Three Beakers Archives - Page 55 of 63

In Downtown

Aladdins Shawerma Cafe: Decent Shawerma

June 26, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Aladdin’s Shawerma Cafe:

Address:

720 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

In Brunch

5 Spot: Long Line for Breakfast

June 19, 2011

During the last long weekend, KoreanGirl, TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I headed down back to Seattle for a day. We wanted to try some more jaw dropping restaurants as well as to get a little bit of shopping done.

Our first stop was at 5 Spot Restaurant. We arrived about 2 hours too early since I really gunned it down the highway at 160 km. Since there was no one on the roads and nothing was open, we just slept in the parking lot till it opened.

10 minutes before they opened, we started seeing a lot of people starting to line up, so we got out of the car and joined these early birds.

Soon enough, the restaurant was packed. We were super excited because we didn’t know what to expect.

Here’s a look at their menu.

The water even came in jars!

I started off with Green Tea ($2.50) since I need caffeine in the morning.

TaiwasneseGirl had the Herbacious omelette ($8.75). It has fresh chopped herb omelette hash browns and toast. She found the omelette to be average and nothing too special. She did like the hashbrowns. Extra crispy just the way she likes it.

CanuckGirl ordered the Breakfast Special ($10.25). It has some scrambled eggs with hashbrown and toast. There was something in the scrambled eggs but I don’t really remember what it was. She did like it and had no complains.

I ordered the K-Bob’s Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs ($10.75). Tenderized steak double dredged and fried. It comes with 2 eggs with potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit. I really did not like this dish. Since the steak is double dredged, you get more breading compared to the meat. It just ended tasting like fried flour with salt and pepper.

I loved the potatoes that came with it!

Porkopolis Rumble ($9.75) has scrambled eggs with house-cured pork belly, caramelized onions, thyme and cheddar. It is also served with potatoes and toast. KoreanGirl was not very impressed. The menu description sounded pretty good, but she really did not like it very much.

Overall, it was just ok food. I don’t think we really found this breakfast very unique. Just ok. Perhaps their lunch is better.

Words of Wisdom:

Free street parking in the front
Go early or wait in line
Decent portion sizes for price

We Rate 5 Spot:

Address:

1502 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA

Website:
www.chowfoods.com/five/index.aspx

In Chinese

East Fusion Food: “Design Your Own Combo” Lunch

June 19, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We rate East Fusion Food:

Address:

88 West Pender St.
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Cham Mani: Good Quick Lunch Combos

June 15, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Cham Mani:

Address:

529 West Pender St
Vancouver, BC

In Bubble Tea

Big Orange: Fresh Fruit BBT at Metro

June 14, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Big Orange:

Address:

4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.bigorange.ca

In Coquitlam

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta: 2 for 1 Pasta

June 9, 2011

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

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

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

Here are shots of their menu.

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

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

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

CanuckGirl got the cream version of this.

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Jimoco:

Address:

1046 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

In Three Beakers

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

June 5, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

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

We Rate Glowbal:

Address:

1079 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.glowbalgrill.com

In Chinese

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

June 3, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We also go fortune cookies!

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

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Free parking on adjacent roads
Good for large groups

We Rate Mr. Ho’s Wonton House:

Address:

6731 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.mrhowontonhouse.com

In Downtown

Gorilla Food: For Vegans + Gluten-Free Foods

June 2, 2011

I am slowly running out of places for lunch near my work area, but then I found this little place – Gorilla Food. They are a restaurant serving vegetarian and organic food. I thought their entire look of their store seemed super cool, so I decided to take my coworker here.

Walking inside, it felt more like a jungle than a restaurant. I have probably passed by this place a few times and it seemed quite popular. Their menu was so foreign to us. We really had no idea what to choose! If you are a meat eater, you probably do not want to step into this place since it’s ALL VEGGIE.

My coworker started with the Main Street Monkey Sandwich ($7.75). Inside this sandwich are avocados, zucchini type of hummus, olive tapenade, sprouts, tomato slices and cucumber in veggie flax bread. She found this to be quite interesting and very earthy. I don’t think she was super keen on the veggie flax bread.

I ordered the GO Veggie Burger ($8). It is made of 2 veggie burger patties, guacamole, tomatoes, cucumber, veggies, and a ginger tomato ketchup sauce served between two lettuce leaves. It’s so cool when a burger is served with lettuce instead of bread. It’s not a new thing, but it’s always fun.

The burger was quite small; it was probably slightly bigger than my fist. If you look at the picture carefully, you can guesstimate the size. It tasted alright, but was not my type of food.

I also ordered the Strawberry Zing Smoothie ($6). It has strawberries, bananas, orange juice, hemp seeds, and ginger. Yes…it had hemp seeds. I did not even go into a psychedelic state or anything crazy like that. The dominant taste was of the strawberries and orange juice. It tasted pretty good. Apparently, it ‘s their most popular smoothie. It’s quite big, so you will get pretty full from a burger and smoothie.

Words of Wisdom:

Cash Only
Great for Vegans or people with gluten allergies
Under $10

We Rate Gorilla Food:

Address:

436 Richards St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.gorillafood.com

In Cafe

WE. Coffee: Waffles + Dessert

June 1, 2011

WE Coffee opened up a few months ago and I have always wanted to try it out. I love waffles, so I am always on the look out!

It doesn’t look like there is a lot of seats inside when you first walk in, but you just need to walk further in and you can find seats for up to 6 or 8 people.

Their menu has coffee, tea, sandwiches, and desserts.

I ordered the London Fog (Medium – $3.59). It’s not on the menu, but I just asked if they could make it and they did! It tasted like a normal London fog, but on two occasions I found it to be very inconsistent. The first time I had it, I uncovered a huge tea bag underneath the foam…then the second time there was no tea bag inside. Not a bad thing at all, but I thought it was interesting.

The Al’ Opera Special Blend Tea ($5.99) is a special type of green tea but enhanced with red berries and spices. The tea was ok, but it was quite steep in price (no pun intended :P) at $6 a pot. You really need to be a tea expert to really appreciate it.

One cool thing about their teapot is that there is a metal shield that covers the pot. Not really sure what it’s purpose but we assume it was either to prevent the lid from falling off or to give the pot a sleek look.

KoreanGirl ordered the Iced Americano (Large -$2.75). It looks super cool and tall!

KoreanGirl ordered the one topping Waffle Sandwich with strawberry ice cream ($5.29). This was not very impressive at all. This was hardly a sandwich at all. Nothing sandwiched in the middle. Not worth the price.

I ordered the Strawberry Trifle ($7.99) and it had custard, cake, strawberries, whipped cream and almonds on top. The image on the menu was slightly misleading since there are no Pocky sticks in it. It still tasted pretty good.

CanuckGirl ordered the Waffle with Banana and Ice cream (Half-$6.99). It comes with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, custard, 3 pieces of banana, 2 quarters of a waffle and whipped cream. She thought it was alright but yet its not super impressive for the price.

I came back on another occasion and ate some more. This time, I ordered the Brownie and Ice Cream ($7.99). This looked so delicious! It is a very rich brownie with walnuts inside. It has vanilla ice cream on top and it topped with chocolate sauce, caramel, almonds and a few blueberries.

The brownie was very very good! One of the better brownies I have had.

AuditGirl and Eevaa both ordered the Strawberries and ice cream (Half- $7.99). It has the 2 quarters of a waffle, fresh cut strawberries. Custard and strawberry ice cream. They both thought that it was just average and yet again nothing special.

Overall, both groups that I came here with said it was just ok and nothing special. The items are a bit overpriced for what you get. Hands down, Michi Waffle house is still better. Even though this is so…I would still return just to chill and grab a coffee.

Words of Wisdom:

Strawberry Trifle and Brownie
A bit overpriced
Everyone must order an item
Free wifi

We Rate WE. Coffee:

Address:

1696 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.wecoffee.ca

In Hastings-Sunrise

Bao Chau: Good Pho & Meh Spring Rolls

May 29, 2011

ConsultingGirl was craving for some pho, but wanted to avoid a few of the horrible places in Burnaby, so we drove a bit further to go to Bao Chau. Since it was another game day, everyone was out Downtown or glued to their screen at home. This is my favorite time to head out since there are no lines and the restaurants are empty.

This place was indeed empty. Only a few tables were occupied. The decor is quite dated, so don’t expect too much from their interior.

I started with the Bao Chau House Special Beef Noodle (Smaill – $6.50). I chose this because it has a little bit of everything. Tendon, tripe, beef balls, and other slices of beef. This is one of the better pho I have had. The broth is quite clear and it’s not too murky.

ConsultingGirl had the Pho Tai Bo Vien – Rare Beef and Beef balls noodle (Small – $6.00). The beef is indeed rare and you can tell when it arrives at the table. What people usually do is to let it sit in their hot soup so it cooks.

The sides of basil and bean sprout were very fresh and it did not look like it was reused or old. I am very picky when it comes to these things because some pho places do like to reuse old customers bean sprouts and basil. This scares me.

We also ordered the 2 Spring Rolls ($3.50). The spring rolls have vermicelli, carrots, a bit of beef and mushrooms. We found the spring rolls to be a bit under cooked. The outside was nice and crunchy, but the inside was a bit doughy. The wrapping was a bit different from other spring rolls and also it is sprinkled with salt and pepper on the outside.

We thought this would be the best spring rolls, but it fell a bit short. In the past, these were spot on, but I guess the quality isn’t too consistant.

Overall, we did like the pho, but spring rolls were a bit of a disappointment.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in rear
Under $10
Any of the pho with rare beef tastes pretty good

We Rate Bao Chau:

Address:

2717 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

In Pub/Bar

The Diamond: Drinks and Appetizers

May 27, 2011

Flo has always wanted to try out The Diamond, but they were always too full. We were having a little SFU get together and when she asked if they had space. Flo jumped at the chance to go.

The Diamond is located on Powell on Carrall, but it’s on the 2^nd floor, so be sure to look out for the sign and the stairs to enter. They are more of a drinking lounge rather than straight up eating. It’s the place to go after work to kick back with a few drinks and a little bit of food.

For the FourSquare users, do check-in because you will find some tips so hilarious. The first tip that popped up was from someone I knew at SFU and he basically said to never go to this place…we were already here so, it’s wasn’t like we were gonna get up and leave. Good thing I am not a good listener because I did enjoy the Diamond.

Their food menu is not very extensive and really will not fill you up. I find this place best to have your pre-dinner meal and then head off somewhere else if you are hungry. For example, after this, we headed to the night market to eat again.

Since HikingMan doesn’t drink beer and Flo wanted a virgin cocktail, someone had to drink right? I got the Asahi Super Dry Lager ($6). What can I say? I really love Japanese Beer. Some say local beer is good, but I have a secret love affair with Japanese, German and Austrian Beer. Perhaps one day I will go in-depth about this.

Flo started off with the Tuna Tartare ($13). There is a block of tuna and avocado cream drizzled with ginger sake dressing and a side of tomato chili Jam. You also get 4 wonton crisps to eat the tartare with. This is one of their more expensive dishes, but it has a lot of great flavours combining together.

Flo then got the gyoza ($7) since FourSquare kept telling her it was one of their best dishes. Inside the gyozas are pork, mushrooms and cabbage. The sauce that the gyozas come in smells so good! It is a mixture of soy, mirin and sesame oil. Even thought this dish is under the “Bigger” category, it really was not that big.

I ordered the Rock Cod Sub ($12). Inside the sub is rock cod with Morrocon spice rub, greens, cucumbers, hint of lemon, tomatoes and a nice Japanese Mayo sauce. The sub was pressed in a Panini presser, but the sub was still nice and chewable. Yet again, it did have nice flavours, which I was surprised. The sub does drip a bit when you eat it, so make sure you don’t eat it too close to you or else you might stain your new clothes.

HikingMan ordered the BBQ Short Rib Sandwich ($12) and he really thought the tender beef was spot on. Basically if you order, the sub, you can’t go wrong.

Overall, great drinking place, go small eats, but this is not the place to have a full dinner.

Words of Wisdom:

Best to go here for light food and drinks
Gets full at night

We Rate The Diamond:

Address:

6 Powell St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.di6mond.com

In Cafe

Higher Grounds: Tea & Coffee Place

May 26, 2011

I’m usually pressed for time when I move from the SFU Burnaby Campus to the SFU Harbour Center Campus. Time does not really permit me to have a big snack or even a lunch when there is 1 hour between class and the bus ride can take about 45 mins.

I was really dead and tired one day, so I decided to quickly go to Higher Grounds for some tea and a small little something. Their prices are quite reasonable and won’t break the bank compared to some other places. The Simon Fraser Student Society runs it and the money goes back into the school.

I ordered a soy London Fog and a chocolate cookie with white chocolate ($4.60). The London Fog was perfect, I find it so much better than Starbucks and way cheaper! It’s not too sweet or too bitter, but just right.

The cookie was also pretty darn good and hits the spot. Having the white chocolate chips inside made this cookies just melt in your mouth.

Overall, it’s my favorite place to go on campus for tea and a snack.

Words of Wisdom:

The food isn’t that good
Go for the drinks and pastries

We Rate Higher Grounds:

Address: Maggie Benson Centre
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC

In Dessert

Qoola: Do It Yourself Frozen Yogurt

May 24, 2011

I was just at Metrotown and I had a little sweet tooth craving. I really didn’t want anything unhealthy or anything super sweet and chocolately. As I strolled around, I decided to go to Qoola. They have ‘do it yourself’ frozen yogurt, so I could get as little or as much as I wanted.

Qoola is located near the Skytrain entrance to the Mall. You can’t miss it. Everything is self serve, so you just go around first by grabbing a cup and fill it up with your flavours of frozen yogurt.

Once you have that desired amount, you can begin the fun part by putting on all the toppings. You can choose from cereal, sprinkles, and all those other sweet toppings.

I love my fresh fruit, so I gravitated towards the counter with the containers of fresh fruit. I loaded on the Strawberries, kiwis and pineapples. I honestly find that is the best combination. It’s very fresh, simple and real.

This came to $4.15! Pretty good price and under $5. I got the plain frozen yogurt with a few scoops of strawberries, kiwi and mango. All the fruits were fresh and it did not seem like it was sitting there for a long time.

Overall, I like the ‘Do It Yourself’ concept. You can choose how much you want and you can choose your own combinations of toppings.

Words of Wisdom:

Steps from Metrotown Skytrain station
Under $5
Do it yourself

We Rate Qoola:

Address:

2250 4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Address:
www.qoola.com

In Bubble Tea

The One: Good Alternative to Bubble World

May 23, 2011

SkinnyBones was back in town after 1.5 years of exchange to Korea. Flo and I decided to meet up with her to catch up over some food near Kingsway.

Since The One on Kingsway looks super cool, we decided to check it out. They serve the usual type of Taiwanese food found in places like Bubble Word and Beef Noodle House.

The menu was fairly large and it took a while for us to see what we wanted. So, the waiter kept coming back to check up on us about 3 times, up to the point where they stopped approaching our table. Eventually we had to flag them down to take our order.

I ordered the Pineapple and Banana Milk ($6.75). The taste of the drink was really fresh and had a lot of banana inside. It was great but it was lacking one thing – pineapple. I tried really hard to distinguish the tastes from each other, but in the end I concluded that they left out the pineapple or just put in one small piece. I didn’t bother asking the waiter because it was still pretty good and I didn’t feel like complaining.

I ordered the Chicken nuggets with Noodle in Soup ($9.50). This meal is pretty huge and it comes to you to the table on the huge tray. The large bowl of noodles has the vegetables already cut up, which is good because you don’t have to be that weirdo at the table spending forever trying to chew through you vegetables. If you have kids, it’s a good dish to share with them.

The chicken nuggets live up to their expectations and were really good! The meat was nice and tender. The batter was quite light and enjoyable. It took me a while to figure out what was on top, and it was fried basil. It was a nice touch because all the nuggets that would be sitting under the basil left had a slight hint of basil to it.

SkinnyBones ordered the Beef Curry with Rice ($8.50). Since she just came back, she was not use to such large portions. You will probably get stuffed from this. You get your curry and the rice, and on top of that, you get 4 side dishes. These vary on every visit. She did like it but it was just way too big for her.

Overall, this is not a bad place to go. It’s a good alternative to the usual places near Kingsway like Bubble Word, Estea and Beef Noodle House. Don’t expect this place to be perfect either since service is a bit lacking.

Words of Wisdom:

Large portions
Under $10
Fried Chicken Nuggets!
Free parking in the front lot

We Rate The One:

Address:

5908 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
theonerestaurant.ca

In M's Food Court Corner

M’s Food Court Corner: Thai Express

May 22, 2011

Welcome to the first article of many of M’s Food Court Corner. I will be reviewing the different food court restaurants in Vancouver and the tri-city area specifically for young bachelor’s with no money like me! I won’t be going to the same chains in different food courts, but if you find a better than average chain at your favorite food court, be sure to let me know!

The first M’s Food Court Corner restaurant I reviewed is the recently opened Thai Express in Lougheed Mall. I also saw that there is a Thai Express in Surrey and it looks identical! I actually went to this Lougheed chain twice and will recount both times that I ate there.

To start off, Thai Express looks uber classy and modern! I love their brand and the black and green. It definitely is more appealing and attractive than any other Food Court restaurant. I ordered the General Curry with Red Sauce the first time and the Green sauce the second. Anything that starts with General in Thai Curry refers to the deep fried chicken bits that they add to the dish. I have to say General chicken is delicious and fits very well with any of the curries.

They have 3 types of curry sauces to choose from: Red, Yellow, and Green. Red is the spiciest and has a special ingredient – bamboo! Yellow is medium spiciness while Green is the mildest of them all with a special ingredient – eggplant. When I first had Thai Express my Korean side screamed for hellfire, and thus I chose the Red sauce curry ($7.58) thinking I would becoming a raging fire breathing dragon. Alas, it was not that spicy. So mild in fact, adding sriracha sauce would’ve made it meh.

The green sauce General Curry ($7.58) was actually more flavorful because it wasn’t trying to be spicy. I’m no fan of eggplant, but it worked in the Green sauce curry. The bamboo in the red sauce was bland. Both curry dishes comes with a nice helping of delicious white rice and I had no problem balancing out the rice with the curry.

I didn’t get the spring roll the first time around, but apparently they come together if you “combo” it up with a drink and your selection of entrée. The eggroll did not look good and tasted like a badly made grocery store bought one. It was weird it was put in a paper bag like some bread.

The price was normal for this sort of food from a food court. I recommend getting the Pepsi ($1.88) to balance out the curry.

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Awesome branding and look. It’s cool to watch the chefs make your curry in a flash of fire in front of you while you wait.
I recommend trying it once. It is sort of pricey for Thai, but you pay for the uniqueness.
Pass on the Spring Roll.

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

Thai Express Locations:

Park Royal
Central City
Richmond Centre
Lougheed Mall
Pacific Center

Website:

www.thaiexpress.ca

In BBQ

Hog Shack: Burnt Ends Adventure

May 22, 2011

One day, I was in class and I get a message on Twitter from @Kathygko about an EatUp at Hogshack. She heard they had the burnt ends available, so she grouped a bunch of people together to chowdown on the tasty treat.

I’ve always wanted to go to Hogshack but the drive down to Steveston is always so daunting. It’s 1 hour away from where I live, so it’s always unappealing. Since I knew I would be in great company for the famous burnt ends, I really couldn’t say no to the opportunity. Plus, it was a very nice sunny day! I took M with me after class at SFU and we headed all the way down there. Since I am foreign with Richmond Highways and roads…we did indeed get lost twice. There was even one point where we started heading back to New Westminster. (In my defense, highways are tricky).

Eventually we made our way to Steveston, wow! Honestly, I never knew this place existed since last year. I am a horrible Vancouver-ite. Hogshack is located in Steveston with lots of other amazing restaurants around it as well.

We had the Burnt Ends with 2 sides ($15.95). Burnt ends do not sound very appealing at all, but are ok tasting. Burnt ends are the fatty meat parts of rib ends. They have a nice smokey taste to the burnt ends. A few sides you can have with the dish are coleslaw, mashed potatoes, yam fries, baked beans, Spanish rice pilaf, vegetables, potato wedges, fries and corn bread. I was in a healthy-ish mood, so I got the Spanish Rice Pilaf and the vegetables. M on the other hand got yam fries and the rice pilaf. I didn’t particularly like the sides, they were quite bland and could have used a bit more salt.

The first few bites of the Burnt Ends were really good! Nice tender and fatty! Mmmm! After a while, I noticed some pieces were not as tender as others and the BBQ sauce was a bit overwhelming. I don’t think I am a BBQ person. Heck, I don’t even like BBQ chips. The whole sweet and salty tastes don’t work well with me. That’s just my personal taste, so don’t disregard this as a bad dish at all. After a bit of discussion, some of use actually prefer the BBQ at Memphis Blues over Hog Shack.

Evie and Jen were the latecomers, so they ordered something different since they were not too hungry. They had the Pulled pork sandwich ($12), which has pulled pork, coleslaw, BBQ sauce in a nice bun. On the side, they had the poutine. It has hand cut fries, gravy and curds. They both said theses were really good.

(L to R): @jamtjr , @makukiko, @foodologyca, @kathygko, @VVLao and @jen_chu7 .

With all this food, we were indeed in good company! We had lots of laughs and crazy discussions. Thanks Kathy for organizing!

Overall, I found that the burnt ends were ok, but not super amazing or anything. One thing I want to do is try their Flatliner Challenge. Perhaps next time I will try this out. If anyone else wants to do the challenge too, please let me know and we can be gross together!

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking on streets, or pay near the parking lot
Flatliner Challenge, eat in under 5min and its free
Burnt Ends

We Rate Hog Shack :

Address:

160-3900 Bayview Street
Richmond, BC

Website:
www.hogshack.ca

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Belgian Fries: Poutine, Poutine, Chili Dog

May 19, 2011

M and I were getting a bit hungry, so we decided to try Belgium Fries. I have heard a lot about their popular poutines. I’ve never been to Montreal, so I’ve never been close to real authentic poutine.

We lined up at the counter to order, but it took us a while because there were so many options. There was so much that we just decided to share 2 medium poutines and a chili dog.

We started with the Montreal Smoked Meat Poutine (M- $8.60). This had a huge bed of fries topped with cheese curds, Montreal Smoked Meat slices and gravy. This dish was plenty hot and looked so good. The Montreal smoked meat was very tender and quite delicious! The first few bites of the poutine were really good until it got really boring and quite salty. The fries eventually got fairly soggy and felt like a chore to eat.

Deluxe Poutine (M-$9.10) is similar to the other poutine but it has bacon, mushroom, onion, and red pepper instead. This was M’s favorite, but he did feel the same thing I did with the other poutine.

We both couldn’t finish it because the medium size was really big. I think it would have been best to share one medium between 2 people if you are not a large eater or you are watching your weight. Imagine how many calories are in that.

We also got a Chili Dog (~$4) out of curiosity. It also has lots of beans and corn inside. Nicely toasted bun and it tasted quite good. Not many problems with this item.

Overall, I found the poutine to be quite disappointing, but maybe it’s just my taste. I loved the meat and all the toppings, but the amount of limp fries and salty gravy made me feel obese. The poutine is a great item to share with friends, but you will not feel happy eating the whole thing by yourself.

Words of Wisdom: