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No. 1 Beef Noodle House is located near Moscrop Secondary School. I really love going to this place with friends for some snacks or late night chit chat/ gossip sessions. Once, we actually spent about 4 hours there just eating and chatting.

On another late night after school, M, InsecureGIrl and I went to No. 1 Beef Noodle House for a quick bite.

There are lots of seats here. Most of the time I have no problem getting a seat. On the other hand…parking is a different story…it’s very hard to get a parking spot during peak hours. You may have to park a few blocks away.

I started off with the Salt and Peppery Chicken. It was nice and crunchy and well seasoned.

M was in a meaty mode and had the taiwanese sausage. It was basically BBQ Pork sausage. You can get this at any asian butcher shop. Yummy…….

M then had the Curry. It came with 2 sides. He said the curry was well made and spicy. I can’t remember what type of curry he had but it looks like salt and peppery chicken covered in curry.

InsucureGirl and I both chose the Wonton soup. I was not particularly really super hungry, so this was a good option. I have had this about 6 times now. I know, it’s a lot but i really enjoy it. The broth is really good and the added vegetables and seaweed is a plus. The wontons were pretty average and could have been a bit better.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Good late night hangout
  • Cash Only
  • Parking is hard to find
  • If you get bored, you can spot all the typos in the menu

We rate No. 1 Beef Noodle House:

They are located at:

4741 Willingdon Ave
Burnaby, BC

No. 1 Beef Noodle House on Urbanspoon

Hapa Izakaya in Kitsilano is a great late night place to go for tapas. M, FragileBoy, InsecureGirl and I wanted something light and not too heavy to end the day. After contemplating many choices, we chose Hapa on Kits!

The interior is really intimate with candles and it’s dark appearance. As the rumour goes, yes, Hapa has some pretty girl servers. To think about it…I don’t think I saw any waiters…only waitresses. Imagine going on a date and the guy keeps staring at the waitresses…that wouldn’t be cool.

There were a lot of menu’s on our table. I guess they have a lot of specials and seasonal dishes.

When asked what we wanted to start off with, we asked if they had Asahi Black ($6.50). Indeed they did! So we ordered 4.

We started off with Beef Tataki ($7.95). This was a bit different that what I usually imagine. It had hot sauce on it instead of the usual ponzu sauce. I didn’t particularly like this dish. If you are into hot sauce, you may enjoy this dish.

We next had the Negitoro ($7.95). It is blended toro and onion. It also has i think either ponzu sauce or soy sauce. You would first mix up the ingredients so you get an even coating of sauce when you divide up the dish. This was soooo good! We have to order 2 places cause we all wanted more!

Spicy Scallop Roll ($7.95) was just average. Nothing exceptional about this roll. I could have been more spicy. Inside the roll there was spicy scallops and cucumber. If you call it “spicy”, you gotta make it SPICY!

Next we had the Salmon Risotto croquette ($6.95). It had 5 balls and they contained shitake mushrooms, salmon+ Dashi Risotto and drizzled with mayo. This as surprisingly filling. The risotto didn’t taste like risotto since it was in a different form.

The Wild Prawn Ebi Mayo ($8.95). Tempura prawns with spicy mayo sauce. The prawns were a bit small for my liking. I still believe you can’t beat the ebi mayo at Toratatsu and Guu.

Smoked Gindara ($11.00) smoked sable fish. The sable fish was perfectly done! It was nice, moist and the skin was nice and crunchy.

King Crab Roll ($11.95) I thought was expensive and overrated. You can’t really taste the full flavour of the king crab with all the other ingredients in the way.

We also got the Sashi Mori ($19.95) which is basically assorted sushi. It had 4 pieces of scallops, salmon, tuna, and some other type of fish. The quality was pretty good, but for that price, it was so not worth it.

The damage on the bill was $138.38 for 4 people. Ouch.

Overall, I was satisfied with Hapa Izakaya.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Negitoro!

We rate Hapa Izakaya:

Check out their website:  www.hapaizakaya.com

Hapa Izakaya (Kitsilano) on Urbanspoon

The Twisted Fork Bistro is THE place to go for brunch. It is claimed to be the best brunch place in town. I am always skeptical when people tell me it’s the best. Twisted Fork Bistro opens at 10am, but there are people lining up at 9am to be the first seating. CanuckGirl and I got there at 10:45ish and we were only waited 15 mins to get a table. Unfortunately, for the groups that were over 5 people…had to wait well over 45 mins for a table.

If you are one of the unlucky ones waiting outside in the FREEZING cold, you can take a look at their menu to anticipate what you want to order! Sometimes this may not be the best idea because it may make you hungrier …and hungrier….and then you may want to kill someone.

The interior of the Twister Fork Bistro is quite narrow and hard to accomodate since well….you can see for yourself.

Their menu is on one page and brunch is only $11!

There is a reason this place is called Twisted Fork Bistro…the forks on their menu is TWISTED!

I ordered Grapefruit Juice ($3.50).

The Croque Monsieur is a ham and cheese sandwich battered and fried. This Croque Monsieur has brioche, gruyere, and ham. It is served with fresh green and a house tomato sauce. I found the sandwich to be quite big for breakfast. A bit heavy as well. You must dunk the Croque Monsieur with the house tomato sauce!

CanuckGirl ordered the eggs benny! It had brioche, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. Served with baked beans and sauteed spinach.  You can even choose our choice of filler – chorizo, ham, bacon, chicken, smoked salmon, avocado, tomato or prosciutto. CanuckGirl chose the prosciutto filled. She was amazed with it because they were not skimpy on the prosciutto!

The brioche made the eggs benny taste like heaven. No more typical english muffin!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Long lineups for brunch
  • Best to go in 2’s or 3’s to avoid 30+ min waits
  • Eggs Benny is a must!

We rate Twisted Fork Bistro:

Check out their website:  http://www.twistedforkbistro.ca/
Twisted Fork Bistro on Urbanspoon

Nice Cafe is located near Main in the Mount Pleasant area. They serve up all day breakfast, burgers, sandwiches, entrees, soups, salads and desserts. On a Sunday morning, MercerLady and I went to check out their breakfast. We were originally supposed to go to The Twisted Fork Bistro, but I woke up a bit too late and we were afraid their line up would be long.

Getting into Nice Cafe, it took about a 10 minute wait. We arrived around 10:30am. The interior does look sketchy, but the food surely does not.

I started off with a pot of Red Tea ($1.60). What is very interesting about this table is that is has a lot of holes. When pouring the tea, into the cup…it fell through the table onto the floor. Good thing i didn’t stretch my legs.

MercerLady ordered the all day ($4.60). This included 2 eggs, hash brown, toast, and bacon. In addition, she ordered grilled mushrooms on the side ($0.75). This looked good! I was expecting less than this for the price. I tried a bit of the mushroom and it is the best darn mushroom I have ever had.

I ordered the Florentine Eggs Benny ($6.85) which came with hash browns. For that price, the eggs benny was worth it. Compared to other places like Subeez and Locus, it was not as good. The hash brown was really good.

Word of Wisdom:

  • Line up early to avoid line ups
  • All Day Breakfast is the most popular item
  • Free parking along adjacent streets

We rate Nice Cafe:

They are located at:

Mount Pleasant/Main Street
154 E 8th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Nice Cafe on Urbanspoon

I have always seen Chau Kitchen & Bar while passing by Robson. I thought it was probably an expensive Chinese restaurant from the look of the exterior. In reality, it is an inexpensive Pho place! After hearing an earful from TaiwaneseGirl ranting about the cheap food at Chau…she had to take me for a really late lunch. Like many University students, we like to forget to eat until dinner time.

The water came and I was delighted to see my fellow friend cucumber in the cup! Cucumber water tastes really good.

Their menu is simple, but since I didn’t really know what was on the menu.. nor have a favorite vietnamese dish…I had to ask the waitress.

TaiwaneseGirl knew right away what she wanted, she go the Fraser Valley Pho Bo ($ 10). it has rare beef slices, meat balls, and brisket. The soup stock is clear and the ingredients look fresh! Even thought, $10 for a bowl of pho is a few dollars more than the usual places, but you are paying for quality over quantity. The bean sprouts and basil even look really nice.

I got the 17 spice beef short ribs and beef la lot rolls ($10.50) with vermicelli, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, daikon, and peanuts.  This is was really good and simple tasting! The beef rolls were wrapped in seaweed and hidden inside in a piece of daikon. The textures of that roll worked together so the beed did not over power the roll.

There’s not too many higher end pho places in Vancouver, but its starting to be a trend. Other pho places, you don’t really now how dirty or how long your food has been sitting around….or if they reuse the garnishes for other dishes. WIth Chau Kitchen, you can expect the freshest ingredients

We rate Chau Kitchen & Bar:

Check out their website: http://www.chaukitchenandbar.com/

Chau Kitchen & Bar on Urbanspoon

It was a super cold Wednesday evening when InsecureGirl and I were SUPER HUNGRY after long classes and meetings at SFU. I told her to decide where we should go. After she did a lot of stalking on Urbanspoon, she stumbled upon Go Haggis’s Review on Gyoza King. Looking at the pictures, it made her super excited and more hungry than ever.

Gyoza King is located on Robson Street specializing in Gyoza’s and traditional Japanese dishes.

From the outside, it looks like a large restaurant, but it is pretty small from the inside. It seats I would says about 50 people. When we went, it was about 11pm and it was not empty at all. People would come in for the gyoza’s, tapas and drinks. InsecureGirl really liked the interior decor and said it was pretty clean. I really had no idea what she was saying because the floor looked dirty.

I have this thing about hand drawn daily specials. I think it’s super cool and you don’t need to hire any designers! Reminded me of other Japanese places like Hapa Izakaya and Guu. Gyoza King also had a list of top 5 items on their menu this week. If you are super indecisive like we are, it’s a good guide to see whats good for the week.

Mmmmm Tea.

Gyu Tataki ($6.50) is seared beef slices in ponzu sauce. It is topped off with green onions, and radish. It was really delicious and the acidity of the ponzu sauce made it very enjoyable.

Ebi Mayo ($6.50) has tiger prawns with a type of mayo sauce. Compared to places like Guu…Gyoza King’s version has smaller shrimp. The taste of the mayo went well with the tiger prawns.

Pork and Vegetables Gyoza  (6 for $4.95) was a must because this place is called Gyoza King. I found them to be quite average. Maybe I am use to the flavours of dumplings because I eat so much at home. When you add the ponzu sauce (in the small black tea pot on the table) to the dumplings, it makes them so much better!

This udon was quite interesting. It had pureed radishes, beef slices, and seaweed in ponzu sauce. InsecureGirl was really skeptical about the pureed radishes and now it all fit with the dish. After mixing it around, it added more texture and soaked up the ponzu sauce.

Japanese-style duck breast with sweet soy ($9.50) came with a small salad, lemon and some fried onions. The duck was #1 on the top 5 things to have at the restaurant. The duck was well cut and thin.

It seemed like InsecureGirl and I had a lot of ponzu sauce in our meal. If you don’t know what ponzu sauce is, it’s a citrus soy sauce. It’s probably one of my favorite soy sauce for all foods. With all the Izakaya restaurants on Robson, they are all starting to seem very similar to them all. What you can say about Gyoza King is that if you have late night cravings at 1am….you can get your fix!

Words of Wisdom:

  • They serve Asahi Black – Black Lager
  • Open till late – 2am
  • Call ahead of time to see if the restaurant is busy
  • Look at the specials and the Top 5 items of the week
  • Looking for sushi? They don’t serve sushi

We Rate Gyoza King:

Check out their website: http://www.jpcanada.com/info/gyoza_k/

Gyoza King on Urbanspoon

Gohan Japanese Restaurant is hidden near the Brentwood Mall area. It’s one of those hidden places that you would not expect to find. They serve west-coast influenced Japanese food at a decent price. I went here a few years ago and I remember it having some really good roles, so M and I decided to go after class on a Tuesday Night.

The interior is brightly lit and there servers were really nice and friendly. Notice the “A” in Gohan, it looks like an onigiri.

The menu made it easy for M and I to decide what to eat..since there were 2 of us, it seemed right to get the “Special for 2” for $28.95. We thought it would be a good idea so we can try a large variety in the menu. It comes with a tempura appetizer, California roll, runa roll, toro nigiri, edamame, agedashi tofu, 2 main courses with miso soup, green salad and steamed rice. We also added a ebi tiger mayo gyoza ($6.50). We also added cokes to it too.

M had the coke…look at him pour some coke. I decided to be super asian and stick with some green tea. I think they had the best service because I was asked 4 times in total if I wanted more tea. I felt so happy because usually at Sushi Town or California Sushi, I would be neglected and left with empty cups of tea. Gohan is <3. A full cup of tea is a happy DesignGirl.

To start it off, we both got some miso soup. It was good that it wasn’t too large since there was so much to eat. The miso soup was similar to other restaurants.

The Tiger Shrimp Mayo Gyoza ($6.50) was very innovative. It came with a nice soy sauce/mayo. It was delicious but sometimes I felt like I ate the gyoza skin before devouring the shrimp.

The tempura appetizer arrived with the usual sauce. What I liked about this one is how it didn’t taste super oily.

The agedashi tofu was the best agedashi tofu we have ever had! It came with 5 pieces and had a nice sauce. The presentation looked very simple.

The edamame beans were salted on the outside. They were cooked perfectly and we had no complaints.

The ingredients in these 2 sushi rolls are really fresh and they use the best ingredients for their sushi. The tuna was really good….REALLY GOOD. They do have a good selection of sashimi at Gohan.

Best TORO NIGIRI EVER! So much better than any other sushi place in Burnaby. The toro literally melted in your mouth. Amazing quality!!

I got the Chicken Teriyaki as my main. It came with steamed rice, green salad and a small little korokke. I enjoyed it and it had teriyaki sauce on top. When this arrived, I was super stuffed so I couldn’t eat it all. I ate about half and it was a pretty damn well made chicken teriyaki.

M got the Unagi as his main. It came with the same sides. M enjoyed the Unagi and had no issues with it.

The green salad had a big tomato in it. I think it was a bit too big to eat it in one bite. It was still pretty tasty nonetheless. It took M a while to figure out the small ball on the plate was korokke. I thought it was takoyaki. But when you take a bit, you are greeted with the taste of fried mashed potatoes. It was good that it was just one bite rather than a big thing or else we would have been SUPER STUFFED.

Instead of having big white boxes, they package all the left overs in small little containers. No big boxes…unless it is hot food like the chicken teriyaki.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Great fast service
  • Food came very fast
  • High quality ingredients
  • The best toro you will ever eat!
  • Reasonably priced.
  • Closed on Sundays

We really enjoyed Gohan and it has become our favorite place to go to in Burnaby to get sushi! M really loves toro, so I am sure he will always go to Gohan from now on. The whole meal can to be $44, which was amazing since there was so much food.

We rate Gohan:

They are located at:

Burnaby
1815 Rosser Ave S
Burnaby, BC V5C

Gohan Japanese on Urbanspoon

Bella Gelateria is located under the Fairmont Pan Pacific. I always go to La Casa Gelato to get my fix of gelato, but I find that their quality has gone down. On my search for gelato, why not check out the most talked about gelato place in Vancouver.

Their interior is really nice, but all the gelato is all covered up, so no visuals of what they look like. I asked what was their most popular flavour but they said most of them are pretty even.

All the different kinds were very nice and flavourful. You can tell they really put the best ingredients in their gelato. Even with the small batches they make, you know they try to have the freshest quality for their customers. After trying a whole bunch of flavours, I made my decision on Black Sesame! I would have to thank Our Food Adventure for helping me make the decision. I must agree it tasted SO much like the black sesame desserts in the Chinese restaurants. I just sat there eating this and thinking about my sister sitting in a Chinese restaurant eating and unraveling black sesame rolls.

What I didn’t like was how the cone began leaking, so I had to us a napkin to prevent it from leaking through the tiny hole.

They have some seats in the restaurant to just chill.

Near the seating area of Bella Gelateria, there is a display case with Gelato Cakes, and gelato desserts. If you are looking for something different besides gelato in a cone/cup, such a gelato cake for your best buddy…you can order one!

We rate Bella Gelateria:

Check out their website: http://www.bellagelateria.com/

Bella Gelateria on Urbanspoon

Meat & Bread is a new lunch spot that opened up on Hastings right across the road from Nuba. When I first heard the name, I thought to myself, Meat & Bread…how good can it really be? As they say, its the simple things in life that makes you happy. They open only for lunch from 11am to 5pm.

Meat & Bread has a very small menu. 4 types of sandwiches. Just to note, MeatPaper is a magazine…not a food item. I really thought it was chunks of meat on paper. Mustard, Salt and Sambal are jars of their homemade sauces. When I took this picture it was about 2pm…after that everything but the porchetta was sold out.

What I love about Meat & Bread is their long table where it can be very interactive with other customers…. peering over your shoulder to see what someone else is eating or saying about the food.

CanuckGirl and I got the Porchetta sandwich ($8). You are probably wondering what porchetta is….well it’s a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted. It’s so delicious. The fatty layers and skin gave this sandwich a nice texture.

A negative comment about this sandwich was that i found cartilage amongst the meat. CanuckGirl didn’t have that problem at all. I must have just been unlucky.

The two sauces on the parchment paper are Sambal and mustard sauce. They are house made and can be bought for $7. Luckily, you can use as much as you want on your sandwich! Sambal is a chilli sauce…and well i’m sure you know what mustard is. FYI, this mustard is better than any mustard made by Heinz!

TaiwaneseGirl got the Maple Bacon Ice Cream Sandwich  ($3). This is not any normal ice cream sandwich. I really couldn’t help watch TaiwaneseGirl eat this because she thought it was a normal ice cream sandwich…until she could taste something salty and made this really weird face. She initially thought it was ham. I thought this was very creative, but didn’t particularly wow me.

There was no more soda left, so all I got was a beer ($6). At 2pm, this was probably not a great idea since I glow like a light bulb.  The Thirsty Beaver was alright, but not an outstanding beer. I prefer my asian beers.

After finishing up at Meat & Bread, we were still not full. I wanted to go back to get another sandwich, but everything else was sold out. Pretty disappointed because I wanted to try the grilled cheese. I guess I will have to wait another day.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Best to go early to ensure nothing is sold out
  • The sauces are a must try

We rate Meat & Bread:

Check out their website: http://meatandbread.ca/

Meat & Bread on Urbanspoon

La Taqueria is located near Vancouver Film School and Simon Fraser University Vancouver Campus. La Taqueria Taco Shop offers up authentic Mexican tacos from authentic traditional recipes. All the ingredients used in the tacos are local,  organic, and sustainable.

TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I were in Downtown and decided we should try it out since we wanted a small snack.

The restaurant is fairly small and can seat about 16 or so people at one time. Most of the items are small snack items, so you won’t really get too full unless you decided to eat everything from the menu…which will cost you a fair bit.

The menu has 12 different types of tacos.  The menu had 2 categories : meat or veggies.

The meat ones are $2.50 or 4 for $9.50.

The Veggie ones are $2.00 or 4 for $7.00.

The first taco was the Carnitas. It has pork confit, onions, parsley, and pickled onions.

The next one was the Asada Taco. It has grilled AAA flank beef with onions and parsley.

This is the La Cachete Taco. It has braised beef cheeks with the onions and parsley.

Say hello to De Lengua! It has braised beef tongue.

They also have several sauces you can add to your tacos! The red Habanero sauce is HOT! If TaiwaneseGirl says its hot..probably best to listen to her. I thought I could handle it, but i took so much sauce my mouth started burning. I didn’t have a drink..so the only thing I could think of was to bite into the lime. It was probably a bad idea…since it made the pain more intense. Luckily, La Taqueria had jugs of water on the side!

Overall, the ingredients they used were good, but what we didn’t like the most was how messy it was to eat the tacos. The juices from the tacos keep running, so we would have to wrap the tacos in napkins to prevent the oil from getting on our phones or pants.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Tacos are small, very drippy
  • Staff is very nice and willing to help
  • Limited amounts of seats, hard for large groups

We rate La Taqueria:

Check out their website: www.lataqueria.ca

La Taqueria Taco Shop on Urbanspoon

It was another late night and M, InsecureGirl, FragileBoy and I were scrambling to find a place to eat after class. Tuesdays are double date night for us… and since class ends late…not that may places are open past 10pm.

One place which we wanted to go to was Nor Boo…M was excited because there is actually a restaurant in Korea called Nor Boo with the exact same logo. He wanted to see if it was the same as back home.

You can’t go to a Korean restaurant without some type of Soju. We ordered 2 bottles of lemon soju ($9.95). The soju cocktails taste so much better than plain soju. It’s nice an fizzy and doesn’t taste like alcohol. It’s made out of lemon juice, soju and sprite.

Rabokki ( Hot and Spicy sauce on ramen noodles and rice cake).

Egg roll..as it states on the menu. I think what they tried to say was omelet. I know… it still does not look like an omelet, you are thinking it’s a salad. Well, buried deep inside this mixture of cabbage, mayo and ketchup lays an omelet inside. This was a bit bland and the egg didn’t have much taste.

Bi Bim Bap (Stone Rice)

M got the Pork Cutlet Katsu, he thought it was good and he kept saying how it’s been a while since he had pork cutlet before. Compared to the other dishes, it has a nicer presentation.

I got the Dumpling soup, which has a very awful appearance.  It took me a while to figure out what the weird things floating in the soup and it turned out it was just egg. There were about 10 dumplings,

In Nor Boo, you will see this strip of writing across the restaurant. Can you guess what it means? You are probably trying to make out a few symbols..but did you just realize that a few of those are chinese characters? Some are even Japanese. I kept pointing at this and asking M what it meant…but I guess it was one of those moments where he thought I was slightly stupid.

The food is reasonably priced and has way more selection that some other korean restaurants. One thing that sucked was the service, it was has to get refills of tea…our drinks did not come…when asked for our drinks..they came way way later. The presentation of their dishes could have been a bit nicer. The food was pretty average. Usually most Korean restaurants give free side dishes of kimchi, sweet potatoes, and other dishes…but today they didn’t give us any.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Closing hours do vary depending on how many customers are there that night. If you plan to go here in the night, call ahead of time to see when their last order and when they close
  • Large variety in menu
  • Service is bad!

We rate Nor Boo :

They are located at:

1536 Robson St
Vancouver, BC V6G

Nor Boo Korean on Urbanspoon

Kimono Koi Crepes is not hard to find at all. It is the bright pink street cart located outside of City Centre Skytrain. They serve up savory and sweet crepes.

Here is their menu separated by cold, savory, and sweet. The prices range from $5 – $6.75.

Look at them make crepes.

I ordered the strawberry delight ($5.75), which is categorized as a sweet crepe. It contains strawberry, nutella, strawberry syrup, whipped cream and almond flakes. The presentation of the crepe was well executed and looked m.ore appealing than the other crepe places. It was kinda hard to eat without some of the whipped cream ending up on my face. Since I didn’t have a mirror with me, I had to reply on the reflections of buildings to make sure I didn’t end up sporting a whipped creme mustache for Movember.

The almond flakes really worked well for this crepe. I didn’t really think much of it, but as I kept eating, I wanted more of the almond flakes. It added more texture to the crepe.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Follow the on twitter @kimonokoicrepes if there are changes to menu or times
  • You can’t go wrong with a sweet crepe

We rate Kimono Koi Crepes:

Check out their website: http://www.kimonokoicrepes.com/

Kimono Koi Crepes on Urbanspoon

Fresh Local Wild is a new food cart that opened up a few months ago in Downtown on Granville and Robson. I am a big fan of seafood and if it is Ocean Wise, that is a big plus! Their name basically sums up the types of seafood that they serve….fresh….local…and wild.

The men of Fresh Local Wild are really amazing guys and very approachable. Since it was raining, I didn’t want to walk elsewhere to eat, so I stood there like a loner eating, but these guys were very talkative and kept me company!

Their menu is simple and has the freshest and sustainable ingredients in their menu items. The items are quite expensive, but that the price you pay for sustainable ingredients…it doesn’t come cheap.

I ordered the Fried Oyster Po Boy ($10) sandwich with a soda ($2) and poutine ($3). They have a small selection of soda at the store, Lemon Lime and another flavour that changes daily. I decided to have the Lemon Lime soda and it was very flavorful and reminded me of sprite but with more lime flavour. This is something you should try.

The fried oyster Po Boy was very fresh and the oysters had so much flavour! One thing I really didn’t like about the sandwich was how it fell apart very easily. The tartar sauce and coleslaw filling inside was spewing out every time I took a bite. Maybe next time they should have less sauce. I really really enjoyed the taste of the fried oysters…perhaps one day they will make skewers of fried oysters (drools…)

The Quadra Isle Chanterelle Mushroom Poutine was overall pretty well executed. The fries were firm and slightly crunchy. Topped off with the Chanterelle mushrooms, cheese, green onions, and gravy.

To get customers to leave a mark at Fresh Local Wild, they have several markers for you to draw all over their cart. I was looking around for a spot to leave my mark and I found fellow blogger and SFU alumni Nicolb! It seemed right to leave my mark beside hers.

My experience at Fresh Local Wild was positive. After looking at a few other blogs, there seems to be a few negative reviews when they first started up their business.  It seems like Josh, Andy and their crew have made improvements to their menu to keep their customers satisfied. It can only get better from here.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Follow them on twitter @freshlocalwild to see if their hours change
  • If you are an oyster lover like myself, get the Fried Oyster Po Boy
  • Don’t forget to chat with the guys because they are super friendly

We rate Fresh Local Wild:

Check out their website: http://www.freshlocalwild.com/


Fresh Local Wild on Urbanspoon

After hearing a lot of buzz about Santouka Ramen on Robson, it was time to see why everyone loves this place. M, InsecureGirl, FragileBoy and I were heading Downtown anyways…so we decided to go here.

We were really bummed about the line up, but looking at their display case and gossiping made the time go by fast. I am sure everyone who goes to this place has the “line up” problem. Surprisingly, it only took about 10 – 15 mins to get a table since they have a fast turnover rate. One bad thing is that if you are super hungry, the images of the display will make you more hungry.

The inside of the restaurant is not that large, but you get a really nice view of the kitchen. If you ever wonder how they make ramen, the mystery is now over!

This is their menu, they have different types of ramen with different options, but it still not as diverse as the other ramen places a few blocks away.

We started off with Asahi beers ($5.25) and I thought it was funny how it was served in a Sapporo glass.

M had the Karamiso Cha Shu Ramen ($10.95) and the Ikura Gohan ($5.45). The broth of the Karamiso Cha Shu is made of pork broth, hot spices and miso. It came with double amount of Cha Shu, which M loves! The other ingredients inside were noodles, bamboo shoots, jelly ears, and green onions. M thought it was good, but it could have been more spicy. The Ikura gohan has Ikura (Salmon roe), which are like little balloons filled with a salty mixture. When you eat the Ikura with rice, it complements nicely to dull down the salty taste of ikura.

M and I shared the Chef Special Gyoza. For $5, I found this expensive for 5 pieces of dumplings. He was so excited that when I took the picture he just had to reach for a gyoza with his chopsticks. Overall, the gyozas were good, nice and crispy on the outside and nice and juicy meat on the inside.

I had the Toroniku Ramen ($12.95), which is their signature ramen and the toppings served separately. Toroniku Cha-shu is simmered pork cheek meat. According to their website, pork cheek meat is very rare and only 200-300g can be taken from each pig. It has a very rich flavour and it is tender like fatty tuna. It was really good and I liked their thin noodles because that meant you could taste the flavour of the broth!

InsecureGirl and FragileBoy got combos ($11.90)….both of them were shoyu ramen and came with a gohan. She got the grilled salmon gohan and he got the Ikura Gohan.

On the plus side, your spoon will never fall into the bowl! Good invention…I wonder where they got it.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Long line ups, wear a jacket or go really early or really late in the evening
  • Having the comfort of knowing your spoon will never fall into the soup
  • Hard to find parking, mostly street parking.
  • Small portions
  • Cash and Debit ( No credit cards)

The overall experience at Santouka Ramen was pretty good….and expensive. This whole meal totaled about $90 after tax and tip. The quality of their ingredients is good, but you may not get full on the size of the dish. This place does beat other ramen places like Benkei Ramen, Kawawa Ramen….but can never beat Kintaro Ramen on Denman.

We rate Santouka Ramen:

Check out their website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka on Urbanspoon

Cafe Kaldi is located in Coquitlam a few blocks away from Ikea. I am a big fan of privately owned cafes compared to large chains such as Starbucks. They pride themselves for having sandwiches and drinks made out the the freshest ingredients rather than just heating things up.

Inside Cafe Kaldi are nice big lounge chairs, which are great for meetings or a nice get together. Free wireless is a plus as well! The staff are really nice and are willing to take critiques from customers to make sure their future visits are enjoyable.

I got a latte as usual! You can’t take me away from my lattes! The latte has a strong bold flavour which I love. I totally needed one today after a long stressful day at school. Latte art is always a plus.

They also have amazing english muffins! I know my photos don’t do it justice, but they are very simple and well made. I can’t remember what this version was called, but it had brie, egg, and this amazing hot sauce! Brie is just amazing FYI. This was only $3.75 and makes are a great snack.

We rate Cafe Kaldi:

Fid them at:

Coquitlam
930 Brunette Avenue
Coquitlam, BC V3K

Cafe Kaldi on Urbanspoon

Bon Crepe is located outside Konbinya Japanese convenience store on Robson Street. Before work, I was scouring Downtown for some good and quick food. SInce most street carts close before 5pm, I needed to find something fast and filling to get me through 3 hours of work. TaiwaneseGirl always tells me to go to Bon Crepe for amazing crepes. Since I was in a hungry snack mode, I got a savory crepe rather than a sweet one.

I settled on the tuna corn salad crepe ($3.53). What is different about their crepes compared to other places are the texture of the crepe skin. It was soft and chewy unlike places such as Cafe Crepe. It was the perfect size for a snack! As for the ingredients they used, I really wish they used fresh ingredients….tuna was canned…corn was canned…

The crepes are reasonably priced and I would go here again to try their sweet crepes, but maybe not their savory crepes.

Words of Wisdom:

  • No seats, more like grab and go
  • Some ingredients are not fresh, so choose which crepes your get wisely
  • I heard the sweet crepes were better than their savory ones

We rate Bon Crepe:

Bon Crepe on Urbanspoon

The Eatery features a twist on the traditional japanese food. All their rolls are super creative and features rolls you probably have never heard of. Try eating a Captain Crunch roll, or and Ichi Roll. You have probably heard of the traditional Alaska rolls or california roll, but why try that when there are so many types of rolls.

Looking at the inside of the restaurant, there are so many items hanging off the walls to glance and stare.  The inner decor is very hip and funky. Located a few minutes away from the UBC campus, it is a perfect place to have a date or a nice hangout and try some unique rolls. After the Advanced Screening of Due Date, FratBoy, JojoCake, Canuckgirl, M, Bebe Yeoville, KoreanGirl, BigBaby, DJMikxter, and MathBoy headed over to The Eatery.

At each table, there are candles stuck into beer bottles. The Eatery is very dark and are lit by candles and red lights.  I was tempted several times to drink the candle.

I had the virgin mango margarita ($4.95), it was very sweet and not what I expected. Very concentrated and strong.

I ordered the Jalapeno popper roll ($6.75) and the Italian Stallion roll ($5.95). The Jalapeno popper has smoked salmon, jalapeno, cream cheese, and deep fried with a tempura batter. It was alright, but it did not have the Jalapeno popper feel to it.  The italian Stallion has prosciutto, papaya, eel and cream cheese, with hot pesto sauce. This roll tasted really nice and the papaya is a real surprise when you eat it.

M, CanuckGirl, and DJMikxter had the CHICKEN KATSU CURRY ($11.95) which is breaded deep fried chicken on rice. You can have a choice of mild, medium, or hot curry. The Katsu was very meaty and breaded nicely. M said he would have it again.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Sunomono is really poor quality compared to other japanese restaurants
  • Have daily specials for different days of the week
  • Good Curries
  • Some rolls are of poor quality
  • Good athmosphere

I do like the concept of The Eatery, but the execution of some of their rolls are of low quality. Maybe I am not use to the flavours since I’m a huge fan of traditional japanese food and flavours. If you go here, I think you are paying more for the atmosphere more than the food.

We rate The Eatery:

Check out their website: www.theeatery.ca

The Eatery on Urbanspoon

Little Billys Steak House is a gem that is hidden in North Burnaby near SFU. They specialize in steaks, seafood and traditional greek dishes.

One thing I really don’t like about this place is the very very cramped entrance to the restaurant. When you are with a group of 6 waiting for your table to be set up, you are literally standing next to the person seated at the bar. I took this shot from the back of the restaurant.

To start off a nice meal, I decided to try Becks beer ($5.75) and my grandfather got a Heineken ($5.75). Both beers were good, I wish they would fill it up closer to the top of the glass. I probably got 1/5th less.

My little sister got a shirley temple. It’s grenadine, 7 up, OJ and some cherries. Very delicious and great for kids. It’s not on the menu, but they can practically make anything.

Depending on what you order, they will give you a green salad with balsamic vingar or a greek salad. They both taste really good and fresh. You won’t be disappointed with either. These come included in your meal, just read the menu and it should say which one is included.

My grandfather ordered the Lamb Chops ($24). It had about 5 or 6 lamb chops with vegetables, rice, tzatziki , and potato. The lamb chop was very soft a tender and not tough at all.

My mother had the Halibut ($25). It is a pan seared halibut fillet with a Greek style lemon butter sauce. It also came with vegetables and potato. $25 for this was quite expensive but my mother seemed to like it.

My dad had the 9oz Beef Tenderloin ($30), it comes with vegetables, and your choice of either a baked potato, mashed potatoes or fries. He chose the baked potato, which you could add on sour cream, chives and bacon. It was delicious and cooked right at medium. My little sister even stole a few bites off his plate.

WorkingGirl has had the Paidakia Ribs ($24) a few times and this time, the quality has gone down. They use to be very plump and large. This time, it looked very small and thin like a starving animal. It also comes with potato, rice, tzatziki and grilled vegetables. She really hated the potato since it was very lemony and not potato-like. I guess its the greek way of making potatoes.

I got the roast lamb ($21). It is a marinated lamb shoulder baked in a special mustard sauce. It was very tender, and the meat fell off the bones nicely. I know the picture looks very ugly, but it was delicious. In contrast to WorkingGIrl, I did like the potato since it was not bland and boring like regular potatoes.

My little sister had the gorgonzola Mac and Cheese. They were very accommodating when making her meal. My little sister doesn’t eat a lot, so they can do half orders of most items on their menu. She loves Mac and Cheese, so she chose this option. But, the waiter suggested different types of cheeses since gorgonzola is a type of pungent mouldy cheese. In the end, we got Cheddar/Mozzarella Mac & Cheese (Half order), which came out to be $7. The noodles of the mac and cheese are not the usual tube shapes, they are curly!!

At the end of the meal, they give everyone mint chocolates. I love these more than mints or mints with chocolate in the middle.

After tax and tip, this whole meal came to about $170.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Amazing servers that are helpful
  • Make reservations to avoid waits
  • Meals can be customizable and have half orders
  • Expensive for dinner time

We rate Little Billys Steak House:

Check out their website: http://www.littlebillys.com/

Little Billy's Steak House on Urbanspoon