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Coquitlam

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Sushi Kamizato is a new Japanese restaurant that opened up 4 months ago 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.

There are only about 22 seats in the restaurant, so it’s a bit tricky to fit large parties here unless you arrange with them ahead of time.

Try to strike a conversation with the sushi chef or the waitress, they can be helpful in deciding what to order. They are also extremely nice.

Green Tea is complementary! It’s good too.

When we arrived at the table, we got a complementary appetizer. I think it as like a seafood karrage. It was really good and my little sister love it so much that she ate most of it.

Aburi Saba is seared saba with a miso sauce on top. It was so good!

Asian Nachos have sheets of deep-fried wonton sheets with a mixture of tuna, avocado and tomatoes. It’s very different from regular nachos, but it tastes good!

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

Aburi Beef Carpaccio was tender and lightly seared on the outside.

Some slices could have been a bit thinner, but the flavours were still good.

Ocean Wiser has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado.

It has it’s own sauce, which makes this roll deliciously flavourful!

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

Tiger eyes is one of their special nigiri rolls. Rice is wrapped with seared salmon belly and topped with chopped scallop mixture. It tasted so good! The salmon belly just melts in your mouth! So good!

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!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Small restaurant
  • Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
  • Fresh ingredients

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 “]

Soup Plus is a little mom and pop restaurant in Coquitlam that sells sandwiches and soups. They attract mostly people in the area and aren’t well known outside of Coquitlam. I have passed by several times, but it is quite easy to miss.

One of my Twitter followers – Viola (@vyqchen) suggested I try out Soup Plus and recommended a few items to order. Since M wanted lunch, I thought we could try out Soup Plus and order the items Viola suggested.

Mushroom Soup (~$3) is very delicious and it is not even comparable to Campbells canned mushroom soups. It has tons of mushrooms and isn’t too creamy at all. I finished this bowl of soup pretty fast. I’m actually craving another bowl right now as I type this.

They have about 5 freshly made soups everyday, but I heard the mushroom soup is the most popular.

Louisiana Poor Boy Sandwich (~$5) has lettuce, tomatoes, pepper and meat covered in BBQ sauce between freshly made house bread. This was our favorite sandwich, the meat was tender and has a subtly spicy taste to it. In a way it reminded me of a sloppy joe.

Meatloaf sub (~$5) has tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, pepper and slices of meatloaf in between house bread. The meatloaf is delicious on its own, but when you eat it with everything else in the sandwich, it takes away from it’s taste and texture.

Overall, we loved the mushroom soup and the Louisiana Poor Boy Sandwich! Definitely take a visit for lunch if you are in the area. It’s a nice little family owned restaurant that has something delicious to offer. The service was good, but for some reason they wouldn’t let us tip them. I still have no idea why!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in front
  • Under $10
  • Highly Recommended: Mushroom soup and Louisiana Poor Boy Sandwich

We Rate Soup Plus

Address:
1102 Austin Avenue
Coquitlam, BC

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Kimbab Cheonguk is located near “Korea Town” on North Road. It’s a small restaurant known to the Korean community to have some amazing kim bab (Korean Sushi) and Al Bob (Fish stone rice). It is very affordable and has gained a lot of popularity over the years. Most of the customers are Korean, but the staff is always very nice.

I came with Mandu and KoreanGirl to just chow down and hang out.

It’s not very large, so you probably can’t come with too many people.

The menu has 20 items and isn’t too expensive. If you don’t know what is what…there are also images too.

Complementary side dishes arrive and you get pickled daikon and kimchi radish. It’s yummy, but the kimchi radish can be a bit spicy for some people.

Beef Broth comes complementary as well. Instead of hot tea, they give you this. It is a very delicious broth, but I have a feeling there may be a bit of MSG in it…but nonetheless I drank it anyways.

Tuna Kimbab ($3.50) is different that Japanese sushi since it does not have as much rice and has more filling. This roll has tuna, mayo, cucumbers, peppers and some other stuff. It’s one of our favorite rolls. The kimchi kimbab is good too.

Dduk Mandoo Gook ($7.99) is rice cake dumpling soup. It has a 3 dumplings, a good amount of rice cakes, egg, seaweed and green onions in a delicious broth. I quite enjoyed the dish and it was not spicy.

Dduk Ramen ($5.99) has rice cake, ramen noodles, fish cake, egg and vegetables in a spicy sauce. It’s quite spicy, so it’s not for everyone. It tastes good, but for myself, I had to keep on drinking water while eating it.

Al Bab ($7.99) is one of my favorite dishes here. There is seaweed, picked radish, tuna, fish roe, cabbage, carrots, and cheese in a hot stone bowl. They also give you 2 types to enhance the flavour too. Once this arrives at the table, you just mix everything together.

Overall, they have awesome Korean food. Not all the dishes are spicy, so it’s good for everyone. It’s cash and debit only, so no credit cards.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Highly Recommended: Al Bab, Fish Kimbab, Dduk Mandoo Gook
  • Under $10
  • Free parking and lots of space too
  • Good service even for non-Koreans

We Rate Kimbab Cheonguk:

Address:
3A-341 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

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At some point in your University career, you may go hours and hours fixated on a large assignment. TaiwaneseGirl and I experienced that last week as we spent the whole day at SFU trying to do some data modeling. We worked so hard but out model just didn’t look right at all. Eventually we gave up and headed down from SFU and ate at Denny’s.

Denny’s is open 24 hours so, you can have breakfast for dinner, or even dinner for breakfast. They have quite a large menu, so you will find something that will tickle your taste buds.

Bacon Avocado Burrito has crispy bacon, avocado, scrambled egg, hash browns, cheese, pico de gallo and a spicy sauce wrapped in a large flour tortilla. It is grilled and served with crispy hash browns.

I actually quite like this dish since it has bacon and avocados. Having it all hashed up in the burrito mixed very well. It’s not your traditional burrito, but it was good after a long day of work! I asked for some tabasco sauce to add a bit of kick to this dish.

Slow Cooked Pot Roast has creamy whipped potatoes and herb-roasted carrots, celery, mushrooms and onions atop grilled ciabatta bread and covered in rich gravy. TaiwaneseGirl was more into a dinner meal for dinner rather than a late night breakfast craving. She liked it and was surprised at the quality.

Overall, Denny’s is a great place for late night food especially when you are a University student. When you are desperate for something edible at night, you know Denny’s is always open. The food is probably not healthy for you, but at least you are fed.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in their lot
  • Food can be a hit or miss
  • Quite greasy

We rate Dennys:

Address:

500 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.dennys.com/en/
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M and I only go watch movies on Tuesday since that’s when there are cheaper tickets. M wanted to watch 21 Jump Street and really hates going early to grab tickets, so we reserved tickets online and saw that we could reserve seats in the VIP Cinemas. He was pretty excited and said to me “Di, you can go review food”. I was like “oh, but no one wants to read about overpriced popcorn”. After reading the description, I really had no idea how the VIP Cinemas worked.

VIP Cinemas really give you an “upgraded” experience different from AVX or the regular movies. It’s not just about the movie, but the quality and service. It will cost you $13.99 on a Tuesday ( $19.50 normally) compared to the usual $6.99 for a regular movie on Tuesday. It is only available to the Coquitlam Cineplex location. For the VIP Theatre experience you get:

  • 19+ (Yeah! No annoying kids!)
  • Over-sized Premium Seats
  • Large lounge area with bar
  • In-Seat Food and Beverage Service
  • Specialty food options

You walk into the VIP Cinema area near the entrance to the theatres. You walk thought the sliding doors and you will see what lies inside.

There’s a bar with beer on tap and any other drinks you want. If you go early, you can grab a drink with a friend prior to the movie. They don’t allow you to bring any alcoholic beverages into the theatres.

In the lounge, there is also plenty of seating, a fireplace and a few TVs. This is movie watching at a new level! You can chill before the movie! Great for a group of girls to drink and chat and then go for a good ol chick flick.

The seats are much larger than the regular theatres or the AVX seats. There’s lots of leg space and an arm rest that swivels out into a table that can make eating much easier. There is also a little space between seats for your purse! As a woman, that is quite important! It was great knowing my purse wasn’t touching sticky floors.

The arm rest is awesome too since its soft and spongy so your elbow will feel comfortable.

The screen is a good size and quite clear. I couldn’t take a photo of the movie because well…they would kick me out so I took a photo of the Cineplex gadget guy.

As you are waiting for the movie or in the process of watching the movie, you can order food from the servers. They walk around with tablets to take your order. The servers are really nice and friendly. During the middle of the movie, the servers light from their tablets can get a bit bright and can annoy some people. Nonetheless, it’s a great service and you have access to much better food.

When we ordered, the movie already started and the lights went out… so it was quite difficult to take pictures without flashing everyone in the theatre.

Brownie Explosion ($5.99) has a slab of brownie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Eating this in the dark was definitely quite difficult as I didn’t know if I was scooping up ice cream or brownie. The quality was ok, but nothing too amazing. It’s still a good treat to have at night when you watch a movie.

Strawberry Smoothie ($4.99) comes in a tall glass. M liked it but I felt it was a tad sweet.

Overall, it was a great experience except you do have to pay a bit more. If you want to impress a special someone, definitely take them here. Have a few drinks in the lounge and then head over to the theatre and order some desserts! I don’t think it’s worth the regular price, but on a Tuesday, I would definitely go again.

 

Jimmys Place Restaurant is super hidden near North Road and they serve of breakfasts and lunch. WIth my last experience here, I wasn’t eager to come back, but M kept on insisting we have their eggs benedict and hash browns.

The interior seems a bit dated and has a diner feel to it. It’s cash only, but the food is quite cheap and affordable. It’s known as a neighbourhood favorite for their breakfast.

Pop ($1.95). It’s the classic bottles! In my opinion, it tastes the best from the bottles compared to the plastic bottles or fountain drinks.

Jimmy’s special burger ($8.95) comes with bacon and cheese as well as a side of fries.The bun was nicely toasted on the outside, but the patty wasn’t good at all. The fries were alright too. I probably wouldn’t get the burger again.

Black Stone Benedict ($8.95) is M’s Favorite items 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. After I tried a bit of this, I totally wanted to steal his whole dish away from him.

Overall, the food is ok, but the only item that is super good are the eggs benedict! The hash browns are super amazing too. Whatever you decided to get, you must have the side of hash browns!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Cash only
  • Some items are hit and miss
  • Eggs benny with hashbrowns are the best items
  • Lots of parking
  • Lots to choose from in their menu
  • Cheap and affordable

We Rate Jimmys Place Restaurant:

Address:
435 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

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I clearly had a week where I totally thought I needed to eat healthier, so I kept going to salad bars. M and I went to Coquitlam Center Mall just to go to the food court for lunch. We were trying to be somewhat cheap too. Students like us are cheap and poor. As M had Arbys, I decided to head to Garden Fresh Express to make myself a salad. It was $1.60ish per 100g.

Its a good alternative if you wanted something decently healthy.

Looking at this, I probably fail at making salads. I definitely needed more greens, but all the other stuff there was so tempting. Everything at the bar looked fresh, so I wasn’t afraid to consume anything.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of parking
  • Ok price if you don’t get heavy items

Address:
2702 – 2929 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam, BC V3B

Garden Fresh Express (Coquitlam Centre) on Urbanspoon

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Jimoco Cafe & Pasta is located on Austin Road in Coquitlam. They are most famous for the 2-for-1 pasta. The food is cheap and will fill you up, so it’s quite popular for people living in Coquitlam and Burnaby. They have been in the neighbourhood for a while and have won several awards.

As M and I were waiting for a table, we saw a few people we knew. We usually don’t see people we know but it just shows how popular it is for University students in the area.

Lines can always be seen here especially at dinner time. It’s wise to make reservations if you can. Waits during dinner time can range from 5 – 30 mins. The restaurant isn’t large since its quite narrow.

They do have other items on their menu besides pasta, but the 2 for 1 pasta deal is too good to give up.

Complementary Garlic Bread comes to the table, one for each person. It tastes alright, but there isn’t anything amazing about it. There would be a little bit more butter are garlic flavour on the bread.

Spagehetti alla Carbonara has bacon, eggs, parmesan cheese with a cream sauce. M thought the size was a bit small, but not worth regular price. He liked the smokiness of the bacon with the cream sauce.

Pasta Parma with chicken, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and capers in a cream sauce. You can alternatively get this with tomato sauce and different pasta noodles too. I thought it was alright and good for the 2 for 1 deal.

Overall, it’s a good place to go if you are getting the 2-for-1 pasta deal. Very cheap and fills you up.

Words of Wisdom:

  • 2 for 1 pasta
  • Come in even numbers
  • Decent pasta
  • Free parking in the front and rear
  • Under $10
  • Should make reservations

We Rate Jimoco Cafe & Pasta:

Address:
1046 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

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I Love Sushi is located on Schoolhouse near the Coquitlam Silvercity Theatre. This restaurant has a really cute name and thats why I initially wanted to go here. The first time we went, we arrived 30 minutes before they closed, but they would not serve us since they were only doing take-out orders. Understandable, but we were still not happy. M and I came back weeks later since I’m running out of places to try in Coquitlam.

I Love Sushi sells the usual items you would find in a Japanese restaurant.

 

The menu is here!

Edamame Beans (Complementary) everyone gets these at their table. They were alright, but its on the small side.

Philadelphia Roll B ($7.88) has fresh salmon, cream cheese, avocado, and cucumber. It was pretty good. I always love the creamy texture with the avocado and salmon. Yum.

Caterpillar Roll ($7.88) has unagi, cucumber, and topped with whole avocado. The avocado seemed a bit unripe and stiff, so it would fall off the roll when you pick it up. It still tasted alright, but it was missing something.

Soft Shell Crab Karaage ($6.95) is deep fried soft shell crab. It also tasted a bit average since the fried batter was not as crisp as it could be. It also tasted a bit bland, but thats why the sauce works well with this dish.

Overall, the sushi rolls were alright, but nothing amazing. M was quite disappointed as well by the price and quality of the food. I probably would not return since there are a few other sushi places that opened up in the area. Nonetheless, it is still a neighbourhood favorite for people who live in the area. You may have had a different experience than me.

Words of Wisdom:

  • A tad expensive for what you get
  • Not a lot of variety in their combos
  • Mediocre Service
  • Good before or after the movies
  • Free parking in front

We Rate I Love Sushi: 

Address:
#3, 228 Schoolhouse Street
Coquitlam, BC
Website:
http://www.ilovesushi2009.com/

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Coming down from SFU, a few of us wanted to get some sushi, but the place we wanted to go to wouldn’t let us order even though they were open. So, we drove to Narita Sushi as an alternative.

They are located close to the SilverCity Theatres in Coquitlam. They have all the usual sushi and typical items.

Tea!

Edamame (Complementary). It tasted quite normal, which is good! No complaints here

Negitoro Roll and Alaska Roll

Negitoro Roll has pieces of tuna with green onions. Its a bit different than other places where they just mash them all together.

Alaska roll has crab, avocado, cream cheese, cucumber, and topped with smoked salmon.

Ebi Sunomono ($3.75) has tons of little shrimp! Look at all of that!

Takoyaki

Sushi Box Combo ($13.50) has ebi nigiri, tuna nigiri, salmon nigiri, dynamite roll, tempura, green salad, gyoza, ebi sunomono, and miso soup.

The box was huge! I barely finished it since the dynamite roll was quite large. The tempura was really good, but I found the other items decent. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce on the dynamite roll since I like the rolls to be dipped in soy sauce instead.

Miso Soup that comes with the combo is the usual stuff.

Sunomono (the one the comes with combo) is a tad bit smaller with a bit less ebi, but it still tasted good. It was nice and refreshing.

Here are size comparisons between the sizes of the sunomono dishes. The larger one is the ala carte version and the one on the right, its the one that comes with the combo.

Rolls with spicy salmon, crab meat and avocado (Complementary). We aren’t too sure why this came to our table, but the chef just gave this to us. It tasted alright.

Overall, the food was pretty average. Nothing really “wow-ed” me, but its a good place in the neighbourhood to get some rolls and bento boxes that will fill you up!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very large bento boxes
  • Tons of Parking
  • Good Service
  • Bring movie ticket from Silvercity for 5% off (Dine-in with minimum order of $25)

We Rate Narita Sushi:

Address:

#408-100 Schoolhouse Street
Coquitlam, BC V3K

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Cora opened on the West Coast last year. Its been established on the East Coast, but finally the chain is here! Cora is located in Coquitlam near Coquitlam Center. It’s quite a far drive but if you want a taste of their gigantic breakfasts and lunch, you may want to travel far.

Since I don’t live not too far from here, KoreanGirl, Gmoney, Jewels, and SuzySticks took a short drive here.

Coffee ($2.50)

1990’s Harvest with sunny side up egg ($11.95) has a large cinnamon-raisin brioche dipped in french toast batter with an egg and bacon strips on one side and a mountain of fresh fruit on the other.

One side of the cinnamon bun was dry and the other one was moist. Certain fruits weren’t as fresh as others, but there was definitely a lot of fruit.

1990’s Harvest with scrambled egg ($11.95) I think Koreangirl was missing a bacon here if you compare it to the image above. She found the same issues with the partially dry cinnamon bun and certain fruits not fresh.

Eggs Benedict ($12.25) has two poached eggs on an English muffin covered with Hollandaise sauce, served with roasted potatoes and fresh fruit.

Seventh of July ($11.25) has 2 crepes and french toast covered with a mountain of fresh fruit. It was OK, but it has a lot of carbs. Its a bit difficult to eat since Jewels didn’t know if she was supposed to eat the crepes with the fruit or eat them separately.

Buckwheat Blessing ($12.95) has 3 sausages and cheese wrapped in buckwheat crepes with a large amount of fruit. I thought the sausages wrapped in the crepes were really good! Yummm meat! There was plenty of fruit, but the watermelon was not fresh at all. It looked super pale. It’s a good touch that they have a few unique fruits like starfruit and persimmons.

Overall, you gets tons of fruit with each dish, but you should come in the summer when fruit is the freshest. Since you never know what fruit will end up on your plate, if you have an allergy, it’s best to let them know ahead of time.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Best to come when fruit is in season
  • Busy on weekends
  • Can be seen as a bit expensive
  • Lots of booth seating
  • Kid Friendly
  • Lots of parking

We Rate Cora

Address:

3025 Lougheed Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

Website:

http://www.chezcora.com/coquitlam-en

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Hidden in a small plaza on North Road lies Jimmy Place Restaurant. I’ve been in the plaza numerous times, but I’ve never seen this restaurant before. It’s easily missed when just passing by.

The interior seems a bit dated and has a diner feel to it. It’s cash only, but the food is quite cheap and affordable. It’s known as a neighbourhood favorite for their breakfast.

2 Pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 bacon with toast ($6.95) is a pretty standard breakfast.

Two eggs breakfast with 2 sausages, toast and hash browns ($5.95) They didn’t have hashbrowns left, so they give you fries instead.

Denver Omelet with cheese ($9.95). M thought it was alright, but its nothing amazing.

Everything Omelet ($10.95) has green peppers, tomatoes, onion, mushroom, green onions, ham, bacon and cheddar cheese.

I found this dish to be quite expensive for what you get. It tasted alright, but nothing too spectacular.

Overall, the food is ok, but it’s not the most amazing breakfast place to come dine at.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Cash only
  • Lots of parking
  • Lots to choose from in their menu
  • Cheap and affordable

We Rate Jimmys Place Restaurant: 

Address:
435 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

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There is more to IKEA than just Swedish furniture. They have a restaurant to chill at since the whole store is so large that their patrons might get hungry. They are most famous for their Swidish Meatballs and other cheap affordable dishes. It’s very kid friendly too.

Since we were watching a movie across the street, we thought it would be a good idea to stop by IKEA for some uber cheap eats. The holidays have left us all quite broke, so this is how we compensate.

They also serve alcohol, which is super awesome, but I didn’t feel like drinking in such a public place with other peoples children. They have Stella, Sleeman and white wine.
I guess this section is for the parents that need to relax a bit.

They also have these weird Swedish juice flavours – Dryck Flader and Dryck Lingon. I haven’t tried it yet, looked a bit creepy.

They also have some desserts, but trust me, do not get them!

Self Serve Pop can be added to your combo for I think $1… but I could be wrong. The lingonberry drink wasn’t that good and tasted like on odd version of cranberry.

10 meatballs ($2.99) comes with lingonberry sauce and your choice of mashed potatoes or fries. Its also topped off with gravy. For a $3 meal, I quite liked it! It filled me up and I was happy.

15 Meatballs ($3.99) looks so much more appealing than the 10 piece. just look how it fills up the plate. It’s a good choice if you want to eat lot and lots of meatballs.

Apple Pie was really horrible! Not even close to what a decent apple pie should taste like.

Overall, I think the best item are the meatballs. I think the staff don’t really cook anything except reheat food and serve it out. Thats why you can’t go wrong with the meatballs.

Words of Wisdom:

  • $1 Breakfast before 11am everyday
  • Really cheap meals under $5
  • Only get the meatballs to avoid disappointment
  • Bad service

We Rate IKEA: 

Address:
1000 Lougheed Hwy
Coquitlam, BC V3K
Website:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/IKEA_Food/restaurant.html
IKEA Restaurant (Coquitlam) on Urbanspoon


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I was studying for my last final exam and a few of us were growing quite hungry. M knows I like to yell at him when he suggests fast food or some place we’ve been before.  So, he found this restaurant on Urbanspoon. It seemed like an adventure since it’s pretty unknown, so we grabbed BusanGirl and headed off from SFU.

It was really hard to find, but as long as you park near Woodys Liquor Store in Square Village, you should be able to find this small place. It’s not on the main road, but more in the parking lot.

Since they were 30 mins away from closing, this place was basically dead. They had a few takeout orders at this time, but no one dining. It’s new, so I’m sure not that many people know about it.

Home Made Pork Dumplings ($7.50) are really amazing!! It had a lot of filling and all the ingredients blended nicely together. This is a Korean dish and in no way Japanese. Since the owners are Korean, theres a reason why this is really good.

I would highly recommend this dish.

Oyster Tempura ($3.99) comes with 5 pieces. The size of the oysters are nice and bite size. It kinda reminded me of agedashi tofu, but with oysters.

Tempura Salmon Donburi ($8.50) was a bit of a disappointment. The sauce they used made the overall dish quite salty. There was also bones in a piece of the salmon. I guess they forgot to remove the bones from one of the pieces.

Chicken Yamisoba ($7.50) has some good chicken, but the salt made the yamisoba quite salty. There seems to be quite a bit of sauce in it too.

Bento Box B ($8.99) comes with teriyaki, assorted tempura, california roll, and a salad. BUT, since BusanGirl is allergic to green vegetables, they gave her 2 more pieces of california roll to substitute.

She enjoyed the whole bento box.

Miso Soup comes with the bento box. Normal like most miso soups.

Overall, the prices are quite affordable and have a large menu. What I love about their menu is how it’s all pictures so you know what you are ordering. Their teriyaki type of items aren’t good, but you can’t go wrong with any of their other items.

Words of Wisdom:

  • 10% off for Take out $25 and over
  • Free delivery within 1.5km
  • Hidden inside Square Village near Woody’s Liquor Store
  • Under $10
  • $6.99 Lunch Specials
  • Large Variety in their menu

We Rate TaDa Sushi:

Address:
931 Brunette  Coquitlam, BC

Phone:
604 777 0702
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Last time I went to Sushi Elephant, M and I did takeout and didn’t get the full experience of dining in the restaurant. Since a bunch of us were bored, we decided to try out more of the different items. They offer daily specials too.

The inside of the restaurant is quite large and can accomodate large groups!

The Tea was really good. I don’t know what type it was, but we all agreed it was some pretty good tea!

Tuna & Salmon Don ($10) comes with 4 slices of salmon and 4 slices of tuna.

Toro Sashimi ($14) was nice and fatty, but it can be quite expensive.

Katsu Curry ($11) was large! You get a big piece of pork cutlet with a mild curry with a mixture of meat and vegetables. It also comes with a bowl of rice. M though this curry was a bit dull and the sauce was thin. The price was good, but the quality could be a bit better.

Hot Night Roll ($10) has prawn tempura, crab meat and topped with spicy tuna.

The Hot Night roll was pretty good! Unique name for the roll too.

Dancing Lady Roll ($8) was something I’ve never seen before. The sushi roll was cut very thinly and plated like a dancing lady.

Las Vegas Roll ($8) has a little bit of everything – salmon, avocado, cream cheese, crab meat and some other stuff.

The roll was quite large and sizeable.

What I love about some rolls is how the outside of the rice is a bit toasted, so it gives it a nice texture.

Chocolate Covered Almonds and Frozen Grapes were a good touch to the end of the meal. I’m not a fan of chocolate at the end of the meal, but frozen grapes are awesome!

Overall, we were both amazed by the quality and taste of the rolls, but certain items can get be expensive. Since this restaurant is Korean owned, it does have a bit of a Korean twist to certain rolls.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very good rolls
  • Daily Specials
  • Accommodates large groups
  • Lots of parking
  • Slightly expensive
  • Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Centre

We Rate Sushi Elephant: 

Address:
403 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC
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My sister and I didn’t want to make lunch…and we had a HUGE craving for some fried chicken. We always have these random moments where we love to overindulge ourselves with fat. Plus, Church’s Chicken is SO good!! We went down to the closest location and ordered a 10 piece meal with gravy and fries. It ended up to be about $25ish after tax.

It comes with an assortment of thighs and drumsticks. I personally prefer all the thighs because it has more delicious skin and more meat.

The best part is the gravy. I know it might seem like i’m a fat ass, but I LOVE dunking the fried skin into the gravy!! Do you do this too?

The gravy isn’t fresh, it’s made from a huge pack of powder mixed with water.

The fries are pretty normal, nothing special about them. They go soggy after a while too, so eat them fast or reheat them in the oven.

Overall, good stuff and ten thousand times better than KFC!

 Words of Wisdom:

  • Check for coupons in the mail…sometimes there are some
  • Take out is best
  • Sometimes they have good combos
  • Jalapeno Poppers and chicken tenders are awesome
  • Free Wifi

We Rate Church’s Chicken
Address:
555 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.churchschickenbc.ca/
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M took me to Paros Taverna, a Greek restaurant on North Road in Coquitlam. M had no idea what to expect since we just went there randomly. A year ago, I remember staring at their windows and I was so creeped out. I was sitting at the McDonalds across the street and I saw 2 men at a table getting charmed by a belly dancer. I was very confused.

The interior is pretty dark and it gets darker as the evening continues. At one point of the evening the lights go super dim and the music gets pretty loud…. then this man and this belly dancer dances around the restaurant to entertains all their diners. You can even tip the belly dancer to give you an extra personal dance. It was really awkward to watch. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it though.

Saganaki ($9) is Kefalotyri cheese pan fried, served hot with half lemon & pita.

This is my favorite item to get at any Greek restaurant. Who doesn’t love fried cheese? You need to squeeze the lemon on top of the cheese to taste good. The clothe surrounding it just catches all the seeds and pulp. Then you cut a piece off and put it on the pita bread and enjoy.

I really liked it because you get the nutty ooey gooey cheese with a hint of the sourness from the lemon.


Paros Platter for 2 ($31) comes with chicken souvlaki, prawn souvlaki, kalamaria,dolmades, pita bread, greek salad, rice, potatoes & spanakopita. We thought it was one of the items that had decent pricing

.

Chicken souvlaki was a tad on the dry side, but you do get a lot on a skewer.

Prawn souvlaki was alright, but it seemed like it was frozen ahead of time and then cooked. Maybe I’m wrong, but it did have a bit of a tough texture.

Kalamaria is piled up in the middle of the dish. It was decent, but it wasn’t mind blowing.

Dolmades is rice and other vegetables stuffed in edible leaves. It tasted good!

Spanakopita is phyllo pastry stuffed with spinach and feta cheese. It comes with 2 triangular pieces. The outside was quite crispy and delicious inside.

The pita is the same that comes with saganaki.

The potatoes and the rice will surely fill 2 people up! This is the hefty starch portion of the platter. Good flavour and it’s always better with more lemon!

The greek salad was decent too. Since there was also a lemon with this too, it seems fitting to use that too. hahaha.

Overall, the experience was very interesting. The platter is a good choice to get a feel of a wide range of items from this place.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Platter is pretty goof choice
  • Dinner experience may contain belly dancers
  • Lots of Parking
We Rate Paros Taverna: 

Address:

526 Clarke Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
parostaverna.com

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I always visit the North Road area, so when I saw this huge blue sushi restaurant and I thought I should check it out. Their interior had a very strange layout. When you walk in, you are greeted by someone at a counter and you see 2 couches and thats it. The main dining area is hidden behind that wall. It kinda reminds me of a sketchy massage parlour if you know what I mean.

Nonetheless, it’s just a restaurant and I’m a bit delusional. M and I decided to just do takeout since it looked pretty dead inside and M didn’t want to dine-in. He’s weird like that. Sushi Elephant specializes in Japanese food, but I think they are Korean owned.

Spicy tuna combo ($10) has the spicy tuna roll and 5 pcs of nigiri. The price was decent, but a tad on the expensive side.

The nigiri was really good! It came with 2 salmon, 2 tuna and 1 ebi. Quality of the raw fish was really good!

Spicy tuna had a lot of filling which M and I really liked! It had a good amount of spiciness to it and it was again really good!

Miso soup comes with all combos. Like most restaurants, its quite average and there isn’t anything special to it.

We then got the Elephant Combo ($16), which has the sexy dynamite roll and elephant roll. You save $2 and get a miso soup.

Sexy Dynamite Roll is battered on the outside and then deep fried. It has crab meat, ebi and avocados. It was really well made and I was quite surprised.

Elephant Roll has salmon, ebi, avocados, crab and a spicy sauce on top. It was also very good and the sauce just added the little bit of spiciness it needed.

Overall, we were both amazed by the quality and taste of the rolls, but certain items can get quite expensive.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very good rolls
  • Lots of parking
  • Slightly expensive
  • Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Centre

We Rate Sushi Elephant: 

Address:
403 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC
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