pulled Pork Burger with a PBR Beer ( $14.00). I really wanted a beer on a lovely Friday, so I got the special.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer arrived with it and I did not like the beer at all. It was a bit too bitter for my liking. I am really used to Japanese Beer.

When the Pulled Pork Burger arrived, I was drooling. I had to take 2 pictures of it so you would really see how delicious this burger looked. When I ordered it, I thought it would just be a pulled pork sandwich, but no, it was a burger!

This had mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, pulled pork and a beef patty. It came with a side of fries too. The patty had a very nice taste and the pulled pork was also tender and juicy like the ones on the pancakes. YUM!

The fries were quite extraordinary too! They were very crunchy! I love crunchy fries!

The bill arrived and that was the damage for dinner. It was definitely a pulled pork day. You also get this peach candy with the bill. Take that mints….peach candy > mints.

Words of Wisdom:

Good food
Anything pulled pork is amazing
A tad expensive
Free parking on adjacent streets

We Rate The Red Wagon:

Address:

2296 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.redwagoncafe.com

Twitter: @redwagoncafe

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/redwagoncafe

In Four Beakers

Guu Kobachi: No Regular Menu, but great concept!

July 16, 2011

@floyvr organized an impromptu EatUp with @wongers, @kcclaveria, @alexglee and @crazyut . Since I am a Guu fanatic, I really really wanted to see their “No Regular Menu” concept. We arrived quite early since the @GuuIzakaya account told us to show up early. Since all openings are not perfect, there were a bit behind on opening at 5:30pm. We just chilled outside till we got in at 6pm.

Guu Kobachi is located at the old Toratatsu near Denman and Robson. They serve up fresh sheets, so the menu will change quite often depending on what ingredients are in season.

The interior is quite small and has the same layout as the old restaurant. It is very simple and wooden. The staff are energetic like the other Guu locations. They don’t have a lot of seating, so going at 7pm with a large group will not be best for you. They won’t be taking reservations till August, but they do have a large table that seats a lot of people if you wanted to have a b-day party dinner here. Just something to note in the future.

This is the setting you will get. They even have the chopstick thing that you see at Chinese restaurant.

Marinated Red Tuna Sashimi ($6.80) was the first dish that arrived at our table and we thought it has the cutest presentation ever! @crazyut enjoyed it and said the tuna had a good flavour and was very fresh.

Marinated Red Tuna Marinated ($6.80) is similar to the one above, but it is marinated to soy sauce or ponzu sauce. We found it was not too bad, but the sauce realy over powered the delicate texture of the tuna.

The first kobashi dish to arrive was the Miso Kakuni ($3.80). It is a slowly stewed pork belly pieces with quail egg in miso and soy sauce soup. This was an amazing dish! The pork belly was very tender and just full of flavour. They are in small pieces, so you will not feel guilty consuming so much fat. ** Must get dish**

Long Green Pepper ($3.80). It is boiled long green pepper marinated in a sweet sesame sauce, topped with bonito flakes. It is like a gomae but with green peppers. The peppers were not spicy at all.

Marinated Eggplant ($3.80). It has rectangular chopped cubes of eggplant with peppers, chili oil and bonito flakes. I liked eggplants, so I liked the pairing of the spicy chili oil and egg plant. I know some people at the table were not keen about eggplant.

Cold Tomato Curry ($3.80). Yes, this is a tomato! I didn’t get a lot of curry taste, it just tasted like a cold salted tomato.

Whole Onion ($3.80). Yes strange right? A whole onion. The onion was stewed in chicken stock and I really enjoyed the taste. Since it has been cooking for a long time, there is no sharp stinging taste.

Vege Chips ($3.80). These are assorted vegetable deep fried. Imagine super healthy chips. There were green peppers, potato skins, lotus roots, and other unidentifiable vegetables. Pretty unique dish and it would go great with beer.

Pork Ginger Spring Roll ($3.80). It has pan-fried pork ginger and cabbage inside. You can really taste the ginger in the pork filling. I didn’t really love this dish, but it was alright.

Chicken Gizzard ($3.80). This is chicken gizzard marinated in cili oil. This is an digestive organ of chickens. I’ve never had gizzard before and it had a very strange texture. When you bite into it, it is tough and hard.

Sweet and sour pork ($3.80). One of THE BEST I have ever had in my life! Very minimal breading so you can really taste the texture of the meat with the amazing sauce. ** Highly recommended**

Rolled Chinese Cabbage ($3.80). It is a stewed meat mixture wrapped in nappa cabbage in a tomatoey fish broth. This was a very unique dish and the meat they used for the dish was pretty good quality.

Marinated Conchi ($3.80). This is the meat from conch shells. It is marinated in garlic soy sauce. We found as we kept chewing on the conch that, it was quite salty. Very interesting to try.

Saba in Curry Sauce ($3.80). This is saba (mackerel) in a a curry sauce with potatoes. The saba tasted really good especially with the combination with the curry.

Beef tenderloin Tataki ($8.90). This is mid-well broiled beef tenderloin tataki style. SO GOOD! THis is the most tender beef I have ever had! ** Highly Recommended**

Kara-age-regular ($6.00). Its a simple japanese deep-fried chicken. It has no bones and comes with a side of mayo for dipping. Meat was very moist and had a light coating.

Squid ink calamari ($6.80) was quite different! It’s purple/black! We found that the deep fried calamari with squid ink just tasted like normal calamari. If you really focus on the taste of it, it has a very subtle taste, but it hard to pick up the flavour.

Ebi Mayo’s sister ($6.00) has ebi mayo coated in shredded potato batter. They add a whole new level to crunchiness! I really liked it since it looks like a sea urchin, but hidden inside is a very tasty piece of shrimp! **highly recommended**

Oyster Chazuke ($6.80). This has seared oyster on rice in fish broth soup. The oyster flavour is quite prominent and infused nicely with the fish broth. If you are an oyster lover, you will enjoy this dish.

Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio ($6.80). Was very good!! You can really taste the freshness of their salmon and their light sauces allow for the fresh taste to really since throught! ** highly recommended**

This came near the end of our meal. I think the chef gave it to us because we waiting outside for them to open. I think this was the Assorted Vege Salad ($4.80). It has long strands of carrots, radish, bonito flakes, greens in a ponzu sauce (i think). The stands of the radish were very very long!! It’s like those times when you are trying to split a bowl of noodles but it’s difficult because its just so long.

This isn’t a regular salad. It still has a good refreshing taste and it’s quite large.

Sapporo (Pint-$5.50). This is definitely needed every time you go to Guu!

Overall, we all had a great time and then menu items are quite unique compared to the other Guu chains. Since it just opened, they do have a few issues such as leaky pipes and missing orders. Do give the waitress patience as well since their english is not very good. They are trying their best, but none of us got mad or anything. Do check your bill before you pay because sometimes they might get an order wrong or something hasn’t arrived yet.

I am sure in a few weeks they will improve on a few of their flaws. For an opening day, it went pretty well and the place was packed. We racked up quite a bill of $130, but we did order a lot! It was well worth it.

Words of Wisdom:

Recommended: Miso Kakuni, Sweet + Sour Pork, Beef tenderloin Tataki, Ebi Mayo Sister, and Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio
Well priced items
Good atmosphere
Free parking after 6 at rear ( best not to drive, very limited parking)
Best to get off Burrard and take the bus down Robson
Super busy at peak hours

We Rate Guu Kobashi:

Address:

735 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.guu-izakaya.com/kobachi/

Twitter: @GuuIzakaya

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KitanoyaGuuIzakayaOfficial

Vancouver

In Downtown

Ha Long Bay Vietnamese Restaurant: Good Addition to Pender St.

July 15, 2011

Its interesting when restaurants close and a new one pops up. In the case of The Best Pho House, it looked sketchy as hell. A few weeks ago, a new Pho restaurant called Ha Long Bay opened up. The definitely refreshed the look of the exterior and changed it to a bright blue. It seemed more welcoming, so Mandu and I headed out for some lunch.

The interior is quite small, but there were enough tables for the rest of the lunch crowd. The server was super awkward most of the time as well. This must be run by a family since this young girl kept filling up our tea and clearing out dishes.

Looking at the menu, there are the usual items you would expect in a Vietnamese restaurant. There are also pictures surrounding the walls of the restaurant, so you can see what it looks like before ordering. Everyone loves pictures, I sure do! Honestly, if you are new to the cuisine, you would want to some pictures to see what you are getting.

Mandu and I needed coffee as usual, so we ordered the Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk ($3.25). Some say this is really strong coffee, but I love it! It is basically drip coffee with condensed milk to give it a little bit of sweetness. No complaints here.

I ordered the Grilled lemon grass chicken sandwich ($4.75) and it was a decent size for the price. It had some juicy lemon grass chicken meat, pickled vegetables, cilantro and cucumber in a bun.

I found that the bun was a bit too much for my liking, there was obviously more bread than filling. Since the meat is in several pieces, there were parts where I felt it could have had more meat. It was still a good sandwich and the price is not bad at all.

Grilled pork with spring roll with vermicelli ($7.75). It comes with a bowl of sauce as well. I think Mandu did not have taste buds this day because either her taste buds were not working or the dish did not have a lot of taste. She used 2 cups of that sauce in it. Other than that, it was pretty good.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Decent food
Coffee is a must for the coffee drinkers!
Closest Skytrain: Waterfront

We Rate Ha Long Bay Vietnamese Restaurant:

Address:

430 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Kadoya Japanese Restaurant on Denman Street

July 13, 2011

Hello Internet! RomanJ here! Today we explore one of my favorite restaurants – Kadoya. Kadoya is a chain Japanese restaurant in the downtown core specializing in sushi rolls. One branch is located on Davie Street right beside the St. Paul’s hospital, which is always filled with hospital employees. The other one is Kadoya on Denman Street, right beside English Bay.

Right off the bat, Kadoya on Denman street is way bigger than the one on Davie Street and less busy. They also have the same menu! If you want to try new roles, this is the place to be. On their menu they have a section called Chef’s recommendations and there are over 15 rolls in the menu to choose from.

Abbytizer and I hit up Kadoya, so, as always we order a ton of food – King’s Roll, Maple Roll, Salmon Takai and the Roll Combo G.

Off the Chef’s Recommendation menu, I ordered the King’s Roll ($9.95) . What’s intriguing about this roll is that its comprised of prawn, wild salmon, onion, garlic, tobiko, and topped off with honey mustard. Who would have ever thought honey mustard would go so well with this roll. The honey mustard blended well with everything! Truly a roll to try! It’s out of ordinary and could say fit for a king.

Maple Roll ($8.95) is composed of salmon, cream cheese ( we love that cream cheese), smoked salmon. Anything cream cheese just melts so well with the salmon.

Salmon Taki ($12.00) has green salad, ponzu sauce, sprinkled with dried up garlic and green onion are so good. This dish is also pretty huge. The best value for your money! I could just order this meal, have a drink and I would be set.

Roll Combo G ($10.50) consists of spicy salmon, spicy tuna and california roll. This combo is worth the price and the spicy salmon is good.

The quality of food at Kadoya’s is good, anything off the chef’s recommendation menu has not disappointed me at all. My goal is to try all of the chef’s rolls.

Words of Wisdom:

Order a roll from the Chefs Recommendation Section
Kadoya’s on Denman is less busy that it’s sister restaurant on Davie Street
Near the beach, for a nice stroll after eating all that sushi

We Rate Kadoya Japanese Restaurant:

Address:

202 – 1184 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.kadoya.ca

In Cafe

Sweet Revenge: Disappointed Take Out Dessert

July 12, 2011

It was a nice day and my sister really really wanted dessert desperately! Since I was on Main Street, I picked up a few items to bring home. Sweet Revenge is one of the popular places to head out to dessert after a dinner, but it’s always pretty packed since it cannot seat too many people. The best solution is take out, but is it really worth the price?

Here is the take out menu. Click to enlarge.

The first item I ordered was the Apple Pie ($6.35). It is just the apple pie and no whipped cream or anything on the side. You must finish off the dessert yourself by putting it in the menu for a few minutes on 2o0 degrees Celsius. Since we followed the instructions are did it in Fahrenheit, the apple pie was not crispy at all. Best to turn up the temperature !!

It was basically a fail for us. Plus eating the apple pie alone isn’t that great. I would suggest grabbing some vanilla ice cream to accompany this dessert.

The next item was the Chocolate Pudding Cake ($6.35 + $2 deposit). The cake comes with a ceramic dish, so they must charge a deposit to return. The chocolate pudding cake required some time in the oven as well. Since I’m a noob with the oven, the pudding cake just turned out decent. Best to under heat it than over cook it because the center should stay gooey.

This was another dessert that needed attention before being able to be served at your dinner table. I would suggest some whipped cream, strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

The last item we ordered was the Double “Smooth Operator” ($18). It is a chocolate sponge cake layered with mascarpone cheese, raspberries, white chocolate and raspberry sauce. Since they did not have a large enough box for the double, they just gave us 2 single slices. This was a pretty good dessert! It’s a bit pricy but at least no extra effort needed to prepare for this dessert.

Overall, it might seem like a great idea to do take out, you can’t just open up the box at your table and devour. Since I am a noob in the kitchen, heating problems with the oven did worsen the enjoyment of the dessert. Plus, you get way less than what you would get at the restaurant…but at the same price…. I feel like I paid more just to take out…when it should be cheaper…

If you don’t want to deal with all of this, it’s probably best to just dine in the restaurant and have it served to you. Plus, you don’t need to return to get your deposit back for the ceramic dish from the chocolate pudding cake.

Words of Wisdom:

Some assembly required for take out
$2 Deposit for desserts that have ceramic dishes
Best not to order the apple pie or chocolate pudding cake for take out, troublesome
Rip off for take out
A bit pricey

We Rate Sweet Revenge: