November 2012

In Causeway Bay

Super Star Seafood Restaurant 鴻星海鮮酒家: Eating Air, Land and Sea Animals

November 12, 2012

Super Star Seafood Restaurant was founded in 1989 and have since expanded numerous locations in Hong Kong, Japan and China. We came here with my parents family friends.

It’s popular place to dine and serves up seafood Cantonese style.

It was really packed at night and reservations are definitely needed. The service was really poor for our table since we sat right under an air conditioner. We asked several times for the management to try to turn down the A/C or find an alternative table. After a few servers said they would check on it, no one did. Our food went cold fast and we got so cold too. It wasn’t until the end of our meal when the manager believed that there was something wrong.

Crispy Whitebait and Peanuts came complementary to the table. They are super crispy and its a great snack to munch on as the rest of the meal arrives.

Stir Fried Zucchini and Prawns

The soup that arrived was a clear broth made of chicken and other items.

The separate contents of the soup, so you can eat the other ingredients that make up the soup.

This platter contains cold jelly fish, tofu, crispy pork, BBQ pork and cold pork hock.

Vegetables and seafood in a savory egg sauce

Fried Rice

Steamed Fish

Braised duck stuffed with meat and soy beans

Braised mushrooms and bok choy

Deep Fried Seafood mayo cake

Longevity Buns is a Chinese steamed bun in the shape of a peach.

Red bean dessert

Overall, the food was OK, but the service was terrible. I prefer the original Nathan road location.

We Rate Super Star Seafood Restaurant:

Address:
10/F, Food Forum, Times Square
1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay

Website:
http://www.superstargroup.com.hk/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Food+Forum,+Times+Square+1+Matheson+Street,+Causeway+Bay&hl=en&hq=Food+Forum,+Times+Square+1+Matheson+Street,+Causeway+Bay&radius=15000&t=m&z=16″]

In Four Beakers

DD Mau: ‘Give Me Mau’ Dining Package Review

November 11, 2012

DD Mau is a modern Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich shop. It’s located close to the Yaletown Skytrain. They sell drinks, salads, vermicelli bowls, and sandwiches.

Vaneats is offering a dining package right now that gives you a full sandwich and a drink for $9.50. The items included are:

1/2 Grilled Lemongrass Chicken sandwich
1/2 Crispy Roasted Pork sandwich
1 Smoothie (Choice of avocado or honeydew)

If you are planning to come check out DD Mau for lunch anyways, might as well grab one of the passes and save a few bucks!

You get to choose between 2 smoothies. I bought one more addition to the package so I could try both.

Avocado Smoothie is my all time favorite drink here. You can’t go wrong with this! It’s made of almond milk and avocados. Seriously, you need to get this smoothie!

Honey Dew Smoothie does not have the same consistency as the avocado smoothie. It was very icy and hard to slurp up from the straw. The flavours were definitely there, but way too icy.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken has grilled chicken thigh, pickled veggies, cilantro, sweet-chili aioli and jalapenos.

Crispy Roasted Pork has crispy roasted pork, sauteed scallions, pickled veggie, cilantro, garlic aioli and jalapenos. I am in love with this half of the sandwich! It has crispy pork skin and the juicy tender meat! It’s like a Vietnamese Meat & Bread.

Overall, KoreanGirl and I enjoyed the items that we were part of this package. One whole sandwich was too large for us to handle, so we each ate one flavour.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
All of the sandwiches are good, you can’t go wrong

We Rate DD Mau:

Address:
1239 Pacific Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
ddmau.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1239+Pacific+Blvd+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1239+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6Z+2V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Canadian

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro: Growler Sundays

November 10, 2012

On Sunday nights, Oakwood Canadian Bistro has $15 Growlers! It’s 64oz of any local craft beer on tap. Janice, Andy and I came here to try it out. I am not exactly sure if we were attracted by the amount of beer or just the cool bottle. If you remember the time when Vancouver had a basketball team…you’ll definitely go crazy over these bottles.

On the back of the bottle it says “Get your grizzly on”. Unfortunately, they don’t sell them and it’s quite hard to steal it and hide it in your purse. I’m still trying to find ways to acquire these bottles.

All Canadian Poutine ($11) has fries, curds, gravy, and smoked meat. It was a pile of deliciousness especially when pair with beer. The poutine isn’t very large, so sharing it with lots of people might be an issue if you’re really hungry.

Overall, I still love this restaurant for late night drinks or even brunch. Can’t go wrong with either!

Words of Wisdom:

Parking on street or in residential area
Great late night eats and specials

We Rate The Oakwood Canadian Bistro:

Address:
2741 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K

Website:
http://www.theoakwood.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2741+West+4th+Avenue+Vancouver,&hnear=2741+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6K+3V9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Four Beakers

Tung Kee Seafood & Restaurant 通記海鮮野味酒家: Seafood Dinner is Sai Kung

November 9, 2012

We took a trip to Sai Kung district, which is Hong Kong’s 2nd largest district. We specifically went to Sai Kung town where it is mostly a fisherman town.It’s a popular place for seafood lovers! It’s very popular for tourists and locals. Even Anthony Bourdain came here for seafood.

You can find fresh seafood!

Even “peeing shrimp” that are in plastic bottles are sold. I’m not exactly why they are all in bottle, but there must be a good reason.

You can see local fishermen fish for seafood!

You can see people fishing…and even bring your own fishing rod too!

Since we were on the search for amazing seafood, my relatives took us to Tung Kee Seafood & Restaurant 通記海鮮野味酒家 to try a various selection of seafood. We actually had no idea what to order, so we asked the restaurant to make us enough for 9 people under a certain price per person.

Bottled Coke

Bottled Cream Soda

Chicken Feet

Fried and braised fish

Steamed Chicken

Calamari

Abalone

Lobster and crab with noodles

Deep Fried Oysters

Deep Fried Peeing Shrimp

Fried Rice

Scallops and vermicelli

Vegetables

Overall, we had a lot of great dishes. We were able to taste the fresh varieties of seafood from this area. The prices were fair and we all left super super full.

We Rate Tung Kee Seafood and Restaurant:

Address:
G/F, 96-102 Man Nin Street, Sai Kung

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=G%2FF,+96-102+Man+Nin+Street,+Sai+Kung&hnear=96+Man+Nin+St,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Fast Food

Pepper Lunch: DIY Steak at a Food Court

November 8, 2012

Pepper Lunch is a fast food outlet that originated from Japan. It is a DIY steakhouse that is mostly found at food courts. They have locations all over Asia. All of the items are presented to you on a hot sizzling plate and you can mix your food and cook it to your liking. Their version of steak isn’t the same as what you would envision from North America.

It is equivalent to Teppan Kitchen in Vancouver’s Aberdeen Mall.

When I went to CityGate for some outlet shopping in Hong Kong, my sister and I ate here since our older sister told us this place was amazing.

There was a huge wait during my visit because they ran out of rice. Since there was no rice, they really couldn’t serve anyone…but they kept taking orders.

They have some plastic food models too so you can see what exactly goes into each dish. I got so hungry waiting for our order. Fast food wasn’t fast.

After 15 minutes, we got our order.

Chicken Steak and BBQ Wagyu comes with a side of rice, bean sprouts, beans, onions, corn, and sauce.

We mixed it all up and it looked very healthy for sure. The taste was ok, but I didn’t find it spectacular.

Beef Pepper Rice was better than the previous dish. We also mixed up this really well and put in all the sauce.

It looked really good and tasted great. I guess it’s best to order the items that is their most popular dish. My sister loved it too.

We ate our food in the food court seat at the mall. There was a lot of people especially on the weekend, so get ready to fight for a seat. Pepper Lunch was healthy as you can see what goes into your meal and cooks on the hot plate.

We Rate Pepper Lunch:

Address:
Food Republic, 2 / F, One CityGate,
20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung,

Website:
http://www.pepperlunch.com.sg/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Food+Republic,+2+%2F+F,+One+CityGate,+20+Tat+Tung+Road,+Tung+Chung,&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=Food+Republic,+2+%2F+F,+One+CityGate,+20+Tat+Tung+Road,+Tung+Chung,&cid=0,0,8990165243063772507&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A”]

In Bakery

The Baker & The Chef: A Sandwich Cafe

November 7, 2012

A few month ago a heard much hype from The Baker & The Chef that opened near Hastings and Cambie. They have items like sandwiches, soups, and of course baked goods.

The interior isn’t too large, but has lots of seating for singles or pairs of customers.

The Capilano Panini(Full- $8) has foccacia bread, grilled chicken breast, brie, mixed greens, and pesto. There are sticks of carrots and celery on the side, which is a nice touch. The sandwich was just average and nothing too impressive. It was just disappointing how little chicken there was in the sandwich. As you can see from the picture, it’s all in the center, so when you take your first bite, you won’t get chicken.

Overall, my friend and I thought this place was ok, but with a lot of other sandwich shops in close proximity, it’s hard to compete. It’s cool to get sandwiches named after cool Vancouver streets. Quite creative.

We Rate The Baker & The Chef:

Address:
320 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thebakerandthechef.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=320+Cambie+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=320+Cambie+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2N3&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Cafe

Brioche: Soup, Sandwiches, and Lasagna in Gastown

November 6, 2012

Brioche is located in the Gastown close to both SFU Vancouver and Woodwards. They are known for their yummy comfort foods like soups, sandwiches, and pasta. M and I came here since it half way between both our offices. My last visit was about 2 years ago, so I wanted to see if there were any improvements.

The space is great for chats with friends over coffee and food.

Latte was OK. Couldn’t have been a bit stronger.

Grilled NY Striploin w/ Wild Mushroom Sauce is also served with soup. There are so many different ways of eating this. You can eat it like a sandwich, or eat it like an open-faced sandwich. This item is on the special board usually and is quite pricey when you decide to order it. The menu doesn’t specify price, so it’s really going to hurt your wallet since it’s just lunch.

I tend to order this item when I go to Brioche because it’s filling and the mushroom sauce and the tender striploin is super delicious.

Seafood Bisque was very watery and had more of a lemony tang to the flavour profile. The seafood taste wasn’t as prominent.

Bolognese Lasagna w/ 8 Layer Sauce and contains Bechamel, Salsiccia, Mushroom, and Bolognese. M did enjoy the dish, but for $18 was not worth it. He wouldn’t have ordered this if he knew the price before hand.

Overall, the food is great, but the price is way too much for a lunch. You can end up paying $20 for a dish and a drink.

Words of Wisdom:

Food is a pricey and no visible pricing on dishes
Best in small groups
Panini’s are really good
Parking garage across the street. Discounted parking for SFU students after 6pm.

We rate Broioche:

Website:
http://www.brioche.ca/

Address:
401 West Cordova Street
Vancouver BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=401+West+Cordova+Street+Vancouver+BC&hnear=401+W+Cordova+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6B+1E5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In All You Can Eat

Pork Belly Beer House: Korean BBQ without the Grill

November 5, 2012

The Pork Belly Beer House is a Korean restaurant just off of Robson Street close to Safeway. It looks shady on the inside and outside, but it quite popular with Koreans. It gets quite packed in the evening since you can eat all the pork belly and side dishes for under $20.

The last time I was at Pork Belly Beer House, we had a mediocre all you can eat pork belly. We decided to come back to celebrate new jobs with friends and eat meat. For $16, you get pork belly, bulgogi, salad, rice, soup, kimchi, pop and sauces.

One of the biggest changes was that you can’t cook your own meat anymore. 🙁 Due to fire regulations and their inability to provide proper ventilation in the restaurant, the meat comes to you already cooked.

This was very disappointing because the point of Korean BBQ is cooking your own meat to your liking. We were not impressed because I like my Pork Belly crispy. We asked them to bring a few other dishes on the crispier side, but that never happened.

The pork belly is poor in quality and there is more fat than meat. What I hated the most about this pre-cooked option is that when you are half way done the plate of meat, it all goes cold.

The bulgogi was just lightly seasoned beef and grilled. Nothing amazing about it.

The food is just passable, but is only a good place for people who want a lot of food and drink. The meat is quite fatty, so make sure you don’t come here too often! Make sure you have a Korean with you since it’s easier to communicate with the servers to ensure you get what you order.

We rate Pork Belly Beer House:

Address:
Robson Street/West End
841 Bidwell Street
Vancouver, BC V6G

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=841+Bidwell+Street+Vancouver,+BC+V6G&hnear=841+Bidwell+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+2J8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Ajuker Fried Chicken: Korean Fried Chicken in Coquitlam

November 4, 2012

Ajuker Fried Chicken (AFC) is located on North Road in Coquitlam and serves up delicious Korean fried chicken. Their name was taken from a Korean chain restaurant. BusanGirl always frequents this restaurant with a bunch of her friends, so I made her take me to try their fried chicken.

Lots of Koreans and university students like to frequent this place at night for drinks, fried chicken, and hanging out with friends. The interior isn’t too big, but if you have a large group, they can accommodate them.

Hite Beer is a Korean beer that has a light flavour profile. It’s great with fried chicken.

Makgeolli is a Korean rice wine. It has about 7% alcohol and is made of fermented wheat and rice.

BusanGirl has a trick of adding a can of Sprite into the Makgeolli to make it taste better.

It a very popular drink in Korean culture, but I didn’t particularly love it. I’m not used to it. Everyone else at the table did enjoy it.

Complementary peanuts came to the table. It’s great to accompany the wine and beer as we wait for the food to arrive.

Complementary spicy tofu soup came to the table. We had no idea how to split this between the 4 of us, so we just stuck our spoon into it and drank it slowly. It didn’t look spicy at all, but it had a kick of spicy red peppers.

Complementary pickled radishes goes very well with the fried chicken.

Small Original Fried Chicken was really crispy on the outside and moist inside. I really like it a lot.

Sauced Fried chicken wasn’t spicy, but it was kinda like honey garlic with a kick. It’s the same as the original fried chicken and then they throw the sauce on it.

Korean Pancake was HUGE! It was so big that the plate couldn’t even contain it. The taste was OK, but not great. They definitely needed a bit more filling. The sauce that comes in it is a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Korean Fried Rice with Slices of Rice Cake was good!

Complementary Spicy Rice Cake (tteobokki) came at the end of the meal, we were quite surprised that so many complementary dishes arrived. It’s a normal occurrence at Korean restaurants since it’s part of their culture to have “service” come with the meal.

Overall, we did like this restaurant. Great to hang out with friend with some late night food and drinks. You get a lot of complementary dishes that come with your meal.

We Rate Ajuker Fried Chicken:

Address:
101-508 Clarke Road
Coquitlam, BC V3J7V6

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=101-508+Clarke+Road+Coquitlam,+BC+V3J7V6&hnear=508+Clarke+Rd,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3J+3X5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Chinese

Imperial City Restaurant: Inside of Dynasty Club

November 3, 2012

Inside the Dynasty Club is a restaurant called Imperial City Restaurant that servers Cantonese food. They have an array of roasted meats, dim sum, and sweets. Our relatives took us here to show us some amazing food.

The interior is very pretty and not too crowded. They also have private rooms for dining too.

Mmm…roasted meats!

BBQ Roasted Pork

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly was crazy addictive!!!

Deep Fried Sweet Potato

Marinated Chicken Feet

Steamed dumpling

Soup

Deep Fried Shrimp Paste on Toast

Mango Sago and Pomelo Dessert

Cold Steamed Milk Custard

Steam Cake

Steamed Date Cake

Fresh Fruit – Honey Dew, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Dragon fruit.

All the items were really delicious and everyone enjoyed the items that arrived. The only downside about coming here is that you need to find someone with a membership to dine here.

We Rate Imperial City Restaurant:

Address:
South West Tower, Convention Plaza
1 Harbour Road, Wanchai
Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.dynastyclub.com.hk/wine_dine.php?q=imperial_city#4

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1+Harbour+Road,+Wanchai+Hong+Kong&hnear=1+Harbour+Rd,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Fast Food

Mos Burger: Awesome Fast Food Burgers

November 2, 2012

Mos Burger is a fast food chain from Japan. It has about 14 locations in Hong Kong near the major malls. They have been around since 1972! Mos Burger specializes in burgers! The burgers aren’t even comparable to any fast food joint I’ve been to so far.

They differentiate themselves as being “healthier” and less geasy than their competitors.

Cold Milk Tea was my sisters favorite drink here. You need to mix in liquid sugar into it, so it’s not pre-sweetened.

Hot Green Tea Latte was rich and frothy with a lot of green tea. Yum!

Mos Burger looks amazing! Everything is perfectly placed on the bun, so you can clearly see every layer. There is a patty, mayo, onion, meat sauce, and tomato between soft buns. It tasted really amazing as the meat sauce made the whole burger savory and moist.

Fish Burger has cheese, a fried filet, mayo, and onions between the 2 buns. It looks similar to McDonalds Fish O Filet, but it was slightly better than McDonalds. Very Very close in taste!

Overall, I was very impressed by this fast food chain! Someone should really bring this to Canada!

We Rate Mos Burger:

Address:
Shop 217-218, 2/F, Metroplaza,
223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Fong

Website:
http://mosburger-hk.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Metroplaza,+223+Hing+Fong+Road,+Kwai+Fong&hl=en&hnear=Metroplaza,+223+Hing+Fong+Rd,+Hong+Kong&t=m&z=16 “]

In Four Beakers

New Spicy Chili Restaurant: Spicy Szechuan Food in Richmond

November 1, 2012

TaiwaneseGirl took M, Scarface, and I here for dinner since she’s been dying to try their spicy fish dish. We all love spicy food, so going to a Szechuan restaurant was fitting. The restaurant was very busy, so making a reservation is very important.

The seating is a bit cramped, but their food is definitely awesome.

House Special Hot and Sour Soup ($10.99) was spicier than other hot and sour soups, but tasted really good.

Fish Filet in Spicy Sauce ($18.99) seemed very scary to eat since it was basically fish boiled in super spicy sauce. The spoon has holes, so you only pick up the fish. The fish is very very tender and has a great taste. Not too spicy either; I was surprised.

Sauteed Hollow Spinach in Garlic ($15.99) was a good addition to the spicy meal. It was good too. The downside is that it is quite expensive!

Hot Tofu with Meat Sauce ($14.99) was another great dish. We ordered rice on the side to accompany this. Yum!

Overall, the food was pretty good and its a great place to go to with a group of people, but certain dishes can be expensive. Regardless, this restaurant is packed with lots of people every night wanting to have a taste of Szechuan food.

We Rate New Spicy Chili Restaurant:

Address:
160 – 4200 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4200+No.+3+Road+Richmond,+BC&hnear=4200+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]