August 2014

In American

The Keg: Steakhouse in Vancouver

August 12, 2014

When I’m not cooking steak at home, we head out to The Keg Steakhouse and Bar. There are multiple locations throughout Canada. We went to the Burnaby location as always as it is the closest one to our home.

They of course have a variety of meat and seafood to choose from, plus they do have salads for vegetarians. The prices are fair and they always have consistent service and food quality.

Since we had a large group, we decided to make a reservation a few days ahead of time so we don’t have to wait in line.

Filet Mignon (7oz – $32) is the cut I recommended to my in-laws. Since it is their first time in Canada, they really need to try how tender and delicious our Canadian beef really is. This dish has the tenderloin wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and served with some veggies and a side of your choice.

They chose roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

Blue Cheese Filet (7oz – $33) is their filet mignon wrapped in applewood smoked bacon, covered
with a blue cheese crust, and finished with roasted garlic cloves. I got roasted vegetables on the side.

It is best to choose it done medium rare and you can really taste the flavours of it.

New York striploin (12oz – $31) is what M ordered. It is tender and full of flavour too. He only gets his steaks done medium rare.

Overall, everything tasted great! No complaints at all.

We Rate the Keg Steakhouse:

Address:
4510 Still Creek Ave
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/burnaby/burnaby-keg/

In Downtown

Miku: Great Place to Take Tourists in Vancouver

August 11, 2014

Behind these beautiful doors are the famous aburi sushi dishes from Miku. Aburi Sushi was inspired by the innovative idea of sear-flaming sushi, which they are best known for. You can’t come here without having a taste of their Aburi Sushi. They also have a sister restaurant called Minami and Gyoza Bar (opening soon).

Miku is a spot where I want to take new people to Vancouver if I want to impress them. It is a bit pricey and will probably hurt your wallet, but it’s a place you need to experience once in your life. M’s relatives were in town, so I had to give them a taste of their delicious Salmon Oishi Sushi that everyone crazy over.

The interior is beautiful and you can get a good view of the Waterfront area if you are sitting near the window.

Nutrigreens Farm Tofu Salad ($10) is a vegetarian dish that has nutrigreen farm organic baby greens, crumbled miso tofu, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, crispy wonton and a umami soy vinaigrette. It was really good! Highly recommended!

Aburi Tuna ($16) has the lightly flame seared albacore tuna with masatake sauce. The tuna is very fresh and flavourful.

Aburi Chirashi Tart ($21) comes with miso soup and is part of their lunch special. The tart has layers of spicy tuna, avocado, aburi salmon, prawn, scallop, flying fish roe, ikura and miku sauce. It’s a pretty good lunch item if it’s for 1 person.

Since there was 6 of us for lunch, we all shared a bit of everything.

Garden Roll ($13) has asparagus, avocado, shiso leaf, ginger, wasabi miso sauce wrapped in a pickled watermelon radish and yellow pepper.

Crunchy Surf and Turf Roll ($15) comes with 8 pieces and it has wasabi marinated jumbo prawns, cucumber, lettuce, wrapped in aburi short rib, jalapeño garlic ponzu and topped with aonori tempura bits.

Salmon Oshi Sushi ($16) has pressed BC wild sockeye salmon, jalapeno, miku sauce and then it is flame-seared with its signature sauce.

Saba Oishi Sushi ($16) has pressed house-cured mackerel and miso sauce. Then it is also flame-seared.

Overall, some items can be a hit or miss, but if you order the Aburi items, it will sure be a hit with your friends that are new in town. Nothing really beats the freshness of the seafood on the West Coast!

We Rate Miku:

Address:
70-200 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mikurestaurant.com/

In Cafe

Creekside Coffee Factory: Independent Coffee Shop in Coquitlam

August 10, 2014

Creekside Coffee Factory is located in Coquitlam in a small plaza area. They are proud to be serving the freshest coffee possible. They even roast the beans in-house. CoffeeGuy introduced me to this place and told me there was a cafe with a happy Korean man roasting beans, while playing the guitar. I love independent coffee shops because you can really feel their passion for what they do and putting a smile on customers faces.

Since M’s relatives from Korea love coffee, it just seemed fitting to take them to a Korean owned cafe.

You can even watch them roasting the beans. Unfortunately, when we took a visit, nothing was happening here. I wanted to see this machine in action.

You can buy the beans too. Once you purchase it, they are prepared right after to maintain optimal freshness.

The interior is quite nice and cozy. It’s a good place to sit and chat with friends. Or even just do some homework.

There’s even free wifi and extra plugs for your devices.

There are a few snacks a well. We came later in the afternoon, so I think the morning rush bought all the food.

Cappuccino came in a huge cup. I ordered a small, but I think a Large came. It tasted great and has lots of delicious foam.

Iced Dew Drip Coffee is one of their specialty drinks and is quite popular. It is made fresh on site every day and has some great flavour and low acidity. M drank his black and it’s a lot better than regular drip coffee.

Soy Latte and Americano were what the relatives ordered. They were both pleasantly surprised by the strong taste of their drink and totally put a good start to their day. It’s funny how they can’t function without their coffee.

Overall, Creekside Coffee Factory is a good place to get coffee if you are in the area.

We Rate Creekside Coffee Factory:

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

Address:
2773 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

In American

Taco Bell Canada: Doritos Locos Tacos

August 9, 2014

Taco Bell Canada finally introduces the Doritos Locos Tacos permanently on their menus. When my relatives were here, they really wanted to go to Taco Bell. I was surprised that they wanted Taco Bell, but it was on their list of places they really wanted to eat at. So I agreed to go.

When we were there, we saw they had two Doritos Locos Taco meals they were offering:

Doritos Locos Tacos Big Box ($8.99)
Doritos Locos Tacos Crunch Combo ($6.99)

With these combo’s you can choose if you want the Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco flavours.

M and I like to try everything so we got each of the combos.

Just as a note, I’m not exactly sure what happened here, but it seems that the described combo and what came out for our order were inaccurate. I didn’t realize this till after our visit. The person that took our order barely knew how to use their POS system and seemed super confused about everything. SO, our order was all jumbled up.

It all came and clearly we have a lot to eat among 4 people. hahaha.

Doritos Locos Tacos Big Box ($8.99) came with 2 Doritos Locos Taco Supreme, 1 beef burrito, 1 Doritos Nacho Supreme and a soda. There’s a lot of food in this box.

Somehow M managed to finish everything.

Instead of the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos for the Nacho Supreme, M got the Nacho Cheese Doritos shells for it. Not a bad combination. The Nacho cheese of the Doritos definitely enhanced the taste a bit.

Doritos Locos Tacos Crunch Combo ($6.99) comes with a Doritos Locos Taco Supreme, fries, a cheesey gordita crunch and a drink.

Even though me tacos were labeled the Nacho cheese Doritos shells, it was actually the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco.
Also, I never got my cheesy gordita crunch, but I got the two tacos instead. This was kinda annoying.

The taco is the same as their usual tacos but the shell just taste like Doritos Nachos.

We somehow got this too and it didn’t come with my combo since it was supposed to be regular fries, but I didn’t mind. It’s basically the Fries Supreme with the meat, sour cream, cheese, tomato and chives on top. It definitely tastes better than regular fries.

All the food is pretty standard for a Fast Food restaurant. The Doritos Locos Taco and Taco Bell teaming up together to spice up their taco shells was pretty neat, but it didn’t really add any alluring taste to the food.

Of the two flavours – Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch, the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco was far more tastier. The Cool Ranch taste was too subtle. The only thing different about these tacos is just the shell. All the ingredients are the same.

Address:
2991 Lougheed Hwy Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.tacobell.ca/

In Chinese

Richmond Night Market: What to Eat?

August 7, 2014

The Richmond Night Market is a summer attraction in Vancouver. I’ve come here for many years and I always gravitate towards the food stalls. The smell of grilling skewers, the slurping sounds of people drinking Bubble Tea and the sight of all the people speeding past you. Entrance is now $2.75 per person. Alternatively, you can purchase a Zoom pass for $20 to get up to 15 visits. It is transferrable and you get to go in the VIP line up rather than the regular line up. It’s good if you are planning to make multiple visits to the night market, have lots of friends, or just hate waiting in line.

I only come to Richmond Night Market once a year, so I paid $2.75 and went in the regular line up. Even though the lineup does look SUPER LONG. It does go by quickly. Their staff is pretty efficient.

There are many options to get to the Richmond Night Market – Driving, Canada Line Skytrain, or you could walk if you really wanted to.

We opted to just drive since we live in Burnaby as they do not charge for parking. So, we thought we could beat the 7pm rush and get here at 6:40pm. To our surprise, there was still a line up for parking.

They made us park a fair distance away from the Night Market entrance. Turns out, their closer parking lot isn’t open until AFTER 7pm.

So, we began our walk to the entrance.

Then we kept walking…and walking until we got to the closer parking lot.

We did eventually get to the Night Market. We just didn’t like the fact that we got “punished” for arriving early and have to park so far.

We headed straight towards the food section! I always get overwhelmed by all the different vendors, so I walk around the booths to see if there are a few booths that make my mouth water. You will find a plethora of different items here like German Pork Hocks, Skewers, crepes, grilled squid, donuts, curry, dim sum, takoyaki, etc.

Shaka Shaka Squid is an awesome new booth this year that serves up Deep Fried Squid. I much prefer deep fried squid over the grilled ones.

There are 3 flavours to choose from:

Shaka (Original Salt and Pepper)
Sweet Seaweed
Spicy Shaka

Small sizes are $7 and Large sizes are $11.

Shaka Deep Fried Squid (Large – $11) is what M, CCK and myself started with. The batter is definitely super crunchy and full of flavour. The squid was not chewy at all and cooked perfectly. The mayo on top went well with it. The Shaka flavour was by far our favourite. I would highly recommend this place.

It was so good, we went back and bought 2 more to try the rest of the flavours

Spicy Shaka Deep Fried Squid (Large $11) is quite spicy after you eat a few of them. It’s good if you love spicy. The amount of batter and crispiness was consistent.

Sweet Seaweed Deep Fried Squid (Large $11) was still good, but it wasn’t our favourite. I think I just really love salt and pepper.

No matter what flavour you get, i’m sure you’ll like it. The batter is what makes it so addictive. M, CCK and I were so addicted to these.

Another new booth this year is Tenryu Hashimaki which sell Japanese savoury crepes on chopsticks.

They have 5 main flavours:

Curry
Cheese
Ramen
Crab
Shrimp

It’s $6 each or 2 for $10.

They even have a diagram to show people how to eat it.

Crab Hashimaki ($6) has the crepe wrapped around the chopstick and topped with the crab, seaweed, and a generous handful of dried bonito flakes. You definitely need two hands to eat this or else it will get messy with just one. I felt the crab didn’t add much flavour to the crepe.

Ramen Hashimaki ($6) was quite similar but it has the crispy ramen noodles, mayo, seaweed, and bonito on top. The ramen added nice texture to the hashimaki.

It definitely reminded me of an Okonomiyaki on a stick or a takoyaki in a different form.

A visit to the Richmond Night Market isn’t complete until I take a visit to Chef James to buy a few of his skewers.

You can choose from:

AAA Steak Beef
Chicken
Lamb
Honey Prawn Garlic
Crispy Green Onion Bun
Lamb Kidney

The skewers are 3 for $7.25 or 5 for $11.50.

We chose an assortment of skewers – Lamb, Chicken, and 3 beef skewers. Delicious as usual.

M started getting thirsty from all the salty food, so he made a visit to Sugar Cane Juice for some Young Thai Coconut.

Young Thai Coconut ($4) M really enjoyed it. Thirst quenching and delicious as always. We prefer these ones over the brown-looking coconuts. These are much sweeter and the coconut meat tastes good. Too bad we didn’t have a spoon to eat it.

For my beverage/dessert, I took a trip to my favourite booth – Icy Bar. I love these items and remind me of my childhood. Plus, I also love mangoes.

They also have a permanent location inside Crystal Mall in Burnaby.

Mango Tapioca Icy ($5) has fresh mango, small tapioca pearls, coconut milk, shaved ice, and condensed milk all layered in a large clear cup. Tastes delicious and looks delicious.

Overall, despite our failed attempt at arriving early to the Richmond Night Market to get a close parking spot and beating the crowds, the food is undeniably delicious and is quite a unique experience.

There’s definitely more food options than what I covered, but you will find something you will like.

On Friday and Saturday, they are open from 7pm till 12am. Sunday and statutory holidays, they are open 7pm till 11pm. It is open this season till October 13, 2014, so you have plenty of time left to visit.

Website: http://www.richmondnightmarket.com/

Address:
8351 River Rd
Richmond BC

In British Columbia

BC Ferries: Coastal Cafe Breakfast

August 6, 2014

Going to Victoria Island on the weekend in the morning is a bit of a pain. Our Ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal has a Cafe on board called Coastal Cafe. As we got up pretty early, we didn’t make a stop for breakfast, so we decided to have breakfast on board.

For the morning menu, they have:

Waffles
Oatmeal
Cereal with Milk
Eggs (scrambled & fried)
Hashbrowns
Sausage
Bacon
Ham
Toast
Fruit Salad
Baked Goods

For their afternoon menu, they have select WhiteSpot items, salad, sandwiches, sushi and other items. You can even get Pirate Paks here.

All Aboard Breakfast ($10.99) has scrambled egg, hash browns, bacon and sausages.

It also came with toast.

Bon Voyage Breakfast ($9.75) comes with scrambled eggs, french toast and 3 sausages.

The breakfast is pretty bland and boring, but that’s expected. The eggs tasted very bland and you need some ketchup smothered on top. You can’t go wrong with the bacon or sausages.

We Rate Coastal Cafe:

Location:
BC Ferries

Website:
http://www.bcferries.com/onboard-experiences/amenities/coastalcafe.html

In British Columbia

McDonalds Canada: Asian Crispy Shrimp McWrap

August 5, 2014

The Asian Crispy Shrimp McWrap has recently landed in McDonalds Canada. M was grabbing a quick dinner at McDonalds and I saw this item on their menu, so I decided to order it.

The wrap has crispy shrimp topped with sweet and spicy Thai sauce, Asian salad mix, grilled vegetables and garlic mayonnaise-style sauce, wrapped up in a warm whole wheat soft-shell tortilla.

When I opened the container up, the wrap didn’t seem impressive at all. The shrimp sits on top and all the salad is at the bottom and it seems pretty mushy and not too fresh. You can barely see any vegetables in my wrap, but its all hidden on the bottom. Probably just a poorly put together wrap.

When I first took a few bites, it didn’t taste good. The shrimp was pretty bland and the veggies just didn’t match with its slimy texture.

I would not order this again.

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/promotions/mcwrap.html#asian-shrimp

In Brunch

Jimmys Place Restaurant: Breakfast in Coquitlam

August 4, 2014

Jimmys Place Restaurant is my go-to place for breakfast in Coquitlam. They have an assortment of Eggs Bennies, Sandwiches, Burgers and other breakfast items. M and I have been coming here for years and it’s owned by a Korean family. You wouldn’t expect it when you first look at the place.

It’s pretty damn good food. Simple but very delicious.

The diner has an old school-feel with booths and aging furniture. Some of the seats are in need of repair, but it’s not too bad.

B.E.L.T. Sandwich has bacon, eggs, lettuce, and tomatoes between two slices of multigrain bread.

It was a pretty good sandwich and good ratio between the protein and the veggies. The bacon is a bit hard to see, but it’s there are it was nice and crispy.

Black Stone Benedict is M’s Favorite item from Jimmy’s Place. This is all he will ever order. The eggs are nicely poached with lots of hollandaise sauce on top with bacon, green onions and tomatoes. The hash browns are also super crispy on the outside. I usually get this dish too, but I just had to try something different.

Overall, decent place to go on the weekend, but they are not open on Sundays.

We Rate Jimmys Place Restaurant:

Address:
435 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

In Cafe

Sweetie Pink Dessert: Chinese Dessert in Richmond

August 3, 2014

100% Healthy Dessert has now changed to Sweetie Pink Dessert. It is located in Richmond and they serve up asian desserts like Mango Pomelo Sago and Tong Sui. A group of us came here late at night for some good ol dessert..asian style. hahaha. There really isn’t too many places in town to get good ol asian dessert.

The entire restaurant is pink and is quite fitting to their name. The space isn’t too big but it is comfortable for groups if you come early.

Even water comes in pink ceramic cups.

Mango Pomelo Sago with Black Pearl Barley is served chilled and is one of the more popular desserts ordered. Quite refreshing for the hot summer nights.

Mango Pomelo Sago with Mini Rice Balls is another good option if you like the little tapioca balls for added texture.

Cold Tofu Flakes with Taro, Red Bean & Rice Ball has lots of toppings to add taste the tofu pudding.

Traditional Cold Tofu Flakes with Ginger Sugar was what I ordered. It came in a cute little container with the syrup in the pourer.

It is a simple dessert and I kinda have an addiction for tofu dessert.

Chocolate Lava Deep-fried Ice cream was quite sweet obviously. It has pocky, waffle, and the deep fried ice cream in the centre. M thought it was ok, but not the best.

Overall, it’s one of a few places in town where you can get asian desserts. It’s pretty good but the only thing that bothered me was the poor service. It’s to be expected.

We Rate Sweetie Pink Dessert:

Website: http://www.sweetiepinkdessert.com/

Address:
150 – 8291 Westminster Hwy
Richmond BC

In Canadian

The Flying Pig: Gastown Appy Hour

August 2, 2014

Where in Vancouver can you get some good happy hour food after work? One of my go-to locations is The Flying Pig. They have a special chalk board menu with what is available for Appy Hour. It runs daily from 4 – 6pm. They also have another location in Yaletown.

When we were there, you can choose from:

Salmon Sampler
Beef and Bresaola Salad
Short Rib Croquettes
Truffle Mac and Cheese
Steamed Clams
Artisan Cured Meats
Halibut Poppers
Beef Carpaccio

All these items are either $5 or $6. The menu does change once in a while, but there is always something good on the menu.

Do note that your whole party has to arrive or else they will not be able to seat you. It’s a bit annoying since there is always bound to be someone in your party that is late.

A bunch of us come here after work for a few bites and drinks.

Beef Carpaccio ($6) is topped with an aioli sauce, arugula, cheese, crostini, capers and garlic. It was ok, but it was missing something acidic to bring the flavours together.

Halibut Poppers ($6) were yummy. It was tender and flavourful on the inside and the outside was nice and fried.

Truffle mac and Cheese ($5) is extra gooey and sinfully delicious! You can’t go wrong with cheese.

Pinot Gris ($7.75) comes from Calona Vineyards from the Okanagan Valley in BC. A nice choice of wine for a hot summers day to go with appetizers.

Overall, we had a great time after work. All the finger food was perfect.

We Rate Flying Pig Gastown:

Address:
102 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://theflyingpigvan.com/

In Cafe

Serious Coffee: Caffeinated in Victoria

August 1, 2014

Serious Coffee is a local coffee chain on Victoria Island. Serious Coffee opened in 1994 in Duncan, BC and has now grown to 25 locations on the island. 20 years has passed since they first opened, but they are still as serious about good coffee since day 1.

I was in the Mayfair location needing to grab a quick coffee before work. Unfortunately for me, everyone else decided to grab a coffee at the same time, so there was a long lineup. The line moved quickly though.

The interior is cozy, but slightly dated. It definitely does have a nice charm to this place. It’s like home.

Small Cappuccino ($3.39) was good! No complaints here. Delicious beans were used and it was nice and strong.

Steak and Egg Breakfast Wrap came with a side of salsa. The wrap was grilled in a panini press and had nice grill marks.

The wrap held together quite nicely and it tasted alright. Nothing revolutionary, but it was a good solid breakfast wrap. You can’t go wrong with this.

Overall, a good alternative coffee shop if you love supporting local businesses.

We Rate Serious Coffee:

Address:
Unit D – 3075 Douglas St.
Victoria, BC

Website:
http://www.seriouscoffee.com/