British Columbia Archives - Page 122 of 138

Anducci´s Italian Kitchen: Something About Their Walls…

June 29, 2011

It was TaxMan’s Graduation Day, so we celebrated at Anducci’s. It’s one of his go to places near Lougheed Mall when he can’t think of anywhere else to eat.

M and I were the first to arrive and we really could not help but touch the wall. It’s like they had extra plaster, so they decided to smear it all on to the wall into the weird blobs. I think I spent a large portion of the dinner poking and touching it.

There are a lot of choices on their menu, ranging from pastas to salads to pizza. Here are a few shots of their menu.

As we waited for our meal to arrive, the amazing bread with balsamic and oil arrived. I LOVE this bread!

CatGirl got the Laverne & Shirley Pasta ($17), which has tiger prawns and roasted chicken sautéed with onions, garlic, and lemon juice in white wine sauce. She also thought it was all right and a bit salty.

M ordered the Carbonara Pasta ($16), it has capicola (Cold Cuts), garlic, cracked pepper, cream and parmesan cheese. He really liked the pasta and was happy with the amount of capicola.

ScarFace ordered the Mixed Seafood Pasta ($17), it comes with prawns, scallops, clams and smoked salmon sautéed with garlic in dill cream sauce. He thought the pasta was alright, but a bit on the expensive side when you can go to Anton’s to get a HUGE plate for a cheaper price.

You can choose between the spicy tomato sauce or the dill cream sauce.

I thought I would be a bit different and order the Chicken Avocado Wrap ($11). It has roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and Italian dressing. You can also choose between soup, salads or fries.

I really liked it! It was quite big for the price and definitely worth the price. Avocados were nice and ripe, greens were quite fresh, but the chicken seemed a bit on the dry side. Nonetheless, still pretty good.

Overall, it was not a bad dinner. We were all full by the end.

Words of Wisdom:

Expensive for pasta dishes
Well priced sandwiches and wraps
Free parking in the front

We Rate Anducci’s:

Address:

9604 Cameron St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.anduccisitaliankitchen.com

In Japanese

Sushi Town: Quantity over Quality?

June 27, 2011

I always came here in high school since it was less than a block away. For a student, it is the perfect place to eat for cheap. Ever since M kept getting very sick after eating here… we knew that something wasn’t right. He didn’t just get sick once or twice, but three times. Later on we found out some of the chefs do not wash their hands after smoking and/or going to the washroom. I am sure this happens at other restaurants as well, but it’s just kinda gross when you know about it.

Since I was kinda sick of campus food and BusanGirl insisted we go here for Alaska rolls, I agreed. It is a fact they have some damn good Alaska rolls.

We arrived at noon on a weekday and it was slightly busy.

My greatest fear of Sushi Town is the scary machine that hangs above the back table.

Their menu layout has changed too.

BusanGirl had the chicken teriyaki ($7.95). It has bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, chicken and teriyaki sauce. You also get a bowl of rice too. She said she liked it. The chicken was nice and tender as well.

I ordered the spicy tuna sashimi (half order $5). I had this a long time ago and I was never disappointed. This time, I was disappointed; the tuna was chopped up in very ununiformed pieces. Some pieces were as large as their usual sashimi pieces.

I then got the Chicken karrage ($3.95), which comes with 6 large pieces of wings. I really love these simple types of fried chicken wings. My favorite!

We then shared the Alaska roll ($3.95), it has avocado, cucumber, tobiko, salmon, and topped off with their citrus sauce. For $4, it’s a good roll.

Overall, the food isn’t too bad. You really can’t go wrong with the rolls.

Words of Wisdom:

Poor Service
Well priced dishes
Best to share items with friends
Very busy during peak hours
No reservations
Good specialty rolls
Amazing Alaska Roll
Not the most cleanly restaurant

We Rate Sushi Town:

Address:

5935 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

In Downtown

Aladdins Shawerma Cafe: Decent Shawerma

June 26, 2011

Every time I pass by Babylon Café, I wonder how the other shawerma restaurant compares. This place is a few shops down from Babylon Café called Aladdin’s Café. One major difference is that you can sit inside Aladdin’s Café and with Babylon Café, you can’t.

M and I decided to take our lunch here since all he wanted was meat, meat and more meat. It was quite busy during lunchtime, but most people were doing take-out.

We lined up and we really couldn’t help all the different types of currency on the wall. It was super cool looking at all the bills.

The service was pretty weird, it took them a while to acknowledge we were there standing there waiting to order.

I ordered the Shawafel Platter ($9.45). It came with two small falafel patties, chicken, rice, salad, hummus and 2 pieces of pita bread. I did enjoy the combination of both the falafel and the chicken.

This dish tasted all right, but I really couldn’t feel a little dis dissatisfied with the dish. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but it might have been the amount of chicken.

M got the Chicken Shawerma Platter ($8.95). It has tzatziki, rice, salad, pita and of course the chicken. He thought it was all right, but nothing too special.

I think we were not very impressed because we are just so use to the large portions we would get at Donair Town at SFU.

We ended the lunch with some old school Strawberry Crush Sodas. It tasted pretty good, I never usually get sodas but I was glad I did.

One thing I thought was odd was the hookah’s as decorations. I guess it’s normal but it was weird having it in your face when you are trying to eat.

Overall, it was decent but I feel like Babylon Café is a bit better.

Words of Wisdom:

Open for late night eats.. especially after concerts or clubbing
Under $10
Decent food
Limited seating

We Rate Aladdin’s Shawerma Cafe:

Address:

720 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

In Food Carts

When Japadog goes to SFU

June 25, 2011

Japadog comes up to the SFU Burnaby Campus once in a while to help support student clubs or charities. It’s really great that they support students and their causes.

The last time they were at SFU, they helped out with the Japanese relief and this time, the Stepping Bridge Organization (not sure what they do). The student club I use to be a part of researched into getting Japadog to SFU as well, and they make about $0.50 per Japadog sold. It was a few years ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still the same case.

As you can tell, the prices are $1.50 higher than in Downtown.

Nonetheless, people still line up 30 mins to get a bite of the awesome Japadogs. I got lucky and arrived prior to 12pm before the lunch time crowd arrived. I probably spent 5 mins in line.

CandiedZen and Fabo both had the Okonomi Japadog ($7.75). It has a pork sausage, cabbage, mayo, okonomi sauce and dried bonito.

They both said it tasted fine, but it was a bit on the small side.

I ordered the EbiChili Japadog ($7.75). It is made with a shrimp sausage, chili mayo, dried shrimp, red pepper and fried onion.

This is by far my favorite Japadog! When you bite into the shrimp sausage, it s not just shrimp paste, it’s bits of shrimp put together. The addition of the fried onions was very very good!! Everything worked very well together surprisingly. The dried shrimp on top initially turned off my friends, but I really didn’t mind.

Something didn’t seem right about the Japadogs. Its either the bun was bigger or the sausages were smaller. If you look at the images, you can really hardly see the sausages.

In the future, it’s probably best to head Downtown to get your fill of Japadogs for their regular size. If you do want to support your fellow students for a good cause, totally get one on campus! I really didn’t mind spending a little bit more to help a fellow student organization out to raise funds. Raising money is not as easy as it seems.

In Downtown

Good Late Night Eats at “The Refinery”

June 24, 2011

Hello Internet! It’s Roman J here with another food post. Today I explore a hidden gem in downtown Vancouver. After attending the Bruno Mars concert with Abbytizer, we were on the hunt for quality food. Not just fast food or restaurant chain food but late night quality food. Walking down Granville street at 12am with several restaurants closed and only fast-food joints open, Abbytizer and I stumbled across this restaurant called the “The Refinery”.

This restaurant is hidden beside Sip Lounge. Abbytizer and I mistook it to be the upstairs of Sip Lounge, little did we know it was another restaurant. The Refinery has an upscale feel with hardwood floors, modern decor and a large bar. They also had a dj pumping electro music. The music wasn’t too loud, you could still have a conversation with the person next to you. With a name called “The Refinery” they have a large selection of wines and drinks. We ordered the beef salad, sopressata and arrancini balls.

The Sopressata ($14.00) is composed of Sicilian spicy salami, taleggio, roasted red pepper on flat bread. This is literally a rectangular mini pizza. The spicy salami was not that spicy. Both Abbytizer and I enjoyed this flat bread.

The Beef Salad ($12.00) is composed of beef tenderloin, arugula, tomatos and croutons with candied horseradish. The salad although small in size, was delicious. The beef with the dressing along with the leaves blended well together.

Arrrancini Balls ($12.00) is deep fried truffled risotto with tomato relish on top. They came in a set of 3. Abbytizer enjoyed every bite of this meal. The deep fried truffled risotto was hot and had a crunchy outside with a smooth texture inside.

For dessert we had Profiteroles ($8.00) with amaretto cream and chocolate sauce. Profilteroles are good in general, but what added that extra sweetness was the fresh chocolate sauce.

Abbytizer and I loved the food here. The service was good too! The server/bartender made abbytizer a personal drink off the menu which consisted of pineapple juice, vodka and other ingredient.

Overall, we would come back even the though the portions are a bit small. We recommend this place to anyone looking for a quality late night food.

Words of Advice:

Quality food, open late till 2am
Service is good
Small portions

We rate The Refinery:

Address:

1115 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.therefineryvancouver.com

In Four Beakers

Sanpachi Ramen: Offers up Vegetarian Ramen

June 21, 2011

I love ramen places that have combos. I really just can’t stand eating just a huge bowl of ramen. I am the type of person that just wants a little bit of everything.

One thing I noticed about their menu was how it changed. It used to be much bigger and straightforward. This time, the menu was a bit flimsy and slightly confusing.

KoreanGirl, VeggieGirl and I came back from a long meeting and really wanted to eat! Since we wanted ramen, the closest place to get some was at Sanpachi.

KoreanGirl got the Mini Cha-syu combo with Spicy Ramen ($11.95). She really liked it for the price. She was even pretty full and had to pack the rice.

She’s been to the other ramen place – Santouka Ramen and she felt that the broth at Santouka Ramen was better for the spicy broth. For Sanpachi Ramen, the broth was decent and she didn’t have to pay way more.

I ordered the Mini Cha-syu combo with tonkatsu ramen ($11.95). I really really like their tonkatasu ramen. The broths is quite rich, so not everyone like it.

I enjoy having the mini cha-syu rice because it breaks up the taste from the ramen.

Since VeggieGirl is a vegetarian, the only option for her was the Sai Sai Ramen ($9.95). She really wanted a miso ramen without meat, but they could not make it for some reason. It’s really just taking out the meat…so she was confused.

The Sai Sai ramen is made of vegetable soup stock with bamboo shoots, seaweed, tomatoes, carrots, snow peas, corn, onions, bean sprouts and ramen noodles. The ramen was not bad at all; it is quite large so you will get full. One thing she did notice was that there were a lot of bean sprouts. A LOT!

Overall, we had a good time. Decently priced ramen that didn’t break our student budget.

Words of Wisdom:

Decent ramen at decent price
Around $10
Combos are my favorite

We rate Sanpachi Ramen:

They are located at:

770 Bute Street
Vancouver, BC

In Chinese

East Fusion Food: “Design Your Own Combo” Lunch

June 19, 2011

Mandu and I were out to lunch again. We always seem to have similar working schedules, so it just seems right to grab lunch since we are a skytrain apart.

One day. I was passing by Tinseltown, I saw this crazy open restaurant across from this Daiso looking store. They had some pretty good priced lunch, so I really wanted to try it.

The space is very open, so you do get a lot of natural light from the windows of the mall.

Looking at the menu, they have a “design your own combo” for $9.95. You choose a soup, appetizer and main and it’s just that simple. At this point, we really didn’t know if the quality would be good or not. We were prepared if this was bad or not since its only $10.

I started off with the Spicy & Sour Seafood Soup. Very good balance between the spicy and sour! I usually don’t get this soup, but I wanted to take a gamble and I really liked it!

Mandu started off with the Sweet corn Seafood Soup. It was an average corn soup. It was good.

For the appetizer, we had the vegetarian Spring Roll and the Deep-fried shrimp wontons. They both were nicely fried and just tasted average. Nothing too exciting but really was not bad at all.

For the main, Mandy chose the Coconut Curry chicken with rice. She really enjoyed the dish. Very good and it came with a lot of sauce! You won’t run into that problem where you have too much rice and not enough sauce.

I ordered the Beef with Satay sauce in fried crispy noodle. The dish was pretty good as well. Lots of good sizable beef slices and the noodles were deliciously crunchy. I am usually picky about how crunchy my noodles are and they did not disappoint.

Overall, we were super surprised at how decent the food was for such a good price. The service did suck though. The waitress was not very good at all; she was hard to wave down and was very slow in getting us more tea and the bill. I’m usually ok with it, but what ticks me off is when you and the server make eye contact and acknowledges that you need service…but never comes back.

Words of Wisdom:

Cheap lunch specials, most items under $10
Closest Skytrain – Stadium
“Design your own combo” is a good choice if you want to try several items
Service is a bit slow

We rate East Fusion Food:

Address:

88 West Pender St.
Vancouver, BC

In Fast Food

M’s Food Court Corner: The Return of the KFC Double Down

June 15, 2011

Welcome to another M’s Food Court Corner! Today I tried the Double Down from KFC at Brentwood Mall. Yep, they just had to bring this heart attack in a box back for a limited time. For those who never heard of this infamous creation of gluttony, the Double Down is 2 chicken breasts put together with Swiss Cheese, a sort of an aioli sauce, and bacon in the middle. No bread; the chicken is the bread!

I tried taking down the Double Down when it came to Canada late last year. However, the three attempts I tried it, I couldn’t finish more than half of it. The reason was that the 2 chicken breasts were unbearably salty. Like literally eating rock salt with bacon and cheese. I asked the KFC workers on the third attempt to make the chicken breasts less salty, but they said they couldn’t change anything! I should’ve said, “Screw you guys, I’m going home” but nope, had to bite a block of salt that is the Double Down again.

I wouldn’t have taken the Double Down ever again, even if it came back, but a recent commercial on TV from KFC said that the chicken breasts were the Colonel’s Original Recipe. I decided to do another plunge of faith and I’m happy to announce I was not disappointed. First the price is of course ridiculous, $6.99 for the Double Down by itself and $8.99 for the combo. Might as well get the combo. I guess if it was any less expensive, Canadians might get as fat as Americans. They said it would take 5 minutes to prepare so we just sipped on the Pepsi for 10 minutes. 15 minutes later, our Double Down’s were done! I actually saw them dunk breaded chicken breasts in the deep fryer so I was pleasantly surprised KFC’s commercials wasn’t all lies.

The return of Double Down comes with less salty original recipe chicken breasts, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. Still a little bit salty, but what do you expect with bacon, cheese, and fried chicken? The chicken was delicious, and the cheese was plentiful. The bacon was not that great however. Definitely worth shaving a few minutes from your life span to try.

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Paying $6.99 for just the Double Down isn’t worth it, just get the combo for the drink.
Double Down is very hot! No bread to save your fingers from hot meats!
If you tried the Double Down last year and didn’t like it, give this new one a try.

M’s Food Court Corner Rating: (Not to be compared with Design Girl’s “real” restaurant rating.)

KFC Locations:

All Major Malls

In Downtown

Cham Mani: Good Quick Lunch Combos

June 15, 2011

A new Korean restaurant opened up on Pender and I just wanted to check it out. The interior seemed very simple and would work for a quick lunch.

Cham Mani serves the usual Korean dishes such as Kimbop, Ramyun, Duk Bok Gi and rice. There are several Korean restaurants that serve about the same type of item. Notably the closest restaurant that is almost the same as Cham Mani is Kimbob & Ramyun.

Their menu is pretty straight forward if you know what’s what on the menu. If not, perhaps it’s best to ask the cashier what they would recommend.

Like most Korean restaurants, water, tea and utensils are all self serve.

I started off with Combo B – Ramyun and Kimbop ($7.95). It comes with 2 sides – pickled radish and kimchi radish. They tasted all right but they were not the best sides I have ever eaten. I think they might have made the sides themselves.

The Ramyun was also pretty good! This dish is essentially just instant noodles. I was just expecting to just be instant noodle in a pot. They add vegetables like bean sprouts and onions into it to taste better. It totally worked!

The Kimbop was made very well. Kimbop is just the Korean version of sushi. It held firm, sliced nicely and tasted good. I love to dip my kimbop into the ramyun soup, but maybe that’s just my way of eating things. ..not sure if anyone else does that.

Mandu ordered Combo C – Duk Bok Gi and Kimbop ($6.95). Mandu’s meal didn’t come with side dishes, so she did feel a bit sad. I am sure the waitress just forgot to give it to her.

She agreed the kimbop was pretty good. She was also craving it today, so it worked out perfectly! The Duk Bok Gi is Korean rice cake with hot sauce. She loved it because it was not just rice cake and hot sauce. They had a bit of vegetables into it as well. It was pretty spicy too.

Overall, Cham Mani is affordable and is great for quick lunchs. It is slighly better tasting than Kimbob E Ramyun, but Cham Mani’s decor is not very nice.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain – Granville or Waterfront
Under $10
Best deal is with the combos
Quick fast lunch
Small restaurant, not good for large groups.

We Rate Cham Mani:

Address:

529 West Pender St
Vancouver, BC

In Bubble Tea

Big Orange: Fresh Fruit BBT at Metro

June 14, 2011

Just before watching the movie at Metrotown, M and I decided to get a drink at Big Orange. Big Orange has been in Metrotown for a while selling bubble tea. A few years ago, their shop was shaped like a big orange too.

Their bubble teas come in so many different flavours! They have the regular powdered bubble teas, fresh fruit bubble teas, smoothies, juice, slushies and ice cream. They are all around $3 – $5 per drink.

M ordered the Pineapple smoothie. The smoothie was milky and did not go well with the sourness of pineapple, according to M. It was good that it didn’t have ice chunk left overs that you get from poorly slushed drinks.

I ordered the fresh mango bubble tea. The drink was pretty good. Nice and smooth with no large icy chunks. It kinda reminded me of a smooth instead. I thought bubble teas were supposed to be milky, but this drink was not milky at all. Very ironic since M found it weird his smoothie was milky.

I always love looking at the image on the lid. Makes me feel super lucky when it’s a horoscope and its the right astrological sign. Too bad I’m not a gemini.

OH! Also, I love poking the cartoon figures in the face with my straw! Serial killer in the making.

Overall, it’s a convenient place to grab bubble tea at Metrotown before the movie. If you want to take it into the movie with you, make sure you hide it because they won’t let you take it inside. It’s best to stuff it in your bag and start drinking it inside the movie theatre.

Words of Wisdom:

Fresh Fruit all the way!
Under $10
Bubble tea and desserts
One of the better places at Metro for Fresh Fruit BBT

We Rate Big Orange:

Address:

4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.bigorange.ca

In Coquitlam

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta: 2 for 1 Pasta

June 9, 2011

JoJoCake’s Birthday was here and she wanted suggestions to have a small get together. Fabo always keeps telling me to go to Jimoco Café & Pasta to try their pasta. Since it was close to where JojoCake wanted to eat, we just decided to go there.

There are best known for their pasta and their 2 for 1 deals. When we arrived, there was a huge grand opening sign for 2 for 1 pasta…according to Fabo, they have always had that deal since 1.5 years ago.

Jimoco is quite narrow inside, so there are not that man seats. It is highly recommended to call ahead for reservations.

Here are shots of their menu.

Garlic bread arrives and it was all right. It is lightly buttered on one side and not a lot of taste to it.

A few of us shared the Calamaretti Fritti ($6.50). It is just fried calamari. It tasted average, but the price was decent.

Fabo and KoreanGirl both ordered the Linguine al frutti di mare ($7). It has seafood in tomato, sauce. It is Fabo’s favorite pasta here. It has 2 clams, 2 mussels, shrimp and scallops.

CanuckGirl got the cream version of this.

JojoCake had the Penne alla bombay ($7). It has chicken and tomatoes in a curry cream sauce.

I ordered the Risotto al frutti di mare ($7). It is risotto with seafood in a cream sauce. This dish was very very rich and got me full pretty fast. The first few bites were pretty good, but eventually it was a bit too creamy and fatty for my liking.

Overall, it was pretty average food. Nothing really outstanding. The only strength is just the cheap price. This place is quite popular with the Korean community in Coquitlam.

Words of Wisdom:

2 for 1 pasta
Decent pasta
Free parking in the front and rear
Under $10
Should make reservations

We Rate Jimoco:

Address:

1046 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

In Four Beakers

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant: Amazing Hole in the Wall

June 8, 2011

M has discovered that Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has one of the best Mexican foods in Vancouver. A few months ago, M wanted to take me here, but then as the girl I am, I scolded him for taking me to a crappy looking place. We made it to the parking lot, but went elsewhere. It’s my human nature to deter away from scary looking places. After actually trying this place out, I think we have fell in love with their food.

A small family owns Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant and they cook all their foods in house. They don’t make a large amount of their items, so when it’s gone… you won’t be able to get it till the next day. I tried ordering the Camaron Burrito and the Horchata, but nope… sold out.

Looking at their menu, there were lots of mouth-watering items. Most of the items are between $8 and $10, which can be seen as slightly expensive, but their portions are really large!

We started our meal off with Jarritos Soda ($2.50). This is a popular soft drink in Mexico. This was my first time trying it and man….if American pop can taste like this…I would be one fat girl right now. It’s so good and makes you want more!

We tried the Pineapple Jarritos and Grapefruit Jarritos. Both are great choices!

M ordered the Carnitas Burrito ($10.99). It has pork, rice, beans, onions and cilantro wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is covered in cheese and red sauce. This is not your small taco from Taco Time. Taco Time cannot even compare to the amazing taste of this burrito. It is large and you will be full. The pork is beautifully roasted and is very flavorful and tender. Totally worth the price!!

I ordered the Cheese Quesadilla ($8.99). I really was not expecting much since Cheese Quesadilla sounded very small. When it arrived, it was pretty large! They even had a lot of cheese inside the tortilla! Adding the sour cream and the salsa made this SO good! Never knew such a thing could taste so good.

They also have hot sauce if you want to add a kick to your meal.

Overall, great place for Mexican food. If all Mexican food tasted like this, it would be my next favorite cuisine. Too bad I have a hatred for beans. Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has a good deal for what you get. Try not to be like me and judge this place based on their décor.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in front
Large portions of yummy food
Suggested – Caritas Burrito, Chicken Fajita Burrito
Decent prices

We Rate Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant:

Address:

2891 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Junsei River Japanese Restaurant: Horrible Bento Boxes

June 6, 2011

I went to Junsei River Japanese Restaurant for lunch since it was on Robson St. and I was craving a good ol’ bento box.

The restaurant is a bit narrow but it still has enough room.

Junsei River Japanese restaurant sells the usual items you would find in any Japanese Restaurant. My eyes were immediately drawn to the menu! One full page of Bento box choices! It took me a while to decide what I wanted to get, but eventually I settled on Bento Box F.

As I waited, some tea and miso soup arrived.

The Bento Box F ($10.95) has unagi, salmon roll, tuna & salmon sashimi, green salad & fruit. At first glance, the bento box looked appetizing, but at a closer glance, I was very very disappointed!

The unagi pictured on the menu had a large chunk of unagi, but when it arrived, you get 4 small thin slices of eel, it was not even comparable to the picture. The taste was ok, but you know this was probably frozen and thawed.

The salmon roll, was poorly put together and still contained some tough connective tissue. As you can tell from the image, one roll was about to come undone.

The salad was very very watery and the citrus dressing had a strong ginger taste to it.

The fruit that is part of the bento was a slice of apple. It was cut very poorly and the core was still part of the apple. Doesn’t the seed just look so appetizing?

The tuna and salmon sashimi were decent but not great. The tuna was still a bit icy since it’s been thawing.

The bill came and I was actually glad I could leave. I put my money down and waited for the waitress to come grab it. I waited… then I waited some more…3 waitresses passed by and none of them even picked it up. I even tried raising my hand but no one acknowledged me. It just sat there looking very lonely.

During the time I was waiting, the table next to me was complaining to the waitress about how she got their order wrong. After they talked to 2 waitresses, the waitresses wanted them to pay extra for what they wanted. They were indeed mad and just ate their incorrect order.

I was pretty fed up by now, so I just went up to pay. I grabbed my changed, didn’t tip and went back to work. With so many great restaurants Downtown, this sushi joint really does not compare.

Words of Wisdom:

Do not get their bento boxes
Cheap and of low quality

We Rate Junsei River Japanese Restaurant :

Address:
570 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

In Bubble Tea

Bubble World: Good to chill but BBT is mediocre

June 6, 2011

Bubble World is a great place to just chill with friends. TaxMan was back in town, so it just seemed right to catch up with him, M and Scarface.

We decided to go to the North Road Bubble Word location because it’s closer than all the other locations. They have lots of space to sit and talk. It’s best for groups of 4 -6 people. This location does not serve food nor does it serve the drinks in nice cups. It is mostly to go in the plastic cups.

I’ve never loved the bubble tea here for these reasons:

Most drinks made from powder
No healthy options like – real milk or fresh fruit

Granted that they do have a few fresh fruit options like Watermelon Slush but its doused in lots of sugary syrup. Bubble World is a chain, so I guess we can’t expect too much.

I usually stick with the hot Milk Tea or the Hot Milky Malt Tea. I find that they use less malt or whatever those crispy little bits in the drink. They use quite a bit of coffee mate in this drink.

M had the chocolate milky tea. He usually gets sick when he has the powdered coffee mate, so he had to talk to the owner for a bit to get real milk into his bubble tea.

The bubble tea here is decent, but it’s pretty standard. Very minimal service since you have to go up to the counter to order and pay.

Words of Wisdom:

Lots of seats, group of 4 – 6 is best
Most drinks made with powder
Can special request milk instead of powdered milk
under $10
Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Center

We Rate Bubble World:

Address:

555 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

In Downtown

Guu Garden: Amazing Dinner with the Girls

June 5, 2011

Nothing says fun like heading to dinner after a long day of work and school.

Mandu, KoreanGirl and I decided to head over to Guu Garden to check out their dinner menu.

The interior is nice!

We started with a huge Sapporo Pitcher ($18).

Mandu likes mixing her beer and sake, so we ordered the Large Cold Sake ($6.50). I don’t like the taste of sake, so I just stuck to the beer…until they sneakily poured some sake into my beer.

We started off with the Tuna Tataku ($6.50). It has lightly seared tuna sashimi on sliced onions dressed with ponzu sauce, topped with scallion and garlic chips. The garlic chips and the sliced onion make this dish so much better! I usually eat this by putting a bit of everything on top of the tuna, roll it up and eat it.

Mandy loves her saba, so we got the Saba Grill ($6.50). It is a Grilled mackerel on sliced onions, herbs and garlic. I’ve never had this before, but I found it to be a alright. The sauce on the bottom was a bit too salty for me.

Not trip to any Izakaya restaurant can be with out ebi, so we ordered His Ebi Mayo ($7.80). It is Deep-fried prawns served w/ chili mayo and cilantro. Not really sure why it was called His Ebi Mayo, but I wonder if they ever have Her Ebi Mayo. (Ok, sorry lame joke).

I love fried chicken, so we ordered the Chicken Karrage (5.80), which is deep fried chicken thigh with garlic mayo. It was really good since it was boneless! Very moist inside and well seasoned!

We then had the Cream Korokke ($6.50). This is deep-fried panko breaded cream korokke topped with bisque mousse and tonkatsu sauce. This was SO good! SO GOOD!

At this point, the beer was getting to me, so we ordered the Green Tea ($1.50). Ya, tea isn’t free. Since we still had more sake, we ordered a Mega Sapporo ($9.00). It’s just a HUGE cup of beer.

To be a bit healthy from all the fried food, we got the Prawn & Avocado Salad with Wasabi Dressing ($6.80). This was really good as well! The wasabi dressing added a little kick to the salad which we all loved.

We got the Sea Salt Grilled Pork Cheek with Yuzu Ponzu($5.80). Very delicious tender meat with amazing flavour!

Mandu loves oden, so we first had the Assorted Oden ($6.80). It came with daikon radish, fried tofu, mocha tofu bag, taro jelly and chikuwa fish cake. The broth that we chose with this is Kanto -daki oden soup base. Mandu dubbed this the BEST oden she has ever eaten in her life. The wasabi-like paste that comes with it is SPICY. Adding it to the oden is a must, just make sure you don’t add too much.

Since we carved way more oden, we got an extra on with Fried tofu ($1.50) and Mochi Tofu Bag ($2). The mocha tofu bag has a really cool texture…similar to the gluten balls for hot pot. So addictive!

Overall, we had an amazing time at Guu Garden. This is probably my favorite branch of their chain. We ate and drank so much but after looking at the bill, it was a bit steep, but we thought it was worth it.

Words of Wisdom:

Great place to go with friends for small bites and drinks
Amazing Oden
Decent prices

We Rate Guu Garden:

Address:

M101-888 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.guu-izakaya.com

In Three Beakers

Glowbal Grill Steaks and Satay: Steak Tartare is so good!

June 5, 2011

ConsultingGirl, Fabo, CanuckGirl and I took a trip to Glowbal for the Telus Taste of Tuesday. I don’t normally go to such high priced restaurants because as a student…well…I don’t have that much money to splurge. Plus, who could resist getting a free dessert and appetizer with a purchase of an entrée. There are always tons of great deals for the higher priced restaurants, so you just got to look out for them.

I got off of class and didn’t get the chance to change before coming here, so I was in t-shirt, jeans and a huge backpack. I felt so embarrassing going here, but the waitresses were really nice and didn’t look at me too funny.

The menus that they have are HUGE! So huge that you could play hide and seek at the dinner table.

After we ordered, some rosemary bread arrived. The bread was very soft and had hints of the rosemary herb.

The next thing that arrived at the table was the amuse-bouche, which featured their wild mushroom soup. This was so flavorful and had a very distinct mushroom flavour. It was really really good!!!

ConsultingGirl started with the Caprese (13.95). It has 2 types of vine ripened tomatoes, mozzarella and greens. She thought the dish was all right, but she did not like the mush texture of the tomatoes. She refers more of the firm tomatoes.

CanuckGirl and Fabo both ordered the Waygu carpaccio (18.95). Waygu beef has a large amount of marbling … its basically like kobe beef. The dish has 8 thin slices of the waygu beef with truffled aioli and frisee salad on top. They really liked the flavour of the beef with the greens on top.

I ordered the Steak Tartare ($18.50). This has grounded 5oz prime beef tenderloin mixed with a bunch of aromatic ingredients with a yolk on top. It is served with focaccia chips on the side. What I loved about the presentation is how there was dry ice under the dish, so when the dish arrives, it has a cool smoking presentation. I really loved the flavours of it and I would order this again and again!! Even though price is a bit steep, its pretty damn tasty.

Fabo had the Mushroom Risotto entree ($18.95). The dish has wild mushrooms, and an intense amount of truffle oil in the dish. It also has shaved parmagiano-reggiano on top. The smell is so fragrant and strong.

Consultinggirl ordered the Spaghetti & kobe meatballs (25.95). The dish has truffle cream, tomato garlic confit, tete de moine (Swiss Chese), and 4 huge kobe beef meat balls. She did not take a liking to the dish. She found it was quite mediocre for the price and it was not spectacularly intriguing.

CanuckGirl and I both ordered the Lamb shank (24.95). The roasted lamb shank sits on top of mushroom risotto, beans and pinot noir jus. The lamb shank was very nice and tender. The same mushroom risotto was underneath and it did also have a very strong mushroom taste and smell due to the truffle oil.

The Crème Brulee Trio ($8.95) has 3 different flavours- hazelnut, white chocolate and vanilla. I was not particularly impressed by the crème brulee. Once you break into the hard sugary surface, it was a tad on the watery side. I was really not a fan.

The Frosted beignets and apple fritters ($8.95) comes with 3 apple fritters in a steel martini cup. This reminded ConsultingGirl of the mini donuts at PNE. You also have 3 frosted beignets. There is some vanilla custard and strawberries on the side as well for the beignets and apple fritters. This desserts is pretty sugary.

This is the Warm Brazilian chocolate cake ($8.95). This is similar to a lava cake with espresso gelato and fresh berries on top. If you are a chocolate lover, this is the dessert for you.

Overall, the food was pretty good, but if there wasn’t the special, this dinner price would have been pretty steep. One thing we also didn’t expect was that the water would cost $3 per person. We probably should have just asked for tap water.

Words of Wisdom:

Steak Tartare, lamb shank and Brazilian chocolate cake were pretty good
A bit pricey, so best to come here on special occasions
Some items can be a hit or a miss

We Rate Glowbal:

Address:

1079 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.glowbalgrill.com

In North Burnaby

The Ladle: Vegetarian + Vegan +Gluten-Free Options

June 3, 2011

One good thing about SFU is that they have a shop that offers vegan and healthy vegetarian cuisine at decent prices. They have soups, salads, wraps and other random things.

They are located in the Maggie Benson Center near Convocation Mall. Its a good place to go if you want a healthy alternative to the other items on campus.

Just so you know…I’m not a vegetarian…I just end up coming to these places by random chances.

All of us ordered the Mac & Cheese. This Mac & Cheese tasted worse than Kraft Dinner. It was crunchy at the top and mushy under neither. It lacked any taste and felt like a chore eating it. I could go on exaggerating, but plain and simple – it was just bad. The only way to have it somewhat edible was to mix in some salt and pepper. Perhaps they forgot to add salt to their batch of Mac & Cheese?

If you do happen to get the Mac & Cheese, do gram a few packages of salt and pepper just in case the same thing happens for you.

I also had the Small Minestrone soup. I was expecting to be the other type of minestrone soup with herbs and more yellow. The soup still tasted fine, but I guess it has more of the dominant tomato taste.

Overall, it’s a good alternative but food isn’t that great. My 2 favorite items here are the shepherd’s pie, creamy mushroom soup and the grilled cheese. Everything else here is pretty meh. It’s safe to say the SFU really does not have great food. Natures Garden might be a good alternative if you want other vegetarian food.

Words of Wisdom:

Grilled Cheese, Creamy Mushroom Soup, or shepards pie are my Favs
Under $10
Vegetarian/Vegan/Gluten-Free Friendly

We Rate Ladle:

Address:

8888 University High St
Burnaby, BC

In Chinese

Mr. Ho’s Wonton House: Came for Noodles, Got Rice Instead

June 3, 2011

It’s no surprise to you that I like to go out to eat during game days to avoid the crazy Canucks madness. I am a horrible Vancouverite, but my love of eating is stronger than suffering from anxiety of watching the Canucks games.

M and I went out to Mr. Ho’s Wonton House on Kingsway after watching a movie at Metrotown. I have not been here in years and I do love Chinese food. On the ride from Metrotown, he wanted to go to all these fast food places and I shut down all of his suggestions until we go to Mr. Ho’s. KFC and Subway are not good dinner choices….*sigh.* men…..

I really wanted to get noodles since Kung Fu Panda 2 since it just seemed right to do so. Unfortunately, if I was going to a ramen place, I would have gotten noodles. I saw some of the rice items on Mr. Ho’s menu and that drew my attention… plus noodle at Mr. Ho’s can’t be that amazing.

I think I am a sucker when it comes to Asian themed things such as interior décor. I loved their walls.

Like any Chinese place, you get tea! I also love tea.

M and I started off with the Fried Wontons (6pieces -$4.25). These were huge! We expected the tiny fried wontons…but these were like UFOs. These were so crispy and the best part is the wonton skin…the filling was tiny and very tough to chew, which I found odd.

I ate the whole wonton and I kept asking M why there wasn’t any meat inside. Apparently there was, but I didn’t notice I ate it. Hahaha.

Then he had the Sweet and sour pork with pineapple on rice ($7.25). M loved this sweet and sour pork. One thing that I found this dish was suffering from was the gigantic size of the vegetables. One slice of onion is bigger than the piece of pork. Nonetheless, M still enjoyed it and ate it all.

I had the Prawns with swirl egg on rice ($8.75). Did I ever tell you I love Love LOVE prawns? Ya, that’s why I got this dish. What I usually worry about saucy dishes with rice is the ratio between the sauce and the rice. If there is not enough sauce to go along with the rice, this just makes me sad. My perfect dish would have more sauce than is needed to eat with the rice.

I loved this dish because I had more sauce and the sauce was pretty good. The prawns and the peas were quite decent.

We also go fortune cookies!

Overall, we had a good dinner here. It wasn’t the best chinese food I have ever ate, but it was decent. There were a few people dining here even though it was a game day. They even brought out a TV since some customers wanted to see the game.

Words of Wisdom: