Robson Street/West End Archives - Page 2 of 8

In Middle Eastern

Kabsa House: Middle Eastern Cuisine in Downtown Vancouver

November 18, 2018

Kabsa House is located on Robson Street on the 2nd floor specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine. We were invited to check out a few of their dishes on their menu.

Interior

The interior has a lot of natural light during the day and over looks a busy area of Robson Street. You can make reservations for small to large groups.

For really large private parties, they can seat up to 80 guests.

Taboula

Taboula is a salad made of finely chopped mixed vegetables. You will find a lot of parsley with tomatoes, onions, bulgar and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

It’s not for everyone and you will need to like parsley in order to enjoy this salad.

Molokhia

Molokhia is an Egyptian spinach stew served with pita bread. You dip it in and enjoy the flavours. From the first few bites, it has a mouthfeel similar to Okra. Unique dish that you don’t see too much at Middle Eastern restaurants.

Kabab & chicken

This entree comes with a skewer of grilled marinated boneless chicken and a skewer of ground lamb and beef. It is usually served with a house salad, rice and grilled tomato. You can of course customize the sides. We got half & half bukhari & saffron rice. We also upgraded our salad to a Greek salad for an extra charge.

The skewers of meat were really good. Bukhari rice is seasoned and more tasty than the saffron rice, but both are fresh, soft, and moist.

Lamb Awsal

You get two skeweres of grilled marinated boneless lamb served with house salad and grilled tomato. We also made the customization to the rice and salad. The lamb was well seasoned and moist. We like it the best out of the ground beef/lamb and chicken. Cooked perfectly too.

Final Thoughts

It’s good to have more diversity of cuisine on Robson Street and Kabsa House located close to the bus and Skytrain routes. They have a good amount of items on the menu that it will cater towards those with different tastes.

Address:
1128 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://kabsahouse.ca/

In Japanese

Horin Ramen + Sake: Now Open on Robson Street in Vancouver

November 8, 2018

Horin Ramen + Sake finally open their doors on Robson and Bute in Downtown Vancouver. They specialize in Fukuoka Ramen with their own spicy twist. Back in 1966, Mr. Sadayuki Nakahara and his wife Keiko were the originators of adding spicy chili peppers into a pork-based Tonkotsu broth. They have taken this secret recipe and opened a bunch of ramen shops in Japan and now around the word.

Interior

The interior is very narrow with half the restaurant for seating and the other half is their kitchen. Since it just opened, it’s not very busy at all. Plus, they have very limited hours as they are still in their soft opening phase.

They also make their noodles in-house, so you can watch them turn dough into ramen noodles.

Chashu Ramen with Soft Boiled Egg

You have the base of tonkotsu broth and 3 times more slices of braised pork belly for a total of 6 pieces. There is also green onions and their house made chili blend.

You can customize your ramen with noodle firmness (soft, standard, firm), Dashi (less salty, standard, extra salty), House Chili Blend (less spicy, standard, extra spicy), and lard (less fat, standard, or extra fat).

M thought it was ok, but didn’t stand out compared to some other ramen shops in Vancouver. He didn’t like the saltiness of the broth even though he got it standard and the chashu slices were very thin. He didn’t feel like the chili blend was that special as other ramen shops do that in town too.

Ajitama Ramen

You get their soft-boiled egg marinated in their tare-seasoning. There are 2 slices of chashu, chili sauce, and green onions.

You can customize this ramen too and I got it mostly with the standard options, but with firm noodles.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a solid bowl of ramen for this section of Robson Street, but they have stiff competition as there are more ramen shops a few blocks away. It all comes down to personal preference.

The prices are also very fair. When it comes to their sake selection, there are only 4 options and it’s pretty pricey for a whole bottle. They don’t have options for just a cup.

Address:
1226 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

In Chinese

Old Xian’s Food: Now Open on Robson Street

October 31, 2018

Old Xian’s Food finally opened another location in Metro Vancouver. There are other locations in Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver on Kingsway. Best known for their biang biang noodles that are soooo long and thick that you can’t help but take a photo of it. Besides that pork sandwiches and cold noodles are classic items.

I came here after work with M as it was only a few blocks away from his work and I was also craving noodles.

Interior

The space is a decent size and is best for groups of 4s. As it hasn’t been open for very long, the place wasn’t too busy around dinner time.

Xian Cold Noodle

The Xian cold noodles are a classic and one of the most popular dishes from that region. It is served cold with vinegar, chili oil, noodles, cucumbers and gluten. You give this dish a good mix so you get some of their delicious sauce coating the noodles. You can get this in a variety of spice levels, but I went with medium spiciness.

It wasn’t too spicy at all and barely registered any spiciness at all. There was a stronger vinegar taste to the sauce instead.

Brasied Beef with Biang Biang Noodles

Biang Biang Noodles are wide and very long. We went with braised beef and there was a good amount of beef and cabbage to the dish. It was delicious and a hearty meal.

Stewed Pork Burger

The stewed pork burger could have used some more work. It seems like when the added in the stewed pork, there was a lot of sauce, so half of the bun was soaked and hard to handle. There was pickled veggies missing too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the noodles were the star of Old Xian’s Food. The spice level isn’t very spice, so you don’t have to sweat it. Most prices are $10 and under, which is nice for the area.

Address:
1517 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://oldxiansfood.ca/

In Cafe

Cafe Crepe: Sweet and Savoury Crepes in Vancouver

September 21, 2018

Cafe Crepe started out in Vancouver and currently has 4 locations in BC. There are other locations in Santa Monica, Union Station, Toronto, and even Hong Kong.

Since their humble beginnings in 1999, they have been sharing Parisian crepes with their customers. It’s what draws in most people, but they do have other savoury and sweets on the menu.

Interior

Each location is different but at the one on Robson Street, there are lots of tables inside and can get busy during peak times. There are a few people who get their crepes to go as its hand-held and easy to eat on the go.

Crepe in the Making

The best part about ordering a crepe is really watching them put it together. The way the batter is spread on the hot griddle and cooked slowly.

The combination of ingredients that get layered on top of each other to ensure each bite will have a taste of each ingredient.

Boeuf Fumé

This has Montreal smoked meat, Swiss cheese, mushroom and creamy dijon mustard. Most people gravitate towards sweet crepes, but savoury crepes are really good and shouldn’t be overlooked. You get the smokiness from the meat and the savoury mushroom and cheese combination that doesn’t disappoint.

Crepe de Crevette

This was the monthly special when we visited. It has tomato, mushroom, shrimp, parmesan cheese, garlic with lemon and capers. A good contrast of ingredients that match well with the shrimp.

Bon Enfants

This is a decadent sweet crepe with Kinder Bueno garnish, hazelnut cream, vanilla wafers, and dark chocolate sauce. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love the chocolate and hazelnut combination.

Fresh Strawberry and Banana

This has the simplicity of fresh sliced strawberries and bananas with sugar. A good combination.

Nutella

Classic Nutella crepe and you really can’t go wrong with this at all. If you can eat Nutella off a spoon, you can eat it in a crepe.

Final Thoughts

Cafe Crepe has a good selection of sweet and savoury crepes for when you’re on the go or eating in. Sometimes this simple indulgence is all you need. The price of the crepes can be seen as pricey to some but based on the neighbourhood, rent is pretty steep along this neighbourhood. You get more full with the savoury versus the sweet crepes.

Address:
1032 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://cafecrepe.com/

In Fusion

Kosoo Restaurant: $30 Lunch Set for Two in Vancouver

August 8, 2018

Kosoo Resaurant is serving up their Kosoo Set Course for $15 per person. There’s not a lot of options where you can get such a diverse amount of dishes for just $15. We were excited to give this set course a try to see if it’s worth the price.

Interior

There are a good amount of tables inside for small to large groups. If you’re in a large group, it’s best to make a reservation in advance for big groups.

Kosoo Set Menu

The best deal on their menu is their lunch course set for minimum 2 people. It’s a lot of food, but for $15 per person, it’s very good. It comes with:

Tuna Tataki
Mushroom salad
Ball trio
Kosoo Taco
Japchae
Dduk Galbi
24 hour pork belly, miso marinated pork belly with salad and pickle
Mackerel
Korean Miso Soup
Kimchi
Matcha Creme Brûlée

11 dishes for $30 isn’t bad at all. You get to try a variety of food with a diverse taste profile. Some items on the menu may change based on availability and seasonality.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a staple in Korean cuisines and you usually find it on the dining table. It is a spicy fermented cabbage that tastes sour and spicy.

24 hour Pork Belly and Dduk Galbi

On the left is the miso marinated pork belly with corn, jalapeno and pickle on top. Very tasty but would have been better it if was more tender.

On the right is the Dduk Galbi, which is traditional Korean oven roasted sweet ground beef with a house dressing, pickled onion and jalapeños. This tasted good but was a bit sweet.

Tuna Tataki and Ball Trio

Lightly seared tuna is paired with a sesame dressing and green onions. The ball trio were nicely fried, with a nice kick of spice to it.

Japchae

Japchae is a classic Korean dish made with stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables. It was delicious.

Korean Miso Soup

Korean Miso Soup is made with soybean paste, with mixed veggies, tofu, and beef. It had a good comforting depth of flavour but was borderline salty.

Mushroom salad

The mushroom salad is made of a bed of greens, cherry tomatoes, 3 kinds of mushrooms, feta cheese and a balsamic dressing. A refreshing dish to go with the rest of the meal and it was good.

Kosoo Taco

This has beef with a sweet & spicy sauce, lettuce, and onion on a French crêpe as the soft taco shell. Oddly enough, this was good and kinda tasted like a Big Mac.

Grilled Mackerel

The mackerel is salted and then grilled. Not too fishy and has a good amount of fish fat to it.

Matcha Creme Brûlée

The meal ends with a Matcha Creme Brûlée served in a ceramic dish with a cute spoon.

Final Thoughts

Overall the set was worth it for $15 per person and some dishes were a hit and miss, but mostly still very positive. If you’re looking for a lunch set like this, we recommend making your way down here to Kosoo to get a taste of their Korean and French fusion dishes.

Address:
832 Cardero Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.kosoorestaurant.ca/

In Izakaya

Izakaya Gon’s on Denman Street

June 27, 2018

Izakaya Gon’s is a new Japanese restaurant that opened up in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. I was quite curious to see how this would compare to the other options in the area. I came after work with my friend to see they stack up. On the menu, you will find traditional izakaya dishes.

Interior

There are a lot of seats inside and it wasn’t too busy as they recently opened. It can fit small to large parties. They also take reservations too.

Iced Green Tea

We both got iced green tea to go with our meals for an extra $2.50. It was unsweetened, but was refreshing to go with the items we ordered.

Fried Squid Legs Kara-age

It is beautifully battered and crisp. It is served with a lemon wedge and a sprig of dill. This was my favourite dish of the evening.

Aburi Unagi Oshi Sushi

This comes in 5 pieces of pressed unagi on rice with eel sauce. This was executed poorly as it was pretty expensive for what you get. The rice was very warm and didn’t have time to cool down before turning it into this sushi.

Tempura Curry Udon

This huge bowl of udon has prawn and veggies assorted tempura, udon noodles and their curry broth. We shared this big bowl and was tasty, but we did notice is was quite oily and rich.

Gon’s Special Matcha Green Tea Tiramisu

There are layers of cream, matcha and sponge cake. It is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, berries, and whipped cream. The dessert looks beautiful but the taste fell short as it was rather bitter.

Match Green Tea Cake Roll

We did not like this dish at all. The matcha green tea cake roll was dry and dense.

Final Thoughts

The food here was mostly miss with the only dish that we would get again would be the Fried Squid Legs Kara-age, which isn’t saying much. I really wanted to like this place, but a lot of their dishes need more refinement. The desserts also need more thought too as it felt like they cut corners.

Address:
854 Denman St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://izakaya-gons.com/denman/

In Japanese

Ramen Koika: More Ramen on Robson Street

May 14, 2018

Ramen Koika has opened another location on Robson street to join all the other Ramen shops on the same street. It has taken over the previous location of Hapa Izakaya. We came to check out a bunch of their appetizers as well as a few of their ramen dishes.

Interior

The interior is large and there are lots of tables for small to large groups compared to their Davie street location.

Minions Dice

Minions Dice has 4 pieces of deep fried tofu with their special sauce and green onions. It came piping hot and it’s a good small bite to go with ramen.

Golden Scallop Fry

An order comes with 3 pieces of the deep fried scallops in a panko crust. It is then topped with teriyaki sauce.

Takoyaki Balls

The takoyaki pieces have octopus in the centre and then topped with mayo and takoyaki sauce.

Puri-Puri Ebi

You will get 4 pieces of the deep fried panko breaded jumbo shrimp with tartar sauce, sesame and parsley. Crisp when eaten right away or else it gets a bit soggy if you wait too long.

Coco Karaage

This has their house deep fried boneless chicken with a spicy sauce and sesame seeds. It was a bit spicy and a tad sweet.

Creamy Croquette

Inside the croquette is corn, onion, mashed potato, and mozzarella cheese. 3 pieces per order.

Pork gyoza

You get 5 pieces to the order. It has juicy pork on the inside and crisp on one side.

Pork Bao

The pork bao has shredded pork, marinated onion, green onion with their special sauce with mayo inside this bao. I didn’t particularly like this as it was too saucy.

Veggie Triple Black Garlic Ramen

In this ramen, you will find tofu, egg, bean sprouts, spinach, bamboo shoots, green onion, roasted seaweed, and the triple black garlic oil served with their thin noodle. A good option if you don’t want any meat. The garlic is is very delicious.

Triple Black Garlic Ramen

This is their regular ramen with cha-shu, spinach, egg, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, green onion, garlic chips and the triple black garlic oil. The cha-chu was fatty and delicious. The amount of garlic was fragrant and I enjoyed it. I would have wished for a little bit more broth.

Chicken Tamago Ramen

If you love chicken, you will find 2 eggs, garlic chips, bamboo shoots, green onions and the chicken broth with thin noodles. The chicken broth was rich and delicious.

King’s Seafood Ramen

The King’s Seafood Ramen is a beauty and you can get this from mild to spicy. There is blue crab, clams, green mussels, cabbage, black tree fungus, onion, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chili, bean sprouts and sprinkled with more red pepper. If you love spice and seafood, this would be good for you.

Kimchi Ramen

This has the base of chicken broth and it also has shredded pork, kimchi, mushroom, spring onion, onion, cabbage and green onion. You can get this mild or spicy.

Queen’s Ramen

Queen’s ramen has carrot, cabbage, mushroom, green onions, spring onions, bean sprouts, and the chicken broth can be mild or spicy. We had it spicy and it was pretty darn spicy.

Sapporo Miso Ramen

Stir-fried ground pork, bean sprout, green onion, and corn in the noodles and pork broth.

Tonkotsu Shio Ramen

There is chashu, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, green onion, spinach, and bean sprouts with the thin noodles and the pork broth.

Final Thoughts

It’s good to have Ramen Koika join this street as they have a large variety of pork and chicken broth ramen with the ability to have spicy or mild broth. My favourite of all the ramen options us the triple black garlic since I love garlic.

Address:
1479 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ramenkoika.com/

In Happy Hour

Jinya Ramen Bar: Suntory Toki Highballs, Appetizers and Noodles

May 10, 2018

Jinya Ramen Bar on Robson celebrates its 1 year anniversary with a gift to themselves, and their customers by proxy, the first Suntory Toki Highball Machine in Canada! What in the world is a highball machine? You can think of it as Japanese whisky cocktails on tap. While we were at the birthday bash, we also got a peek at their appetizer menu.

Dropping in around the time of their 3 to 5 pm happy hour of $5 Sapporos, $4 craft beer and now the $5 Suntory Toki highball, the place was already humming. By the time we left around 7:00 pm the wait was already around 20 minutes for a seat. As expected from one of the most popular ramen joints in town.

I would liken the Suntory Toki highball to the gin and tonic version of whisky. Bubbly and light kind of a cool breeze freshness; while still having a bit of that warmth of a whisky that lingers inside even after you’ve taken a sip. The soda that is mixed with it is said to be extra carbonated so that it breaks up the fragrance of the drink better.

When you think of Japanese whisky you might think of Suntory’s Yamazaki single malt or Hibiki, a blended whisky, the latter of which I often seen behind the bars in Vancouver; and Lost in Translation. Toki is the newest edition to the line and crafted with the intention of being mixed. We were luckily seated next to some very experienced bartenders at the event and got to hear their insights. From an industry perspective, Suntory Toki is very acceptable price wise. Perhaps this factor combined with the rising popularity of Japanese whisky, we could see more Japanese whisky cocktails at our favourite lounges.

With the drinks, we were served a selection of small bites. Jinya’s appetizers are interesting as they have a bunch of options that aren’t typical izakaya options but still have a distinctly Japanese flair.

Soft shell crab bun

The most curious of the bunch is the soft shell crab bun. It’s a whole soft shell crab deep fried and dressed in a sweet and sour sauce. To round off the crunch, avocado, baby leaf spinach and spicy mayonnaise give it even more dimension. All in a steam bun wrapper.

Crispy chick peas

The crispy chick peas are fried and tossed in spicy curry salt. Extremely light and not at all greasy.

Brussel sprout tempura

Their brussel sprout tempura, similar to the chick peas, is not at all greasy but still comes with the satisfying crunch. Made with white truffle oil, and cut into small pieces to be covered in flavour and tempura batter. This is not a humble brussel sprout but a glamorous barely-vegetable.

Salmon Poké Tacos

Their salmon poke tacos use a fried gyoza wrapper as the shell. A nice way to round out the meal if you are craving something like sashimi.

Creamy Vegan Ramen

When the happy hour event ended, we got in line to be seated again. It’s hard to come to Jinya and leave without having ramen. As their restaurant signage says “no ramen no life”. This time around we opted for the creamy vegan with a side of Takoyaki.

Takoyaki

I was pleasantly surprised to find Jinya’s takoyaki is served on a bed of eggy tartar sauce. Usually a do-no-wrong kind of snack almost no matter where you order it, it’s rare to see something new done with it. Traditionally a street food, takoyaki is a piece of octopus wrapped in a hot ball of batter and brushed with a sweet and salty sauce.

Address:
541 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://jinya-ramenbar.com/

In Dessert

Ciao Bella: Half Price Pasta on Monday and Tuesday

April 23, 2018

My coworkers love to eat, so I always have a good time visiting new restaurant and revisiting old ones. I haven’t been to Ciao Bella in years, so we went for some pasta and dessert. They have been on Denman Street in Vancouver for a long time just a few minutes away from Stanley Park and Robson Street.

They have weekly half price pasta on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Interior

The interior hasn’t changed a single bit after all these years. It seems to be stuck in time which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even though it was past Christmas, there were still holiday decorations up.

Drinks

We started the night with some drinks. If there isn’t something you want on the menu, they can make it for you. One of my friends is picky, but they were able to make her a manhattan with margherita mix.

They can do caesars too and mocktails.

Complimentary Bread

Bread arrives at the table and you can dip it into some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Di Mari Pasta

This dish has baby shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, basil and button mushroom in a white wine sauce.

Carbonara

This has pancetta, egg yolk, garlic, parmesan cheese and cream. It’s a rich dish, but classic. So thats why I ordered it. It was cooked al dente and was good.

Linguini alla toni

In this pasta, you will find baby shrimp, calamari & capers in a white wine tomato basil cream sauce

Tiramisu

The tiramisu has layers of mascarpone, lady fingers, and coffee. It is topped with cocoa powder and drizzle of chocolate.

Final Thoughts

The food and service here is ok, but for 50% off pasta on Monday and Tuesday, it was worth it. On a regular night, its a bit expensive for what you get. There are lots of other Italian options in Vancouver

We Rate Ciao Bella:

Address:
703 Denman St, Vancouver

Website: http://www.ciaobellavancouver.ca/

In Cajun/Creole

The Holy Crab: Now Open For Lunch

April 19, 2018

The Holy Crab has recently launched their lunch menu with 10 new items, so if you don’t want seafood boil, you have more lunch friendly options without getting your hands too messy.

Interior

There are lots of seats and tables for small to large groups, but its always good to let them know ahead of time if you have a really big group.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

This sandwich is served with Cajun fries, which are delicious. Deep fried till golden brown and the cajun spice is so good. Inside the sandwich is grilled chicken, caramelized onion & mushroom, pickled coleslaw, arugula, and Cajun aioli all inside the soft ciabatta bun.

Crispy Fish Sandwich

The Cajun fries is served with this sandwich. This is similar to the other sandwich except it has crispy fried catfish, creamy coleslaw, arugula and a tartar sauce.

Surf and Turf Hash

You will find Cajun-lemon hashbrowns, sausages, tiger prawns, shrimp etouffee sauce, and a fried egg in this skillet. This item is a bit more on the brunch spectrum, but its a nice option.

Lobster Grilled Cheese

This is pure decadence with fresh lobster meat, melted mozzarella, dill & cheddar bechamel sauce, lobster butter, and sweet panini bread. It is served with your choice of seafood chowder or seafood bisque. Super cheesy! Just look at all that cheese.

Shrimp Grilled Cheese

Similar to the above but with shrimp.

Fish and Chips

The delicious fish and chips is made of crispy battered catfish and served with tartar sauce, lemon wedge, Cajun fries and creamy coleslaw. I really liked the value of this lunch dish and it was very huge especially if you get 2 pieces. The catfish was moist and delicious. It’s hard to deny a huge plate of fish and chips.

Creamy Cajun Seafood Pasta

This dish has clams, mussels, crawfish, tiger prawns, and creamy tomato Cajun sauce, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and your choice of linguine or spaghetti. You can also customize the spice level to be mild, medium or spicy.

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

There is tiger prawns, shrimp, house-made garlic pepper sauce, 63-degree poached egg, parmesan, and linguine or spaghetti. If you don’t want shrimp or prawns, you can substitute with chicken.

Dirty Rice

This was my favourite dish on the menu. There is clams, mussels, tiger prawns, calamari, catfish, and the home-made garlic pepper sauce. You can pay a bit extra to add on a fried egg.

Blackened catfish with etouffee on rice

This is huge. You can seriously just share it with another person. It has pan-seared catfish fillet, shrimp etouffee sauce, steamed vegetables and jasmine rice.

Seafood and Avocado Salad

This has layers of crab, shrimp, avocado, tomato, corn, and arugula with red apple dark balsamic and cranaberry pear white balsamic. Mix it all up together and you can enjoy. It’s one of the more healthier items on the menu.

Final Thoughts

They also have a kids menu if you have little ones with you. If you still want The Holy Crab’s regular seafood boil during lunch, they are still serving that too. The lunch menu gives great options if you’re working or strolling through the area of the West End. My favourites are the Dirty Rice, Fish & Chips, and the Garlic Shrimp Pasta.

Address:
1588 Robson St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.theholycrab.ca/

In French

Kosoo Restaurant: French and Korean Fusion Cuisine in Vancouver

April 15, 2018

Kosoo Resaurant is a fusion restaurant using typical Korean and Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques. A very interesting flavour combination but can work well together. The restaurant is located by Cardero and Robson Street in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. They are open for lunch and dinner.

Interior

There are a good amount of tables inside for small to large groups. If you’re in a large group, its best to make a reservation in advance for big groups.

Kosoo Set Menu

The best deal on their menu is their lunch course set for minimum 2 people. It’s a lot of food, but for $15 per person, it’s very good. It comes with:

Oyster
Mushroom salad
Bibimbob balls
Kosoo Taco
Japchae
Sweet and spicy assorted sashimi salad
24 hour pork belly, miso marinated pork belly with salad and pickle
Mackerel
Beef Soy Bean Paste Soup
Kimchi
Matcha Creme Brûlée

Caprese

This beautiful dish has tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and a bed of pesto sauce. Very good way to start off the meal, but isn’t what you would normally think would be on the menu.

Tartare Sampler

The sampler comes with beef, tuna and salmon tartare. A good way to taste all three tartares on the menu. I really enjoyed it.

Toro Sashimi

Toro is the deliciously fatty portion of the tuna belly. It’s rich fat content gives it a melt in your mouth texture. The toro is wrapped up in a rose. Just unravel it and eat it with some wasabi and soy sauce.

Gomae

This dish has sauteed spinach sitting a top of a sesame seed dressing. It’s a little bit Japanese and a little bit Korean.

Spicy Tuna Roll

On the base is a California roll topped with seared tuna and jalapeños drizzled with spicy mayo and their secret sauce.

Unagi Roll

This also has a base of California roll but has variations of eel (unagi) and avocado.

For both the rolls, I thought it was ok. Nothing special, but if you’re here and craving sushi, you have options here.

Cheese Chicken Galbi

This is one of their signature dishes and it’s quite popular. It has chicken galbi in the centre with veggies. On the side, there is corn with yam puree and mozzarella cheese.

Tomato Mussel Stew

It has fresh mussels in a broth of Korean spices, prawns and other aromatics. I didn’t really like the taste of the dish as it was salty, fishy and sour all at the same time.

Gambas

This dish has extra virgin olive oil, garlic mussels and prawns. Mussels were on the small side.

Spicy Popeye Gyoza

The crispy gyozas have a spinach cream cheese and prawn inside the crispy wrap.

Drinks

There is beer, wine, cake, soju, and other spirits on the menu. They have recently added Sangria to their menu. They have a Red Wine Bloody Berry and White Wine Fresh Citrus sangrias.

Good for a hot Summer’s day. Fruity, refreshing and sweet.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a unique concept that fuses a variety of cuisines but is predominantly Korean. Their best dishes are those signature dishes like the cheese chicken galbi.

Address:
832 Cardero Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.kosoorestaurant.ca/

In Chinese

Chi Men 吃面: Lanzhou noodle soup in Vancouver

April 8, 2018

Chi Men 吃面 specializes in Lanzhou noodle soup on the West End in Downtown Vancouver. What makes it Lanzhou noodles are the hand pulled noodles of various thicknesses. I wasn’t planning on coming here for dinner with friends but their decor caught our attention.

Interior

I really love the murals of noodle slurpers and it shows what the restaurant is all about. The space isn’t very large, but has enough spots for smaller group. Since it was a cold rainy night, it wasn’t very busy.

Charcoal BBQ Wings

Each order of chicken wings comes with 4 pieces. The taste of the charcoal penetrated deep into the chicken wings.

Traditional Beef Noodle Soup

The broth is clear and not super strong. You can add some chilli oil to add an extra kick of flavour. There are slices of beef, daikon, greens, and a lot of noodles. They didn’t have a lot of noodle options even though it was listed on the menu, so this is the 1.5mm noodles.

Soy Bean Paste Noodle

The soybean paste noodles has noodles topped with soy bean paste, tomatoes, beef, egg, cucumber and green onions. This also has the 1.5mm noodles. My friend found this dish a bit bland and needed more flavour.

Chilli Sauce Noodle

This is a dry noodle dish and it has beef, chilli sauce, mustard greens and green onions. I got this with 1.5mm noodles as it was recommended by the staff. The chilli sauce did pack a little punch. This is one of their most popular items on the menu.

Final Thoughts

The food was good but we wished there were more varieties on the menu for noodle thickness as there should have been 7. The top items to get here is the traditional beef noodle soup and chilli sauce noodle. The prices here are a little higher than what you expect, but given the area, its ok.

We Rate Chi Men:

Address:
1120 Denman Street, Vancouver BC

Website:
http://chi-men.ca/menu

In Cafe

Sulmida: Korean Shaved Ice Desserts in Vancouver

April 5, 2018

Sulmida is a Korean dessert cafe specializing in bingsu or better known as shaved ice. They have other locations in Burnaby and Richmond. This particular one is in Vancouver on the West End on Denman Street close to Robson.

I came here on a weekday with some friends after dinner.

Interior

The space is pretty large compared to other locations, so there are plenty of tables to enjoy your dessert and drinks.

Choco Brownie Bingsu

In the bowl, it is filled with layers of sweet milky shaved ice and the chocolate mixture. Then topped with vanilla ice cream, brownies, and the choco ‘soil’.

Mango Banana Bingsu

As mangoes are in season now, this is very popular, It has mango puree, mango chunks, banana, almonds, and vanilla ice cream.

Green Tea Bingsu

All of the bingu are so cute with the addition of the almond bunny ears. This green tea version has red bean right under the vanilla ice cream.

Final Thoughts

All the bingsu were good, but it took them a very long time for them to be created. Our drinks that we ordered took a long time too.

We Rate Sulmida:

Address:
780 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC

In Buffet

H2 Rotisserie & Bar at The Westin Bayshore: Brunch Buffet

March 27, 2018

H2 Rotisserie & Bar at The Westin Bayshore features their signature Maple Hill Farms rotisserie chicken on their menu. They are located on the edge of Stanley Park right in Coal Harbour.

On weekends, you can indulge in a brunch buffet with the family with lots of selections featuring:

Build your own Harvest Buddha Bowls
Maple Hills Farms House Rotisserie Chicken Carvery Station
Rotisserie Prime Rib Carvery Station
Made to order French Toast Station

Whether you come here for a regular brunch buffet or their special holiday brunch buffet, they ready to impress guests for any occasion.

There are small to large tables to seat groups of many sizes. It’s best to make reservations just in case its a busy weekend and you want to be guaranteed a spot.

Carvery and French Toast Stations

This is the area to get prime rib, Maple Hills Farms House Rotisserie Chicken, and made to order french toast.

Build your own Harvest Buddha Bowls

You can make your own harvest buddha bowls with ingredients they have different types of greens, toppings, and dressings.

The selection

There is some good selection in the buffet such as free-range scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, waffles, smoked bacon, sausage links, breakfast potatoes, seasonal fruit & berries, fresh baked pastries, bagels, charcuterie, smoked and cured salmon, local cheese, dim sum and congee. Of course there is a lot more than just that list.

Sushi

Waffles

Eggs Benedict

Bacooooooon and Sausages

Pastries

Smoked salmon and assorted cheeses

Fruit and yogurt parfaits

Sweet Desserts

More Pastries

Whats on the plate

I grabbed a little bit of everything for my first plate. Gotta get a taste of everything before getting more.

Don’t forget the hot sauce, there are 4 kinds to choose from.

I love a good simple congee with fried shallots, ginger, mustard greens, and a Chinese donut. Also some fruit too on the side.

For dessert, I had to go with the desserts filled with mousse.

Candy Bar

There is a little candy bar with smarties, gummy bears, sour keys, and twizzlers that you can take with you in small bags.

I of course had to fill it up with a little bit of everything. Some sweets for the road.

Drinks

Freshly brewed Starbucks coffee and Tea Leaves Loose Leaf tea, and fresh juice come with the price of the buffet.

House made sodas

There are 4 kinds of house made sodas – Cherry + Vanilla, Citrus + Rosemary, Strawberry + Basil, and Spicy Ginger. I got the Citrus + Rosemary soda and it was refreshing. Probably would go very well with a hot Summers day.

Caesar Cart

During brunch, their caesar cart might make an appearance. A fresh caesar made right at your table. They will have these tableside Caesars for their Easter brunch buffet.

We got a sneak peek of it and got a little taste.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been to this buffet during the holidays and they have good value for what you pay for. Live music is also a bonus when dining here.

It’s pretty popular during major holidays for brunch, so make sure you check out their special buffet menus as well as make reservations in advanced.

Address:
1601 Bayshore Dr, Vancouver

Website:
https://h2restaurant.com

In Malaysian

Rice and Noodle: Southeast Asian-inspired Dishes in Vancouver

March 24, 2018

Rice and Noodle serves up Southeast Asian inspired food in a convenient and affordable way on Robson Street right in the middle of Downtown Vancouver. All their dishes are MSG-free, made to order and highly customizable to your tastes. Their menu has rice dishes and noodle dishes where you can choose your own protein, spiciness level and any thing else extra you want in it.

You can also order online for pick up or you can get delivery through the different delivery services around town like Just Eat, Door Dash, UberEats, Foodora, Skip the Dishes, etc.

Interior

You order your meal at the counter in the back and then you can take a seat until they bring you over your order.

Laksa

The laksa soup is made with a coconut curry broth, rice noodle, broccoli, carrot, onion, tofu, zucchini, and then topped with bean sprouts, boiled egg, and cilantro. I really enjoyed this laksa as it had a good level of spice to the broth. I highly recommend this.

Tom Yum Soup

This has a lemongrass broth, prawns, rice noodle, cilantro mushroom, onion and tomato. It’s a little bit sour and a little bit spicy.

Panang Red Curry

This has red curry with basil, cauliflower and yam with rice. It has a hint of spice to it but not too much.

Creamy Peanut Stirfry

This has bean sprouts, carrot, onion, red pepper, spinach and then the rice.

Family Combo for 5

We got this combo for the rest of the dishes. It comes with all these 6 dishes for $50.

Pad Thai with Shrimp
Kung Pao Chicken
Mongolian Beef
Green Curry with Chicken
Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken
5 Spring Rolls Thai

Pad Thai Shrimp

This dish has rice noodle, egg, tofu, bean sprouts, green onion, crushed peanuts, and prawns. Squeeze some lime on it and it’s ready to eat.

KungPao Chicken

On the plate is rice, chicken, green bean, onion, pineapple, red pepper, ginger, cashew, and spinach.

Mongolian Beef

This has beef, broccoli, bean sprouts, carrot, green bean, ginger, onion, red cabbage, water chestnut, and a mound of rice.

Green Curry with Chicken

Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken

I missed taking a picture of this, but I wasn’t a fan of this. It has fried rice, egg, carrot, green bean, onion, pineapple, red pepper and chicken.

Spring Rolls

One spring roll per person and it has a crisp and crunchy exterior.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I like how the dishes are highly customizable. You can switch up your protein options, spice level and add any extra items to it. For my own personal preferences, I love a little bit of spice instead of mild. I would choose 3 chili peppers next time.My favourite dish of the evening was the Laksa.

We Rate Rice and Noodle:

Address:
1236 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://thericeandnoodle.com/

In Bakery

Mr Osmad: Japanese Souffle Cheesecake in Vancouver

March 8, 2018

Mr. Osmad Souffle Cheesecake is located in Damso restaurant on Bute Street near Robson Street. Osmad is Damso backwards.

They bake the Japanese Souffle Cheesecakes in-house everyday in 30 minute batches, so grab them before they’re gone or else you have to wait 30 minutes for the next batch to be done.

When we got here on a weekend, we only needed to wait about 10 minutes, so we patiently waited. If you don’t want to wait around, it’s best to order it ahead of time.

I got mine for take out so I could bring it home to enjoy. It is 6 inches in diameter and costs $9.52.

It’s best to eat it on the same day. You can either have it at room temperature or heat it up slightly. I wouldn’t suggest keeping it until the next day as it can get a bit dry. The texture and moisture was ok, but isn’t my favourite.

So far there isn’t a lot of places to buy this in Vancouver, so if you’re craving for Japanese Souffle Cheesecake, check out Mr. Osmad.

We Rate Mr. Osmad:

Address:
770 Bute St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://mrosmad.com/

In French

Lunch at Kitchen by Yugo in Downtown Vancouver

January 22, 2018

Kitchen by Yugo is located on Denman and Robson specializing in French and Japanese Fusion cuisine. I’ve heard lots about this place and I decided to come with a friend for lunch as it’s interesting how they will marry these two types of cuisines together.

Interior

The interior is nice with seating mostly on the left side and a kitchen and bar on the other.

Lunch Menu

Fish Miso Soup

This was the soup of the day and it was delicious, It has a piece of scallop and fish on the rim of the bowl. The miso soup had good depth of flavour. Highly recommended.

Pressed Aburi

This is pressed sushi with chef’s choice of assorted flame seared fish. It comes with 6 pieces and some fried veggie chips. My friend thought it was meh when you compare it to the other places in town that make similar aburi sushi.

House Bento

The house bento comes with 4 small dishes and served with rice. This seems to be quite popular item to order as you get to try a variety of items.

The items are:

Grilled Salmon with miso
Cauliflower Karaage
Tuna Tataki
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Lardons and Onions

The flavours of the bento box is more on the Japanese side beside. The salmon was delicate and the miso paste on top paired well. Usually I see this combination on black cod, but salmon was good too.

The roasted brussel sprouts were more on the heavier side taking on the French influences. Tasty but was a bit of the odd dish out as the others were more delicate in flavours.

The tuna tataki was great. Nicely seared on all sides with some veggies and ponzu sauce.

The deep-fried cauliflower was a nice touch to compliment the meal with added textures and crunch.

Final Thoughts

Being to pull off French and Japanese fusion is pretty hard and I applaud the chefs for finding the balance as the styles are very different. Japanese is simple and delicate where French is most heavy and rich. Somewhat polar opposites.

We Rate Kitchen By Yugo:

Address:
792 Denman St, Vancouver

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

In Cajun/Creole

The Holy Crab: Monster Roll Challenge

November 7, 2017

The Holy Crab in Downtown Vancouver has the Monster Roll Challenge where guests are invited to devour their 36-inch seafood roll in 5 minutes or less. It weighs a whopping 6 pounds. If you are defeated, you have to pay $75 plus tax. I was up for the challenge and so was Maggi, so we rolled up our sleeves to destroy this monster. This is only available until November 30, 2017.

The Monster Roll

Inside, you’ll find crab, shrimp, calamari, soft shell crab, fish finger, onion, garlic, mushroom, bell peppers, mayo, and your choice of Cajun sauce (mild, medium, spicy, or holy moly). We went with mild because I didn’t want to suffer the consequences the following day.

36 inches is the size of 3 Subway footlongs, so that means we had to eat 1.5 foot longs or 18 inches each.When we watched them assemble this, we felt very confident we could finish. Once they started adding more and more on top, we could see why this really isn’t an easy challenge.

The Rules

Be the fastest team of 2 to finish a 36-inch seafood roll and place your names and time on our leaderboard – 1st place will win a $300 GIFT CARD to The Holy Crab!
The seafood roll will be cut in half for every team. Time starts at the same time for both of you, and you and your teammate are responsible for eating your own half (no helping each other).
The cost of the Monster Roll is $75 (tax excluded). Names and time will be recorded when your team finishes the roll.
BONUS – If your team finishes the seafood roll in 5 minutes, your team gets the roll for FREE and receives a $25 gift card to The Holy Crab for your next visit.
Unlimited water and/or soft drinks are provided (must let staff know before the competition starts).
Only 5 Monster Rolls available per day – FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED (no reservations). Available every day during opening hours.
The team with the fastest time on our leaderboard by Nov. 30 will be the grand prize winner and names will be announced on Dec 1st.

Let’s Eat

We started off at a good pace, but soon we realized it was more that we could handle. My strategy was to go for all the good stuff first by eating the seafood, then the bread. At first it had a good taste since I love seafood and if it’s crispy and deep-fried, I’m so into it. At the 4 minute mark, I really started to feel it and I didn’t like the mixture of all the sauces. After 10 minutes, we threw in the towel. I easily demolished the seafood and still had a good amount of bread left.

Maggi on the other hand almost demolished the bread and has some seafood leftover. The hardest part was the richness of the lobster oil soaked in the vegetables, then the added sauces inside. I may have thrown up a little bit afterwards.

Address:
1588 Robson St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.theholycrab.ca/