Chinatown Archives - Page 3 of 4

In Chinatown

New Town Bakery: Go for the baked goods, avoid the lunch menu

July 17, 2014

New Town Bakery is one of the must-visit places in Vancouver’s Chinatown according to CNN. They have won multiple awards for their baked goods. New Town Bakery has been around since the 1980s serving Filipino and Chinese pastries. Their original location is in Chinatown, but they also have locations in Surrey and Richmond.

The front of the restaurant is the bakery section and this area is very busy. They even have a numbering system just to keep things organized when people order.

There’s a lot of options but most people order the egg tarts, steamed buns, pineapple buns, and their apple tarts.

At the back of the restaurant is the dining area where you can order full meals instead of the baked goods. Mags and I came here for lunch and ordered off their lunch menu.

Sui Mai ($4.25) comes with 4 pieces and consists of pork and shrimp. There’s a lot more pork than shrimp in these dumplings. It was ok, but not the best.

Iced Milk Tea ($1 extra with purchase of set meal) pretty standard taste.

Soy-Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Beef ($7.75) was a good portion size for lunch but it was super oily. The beef was tender and had a good flavour. You can probably share this among 2 people if you wanted to.

Curry Fish ball with Squid ($7.50) was a bit disgusting. The squid was not fresh and was very chewy. I struggled for a while trying to chew through the squid. The onions, peppers and carrots tasted fresh. The fish balls was very bouncy and tasted ok. The sauce was a bit gelatinous and a tad salty.

The entire meal was disgusting. This was everything that was leftover. I was so disappointed.

Overall, nothing was good about this lunch. Stay away from the meals and stick with the baked pastries.

We Rate New Town Bakery:

Address:
148 East Pender Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://newtownbakery.ca/

In Cafe

Pazzo Chow: New Italian Restaurant in Chinatown

July 16, 2014

Pazzo Chow is the newest restaurant to open up in Chinatown. They serve up Italian food in their cosy little restaurant.

You can expect home-cooked Italian food for takeout or eating in the restaurant. They also serve espresso, homemade focaccia bread, salads, snacks, Brown Paper Packages Ice Cream, etc.

I came here with my coworkers – Janers and Mags to check this cute place out.

The space is really small. So there is one table inside and 2 table outside. It’s not a place for large groups.

The menu changes daily, so you never know what will be featured on the menu.

While you wait, there are a few items you can purchase from their grocery section.

They have carefully selected range of local and Italian-made and inspired goods that allow them to share their love of good food and great products with their customers.

The owners select fine quality products that have rich history and are not easily, if at all, found elsewhere in Vancouver. Many of the products are used in their menu too.

Fresh Focaccia with Nutella ($2) we got them to cut it up into 3 pieces since Janers and Mags wanted to share. It was a good decision to share since there is only so much Nutella we handle for lunch. They did not skimp on the nutella and there was tons of it! Yum Yum Yum!

We found that the salt on the focaccia balanced very well with the sweet nutella.

Bowl of Fresh pasta with focaccia ($8) had a few sauces to choose from. The pasta was al dente and was a good size for lunch.

Spinach with BBQ Pork, walnuts and water chestnuts ($7.50) was one of their featured salads. It looked amazing, but I felt there was a but too much sauce for the salad, so at the bottom, the leaves were drenched.

Salted Pistachio ($4.25/scoop) the ice cream was very smooth and the addition of the salted pistachio were delicious.

Janers and Mags didn’t want me to write about Pazzo Chow because they feared this little gem would be packed at lunch. But, in true blogger style, I had to share this little restaurant with my amazing readers. Pazzo Chow is a nice place to stop for a quick lunch if you work around this area.

We Rate Pazzo Chow:

Address:
620 Quebec Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://pazzochow.com/

In American

Mamie Taylors: Food and Taxidermy

June 29, 2014

Mamie Taylor’s is one of the newer restaurants to open up in Chinatown across from Phnom Penh. It’s usually busy in the evenings and there is pay parking in the streets. They serve up modern American food on their menu and have a wide selection of drinks and cocktail. A perfect place to go after work with coworkers.

The inside is very nice, but it’s creepy when you start looking at all the taxidermy on the walls. It definitely gives this restaurant character.

Sapporo ($6) was my choice as usual. I’ve always liked it’s light crisp taste.

Japanese Whiskey Flight ($20) has nikka super, nikka from the barrel and nikka black. My coworkers enjoyed trying the different types and how their taste differed from one another.

Corn Bread & Biscuit ($4) comes with a jalapeño bourbon butter. These two items were very delicious! Full of flavour and quite enjoyable.

Fried Olives ($4) has blue cheese, currants, and sherry. I do love olives surprisingly and it was a nice way to add some crunch to an olive. It is a small dish, so these olives can go quickly if you are a quick snacker.

Pimento Cheese ($5) comes with cannoli, espellete, and salad o’ celery. This was yummy! The delicious cheese paired with the crunchy cannoli was perfect. I could eat a few of these.

Tuna Melt ($6) the tuna is cured & smoked, has potato salad, and cheddar. There’s some small onion on the side too. This was a yummy tuna melt.

Turducken ($6) has scotch egg in the centre. It is accompanied with tomatillo sauce and a garlic mayo. It’s not exactly what I imagined for a turducken but it’s their fun twist to it. It tasted alright.

Overall, we ordered all their snacks but didn’t stick around for dinner since we all had alternate plans after drinks. I’ll definitely be back for dinner since their entrees looked pretty damn awesome.

We Rate Mamie Taylors:

Address:
251 East Georgia St.
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://mamietaylors.ca/

In Bakery

The Boss Restaurant 大班餐廳餅店: Lunch in Chinatown

March 29, 2014

Magz and I went to The Boss Restaurant in Chinatown for lunch. It was packed and quite busy. We had to wait in line for a seat. Usually the turnaround is quite quick, so we didn’t have to wait too long.

There is also a bakery in the front where they sell cakes, pastries and bread. That section was quite busy too. Their lunch menu is quite cheap, so you can be full in under $10.

Hot Milk Tea is a classic choice for any meal in a Hong Kong Style Cafe.

Cold Milk Tea was good. I wish I could have added my own sugar because it was a tad too sweet.

Beef Steak with Pepper Sauce was part of their lunch menu. The best part was the beef steak and pepper sauce. The beef was tender and cut easily. It came with 2 thin pieces. There was also a lot of rice and some broccoli on the side.

Overall, not a bad lunch as its cheap and satisfies the tummy.

We Rate The Boss Restaurant:

Address:
532 Main St
Vancouver, BC

In Canadian

Pie on Pi Day in Vancouver

March 19, 2014

It’s been a while since my last dose of pie. Since it was Pi Day (March 14), I just had to indulge in some pie. A few blocks away from my work is The Pie Shoppe. They are a cute little shop that bakes pies and serves coffee. The shop has no chairs or anything, so it is purely takeout.

We didn’t put in an order of what we wanted before hand, but they had enough pies to choose from. I did notice that they had a lot of orders for Pi Day. If you want to guarantee they have your favourite flavour, call in ahead of time.

Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Pie ($8) was oh so sinfully delicious. I have a soft spot for butter tarts. The crust was perfectly crisp and the filling was oozing with delicious sweetness. I did enjoy the amount of sweetness balanced with the dollop of chocolate. Some people may find it sweet., but that can be counteracted with a cup of coffee or tea.

Classic Apple Pie ($20) was alright. I found that there was a lot of space between the crust and the filling, so cutting it perfectly was a challenge. The best part really was the crust.

Overall, the pies were enjoyable and were gobbled up quite quickly. When it’s Pi Day in Vancouver, pick up a pie at the Pie Shoppe.

We Rate the Pie Shoppe:

Address:
721 Gore Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thepieshoppe.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=721+Gore+Ave,+Vancouver,+BC+V6A+2Z9&sll=49.891235,-97.15369000000001&sspn=45.72347923378347,88.1395350118194&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=721+Gore+Ave,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+2Z9&z=16 “]

In Chinatown

The Keefer Bar: 2 for 1 Tapas in Chinatown

August 22, 2013

My coworkers were looking for a place to hang out after work over some drinks and small bites. A few block away from the office was The Keefer Bar and people told us there were some amazing cocktails here. They even have 2 for 1 special on food Sunday to Thursday from 5pm to 8pm.

They have patio seating and indoor seating. It was a hot and bright day outside, so we opted to sit indoors. We didn’t want to develop a tan since there wasn’t any shade outside.

Their menu is pretty cool, and after a long day, the Keefer Bar has the prescription we needed – alcohol and food.

SIngha Beer ($5) was my choice. It was on special for $5 and it has a nice clean crisp taste.

Some of my coworkers shared a pitcher of Komodo Dragon ($7 glass || $30 Pitcher). It looked like a pretty awesome drink and they said it tasted fantastic. It has pimms, giffard lychee, lemon, yuzu marmalade, ginko biloba, royal jelly & soda.

Meat and Cheese Plate ($16) came with 3 types of meat and cheeses, crackers, olives, and mustard. It was really good. Perfect item to nibble on and they chose to tasty cheese and meats. This item was not part of the 2 for 1 deal.

Dim sum ($7) came in a little bamboo steamer with 6 pieces. At first I was a bit skeptical about the quality of these little dumplings, but they were pretty good. It’s up to par with dim sum restaurants, but the size is a bit smaller.

Keefer Pizza ($10) was ok, It was thin crust with marinara sauce, gruyere, mozzarella,roasted garlic, steamed gailan leaves. Yummy! Depending on how many people you are with, they can cut the slices smaller or larger depending on how you want it.

Peking Duck Sliders ($9) was sandwiched between 2 fluffy buns. Once you bite into it, you can taste the butter from the bun and the savouriness from the duck. It’s really good. There is also cucumber, cilantro, pineapple, and plum sauce.

Spring Rolls ($7) come with 3 on a plate with plum sauce. It was really good too! You can choose from either vegetarian and shrimp options. We chose it with shrimp.

Peking Duck Tacos ($10) come with 2 on a plate. It’s a double layered soft taco shell housing the delicious duck meat, Keefer slaw, Thai basil and plum sauce. Yummy!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cocktails of food. They do both really well and you won’t be disappointed. The best time to come is during the happy hour for 2 for 1 food. We ordered a ton of food and paid under $20 per person. The only problem is that the service is a bit slow and not super friendly.

We Rate the Keefer Bar:

Address:
135 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thekeeferbar.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=135+Keefer+St,+Vancouver,+BC+V6A+1X4&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=135+Keefer+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+1X4&z=16 “]

In Bakery

The Pie Shoppe: Pies, Pies, Pies

August 20, 2013

I was walking around Chinatown with my coworkers and we came upon a cute little shop on Gore Street called The Pie Shoppe. It’s really a great neighbourhood since you have other awesome places close by such as Harvest, The Parker and Oyster Express.

[vimeo id=”60409159″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

Video of The Pie Shoppe.

When we walked into the shop, it was so tiny, so you can see everything that they were doing. So cute!

It’s so homey and the smells are just fantastic.

They sell pies by the slice or the whole pie. You can order the pies ahead of time or you can just come as see whats available.

My coworker got the Chocolate Pecan pie and thought it was the best thing ever.

I decided to get the Caramel Apple Pie for my Social Media Network teammates for a meeting. The crust is SO good! Nice and crunchy with the sweet apple filling on the inside. This size feeds about 8 people.

We all loved it and would definitely return again. Yum! It’s a bit pricey, but it seriously good pie.

We Rate the Pie Shoppe:

Address:
721 Gore Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thepieshoppe.ca/

In Cafe

Caffe Brixton: Cafe in Chinatown

August 18, 2013

Caffe Brixton is located in Chinatown and it’s a nice addition to the area. It’s hip and has a nice seating area to work if you have a laptop.

My coworkers decided to come here since Phnom Penh had a 40 minute wait and we were not going to attempt wasting a majority of our lunch time waiting for table. We are hangry people.

Grilled Pesto Chicken with Balsamic ($7.50) was really dry! That chicken didn’t seem very fresh or perhaps the grilling method ruined the chicken.

Gluten Free Breakfast Falafal Bake ($6) was ordered by two of my other coworkers. It looked like a delicious dish and tasted good too.

They ordered 2 but only 1 arrived. I think there was a mix up in the kitchen. When the dish arrived, it was the wrong item. Which confused us, but on a second try, it finally arrived. That was kinda crappy.

Quiche Sauteed onion and roasted eggplant was delicious according to Mags.

Overall, some of the food can be a hit or miss. The service was kinda crappy too since they messed up one of our orders. Not a pleasant experience if one dish arrives when everyone else is done theirs. Nonetheless its still a nice place to chill and do some work on your laptop or have a meeting.

We Rate Caffe Brixton:

Address:
212 East Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.caffebrixton.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=212+East+Georgia+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hl=en&geocode=+&hnear=212+E+Georgia+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+0B1&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinatown

Oyster Express: Buck A Shuck in Chinatown

July 30, 2013

After hearing Oyster Express has buck a shuck, my coworkers and I decided to come here after work. Its quite close to our office, so we just had to see how it compares to the other buck a shuck options in town.

Oyster Express is located on Keefer and Gore. It’s a little hidden. The restaurant is a bit small, so it’s a bit hard to fit several large groups.

The restaurant doesn’t have air conditioning, so the interior is very very hot. We came during one of the hottest weeks of the summer and it was a bit painful dining here, so we definitely needed to grab some cold drinks.

I got the Philips Lager ($5), it was pretty good lager. Light and crisp.

The buck a shuck oysters that were servered were fanny bay oysters. For $1, the size was great and the shucking was done superb. The oysters were mighty fresh as well.

Your first dozen is $1, but after that, it’s $1.50 per oyster. Thats the downside of the buck-a-shuck here.

You have a few sauces to dress up your oysters with – red wine mignonette, tabasco sauce, and a cocktail sauce.

Overall, the oysters were great, but the experience was dampened by the extreme heat inside the restaurant. The heat kinda makes you afraid to eat the oysters. I would be back if they are able to install air conditioning or some sort of air ventilation system.

We Rate Oyster Express:

Address:
296 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.oysterexpress.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=296+Keefer+St,+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=296+Keefer+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&z=16 “]

In BBQ

Chinatown Night Market: Closest Night Market to Downtown

July 6, 2013

The Chinatown Night Market has changed a lot since I was a kid. With the emergence of the other Night Markets in town, the quality of the Chinatown Night Market isn’t as good as it used to be. Despite that, it still attracts thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the festivities. It’s the closest night market to the Downtown core, so it makes sense. If you’re in the area, take a short stroller here and then enjoy the sunset at False Creek near Science World.

The Vancouver Chinatown Night Market is open from May 17th till September 8th, 2013 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Related Link:

2011 Chinatown Night Market Food Vendors

The market spans from Main Street to Columbia Street on Keefer street. The block is closed off so people can walk freely on the streets.

There are a few stalls that sell toys, jewellery , clothing, and a lot of random stuff.

I honestly never come here to buy things. It’s all about the food for me. But when it was about 10 years ago, I would come here to buy pokemon cards. Nowadays, there’s nothing very spectacular from the vendors.

Bar-B-Q

There’s a stall that sells a lot of skewers. It’s one of those staple items that you must have at a night market.

Bubble Gallo Tea House

There’s bubble tea too. Perfect for the hot summer weather.

Dim Sum Express

The food area is quite popular and the most congested part of the street. There’s even Dim Sum Express, they have a food truck near Waterfront station too.

Potato Tornado

One thing that was a must for MedicalGiraffe and I were the potato tornadoes. You might know them as hurricane potatoes…. depending on where you’ve been. It’s $3.75 each and you can choose your seasoning. They also sell popcorn chicken for $4.50.

This was a popular stall, so the food did take about 10 minutes.

The way that they cut the potatoes is with a drill. Very strange but I guess it gets the job done. Then they deep fry it for the crunchy goodness. The last step is sprinkling on the spices.

We got our ketchup flavoured potato tornado and it sure looked pretty. The taste was ok, but it was very very oily.

Takoyaki

Takoyaki was another item on our mind. It was very very busy at this stall, so it took about 20 minutes to get our order.

They had a lot of people waiting for them, but it took me a long time to figure out something was off about this stall.

All the balls looked ready and perfect to eat, but they took a long time to cook. After watching them for a while, we realized they were frozen store bought takoyaki heated up in these pans.

She wasn’t poking to see if the batter in the centre was cooked, she was seeing if it was not frozen on the centre.

6 pieces for $4.50.

We did feel a bit ripped off since we now know we could probably go to T&T and get a gab of frozen takoyaki for that price.
It tasted passable, but sucks that it wasn’t prepared the way it should be.

Bubble Waffles

There was also bubble waffles too. 1 for $3.75 or 2 for $6.50.

Near the other side of the Night Market seemed a little more Gastown-like with artist, local produce, plants, and jams on sale. There were also 3 Food Trucks there too – JJ’s Trucketeria, Holy Perogy and Ze Bite.

JJs Trucketeria

JJ Trucketeria is a Filipino themed Food Truck. I’ve always wanted to go for a visit but they are usually on Fraser and 43rd. Way too far for me to get to during lunch.

During the night market, they had salads, garlic fried rice plate, panwiches and their market bowls. Their prices are pretty good for a food truck. We really wanted to try their meaty items but we held back and decided to try the market bowl.

Market Bowl ($5) has brown rice, carrots, leeks, caramelized onions, yams, black beans, chick peas with their signature JJ sauce. It is completely vegan, so good for those people with dietary restrictions.

MedicalGiraffe and I didn’t particularly like this item since it was mostly the brown rice mixture with a bit of sauce.

Ze Bite

Ze Bite was there selling their amazing French food.

Nice Pops

Nice Pops were selling some gourmet popsicles with 4 flavours:

Rhubarb and Cardamom
Cucumber, lime and Chili
Strawberry and balsamic Vinegar
Strawberry and buttermilk

The prices are $4 each or 3 for $10.

Cucumber, lime and Chili starts off with the refreshing cucumber and lime flavours but them the spicy chili taste kicks in. MedicalGiraffe’s mouth was literally on fire. She can handle her spice, but this was definitely spicy.

Rhubarb and cardamom was very refreshing. Highly recommended.

On the day that we went, there was outdoor karaoke. Surprisingly a lot of people were fearless and stepped up on the mic. There was a variety of songs sang by people of various ethnicities.

The Chinatown Night Market is not as impressive as the Richmond Night market, so don’t go out of your way to come here. If you are in the area after dinner Downtown, you can just take a stroll over here after dinner.

Website: http://vancouverchinatownnightmarket.com/

In Chinatown

Bestie: Currywurst in Chinatown

July 2, 2013

My coworkers were looking for a place to have lunch. Near our office, there isn’t a lot of choices, so we were delighted that there was a new eatery in Chinatown that serves sausages. I’ve heard much of the buzz online and suggested this place for lunch.

Bestie was inspired by German street food and specialize in hand crafted sausages and pretzels made with the best local ingredients. They don’t serve beer yet, but once their license is approved, it’ll be a full German experience.

The interior is quite nice but it’s hard to fit large groups during the lunch time rush. There is about 5 booths and some bar seating. I came with 5 of my coworkers, so we knew it would be a tight squeeze. We grabbed a booth and brought over 2 stools. They have a lot of stools around for that purpose.

Bedford’s Ginger Beer ($2.50) it’s non-alcoholic, but it’s refreshing for a hot summer’s day.

Kombucha Wonder Drink ($3) is a small can of sparkling fermented tea. It tastes kinda like vinegar.

Currywurst ($8) is Germany’s most popular street food. You get your choice of sausage sliced up and served with a curried ketchup on crispy fries. Magz chose her curry wurst to have the Classic Pork Thüringer sausage.

Sausage & Sauerkraut ($9.50) has your choice of sausage with warm sauerkraut, house mustard & crispy fries. I chose mine to have the Classic Pork Thüringer sausage too. The sausage is the best! It’s so juicy and the taste has an absolute perfection as you put it in your mouth. The mustard is sure to add a kick of spiciness.

On the table, there is curry powder, salt and pepper if you need a little more spice to your dish.

Overall, there really is only 3 types of items at Bestie – the Currywurst, Sausage & Sauerkraut, and the pretzels. The portion sizes aren’t too large, so you may be hungry in a few hours afterwards. The prices are a bit high for this meal, but you can’t deny that sausage is pretty darn tasty.

We Rate Bestie:

Address:
105 E Pender Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://bestie.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=105+E+Pender+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=105+E+Pender+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+2V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinatown

Finch’s Market: This Place Be Hipster

April 17, 2013

If you have ever heard of Finch’s in Downtown Vancouver, you will love their sister restaurant – Finch’s Market. They have been open since December 2012 serving up their delicious sandwiches and salads. It’s located on East Georgia and Jackson Avenue in the heart of Strathcona. It is literally in a residential area, so it can be a tad difficult to navigate from Chinatown if you don’t have a map.

I came here with my coworker and we were so amazed by the neighbourhood. The houses are quite beautiful and reminded us of houses we would see in San Francisco. If you are going to Finch’s Market, do take the time and look around the area.

Given the location is quite out of the ordinary, the vibe of the restaurant is quite calm and enjoyable for lunch. What is so unique about Finch’s Market is the small selection of local produce and ingredients. You can find spices and baking ingredients. You can enjoy lunch and also grab some ingredients for dinner, whether it be milk, cinnamon sticks or some cane sugar.

You will definitely notice their large shelf full of items too. From pasta to hot sauce. There is a lot of the out of the ordinary items you won’t find at larger grocery stores.

They have baked goods too but we were here for the sandwiches and salads. muhahahaha.

They also have this weird coffee contraption too.

Water in mason jars.

Pear Baguette has prosciutto, roasted walnuts, oil, vinegar and blue brie. My coworker loved it! You wouldn’t normally think these ingredients go well together, but they do!

Avocado and Walnut Salad comes with tomatoes, cucumbers with a balsamic dressing. It also comes with bread. The salad was very filling and held up to the same standard as the other Finch’s.

Overall, we both left full and happy. It was a lovely surprise to see such a restaurant in Strathcona. The prices are a bit pricey, closer to the $10 mark, but it’s good food.

We Rate Finch’s Market:

Address:
501 E. Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=501+E.+Georgia+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=501+E+Georgia+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+3E1&gl=ca&t=m&z=14 “]

In Chinatown

Harvest Community Foods: Mouth Watering Ramen

February 17, 2013

Harvest Community Foods is located at the edge of Chinatown. They are a neighbourhood grocery store and eatery. I’ve heard they had a killer ramen from a coworker, so I just had to come here during lunch to check it out. I’ve already been here 3 times during my lunch break.

They sell a lot of local and organic produce here. You will find Earnest Ice Cream, Beta 5 Chocolates, and many many other products.

Their chairs are old school, it reminded me of the desks from my high school. I thought I would never see that again. There’s not too many seats, so coming in super large groups are probably not ideal.

Ramen with pork shoulder, candied bacon, egg, and radish ($9.95)

This isn’t your typical bowl of ramen you would find. You can’t compare it to Kintaro or Santouka since it’s not remotely the same. I liked this dish because of the candied bacon and the pork shoulder. The pork shoulder is so tender and flavourul that is beautifully falls apart. The egg was perfectly cooked so the yolk is a golden yellow and gooey. You definitely should try this.

Udon with sake kazu chicken, watercress and shiitake ($8.95)

I didn’t really like this dish since the chicken was very dry and tough. I would probably just stick with the ramen…unless you are a vegetarian because they have some other vegan and vegetarian options.

Harvest Community Foods isn’t a place for everyone. If you are looking for 100% authentic Japanese noodles, you won’t find it here. It caters to a different crowd if you know what I mean. If you are in search of local, organic produce, you can find it here at Harvest Community Foods.

We Rate Harvest Community Foods:

Address:
243 Union Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.harvestunion.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=243+Union+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=243+Union+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+2Z7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Chinatown

Foo’s Ho Ho: Eerie Dining Experience

October 6, 2012

Foo’s Ho Ho is known to be the oldest Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. Since it has such a funny name, I decided to bring M and S here for lunch. When we arrived at 12pm, all the signs said the restaurant was closed. The door was open, so we walked inside and there was one customer but no staff to be seen. We decided to leave and walk around the block but didn’t find anything else cool enough to eat. So, we called the restaurant back because we knew it was open. We called twice and they told us they were open.

We went back but the signs said it was still closed. The chef had to seat us down as there was only one server. We were very confused by how disorganized this restaurant is. This restaurant has been on magazines an attract lots of tourist, so it was strange how they were not prepared.

The interior is very outdated, but some people like it because it gives them nostalgia of when this place use to be the “it” place to go for Chinese food.

Hot and Sour Soup was alright. It could of been more spicy in my opinion.

Curry Chicken had lots of onions, peppers, and celery. It tasted ok as well.

Beef chow fun has a nice char on the noodles and the meat.

Overall, our experience was quite poor and the food was also mediocre. I had high hopes for this restaurant since it has been around for lots of years and has a rich history. The organization is poorly executed and they didn’t even have fried rice.

Words of Wisdom:

Long rich history since the 50’s and 60’s
Village-style type of Chinese food

We Rate Foos Ho Ho:

Address:
102 E Pender St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.fooshoho.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=102+E+Pender+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=102+E+Pender+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6A+2V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Cambodian

Phnom Penh: Delivered By Foodsters

December 16, 2011

The hardest thing about studying for final exams on campus is how crappy the food is…and how nothing is open at night. M, Scarface and I were studying and we really didn’t want to go off the hill to find food…plus there is nothing good nearby anyways.

There is this new service called Foodsters.ca and they deliver food from any restaurant to you. Pretty awesome concept especially when certain popular restaurants don’t deliver… or are out of range.

Since the three of us wanted some killer study food, we wanted Phnom Penh but didn’t want to do much of anything. So, we put in a request to Foodsters.ca and it was delivered in about 30-40 mins. Pretty good timing since we were near Coquitlam. All you need is a credit card.

We ordered two Vietnamese Ice coffees, Chicken wings, Butter beef and the luc lac. Perfect set of items for our hungry stomaches.

Butter Beef ($8.95) was much smaller than what you would have in the restaurant. Take out food always seems to be a bit smaller than dining -in. They give you this large constrainer of sauce and trust me, do not pour this onto the meat! Best to dip the beef slices into the cup of sauce. Nonetheless it was delicious!

Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($12.50) is another staple dish that you must get! It is topped off with garlic, onion, and other stuff. They left out the lemon and pepper sauce to go with the wings, which is sad since you can taste more the salt or MSG.

Luc Lac with egg is a rice dish with a bunch of tender marinated beef. This beef was really really tender!! It also comes with side of salad and cucumbers to balance out the meaty dish. You probably don’t want to pour all the sauce on top either since unless you wanting it to drown in that sauce.

It didn’t come with the complementary beef bone soup 🙁

Overall, it was pretty painless ordering from Foodsters.ca . It’s great for lazy students who just want food delivered to them! Since there is a delivery fee, it’s always best to order in large groups so it doesn’t seem like a huge addition to your bill. They also have a Christmas Campaign going on right now where you can donate 10 cans of food and receive free delivery!

The food from Phnom Penh was delicious as usual, but it was missing a few items. I had about the same meal when I was dining-in and this is how it com pared (https://foodology.ca/?p=7363). I always find that the usual items that are most popular will tingle your taste buds. Good price with good food! Can’t go wrong.

Words of Wisdom:

Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Luc Lac, and Deep fried squid!!!

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

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In Chinatown

Phnom Penh: Coffee, Butter Beef, Wings and Luc Lac

September 19, 2011

Back to Phnom Penh to try more of their delicious food! @etodac grabbed a few of us here because he just needed to try their famous chicken wings. I wanted to come here for more butter beef…if you’ve tried Phnom Penh before, you know what I’m taking about.

If you are new to Phnom Penh, they are a vietnamese restaurant serving up authentic dishes. It is the most talked about restaurant in Vancouver. The have amazing food at great prices… but it’s in the sketchy area of Chinatown.

Phnom Penh is always packed! For 4 people, it took us about 15 minutes to get a table. The turnover rate of each table gets cleared pretty fast. The larger the group, the longer it will to get a table. They have won numerous awards and is the “go to” place for Vietnamese food! Forget the Pho…theres more to their cuisine that just that.

Condensed Milk Iced Coffee is something I have to get here…every single time! You just wait for the coffee to drip down, then you mix the coffee and the condensed milk together. To cool it down, just add the ice. I love this coffee because its bold and strong!

The Buttered Beef ($8.95) is one of the dishes that I always get! You can’t come here and not try it… unless you are a vegetarian or hate raw beef. Its a dish that is great for sharing…plus you don’t want to eat this all by yourself or else you might get a heart attack.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($12.50) is another staple dish that you must get! It is topped off with garlic, onion, and other stuff. There’s also a lemon and pepper sauce to go with the wings.

Luc Lac with no egg is a rice dish with a bunch of tender marinated beef. This beef was really really tender!! It also comes with side of salad and cucumbers to balance out the meaty dish.

It also comes with a a beef bone soup on the side as well.

Phnom Penh two kinds of noodle no broth wasn’t as exciting as the other dishes. The two types of noodles are egg and rice. It was alright, but didn’t stand out.

Beef Bone Soup comes complementary with the rice or noodle dishes on the menu. Very nice clean broth with a good chunk of meat.

I always find that the usual items that are most popular will tingle your taste buds. Good price with good food! Can’t go wrong.

Words of Wisdom:

Very busy during peak hours…line up for sure!
Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Luc Lac, and Deep fried squid!!!
Metered parking on street
Kinda sketch looking area….near chinatown
Closest Skytrain: Main

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

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Vancouver

In Chinatown

T&T: Another Cheap Lunch

April 10, 2011

My coworker and I wanted to grab some food at T&T for cheap! So, during our lunchbreak, we headed over to grab a few things to go. We hoped onto the Granville Skytrain and got off at Stadium Skytrain.

My goal yet again was to keep everything under $10. Surprisingly I got a lot of food for under $10. I didn’t get the hot food again, but I wanted to try to be healthy as well.

I grabbed a pack of 2 rice rolls. One of them had marinated pig ear and the other had shrimp. Some people are disgusted by pig ear, but some people like me love it. Just be warned, even though the packaging says “pork”, you are not getting the usual pork meat. It is the pig ear.

The rice rolls were not very large like the ones you would find in restaurants. Perhaps half the size. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because you get to taste both kind of rice rolls without being stuffed.

Next, I got the Negituna (~$2). This is not Negitoro, it uses the usual tuna sashimi and not the meat from the belly.

Since these were the small sushi rolls, I really didn’t noticed much of a difference. There is the tuna and the green onions wrapped up in the rice and seaweed.

Usual, I had to balance this meal with fruit. T&T has a lot of cut fruit, but I noticed that most of them do not look very appetizing. You need to look through all of them to find the fresh ones that are made in the morning. The ones that have noticeable moisture like the one above is not very fresh.

Words of Wisdom:

Lots of Hot and cold food items
Under $10
Limited seating
Do grocery shopping as the same time as eating lunch
Free Parking at Tinsel Town

We Rate T&T:

Address:

179 Keefer Place
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.tnt-supermarket.com/en/

In Chinatown

T&T Supermarket: Cheap Lunch

April 1, 2011

I am starting to go through a “cheap” phase to start saving more money, than just blowing it all on food. A girl has wants you know… like clothes and electronics. hahaha.

Since I work one Skytrain away from T&T Supermarket, I thought why not? It’s cheap and they always have a lot of food since they are a supermarket. I met up with Mandu as well since she wanted a quick lunch.

Walking in, there is SO much to choose from! Sushi, dim sum, hot food, cold food, drinks, etc. There was so much food and the smell was so nice! We were literally going back and forth between the cold and hot food sections trying to figure out what to eat. I kept eyeing all the fried items in the hot sections… but I told myself I had to be a bit healthy today…so I went to the cold section.

I got the Chirashi Don ($6.99). There was a lot of ingredients in this dish – wild salmon, normal salmon, tofu, ebi, lemon, cucumber, wasabi, and ginger.

What is cute about this dish is that the wild salmon is presented like a rose. The price of the don was definitely worth it. The other sushi joints would charge $10+ for a chirashi don.

I also got a container of freshly cut fruits ($2.93). There were kiwis, strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes and honey dew.

I have to admit, some of the fruits were not in the best quality or cut very well. There would be a little bit of kiwi skin left on it. Strawberries were a bit off color. Since they are a supermarket, I guess the use up their left over fruit to prep it for their meals.

Address:

179 Keefer Place
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.tnt-supermarket.com/en/