January 2013

In Downtown

Carl’s Jr. Vancouver: A Quick Review

January 31, 2013

M here with a flash review of the new Carl’s Jr. in Vancouver! I’m always on the hunt for the best burgers in town, but my favourite fast food burger in the States is from Carl’s Jr. When it was announced Carl’s Jr. was coming to Vancouver I passed out in excitement. Diana will do a proper review soon, but for now here are my pointers.

If this is your first time at a Carl’s Jr. it will be daunting to see all the choices you have! My suggestion for newbies and for future converts of the Church of Carl’s Jr. are any of the Thick burgers. In the State’s they’re popular as the “Six Dollar Burger” and is a signature for Carl’s Jr. The one I had is the Guacomole Bacon one. I’m happy to announce that the burger was as delicious as the one across the border!

ProTip number one for this place is bring an empty stomach and always order SMALL. The cashier can be tricky and ask you, “Medium or large combo?” Just like Wendy’s don’t get Medium as that’s basically getting a Large at McDonalds here. It’s also 90 cents more if you choose Medium. Trust me Small will fill you up! The venue itself is super narrow and I think stupidly laid out, but the burgers more than enough makes up for it. There are rumours that the staff here is undertrained, so try to be patient as someone goes around yelling a number. Keep in mind this is a Fast Food place, so it does give off a Burger King feel. Nonetheless, it’s the best fast food burger in town in my opinion from trying their burger once.

What do you think of Carl’s Jr. Vancouver?

Address:
625 Howe St.
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CarlsJrVancouver

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=625+Howe+St.+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=625+Howe+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Z+2H7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In American

Sip Resto Lounge: Dine Out Vancouver

January 31, 2013

Sip Resto Lounge on Granville Street is participating in Dine Out Vancouver again! What is unique about Sip is that every dish is made of alcohol or at least used to be. Even though most of the alcohol is burned off in the cooking process, its a cool concept. For $18, you get a 3 course meal. I came here about 7 years ago for Dine Out and remembered it was good. CandiedZen and I came here since the menu looked OK and the price seemed right.

Beef Carpaccio is topped with Arugula, Garlic Aioli, and Aged Parmigianno. Delicious and the aioli worked nicely.

Tuna Tower has Sherry Marinated Albacore Tuna, Cool Coleslaw, and Tropical Pineapple. It tasted more like spicy tuna sashimi. You have the tuna on the first layer, and then layer 2 and 3 is the cracker.

Guinness Grilled Chicken has Free Range Organic Chicken, Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes, Seasonal Veggies, and Guinness Gravy. The chicken was plenty moist, but the Guinness Gravy didn’t mad must taste to the chicken.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is Bacon Wrapped with an Apple and Caramelized Onion Filling. It also has Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Season Veggies, and a Mushroom Strongbow Cider Pan Sauce. The pork was tender and plenty flavourful.

Frangelico Chocolate Cake was very thick with the chocolate ganache. It wasn’t that good.

New York Style Cheesecake was probably the best of the 2 desserts. It has a nice smooth texture and the fruity sauce worked well.

Overall, the food was just average, but paying $18 for 3 courses was acceptable. The staff was nice and attentive, but the tables were not as clean. It wasn’t as pretty as I remember from all those years ago.

We Rate Sip Resto Lounge:

Address:
1117 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siplounge.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1117+Granville+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1117+Granville+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2G6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Gastown

Brioche: Unofficial Dine Out Menu 2013

January 30, 2013

Brioche has an unofficial Dine Out Menu featuring 4 courses for $19.90. There’s no way you would find out that they are offering this deal unless you step into their shop. They don’t even post it on their website.

The 4 courses include your choice of daily soups, salad, an entree, and a dessert. Not bad considering lunch itself if quite expensive. I decided to come dine here with ScienceMan because it was a great deal for the price we paid.

8 Bean Soup was definitely very hearty and filling.

Their other soup was a cream based soup. I wish I was paying attention to all the items that was in this soup, but sadly my memory fails me. Nonetheless, the 2 daily soups that they were offering tasted great.

Greek Salad had a lot of flavour and was a good portion too. Each item had a lot of dressing on it, so you can definitely taste the herb and spices.

Mixed Salad is another option of salad.

Lamb Shank was beautifully cooked! The meat was very tender and falling off the bone. Sitting in its delicious juices is a pile of spaghetti.

Mocha Creme Brulee was topped with strawberry and grapes.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake was good as well.

Overall the items were decent and the price was great for the 4 course meal. I would have never thought about coming here for dinner since it seemed more of a lunch place.

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 Bakery

Bagel Street Cafe: Mayo, Mustard, Salt & Pepper

January 29, 2013

A time before I started blogging, there would be one place I would go all the time. There was a small little cafe in the Kensington Plaza called Bagel Street Cafe. It is the place to get breakfast bagels in Burnaby. It is owned by a husband and wife and they have operated this cafe for way over ten years.

Every time you order a bagel, they always ask “mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper”. I giggle a little bit every time I hear them say this because its like an automated response. The owners can sometimes be grouchy, but are generally nice.

I ordered the egg florentine bagel on the everything bagel ($4.95). It’s a very simple bagel sandwich but they make it really good! You have the egg with the spinach, tomatoes, and spread.

Overall, the bagel sandwiches are great and not expensive at Bagel Street Cafe. They have a lot of different bagels too.

We Rate Bagel Street Cafe:

Address:
6552 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=6552+Hastings+St++Burnaby,+BC&hl=en&hnear=6552+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Bubble Tea

Cattle Cafe: All About the Laksa

January 28, 2013

Cattle Cafe has now opened 3 other locations in Richmond, Edmonds, and another on Kingsway. I usually just go to the original locations on Kingsway and Nelson. It’s open late and you get good value for what you pay.

The downside is the service. Its pretty meh, but you can probably get by. We’re experienced a whole range of attitudes from the servers in the past. We only really come here for a quick cheap meal.

Deep Fried Shrimp Skewers (6 for $3.99) looked pretty intriguing. A little bit cruel, but I love eating shrimp. The seasoning they used was good, but I think the shrimp themselves were not fresh, the meat was dry and may have been frozen at some point.

Iced Milk Tea is always a must at any HK style Cafe.

Malay Laksa Soup + fish tofu, beef brisket, and vermicelli noodles is a popular combination for their popular noodles. Mandu and KoreaGirl both ordered this and the loved it.

This was another noodle combination. I just pointed at a picture on the menu, but I didn’t have a clue what it is called. It’s quite big and there’s lots of noodles, but wasn’t as good as the laksa. Probably best to stick with laksa if you don’t want to be disappointed.

Overall, the food is ok for the price you pay. You can probably spend less than $10 and leave full. It’s a popular place to go to for late night meals and they even have a few other locations a few KMs away.

Words of Wisdom:

Parking Underground, street parking
Decently priced food
Noodles are their specialty and items on rice.
Limited seating, best to come in 2 or 4

We Rate Cattle Cafe:

Address:
4885 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4885+Kingsway+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4885+Kingsway,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5H+4T2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Coquitlam

Sushi K Kamizato: Crazy Addictive Sushi

January 27, 2013

One of my favorite restaurants in 2012 and probably 2013 is Sushi K Kamizato in Port Coquitlam. Sushi K Kamizato is run by Chef Keith and his wife Chika in Port Coquitlam.

Salmon and Tuna Karaage comes complementary. It’s really addictive and a great start to the meal. My sister loves these, so every time we are here, she steals half of mine.

Seared Toro Nigiri is my favorite item on their menu. The toro just melts in your mouth! You don’t need any sauce for it, eating it in 2 bites is just perfection. You must order this!!!

Tuna Tataki Salad has spinach, peppers, carrots, and the chunks of tuna tataki on the centre. It’s really good too.

Salmon Sashimi has about 8 pieces and it’s really good quality salmon!

Grilled Aburi Saba comes with some sauteed cabbage and lemon on the side. The lemon definitely goes really well with it, so remember to squeeze it.

Torched Dynamite Roll isn’t on the menu, but having it torched adds a nice taste and texture to the roll.

OceanWiser Roll is a must try when you come here. It has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado. It has its own sauce, so you don’t need to dip it in soy sauce.

PoCo Gunner was shrimp tempura and cucumber in the middle and topped with seared inari. Another popular roll.

Tuna Four-Ways isn’t on the menu, but it’s sometimes on their specials. It’s really good! He prepares tuna four different ways and extends the flavour and texture in each item. It must be eaten in order too. Definitely ask for this!

Pretty in Pink Roll is a special roll created to support anti-bullying. It has seared Japanese scallop in a bed of fresh spinach, brown rice, homemade salsa and garlic sauce. All held together with a pink soybean wrap and raspberry puree drizzle.$1 from each roll sold went towards the Boy & Girls Club of Greater Vancouver.

This is definitely a very healthy roll and it didn’t taste very good at all.

Chopped Scallop comes with 8 pieces and the scallops are large! You really get your moneys worth!

Saba Battera comes in 8 pieces and has mackerel and rice pressed into a box shape. Really good roll as well.

Green Tea Ice Cream is the same as anywhere else that would have green tea ice cream.

Overall, good service and food every time I come here. When the place is busy, expect your food to take a while longer. The strongest items on their menu are definitely anything from the sushi bar that’s raw. The cooked food is slightly lacking the saba is really good.

Words of Wisdom:

Small restaurant
Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
All sushi comes with 8 pieces
Fresh ingredients
Grilled Aburi Saba, Seared Toro Nigiri, OceanWiser Roll, Tuna Tataki Salad, Agedashi Tofu, Salmon Sashimi, Tuna 4 ways, and Spicy & Shout Rolls is recommended!

We Rate Sushi Kamizato:

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

Website:
http://www.sushikkamizato.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2850+Shaughnessy+St,+suite+2105&hnear=2850+Shaughnessy+St+%232105,+Port+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3C+6K5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Go Go Thai Food: Lunch Specials and Take Out

January 25, 2013

Go Go Thai Food is located on Seymour Street across from Granville Skytrain and the Bay. Is a small little restaurant, but its popular with the lunch crowd for either Take Out or their good lunch specials. I met up with TaiwaneseGirl during our lunch break and decided to have their lunch special which contained a soup, appetizer and a curry for about $10.

Tom Yum Soup was very basic and there were only mushrooms in it. The taste is spicy and sour, thus giving the soup its distinctive taste.

Chicken Skewer was dry and didn’t really resemble fresh chicken. It tasted OK, but not great.

Spicy Green Curry with lamb was very very spicy. The menu had 3 hot peppers on it, but I ignored it since I thought I could handle it. It also comes with rice. The portion was a good size for lunch and you definitely get full.

Overall, the food was ok and had a good price. They have a lot of different curries, so you don’t have to get anything super spicy like what I accidentally did. The service was quick and we were able to get back to our offices in under 1 hour.

We Rate Go Go Thai Food:

Address:
682 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=682+Seymour+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=682+Seymour+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+3K6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In All You Can Eat

Point Zero Four Fusion: Mediocre Hot Pot

January 23, 2013

Flo and I bought a voucher from SocialShopper to use at Point Zero Four Fusion. The voucher would entitle us to all you can eat hot pot for 2 people, plus a soup base of our choice, 2 drinks and 2 sauces. For $25 it wasn’t a bad deal at all.

After we bought it, our friends warned us about this place. We looked online and saw horrid reviews. I know it’s probably not good to read reviews before going to a restaurant. We tried to keep an open mind when we visited.

The interior is very large and has tons of seating!

We both had Sour Plum juice to go with the hot pot. It’s not a drink for everyone, but pairs nicely.

We added a few dollars to upgrade the drink to unlimited. The server wasn’t very keen on refilling our drinks and we ended up only drinking our 2 cups and the jug. We felt kinda ripped off since they said it was unlimited.

Satay Soup + Spicy soup wasn’t included in the voucher, so we added a few dollars to upgrade. There is definitely a few upgrades you need to do on top of the voucher to get a good experience.

Our frog legs, pork collar, sirloin beef, and grade beef.

Siu choy, tong ho, spinach, and baby bok choy.

Mushrooms, bean curd, tofu, fish, chicken, shrimp balls, beef ball, and cuttlefish balls.

black fungus, frozen tofu. pork blood, tofu puffs, and glutenous balls.

An incorrect amount of items arrived at our table. We only ordered 2 pieces of pork blood, but there was 6 pieces. We were not that thrilled about eating that much pork blood. The quality of most of the items on their all you can eat menu were OK, but not very amazing.

A few items we ordered did not arrive. We were missing some meat, oysters, noodles and some cooked items. We didn’t realize till the end but decided not to bother the waitress since she seemed very rude. The experience here was ok, but there are so many other hot pot restaurants around.

We Rate Point Zero Four Fusion:

Address:
8500 Alexandra Rd
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=8500+Alexandra+Rd+Richmond,+BC&hnear=8500+Alexandra+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Gastown

Dish Crawl Vancouver: 4 Restaurants in 1 Night

January 21, 2013

Dish Crawl Vancouver launched near the end of last year to give locals and tourist a food adventure through 4 restaurants in a particular area of town for $60 per person. Imagine a pub crawl, but with restaurants. We are lead to 4 mysterious restaurants and we only know the first restaurant a day beforehand.

The DishCrawl I was on was showcasing the historical district of Gastown. There were 39 other people on this tour, so it was quite large. Each restaurant is within walking distance of each other, so all you need are your legs!

Catch 122

Our first stop was at Catch 122, lots of people arrived prior to the 7pm start. We got our name tags and sat down. I was joined by my foodie friends Sherman and Janice.

We literally filled the entire restaurant. The owner came around to each table and welcomed everyone. He told us a little about what we were having at Catch 122. If you needed drinks, you would have to prepay for it at the bar. We didn’t even get water, which was quite strange.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, Portobello Wild Mushroom Risotto & Beef Bourguignon

We had a sampling of their 3 popular dishes and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve had both the Chicken Cordon Bleu and the portobello wild mushroom risotto and they are awesome choices.

Terracotta Modern Chinese

Our second stop was at Terracotta Modern Chinese, which is located on the edge of Gastown. They opened in 2010 and have been serving their modern twist on Chinese food and tea cocktails.

We were seated downstairs and their staff told us about their restaurant. They also had aloe vodka cocktail on specials too.

Veggie spring roll, crispy fried beans & prawn wonton soup

The execution of the dishes was quite poor in my opinion. The crispy fried beans needed a dip of some sort to balance the flavours. The veggie spring roll was very oily and the wonton soup was very salty. The most delicious thing on the plate was the prawn wonton.

Brioche

Our third stop was Brioche. It’s quite a popular spot for lunch, but I was surprised they were open for dinner. They have some very delicious pasta and sandwiches.

Chef Eduardo Bilardello gathered us all in their main dining space and told us about the restaurant and his passion for cooking.

Tortellini with Italian sausage, pesto fusilli with seafood and penne with wild porcini mushroom sauce.

The dish at Brioche was the most filling of all the restaurants. Pretty good pasta dishes and the penne with wild porcini mushroom was my favorite.

Nuba

Nuba was our last stop for dessert. I know what you are thinking…Nuba for dessert? We were all surprised! We would never have guessed.

Nuba is best known for their amazing Lebanese cuisine.

Rosemary Mascarpone Mousse, Chocolate Quinoa Cake & Pistachio Mamoul, perfect way to finish the night! The 3 items had very different textures and tastes, but the best one on the plate was the Chocolate Quinoa Cake.

Overall, the DishCrawl is not for everyone. If you are a hardcore foodie like me, you might as well take your $60 and go have a nice meal at fancier restaurants. Since the restaurants are a mystery until you get there, you don’t really get a glimpse of what you will be having. It’s not necessarily a bad thing since some people like the mystery behind it all. If you are new to the city, you get a taste of 4 restaurants in 1 night! Perhaps somewhere along the way, you may find your favorite restaurant.

Even though I’ve been to all these restaurants before, I did learn a thing or two. Brioche has an unofficial dine out menu for $20 and its a great steal since lunch can be about $18. Nuba is a great place for dessert!

To check out DishCrawl Vancouver: www.dishcrawl.com/vancouver/

In Dineout

EBO Restaurant: Dine Out 2013

January 19, 2013

EBO or otherwise known as ‘East of Boundary’ is located inside Grandvilla Casino in Burnaby. I’m not a gambler, but I come here for some good food. I decided to come here for Dine Out with M since I’ve heard their menu is amazing and only $28.

The interior is very beautiful and can seat lots of people. Our server Michael was very nice and helped us make some decisions.

Complementary Bread arrived at the table and there were 3 different varieties, which was great.

Wild Mushroom Soup has Mushroom Terrine, Truffled Brioche Coal, and Feta. I know the picture isn’t appetizing, but this soup is SO AMAZING. It was a good portion and if I could die in a pool full of this soup, I would be so happy. Definitely recommended!!!

Tuna is encrusted in a crisp rice crust, with Dungeness Crab, Avocado Puree, Compressed Watermelon on the plate. The portion was definitely way smaller than the soup. M thought this dish was ok, but preferred the wild mushroom soup instead.

Roasted Duck Confit is has curried butternut squash puree, white bean stew, and maple gel. It was very tender and had a crisp skin, but the duck was salty. If you want something less salty, maybe stick with the steelhead option.

Grilled Lamb Chops Barley (Additional $7) has braised neck, Sunchokes, and Salsa Verde. We were so excited to see the lamb chops on the menu that we didn’t see the addition $7 charge for this dish. It makes sense since this dish is originally $33 on the menu. M got the lamb medium and was cooked perfectly.

Chocolate Pot de Crème, Momon, Crispy Chocolate Bits

Looking at the menu, you probably have no idea what will arrive at your table. M imagined a chocolate cake, but it was more like a small chocolate mousse, cake and bits. It still tasted good.

Poached Pineapple, Spiced Filo, Almond Cake

This dessert was pretty good and I enjoyed it. A good end to the meal.

At the end we even got white chocolates with a passionfruit filling.

Overall, the $28 menu at EBO was pretty good. You just need to choose which item appeals to your palate . I totally wish I chose the steelhead instead of the duck. Just looking at their regular menu, you are definitely saving when getting the Dine Out menu.

We Rate EBO Restaurant :

Address:
4331 Dominion St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.eborestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4331+Dominion+St+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4331+Dominion+St,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5G+1B2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In American

Joeys Burnaby: Ahi Tuna Deliciousness

January 17, 2013

I got a lovely email from Joeys with a $50 gift card for the holidays. A nice surprise, so I decided to have dinner with ShyGirl. Joeys has come a long way and I remember a time when they only had one location in Coquitlam. Super addictive place! That was probably 5 or 6 years ago.

I always wanted to try having dinner here and see how the menu has evolved. Joeys Burnaby location is in the old location of Shark Club near Brentwood Mall.

The location is quite nice and their menu has slowly evolved over the years. It’s definitely funny to see sushi on the menu.

Sapporo ($6) is a beer that I must have and it’s on tap too! It’s light and crisp.

Ahi Tuna Tacos ($12) has seared tuna, toasted sesame ginger coleslaw & wasabi aioli. It’s not spicy at all. It tasted great and the sesame and tuna is a perfect match. I’d definitely recommend this item, but it can be a tad expensive.

Sashimi Tuna Salad ($17.50) has seared rare ahi, mixed greens, mango, peanuts, avocado & cilantro mint lime dressing. I had no idea what to expect from the salad but when it arrived at the table, it was SO pretty. I really didn’t want to eat it since it looked like art.

After staring at it for a long time, I dug in and the flavours were really good. But for $17.50, it was an expensive salad!

Rotisserie Chicken ($22) comes with its natural juices, dirty rice & seasonal vegetables.

Overall, the food was delicious and presented nicely on the plate, but it sure is quite expensive. You still get a great meal and the service is great as well. There is free valet parking in the parkade too.

We Rate Joeys Burnaby:

Address:
1899 Rosser Ave S
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.joeyrestaurants.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1899+Rosser+Ave+S+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=1899+Rosser+Ave,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5C+6R5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Cafe

Cafe Savoureux: It’s Coffee Time

January 16, 2013

Cafe Savoureux is located in Richmond on Capstan Way near all those other bubble tea and dessert restaurants. After having Cruzpresso’s Bday dinner at Dinesty, we headed over to this place for some coffee.

This place is known for their coffee and has a variety of different types. If you’re not a coffee drinker, they have teas, slushies, and desserts.

The interior is cute and has very ornate plates and teacups on the walls.

They even have Kopi Luwak for $60! Kopi Luwak is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries eaten and excreted by civets. I’ve only heard about this on the news, but apparently its very good coffee.

Another coffee specialty is the Syphon Style Coffee. It gives you a clean pristine cup of coffee. A few of us ordered the coffee and they said it was really good!

Earl Grey Tea ($5.95) comes in a cute pot and tiny tea cup. The candle underneath keeps it warm.

Floating Coffee ($4.95) has iced coffee with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. M didn’t particularly like this but it might have been due to the funky ice cream cone cup.

Walnut Cheesecake came with the coffee and tea since there was a combo special when we went. It was decent cheesecake but it wasn’t crazy good.

Chocolate Toast ($2.95) is Nutella on top of thick toast.

Condenseed Milk Toast ($2.95) has drizzle of condensed milk on top.

Creme Caramel ($4.95) is quite average too.

Overall, the drinks were good, but the desserts were average. Cafe Savoureux is a nice place to have a drink of tea or coffee but you can probably pass on the desserts.

We Rate Cafe Savoureaux:

Address:
8368 Capstan Way
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=8368+Capstan+Way+Richmond,+BC&hnear=8368+Capstan+Way,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6X&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Cafe

Fung Sing Cafe: New Hong Kong Style Cafe

January 15, 2013

Fung Sing Cafe is a new Hong Kong style cafe. This cafe was previously Sun Yee Cafe Restaurant but has switched owners and a new menu to go along with it. The owner of Fung Sing Cafe was a chef at Curry King and opened Fung Sing Cafe to call his own.

The interior isn’t amazing but there are large tables if you want to come in big groups.

Depend on what set you order, it might come with soup. They have 3 types of soup – cream soup, Chinese soup, and Russian borscht. All of them tasted pretty good. Everyone at our table had their own favorite soup. I personally love cream soup.

Cold Milk Tea is always a must when going to a HK style cafe.

House Special Beef Short Ribs ($10.50) has lots of short ribs and was tender. Pretty solid dish.

Sweet and Sour Pork ($10.50) was really good. I usually hate sweet and sour pork but they make it really good here! The breading is thin, so you can taste the pork inside. Definitely recommended!!

2 item sizzling combination ($12.95) comes with your choice of any 2 meat choices, soup, drink, a sauce and a side. I chose the rib eye steak and the chicken steak. I also chose the side of vegetables and mushroom sauce.

Choice of 2 combinations ($9.95) thats what the menu said what this was. Essentially you choose 2 meats, a sauce, and a side. It also comes with a choice of sauce and drink. Kgirl chose her option with fries.

This is what it looks like if you chose rice as a side.

This one would be the one with the side of vegetables.

It’s a pretty good value for under $10 and you get full. This option is very popular.

4 of us ordered the same thing. It’s simple and good.

Baked Ying Yang Rice (King Size -$9.50) is a must order! It’s huge! It’s so large that I have no idea who would be able to finish it.

Trust me, it’s quite large even if the pictures don’t 100% justify the size. It tastes good and its worth your money!

You can get a choice of dessert if you order a set item. There are 3 options – Mango pudding, tapioca with coconut milk, and ice cream crepe.

The mango pudding is quite plain but still a nice ending to the meal.

The coconut milk with tapioca is typical of a Chinese restaurant, but still good.

The ice cream crepe was a surprise to see.

Once you cut into it, the ice cream just oozes out. Really cool and a fun desssert for kids.

Overall, Fung Sing Cafe is pretty solid and we had no complaints. The price is very reasonable, staff were nice, and food was decent. I’d definitely come back for some of their specials!

Words of Wisdom:

You gotta order Choice of 2 combinations and the Baked Ying Yang Rice
Free parking at rear

We Rate Fung Sing Cafe:

Address:
2128 East Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://fungsingcafe.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2128+East+Hastings+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2128+E+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5L+1V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Fast Food

The Dining Terrace at Richmond Centre

January 14, 2013

Last year, the Dining Terrace in Richmond Centre opened revealing it’s $30 million, 44,000 square foot eating area. I’ve heard lots about it but since I live in Burnaby, I don’t really spend much time in Richmond. My parents took me here to eat lunch as we were meeting up with relatives. We decided to stop at the Dining Terrace so I could take a look and have a quick lunch.

There are 18 new food vendors and they are:

Opa!
A&W
U-Grill
Curry Express
Edo Japan
New York Fries
Thai Express
Umi
Pinkberry
Quiznos
Bourbon St. Grill
KFC
GoodAh Grill
Jugo Juice
Kung Pao Wok
Crepe De licious
Vina

These food vendors are quite typical of most food courts in the Lower Mainland. It still doesn’t compare to the Aberdeen food court for sure.

There’s a lot of seating and the interior looks really really nice.

All of the food vendors can be found at other food courts around the Lower Mainland as well, but they make these places look really nice.

Some of them have really vibrant and bold colors.

UMI Japanese Eatery & Udon Bar

Umi Sushi Express has several locations across Canada and serve Japanese food. This location is a bit unique from their other family of restaurants since it serves hot food. Their other locations have ready-to-serve items like sushi.

I ordered the chicken bento box and it has chicken teriyaki, a small salad, deep-fried veggie tempura and 4 California rolls. It’s not amazing Japanese food, but its passable food court quality.

Website: http://www.umisushiexpress.com/

Crepe De Licious

Crepe De Licious is located in the center of the food court across from Pinkberry. They have savory and sweet crepes. They even have breakfast crepes too. I really wanted a breakfast crepe but it was the lunch hour so they didn’t serve it anymore.

My sister ordered a Black + White Crepe, which is Nutella and bananas as the filling.

She also added a scoop of ice cream on top. It was quite a filling crepe and she really enjoyed it. But then again, who can resist Nutella? I know I can’t.

Website: http://www.crepedelicious.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=6760+No+3+Road,+Richmond,+British+Columbia&hl=en&hnear=6760+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Y+0A2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Japanese

Temaki Sushi: Sushi Restaurant in Kitsilano

January 11, 2013

Temaki is a sushi restaurant in Kitsilano. I had a few recommendations from readers to dine here, so I decided to come here for dinner with KoreanGirl, M and TractorDean.

It was pretty busy on a Friday night. Decent interior and you can get a nice view of the sushi bar.

Spicy Sashimi with Avocado ($6.99) Tuna & salmon pieces topped with cucumber, avocado & house spicy sauce. The sashimi was good, but it was a tad expensive for the amount of sashimi you get.

Chicken Karrage ($6.99) has deep-fried boneless chicken pieces. It tasted ok, but it wasn’t crazy amazing.

Banzai Roll ($8.99) has tuna, salmon, & masago roll deep-fried in tempura batter drizzled with spicy mayo.

Chef’s Roll ($9.99) has fresh mango, crispy tempura bits, cucumber & mayo inside topped with tuna & masago. The roll was very disappointing and everyone at the table hated the mango inside. The roll was expensive

Alaska Roll ($5.99) is a California roll with salmon on top.

Kamakaze Roll ($8.99) has smoke salmon on top with cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and crispy tempura bits inside.

Overall, the sushi rolls were carefully put together but in the end it was nothing amazing. There are tons of sushi restaurants in Vancouver, but this place was pretty average. None of my friends liked this place and felt dissatisfied coming here.

We Rate Temaki Sushi:

Address:
2156 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://temakisushi.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2156+W+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2156+W+Broadway,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6K+2E4&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Shanghai

Shanghai Elan Restaurant: Signature Dishes

January 8, 2013

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Shanghai Elan Restaurant’s dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Shanghai Elan Restaurant is located in Crystal Mall. It takes the place of Pittsburg Cafe, which I’m glad closed down since they did have such horrible food. Crystal Mall probably has a poorly designed parkade since I like to avoid all life-forms there. People drive crazy and there is a good chance someone is gonna mess up your car.

Besides the craziness of the parking, I love Shanghai food and it’s never disappointed me. It’s a bit hard to find Shanghainese food in Burnaby, so I’m glad there’s something close by.

Cucumber & Jelly Fish with Sesame Oil was a good appetizer. The taste is very clean with the accent of the sesame oil. The texture of the jelly fish was a tad crunchy but not too strange. I quite liked this dish.

Shanghai Jelly Pork is a cold appetizer. It is arranged in a zigzag pattern and kinda reminded me of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude …but made of meat. The clear parts is just gelatine. It was delicious and you can’t go wrong with this dish.

Chicken with Spicy Sauce was a tad spicy but not too much. Th chicken was tender and cooked nicely.

Wild Vegetable with Diced Dried Bean Curd and Pine Nuts I think I was the only one at the table that loved this dish. It has a lot of salt and sesame oil, which I enjoyed the flavours of to enhance the dish.

Marinated Beef Wrapped with Pancake is very huge and seemed to be deep-fried and not pan-fried. The beef inside was very delicious and the portion is great.

Stir Fried Shrimps was simply boiled and seasoned. Very simple.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns was good. Nice broth and the skin was nice and thin. I love getting an order of these and teasing the first person to break their bun.

Braised Potato with Eggplant & Sweet Pepper was not my favorite dish. I really don’t like potatoes.

Shanghai Fried Rice Cake with Shredded Pork the dish was ok, but nothing crazy amazing.

Pan Fried Pork with Bean Sprouts in Crepes was interactive and fun. You would grab the wrappers and put some of the pork filling inside and wrap it up. The pork was tender and delicious.

Shanghai Fried Thick Noodle with Shredded Pork & Soy Sauce was good as well.

Sweet & Sour Rock Cod was really pretty when it arrived at the table. Whoever created this had a sense of humour. There is a boiled shrimp at the opening of its mouth. The whole dish was well executed and delicious.

Ham & Duck Soup with Fried Wonton was a yummy soup filled with lots of ingredients. Very nutritious indeed.

Rice Balls with Sesame Seed Paste Soup was a nice item to finish the meal. The little mochi balls in addition to the large rice balls with sesame inside.

Overall, the food was pretty good and there are tons of items on their menu to choose from. Even us food bloggers had a hard time deciding.

We Rate Shanghai Elan Restaurant:

Address:
1687-4500 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4500+Kingsway+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4500+Kingsway,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V5H&t=m&z=16 “]

In Chinese

Cindy’s Palace: Signature Dishes

January 7, 2013

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Cindy’s Palace’s signature dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Cindy’s Palace is located on Nanaimo and 2nd and they invited a few bloggers to try their signature dishes. I’ve passed by several times when driving, but never thought too much about dining here. I actually don’t dine out at Chinese restaurants very often since I know I can get some at home. It was an adventure to see what else is out there.

The interior has many round tables and is busy on the weekend but week day is pretty empty.

Dim Sum Dishes:

Deep Fried Shrimp Cakes are filled with shrimp and breaded. It comes with 3 pieces and is one of their dim sum items. I don’t think it’s available during dinner time. It was packed full of shrimp and comes with 2 different sauces.

Pork Dumplings (Sui Mai) is very plump, so definitely filling and one of those items that are popular.

Shrimp Spring Roll with Wasabi comes with 6 pieces and loaded with shrimp inside. You couldn’t taste the wasabi, which was fine since it would have tasted weird. I really liked this item! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Crispy Tofu Stuffed with Vegetables in Thai Sauce was not one of my favorite items. The combination of the Thai sauce and the crispy tofu tasted a bit strange.

Dinner Dishes:

Stewed Spareribs in Whole Pumpkin you really need to scrape at the pumpkin to get some of its flesh. The spare ribs were nice but I don’t think the pumpkin added much flavour to the overall taste. Just a nicer presentation.

Pork Toro with Vegetables in housed in a fried wonton-like shell. Not a bad dish at all, you have the tender slices of pork with the vegetables, the sauce it a tad spicy, but isn’t too much to create a fire in your mouth.

Pan Fried Vermicelli with Beef in Black Pepper Sauce has the pieces of fried vermicelli on top and the beef, black pepper sauce, and softer noodles on the bottom. The black pepper is a bit overwhelming.

Lamb & Fish in Hot Pot was kinda like a hazard waiting to happen. There are lots of bones, so it’s really not good for little kids. I had to be like a detective to pick out the bones from my fish. Nonetheless, the soup was very flavourful.

Cindy’s Special Fried Rice was decent. It’s a good item to have at the table since it will fill you up and you can’t go wrong with it.

Braised Pork Hock with Special Preserved Plum Sauce had lots of bone and fat, which I guess is normal for the pork hock. It’s not my favorite dish.

Steamed Chinese Melon with Vegetables was a good veggie dish for a Chinese meal. You always need a veggie dish for sure. I like how it’s served in the melon bowl.

Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms on Rice in Lotus Leaf, I didn’t enjoy this dish. It was a bit dry and the flavours didn’t really pop out.

Stir Fried Prawns with Special Tea Leaves has a cool presentation, kinda like a cornucopia, but with prawns and tea leaves. I enjoyed this dish. But then again, I enjoy most prawn dishes anyways. The tea leaves added a subtle flavour to the prawns but not a large amount.

Deep Fried Squid with Salt & Pepper was sub par, it really needed more salt, garlic and spice to enhance the flavour.

Baked Pumpkin Pastries tasted really weird as a dessert but did look cute.

Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame Paste was crispy on the outside and had the gooey sesame paste on the inside. I did enjoy this item.

The dishes at Cindy’s Palace can be a hit or miss, but pretty good offerings for dim sum or dinner. It’s in a strange place, but not bad.

We Rate Cindy’s Palace:

Address:
1796 Nanaimo St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1796+Nanaimo+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1796+Nanaimo+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5N+5B9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinese

Sha Lin Noodle House: New Location with Great Noodles

January 6, 2013

Sha Lin Noodle House has a new home a few blocks away from its original location. Their name is also Shao Lin Noodle House. They clearly have an identity crisis and have no consistency on their name. In my mind, it will always be Sha Lin Noodle House.

The guys and I were feeling hungry and wanted some cheap food. My mind automatically goes to Sha Lin Noodles since their noodles are about $7.

The interior is much larger and has more tables.

You can still watch their chefs cook and prepare their famous hand-made noodles.

Dragging noodles with chicken and vegetables ($6.95) I always order this, I don’t know why but I never have the temptation to try any other noodle dish. It’s a very simple dish with the noodles on the bottom, vegetables and chicken.

Dragging Noodles with Beef & Bean Sprouts in Soup ($6.95) the beef was delicious and so were the noodles. Just put a bit of chili oil and it’ll be deeeelicous.

Curried Dragging Noodles was delicious. M prefers the dry noodles since it’s easier for him to eat without the soup splashing about.

Pan Fried Dumplings was horrible this time around. The skin was so thick and the meat inside was smaller. It just felt like eating bread than dumplings. Everyone agreed that this dish was terrible.

Overall, the interior has definitely improved. The noodle dishes are still delicious, but those popular pan-fried dumplings are horribly executed. Even with the new restaurant, their prices have still remained the same.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10 per dish
No MSG
Large Portions
House made noodles
Noodles are a must!!!

We rate Sha Lin Noodle House:

Address:
656 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.shalinnoodlehouse.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=548+West+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=656+W+Broadway,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Z+1E9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]