South Cambie Street Archives

In Fusion

Potluck Hawker Eatery: A Taste of South-East Asian Street Food in Vancouver

July 14, 2020

Potluck Hawker Eatery is now open in the Cambie Village area of Vancouver. This is a counter-service style restaurant inspired by the South-East Asian hawker street food markets.

Chef Justin Cheung put his own spin on Malaysian cuisine, paying homage to a comprehensive training of Thai cooking and a nod to a Filipino potluck. It is fantastic and we are all here for it.

Interior

The 993 square-feet restaurant draws inspiration from the ritual of potlucks, where families spend the day in the kitchen preparing their family’s signature dish and contributing to the table – a coming together of stomach-filling, soul-warming dishes. We absolutely love the space and don’t forget to take a selfie in the washroom because it’s amazing. Make sure you go into both washrooms too.

My favourite part is seeing the ingredients that go into the dishes on the walls. its gives it nice character and also transparency in what they cook with.

If anyone blames the smell on you, tell them it’s from the durian wallpaper.

Thai Iced Tea

One of our favourite drinks and its very nice and refreshing for a summer’s day. Bold tea flavour and they sweeten it with condensed milk. If you want it less sweet, just ask.

Beet Carpaccio

This has spicy fish sauce and lime juice dressing, fried shallots and fresh herbs. You heard that right beet, not beef. It was tangy and refreshing. The chilis give it a nice kick of spice. It really reminded us of butter beef but without the beef or butter.

Burmese Shrimp Ceviche

The dish has cucumber, cherry tomatoes and shrimp lightly pickled in fresh lime juice, fish sauce and chili. Not as flavourful compared to the other dishes but you’ll want to eat this before all the other dishes so the work better together. The shrimp was really nice and fresh in this ceviche.

Salted Egg Yolk Fried Chicken Sando

This beauty has crispy chicken thigh, green mango slaw, tamarind chili jam, in Fife Bakery milk bread. We also got their Malaysian shaker fries as an add-on.

This dish was our favourite. The fried chicken thigh was tender and juicy. It balanced well with the crunchy slaw, salted egg yolk, and jam. The bread was really good, lightly toasted but very soft. The shaker fries has that savoury-sweet flavour combination.

Nasi Goreng

This is an Indonesian style fried rice with house special soy topped with shrimp crackers and fried egg. You can choose to have this with chicken, seafood or tofu. The egg was cooked perfectly to moisten up the fried rice. The rice did end up to be quite moist.

Mama Cheung’s Laksa

This is dish is named after the chef’s mom. It has coconut curry noodle soup with fish cake, prawns, puff tofu, boiled egg and mixed noodle. You can choose to have this with vermicelli or egg noodles. Very flavourful with a kick of spice.

Fish Sauce Caramel Wings

They use free-run Farmcrest chickens from Salmon Arm, BC. It was finger lickin’ good with the pandan infused palm sugar and sesame. Their fried food is exceptional here. The chicken is seasoned as well as the batter so they really get the flavour to shine throughout the wings.

Roti Canai with Condensed Milk

Not the combination that I would have through would work together, but it was simple and tasty. A good way to end the meal.

Final Thoughts

The food at Potluck Hawker Eatery is fantastic and packed with a depth of flavour. The essence of South East Asian cuisine really shines through. A lot of the dishes do use cilantro and spicy peppers, so if you adore that, head on over to Potluck. If you’re not into those flavours, they can accomodate no cilantro and reduced spice levels too. Salted Egg Yolk Fried Chicken Sando is the best.

Highly recommend this place and we just can’t stop thinking about their fried dishes. All so nicely battered and seasoned. Vancouver definitely needed more restaurants like this.

Address:
3424 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.potluckyvr.ca/

In Fusion

TonTon Sushi: Japanese Korean Restaurant in Vancouver

August 8, 2019

Living in Vancouver, how can you not love seafood? There are over 615 sushi restaurants in Vancouver according to the Vancouver Sun. One of the most popular cuisines in Vancouver is Japanese and items like fresh sashimi, sushi rolls, and dons are what local and visitors can’t get enough of. We are very fortunate to be located right by the Pacific Ocean and have fresh seafood come in as well as imported goods as we have one of the biggest ports in Vancouver.

There are a lot of Japanese restaurants that have a Korean twist on their menu that differentiates them from others. Of course they have the popular items but use some Korean influenced ingredients which creates a new niche of Japanese cuisine. Somewhat like a low key Korean-Japanese fusion that people talk about but don’t really promote.

Ton Ton Sushi on Cambie Street is a great example. We were invited to check our a few of their signature dishes.

Interior

There are tables for small to large groups. Given the area, there were families dining here as well and lots of rooms for strollers to get between the seats. These are the little things I look for nowadays as I’ve become a parent.

Drunken Asari Sakamushi

This is sake-steamed clams and they are pretty good. The sake’s alcohol content is burned off as it cooks, which leaves a delicious both that pairs with the clams.

Crab Dip

This has mixed real snow crab and imitation crab with mayo and then baked with cheddar cheese. Was a bit strange and didn’t like this.

Takoyaki

Takoyaki is octopus pieces battered and cooked into a ball shape. It’s a classic Japanese street food and it’s pretty enjoyable. It is topped with katsu sauce, mayo and bonito flakes.

As there are multiple pieces, it’s a good item to share among the table.

Ebi Fry

Deep fried tempura shrimp with a dip is good to start the meal and share if you have a group. Crisp on the outside and delicious sweet shrimp inside.

Ton Ton Tower

Ton Ton Tower is made of a base of crab meat and then topped with salmon and tuna sashimi, as well as tobiko. Around the dish are garlic chips, capers and olive oil.

Salmon Sashimi

Very fresh and delicious. The prices are very fair here too.

Ame Ebi

The ame ebi, which are shrimp known for their sweet taste.

Unagi Hot Stone Stowl

This has a base of rice, BBQ unagi kizami nori, tamago and it’s served in a hot stone bowl. This is one of the more expensive items on the menu, but it is filling and easily shared.

Kimchi Mentaiko Udon

This has pan-fried udon with cod roe, kimchi and bacon, green onion, and bonito fish flakes. This was pretty tasty and the creaminess of the sauce went well with the acidity of the kimchi.

Tara Nabe

This has black cod, tofu and mushroom in soup. Very hearty dish and served in a boiling hot pot. It’s really great on a cold winters day.

Dragon Roll

The dragon roll is like a California roll but topped with unagi, avocado, sesame seeds and sauce. They even presented it like a dragon too.

Oshi Sushi

There are many varieties of Oshi Sushi, which are pressed nigiri on the menu – Ebi, Salmon, Spicy Tuna, Saba, Hamachi, Unagi, etc.

Final Thoughts

Ton Ton Sushi is a solid restaurant in the area for Japanese food with a hint of Korean influence in their dishes. The prices are solid and it’s a good place for families to enjoy lunch or dinner if you’re close by the area.

Website:
4018 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://sushitonton.com/

In Mexican

Las Tortas: Mexican Sandwiches in Vancouver

March 10, 2017

Las Tortas is a restaurant on Cambie Street that serves up Mexican cuisine as is known for their tortas – Mexican sandwiches. M and I were in the area and needed some dinner, so I thought we should stop here to grab a quick bite since I haven’t been here before and we are both huge fans of Mexican food.

Interior

The interior is small and decorated with movie posters. You order up at the counter and find your seat. We came here right after work, so it wasn’t busy at all.

Horchata and Mexican Cola

We got a drink each. I went with the horchata and it was good but a little gritty on the bottom from the almonds. Finding Mexican Coca-Cola is a joy as it tastes better as its made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Tortilla Soup

The tortilla soup comes in a large bowl, so M and I split this between us. The tortillas were hiding inside and got soggy by the time we dug in. I didn’t really like it.

Chorizo Con Huevo Torta

This torta has Mexican spicy sausage, egg, and veggies between the buns. It was a delicious blend of egg and sausage.

Carne Asada Torta

This was similar to the other torta, but it has grilled asada steak and Oaxaca cheese. This was our favourite of the 2 tortas. It is more meaty, but the jalapenos were a bit much for me.

Churro

Churros are made fresh and it is powdered with cinnamon and sugar on the outside. Too bad that it doesn’t come with dipping sauces.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a great place to stop by for a torta. I enjoyed the tortas, but the other items were a bit of a miss. They also have tacos, which I will have to come back for a revisit.

We Rate Las Tortas:

Address:
3353 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://lastortas.ca/

In Bubble Tea

Bubble Queen: Bubble Tea and Bubble Waffles

August 18, 2016

Bubble Queen has their second location on Oak Street. The Richmond location is always packed, so my friends and I wanted to check out their Oak Street location and also they were having major bubble waffle cravings.

Bubble Queen is best know for their drinks and bubble waffles. A great combination.

This location has indoor seating as well as patio seating. It has a bit more seating than the Richmond location.

Oolong Milk Tea, Mango Slush, and Peach Green Tea was what we all ordered. The drinks were good and not too sweet.

Original Bubble Waffle was crisp on the outside, but there wasn’t too much of the chewy centre. It seems like its their style to cook it a bit over. Some people seem to like it but I prefer is less crispy.

Oreo Bubble Waffle has the bits of oreo integrated inside of it. Similar to the original, it is also quite crisp.

Overall, the drinks were great but the bubble waffle weren’t my thing. The waffles took a long time to come to the table. The drinks came a lot faster.

We rate Bubble Queen:

Address:
3208 Oak Street, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Bubble-Queen-1948623658697015/

In Four Beakers

Hachibei: Authentic Japanese Food near South Cambie

August 12, 2016

Hachibei is a little hidden Japanese restaurant in South Cambie. I’ve been craving to try new places in town and I stumbled upon Hachibei. It was highly recommended by a few friends and I am a sucker for small authentic Japanese restaurants.

The space isn’t very large, but make reservations if you have a large group. Since it was only myself and 2 others, we took a chance.

Cold Sake comes in really cute glassware. The jug has a hold in the centre for putting ice in there so it stays nice and cold. The sake cups were very nice and seemed quite fragile.

Salmon Sashimi comes with 8 pieces and they use wild sockeye salmon. That colour is just beautiful and had a nice taste.

Ebi Sunomono was a good size with 2 pieces of shrimp. It came in a small bowl but it wasn’t too small. Nice flavour and served cold. Refreshing for a hot summers day.

Steamed clam with sake was their special for the day and ti comes with a delicious broth and 6 pieces of clams. Very delicious broth and nice big clams.

Chicken Karaage was crisp on the outside and flavourful. It came out a bit hot, so you want to cool it down before eating.

Deep-Fried Shishamo is smelt served with a creamy mayo sauce. Crisp on the outside and pretty delicious.

Battera is pickled mackerel sushi pressed into a rectangular shape. It seemed like there was ginger on top of the pickled mackerel too.

Chopped Scallop Roll had large chunks of scallops and tobiko inside. Very fresh and delicious.

Deep fried Oyster comes with salad and mashed potatoes on the plate. The 5 pieces of oysters were crisp on the outside and creamy in the centre. Very delicious and a good size.

It is also served with miso soup, rice, and pickled vegetables.A good wholesome meal for 1 person or can be shared among the group.

A nice accompaniment with the meal to balance out the deep-fried oysteres.

Overall, the food was great and was at a good price. The food was fresh and very delicious. I would come here again.

We Rate Hachibei:

Address:
778 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver

In Cafe

Mimibuloveme: Parfaits in Vancouver

April 22, 2014

Mimibuloveme is a Japanese cafe specializing in parfait. It’s packed during peak hour…it’s really busy at night. One time I went at 1opm and we had no luck with a table because there were so many groups waiting.

The next time, we came at 6pm and just managed to get a table.

The space is really tiny, so there are only a handful of seats. It’s probably best to come in groups of 2 or 4. Anymore and you will be waiting for a while.

Besides parfait, they have pasta, waffles, gelato and various drinks.

Everyone basically orders the parfaits. They really look great.

Hedgehog Parfait ($7) has hedgehog gelato, chocolate cake, marshmallows, chocolate and whipped cream.

Matcha Parfait ($7) has matcha gelato, mochi balls, red bean, cereal, and whipped cream with a raspberry on top.

Strawberry Cream Parfait ($7) has strawberry gelato, strawberry, strawberry puree, cereal, and whipped cream.

The most popular flavours are matcha parfait and strawberry parfait. Another popular flavour is black sesame too. The parfait was a good size and for some people, it might be good to share because it is big.

Overall, Mimibuloveme is the perfect hangout for women or a cute date. Come early if you want to get a seat. It’s terribly busy during peak hours.

We Rate Mimibuloveme:

Address:
5556 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.mimibuloveme.com/

In Food Carts

Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels: Skewers, Skewers, Skewers

May 13, 2011

Hello Internet! Roman J. We checked out one of the new food trucks called Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels on 49^th and Cambie. It is literally right outside Langara’s Canada Line station. This food truck serves skewers, asian subs, and rice bowls.

It was like a mini night market, but you don’t have to travel to Richmond to get a taste of delectable street food.

Abbytizer, BactadThingUp, and I went to try out this food truck. We ordered a few skewers such as the fish ball skewer, curry skewer, beef skewer, lamb skewer, and the teriyaki chicken sub.

The Fish Ball Skewers (3 for $5) are extremely good and well priced. We had sauté skewers and curry fish balls. When we received our fish ball skewers they were fresh out of the pot, and very hot. The fish balls were soft and juicy when you bite into them. They just melt in your mouth!

The 2 Beef Skewers were tender and seasoned with sesame seeds. The lamb skewer was also tender. Abbytizer, BactadThingUp and I agree that the skewers were delicious.

Teriyaki Chicken Sub ($4.50) was ok. The bread was really thick, making it hard to taste the flavor of the lettuce, purple onions, and the chicken teriyaki. If the bread was less thick, I believe the sub would have tasted better.

Fast Track Fusion Meals on Wheels, is an excellent place to get Fish ball and skewers on the go. Plus, this is a meal that will not break the bank! Great for students, great for cheap people, great for anyone. I highly recommend getting any of the Skewers.

Words of Wisdom:

Best deal are the skewers, 3 for $5
Near Canada Line Station
Cheap and quick

We rate Fasttrac Fusion Meals on Wheels:

Address:

6450 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

In Dessert

Dot. Desserts: A Parfait Bar

March 27, 2011

RomanJ here! Abbytizer and I decided to try out probably one of the only parfait bars in South Vancouver called, “Dot. Desserts”. The desert bar is somewhat hidden since the sign outside the dessert bar states “bubble house”, which is confusing for first time comers. The “Dot. Desserts” is only recognizable with their small sidewalk sign.

Dot. Desserts is a small dessert bar, with high 4 high tables and somewhat dim lighting. It has nicely displaced framed pictures on the wall. Plus, its a nice place to bring a date.

I ordered the Strawberry parfait, while Abbytizer ordered the Espresso parfait.

The Strawberry Parfait ($6.88) is delicious. The parfait consists of freshly cut strawberries on top of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, covered with whip cream and streaked strawberry sauce. The middle of the parfait consists of more ice cream with Vector Cereal (or could be corn flakes), adding a crunch to each every flavorful bit. At the bottom of the parfait is a sponge cake covered with mixture of melted ice cream and strawberry sauce. The Strawberry is outstanding and will fulfill anyone’s parfait cravings.

Abbytizer had the Espresso parfait, is made of chocolate moose, vanilla ice cream, with chocolate sauce on top. In the middle, sponge cake, a layer of cereal, chocolate sauce, mixed with more ice cream and espresso of course. The Espresso parfait was also delicious. The mixtures of flavors really melted together well.

Overall, we liked the parfaits at Dot. Desserts. They have variety of flavors to choose from. We’ll definitely come back to try out the other flavors.

Words of Wisdom:

Reasonably priced
They offer more than just parfaits: crepes, slush & milk tea drinks and subs

We rate Dots. Desserts:

Address:

5556 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.dotdesserts.ca

In Japanese

Tokyo John Sushi

March 23, 2011

I’m RomanJ, a friend of DesignGirl and I’ll be talking about Tokyo John Sushi (located on Cambie and 33^rd Street). I stumbled upon this joint after traveling to one of my favorite sushi joints- “Club House Sushi” only to find out it was closed on Mondays.

On the search for a sushi joint on Cambie Street, I saw Tokyo John Sushi on the side of road, sticking out with it’s huge sign. I decide go in with Abbytizer to fulfill my sushi craving. Tokyo John Sushi is a very small sushi joint that has the standard sushi menu, however there are a few “house specials”.

I ordered the Ebi sunomono and Abbytizer orderd the miso soup, both were up to par with sushi joint standards. The ebi sunomono noodles were well cooked, reminiscent of the vermicelli noodles but thicker. The ebi sunomono also came with 2 pieces of large shrimp bigger than your standard AYCE sushi joint.

We ordered the California Roll with real crab, scallop & tobiko roll, Philadelphia roll, Boston roll and the tuna & salmon sashimi. California roll and the scallop & tobiko roll came out together and were presented in alternating rolls, same with the Boston roll and Philadelphia Roll

The California Roll with real crabmeat was a big disappointment to Abbytizer and myself. We were unable to distinguish the taste of the real crabmeat, also the roll was extremely cold meaning it could possible be pre-made.

The scallop & tobiko roll was good for what it was. The scallop had the right texture and taste, however it didn’t have that extra kick.

The Philadelphia roll and Boston roll (tuna and avocado) were decent rolls that satisfied the sushi urge, but nothing spectacular.

The Salmon & Tuna sashimi was a big let down. The salmon and tuna was frozen and not fresh, it was obvious that salmon was thawed. The Salmon and Tuna sashimi were both chewy, and did not melt in your mouth like fresh sashmi.

Tokyo John Sushi is a decent neighborhood sushi joint, however I would not go to great lengths to eat here.

Words of Wisdom:

Pricing is decent
Free parking in the back

We rate Tokyo John Sushi:

Address:

3349 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

In Chinese

Copa Cafe

October 8, 2010

Copa Café has several locations in Vancouver. I love Chinese café food, and I could probably eat it everyday if given the chance.

Wandering to the Best Buy on Cambie, M and I really wanted some good food. Using my trusty UrbanSpoon App on my Iphone, I searched up Copa Café on South Cambie.

What is great about this location is that there is parking at the back of the restaurant! No worries about parallel parking or paying for meters! Who doesn’t love FREE parking?

As we walked in from the back entrance, M was very creeped out because the back of the restaurant never looks good. AS we walked into the restaurant we were surprised about the interior it was really nice and modern!

Looking at the menu, there were so many choices for lunch! There were SO many…just look at the pictures… pretty decent price too.

After looking over the menu over …and over and over again…M decided to get the baked pork chop on rice ($7.95) and a jumbo coffee/tea mix (ying yeung)(+$1.50). M liked the baked pork chop because the pork cutlet had no bone and was already cut! Inside there were also mushrooms incorporated into this dish, which he thought it was unique because other places don’t include mushrooms. Clearly, he has had a lot of baked pork chops in his lifetime. The jumbo ying yeung was HUGE! If you look at the image, it towers over the little cup of tea.

I got the BBQ duck in noodle soup ($7.95). I was really craving meat and BBQ duck is to DIE FOR. They put in some good duck parts into the dish. I wish I asked for some hot sauce to go along with this because the noodles were a bit bland. The vegetables in the dish was really fresh and perfectly cooked. I also followed M and got the jumbo coffee/tea mix.

Head over to Copa Cafe if you are looking for Hong Kong style cafe food. Most items are under $10 for a lunch set meal.

We rate Copa Cafe: