Foodology
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Richmond

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In New Westminster

Shang Noodle House: Noodles and Dumplings in Metro Vancouver

Shang Noodle House has 2 locations, one in Richmond and another at Starlight Casino in New Westminster. It is a sister restaurant of Kirin and specializes in hand made noodles, dumplings, and classic Chinese dishes. We were invited to check out a few of their signature dishes and see how their food is made in the restaurant.

Interior

There are lots of seating inside for small to large groups. There is an open kitchen in the centre of the Starlight location, so you can see the chefs create your meal in front of you if you sit by the bar.

Behind the Scenes

Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumplings

These were made fresh, so its plenty hot. The skin was thin and the soup inside the dumpling was enjoyable.

Lobster bisque with spinach noodles

The broth is made with Atlantic lobsters and you can really taste it in the broth. They don’t take short cuts here. The depth of flavour is really good. The spinach in the noodles is what gives it the green colour, but I didn’t notice too much flavour, so it compliments the broth.

Roast Pork Belly

This long plate of pork belly is delicious. Crisp skin and layers of moist meat and yummy fat. I always have no willpower with this dish.

Pan Fried Pork and Veggie Dumplings

It comes 4 to an order and it is a big size. Inside it is filled with pork and aromatics.

Grilled Pork Jowl Meat

You can order this as a side dish. This particular portion was a bit on the lean side so the texture felt dry.

Squid Ink Pasta

The squid ink pasta is imported from Japan and the colour of the ink shows and give the noodles a dark grey colour. It is topped with bonito flakes and has shrimp, mussels, fish, tofu, broccoli and tomato on the sides.

Red Reishi Mushroom hand-pulled ramen

The broth is light but it has a lot of different mushrooms in the dish, 7 to be exact. If you are a mushroom lover, you’ll enjoy this dish. The noodles were well made with a good bite to them.

Mango Pudding

A classic Chinese dessert made of mango puree, mango chunks, gelatin and evaporated milk. It really brought me back to my childhood.

Durian Mochi

People usually have a love hate relationship with durian. Some say it stinks like rotting garbage and on the other spectrum they say it’s a fragrant ice cream. To me, I am indifferent to the taste. I personally think its like a sweet onion.

This is only available at the Richmond location. They serve this at Kirin at Starlight but it gets sold out very quickly.

Honey Green Tea pudding

Another good dessert. You really can’t go wrong with Chinese dessert as its always a good balance of taste and sweetness.

Brown sugar Milk Tea with pearls

To pair with the meal, you can have bubble tea. The brown sugar milk tea is one of things to order. It’s not too overly sweet.

Final Thoughts

If you’re craving something a little different, check out Shang Noodle House in Richmond or New Westminster. My favourite items were the roast pork belly, squid ink noodles, and durian mocha.

Website:
http://www.shangnoodlehouse.com/

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In Bubble Tea

Sweet Memory Desserts: Taiwanese Desserts in Richmond

Sweet Memory Desserts is located in Richmond on Leslie Road. It was opened by the people behind Memory Corner, which is also in Richmond. We were eating dinner close by and decided to grab some dessert.

Interior

The interior transports you back in time and it’s very cute with all the lanterns and ornate decoration all over the walls.

The space is pretty cramped when it’s busy, so there isn’t much space if you are carrying a big jacket and bag.

The brick walls, wooden furniture and the decor give the space so much character.

Sweetened Tea

As we got seated, they have a pot of sweetened tea for the table.

Passion fruit Shaved Ice

The passionfruit syrup and seeds drench the milk shaved ice underneath.

Soy Tofu Pudding with Three Coloured Taro and Yam Balls

This was pretty good and comes in large portions. I wasn’t expecting it to be this size. The taro and yam balls were hiding under all the tofu. Very good quality and I enjoyed it.

Tofu Pudding with Pearls

The cold tofu is in ginger syrup and has the pearls hiding underneath until you mix it up a little bit.

Grass Jelly

This is a popular dessert and grass jelly is made from the leaves and stalks of the mesona chineensis plant. It has a mild slightly bitter taste.

Bubble Tea

They have a few different milk teas on the menu.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the desserts were really good, interior was beautiful, but the table space is pretty small.

We Rate Sweet Memory Desserts: 

Address:
130-8080 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.memorycorner8.com/

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In Richmond

Slurpees and Painkillers to Your Door from 7-Eleven

How many times have you heard from a co-worker “what should I eat today? I don’t want to go too far, it’s raining.” Joining the ranks of food straight to your door, 7-Eleven has partnered with Nomme, a food delivery service, to deliver in Richmond (BC), Calgary and Edmonton. This new service is done via an app called Nomme.

For a limited time, delivery is free too! Courtesy of 7-Eleven, Diana and I enjoyed pizza, hot wings, a slurpee, chips and loads of candy with our coworkers.

While we didn’t have it in our delivery, you can also get things like Tylenol and Pepto Bismol.

Is slurpee as good without the sun beating down on you as you walk from the playground with your allowance janggling in your hoodie pockets? You bet it is.

Tips for adult slurpee enjoyment: mix in some vodka or sake and you’ve got an original Bellini creation.

Website:
https://www.nomme.ca/

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In Hot Pot

Kungfu Fish: Sichuan Fish Hot Pot in Aberdeen Mall

Kungfu Fish specializes in a variety of baked fish and seafood dishes served in hot pots with traditional spicy (and mild) flavours from Sichuan, China. They have over 40 locations in China, USA and Canada. Recently, their latest location is in Richmond inside Aberdeen on the 2nd floor.

Their grand opening is on January 7th and they are having a week of specials, so check the out.

Interior

The space inside is very large and is great for groups. There are even 2 private rooms if you want to have more private and intimate dining experience. I love those red doors as they are styled to look like vaults.

Each table has their own service bell, so you can call the servers whenever you need something.

Appetizers

We started with a few different appetizers to begin as we waiting for the main course.

Kungfu Peanuts

Very crunchy and I love the texture with the hint of heat from the peppers.

Bobo Chicken

One of the popular appetizers is Bobo chicken, which has chicken in chili oil. Very delicious and I enjoyed the subtle heat.

Garlic Grilled Scallops

Definitely no shortage of garlic here. Each piece has one scallop and its loaded with garlic. Normally there are 4 pieces per order.

Garlic Grilled Prawns

The prawns are pretty large and cooked well, so it’s still succulent and juicy. Normally, there are 2 pieces per order.

Garlic Grilled Eggplant

This meal definitely had enough garlic to ward off vampires, but it balances well with the items that it sits on top of. The eggplant was cut in a unique was so it lay flat.

Kungfu Sausage

 

The sausage is spicy and it is cut thinly. Not my favourite item, so next time I would pass on it.

Fish Hot Pot

The 3 different dish hot pots arrived and is very customizable.

  1. Choose your fish:
    Professor Swal (3 pieces)
    Madam Halibut (2lbs)
    Top Secret Sea Cod (2lbs)
  2. Choose your soup base:
    Sichuan Peppercorn
    Chopped Chili
    Hot Pot Tofu
    Pattan Pepper
    Pickled Cabbage
    Tomato
  3. Add ons:
    Fungus, glass noodles, bean curd, bean sprouts, brocolli, lotus roots, vermicelli, rice cake, enoki, sliced potatoes, cabbage, konjak,udon, aged tofu, squid rings, lobster ball, tripe, fish tofu, quail egg, crab sticks, luncheon meat or fish balls.

This were the fish and soup combinations we had that paired pretty well:

  • Professor Swai (basa fish) with Pickled Cabbage
  • Madam Halibut with Sichuan Peppercorn
  • Top Secret Sea Cod with Chopped Chili

The halibut and cod are by far my favourite of the three fish options. Each pot can easily feed 4-6 people and if you need more food, you can add other toppings into it.

Dessert

They have glass jelly with syrup and raisins. Simple and good way to end the meal. Compliments the spicy hot pot.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food here is pretty good and we were surprised at how much fish you get per pot. If you have a group of friends, you can easily share one and then add a few items to it to round it out.

Address:
2788-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.kungfu-fish.com/

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In Chinese

Beijiang Restaurant: Halal Uyghur Cuisine in Richmond

Beijiang Restaurant opened in 2009 as the first Halal restaurant in Vancouver serving Uyghur dishes like Dapanji and Cumin Lamb. They recently moved to Leslie Road in Richmond, which now has their own parking lot. I was invited to check out the restaurant since I haven’t been here before. I don’t normally eat Uyghur dishes but I absolutely love the flavour profiles of chilis and cumin.

Interior

There are lots of large round tables for small to larger groups in the restaurant. Everything has been renovated, so you get a lot of decor that reflects the Beijiang region. They also have a bookable private room with a minimum spend if you ever need privacy with your group.

DaPanJi 大盘鸡

This Xianjiang dish is like a chicken stew with potatoes, veggies, and chicken with bones. It is cooked with a delightful sauce and you can adjust the level of spice. Some of us at the table liked spicy and some are ok with a little bit of spice, so the staff were able to choose the right amount.

Handmade noodles come with the dish too, so you can add them to it after so it can be coated in all that sauce.

Lauan Twigs Lamb Kebob 红柳枝羊肉串

The skewers are pretty meaty and covered in a good amount of spices like cumin. It does have a spicy kick to it which I enjoyed. I’ve never had lamb skewers on a sharpened stick, so it was fun to eat. One of my favourite dishes of the night. You can order this piece by piece.

Stir Fried Slice of Lamb with Steamed Buns

This is a fun dish to eat as you get to assemble your bun with the lamb and peppers. A good dish to share if you have a lot of people around the table.

We found this dish to be more on the oily side, so tea or Coca Cola pairs well.

Xianjiang-style Lamb Leg Shanks 新疆风味羊拐

Each order comes with one, so for our table of 4, we had 2 in total. It’s best to cut up the shanks to share among the table.

Some pieces were moist but then some pieces were more tough.

Baked Puff Pastry with Lamb 烤包子

Inside has a lamb filling wrapped in puff pastry. It was crisp on the outside, but I wanted a bit more seasoning in the filling.

 Lamb Scorpion Hot Pot 羊蝎子

This was my absolutely favourite dish of the evening. They call it lamb scorpion hot pot is because the bones looks like the shape of a scorpion. The bubbling hot pot comes with boney pieces of lamb that you can eat with your hands. They provide you gloves so you each nibble away at each piece.

Once you get through most of the bones, you can add in freshly made noodles to the pot. It’s fun to see it being unwound. As it cooks in the broth, the flavour really soaks into the noodles.

Sweet Corn Pancake

The sweet corn pancake reminded me of a pizza. It was interesting to see this as one of their desserts, but surprisingly the corn went well with the sugar. Definitely unique but not for everyone.

Drinks

They have non-alcoholic drinks, beer, wine and tea at this restaurant. As some dishes are on the oily side, I found that tea and Coca-cola were great to go with the meal.

Final Thoughts

A great new space for Beijiang Restaurant gives them more space to do what they love. You will also find a good balance of Cantonese-style dishes on the menu too. I enjoyed their Halal Uyghur dishes and I’ll definitely be back.My favourites were the Lamb Scorpion Hot Pot, Lauan Twigs Lamb Kebob, and the Stir Fried Slice of Lamb with Steamed Buns.

We Rate Beijiang Restaurant: 

Address:
8111 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.beijiangrestaurant.ca/

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In Fast Food

Banh Shop at Vancouver International Airport

Banh Shop is located in the US Departures area of Vancouver International Airport (YVR). As it’s fairly new, I thought I would give it a try before my flight. They also have this at Pearson International Airport in Toront, DFW International Airport in Texas, and soon Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

I just missed breakfast, so I ordered off the lunch menu at 10am.

It comes all wrapped up if you need it to grab and go to make your flight. I did have a bit of time, so I ate it at the tables.

Grilled Pork Meatball

This banh mi has minced pork marinated with black pepper, Vietnamese caramel glaze and scallions; with a cucumber-cilantro aioli. The sandwich was ok, but you can tell it’s Americanized. It bread was doughy and hard on the outside. The meatballs itself was decent.

It’s a good alternative to the different fast food options in the area, but it’s won’t rock your tastebuds.

We rate Banh Shop: 

Address:
Vancouver International Airport
Level 3, Gate E84

Website:
http://banhshop.com/

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In Bubble Tea

T-Go Tea: Bubble Tea in Richmond

T-Go Tea in Richmond is a new bubble tea shop focusing on freshly brewed tea from loose tea leaves rather than powders like some other bubble tea shops in town. I was invited to check out a few of their drinks and see how they are. It’s pretty exciting to see more and more shops focusing on giving customers a healthier alternative to bubble tea.

Interior

The counter to order drinks is at the front but there is a room in the back where there are some seats and washrooms. Most people order drinks and have it to go.

All their teas are visible, so you can see they have nothing to hide.

 

Menu

There’s a lot of drinks on their menu, but you can easily customize them to your liking.

Roasted Milk Tea with Pearls

One of my favourite drinks to get at any bubble tea shop is their signature milk teas to see how they fare against each other. If you can’t get a delicious basic bubble tea, what are you doing. Good thing T-Go has a delicious roasted milk tea that isn’t too sweet, which is great.

Osmanthus Green Tea

I had to try their tea with no sugar and no milk to taste how their tea is like without the sweetness. They use an espresso machine to brew the tea. Then they add ice to cool it down. It’s pretty decent brewed iced tea.

Bubble Waffles

They make their bubble waffles in-house, but during our visit, they seemed to have an issue with creating the bubble waffles. I twas pretty doughy and not crisp, so it doesn’t snap off easily.

I’m sure they need some time to perfect the execution of these treats.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the tea here is good, but I only tried 2 drinks out of their entire line up of beverages. If you are in the Richmond area and are looking for good bubble tea made out of loose leaf tea, give T-Go Tea a visit.

We Rate T-Go Tea: 

Address:
4720 Mcclelland Road #1810, Richmond

Website:
http://www.tgotea.com/

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In Happy Hour

Curve Lounge at River Rock Casino Resort: Happy Hour

Curve Lounge at River Rock Casino Resort has live music, drinks and tapas every Monday – Friday between 2pm and 5pm for their Happy Hour. All dishes are $6, which is pretty awesome. We were invited to give their happy hour menu a taste.

Patio

The patio is really nice to enjoy the rest of the Summer, have drinks, food and enjoy great times with friends. I didn’t realize they had such a great space behind the lounge. The open field and the view of the marina. Since it’s close to the path way of planes landing at the airport, you can spot all the different types of plan zooming by.

Happy Hour

Cheese fondue

The cheese fondue has bread sticks on one side and then root vegetables on the other. A rich dish to have in the Summer time, but if you have a craving for cheese, this will satisfy them.

Chicken wings

Crispy chicken wings with salt and pepper for taste. It’s no happy hour without wings. Of all the wing flavours, I really like salt and pepper as it keeps your fingers clean compared to saucy ones.

Avocado bruschetta

It’s a really good size for $6. It is topped with greens and tomatoes. You can squirt some lemon on top too to give it more acidity.

Inari pocket

A twist on a Japanese classic with lots of ingredients stuffed inside. I personally thought it was ok, but it didn’t really stand out compared to some of the other dishes.

Jalapeno popper

The Jalapeno popper sits on top of a slaw in a small cute jar. A good snack and the ooey gooey cheese is hiding inside ready for you to munch away.

Wild rice tobouli

To pair with this, there is shrimp, octopus and seared tuna. The quality is so-so as I can tell it was pre-frozen, but it’s only $6. This dish is one of the healthier dishes of the happy hour menu.

Baked artichoke dip

This is really satisfying to eat and who doesn’t love chips and an awesome dip. I really enjoyed this.

Flatbread

They have 3 different kinds of flatbread – Veronese flatbread, Frutti di mare flatbread and Pugliese flatbread. They were all decent, crispy edges and filling.

House Made Sweets

They also have desserts for $5 or 3 for $12.

Unicorn cake

This beautifully colourful dessert has almond genoise, raspberry yogurt mousse, lemon curd, and chantilly cream.

Dark Chocolate Bombe

Blood orange cardamom cremeux and a dark chocolate mousse. A fruity compliment to the chocolate based dessert.

Chilled mango cheesecake

This has vanilla shortbread on the bottom and topped with the dome shaped mango panna cotta. It’s really good, I was pretty surprised with the fragrant mango taste.

Pina colada Mousse

You will find coconut mousse, pineapple gelée, and rum coconut dacquoise.

Final Thoughts

The $6 Happy Hour menu is pretty good and if you’re in the area, definitely check it out. The patio is very relaxing and the live music is a plus. Since it is Monday to Friday from 2pm to 5pm, it’s pretty hard to make it if you’re not in the area.

We Rate Curve Lounge:

Address:
8811 River Rd, Richmond

Website: 
http://www.riverrock.com/dining/curve/

Curve - River Rock Casino Resort Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Event

Richmond Night Market 2017: What We Ate

I went with a few of my foodie friends to the Richmond Night Market and we tried to find some of the most delicious items here. With over 100 food stalls, we only made a tiny dent in comparison to the 500+ food options here. We had grand ambitions, but failed miserably, we are only human. Here are all the stalls we went to.

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ

A familiar stall for those who have been at the Richmond Night Market for several years. They specialize in grilled skewers – lamb, beef, chicken, honey garlic prawns, and a few more types. It’s our favourite place to get the best skewers at this years Richmond Night Market.

Your skewers are freshly prepared, but waiting is no problem as it’s really fun watching them work.

We even made him recreate his signature pose with all the delicious skewers. Spicy lamb, beef and chicken are my go-to favourites. Highly recommended.

Sippy Tea

Sippy tea is super cute as it’s served in a customized ziplock bag…or shall we call it siplock bag? Anyways, inside these bags are iced tea and coffee mix with different flavours your can choose from. It’s a popular drink to have in Hong Kong called Yuenyeung. We got the black tea, jasmine and raspberry-rose flavours. I am a purist, so the classic black tea and jasmine tea is a good choice.

Tabetai Tacos

If you know Cooking with Ben from Instagram, he has opened up 2 stalls at the Richmond Night Market – Ohana Poke and Tabetai Tacos. We went to Tabetai Tacos for their Kakuni (pork belly), Gyutan (beef tongue) and Soft Shell Crab tacos.

Gyutan (beef tongue) taco has a lot of the tender flavourful meat. Usually The taco is pretty hefty, so there are so great texture in here.

Kakuni (pork belly) Taco has sliced apples to balance out the fattiness from the pork belly.

Soft Shell Crab tacos was the hit of the 3 tacos. A healthy portion and love the meatiness of the crab and the crisp batter.

Mamak La

Mac and Cheese Roti with Bacon and Jalapeño comes with 4 pieces to an order. The mac and cheese reminded me of Kraft dinner, but it was amplified by the jalapeño and the put in between thin sheets of grilled roti.

Coco Bomb has Fresh Coco Shell Sorbet Ice Cream. I went with one scoop as I wanted to make sure I had room for all the other stalls. It is then topped with pineapple, corn flakes and chocolate syrup.

Mango Yummy

Sherman went with a classic mango sago pomelo drink. If you’ve been to past night markets or have been to their store, you know they have pretty awesome refreshing drinks.

Soft Serve with Golden Leaf

Turning something basic into a luxury ice cream is what Maggi was eyeing.

Teppan Bossam

Get a taste of Korean pork belly from Teppan Bossam. It is topped with more sauce, sesame seeds, green onions and served with kimchi on the side.

Hand Made Senbei

This famous Japanese street food is from Enoshima, Kamakura. They create this large cracker using high pressure to cook the seafood into this form. There is no oil and its not deep fried.

Bao Bar Sweets

EatwithMao got their favourite soy milk ice cream with chinese donut.

Rain Drop

The raindrop cake has 2 beautiful edible flowers embedded inside. It is  served with a sprinkling of soybean powder called kinako and a sweet syrup. There really isn’t a lot of taste to the raindrop cake as it’s just agar.

Final Thoughts

I love the night market in Richmond, but it is definitely crowded closer to 9pm. When we came here at 7pm, it wasn’t too too busy, but line ups to get inside were long. It’s the place to be this Summer, if you are a food lover. Of all the night markets in Vancouver, this one is the largest and most lively. Make sure to bring cash to avoid extra charges using their ATMs.

Address:
8351 River Rd, Richmond, BC

Website: http://richmondnightmarket.com/

Richmond Night Market Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Late Night

Illumination Night Market: Sneak Peek

2222

Illumination Summer Night Market is located close to IKEA in Richmond. The different night markets at this location over the years keeps changing to compete with the other night markets in the Lower Mainland. There is a $3 entry fee with complimentary parking and family fun entertainment. But lets be real, everyone goes to the night market for Korean socks and all the different types of food. It runs until September 10th.

There are a handful of stalls selling jewelry, electronics, clothing, and other things here.

There’s a lot of cute areas to take photos with yourself, friends or family.

The area also has a bunch of lights surrounding the night market this the name – Illumination Summer Night Market.

Below are a few different food item you can check out the the Illumination Night Market. There are over 60 food stalls, so tons of food options. We only made it to 30 stalls.

Ice Cream Taiyaki

Gluten Skewers

Dragon Crepe

Mango Slush

Halal Skewers

Spicy Crawfish

Deep Fried Squid and Deep Fried Chicken Nuggest

Bubble Tea

Mocktails

More Skewers and Quail

Cheesy Potato

Dim Sum

Shaved Ice with fruit

Pork Fries

Chengdu Skewers

Chinese Escargot Rice Noodle

Potato Spirals

Bubble Waffles

Fruit Cups

Radish Cake

Salad

Pineapple Juice

Dumplings

Fruity Teas

Korean Bi Bim Bap in Cones

Fresh Watermelon Juice

Szechuan Jerky

Final Thoughts

There are lots of options here and there are less crowds compared to the other night markets. It’s a good location for those who have been to all the other night markets to find the tried and true types of night market eats. The food stalls here are a hit and miss, but I didn’t find any food item outstanding or very innovative. It’s good for families and there’s lots of opportunities to take photos.

Address:
12631 Vulcan Way, Richmond BC

Website: https://www.summernightmarket.com/

Illumination Summer Night Market Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Japanese

Pepper Lunch Canada: New Location at Garden City Central

Pepper Lunch Canada has opened their third location at Garden City Central, the big complex with the Wal-Mart. You’ll find the same great food sizzling on their cast iron plates.

When you walk in, you order right at the counter and then go get seated. We were invited back to Pepper Lunch to check out the new space and try a few items off them menu, I’ve been a fan of Pepper Lunch since they first opened in Canada. I find it a lot better than some locations in Asia since they put in more care in the quality of ingredients that go into the dish.

Spicy Pork Pepper Rice

The hot sizzling skillet has pieces of spicy pork, rice, corn, pepper and green onions. The skillet cooks the pork quickly, so make sure to mix all the ingredients together. It’s not too spicy and it just gives you a little kick.

Chicken Gyoza

Grilled to perfection, just look at all those lovely marks. It’s a great item to order and share with your friends. I would order this again.

Wagyu Beef Pepper Rice

Sizzling beef sounds so good. You don’t need long for the meat to cook and you probably want it a touch pink in the centre to really taste the flavour of the beef.

Mushroom Veggie Burger

This dish always amazes me as it’s so savoury due to the amount of mushrooms inside the patty. It’s a veggie patty that any meat eater would enjoy, except if you don’t like mushrooms.

Unagi Pepper Rice

The unagi pieces are in an egg mixture with the pepper rice in the centre. When it arrives at the table, I would mix it up right away so it doesn’t get over cooked especially the egg.

8oz Slice Angus Steak

The pieces of Angus streak are really juicy and delicious especially when its just at medium rare. If you don’t want to over cook it, a good tip is to put it on top of the veggies.

Kobe Burger with Egg

Another one of my top favourites. The burger is cut into 4s and is very succulent and juicy. The veggies balance the dish pretty well.

Beef Yaki Udon

This is a dish I haven’t had before. It is beef yaki udon and it’s mean to be mixed before eating.

Mochi Ice Cream

For dessert, you can order some mochi ice cream too. Sometimes it’s good to have a touch of sweetness to the end of the meal and it’s not too large, so its prefect. My favourite ones are vanilla and black sesame.

Final Thoughts

I honestly love Pepper Lunch for a good quick meal and now we have 3 locations to go to. I’ll be back.

We Rate Pepper Lunch: 

Address:
1625-5791 McClelland Rd, Richmond

Website:
http://www.pepperlunchcanada.com/

Pepper Lunch Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In Dessert

Wild Sweets: Cocoa Bean To Chocolate Afternoon Tea

Wild Sweets just introduced their Cocoa Bean To Chocolate Afternoon Tea experience at their retail store in Richmond. The session lasts approximately 75 to 90-minutes and each guest is served a multi-course set menu of about 13 chocolate-based items for $39.99.

Chocolate Tea

You start off with their chocolate tea infusion made with whole cocoa beans and can potentially be aromatized with fresh elements like citrus zest. Their chocolate tea is delicious and quite unique.

Cucumber

Each bite is very interactive, so you get to play with your food and design how you want it to look like.

This dish has Cocoa nibs bread, Goat cheese gelée,  Pickled cucumber, Puffed peas crunch, and Mint oil.

Biscuit

The biscuit has Tuscany ham, Jarlsberg cheese, cocoa nibs & Kalamata dried figs. It is also served with Mustard oil, pickled red onions and Crème fraîche. The biscuit was pretty dry.

Coco-Air

This has Dark chocolate & hazelnut praliné ‘Air’,  Foamed Chantilly cream and Puffed rice crunch. I loved this item! I love porous the item is and the texture was awesome.

Egg Salad

Put this item together with Cocoa nibs bread,  Sous Vide egg shavings, crispy shallots, Salsa Verde and Chives oil. It was so cute and reminded me of a mini breakfast sandwich.

Interlude

The vials has a Citrus chocolate consommé with the Lemon Vodka and Semi-candied Kalamata olives. On the left, you have Olive Madeleine.

This definitely wasn’t for me.

Tomato

This has Cocoa nibs bread, Grape tomato confit, Pesto pulled Mozzarella, and 2 pieces of Crispy back bacon. It was delicious especially the back bacon.

Cream Puff

This has Textured pâte à choux,  Crispy praliné , Orange caramel compote,  Milk chocolate Chantilly, and Orange zest oil. It was absolutely delicious.

Cheese and Fruit

On the bottom, you have Biscuit sablé, Pear panna cotta, Pear vanilla bean confit, and a Crunchy cheese chip. It was ok, but that cheese chip was delicious.

Merveilleux

You will find Crispy meringue, Dark chocolate thin, White chocolate Chantilly, Caramel banana, and Almond banana crunch. A nice combination of textures.

Tarte

On the plate was a Almond streusel cookie, Créme brûlèe, Baked apple shavings, French Brandy mist and Apple chips crunch.

Scone

You will find a Chocolate & dried cherry scone, Red fruit confit, Crème fraîche Chantilly,  Kirsch mist, and Lemon zest oil. This was delicious as well.

Truffe du jour’ in vintage origin dark hot chocolate

This was a nice way of ending the meal.

Chocolates

A great way of ending the 13 course session with chocolates.

Final Thoughts

It was a fun interactive meal if you are looking for something different than the regular afternoon tea. The items I had will probably be different based on seasonality. For $39.99, it’s a good price and you’ll be full by the end of it.

We Rate Wild Sweets: 35rating

Address:
2145 – 12191 Hammersmith Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://dcduby.com/

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In Chinese

The Deluxe Chinese Restaurant: Dim Sum in Richmond

The Deluxe Chinese Restaurant is located in Richmond just off of No 3 Road by Aberdeen Mall. We were invited to try their dim sum items on the menu and of course I couldn’t say no. This restaurant just opened up recently and they serve up dim sum, sushi, sashimi, and regular Chinese dinner items.

The dining room is large and they also have a few private rooms too. I can imagine a lot of weddings, birthdays and other celebrations here.

Dim Sum

There was no shortage of dim sum during my visit. It was pretty damn epic. Of course they knew we were coming, so they made sure all the food arrived at the same time.

Ha Gau (Prawn Dumpling)

This is a classic item to order at dim sum and it comes with 5 pieces in each basket. The skin was a decent thickness and the shrimp inside was very delicious.

It’s always something I order no matter where I go. You can pair it with XO sauce or spicy sauce for an extra kick of flavour.

Truffle Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling)

They do their siu mai a bit differently with the added truffle. The dumpling is still delicious. 5 pieces per basket too.

House Special Wild Rice Noodle Roll

Inside the pinky rice roll due to the wild rice are crispy fried vermicelli surrounding each piece of shrimp. There are 9 pieces to the order.

Baked Portuguese Tarts

These unique looking baked Portugese tarts were amazing. The flakey crust and the silky smooth egg mixture. Yum.

Garlic Prawn Spring Rolls

3 pieces in an order served in a cup. The spring rolls were crisp on the outside with the prawn mixture inside.

Steamed Pork Spareribs

Lots in this basket and there was a good amount of meat in each piece.

Country Style Steamed Honey Comb Cake

One of my favourite Chinese desserts. It’s slightly sweet and it’s not too sweet. A good asian amount of sweetness. We don’t really like our dessert overly sweet.

Green Tea Glutinous Pancakes

On the inside is mango and the green tea glutinous pancakes rolled around it. It was ok, but not my favourite dessert.

Steamed Creamy Carrot Custard Buns

A sweet custard filling inside these are great when its hot and fresh.

Steamed Buns with Mushroom & Taro Roots

Very cute concept of having the bun look like a mushroom, but I didn’t like a lacklustre taro root filling.

Shredded Chicken with Cucumber

This dish was one of my favourites too, but it does have quite a bit of sesame oil. Served cold and it also has crunchy taro strips to give it more of a crunchy texture.

Pumpkin Congee with Sparerib

I love congee and this was very savoury with all the ample amount of meat inside. I would order this again.

Preserved Egg and Pork Congee

A classic and what I instantly noticed was the amazing amount of preserved egg and pork. Very impressive and I would order this again too.

Soy Sauce Chow Mein

A good dish to share among the table. Nice texture and flavour as well.

Singapore Fried Noodles

It had a good amount of ingredients in this fried noodle. The texture of the noodles were a tad on the dry side, but it was still enjoyable.

Nigiri

They surprisingly have nigiri on the menu with tuna, salmon or hamachi. Each piece is pre-sauced, which I didn’t like as much. I personally like mine with a slight dab of soy sauce to keep the natural flavours of the fish.

Tamago

They have pieces of tamago as well, but it was missing something. It’s really hard to find a place that makes a good tamago.

Speciality Japanese Rolls

For a Chinese restaurant, they had a good selection of specialty sushi rolls. Still strange to see sushi here when you order dim sum.

Mango Roll

They craft them nicely, but the rice ratio is a bit much. When they roll it, there is a slight flaw. The mango roll was refreshing with their thinly sliced mango, which is in season.

Dragon Roll

Dragon roll has alternating toppings of eel and avocado. Inside is salmon and asparagus. It was good but it was a tad pricey.

Salmon Oshi Sushi

It has tobiko, salmon, sauce and layers of rice. Delicious but it had a bit to much rice and also it still doesn’t compare to Miku, where this type of sushi originated from.

Final Thoughts

A good spread of items for dim sum, but I would stick with the classic. There’s nothing inherently wrong with their sushi or sashimi, but the flavours don’t blend as well when you go from congee to a California roll. Their dim sum is solid and I really fell in love with their congee.

We Rate The Deluxe Chinese Restaurant: 

Address:
4260 No 3 Road, Richmond

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In Kid Friendly

Nando’s Canada: Garden City Location Now Open

Nando’s Canada has open their latest location in Richmond on Garden City. Nando’s first opened in South Africa in 1987 and soon became famous for its Portuguese style flame-grilled chicken with their PERi-PERI sauce.

They currently have 39 restaurants spanning 3 provinces.

We came here for a sneak peek of their new space and try their famous chicken. We were served family-style, so it is a bit different than the usual order.

Interior

Although you will find subtle differences in each of the restaurants, you will always find a relaxed atmosphere, friendly service and delicious food, not to mention the Afro-Portuguese heritage that is reflected in many unique ways inside the restaurants.

It’s been a while since my last visit to Nando’s, but they have really improved the decor.

It is believed that Nando’s globally has the world’s largest contemporary South African art collection, inside their restaurant, you will see a few of these art pieces on the walls.

Peri Peri Chicken

Their chicken is marinated for 24 hours and basted in your choice of flavour and flame-grilled to perfection.

We tried their chicken smothered in a few different sauces. Medium as well as Lemon & Herb were my favourite. Their garlic peri-per hot sauce was awesome as well. While you’re here, you might as well try a few different ones.

Whole Flame Grilled Wings

Their whole wings are pretty good too. It has both the wings and the drumettes.

Sides and Salad

Along with the chicken we tried a few different sides to accompany the meal. Some popular items are the spiced rice, hearty coleslaw and the peri-peri fries. If you want something healthier, they do have salads on the menu too.

Drinks

They have pop dispensed from a cool machine with a touch screen. You can make your own flavour combinations like cherry coke.

If you want something a bit more strong, they so have alcoholic beverages.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to have another location in Richmond to enjoy their delicious peri-peri sauce. Something about their sauce is just so magical.

We Rate Nando’s:

Address:
#1005 Building E, 4711 McClelland Road, Richmond

Website:
http://www.nandos.ca/

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In Fusion

Osum! Kitchen + Lab: Baogers and MoNoodles in Steveston

Osum! Kitchen + Lab is a new fusion restaurant that specializes in making unique baos and noodles. Besides being a restaurant, they are also a food lab that experiments with new creations. They have hopes of having special tastings and collaborations in the future.

They are located in Steveston on Bayview Street. The restaurant is small and with only 2 tables. We noticed some people doing take out and smaller groups here. Wen we left, there was even a birthday party.

I was invited to OSUM! to give a few of their items a try.

Their main items are Baogers, MoNoodle, Osum!Noodle and Cha. There’s not a large variety of items, but you’ll find something to enjoy.

Baoger

OSUM! Pork has slow-braised pork belly, cucumbers, pickled greens, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and OSUM! garlic peanut & sesame sauce. Nice warm bao backed with ingredients but it is a bit hard to eat as there is the pork floss covering the top of the baoger. You’ll need to use the wrapper to keep those hands clean.

OSUM! Beef has tender braised brisket, pickled greens, crispy shallots, toasted pine nuts, and OSUM! spicy peppercorn sesame sauce. I hint of spice but not too much.

OSUM! Chicken has grilled cheesy chicken, cucumbers, cilantro, crunchy cheese puffs, and OSUM! Korean sweet spicy sauce. A very playful creation, but the cheese puffs ended up being a bit limp because of the sauce in the baoger.

OSUM! Nutella is a fun items for kids with a sweet tooth. It has all-natural Nutella, crushed peanuts, raw premium almond flakes, and marshmallows.

OSUM! Noodle

Hot Dry Noodle has tender braised pork belly, handmade thick noodles, bean sprouts, pickled greens, scallions, cilantro, crispy shallots, homemade chili oil, and their OSUM! signature garlic-sesame-chili sauce. I like this dish as it has a lot of complimentary ingredients that work well together and has a kick of spice.

Coco-Curry Chicken has grilled chicken, handmade thick noodles, cucumbers, bean sprouts, lemongrass, pure coconut milk, crispy shallots, and OSUM! lime coconut-curry sauce. It is also topped with slices of cheese. I found the cheese to be a bit unnecessary. It sure made it a bit more fun, but

MoNoodle

Multi Mushroom needs 2 days in advance to create. It has handmade kale monoodles, assorted mushrooms, pine nuts, kale chips, truffle oil, bean sprouts, cilantro, peppercorn oil, and OSUM! special mushroom sauce. What is unique about this dish is their noodle is a single 1m long handmade broad kale noodles that fits in a bowl. It’s a good dish if you are vegan or love mushrooms. This is one of the more expensive dishes on the menu due to the ingredients.

Drinks

They have a few drinks on the menu. They have bottled fizzy drink and hot drinks on the menu.

I had the Cocoa Ovaltine to warm me up as it was a cold snowy day outside.

Overall, my favourite item was the hot dry noodles as the flavours worked really well together and wasn’t as fusion as the other dishes on their menu. When it comes down to their food, it depends on your flavour palate. As they are still quite new, I am sure they will continue to work hard to work out the kinks.

We Rate OSUM! Kitchen + Lab: 

Address:
125 3531 Bayview Street, Richmond

Website:
https://www.liveosum.com/

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In Dessert

Wild Sweets: Holiday Collection

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Wild Sweets is back with their holiday collection to make everyone’s Christmas a little more merry and delicious. This includes sculptures, logs, and chocolate sets.

I was invited back to check out the items that they are offering.

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Crispy Chocolate Cherry Orange ‘Tea Cake’

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This was one of my favourite items. This is their twist on the classic Christmas fruit cake. The cake is placed over a crunchy buttery ‘sablé’ cookie topped with a hazelnut chocolate praline cream with crispy crepe flakes. It is so good. I will take this over any fruit cake any day.

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Venezuela Ocumare Chocolate ‘Bûche de Noël’

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Each layer of this cake provides a different texture, including a delicately soft jelly coating, cloud-like mousse, unctuous cream, rich ganache and crispy/crunchy base. This one one of my top favourites too. It’ll be great to bring this to a holiday party and it’s unique compared to other cakes out there. I love the mousse and how rich that ganache is.

Holiday cocoArt Sculpture

They have 5 different holiday sculptures.

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Santa-Sphere

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Tree

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Snowman

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Sleigh

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Orna-Tree

Crispy Cherry Cake Ganache Collection

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Each collection features an assortment of 4 chocolate bouchées with the following flavours:

  • William Pear & Chestnut Cream Caramel Ganache
  • Lychee Rose & Raspberry Caramel Ganache
  • Cassis Blackberry & Elderberry Ganache
  • Mandarin & Orange Zest Caramel Ganache

These reminded me of little moon cakes. It was like a hybrid between a fruit cake, chocolate and a moon cake.

2016 Vintage Canadian Icewine Collection

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ThisCollection includes the following ganache flavours:

  • Cabernet Franc Icewine & Strawberry Apple Ganache
  • Riesling Icewine & Peach Orange Ganache
  • Vidal Icewine & Pineapple Passion fruit Ganache
  • Gewürztraminer Icewine & Lychee Rose Ganache

A good gift for those ice wine lovers out there and these taste pretty good.

2016 Vintage ‘Ganache Classique Nougatine’

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The 2016 Vintage ‘Ganache Classique’ Limited Edition Collection includes the following origins and percentages:

  • 70% Venezuela Ocumare
  • 70% Venezuela Canaobo
  • 70% Peru Oro Verde
  • 64% Mexico Chiapas

Each ganache filling is topped with a piece of salted butter cocoa nibs nougatine before being enrobed in dark chocolate. I love the differing textures.

Overall, my favourite part of the holiday collection are the cakes. A nice twist to the classic items.

We Rate Wild Sweets: 35rating

Address:
2145 – 12191 Hammersmith Way, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://dcduby.com/

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In Chinese

Golden Sichuan Restaurant: Spicy Dishes + Dumpling Trail

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Golden Szechuan Restaurant in Richmond is known for their spicy food. I came here with Sherman, Dee and Amy to try a few of their dishes as well as try some dumplings as part of the Dumpling Trail.

Interior

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The interior has tall ceilings and there are a lot of large round tables which is great for large groups.

Dumpling Trail

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Boiled Pork and Cabbage Dumplings were pretty good. The filling was moist and it had a good ration between the pork and cabbage.

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Spicy Wontons had a nice thin skin and had a good amount of sauce. It wasn’t too spicy at all.

Other Dishes

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Spicy Pork Slices on bamboo comes beautifully presented like as if it was drying laundry. The boiled pork and cucumber sits on top, so you grab a piece and dip it in the sauce below. Very good, but you need to have that sauce dunked to the pork or else it’s just boiled pork belly slices and cucumber.

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Dan Dan Noodles was decent.

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Braised Beef Noodles was ok, but I didn’t like how it was a tad sweet.

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Mouth-Watering Chicken was a good dosh as well. Good meaty pieces of chicken with a slightly spicy sauce. I was surprised it wasn’t more spicy. The peppercorns added a nice kick to the dish.

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Boiling Beef should have set my mouth on fire, which I was looking for, but the spiciness didn’t last very long. Not sure why this visit, the spice level was more tolerable.

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Twice-Cooked Pork was one of my favourite dishes. The pork was delicious and the garlic scapes were so addictive.

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Overall, it was a pretty good spread of food that we ordered for dinner. A few of the outstanding items were the twice-cooked pork, dumplings, and mouth-watering chicken.

We Rate Golden Sichuan Restaurant: 35rating

Address:
170-3631 Number 3 Road, Richmond, BC

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In Cafe

Tsim Chai Noodles: Dumpling Trail in Richmond

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Tsim Chai Noodles is located in Richmond and serves Cantonese cuisine. I love Cantonese food since it reminds me of eating at home.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. Tsim Chai Noodles is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their dumplings in soup.

Interior

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The interior is nothing impressive. Lots of seats and can accommodate small to large groups.

Dumplings

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Sui Kau in Soup has a good amount of dumplings inside and they were larger than other places. Plump and there is big pieces of shrimp. One thing I didn’t like about the broth was that is a a little bit sweet. Teh dumplings differ from wontons due to the shape.

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Wonton Noodle in Soup came piping hot. The noodles were good and chewy, wontons were delicious but that broth also felt a tad sweet. Perhaps it was just an off batch when we dined here.

Other Dishes

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Beef Rice Noodle wasn’t too oily and has a good amount of beef, bean sprouts, green onions, and noodles. A good dish to share among people at the table.

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Yeung Chow fried rice is another good dish to order for multiple people at the table. There is pork, shrimp, egg, and peas in it.

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Preserved Egg and Pork Congee is a classic item on the menu. One of my favourite dishes. I had a lot of congee as a kid and when I need a dish that makes me feel better, it’s congee.

Final Thoughts

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Overall, the food is solid but we felt the broth of the wonton noodles and Sui Kau Soup to be a bit sweet.

We Rate Tsim Chai Noodles: 3rated

Address:
50-8251 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC

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