Downtown Archives - Page 19 of 22

In Bakery

Beard Papa’s: Cream Puffs and More Cream Puffs

May 16, 2011

I was having a stressful day at work, so during my lunch break; I headed over to Beard Papa’s for some cream puffs. That’s the usual thing that cheers me up, sweets! I’m actually not a big fan of sweets, but I do love my cream puffs!

The location on Robson does not have many flavors and they have a schedule, so they only have 2 flavors available per day. They just have the usual flavors that you would see in the other Beard Papa’s.

I grabbed it to go as usual since I didn’t want to be the one in the office that makes everyone else jealous. I went home with the little baggie and shared it with my sister. Sharing is caring right? Eating it all by myself would be a little bit selfish.

I gave my sister the Chocolate Cream Puff ($1.75). She quite enjoyed it as usual. The cream is quite light and it is usually filled up very nicely so the cream tried to escape as you take a bite.

I had the Green Tea Cream Puff ($1.75). I think one of my favorite is the green tea. The green tea taste is very subtle and not too potent.

Some people don’t like the size of the cream puffs and think it’s too big. They do have mini cream puffs but it’s only in the original flavor. Sounds interesting, but you might end up eating more that you initially intended to.

Overall, I enjoyed it and the best was to really eat it is with the company of others.

Words of Wisdom:

Original Flavour is best
Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate Beard Papa’s:

Address:

548 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.beardpapascanada.com

In Cafe

Next Noodle Bar: Quick and Easy Lunch

May 15, 2011

Another lunch, another restaurant, but today I found it so difficult to choose where to go, so I strolled up and down Robson Street and saw this restaurant – Next Noodle Bar. I thought it sounded cool and the food items did not seem very expensive, so I took a seat inside.

The inside of the restaurant is quite large.

They have a large menu, but I decided to stick to the lunch specials because it was quick. If I had an unlimited lunch break, I would probably go elsewhere. Sadly, in reality, we do have to be limited to 1 hr…or less sometimes.

I chose the Egg Foo Young ($7.95). It has the egg omelet with shredded chicken, and sweet chili sauce. Inside the omelet, I really could not identify the vegetables in the omelet because it was so well cooked that it became crunchy near the sides.

This dish also comes with daily soup, almond pudding, bok choy and salty peanuts.

I did not really have a liking to this dish. The sweet chili sauce threw me off and it did not go well with the dish. I have never had egg foo young before, so I don’t have a benchmark of what it should taste like. All I know is that this dish was not for me.

For $8, it was not a bad price! The food did come quick and there seems to be a few good items on their menu.

In addition to the meal, I ordered the Fried Chicken Wings ($5). It comes with about 6 pieces of chicken wings. These were well prepared and it is the type of chicken wings I love! Simple and deep-fried! The size of the wings were quite large and had lots of meat. I’d come back just to have the chicken wings.

Overall, the food was cheap and don’t expect all-star quality at these prices but you will be somewhat satisfied.

Word of Wisdom:

Under $10 lunch special
Good for lunch if in a time crunch
Fried Chicken Wings
Some items are a hit and miss

We Rate Next Noodle Bar:

Address:

560 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Aki Japanese Restaurant: Hidden Gem

May 13, 2011

TaiwaneseGirl and I were hunting for a place right in the middle of where I work and where she lives. Aki Japanese Restaurant on Thurlow sounded pretty good.

Aki Japanese Restaurant is hard to locate if you just pass by. You have to go down a flight of stairs to get there. TaiwaneseGirl was super late to lunch. She first somehow wrote down the wrong address and ended up at Canada Place. She eventually came close to the restaurant but couldn’t find it at all even though I was trying to guide her while talking on the phone. She passes by this block often and she swears there is no Japanese Restaurant…guess who proved her wrong. Hahaha.

Apparently I remember going here 3 years ago but I don’t remember a thing at all. I even have a business card from them, but yet again I don’t remember anything. There are days when having a food blog is handy, clearly it is true that I have a short memory. I don’t remember eating either… I must have been drugged! JK I think I was a birthday party but didn’t eat since I came late.

It was lunch time and I heard they had decent priced lunch. Sure enough the lunches are cheap and decent quality.

TaiwaneseGirl started off with the Tuna Nigiri ($1.95) and Sockeye Salmon Nigiri ($2.25). She was impressed by the thickness of the sashimi as well as the quality. The pieces are not as big as Sushitown in Burnaby, but the quality is there!

She then got the Katsu Donburi ($7.75). It comes with miso soup and pickled vegetables. It is a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and sauce. She got really full after this.

I ordered the Lunch Box A ($10.75). This combo has miso soup, sunomono, short ribs, tuna and salmon sashimi, chicken karrage, pickled vegetables and rice. This was amazing! Cheap and good quality! I would totally have this again and again! You get a little bit of everything and you are not spending a fortune on this.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience! For a lunch, everything did some quickly so I was not late going back to the office.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Decent pricing
Good quality
Lunch Boxes best for lunch

We Rate Aki Japanese Restaurant:

Address:

745 Thurlow St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

2001 Flavours Pizza: Cheap and Fast

May 11, 2011

2001 Flavours on Seymour has been a very popular pizza joint which rivals a majority of all the pizza joints in that area. Even though their prices are a few cents higher than the other pizza places, it still remains a favorite amongst their customers.

As for their name, I doubt they have 2001 flavours. It reminded me of the gelato place on venables….but with pizza. Unfortunately, they only have a hand full of flavours per day. Don’t go in expecting 50+ flavours since they probably only have maximum of 8 at a time.

I have not been to a majority of the pizza restaurants, but I am willing to pay a bit more for some good pizza. I came here a year ago and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pizza. It is just the way I like it.

I came here for lunch the other day for a quick cheap bite. I found it funny how it is located beside 2 pizza places.

I got their 2 pizza and a pop combo ($4.75). I got the meal lovers and peperoni, green peppers and mushrooms.

The pizza slices are quite sizable with lots of toppings. The meat lovers had ground meat, peperoni and bacon bits. I thought it was very good because the dough is thin so the bottom is crunchy. I love this type of pizza where it is crispy throughout.

I did spend a while eating the first slice since it was big and I didn’t want to get sauce on my face. Because I ate so slow, my other pizza got cold and the pizza was not very crunchy anymore. Boo…urns. (Simpsons reference). I still did enjoy the pizza even though it was cold, I do love mushrooms. They could have had more mushrooms on the pizza.

Overall, good deal for under $5. Its quick and satisfying. If you are watching your waist line, you may not enjoy this. Carbs, FAT, Carbs, FAT. Its good to have pizza once in a while. 2001 Flavours is in no way your artisan pizzas or anything fancy shmancy. It is the large greasy slices of pizza people just love.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $5
Take out/Sit in
Limited seating

We Rate 2001 Flavours Pizza:

Address:

595 West Pender
Vancouver

In Bar and Grill

St. Regis Bar & Grill: Good Meal in Good Company

May 9, 2011

As the semester came to an end, it was time to bid adieu to the other coop students that I was working with. The whole office headed down to St. Regis Bar and Grill for some delicious food. They usually head down to Steam Works but they wanted a change, so since they knew I blogged about food, they asked me to compose a list of good restaurants near the office. I really had no idea, I am not a food expert, I just eat…and eat.. and eat. I used trusty Urbanspoon and Yelp to compile a list.

Since St. Regis Bar and Grill was across the street, they felt it would be the best option. They had good appealing food at a decent price. They serve up the usual pub style food. Walking into the place, it was more like a bar. Don’t expect your fancy or anything. It is a legit bar with lots of TV screens, perfect for watching the Canucks games too!

With so many enticing choices on the menu, I had to go with the Sirloin Beef Dip ($12). In side the garlic baguette, there is a lot of thinly sliced sirloin beef. You also get a cup full of red wine au jus. For your side, you can choose between fries or salad. Of course, being a woman, I chose the salad.

If you eat the Beef dip with out the au jus. It really isn’t spectacular. When you do dip it into the sauce, the bread immediately soaks up all the amazing flavors. IT IS SO GOOD! Hands down, best beef dip I have had in a while.

Overall, we all had a good time. Great food, great company. What else could you ask for? You probably want the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup right?

Words of Wisdom:

Vegetarian friendly
Beside Granville Skytrain
Great for watching games
$10 – $15 for lunch
Fish & Chips and the Sirloin Beed Dip Recommended

We Rate St. Regis Bar & Grill:

Address:

608 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.stregisbargrill.com

In Cafe

Meat & Bread: Tale of the Dry Bread

May 8, 2011

I was at a conference at SFU Harbour Centre and when it came to lunchtime, a group of us headed over to Meat & Bread. I chose it since it was close and I knew people would just love it.

During the peak of the lunch hour, we still found seats for our large group. Even though most tables were full and seat all taken, the turnover time is quite fast. Just have a little patience and seats will free up. Since the line up for ordering was long as usual, we had a fun time watching them prepare the porchetta.

Since I have not had the porchetta ($8) in a long time, I ordered that with a dandelion and burdock soda.

The porchetta sandwich was interesting this time. The meat was delicious as usual, but the crunchy pork skin parts were different. Before the crunchy bits use to be a bit bigger and very hard to chew. This time, they were chopped up thinner and had more of a airy crunchiness to it. My friend ordered the same sandwich as well and she was afraid she would not be able to chew at the skin bits. As she ate the sandwich, it was no problem for her.

Another thing I noticed with my sandwich and not anyone else’s was that my bread was very hard and wrinkly looking. The bread is supposed to be a bit soft, but as you can see clearly in the picture, it looks hard. It’s like a wrinkly old man.

Everyone else’s sandwich was fine, but I as unfortunate to be plagued with the bad bread. All the other bread they had looked fine, so I don’t know where this odd shaped one came from. I really wanted to like the whole meal, but sadly the dry bread really affected the sandwich. Thus, I had to give Meat & Bread a lower rating this time.

This is what the usual bread looks like….major difference right?!

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go early to ensure nothing is sold out
Porchetta is the most popular but the other sandwiches are also delicious
The sauces are a must try
Dandelion & Burdock Soda is good!

We rate Meat & Bread:

Check out their website: http://meatandbread.ca/

In Downtown

Beentoo Sandwiches and BBQ: Where have you beentoo?

May 6, 2011

A new restaurant – Beentoo just popped up across the street from where I work. My coworker and I wanted to go try it out. We thought it would be Japanese food since the name is very close to bento. Clearly it was not since it is a Sandwich and BBQ restaurant.

Once you walk inside, it kinda resembles McDonalds…Long narrow interior with ordering counter at the very end. Once you look at the menu, it is not anything like McDonalds! Sure they have a usual burger but what got me intrigued were their variety of burgers – Korean Spicy chicken, lemon grass chicken, pulled pork… etc. There are also wraps and other healthy alternatives.

I ordered the Korean Spicy Chicken combo ($6.79). You get your sandwich with a pop/coffee and a choice of side. There were good sides to choose from – yam fries, Caesar salad, garden greens or chicken corn chowder.

I was curious about the chicken corn chowder, so I ordered that. It was your average chowder.

The Korean Spicy Chicken Sandwich is really good! The chicken steak is very moist and not too spicy. Just a little bit of a kick, but it will not overwhelm your taste buds. The chicken seemed very fresh but the main key thing is moist.

When I went, they were having promotions of giving free drinks with purchase. Today I looked over and there is no tax. They are really doing a huge push to tap into the market of catering to international students. On the 3 blocks of Seymour, there are tons and tons of international students.

Overall, I did like their burgers. Even the lemongrass was pretty good!

Words of Wisdom:

Has promotional deals going on ….No Tax, Free drink
Lemongrass chicken burger + Korean Spicy chicken burger!
Under $10
Closest Skytrain – Granville
Limited seating

We Rate Beentoo:

Address:

552 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.beentoo.ca

In Downtown

Arturo’s Mexico To Go Food Truck: Awkward Experience

April 23, 2011

Another stroll near Waterfront and I wanted to check out Arturo’s Mexico To Go. I’ve never heard of a Mexican Themed Food Truck, so I look my lunch break to head on over.

They actually have a pretty HUGE food truck. They basically tower over you and you kinda feel like a midget.

Their menu has 5 items – Burrito, Burrito Salad Bowl, Quesadilla, Tacotino, and Tortilla Soup.

I ordered the Burrito Salad Bowl and the Tortilla Soup. The whole time I was waiting for the food, it was super awkward and it seemed like the staff lacked coordination. As one of the staff prepared my meal, this other person was just standing around and you really didn’t know if he accepted the money or was just there cause he wouldn’t look at you or say anything. Super awkward.

When I got my order, they forgot I ordered the tortilla soup, so I had to remind them that I ordered the soup. All he said was “oh” and made it. He said nothing more and I got confused. I shrugged it off and headed up to some outdoor tables near Price Waterhouse Coopers. (Great view of the Inlet!)

The Tortilla Soup ($3) was alright. I expected a bit more from this soup. The cheese was not fully melted and the tortilla was all limp and soggy. The soup itself was a bit spicy and had a really rich tomato taste. Very good depth of flavour.

Next, I had the Burrito Salad Bowl ($7). This is basically the normal burrito but laid out in a box like a platter. To be honest, the name of this item threw me off. I expected more salad since it is called a “salad bowl”. They should probably rename this to be called “Burrito Platter”.

You can choose between their different types of meat – pork, beef or chicken.

I ordered the chicken and it was really tender and flavourful. I was not 100% satisfied because I was expecting everything on top of lettuce. The taste overall was alright.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Great flavour in meats
Decent portions
Close to Waterfront Skytrain
Awkward Service

We Rate Arturo’s Mexico To Go:

Address:

775 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.arturos2go.com

In Chinese

Dim Sum Express Food Truck

April 22, 2011

All the way near Waterfront Station lies a street cart specializing in Dim Sum. No need to wait for a table and fight with others to get the last egg tart or buns. Have Dim Sum anytime, in your office, or on the street…..

Walking to the cart, I was approached by someone asking for change but I quickly dodged them and ran to the street cart.

Looking at the menu, there was really one clear choice! Dim Sum Combo ($6.99). Since it is a Dim Sum cart, it should be their specialty.

As I paid for the food, the same person approached me asking for change so I quickly shoved the money back into my pocket but I was so nervous that I dropped all the coins on the floor. FML. I wasn’t that pretty looking either…just Converse, a T-shirt and jeans. I had no sympathy for that man since he kept changing his story of why he needed money. Plus, I’m still a student and I spend all my pay checks eating out.

Once I got my order, I quickly walked away to find a seat somewhere to sit and enjoy this dim sum meal. I chose to use chopsticks but if you aren’t so good using them, you can get a fork instead.

This Dim Sum Combo ($6.99) has a pork bun, gai lan, 2 pan fried dumplings, 2 shrimp dumplings, and 2 sui mai.

Everything came out right away from the bamboo steamers except for the Gai Lan. It was made on the spot. The Gai Lan was sauteed with garlic and topped with sesame seeds. Very simple and probably the best part of this meal.

Everything else was pretty bland and nothing compared to the Chinese restaurants. It seems like everything was frozen and just steamed up. I think I can find better frozen Dim Sum from T&T. I think I just have high standards for Dim Sum because I’m Asian and thats what we do on Saturday mornings.

Even though, this lunch totally sucked, it was ok for $6.99 considering its a food truck in Downtown.

They also give you a fortune cookie with your combo! I was actually really excited because I was craving the sweet taste. I opened the packaging and was about the crack it open to reveal my fortune BUT the cookie was flexible and it wouldn’t crack open.

WORST FORTUNE COOKIE EVER. It was so flexible, you could bend it back into a flat circle. This is not Dim Sum Express’s fault, but they should be aware of the quality of fortune cookies they purchase.

My fortune said “Try a new system or a different approach“. Try a new system? Should I switch to Linux? Should I try an XBOX 360? I would say this advice would be more suitable for Dim Sum Express. Please order better fortune cookies and make better Dim Sum.

Word of Advice:

Very bland Dim Sum
Under $10
Many items to order
Close to Waterfront Skytrain
Fortune Cookie let down

We Rate Dim Sum Express:

Located:

200 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC

In Dessert

Bella Gelateria: Old-World Handcrafted Gelato

April 21, 2011

CandiedZen and I were on a search for some mochi after our day of eating, but it was nowhere to be found…plus we didn’t want to scarf down a whole box of mochi from Konbinya.

We decided to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings by heading to Bella Gelateria. As usual they have some amazing gelato flavours packed with a lot of flavour. What makes Bella Gelateria awesome is how all their gelato is made with care and in small batches so to ensure its quality.

Since I love London Fogs, I got the Earl Grey gelato. The taste was very amazing and you could clearly see the earl grey tea was perfectly infused. Lots of great rich flavour and it’s really great after dinner.

CandiedZen ordered the Yuzu Sorbetto. It doesn’t really look like much except for snow, but the yuzu sorbetto was also very amazing. Yuzu is the small little oranges on the small asian trees. They are usually made into teas, jams or the famous yuzu soy sauce. The yuzu does not taste like an orange, but more close to a lemon. It has a very nice crisp taste.

If you are looking for some amazing high quality gelato, be sure to check out Bella Gelateria. It will knock your socks off.

Words of Wisdom:

Amazing quality
Close to Waterfront or Burrard Skytrain
Expensive parking on the street

Address:

1001 W Cordova St
Vancouver, BC

We rate Bella Gelateria:

Website:

http://www.bellagelateria.com/

In Downtown

Big Dogs Street Hots Food Truck

April 19, 2011

My goal is to try as my food carts as possible while the weather is just fantastic. Next on my list was Big Dogs Street Hots, I have to admit, I walked past it the first time. I thought it was just another Hot Dog stand, so I took a large detour to head to the Comic Book Store (I’m a nerd when it comes to super heroes). Since they did not have the figurine I wanted, I headed back to get a closer look for this food cart. Going up Granville, I passed by many Hot Dog stands, but I knew it had to look more like a food truck… sure enough it was the original Hot Dog stand that I passed by.

I came back and I was a bit worried it would just be the regular Hot Dogs…but no, I was 10349540 times wrong. They have several kinds – the usual stuff which you would think a Hot Dog stand would have… and then BAM all the other cool sounding Hot Dogs. I know, I keep using the word Hot Dogs, but these are not the ones you find at the grocery store!

These are more like sausage. But better because they are organic! They pride themselves as having Sausages with no nitrates, lactose, preservatives, fillers or growth hormones.

When you actually read their menu, they have some pretty sexy types – “Hella Good Halibut”, “Hawaii 5-0”, “Slammin Salmon”, “Blueberry Bison” and “Chicken Apple Maple”. These rang musical bells in my head, maybe not literally but yes I did hear music from my headphones (LAME).

After thinking to myself, I ordered the “BIG Fat Greek Dog” ($7). If Americans met the Greeks to make an amazing creation it would be this Hot Dog! Lamb smokie with green peppers, cucumbers, red onions and tzatziki sauce on a whole wheat bun. They also asked if I wanted cooked onions on my Hot Dog, so I added those on too.

What struck me at first was the bun, this did look like a whole wheat bun and not just brown. The juicy sausage and the tzatziki sauce melded very well together surprisingly! The vegetable give the Hot Dog an extra crunch in texture. Even the addition of the cooked onions made it that much more amazing.

I know Downtown is saturated with so many Hot Dog/ Sausage stands but I hope this one stays. They pride themselves of their ingredients and do have unique Hot Dogs compared to other vendors.

They price maybe a bit steep at $5 – $9 for a large Hot Dog may be a bit steep but it is very satisfying!

We Rate Big Dogs Street Hots:

Location:

Granville Street between Dunsmuir & W Georgia

Twitter:

@BigDogsOrganics

In Downtown

La Brasserie Street Food Truck: Nom Nom

April 13, 2011

Since Ursu Food Truck was not open yet, I thought I would take a stroll down to La Brasserie Street (Food Truck, not an actual “street”. They are in the location where Kimono Koi Crepes use to be.

The cart is brought to you by none other than La Brasserie. The name says it all doesn’t it? I’ve actually never been to the restaurant before but I’ve heard good things. The picture of the sandwich does look amazing!

When you arrive, you are greeted by 2 friendly men. Wait a minute one of those guys look familiar (looks through old photos). Hey! He use to run the Kimono Koi Crepes truck! Interesting yes?

Their menu is super simple with one item – their Brass Chicken Sandwich ($6.25). You basically have no choice, which is not necessarily a bad thing! That means the quality should be good!

At first glace, I was disappointed by what I saw. Large bun, little meat and fried onion things. Seriously it does not look like the advertised picture.

Inside this Brass Chicken Sandwich is beer brined rotisserie chicken in gravy, with fried onions on a buttermilk bun. I didn’t have high hopes for this sandwich until I took the first bite out of the sandwich. Wow. This reminded me of thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich, without the cranberry and the stuffing.

Tender chicken meat doused in savory delicious gravy complemented with crispy sweet taste of the onions. Oh! I’m in love describing it again. The bun is quite soft and squishy, it was perfect with the delicate meat.

One thing to be aware of is that there is a bit of flour still on the top and bottom of the bun, so if you are wearing black clothes, check your chest if you left any crumbs there. ( You never know!). Also, remember to grab a napkin too because if you are just digging into the sandwich, you may get gravy on your face. (I did and it was delicious!).

Overall, great sandwich for $6.25. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

Words of wisdom:

Must go to Food Cart!
Cash Only
Under $10
Closest Skytain – City Centre (Canada Line) , Granville (Expo Line)

We Rate La Brasserie Street:

Located at

West Georgia St. and Granville St.

Facebook:

http://zh-cn.facebook.com/people/La-Brasserie-Street/100002228837049

Twitter:

@LaBrasserieSt

In Downtown

Ursu Food Truck: Korean Taco Food Truck

April 13, 2011

I go off tangent sometimes at work and play with the food apps on my phone. As you can tell I was really anticipating lunch. Since there are 19 new street carts in Vancouver, I have to eat though all of them =)

There is Ursu – a Korean Food Cart near my work and there was n0 information about them on any website. I assume they are fairly new and have not had a lot of time to start setting up their social media. They are Korean owned and serve up Korean Tacos (~$2) (Chicken, Bulgogi or tofu), Bulgogi Dogs (~$5), and Questadillas ($6.99) (Bulgogi, spicy chicken, and tofu). I tried taking a picture of the menu but my iphone lagged and it took a picture of the ground .

The Vancouver Street Food App indicated they open at 11am, but they were not set up and ready to go till noon. So, do be aware things may happen and Food Cart vendors aren’t there on time or delayed in setting up.

After walking around the block, it was open! You can tell they are quite new in the food cart business since they were a bit slow at getting the food out, and had very little or even no publicity. They are quite popular with the Korean crowd, lots of international students were going up to them and conversing in Korean. I like to ease drop, but I overheard they are going to start having a Facebook Fan page and Twitter in the near future.

I ordered the Spicy Chicken Quesadilla ($6.99). It has cheese, peppers, hot sauce, onions, tomatoes, chicken and lettuce.

I can kinda handle a medium level of spiciness and this was decently spicy but not painful, just subtle. With the addition of the tomatoes, it did make this quesadilla a bit runny, so the juice will leak out. It is very hard to to eat it in one hand on the go. You need a bit of a strategy to make sure it all does not spill out. Your best bet would be getting a fork and knife if you have difficulty eating cleanly.

The quesadilla was just average and was not spectacular. The chicken itself had a very nice flavour, you can tell they use a sweet sesame sauce to cook the chicken. They probably used sesame oil, which is common in korean food.

I’ll probably go back to try their Bulgogi soon and let you know if it’s any good.

Words of Wisdom:

Close to Granvill Skytrain
Cash Only
Open late for Canucks Game days
Usual hours 11am – 7pm

We Rate Ursa Food Cart:

Located at:

West Georgia St. and Richards Street

In Downtown

Fumiyoshi: Japanese Restaurant with Pho

April 10, 2011

Mandu and I met up during our lunch breaks. I had a “foodie block” and had no idea where to go for lunch. I really didn’t want to revisit a restaurant nor did I want to spend over $10. Eating is an expensive hobby, so I am trying to cut down my expensive. You should have seen my credit card bill last month.. WOW.

Since Mandu was craving pho, she suggested we go to The Best Pho House. At first I was thinking in my head, how on earth is there such a place that has “the best” pho. Quickly I realized that was just the name of the restaurant.

As we met up and walked to the restaurant, The Best Pho House did not look impressive at all.

We were scared out of our mind, so we decided to find the next closest pho place.

We stumbled upon Fumiyoshi. I have visited this place for the sushi and did not have the best experience. But, I was always curious how the pho would taste. Mandu didn’t really care too much as long as the place looked legit and was edible.

Looking through their extensive list of menu items, we just flipped to the back for pho. They do not have many choices and the only one that seemed somewhat decent was the House special pho ($7.50).

It comes with beef balls, beef brisket and some other type of beef. The pho came with the usual bean sprouts, jalapeno and lemon.

The pho does not live up to the usual pho restaurants in Vancouver. The noodles were clumped together, so when you pick up noodles, you pick up the entire bunch of noodles.The meat was decent, but it would take a while for some of the meat to cook fully since it was bunched up, you could tell it was frozen before hand. The broth had a lot of MSG and after the meal. I found myself chugging down a lot of water back in the office.

The size of the Pho was more like a medium if you compare it to the other pho places. Most larges at other places are $7ish, while Fumiyoshi costs a bit more.

After trying their Japanese dishes and Vietnamese dishes, I don’t think I will be returning. For decent pho, I think I will stick with going to the real Vietnamese Pho Restaurants.

If you know any killer pho places downtown, let me know! Mandu is always on the hunt for pho.

Words of Wisdom:

Large menu
Most items under $15
Mediocre Pho
Has Japanese and Vietnamese items on their menu

We rate Fumiyoshi Seafood & Sushi:

Address:

538 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

In Cafe

Goldies Pizza

April 3, 2011

CanuckGirl and I met up again during lunchtime. It was hard deciding a place to eat, but I heard raving reviews about Goldies Pizza, so we decided to go.

The place was not packed during lunch, but later on it got more and more busy. A lot of people were grabbing and going from the window.

On their menu, they have the different types of pizza and drinks.

We both shared the 7″ Roasted Chicken ($.9.95). The toppings had Tomato sauce, mozzerela cheese, roasted chicken, roasted red peppers and onions.

Then we also got the 7″ mushroom lovers ($8.95). It has portobello and champignon de couche mushrooms marinated in extra virgin oliveoil and reduced balsamic vinegar, honey, rosemary and garlic.

I honestly did not like the pizza. The toppings were great and flavourful but one thing that just kept bugging me were the burnt crust of the pizza. If it was golden brown, I would be more satisfied. When you finish each slice, I was a bit hesitant to finish it because it did taste sightly burnt.

When you attempt to hold up the pieces, you can tell the dough was not crunchy, but a bit soggy. It did not hold together well as a slice. So, what we did was just use a knife and fork to eat it.

Perhaps it is the rustic type of pizza I am not into. Again, just probably personal preference.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Close to Granville or Waterfront Skytrain
Take Out window

We Rate Goldies Pizza:

Address:

605 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.goldiespizza.com

In Cafe

Meat & Bread: The Power of Twitter

March 28, 2011

When I’m in Downtown in the office, I love looking for places to eat for lunch. I do rely on twitter for deals or even new cool items a restaurant has for that day. I was looking up and down my twitter feed and Meat & Bread had some new items on the menu, even secret ones too…so I just had to go!

They had 2 specials that day – the Chicken Hot Wing and the goat sandwich. When do you ever get to go to a restaurant and give them a secret code to get a secret sandwich that only tweeters know. (GASP!)

I took Mandu with me to try these sandwiches! It was close to both our offices so we didn’t trek too much out of the way.

Mandu ordered the Chicken Hot Wing ($8). It has chicken, hot sauce, celery, carrots and blue cheese. Mandu really liked the taste of it! The only issue she had with it was that the sauce was a bit watery, so when she ate it, the sauce would leak out.

I went up and told one of the staff “Gimme the Goat“. He was surprised that the tweet actually worked! They had enough ingredients to make 10 sandwiches and I was the first one to sink my teeth into it! When I took my sandwich to the table, the table beside us kept looking at our food and tried to identify what they were. Clearly, they could not identify the goat sandwich. It was super awkward attempting to eat the sandwich when people are clearly staring at you. I had to intrude on their conversation and tell them about what we ordered so it would give them a clear idea of what to order and give them recommendations. After a few giggles here and there, they totally ordered the same thing as us. (The power of influence!)

If you are into the whole internet ‘meme’ thing, you will understand what I’m trying to say. I had to remove the inappropriate words just in case there were children reading this.

OK, anyways, back to the sandwich! The taste was super amazing! I had no idea what was in it. If I tried to guess the ingredients, I will probably trick you into thinking things….honestly I have no idea what I ate. I probably should have asked but I was too hungry. (Having no allergies is awesome FYI). The goat was really nice, tender, and super flavourful. There was also some type of greens and this purple spread. Trust me it was good!

I also got a soda! They have several types of sodas but I chose the Dandelion & Burdock Soda. Apparently it is the most popular soda they have. You will not find any Coke or 7up at Meat & Bread. The soda did not taste too strange or earthy.

It is infused with Dandelion leaves and Burdock root, sweetened with pear juice and spiced with a touch of ginger and anise. Apparently its a popular British type of soda. It may sound gross since dandelion are weeds….but delicious!

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go early to ensure nothing is sold out
Porchetta is the most popular but the other sandwiches are also delicious
The sauces are a must try

We rate Meat & Bread:

Check out their website: http://meatandbread.ca/

In Cafe

Finch’s Tea & Coffee House

March 27, 2011

On the last lunch with MedicalGiraffe, she took me to Finch’s Tea & Coffee House. She always finds the coolest places to go to. Sometimes I have no idea how she finds these places.

Finch’s is famous for the amazing baguette sandwiches.

My first impressions of this place is that it is a very hipster place. The ceilings and the walls are quite rustic. Their entire menu is written on the black chalk boards. There are not a lot of seats, so you may need to share a table or take out.

I ordered Green Tea and MedicalGiraffe ordered a type of Riboos Tea. The teas around about $2.50 and you can always ask them for more hot water if you finish your tea.

MedicalGiraffe had the pear baguette ($8.95). It contains blue brie, prosciutto, roasted walnuts, oil, vingar, salt & pepper and also pears! These are made of high quality ingredients and they don’t skimp on any of the ingredients.

I had a bit of this and I never knew how good pears and prosciutto could be! YUM!

I ordered the prosciutto Baguette ($7.95). It contains edam cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, oil, vinegar, salt, papper and of course prosciutto. I also loved it. The baguette was nice and fluffy with amazing ingredients inside. All the ingredients work well together and you will leave Finch’s satisfied!

Even a week after since having this sandwich, its always on my mind. If any type of food has left such an impression on you, you know it was amazing.

After the sandwiches, we wanted to try other items on the menu. I looked at the cheese plates and I spotted the Applewood Smoked Cheddar Cheese Plate ($9.25) . This was a simple cheese plate that included wheat crackers, fresh whole apple, cerignola olives, roasted walnuts, grapes and applewood smoked cheddar cheese.

The apple was indeed prepared on the spot! You can tell this by the color of the apple. If it was left out for a bit, it would have oxidized and turning brown.

The plate was a bit expensive and it was not too amazing.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay Parking on streets
Amazing baguettes!
Under $10

We Rate Finch’s Tea & Coffee House:

Address:

353 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.finchteahouse.com

In Downtown

Urban Sushi

March 21, 2011

During lunch I had no idea where to eat until I stumbled upon Urban Sushi on Dunsmiur street. I really had no idea what to expect. I saw that people were inside, so the food must be good on some level.

Walking in, I was very confused what to do. You must walk downstairs to get to the main dining area where you order your food.

They serve most of the usual Japanese food items such as bentos boxes, sushi, donburi, udon….etc.

All of the seats in the dining room was full during lunch time, so I ate upstairs near the entrance where there is additional seating.

I ordered the Sushi Bento Box ($10.25), which contains Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, 3 pieces of Sushi, Tempura, Fruit & Salad.

The salad was very simple, lettuce carrots and tomato. The Chicken teriyaki was decent, it was not spectacular nor was it bad.

The tempura had yams, prawns and zucchini. Lightly battered and then fried. I really did not like the cuts of the sashimi and the nigiri felt a tad on the small side.

Overall, the food was decent. It’s just what you would expect from any other sushi place.

Words of Wisdom: