British Columbia Archives - Page 119 of 138

In Bar and Grill

Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar: More Than Meets The Eye

August 21, 2011

Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar is located in Waterfront station in Downtown. They are a great addition to the downtown core serving up pasta, burgers,pizza, salad, soup and a bunch of other items. It’s a great place to bring your clients or even a girls night out since they have some elegant decor with high ceilings.

Lobster Mac n’ Cheese ($17.99) is one of their more popular items and it has a blend of 4 cheeses, macaroni, lobster and topeed with bread crumbs and cheese.

M and Cdiddy thought it was subpar and there was not a ample amount of cheese flavour. There was plenty of lobster bits however. The whole dish was bland tasting, but the crumbs on top created a nice contrast texture from the smoothness of the mac and cheese. The real disappointment here was the salad. It was unbearably sour, and the selection of the greens didn’t help either.

The 9.2 oz ROGUE burger ($12.99) has a large sirloin patty, sesame brioche bun, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet relish, and mayo. It also comes with a side of fries. This is one massive burger and it is even skewered together by a knife.

Seafood Linguini ($16.99) it has prawns, scallops, salmon, halibut, lemon, herbs, red & yellow peppers.

Fries x 3 ($8.99) are hand cut kennebec fries that comes in 3 types – gorgonzola cream & bacon, poutine and truffle oil & parmesan. This appetizer is best shared.

The poutine fries is very typical – gravy and curds. It was alright, but not my favorite.

The truffle fries have been doused with truffle oil and has a strong taste of mushrooms. It was good.

The gorgonzola cream & bacon fries was my favorite since it was the most flavourful and most unique. The gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese, so it has a pungent flavour. Not everyone likes this kind of flavour. It is an acquired taste, but I highly recommend trying! The crunchy bacon goes well with the melty pungent cheese.

Overall, a few of the items on their menu are a hit and a miss.

Words of Wisdom:

Rogue burger and Fries x3 recommended
Pay parking in adjacent lot
Large selection of drinks
Some items can be expensive
Beautiful decor
Located in Waterfront Station

We Rate Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar:

Address:

601 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.roguewetbar.com

Twitter:

@roguewetbar

In Japanese

Yami Sushi Japanese Restaurant: Served with a Side of Hair

August 20, 2011

The @SFUSMN crew were having a car wash on Granville and we got super hungry after washing cars and ever large trucks. We went to a few other restaurants and discovered a lot of them only take cash. Seeing that we like to rely on plastic, we found this little restaurant called Yami Sushi Japanese Restaurant. They serve up your usual items at a sushi restaurant.

The interior is quite small and can seat up to a maximum of 4 per table. They only had about 3 tables, so it really doesn’t fit a lot of people.

Their menu is above so you can check out their full selection.

Sake Don ($9.99) has no sake whatsoever! Sake = Wild salmon sashimi. It comes in a bowl of rice with 6 slices of wild salmon sashimi on top. M loved the texture and taste of the wild salmon and its better than the regular orange one. This dish is very simple, so you may want to add a bit of soy sauce if you want a bit of taste.

Toro Sashimi (5pcs – $6.99) was really good. Melt in your mouth goodness!

Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi (5pcs – $7.99) is probably their specialty. It was good on the don and it was good on its own!

You are probably reading this whole article and wondering, where is this hair that she speaks of. It was in their Green salad ($3.50). In the picture above it looks quite innocent…has avocados, cucumbers, apple, tomatoes and mayo.

As you dig further, this hair can be revealed embedded between the lettuce. At first I thought it was mine, but upon further inspection, it was well embedded in the salad and not just fallen on top. I alerted the waitress and they made a fresh bowl without the hair.

The new salad was not very good. I didn’t like the mayo sauce that they had on top. I expected to have a citrus sauce on top instead of a mayo sauce. It’s my pet peeve to see mayo on salads…really not my thing.

Overall, they do have great sashimi, but items like the bento boxes are rather decent. The service was quite slow too, which was funny since it is a small restaurant. There were only 6 of us, so its a manageable size.

Words of Wisdom:

Good Sashimi
Green salad is not good
Slow service
Decent prices
Free parking on road and adjacent roads

We Rate Yami sushi:
Address:

8051 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

In Bakery

Footo Delights: Brand New Pastry Shop Specializing in Croissants

August 19, 2011

I love discovering new restaurants and shops through Twitter. I was going through my followers list and thought @modernmixvan would be interesting to follow. I was looking at their site and I saw an article about a new shop – Footo Delights, which opened up and they were having their grand opening event. Since I work close by, I thought I would check it out. Plus, who can say no to croissants?

Food Delights is own and operated by Brenda, who is from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver. She has a huge passion for what she does and puts her heart and soul into the products she creates. Footo Deslight is located close to Homer and Robson. They are the first croissant specialty store in Canada. It’s all fresh from the oven, so you know its not sitting around for a while.

They have nothing to hide from their customers. Similar to larger restaurants, this little shop has an open kitchen concept where you can watch them make the next batch of croissants. They pride themselves of only using natural ingredients and having no artificial flavours, preservatives or chemical additives.

They have many different varieties of croissants – plain, whole wheat, almond, cheese, chocolate, Spinach & Feta and sometimes specialty flavours.

If you aren’t into the croissant spirit, they have other desserts too! Chocolate Mousse, Panna Cotta, Tiramisu, Fruit Mousse and cute strawberry tuxedos.

They have croissant sandwiches too.

It doesn’t stop there, they even have smoothies, yogurt parfaits and frozen yogurt.

Here is their menu.

Since there were way too many choices, I grabbed 2 Chocolate croissants, a complementary bag of mini pastries and a Matcha latte. Instead of just shoving your pastries into a little bag, they have boxes to carry your croissants. Since they don’t get smushed, you know they will stay fresh longer. Plus, the box is super cute! Look at the handle! It’s a croissant!

The Chocolate Croissant ($3.25) is filled with delicious chocolate in the center, layers of the croissant layers and drizzled with more delicious chocolate. I brought these back to the office to share with my coworkers since sharing is caring!

I loved the melty chocolate in the center! I have come upon some croissants that have rock hard chocolate centers, but this one was nice and soft. What is great about these croissants is that you can tell they use less fat and are healthier than other croissants. Since they do use less fat, the layers of the croissant are not as flakey as the ones at Faubourg. The layers are similar to very fluffy light bread. The taste is nonetheless still very good, despite the texture of the layers. The outer layer still has the crunch as well as the ends…yummy crispiness. Totally makes up for the cons.

Since I showed them a coupon for a complementary bag of their pastries, I got these for free. Inside the bag are mini spinach and feta croissant, mini almond croissant and a lemon poppy seed cookie. It’s more like a sampling of their signature items.

The lemon poppy seed cookie was alright, it had a good balance of the lemon and the poppy seed flavour.

The mini feta croissant was one of my favorites since I am also a huge fan of savory croissants. It also had a good taste, but I think I will go back later to try the regular size to see how it is in it’s original form.

The mini almond croissant was also very good. The ends were nice and crispy and the overall flavour was really good.

To grab your own bag of complementary bag of their mini pastries, just grab this coupon from their website and present it to the store. The offer ends tomorrow, so don’t delay.

Overall, good addition to the Downtown core. Great flavours, tons of desserts and are healthier. I saved a bit of the croissants for my sister for her to critique since she has strong opinions about croissants. She really liked it and was very surprised by the overall taste.

Words of Wisdom:

Made with natural ingredients
Large selection of desserts
Small local and independently owned
Not your typical croissant
Highly recommend the chocolate croissant
Closest Skytrain: Stadium or Granville

We Rate Footo Delights:

Address:

820 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.footodelights.com

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

Twitter: @FootoDelights

In Brunch

Joe’s Grill: Brunch with Bennys and Hash

August 19, 2011

CanuckGirl and I decided we should go to the Pride Parade since we have never ever been to one. Living here for all my life and never going there…shame. Before lining up on the streets, we thought we would grab a bite to eat. I heard Joe’s Grill was pretty popular, so we decided to grab a quick bite here.

They are located on Davie and near Burrard.

The place was packed by 10am, but luckily there were seats on their patio.

You can find the usual breakfast and lunch items on their menu. Sandwiches, Pasta, Bennys, Eggs, omelettes, etc….

The service was quite slow and we were really confused by other customers that ordered after us got their meal before us. After seeing dish after dish not land at our table, I asked the waitress and she went to the kitchen to check. After awhile, she came back and told us the kitchen prepared all the tickets backwards and ours would be coming up soon. As others were half way done their meal, we finally got ours.

Eggs Florentine Benny ($8.55) has spinach, hollandaise and poached eggs on top of toasted english muffins with side of panfried potatoes and an orange slice. CanuckGirl thougt this dish was alright, but it wasn’t the most amazing benny she has ever had. She much preferred Subeez.

Corned Beef Hash ($8.25) has diced corned beef, fried onions, green peppers with potatoes and 2 eggs. They used real corned beef in this dish. I was kinda expecting the canned corned beef for this since I love the salty salty taste. Having it the other way wasn’t too bad. The potatoes, green peppers and the onions made to be a delicious combination of flavours. I am not a potato eater, but with this dish I could eat all the potatoes without hesitation. Not a very pretty dish, but the flavours make up for it. I also douse my food in tabasco too. Early morning kick in the face of spiciness.

After we headed off to the parade. Instead of watching the parade like everyone else, I took my time staring across the street as 2 security guards were yelling at some guys to stop sitting on an “under construction” structure. I find strange things amusing.

Overall, Joe’s Grill wasn’t as good as we expected. Slow service with some decent food, but there are plenty of brunch places in the area.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay Parking on street
Poor and slow Service
Busy during peak hours (especially brunch)
Good low prices

We Rate Joes Grill:

Address:

Robson Street/West End
1031 Davie St
Vancouver, BC

In Bar and Grill

The New Oxford Public House: Shots, Shots, Shots and Of Course Food

August 18, 2011

I went to ConsultingGirl’s going away party and she had it at The New Oxford Public House, it is owned and operated by the Donnelly Group. They are located in Yaletown and has very vintage looking decor. They even have a shuffle board in the back room to play. It’s easy to make reservations for your large party.

I think in all celebratory occasions, you must order a drink, so I got a bottle of Stella Artois ($6.47). They didn’t have any Japanese beer, so Stella is my go to beer.

Prosciutto Brie Sandwich ($12) has prosciutto, brie, arugula, tomatoes, basil aioli and balsamic vinegar on toasted panini bread. It also comes with a pickle on top. It is a very simple sandwich and it’s one of the more healthier items on their menu. The outside of the sandwich is nicely toasted and the filling was simple and delicious. The sandwich isn’t very large, so you may get hungry if you plan on staying a bit longer.

Instead of getting the regular fries, I ordered the Truffle Fries for an additional $1.50. They were really good and had a subtle mushroom taste. Definitely recommended for the upgrade.

Overall the food was alright, but a bit expensive. The service was very slow and it took a while to get our order and bill.

Since the night was still young, I needed to get ConsultingGirl slammed, so I ordered her a JagerBomb ($7.59) and a Prairie Fire ($8.04), which has tobacco and vodka. Prairie Fire is pretty nasty. If you want to disgust your friends, I would recommend the Cement Mixer (Baileys + lime juice) and the Dirty Panty (Baileys Irish Cream, Sambuca, Tabasco Sauce, Tequila).

You have any nasty drink choices?

Words of Wisdom:

Good for drinks and hanging out
Expensive food
Truffle Fries
Closest Skytrain: Yaletown
Reservations are probably wise on busy nights

We Rate The New Oxford Public House:

Address:

1144 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC V6B

Website:
donnellygroup.ca/oxford/

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/newoxfordpub

Twitter:

@DonnellyPubs

In Downtown

Slingers Mobile Food Truck: It’s Like Pasta Between Two Buns

August 17, 2011

I was walking near Burrard to find something interesting to sink my taste buds into during my lunch break. I really had no idea where I was going, until the Slingers Mobile Food Truck caught my eye. I always have such bad luck trying to catch them because they are at various locations and not always at the same spot. They are located on Burrard and Pender on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Their menu is quite simple and has an Italian flair to their menu. They serve up their signature parmesan sandwiches and pasta.

Seeing that I was hungry for lunch, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Combo ($11.75). It comes with the sandwich, fries and a can of pop.

I was looking through their pop and my eyes gazed upon Brio,italian style herbal drink. It tasted different of course, but it was not bad at all.

They give you a lot of home cut fries for the combo. They are made to order and some of the fries are soggy, some of them are crunchy. I guess it depends how long you leave it in the box too. They probably could have used a bit longer in the fryer.

There were really way too many fries to eat, so I ate a bit of it because I still had the sandwich to get through. I have a weird eating habit, I must eat the sides first and then the main item.

You can choose from chicken or veal for your sandwich, but I chose chicken. It is lightly breaded in a mixed herb batter and deep fried. It is also topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and served on a Calabrese bun. This really was like pasta between two slices of bread, but without the noodles. It tasted alright, but really nothing too special. They could have done more to it to make it more exciting, but it just seems kinda premade. I am probably wrong, but I didn’t see it as amazing.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Pricey for what you get

We Rate Slingers Mobile Food Truck:

Address:

W Pender St & Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.slingers.ca

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SlingersMobileFood

Twitter: @slingersmobile

In Izakaya

Electric Owl Social Club: Surprising Asian Inspired Menu

August 16, 2011

It was @wongers birthday and she decided to have it at the Electric Owl. The name of the place sounded very interesting, seemed more like a pub/lounge to me. Since we went there early and it was fireworks night, this place was pretty much desserted except for our large group and some other people.

They serve up items you would see at an izakaya place. This place really confused me because there were chopsticks and most items on the menu didn’t match the look of this place. Their Japanese style snacks are prepared by a Vietnamese chef in an izakaya-inspired room and a live band.

Their whole philosophy is that, like great drinks and creative food, good is always better when there’s more.

There are 2 bars, a large stage, an open dancing area in the middle and lots of seating around the restaurant. Its actually great for large birthdays where you want to have food and drinks. Usually there is nightly entertainment, so there isn’t a need to go elsewhere if you want to party.

On all the tables are the Japanese-like ceramic cups with napkins and chopsticks.

Since the menu was so Japanese, I decided a Sapporo (Pint – $5.30) was a must. Straight from the tap and it comes in the tall glass.

Spicy-cured Beef Tataki ($7.90) is seared NY steak spiced with togarashi seasoning with greens and mayo. The cut of beef was really nice, but I felt that the dish did not have the spice I was looking for. It was not at all spicy. The mayo did not work very well with the beef since it does not give your pallet a good clean feeling compared to the traditional ponzu sauce.

If you are going to get this dish, you might as well go to Guu or any other Izakaya to get the traditional item with ponzu sauce.

Karaage Chicken ($6.90) is deep fried chicken seasoned in soy sauce. It is topped off with leeks and has a side of mayo. M said it was alright, but he wasn’t full from just one dish. You probably need to order about 2 dishes to get full.

Drunken Ebi Mayo ($7.80) is sake-marinated, deep-fried prawns with mayo cocktail sauce. It was alright, but anything out of the ordinary. I liked the side of the cocktail sauce since some other places like to just douse it all in the sauce.

Owl Poutine ($6.20) has fries with teriyaki gravy, cheese curd, green onions, nori, and mayo. You can also add bacon for $1.60. This is one of their popular dishes. It tastes really good!

Matcha Rice Pudding ($4.30) is creamy matcha-infused rice pudding. I liked it even though the presentation is not that exciting. It’s not very heavy and a great light dessert to finish off your meal.

Ice Cream agemono ($5.30) is deep-fried phyllo-wrapped vanilla ice cream with fresh fruit and green tea compote. It tasted alright, but it melted pretty quickly.

Overall, the food is really not the main attraction. It’s a good venue to just chill with your friends and have a drink. They always have large special events, so great social place. Even though their website advertises 2 for 1 ‘appy hour’ from 5pm – 7pm, we didn’t get it. Perhaps it was because we were in a large group.

Words of Wisdom:

Large amount of items are not available on their menu anymore. No brunch, No Bubbletea.
Customizable drinks and super nice bartenders
Lots of large events
Reservations for large groups
Owl Poutine is a must
Free parking in rear
Closest Skytrain: Main

We Rate Electric Owl:

Address:

928 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.electricowl.ca

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ElectricOwlSocialClub

Twitter: @electricowl_ca

In Chinese

Sha Lin Noodles: Reopened and Better Than Ever

August 15, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We rate Sha Lin Noodle House:

Address:

548 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Number:
(604) 873-1816

In Dessert

Artisan Sake Maker: More Than Just Sake… ICE CREAM!

August 14, 2011

I was around Granville Island yesterday with my sisters and we were passing by the Artisan Sake Maker shop and the sign “Rice Raisin Ice Cream” caught our eye. We haven’t heard of this flavour, so we really wanted to try it out.

Since they are a shop dedicated in their craft of sake, we were a bit afraid the ice cream would be alcoholic. It turns out they are not and are 100% kid friendly.

You can also go for some sake tasting as well. You can try 3 of their signature sakes for $5 or just $2 for 1. A lot of people seem to be trying all their sake’s so, it is quite popular. Since I was with my sisters, we really didn’t feel like trying the sake out. Perhaps in the future I will return with M since he is a huge sake fanatic.

Green Tea ice cream with white chocolate chips ($3.50) was very subtle. It’s not as strong as the usual green tea ice cream you would encounter at other shops. I didn’t take a liking to it since it has the embedded white chocolate chips. I found it a bit random putting that in.

Some people may like it since it gives it more texture and something to chew on. My sister liked it, so it’s just a personal preference.

Rice Raisin Ice Cream ($3.50) was very nice. The rice ice cream was also very subtle and had a nice milky taste. The embedded raisin were soft, delicate and chewy. This was probably our personal favorite! This is probably a must if you are around.

The waffle cones were crunchy, but the ice cream just sits on top of the cone, so the middle is basically empty. There were a few times when we licked a bit too hard and the whole ice cream wanted to fall off.

Overall, it was not bad. It’s something fun to eat in the sun. It’s not like you can get these flavour combinations anywhere else.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking if you can find a spot on Granville Island
Sake tasting
Small selection of ice cream flavours, but unique

We Rate Artisan Sake Master:

Address:

1339 Railspur Alley,
Vancouver, BC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=149513155983

Twitter: @ArtisanSake

In Bar and Grill

Wings: What Else Is On The Menu Besides Wings?

August 13, 2011

I came to Wings with a bunch of SFU-ers to chill, hangout and of course eat! What was very ironic is that we did not order any wings. For a place called wings, you would think we would order wings. Since it was not a Sunday and they did not have any wing specials, we all ordered entrees. Don’t get me wrong, the wings are good, but it’s best to come here on Sunday for the specials.

ShumBum ordered the Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla. It comes with a side of sour cream. The dish is nice and colorful using 2 types of tortilla wraps – tomato and herb. The inside of the quesadilla had a good amount of chicken and cheese.

KoreanGirl had the Fiji Blond Beer-Battered Fish and Chips. It comes with fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw. It has a generous amount of fish. There was so much that she did not end up finishing it. Nicely battered on the outside with delicate meat on the inside.

I ordered the Beef Dip. I chose the salad on the side instead of the fries since I know I didn’t need the excess calories from the fries. The beef dip is served on a garlic herb ciabatta with a large amount of beef and a side of au jus for dipping.

The au jus is what really makes the beef dip amazing. Once you dip the sandwich in there, it just soaks up all those nice fatty flavours from the sauce. I fell in love with the beef dip and its a worthwhile dish to order.

Overall, not bad choices from Wings. It’s great for accommodating large groups.

Words of Wisdom:

Decent priced items
Sunday wings special
Good Beef Dip
Great for large groups
Beer specials and they can create some nasty shots for the Bday boys/girls

We Rate Wings:

Address:

345 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.greatwings.ca

In Japanese

Nao Sushi: Disappointing Food and Service

August 11, 2011

It was another sushi adventure with M and Fabo. After our final exam, we wanted some sushi in the Metrotown area and found Nao Sushi. People in the area rave about this place and their good food, so I wanted to see if it is really as good as people say. They sell similar items to other restaurants like Sushi Town, Sushi California and Sushi Garden.

At first glance this place looked really large and all the seats were filled so it must be a popular place.

Indeed, the inside was full of people. It took the servers a while to get us a seat, even though there was an empty table right in front of us. Throughout the night, the service was not that great and our tea cups grew empty.

Sashimi salad ($7.95) has mixed greens, salmon, seared tuna, ebi, and tako with citrus sauce and crispy wonton crisps on top. The top half of the salad was good, but the rest of it was very soggy at the bottom. There was a lot of liquid and it probably came from the excess water from washing the vegetables.

A plus is that there is a good amount of sashimi with this salad.

Gyoza ($3.50) comes with 5 pieces and was very plain. It seems like this was just pre-frozen and just boiled in water. It’s really not worth what you pay and you can get the same quality by buying the frozen gyozas from T&T.

Veggie tempura ($4.20) was disappointing. It wasn’t cooked well enough so some of the vegetables were very tough to eat… especially for the carrots and yams.

Salmon Sashimi ($9.80) has 7 pieces and was uniformly cut. Nothing wrong with this. The salmon sashimi was slightly more expensive than usual places.

Chopped Scallop Roll ($4.25) was alright, nothing too special at all.

Spicy Tuna Roll ($3.25) was a big disappointment, it has a bit of cucumber and tuna, but it lacked the spicy flavour that makes it a spicy tuna roll.

Sound Trap Roll ($8.50) was delicious. M really liked the sesame on top of the roll and it gives it a nice texture. The inside was deep fried eel and cream cheese, since he is a fan of cream cheese, he loved it. I had a few of them and it was really good!

The prices of some items were reasonable. For the dinner time, the bento boxes seemed very very expensive. I wasn’t too impressed by Nao Sushi and we all didn’t have a good impression either.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking on adjacent streets
Well priced
Some items poorly executed
Slow mediocre service
Good Sashimi

We Rate Nao Sushi:

Address:

7060 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.naosushi.com

In Hastings-Sunrise

Blowfish Japanese Restaurant: Best Bento Boxes

August 10, 2011

Blowfish Japanese Restaurant is located a few blocks away from PNE/Playland on Hastings. This small little Japanese restaurant is a favourite amongst the residents in the area. They have amazing priced Japanese food that won’t break your wallet.

Seating is quite limited they have about 6 tables that seat either 4 or 2 people. Most people who come in do take out especially during the peak hours.

I started with the House Salad ($4). It is a very simple salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, crispy wonton-like topping with ponzu sauce. It was good a refreshing like how a salad should be.

I’ve been to other japanese restaurants with horrible salads, but this one is good!

Crazy Buster Roll ($11) has crunchy tuna stick wrapped with tuna sashimi and avocado, drizzled with spicy mayo and tobiko. It’s a bit expensive for just a roll.

The roll was pretty good, but I really could not feel the “crunchy” texture of the roll from the tuna. It was probably masked by the rice. The tuna felt a bit dry and it might have been better if it they lightly seared the tuna instead. The spicy mango sauce was nice and it was very subtle and it won’t hurt you. Good roll, but expensive!

Dragon Roll ($12) has 2 prawn tempura & daikon sprouts wrapped with slices of grilled eel & avocado. Yet again, the specialty rolls are expensive!

The taste was also very good! Delicious combination of the eel and tempura. I really like the little tobiko on top since it reminds me of mini dragon balls. They also make crunchy noises when you bite down on them.

Deluxe Bento Box ($12.95) comes with your choice of Chicken, Beef, Salmon or Tofu Teriyaki. Also Ebi, Tako or Vegetable Sunomono Soup with Tempura, Chicken Karaage, California Roll, Green Salad.

This box is super cheap and it worth every penny! It’s equivalent to the specialty rolls, which I found very funny.

The Miso Soup is nothing special. It’s the same stuff you would get anywhere else.

The sunomono we chose was the tako sunomono. It has 2 thick slices of tako, which is octopus. Very good like the ones you would find else where. I like how they give you many choices so you are not just stuck with the ebi sunomono like most restaurants.

The california roll was nicely put together and it did not fall apart. It has imitation crab and avocado inside.

The chicken karrage was good as well. Moist inside and not over cooked. I love this fatty addition to any bento box!

The green salad is different than the house salad. It is mostly lettuce with a citrus sauce.

We chose the salmon teriyaki since its different than the usual chicken or beef. M did not take a liking to this since it was very very salty. Perhaps it was just the way they cooked it..or they accidentally added too much salt.

The tempura was assorted, so you get a few vegetables and ebi.

Overall, pretty good items and large selection on their menu. The best deal from Blowfish are the bento boxes! All the ingredients seem pretty fresh and we were quite impressed by our visit.

Words of Wisdom:

Take Out + Delivery
Very affordable Bento boxes
Expensive specialty sushi rolls
Free parking in parking lot of adjacent roads

We Rate Blowfish:

Address:

Suite 107-2828 E. Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.blowfish101.com

In Downtown

Fresh Local Wild: Awesome Sandwiches and Fish & Chips

August 9, 2011

Fresh Local Wild is a food truck brought to us by Chef Wolfe. The truck is located on Hastings and Burrard. They are open for weekday lunch serving up different types of fish and chips as well as sandwiches.

Even though there are long lines, Chef Wolfe always finds a way to entertain the crowds.

Their menu is located on a chalkboard on the side of the truck. A lot of their items run out quickly, so be sure to not come too late. When I was there the Cod Fish and Chips was all sold out by 1pm.

Near the tires of the truck are utensils, napkins, ketchup and I think it’s balsamic vinegar. You can add this to your fries/ fish & chips / whatever you want.

Since the patio seating only fits 4, it’s always full. The few times I went, I spent it sitting on these stairs along with the many other strangers.

Albacore Tuna Melt ($8.50) comes on whole grain bread with cookied albacore tuna and smoked cheddar cheese. It was really good and it was like a well cooked grilled cheese with tuna. Ooey gooey yumminess!

The best part was the crispy cheese the oozes outside of the sandwich and gets grilled! The sandwich is toasted on the outside, so bits of it are dark and burnt. Nonetheless, it’s still very good.

Grain Fed Chicken Club ($8) it has grilled chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon on toasted whole grain bread. The smokiness of the bacon can be tasted throughout the sandwich and it makes it so delicious! The chicken isn’t too dry and the bacon blends so well with the chicken. The bread is toasted on the outside as well, so you get a nice crunch every time you sink your teeth into this.

This item is one of the most popular items at the truck. Highly recommended.

Sockeye Salmon Fish and Chip ($12 – 1 piece) comes with tartar sauce and a bed of rustic fries. The fries are one of the best fries I have ever eaten!! Really crispy and full of flavour. Some may not like it since it can taste burnt… but I lurve burnt crispy fries!

The salmon was good, you can really taste the natural flavour of the salmon and it is not over powered by the batter. The most popular fish was the Cod and the Halibut during the times that I was there.

Overall, pretty good selection of fresh items from Fresh Local Wild.

Words of Wisdom:

Best Fries!
Grain Fed Chicken Club is a must!
Small Patio seating

We Rate Fresh Local Wild:

Location:

Burrard St & W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/

Twitter:

@freshlocalwild

In Fast Food

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Burgers, Fries and Peanuts

August 8, 2011

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is a burger chain in North America and is famous for their large burgers, fresh meat, and complementary peanuts. They have a few locations in the Lower Mainland – West Vancouver, Surrey and Langley.

Since a few of us were in the area, I thought it would be cool to check out another burger joint and see how it stacked up against the others.

The menu is a bit different and they do not have any combos. All items are ala carte, so having a complete meal can add up quite quickly. The descriptions of the burgers are a bit different “little” just means that item has one beef patty and the regular items have 2 patties.

Something about the interior decor keeps telling me it is the “Best Burger”. I swear, there were 10 large signs saying that. This place is plastered with testimonials. I am always skeptical when there seems to be a strange amount of good comments.

They cook everything in their open kitchen, so if you want to sneak a peek at how they fry their fries or grill their patties, you can do that!

Their drinks ($1.99) are unlimited, so go nuts with all the pop.

The peanuts are complementary and can be found on the side of the restaurant. They have boxes and boxes of them, so if you just had a burger and the nuts, you can still get full. The nuts are salted, so they nuts do have a bit of taste.

Regular Fries ($3.49) are freshly cut and fried in peanut oil. It has no preservatives and cholesterol. M and I didn’t really like their fries. A few of them were nice and crunchy, but a majority of them went soft and limp really fast.

Little Bacon Cheese Burger ($6.59) comes with your choice of toppings. If you add all the toppings, the burger gets fairly larger and can be quite messy. The taste of the beef was really good and a bit smokey. All the toppings were good and I have no problems.

The burger as a whole, was alright, but nothing was too special about it.

Does this burger live up to their great reputation? I think it’s hyped up too much and can be comparable to Vera’s or Fat Burger. After eating up everything, we felt super fat and with all the salt in this meal, I am sure we consumed quite a lot of calories.

Words of Wisdom:

Getting a whole meal can be quite expensive
Burger is nothing special
unlimited peanuts

We Rate Five Guys Burgers and Fries:

Address:

2002 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.fiveguys.com

Twitter: @Five_Guys

In Bubble Tea

Sweet Puritea: Fresh Fruit Bubble Tea

August 7, 2011

Near Gilmore Skytrain Station, there is a small Cafe called Sweet Puritea. They specialized in Bubble Tea and drinks that are made from 100% fruit. They also have teas that are infused with real fruit rather than the artificial flavourings. They also offer lunch specials too! This place comes in handy when you live in the apartment above.

I find that this place can be quite empty at times, so it is a good alternative to come with a group of friends if you want a more quite environment compared to places like Bubble World.

There is not a super large amount of seating, but it can suit you and a few friends quite comfortably. Very good for group meetings!

I went a few times and the first time I ordered a fresh pineapple juice and the next time I ordered the fresh watermelon juice. These were really good and super refreshing on a hot day. Way better than Bubble World or Estea! The other normal Bubble Teas taste good as well, but if you are unsure of what to order, you can always ask them for a recommendation!

Words of Wisdom:

Fresh Fruit options
Fruit infused teas
Quiet environment, great for group meetings
Lunch specials/ snack specials
Free Wifi

We Rate Sweet Puritea:

Address:

4248 Dawson St.
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.sweetpuritea.ca

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/sweetpuritea

Twitter:

@sweetpuritea

In Downtown

Coma Food Truck: Korean-Mexican-American Fusion

August 5, 2011

Coma Food Truck finally makes their way to the Downtown core. They originally had their truck across the bridge on Broadway, but thats a bit hard to get to during my lunch break. They are now located outside the Vancouver Public Library. They sell delicious fusion food that combines Korean, Mexican and American cuisine.

They will probably put you in Food Coma afterwards, but Coma stands for Korean (Ko), Mexican (M), American (A).

I was just on Twitter and I saw that @DennisPang was getting a bunch of people together to grab lunch at here, so I decided to check it out. If you are wondering, yes, I paid for this meal from money from my pocket.

Their menu is located on a white board and features items such as Bibimbap, seaweed rolls, burritos, burgers, and quesadilla. They are infused with korean flavours, so these are not your regular items. Since everything looked super delicious, @kathygko and I split the Burrito, Bibimbap and the quesadilla.

They also have a few pictures too. If you have no idea what to order, you can see what it looks like. While looking at the menu, you can also stare at them making your meal!

I started off with the Yuzu Iced tea ($2.49). It sounded a bit different and sure it did taste different. Yuzu is a citrus fruit in asia that is similar to an orange. In Korean culture, it is used more for drinks.

The yuzu iced tea is very similar to normal iced tea, but the tones of the yuzu do shine through and give you a slightly tart taste. It was still good nonetheless.

The Kimchi Quesadilla ($5.99) comes with a chipotle quesadilla with vegetables, kimchi, and salsa. It is not very spicy at all and its a good fusion between korean and mexican. The flavours blend nicely together and it’s the type of comfort food you want to sink your teeth into. The quesadilla is crunchy on the outside. On the inside you get some oogey gooey cheese with savory ingredients. Yum!

@kathygko didn’t take a liking to this due to the lack of spice.

Kibimbap ($6.99) has rice with bean sprouts, mushrooms, daikon, zucchini, carrots and egg with Korean bbq beef, spicy sauce and hint of sesame oil.

To eat this, you just take your utensils and mix it up until it’s well so the sauce and vegetables are well combined. It’s a decent dish, but I felt like I needed more spicy sauce. If you have been to Korean Restaurants before, you have the option of having it in a stone bowl or just regular. I prefer my bibimbap in a stone bowl (I love the crunchy rice), but its really not possible from a food truck.

This also came with a Korean version of Miso soup, but M just calls it seaweed soup. I don’t have a picture of it because I took it home to drink. @kathygko and I were way too full to finish the other items that we ordered. The miso soup was really good!! It was a tad spicy with lots of enoki mushrooms, seaweed, tofu, and green onion. So good!

We also got the Spicy Pork Korean BBQ Burrito ($5.99) kimchi, vegetables, cheddar jack cheese, and spicy pork all housed in a wrapped up 12in tortilla. I took it home to eat too, so I shared it with M. He thought it was a mexican burrito, the first thing that came out of his mouth was “tastes strangely Korean”. I forgot to tell him the part where it’s a Korean-Mexican fusion fish. This was so good and had that nice kick of the korean spicy sauce.

Overall, Coma Food Truck has some good offerings from their truck! I didn’t get a chance to check out their american fusion items, but I’ll be back!

Words of Wisdom:

Burrito and Quesadilla are recommended!
Good prices
It’s hard to figure out where they are, so best to stalk them on twitter

We Rate Coma Food Truck:

Website:

www.comafoodtruck.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coma-Food-Truck/126803084055777

Twitter:

@ComaFoodTruck

In Dessert

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt: Fruits Fruits Fruits!

August 4, 2011

Pinkberry opened their first location in Canada at Park Royal in West Vancouver. They serve up frozen yogurt similar to Qoola. After a long hike at Lynn Canyon, I came here with ConsultingGirl and Monster.

When we arrived, there was a huge line going out the door. The line goes pretty fast, so you won’t be dying from the summer heat.

All you do is choose the size of yogurt, choose the flavour (you can have more than 1 flavour), and then add as much topping as you want! if you are not so into that, they also have Fresh Fruit Parfaits, Fruit bowls and smoothies.

There are so many toppings! So many to choose from! They are quite unique and they have more variety than Qoola.

Fresh fruit is honestly the way to go!! They only have the freshest ingredients. When I went, they didn’t have mango because they couldn’t get their hands on fresh ripe mangoes. It’s goo that they do not sell the frozen fruits.

I was excited when I saw the fruity pebbles!! I have search far and wide (Ok..just in Vancouver) for Fruity Pebbles. Does anyone know where I can buy a box of this stuff?

Monster ordered the mini size with toppings ($2.95). She’s not a big fan of a lot of sweetness, so she likes everything in a smaller size to have a small taste. It fits about 3 toppings comfortably. She enjoyed the original flavour as it was sweet and tart.

ConsultingGirl ordered the medium size ($5.55) with mango and original frozen yogurt. She piled quite a bit of toppings on top. She enjoyed the flavour combo since she wanted to try both.

I decided to be quite different and ordered the Fruit Parfait ($4.75) You get to choose your yogurt flavour and then 3 types of fruits. I went with the original since I really love the tart/ sour taste! I wanted mango, but no more… so I got kiwi, strawberries and pineapples. The granola was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Overall, I quite like Pinkberry but I am not very fond of their location. Since I live in Burnaby, it’s quite a long ways to go. I love their pricing of their yogurt and how you can have as many toppings that fit comfortably on top. I am a fan of Qoola, but I think Pinkberry wins on their quality and quantity of toppings, plus the large amounts of frozen yogurt flavours.

Words of Wisdom:

Large choices of toppings and more yogurt flavour choices
Fresh toppings
Unlimited combination of toppings
<3 fresh fruit and original flavour!

We Rate Pinkberry:

Address:

D2 – 860 Main Street
West Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.pinkberrycanada.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/PinkberryCanada

Twitter:

@PinkberryCanada

In Cafe

Sajin’s Green Tea Cafe: Best Matcha Green Tea Latte

August 3, 2011

Last week I checked out Sajin’s Green Tea Cafe. I was meaning to visit here a while ago after seeing a post by Janice of Goodeat.ca . The Green Tea Latte looked super good, so I just had to try it out! It is located pretty close to Chapters Downtown, but I was always too lazy to walk all the way there.

They serve up some really really super cheap lunch and beverages like tea and coffee.

The large latte ($3.20) was good. I think a large was way too big for my daily caffeine allowance.I think next time, I will stick with a small. I get jittery if I have too much.

Large Green Tea Latte ($3.20) was SO good! It’s not even comparable to any other cafe I’ve been to. They use quality matcha to get the bright vibrate green color and the taste is amazing. It was a mixture of milk and syrup, so it wasn’t too sweet nor overly milky. I really enjoyed this and no wonder this is their signature drink!

Also, after 2pm, the medium green tea lattes become $2! Good deal!

Overall, I enjoyed the rest of the green tea latte at my desk. It’s 5 blocks away from my office, but I totally have no problem using my entire 15 minute break to sprint there and sprint back just for the latte. After going here, I have actually abandoned Starbucks and Cafe Artigiano for hot drinks.

Words of Wisdom: