British Columbia Archives - Page 101 of 138

In Fast Food

The Dining Terrace at Richmond Centre

January 14, 2013

Last year, the Dining Terrace in Richmond Centre opened revealing it’s $30 million, 44,000 square foot eating area. I’ve heard lots about it but since I live in Burnaby, I don’t really spend much time in Richmond. My parents took me here to eat lunch as we were meeting up with relatives. We decided to stop at the Dining Terrace so I could take a look and have a quick lunch.

There are 18 new food vendors and they are:

Opa!
A&W
U-Grill
Curry Express
Edo Japan
New York Fries
Thai Express
Umi
Pinkberry
Quiznos
Bourbon St. Grill
KFC
GoodAh Grill
Jugo Juice
Kung Pao Wok
Crepe De licious
Vina

These food vendors are quite typical of most food courts in the Lower Mainland. It still doesn’t compare to the Aberdeen food court for sure.

There’s a lot of seating and the interior looks really really nice.

All of the food vendors can be found at other food courts around the Lower Mainland as well, but they make these places look really nice.

Some of them have really vibrant and bold colors.

UMI Japanese Eatery & Udon Bar

Umi Sushi Express has several locations across Canada and serve Japanese food. This location is a bit unique from their other family of restaurants since it serves hot food. Their other locations have ready-to-serve items like sushi.

I ordered the chicken bento box and it has chicken teriyaki, a small salad, deep-fried veggie tempura and 4 California rolls. It’s not amazing Japanese food, but its passable food court quality.

Website: http://www.umisushiexpress.com/

Crepe De Licious

Crepe De Licious is located in the center of the food court across from Pinkberry. They have savory and sweet crepes. They even have breakfast crepes too. I really wanted a breakfast crepe but it was the lunch hour so they didn’t serve it anymore.

My sister ordered a Black + White Crepe, which is Nutella and bananas as the filling.

She also added a scoop of ice cream on top. It was quite a filling crepe and she really enjoyed it. But then again, who can resist Nutella? I know I can’t.

Website: http://www.crepedelicious.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=6760+No+3+Road,+Richmond,+British+Columbia&hl=en&hnear=6760+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Y+0A2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Japanese

Temaki Sushi: Sushi Restaurant in Kitsilano

January 11, 2013

Temaki is a sushi restaurant in Kitsilano. I had a few recommendations from readers to dine here, so I decided to come here for dinner with KoreanGirl, M and TractorDean.

It was pretty busy on a Friday night. Decent interior and you can get a nice view of the sushi bar.

Spicy Sashimi with Avocado ($6.99) Tuna & salmon pieces topped with cucumber, avocado & house spicy sauce. The sashimi was good, but it was a tad expensive for the amount of sashimi you get.

Chicken Karrage ($6.99) has deep-fried boneless chicken pieces. It tasted ok, but it wasn’t crazy amazing.

Banzai Roll ($8.99) has tuna, salmon, & masago roll deep-fried in tempura batter drizzled with spicy mayo.

Chef’s Roll ($9.99) has fresh mango, crispy tempura bits, cucumber & mayo inside topped with tuna & masago. The roll was very disappointing and everyone at the table hated the mango inside. The roll was expensive

Alaska Roll ($5.99) is a California roll with salmon on top.

Kamakaze Roll ($8.99) has smoke salmon on top with cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and crispy tempura bits inside.

Overall, the sushi rolls were carefully put together but in the end it was nothing amazing. There are tons of sushi restaurants in Vancouver, but this place was pretty average. None of my friends liked this place and felt dissatisfied coming here.

We Rate Temaki Sushi:

Address:
2156 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://temakisushi.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2156+W+Broadway+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2156+W+Broadway,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6K+2E4&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Shanghai

Shanghai Elan Restaurant: Signature Dishes

January 8, 2013

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Shanghai Elan Restaurant’s dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Shanghai Elan Restaurant is located in Crystal Mall. It takes the place of Pittsburg Cafe, which I’m glad closed down since they did have such horrible food. Crystal Mall probably has a poorly designed parkade since I like to avoid all life-forms there. People drive crazy and there is a good chance someone is gonna mess up your car.

Besides the craziness of the parking, I love Shanghai food and it’s never disappointed me. It’s a bit hard to find Shanghainese food in Burnaby, so I’m glad there’s something close by.

Cucumber & Jelly Fish with Sesame Oil was a good appetizer. The taste is very clean with the accent of the sesame oil. The texture of the jelly fish was a tad crunchy but not too strange. I quite liked this dish.

Shanghai Jelly Pork is a cold appetizer. It is arranged in a zigzag pattern and kinda reminded me of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude …but made of meat. The clear parts is just gelatine. It was delicious and you can’t go wrong with this dish.

Chicken with Spicy Sauce was a tad spicy but not too much. Th chicken was tender and cooked nicely.

Wild Vegetable with Diced Dried Bean Curd and Pine Nuts I think I was the only one at the table that loved this dish. It has a lot of salt and sesame oil, which I enjoyed the flavours of to enhance the dish.

Marinated Beef Wrapped with Pancake is very huge and seemed to be deep-fried and not pan-fried. The beef inside was very delicious and the portion is great.

Stir Fried Shrimps was simply boiled and seasoned. Very simple.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns was good. Nice broth and the skin was nice and thin. I love getting an order of these and teasing the first person to break their bun.

Braised Potato with Eggplant & Sweet Pepper was not my favorite dish. I really don’t like potatoes.

Shanghai Fried Rice Cake with Shredded Pork the dish was ok, but nothing crazy amazing.

Pan Fried Pork with Bean Sprouts in Crepes was interactive and fun. You would grab the wrappers and put some of the pork filling inside and wrap it up. The pork was tender and delicious.

Shanghai Fried Thick Noodle with Shredded Pork & Soy Sauce was good as well.

Sweet & Sour Rock Cod was really pretty when it arrived at the table. Whoever created this had a sense of humour. There is a boiled shrimp at the opening of its mouth. The whole dish was well executed and delicious.

Ham & Duck Soup with Fried Wonton was a yummy soup filled with lots of ingredients. Very nutritious indeed.

Rice Balls with Sesame Seed Paste Soup was a nice item to finish the meal. The little mochi balls in addition to the large rice balls with sesame inside.

Overall, the food was pretty good and there are tons of items on their menu to choose from. Even us food bloggers had a hard time deciding.

We Rate Shanghai Elan Restaurant:

Address:
1687-4500 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4500+Kingsway+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4500+Kingsway,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V5H&t=m&z=16 “]

In Chinese

Cindy’s Palace: Signature Dishes

January 7, 2013

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Cindy’s Palace’s signature dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Cindy’s Palace is located on Nanaimo and 2nd and they invited a few bloggers to try their signature dishes. I’ve passed by several times when driving, but never thought too much about dining here. I actually don’t dine out at Chinese restaurants very often since I know I can get some at home. It was an adventure to see what else is out there.

The interior has many round tables and is busy on the weekend but week day is pretty empty.

Dim Sum Dishes:

Deep Fried Shrimp Cakes are filled with shrimp and breaded. It comes with 3 pieces and is one of their dim sum items. I don’t think it’s available during dinner time. It was packed full of shrimp and comes with 2 different sauces.

Pork Dumplings (Sui Mai) is very plump, so definitely filling and one of those items that are popular.

Shrimp Spring Roll with Wasabi comes with 6 pieces and loaded with shrimp inside. You couldn’t taste the wasabi, which was fine since it would have tasted weird. I really liked this item! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Crispy Tofu Stuffed with Vegetables in Thai Sauce was not one of my favorite items. The combination of the Thai sauce and the crispy tofu tasted a bit strange.

Dinner Dishes:

Stewed Spareribs in Whole Pumpkin you really need to scrape at the pumpkin to get some of its flesh. The spare ribs were nice but I don’t think the pumpkin added much flavour to the overall taste. Just a nicer presentation.

Pork Toro with Vegetables in housed in a fried wonton-like shell. Not a bad dish at all, you have the tender slices of pork with the vegetables, the sauce it a tad spicy, but isn’t too much to create a fire in your mouth.

Pan Fried Vermicelli with Beef in Black Pepper Sauce has the pieces of fried vermicelli on top and the beef, black pepper sauce, and softer noodles on the bottom. The black pepper is a bit overwhelming.

Lamb & Fish in Hot Pot was kinda like a hazard waiting to happen. There are lots of bones, so it’s really not good for little kids. I had to be like a detective to pick out the bones from my fish. Nonetheless, the soup was very flavourful.

Cindy’s Special Fried Rice was decent. It’s a good item to have at the table since it will fill you up and you can’t go wrong with it.

Braised Pork Hock with Special Preserved Plum Sauce had lots of bone and fat, which I guess is normal for the pork hock. It’s not my favorite dish.

Steamed Chinese Melon with Vegetables was a good veggie dish for a Chinese meal. You always need a veggie dish for sure. I like how it’s served in the melon bowl.

Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms on Rice in Lotus Leaf, I didn’t enjoy this dish. It was a bit dry and the flavours didn’t really pop out.

Stir Fried Prawns with Special Tea Leaves has a cool presentation, kinda like a cornucopia, but with prawns and tea leaves. I enjoyed this dish. But then again, I enjoy most prawn dishes anyways. The tea leaves added a subtle flavour to the prawns but not a large amount.

Deep Fried Squid with Salt & Pepper was sub par, it really needed more salt, garlic and spice to enhance the flavour.

Baked Pumpkin Pastries tasted really weird as a dessert but did look cute.

Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame Paste was crispy on the outside and had the gooey sesame paste on the inside. I did enjoy this item.

The dishes at Cindy’s Palace can be a hit or miss, but pretty good offerings for dim sum or dinner. It’s in a strange place, but not bad.

We Rate Cindy’s Palace:

Address:
1796 Nanaimo St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1796+Nanaimo+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1796+Nanaimo+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5N+5B9&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 Chinese

100% Healthy Dessert: Mixed Fruit of 13 Specialties

January 5, 2013

100% Healthy Dessert is a small dessert shop in Vancouver. I’m sure not all the dessert is healthy, but there are some pretty neat Chinese desserts. Is a nice little place to just catch up with friends.

The interior is quite small but isn’t too busy.

Mixed Fruit of 13 Specialties ($7.50) has the strangest name on the menu, so I ordered it. I was curious to see what 13 items were on this. We couldn’t figure it out, but it was good if you like shaved ice type of desserts.

Overall, the desserts were OK, but not crazy amazing. Most of the items on the menu are HK style desserts, so you will find some familiar favorites.

We Rate 100% Healthy Desserts:

Address:
8291 Westminster Hwy
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=8291+Westminster+Hwy+Richmond,+BC&hnear=8291+Westminster+Hwy,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6X+1A7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Cafe

Take Five Cafe: Coffee, Appies, and Pasta

January 4, 2013

Take Five Cafe opened their 10th location in Gastown and this location serves meals and wine in addition to coffee, sandwiches and baked goods. A bunch of us decided to come here for a meeting and a dinner. They have this huge roundtable that is great for a large group of people.

The interior is spacious and has lots of tables on the left side.

On the right side is their bar.

Medium Latte is what I ordered to give me a jolt of energy.

Ethiopian Pour Over is very strong and has 3 times as much caffeine as a regular black coffee. Everyone that gets it here gets very wired and shaky after drinking it.

Tomato Bruschetta comes with 4 pieces and is topped with lots of diced tomatoes, balsamic and herbs. It’s yummy, but can easily fall apart if you’re not careful.

Rotini Pesto has rotini with pesto cream sauce and topped with parmesan cheese. It comes with 2 pieces of toast on the side. It was a strange sight to see pasta at a coffee place. The pasta tasted ok, but was a tad bland and not very fragrant.

Penne with Meatballs has penne tossed with rich tomato basil sauce and topped with meatballs and parmesan cheese.

Chorizo Farfalle has farfalle pasta, dried chorizo sausage, mushrooms, tomato, basil, and parmesan cheese.

Overall, the food here is alright, nothing too spectacular. It’s just a good space to hang out and it’s not too crowded compared to the other cafes in the area. Plus, they serve beer and wine.

We Rate Take Five Cafe:

Address:
62 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.takefivecafe.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=62+West+Cordova+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=62+W+Cordova+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+1C9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinese

Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant: Signature Dishes

December 29, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant’s signature dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant is located in Kerrisdale on West 41st street. They serve dim sum in the mornings and the usual dinner at night.

We were able to sample a few dishes from their dim sum menu and other dishes on their dinner menu. You usually won’t be able to have dim sum items at night, so keep that in mind when reading this review.

The interior has lots of seats and is typical of a Chinese restaurant.

Dim Sum Dishes:

Breaded Shrimp with Deep Fried Egg Plant comes with 3 pieces and has the eggplant on the bottom and shrimp paste on top. Its a staple dish of all that order dim sum. One of my favorites since I love all dishes with shrimp.

Breaded Shrimp with Deep Fried Tofu is another great item. The deep-fried tofu on the bottom was crunchy and paired well with the shrimp.

Steamed Shrimps & Fungus Dumpling is another must order item. I’m sure most people order this item when they go for dim sum.

Mini Egg Tarts was pretty average and nothing too special.

Egg Pastry with Dried Shredded Coconut was quite sweet and sticky, I didn’t really particularly like this item very much.

Deep Fried Green Tea Sticky Rice Ball with Sesame are vibrant green and didn’t taste very good.

On the inside, you can see the black sesame.

Dinner Dishes:

Honey Garlic Spareribs and Deep Fried Shrimp Balls was pretty good, the honey garlic spareribs were nicely flavoured and slightly sweet. The deep-fried shrimp balls was a strange combination, but they tasted good too.

Crab with Special House Sauce it also has noodles underneath that soak up the natural crab flavour. Delicious!

Deep Fried Duck Wrapped in Taro tasted alright and definitely had more taro than duck. it was crunchy on the outside and soft in the center.

Stir Fried Beef with Steamed Buns was delicious and the beef in the stir-fry was very tender. You grab the bun and put some of the beef inside.

Steamed Tofu & Egg White with Diced Seafood & Meat was really good! It was delicious and best eaten with rice.

Dried Garlic & Enoki Mushrooms with Pea Tips was something I looked forward to because it was vegetables. I do love meat, but I also like vegetables more. With all Chinese meals, a dish of vegetables is a must.

Deep Fried Sole Fillet was crunchy and tasted ok. I never really liked deep fried fish since it really takes away from its delicate texture and flavour.

Baked Tapioca Pudding was ok, but not super amazing. On the inside, there is red bean paste.

Tofu Pudding comes in a cute container. The texture was a bit dense, but I didn’t mind at all, it just means it stays together a bit more when you’re scooping it up. I may just slightly have an addiction for tofu desserts. The tofu itself isn’t sweet, so you need to add some ginger syrup to it.

Overall, the food alright but nothing crazy amazing. Some dishes were outstanding and some were not very good. Nonetheless, it has always been a neighbourhood favorite for dim sum.

We Rate Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant:

Address:
2046 W 41st Ave
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2046+W+41st+Ave+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2046+W+41st+Ave,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6M+1Y8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Bakery

The Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows

December 25, 2012

The Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe recently opened on Main Street. My sister was trying to get me out of the house, so she suggested we have lunch here. Since I love trying new places, I couldn’t say no.

It is located on Main and 15th near Burgoo. You can find street parking easily, but during busy times, you might have to park a bit further.

The cafe is 2 floors and is quite stunning. The whole concept of this bakery is to feel cozy and comfortable. It’s a great place to relax and catch up with friends over same good pastries and hot chocolate.

There’s a huge window in the back, so you can see them baking away! And they have a cool quote on their window – “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First”.

They have a bunch of different items to choose from.

They even have a few Gluten-Free items like macaroons, scones, cupcakes, and cookies.

They have a lot of different baked goods, I swear, their kitchen keeps pumping out delicious creations.

They are even whole pies on display. They looked so good.

What caught my eye when we first arrived was the board of hot chocolates. So many different kinds!

Almond Hot Chocolate with Almond Milk (M- $3.95) Instead of regular milk, they suggested to make it with almond milk, they assured me it was delicious and it sure was! It was smooth and so yummy!

Homemade Marshmallow ($0.50) was unlike any store bought marshmallow. Its kinda messy when you eat it, but it really can’t compare to anything found in store. If you have hot chocolate, you must order this!

They have a lunch menu at the back of the restaurant with special creations.

Proscuitto and Brie Sandwich with house made onion marmalade, arugula, pear and walnuts. The bread was baked fresh and was still warm when it arrived. The creaminess of the brie and the salty proscuitto always match perfectly.

Chicken BLT Sandwich with bacon, tomato, arugula and Dijon mayo. This was my favorite since the bacon was really thick and full of flavour.

Wild Mushroom Soup tasted alright. It definitely needed a bit more salt to bring out the flavours of the mushroom.

The food here is good, but not jaw droppingly amazing. The items can get quite expensive if you get a drink, sandwiches, and soup. Nonetheless, it is a great addition to Main St! I love how everything is made fresh and they are dedicated in using preservative-free and artificial-flavouring free ingredients.

We Rate The Last Crumb:

Address:
3080 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lastcrumb.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=3080+Main+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=3080+Main+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5T+3G5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen: It’s SO Good

December 23, 2012

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen is a restaurant on commercial drive and specializes in healthy, sustainable, and delicious Indian food. I’ve been here a few times and I love the food. I came this time with KoreanGirl since she wanted to try something new. We haven’t had Indian food in a while, so I thought I would take her here.

They cater to people who are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free too. It’s nice since you know there will be a yummy dish awaiting you no matter what your diet restrictions are.

The interior is spacious and has lots of seats.

Aloo Tikki ($6.99) comes with 3 crispy potato cakes served with delhi sauces and pomegranates. It was so good! The blend of the spices are so yummy! All KoreanGirl and I could say during this was “It’s so good”. There is also a vegan option too.

Murg Makhani aka Butter Chicken ($10.99) has a Shahi sauce infused with fenu-greek leaves, cream, tomato marinade and a hint of coconut . It is also tossed with boneless marinated chicken. This is one of their most popular items and it comes with rice.

Palak Paneer ($11.99) is made of a spinach blend with unfermented cottage cheese sticks and served with a salad and rice. There is plenty of paneer inside with creamy creamy spinach. Definitely delicious and ITS SO GOOD. One of my favorite items here.

Garlic Naan ($3) is made freshly in a tandoori oven with roasted garlic and butter. A must if you are here.

The meal was pretty awesome and the 3 items didn’t disappoint at all. KoreanGirl loved it too and we both agreed it was good stuff!

Words of Wisdom:

Aloo tikki, Veggie Pakora, Saag Paneer, and Lamb Shank is recommended!
Metered street parking
Close to Commercial Skytrain
Decent Prices

We Rate Siddartha’s Indian Kitchen:

Address:
2066 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siddharthaskitchen.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2066+Commercial+Dr.+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2066+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V5N+4A9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Chinese

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant: Signature Dishes

December 22, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Grand Dynasty’s signature dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since they knew we were coming.

Grand Dynasty is located at the Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby. It is a popular location for Dim Sum, but a great place for dinners too. The prices are generally a tad higher than other Chinese restaurants in the area but pretty good place to dine.

The interior is clean and there are lots of round tables available.

Pan Fried Jumbo Prawn with Egg Yolk Sauce was my favorite since the sauce didn’t overpower the sweetness of the prawn.

Pan Fried Jumbo Prawn with a house Spicy Sauce was a good sauce, but not my favorite prawn sauce. It wasn’t very spicy either.

Boiled Live Lobster in Superior Broth comes with the lobster all cut up on a plate with bean sprout.

They take the meat and then prepare it at your table till it’s all cooked.

The broth was very had a great taste and a good addition to the meal.

Baked Chicken stuffed with Sea Cucumber looks like a regular chicken on the outside, but all the sea cucumber is hidden.

Once you cut through the skin, the sea cucumber is revealed. I’ve never had sea cucumber, so I was very intrigued to see how it would taste. The duck fat really marinated the sea cucumber to give it a great taste.

Live Jumbo Ling Cod Fish Hot Pot was a good dish, but I didn’t particularly love it since I don’t really like the flavour combination of sweet and salty together.

Sautéed Green Vegetable & Wild Mushroom with an arrangement of pumpkin and winter melon. I loved the mushrooms!

Deep Fried Crispy Chicken with Sticky Rice

It was a very interesting dish with layers of sticky rice and crispy chicken. I thought it was alright, but was a unique dish.

Live Lobster & Seafood with Crispy Rice in Soup was probably one of my favorite dishes.

The crispy rice that is added to the soup makes a *snap* *crackle* *pop* sound as it is added in. It had a great aroma of lobster!

Shredded Coconut Creamy Tart came at the end of the meal.

Black Sesame & Coconut Layer Cake came at the end too. I loved this jello.

Overall, I’ve had pretty good experiences in the past at Grand Dynasty. The service and food is still pretty good. Whether its dim sum or just a dinner, you can’t go wrong here.

Words of Wisdom:

Good food!
A bit on the pricy side, but still decent
Weekday afternoon you usually get good service since it’s not packed.
After food adventure to the ….CASINO
Free parking

We Rate Grand Dynasty:

Address:
4331 Dominion Street
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4331+Dominion+Street+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4331+Dominion+St,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5G+1B2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In North Burnaby

Broken Rice: New Vietnamese Restaurant in North Burnaby

December 20, 2012

One day I was passing by Hastings and I saw Broken Rice. It’s great that a good amount of new restaurants are popping up in the area, it makes me really excited because this area his my “hood”. Not in a gangster way or anything, but I love new restaurants when I see them.

Their dishes range from traditional items to more modern Vietnamese dishes featuring French influences.

The interior gives a bit of a semi-fancy vibe, which is reflected in their menu as well. It’s not as cheap as your usual Pho restaurants. You probably don’t want to come here and order the usual Vietnamese items.

Tea comes in a cool looking teapot and cups. I don’t know what tea it is, but it was good stuff!

Fresh Coconut ($5) is what M ordered. He loves fresh coconut and no bottle coconut water can even compare. It’s a really refreshing drink and they give you a spoon so you can eat the coconut meat inside.

Duck Sliders ($5) has duck confit, cilantro, onions, and pickled vegetables inside a steamed bun. The sliders were very average and the flavour of the duck didn’t stand out.

Lemongrass Chicken has lemongrass grilled chicken breast served with a salad of fresh watercress tossed in a house vinaigrette. Also, there is broken rice on the side with fish sauce. M thought the dish was a bit expensive for what you get since you can get something equivalent at Bao Chao for way less. Nonetheless, M did like the taste of the lemongrass chicken.

Vietnamese Crepe is a savory crepe with mushroom, jicama, sprouts, and tofu. It is also served with mixed herbs. The crepe was unlike the usual crepe texture, it was very crispy. There was so much herbs on the side, there was a lot! Every herb you can think of was probably on this dish. It was like eating a garden.

The way I was instructed to eat this dish was take a large lettuce leaf and put some herbs and pieces of the crepe, wrap it up and dunk it into the fish sauce. I did enjoy the herbs since they tasted good!

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream ($5) came with a pistachio macaron and then an edible flower. The ice cream is made in-house and tasted great.

Overall, the experience was good. We tried different traditional and modern Vietnamese dishes and it wasn’t like another Pho restaurant. It was a bit nicer, but then again, you are paying higher prices for your meal.

We Rate Broken Rice:

Address:
4088 Hastings St.
Burnaby, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4088++Hastings+St.+Burnaby,+BC&hl=en&ll=49.280922,-123.014753&spn=0.007209,0.016651&sll=49.28112,-123.023351&sspn=0.007209,0.016651&gl=ca&hnear=4088+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5C+2J3&t=m&z=16 “]

In Chinese

Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant: Signature Dishes

December 19, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by ChineseBites to try Western Lake’s signature dishes with a few other bloggers. The service is not representative of their usual service since the dishes are overly garnished compared to usual visits.

Western lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant is popular for Dim Sum on the Weekends and there are large waits during those peak hours. If you are planning to go here for dinner or Dim Sum, it’s best to make reservations!

The interior has lots of round tables, but not too much room in between tables.

Peanuts and pickled vegetables came at the beginning of the meal to snack on before the dishes arrived.

Wintermelon Soup came in a golden vessel that housed the soup. It looked very beautiful.

The soup was packed full of seafood and other ingredients. It’s probably one of my favorite soups and they make it really good at Western Lake. Yum!

Sauteed Prawns in Sweet Chili Sauce the shells are still intact, so you need to peel them or eat them with the shell on. The shells are edible, so it’s not bad to eat them with shells. Most people don’t since the shells can be hard and scrape your mouth.

Egg Whites and shrimp over pea shoots was a very interesting dish, the egg was nice and fluffy with sweet shrimp. I’m also not sure why there was so much garnish on this dish.

Sweet Walnuts with Prawns in mayo sauce was a weird dish, I didn’t like it since the sweet prawns and mayo didn’t work too well together. Some people do like this dish though.

Stir Fried Beef with Garlic chips surrounded by fried milk. The beef was very flavourful and tender. It accompanied the fried milk since it’s creamy sweet texture paired nicely.

Roasted chicken was good, juicy and the skin had a lovely flavour.

Braised Pork Belly with Steamed Buns is surrounded by steamed broccoli. The pork belly is deliciously fatty and very tender.

You eat the above dish with the steamed buns, you can cut it in half and eat it like a mini sandwich with the pork belly.

Fried Crab is piled with fried garlic, onions, peppers, and dried shrimp. Yummy stuff but your hand will definitely get messy.

Fried Rice was great!

Red Bean Jello and Chinese Water Chestnut Pudding was a good ending to the meal. I was so glad it wasn’t red bean soup hahaha.

Overall, the dinner was great and the food was well executed. Too bad a few of the dishes were overly garnished with fruits, so it was hard to give you a good idea of how the dishes would arrive at your table. The portions are still the same as you would get. Prices are very fair and one of the better Chinese restaurants to go to in town.

We Rate Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant:

Address:
4989 Victoria Dr
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4989+Victoria+Dr+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=4989+Victoria+Dr,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5P+3T6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Greek

Maria’s Taverna: Saganaki and Kelftiko is a Must Order

December 18, 2012

I’ve always found Greek cuisine to be quite hard to please my appetite since it is always a bit expensive and not sure what to order except for the usual Chicken Souvlaki. We asked TractorDean to take us to his go-to Greek Restaurant. When in doubt, as a Greek person to take you to a Greek Restaurant. They always know best!

We all ordered a bunch of items to share and we were not disappointed.

Complementary Pita bread and Tzatziki arrive at the table. You can ask for more pita bread at no extra cost.

Saganaki ($7.95) is pan-fried goat cheese with lemon. It comes on a hot skillet and is SO delicious! The nuttiness of the cheese and the lemon is addicting.

Spanakopita ($7.50) is a spinach and feta pie wrapped in phyllo pastry. It comes with a side of tzatziki sauce. We thought this item was very delicate and crisp on the outside with the savory filling inside.

Kalamari ($10.95) is deep-fried marinated squid with tzatziki sauce. The batter is light and crispy, but could have used a bit more salt to enhance the flavours.

Kelftiko ($17.95) has a generous potion of lamb shoulder in their special rub. It comes with rice, greek salad and potatoes. It wa so delicious! The meat was very flavourful and tender. This is a must order item.

Overall, the experience was great and the food was very delicious. The interior space is very cramped and not a lot of room to move around. The service was decent and nothing much to really fuss about. It’s a good idea to stray away from the usual items and be a bit more adventurous. I know it’s kinda hard to do that at a Greek restaurant since some items are pretty pricey.

We Rate Maria’s Taverna:

Address:
2324 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://mariastaverna.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2324+W+4th+Ave+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2324+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6K+1P2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Four Beakers

La Casita: $5 Burritos and $3 Margaritas in Vancouver

December 17, 2012

La Casita is a Mexican Restaurant in Gastown. One day, M, cruzpresso and I were looking for a place to eat and stumbled upon La Casita and was curious how the food would be. If you come for the specials, you’re definitely getting a great deal!

Here are some of their weekday specials:

Monday: $3 Margaritas, $5 Burritos
Tuesday: $4.50 Beer, $2.50 Tacos
Complementary Chips+ Salsa, free refills and $8 – $10 lunch specials

Pretty good deals especially if you don’t want to spend too much on lunch. Sometimes eating in the Gastown area is expensive, but this is a good option for cheap yummy food. We usually come on Mondays since $5 burritos and $3 margaritas are a steal!

There is ample seating upstairs and a private space downstairs for events.

The bar has on display different kinda of liquor and there are cool masks at the top.

Mango Margarita ($3) they mix some mango purée and el Jimador tequila together with some ice. It’s strong, but a great deal for just $3.

Complementary Chips, green salsa and a medium salsa. It’s great to munch on while waiting for your meal.

Beef Burrito with melted cheese on top ($5 +$2.50) looks delectable and the addition of the cheese really makes a difference. The best flavour out of all the burrito options is definitely the beef!

Pepperoni + Egg Burrito ($5) looks so much smaller than the first burrito. Not sure what happened, but it seems like the baked cheese definitely make a big difference, or they have consistency issues.

Combo 5 ($17) comes with 1 Chorizo Quesadilla & 1 Beef Chimichanga with Rice, Beans, & Salad. M loved this! He would eat this type of food when he lived in Arizona, so it was like home to him. He enjoyed the variety of items in the combo. This combo is quite expensive for what you get.

1 quesadilla, 2 flautas, rice and salad ($15) this was one of their dinner specials on night. I liked this item because you can try a variety of items if you are new to Mexican cuisine.

Combo 2 ($11) comes with Tortilla Soup & 2 Flautas.

Flautas are crispy flute-shaped tacos, stuffed with potato and onion, topped with green salsa, cream & feta. They were surprisingly filling! I thought I would still be hungry after this, but I was so stuffed.

The tortilla soup is out of this world! It has chips, cheese, chile ancho, avocado, & lime. Such a great balance of flavour and the avocados were really fresh. I would definitely get this soup every time.

Overall, yummy food and the specials are definitely a great deal. Some items on the menu are quite expensive, but go on days where there are specials to save some money!

Words of Wisdom:

Free WiFi
Weekly Specials
Tortilla soup is a must!

We Rate La Casita:

Address:
101 West Cordova St.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lacasita.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=101+West+Cordova+St.+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=101+W+Cordova+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6B+5A7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Hubbub Sandwiches: Eat-in or Take Out

December 15, 2012

Hubbub Sandwiches is located close to the Vancouver Art Gallery and they serve up Sandwiches and salads. It’s quite popular during the lunch hour for people working in the area. I myself have gone a few times with friends and coworkers to grab a quick meal or get takeout.

Orange Sanpellegrino is M’s favorite drink. When he sees it at a store, he usually get it.

Turkey Sausage Sandwich with Clean Slaw.

The Clean Slaw is made of crisp cabbage with coconut, mint and cilantro in a light, zingy vinaigrette. I liked the slaw because it is unlike any other slaw. A good balance of textures and flavours.

The Turkey sausage sandwich has free-range, lightly spiced chorizo handmade by a local butcher with base of pickled jalapenos, creamy garlic sauce, romaine lettuce, cilantro, and crunchy caramelized onions atop a toasty baguette.

Pork Sandwich has marinated pork for 24 hours and has a spicy flavour profile. It is tender and very juicy. It’s one of the more popular sandwiches. It also contains the base of pickled jalapenos, creamy garlic sauce, romaine lettuce, cilantro, and crunchy caramelized onions atop a toasty baguette.

Pork Salad is similar to the Pork Sandwich, but it’s in a salad form. The sandwich comes with a lot of meat! It’s just piled on! The spiciness level isn’t for everyone as there are the additions of the pickled Jalapeño. I prefer eating it as a salad since you don’t have the messiness of a sandwich.

This is the size of the Clean Slaw for takeout.

Overall, it’s a pretty darn good option for lunch if you are wanting a quick tasty sandwich or salad.

Words of Wisdom:

Gluten Free option: Turn the sandwich into a salad
Take out option and order online
Most seating in 2′s and 4′s
Slightly pricey
Pork and the albacore tuna seemed good

We Rate Hubbub Sandwiches:

Address:

859 Hornby St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
hubbubsandwiches.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=859+Hornby+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=859+Hornby+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6Z+1T9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Bakery

Lee’s Donuts: A Treat on Granville Island

December 14, 2012

KoreanGirl raved about how her parents love Lee’s Donuts on Granville Island. Lee’s Donuts is located inside the Granville Island Public Market and has stayed a family business for a very very long time.

The place is very busy during the weekends and donuts tend to sellout very fast! We came on a weekday night during closing time, so there were a few donuts left. Most of the flavours were sold out, but whats what happens when we come minutes before they close.

There are donuts behind the counter and in the glas counter.

Coconut Donut

Chocolate Crunch

German Chocolate

The donuts are pretty good and many people stand by their amazing texture and taste. I personally don’t like donuts, so I relied on my sister to give me her opinion. It’s unlike Krispy Kreme and Tim Hortons since it is slightly denser and more cake-like. It wasn’t too sweet and goes well with a cup of tea or coffee.

We Rate Lee’s Donuts:

Address:
1689 Johnston St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1689+Johnston+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1689+Johnston+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6H+3R9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Chipotle Vancouver: It’s Finally Open and We Ate Everything

December 13, 2012

My last taste of Chipotle Mexican Grill was the past Summer in New York. I have been left Chipotle-less for 6 months and when I got word that Chipotle was coming to Vancouver, I jumped for joy and so did my friends. We are a bit nuts, so once, we actually drove to Seattle just for Chipotle. When Chipotle invited me for a preview of the restaurant the night before the December 13th, 2012 opening, I had to say yes!

Chipotle Vancouver is the 6th location in Canada. After a successful launch in Toronto with 5 restaurants, it was time for them to come to Vancouver. Even though this is the first location in Downtown Vancouver, there are plans to expand to bring in more locations. There is no word on when or where, but expect more Chipotle locations in the near future.

All their ingredients are local and organic, so it is not 100% the same as the other Chipotle locations around the world.

The Vancouver location has huge windows so you can see everyone inside enjoying their meal.

They have some funky seating in the front.

The interior has lots of seating and each table is lit up with light overhead.

The high tables have bag hooks! BAG HOOKS! As a woman with a purse, it’s very important to have those since it’s kinda gross putting your bag on the floor. Or if you have shopping bags, it works wonders too.

You start by picking your type of item, then protein, and then all the filler to go inside. All basic items are $8.95. Guacamole is $2.21, which in my opinion is quite expansive…but it is real avocado.

Line up on the right side of the restaurant and work your way down the line as you create your perfect meal. The staff is very friendly and can help if you have questions.

Depending on your item, you can choose white rice or brown rice, then pinto or black beans.

The hard part is choosing the protein – chicken, steak, carnitas, or barbacoa.

Then you can add a variety of salsa from mild, medium, and hot. Throw on some sour cream, cheese, and lettuce. Remember, the guacamole is extra.

Depending on what you add-on after you build your burrito, it can cost you anywhere between $10 and $20. On the bright side they offer beer and margarita too. If you have kids, there is a kids menu too. I wish I was a kid sometimes.

The drink fountain is on the side.

If you are not in the mood for sugary pop, they have unsweetened tea. I keep thinking this is water, but it’s not.

Don’t forget your napkins, it will come in handy! There are also variations of Tabasco sauce for you to add a kick to your meal.

Chips ($1.20)

You can also add guac or salsa dips for a small charge.

Burrito ($8.95) cross-section looks like that. I couldn’t suggest you eat it like this unless you were sharing with a friend. It would definitely get messy.

M made his burrito without any vegetables, just rice, pinto beans, hot salsa, and steak. Sometimes it good to forget about the vegetables and ask for more rice, beans and salsa. You really can make your burrito anyway you like!

Soft Shell Tacos ($8.95) comes in 3 pieces. @Cruzpresso ordered his with all the same ingredients, but you can have different proteins in each taco if you preferred.

Hard Shell Taco ($8.95) comes in 3 pieces too. It’s a bit hard to eat if you are a messy eater. Remember to grab some napkins.

Salad ($8.95) has the lettuce underneath and all the toppings piled on top! The protein that came with this item was the steak. It’s chewy like a steak but it deliciously marinated.

Bowl ($8.95) + Guacamole ($2.21) I added carnitas meat and everything except the cheese into my bowl.

Thats what the inside of the bowl looks like. It was delicious and oh so filling.

Chicken Bowl ($8.95) minus the lettuce haha.

The chicken is hiding under all the ingredients. The chicken was quite tasty and flavourful.

We ate everything except for the kid’s meal or the vegetarian options. Burritos and bowls are quite popular! You can’t go wrong with any of the meats either. My person favorite item is the bowl with the barbacoa. It’s a good place to go if you are particular about your food. It’s very customizable to how you want it made.

If you are used to the Chipotle in the US, just know…the portions look smaller and you are paying about $2 more.

It’s great to have Chipotle in Vancouver, BC but it is quite similar to Red Burrito. In the end, the whole table agreed that Chipotle did taste better and they are dedicated to bring in good ingredients that are local, fresh, organic, and have no synthetic hormones.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is ready to start serving customers December 13th, 2012 at 11am!

We Rate Chipotle Mexican Grill:

Address:
818 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.chipotle.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.com/maps?q=818+Howe+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hl=en&sll=49.06967,-122.856669&sspn=0.519125,1.223602&hnear=818+Howe+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6Z+2S9,+Canada&t=m&z=16″]