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In Fairview

Meinhardt Fine Foods: In Search of Dessert

September 13, 2014

Meinhardt Fine Foods is located on Granville Street and 14th ave. M and I were in this area having dinner and we thought it would be cool to check out this grocery store and grab some desserts to eat at home.

This grocery store has shelves stacked up high with a lot of product everywhere. I just love browsing the aisles.

Going up and down the aisles was an adventure because they would stock cool stuff just like Whole Foods.

Lots and lots of olive oil and various dressings.

Dairy section

Meat section, but they do have a butcher at the rear section of the restaurant.

Fruit and vegetable section

It has a good selection of produce and product, but the prices are pretty expensive compared to other grocery stores. It’ll be hard to find a good deal at Meinhardt. It’s like they were trying to be a Whole Foods.

One aisle of the store has ready to go food in their display cases.

I did see a few people ordering food to-go and eating it at the tables outside. The salads looked pretty good.

Lots of packaged meals too. There’s juice, set dinners, salad, etc.

I found what I was looking for…. desserts! Sweet sweet desserts. So many cute tarts!

Linda’s Double Chocolate Brownie ($4.95) was very expensive for just one brownie. I got it anyways since I was craving some. The piece is large, so you could say it was the size of 2 brownies. It was good and was very rich. I thought it was a pretty damn good brownie.

Hazelnut nougat cookie ring was pretty good and i just love hazelnuts. yum.

Hazelnut Florentine with milk chocolate was very promising, but i didn’t like how it would stick to my teeth very easily. All the hazelnuts were delicious but perhaps I should have gotten a tin of hazelnuts to eat haha.

This cookie chocolate thing , which I don’t remember what it’s called was actually really good! It was a good ratio of chocolate and cookie.

Overall, it was a nice place to walk around and browse through everything, but it was expensive. Some of the dessert treats were really good especially their brownie! It’s not everyday you find good sweets in a grocery store.

As for their products like chips, crackers, etc, it isn’t worth it here.

We Rate Meinhardt:

Address:
3002 Granville Street
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.meinhardt.com/

In Fairview

Shishinori: New Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver

September 4, 2014

Shishinori is a new little Japanese Restaurant near Broadway and Cambie. My coworker told me to check this place out as it was in her neighbourhood and went back several times. I decided to come here with a bunch of my coworkers during lunch to get their lunch a try.

The space is quite nice and simple. The space is very cozy, so there aren’t a lot of tables available during peak times like lunch. Your order first up at the counter and then find a seat to sit if you are eating in.

All the utensils are already on the table.

Smoked Wild Salmon Eggs Benedict ($9) comes with tea and salad. It’s interesting how this comes on a bagel. It seemed like she had some issues eating it, but maybe it was just her being clumsy. She seemed to really enjoy her meal nonetheless.

Hawaii Ahi Poke Bowl ($12 +$2.50) with added cold tea and coffee jello dessert.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Bowl ($12 + $2.50) with the added enoki miso soup and cold Iced Green tea. It was a very healthy meal!

Matcha Parfait ($6) is great if you have a sweet tooth. There is cereal, green tea jello, mochi, green tea ice cream, pocky, strawberries, chocolate syrup, sponge cake and some other stuff. If you order a meal and this, you’re gonna be quite full. Get this if you want a sweet snack.

Overall, the food here is quite nice and healthy (besides the matcha parfait). The downside is that it is pricey.

We rate Shishinori:

Address:
2328 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

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

In Fairview

#DiningAsian2014: Benkei Ramen

August 26, 2014

From August 1 to 31, when you order featured Dining Asian dishes at participating restaurants, proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. This is their second year hosting this campaign and the participating restaurants are:

Benkei Noodle Shop
Tamarind Hill
Scoop
Fatty Hi Chinese Restaurant
Friend’s BBQ Restaurant
Next Noodle Bar

Money raised for the Canadian Cancer Society goes towards funding cancer research, providing support services that inform and empower people living with cancer, leading prevention initiatives and advocating for healthy public policies. It’s an organization that is dear to my heart. When you tweet or instagram their featured dish with #DiningAsian2014, you can be entered to win prizes.

I came to Benkei with Phyllis to catch up over a bowl of yummy noodles. There used to be a bunch of Benkei locations, but this is now the last left. I remember coming to Benkei often when there were not a lot of ramen options on Robson street.

At Benkei Ramen, they are featuring their Shio TanTan noodles with a spicy buta-don for $10.50 for the #diningasian campaign.

The meal is quite big for lunch and will fill you up.

Shio TanTan had a lot of yummy rich pork broth with a side of egg. The noodles were cooked nicely and this was quite enjoyable.

Spicy Buta-Don tasted a bit strange as the pork was dry and overcooked that it just tasted like flaked tuna. I wasn’t impressed by this item. I think this was the same pork used in the ramen, but I don’t think I noticed as much since the broth helped moisten the pork.

Overall, it’s good to revisit Benkei after all these years, but I think I will stick to the ramen for now.

We Rate Benkei Ramen:

Address:
545 West Broadway Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.benkeiramen.com/

In Cafe

Moii Cafe: Crepe and Teas in Vancouver

May 8, 2014

Right under the Vancity Credit Union on Cambie and Broadway is Moii Cafe. They have actually been around for a few years. It’s a popular spot among university students as it has the perfect atmosphere to study, plus the right type of food to keep the brain fueled. Ok, not really, but who doesn’t like crepes.

The interior is quite cozy and homey. There’s a good amount of space to study alone of with friends. As for me and Magz, we came here for a quick bite of lunch and to chit-chat about work and life.

They offer a variety of savoury and sweet crepes. The menu is a little bit misleading because a few items aren’t available due to seasonality.

There’s also a large wall of different drinks. There’s hot drink and cold drinks available.

Cold Honey Green Tea ($3.75) is pretty standard drink, i felt this was a tad sweet, but it’s a good pairing with a savoury crepe to balance it out.

Cold Lychee Green Tea ($3.75) has a very distinct lychee taste. Very good if you like the taste of sweet lychee.

Terimayo Crepe ($9.50) has chicken, bonito takes, cheese, okonomi sauce, pepper, mayo and wasabi. It’s not spicy at all. It’s a pretty good crepe. We enjoyed it.

Cheesecake crepe ($8.50) comes with ice cream on the side. The crepe has a slice of cheesecake inside wrapped in the crepe and topped with honey and powdered sugar. The cheese cake isn’t consistent inside as it is cut up into slices. It tasted ok, but we prefer the savoury crepe.

Overall, it’s a nice spot to hangout during the day with friends. They have wifi available too.

We rate Moii Cafe:

Address:
2559 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://moiicafe.com/category/cambie/cambie-menu

In All You Can Eat

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot: New Location on Broadway

May 5, 2014

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot has a new location on Broadway and Burrard. My coworkers and I decided to come here as it was semi close to our office. Plus, I always had a good time at their other locations in Richmond and Burnaby.

This location is a little bit different as they do not offer plum juice. They said it’s because they don’t have room for the equipment to prepare it. it made me sad because I do enjoy plum juice with hot pot. Some people do hate it.

It costs about $20 per person for hot pot plus soup base and any other specialty items.

We came at around 5:45pm on a weekday and it wasn’t packed yet. By the time it was 7pm, almost all the tables were full.

The broth we had was a mix of spicy and original broth. It’s a good option to get if you have a group of friends who can’t decide which broth to get. I generally find that spicy is great for cooking meat and the original is great for vegetables.

Remember to load up on the meat! The only downside of little sheep is that you are limited to 2 orders of each meat per round.

We ordered a lot of beef slices.

Lamb, beef and shrimp balls.

Spam, pork skin and quail eggs.

Cuttlefish and octopus

Sweet potato, bean curds, tofu puffs and frozen tofu.

Udon

More mushrooms and vegetables.

Overall, my coworkers thought it was a great place to go and enjoyed the food. The menu isn’t as vast compared to some other hot pot places, but they still have a decent selection. I just wish they didn’t have meat limits per order.

The service was decent but when it gets busy, it’s harder to flag down a server.

We Rate Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot:

Address:
101-1788 W. Broadway Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/

In Fairview

Suika Snackbar: SupaSUIKA Dining Package

May 13, 2013

I’ve been to Suika Snackbar several times in the past few years and it’s always been a great experience. They have sister restaurants located around town – Kingyo and Rajio. Suika means watermelon, Kingyo means goldfish and Rajio means radio. I find it funny how all those restaurants are named after things.

Vaneats.ca and Suika have teamed up together again to offer another dining package. It’s $35 and you get the following:

Salmon Battera
Magical Mojito Pitcher
Steak Salad
Ma-Po Rice Cake

I came with Mandu and KoreanGirl to check out the package since there was a mojito pitcher that is more for a group rather an individual.

It’s pretty busy usually, so it’s always best to make a reservation. Most of the tables we saw when we arrived had reserve signs too. To avoid disappointment, definitely reserve!

As always, this is their amazing light installation that catches everyone’s attention.

Magical Mojito Pitcher (Regular $28). You can choose from watermelon, pomegranate or aloe. We had a hard time figuring it out, so we asked the staff which one was most popular and they suggested the Suika Mojito, which is the watermelon flavoured one. I’m not a fan of artificial watermelon flavour, so I didn’t particularly like the flavour. They didn’t skimp on the alcohol because I turned bright red like Rudolph after having one glass.

There was enough in the pitcher to fill up 6 glasses. Pretty good amount. For 3 people, it was enough for us on a weekday.

Steak Salad has diced & marinated AAA beef filet steaks on a bed of organic greens, then topped with watercress and beets.

The steak pieces were done to about medium rare and was a tad chewy. It was still a pretty solid dish and we enjoyed it.

Ma-Po Rice Cake is deep-fried rice cake with spicy ground pork sauce. It comes with 4 pieces and has the sauce drizzle on top of each piece. My friends loved the stickiness of the rice cakes and the savoury sauce.

Salmon Battera is topped with sockeye salmon, salmon caviar, spicy cod roe mayo, Japanese basil, and then avocado shiso between the rice.

Overall, the 3 of us enjoyed the #SupaSUIKA dining package from Vaneats.ca. $35 for the 3 food dishes and the huge pitcher of mojito is worth it. There are also other items on their menu that will definitely make you drool. If you spilt this package with a few friends and add a few items on the side, it’s not too expensive.

Items not included in the SupaSUIKA Dining Package (Delicious things I ordered in addition to the package)

Deluxe Suika Box ($12) comes with a set of 9 assorted appetizers. If you are a person that like a little taste of everything, you’ll enjoy this box.

Deep Fried Chicken Cartilage with curry spice. It was an interesting dish to try. Who knew chicken cartilage would be tasty. It’s the curry spice that really makes this dish mighty delicious. Don’t worry, there is chicken meat in the dish and not just cartilage.

Corn Kakiage is one item you must order everytime you eat at SUIKA. It comes in 3 pieces and really good.

Tokyo Oxtail Ramen is another good choice too. It has slowly braised oxtail and noodles in a soy based broth topped with green onions.

Words of Wisdom:

Corn Kakiage, chicken kaarage, Deluxe suika box, Tuna tataki, Sashimi shake salad and ebi mayo recommended.
Nice decor and good service
If it’s your birthday, the staff sing to you
Pay parking on Street
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Bakery

Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe: Buttery Goodness

March 18, 2013

Beaucoup Bakery and Cafe opened at the end of 2012 and their customers have raved about their amazing croissants. After seeing my sister bring home boxes full of their croissants, I decided to come here with my girls – KoreanGirl and Mandu. They love to eat, so an afternoon catch up session definitely needs coffee and pastries.

On a Saturday afternoon, this place was packed! There were swarms of people almost out the door. There’s not a lot of seating, so you kinda need to wait patiently for some spots to free up.

The croissants smell so good and look good too. Once you walk through the door, your eyes will just stare at them intensely to figure out which pastry you’ll devour.

They have more than just croissants.

The perfect items for 3 girls.

Latte is made with 49th Parallel coffee and went well with the pastries. Anytime coffee that is made with 49th Parallel beans, you know its good stuff.

Macchiato had a cute little heart.

Croissant is very flakey on the outside and soft in the middle. This croissant is definitely one of the crispiest in town.

Look at all those layers! When you bite into it, you will know this is loaded with butter to get the crispiness.

Mini Chocolate Croissant was really good as well. The size was perfect, so you get a few bites without feeling guilty afterwards.

Citrus Scroll was sticky and sweet kinda like a marmalade. It was good, but not overly sweet.

Marcona Almond Bar was one of my favorite treats! It is packed full of nuts on top and a piece of gold foil. Definitely recommended.

Overall, we enjoyed our time here…especially the food. Coming on a weekend, it is quite busy, so the place will be packed. Will definitely be back!

We Rate Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe:

Address:
2150 Fir St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.beaucoupbakery.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2150+Fir+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2150+Fir+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J+3B5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinese

Peaceful Restaurant: Hand Pulled Noodles

February 4, 2013

Peaceful Restaurant is located on Broadway near Broadway/City Centre Skytrain on the Canada Line. They are best known for their hand pulled noodles! It’s been there for a few years and I remember seeing it when I go to Sha Lin Noodles. I kinda always had a bias against this place because they have similar dishes and Sha Lin was there first. I decided I should really stop thinking that way and just keep on eating through all the restaurants in the city.

Even Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network was here filming a segment.

Here’s the video!

Peaceful Beef Roll ($7.95) has five spiced beef rolled in a green onion crispy green onion flat bread and sweet hoisin sauce. You can see him making it on the show and it is really good! Definitely one of the better ones in town. Everyone gets this when they visit, so do give it a try.

Xiao Long Bao Steamed Buns ($7.95) is filled with minced pork, ginger, and some sauce. It arrives on the table in a bamboo steamer with 8 pieces of buns.

Peaceful House Stir-Fried Noodles ($12.95) has seafood, pork, veggies, and a chili garlic sauce.

Cumin Lamb Stir-Fried Noodles ($12.95) has peppers, lamb and other spices. M liked it and enjoyed the flavours.

Sichuan beef noodle soup ($7.95) has stewed beef in a dark spicy broth in spinach and cilantro. It was really good! Lots of noodles and the beef was very tender. Highly recommended.

Overall, the food here is pretty solid. It is quite busy during peak hours, but turnover is quick. The service is ok but not great. There is very very limited parking in the rear. Just 1 spot…so its pretty hard to fight for that one spot. There is paid street parking around the block.

We rate Peaceful Restaurant:

Address:
532 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.peacefulrestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=532+W+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=532+W+Broadway,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Z+1E6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinese

Sha Lin Noodle House: New Location with Great Noodles

January 6, 2013

Sha Lin Noodle House has a new home a few blocks away from its original location. Their name is also Shao Lin Noodle House. They clearly have an identity crisis and have no consistency on their name. In my mind, it will always be Sha Lin Noodle House.

The guys and I were feeling hungry and wanted some cheap food. My mind automatically goes to Sha Lin Noodles since their noodles are about $7.

The interior is much larger and has more tables.

You can still watch their chefs cook and prepare their famous hand-made noodles.

Dragging noodles with chicken and vegetables ($6.95) I always order this, I don’t know why but I never have the temptation to try any other noodle dish. It’s a very simple dish with the noodles on the bottom, vegetables and chicken.

Dragging Noodles with Beef & Bean Sprouts in Soup ($6.95) the beef was delicious and so were the noodles. Just put a bit of chili oil and it’ll be deeeelicous.

Curried Dragging Noodles was delicious. M prefers the dry noodles since it’s easier for him to eat without the soup splashing about.

Pan Fried Dumplings was horrible this time around. The skin was so thick and the meat inside was smaller. It just felt like eating bread than dumplings. Everyone agreed that this dish was terrible.

Overall, the interior has definitely improved. The noodle dishes are still delicious, but those popular pan-fried dumplings are horribly executed. Even with the new restaurant, their prices have still remained the same.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10 per dish
No MSG
Large Portions
House made noodles
Noodles are a must!!!

We rate Sha Lin Noodle House:

Address:
656 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.shalinnoodlehouse.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=548+West+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=656+W+Broadway,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Z+1E9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Fairview

Suika Japanese Snackbar: Stingray, Pig Foot, and Other Odd Dishes

July 17, 2012

Suika Japanese Snackbar is owned by the same people who created Kingyo Izakaya. It is located on Broadway near Fir St. I’ve been to Suika Snackbar a few times and it’s a great place to dine with friends over yummy Japanese food.

The famous chandelier!

Chicken Karaage ($7.80) is deep fried chicken pieces with a side of salt and pepper. Very yummy! I usually order this when I go to any Izakaya restaurant.

Corn Kakiage ($4.80) are corn niblets fried in cilantro batter, soy sauce and butter. It’s one of my favorite items! It comes with 3 pieces and the butter definitely enhances the flavour!

Tonsoku ($6.80) is a sauteed pig foot until it’s crispy. It is flavoured with soy butter. On the menu it says “Don’t try, if you never had”. Just because of that line, it made CandiedZen and I eat it! When it arrived at the table, it was indeed a pig foot. It tasted good, but it’s not for everyone. There’s not much meat on it, so you are basically eating skin, fat and cartilage.

Sweet Balsamic Sauteed Portabella Mushroom ($6.80) was a very interesting dish. It looked really weird, but with the balsamic vinegar, it was sweet.

Eihire – Dried Sting Ray ($4.20) was something that caught our eye on the menu. CandiedZen and I were so curious about how this would taste! It is also accompanied by a chili sauce and mayo. The look of it was quite weird as I commented saying it looked like very thick feet skin. I think I ruined M and CandiedZen’s appetite. hahaha. The taste was like dried squid, so it tasted totally fine.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio ($9.20) had lots of slices of tuna with mayo, onions, tobiko, and pea shoots. It’s a pretty solid dish to order at any izakaya restaurant and Suika does a good job at making this. Yum.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on Street
No refills on pop (M accidently spent $7.50 on 3 cups of coke)
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika Snackbar:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Fairview

Maurya Indian Cuisine: Maurya’s Spice Dining Package Review

July 6, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Maurya’s Spice Dining Package” and write a review about it. I got a complimentary dining package and brought along TenantGirl.

601121_432226886799587_915855082_n — Photo by: VANEATS.ca

One of Dine Out Vancouver’s favourites, Maurya Indian Cuisine has won multiple diner’s choice awards over the years. A big fan of flavourful indian food, I was really excited to help DesignGirl with this review.

Dining Package details

Dining passes are currently available for $18 each which gives you 6 courses (http://vaneats.ca/mauryas-spice/):

Garlic and Basil Naan, Indian leavened bread flavored with chopped garlic and basil
Mixed greens & beets salad, lightly tossed with vinaigrette
Seekh Kebab, minced lamb mixed with spices & skewed in charcoal oven
Mixed Vegetables, seasoned and pan fried broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, zucchini
Chicken Chettinad, Marinated chicken in South Indian chettinad paste of coconut and poppy seeds – 2009 Dine Out Vancouver Award Winner!
Daal Maurya, Maurya’s Pride! Black lentils cooked overnight. A real accompaniment to an Indian meal

The Experience

On a Wednesday night, I picked up TenantGirl from school and headed over to Maurya’s. We decided to order one of the Vaneats.ca packages and order an additional dish, the Saag Gosht – Tender medallions of lamb tempered with cumin folded into our spinach curry sauce.

The only thing that wasn’t part of the package was the Saag Gosht (the greenish dish) and the rice. Ok, now let’s dig in:

Similar to getting bread before a meal, they first dropped us off some papadum that you can eat accompanied with mango chutney, Mint sauce, or Tamarind sauce. I enjoyed them all but my favourite was the tamarind sauce that had a light sweet and sour taste to it. It was interesting switching between the three and it was my first time having papadum. At first I thought that maybe it was some type of flat bread but imagine having a super thin pita chip.

Pictured here are the three appetizers that they served this included:

Mixed greens & beets salad, lightly tossed with vinaigrette
Seekh Kebab, minced lamb mixed with spices & skewed in charcoal oven
Mixed Vegetables, seasoned and pan fried broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, zucchini

The salad was light, sweet, and perfectly dressed with a raspberry vinaigrette. The Seekh Kebab, I’d compare it to having hot pepperoni. I’d say that it was a bit on the dry side for me but definitely had balanced spices. TenantGirl said it was salty for her taste but I think that’s a part of this dish. The mixed vegetables had a nice butteriness to it and weren’t overcooked which is a pet peeve of mine. I wouldn’t say that either blew me away but it had great variety. For appetizers, next time I’d really like to try their Karawari Prawns on their regular menu.

Yum Yum Garlic Basil Naan! A staple to Indian cuisine, Maurya’s naan is a little different from most places because it gets added flavour from the garlic and basil. It was a flavourful, rustic and what a great way to enjoy the saucey dishes that follow. I have to admit though, there is a lot of garlic, so make sure you chew some gum after this meal. I swear i had the taste of garlic in my mouth hours after.

This is the Chicken Chettinad, Marinated chicken in South Indian chettinad paste of coconut and poppy seeds – 2009 Dine Out Vancouver Award Winner!

This dish was yum yum yum! It had a sweet spiciness to it, and almost sort of fruity. I could see why this dish was a winner. The white chicken meat was tender and flavourful with the sauce. Have it with your naan in there and you’re ready for more. I wouldn’t say that it was very spicy though. There was heat but it wouldn’t leave you reaching for water after just 1 or 2 bites. At first I didn’t taste the spice, but after a few more bites, the heat was noticeable (in a good way). I think that you can request it be the top level of spice.

This is the Daal Maurya, Maurya’s Pride! Black lentils cooked overnight. Again, you can eat this with your naan and I was amazed by how good this tasted. I’ve had Daal before but I haven’t had one that was as aromatic as this. Not that you could literally smell it when it arrived but once you take a bite, the subtle taste of the lentils fill your mouth and senses. If you’ve never had daal before, I guess you’d compare it to mashed peas but … so much better.

Saag Gosht – Tender medallions of lamb tempered with cumin folded into our spinach curry sauce. This was our addition of the night, but for two girls, we left the night with packed away rice and maybe a third of the Chicken Chettinad and Saag Gosht.

We ordered this with a mild spiciness but I couldn’t really taste the spice much and perhaps I should have gone for medium. The taste might have been overpowered by the Chicken Chettinad we ate before starting this dish. I know it looks green and mushy but that’s the spinach curry sauce that actually turned out to taste very creamy because of the spinach. The lamb was not gamey and was not overcooked, so the meat was perfect. I know I ordered mild but I think I expected more of the spices to come forth. I might need to give medium a try but I’m not sure if I’d order this again.

Overall, if you’re buying this package expecting spicey heat that will leave you sweating, that’s not what you will expect. I think it’s suitable for both those who like spices/flavourful food as well as those who have more sensitive tongues.

If I had ordered the chicken chettinad on it’s own it would have cost $12.95 and with the added $4.95 to make a full dinner with rice, naan, and daal, it would have totalled to $18.00 as well. So for going with the deal, you don’t get the rice, but you do get the extra appetizers with it. I wouldn’t say that their appetizers blew me away, but it’s nice to get your vegetables and have a bit more variety. I think if I had gotten the full meal with both rice and naan, I would have been wayyyy too stuffed.

Words of Wisdom

If you love/don’t love spice, make sure you mention whether you want mild/medium/hot.

We Rate Maurya Indian Cuisine:

Address:
1643 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mauryaindiancuisine.com

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In Fairview

Thai House Kitsilano: Appe-THAIzing Dining Package Review

June 29, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Appe-THAIzing Dining Package” and write a review about it. I got a complimentary dining package and brought along NewsBoy.

DesignGirl is on her travels again so PineappleBun (me) gladly stepped in to do this review.

Thai House Restaurant has multiple locations and has been running their businesses in Vancouver for quite some time now. Heard of Samba Brazilian or Pink Elephant Thai? That’s part of their group too.

Dining passes are currently available for $18 each which gives you 5 courses (www.vaneats.ca):

Lettuce Wrap, served with lean ground beef with chopped onion, bell pepper, basil and a touch of oyster & chilli sauce
Peeg Gai Yaad Sai, deep fried chicken wing stuffed with vegetables and glass noodles
Keang Kari Gai Ma-Mung, fresh mango & chicken in yellow coconut curry
Pad Kee Mao, stir fry rice noodles with beef, fresh basil, chopped veggies, bell pepper, onions and fish sauce
Kluag Tid Ma-Mung Ice Cream, deep fried banana served with mango ice cream

NewsBoy and I decided to start off with a few drinks to celebrate the little bit of sunshine we had peek out behind the clouds. Is it summer yet? Well, I can dream. I got the Coconut Lychee drink while NewsBoy decided to go for the Lime Soda. The Coconut Lychee drink is rich and creamy so if you’e expecting the taste of young coconut, that’s probably not what you want.

I don’t really like the taste of lime but the soda had fresh lime juice and Newsboy found it very refreshing. For me, The Coconut drink really helped bring the heat down from the food I ate.

So this is the Peeg Gai Yaad Sai, a deep fried chicken wing stuffed with vegetables and glass noodles. What are glass noodles? They pretty much look like clear vermicelli. The chicken Wing looked like it was about to burst! It was crispy, hot, and went perfectly when you dipped it into the chilli sauce. I’d say there was medium heat to the sauce and had a great sweet spiciness to it which I really liked. The chicken was really moist too! Definitely worth trying out. I wonder how they debone it… there were no bones inside! Take a bite and you’ll be surprised.

The other appetizer was the Lettuce Wrap, served with lean ground beef with chopped onion, bell pepper, basil and a touch of oyster & chilli sauce. It came out hot and I just love basil! The lettuce wrap also had a medium spiciness to it but the oyster sauce also makes it have a sort of sweet, savouriness to it. The lettuce helps cut the heat to give a cooling effect.

I’ve never had Keang Kari Gai Ma-Mung (fresh mango & chicken in yellow coconut curry) before but I was definitely surprised! Again, the sweet spiciness theme came up and I was surprised to find mango slices in the curry dish. I’ve had curry where they give you a lychee with it but mango was a nice change.

Say hello to Pad Kee Mao, stir fry rice noodles with beef, fresh basil, chopped veggies, bell pepper, onions and fish sauce. It kind of looks like the Cantonese beef fried noodles but the Pad Kee Mao noodles are a bit thinner in width. Overall, I thought this dish was good and I do prefer this over the typical Pad Thai which usually tastes a little more sour.

This dish wasn’t part of the package but it was the Red Curry Tiger Prawns. I came with a guy so one package to share definitely wasn’t enough. I expected that I’d order another dish so we chose this one. The prawns were a good size, fresh, and plump. I just thought that curry sauce on its own was a bit salty but together with the prawns in your mouth balanced the taste. This also came with rice.

To end the night and as part of the package, we were presented with Kluag Tid Ma-Mung Ice Cream, deep fried banana served with mango ice cream. To tell you the truth, i’ve never had a deep fried banana before but it was good together with the ice cream! The mango ice cream was great and together with the warm banana just made it comforting. On the dish, they’d look like two separate things but give it a try and eat them together.

For 18 dollars, this deal was amazing for the amount of food you get. Actually, I can’t imagine myself finishing all 5 of those dishes. If you like spice and would like an introduction to Thai food, you’ll really enjoy it. I hate making decisions about food so this is perfect for those indecisive people. Less work and more bang for your buck.

Purchase the deal at www.vaneats.ca

We Rate Thai House:

Address:
1766 W 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thaihouse.com

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In Fairview

Suika Snackbar: Suika Punch Dining Package Review

June 21, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Suika Punch” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along M and CandiedZen to keep the review as unbiased as I could.

Suika Snackbar is owned by the same people who bring us Kingyo Izakaya. It is located on Broadway near Fir St. I’ve been to Suika Snackbar a few times and it’s a great place to dine with friends over yummy Japanese food.

The guys at VANEATS.ca is offering a new dining package called Suika Punch for $25, where you get 6 courses consisting of:

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki
Tomato Kimchi
Yellowtail Carpaccio
The Hellz Chicken
Chinese Poutine
Pitcher of Sapporo

I always end up taking a picture of this because it’s so pretty.

Pitcher of Sapporo is an awesome addition to this package because everyone wants to relax and have a drink with friends. CandiedZen and I shared the pitcher since M was the driver for the night. Sapporo is one of my favorite beers since it’s light and pairs really well with Japanese food. No joke, I actually prefer Sapporo over Asahi.

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki, Tomato Kimchi, and Yellowtail Carpaccio come on one plate. It’s not 3 full courses, but it’s more of a sampler.

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki is topped with chili oil and scallions. M really liked it since it’s nicely seared on all sides. It was a nice change to have the chili oil on top of this instead of the usual ponzu sauce. It’s not spicy! There are 4 pieces that come with it, so if you come with an odd amount of people, someone is gonna fight for the last piece.

Tomato Kimchi has kimchi marinated tomato with chinese chives & cilantro oil. I loved this since the taste just tickles your tongue. It’s not spicy at all. I am not sure if I was crazy, but it seemed like there was a bit of sesame oil to this dish as well.

Yellowtail Carpaccio has thinly sliced yellowtail topped with sesame soy dressing, tobiko and mayo. I thought the mayo was a bit too much since it just killed the light delicate taste of the fish.

Chinese Poutine has french fries topped with spicy ground pork sauce, mozzarella, chili oil, sansho and minced cilantro. It’s actually not spicy either. It’s a really weird spin on poutine. It tasted good, but it seemed a bit peculiar for the menu.

The Hellz Chicken has 4 balls of deep-fried chicken tossed the most most evil sauce imaginable. (It’s a lie, but it’s spicy! Wing’s Bobby wings are hotter.) The sauce is made with a combination of jalapeno, hot sauce, lemon, garlic, vinegar & tabasco. Since I knew this was coming, I had to bring a Korean to see how intense the spice really was.

M loves his spicy food, but he did not feel like there was a yummy spicy taste to this dish. I had to agree with him since it just burns your mouth. I ate 2 of the pieces and I drank a glass of beer and a glass of water to quench the burn. I can usually handle my spice since I eat jars and jars of spicy kimchi at home.

At the end of the meal, you get some awesome frozen grapes. I always look forward to these since it’s very yummy.

Overall, we felt that the ‘Suika Punch’ is not for everyone. If you can’t handle your spice…or have weak friends, someone is gonna end up crying because of the Hellz Chicken. For $25 for the dining pass, it’s a good price since the pitcher of Sapporo does come with it. It’s a good package for 2 people. If you have 3 people, you would be ok ordering a few more additional dishes.

You can purchase the Suika Punch Dining Package at VANEATS.ca for $25!

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on Street
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika Snackbar:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Cafe

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe: Hidden Gem in a Car Wash

May 13, 2012

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe is hidden inside the Platinum Touch Autospa on Pine and West 5th. I drove by this place and I totally missed it because it really doesn’t stand out at all.

I came here with the Vancouver Gastronomical Brouhaha group to chow down on some Peruvian food. I’ve heard much about this place but never had the chance to come here till now.

The interior is quite small and so is their kitchen space. I find it amazing how they can do everything in such a small space. They can’t fit too many people in this space, but you will be ok with a group of 4 or 5 people.

Ceviche de Pescado ($13) has fish marinated in lime juice, rocoto sauce, garlic & Italian parsley served with sweet corn, toasted Peruvian corn, sweet potato & red onions.

Ceviche Mixto ($14) has fish, calamari, shrimp, octopus and mussels marinated in lime juice, rocoto sauce, garlic & Italian parsley served with sweet corn, toasted Peruvian corn, sweet potato & red onions. The sauce is very sour, which isn’t a bad thing since it’s what you need in a ceviche. I loved it.

Chupe de Mariscos (Small – $12) is a spicy, hearty seafood chowder with fish, clams, shrimp, calamari, mussels, cream, Aji Panca, smoke paprika, Peruvian oregano, rice & feta cheese. It looks spicy, but it wasn’t spicy at all. Highly recommended.

Yuca frita con chicharron is deep-fried pork belly and cassava root that’s like a potato. It’s a pretty delicious dish! The only issue was that the meat in the pork belly was a bit dry and tough.

Aji de Gallina ($12) has hand shredded chicken & potatoes in a creamy Peruvian yellow pepper & parmesan cheese sauce served with rice.

Overall, it can get quite pricey and the portions aren’t too large. The service did take a while between the dishes, so some people had to wait a while till their dish arrived. The food is definitely delicious regardless of the wait.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on the street
Ceviche is awesome
Long waits for food
Small interior
Slightly pricey for the portions

We Rate Mochikas Peruvian Cafe:

Address:
1696 West 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mochikas.ca/cafe/

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In Chinese

Lin Chinese Cuisine: Dan Dan Noodles & Xiao Long Bao

December 24, 2011

Lin Chinese Cuisine is well known for their amazing Xiao Long Bao and Noodle soups! They have won multiple awards for their amazing food and chefs. This place is usually packed during the peak hours and caters to small and large groups. The prices are very affordable!

MedicalGiraffe was back in town again and craved some good ol Chinese food since she’s been deprived of it for the past few months.

There are lots of tables, but it’s always good to make reservations. Since there are so many tables, sometimes the seating can get quite cramped.

Tea is the way to go!

Tan Tan noodle soup with minced meat ($6.59) was really good. It was my first time I’ve ever had dandan noodles. The broth had a nice rich flavour and the addition of the meat made it really good. It wasn’t very spicy at all. MedicalGiraffe really liked it too.

The broth is probably not the healthiest, but it does taste good. I’m not a dandan expert since this is the first time I’ve had it….so i’m not sure how it’s really supposed to be like.

Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai juicy pork dumpling) ($4.99) comes with 6 pieces and come with the sauce.

It was really hard to take a picture while eating it since the soup/meat just screamed to be eaten. What we loved about their dumplings is that the skin is thin, yet quite durable. It didn’t break and the pork and the soup inside tasted good.

Overall, what we had was pretty good. It’s sucks that the table arrangements were quite close together, but it was all about the food

Words of Wisdom:

Xiao Long Bao is a must
Service is a bit mediocre
Make reservations if you have large group
Hard to find parking
Very good prices!

We Rate Lin Chinese Cuisine:
Address:
1537 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6J
Website:
linchinese.ca

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Vancouver

In Chinese

Sha Lin Noodles: Reopened and Better Than Ever

August 15, 2011

A few months ago, there was a fire that started at Japas Bistro, which caused their unit to go up in smoke and affect the neighbouring restaurants as well. I was so sad that Sha Lin Noodles was affected and closed down because they were my go-to noodle place.

After passing by Broadway with M, we saw that they had reopened. We quickly parked the car and lined up. We really didn’t mind the line up since we wanted their noodles so badly! On the plus side, due to the fire, they had to do minor renovations and now the interior looks cleaner.

I first found out about this place when it was featured on Rachel Ray’s show – ‘$40 a Day’ a few years ago. Sha Lin Noodles was highlighted and a few days later I went. Ever since that first time, I fell in love with their food. All their noodles are hand made and their broth has no MSG at all. You can actually watch one of their chefs cooking up the noodles at his station. In this image he is making cutting noodles… thus the knife.

The best noodles to watch are the dragging noodles since they have to stretch the dough out and create an amazing display. It’s really a craft.

Tea comes in little ceramic cups. I was impressed with the service since my cup of tea was never empty.

Theres also the usual sauces where you can spice up your dish. My personal favorite is the hot chili oil. Add a good kick to your noodles.

Pan Fried Dumplings ($10.95)is a large dish. It is meant to be shared amongst a few people. Could be good enough for 4 -5 people. Its funny how it actually resembles a pan.

The dumplings have a nice firm skin with juicy pork inside. The best sauce to go with these dumplings is the black bottle of vinegar. It’s very unique and it’s one of those items to get here. This dish was so large, M and I couldn’t finish it, so we took it back home.

Large Dragging Noodle with Spicy Beef ($8.95) was really good. You can have it spicy or non-spicy. It has large slices of beef, bean sprouts with a delicious savory sauce. M loved this dish since its simple and has a good flavour.

Dragging noodles with chicken and vegetables ($6.95) comes with carrots, bok choy, chicken, noodles and the clean delicious broth. I simply adore this dish, this is my type of comfort food. It’s yet again simple and has great taste. I like to add the spicy chili oil into this dish to add more flavour.

For the longest time, I thought the chicken looked super weird, but it’s just the white meat and how they cook it.

Overall, the food isn’t fancy or anything super impressive. You get a bang for your buck and the food is Chinese type of comfort food.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10 per dish
No MSG
Large Portions
House made noodles
Noodles are a must!!!

We rate Sha Lin Noodle House:

Address:

548 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Number:
(604) 873-1816

In Fairview

Suika: Japanese Snack Bar

April 19, 2011

I’ve wanted to try Suika out after my coworker highly recommended this place. Since M, ConsultingGirl, and LabRat wanted to have dinner, I decided to make a reservation and drive down.

We originally wanted to get here by 6pm to get a seat at the tables rather than the bar, but ConsultingGirl’s phone went crazy and did not wake her up. As we waited for her to put on her face, I called the restaurant to see if they could still hold our table, but since it was fully booked, they would only offer us seats at the bar at 6:30pm.

We were not very happy since sitting at the bar for 4 people is quite hard to converse. Since our belly’s were rumbling, we still went ahead with the plan and made our way there.

Suika is a Japanese Snack Bar on Broadway. They are similar to the other Izakaya restaurants in Vancouver. What we found super cool about Suika was their open kitchen. You can look into their whole kitchen and see the chefs busy at work.

The interior decor is super super cool as well. Their main chandelier is made out of sake bottles. At their bar, you can see they made use of industrial materials like pipes and cement blocks to give it a nice asian flair.

2 things which we enjoyed looking at were the cool handles for their Sapporo on tap; it’s a samurai sword! Also above the bar, they show old episodes of Kamen Rider. Since there is no sound, you get to read the most outrageous subtitles. We didn’t exactly understand the show, but it was hilarious watching the weird costumes.

We started off the night getting a pot of Genmai Cha ($1.80). This is one of their more popular teas.

ConsultingGirl and I both shared the Deluxe “Suika” Box ($10). It comes with 9 little appetizers served in little sake cups. It is very cute and has nice presentation. I’ll try to explain them row by row. Tomatoes, lotus root, pickled vegetables, chicken, tuna tataki, chawan mushi, spicy tofu, crackers with spread, and beef tongue. If you intend to share this box, it is best with 2 people.

We both found the tastes pretty average, some really good, some ok, but overall great concept and you do get a chance to try a bit of everything.

M, ConsultingGirl and I got 2 orders of the Ebi Mayo ($7.80). It comes with about 6 pieces of battered tiger prawns with chilli mayo sauce. These were ok, but it still does not beat the ones we had at Toratatsu. When you first take a bite of it, there is a bit too much mayo near the head of the ebi.

LabRat ordered the Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio. Raw pieces of sockeye salmon garnished with garlic chips, scallions, onions and lemon.

We got the Gyu Yukke Don ($8.80), this has marinated beef sashimi, garlic, and sesame seeds on steamed rice. It is also topped off with sweet pea shoots and a raw egg.

A cool thing about this dish is that you get to grind up your own sesame seeds with a rod and a textured bowl. ConsultingGirl had a fun time grinding it all up. As she did that, I proceeded to mix up the ingredients with the rice. Fun!

I thought this dish was just ok since it felt very strange eating the beef sashimi warm. ConsultingGirl on the other hand loved it. The flavours nonetheless were very well combined!

M ordered the Tuna and Miso Pizza. This is a thin pizza with tuna, miso, tomato and cheese. M couldn’t make up his mind about what he thought about the pizza. The pizza was well prepared, but he felt the cooked tuna was super weird on pizza. It was just something he was not use to.

LabRat ordered the Tokyo Oxtail Ramen ($9.80). This has braised oxtail in a soy sauce broth. It is topped with fish flakes and scallions. She did not take a particular liking to the ramen. It was ok, but I think the ramen at the ramen shops are way better.

Next, ConsultingGirl and I shared the Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki ($6.00). It had a semi mild chili sauce sauce covering the tuna tataki. The tuna tataki rested on top of onions and scallions. Very good twist to the usual tuna tataki.

Then ConsultingGirl and I had the Sashimi “Shake” Salad ($7.80).

The reason why it has the word “shake” because they come up to your tables with this jar full of salad and start shaking it infront of you, then pour it all into a large bowl. It makes for a little show. The salad is composed of mixed greens, sashimi, tobiko and shrimp +sesame oil dressing.

It was a large salad for a good price. Very fresh and clean salad to end the meal.

At the end of the meal, you are given frozen grapes. They are perfect at the end of the meal since they also act as pallet cleansers to rid your mouth of the old tastes.

Overall, good experience, good ambiance, and great food. What I found interesting was how all 4 of us had different thoughts on Suika. ConsultingGirl loved it, LabRat thought it was ok and M was indifferent.

I would probably go again! Next time, we will probably make reservations a few days before to get a table rather than sit at the bar.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on Street
Reservations highly recommended

We Rate Suika:

Address:

1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

In Fairview

Bin 942: Tapas Parlour

April 18, 2011

CandiedZen and I went on another one of our food adventures to Bin 942. They are a tapas parlour on Broadway and Granville.

The restaurant is very narrow and there is not a lot of room for a large amount of guests. We went around 7pm and it was PACKED! We were told we would have to wait approximately 1 hour till a seat would clear up. For just 2 people, we thought it was a bit excessive, but we were there already and paid for the parking, so we stayed. We eventually got seated at the bar.

We only waited in total for 30 mins since people did clear out a bit. It was a busy night so, there wasn’t a lot of room to move around; it felt really cramped. It was also pretty loud inside.

The menu is quite simple and they have a variety of different tapas to stimulate your palette.

We first ordered the Fresh Dungeness Crab Arancini with thai coconut curry sauce ($13). It was really really good! Very nice and crispy on the outside and very nice and savory on the inside. This dish reminded me of something liked fried risotto.

We then ordered the Pomme Frites ($7). This is a tower of skinny fries drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I like how this dish is so huge and fun to eat. You can either attempt to eat this with your hands or your fork. There is quite a bit of fries, so for 2 people, it might be a bit hard to finish if you have other dishes coming as well.

Next we had the Steamed Cortez Island Mussels($15). There are 3 flavours of broths to choose from, but we stuck with the classic french, which has tomatoes, herbs, garlic, white wine and butter. This dish came with 2 pieces of grilled foccacia.

The pieces of mussels were very pump and went well with the Classic French broth. Remember to dip the foccacia into the broth so the bread soaks up the yummy flavours.

We finished off with the Spinach Salad ($11). This salad has baby beets, avocados, mushrooms, sherry vinaigrette, spinach, and fried saganaki. CandiedZen really wanted to try this dish out because of the fried saganaki. She wanted to see how they would combine the ingredients together.

This salad was very good and the flavours mixed perfectly. The saganaki was a treat to bite into.

Overall, these are not cheap tapas. The flavours in their dishes are really good, but the ambiance of the restaurant was too busy for our liking. Best to come early or late but just not at the peak dinner hours.

Words of Wisdom: