Category

Two Beakers

Category

After looking at the bank accounts and bills, I thought it would be best to try to eat meals $15 and under. Since M and I were on Kingsway, we thought going to Congee Noodle King would be a good idea.

Congee Noodle King has lots of round tables that fit 8 people. The interior is bright and mostly large groups/families are here.

Looking at some of the plates and bowls, M was very turned off by the quality of it since the tops were chipped  and super scratched up.  In the picture, they look ok, but if you look closer you can see how you may be afraid to eat from them .

We started off with ordering cold milk tea. I really found this to be a bit on the sweet side. I would prefer getting my own little container of syrup to tweak the amount of sweetness.

M ordered the sweet and sour pork on rice. This sweet and sour pork was not very good at all. There was way too much coating around the pork that you could not really taste the pork. M is a huge sweet and sour pork fan, but Congee Noodle King did not do this dish justice.

You would probably get better Sweet and Sour Pork at Manchu Wok at a food court than at Congee King.

Since this restaurant is called Congee Noodle King, I just had to have the Congee. I ordered the diced fresh oyster and minced pork congee. It has green onions, coriander and salty peanuts. The congee tasted very good and had no complaints.

It was a good texture and it was not too runny or too thick.

Overall, I find some of the dishes here at Congee Noodle King a hit or a miss.

I usually go to Chinese restaurants speaking English just to see if they will treat me differently. Usually there is no problem with the service.

In this case the service was a bit lacking, I called for the bill but it never came (I asked for it in cantonese – “mai dan”) . She even acknowledged me, so I am sure she knew that I wanted the bill. I asked another waitress for the bill but I could hear them telling other staff to take care of it. Eventually the bill came but it took them a while to come back to get our change, so we went up to the counter so it would make the process a bit faster. M was already pissed off about the subpar Sweet and Sour Pork.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Limited parking in the rear
  • Park in residential areas
  • Can’t go wrong with congee or the fried items
  • Cash Only

We Rate Congee Noodle King:

Address:

3313 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
Congee Noodle King on Urbanspoon

Guess what happened? JojoCake’s parents left her all alone at home again… but this time she did have milk and bread at home. KoreanGirl and I were here to the rescue. Since last week, we wanted some Pho, so we went to Pho 99. Convenient and close to home.

The Pho 99 is located in Lougheed Plaza below Insadong. We were just looking for some pho to fill our cravings. Pho 99 usually is quite popular since a lot of people go there for dinner.

JojoCake did not understand why Pho 99 had the weirdest branding! What does Saturn have to do with Pho? KoreanGirl and I pondered this a well and we really couldn’t think of anything.

Jojocake remarked “This pho must be out of this world“. haha. Get it? Bad joke.

We got some fresh sprouts, basil and lemon. I am usually cautious when using these because there is a rumor where Pho restaurants like to reuse it from other customers who do not finish it.

Whats good about Pho 99 is that it at least looks decent and not wilted and about to decay. I can not confirm if they reuse garnishes.

JojoCake ordered the 74 – veggie marinated grilled lemon pork and spring rolls ($7.80). She had this at other Pho places before and at Pho 99, it was alright. No jaw dropping good or anything, jus decent.

KoreanGirl ordered the Large #7 – Noodle Soup with Round eye steak, well done flank and beef tripe ($7.15).

Delicious broth and decent quality of meat.

I ordered the Large #14 – Noodle Soup with Round eye steak, well done flank, fatty brisket, soft tendon and beef tripe ($7.15).

After digging around my bowl of pho, I couldn’t find the soft tendon. I thought they left it out, but it turns out they switched my order with KoreanGirls order. Both our pho’s have almost the same ingredients, so I guess it was easy to get our orders mixed up.

We didn’t complain because when KoreanGirl found the soft tendon, she just put it into my bowl. You know you’re good friends when you don’t fear their germs.

Overall, decent food, under par service, and decent price. Nothing extraordinary. Unlike their branding…we did not find them “out of this world”.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in lot, if full, park near Honey’s Bistro, they have additional parking for the plaza there
  • Service is not great, so you will need to stare at them or wave your arms
  • Under $10

We Rate Pho 99: 

Address:

#302 – 403 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.pho99vn.net
Pho 99 Vietnamese Noodle House (Lougheed Village) on Urbanspoon

M wanted to go to Crystal Mall to buy some cheap cables for his TV/computer monitor since his HDMI cord was malfunctioning.

Since we were both a bit hungry, we went to Libo Cafe at the Crystal Mall food court. We’ve been here many times and the food is decent and cheap.

Their lunch combo menu is quite straight forward. Choose an item labeled number 1 -9, and then you also get a free drink and soup!

M ordered combo #5, which is Ham, pork cutlet, egg with curry and rice ($7.25). He chose the russian Borscht and cold milk tea. The ham was very thinly sliced and nothing special. Its basically the ones that are from the grocery stores. The Egg was also normal. The pork cutlet had lot’s of bones. M doesn’t like bones… He HATES them! The Russian Borscht was the worst one M tasted. M’s favorite soup from Chinese places is the Russian Borscht, but this one tasted pretty bland and rather disgusting.

The only best thing about this meal was the curry! Libo curry sauce is incredibly spicy, but very delicious. So good, M wanted to by a bowl full to take home.

I ordered the black pepper sauce Chicken and beef steak with spaghetti ($7.25).

I thought the beef steak was cooked nicely since it was pink in the middle and not tough. The chicken steak was also good, slightly crispy on the inside and juicy in the middle. The black pepper sauce was very peppery and super strong. Decent sauce since I do like it super peppery. One thing I wished they had was more sauce since there was a lot of spaghetti.

On the side I got the potato bacon soup and lemon tea. Lemon tea was good as usual.

The Potato Bacon Soup was alright. It did have a potato texture to the soup and had real bacon bits in the soup. Decent but not my favorite soup from this place.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Under $10
  • Large menu

We Rate Libo Cafe: 

Address:

4500 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
Libo Cafe (Crystal Mall) on Urbanspoon

On a Sunday morning, the best thing to do is to have brunch! Since M and I were craving brunch, we decided to head off to Dennys. It’s close by and I really wanted to figure out which 24 hour place was better – Knight & Day or Dennys.

We went to the location near Lougheed Mall, it was pretty packed but if you only have 2 people, you will probably get a table right away.

M started off with a lemonade and I just got hot water.

M got the Meat Lovers Trio. It has the Golden country-fried steak smothered in savory country gravy with two sausage links, two crispy bacon strips and two eggs prepared in any way you want.

We liked the fried steak since it is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It’s not like a real steak but it tasted more like meatloaf.

It is also served with their hashbrowns. Their hashbrowns were good but we have noticed that they skimped out on the amount of hashbrowns. Very minimal amount of hasbrowns. That was the only downside of his meal.

I ordered the GrandSlamwich. It has two scrambled eggs, sausage, crispy bacon, shaved ham, mayonnaise and cheese on potato bread grilled with a maple spice spread. Served with crispy hash browns.

The sandwich was way smaller than I had it when it first was introduced. The sandwich tasted good, but they really skimped out on the ingredients…and also on the hashbrowns.

That was our Sunday brunch! Food quality was decent but we were really disappointed in the amount of food presented. At the end of the meal, our verdict was decided that we prefer Knight and Day over Dennys.

We rate Dennys:

Address:

500 Austin Ave
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.dennys.com/en/
Denny's (Coquitlam) on Urbanspoon

M was super lazy and super sick, so instead of going out to eat, we went to Yummy Web to order something delivered. Looking at the top 10 restaurants on their website, we decided to go with Tentatsu since I always see it passing Hastings.

We ordered through their online form fairly easily. We didn’t have to use a credit card, so you don’t get your information leaked. All you need to do is sign up for an account, choose a restaurant, pick your items, and confirm your order. The restaurant will call you to confirm you order and you are set!

Tentatsu delivered the food and it was very painless!

M ordered Shrimp Tempura ($6.95). More on this below.

M also ordered the Oyako Don ($4.95). This is also known as the “parent child donburi”. The reason for this is because it has both chicken and eggs. Get it? I thought thats super cute.

Tentatsu’s version of the oyako don has rice, breaded chicken, egg, caramelized onions, green onions and soy sauce.

M was super full from the tempura, so he only at 1/4th of it. He liked the dish but it was really filling and they do give you your moneys worth.

I had the Yokohama Combo ($12.95). This is a MASSIVE meal, it comes with Salmon, Tuna & Tai Sashimi, Tempura, California roll , Tuna roll & House Roll Sushi, Chicken Teriyaki & Salad.

I kept wondering why there were so many containers….container after container I was just amazed at how much food there was. It was enough for 2 people…but I ate it all by myself.

The miso soup had a lot of seaweed and tofu inside, so I was not disappointed. The sunomono was quite average, pretty similar to most other restaurants.

Then there was the assorted tempura, I think it had shrimp, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. The first few bites were delicious with the super crunchy batter, but as I kept eating, there was really too much batter. You taste more of the batter than the actually ingredient itself. M agreed since he also got stuffed from his tempura.

The tuna, salmon and tai sashimi… I was quite disappointed with. It really did not taste as fresh as it could be. It was really hard to eat for some reason.

The main portion of the Yokohama combo was also huge. The salad was just a regular green salad with citrus sauce on top, not bad. The tuna roll, california roll and house roll were decently made. The chicken teriyaki was also quite average.

There was really nothing too special about the quality and the taste. For $12.95 for that many dishes is a steal! Quality is decent but it is not over the top. Do keep in mind all of this is take out, so perhaps the quality is better when you eat in.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Great value for the price
  • Taste is average
  • Offers delivery and take out options

We Rate Tentatsu:

Address:

2430 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Tentatsu on Urbanspoon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Words of Wisdom:

  • Pricing is decent
  • Free parking in the back

We rate Tokyo John Sushi:

Address:

3349 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Tokyo John on Urbanspoon

We are returning to FatBurger a week since our last visit. I tried talking M out of coming here, but he really really wanted to try the rest of their menu.

We know they have been “voted” to have the best burgers…but during our last visit…it really was not the best. Instead of ordering burgers at FatBurger, we were here for the hot dogs!

We did our usual lining up at the counter and gave them our order. While waiting for our food to arrive, we got our bright yellow number, grabbed a booth, and also filled up our cups with pop.

M had the chili dog. He really wanted to try this since our last visit. He loved it on the chili cheese fries and wanted to taste it on a hot dog. What really disappointed him was how this chili dog did not have any cheese, just the meaty slop.

There were some good points to this, the hot dog was very moist and juicy. The bread was also good and lightly toasted.

M also got the nacho fries. The fries were ok, but not that great. The cheese added much value to the fries. Adding the Guacamole, and  sour cream made a great smush of flavors. Have to admit it looked disgusting, but tasted amazing!

I was feeling pretty full from a previous meal so I just got the onion rings. The onion rings are made fresh daily. The texture was light and crisp. One thing these onion rings are in dire need of is more salt…or at least more flavour. They really felt way too plain.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in front
  • Customizable burgers
  • Unlimited refills

We Rate FatBurger:

Address:
4461 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.fatburger.com


Fatburger (Burnaby) on Urbanspoon

 

During lunch I had no idea where to eat until I stumbled upon Urban Sushi on Dunsmiur street. I really had no idea what to expect. I saw that people were inside, so the food must be good on some level.

Walking in, I was very confused what to do. You must walk downstairs to get to the main dining area where you order your food.

They serve most of the usual Japanese food items such as bentos boxes, sushi, donburi, udon….etc.

All of the seats in the dining room was full during lunch time, so I ate upstairs near the entrance where there is additional seating.

I ordered the Sushi Bento Box ($10.25), which contains Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, 3 pieces of Sushi, Tempura, Fruit & Salad.

The salad was very simple, lettuce carrots and tomato. The Chicken teriyaki was decent, it was not spectacular nor was it bad.

The tempura had yams, prawns and zucchini. Lightly battered and then fried.  I really did not like the cuts of the sashimi and the nigiri felt a tad on the small side.

Overall, the food was decent. It’s just what you would expect from any other sushi place.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Take Out options
  • Online ordering

We Rate Urban Sushi: 

Address:

909 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.urbansushi.com

Urban Sushi (Dunsmuir) on Urbanspoon

Coming back from SFU, M is not always the best dressed when he finishes writing a long essay. I wanted to go to Cactus Club and he wanted to go to Boston Pizza. Again, I looked at him funny. He said he’s wearing sweats and doesn’t look the part to step into Cactus Club. I laughed at him and then we went to Boston Pizza.

Boston Pizza is a Canadian founded company from Alberta. It’s kinda funny since the name of the restaurant is Boston Pizza. You would think they would be American.

Boston Pizza has 2 areas to sit, in the dining area with booth style seating or in the bar area. The bar area is the best place to drink and watch the game.

Since it was Wednesday, they had a special on small pizzas for $10.99. There were lots of flavours to choose from and we chose the Pepperoni and mushroom pizza ($10.99).

The pizza was really good, crunchy crusts and ooey gooey toppings. M instantly became a fan. The crust is thin and not very doughy, so you won’t feel super bloated.

I was yet again trying to be healthy and ordered a greek salad ($10.99). It was a pretty bad greek salad, the leaves were cut way too large to fit into my mouth. There was too much feta cheese on top. The onion were also cut too big. When you bit into a piece of onion, all you could taste was the onion and the burning sensation.

I would never order this again.

M ordered the Boston Brute ($13.48). A deli style sandwich loaded with Genoa salami, pepperoni, smoked ham, pizza mozzarella, onion and pizza sauce. Baked on a French-style bun.

Instead of fries or a salad, he substituted with cactus cuts, which are thinly sliced potatoes that are deep fried and has a little bit of spicy kick to it.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Good pizza
  • Special deals everyday
  • free parking
  • Salads are horrible

We rate Boston Pizza:

Address:

4219 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.bostonpizza.com
Boston Pizza (Burnaby Brentwood) on Urbanspoon

BusanGirl was feeling super hungry, so we headed to Midam Rice Cake Cafe. I’ve never heard of this place because its hidden in Korean Town. It is mostly known to the Korean community.If you are not Korean, you should find a Korean person to help you order and suggest items for you to eat.

Any Korean restaurant that I go to, I always bring one of my Korean friends to help me…or else I would be so lost.

Midam Rice Cake Cafe is located right beside Han Nam Mart (NOT H Mart).

They specialize in food with Korean Rice Cakes. From desserts to main dishes.

The inside of this place is very comfortable and has a traditional Korean feel to it. The music of this cafe changes 3 times during the day. In the afternoon, they play traditional Korean music with Gayagum. Near 5pm, they play kpop and then at night it basically becomes a bar and has louder music.

Most tables fit 4 people and its a great place to study or have chats with friends. Not too many people know about this place so it’s really good to study at.

We got tea in this super cool looking cup.

This is comprised of ice, milk, peanut rice cake, red beans and vanilla ice cream. Imagine this as the Korean version of Chinese Shaved Ice.

The best way to eat this is to try to get a bit of everything on your spoon, or you could mix it all together.

My main thing that I wanted to do was drink tea, so I ordered kukwahcha (chrysanthemum) tea ($4.99). The chrysanthemum tea has a very strange taste to it but I really could not pin point what this flavour is.

The tea cups are SO cute, they are double layered so it keeps you tea hot for longer. The design prevents the loss of heat and lowers that rate.

BusanGirl ordered the Bulgogi vegetable in hot pot . The hot pot has a very nice savory broth. The quality of their bulgogi was very poor and you know it’s not the best quality.

The rice that comes with the hot pot is a mixture of wild rice and white rice, thus the light purple appearance.

BusanGirl’s meal also came with 3 side dishes – kimchi, pickled chives and black beans.

I found ordering here was super hard because the different types of desserts are not always available. I was so confused that I just let BusanGirl do all the ordering. Even though there is english on the menu, it is still very confusing. I still look back at the menu and I really have no idea how to navigate it.

Midam Rice Cake Cafe is the place to go when you want drink and snacks. There is really no pressure and you can basically spend hours here without being shooed away.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free Parking in the front
  • Servers may not be very fluent in english (best to bring a Korean friend)
  • Not all desserts are available…you must ask server
  • Most items under $10
  • Quality food is so-so

We Rate Midam Rice Cake Cafe: 

 

Address:

110-4501 North Road
Burnaby, BC
Midam Rice Cake House on Urbanspoon

I was trying really hard during my lunch time to find a new place to review. I was super stuck until I figured that Gastown was not too far of a walk. I decided to check out Momo Sushi since I’ve had mixed experiences there.

Momo Sushi serves the usual items you would find in a Japanese restaurant.

The first page of their menu, they had a much of their specials and box sets. Most of the items were under $10, so it seemed like a good option.

I ordered the Box Special A ($6.95). It was the cheapest special they had and it was not a bad set menu because it included sashimi. The set included 3 pieces of tuna sashimi, 3 pieces of salmon sashimi, 1 tuna nigiri, 1 salmon nigiri, 3 pieces of california roll, rice, salad, fruit and miso soup.

I also ordered the Chicken Karaage ( about $4/$5). There were 5 chicken wings on a bed of salad. I really did not like the taste of their karaage. It was sweet and it seemed like there was a bit of honey on the coating of  it. They also added some small bits of seaweed on top.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Cheap Bento boxes and lunch sets
  • Closest skytrain: Waterfront Skytrain

We Rate Momo Sushi:

Address:

375 Water Street, Unit 6
Vancouver, BC
MoMo Sushi on Urbanspoon

To fulfill M’s desire to go to FatBurger, we decided to go here to grab a quick dinner. Like usual, I gave the weird facial expression and decided to go with him.

The closest location to us was the Lougheed Hwy location near Brentwood Mall.

This is the only FatBurger I’ve ever been to, but I am pretty sure most of them look like this. You order up at the counter and pay. Then they give you a number and the meal is delivered to your table.

If you are just by yourself and dont want to feel too lonely there are counters where you can sit at. There are even little TVs to keep you entertained.

M ordered the FatBurger Meal with an extra egg and Chilli cheese fries ($13.27).

M liked the chilli cheese fries, it was a bit on the salty side, but he did like the cheese and the ooey gooeyness.

He didn’t really like the FatBurger, it wad hard to taste the meat, the egg was bland and this whole meal did not seem to be worth the price. He said he would rather go to Veras for burgers.

Since he did enjoy the chilli, he will be back to try their chilli dogs.

I ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger Meal ($12.49). I enjoyed my burger, the mushrooms were looked perfectly, so it was not a weird slimy texture. I overall found all the ingredients worked well together and nothing was wrong.

I really don’t like their fries, very bland and boring. Not crispy either.

This was the damage on the bill. Comparing FatBurger with the other burger joints in Vancouver…I still think Veras has better burgers than FatBurger.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in front
  • Customizable burgers
  • Unlimited refills

We Rate FatBurger:

Address:
4461 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.fatburger.com


Fatburger (Burnaby) on Urbanspoon

Visit #1 : Click here

It’s usually a late night and the friends like to go somewhere to chat and have some drinks.

They have lots of food and bubble tea drinks.

TaiwaneseGirl ordered Milk Tea with Pearls. It didn’t seem like they give much pearls with their drinks.

Koreangirl ordered the peach green tea. Yeah, no pearls means less carbs in your belly!

Yet again, I ordered Chrysanthemum Black Tea.  What I like about E. Tea is that they use real leaves to make this drink rather than just syrup. They used different cups this time. Some drinks are kinda misleading, since this drink has foam so it seems like you have more in your cup.

CanuckGirl ordered the Mango slush and M ordered the fresh mango slush. As you can tell there is such a large difference in color and appeal. CanuckGirl compared her mango drink to pineapples and was terrible. M’s drink did have more of the rich mango taste. They probably used frozen mangoes since I seriously doubt they are in season.

When selecting drinks here, it is worth is paying a few more bucks for the fresh options.

They have some super cool washroom signs. Only sexy girls and boys can enter the washrooms. And guys, if you think you want to peep into the girls washroom, you “will be slapped”.  You can really capture some hilarious photos with your friends!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Decent prices
  • Open late
  • Parking in front
  • Accepts Mastercards/Visa/Cash/Debt

We rate E. Tea: 


E. Tea is located on:

3281 East 22nd Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5M
E-Tea on Urbanspoon

NailPolishFanatic and I were at Lougheed Mall and were just walking around catching up and saw Jugo Juice, so we decided to get some instead of going to Starbucks for coffee. Trying to be healthy you know?

Jugo Juice has a new location in at Lougheed Mall. They have chains all over the Lower Mainland…and at almost every mall.

Don’t get this place confused with Booster Juice because I always make the same mistake. They sell very similar things – smoothies, juices and some snacks.

Like all the Jugo Juices, they have drinks with the most weirdest names like – Mango Magic, Berry Binge, Banana Buzz….etc…etc. You kinda get the idea what your drink will taste like assuming you can read their menu with their small font.

I ordered the Watermelon Wiggle, I thought it had a cool name that almost made me giggle. I really did not take a liking to the Watermelon Wiggle. Even though it does have Watermelon in it, the taste was very sweet and almost tasted like candy because of the nectar in the smoothie. I really don’t prefer drinks here because I never liked the taste of the smoothies I have gotten.

When I was watching them make it, they put in prepackaged frozen fruits, nectar and ice to make the drink.

NailPolishFanatic had the Mango Magic, it was way better than the watermelon wiggle but it was not the best tasting drink, but still decent. I think it was the nectar that made this drink more sweet than it needed to be.

Yes, Jugo Juice does have cool sounding drinks, but most of the flavours are hit and miss. Do you have a favorite? If you do, let me know so I can give them another chance. For the time being, I think I will stick with Booster Juice…or I can settle with Orange Julius.

We Rate Jugo Juice:

Address:

9855 Austin Rd. (upstairs mall)
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.jugojuice.com

Jugo Juice (Lougheed Mall) on Urbanspoon

This is what happens when you have night classes and are left with little choices of restaurants past 10pm. M, InsecureGirl and I headed over to Red Robins to grab a bite before more studying!

The closest Red Robins is located at Lougheed Mall Plaza. We’ve been here several times and its just regular food.

We all started off with the tower of onion rings. This is probably that one appetizer that everyone oogles at since it’s so tall. I just think it looks kinda pornographic. Anyways, the onion rings are pretty good, crunchy on the outside and savory onion in the center. It also comes with 2 sauces but the onion ring was too large to dip into the sauces, so you would need to rip the onion ring in half first.

InsecureGirl ordered the Creamy Classic Mac & Cheese ($11.49). It comes with a salad with choice of dressing and bread.

M and I both got the ensalada chicken platter ($13.49). There are 2 chicken breasts as well, but they were rather flat and not very pump. Comes with salad, salsa and a creamy lime sauce on the side.

Words of Widom:

  • Large amount of seating, good for b-day parties ( reservation is recommended)
  • Lots of parking
  • Free dessert for Birthday and they sing you songs!

We Rate Red Robin:

Address:

9628 Cameron St
Burnaby, BC

Website: www.canadarobin.com

Red Robin (Lougheed) on Urbanspoon

Last week, I did a 3 hour lesson on Archery. Boy…was it ever fun. I’m not a Robin Hood yet, nor can i shoot an apple off your head…but I can ensure you that I can hit one of your organs. Be afraid..those arrows go fast!

Since the Archery Association has their facilities in SportsTown in Richmond, a bunch of us headed over to the taverna to get a quick bite.

I ordered the chicken strips ($10) and it came with a salad. There were 2 sauces..dijon mustard with the chicken strips and balsamic vinegar for the salad.

The chicken strips were pretty average. When it came down to having the salad, the balsamic vinegar sauce was fairly warm and tasted more like oil than balsamic. Some of their salad leaves seems a bit wilted and not too fresh.

The worst part was the service, I swear…there must have been one person working there. This woman was manning both the bar and the dinning area. It took her about 10 mins to acknowledge we were here…so we sat ourselves down. The menus took a while to get to our table too. Ordering was totally fine, but when we asked for the bill, she said she would bring it right away because we were in a rush….5 mins later we saw her at the bar chatting up with a customer.

You may think I am probably just crazy, but I am not. The dinning room had only one group of people seated…and this was us.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Tons of parking
  • Convenient when you are playing sports at SportsTown, many soccer teams eat here
  • Most items are $10 and under
  • Horrible service

We Rate SportsTown Tavern:

Address:

4991 #5 Rd
Richmond, BC

Website:
www.sportstownbc.com/tavern/

Sportstown Tavern on Urbanspoon

I work close to Yume Japanese Restaurant, so I decided to give it a try for lunch. It was one of the better looking Japanese Restaurants on the block.

The interior had lots of tables and a very high ceiling which made the restaurant look big. Most the of the tables are in 2’s and 4’s. So it’s best to go in groups no larger than 4 during peak hours. I was just by myself during lunch and finding a seat for 1 was super easy.

They have lots of specials that are under $10, so it’s quite affordable.

They even have little pots of tea too. Since I drink a lot of tea, it’s perfect. Did you know this pot is from Daiso? Now you know!

I started off with the Negitoro and Tofu Salad ($4.99). I love Negitoro rolls, so I thought this would not be bad at all.

Since the tofu is hot and the negitoro was directly on top, I really didn’t enjoy the hot temperate of it since it is raw toro. The salad dressing was just a citrus sauce but it didn’t really do much for this dish.

Since I wanted some meat in my meal, I got the Salmon and tuna sashimi ($9.99). It had 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. I thought the salmon sashimi was really good, but I found the tuna sashimi to be more disappointing. The tuna was a little bit icy, so it didn’t thaw all the was through, also there was strange connective tissue inside.

This was the damage to my wallet. Totally shouldn’t have gotten sashimi. Specials should have been the way to go.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Steps away from Granville Skytrain
  • Street Pay Parking
  • Most items under $10

We Rate Yume Japanese Restaurant:

Website: www.yumejp.com

Address:

602 Seymour St
Vancouver, BC

Yume Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

On our way to Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, we got quite hungry and decided to find some American food. CanuckGIrl, TaiwaneseGirl and I wanted to check it out, so on our way we went.

One thing I couldn’t help noticing was their chairs on wheels. In my head I thought “Only in America would they have rolley chairs for their people”. I’m sure it’s convenient to get in and out of the eat but…looking around the room, I only saw people of large sizes in the room where we were seated. I know…I shouldn’t think or judge.

They had their regular menu and they also has 9 seasonal dishes.

Since the Sampler Italiano ($11.25) looked very good in their menu, we decided to get it with 3 different choices. We could choose from calamari, stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini, chicken fingers, fried mozzarella or toasted beef and pork ravioli.

We chose the fried mozzarella, toasted beef + pork ravioli and calamari. There was a mix up with the kitchen and they gave us mushrooms instead of mozzarella, they just gave us both! This dish also came with tomato sauce and ranch.

At first sight, you know these were frozen and just fried/heated up. We still enjoyed it.

With our main courses, we got bread.

We also got our choice of soup or salad. TaiwaneseGirl got the soup which I think was some cream soup. You can also add cheese to the soup too. Instead of the waiters offering salt and pepper, it’s cheese!

CancuckGirl and I got the salad. I came in a huge communal bowl. The salad had lettuce, onions , tomatoes, olives, jalapeno peppers, parmesan , and croutons.

CancuckGirl got the Chicken Alfredo ($11.95), it has grilled chicken tossed with fettuccine and fresh alfredo sauce.

TaiwaneseGirl got the Seafood Alfredo ($12.95), it has sautéed shrimp and scallops tossed with creamy fettuccine alfredo.

I ordered out of their seasonal menu and got the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo ($17.25). It has balsamic glazed beef medallions served over fettucini in spinach and gorgonzola alfredo sauce.

I was already full by the time it got to the entrees. This dish is certainly super fatty and oily! I asked for the beef to be medium rare, but it came up done. It’s quite expensive too.

In the end, we all couldn’t finish the dishes, so we packed our food and headed to the mall.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Stay in Canada, Anton’s pasta surely beats Olive Garden
  • We have one in Langley, not need to cross the borders
  • Quite expensive

We rate Olive Garden:

Website: http://www.olivegarden.com/

Address:

4276 Meridian St
Bellingham, WA

Olive Garden on Urbanspoon