Happy Hour Archives - Page 2 of 3

In Happy Hour

Los Cuervos: Happy Hour of Tacos and Drinks

November 29, 2016

Los Cuervos is a Taqueria and Cantina near Kingsway and Fraser St in Vancouver. A few of us went after work to enjoy their Happy Hour special. 2 Tacos and a beer for $10. A pretty good deal.

We came at 5:30pm and just made it in time before 6pm.

There are 2 dining areas, but we were seated in the area closer to the entrance with the bar. Dimly lit and cozy.

Happy Hour

2 tacos and a draft beer cost $10, which is pretty good compared to our regular menu as tacos are around $4 each.

I got:

Lomo Cantinero Taco with Cantina-style slow-roasted pork shoulder, pineapple pico de dallo salsa.

Suadero Taco has beef brisket marinated in a beer achiote, with pickled poblano pico.

Both were delicious and the poblano pico added a lot of kick. It’s pretty spicy. The beer was good and refreshing. They have a few beers to choose from.

Tostadas

Ceviche tostada has local ling cod, shrimp, cucumber and poblanos. Delicious and the heat from the poblanos was good.

Churros

Churros come with a bunch of them. It comes with a chocolate and cajeta sauce. Definitely an item that everyone at the table needs to share. Crisp on the outside and not overly sugary.

Happy Hour here is pretty good and I’ll be back.

We Rate Los Cuervos:

Address:
603 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

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

In Happy Hour

King Chicken: Happy Hour Fried Chicken

August 9, 2016

King Chicken is located on Broadway and Rupert in Vancouver and they have been attracting people to grab their insanely cheap chicken during happy hour. They are a small family run restaurant.

From 11am – 3pm daily, they have $1 drumsticks and $0.50 drumettes and wings (they call this chicken karaage). A few of us came here for this deal. How can you go wrong with a special that’s so cheap.

Interior

The interior isn’t too large but it has a few tables inside. It’s definitely a hole in the wall but people come here for the cheap chicken.

Deep Fried Goodness

Everything we ordered was deep fried – Drumsticks, wings/drumettes, and deep fried coconut milk. Everything was made to order, so it did take a bit of time for all our orders to come out.

You can choose from regular and spicy. It seems like they just sprinkle on a spicy spice mixture on top. I actually preferred the original as the spicy seemed like it was overly seasoned.

Between the drumstick and wings/drumettes, I didn’t have any particular preference. I knew I just ended up ordering way too much.

Fried Coconut Milk was pretty large and it comes with 2 long pieces for just $3. I think if it was half the size, it would be more palatable.

It was very rich and creamy inside. Definitely something unique to try out, but you will have to share with others as 2 pieces is way too much for 1 person.

To top that off, you can get a side of fries. Pretty standard french fries. We ate a lot of fried foods when we were here.

Overall, not bad for the price and it’s made to order. The best bang for your buck is really the happy hour menu. I still have my fav fried chicken places elsewhere, but for the price, you can’t go wrong.

We Rate King Chicken:

Address:
3307 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.kingchickens.ca/

In Downtown

Glowbal: Happy Hour

August 3, 2016

Glowbal under the TELUS Garden has happy hour from 2:30pm to 5:30pm everyday. The entire cocktail menu is 50% off and they have a few $5 cocktail, wine, highballs and beer specials.

I love a good happy hour, so my coworkers and I dashed out the door to make it before last call.

The space is stunning and you can sit outside on the patio or inside the dining room. We made sure we got reservations before coming since it would be busy.

Sitting at the bar is pretty fun as you can watch the staff put together your dishes.

My coworkers all got cocktails and I got beer. All $5 each, which is awesome.

Crispy Calamari come in a cute little bamboo container. The calamari was ok, but we found that the batter would fall off easily and could have used a pinch of extra salt. It felt a bit bland.

Sashimi Trio has:

Halibut with yuzu kosho ponzu
Ahi Tuna with sesame miso,
Wild Salmon with jalapeño gochujang vinaigrette

So good! Fresh sashimi and the sauces compliment it very well.

Short Rib Poutine has maple gravy, truffle aioli, and cheese curds. This item is filling and its a good item to eat and snack on.

Mussels are super delicious. It has fennel cream, smoked bacon, and served with kennebec fries on the side. The mussels were juicy and plump

Fries were ok, but I wish it was a little bit more crisp.

Beef Tongue robata with a sesame-garlic aioli was really good. So tender and has lot of flavour.

Tsukune robata is chicken meatball served with a cured organic egg and soy sauce. Not as good as the beef tongue.

Kusshi Oysters arrived at the table and they told us it was compliments of the chef. A nice surprise but we think it was because we had to wait so long for our items that we ordered. We didn’t notice too much that we were waiting long since we were having a fun time chatting.

Kusshi Oysters are one of my favourite oysters for their clean and salty flavours. They are known for their small size, but the flavour is just amazing.

Chef’s Selection of Dozen Oysters came with 3 varieties of oysters. 4 were Kusshi, but I can’t remember what the other 2 types were called.

Overall, great selection of food for happy hour for an affordable price. When the drinks are flowing and there is food in front of you, you can’t help but chow down.

We Rate Glowbal:

Address:
590 West Georgia Street,
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.glowbalgroup.com/

In Happy Hour

Pink Elephant Thai: Open at Marine Gateway

April 16, 2016

Pink Elephant Thai opened their second location at Marine Gateway serving up modern Thai food to hungry shoppers in this complex and the movie-goers at the Cineplex Theatres.

They also have happy hour on the weekday from 3 -6pm. The items on the happy hour menu range from $5 – $10 with Singha Beer, wine, and high ball for $5.

Their menu combines influences from Northern and Southern parts of Thailand, but they have added their modern twist to the dishes, so it’s not 100% authentic.

A few of us were invited to check out a few items on the menu and the space.

The interior is brightly lit compared to their Downtown location. They also can seat about 40 people here.

Thai iced tea is made of strong brewed tea, sweetener, ice and milk. It’s very good and always a treat at any Thai restaurant. Highly recommended!

Lime soda is very refreshing especially if you have spicy food.

Pad Thai Prawn is a stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind sauce, tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, green onions topped with ground peanuts.

You can also get this made vegetarian with tofu, or else you can choose your preference of protein like chicken or beef.

A classic dish that you can’t go wrong with.

Pink Elephant Thai Calamari is deep-fried and marinated with Thai spices. This dish was ok, looked more like an onion ring than calamari. There was a lot of batter and could have been a bit more crispy. After a while, it went a bit limp.

Goong Ob Woon Sen has Tiger prawns with glass noodles in a clay pot served with Thai spicy sauce. This was ok too, but I never really liked glass noodles as they tend to stick together a lot more.

Pad Kee Mao Prawn has stir-fried rice noodles with Thai chilies, diced green beans, onions, bell peppers and fresh basil. This was an ok dish as well.

Thai Style Pork Cheek is grilled and marinated with Thai herbs and spices. They use BBQ pork jowl in this dish. It was good, you can’t go wrong with jowl.

Chilli Basil Hot Wings are mild chicken wings but it does has a sight tingle from the chilli. I like the crispier skin on this flavour of wing.

Red Curry Hot Wings are a little more spicier, but the skin isn’t as crisp due to the red curry sauce.

Floating Market is an appetizer with deep-fried spinach with tiger prawns, cashew nuts served with spicy sauce. The deep-fried spinach was interesting, but it only tasted like the oily batter.

Pad Phed Chicken has bamboo shoots, mushrooms, Thai chilies, bell pepper and fresh basil stir fry. Grab some rice on the side and eat it with this dish. A good mix of spice to this dish.

Khao Soi with chicken comes with their Northern Thai Style curry soup noodles. Dunk the noodles into the broth and enjoy.

Deep fried banana with mango ice cream had us all wondering if the ice cream was really mango or some Thai Iced Tea flavour. Their mango ice cream uses the larger red mangos. No one seemed to like the ice cream. I love deep fried banana’s so, I was all over that.

Mango with sticky rice cooked in pandan leaves uses the sweeter mangoes that we know and love. With the green sticky rice, this dish looks like a carrot.

Overall, the food was ok, but I think I would want to try more of their of the other items on the menu like the satays and fresher items like the lettuce wraps.

All of the dishes are mean to be shared to have the best experience, but if you wanted a single dish to yourself, the noodles, curry or rice dishes will be good.

We Rate Pink Elephant Thai:

Address:
434 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://thaihouse.com/pink-elephant-thai/

In Canadian

The Flying Pig: Olympic Village Appy Hour

February 25, 2016

The Flying Pig located on 2nd Ave near Olympic Village has appy hour between 4pm and 6pm every day. It’s great that they open a location closer to my workplace since my coworkers and I love a good appy hour. The items on the menu are all $6 and there are $5 drink specials too. What better way to rejoice after a long day at work?

We came right at 5:45pm before appy hour ended and put in our order. I actually prefer this location over the Gastown location since the staff here seen nicer.

We even spotted a flying pig on the wall. Oink. Oink.

Crimini Mushroom Gratin isn’t an appy hour item, but it’s a side item off their regular menu. It’s only $6.50 but it’s so worth it. Delicious mushrooms covered in parmesan and herbs. Whats not to love?

Beef Carpaccio comes with dijon aioli, olive oil, and crostini. I liked it since the fried capers give it a nice salty taste.

Truffled Jumbo Macaroni comes with a 4 cheese cream sauce but I thought this dish could have been a bit more cheesy.

Their House Terrine comes with a salad, 4 pieces of terrine and and toasted bread. The terrine was a bit stiff and not easily spreadable, but that was ok. We liked the flavour of it as it has a slight smokey taste.

Beef Short Rib Croquette comes with a spicy dipping sauce. It comes with 4 pieces in an order. The croquettes were crispy on the outside and had the short rib mixture on the inside. It tasted alright.

Crispy Brussel Sprouts are a must. Drizzled with lemon, parmesan and capers. Always a favourite among the table.

Overall, I love coming here for appy hour. The food and drinks are a good price, plus its a great time to hang out with friends. All the dishes are filling and you can’t go wrong. We didn’t even need dinner after coming here.

We Rate Flying Pig:

Address:
127 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://theflyingpigvan.com/

In Chinatown

The Keefer Bar: Drinks and Bites

January 12, 2016

The Keefer Bar is a pretty awesome place to hang out after work especially for happy hour. The interior of the bar is very grungy and dark, but it’s so interesting to look around the walls to see remnants of old Chinese medicine and pictures. It’s perfect because this bar is right on the edge of Chinatown, where a few Chinese medicine and herb shops are still around.

My coworkers and I came here right after work to indulge in 2 for 1 appies and cheap drinks. They have the happy hour on Sunday to Thursday from 5pm to 7pm, where appies are 2 for 1. Plus all the daily special cocktails of the week are available. Pretty good deal.

The last time we came here was back in 2013.

Since it is the winter, it gets pretty dark fast, but at The Keefer, it’s always dark in the back room. It’s quite nice and it really sets the atmosphere. Their water is pretty tasty too since its infused with a cinnamon stick.

Singha Beer ($5) is an awesome beer as it has a clean crisp taste, which pairs well with the type of appies they serve here.

Veggie Fritters comes with 6 pieces and accompanied with a cilantro pesto plum dip. It was ok, but I wish it was a bit more crisp.

Peking Duck Sliders comes with cucumber, cilantro, spiced pineapple, and plum sauce inside a big bun. AT first I wasn’t quite sure about the bun, but after I bit in, it surprisingly works well together.

Dim Sum can be chosen with any combination of their Pork, Shrimp or Veggie Dumplings. They were decent, but nothing crazy.

Green Onion Pancake Pizza was topped with a lot of cheese. It was divided up into 6 slices and tasted ok as well.

Spring Rolls can be ordered in any combination of their Vegetarian, Shrimp or Duck spring rolls. We ended up ordering 3 orders of duck spring rolls, so that’s why this plate is topped with a lot of spring rolls. We couldn’t taste much duck inside. It tasted like a plain spring roll.

Chinese Churros with Dulce de Leche was a bit odd sounding since its not exactly a churro. It’s a deep-fried chinese donut. They are actually supposed to be for savoury dishes like congee. The dulce de leche was delicious but we felt like it could have been a tad better if there was a sprinkling of sugar on the Chinese donuts.

The space was very dark, so taking photos was a struggle, but I think I did ok with the candle lights.

Overall, the space is pretty awesome for a few drinks and appies. This is primarily a drinking place where you would socialize and have a few drinks. The food really isn’t the star of the show. The only food item that was pretty good was the Peking Duck Sliders. Their cocktails and beer selection were great!

We Rate the Keefer Bar:

Address:
135 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thekeeferbar.com/

In Downtown

Coast: Happy Hour in Downtown

June 11, 2015

Coast is part of the Glowbal Group of restaurants and they specialize in seafood. They bring together West Coast flavours with fresh local seafood.

They have a special cocktail hour from 2:30pm till 5:30pm. On this menu, there is $5 beer and wine as well as oysters, appies, entrees, sushi and sashimi. We rushed from work to make it on time.

As we arrived, the waitress was a bit rushed and impatient about ordering. With 20 minutes to spare, we put in our order but then the waitress was a bit rude and told us we only have 4 minutes to make another order. She was very precise in saying 4 minutes. Not 5 minutes, just 4. You can tell Happy Hour doesn’t bring happiness to the staff since they get slammed with orders.

For a nicer restaurant, I’m not sure why the service is so poor.

Kirin Beer ($5) is a light beer thats crisp and smooth.
Warsteiner ($5) was pretty good, it has a clean, crisp, refreshing taste.

Both good choices to go with the food they serve. Light beers go well with seafood and fried foods.

Kusshi Oyster ($3.70 each) tastes clean, mildly sweet, delicate, and meaty. It’s one of my favourite types of oysters.

Beni Sake Salmon Sashimi ($6.50)
Toro Tuna Belly Sashimi ($7.50)

Both were good.

Smoked Salmon Flatbread ($16.95) has dill crème fraîche, red onion capers, and arugula. It is a filling item to order and there’s a good amount of smoked salmon on top.

Crispy Garlic Calamari ($14.95) is topped with fresno chillies, cilantro, and a lime aioli. It wasn’t very crispy after a while, it got quite limp.

Overall, the food was alright, but nothing very special. I would still prefer to go to a Japanese restaurant to get food like this. Even with the food 50% off, it was still a tad expensive.

We rate Coast:

Address:
1054 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.glowbalgroup.com/coast/

In American

Bubba Gump Shrimp: Happy Hour in Anaheim

March 5, 2015

We spent a whole day in Disneyland and needed a late night snack. Close to our hotel is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant inspired by the movie Forest Gump. If you are a fan of the movie, you gotta visit this place at least once. It’s a good thing I watched Forest Gump a few weeks ago, so I understood all the little references it makes to the movie.

They have happy hour daily from 9:30pm until closing. Also, Monday to Friday from 3:30 to 5:30pm. Select items on their happy hour are $4 – $6. Select drinks are $3 to $6. Great deals!

Since 9:30pm is quite late, the restaurant is pretty empty. Everyone must have been tired from all the Disney Parks madness. We were all tired, but we needed some food.

At your table, you have these license places that have 2 sayings to indicate if you need assistance.

Run, Forest, Run = Everything is A OK
Stop, Forest, Stop = I need some service here

We grabbed a beer to go with the meal. $5 for imported pints. It’s been a few weeks so I forgot what type of beer we ordered.

Bubba’s Far Out Dip ($4) has spinach, roasted red peppers, artichokes and Monterey Jack cheese with homemade Tortilla chips. The dip was really good and creamy. It probably has a lot of fat but we’re on vacation so we eat everything.

Cajun Shrimp ($6) is sautéed in a hot and spicy cajun butter sauce. It is also served with garlic bread. It wasn’t very spicy at all. The quality of the shrimp were ok but not great.

Fried Fish Tacos ($6) is pretty disappointing, its breaded fish with cheese and lettuce with a side of lime. You can just avoid these at all costs unless you order a side of salsa and sour cream.

Shrimper’s Heaven ($21.49) has hand breaded coconut shrimp, chilled shrimp, fried shrimp, and Japanese style tempura shrimp with fries. It also comes with a few sauces – Tangy Asian, Cajun Marmalade, and Zesty Cocktail.

This items is a good way to try all their different shrimp.

Overall, the food is pretty meh. I didn’t care much for it. I don’t think I would come here again.

We Rate Bubba Gump Shrimp:

Address:
321 W Katella Ave Anaheim

Website:
http://www.bubbagump.com/

In European

The Spud Shack Fry Co: Burgers and Poutine in New Westminster

January 15, 2015

The Spud Shack Fry Co is located inside the New Westminster Skytrain station. They open up everyday at noon and serve up twice cooked Belgian Frites and artisan draught beers.

They have $5 happy hour on the weekdays from 2pm – 6pm, where you can choose between select beers, wine or a medium poutine.

It’s literally a few steps from the platform. Great for a quick stop to grab a bite.

Looking at their menu, I was impressed by the amount of beers they had available. They also have a variety of poutines too. They have the usual poutines and then creative ones like ‘The Night Market’, ‘The Squealer’, and ‘The Brat’.

There aren’t too any seats, but good size for groups of 2’s or 4’s.

I tried a flight of a few of their different beers and its great they are using some pretty local craft brewers like Steel & Oak, Whistler Brewing, and Four Winds Brewing.

Frites are 100% local Kennebec potatoes cooked in high quality gluten-free Canola oil and tossed with Italian sea salt. They definitely take their time to prepare these fries since it was so good and crispy.

They have a variety of delicious sauces to choose from. If you have fries, you must order a sauce to go with it.

Andalusia mayonnaise
Bacon mayonnaise
Chipotle mayonnaise
Truffle mayonnaise
Parmesan mayonnaise
Malt vinegar mayonnaise
Curry mayonnaise
Jalapeño mayonnaise
Dill pickle mayonnaise
Dutch mayonnaise
Curry ketchup
Chipotle ketchup

Effing Good Burger has smoked onion mayo, BBQ sauce, tomato jam, bacon, lettuce, pickle, and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s also served with regular frites.

I was surprised by the smokiness of the burger, really god depths of flavour. Mmm Mmm Mmm!

The Classic Poutine has frites, cheese curds and gravy. That gravy is really good and just tasted so comforting. Plus, the frites were still crispy!

Overall, I really enjoyed the food here. I’ve been searching a long time for a poutine that has crispy frites. It’s good stuff and I highly recommend coming here for a visit. Just hop on the skytrain.

We Rate The Spud Shack Fry Co:

Address:
352-800 Carnarvon Street
New Westminster, BC

Website: http://www.spudshack.ca/

In Fairview

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ: Late Night Happy Hour

January 11, 2015

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ on Broadway is their second location in Vancouver. The other location is in Downtown.

They offer their Happy Hour special on these days and times:

Monday All Day
Lunch: Everyday 11:30AM–6PM
Dinner: Sun–Thu 9PM–10:30PM
Fri & Sat 9:30PM–11:30PM

The girls and I came here at 9:30pm on a Friday to indulge in this menu. We made reservations ahead of time to make sure we got seats.

They have booths large enough for big groups but not too large.

Iced Green Tea ($3) is the one drink I always get here. It’s not sweetened but it’s still good. The drink is also bottomless, so you can keep on getting refills.

Mug of Sapporo ($3) is on their “Super Happy Hour” menu. You definitely need beer to go with BBQ meats.

Shio Cabbage ($2) is very addictive. It has a distinctive sesame dressing.

Edamame is free when you check-in on Facebook and show the server.

Chicken Karaage Bowl ($6.95) has the rice on the bottom, topped with the fried boneless chicken, cabbage, mayo, and garnish. It’s good and filling.

Seaweed Soup ($2.95) is what Mandu had. She also added a bit of the rice from the karaage bowl into it.

Of course, we needed some meat to BBQ on their grill.

Kalbi Chuck ($5.95)

Toro Beef ($3)

Pork belly ($3.95)

The different meats were delicious and only needed to be cooked a few minutes per side.

Overall, service was friendly and the Happy Hour deals were great.

We Rate Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ:

Address:
201-950 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://gyu-kaku.com/cn/broadway.htm

In Four Beakers

Nomad: New Restaurant on Main Street

December 30, 2014

Nomad Restaurant is located on Main Street and King Edward. Their menu features fresh ingredients from around the Pacific Northwest, all prepared in-house by their team. Their chef – Ryan Reed won an episode of Chopped Canada on the Food Network in late 2013.

The drink list follows the same idea of local fresh ingredients with many bitters, syrups and tinctures created by their bartenders. They also have a Happy Hour specials for select beverages are from $5 – $6:

Weekdays from 5-6PM and 10-Midnight.
Weekends from 3-6PM and 10-Midnight

Macaroni and Cheese ($12) comes with their house made meatballs. It was one of their specials and it sounded really good. It was very creamy and has tons of cheese sauce. They were also kind enough to split it up into 2 bowls for us. The meatball was full of flavour too.

Hanging Beef Tender ($25) has a celeriac purée, crispy potato net, red wine jus, roasted brussel sprouts, and roasted potatoes. The beef was tender. M really loved this dish and kept stealing my meat.

Braised Lamb ($24) has fenugreek ricotta gnocchi, cauliflower, and edible flowers. Lamb was tender and not too salty.

Overall, M and I were quite full from sharing the 3 dishes. The food was great and you could see a good amount of technique in the execution. Presentation was good too. The service was ok, even though the restaurant wasn’t very full, they did seem to forget about us for a while. It took them a long time to get our bill.

Besides that hick up, it’s still a nice place to dine. Tons of seats for small or large parties. Great for after work drinks since they have the happy hour.

We Rate Nomad Restaurant:

Address:
3950 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://nomad-vancouver.ca/

In Happy Hour

Taboo Kitchen: New Fusion Korean Restaurant in Yaletown

November 22, 2014

Taboo Kitchen in Yaletown just opened in early November. My friends took me here on our usual Friday Happy Hour excursions. Rodney’s had a 45 minute wait and we wouldn’t be able to make it inside to order.

So, Taboo Kitchen was a good choice across the street for a few tapas and $4 on certain drinks like beer, cocktails and wine. Might as well since we were going to be drinking anyways.

The interior looked very nice. They have a long table to accommodate large groups. The bar looked pretty nice too.

The entree’s were pretty pricey, but with just drinks and tapas, it was not too bad. The items definitely are Korean fusion.

Complimentary Sampler of kimchi, Sweet potato and pickled radish were provided to everyone at the table. In any Korean place, it is expected to have complimentary side dishes provided as an indication of good service. It was presented nicely and gave us a taste of their food.

Apple Sojutini ($4) was quite strong and it was perfect! Just what my friends wanted. Yeah for happy hour prices.
Red Truck Lager ($4) was on special too.

Prawn Mayo has wasabi, fried capers, and rice crackers with the deep-fried prawns. There was delicious textures of the rice cake and the salty capers. As for the prawns themselves, it was a bit bland and could have used more of that wasabi sauce.

Tuna Rising Sun has chojang, endive, sweet potato on the bottom. Each endive has spicy tuna and spicy sauce. It was really good and a nice twist for a fusion dish.

Korean Spicy Chicken Wings is served with a pickled radish slaw and yuja cream. These were good wings.

Overall, it’s a nice place to go after work to chill have a drink and a few bites especially in the Yaletown area. I love traditional Korean food and the food they offer here is quite different, thus the fusion part of the restaurant.

We Rate Taboo Kitchen:

Address:
1233 Hamilton St Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tabookitchen.com/

In Gastown

Shirakawa Gastown: Daily Happy Hour

November 16, 2014

What more do I love on a Friday than happy hour at a Japanese Restaurant? Spending time with friends on Friday eating happy hour!

They are located in Gastown right in Gaolers Mews. Shirakawa is focused on serving the highest quality proteins and organic produce without sacrificing traditional Japanese culinary methods. They specializes in Japanese kappo, sushi, teppan grilled high-end Kuroge Wagyu Beef from Japan.

Happy hour is everyday from 5:30pm till 6:30pm with select dishes being only $5 each with draft beer being $3.50.

They have a large dining area, which is great for large groups. Since this place is fairly new, it’s not too busy.

They select a few items on their regular menu for their happy hour menu with a cheaper price of $5! Also draft beers are only $3.50.

Pint of Asahi Extra Dry is on tap. Perfect to start off the weekend! Such a good price too!

Coffee Umeshu is coffee infused plum wine. I thought this was a strange combination, but it was pretty good. CoffeeLover naturally gravitated towards this drink because he loves coffee and wine.

Kakuni is slow cooked pork belly, teppan finished with a sweet soy reduction and spicy mustard. You may not want to share this because it’s so good! So addictive! The fat just melts in your mouth.

Buta Katsu has panko-breaded pork cutlet, harvarti cheese and black miso.

Spicy Tofu has deep fried tofu, seasonal vegetable garnish, with a spicy dashi broth. It wasn’t very spicy at all. I think it had about 8 pieces of tofu. Good size for sharing.

Teba ($8) is fried ginger soy marinated chicken wings. It was crispy on the outside and the meat was tender and flavourful. It reminded me of my childhood since my mom loves marinating wings in soy sauce and ginger.

Overall, we each ordered a drink and about 2 dishes each and it came out to be around $15 each person. Pretty good prices! I’ll definitely be back as I still have yet to try their signature dishes.

We Rate Shirakawa Gastown:

Address:
115 – 12 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://shirakawagastown.com/

In Canadian

The Flying Pig: Gastown Appy Hour

August 2, 2014

Where in Vancouver can you get some good happy hour food after work? One of my go-to locations is The Flying Pig. They have a special chalk board menu with what is available for Appy Hour. It runs daily from 4 – 6pm. They also have another location in Yaletown.

When we were there, you can choose from:

Salmon Sampler
Beef and Bresaola Salad
Short Rib Croquettes
Truffle Mac and Cheese
Steamed Clams
Artisan Cured Meats
Halibut Poppers
Beef Carpaccio

All these items are either $5 or $6. The menu does change once in a while, but there is always something good on the menu.

Do note that your whole party has to arrive or else they will not be able to seat you. It’s a bit annoying since there is always bound to be someone in your party that is late.

A bunch of us come here after work for a few bites and drinks.

Beef Carpaccio ($6) is topped with an aioli sauce, arugula, cheese, crostini, capers and garlic. It was ok, but it was missing something acidic to bring the flavours together.

Halibut Poppers ($6) were yummy. It was tender and flavourful on the inside and the outside was nice and fried.

Truffle mac and Cheese ($5) is extra gooey and sinfully delicious! You can’t go wrong with cheese.

Pinot Gris ($7.75) comes from Calona Vineyards from the Okanagan Valley in BC. A nice choice of wine for a hot summers day to go with appetizers.

Overall, we had a great time after work. All the finger food was perfect.

We Rate Flying Pig Gastown:

Address:
102 Water St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://theflyingpigvan.com/

In Downtown

Bellaggio Cafe: Happy Hour

June 24, 2014

My coworkers and I came to Bellaggio Cafe in the Convention Centre for a few drinks and snacks after work. I’ve always walked past this place when I’m near the convention centre, but I never really noticed this place.

When we arrived, we found out that there were 25% off appetizers until 6pm. Seeing that we arrived at 5:50pm, we had to get our order in right away. It sounded like a great deal! It was a nice day, so we sat outside on the patio.

A few of my coworkers shared a pitcher of Sangria and it was perfect for 4 people. There were a good amount of berries inside to add some sweetness.

Crispy Calamari ($13.95) has the crispy fried calamari with tzatziki sauce and a lemon wedge. It’s a great size for sharing and the pieces were large.

Smoked Salmon Flatbread ($14.95) has cream cheese, crispy capers and onions on top of the house made flatbread. The flatbread wasn’t exactly flat as it was quite puffy. It was expensive for what you get.

With the 25% off on the appetizers, the prices were not too bad. The service though was not very good at all. It was hard to a server out on the patio in a timely manner since most of them were indoors. Grabbing the bill was quite painful.

We Rate Bellaggio Cafe:

Address:
26 – 1055 Canada Place
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.bellaggiocafe.com/convention/con-index.html

In Happy Hour

The Flying Pig: Appy Hour

June 2, 2014

From 4pm till 6pm everyday, the Flying Pig has an Appy Hour menu. The menu isn’t very large, but you have a good amount of choices to choose from. You also have the regular menu to order from.

Appy Hour Menu:

Beet and Bresaola Salad $5
Local Artisan Cured Meat Selection $6
Shortrib Croquettes $5
Seared Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak $5
Steamed Clams $6
Truffled Mac and Cheese $5
House Salmon Sampler $5

I came here after work with Korean Girl and Mandu to celebrate the end of the week.

The interior is a decent size and the two dining areas are separated by a bar. We sat on the left side of the restaurant on the high top tables.

Shortrib Croquettes ($5) comes with 4 pieces and a side of sriracha parmesan basil dip. It was really good and creamy inside.

Crispy Brussel Spouts ($6) were not on the appy hour menu, but you can order it as a regular side off the menu. It’s a good size for the price. The brussel sprouts is flavoured with lemon, parmesan and capers. Highly recommended.

Steamed Clams ($6) comes with its delicious broth and frites. The broth is yummy and its perfects to dunk those fries into.

Seared Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak ($5) comes with frites as well. The skirt steak was done at a perfect medium rare and sliced up. The frites were crunchy and delicious but a tad salty.

Overall, the girls and I had a great time after work eating at flying pig and having a few beers. The prices were great and the food was good for the price. I will definitely be back.

We Rate The Flying Pig:

Address:
1168 Hamilton St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.theflyingpigvan.com/

In Downtown

Ten Ten Tapas: West Coast Tapas

August 27, 2013

Ten Ten Tapas is a new restaurant in Downtown on Beach Avenue right below the Burrard street bridge. They specialize in West Coast Tapas made by Executive Chef Nourdine Majdoubi.

If you are sitting on the patio, you can view false creek, the Granville Street bridge, Granville Island, and lots of boats.

They also have indoor seating, which looks much nicer than the furniture on the patio. But, with the nice Summer and heat, we opted to sit on the patio to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.

While having a variety of tapas, alcohol is needed to really relax after work. For Cruzpresso, he enjoys relaxing with a nice glass of white wine.

M and Scarface settled for Hoegaarden as it is light and has a nice citrus aftertaste.

I am a fanatic for Japanese beer, so I got Sapporo. It’s light and crispy, which goes will with some tapas. With all our drink set, it’s time to dig in.

As I was invited by the restaurant to dine here, portion-sizes may not be exactly the same as depicted in the images.

Duo of Hummus and Guacamole served with baked pita bread. The hummus was amazing with the right amount of garlic. As for the guacamole, we really wanted to like it, but it fell a bit flat. It was hard to figure out what it was but perhaps it was some salt or more acidity.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls is packed with onions, cabbage, tofu, bean sprouts and mushrooms and served with a sweet chilli and plum sauce. It was good and very enjoyable as little bites to go with drinks.

Wasabi Sui Mai was a very interesting item on the menu and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Who would be daring enough to make that pairing. As we are all adventurers, we were not afraid to chow down on these little bombs of pain.

We popped it into our mouths, chewed a bit, and BAM…the sensation of wasabi travels up your nose and makes your eyes water a bit. These are definitely something to order if you want to make your friends squirm.

Pan Seared Crab Cakes is served with a harissa mayo and a pineapple tomato salsa. There is also balsamic reduction on the bottom. I found the crab inside to be nice and sweet but the coating of the crab cake was a bit thick.

Stuffed Organic Beef Meatballs is stuffed with emmental cheese, fennel, cinnamon onion chutney and red pepper coulis. It had a nice soft texture and the pepper coulis wasn’t hot either.

Pipita Shrimp are pan-seared with a pumpkin seed crust, citrus vinaigrette and a balsamic reduction. The shrimp was cooked till it had a nice firm texture.

Pipita Scallops are pan-seared with a pumpkin seed crust, citrus vinaigrette and a balsamic reduction. Same treatment as the shrimp. The scallops were cooked to the right texture. But, I started noticing this trend where most dishes did have that balsamic reduction sauce, which leaves a dark color to the food.

Poached Saffron Salmon is made with wild west coast salmon, grilled fennel and a saffron sauce. The saffron taste was very subtle. It took us a while to pick up on that taste until the manager told us. The salmon was cook nicely and it was still yummy and moist on the inside.

Stuffed Portabellini Mushroom is stuffed with spinach, jalapeno, red onions, blue cheese and finished with a basil vinaigrette. I felt like there was a lot of conflicting flavoures on the mushroom that it drowned out the taste. You can really taste the dominate flavour of the blue cheese.

Duck Breast is pan-seared with bok choy, jicama, and the sweet balsamic vinaigrette. The duck was delicious and tender. Quite enjoyable.

Broccolini Almondine is sauteed almonds and broccolini. It was really good.

Grilled Fluffy Polenta was delicious as well.

Chocolate Mousse Cake is topped with gooseberry, strawberries and has a blueberry sauce on the side.

Overall, the restaurant is a great place to chill in the Summer over some drinks and bites. Certain dishes were lacking and definitely needed to showcase more of west coast’s delicate seafood.

We Rate Ten Ten Tapas:

Address:
1010 Beach Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.tententapas.com/

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In Chinatown

Oyster Express: Buck A Shuck in Chinatown

July 30, 2013

After hearing Oyster Express has buck a shuck, my coworkers and I decided to come here after work. Its quite close to our office, so we just had to see how it compares to the other buck a shuck options in town.

Oyster Express is located on Keefer and Gore. It’s a little hidden. The restaurant is a bit small, so it’s a bit hard to fit several large groups.

The restaurant doesn’t have air conditioning, so the interior is very very hot. We came during one of the hottest weeks of the summer and it was a bit painful dining here, so we definitely needed to grab some cold drinks.

I got the Philips Lager ($5), it was pretty good lager. Light and crisp.

The buck a shuck oysters that were servered were fanny bay oysters. For $1, the size was great and the shucking was done superb. The oysters were mighty fresh as well.

Your first dozen is $1, but after that, it’s $1.50 per oyster. Thats the downside of the buck-a-shuck here.

You have a few sauces to dress up your oysters with – red wine mignonette, tabasco sauce, and a cocktail sauce.

Overall, the oysters were great, but the experience was dampened by the extreme heat inside the restaurant. The heat kinda makes you afraid to eat the oysters. I would be back if they are able to install air conditioning or some sort of air ventilation system.

We Rate Oyster Express:

Address:
296 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.oysterexpress.ca/

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