In Four Beakers

Restaurant Yugo: French and Japanese Fusion on Main Street

April 11, 2018

Restaurant Yugo just opened up on Main Street serving up a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine. If you’re a fan of their sister restaurant – Kitchen by Yugo on Denman Street, you’ll enjoy this too. I came after work with a few friends for dinner to chat over food and drinks.

Interior

The space is beautiful and seats small to large groups. They have a portion of the restaurant for reservations and some saved for walk-ins. We loved the atmosphere and the service from their staff.

Drinks

We had to start off the weekend with some drinks, so I got an Asahi Super Dry beer. I enjoy refreshing beer to go with this type of cuisine. My friends went with their Osamanthus cocktail which has tangerine peel infused gin, honey, osmanthus and lemon juice. They loved this cocktail and would highly recommend it.

Spicy Fish Tartar

This appetizer has crispy cheese sushi rice cake on the bottom, topped with avocado, spicy fish tartar, tobiko and green onions. On the plate is also quail egg and unagi sauce. You take the quail egg and drape the egg yolk all over the tartar. A fun appetizer to share and start off this dinner.

Gindara

This dish has a beautifully grilled black cod marinated in maple syrup and soy sauce. It is then served with fried soba noodles, kale and yuzu foam. The black cod has delicate and well balanced with the salty soy sauce and sweet maple.

Scallops Risotto

This dish has Hokkaido scallops, black truffle, mushrooms, ikura honey ricotta, bonito flakes and fried leeks. This is one of the most popular dishes to get here and it lives up to that reputation. So good and so comforting.

Sakura Cheese Cake

This 4 layer cake is perfect for the spring as the cherry blossoms are blooming around town. There is cherry blossom jam and green tea cookie crumbs. It is sweet and subtle sakura flavour.

Matcha Mille Crepes

Layers of paper-thin matcha crepes with red beans in the middle. It is then topped with more matcha powder on top. I really liked this dessert as crepes are awesome and when you turn that into a cake with whipped cream, its a good thing.

Homemade Ice Cream

Two scoops of ice cream all dressed up. If you’re looking for something simple, this is an option.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were all pleasantly surprised with the combination of Japanese and French flavours. It’s a great addition to the area where there isn’t this style of food. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but they are also open for lunch too with cheaper options.

We Rate Restaurant Yugo:

Address:
4265 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

In Chinese

Jasmine Club Restaurant: Korean-Chinese Cuisine in Coquitlam

March 30, 2018

Jasmine Club Chinese Restaurant in Coquitlam serves up Korean Chinese cuisine. Three popular dishes are Jajangmyeon – noodles with a thick sweet bean sauce, Jjamppong – spicy noodle soup, and Tangsuyuk – sweet and sour pork dish.

We came here for dinner since M really craved some jajangmyeon.

Interior

The space was pretty busy for a weekend evening and the tables filled up very quickly. For large groups, its best to have reservations.

Banchan – Complimentary Side Dishes

Banchan are small side dishes that come complimentary with the meal. There is pickled daikon and picked carrots and cabbage. It was good to nibble on throughout the meal.

Mandu – Fried Dumplings

There are about 8 pieces that come in an order. It’s so delicious and deep-fried till a golden brown on the outside. The inside is very savoury and yummy.

Tangsuyuk – Sweet Sour Crispy Pork

This is very different than the usual sweet and sour pork. The pork is covered in potato starch, thus the pale coating around it. There are a lot of veggies like wood ear mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, onions, peppers, and maraschino cherries.

Jjajang bokkeumbap – Fried Rice with Black Bean Sauce

This is what I ordered. I really like the fried rice with the black bean sauce. It was good, but I wished they gave a little bit more black bean sauce

Jajangmyeon

There is a lot of black bean sauce with the noodles. Mix it all together and slurp up all the noodles.

Final Thoughts

Jasmine Club Chinese restaurant has some pretty good Korean Chinese food, but it is pricey compared to what you would normally pay in Korea.

We Rate Jasmine Club Chinese Restaurant:

Address:
1001B Austin Avenue, Coquitlam, BC

In Downtown

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio: Pescatarian Tasting Menu

February 21, 2018

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio just released their Pescatarian Tasting menu from February 19 till March 31. The menu has 5 Peruvian-Japanese fusion dishes by executive chef Ricardo Valverde.

I personally love tasting menus as it gives you a glimpse into the chef mind and see more creativity than on a regular menu. Plus, the ingredients that go into the dishes are fresh and in season. Plus, you might discover a new favourite dish.

Pisco Sour is the national drink of Peru and we got a little taste before the meal.

Amuse

This taster has lobster bisque, coconut espuma and crispy quinoa. This had a strong and flavourful lobster taste. A good way to kick off this pescatarian menu.

Causa Mixta

This has a selection of shell fish like scallops, white fish, shrimp, and mussels. There is also yam, nori and acevichado sauce.

This is paired with Seastar Stella Maris 2014 from Pender Island, BC. It is a blend of Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris.

Matane shrimp risotto

This dish has cauliflower, hazelnuts, preserved lemon and thyme. The dish was delicious and the texture was very nice. The hazelnut was an interesting element added to the dish but I loved it. The preserved lemon added a good amount of tanginess and the thyme and lemon flavouring went well together. All the flavours in this dish really complimented each other.

This is paired with the Prima Volta Chardonnay 2015 from the Okanagan Valley.

Aji panca glazed sablefish

The sablefish is paired with quinoa crackling, kale gomae, and smoked potato puree on daikon. The sablefish was cooked perfectly and the flakiness it was melt in your mouth. I enjoyed every bite of this dish.

This is paired with the Kettle Valley Reserve Pinot Noir 2013 from Okanagan Valley.

Picarones

Picarones are like a lighter version of a donut.

This is a Peruvian classic with pecans, fig syrup and Lucuma ice cream which tasted like delicious gingerbread. The flavours tied well together and was a joy to finish the meal on this sweet note.

This is paired with the Late Harvest Sperling 2014 from the Okanagan Valley. Great to see all the local BC wines paired with the menu picked by their sommelier team.

Final Thoughts

For $59 per person or $99 with wine pairings, it’s a good price and you will be leaving satisfied.

Address:
1600 Howe St #2, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ancoradining.com

In French

Lunch at Kitchen by Yugo in Downtown Vancouver

January 22, 2018

Kitchen by Yugo is located on Denman and Robson specializing in French and Japanese Fusion cuisine. I’ve heard lots about this place and I decided to come with a friend for lunch as it’s interesting how they will marry these two types of cuisines together.

Interior

The interior is nice with seating mostly on the left side and a kitchen and bar on the other.

Lunch Menu

Fish Miso Soup

This was the soup of the day and it was delicious, It has a piece of scallop and fish on the rim of the bowl. The miso soup had good depth of flavour. Highly recommended.

Pressed Aburi

This is pressed sushi with chef’s choice of assorted flame seared fish. It comes with 6 pieces and some fried veggie chips. My friend thought it was meh when you compare it to the other places in town that make similar aburi sushi.

House Bento

The house bento comes with 4 small dishes and served with rice. This seems to be quite popular item to order as you get to try a variety of items.

The items are:

Grilled Salmon with miso
Cauliflower Karaage
Tuna Tataki
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Lardons and Onions

The flavours of the bento box is more on the Japanese side beside. The salmon was delicate and the miso paste on top paired well. Usually I see this combination on black cod, but salmon was good too.

The roasted brussel sprouts were more on the heavier side taking on the French influences. Tasty but was a bit of the odd dish out as the others were more delicate in flavours.

The tuna tataki was great. Nicely seared on all sides with some veggies and ponzu sauce.

The deep-fried cauliflower was a nice touch to compliment the meal with added textures and crunch.

Final Thoughts

Being to pull off French and Japanese fusion is pretty hard and I applaud the chefs for finding the balance as the styles are very different. Japanese is simple and delicate where French is most heavy and rich. Somewhat polar opposites.

We Rate Kitchen By Yugo:

Address:
792 Denman St, Vancouver

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

In Downtown

Hula Poké at Pacific Centre Food Court in Vancouver

November 14, 2017

Hulu Poké is now open at Pacific Centre in Downtown Vancouver serving up Hawaiian-inspired poké bowls and tostadas. There has been a surge of poke shops opening up around the Lower Mainland and there’s no stopping them. Vancouverites love their seafood and clean flavours.

They have 9 different types of pre-built Hula Bowls, so you can’t customize them like other shops. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as those who are indecisive don’t have to think so hard. Those who are picky, may not like these pre-built options.

Hula Bowls

All hula bowls have a base of rice and yuzu kale. There are 6 Hula Bowls and 2 Vege Bowl options on the menu.

Tiki with Togarashi Spicy Tuna
Bahamian with Coconut Rockfish
Lei with Togarashi Salmon
Koko with Gochujang Salmon
Ancho with Ancho Rockfish
Nikkei with Citrus Ahi Tuna
Cali Veg with Miso Ginger Tofu
Sweet Potato with Ancho Sweet Potato

If you don’t like cilantro of red chili peppers, you should tell them ahead of time.

Tiki

This has ahi tuna in togarashi mayo, cucumber, green onion, red chili, edamame, crispy onions, black sesame, hijiki, and cilantro.

Bahamian

This has rockfish, coconut and pineapple salsas, edamame, red pepper, green onion, jalapeno, coconut flakes and cilantro. This reminded me of a Hawaiian pizza of poke.

Koko

This has spicy gochujang salmon, carrots, white onion, avocado, cucumber, kimchi, furikake, black sesame, cilantro, and a miso ginger vinaigrette on the bed of yuzu kale and rice.

Ancho

There is rockfish in an ancho crema tossed in avocado, jicama slaw, green onion, red pepper, chili oil, cilantro and crispy onions.

Lei

This has salmon in togarashi mayo, cucumber, avocado, red pepper, green onion, red pepper strings, spicy peas and furikake. One of my favourites.

Nikkei

This has ahi tuna in peruvian citrus sauce, avocado, white onion, red thai chili, grapefruit, togarashi sprinkle, crunchy peas, black sesame seeds, tossed with wasabi lemon crema. One of my favourites too.

Cali Veg

There is the miso ginger tofu, snow peas, red pepper, avocado, carrots, black sesame seeds, red pepper string, hijiki, and picked cucumber. Apparently, this was a popular dish among vegans.

Sweet Potato

This has sweet potato, ancho crema, jicama slaw, green onion, red pepper, chili oil, cilantro and crispy onions.

Wai-Tais

There are 2 different Wai-Tais, which as fruit-infused coconut waters. There is strawberry hibiscus and pineapple lime. I gravitated towards the pineapple line and it was refreshing with poké.

Kombucha

They have 2 house-made Kombucha – Mint Mojito and Ginger Hibiscus. I had some of the Mint Mojito and it was delicious. It wasn’t too intense compared to some other kombucha I’ve had before.

Lava

This drink has DeVille Coffee poured over coconut milk. It was an interesting drink, but a bit heavy for my tastes

Plantain Chips

If you are looking for something on the go, they have plantain chips that are a bit salty and a bit spicy.

Pineapple

The dried sugared pineapple half coated in a sugar and dipped with coconut. There are 2 pieces to a package.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Hula Poké isn’t for everyone. If you like more control of what goes into your bowl, this isn’t the place for you. For those who aren’t picky and like a good healthy quick meal in a food court, this is your place. It’s refreshing to have a poké shop at Pacific Centre to give customer better options. Even though they have only been open for a few days, it’s really popular for those visiting the Pacific Centre food court.

We Rate Hula Poke:

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

Address:
Food Court, 701 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC

In Fusion

Rolltation: Roll Your Own Sushi Burrito in Toronto

October 29, 2017

As someone who grew up on the West Coast, sushi is considered a basic food group. So when I moved to Toronto and heard about this magical invention that took my favourite fresh elements of sushi and rolled in into my drunk food of choice…I was very intrigued.

Last week, I attended the opening party for Rolltation’s newest restaurant at Yonge and Carlton. This is Rolltation’s third location in Toronto and their first franchised location. The restaurant is bright, with light wood accents and a Toronto graffiti mural wall. There is some booth and bar seating, but the restaurant is definitely geared for the grab & go customers.

We munched on octopus takoyaki balls as the owner introduced the new location.

Each of the guests were invited to roll their own sushi burrito. First, we watched the servers press the sushi rice onto the seaweed. Next I chose raw tuna as my protein. There’s also raw salmon and cooked beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu. For my vegetables, I chose cucumber, carrot and cabbage. My sauce of choice was the Sriracha Mayo. Finally, I topped it with tamago, tobiko and avocado. I definitely had a lot of fun choosing all my toppings because there was a large variety of fresh Japanese, Asian-inspired and vegetarian ingredients.

The sushi burrito was hard to roll (because I got so greedy with my toppings – no regrets), but thanks to some expert advice from the owner Chris, I managed to compress my hefty baby into something that sort of resembled a sushi burrito.

My masterpiece!

If you are the sort of person that gets overwhelmed by too many options, you can select from the eight signature burrito options, or several poke and salad options. Prices rage for the sushi burritos range from $9 to $15 and the portion sizes are large and filling.

If you’re looking for a personalized, fresh & filling lunch, check out Rolltation at 3 Carlton Street. Or you can order it online for pick up or from the Foodora app for delivery.

Address:
3 Carlton St, Toronto

Website:
http://rolltation.com/

In Fusion

Longtail Kitchen and Freebird Chicken at River Market

October 10, 2017

We were invited to Longtail Kitchen and Freebird Chicken at the River Market in New Westminster to try delicious creations by Chef Justin Cheung and Chef Angus An. Their other sister restaurants are Maenam Restaurant and Fat Mao Noodles. The items in the photos aren’t 100% representative of how it will be served as the serving sizes have been modified for our dinner.

Longtail Kitchen

This restaurant is named after the iconic water taxis of Thailand. Longtail Kitchen has Thai-style comfort food. I’ve come here several times for their famous wings and other dishes.

They also have a wall of different products to purchase.

Thai Iced Tea

This is my favourite drink to get at any restaurant that serves it. Delicious depth of tea flavour with the creamy milk and touch of sweetness.

Steel & Oak Beers

If you love local beers, they serve a variety of beers from Steel & Oak. The brewery is even close by.

Mango Pok Pok Slushy

Pok Pok is a restaurant in Portland and they sell their drinking vinegars. They even take the vinegars and turn the into slushies.

Crispy Chicken Wings

Their famous chicken wings are delicious. Very crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

Sticky Chicken Wings

If you like getting messy, their sticky chicken wings are a delight too. Lots of flavour in the sauce that coats the crisp skin. The skin stays crisp even with the coating of sauce.

Mama Cheung’s Laksa

The laksa has a kick of spice to the broth, but it is pretty clean and not too rich.

Bicol Express

This popular Filipino dish has pork belly, peppers, and green beans and a delicious sauce with a base of coconut milk.

Duck Yolk Butter Prawns

The prawns were flavourful but the duck yolk wasn’t too strong. Perhaps an extra pinch of salt would enhance them.

Shaking Beef Tenderloin

This dish was delicious and the beef was super tender. Great paired with a side of rice.

Freebird Chicken

The newer addition to River Market is Freebird Chicken, an Asian-style rotisserie chicken shack. They serve flavourful free-range, hormone-free chickens with sides of rice, soup, and salads.

Khao Man Gai

This is Hai Nan chicken and it comes with soup and chicken rice. The chicken is poached and there is a bunch of different sauce that pair with it. I personally like the classic ginger and green onions.

Tumeric Fried Chicken

The fried chicken was super crispy and they use NextJen Gluten-Free flour in their batter mix. You would have never thought this was gluten-free, but it is.

Tom Yum Spiced Fried Cauliflower

If you’re in need of more vegetables in your meal, this dish was a good accompaniment.

Tom Yum Spiced Fried Brussel Sprouts

Vegetables are great deep fried and spiced with Tom Yum.

Rotisserie Chicken

If you’re looking for another type of chicken, they have rotisserie chicken. Tasty skin and moist inside.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I loved this introduction to some of the newer items on the menu since I usually order the same thing.

Address:
810 Quayside Dr, New Westminster

In Chinatown

The Union: Wings and Beer in Chinatown

September 28, 2017

The Union is an industrial-chic hub serving creative cocktails and Pan-Asian eats. They have happy hour and weekly features, so my coworkers and I like coming here for celebrations and farewells. Many good late nights have been had here. They have happy hour drink specials and their weekly features. On Wednesday, you get Wings and Beer for $15. Wings and normally $15, so it’s essentially getting a free beer.

Interior

There are long tables for large groups and smaller tables for a more intimate atmosphere.

Indian Masala Wings

These are dry wings using their house curry spices. The exterior is crunchy, but the amount of spices is a bit overwhelming. I tried some of there people’s wings like the Street Hawker Thai and it was delicious.

Beer

With the weekly Wednesday deal, you can choose to have the wings with any Main St Brewing beer. I went with the Main Street Saison No. 7. It has a blend of three Saison yeasts. Light in colour with a golden haze, this Saison shows through with fruity esters, pepper and citrus notes. One of my favourite beers.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a decent place to go to in Chinatown to have some eats and drinks with friends. It is a bit pricey for some items, but it’s a good atmosphere and the service is pretty good.

We Rate The Union:

Address:
219 Union St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://theunionvancouver.ca/

In Fusion

The Rise Eatery: Asian Fusion in Vancouver

July 17, 2017

The Rise Eatery blends the flavours of different regions around the world and say they are a globally-influenced restaurant, but a lot of the dishes feel like it’s an Asian-fusion restaurant. They are located in the South Granville neighbourhood. We were invited for a private event to try a few dishes off their menu.

Interior

The restaurant is split up in half so there is a bar area and then the dining area. They also have a patio in the back. The space has a nice feel and I love the large wooden tables.

Drinks

Geisha-Rita

This drink has sake, lychee, pink lemonade and togarashi. Very cute drink with a pocky stick too, but I really didn’t like the togarashi rim as it overpowered the subtle flavours of the lychee. Also, for the price, you probably want more sake in this.

Rain City Ricky

This has gin, cucumber, mint, lime, lemon grass and soda.

Old Timer, Newly Fashioned

Inside this concoction is maple, orange bourbon, thyme, bitters, and sour cherry.

The Last Strawberry Wit

I am definitely a beer person instead of a cocktail person. They have a good selection of local craft beers on tap. When I heard they had the Last Strawberry Wit from Fuggles and Warlock, I had to get it. You can get it as a pint or a sleeve and I went with a pint.

The Routine

This has ramen fries, cheese curds, miso gravy, kewpie mayo, bonito and furikake. A fun twist on the Canadian classic, but it fell short of expectations. The ramen cubes ended up to a bit soggy, so it didn’t retain it’s crisp texture.

Tuna Mole

There is a stack of spicy albacore tuna tartare, roasted corn guacamole and a side of lotus root chips. Beautiful dish, but the lotus chips were very thin and not crispy enough to enjoy.

Lo Hay Salad

In the salad, there is smoked salmon, cucumber, daikon, carrot, pickled ginger, onions, tomatoes, taro, pea shoots, crisp rice vermicelli, toasted sesame, toasted peanuts, and a apricot and a beet vinaigrette on the bottom. You need to mix and toss this around before eating to incorporate all the items together. It was a good salad but the smoked salmon felt like it didn’t incorporate very well into the concept.

Long n Green

This was a really good dish as the green beans are cooked with wok’d Haricot vert, butter, soya, and the housemade XO sauce. The XO sauce just pulled it all together. We ate every last bit of the sauce.

Shroom

This is a vegan dish as it has wild mushrooms, udon, silken tofu cream and cashew parmesan. It’s a great dish for those with dietary restrictions, great texture but I thought the sauce had a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Heart Attack Rise

There is Schmaltz stir fried rice pilaf, chicken confit, fried tofu curd and then a soft boiled egg on top. Mix in the egg and enjoy. It’s a good dish to share so each person can have a taste without getting a heart attack. I thought it was ok, but didn’t make me want to eat the whole bowl.

Steak Your Claim

On the wooden board, there is grilled 8oz rib eye steak with a streak of chimichurri sauce. The steak was cooked very nicely and was tender. The chimichurri sauce was very bright and fresh compliment to the steak. On the side, there is kennebec fries, shishito peppers, onions, tomato stir fry, chinese donut and a balsamic demi glaze. A nice incorporation of the chinese donut into the dish.

Shio Koji

There is Japanese potato salad and 4 skewers of salted rice malt roasted Maple Hills chicken thighs. An odd combination but it works. The chicken was very tender and flavourful.

Mean n Green

The matcha molten lava cake was very undercooked, so it was more molten than cake inside. On the other side of the plate was adzuki beans and adzuki ice cream. The ice cream was very icy and not smooth.

Final Thoughts

I like what they were trying to do with their Asian-fusion dishes but the execution on some dishes was a total miss. The presentation was beautiful but it didn’t hit the mark. Hopefully in time, they will take the feedback and improve their menu. It seems more like a place I would go for a drink and a few dishes but not a full dinner.

Address:
3135 Granville Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.theriseeatery.com/

In Chinese

Pidgin: Prix-Fixe Tasting Menu

June 11, 2017

PiDGiN has always been a place I wanted to check out. I went with a friend to try their prix-fixe tasting menu for $55 per person, but there was an awesome voucher on TravelZoo for the 7 course dining for 2 people at $66, so I purchased it to save a little bit of money.

Interior

The interior is hip and cozy. The lighting is dim but it sets the atmosphere.

Happy Hour

Since it was happy hour, drinks were on special, so I grabbed Tiger, which is an Asian Lager. Good and crisp to pair with the dishes.

Daily pickles

Some daily pickles were carrot, onions and cucumbers. Nice to much on as we waited for the other dishes.

Oyster shot

This also has apple, cucumber granite, and a horseradish dashi. AN interesting combination of flavours.

Spring salad

The salad comes with marinated tofu, onsen egg and wasabi yogurt. A good refreshing salad before the other dishes arrived.

Mantou bread

This dish has 3 pieces of mantou bread with bayildi, miso, eggplant, onion, and tomato.

Cultivated Mushrooms

This is topped with a delicious ramen egg, soy yuzu brown butter, and onion puree. If you love mushrooms, you’ll love this dish. The mushrooms just soak up all that delicious butter.

Spring Salmon

This dish has clams, maitake mushrooms, sesame butter, and tobiko. The salmon is perfectly cooked with more mushrooms and the yummy calms.

Beef Striploin

Topped with broccolini, spinach gomae, and some local wasabi. The wasabi was freshly grated and not as potent as the ones in tubes. The dish was ok but the gomae was on the salty side.

Chai Panna Cotta

The dessert was ok but I didn’t really take a liking to it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good 7-course meal between myself and my friend. The dishes were well thought out, there is lots of food between 2 people.

We Rate PiDGiN:

Address:
350 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pidginvancouver.com/

In Bubble Tea

MYST Asian Fusion in Burnaby

April 27, 2017

MYST Asian Fusion just opened in Burnaby and they are serving up many different kinds of Asian cuisine. We were invited for a tasting of their menu to see what they offer. There is a parking lot but it can be quite full at peak hours, but there is free street parking too.

The restaurant is a bit hidden but just look out for the bright blue sign.

Interior

They have lots of seating inside with booth style configurations. This location took over Lester’s Arcade, so they really did a lot of renovations to get this look.

Drinks

Taiwanese Beer

They have a selection of Taiwanese Beer on the menu. It’s sweeter than the average beer and infused with fruity flavours.

Uchikinoki ice cream smoothie

A green tea drink with ice cream, mochi and red bean.

Slushies

They have huge slushies with marshmallow and chocolate eyeballs. This particular one was green apple flavour.

Pea Flower Tea

They have a series of pea flower tea, which have been quite popular among bubble tea shops around town. These 2 particular drinks were Calpis butterfly pea flower tea and the Strawberry lemon butterfly pea flower tea.

Potted Milk Tea

The milk tea base to topped with a cookie crumble and a green leaf. it was a really cool concept, but I didn’t like the gritty texture of the cookie crumble.

Takoyaki

It comes with 6 pieces and has a piece of cooked octopus inside. It is topped with mayo, teriyaki sauce, and shredded seaweed. It was interesting to see this on the menu, but tasted decent.

Fried green beans with minced pork

It has a good portion size for a table to share this. It had a nice caramelization from the hot pan. It was good.

Steamed sticky rice dumplings

7 pieces to an order in a steamed bamboo basket. The wrapper is filled with all the delicious sticky rice. It was an interesting dish but it was too carb heavy for my personal liking.

Skewers

They have a large variety of skewers on the menu. They were all pretty meh I would have wanted more char for added flavour.

Pork intestine
Lamb
Pork
Chicken
Fish cake
Chicken gizzard

Japanese style egg fried rice

There is a good amount of seafood in the fried rice and it’s topped with a fried egg, seaweed and mayo. My kind of comfort food.

Golden sand prawns with salted egg yolk sauce

Very delicious and the egg yolk crust is so addictive. I peeled the head off and at the rest with the shell on. Some people hate it with the shell but I oddly like it with the crunchy texture.

Chives & shrimp spring rolls

Mediocre spring rolls and nothing was special about them.

Pan fried beef pancake

The green onion pancake is rolled with beef, green onions and some sauce. 4 pieces some in an order and they are big pieces.

House special spicy lamb hot pot

This was my favourite dish of the evening. It is lit underneath with some fire to keep it nice and hot as you eat the meal. It is served with rice and 2 side dishes.

The hot pot was packed full of ingredients like spam, tofu, fish cake, bean curd, and imitation crab.

Deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings

This is their large order and each wing was perfectly fried. The exterior was crisp and golden brown.

Fried chicken in chili pepper

The pieces had a lot of bones so it wasn’t as enjoyable to eat. Meh.

Sandwiches

The sandwiches are pretty basic. Egg, tomato, ham and cucumber are inside the slices of white bread.

Chives, shrimp & pork dumplings

Pretty decent for dumplings and there is 10 pieces to the order and some sauce on the side.

Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli

Soft vermicelli noodles with some veggies and meat mixed throughout.

Assorted deep fried basket

This basked had squid tentacles, salt and peppery chicken, blood sausage, and other deep fried items.

MYST beef noodle soup

Inside, we added beef shank, tripe, and tendon. It was decent and filling.

Marinated 3 item combo

This had dried tofu, seaweed and pork ear string. It was served cold on this dish and we slowly picked at it.

TaiNan style egg noodle soup

This was an ok dish but it didn’t compare to the other soupy dishes on the menu.

Myst deluxe marinated pork with rice

This dish had a lot of ingredients in it. Just mix it all together and enjoy.

Preserved cabbage with shredded pork fried rice cake

It was a good dish for sharing around the table. The chewy rice cakes with the preserved cabbage and pork were a nice combination.

Hakka style sweet rice cake

Nope. The dates gave it an odd bitter preserved flavour to the dish. No one likes it, but maybe you have to have an acquired taste.

Myst Jelly

This is a Winter Melon Jelly and has a consistency of a harder jello. It was very sweet and I didn’t really like this either.

Shaved Snowflake

They have this in either strawberry or mango flavours. We got the strawberry version and it sit on top of dry ice that makes the fog underneath. The strawberry shaved ice and the ice cream have a sweet artificial taste to it, kinda like Pocky. The strawberry slices were fresh.

Myst Taiyaki

The taiyaki sits in a ice cream cone bowl, matcha ice cream, mochi, red bean sauce, chocolate drizzle and a chocolate wafer stick. It was a dessert fit for a kid.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was so-so, but there is quite a variety that you’ll find something to enjoy. My favourite were the House special spicy lamb hot pot, deep fried chicken wings, and the golden sand prawns with salted egg yolk sauce.

We Rate MYST:

Address:
6400 Kingsway, Burnaby

Website:
http://www.myst6400.com/

In Downtown

Masaladobo: Indian Mexican Cantina in Downtown Vancouver

April 2, 2017

Masaladobo is a Indian Mexican Cantina in Downtown Vancouver. This fusion cuisine is almost entirely gluten and dairy free, which is great for those with dietary restrictions. They now bringing healthy and delicious food to those who need a quick bite in the area.

The skytrain is just located a few steps away, which is very convenient for those taking the Canada Line.

Interior

The interior is fun, casual and full of colour. During peak hours, you order at the counter, but for other times, they can serve you at your table instead of going up.

There are lots of tables inside, so there shouldn’t be a problem finding a table.

Tacones

Tacos rolled up into a cone shape for easy eating. It has roti-taco-handroll hybrid red shred, masaladobo (spicy sweet indo salsa), raita verde, in a plancha tortilla, which is all gluten-free on corn tostada.

There are many kinds you can order but we tried the ginger duck kebabs and it has a very unique taste, which blends Indian and Mexican flavours together. The OceanWise options are great too with wild salmon pekora or the seared albacore & shrimp kebab.

Blackened tuna tikka taki

This has dry tikka spice and the albacore tuna is seared lightly. The item is on their Cantina Menu, where on Monday to Friday, it’s 2 for 1 from 2pm to closing. A good deal and it tastes great.

Masaladobo bowl

Masaladobo bowl with added ginger duck kebabs also has golden basmati and sofrito-coconut gravy with fresh greens , pickles and masaladobo.

Margaritas on Tap

They have margaritas on tap. It’s not a party without margaritas. A great item to have after work or sometime closer to the Summer during the hot months.

Indian Cola

A unique non-alcoholic beverage with all the syrups made in-house. It’s very different that your average soda.

If you want something stronger, they definitely have that too. Try a shot of tequila and a fresh-pressed juice chaser.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a unique concept mixing Indian and Mexican flavours. You won’t find a lot of red meat on the menu besides duck, but if you have dietary restrictions, they cater well to those people that are dairy-free or gluten-free, and vegetarians.

We Rate Masaladobo:

Address:
433 Granville Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.masaladobo.com/

In Chinese

Ford Fusion Foodie Goes to Heritage Eatery

February 10, 2017

The 2017 Ford Fusion Sport has come out and what better way to explore Metro Vancouver, than to indulge in some fusion cuisine. Partnering up for Ford Canada, we headed to one of the newer restaurants in Vancouver for Pan Asian Cuisine – Heritage Eatery.

Check out my review of the 2017 Ford Fusion Sport as I drove it all around town. The trusty navigation guided me to Heritage Eatery easily even in rush hour.

https://foodology.ca/2017-ford-fusion-sport-review/

Heritage Asian Eatery

Heritage Asian Eatery brings together the flavours of different countries in Asia. They blend together fresh, locally sourced ingredients, prepared with a modern take on the authentic flavours of the Far East. I’ve heard lots about this place, so it was time to make the visit.

Interior

The interior as metal and wood features that give it a cool industrial look. Up on their shelves, there are metal bells, abacus, Asian hat and some other cool items.

Bao

Bao means bun in Chinese. It is a Chinese steamed roll with a filling of meat or vegetables.

The 5 different flavours are:

Cotechino (house made sausage)
Shitake
Duck
Pork Belly
Pork Shoulder

I ordered the Cotechino, Duck and Pork Belly. It all came together in a cute bamboo steamer. The bao is soft and fluffy while the filling is very delicious. Each bao have different complementary toppings and sauce used.

Bowls

There are 4 types of rice bowls at Heritage:

Pork Belly
Duck
Chicken
Eggplant

We went with the Pork Belly as it’s the most fatty and delicious. We also added an extra egg to the bowl. It normally comes with 2 halves. The bowl is very hearty and its good for one person. The other veggies in this dish balance out the egg and pork belly.

Wings

We got a side of wings since we heard it was irresistible. The right amount of spice coat these crisp wings and drumettes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was delicious and even thought the menu is a bit small, there’s lots of variety to each dish. Highly customizable to what you want. Eating fusion food and enjoying the Ford Focus was a fun night out.

Address:
1108 W Pender Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.eatheritage.ca/

In Chinatown

Kissa Tanto: Japanese and Italian Fusion in Chinatown

December 28, 2016

Tucked into the upper story of a delightfully faded building in Chinatown, Kissa Tanto serves up a posh fusion of Italian and Japanese food. They take their inspiration from the delicate flavours of Japanese cuisine and the warmth of ltalian cooking.

Kissa Tanto won Canada’s best new restaurant by enRoute magazine. Their sister restaurant is Bao Bei, only a few blocks away. All of us haven’t heard about Kissa Tanto when they won the award, so we made it a mission to check it out for dinner. We had a large group of 6 and had to wait over a month for a seat as they only have one table for 6 people.

We had to provide a credit card in advance for the reservation. If we didn’t show up, they would charge us $150 cancellation fee.

Interior

Once we headed upstairs, we were transported into the 1960’s. It is styled like old Tokyo jazz cafés.

The dusty-pink leather banquettes, banker’s lamps and brass railings really make this place shine and give it the ambiance.

The space isn’t that large, so reservations are highly recommended to avoid waits and disappointment.

There are 12 seats at the bar that are first come first serve, which require no reservations.

Drinks

Four Winds Saison is what I ordered. One of my favourite light fruity tasting beers.

Four on six sour was what the others ordered. It has a mix of Bourbon, noilly prat amber, charred pineapple, lemongrass shrub, ardberg, and egg white.

To Begin With – Appetizers

Albacore tuna crudo with shiso vinaigrette, radishes, Tokyo leek, capers, pickled almonds, Castelvetrano olives, and mustard greens. Very delicious light and you can taste the freshness of the tuna paired with the other ingredients. One of my favourite appetizers.

Octopus Salad has crispy octopus, citrus mayonnaise, daikon, radish, basil, ikura, and parmesan. The octopus was a decent texture, but I thought it would be a bit softer.

Frittelle di Melanzane is a garlic eggplant fritter with yuzu gribiche, basil and bonito salt, and shaved katsuo. It comes with 3 pieces was delicious. Soft on the inside but crisp on the outside.

Terrina Frita has pink, pickled daikon and nori mustard on bruschetta. This was one of the specials for today. I love the vibrant colours, but it was a so-so dish.

Tender to the Tooth – Pasta

Lasagne del Giorno was the lasagne of the day and it featured winter chanterelles & pork with a miso bechamel and basil cream sauce. Very delicious and each layer melded well together.

Tajarin is made of butter, roasted mushrooms, and miso cured yolk. Three of my favourite ingredients. the simplicity of this pasta dish really spoke to my tastebuds.

Casarecce is pasta in a pork and sake kasu ragu. The type of pasta helps capture some of the sauce in it’s crevices. Also very delicious.

Sharing is Caring – Entrees for Sharing

Lamb Shoulder is served with tosaka seaweed, fregola, anchovy butter, puréed egg yolk, Sicilian olives, and pickled peppers. The lamb was tender and it was an interesting experience navigating how to eat this dish.

One of the other specials for the day was their Beef Cheeks with braised tomato and anchovies, and gnocchi. The delicious jus of the beef covered the fluffy gnocchi. Tender and flavourful beef.

Whole Fish of the Day was Sea Perch for $40. It is flash-fried and served with a daikon soy dipping sauce. It was super crisp and easy to eat as every bit of it was edible – even the bones. The bones were crunch like chips.

Dessert

Yuzu Cream has Sicilian pistachios, olive oil crumble and season fruit in it.

Tiramisu has a touch of plum wine. Very light and fluffy layers.

Flourless Chocolate Cake was rich and dense. It is served with miso-caramel ice cream.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a fun dinner with friends – Foodgressing, Vie a Maggi, Picky Diner, Sherman, and Drunken Noms – who all enjoy good food. With the 6 of us, we shared 13 dishes. 2 and a bit dishes for each person.

From what we tried, I could really see the fusion between Japanese and Italian cooking. It’s pretty interesting to see these 2 cuisines come together as it’s not common at all.

We Rate Kissa Tanto:

Address:
263 E Pender Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.kissatanto.com/

In Fusion

Osum! Kitchen + Lab: Baogers and MoNoodles in Steveston

December 21, 2016

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/

In Fusion

Poké Time on Robson: More Poké, No Problem

November 30, 2016

Continuing my poké adventures in Vancouver, another poké shop is Poké Time on Robson Street. I came here during my lunch break to grab a bowl to go with my coworkers. You can have you poke on a bed of rice, salad, nachos or eat it as a burrito. What I like about them is that you can do pick up or delivery and put your order in advance.

Interior

There are single seats by the walls of the shop, but you won’t find any tables here. Most people do take out.

I also love this pineapple wall. Very cute.

Build your own bowl

I find that getting the bowl is worth the price. I got the poké bowl and you can choose 2 scoops of protein, salad or rice or half, mixers, sauce, toppings, garnishes, and crunchies.

It was hard to figure out what to add on, but I got a little bit of everything and the staff are very generous with how much they put in it.

It’s so huge! I was surprised how they were able to close the lid on top.

Eating the Poke Bowl

I got salmon and tuna as my protein and then seaweed salad, crab meat, mandarin oranges, edamame, corn, carrots, cabbage, greens, onion crisps, cucumber, masago, green onion, nori. I got the tarty ponzu sauce and it was nice that it lightly marinated the protein so it wasn’t overpowering the fresh fish.

We Rate Poké Time:

Address:
1258 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.poketime.ca/

In Filipino

Bao Down Snack Bar: Filipino Style Tapas in Gastown

November 27, 2016

Bao Down Snack Bar is the 3rd location to open up from the minds behind Bao Down. This particular location features Filipino Style Tapas. I’ve been to the other 2 locations and I’m always surprised how each location has a different menu and concept.

The interior has the classic Gastown bricks and then the beautiful mural from a local artist.

Drinks

They have a pretty good cocktail menu with a bit of Philipino inspiration.

Taka has Suntory Toki Japanese whiskey, Taylor Fladgae white port, Shoju, and angostura bitters

Bagyo has dark, white and overproof rum, passion fruit syrup, agave syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

Calamasita has a mix of hornitos plata tequila, sweet and sour shrub, cointreau, egg white, calamansi limes, and agave syrup. A good amount of sweetness in this drink. It is even garnished with a small calamani lime.

Dinner

Lumpia is a Filipino spring roll. You can choose from either:

Free range chicken and Water Chestnuts
Local pork and garlic

It is served with a sweet chili sauce and plum sauce. It is crisp on the outside with the savoury filling inside.

Empanada Bao comes with 2 deep-fried bao buns with either:

Lechon Palsiw, chicharon, onions and garlic
Organic, local, Gluten-free BBQ Chicken, Inasal, and a basting sauce
Adobo eggplant, onions, garlic, and Tamari

We had the lechon version and it was really good. The bun is crisp and warm with the delectable pork filling.

Charcuterie Plate isn’t like your typical plate, it has a Filipino twist. It has:

Tocino
Longanisa
Chorizo
Fried Quail Eggs
Garlic Mayo Sauce

Nice little bites to pick at while having drinks. When it comes to the taste, it was ok compared to other places I’ve been to.

Pork Belly Lechon was a beast. It’s a slow roasted crispy pork belly with ultra crispy skin. It is served with a sarsa sauce. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce as it was a bit sweet, but I would have preferred another sauce to break up the fatty taste.

House Blended Rice is purple in colour due to the wild rice. Great texture and it has a bit of garlic to it too.

Adobo Fried Chicken uses Gluten-free flour, a buttermilk marinade, adobo glaze and a banana sauce. It’s great that they cater to those who are Celiac or are avoiding gluten.

It tasted great and has a nice crunchy skin.

Eggplant Torta is a roasted eggplant omelette with tamarind, and a charred tomato. It was ok, but it wasn’t my favourite dish.

Okoy Yam Fritter was really good. It has crispy fried yams, local greens and veggie with prawns. I would get this again. Super crispy and addictive.

Overall, the food was good and you can see the Filipino inspiration in the food. They have a good beer and cocktail menu and its great to pair it with the snacks on the menu. Good items to share.

We Rate Bao Down Snack Bar:

Address:
221 Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://baodown.net/menu/bao-down-snackbar/

In Downtown

TAKO: Korean-Mexican Fusion Taco Shop in Vancouver

October 20, 2016

Tacqueria Koreano, aka TAKO is a new fusion Korean and Mexican Taco shop right by Stadium Skytrain Station. One of my favourite fusion cuisines is Korean and Mexican, the flavours meld pretty good together. There have been other food trucks out in Vancouver that have done something similar.

I was invited along with a few foodies to give a few items on their menu a try.

Interior

The interior is pretty small, but they have outside and inside seating. If it’s a rainy day outside, you’ll be able to find a seat here.

Taco

Gangnam Taco has BBQ short rib. There is a generous amount of BBQ short rib in this taco. The taco is a decent size and you can finish it in 2-3 bites.

Jeju Taco has spicy pork belly as the centrepiece of this delicious taco.

Seoul Taco has deep -fried chicken. The chicken is pretty good, but I felt they were a bit heavy on the gochujang sauce.

Tako Taco has grilled beef belly. Similar to the Jeju taco, I felt they were also a bit heavy handed on the sauce.

Busan Taco has prawn tempura. This taco wasn’t that great compared to the other tacos as it was drenched in sauce, so by the time you eat your taco, the tempura isn’t as crisp.

Burritos

They have a variety of different burritos and it has kimchi fried rice, corn, cheese and your choice of meat. You can choose between spicy pork, BBQ Short Rib or bulgogi. It’s very filling and you can’t go wrong with any of the meats.

Quesadilla

Kimchi Quesadilla has pan-fried kimchi, bulgogi, corn, red onion, and cheese. It is topped off with sesame seed, green onion and sour cream. My favourite of the 2 quesadilla.

Omma Quesadilla has bulgogi, mushroom, cheese, and red onion. The gochujang sauce was a nice touch.

Seoul Chicken

The Seoul Chicken was very good. Crunchy texture with moist pieces of meat on the inside. I would order this again.

Bibimbap Bowl

Bibimbap Bowl has assorted veggies on rice with soft boiled egg and your choice of meat. There is BBQ short rib, bulgogi or spicy pork. I liked the spicy pork as it added a bit of kick to the dish. The egg was phenomenal.

TAKO Poutine

Their poutine isn’t your traditional poutine. You won’t find cheese curd and gravy on these fries. You choose your protein and it is topped with a bunch of accompanying sauces. Yet again, very sauce heavy.

Rice Cake Skewers come with 5 pieces on a skewer. You’ll get the similar gochujang flavour that is smothered on these rice cakes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, my favourite items were the quesadilla and the burritos. A good item to have for lunch. The bibimbap was nice too as they egg is just so good. The tacos were decent but it is a bit heavy handed with the sauce.

We Rate TAKO:

Address:
601 Expo Boulevard, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.takovancouver.com/