lunch Archives - Page 2 of 10

In Cafe

Social Crust Cafe & Catering: Food with Heart in Downtown Vancouver

September 17, 2017

I attended a media tasting that offered more than delicious food. The event highlighted the work done at Social Crust, which is one of Coast Mental Health’s Social Enterprises. Coast Mental Health is an NPO that helps people with social barriers or mental illness recover by providing three essentials pillars of sustained recovery: housing, support services, and employment & education.

Cathy, the Director of Employment Services, shared how Coast Mental Health provides employment and education to youth with social or mental health barriers. The organization does this through a partnership with VCC to provide the Culinary Skills Training Program, which helps youth with barriers learn culinary skills and offer support in finding careers in the food services industry. April, the Communications Manager, created Coast’s website. The site shares inspiring stories of people that have been supported by the organization’s services and programs, along with information on how to get involved, and event updates.

Robert, the Chef Manager at Social Crust, also shared what the program entails. It involves both theory and practical skills, and the students gain real world experience with the face-to-face interactions with customers at the cafe. The first portion is four-months of theoretical and practical skills, which is followed by a six-week work experience practicum. Once the students complete their training and pass the course, some of the students get hired on at Social Crust. The cafe has a set menu, but the tasting featured some new items they plan to introduce. In addition, Robert mentioned that some of the staff have been working at the cafe for two and a half years and have expressed that they would like to learn more, so catering is also offered. This allows the staff to learn a dynamic menu, since each client will have different needs or wants for their particular event.

The attendees had a variety of tasty sandwiches, salads, breakfast items and even smoothies to try. The sandwiches featured were the Chicken & Bacon Club, Provençal Tuna Melt, Butter Chicken Panini, Monte Cristo with Avocado, and Portobello Mushroom & Brie Panini (my personal fave). The Portobello and Brie happen to be two of my favourite ingredients to have in between bread, and the staff at Social Crust does a great job with this delicious sandwich. How can you say no to herb roasted Portobello Mushroom, Brie, spinach, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions pesto aioli, served on a Panini-pressed Ciabatta?

The salads were as pretty as they looked filling and included Seasonal Mixed Greens, Greek Quinoa and the South West. I regretfully missed out on tasting the salads because I enjoyed the variety of sandwich bites a little too much (I didn’t leave room to try everything!).

The breakfast items offered included the Classic Breakfast (which has two eggs made to order, two bacon strips, hash browns seasoned with the cafe’s special-secret seasoning spice, and choice of white or whole wheat toast) and the Chorizo Breakfast Wrap (which has two scrambled eggs, ground mild Chorizo, fried black beans, Monterey Jack, spinach, hash browns, garlic aioli wrapped in a grilled flour tortilla). I could have breakfast for any meal!

It was a hot day and the cafe was pretty warm so I cooled off with one of their smoothies. I really enjoyed the Mocha Smoothie, which has banana, cocoa powder, peanut butter, almond milk and an espresso shot. It was light, refreshing, packed with cocoa flavour, and just the right amount of caffeine for a pick-me-up.

Social Crust’s missions are exceptional quality, empowerment and community, and are all tied together to provide customers with great food while offering opportunities for youth with barriers. The next time you’re in Gastown and are looking for something delicious, warm or quick for when you’re on the go, be sure to drop by Social Crust. You’re stomach, and heart, will be glad that you did.

Address:
335 W Pender St, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.socialcrustcafe.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen: Thai Iced Tea on Commercial Drive

July 27, 2017

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen is located on Commercial Drive. It’s been a very popular spot since it opened for authentic Thai cuisine. My friends and I were craving Thai Iced Tea, so we decided to meet up and have lunch here on the weekend. We went around 1pm and it wasn’t too busy. I had to take my Thai friend as she could tell me how ‘Authentic’ it is to food in Thailand.

Interior

There is bar seating and a few other tables around the restaurant, but it’ll be hard to accommodate large groups unless you go early. It’s easier going in groups of 2 – 4 people.

Thai Iced Tea

Thai Iced Tea is made with black Thai tea, sweetener and topped off with half and half cream. You mix it around to incorporate the tea and the cream. It was absolutely delicious but I personally would have wanted it a bit less sweet.

Complimentary Soup

Before our order arrived, we got a nice complimentary soup for each person at the table. It was a clean garlicky broth and we really enjoyed it. My Thai friend said it really reminded her of home.

Chicken Satay

The chicken tender strips are marinated with coriander, cumin seeds, kosher salt, lemongrass, turmeric, galangal and coconut milk. It was really delicious and tender. The cumin, lemongrass and turmeric stand out in the flavour profile. It comes with 3 pieces.

Chicken Wings

These deep fried chicken wings marinated with fish sauce, garlic and white pepper tossed in garlic, red jalapeño, vinegar, sugar, salt and corn starch. The saucy wings has a sweet finish to them, but the crunchiness was definitely lost because of it. The size of the wings and drumettes were on the smaller side.

Papaya Salad

It has shredded green papaya, tomatoes and long beans with their spicy dressing – thai chili, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, garlic, palm sugar and peanuts. Whey they mean spicy, they do mean spicy. Very fresh tasting papaya salad, but those thai chilis pack a punch.

Stir Fry with Thai Basil

Green Curry

It has coconut milk, chili, garlic, ginger, thai eggplants, lime leaves, bamboo shoots, palm sugar, fish sauce and thai basil. We got this with chicken. This was also medium spice, but it only had a tiny tiny amount of spice.

Candy

When we got the bill, it came with Amira candy for everyone. Amira is a tamarind candy.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the spice level of the dishes were strangely balanced. Everything was medium spice but the papaya salad was a ton spicier than our 2 main dishes. In terms of authenticity, it fell a bit short as it seems to be catered towards the clientele of the neighbourhood.

We Rate Kin Kao Thai Kitchen:

Address:
903 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.kinkao.ca/

In Buffet

Saffron Indian Cuisine: Lunch Buffet in Burnaby

June 27, 2017

Saffron Indian Cuisine is a popular restaurant for their lunch buffet as it is a very affordable price. My family was in town, so we called ahead for reservations to ensure all 9 of us would be seated for lunch promptly. I’ve heard lots about this place but I haven’t been here yet.

Interior

For weekday lunch, this place was packed. A few walk-ins and a few reservations. There was a good flow of people until around 1:45pm.

The interior isn’t that impressive, but it does the trick. The lunch buffet area is on the right side with all the dishes all lines up.

Naan

Naan bread is delivered to the table and you can ask staff anytime to refill your basket.

Round 1

I went with salad, veggie pakora and tandoori chicken for round #1. The tandoori chicken could have used more depth of flavour and spice. You can tell the spice level is toned down.

Round 2

This round, I got more curry to eat with the naan bread and a few more pieces of veggie pakora. All goof flavours but I wished there were more options in the buffets with spicier dishes.

Dessert

Kheer is a rice pudding, which I really enjoyed. It sweet but not overly sweet. The other items was like a mango yogurt with grapes. I personally didn’t like it.

Final Thoughts

The buffet lunch is a great deal but as it’s made in large batches, it caters to their general customer. If you love extra heat in your curry, you might want to order from the regular menu. I would have preferred playing a similar price for one really good dish at medium heat. Thats just my personal preference. If you like your dishes mild and have more variety, the lunch buffet is for you.

We Rate Saffron Indian Cuisine:

Address:
4300 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.saffroncuisine.ca/

In Cafe

Cactus Club Cafe: Lunch and Dessert in Coal Harbour

April 6, 2017

Cactus Club Cafe in Coal Harbour near the Vancouver Convention Centre is their most beautiful location. It’s always packed and has a great view if you reserve a table near their window overlooking Coal Harbour.

I came here for lunch with a few friends to food and of course dessert.

All the Cactus Club Cafe locations across Canada from April 4 – 10, they will be donating $1 from every dessert sold to Make a Wish Foundation. They help support children living with life threatening conditions. The Sweet Dreams Dessert week will be helping 13 year old Morgan to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with her family.

Rain Coast Greens

This has fresh greens, grilled chicken breast, avocado, tomatoes, feta, spicy pecans, cucumber, egg, and a lemon-thyme vinaigrette.

Baja Fish Tacos

It has beer battered ocean wise lingcod, shredded cabbage, chipotle aioli, fire roasted tomato salsa, pickled red onions, and jalapeño peppers. Instead of fries, I substituted it with a salad. This was a filling meal and the beer battered lingcod was a good size.

Grilled Tuna Club

This has ocean wise rare-seared albacore, tarragon tartar, bacon, cilantro, pickled ginger, and ciabatta. It is served with fries on the side.

Chicken Tacos

These have mexican-style braised chicken, avocado, lettuce, pickled radish, onions and jalapeños, feta, sour cream, cilantro, and sea salted fries. There are 3 tacos that come with this dish.

Key Lime Pie

Has lots of freshly squeezed key limes in the pie with a graham cracker crust and hand whipped cream. It was very good and had the right amount of tang.

Chocolate Lava Cake

The delicious molten dark chocolate cake is served with raspberry coulis, and tahitian vanilla ice cream.

This was my favourite dessert as it is so gooey and rich. It hits the spot for those chocolate lovers out there. We gobbled this up so quickly.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bar

The crunch bar is served with tahitian vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and a few crunchy chocolate pearls. It was pretty sweet and dense. It’s a very popular dessert, but I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing. Sharing is great with this dessert.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good lunch with friends and trying their different desserts. The food is solid and consistent.

We Rate Cactus Club:

Address:
1085 Canada Place, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.cactusclubcafe.com

In Coquitlam

Smoking Pig: Korean Food in Coquitlam

February 24, 2017

Smoking Pig is a new restaurant that opened up in Coquitlam and it’s opened by the people who created Ramengers. I came here with the family for lunch. The parking is limited as there are only a few spots out front.

They have Korean comfort food like stews, soup, rice bowls, and smoked pork.

Interior

The interior is very simple, but it is decorated with comic books and cases of figurines. The look is a bit confusing as its hard to tell if it’s a family restaurant or a restaurant for younger people.

The menu is very cute as there are piggies drawn for each dish.

Side Dishes – Banchan

Before the dishes we ordered arrived, a few side dishes arrived to munch on. There was pickled radish and cabbage with a light sauce.

Pork & Rice Soup – dwaeji-gukbap

Pork soup with chives, green onions, and pork meat. This is one of the features dishes.

Pork Backbone Stew – Gamja-tang

Spicy pork backbone soup with meat, potato, cabbage, green onion, and perilla seeds.

Boneless Fried Chicken

You can either choose fried spicy chicken or fried soy chicken. We went with the fried soy chicken with half a chicken. You can also get a whole chicken too.

It was crisp and and covered in the delicious soy sauce.

Fried Dumpling

Fried dumpling comes with 6 pieces and is served with a sweet sauce. The fried dumplings were a bit mediocre.

Final Thoughts

The soups and stews were very delicious and comforting. When I went there, they were short staffed, so a few other items on their menu were unavailable. There were a few hits and misses, but they have opened quite recently, so they have some kinks to work out.

We rate the Smoking Pig:

Address:
1043 Brunette Ave, Coquitlam

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/smkpig

In Canadian

Estrella’s: Delicatessen in Langley

January 14, 2017

Estrella’s has been one of our favourite places in Langley for their gigantic Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches. Everything is made from scratch, so the definitely don’t compromise on taste or quality.

They are known for their O Canada-sized sandwiches with smoked meat piled high. We come here on Saturday mornings as they are closed on Sundays.

Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

This is a beast. Sliced Old Fashioned Montreal Smoked Beef Brisket on light rye bread with your choice of regular or dijon mustard. You can choose from lean, medium or fatty. Of course we chose the biggest size – O Canada and had it fatty. It’s so good and can be split between 2 people.

Poutine

A good Canadian classic – Poutine. Has crisp fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. You can also add some smoked meat on top too. We just went with the basics as we already had the huge sandwich to start.

Roast Beef Panini Sandwich

It has roast beef, caramelized onions, horseradish, mayo and swiss cheeese. It is served on crispy ciabatta bread and comes with a pickle. Not as monstrous as the smoked meat sandwich, but it was delicious.

Overall, I really love to go to this place for their Montreal Smoked Meat. The staff are friendly and it’s not too busy here. I’ll be back again.

We Rate Estrella’s:

Address:
5932 200th Street, Langley

Website:
http://www.estrellasdeli.com/

In lunch

Frog Hollow Farms: Avocado Toast in San Francisco

January 6, 2017

When I was travelling in San Francisco, I had a crazy addition of Avocado Toast. When I was at the Ferry Terminal, I took a visit to Frog Hollow Farm to get a taste of their toast.

The Shop

They serve pastries, sweet and savoury treats, and other items.

Even fresh fruit.

The Menu

They have a pretty small menu, but good items that people can easily grab and go at the Ferry Terminal.

Avocado Toast has garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on Acme green onion bread. I got the full size for $10.99, which is pretty expensive, but it looks so beautiful.

After eating this all, I was super satisfied and really full.

We rate Frog Hollow Farm:

Address:
Ferry Building, Level 1, 1 Ferry Plaza, Suite 46, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.froghollow.com/

In American

Gotts’s Roadside: Burgers at the Ferry Building in San Francisco

December 13, 2016

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and we ended up at the Ferry Building to grab some lunch. The ferry terminal has so much to eat, but we were on a mission to find Gott’s Roadside since we were told by several friends they have some awesome burgers.

We ordered our items at either the left or the right side of the restaurant. They have 2 counters to take orders.

Once you have your order and get your drink, you get this electronic buzzer and it will let you know when your order is ready.

Flashing lights. Time to get the food!

Bacon Cheeseburger is a beast with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles & secret sauce on a toasted egg bun. Really nice toasted bun with a good amount of ingredients inside the burger. It really hit the spot.

Onion Rings were huge and I love the crunch when you bite into the onion rings.

Don’t forget to grab some ketchup and mustard. They use Sir Kensington and they make amazing condiments. My favourite brand.

Cheeseburger has American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and their secret sauce on a toasted egg bun.

My friend also got Sweet Potato Fries on the side with a chili spice-dusted and a side of house-made ranch sauce.

Overall, it was a great lunch and we really enjoyed Gott’s. I would come back again. They even have outdoor seating if you want to enjoy the sun. We avoided eating outside since we didn’t want to get too tan.

We rate Gott’s:

Address:
Ferry Building, Level 1, 1 Ferry Plaza, Suite 6, San Francisco, CA

Website:
https://gotts.com/

In Delivery

foodora: Food Delivery in Vancouver

December 11, 2016

foodora is a new food delivery company in Vancouver. They expanded into Canada and so far only service Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. They have some pretty good restaurants on their list that isn’t the usual Chinese, Pizza, or Indian food. The restaurant chosen have heathy options. The company plans to expand to offer 100+ restaurants by January 2017.
[information]Use my coupon code for $10 off. https://bnc.lt/YR5e/W9BztJqjaC[/information]

It was a stormy day outside, so we decided to order some lunch back to the office instead of going outside. You can order it the day of and it takes 30 minutes to deliver or you can pre-order your meal a day ahead of time.

foodora deliveries are available between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m, but also depends on the restaurants too. The delivery zone so far covers only Downtown Vancouver, but they are looking to expand.

From the list of restaurants, I went with Poke Shop located in Gastown. I inputted my order, paid, and then I can watch every step of my meal’s journey. There was a $3.50 delivery fee for orders $30 or more and $4.50 per order under $30.

They use bikes to deliver the meals, which is nice and environmentally friendly.

For our lunch, we ordered 2 poke bowls and 2 drinks from the Poke Shop. I placed my order a day before to be delivered at 11:45am, but it did arrive a bit early at 11:30am.

The meal arrived quickly, so all items were still nice and cold. The only thing we noticed was there was little bit of spillage with one of our drinks. It was really minor.

With the many delivery companies out there in Vancouver, what stands out the most for foodora is their selection of restaurants in the Downtown area.

Check it out if you want to see what food options are available to your doorstep.

Website: https://www.foodora.ca/

In Hawaiian

Pacific Poke: Poke and Panini in Chinatown

December 10, 2016

Pacific Poke has finally opened their doors in Chinatown on Main Street. I’ve been waiting for a long time to open as it’s the closest poke restaurant to my office.

What sets them apart from other poke restaurants in Vancouver is their clean, wholesome ingredients packed with bold flavours. When I saw they were finally open on Instagram, I went with a few of my coworkers to check it out as it was we needed some lunch.

Interior

You order on the left side and on the right side is their seating. They have a few tables and some seats by the window. The decor is simple, but the metal origami pieces are pretty cool.

Ordering

On the menu, you can build you own poke bowl or pick one of their many chef inspired creations.

I always end up building my own to cater to my own taste buds. They have 2 sizes – regular and large.

If you want something different, they have poke paninis. There are 3 kinds:

First, you choose your poke base. You can do a classic base of organic brown rice or traditional sushi rice, but I went with the kale salad base.

For the protein, you can choose from:

Sockeye salmon
Ahi tuna
Negitoro
Steelhead
Spicy tuna
Spicy Salmon
Albacore tuna
Crab
Shrimp

Some of their selection can change seasonally based on whats available. I went with the Sockeye Salmon and Ahi Tuna as those are very classic.

For the toppings, they have:

ginger jicama
tomato kimchi
pickled red onion
green onion sprouts
red beets basil
jalapeno
organic seaweed salad
fresh wasabi peas
seasonal offerings

I couldn’t decide what to get so I asked them for a bit of everything to add to my bowl. Why not get all the ingredients to try it all.

They also have some drinks, but their house-made iced teas and lemonade are amazing:

Strawberry Green Tea
Yuzu lemonade
Unsweetened Genmaicha

You can ask them to try them before deciding which one to get.

Poke Bowls

After the first few bites, you can tell the toppings are super fresh and not coming straight from a can. They seem to put a lot of work into preparing each topping that goes into the bowl.

Even though the portion size wasn’t as large as some other poke places in town, the flavours of the sauces really shine and doesn’t over power the fresh pieces of fish.

How my coworkers and I describe this place is like the Tractor of Poke.

Poke Panini

The Poke Panini’s can be order in full or half size. My coworkers got their Salmon Poke Panini and they enjoyed other ingredients that came inside the panini like the tomato kimchi.

Final Thoughts

Easily one of my top favourite poke places in town. With so many poke places opening up in town, each place has their own unique difference. I really appreciate how Pacific Poke put a lot of love and care into each ingredient, you know it’s not from a can. Plus their drinks is worth a try. Their portions are a bit smaller and prices are a bit higher than the other places but I would come here again.

We Rate Pacific Poke:

Address:
625 Main Street, Vancouver

Website: https://www.thepacificpoke.com/

In European

Cow Girl Creamery’s Sidekick Cafe: Weekend Raclette in San Francisco

November 28, 2016

I came to the San Francisco Ferry Terminal on a weekend and Cowgirl Creamery’s Sidekick Cafe sells Raclettes on the weekends on Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 3pm. I’ve been dying to have a good raclette, so when I saw it, I just had to have it.

Rachlette is a Swiss dish of melted cheese. Typically it can be on top of potatoes or bread.

The smell at the ferry terminal was intoxicating and it drew a large crowd. Its such a nice feeling watching them scrape the melted cheese onto the plate. I waited about 20 minutes for my order to be ready.

All the gooey cheese on some pickled veggies and 2 slice of fresh bread. This Rachelette was delicious. Simple, but there is no denying melted gooey cheese.

We Rate Sidekick Cafe:

Address:
Ferry Building, Level 1, 1 Ferry Plaza, San Francisco, CA

Website:
https://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/sidekick-cafe-milk-bar

In Chinese

Xi’An Cuisine: Dumpling Trail in Richmond

November 5, 2016

Xi’an Cuisine is located in the Richmond Public Market and is popular for their hand-pulled noodles. It’s a local favourite and the owner started Xi’an cuisine since he couldn’t find it anywhere else in Richmond.

Dumplings

Potstickers are triangular in shape and golden brown on each side. The skin was a bit thick, but the meat inside was juicy.

Spicy wontons were really good. Soy sauce, chili oil and peppers made my tastebuds tingle.

Other items

Beef Roll was crisp on the outside and had a good ratio of meat.

BBQ Lamb Skewers are covered in spices. This was ok, but I wanted a bit more char to it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the spices and flavour profile of Xi’an cuisine. The dishes are made from scratch and is something unique at the Richmond Public Market food court.

We Rate Xi’an Cuisine:

Address:
2370-8260 Westminster Highway, Richmond

In Kid Friendly

Suhang Restaurant: Dim Sum + Dumpling Trail

October 31, 2016

Suhang Restaurant is a Shanghainese restaurant located in Richmond on Ackroyd Road.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. Suhang is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their diverse selection of dumplings from crispy to chewy to all types of textures.

Interior

We came here on a weekend around noon and it wasn’t busy at all. We did have reservations just in case it was busy.

Dumplings

Xiao Long Bao had a nice thin skin, so we were afraid to accidentally break them. All that precious soup inside shouldn’t be wasted. The meat filling inside was delicious.

Potstickers had a bit of the thick skin to them compared to some other restaurants. Nonetheless, the meat filling makes up for it.

Pan Fried Dumplings had a nice golden brown colour on the bottom. The bun was fluffy and the filling was delicious just like the others.

Other Dishes

Dan Dan Noodles were pretty bad and the worst dish of the meal. It was like eating peanut butter with noodles.

Hot and Sour Soup was delicious. Always a delight having hot and sour soup.

Stir-fried Rice Cakes has a chewy texture to them, but it was good to have rice cakes instead of noodles.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the dumplings were delicious here but a few dishes were a miss especially the dan dan noodles.

We Rate Suhang Restaurant:

Address:
100-8291 Ackroyd Road, Richmond

Website:
http://www.suhang.ca/

In Chinese

R&H: Chinese Food + Dumpling Trail

October 22, 2016

R&H Chinese Food is located in the Lansdowne Centre Food Court. They serve up delicious Chinese food that’s a bit different that the other stalls here.

We were invited by Tourism Richmond to experience the Dumpling Trail. R&H Chinese Food is one of the restaurants featured in the trail for their diverse selection of dumplings from crispy to chewy to all types of textures.

You can watch them make the dumplings right in front of you. I love watching them make dumplings since it’s really a craft. I’ve tried making dumplings and I can never make them look beautiful.

Potstickers with cabbage and pork filling had a nice colour on the bottom. As the skin is a bit thicker than the other ones that we ordered, these can be quite filling. Best to share dumplings among others.

Boiled Pork Dumplings with Chives was one of our favourites. Delicious filling and reminded me of a little taste of home.

Xiao Long Bao are steamed juicy pork buns and they come in a bamboo steamer. Nice thin skin, but the tops of them were a bit dense.

You should return the bamboo steam to them once you’re done.

Overall, R&H has a good amount of dumplings on their menu. If you want a taste of homemade dumplings and other Chinese food, come give them a try. Prices are very good too.

We rate R&H:

Address:
5300 Number 3 Road, Richmond

In Fusion

Sushirrito: Sushi Burrito in Palo Alto

October 11, 2016

Sushirrito is the original sushi burrito concept before it went big around the world. When I was in San Francisco and Palo Alto, I knew I had to check this place out.

Sushirrito is made-to-order with a mix of Asian and Latin flavours. It’s the perfect alternative to fast food.

In Palo Alto, the Sushirrito is located on University Ave close to Stanford.

When we came here for lunch, it was packed. Its also located beside Blue Bottle Cafe. There are limited seats inside.

Lava Nachos

Lava Nachos are in limited quantities each day. It has brown rice chips topped with tuna picante, melted Pepper Jack cheese, ginger guac, green onions, nori strips, and Sriracha aioli. A very flavourful dish and great for a few people to share.

Geisha’s Kiss has Yellowfin Tuna (Hand-Line Caught), tamago, piquillo peppers, lotus chips, namasu cucumber, green leaf lettuce, ginger guac, yuzu tobiko with a sesame white soya sauce.

I liked the clean fresh taste of the tuna with the crunchy texture of the lotus chips.

Sumo Crunch has shrimp tempura, surimi crab, shaved cabbage, cucumber, ginger guac, and Sriracha Aioli. It is then covered in red tempura flakes. This version was pretty good as well.

Genmai Horchata is one of the drinks they have. It is their blend of green tea and horchata.

Overall, it was a good quick lunch for us and with the 3 items ordered for 2 people, it was plenty of food. The sushirrito reminded me of a large uncut sushi roll with different types of filling and sauce.

We rate Sushirrito:

Address:
448 University Avenue, Palo Alto

Website:
http://www.sushirrito.com/

In lunch

Arguello: Lunch at the Presidio of San Francisco

October 6, 2016

Arguello is located in the historic Presidio Officers’ Club. They serve up Mexican cuisine capturing the cultural heritage of the Presidio and a contemporary bar with craft cocktails. Chef Traci Des Jardins put together their menu for Arguello.

I was invited by the Presidio Trust to check out their lunch menu.

Interior

The interior is dim with lower ceilings. It makes the atmosphere cozy. There are a few booth seats but majority are tables of 4.

Sides

Chips, Salsas and Guacamole was aa good way to start the meal. The chips were crisp and was good to snack on them while waiting for the meals to arrive. The guacamole was my favourite item to dip the chips into. I have an obsession with avocados.

Tacos

Grilled shrimp, cabbage slaw, and citrus-habanero salsa had a few pieces of the plump shrimp. This was one of the popular tacos on the menu. Seasoned well, but I wish they did something more to the tortilla like grill or warm it up.

Marinated Asada, cascabel-ginger and salsa was the second taco I got. It was very meaty and tender but the sauce that went with it wasn’t what I was expecting.

Cemita is a sandwich with beans, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and oaxaca cheese. My friend seemed to like this for lunch.

Dessert

Churros were a nice treat at the end of the meal. There are 2 pieces of churros that come with each order. Horchata ice cream was my favourite ice cream that was served with it.

Overall, all the items we tried were pretty average. Nothing was wrong with the food, but with Mexican food, I felt the like bright vibrant flavours were lacking in the dishes.

We Rate Arguello:

Address:
50 Moraga Ave, San Francisco

Website:
http://www.arguellosf.com/

In Kid Friendly

JapaDog: Dining at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet

October 2, 2016

JapaDog has a location at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Richmond just a few stops away from YVR Airport. For those who have a short layover at YVR but want a little taste of Vancouver, this is a good option if you’re around.

They are best known for their Japanese street style hot dog that has taken the world by storm. I remember my relatives would want us to take them here when they visit.

Drinks

They have draft beer, bottled beer and cocktails. I went with a Sapporo to go with our meal of JapaDogs and shake fries. Sapporo just pairs so well with fries and hot dogs. A combination that is perfect.

Cocktails are exclusive to this location only. There are 4 different ones to choose from.

Shake Fries

There are a few flavours of shake fries to choose from:

Regular
Black pepper
Ume katsuo
Aonori
Butter & Shoyu
Shichimi & Garlic

The most popular of them all is butter & shoyu. Shichimi & garli, and aonori are most other favourites too. The size of the fry reminds me of McDonalds but it’s a bit more limp that crisp.

JapaDogs

Avocado JapaDog has a beef hot dog topped with cream cheese, Japanese mayo, and avocado. Surprisingly good if you love avocado.

Ebi-Tempura Japadog has the crunchy shrimp tempura on top of rice and seaweed.

Love Meat JapaDog has Arabiki pork sausage, cheese, and a Japanese meat sauce made of beef. It is saucy, but great for meat lovers.

Okonomi has kurobuta pork sausage, Japanese traditional sauce, Japanese mayo, fried cabbage and topped with bonito flakes. It’s okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) in hot dog form.

Kurobuta Terimayo JapaDog is the most popular item. It has Kurobuta pork sausage, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, fried onions and topped with lots of seaweed.

Oroshi JapaDog has pork bratwurst with radish/daikon, green onions and their special soy sauce. One of my favourites cine I love radish.

Final Thoughts

Since I live in Vancouver, getting a JapaDog is not a regular occurrence. I have it once in a while but it’s very accessible in Downtown Vancouver as there are various locations. They have expanded a lot but the quality is still there.

It’s definitely a good food option at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet if you want a quick bite.

We Rate JapaDog:

Address:
1064 Templeton Station Road, Richmond

Website: http://www.japadog.com/

In Downtown

Pokérrito: Burritos, Bowls and Salads in Vancouver

September 20, 2016

Pokérrito is one of the new poké shops opening in Vancouver this year. The poké hype is real and during lunch time, there was a 30 minute line up out the door. Vancouverites are going nuts over the poké.

Building your meal

When you get to the counter they first ask you what protein you want and if you want it as a burrito, bowl or salad.

The protein you can choose from are ahi tuna, spicy tuna, albacore tuna, salmon, sockeye salmon, scallop, shrimp and octopus. Some protein choices cost extra.

You can add in as much cucumber, kale, green onion, sweet onion and cilantro.

You can choose 5 from the following list – Sprouts, masago, jalapeño, pineapple, grape-tomatoes, ginger, wasabi, sweet corn, furikake, and chili flakes.

You can choose 2 of the below as your sides. Avocado, edamame, crabmeat, seaweed salad or spicy seaweed salad.

You then can top it off with some sauce – Umami, wasabi-basil, citrus ponzu, sweet chili or creamy mayo.

There’s a lot of items to put into your creation, but it can also be quite confusing to decide what you want.

Bowl

The most popular item to order is the bowl as you do get a bit more ingredients in it. There is a base or rice either white or brown rice.

It comes in a durable container, so its good to eat in or take out. A lot of people ended up getting take out.

Salad

The salad is similar size to the bowl, but with romaine lettuce instead of the rice.

Burrito

I ordered the burrito and I had added sockeye salmon, avocado, seaweed salad, corn, sprouts, masago, tamago and umami sauce. This is all wrapped up in white rice and seaweed.

Overall, the burrito was good, but next time I would get the bowl just to get a little bit more ingredients. All of us liked all 3 options and is quite healthy. Price is decent too.

We Rate Pokérrito:

Address:
558 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.pokerrito.ca/