Category

Tapas

Category

Mamie-Taylor-sign

Mamie Taylor’s is one of the newer restaurants to open up in Chinatown across from Phnom Penh. It’s usually busy in the evenings and there is pay parking in the streets. They serve up modern American food on their menu and have a wide selection of drinks and cocktail. A perfect place to go after work with coworkers.

Mamie-Taylor-bar

The inside is very nice, but it’s creepy when you start looking at all the taxidermy on the walls. It definitely gives this restaurant character.

Mamie-Taylor-sapporo

Sapporo ($6) was my choice as usual. I’ve always liked it’s light crisp taste.

Mamie-Taylor-flight

Japanese Whiskey Flight ($20) has nikka super, nikka from the barrel and nikka black. My coworkers enjoyed trying the different types and how their taste differed from one another.

Mamie-Taylor-scone

Corn Bread & Biscuit ($4) comes with a jalapeño bourbon butter. These two items were very delicious! Full of flavour and quite enjoyable.

Mamie-Taylor-olives

Fried Olives ($4) has blue cheese, currants, and sherry. I do love olives surprisingly and it was a nice way to add some crunch to an olive. It is a small dish, so these olives can go quickly if you are a quick snacker.

Mamie-Taylor-t

Pimento Cheese ($5) comes with cannoli, espellete, and salad o’ celery. This was yummy! The delicious cheese paired with the crunchy cannoli was perfect. I could eat a few of these.

Mamie-Taylor-sandwich

Tuna Melt ($6) the tuna  is cured & smoked, has potato salad, and cheddar. There’s some small onion on the side too. This was a yummy tuna melt.

Mamie-Taylor-turducken

Turducken ($6) has scotch egg in the centre. It is accompanied with tomatillo sauce  and a garlic mayo. It’s not exactly what I imagined for a turducken but it’s their fun twist to it. It tasted alright.

Overall, we ordered all their snacks but didn’t stick around for dinner since we all had alternate plans after drinks. I’ll definitely be back for dinner since their entrees looked pretty damn awesome.

We Rate Mamie Taylors:

Address:
251 East Georgia St.
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://mamietaylors.ca/

Mamie Taylor's on Urbanspoon

bar-isabel-sign

My most recent trip to Toronto to visit a few friends over the long weekend was a blast. I got to catch up with old friends and chill. Flo recommended we hit up Bar Isabel as it is one of the hottest restaurants in town. I am not familiar with any restaurants in Toronto, so she made reservations a few weeks in advanced and we got a spot. This experience in Toronto was created in partnership with momondo.

It is highly recommended you have reservations before you come dine here or else you might be out of luck. The open everyday from 6pm – 2am.

They serve up spanish tapas and are best known for their grilled octopus. They have been named Canada’s Best New Restaurant 2013 by Air Canada’s enRoute magazine. Also, they have been named one of Toronto’s top restaurants in 2014 by Huffington Post.

bar-isabel-inner

The interior is pretty cool. It’s a bit dark inside and really red. It was really hard to take photos in here. To have a good time, groups of 2 or 4 are best.

bar-isabel-mermaid

Hopeless Mermaid ($16) has Elyx vodka, St.Germain elderflower liquor, fresh lime and grapefruit juice, rich ginger syrup, Angostura bitters, and grapefruit zest.

bar-isabel-cocktail

We Choose Yer Own Adventure ($15 – $20) is great for indecisive people. The server will have a chat with you to see if you like refreshing/light or bold/sturdy drinks. Then, they will choose something for you.

bar-isabel-m

Roundhouse ($16) has Auchentoshan 12yr scotch, Jameson Irish whiskey, Los Arcos amontillado sherry, bad azz orgeat, fresh lime juice, Angostura bitters, and lemon oils.

All the drinks were pretty good! Pricey…but the quality was really good.

bar-isabel-meat

Cured Meat Plate ($16) has some pickled vegetables and you can choose 3 types of cured meats from the menu. We chose chorizo, beef carpaccio and coppa.

Bread ($4) was soft in the centre and has the crunchy crust.

bar-isabel-calimari

Spicy Fried Squid ($8) has crispy tongue and kale on top. The squid is very soft and tender. I found that the tongue and the kale didn’t add anything special to the squid to accentuate the flavours.

bar-isabel-sweetbreads

Smoked Sweetbreads ($18), has raw tuna, spicy pickled green tomato, and brown butter. If you don’t know what sweetbreads are, it’s not what you think. It’s really glands from an animal. This dish tasted pretty good and the sweetbreads had a chewy spongy texture to them.

bar-isabel-tuna

Albacore Tuna Tiradito ($14) has asian pear, celery, jalapeño and fried rosemary. It had a good assortment of ingredients that pairs nicely with the tuna.

bar-isabel-ceviche

Whole Sea Bream Ceviche ($26) was pretty awesome! It even comes with the deep-fried fish carcass and on top of that is the ceviche. Very delicious!

bar-isabel-octopus

1/2 Grilled Octopus ($34) was my favourite part of the meal. The half-size was plenty enough for the 4 of us. Wow, this octopus was tender. When you bite into the tentacles, the suction cups just fall apart in your mouth. Hands down best octopus I’ve ever eaten. It has great flavours! I still think about this dish a few times a week. MmmMmmmm so good!

bar-isabel-balls

Leche Frita & Salted Dulce de Leche ($6) this was my favourite dessert. It was really delicious and the sweetness and flavours were nicely put together. It was like a churro.

bar-isabel-chocolate

Salted Dark Chocolate Ensaimada ($7) was ok, not as good as their other 2 desserts. The star here is the salted chocolate ice cream. The ensaimada didn’t add much to the dish.

bar-isabel-dessert

Basque Cake ($8.50) has Sherry Cream all over it. The cake was moist and the sherry cream was perfect with it. So simple but so good. My other friends thought this was the best dessert.

Overall, the four of us had a good time at Bar Isabel. The food was good and I would definitely come back.

We Rate Bar Isabel:

Address:
797 College St
Toronto ON

Website:
http://barisabel.com/

Bar Isabel on Urbanspoon

kishimoto-platter

Coming with the girls on the weekend for lunch drew us to Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen. I haven’t been back in 3 years, so I just had to come back and try more items off their menu. Also, they serve Salmon Oshi Sushi similar to Miku’s Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. It looks very similar, but  was curious how it compared.

The restaurant quickly filled up and got much busier as it approached 12:30pm. The 3 of us got seated quickly but we were put in a very small table and it was uncomfortable and cramped. They do not take reservations, so you just need to take your chances.

kishimoto-tea

Complimentary tea arrived at the table. It was piping hot and enjoyable as we waited for our order.

kishimoto-salmin

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. It looks like Miku, but the flavour is just not the same. Once you have Miku, you can’t go anywhere else for these types of sushi.

It comes with 7 pieces and it’s still good.

kishimoto-eel

Unagi Oshisushi ($11.75) has unagi, creamy sauce, freshly cracked black pepper, then it’s torched. A slice of cucumber is on top. It’s good, but not as good as their salmon version.

kishimoto-garnish

The presentation of all their dishes are really cute. All the little details make the experience more enjoyable.

kishimoto-sashimi

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) come with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. It is served on top of a block of ice and daikon. The sashi tasted very fresh and was enjoyable.

kishimoto-chicken

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce.

kishimoto-nigiri

Masago Nigiri ($1.50) has a lot of masago. Yummy.

kishimoto-roll

Dragon Roll ($10.95) has 2 pieces of prawn tempura, tobiko, unagi sauce, sliced avocado and unagi on top. It comes with 8 pieces.

kishimoto-scallop

Scallop Roll ($3.95) has scallops, cucumber, masago and mayo. It came with 6 pieces.

kishimoto-toro

Toro Nigiri (3 pieces – $10.50) just melts in your mouth because its so fatty. nom nom nom. It’s quite expensive for 3 pieces.

kishimoto-udon

Nabeyaki Udon ($13.95) has 3 pieces of tempura on the side. Inside the bowl is mushrooms, chicken, soft boiled egg, kamaboko, and green onion all in a bowling hot stone bowl. It was pretty yummy.

kishimoto-okonomiyaki

Pork Okonomiyaki ($10.95) was the last item to arrive at the table and it took over an hour to arrive. A lot of tables ordered it too and they were also mad it took a long time. Mandu thought it was a bit bland, so we asked them for more sauce on the side. Granted, it is quite large and is delicious with more sauce.

Overall, the presentation of the food was beautiful. The service was decent and the food was pretty good. The prices are a bit high and we spent close to $100 on lunch for 3 people.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen: 
Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen on Urbanspoon

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La-Mezcaleria-bench

La Mezcaleria was created by the same people as La Taqueria. They are the first mexican restaurant offering the finest small batch mezcal, tequila and cocktails from different regions of Mexico. You will find it as a good drinking place with some Mexican cuisine.

La-Mezcaleria-inner

It definitely has a different atmosphere than La Taqueria. It gets darker at night and louder. Not a bad thing as its more of a fun atmosphere at night.

La-Mezcaleria-flight

Espadin Mezcal Flight ($26) They have their customized flights served with sangrita and lime. These are strong drinks! The flight I got had Fidencio Unico, Scorpion Silver and Rey Zapoteco mezcal. You’re supposed to be sipping these drinks throughout your meal and chase it down with the sangrita and lime.

La-Mezcaleria-horchata

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley.  It’s white, so it totally looks like milk. Tasted great!

La-Mezcaleria-cheesy

Queso Fundido ($16 + Chorizo $2.50) is Mezcaleria’s molten cheese fondue served in a volcanic rock molcajete. You have your choice of either salsa verde or Mexican chorizo.

The dish is very rich and oily. You scoop this onto a corn tortilla and enjoy. I found that it didn’t hold very well in the tortilla because the oil would just be dripping out. The best part of the dish is the cheese on the sides of the bowl. It’s crispy!!

La-Mezcaleria-guac

Guacamole ($7) is made to order with fresh avocado, cilantro, lime, onion, jalapeño and tomato. This is a staple dish to have at any Mexican restaurant. Good as an appetizer to nibble on with some drinks.

La-Mezcaleria-s

Enchiladas Clasicas ($14) is filled with spicy chicken, cheese or beans. Topped with green tomatillo or red tomato salsa, onion, cream and Mexican cheese. M went with the green tomatillo sauce. It was a bit spicy but he loved the sauce and the complex flavours.

La-Mezcaleria-taco

Tostadas De Pato has Fraser Valley duck confit, guava, fruit mole sauce (manchamanteles), chayote squash and radish. The tortilla on the bottom is fried, so its hard to eat with your hands. I liked eating it with a fork and knife.

La-Mezcaleria-t

They have other taco selections too similar to La Taqueria. They’re all pretty darn good!

La-Mezcaleria-sauce

You have 4 sauces to choose from at the table – Chipotle, salsa verde, chile de arbol and habanero. My favourite is always the salsa verde.

Overall, if you are familiar with La Taqueria’s tacos and that’s all you want, you are best to probably stick with La Taqueria. The prices are a bit higher but you do have more variety of dishes. I know I keep comparing it to La Taqueria, but that’s what a lot of people are familiar with. People like coming here for the drinks and ambiance.

We Rate La Mezcaleria

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Websitehttp://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

La Mezcaleria on Urbanspoon

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chicha

Chicha is a fun and casual restaurant serving up Peruvian inspired cuisine. They opened up in May 2013 and located on Broadway near Main.

My coworkers have said amazing things about this eatery and I was very excited to come here for Dine Out Vancouver, Their menu is $28 and you get to choose, 1 entree, 2 mains, and a desserts. I love the tapa style dishes and great for sharing. It gives you an opportunity to try more dishes.

Their menu had lots of options and to be honest, I was very overwhelmed because I didn’t know what to order. Plus, a lot of the names of the dishes sounded very unfamiliar. These are times I wish I had one of those menus with pictures.

chicha

Chicha Morada ($3.50) is a traditional Peruvian beverage made of purple corn, spices, pineapple, and citrus. It’s a non-alcoholic drink and its very delicious. It comes with a cute paper straw and beautifully decorated with lime and pineapple.

chicha

Fresh Local Seafood Chowder has aji amarillo chili pepper, red nugget, sweet potatoes, corn and cilantro oil. Magz and FierceFeathers both got this as their appetizer and adored the unique combination of flavours.

chicha

Palitas de Yuca has cassava root and a huancaina sauce. The yuca was very crunchy and quite different from your usual fries. It’s a good dish but it really doesn’t compare to the seafood chowder.

chicha

Rocoto Braised Lamb and Wine Cured Chorizo Fettuccini has black olives, tomato and parmesan cheese, and cilantro oil.

chicha

Pollo anticuchos has aji chili marinated chicken breast skewers with brown butter fingerling potato, choclo corn, and trio of aji chili sauces. The chicken was moist and have great flavours that balanced out the aji trio sauces.

chicha

Yarrow Meadows Duck Spring Rolls has wild mushroom, five spice duck confit spring rolls served with a peashoot and pickled daikon salad and ginger and Japanese plum wine sauce. There’s a good amount of duck in the spring roll.

chicha

Lomo Saltado has flat iron steak, kennebec fries, red onion, peppers, tomato wok fried with soy sauce, garlic, and aji amarillo chili. Image it as like a Peruvian poutine. I actually imagined this dish quite differently. It tasted like an asian stir-fry with fries. We didn’t like this dish.

chicha

Spiced Aji Chili Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding with Peruvian dulce de leche, and pisco raspberry sauce.

chicha

Lucuma, white chocolate, and lime frozen torte with passion fruit and raspberry sauce. This was a very unique dessert and it really cleanses your palate.

We definitely felt there were dishes that were a hit and some a miss. You really have to read all the ingredients carefully or ask how the dish is presented. The food was ok, but I wasn’t very impressed by the choices of the dishes I chose.

We Rate Chicha

Address:
136 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.chicharestaurant.com/

Chicha on Urbanspoon

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Earlier last month a few of my friends and I were dining at the Hapa Izakaya in Coal Harbour. I’ve been to Hapa several times and had no issues, but that particular dining experience was horrible and I felt bad for my friends. I won’t delve into it, but you can read it all on thefoodqueen.ca. We were invited back to any Hapa Izakaya location to have a re-do of our meal.

Hapa Izakaya has a reputation for delicious Japanese food with pretty waitresses according to some of my Toronto friends. I spend more time staring at food than at people. Thats why I spend more time snapping pictures of food than of my friends. Horrible habit, but hopefully that will change one day.

Hapa-inner

The Robson location is quite large, so there is tons of room to accommodate large groups. We came on a snowy day, so that’s why this place wasn’t packed. No one wants to brave though the snow for some eats. Vancouverites fear snow, no matter how much there is.

Hapa Izakaya

Pint of Sapporo is my drink of choice at a Japanese restaurant. It’s light, crisp and refreshing.

Hapa Izakaya

Hello Kitty ($7.50) is a cocktail drink made of strawberry puree, calpis, absolut vodka, and soda. It was a fun drink and it did not taste too alcoholic.

Hapa Izakaya

Shigoku Oysters ($2.99) was recommended by our waitress and is OceanWise. It is from Washington and flavour profile is salty, mildly sweet with a water chestnut finish. It tasted pretty darn good.

Hapa has a large selection of fresh oysters with 17 different varieties. Very impressed.

Hapa Izakaya

Ahi Tuna ($11.99) is OceanWise and is beautifully cut. Yumm.

Hapa Izakaya

Sockeye Salmon ($10.99) is also OceanWise and are good cuts.

Hapa Izakaya

Beef Tataki ($9.99) is a very popular dish. It is made of lightly seared AAA beef with a sesame-chili sauce. I didn’t like it because of the sauce, I much prefer it with garlic chips and ponzu sauce. Just a personal preference.

Hapa Izakaya

Bintoro ($9.99) is made of OceanWise albacore tuna sashimi that is lightly seared. It also has Ponzu Sauce and fried garlic chips. Delicious!

Hapa Izakaya

Cho Wagyu ($12.49) is a fun dish. You get a super hot stone and you get to cool your own kobe beef. It comes with garlic ships, green onion and ponzu sauce.

Hapa Izakaya

Beef Short Ribs ($12.99) has grilled AAA beef short ribs with an apple-soy marinade. Its really good! The meat is quite tender and very flavourful.

Hapa Izakaya

Karaage ($8.99) has fried boneless chicken, and a soy ginger sauce.

Hapa Izakaya

Teriyaki Mochi Gnochi ($5.49) comes with 2 pieces on a stick. It’s a deep fried potato gnocchi with a teriyaki glaze.

Hapa Izakaya

Spicy Pork Ishi-Yaki ($9.99) has rice, minced pork, garlic sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce, and spicy miso in a hot stone bowl.

Hapa Izakaya

Ebi Mayo ($8.99) has tempura prawns with a spicy mayo sauce. It was ok, but needs more mayo.

Hapa Izakaya

Kaki Fry ($9.99) comes with 6 pieces. It is pan-fried sawmill bay oyster, and panko breaded. It comes with tartar sauce.

Hapa Izakaya

Gindara ($11.49) has baked OceanWise sablefish in a sake-miso marinade with some veggies on the side. The skin of the sable fish was crispy.

Hapa Izakaya

Polenta Fries ($7.99) has polenta tempura, soy-balsamic reduction and arugula gel. All the fries are piles up in a stack like Jenga. It’s a fun dish to share.

Hapa Izakaya

Oyster Risotto ($13.99) is a new item on their menu and it is served in a hot stone bowl. It contains rice, oysters, mozzarella, onion, carrot, mushroom, green beans, and a cream miso broth. It was a filling dish and it really good. I love mushrooms and oysters.

Hapa Izakaya

Chocolate Parfait ($5.99) is a mishmash of different ingredients. Blueberries, corn flakes, brownies, cake, and chocolate ice cream.

Hapa Izakaya

Creme Brulee ($4.99) is topped with fruits and cookies.

Hapa Izakaya

Matcha Roll Cake ($5.49) has matcha cream with the match cake. Good for those green tea lovers out there.

The desserts were all pretty comparable.

Overall, if you are looking for some delicious Japanese tapas and some drinks for a girls night out or a date, this is the place to go. But it can get pricey compared to some of the other izakaya restaurants in town.

We rate Hapa Izakaya: 

Address:
1479 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://hapaizakaya.com/

Hapa Izakaya (Robson) on Urbanspoon

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Craft-Beer-Market-Vancouver

My coworkers and I have been keeping an eye on the Craft Beer Market opening up in the Olympic Village near Science World. What I love about this area is it’s amazing views and how this neighbourhood is transforming. It was supposed to be open during the Summer of 2013, but due to some delays, it is going to officially open on November 7th, 2013.

Word has spread around the office that they are currently having a soft opening and are open for business. We were bidding a coworker goodbye, so it seemed like the perfect place to have an office lunch.

Craft-Beer-Market-Vancouver

This place is HUGE! There are even 2 elevated private seating areas. Also, the beautiful bar in the centre with so many different types of Craft Beer.

Craft-Beer-Market-Vancouver

Wall of beer kegs.

Craft-Beer-Market-Vancouver

More beer!

Below are images of their food and drink menus.

Menu

Fast Food Sushi?! Red Racer IPA Infused Taquitos?!

Their menus are labeled with healthy, vegetarian, ocean-wise and  gluten-free options. It really help taking the guess work if you have dietary restrictions. Nice touch!

P1070402

Dark beer braised beef brisket?! Phillips Beer Can Chicken?!

P1070404

20 Napkin Burger?! Earnest Ice Cream!!

Looks like there are some amazing sounding items on the menu.

Beer Menu

SO much beer!

P1070407

Too many to choose from.

CRAFT Beer Market Poke

 Hawaiian Ahi Poke ($14) has chopped sashimi-grade tuna, cucumber, fresh ginger, garlic, and a sesame soy vinaigrette with crispy wonton skins. Magz said it tasted alright, but is lacking a few ingredients. Perhaps avocados.

CRAFT Beer Market soup

Craft House Soup (Bowl – $8) has cheddar, jalapeno, and their Village House Ale.

CRAFT Beer Market Wings Canadian

 Wings ($13) 1lb of crispy Rossdown Farms chicken wings tossed in Canadian sauce (bacon and maple syrup). The Canadian flavour was surprisingly good. It was subtle, but it just worked so well. For some reason we imagined it to be a thick sauce, but we were glad it wasn’t like that.

CRAFT Beer Market Fast Food Sushi

Fast Food Sushi ($12) cheeseburger and fries wrapped in bacon. It is dressed with jalapeño cream cheese and BBQ sauce. This was a very interesting item on the menu that JP just had to order. It was sinfully delicious and would be a great combination with some beer.

CRAFT Beer Market Thai Wraps

 Thai Lettuce Wraps ($12 + Chicken $5) has crispy noodles and veggies sautéed with sweet ginger and lemongrass served with julienne vegetables, rice and a trio of house made sauces. It’s a great interactive dish where you can build your lettuce wraps yourself. One thing my coworkers said was that they wished the lettuce would be larger so it could hold more of the filling.

CRAFT Beer Market waldorf salad

Waldorf chicken salad ($16) has parmesan and walnut crusted Rossdown Farms chicken, sun-dried cranberries, mixed greens, grapes, blue cheese, celery, and honey mustard vinaigrette. It was a big salad with a lot of ingredients.

CRAFT Beer Market Brewmaster Chicken Sandwich

Brewmaster’s Chicken Sandwich ($15) has Rossdown Farms chicken breast, avocado, bacon, aged cheddar, tomato lettuce, and red onion in a ciabatta bun. You have your choice of either Kennebec fries, mixed greens, caesar salad, spinach salad or soup. My coworker went with the spinach salad.

CRAFT Beer Market mac and cheese

Craft Mac & Cheese ($16) has a blend of cheddar, gouda, mozzarella and fontina cheese tossed with bacon and poblano peppers topped with parsley and garlic breadcrumbs. It is also served with grilled garlic bread. The portion was huge, but I really wish the mac and cheese was a bit more gooier.

Overall, the food was pretty good, but there are a few kinks to work out. Prices are a tad high, but its ok considering the area that it’s located in. Their menu is large and you can always find something to eat and plus, their beverage menu is massive. I can see it as a great place to come after work to chill with coworkers or friends. It’s a great addition to the Olympic Village area and definitely adds some competition in the area.

We Rate Craft Beer Market

Address:
85 West 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.craftbeermarket.ca/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CRAFT-Beer-Market-Vancouver/306941952714764

CRAFT Beer Market on Urbanspoon

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The Purple Pig

The Purple Pig is one of Chicago’s most talked about restaurants. It’s located right on the Magnificent Mile and has won 3 consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago awards. It basically means they are quality restaurants at an affordable price.

The Purple Pig

Even at 5:30pm, the place was packed. They don’t take reservations, so you gotta get there early if you have a big party. They do have indoor and outdoor seating.

The Purple Pig

There weren’t any tables left so we sat at the bar, which looks into their little kitchen behind the bar. Fun to see them put our dishes together.

The Purple Pig

Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Pickled Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg. This item is very popular and its’ really good. It’s quite greasy, so its nice to have a drink to go with this. Highly recommended.

The Purple Pig

Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes. The shoulder was very tender and lots of flavours It was slightly on the salty side, but still yummy.

The Purple Pig

Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs has some rustic toasted bread on the side. If you’ve never had bone marrow before, it just tastes like fat and oil. Some people like it, but it’s more of

Overall, it was pretty tasty food and a nice meal before heading to Second City to watch a comedy show. Our bellies were full of pork. We didn’t have a full meal here since we weren’t that hungry, but some of their other dishes looked amazing.

We Rate The Purple Pig

Address:
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.thepurplepigchicago.com/

The Purple Pig on Urbanspoon

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Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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

Ten Ten Tapas

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.


Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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.

Ten Ten Tapas

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

Ten Ten Tapas

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

Ten Ten Tapas

Grilled Fluffy Polenta was delicious as well.

Ten Ten Tapas

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/

Ten Ten Tapas on Urbanspoon

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The Keefer Bar

My coworkers were looking for a place to hang out after work over some drinks and small bites. A few block away from the office was The Keefer  Bar and people told us there were some amazing cocktails here. They even have 2 for 1 special on food Sunday to Thursday from 5pm to 8pm.

They have patio seating and indoor seating. It was a hot and bright day outside, so we opted to sit indoors. We didn’t want to develop a tan since there wasn’t any shade outside.

The Keefer Bar

Their menu is pretty cool, and after a long day, the Keefer Bar has the prescription we needed – alcohol and food.

The Keefer Bar

SIngha Beer ($5) was my choice. It was on special for $5 and it has a nice clean crisp taste.

The Keefer Bar

Some of my coworkers shared a pitcher of Komodo Dragon ($7 glass || $30 Pitcher). It looked like a pretty awesome drink and they said it tasted fantastic. It has pimms, giffard lychee, lemon, yuzu marmalade, ginko biloba, royal jelly & soda.

The Keefer Bar

Meat and Cheese Plate ($16) came with 3 types of meat and cheeses, crackers, olives, and mustard. It was really good. Perfect item to nibble on and they chose to tasty cheese and meats. This item was not part of the 2 for 1 deal.

The Keefer Bar

Dim sum ($7) came in a little bamboo steamer with 6 pieces. At first I was a bit skeptical about the quality of these little dumplings, but they were pretty good. It’s up to par with dim sum restaurants, but the size is a bit smaller.

Keefer bar

Keefer Pizza ($10) was ok, It was thin crust with marinara sauce, gruyere, mozzarella,roasted garlic, steamed gailan leaves. Yummy! Depending on how many people you are  with, they can cut the slices smaller or larger depending on how you want it.

Keefer Bar

Peking Duck Sliders  ($9) was sandwiched between 2 fluffy buns. Once you bite into it, you can taste the butter from the bun and the savouriness from the duck. It’s really good. There is also cucumber, cilantro, pineapple, and plum sauce.

Keefer bar

Spring Rolls ($7) come with 3 on a plate with plum sauce. It was really good too! You can choose from either vegetarian and shrimp options. We chose it with shrimp.

Keefer bar

Peking Duck Tacos ($10) come with 2 on a plate. It’s a double layered soft taco shell housing the delicious duck meat, Keefer slaw, Thai basil and plum sauce. Yummy!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cocktails of food. They do both really well and you won’t be disappointed. The best time to come is during the happy hour for 2 for 1 food. We ordered a ton of food and paid under $20 per person. The only problem is that the service is a bit slow and not super friendly.

We Rate the Keefer Bar

Address:
135 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC

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

The Keefer Bar on Urbanspoon

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Burdock & Co.

Burdock & Co has open up in the former location of Cafeteria. This restaurant is headed by Chef Andrea Carlson. Her menu reflects the locavore philosophy with using local organic produce throughout the menu. The interior is quite cozy with a communal table and a few separate tables on the side.

My coworkers and I came here after work one day just to chill over some delicious food. The plates are best shared with a group. The 3 of us shared 4 dishes and a dessert.

Burdock & Co.

Burdock & Beer ($11) is a mixture of saison, gingerbeer, burdock root & sour, ginger, plum & rootbeer bitters.

Burdock & Co.

Seasonal Garden-Slug ($11) contains vodka, lemon, apple & fenugreek, western elderberry bitters, and moondog bitters. I chose this cocktail for its name since ‘garden-slug’ sounded adventurous. There’s no garden slug in this, but it tasted good and went well with the intricate dishes.

Burdock & Co.

Urban Digs Egg ($9), wild cress, hazelnut & blue cheese granola, browned butter and potato vinaigrette. It’s a vegetarian dish. The quality of ingredients was great and the items did blend nicely together. Portions are on the smaller side.

Burdock & Co.

Fresh Oysters ($15) comes with finger lime caviar, french breakfast radish, chickweed,apple & verbena sorbet, and a kasu emulsion. Beautiful presentation of the ingredients and tasted good but as you can tell, it won’t fill you up if you just order this item.

Burdock & Co.

Pickled humpback shrimp ($14)  also has house made tofu, wild ginger, charred spring onion, and fiddleheads. It’s yet another beautiful dish, but it’s not enough to fill a person up.

Burdock & Co.

Harvest Oxtail Ramen ($13) also has swiss chard and kimchi. This item is best to order as it has more substance to it. If you have been to Harvest Community Foods and tried this ramen, you’ll be a fan of this. Before opening up Burdock & Co, the Chef Andrea Carlson was at Harvest Community Foods, so you can see how aspects are infused into her menu. It tasted good and I would recommend this dish.

Burdock & Co.

Salted Caramel Apple Pot Pie ($8) topped with Elderflower Ice Cream. When we saw the salted caramel words, we gravitated towards this dessert. The elderflower ice cream was very subtle in flavour that balanced the butteriness of the crust. The crust was crispy and under it laid the piping hot apple mixture.

Overall, Burdock and Co isn’t for everyone. It’s a bit pricey than other places in town, but if you consider the ingredients that goes into their items, you know it’s not processed or frozen. They care about the ingredients and have built strong relationships with local farmers. It’s best to share the dishes as they are a bit of a tapa style.

We Rate Burdock and Co:

Address:
2702 Main St.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.burdockandco.com/

Burdock & Co. on Urbanspoon

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Sip Resto Lounge on Granville Street is participating in Dine Out Vancouver again! What is unique about Sip is that every dish is made of alcohol or at least used to be. Even though most of the alcohol is burned off in the cooking process, its a cool concept. For $18, you get a 3 course meal. I came here about 7 years ago for Dine Out and remembered it was good. CandiedZen and I came here since the menu looked OK and the price seemed right.

Sip Resto Lounge

Beef Carpaccio is topped with Arugula, Garlic Aioli, and Aged Parmigianno. Delicious and the aioli worked nicely.

Sip Resto Lounge

Tuna Tower has Sherry Marinated Albacore Tuna, Cool Coleslaw, and Tropical Pineapple. It tasted more like spicy tuna sashimi. You have the tuna on the first layer, and then layer 2 and 3 is the cracker.

Sip Resto Lounge

Guinness Grilled Chicken has Free Range Organic Chicken, Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes, Seasonal Veggies, and Guinness Gravy. The chicken was plenty moist, but the Guinness Gravy didn’t mad must taste to the chicken.

Sip Resto Lounge

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is Bacon Wrapped with an Apple and Caramelized Onion Filling. It also has Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Season Veggies, and a Mushroom Strongbow Cider Pan Sauce. The pork was tender and plenty flavourful.

Sip Resto Lounge

Frangelico Chocolate Cake was very thick with the chocolate ganache. It wasn’t that good.

Sip Resto Lounge

New York Style Cheesecake was probably the best of the 2 desserts. It has a nice smooth texture and the fruity sauce worked well.

Overall, the food was just average, but paying $18 for 3 courses was acceptable. The staff was nice and attentive, but the tables were not as clean. It wasn’t as pretty as I remember from all those years ago.

We Rate Sip Resto Lounge

Address:
1117 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
 http://www.siplounge.com/

Sip Resto Lounge on Urbanspoon

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One of my favorite restaurants in 2012 and probably 2013 is Sushi K Kamizato in Port Coquitlam. Sushi K Kamizato is run by Chef Keith and his wife Chika in Port Coquitlam.

Sushi K Kamizato

Salmon and Tuna Karaage comes complementary. It’s really addictive and a great start to the meal. My sister loves these, so every time we are here, she steals half of mine.

Sushi K Kamizato

Seared Toro Nigiri is my favorite item on their menu. The toro just melts in your mouth! You don’t need any sauce for it, eating it in 2 bites is just perfection. You must order this!!!

Sushi K Kamizato

Tuna Tataki Salad has spinach, peppers, carrots, and the chunks of tuna tataki on the centre. It’s really good too.

Sushi K Kamizato

Salmon Sashimi has about 8 pieces and it’s really good quality salmon!

Sushi K Kamizato

Grilled Aburi Saba comes with some sauteed cabbage and lemon on the side. The lemon definitely goes really well with it, so remember to squeeze it.

Sushi K Kamizato

Torched Dynamite Roll isn’t on the menu, but having it torched adds a nice taste and texture to the roll.

Sushi K Kamizato

OceanWiser Roll is a must try when you come here. It has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado. It has its own sauce, so you don’t need to dip it in soy sauce.

Sushi K Kamizato

PoCo Gunner was shrimp tempura and cucumber in the middle and topped with seared inari. Another popular roll.

Sushi K Kamizato

Tuna Four-Ways isn’t on the menu, but it’s sometimes on their specials. It’s really good! He prepares tuna four different ways and extends the flavour and texture in each item. It must be eaten in order too. Definitely ask for this!

Sushi K Kamizato

Pretty in Pink Roll is a special roll created to support anti-bullying. It has seared Japanese scallop in a bed of fresh spinach, brown rice, homemade salsa and garlic sauce. All held together with a pink soybean wrap and raspberry puree drizzle.$1 from each roll sold went towards the Boy & Girls Club of Greater Vancouver.

This is definitely a very healthy roll and it didn’t taste very good at all.

Sushi K Kamizato

Chopped Scallop comes with 8 pieces and the scallops are large! You really get your moneys worth!

Sushi K Kamizato

Saba Battera comes in 8 pieces and has mackerel and rice pressed into a box shape. Really good roll as well.

Sushi K Kamizato

Green Tea Ice Cream is the same as anywhere else that would have green tea ice cream.

Overall, good service and food every time I come here. When the place is busy, expect your food to take a while longer. The strongest items on their menu are definitely anything from the sushi bar that’s raw. The cooked food is slightly lacking the saba is really good.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Small restaurant
  • Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
  • All sushi comes with 8 pieces
  • Fresh ingredients
  • Grilled Aburi Saba, Seared Toro Nigiri, OceanWiser Roll, Tuna Tataki Salad, Agedashi Tofu, Salmon Sashimi, Tuna 4 ways, and Spicy & Shout Rolls is recommended!

We Rate Sushi Kamizato

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

Website:
http://www.sushikkamizato.com/

Sushi K Kamizato on Urbanspoon

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Sushi Kamizato is a new Japanese restaurant that opened up 4 months ago in Port Coquitlam. It is Japanese owned and they serve awesome sushi and its very different from Sushi Town or California Sushi. The owners stay true to their roots and make sushi like how it can be found in Southern Japan.

There are only about 22 seats in the restaurant, so it’s a bit tricky to fit large parties here unless you arrange with them ahead of time.

Try to strike a conversation with the sushi chef or the waitress, they can be helpful in deciding what to order. They are also extremely nice.

Green Tea is complementary! It’s good too.

When we arrived at the table, we got a complementary appetizer. I think it as like a seafood karrage. It was really good and my little sister love it so much that she ate most of it.

Aburi Saba is seared saba with a miso sauce on top. It was so good!

Asian Nachos have sheets of deep-fried wonton sheets with a mixture of tuna, avocado and tomatoes. It’s very different from regular nachos, but it tastes good!

Chopped Scallop comes with 8 pieces and the scallops are large! You really get your moneys worth!

Aburi Beef Carpaccio was tender and lightly seared on the outside.

Some slices could have been a bit thinner, but the flavours were still good.

Ocean Wiser has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado.

It has it’s own sauce, which makes this roll deliciously flavourful!

PoCo Gunner was shrimp tempura and cucumber in the middle and topped with seared inari.

Tiger eyes is one of their special nigiri rolls. Rice is wrapped with seared salmon belly and topped with chopped scallop mixture. It tasted so good! The salmon belly just melts in your mouth! So good!

Overall, I was impressed by their menu and how creative they are with their dishes. They aren’t trying to be like the other sushi restaurant around town. If you are looking for something different and creative, come to Sushi Kamizato!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Small restaurant
  • Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
  • Fresh ingredients

We Rate Sushi Kamizato:

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

Website:
http://www.sushikkamizato.com/

Sushi K Kamizato on Urbanspoon

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Indochine is located on Broadway and Ontario St. They have menu items influence by South Asian countries such as Thai, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. After heading from Science World, we drove a few minutes and decided to come here for the Wednesday special of half price wings and $4.99 import beers. Past visitors have remarked a few items are similar to popular restaurant – Phnom Penh. It is indeed related to Indochine! Same family of restaurants, but Indochine is higher end.

They have some good specials on other nights too! Notably Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday.

The interior has a large bar with lots of TVs surrounding the room. It’s a great place to see the game or just kick back for a few drinks.

Heineken ($4.99)

Vietnamese Iced Coffee took a long time to arrive at the table. M finished half his beer before my drink even arrived. The taste was good, but the wait was long.

Indochine Garlic Butter Chicken Wings ($4.75) comes with garlic chips and lemon pepper dipping sauce. It was delicious and the most popular item in Indochine. Hands down, awesome! It is also similar to Phnom Penh but its in smaller portions.

Sriracha Buffalo Wings ($4.75) has traditional buffalo wings marinated with Sriracha hot sauce. It wasn’t too spicy either.

Honey Garlic Wings ($4.75) has deep-fried wings glazed with a honey garlic sauce. We enjoyed these and had a good balance of sauce ratio.

Butter Beef Carpaccio ($12) has buttery slices of raw beef in a citrus Vietnamese vinaigrette, garlic chips and cilantro. It’s a very popular item and people order this because it’s a popular item found at Phnom Penh. During our visit at Indochine, when our butter beef carpaccio arrived, the meat was warm and threw off the entire taste and texture of the dish.

Singaporean Laksa ($8.75) has rice vermicelli noodles in a spicy seafood coconut curry broth with prawns, tofu puffs, fish balls, Fish slices, a hardboiled egg and bean sprouts. It was a decent size, but it was definitely a hard dish to share. The flavours of the broth was very good and not too spicy. We enjoyed it.

Overall, the food was good during the 1/2 priced Wings on Wednesday, but I felt the regular prices are a bit expensive. A lot of people compare Phnom Penh and Indochine, but they have different target demographics, so if you have Phnom Penh expectations, you may be disappointed. Portion sizes and prices are different.

We Rate Indochine:

Address:
1 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.indochinekitchen.ca/

Indochine Kitchen + Bar on Urbanspoon

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ShuRaku Sake Bar and Bistro is on Granville street and Robson near the “clubbing district” in Downtown Vancouver. They serve Japanese Tapas and are open for lunch and dinner.

During lunch, they have a special lunch menu with a good array of items available. A few coworkers and I decided to head down and grab some lunch from here. It was the closest Izakaya-like place to our office, so we headed here.

It gets a bit busy during lunch, but you should be able to find a spot. They also have a small patio out in front as well.

Katsu Don ($8.25) has Pork cutlet and onions are cooked with egg and sweet soy sauce and placed on top of rice. Topped with green onions. HipsterGirl got quite full from this, but did enjoy it.

Lunch Box B ($10.95) has BBQ Beef Rib, Assorted Tempura, Green Salad, Rice & Miso Soup. The beef ribs were really tender and flavourful. Since there was so much rice, I took some of the beef rib sauce and put it onto the rice. It makes it more enjoyable. The tempura was crisp of the outside and the item inside was nicely cooked.

Lunch Box C ($9.95) has chicken Teriyaki, assorted Tempura, Green Salad, Rice & Miso Soup. MeatLover thought it was a well put together bento box.

Miso Soup comes with the 2 bento boxes. It is good and full of thinly slices green onions.

Overall, good lunch sets, but the wait took a long time! We spent a majority of our lunch hour waiting for the food to arrive. When it did arrive, we didn’t have much long to eat. If you do not have a long lunch break, don’t come here as you will be late.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Great atmosphere
  • Lunch sets
  • Lots of variety of alcohol
  • Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate ShuRaku Sake Bar and Bistro:

Address:
833 Granville St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
www.shuraku.net
ShuRaku Sake Bar and Bistro on Urbanspoon


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Matsuyama in Richmond has some great late night specials after 9pm. After hearing so much about this place from Wongers, I had to join her, Mini604, GoMunch and Lensflaaare for some late night nom noms.

The place was packed at night, but I guess everyone was there for the late night menu. Also note that parking here is so bad too. You gotta stalk for a parking space.

Miso Soup ($0.89) was the usual miso soup and nothing too special about it.

Salmon Sashimi ($4.25) was a good size and decent quality. They also have toro and tuna on their late night menu for the same price. Unfortunately, when we got there, there was no more toro.

Chicken Karrage (3.95) was nicely deep-fried but still a bit average. It was a good amount of karrage for the price.

Beer Sashimi ($4.95) is thinly sliced with a bed of lettuce, daikon, and sweet sauce. Yum.

Green Tea Ice Cream was something we all craved at the table. They had other flavours too like mango and coconut. I’m sure they didn’t make it themselves and came in a tub. Still it tasted alright.

Overall, the food is quite average, but the draw to Matsuyama are the late night specials.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Items from $0.89 to $7.95
  • Free parking, but lot is usually full
  • Decent food, some items are hit or miss

We Rate Matsuyama:

Address:
8500 Alexandra Rd
Richmond, BC

Matsuyama 松山 on Urbanspoon


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Damso Modern Korean Cuisine is located on Denman street and they serve up some delicious Korean dishes with a modern twist.

Jay of Coma Food Truck invited a few of his loyal customers that supported his food truck to Damso to say thank you. It’s sad to see Coma Food Truck go, but I see a great future for Jay and in his future ventures.

You start off with a trio of little items – spinach, bean sprouts and radish kimchi.

Seafood Waffle ($8.25) has prawns, scallop, squid, bacon, and scallion. This was so good! Imagine the traditional Korean Seafood pancake, but in pancake form. It was really good and probably the best I’ve had so far. Yum! It’s a must order!

Ddok-Kalbee ($6.85) are beef meatballs with king oyster mushroom, scallion salad and jalapeno pickles. The meatballs were really delicious with great flavour and a slightly sweet sauce. I could definitely eat these all day.

Chicken Gizzard contains stir-fried chicken gizzard, roasted garlic, scallion salad, with mustard vinaigrette. Surprisingly the gizzards were not tough at all, but a bit chewy. It can be a strange thing to eat, but it tasted good.

Pork Skin ($6.75) has sautéed with chive, onion and spicy Korean chili sauce. It wasn’t too spicy, but I really didn’t like the texture of the pork skin. It was limp and tasted like fatty jelly. I much prefer my pork skin crispy.

Kalbee – Korean BBQ Short Ribs ($15.95) is their signature dish. It has grilled AAA beef ribs marinated in housemade Korean BBQ sauce. It comes with rice too. This is an amazing dish! The meat is so tender and just falls off the bone. Wongers just wanted to steal this sauce since it was so good. Highly recommended!

Chicken Kalbee Ddok-Bokki has sautéed chicken, rice cake, and sweet Gochujang sauce. It was a bit spicy, but not my favorite dish. It was still a bit traditional.

Meat Party Platter ($34.95) comes with 24 hr slow cooked pork & medium rare grilled marinated AAA beef steak. I wasn’t a fan of the slow cooked pork, but the medium rare beef was so delicious. Meat!

Yuzu Snowman Sorbet is super cute and tastes really good. It tasted like citrus. It was a great way to end the meal. We felt kinda bad eating this little guy.

Overall, I was quite impressed by the quality of the dishes. I never expected to see modern Korean cuisine done well until now.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Seafood Waffle, Korean BBQ Short Ribs and Yuzu Snowman Sorbet
  • Free parking on street after 6pm but super limited
  • Multigrain rice options

We Rate Damso Modern Korean Cuisine

Address:
867 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.damso.ca/
Damso Modern Korean Cuisine on Urbanspoon


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