British Columbia Archives - Page 114 of 138

In Downtown

Meat & Bread: It’s Just That Simple

December 27, 2011

I’ve been to Meat & Bread plenty of times but I always seem to go back for some mouth watering sandwiches. They have their usual items and once in a while they have some unique sandwiches. I’ve had some good and bad experiences here, but this visit was one of the good ones.

Meat & Bread is one of the most talked about restaurants in town and they just keep everything simple. Their menu is quite limited but you won’t be disappointed…unless you are a vegetarian.

Pemberton Meadows Braised Beef, House Made Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Scallion Cabbage Slaw ($8)

This was their special of the day. I usually keep up on their twitter to check out any interesting creations they have since I am usually in the area. This sandwich has a lot of meat and with the sauces … it was quite messy to eat, but it was delicious.

Porchetta ($8) is their most famous sandwich! It’s has savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast with some verde sauce. The best part is crunching on the crispy “cracklings” aka the skin. Similar to the Chinese roasted pork.

It can be a bit oily or fatty for certain people’s palettes. For M, he loved it and wouldn’t give me more than a bite.

Overall, it makes for a good lunch, but the price of $8 for just a sandwich can turn off some people.

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go early to ensure nothing is sold out, 11am is good and it’s empty
Porchetta is the most popular but the other sandwiches are also delicious
The sauces are a must try
Dandelion & Burdock Soda is good!

We rate Meat & Bread:
Address:
370 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:

http://meatandbread.ca/

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Vancouver

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Volcano Sushi & Grill: Explosive Taste

December 26, 2011

I always pass by Hastings and I see this relatively new sushi place called Volcano Sushi & Grill. It has quite a strong name, but I was wanting to cure my curiosity of this place, so M and I decided to head here for some Linner (Lunch/Dinner). It’s not owned by Japanese or Koreans….but Chinese. Certain dishes can have a bit of a Chinese twist to them.

I gotta have tea with everything, I’m a bit of an addict. As I write this review, I’m drinking tea.

Deep Fried Cheese Wonton ($3.50) was crispy of the outside and on the inside, it didn’t taste like deep fried cheese. The mixture reminded me of clam chowder for some reason… but thicker. I didn’t like it, but M did.

Spicy Tuna and Salmon Sashimi ($10.50) was different from the usual places. As you look at the color and the sauce they used, it is different. It tasted spicier and had a good kick!

Volcano Roll ($3.95) has tuna, imitation crab, cucumber with mayo and spicy sauce then it’s deep fried. The roll was quite cute and tasted good.

American Roll ($8.95) has crab meat, Eel, Avocado, Cheese with Spicy Tuna on top. Not very american, but it was also really good. You wouldn’t think cheese would go well with this, but it really wasn’t bad at all.

Overall, they have a good selection of rolls with decent prices. I felt that some items were a hit and miss.

Words of Wisdom:

Mediocre service
Lots of Booth Seating
Free parking in front
Good lunch and Dinner combos

We Rate Volcano Sushi & Grill:
Address:
1991 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC V5L

Website:
http://www.just-eat.ca/restaurants-volcano-sushi-grill

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In American

Nestle Toll House Cafe: Open at Guildford Mall

December 25, 2011

Nestle Toll House Cafe has opened its newest cafe at the Guildford Mall in Surrey – the first location in Canada! Gmoney works in the mall, so she kept me updated on when they would open. The reason why Nestle Toll House intrigued me was because of an old episode of friends, where Phoebe’s Grandmothers cookie recipe originated from a relative named “Nestley Toulouse”… which turns out it was a lie and was just the recipe on the back of a Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag.

The serve up a lot of different items from cake cookies, brownies, cookies, cookie pizza, coffee, drinks…..etc.

There were lots of choices, which quite overwhelmed me as well.

I grabbed a few items to go. 2 cookies and a brownie came out to be around $9, which was really expensive. I don’t remember the exact prices, but I’m just guesstimating.

Button Brownie (~$3.49) has a mini chocolate chip cookie on top of a brownie. It tasted good and it was cute that there was the cookie on top. I found it was still a bit expensive considering it was just a brownie.

Walnut and Chocolate Chip (~$1.95) was really good. It was a bit hard to taste all the walnuts, but the texture was chocolaty and chewy.

Double Chocolate Chip (~$1.95) was also chewy and chocolaty.

Overall, the items are good, but there are still other places in town to get better cookies. I probably wouldn’t return since its a bit out of my way to go to Guildford Mall.

Words of Wisdom:

Can get Pricey
Large range of cookie flavours
A few seats
Located inside Guildford Mall

We Rate Nestle Toll House Cafe:

Address:

1237 – 2695 Guildford Town Centre

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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 Bubble Tea

Bo Laksa King’s Bubbles & Bits: Roti Canai and Laksa

December 24, 2011

Bo Laksa King’s Bubble & Bits serves up Malaysian food! I heard their Laksa is really good, so I took a few friends here to try it out.

They are cash only, so you are outta luck, if you don’t have any….there should be a bank close by.

Their interior is not very large, but can fit a few groups of 4’s and 2’s.

Roti Canai (Large -$5.99) is like a asian pancake with a curry chicken dipping sauce. It was very fresh and crispy. It was probably one of the best Roti Canai I have had! The sauce was really really good too. The 4 of us fought over this dish since it was so good! Highly recommended.

Beef Rendang ($8.75) is marinated beef slowly cooked in coconut gravy plus a special sauce served with rice. M really liked it because it was very flavourful and the meat was really tender.

Mee Goreng ($7.75) is spicy stir fried noodle with veggies, chicken with a sweet and spicy sauce. I really did not like this dish because of the sauce they used. I much prefer the instant mee goreng from the store.

Laksa ($7.50) has vermicelli or yellow noodles, prawns, fish balls, tofu puffs, eggs, chicken and a nice coconut curry broth. Scarface and TaiwaneseGirl both liked it.

Overall, the food is pretty good if you go for the usual items. Too bad I lucked out and chose a dish I didn’t like.

Words of Wisdom:

Cash Only
Parking on Street
Laksa and Roti Canai Higly recommended

We Rate Bo Laksa King’s Bubbles & Bits:

Address:
2546 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC V5K

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BO-LAKSA-KING/139851834390

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In Bakery

East Village Bakery: Mom & Pop Bakery With Artisan Treats

December 23, 2011

East Village Bakery is an artisan bakery specializing in artisan bread, pies and french pastries. I honestly thought it was just an asian bakery, but when M and stepped inside, we were just amazed by the amount of little ornate treats. Everything looked very fresh and the smell inside was just amazing.

They had a lot of delectable treats available! I’m sure you can come in to find lots of inspiration too if you love to bake.

They all looked picture perfect! From the scones to the gingersnap cookies. Pretty good prices too.

Palmiers AKA Butterfly Cookies are nice and crunchy with good layering. Not too buttery.

Doesn’t that look so delicious. It is one of my favorite cookies as a kid.

White chocolate blueberry scone ($2.35) was a really good scone. It was different that the usual scones since it was not very hard and was quite delicate. I wasn’t originally going to purchase this, but the owner suggested it. Good decision indeed.

Spinach Cheddar Scone ($2.35) is for the people who love savory baked goods. It wasn’t very flavourful, but it does taste better with some tea or coffee. The inside texture was quite light and fluffy similar to the other scone.

Sour Cherry Chocolate Truffle Tart (2 for $3.50) was surprisingly really good. Good balance between the sour cherry and the chocolate.

Callebaut Chocolate Banana Cake with Marzipan ($2.95) was good, the inside had a really cool texture and had some chewy bits inside. M liked it a lot.

Ginger Crackle Cookies ($1.95) was not that good since it was really tough and hard to eat. M likes his ginger cookies a bit softer and sweeter.

Overall, it’s a good place to grab a few treats and bring them back home.

Words of Wisdom:

Call in for special orders to ensure the item you want
Fresh and baked daily on site
Very very limited seating, mostly for take out
Some items can be a hit or miss
Good affordable prices

We Rate East Village Bakery:

Address:

2166 East Hastings St.
Vancouver, BC V5L

Website:
eastvillagebakery.com

Twitter: @eastvillagebake

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Vancouver

In Culinary School

JJs Restaurant: Dining On A Budget

December 22, 2011

My coworkers and I went to JJ’s Restaurant in Vancouver Community College for our Christmas party. It’s really a perfect location since we work closely with all post secondary institutions. JJs is a great place since it’s cheap and a great learning experience for their culinary students.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad ($4)is one of my favorite items since I love shrimp. I’ve had it before and they’ve added an additional layer of coleslaw on the bottom. It worked really well since it added a unique texture to accompany the shrimp and avocados. On top is garnished with a cherry tomato that was skinned.

Some of us didn’t really like the addition of the cherry tomato because it felt a bit strange with the other flavours.

Lamb Cooked Two Ways($10) has Slow cooked leg of lamb and pan-roasted loin with rosemary jus. In addition, there was brussel sprouts, red cabbage, and mashed potatoes wrapped in phyllo pastry. I wasn’t in love with the pan roasted loin, but the slow cooked leg of lamb was very tender and flavourful. Overall, its still a pretty good dish. Price is awesome too.

Dark chocolate mousse with caramel espresso ice cream ($3) the mousse was nice and chocolatey and went really well with the ice cream. One of their awesome desserts. I did find the dessert a bit cake-like, but it still had the rich chocolate taste.

Overall, great lunch experience at a very affordable price! Sometimes the service is a bit strange, but remember they are all students that are learning. If you are on a budget and want some good food, this is the place to go.

Words of Wisdom:

Lunch is also super affordable!
Closest Skytrain – Stadium
Under $10
You’re missing out if you don’t visit this place!
Make reservations especially during the holidays!

We rate JJ’s Restaurant:

Address:

250 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

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Vancouver

In Dessert

La Chocolaterie: The Best Chocolates In The Lower Mainland

December 21, 2011

La Chocolaterie is the best chocolate store in the Lower Mainland. I really mean that because I have never been so excited and addicted to chocolates until now. Ever since my first bite at the Bakers Market, I have not been able to stop myself. They are my version of Willy Wonka. The owners – Taka & Kayoko have really dedicated themselves on making quality chocolates!

Their store is inside Izumi-Ya Japanese Marketplace. Its a small space, but thats where all the magic happens.

They are best known for their Ganache Chocolates. Really smooth chocolatey texture with amazing balance of flavour. I’m pretty sure they have over 30 flavours. Really unique flavours like blueberry, mango, green tea, black sesame, sake, red bean and even wasabi.

They also have chocolate bars too! These may look normal, but they are truly amazing. Earl Grey and the matcha bars are really good!

These ganache chocolates part of their coconama collection are really the gem of it all!

Favorite Pack ($5) contains 6 of the most popular flavours. You can’t go wrong with this since these are tried and tested flavours.

The green tea is quite strong, so if you aren’t familiar with the taste of green tea, it will be quite bitter.

Adventurers Pack ($5) is not for all. Judging by the flavours, it won’t appeal to everyone. The flavour is very subtle and acts as a secondary flavour to accompany the chocolaty ganache taste. The wasabi is not spicy at all, but you do get the faint flavour of wasabi.

I know some people may be scared of it, but it’s not bad at all.

6 pack of Tarts ($8.80) is assorted and you can choose what flavours you want inside. I initially thought the the tarts were a bit weird, but the tart make the ganache not as sweet. It makes for great presents…but in this case….I ate them all.

I also got Gift Basket A for $30 and it had a good assortment of everything in their store, so my coworkers really enjoyed it.

My all time favorite flavours:

Blueberry, mango, earl grey, coffee, black sesame, strong matcha and lemon basil.

Words of Wisdom:

Great Unforgettable Gifts (especially for the office)…step aside Ferrero Rocher!
Get a gift basket if you want to try a little bit of everything but can’t decide
Can be found at the Vancouver Bakers Market

We Rate La Chocolaterie:
Address:
7971 Alderbridge Way (Inside Izumi-Ya Japanese Marketplace)
Richmond, BC
Website:
http://www.lachocolaterie-vancouver.com/
Twitter:
@TKChocolate

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Guu Garden: Rice Burger Bento Lunch Is Awesome

December 20, 2011

Guu Garden is probably my favorite place to have lunch downtown. It’s cheap and you are guaranteed a fabulous lunch. Plus, I love Japanese food to death. For AvocadoGirl’s last day of work, I took her here since she really needed to see their amazing lunch.

You get super full for about $10.

The lunch menu is above, but they do change once in a while.

We grabbed some tea and waited for our order to arrive. Unfortunately, it was busy at lunch so it did take quite a while for our meal to arrive. I think it took about 30 minutes for our order to arrive. This was quite a bit long since lunch is supposed to be a fast meal. Eventually it did arrive, which is good.

Kobe Beef Hamburg Steak Rice Burger Bento ($10) it comes with green bean fries, prawn & avocado wasabi salad, side dish and miso soup. You can also double the patty for an extra $2.50.

Kobe Beef Hamburg Steak Rice Burger look really good and flavourful. It’s a bit hard to eat with your hands, so I used a knife and fork.

The Kobachi served when I went here was bean sprouts with a little bit of chili sauce. Overall pretty good, but it was small.

Prawn & Avocado Wasabi Salad is another one of my favorite dishes. It doesn’t have a strong overwhelming wasabi taste, so its good for people with varying spicy tolerance.

Green bean fries complimented all the other items nicely since it had a nice crunch. Not oily at all.

Grapes came as the finishing dessert. It was just normal grapes, so can’t really say much about that. They use to have this almond pudding instead and that was so much better than grapes.

Okara & Veggies Korokke Rice Burger Bento ($10) it comes with green bean fries, prawn& avocado wasabi salad, side dish and miso soup. Everything is the same except for the burger.

AvocadoGirl had this and I don’t think she had any complaints.

Pasta of the Day ($10) has their daily pasta, side of avocado shrimp salad and a miso soup.

They warned me that the pasta would be spicy, but it really wasn’t. It had a light tomato sauce with peppers, tomatoes, herbs and bacon. It was alright, but nothing too spectacular.

The miso soup was pretty good! It even has bean curd in it.

It’s the same avocado and shrimp salad that comes with the other combos. YUM!

Avocado Cheesecake surprised me at first! How can you put those two together? It tasted really good, the avocado is subtle but you can still taste it!

Overall, really good lunch deals especially in the downtown area. Highly recommended!

Words of Wisdom:

Amazing $10 bento lunch
Hard to locate the restaurant
Slow service

We Rate Guu Garden:

Address:

M101-888 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.guu-izakaya.com

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Vancouver

In Coquitlam

TaDa Sushi: New Sushi Restaurant In Coquitlam

December 19, 2011

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

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

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

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

I would highly recommend this dish.

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

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

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

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

She enjoyed the whole bento box.

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate TaDa Sushi:

Address:
931 Brunette Coquitlam, BC

Phone:
604 777 0702

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In All You Can Eat

Fatty Cow Hot Pot: Perfect Winter Food

December 19, 2011

Fatty Cow Hot Pot is located on Victoria and 35th ave for all you can eat hot pot. I like going here since it’s closer than going to the ones near Richmond. All you can eat is around $20 per person. The #YVRBreakfastClub / #604insomnia group headed here in very unique outfits. Some of us had superhero clothes and some had our PJs on.

The interior is surprisingly nice with lots of tables to accomodate large groups and small groups. Always good to make reservations.

Each setting comes with tea, utensils and all the bowls and plates you need.

You get soy sauce, sesame sauce and satay sauce. The first set are free, but if you need more, it costs $0.50 more.

You first choose your soup base, which is an additional $7, which sucks since you are already paying so much for all you can eat.

Nonetheless, there lots of other items to choose from. Best to order lots of meat and seafood.

Theres also a second side to order drinks and other stuff.

We got the hotpot split in half for 2 types of broth. It accommodates the different tastes, but eventually it all starts tasting the same because some soup from one side will move to the other. It’s $8.50 for double broths.

Fried Fish Skin is something you must order! It’s really good! It might sound a bit strange, but its kinda like chips. You can eat it just as is or dip it into the broth.

To get our moneys worth, we got tons of meat and also TONS of oysters. We also tried ordering 10+ oysters on a 2nd order, but they didn’t think we would finish it, so we kept asking for it. Their oysters are pretty good and very large.

We also ordered other items, but I was a bit too busy eating hahaha.

Sour Plum Juice ($5 – Jug) was good! I’ve never had it with hot pot, but it went well with it. If you order a jug, you will have enough for everyone (7 ppl).

At the end of the meal, they give you a coconut pudding dessert. Sadly, you can only get one 🙁

Overall, it’s not bad at Fatty Cow Hot Pot, good alternative to heading down to Richmond.

Words of Wisdom:

Cash or Debit only
Make reservations
Busy during weekends
Accommodates large groups
Large assortment of items to order

We Rate Fatty Cow Hot Pot:

Address:
5108 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.fattycowhotpot.com/

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Vancouver

In Coquitlam

Sushi Elephant: Hot Night Roll, Dancing Lady Roll, & Las Vegas Roll

December 18, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The roll was quite large and sizeable.

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Sushi Elephant:

Address:
403 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

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In Coquitlam

Church’s Chicken: Finger Lickin’ Good

December 17, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

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

Website:
http://www.churchschickenbc.ca/

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In Cambodian

Phnom Penh: Delivered By Foodsters

December 16, 2011

The hardest thing about studying for final exams on campus is how crappy the food is…and how nothing is open at night. M, Scarface and I were studying and we really didn’t want to go off the hill to find food…plus there is nothing good nearby anyways.

There is this new service called Foodsters.ca and they deliver food from any restaurant to you. Pretty awesome concept especially when certain popular restaurants don’t deliver… or are out of range.

Since the three of us wanted some killer study food, we wanted Phnom Penh but didn’t want to do much of anything. So, we put in a request to Foodsters.ca and it was delivered in about 30-40 mins. Pretty good timing since we were near Coquitlam. All you need is a credit card.

We ordered two Vietnamese Ice coffees, Chicken wings, Butter beef and the luc lac. Perfect set of items for our hungry stomaches.

Butter Beef ($8.95) was much smaller than what you would have in the restaurant. Take out food always seems to be a bit smaller than dining -in. They give you this large constrainer of sauce and trust me, do not pour this onto the meat! Best to dip the beef slices into the cup of sauce. Nonetheless it was delicious!

Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($12.50) is another staple dish that you must get! It is topped off with garlic, onion, and other stuff. They left out the lemon and pepper sauce to go with the wings, which is sad since you can taste more the salt or MSG.

Luc Lac with egg is a rice dish with a bunch of tender marinated beef. This beef was really really tender!! It also comes with side of salad and cucumbers to balance out the meaty dish. You probably don’t want to pour all the sauce on top either since unless you wanting it to drown in that sauce.

It didn’t come with the complementary beef bone soup 🙁

Overall, it was pretty painless ordering from Foodsters.ca . It’s great for lazy students who just want food delivered to them! Since there is a delivery fee, it’s always best to order in large groups so it doesn’t seem like a huge addition to your bill. They also have a Christmas Campaign going on right now where you can donate 10 cans of food and receive free delivery!

The food from Phnom Penh was delicious as usual, but it was missing a few items. I had about the same meal when I was dining-in and this is how it com pared (https://foodology.ca/?p=7363). I always find that the usual items that are most popular will tingle your taste buds. Good price with good food! Can’t go wrong.

Words of Wisdom:

Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Luc Lac, and Deep fried squid!!!

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

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In Brunch

De Dutch Pannekoek House: Sweet vs Savory

December 15, 2011

Foodology Disclaimer: I was provided with a $50 gift card to De Dutch to try out their sweet and savory dishes to promote their upcoming contest on Facebook. I brought along 3 picky eaters to really keep this review as unbiased as possible! This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.

De Dutch Pannekoek House in North Burnaby isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing location since it’s located in a back alley, but it’s known in the community and serves lots of hungry customers with their famous Pannekoeken, which is a Dutch Pancake. I came here with KoreanGirl, M and my little sister.

We wanted to duke it out between sweet and savory breakfast lovers…plus everyone loves breakfast!

The interior is quite narrow and not very pretty. They even have fake windows. I’ve actually never been to any other De Dutch location, so I dont know how it compares.

Coffee ($2.60) is needed in all mornings. It was normal, nothing special about it.

Dutcha Mocha ($4.25) was pretty awesome. There was a lot of whipped cream! In fact, 1/4th of the cup was rich thick cream! The coffee part was strangely lukewarm. Nonetheless, it had a rich chocolate accent and was a delight to drink all the way down to the bottom. M was clearly indulging.

Chocolate Milk ($3.25) was incredibly disgusting. M said it tasted watered down. So watered down, it’s mind blowing that something simple as chocolate milk failed to satisfy. My little sister had this too and even though she drank it all, it really wasn’t good.

Boer’s Farmer’s Pannekoken ($16) was the best of the lot. There was a plain pannekoken in the bottom of a pile of hashbrowns, two eggs, two ham, two bacon like ham, and a delicious bratwurst. To top it all off was their Hollandaise sauce. M’s not a fan of Hollandaise as he says that the sauce isn’t flavorful. The eggs were medium as ordered, and the overall meal tasted fresh. The hashbrowns are unique in that they feel light and have great texture. All in all, the best pannekoken in De Dutch…but expensive.

Mixed Fresh Fruit and Whip Pannekoken ($12.50) has the pannekoken on the botton with powdered sugar with a lots of whipped cream and some fruit. It really didn’t seem impressive for the price you pay. It tasted alright.

Meat Lovers Pannekoken ($13.50) has DeBakon, ham sausage, turkey bacon integrated into the pannekoken. It is then topped with 4 slices of edam cheese and tomatoes.

It’s kinda like the Boers Farmers Pannekoken but with all the meat part of the pannekoken. My little sister thought it was good, but she wasn’t a fan of the tomatoes.

‘Abby’ Perogie Pannekoken ($13.50) has Hash Browns, DeBakon and Onion inside with Cheddar and Sour Cream on top. This was surprisingly good! It really did remind me of a perogie.

We all got pretty full from our pannekoken at the end.

I’ve always had a firm stance on being on #teamsavory and could never stand sweet pancakes.

If you want some sweet discounts from De Dutch, like their Facebook Fan Page and retrieve your 25% off January Pass to get 25% off your meal. Also, if you participate in their savory vs. sweet poll, you are entered to win a $500 De Dutch gift card. Contest ends of Dec 24, 2011.

Do you like your breakfast sweet or savory?

Words of Wisdom:

Entrance in the back
Free parking in the back
Overpriced for what you get
Pannekoek should probably be ordered

We rate De Dutch Pannekoek House:

Website: http://www.dedutch.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dedutch

Address:

6651 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

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In Bakery

Faubourg: A Little Taste of Paris

December 12, 2011

Faubourg is a cafe offering Parisian baked goods and other delicious goodies in the Kerrisdale area. I’ve heard they had some amazing desserts and bread, so FoodQueen and I headed off to Kerrisdale to try it out. It wasn’t a quick drive for either of us since we both live so far. Oh the things we do to try delicious food.

The interior looks really nice and has a good amount of seating.

They even have another area too.

All of their items are baker fresh daily and I hear their croissants are really crispy and delicious. Since it was nearing the end of the day, there wasn’t too much to choose from. Best to go early!

If you don’t have a sweet tooth, they also have a few savory items too.

Cafe Latte (Grande $3.85) was good and compliments well with some of their pastries.

Individual St. Honoré has a base of puff pastry with tiny pastry cream puffs covered in chocolate and whipped cream on top. I loved this dessert since I am a huge from of profiteroles-type of desserts.

Overall, good place to stop by for a quick treat and coffee.

Words of Wisdom:

They also offer breakfast, bunch, lunch and afternoon tea
Lots of unique items
Lots of seating
Best to go early before some items are sold out

We Rate Faubourg:
Address:
2156 W 41st Ave
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.faubourg.com/

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In Bar and Grill

Hurricane Grill: Hurricane Fiesta Dining Package

December 11, 2011

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Hurricane Fiesta” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package and brought 3 friends to keep the review as unbiased as I could. This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.

Hurricane Grill is located near False Creek Marina. It’s a popular place to watch the game while munching on their delicious creations.

This month, VANEATS.ca is offering a Hurricane Fiesta Dining Package where you can choose 2 of their signature salads and their Bruschetta. To try out this package, I brought 3 of friends to see how this package adds up. The package is meant for 2 people, but there seemed to be a lot to eat.

There are a lot of comfortable seats and lots of TVs to watch the game. They also have a large selection of alcohol too.

Hurricane lager ($4.99) tasted very light and did not have much taste to it. If you do like light beers, I would say it might be the beer for you.

Bruschetta ($10.99), classic made with tomatoes, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, basil, balsamic reduction, mozzarella and goat cheese

Their bruschetta blew us all away! This is not the usual hard crunchy bruschetta you would find. It was toasted on the outside and was soft on the inside with the delicious savory ingredients on top. It’s a must have!

The Grill Salad ($16.99), six oz N.Y. steak on grilled vegetables, spring mix and tossed together with a balsamic reduction

You have a choice of how you would like your steak done and we chose medium-rare. It was cooked perfectly. What I liked about this salad is that it’s not your typical salad with leafy greens, it has large chunks of other vegetables. The balsamic vinegar added a nice acidity to the dish, which I enjoyed.

Fiesta Salad ($14.99), romaine lettuce, corn, black beans, avocado, blackened chicken, salsa, nacho cheese, sour cream and a cilantro mint dressing

This salad may look simple, but hands down, this is the best salad ever! The blackened chicken and avocado adds a punch into this dish. The chicken has a lot of flavour!! One bite of the chicken and everyone at the table instantly loved this.

The Classic Nachos ($14.99 + $2.99 for Guacamole) were taller than a pint of beer. We were really scared this would topple over, but they have mastered the art of nacho making! There is a good amount of cheese and toppings that everything holds nice and firmly. It’s not included in the Hurricane Fiesta Package, but highly recommended to try it out sometime.

Even though the food was great, the service confused us a lot. It took them a long time to figure out what ‘Hurricane Fiesta’ was. As they were confused, it made us more confused. They didn’t explain how the package was going to work, so my friends were very confused…until I had to fill them in on what we were ordering. After this little mishap, all was understood and the service improved.

Overall, the prices are reasonable for what you get and I was impressed with the overall quality.

The Hurricane Fiesta package is available starting December 15th for $25 from VANEATS.ca and you get your choice of 2 salads and the bruschetta. You save about $18 and get some killer food.

Words of Wisdom:

Nachos!! Most popular item!
Lots of seats and great for sports games
Closest Skytrain: Yaletown Skytrain
Fiesta Salad is good!

We Rate Hurricane Grill:
Address:
1137 Marinaside Cres
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.hurricanegrill.ca/
Twitter:
@hurricanegrill

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In Japanese

Ogenki Sushi: Sushi on Main Street

December 10, 2011

Hello Internet! RomanJ, here with another Sushi Restaurant review. Today we explore Ogenki Sushi Restaurant in Vancouver

I have been to this restaurant before with Abbytizer. However, since my last visit the restaurant has changed. Ogenki Sushi has been divided into two restaurants in the same location. One side is called Ogenki Sushi and the other side is Ogenki Ramen. Today I tried out the Ogenki Sushi side of the restaurant.

Ogenki Sushi is in a very small area with modern décor.

Their menu has a list of specialty rolls that look delicious to try as well as other items.

Ebi Sunomo ($3.25) is a very standard delightful dish.

Salmon Sashmi ($9.25) and Cheese Lover’s Roll ($7.95)
The Cheese Lover’s roll is loaded with salmon, avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, smoked salmon and tobiko. This roll is very creamy and blends deliciously well in your mouth.

Salmon Sashimi was pretty standard, not too cold at all. The salmon sashimi felt like it was freshly cut.

Chirashi Don, ($10.95) is a bowl of assorted sashimi on top of sushi rice. The assorted sashimi ranges from, salmon, wild salmon, tuna, octopus, shrimp and tamago. The assorted sashimi tasted wonderful but the sushi rice on the bottom does not bring the whole bowl to justice.

Miso Soup comes complementary with any order of a Don.

Overall, this restaurant has a lot to offer in terms of Japanese cuisine offering Ramen and Sushi. The service was adequate and the specialty roll I tried was delicious. I would probably come back here again to try out the other specialty rolls and of course try the Ramen.

Words of Wisdom