Category

Coquitlam

Category

tacobell-menu

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.

tacobell-order

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

tacobell-box

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.

tacobell-burrito

Somehow M managed to finish everything.

tacobell-dorrito-nacho

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.

tacobell-dorito-two

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.

tacobell-dorito

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

tacobell-fries

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/

Taco Bell / KFC on Urbanspoon

jimmys-outer

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.

jimmys-inner

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.

jimmys-belt-two

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

jimmys-belt

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.

jimmys-blackstone-benny

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

Jimmy's Place on Urbanspoon

keg-outer

The Keg is one of my favourite restaurants to go to. I am not ashamed to say it because I have many fond memories of this place for celebrating milestones. This particular occasion was my little sister’s birthday. She loves steak and it’s the only thing she will eat mass quantities of.

We made reservations on Canada Day and celebrated here. This particular Keg is located beside BestBuy.

keg-filetmignon-potato

Filet Mignon (7oz – $32) is one of the specialty cuts they have to offer. The tenderloin is wrapped in applewood smoked bacon. It has the ultimate tenderness and cuts through like butter. I got the roasted garlic mashed potatoes for my side. It also come with beans, red pepper and a sauce.

It was delicious and now I always get the filet mignon in medium rare.

keg-filetmignon-veg

Filet Mignon (7oz – $32) was what my little sister ordered. She ordered mixed vegetables for her side and she got sauteed mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and asparagus.

keg-lobster

Atlantic Lobster ($41) has two succulent Atlantic lobster tails served with hot butter. My dad ordered his side of baked potato with the works.

keg-primerib

Prime Rib (10oz – $25) with the twice baked potato as the side. The prime rib is aged for extra flavour and tenderness, rubbed with a blend of spices and slow roasted. It is served with horseradish and red wine herb au jus. There’s also crispy onions. This was ok, but we felt there was a lot of fat and tendon in the cut. Wasn’t as good as previous times.

Overall, the food is good and you can’t go wrong with filet mignon

We Rate The Keg

Address:
130 – 2991 Lougheed Hwy
Coquitlam BC

Websitehttp://www.kegsteakhouse.com/

The Keg Steakhouse + Bar on Urbanspoon

insadong-outer

Insadong Korean BBQ Restaurant has been on North Road and Lougheed for a while now and have been serving guests traditional Korean cuisine. The restaurant is pretty huge and can accommodate large groups.

I came here with my family for Fathers Day and it was quite busy. Parking was a bit tough but we eventually found a spot.

insadong-inner

Depending on which area of the restaurant you sit in, it will look different. The area we were in had pretty poor ventilation, so it was very smokey for most of the time. The table we were at wasn’t wiped down properly, so there were bits of food still on it.

insadong-menu

Family BBQ Combination ($79.99) can serve 4 -5 people but we had a lot of leftovers…so you can have 6 people eat this if you really wanted.

In this combo, you get:

  • Smoked Salmon Salad
  • Radish Seaweed Roll
  • Seafood non-spicy tofu soup or soybeans soup
  • Seafood Pancake or Bulgogi Japchae
  • Marinated Beef Galbi Ribs
  • Marinated Chicken Bulgogi
  • Marinated Spicy Pork Bulgogi
  • Marinated Short Ribs
  • Mussels ( 3 pieces)
  • Prawns ( 3 pieces)
  • Oysters( 3 pieces)

insadong-banchan

Before the main dishes arrived, we were given complimentary side dishes (banchan). You will find a lot of picked vegetables like bean sprouts, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes and kimchi. The side dishes are refillable if you want more.

insadong-pickled

Radish Seaweed Roll was a light and refreshing dish and it’s good to eat your vegetables beforehand because all the meat will be coming next.

insadong-platter

Next, all the marinated meat and seafood arrived on a large platter. Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm time to get this party started.

insadong-beef

The marinated galbi beef ribs are cut and placed on the hot grill by the server. They didn’t really say anything and just placed it on there for us. We were confused since they didn’t explain what they were doing. As you can tell, service here is a bit strange.

insadong-grill

Everything else we grilled on the stove ourselves. The chicken, beef and pork were great. The seafood was ok, but not as fresh and flavourful.

insadong-pancake

Seafood Pancake came on a hot plate. It was decent, but not the best one I’ve had.

insadong-salad

Smoked Salmon Salad was good, fresh and had a good amount of smoked salmon.

insadong-soup

Seafood non-spicy tofu soup was good to contrast the items part of the combo. Great clean taste and has a good amount of tofu and seafood.

insadong-table

Overall, we were so full at the end of the meal and had a few item to take home. We still had a little bit of uncooked meat, so they helped us cook it before we left.

insadong-price

We added 2 bowls of rice for $1.99 each and the end of the meal totaled to $88.17, which is not bad for so much food. You do get value from the combo sets on the menu. The downside about dining here is that the service can be quite poor.

We Rate Insadong Korean BBQ

Address:
403 North Rd
Coquitlam BC

Insadong Korean BBQ and Seafood Restaurant on Urbanspoon

coffee-bun-sing

The Coffee Bun is located in Coquitlam in Henderson Mall. This is their second location as their original one is in North Vancouver. KoreanGirl and I drove past it and were curious about this place, so after we had lunch somewhere else, we came here for a coffee and some snacks.

coffee-bun-inner

The space is quite spacious with lots of tables. Perfect for studying or a good place to hang out with friends. The tables are spaced out far apart, so you aren’t up close to others.

coffee-bun-iced-coffee

Iced Coffee was what KoreanGirl ordered. It was a hot day, so that made sense. The coffee is made with Kicking Horse coffee beans.

coffee-bun-kicking-horse-coffee

Hot Cappuccino is also made with Kicking Horse coffee beans. It was really hot, but after it cooled down it tasted good. It was made by a machine, so it doesn’t have that strong taste of espresso.

coffee-bun-coffee-bun

The coffee bun is baked with a coffee cream on top to create the aromatic coffee crust on top of the bun. There are 10 flavours of filling for the buns.

  • Original Plain (filled with butter)
  • Cream Cheese (filled with cream cheese)
  • Custard Chouz (filled with soft vanilla cream)
  • chocolate (filled with chocolate chips)
  • red bean (filled with red bean)
  • garlic (topped with coffee and herbs)
  • cinnamon (topped with cinnamon)
  • pumpkin (filled with sweet pumpkin)
  • ice cream (sandwiched with ice cream)
  • coffee bun sandwich (sandwiched with ham and cheese)

Depending on the location, the fillings and options can vary.

The original plain coffee bun came right out of the oven and was SO GOOD. The are fresh every 30 minutes, so I would definitely wait till the new batch comes out. The crust is really good and the little bit of butter inside pairs nicely.

coffee-bun-cream-cheese

Cream Cheese Coffee bun was ok. This one was got wasn’t heated up, so it was a little big unsatisfactory. We thought they would heat this up a little bit.

coffee-bun-custard

Custard Coffee bun is filled with the custard cream inside. If you have a slight sweet tooth, then this is what you might enjoy. It’s like a cream puff but inside a coffee bun.

coffee-bun-toast

Strawberry and ice cream toast was another item they had for their more dessert-like options. They also have Korean shaved ice and belgian waffles too. The strawberries were frozen and sliced. We weren’t impressed with this.

Overall, a cup of coffee and a fresh coffee bun is best to be ordered.

We Rate Coffee Bun

Address:
1011-1163 Pinetree Way
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.thecoffeebun.com/

The Coffee Bun Bakery & Cafe on Urbanspoon

pink-sugar-cafe-outer

Pink Sugar Cafe is located in Coquitlam close to the mall. KoreanGirl and I came here for their signature lunch sets. There’s a few parking spots and if you come early enough, there will be plenty of parking spots and seats.

pink-sugar-cafe-inner

We came here around 11:30am and it wasn’t packed at all. When it got closer to 12:30pm, thats when it gets quite busy.

pink-sugar-cafe-drink-menu

If you come early enough to catch their early bird special, you get a free upgrade to any item on their drink menu. Usually you would get house coffee or tea with your lunch set. This is only applicable till 11am. If you are looking for an early lunch, it’s a good deal. But, if you don’t want to wake up early on the weekend, you won’t miss out too much.

People usually come here for their lunch sets anyways.

pink-sugar-cafe-lunch-set

Japanese Lunch Special changes every day. You never know what they are going to feature. Some people call in ahead of time to see what they are serving as their feature.

We came when they had ginger pork. It also comes with miso soup, chawan mushi, salad, rice and a custard dessert. What I liked about this is that you get a little taste of everything and not overwhelmed by one dish for lunch.

pink-sugar-cafe-ginger-beef

Ginger Pork that was part of the set was delicious and very aromatic and full of flavour. The slices were quite large.

pink-sugar-cafe-salad

The salad has lettuce. onion, tomato, orange and a delicious dressing.

pink-sugar-cafe-chawanmushi

Chawan Mushi is an egg custard and it was silky smooth. Very light and enjoyable. It has a distinct dashi broth taste in this dish and it goes well with the mushrooms and shrimp.

pink-sugar-cafe-miso

Miso Soup was also good!

pink-sugar-cafe-rice

Rice has some sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

pink-sugar-cafe-dessert

Dessert was a smooth silky custard dessert topped with whipped cream and fruit.

pink-sugar-cafe-tea

After you are done your lunch set, you have the option of having tea or coffee. They have a lot of different teas to choose from. I just got green tea.

Overall, the food was great. KoreanGirl liked the little tastings of each dish. It was a great portion for lunch and you won’t be bursting at the seams.

We Rate Pink Sugar Cafe:

Address:
#115-3030 Lincoln Ave
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.pinksugarcafe.com/

Pink Sugar Cafe on Urbanspoon

Grand-Palace-sign

Grand Palace Restaurant (富豪酒家) is located in Henderson Mall across from Coquitlam Centre. The mall has been here for a very long time and it gives me a vibe of like the asian mall similar to Tinsel Town. They are owned by the same development company, so that’s why the vibe is similar.

The restaurant and food court are probably the most busiest parts of the mall.

Grand-Palace-line

We came around 11 and there was already a line up outside with people eagerly awaiting a table.

Grand-Palace-fish

My sister and  I stared at the tanks looking at the lobsters barnacles.

Grand-Palace-inner

After about 15 minutes of waiting, we got our table! The dining room was packed!

Grand-Palace-tea

Tea arrives at the table when you begin ordering. You get one pot of the tea and another pot of hot water.

Grand-Palace-taro

Fried Taro Dumpling (wu gok) is my sister’s favourite. It is deep-fried to create the extra crispy exterior. On the inside is a savoury taro mixture.

Grand-Palace-sui-mai

Pork Dumpling (Sui Mai) is always an item ordered in dim sum. The ones here are pretty large and does not contain too much fat.

Grand-Palace-meatball

Minced Beef Meatballs were very bland. The added water chestnuts did not add any extra crunchy texture that its supposed to.

Grand-Palace-beef-roll

Steamed Beef Rice Rolls was ok as well. The beef mixture reminded me of the minced beef meatballs.

Grand-Palace-buns

Steamed Pork Buns comes with 3 buns and was quite decent.

Grand-Palace-chive-shrimp-dumpling

Shrimp and vegetable dumping has 3 pieces in an order. The dumpling mixture inside wasn’t mixed together well, so you get the veggies on the bottom and the shrimp on the top.

Grand-Palace-congee

Seafood Congee was alright. It had lots of seafood hidden at the bottom.

Grand-Palace-eggplant-shrimp

Stuffed Eggplant has 3 oddly shaped pieces. It has the shrimp mixture on top with the eggplant on the bottom. I usually like this dish but this was a bit bland.

Grand-Palace-ribs

Pork Spareribs were yummy. The meat was tender and the sauce paired well nicely.

Grand-Palace-shrimp-dumpling

Shrimp Dumplings (har gow) is a dim sum classic. It has shrimp inside the rice skin. It’s a two-bite dumpling and it was not bad here.

Grand-Palace-tofu

Deep Fried Tofu was horrible. The skin was thick and tasteless and the crumbly topping was very salty. We all agreed that this was a horrible dish and we would not order it again.

Overall, it is a decent dim sum restaurant. There are good dishes here, but if you venture into one of the horrible dishes, it’s gonna taste bad. As long as you stick to the classic dim sum items, you can’t go wrong.

We Rate Grand Palace Restaurant

Address:
2001 – 1163 Pinetree Way
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.grandpalacerestaurant.ca/

Grand Palace Restaurant 富豪酒家 on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1163+Pinetree+Way&t=m&hnear=1163+Pinetree+Way,+Coquitlam,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V3B+8A9&z=15 “]

Kulinarya

KoreanGirl and I had a lazy Saturday filled with food and shopping. Thats how we girls roll. We came at 11am and it wasn’t busy at all. Kulinarya is a Filipino restaurant located near the Coquitlam Mall. It’s quite a drive from Vancouver, but if you’re in the area, definitely put this on your list of places to check out.

Kulinarya

Breakfast was definitely on our minds and all of the breakfast items sounds like a delicious heart attack. There’s a lot of meat and carbs, but it’s really good food!

Kulinarya

You get a small dish of complimentary Boy Bawang garlic corn nuts. These corn nuts were very good and lightly seasoned. It is light and airy so biting into it is no problem at all. It’s so good! You can buy larger bags at Kulinarya or at grocery stores like T&T.

Kulinarya

Tapsilog ($10) has sauteed beef, garlic rice, and a fried egg. KoreanGirl liked it. Simple but very great flavours.

Kulinarya

Bangsilong ($10) has fried milkfish, garlic rice and fried egg. There’s not too much meat on the fish because its a small fish. It’s a good portion for breakfast. That garlic rice is quite addictive!

Kulinarya

Crispy Pata (Small – $10) is deep fried pork hock with a nice spicy vinegar sauce. We saw this on their menu and just had to have it! Worst thing to have it for breakfast but we didn’t care. The skin is very crunchy and was music to our ears. crunch crunch crunch!

Overall, the food was good and it’s great to see what Filipino Cuisine tastes like. The only issue is that a lot of the menu items are hard to choose from because if you aren’t familiar with the items, you have no idea what you are ordering. Plus, a few of the dishes are quite expensive and can rack up your bill.

We Rate Kulinarya: 

Address:
114 – 2922 Glen Drive
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.kulinarya.ca

Kulinarya on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=114+%E2%80%93+2922+Glen+Drive+Coquitlam,+BC&ie=UTF8&t=m&hnear=2922+Glen+Dr+%23114,+Coquitlam,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V3B+2P5&z=16 “]

Montana's Ribs

It was M’s Birthday, so he chose to go to Montana’s Cookhouse. As it is a Wednesday, they have all you can eat ribs! I made sure to prepare and wore sweat pants to prepare for this occasion. Trying to figure out what camera to bring to a restaurant is always a pain. As I haven’t used my HTC One yet, I used it instead of my iPhone or my LX7. The last time I went to Montana’s we were able to eat a large amount of ribs. 3.5 racks to be exact, but back then they were much smaller. I was definitely up for the challenge!

If you come here during your birthday, they make you put on a moose hat, sing you happy birthday in front of the restaurant, and bring you a free piece of cake. M of course was too shy, so he didn’t tell anyone it has his birthday.

Montana's Ribs

The interior is very country. It’s family friendly and has tons of seating. There’s some pretty cool things on the ceiling to look at. Like… cars, canoes, antlers, etc.

Montana's Ribs

Water comes in mason jars and you get some crayons to draw all over the table. It’s fun to just doodle as you wait for the food.

Montana's Ribs

For the ribs, you get a bucket for your bones, lots of napkins, cutlery, ketchup, wet naps, and straws for your drinks.

Montana's Ribs

AYCE Back Ribs ($28.99) starts off with the first rack with the flavour sauce of your choice, 2 sides and cornbread. We were surprised to see the ribs were so large and meaty. Each rack has 12 ribs and the meat was moist, plus it had a nice smokey flavour.

As our order arrived, we immediately put in an extra order for half a rack since it took the quite a while to get our first order.

Of all the flavours, our favourite was the Texas Bold.

Montana's Ribs

3 people’s worth of half a rack of ribs. We could only finish 2 more before we had to stop. We were very full after 14 ribs. We asked if we could take it home, but we weren’t able to. I guess that’s a good thing since some people might abuse the AYCE system. We felt bad for over-ordering since we didn’t want it all to go to the trash.

Overall, the ribs were pretty good with the Texas Bold sauce and I would come again for AYCE. It’s a bit expensive, so only go when you have a crazy appetite. Do be warned that the service is very slow. We waited about 40 minutes to get our first order, but we knew it wouldn’t be a quick dinner, so we had our phones with games to keep us company.

We Rate Montana’s

Address:
1046 – 2929 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.montanas.ca/

Montana's Cookhouse on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2929+Barnet+Hwy+Coquitlam,+BC&t=m&hnear=2929+Barnet+Hwy,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3B+5R5&z=16 “]

Coquitlam-Grill

Heading to Coquitlam early in the morning, what better way to have breakfast than to go to Coquitlam Grill. It has been here for a very long time and is a local favourite. They serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At 10am, the parking lot was packed and you can see some seniors standing around hanging out with their friends.

Coquitlam-Grill

The interior is the same as a Knight and Day because that was the previous restaurant that occupied the space.

Coquitlam-Grill

There’s tons of seats, so its great for large parties. It’s usually packed on the weekends, but we came here early, so there were seats still in the back.

Coquitlam-Grill

French Toast with sausages, eggs, and hash browns. Comes with a side of butter and syrup.

Coquitlam-Grill

European Breakfast with sausage, perogies, sour cream and eggs.

Coquitlam-Grill

Truckers Breakfast has eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast sausage and hash browns.

Coquitlam-Grill

The truckers breakfast also comes with pancakes. It’s a huge meal.

All the breakfast items were pretty solid. Good ol’ breakfast. The portions are huge and definitely worth the price. It’s a favourite breakfast location for locals and you get your moneys worth. You will walk out happy and full.

The restaurant also has free wifi.

We Rate Coquitlam Grill

Address:
108 – 2635 Barnet Highway
Coquitlam, BC

The Coquitlam Grill on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=108+-+2635+Barnet+Highway+Coquitlam,+BC&t=m&hnear=2635+Barnet+Hwy,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3E+1K9&z=16 “]

Church's Chicken

I have been feeling quite junky lately by having a lot of fast food. Perhaps it’s because of the really crappy weather lately. It makes me just want to stay home and watch Breaking Bad. Last episode tonight! I’m just really excited to see how it all ends. But I digress.

I’ve always had a soft spot of Church’s Chicken because of their crunchy chicken skin and moist meat.

Church's Chicken

What we recently noticed is their introduction of their Korean Style Chicken. It is their fried drumstick doused in sweet and spicy sauce. This particular Church’s Chicken is located near “Korean Town”, so it was interesting to see how close they could make it taste like real Korean Chicken.

The original name used to be “Gangnam Style Chicken” to feed off the popularity of Psy’s song – Gangnam Style. Unfortunately, they changed it due to legal issues.

Church's Chicken

You order up at the counter and nothing is very interesting here. Nothing special either, but you can see how they cook their chicken. Smells good too!

Church's Chicken

Korean Style Chicken (5 Pieces – $7) it’s all drunk sticks. M found it more sweet than spicy. Its doused in sauce and if you are doing take out, the sauce seeps out of the box…so be careful. M didn’t particularly like it.

With the abundance of Korean chicken in this area, we prefer to go to Ajuker.

Church's Chicken

Spicy Fried Chicken 3 Piece Meal ($10.08) it comes with a regular soda, small fries and 3 pieces of fried chicken. You can have original or spicy flavours but  I like it spicy. This is one of the only thing I order.

I really like it and much better than KFC.

We Rate Church’s Chicken

Address:
555 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.churchschickenbc.ca/

Church's Chicken (North Rd) on Urbanspoon

Friend's BBQ Restaurant

Friend’s BBQ Restaurant is a new restaurant in the former location of Mui Garden on North Road. We came here thinking it would be a BBQ place where we could grill our own meats. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. They specialize in HK style food similar to Mui Garden but has an emphasis on the BBQ meats like crispy roasted pork or BBQ duck.

Friend's BBQ Restaurant

As we entered, a majority of the decor was the same as Mui Garden but a few little changes here and there. When we sat down, we immediately knew the place was going to be bad. Even though the restaurant was fairly empty, we had a really hard time flagging down a server to take our order. They all congregated by the cashier and one of the managers were eating in the hallway near the kitchen and washrooms. We thought this was a strange sight.

When one of the servers finally took our order, they forgot all the drinks that we ordered. So, we had to get another server to grab us our drinks. Instead of getting the drinks, they gave us a receipt… and the drinks came about 10 minutes later. The food took another 45 minutes to arrive. All we ordered were BBQ meats that are already cooked….so we were very confused why putting rice on a plate and chopping up BBQ meat would take that long.

Friend's BBQ Restaurant

Daily Soup came with our order of 3 BBQ meats on rice. It was a nice touch since it makes it more of a complete meal. The soup was good and had lots of beef and radish inside.

Friend's BBQ Restaurant

3 BBQ meats on rice ($8.50) took 45 minutes to arrive. By 8pm, they only had 3 meats left so we had no options to choose from. We really wanted BBQ Roasted Pork or BBQ Duck, but that wasn’t available. We had the BBQ Pork, Soy Chicken and Ribs. The quality of meats were passable, but not as delicious as some other places in town. It was a bit tough and riddled with lots of bones. Rice was very dry. I would still say T&T has better BBQ meats.

Friend's BBQ Restaurant

Red Bean Soup came at the end of the meal. It wasn’t very sweet, which I liked.

Overall, the prices are decent and the amount that you get will surely fill you up. I usually can handle crappy service, but the service was down right BAD. The servers took inaccurate orders, food took too long to arrive, and very inattentive. When we wanted to grab the bill to pay, none of the servers turned around from the cashiers area. We decided to go up and pay. As we paid with debt, the machine declined the card. Then we tried credit card and it declined the card too. The machine flashed “Cannot connect to base”. The server said the machine worked fine and didn’t believe us that it was the machine. So we just paid cash and left. With so many restaurants in the area, you can go elsewhere.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Quality not as good as Mui Garden
  • Horrible service
  • Decent prices and set meals
  • Not open on Wednesdays

We rate Friend’s BBQ Restaurant

Address: 
4327 North Road
Burnaby, BC

Friend's BBQ Restaurant 老友記燒臘菜館 on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4327+North+Road+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=Bikram+Yoga+Burnaby,+4501+N+Rd,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V3N+4R7&gl=ca&t=m&z=14″]

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

Sushi K Kamizato

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Sushi Kamizato

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

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

Sushi K Kamizato on Urbanspoon

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

On my birthday, I decided to try to get as much free food as possible without going crazy. I browsed through an e-book on how to get free stuff in Vancouver. There are tips on how to get other freebies in Canada too. It’s very thorough but some items are a bit outdated, so you need to double check if they still have those offers.

My first stop was Vera’s. If you are subscribed for their Vera’s Club membership, you get a $10 gift certificate on your birthday. I signed up a few hours before I left the house and I still got the discount.

I got the Canuck Burger that was just under $10. It is their classic bacon cheese burger. I got it to-go, but it got a bit soggy by the time I get home.

Present your registered Starbucks card and you get a free beverage of any size. I ordered a Venti Cappuccino.

At Denny’s you can just flash your ID and you get a FREE Grand Slam Breakfast. The Grand Slam is customizable, so I chose sausages, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes.

It’s not meant for to-go, but they were really nice and let me. I chose to-go because I didn’t want to eat alone. #FirstWorldProblems.

At the end of the day, my parents got me cake too. This wasn’t free, but it’s a cute cake from Anna’s Bakery.

I’d say it was a good day for free food. Might as well right?
What free food items did you get on your birthday?

Sushi K Kamizato is run by Chef Keith and his wife Chika in Port Coquitlam.

It is Japanese owned and they serve awesome sushi and its very different from Sushi Town or California Sushi. The owners stay true to their roots and make sushi like how it can be found in Southern Japan. They use the best fish they can get their hands on and it really shines in their dishes. Chef Keith has made a name for himself and previously worked at ZEN in West Vancouver and also has catered to Gwen Stefani.

Salmon and Tuna Karaage comes complementary when you sit down. It’s really addictive and a great start to the meal.

Sake is a good accompaniment to the meal. I usually like light beer to go with Japanese food too.

Gomae is very different from what you would find at other restaurants. Their spinach is not frozen and is fresh. It is lightly dressed with sesame and you know you’re eating something good.

Agedashi Tofu was lightly fried on the outside and had a delicious clean taste. The order comes with 4 pieces.

Gyoza comes with 5 pieces and was alright. Nothing too special about this dish.

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

Grilled Aburi Saba comes with some sauteed cabbage on the side. The saba is very tender, flavourful and is always something that we order when we come here. Remember to squeeze a bit of lemon on it to add some acidity.

Chirashi Don was quite expensive, but it comes with a variety of their freshest ingredients. If you are a lover of raw ingredients, you should try this out. It also comes with miso soup.

Caterpillar Roll has crab meat and cucumber in the center with slice of avocado on top.

Chopped Scallop Roll comes with 8 pieces and has lots of large chunks of scallops. Very fresh and yet again delicious.

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

Spicy & Shout is a specialty roll made out of spicy salmon, cucumber in the center and it’s topped with crunchy bits on top.

Ika Nigiri isn’t my favorite item since it does have a strange texture for my taste buds. My sister likes this.

Chopped Scallop Nigiri is really good if you are a fan of chopped scallop!

Seared Toro nigiri was SO GOOD. Mouth watering good and you can’t help but to have more. It’s usually sold out if you don’t get there in time. You must order this!

Marinated Saba Nigiri is marinated in-house and is so fresh and flavourful.

Overall, I was impressed by their menu and how creative they are with their dishes. They aren’t trying to be like the other sushi restaurant around town. If you are looking for something different and creative, come to Sushi Kamizato!

If you want the best experience, sit by the bar and talk to Chef Keith! He has a great personality and goes out of is way to impress his guests.

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Sushi Kamizato:

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

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

Sushi K Kamizato on Urbanspoon

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

To celebrate the release of The Hobbit on December 14th, Dennys and Warner Brothers teamed up to create this amazing new menu. All of the items in the menu makes a reference to characters or items in the movie.

M, Scarface, and I came for some late dinner and we were super delighted that we saw their special menu. If you’re a big fan of the Lord of the Ring Franchise, you’ll go crazy over these cool items on this menu.

Gandalf’s Gobble Melt has sliced turkey breast, savoury stuffing,melted Swiss cheese in a grilled potato bread with a cranberry honey mustard spread. It also came with a side of gravy and seasoned fries.

It was like a turkey dinner in a sandwich! The turkey was a tad dry, but dipping the whole sandwich is gravy made up for the dry meal. Holding the sandwich was quite oily, so make sure you have some napkins.

Shire Sausage Skillet comes on a super hot sizzling skillet. The skillet has a long sausage, red-skinned potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, fire-roasted peppers, onions, cheddar cheese, and your choice of 2 eggs. M ordered his eggs poached, so it came on a separate dish. It’s a very hearty meal, which isn’t the most healthy item to order, but it will fill you up.

Frodo’s Pot Roast Skillet has slow-cooked pot roast, herb-roasted carrots, celery, mushrooms,onions,broccoli, seasoned red-skinned potatoes with cheddar cheese and a side of toasted bread. It’s another hearty meal, but Scarface did enjoy the pot roast meat.

With every entrée you order off the special menu, you get a pack of trading cards. There are 12 cards that you can collect.

Inside the pack of cards are 2 cards and a coupon for your next meal. It was super cool since I haven’t opened a pack of trading cards in over 10 years. The last pack of cards I’ve opened were Pokemon cards.

The coupons are not bad deals at all if you are a regular customer. We were not able to use it during this visit since we were only about to use it for future visits.

Overall, the food was cool, but as usual, it’s not the most healthiest item to consume…but we all love to indulge a little!

Have you tried the new Hobbit menu in Denny’s Canada yet?

We rate Dennys Canada:

Address:

500 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.dennys.ca/west/index.php

Denny's (Coquitlam) on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=500+Austin+Ave+Coquitlam,+BC&hnear=500+Austin+Ave,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3K+3M7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complementary pickled radishes goes very well with the fried chicken.

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

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

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

Korean Fried Rice with Slices of Rice Cake was good!

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

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

We Rate Ajuker Fried Chicken:

Address:
101-508 Clarke Road
Coquitlam, BC V3J7V6

Ajuker Fried Chicken‎ on Urbanspoon

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

KoreanGirl keeps telling me she frequents this place with her parents, but she never takes me here even though she likes this places. One day, a few of us decided to come here for a dinner as I’ve already been to most places in “Korea Town” aka North Road.

They have the usual popular Korean dishes. If you want a truly authentic experience, I would suggest being a bit more adventurous.

The interior isn’t too large, but can fit a few large groups.

Woo Ree Jip literally translates to “Our Home”. So, they are trying to give you the feeling of a home cooked meal.

Complementary Salad was given to us at the table. It was a small salad with a light dressing.

Seafood Pancake comes divided into 8 slices. It’s shaped a bit weird, but it tastes good!

It comes with a sauce on the side. So, you just dip your pancake in here. It has vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

Small Pork Belly Set has 2 rows of cooled pork belly with minced garlic on top. There is also pickled vegetables that you use to wrap the pork belly.

Nom nom nom. The pork belly isn’t crispy, but is pretty good.

You can wrap the pork belly in the lettuce or the pink thing with the kimchi and pork belly. Tastes gooooooood!

Overall, the food is good, but it can be a bit pricey. I’ve heard the soups were good too.

We Rate Woo Ree Jip:

Address:
9928 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

Woo Ree Jip Korean Restaurant on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=9928+Lougheed+Hwy+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=9928+Lougheed+Hwy,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]