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November 2014

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novo-sign

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar specializes in pasta even though they are a pizzeria. All the pasta is made in-house and they also have gluten-free options. They are located in Kitsilano near Burrard and West 5th Avenue. There is street parking and underground parking as well.

novo-inner

The interior has the open kitchen where you can see them putting your dishes together or firing up your pizza in their oven.  There are lots of tables to accommodate small to large groups.

novo-burrata

Burrata Cicheto was served on a spoon and also has tomato jam, balsamic pearls, pistachio, pink peppercorn and mint. It was a delicious bite that left us wanting more.

I still prefer their regular burrata dish, its so good!

novo-funghi

Truffled Fettuccine has funghi misti, truffle oil and pecorino romano. It was a good dish and not too over powering with the truffle oil. Good balance of flavours. I am a huge fan of mushrooms, so this dish really was eaten quite quickly. nom nom nom nom nom. The Fettuccine noodles were cooked al dente.

novo-risotto

Risotto Di Bufala has mozzarella di bufala, over dried tomatoes, thyme, cashews, and arugula pesto. I love creamy risotto! Carbalicious! It was really good. Mmm Mmm Mmm

novo-fettucinni

Handcut pappardelle served with tender rabbit, roasted tomatoes, California black olives, white wine, pecorino cheese, arugula and olio al tartufo.

Yes, they serve rabbit and it tastes like chicken. Maybe you were better off not knowing what protein is in this dish. It was good and adventurous to those who have not tried rabbit before.

novo-ravioli

Braised Beef Cheek Ravioli has onion confit, black pepper and tarragon cream sauce, and orange zest. The one thing that threw me off about this dish is the orange zest. The ravioli were large and stuffed with a good amount of beef.

novo-sausage

Sausage Orrechiette has fennel pollen, allepo pepper, and parmigiano reggiano. This was M’s favourite because of the chunks of sausage.

novo-cannoli

Sicilian Cannoli has bufalo ricotta, citrus oil, orange blossom water and pistachios. Delicious cannoli and its the perfect size.

Overall, Nova has a good variety of pasta on their menu with unique ingredients.

We Rate Novo Pizzeria:

Address:
2118 Burrard Street
Vancouver

Website:
http://www.novopizzeria.com/

Novo Pizzeria and Wine Bar on Urbanspoon

curry-katsu-pack

Japanese Curry starts off from blocks of curry roux from the supermarket. At least that how I do it. I picked this up at T&T and got the Golden Curry brand in Medium Hot. It saves a lot of time and it always tastes great!

I remember having this a lot as a child and it was so goooood. M loves it too, so having this for dinner was a no brainer.

It’s one of the most popular dishes in Japan and has 3 main components – curry sauce, rice and the pork cutlet. With prep and cooking time, this should take about 1 hour or less depending on how organized you are.

curry-katsu-ingredients

[tabs tab1=”Ingredients”]

[tab id=1]

Curry

  • Half a box of Curry Roux
  • 3.5 cups of water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 7 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 potato, into bite sized pieces
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 carrot, into bite sized pieces

Pork Katsu

  • 1 egg
  • 2 pork chops
  • salt and pepper
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Panko breading

Cooked Rice

  • 3 cups of Rice
  • 6 cups of water

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Before you do any prep, make sure you start cooking the rice first as it needs time to cook. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how much rice you cook. For M and myself, we just made 3 cups of rice. I like to make a little bit extra so I have leftovers for next days lunch.

curry-katsu-veg

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot. Then, dump the onions, carrots, peppers and potatoes into the pot.

curry-katsu-blocks

Once the vegetables soften up a bit, add the 3.5 cups of water and half the box of curry roux. Mix well until the roux dissolves. Cook for an additional 15 minutes until sauce has thickened.

curry-katsu-dredge

To make the pork katsu, you need to tenderize the pork first. I didn’t have a mallet, so I used a larger dull knife and pounded at the meat. When you don’t have the tools you need, just find another alternative.

Once you have your tenderized pork cutlets, dip them into the egg to coat the outside, and then into the panko crust and throughly cover it.

curry-katsu-coating

This is what it should look like.

curry-katsu-fry

Take a frying pan and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat it at medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, put in the cutlets.
Cook until each side is nice and golden brown.

curry-katsu-dish

To make the rice into the rounded shape, just take a small bowl and fill it with rice, then you just flip it over onto the plate. Scoop the curry around the rice. Then put the golden crisp pork cutlet on top. I used black sesame as a garnish to make the rice a bit more beautiful.

Voila! Katsu curry done at home!

kirin-walkway

Kirin has another location at Starlight Casino near New Westminster. They have 4 locations in total. They serve dim sum on the weekends before 2pm. It’s a beautiful space and it can get pretty busy around 10:30am. This time, we went around noon on a cold weekend and there were no lines at all.

kirin-waiting

If there is a line up, you would wait in this waiting area, but it’s quite nice.

kirin-dining

The main dining area is very large and they also have a private VIP area for small groups.

kirin-tea

You will be asked what type of tea you would like and I usually get a Jasmine or Oolong.

kirin-aloe-jello

Aloe Vera Jelly came complimentary as they were doing a promotion with Eastern Airlines. I’m not really sure what the connection was, but yeah for free things.

kirin-golden-sand-tofu

Golden Sand Tofu is one of my favourite dishes. It is soft and silky on the inside with crispy exterior and sprinkled with salty bits on top.

kirin-rice

Pan Fried Rice Rolls is quite good but it is an oily dish. The chewiness from the rice rolls and the salty sauce go well together.

kirin-shrimp-dumpling

Shrimp Dumplings comes with 4 pieces in the bamboo steamer. One of my favourite dishes.

kirin-sticky-rice

Sticky Rice has 3 pieces in a container. Decent size especially for the morning

kirin-tofu

Fried Bean Curd Rolls was one of my favourite dishes that we ordered. It was crispy on the outside and filled with savoury ingredients like mushroom.

Overall, Kirin is a good place to have dim sum, but they do lack a few dishes here and there. The quality is good. The Queenborough Landing Outlet is close by, so you should definitely check it out and try to find a good deal.

We Rate Kirin

Address:
350 Gifford St
New Westminster BC

Website:
http://www.kirinrestaurants.com/

Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家 on Urbanspoon

coconut-chicken-done

Instead of frozen chicken strips from the freezer, it’s always fun to make your own chicken strips. M really wanted to make some coconut chicken strips from a adapted recipe from his coworker.

[tabs tab1=”Ingredients”]

[tab id=1]

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Marinade:

  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

Coating:

  • 1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut
  • Salt
  • Pepper

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coconut-chicken-coco

You start by taken your sweetened shredded coconut and put it into a medium heat pan.

coconut-chicken-toastec

Cook until it has lightly browned. You may want to stir it once in a while if your pan has uneven heating.

coconut-chicken-wet

To create the marinade for the chicken breasts, mix together an egg, hoisin sauce and cayenne pepper.

coconut-chicken-slice

We got 4 boneless chicken breasts and sliced them up. We cut them into thirds.

coconut-chicken-dip

Once you have the chicken sliced, coat the strips into the marinade and then toss it in the toasted shredded coconut, salt and pepper.

coconut-chicken-bake

Into the oven it goes for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven (350ºF or 176ºC).

coconut-chicken-done

Voila, it’s done. You can serve the coconut chicken strips as a snack or for dinner by just adding a salad.
It was very simple to make and you didn’t have to buy a lot of ingredients. M and I really like making dinner with the least ingredients possible so nothing expires and goes wasted.

manzo-outer

Manzo Japanese Restaurant is located on Alexandra Road in Richmond. We came here for some more drinks and smaller dishes to pick at, so an Izakaya was the perfect idea. They have been around for over a decade and they also have another restaurant on Capstain Way.

manzo-inner

It is dim inside and has a lot of cool items on all the walls like lanterns, pictures and signs. Service was ok, but they couldn’t answer a few questions about the alcohol on the menu as they didn’t know the size of a small or large sake.

manzo-sake

750ml Bottle of Gekkeikan was about $29. Price was a bit high since you know you can buy this for really cheap at the alcohol store. Of course the prices would be much higher in a restaurant. The bottle lasted us a while, so it wasn’t too bad.

manzo-edemame

Edamame ($2.50) was on special.

manzo-agedashi-mentaiko

Mentaiko Agedashi Tofu was a delicious item! The salty topping with the mentiko mixture was salty, but it blended nicely with the agedashi tofu, which was bit more bland.

manzo-flat

Kawahagi is a file fish. It is thin an crispy kinda like dried cuttlefish found in grocery stores.

manzo-squid

Deep Fried Baby Octopus was delicious. Anything deep-fried is an addiction.

manzo-tongue

Grilled Beef Tongue Skewers were really yummy. Perfectly cooked, tender and had great flavour.

Some items are quite pricey like sashimi. Their Izakaya items are ok, but there’s nothing very special about what they offer.

We Rate Manzo

Address:
8391 Alexandra Rd
Richmond, BC

Manzo Japanese Restaurant Izakaya on Urbanspoon

0755-lounge-outer

0755 Restaurant and Lounge in Richmond really looks like a club on the outside with the blackened windows. Our friends told us its a great place for some food, drinks and lively atmosphere. We were first asked for 2 pieces of ID before coming in.

Then, we waited a few minutes before the seated us as they were cleaning up tables.

0755-lounge-inner

It’s a restaurant and lounge, but the inside looks like a club too. A few of my friends said it reminded them of restaurants in Shanghai. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been to China.

0755-lounge-seeds

When we sat down, there are complimentary sunflower seeds on the table. It’s something nice to pick at when you’re slipping on a drink.

0755-lounge-caulifower

Big Bowl Cauliflower is soaked in spicy sauce with slices of pork. It  was pretty good but of course nothing can beat Nuba’s Deep Fried Cauliflower. It was interesting to see a dish presented this way.

0755-lounge-mao

Mao Stewed Pork is deliciously braised pork belly. Mmmm so good! You really can’t go wrong with this dish.

0755-lounge-rice

We ordered rice to go with the 2 dishes we ordered. The entrees were quite large, so we didn’t have to order too many dishes for a group of 4.

If you follow them on WeChat you can get discounts off your bill. The first person gets 5% off the bill and all others after that is an additional 1% off. Since 3 of us were following them on WeChat, we got 7% off. I’m not a WeChat user, but if there are discounts involved, of course I will download the app.

Their service is pretty good and the food comes out pretty much instantly. We were so confused since that never happens.

We Rate 0755 Restaurant and Lounge

Address:
3779 Sexsmith Rd
Richmond, BC

0755 Restaurant & Lounge on Urbanspoon

Taboo-Kitchen-window

Taboo Kitchen in Yaletown just opened in early November. My friends took me here on our usual Friday Happy Hour excursions. Rodney’s had a 45 minute wait and we wouldn’t be able to make it inside to order.

So, Taboo Kitchen was a good choice across the street for a few tapas and $4 on certain drinks like beer, cocktails and wine. Might as well since we were going to be drinking anyways.

Taboo-Kitchen-inner

The interior looked very nice. They have a long table to accommodate large groups. The bar looked pretty nice too.

Taboo-Kitchen-drink-menu

Taboo-Kitchen-food-menu

The entree’s were pretty pricey, but with just drinks and tapas, it was not too bad. The items definitely are Korean fusion.

Taboo-Kitchen-taste

Complimentary Sampler of kimchi, Sweet potato and pickled radish were provided to everyone at the table. In any Korean place, it is expected to have complimentary side dishes provided as an indication of good service. It was presented nicely and gave us a taste of their food.

Taboo-Kitchen-happy-hour-drinks

Apple Sojutini ($4) was quite strong and it was perfect! Just what my friends wanted. Yeah for happy hour prices.
Red Truck Lager ($4) was on special too.

Taboo-Kitchen-ebi-mayo

Prawn Mayo has wasabi, fried capers, and rice crackers with the deep-fried prawns. There was delicious textures of the rice cake and the salty capers. As for the prawns themselves, it was a bit bland and could have used more of that wasabi sauce.

Taboo-Kitchen-spicy-tuna-sunrise

Tuna Rising Sun has chojang, endive, sweet potato on the bottom. Each endive has spicy tuna and spicy sauce. It was really good and a nice twist for a fusion dish.

Taboo-Kitchen-tuna  Taboo-Kitchen-wings

Korean Spicy Chicken Wings is served with a pickled radish slaw and yuja cream. These were good wings.

Overall, it’s a nice place to go after work to chill have a drink and a few bites especially in the Yaletown area. I love traditional Korean food and the food they offer here is quite different, thus the fusion part of the restaurant.

We Rate Taboo Kitchen

Address:
1233 Hamilton St Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tabookitchen.com/

Taboo Kitchen on Urbanspoon

the-pint-outer

The Pint Public House is located on Abbott and Pender Street close to Stadium Skytrain. It’s definitely a sports bar and attracts lots of people when there are games on. The prices are fair and the portions are huge! This is one of the reason it attracts M and all his coworkers to come here for lunch often.

I received a SocialShopper voucher redeemable at The Pint Public House for Niagara nachos platter, plus one-pound of chicken wings with 40 signature sauces. $14 is a pretty good price to be paying for the voucher when you get $28 worth of food.

the-pint-nacho

Niagara Nachos are topped with jalapeños, olives, tomatoes, fajita vegetables, green onion and it’s smothered in cheese. It also comes with a gravy boat of beef chili and sour cream. Nice touch!

the-pint-nachos

It was huge! You can probably split this among 3 grown men and they would be very very full. Definitely buy this when you are with a bunch of friends! It’s worth the price and it seemed quite bottomless. The only improvement would be to have the cheese gooey and warm. It wasn’t very hot.

the-pint-wings

Their wings come with 40 different sauces that you can choose from. We chose orange ginger, one of their classic sauces. Their sauces range from mild to insanity. You can definitely have a lot of games with those wings and dare friends to try super intense flavours.

Overall, pretty good pub atmosphere and the food is pretty good for the price. Service is decent during lunch hours.

We Rate The Pint

Address:
455 Abbott St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.thepint.ca/

The Pint Public House on Urbanspoon

midam-inner

Midam Rice Cake House is hidden in the Hannam Plaza on North Road right beside the grocery store. I have come here before during the day but never at night. I hear the atmosphere is much more lively and different. They specialize in Korean Rice Cakes, so you can find it in a majority of the menu items on the menu.

A lot of young Koreans come here at night for dessert or have dinner with beer or soju.

midam-picture

The owner also seems to have an obsession with NBA. There are pictures of a few great NBA players.

midam-toys

In the display cases, there are figurines and memorabilia.

midam-blueberry-soju

Blueberry Soju Cocktail comes in a small and large size and obviously we got the large size. It was very fizzy and tasted like blueberry vinegar, spirit and a bit of soju.

midam-shot

We knocked back shot after shot and we felt nothing. I am usually a good indicator if there is alcohol in a drink and there seems to be very little.

midam-rice-wine

Makkoli is a korean rice wine cocktail. It’s milky sweet and is about 6-8% alcohol content.

midam-rice-win-cup

It’s served in these weird tin cup things. Weirdly enough, this did not get us drunk either. We are really cheap drunks and usually a beer is enough for me. I feel like the skimped on the alcohol.

midam-chicken

Fried chicken in creamy sauce with rice cake ($20) was a large portion and easily sharable among a table of 4. The chicken was crunchy and it went well with the cream sauce. There are also onions and cabbage that you mix into it.

midam-dessert-coffee

Our other friend got a dessert and a drink. A good combination for a late night out.

midam-parfait

Overall, Midam has an interesting vibe at night and it’s mostly for the younger crowd. Good place to drink, but they skimp on the alcohol for cocktail drinks. Stick with shots or beer.

They also have a large menu for food, drinks and desserts. Prices are decent. Service is ok as the table has a bell to let servers know you need something.

We Rate Midam Rice Cake House

Address:
110-4501 North Road
Burnaby, BC

Midam Rice Cake House 美談餅家 on Urbanspoon

shirakawa-outer

What more do I love on a Friday than happy hour at a Japanese Restaurant? Spending time with friends on Friday eating happy hour!

They are located in Gastown right in Gaolers Mews. Shirakawa is focused on serving the highest quality proteins and organic produce without sacrificing traditional Japanese culinary methods. They specializes in Japanese kappo, sushi, teppan grilled high-end Kuroge Wagyu Beef from Japan.

Happy hour is everyday from 5:30pm till 6:30pm with select dishes being only $5 each with draft beer being $3.50.

shirakawa-kitchen

shirakawa-inner

They have a large dining area, which is great for large groups. Since this place is fairly new, it’s not too busy.

shirakawa-menu-happy-hour

They select a few items on their regular menu for their happy hour menu with a cheaper price of $5! Also draft beers are only $3.50.

shirakawa-beer

Pint of Asahi Extra Dry is on tap. Perfect to start off the weekend! Such a good price too!

shirakawa-coffee-wine

Coffee Umeshu is coffee infused plum wine. I thought this was a strange combination, but it was pretty good. CoffeeLover naturally gravitated towards this drink because he loves coffee and wine.

shirakawa-kakuni

Kakuni is slow cooked pork belly, teppan finished with a sweet soy reduction and spicy mustard. You may not want to share this because it’s so good! So addictive! The fat just melts in your mouth.

shirakawa-katsu

Buta Katsu has panko-breaded pork cutlet, harvarti cheese and black miso.

shirakawa-spicy-tofu

Spicy Tofu has deep fried tofu, seasonal vegetable garnish, with a spicy dashi broth. It wasn’t very spicy at all. I think it had about 8 pieces of tofu. Good size for sharing.

shirakawa-wings

Teba ($8) is fried ginger soy marinated chicken wings. It was crispy on the outside and the meat was tender and flavourful. It reminded me of my childhood since my mom loves marinating wings in soy sauce and ginger.

shirakawa-happy-hour

Overall, we each ordered a drink and about 2 dishes each and it came out to be around $15 each person. Pretty good prices! I’ll definitely be back as I still have yet to try their signature dishes.

We Rate Shirakawa Gastown

Address:
115 – 12 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Websitehttp://shirakawagastown.com/

Shirakawa on Urbanspoon

vegetable-spread

Add a delicious, healthy note to any meal with the vegetable spreads from Gourmet Creations in Langley, British Columbia. Their spreads are very nutritious and a healthier alternative to other spreads on the market. They contain no gluten or dairy products, and are low in salt, sugar, and fat. They’re designed for people who want to live healthier lives and for children to grow up healthy.

Made from all natural ingredients, these spreads can be used in all sorts of recipes, and can liven up any sandwich, wrap or hors d’oeuvre platter.

vegetable-spread-six

The gift pack will contain all six spreads currently available:

  • Butternut Curry
  • Black Bean Salsa
  • Carrot Ginger
  • Mexican Chilli
  • Red Pepper
  • Sundried Tomato

Here is a review of all their vegetable spreads:
https://foodology.ca/gourmet-creations-simply-vegetable-spreads/

vegetable-spread-red-pepper

NOTE: Giveaway is only open to BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

vegetable-spread-six

Gourmet Creations is a local company from Langley, BC, who specialize in versatile vegetable spreads. They are a nutritious alternative to other spreads on the market. The spreads contain no gluten or dairy products, and are low in salt, sugar, and fat.

You can find them at various stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The three big main stores are Target (Canadian) , IGA (BC), and T&T stores (BC). You can also find them at many trade shows in BC too. Last time I saw them at the Fraser Valley Food Show.

There are currently 6 variations of their Simply Vegetable Spreads:

  • Butternut Curry
  • Black Bean Salsa
  • Carrot Ginger
  • Mexican Chilli
  • Red Pepper
  • Sundried Tomato

Vegetable Spreads are versatile for cooking or could just be eaten as a snack. But, when you will add it to your dishes, it can enhance the taste.

vegetable-spread-butternut-curry

Butternut Curry has the familiar curry flavour we all know and love. It goes great as an addition to a wrap or a sandwich to enhance it.

vegetable-spread-blackbean-salsa

Black Bean Salsa doesn’t look appealing when you first lay eyes on it since it has a lumpy brown texture. You get a lot of the black bean taste, so it could work well in soups or tacos.

vegetable-spread-carrot-ginger

Carrot Ginger really has a kick of flavour when you first open the package. It has a beautiful orange colour that pops when adding it into a dish, but personally I found the ginger to be too much for me.

vegetable-spread-mexican-chili

Mexican Chili is quite chunky compared to the other dips. It also doesn’t look very appealing, but is quite delicious with crackers.

vegetable-spread-red-pepper

Red Pepper looks really pretty with its vibrant red colour and seeds inside. It is slightly sweet.

vegetable-spread-sundried-tomatoes

Sundried Tomatoes were my favourite. It has a strong smokey tomato taste. It looks more like a paste and you could totally use it in pasta or soup.

vegetable-spread

Overall, each flavour was quite unique but they are very versatile when it comes adding some flavour to your cooking. Each pack retails for about $4.99 in stores.

Stay tuned, in the coming days, we will be doing a giveaway for a gift basket of their yummy spreads.

Website: http://www.gourmet-creations.com/

mcd-holday-2014

One new item landing on the McDonalds Canada menu is their Baked Butter Tart Pie and ginger cookies with a few of the holiday drinks. I was curious to try it since I love butter tarts for the holidays. I could eat them all day especially if they have pecans.

mcd-pie

It looks like any of their usual McDonalds pies. The crunchy exterior houses their butter tart filling.

mcd-buttertart-pie

You will notice they put raisins to add a bit of texture to the tart, but it doesn’t really do much as they are squishy. Taking a few bites, it was ok, but it was not great. It’s really lacking the essence of what a butter tart tastes like. It tasted more like caramel pie.

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/promotions/mccafe-holiday-favorites.html

starbucks-holiday-Chestnut-praline

Starbucks Canada introduces their new Chestnut Praline Latte, which replaces the Gingerbread Latte. When that news was announced, people petitioned to get the Gingerbread Latte back on the menu. Perhaps it was a marketing move to get people to vocalize their outrage…but it worked.

Starbucks hasn’t released a new holiday drink since 5 years ago, but its always fun to try something new.

I found it a bit silly since there’s so many alternatives you can choose from. No need to fuss over a flavour of latte.

starbucks-holiday-red-cups

Chestnut Praline Latte has espresso, steamed milk, and flavours of caramelized chestnuts and spices. Topped with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. You can also get it as a Frappuccino.

It was surprisingly good! Definitely on par with the other drinks on their holiday menu.

starbucks-holiday-whipped

I got a little big greedy and asked for A LOT of whipped cream and it kinda fell over on itself. It looked really good before it fell over. No need to be on a diet. I near MORE whipped cream.

Website: http://www.starbucks.ca/

Starbucks on Urbanspoon

zabu-chicken-outer

I am always on the hunt for great Korean Fried Chicken and my friends are crazy about it too. We decided to go to Zabu Chicken on Robson Street close to Whole Foods. It’s always busy and seems to have a lively atmosphere, so we went.

As we arrived with a group of 4, we were immediately seated at a table of 2 with 4 chairs. We inquired if we could sit in their booths, but they said no as it was only for groups of 5 or more. A few minutes later, another group of 4 arrived and they were seated in the booth. We were a bit pissed off at this point because the server lied to us. As another table cleared, we decided to ask the server if we could sit at that table and they said no as it was reserved. We knew they were lying to us again because all the other reserved tables had a reserved sign on it. We didn’t even place our order yet, so moving us wouldn’t have been that big of a hassle. We were all really mad, but decided to stick it out since we were really here for the food.

Zabu-chicken-beer

Pitcher of Sapporo ($16.95) was pretty pricey, but you need beer to go with chicken. It’s just the Korean way.

Zabu-chicken-napkins

After talking to about 3 servers to get a few napkins, we finally got napkins. It was our tiny victory of our evening since most of requests were ignored. They didn’t even serve us water or side dishes as per usual. Side dishes are an essential part of eating at a Korean Restaurant. We drank beer for over an hour waiting for the food to arrive.

Zabu-chicken-soy

Soy Chicken Drumsticks (Large – $19.95) comes with 10 pieces, but our order came 5 pieces at a time. It seemed like their kitchen was slammed, so they could only do partial orders. The next 5 pieces came 20 minutes later as we gobbled these up really quickly.

The chicken was good, yummy sauce with the crunchy skin.

zabu-chicken-radish

We then asked a few servers for side dishes and they did come! We had pickled radish and shredded cabbage.

Zabu-chicken-side

Zabu-chicken-table

We also ordered some spicy wings but it never arrived. We inquired with the server and she told us it wasn’t put in. If we wanted them, we would need an additional 25 minutes. Clearly, we were not going to waste any more time here to wait for chicken with crappy service. So, we told them we would get our bill.

Zabu-chicken-tv

We spent a total of 1hr and 40minutes here to have 2 pitchers of beer and 10 chicken drumsticks. Majority of the time was waiting for the chicken drumsticks…all 10 pieces…I could have went to Church’s Chicken to have a better time than dining here.

We left hungry, so we decided to enjoy the rest of our evening at Guu and at Gyu Kaku, where they actually cared that we were dining with them.

We Rate Zabu Chicken:

Address:
1635 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

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

Zabu Chicken on Urbanspoon

mcd-mighty

Earlier this month, McDonalds Canada introduced the Mighty Angus Burger with Jalapeños. It is made with grass and grain-fed cattle from Lewis Farm in Alberta. We were not sure what was so mighty about this burger, but M really wanted to give it a try.

Besides this burger, their Angus burger line-up also includes:

  • Bacon and Cheese Angus Third Pounder
  • Deluxe Angus Third Pounder

In the past, they used to have a mushroom and swiss Angus Burger, but it seems like it was discontinued.

mcd-mighty-angus-box

It comes in their regular Angus burger box.

mcd-mighty-angus-burger

Mighty Angus with Jalapeños has creamy BBQ sauce, jalapeño pepper slices, jalapeño crisps, hickory smoked bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, onions and the beef patty n the sesame seed bun.

The burger comes at a whopping 810 Calories and 1160mg of sodium…..ouch!

mcd-mighty-angus-inside

Apart from the addition of the Jalapeños, nothing about this burger is new or amazing. The patty seems to have shrunk a little bit too and the circumference of the bun is a bit bigger making the patty seem tiny. The bacon has been improved and grown in size compared to the bacon in the other type of burgers. It actually resembles real bacon.

M thought the burger was decent, but it still doesn’t compare to the Angry Whopper from Burger King.

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/promotions/mightyangus.html

McDonald's on Urbanspoon

poomba-truck

Poomba’s Smokehouse is a food truck in the Fraser Valley. This mobile eatery served up Carolina style smoked pulled pork to guests at the Fraser Valley Food Show. It was one of the more appealing items in the food section.

They show up at a lot of special events in the Fraser Valley, so you always have to keep an eye out on the Facebook page to see where they will be next.

poomba-pulled-pork

Pulled Pork with Slaw for those that don’t want something gluten-free. It was good! Less the carbs and more protein. The pulled pork was good and it was slathered in yummy BBQ sauce.

poomba-sliders

Baby Poomba Pulled Pork Slider with Chips was simple and reminded me of a cute lunch. The side of chips reminded me of Lays potato chips. The pulled pork was juicy and tender.

poomba-sign

Overall, it’s decent BBQ, but I’m still on the hunt for mouth-watering BBQ. The truck is always on the move, but if you are at any special events in town, they may be there.

We Rate Poomba’s Smokehouse:

Location:
Varies

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

Poomba's Smokehouse on Urbanspoon

With winter just around the corner, Original Joe’s has introduced their Winter Warm Up menu full of comforting foods. Original Joe’s has locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Original Joe’s Winter Warm Up menu includes hearty favourites like the French Onion Boar Burger, Bacon and Tomato Soup, Kale and Quinoa Salad, and lastly Miso Ramen Bowl.

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Bacon Tomato Soup is served with garlic cheese croutons.

OJs_WW_2014_FrenchOnionBoarBurger

French Onion Boar Burger  is seared in roast beef jus, with caramelized onion jam, melted swiss cheese and mayo on a toasted brioche bun. With your choice of 2 sides.

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Kale and Quinoa Salad has tuscan kale and english cucumbers tossed in a creamy mint yogurt dressing. Then it’s topped with kalamata olives, dried figs, candied almonds and panko crusted goat cheese.

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In tandem with the Winter-Warm Up menu, Original Joe’s is also proud to announce a new partnership with the non-profit Mealshare. For every Miso Ramen Bowl sold – fresh ramen noodles in a white miso stock with thinly sliced BBQ pork and togarahsi spice – Mealshare and OJ’s will provide one meal to someone in need.

You can try these items off their menu by winning a $50 Gift Card from Original Joe’s! Contest ends Friday, November 15th at 11:59pm.

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