British Columbia Archives - Page 103 of 138

In Four Beakers

DD Mau: ‘Give Me Mau’ Dining Package Review

November 11, 2012

DD Mau is a modern Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich shop. It’s located close to the Yaletown Skytrain. They sell drinks, salads, vermicelli bowls, and sandwiches.

Vaneats is offering a dining package right now that gives you a full sandwich and a drink for $9.50. The items included are:

1/2 Grilled Lemongrass Chicken sandwich
1/2 Crispy Roasted Pork sandwich
1 Smoothie (Choice of avocado or honeydew)

If you are planning to come check out DD Mau for lunch anyways, might as well grab one of the passes and save a few bucks!

You get to choose between 2 smoothies. I bought one more addition to the package so I could try both.

Avocado Smoothie is my all time favorite drink here. You can’t go wrong with this! It’s made of almond milk and avocados. Seriously, you need to get this smoothie!

Honey Dew Smoothie does not have the same consistency as the avocado smoothie. It was very icy and hard to slurp up from the straw. The flavours were definitely there, but way too icy.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken has grilled chicken thigh, pickled veggies, cilantro, sweet-chili aioli and jalapenos.

Crispy Roasted Pork has crispy roasted pork, sauteed scallions, pickled veggie, cilantro, garlic aioli and jalapenos. I am in love with this half of the sandwich! It has crispy pork skin and the juicy tender meat! It’s like a Vietnamese Meat & Bread.

Overall, KoreanGirl and I enjoyed the items that we were part of this package. One whole sandwich was too large for us to handle, so we each ate one flavour.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
All of the sandwiches are good, you can’t go wrong

We Rate DD Mau:

Address:
1239 Pacific Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
ddmau.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1239+Pacific+Blvd+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1239+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6Z+2V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Canadian

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro: Growler Sundays

November 10, 2012

On Sunday nights, Oakwood Canadian Bistro has $15 Growlers! It’s 64oz of any local craft beer on tap. Janice, Andy and I came here to try it out. I am not exactly sure if we were attracted by the amount of beer or just the cool bottle. If you remember the time when Vancouver had a basketball team…you’ll definitely go crazy over these bottles.

On the back of the bottle it says “Get your grizzly on”. Unfortunately, they don’t sell them and it’s quite hard to steal it and hide it in your purse. I’m still trying to find ways to acquire these bottles.

All Canadian Poutine ($11) has fries, curds, gravy, and smoked meat. It was a pile of deliciousness especially when pair with beer. The poutine isn’t very large, so sharing it with lots of people might be an issue if you’re really hungry.

Overall, I still love this restaurant for late night drinks or even brunch. Can’t go wrong with either!

Words of Wisdom:

Parking on street or in residential area
Great late night eats and specials

We Rate The Oakwood Canadian Bistro:

Address:
2741 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K

Website:
http://www.theoakwood.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2741+West+4th+Avenue+Vancouver,&hnear=2741+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6K+3V9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Bakery

The Baker & The Chef: A Sandwich Cafe

November 7, 2012

A few month ago a heard much hype from The Baker & The Chef that opened near Hastings and Cambie. They have items like sandwiches, soups, and of course baked goods.

The interior isn’t too large, but has lots of seating for singles or pairs of customers.

The Capilano Panini(Full- $8) has foccacia bread, grilled chicken breast, brie, mixed greens, and pesto. There are sticks of carrots and celery on the side, which is a nice touch. The sandwich was just average and nothing too impressive. It was just disappointing how little chicken there was in the sandwich. As you can see from the picture, it’s all in the center, so when you take your first bite, you won’t get chicken.

Overall, my friend and I thought this place was ok, but with a lot of other sandwich shops in close proximity, it’s hard to compete. It’s cool to get sandwiches named after cool Vancouver streets. Quite creative.

We Rate The Baker & The Chef:

Address:
320 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thebakerandthechef.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=320+Cambie+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=320+Cambie+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2N3&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Cafe

Brioche: Soup, Sandwiches, and Lasagna in Gastown

November 6, 2012

Brioche is located in the Gastown close to both SFU Vancouver and Woodwards. They are known for their yummy comfort foods like soups, sandwiches, and pasta. M and I came here since it half way between both our offices. My last visit was about 2 years ago, so I wanted to see if there were any improvements.

The space is great for chats with friends over coffee and food.

Latte was OK. Couldn’t have been a bit stronger.

Grilled NY Striploin w/ Wild Mushroom Sauce is also served with soup. There are so many different ways of eating this. You can eat it like a sandwich, or eat it like an open-faced sandwich. This item is on the special board usually and is quite pricey when you decide to order it. The menu doesn’t specify price, so it’s really going to hurt your wallet since it’s just lunch.

I tend to order this item when I go to Brioche because it’s filling and the mushroom sauce and the tender striploin is super delicious.

Seafood Bisque was very watery and had more of a lemony tang to the flavour profile. The seafood taste wasn’t as prominent.

Bolognese Lasagna w/ 8 Layer Sauce and contains Bechamel, Salsiccia, Mushroom, and Bolognese. M did enjoy the dish, but for $18 was not worth it. He wouldn’t have ordered this if he knew the price before hand.

Overall, the food is great, but the price is way too much for a lunch. You can end up paying $20 for a dish and a drink.

Words of Wisdom:

Food is a pricey and no visible pricing on dishes
Best in small groups
Panini’s are really good
Parking garage across the street. Discounted parking for SFU students after 6pm.

We rate Broioche:

Website:
http://www.brioche.ca/

Address:
401 West Cordova Street
Vancouver BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=401+West+Cordova+Street+Vancouver+BC&hnear=401+W+Cordova+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6B+1E5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In All You Can Eat

Pork Belly Beer House: Korean BBQ without the Grill

November 5, 2012

The Pork Belly Beer House is a Korean restaurant just off of Robson Street close to Safeway. It looks shady on the inside and outside, but it quite popular with Koreans. It gets quite packed in the evening since you can eat all the pork belly and side dishes for under $20.

The last time I was at Pork Belly Beer House, we had a mediocre all you can eat pork belly. We decided to come back to celebrate new jobs with friends and eat meat. For $16, you get pork belly, bulgogi, salad, rice, soup, kimchi, pop and sauces.

One of the biggest changes was that you can’t cook your own meat anymore. 🙁 Due to fire regulations and their inability to provide proper ventilation in the restaurant, the meat comes to you already cooked.

This was very disappointing because the point of Korean BBQ is cooking your own meat to your liking. We were not impressed because I like my Pork Belly crispy. We asked them to bring a few other dishes on the crispier side, but that never happened.

The pork belly is poor in quality and there is more fat than meat. What I hated the most about this pre-cooked option is that when you are half way done the plate of meat, it all goes cold.

The bulgogi was just lightly seasoned beef and grilled. Nothing amazing about it.

The food is just passable, but is only a good place for people who want a lot of food and drink. The meat is quite fatty, so make sure you don’t come here too often! Make sure you have a Korean with you since it’s easier to communicate with the servers to ensure you get what you order.

We rate Pork Belly Beer House:

Address:
Robson Street/West End
841 Bidwell Street
Vancouver, BC V6G

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=841+Bidwell+Street+Vancouver,+BC+V6G&hnear=841+Bidwell+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+2J8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Ajuker Fried Chicken: Korean Fried Chicken in Coquitlam

November 4, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complementary pickled radishes goes very well with the fried chicken.

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

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

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

Korean Fried Rice with Slices of Rice Cake was good!

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

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

We Rate Ajuker Fried Chicken:

Address:
101-508 Clarke Road
Coquitlam, BC V3J7V6

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

In Four Beakers

New Spicy Chili Restaurant: Spicy Szechuan Food in Richmond

November 1, 2012

TaiwaneseGirl took M, Scarface, and I here for dinner since she’s been dying to try their spicy fish dish. We all love spicy food, so going to a Szechuan restaurant was fitting. The restaurant was very busy, so making a reservation is very important.

The seating is a bit cramped, but their food is definitely awesome.

House Special Hot and Sour Soup ($10.99) was spicier than other hot and sour soups, but tasted really good.

Fish Filet in Spicy Sauce ($18.99) seemed very scary to eat since it was basically fish boiled in super spicy sauce. The spoon has holes, so you only pick up the fish. The fish is very very tender and has a great taste. Not too spicy either; I was surprised.

Sauteed Hollow Spinach in Garlic ($15.99) was a good addition to the spicy meal. It was good too. The downside is that it is quite expensive!

Hot Tofu with Meat Sauce ($14.99) was another great dish. We ordered rice on the side to accompany this. Yum!

Overall, the food was pretty good and its a great place to go to with a group of people, but certain dishes can be expensive. Regardless, this restaurant is packed with lots of people every night wanting to have a taste of Szechuan food.

We Rate New Spicy Chili Restaurant:

Address:
160 – 4200 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4200+No.+3+Road+Richmond,+BC&hnear=4200+No+3+Rd,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Bakery

Caffe Divano: New Cafe in North Burnaby

October 31, 2012

Caffe Divano opened another cafe in the Lower Mainland and this location is on Hastings in North Burnaby. I pass by it quite often when I go to Downtown, so I was curious what it offered. KoreanGirl also saw it every time she hops onto the 135 bus, so we made it a mission to have some coffee and chat about what girls normally talk about.

There are lots of tables to sit at and would make a great place to study! We came around 5pm, so there wasn’t a lot of people here.

They have freshly baked goods and when they come right out of the oven, the store smells pretty delicious.

They also have sandwiches, wraps and desserts.

Homemade Oreo Cookie is made of 2 soft chocolate cookies sandwiching vanilla frosting. KoreanGirl and I did enjoy it because the texture of the cookie was great!

Latte was really good! They used 49th Parallel Coffee for this drink and it sure kept me awake all night.

Spanish Latte is a bit different as it contains espresso, steamed milk and condensed milk.

Overall, KoreanGirl and I loved chatting here and having a coffee. The prices are comparable to other cafes nearby. If you are looking for a place thats different than Starbucks, give Caffe Divano a try.

We Rate Caffe Divano:

Address:
4568 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.caffedivano.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”Enter google map URL “]

In Delivery

Hanafubuki Sushi: Sushi Delivered in Downtown

October 30, 2012

Sometimes laziness hits and you just want to order food and have it delivered. My friends and I were chilling at TaiwaneseGirl’s place and we decided to order from Hanafubuki Sushi through Just-eat.ca. They have a few good places to order from.

We chose Hanafubuki Sushi that is located on Robson Street and out of all the sushi places they had available, it looked like it was the best one. The items looked good and the prices were fair.

Toro Tataki Salad ($ 7.50) has slices of avocado, toro and tomatoes over a bed a greens with a nice citrus sauce. It tasted good, but it was a bit small for the price.

Spicy Tuna Sashimi ($ 7.50) has chopped albacore tuna with cucumber, and spicy sauce. The spicy sauce is unlike the hot Korean paste that some restaurants use, this sauce is more spicy and sharp.

Platter B ($ 29.95) has 46 pieces in total. It comes with the Hanafubuki roll, tuna roll, salmon roll, California roll, BC roll, spicy tuna roll, and smoked salmon roll.

The rolls were really good and put together nicely. It has a good variety of rolls and we all were happy with what came.

Overall, Hanafubuki Sushi does have really awesome Japanese food and rolls.

We Rate Hanfubuki Sushi:

Address:
1610 Robson St Unit 102
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.hanafubukisushi.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1610+Robson+St+Unit+102+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1610+Robson+St+%23102,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6G+1C7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Cafe

DD Mau: Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches in Yaletown

October 28, 2012

DD Mau is a modern Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich shop. It’s located close to the Yaletown Skytrain. They sell drinks, salads, vermicelli bowls, and sandwiches.

Avocado Smoothie ($4.50) is made with fresh avocados and almond milk. It’s my all time favorite smoothie! The texture is great and the taste of avocado goes so well with the almond milk.

Thai Tea Latte is a new item they just introduced. I’ve never had anything like it, but it had an array of different spices and flavours. It was refreshing and delicious.

DD Mau Iced Coffee ($3.50) has espresso, sweet condensed milk, and Ice. M said it was the best iced coffee he has had so far. The owner said there is a secret ingredient inside! She wouldn’t tell us, but it was yummy!

Braised Sate Short Rib with Caramelized Onions and Watercress ($12) . This was their special feature when we were there. It’s more expensive than their regular Banh Mi Sandwiches, but M really enjoyed the flavours inside.

The sandwich is cut in half, so its easier to eat. The short ribs were very tender and went well with the pickled vegetables . M liked how the bread was a bit softer than most of the other Vietnamese sandwich places, so it doesn’t hurt the top of your mouth.

Crispy Roasted Pork ($8.80) has loads of duck and the addictive crackling! Kind like Meat & Bread, but with a Vietnamese twist.

Overall, M and I enjoyed the items that we had there. Some items can be expensive like their special sandwiches, but their regular sandwiches are still yummy.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
All of the sandwiches are good, you can’t go wrong

We Rate DD Mau:

Address:
1239 Pacific Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
ddmau.ca

In Granville Island

Whet: ‘Whet Your Appetite’ Dining Package Review

October 27, 2012

Whet is located at the entrance of Granville Island right across from the Children’s Toy Store. They serve up West Coast Cuisine and are dedicated in using sustainable and local products in their dishes.

Vaneats is offering a dining package right now that gives you 2 beers, 2 appetizers, and a main dish for $30. The items included are:

2 Sleeves of Angry Scotch Ale
Coconut Scallop Ceviche
Prawn, Shrimp, & Wild Mushrooms Salad
Choice of the following:
- Crispy Duck Leg
- Red Honey-Curry Coho

The interior is nicely spaced out and has a predominant wood texture. There is patio seating available too. When we went on a Monday night, it was pretty empty and the service felt very awkward. It’s probably best to go on busier night like Friday and Saturday.

2 Sleeves of Angry Scotch Ale are from Russell Brewing Company. It’s a dark ale with dominant malt accent that originated in Edinburgh. Made with Scottish specialty malts including Peated Malt imparting a slight smoky character to the beer.

I found that the beer best paired with the entrees more so than the appetizers. I am not a dark beer drinker, but I found it to be not too strong for the casual beer drinker.

Coconut Scallop Ceviche has hand peeled shrimp, citrus juices, ginger, jalapeño, corn chips, tobiko, & ikura.

It’s easy to share since each person has their own pile of chips! No more fighting over who’s chip is who’s. The ceviche was ok, but needed more acidity since the coconut neutralizes it.

One this I really didn’t like about the dish was how watery the ceviche was. I would be very hard to eat it without it dripping all over the table or on your clothes. We couldn’t figure out the best way to eat this.

Prawn, Shrimp, & Wild Mushrooms Salad has pan seared prawns and wild local mushrooms, hand peeled shrimp, arugula, grapefruit, taro root crisps, and a lemon-hazelnut vinaigrette.

When this arrived, we noticed they had the same grapefruit slices and the hand peeled shrimp in the previous dish. The mushrooms were my favorite part of the dish.

Red Honey-Curry Coho has wild BC Coho, saffron yoghurt, hot pickled lime puree, candied almonds, and cinnamon market vegetable. The interior was very moist and the outside had a great amount of unique flavours.

It’s very hard to share between two people, so you may want to order an additional entree. KoreanGirl and I found we were not too hungry after this meal.

Crispy Duck Leg, has confit of Fraser Valley duck leg, sweet chill ginger sauce, yam & plantain chips, sesame seeds, and grilled plums. This is the other option if you didn’t choose the Coho. You can check out Alvin’s review to see what he thought about this dish.

Overall, the dishes were just OK, KoreanGirl and I didn’t particularly enjoy this dining package. The service was really awkward, but maybe because it was just a Monday night. It was good that we were able to try the offerings from this restaurant and seeing the array of styles they put into their dishes. You probably need to order a few dishes to get the full Whet experience.

We Rate Whet:

Address:
1517 Anderson Road
Vancouver, BC V6H

Website:
www.whet.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1517+Anderson+Road+Vancouver,+BC+V6H&hnear=1517+Anderson+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Coquitlam

Woo Ree Jip Korean Restaurant: New Korean Restaurant

October 26, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We Rate Woo Ree Jip:

Address:
9928 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

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

In BBQ

Re-Up BBQ: At the River Market For Sandwiches + Tea

October 24, 2012

Re-Up BBQ opened a restaurant inside River Market in New Westminster. They have the same sandwiches you can find at their food carts and some other new BBQ items. I was here for a conference in the building and thought I had to have some of their amazing pulled pork for lunch.

You order on the left counter.

Then, you pick up your order on the right corner. The whole kitchen area is visible, so it’s fun watching them prepare your food.

Sweet Tea was good and refreshing to go with a pulled pork sandwich. It’s light, crisp and not too sugary.

Pulled Pork Sandwich has pulled pork slathered with BBQ sauce and coleslaw in a bun. It wasn’t as large as it was a long time ago when they first started their food cart.

Overall, not a bad place to eat at the River Market. It can be a bit pricey for just a sandwich and a drink.

We Rate Re-Up BBQ:

Address:
810 Quayside Dr
New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://reupbbq.com/river-market/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=810+Quayside+Dr+New+Westminster,&hnear=810+Quayside+Dr,+New+Westminster,+British+Columbia+V3M+6B9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Downtown

Feastro the Rolling Bistro: Rolling Around Downtown Vancouver

October 23, 2012

Feastro the Rolling Bistro has rolled its way over to the Art Gallery. They serve up local fresh seafood with their menu items. I was excited about this place since I heard much about it when they were near the Convention Centre.

Everything looked good, so I really have no idea what to choose. The fish and chips seemed good, so I ordered that.

I also splattered some vinegar onto my fish before digging in.

Fish and Chips ($13) has Red Snapper coated in a light panko breading, served with fresh-cut fries,our tangy red wine vinaigrette coleslaw and truck made tartar sauce. You definitely get a lot of food for the price. The taste of the snapper was ok, but nothing too impressive.

On the bottom, you have fries that are really awesome and crunchy! Then the coleslaw was OK too.

Overall, I found the items on the menu to be a bit pricey compared to other food carts that are around. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, except for their super crunchy crispy fries.

We Rate Feastro the Rolling Bistro:

Location:
Howe St x Robson near Art Gallery

Website:
http://www.feastro.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.com/maps?q=Vancouver+Art+Gallery,+Hornby+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada&hl=en&ll=49.282067,-123.119107&spn=0.002289,0.005552&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.284089,90.966797&oq=art+gallery+&hq=Vancouver+Art+Gallery,+Hornby+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada&t=m&z=18 “]

In Izakaya

Minami: Yummy Aburi Beef in Yaletown

October 22, 2012

When I came back from vacation, I headed out to Minami with @Lensflaaare and @Floyvr to see what all the hype was about Minami. Minami is the sister restaurant of Miku. They are popular for their aburi sushi.

It’s located really close to the Yaletown Skytrain on the Canada Line.

Unlike Miku, the atmosphere here was more dark and intimate.

Jasmine tea comes in tea pots. It tastes good and goes really well with their food.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi is pressed rice with local salmon, jalapeño, and miku sauce. This is their most popular item from both Miku and Minami. It’s so good!

Slow Roasted Beets & Watercress Salad has yuzu creme fraiche, fig, candied sesame cashew, fig chutney, and a yuzu chardonnay vinaigrette.

Kaisen Soba Pepperoncino has shrimp, squid, scallop, sweet pepper, shiitake, and jalapeno. This dish was ok, not too spicy, but I felt it was a weird combination of seafood and spice.

Aburi Carpaccio has a organic 64 degree egg, asian pear, market greens, lotus root chips, and jalapeno-garlic ponzu. It was fun popping the egg and letting it go all over the raw meat. I enjoyed the nice clean flavours.

Overall, the food was good, but our server was always in a rush and not very attentive. If I had a choice of going to either Miku or Minami, I would go back to Miku. I didn’t enjoy the ambiance or the service as much.

We Rate Minami:

Address:
1118 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.minamirestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1118+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1118+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Food Tour

The Juice Truck: Juice On the Go

October 21, 2012

The Juice Truck is located in Gastown and serves up delicious cups of juices, smoothies and other drinks. M and I were passing by and decided to have a post-lunch snack.

The juices are quite expensive, but are very filling. I was quite surprised I couldn’t finish it all.

The Almost Chocolate has a banana blended with medjool dates, almond butter, raw cacao, raw maca & soy milk. M liked the combination of the chocolate and bananas!

The Avocado Pineapple ($7) has avocado blended with pineapple, coconut water, lime, vanilla & agave. It was a good combination of ingredients! Healthy too. My only complaint is that it wasn’t cold enough.

Overall, the flavour combinations are pretty cool. The drink will really fill you up for lunch, so you don’t need to worry too much about getting hungry after.

We Rate The Juice Truck:

Address:
200 Abbott Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thejuicetruck.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=200+Abbott+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=200+Abbott+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2K8&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In SFU

Simon Fraser University: New Mackenzie Cafe + Residence Dining Hall

October 19, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: SFU gave me a tour of their new dining facilities and I couldn’t say no since I am a proud alumni. Everything was complementary, but I kept all my opinions pretty unbiased.

When I graduated from Simon Fraser University, the food was very horrible and unhealthy. Over the past year, SFU Dining Services is rolling out revamps all over campus to give students a better and healthier dining experience. About time eh? I was very curious about what they did over the past few months, but I was quite impressed with the changes.

SFU invited me to take a tour of the New Mackenzie Cafe and Dining Hall. Additional revamps will take place later on. Starbucks will be coming in 2013!

Whats also cool is that they have “Street Eat Thursdays“, where they bring a food truck to the Burnaby Campus. They have had Roaming Dragon, Dougie Dog, and JapaDog in the past! This happens at the Saywell/AQ courtyard.

New Mackenzie Cafe ( Academic Quadrangle)

The New Mackenzie Cafe is located in the Academic Quadrangle on the East side.

The entire interior has been updated and is now more modern and brighter.

They brought in a Subway, so you can get a Subway without walking to Cornerstone.

They have a custom sandwich and salad bar, where you can make your own salads and sandwiches however you want.

The prices are reasonable especially when you want the item made your way.

These are the different items you can put into your sandwich.

These are the items you can throw into your salad.

There is a section to order sushi and soup.

They even have asian noodle bowls for the month of October.

Pho! You probably don’t want to get any pho here since it’s not as good as what you would find at a Vietnamese Restaurant. Management is aware the pho isn’t up to par and are making efforts to improve it’s taste.

They cater to different tastes, so they have a South Asian Section with vegetarian options.

One of their signature items is the Butter Chicken. I would definitely recommend this!

There are no burgers at MacKenzie Cafe, but they have pizza! Fresh pizza too! They use a stone oven to make their pizza.

The slices are HUGE! You’ll definitely be full from just one slice!

There’s also StirFry too.

The awesome thing that they have is ALL DAY BREAKFAST! You can have omelettes with anything you want.

All the ingredients are visible, so you can see what options are available for your omelettes.

The seating area is so much brighter and comfortable to sit and chill with friends. The have installed more outlets, so you can charge your laptops or phones.

I had a sampling of the Butter Chicken and the SFU Roll. The Butter chicken was pretty good and had a lot of flavours. The SFU Roll consists of spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside and topped with yam tempura with a teriyaki sauce. The roll was OK, but it’s one of their popular items.

The New Mackenzie Cafe has gotten a facelift along with their food offerings. There are no unhealthy burgers and everything is under $10. The students have spoken and the changes are being made for better food. If the food doesn’t live up to your taste, let them know and they will try their best to improve.

Words of Wisdom:

Lot of healthy options
More outlets to charge electronics
Under $10
All Day Breakfast

Location: East Side of Academic Quadrangle

Hours of Operations: 7:00am – 8:00pm Monday through Friday

Residence Dining Hall

The Residence Dining Hall had a major revamp as well. It is now open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

It is open to both students, staff and faculty. Just pay the door rate and you can eat anything you want! The door rate does vary depending on what time of the day it is. Anywhere from $4.95 to $9.95. The prices are reasonable if you have a big stomach.

During the evening, you can still get some baked goods, tea, and coffee.

There is a salad bar and a variety of soups in the middle of the food area.

Personalized sized pizza

Dessert pizza – S’mores Pizza was what they had when we were here. It was not bad at all…it was just missing that graham cracker touch.

All the pizzas are made in the stone oven just like at Mackenzie Cafe.

There are vegetarian and vegan options too.

Butter Chicken, naan, and rice.

The coolest area is the “myPantry” area where you can cook whatever you want with the items available.

Everything is located in the large fridge and if there is something that isn’t there, you can get them to order it in.

You have stoves, toasters, panini press, waffle maker, etc. If you don’t know how to cook something, there is staff on hand that can teach you!

Little herb gardens are around in the pantry area if you want very fresh herbs.

The eating area is much nicer and they have also installed more plugs for your electronics.

I like the Residence Dining Hall’s new concept since you don’t have to worry about how much you eat. You pay the fixed rate and get access to all the food.

Words of Wisdom:

Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
Open to everyone (non-rez students, staff, and faculty)
Flat Fee to eat anything
Awesome Pantry area to make anything you want

Hours of Operation:

Breakfast: 6am – 11am ($4.95)
Lunch: 11am – 5pm ($7.95)
Dinner: 5pm – 9pm ($9.95)
Late night: 9pm – 6am ($7.95)

Additional Cool Stuff

Website:
http://www.dineoncampus.ca/sfu/index.cfm?

Twitter: @SFU_Dining

In Downtown

Finest At Sea: Food Cart in Downtown Vancouver

October 11, 2012

Finest At Sea is a provider of 100% wild seafood caught off the West Coast of BC by their own fishermen. They even have their own food cart on Robson Street by the Art Gallery. I came here for lunch with @GoodEat and @EatingWithKirby as we had a craving for some food carts before they close for the Winter.

Their menu is all under $10!

Roasted Halibut Bisque ($5) is homemade soup served with aioli and croutons. I liked the soup, it had a good depth of flavour and there were large chunks of halibut.

Local Albacore Tuna Steak ($8.50) has flash seared fillet with marinated seaweed, wasabi mayo, and micro greens.

Local Albacore Tuna ‘Japanese Style’ Wrap ($5.50) has seaweed seeds, green onions, organic greens, and housemade Indian Lime Pickle Yogurt. The wrap tasted ok, but nothing too special.

Overall, the prices of Finest At Sea Food Cart are very reasonable and cheaper compared to other food carts in the area. The food here is average

We Rate Finest At Sea:

Location:
Robson Street & Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.finestatsea.com

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