Type Archives - Page 52 of 125

In 24 hours

Duffin’s Donuts: Drunken Paradise in Vancouver

April 1, 2016

Duffin’s Donuts is an amazing place if you want cheap food 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This place never stops running. You will find fried chicken, Chinese Food, Mexican Food, breakfast, burger, and hot dogs. It’s like every drunken person’s paradise. I came here with Amy and Nat to have an all out food feast. In total, we spent about $75 here. We were sober the entire time.

We ate…a lot. We didn’t make it though the whole menu, but we made a decent sized dent.

The space is super old school and it looks like it’s stuck in the 80s.

Fritou Fried Chicken is what they sell. It comes in Spicy and regular.

You can choose from wings, breasts, drumsticks or thighs.

We grab a 4 piece and it had one of each type. The taste reminds me of a Church’s and KFC, but slightly less crisp. It didn’t come straight out of the fryer, so that probably why it wasn’t super crisp.

White meat is dry, so stick with the dark meat.

Veggie Spring Rolls and Pork Spring Rolls is served here too and its crisp on the outside. It’s ok, pretty average. Nothing notable here.

Pupusas is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla that is usually filled with pork, beans, or cheese. At Duffin’s they serve is was salsa and a simple slaw.

Chorizo Con Huevos Torta has lettuce tomatoes, avocado, scrambled eggs, and chorizo. A decent torta but it would be better if there was more egg and chorizo.

They also have Chicken and Beef Tamales hanging out by the cash register. All wrapped up individually and then wrapped up in plastic wrap.

The tamales are made with masa, potatoes, red bell peppers, chicken/beef and then wrapped in leaves. Tasted ok as well, but nothing worth noting.

All Day Breakfast with Hashbrowns comes with 2 egg, 2 pieces of toast, bacon/sausage/ham, peanut butter and Jam. Pretty basic. I wished the hashbrowns were more crisp and golden brown, it was mostly wedges of potatoes.

Viet Mixed Ham has cold cuts and loaded with carrots, cucumber and cilantro. It would have been nice to have an option with spicy jalapenos. It was decent, but like most items here, what you pay for is what you get.

Cheese Burger was ok, but I prefer other types of burgers out there.

Chili Hot Dog is pretty good. Not gonna lie, all it’s missing is a ooey gooey fried egg and you’ll be in heaven.

Horchata, Pina Colada and Avocado Fresh Fruit Bubble Tea were 3 drinks we got to get a feel of what they can make. I was just surprised they had this spectrum of beverages.

Of course, we had to end the meal with donuts. You can’t leave here without a box.

It definitely beats Tim Horton’s Donuts any day.

Overall, most of the food is pretty average. It’s decent, cheap and always open. It definitely attracts unique crowds here. You’ll find all types of people here. What makes people come back is all the different types of comfort food in one place. Sometimes you want something sinfully greasy.

Plus, those donuts are pretty good.

We Rate Duffin’s Donuts:

Address:
1391 East 41st Avenue, Vancouver

In Kid Friendly

Dinesty Restaurant: Steamed Pork Dumplings on Robson St

March 30, 2016

Dinesty Restaurant is one of my go to places for Xiao Long Bao. My friends and I were looking for a place to have dinner and we realized we haven’t been here for some time. Something about hot soupy pork dumplings made us start to drool. It’s my secret comfort food.

Since it was a busy Friday, we waited in line for about 20 minutes for a table of 5. People do finish up quickly, so you won’t ever have to wait an unbearable amount of time. You can also call ahead to make a reservation if you hate waiting.

They now have 5 locations across the Lower Mainland serving up delicious Shanghainese cuisine. The Xiao Long Bao/ Steamed Pork Dumplings are #1 on everyone’s list. It’s basically on every table in the restaurant.

Xiao Long Bao/ Steamed Pork Dumplings came piping hot right out of the steamer. Don’t wait too long since you don’t want it to cool down too much.

The skin of the dumplings are thin and full of soup. You want to pick it up near the tip to avoid piercing the skin. The soup has gotta stay inside so you can enjoy it all. We loved it as usual.

Chinese Spinach and Bean Curd is an item that I really enjoy. Always very surprising since it’s just so simple. It has a nice sesame oil taste to it. If you haven’t had it before, give it a try.

Spicy Pig Ears looks pretty gross to some people, but it has a nice texture. We found that is wasn’t spicy at all. More oily than spicy. It definitely could have been better.

Marinated beef with soy sauce wrapped in pancake was ok. It looks nice, but we felt that it was missing hoisin sauce.

Fried Rice with Shrimp was pretty bland. It needed a bit more salt to it. We mixed some of the spinach and bean curd dish with this and it made it so much better.

Pan Fried Pork Pot Stickers comes with 6 pieces are were also ok. It doesn’t compare with the XLB dumplings.

Fried Bun with Condensed Milk is always a favourite to end the meal. Condensed milk is so addictive.

Some items are a hit and miss, but if you order the Xiao Long Bao, you’ll be very happy.

We Rate Dinesty:

Address:
1719 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://dinesty.ca/

In Cafe

On Yogurt: Ice Fried Yogurt Gelato

March 29, 2016

On Yogurt is located in Yaletown near BC Place. They are the first in Canada to produce Ice Fried Yogurt Gelato. They got their inspiration from Thailand, which is popular to have ice fried ice cream. They decided to bring the technique to Canada and change it to a healthier choice – yogurt. I was close by, so I decided to pop by with a friend.

The interior is cute and has a good amount of seating. When I came in the evening, it wasn’t too busy.

All of their yogurt selection is organic and gluten-free, sourced from local organic farms in BC. They have the yogurt flavours in a pitcher and when you order, they potion it out and begin preparing it.

Check out this timelapse of how it’s all put together. The plate is -35 degrees, so it cools down the yogurt mixture quite quickly to turn it into a cold dessert.

There are over 50 toppings to choose from, so you can be very creative in putting your dessert together.

Matcha Ice Fried Yogurt with Oreos is folded into the yogurt, so its integrated into the yogurt. They also top it off with more oreo bits and 2 chocolate rolled wafers.

Earl Grey Ice Fried Yogurt with Candied Almonds. I thought it would be crushed almonds and they would fold it into the yogurt, but it was just the whole candied almonds on top. Then they added the 2 chocolate rolled wafers.

I found that the ice fried yogurt was super fun to watch them make it. As for the taste of the earl grey yogurt it was really rich and the flavour didn’t really wow me as much.

Overall, it tasted ok, but it didn’t impress me enough for a revisit in the near future. I love the process of them making it, but I feel like if I want dessert, I want to go all out and want full fat. But, thats just me.

For those who want to have healthy dessert options, you can give it a try.

We Rate On Yogurt:

Address:
95 Smithe Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.onyogurt.com/

In Chinatown

The Tuck Shoppe: Soup, Sandwiches, Salads and Beer

March 28, 2016

The Tuck Shoppe is located in Chinatown and they serve up sandwiches, soups, salads, snacks and craft beer. All items are made from scratch and use local ingredients. I came here a few times with my coworkers during lunch as it seemed like a new addition to the neighbourhood.

All items on the menu are all under $11. The menu doesn’t change between lunch and dinner.

I love the look of the shop and they have super awesome retro accents here.

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There are Hudson’s Bay inspired pillows.

They have a bunch of Pez for sale, as well as little toys like frisbees, paddle ball and airplanes.

All the utensils and napkins are on the centre table and there is cucumber water.

Everything is made in the same space, so you can see them at work.

When you put in your order, your order number is on a wooden spoon. Very cute.

Celery Root Soup has their shoppe veg stock, celery root, fennel, and pork belly lardon. Mags commented saying it tasted great but there is only so much they could do to make it look pretty.

Wedge Salad has 2 slices of iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, pork belly lardon, blue cheese, IPA ranch, and a balsamic glaze. It was a good sounding, but I felt the dressing was a bit heavy. If they eased up a little bit, that would be a lot better.

Tuck Salad has mixed greens, dates, pea shoots, shoppe croutons, white balsamic and tomatoes. Good simple and fresh salad.

Pork Belly Cubano has mojo pork belly, ham, swiss, shoppe pickles and mustard. It is served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chip.

Tuna Katsu has panko crusted rare albacore tuna, wasabi, daikon, and soy ginger. It is also served with a shoppe pickle and a handful of Hardbite chips. Unique flavours and its nice that there is the kick of wasabi.
Overall, the food is pretty good for lunch. Simple menu and very casual dining experience which I enjoyed.

We Rate The Tuck Shoppe:

Address:
237 Union Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.thetuckshoppe.com/

In British Columbia

A&W: Marine Gateway

March 23, 2016

A&W is a short walk from Marine Drive Canada Line Skytrain Station. It’s right outside the entrance to Marine Gateway. We were here for a movie and needed a quick bite before it started. Of all the fast food restaurants, A&eW is a lot better than some of the rest.

You can order from their staff or there is also a self serve machine to put in your order and pay for it. Not as sleep as McDonalds new self serve kiosks, but it works.

We got our root beer in the frosted mugs and realized they have super cute mini mugs. So, if you’re not a huge soda drinker, you can opt for the smaller size. You only get them if you eat here. I have the larger mugs at home but I was pretty tempted to take the smaller mug.

After the drinks arrived, all the food came on one tray.

Teen Burger with Russet Thick Cut Fries was my sisters order. The fries came in a cute little basket. The teen burger has a beef patty, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, ketchup,pickles, onions and their secret teen sauce.

Poutine has their Russet Thick Cut Fries topped with lots of gravy and cheese curds. It’s decent for what it is. The fries were a bit limp but at least it had lots of gravy and cheese.

Peppered Bacon Papa Burger has a beef patty, cheese, A&W seasoning, peppered bacon, roasted garlic and chili aioli, grilled onions and a sesame bun.

I wasn’t very hungry so I grabbed a basket of onion rings and a small root beer. You can’t go wrong with their onion rings. Beautifully battered, salty and ha a good chunk of onion.

At the end of the meal, you can separate all the trash.

I’m starting to notice that there are A&Ws close to a lot of the Skytrains. Super convenient and it’s better than the other fast food options.

Website: http://www.aw.ca/

Address:
468 S.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver BC

In Cafe

Snowy Village Dessert Cafe: Korean Bingsoo and Croissant Taiyaki

March 21, 2016

Snowy Village Dessert Cafe is the hottest…or should I say coolest dessert shop in Richmond at the moment. Line ups are long every evening and if you come in a group of 4 or more, you are going to be waiting for a while during peak times. They are best known for their Korean style shaved ice with milky ice instead of the pure ice shavings.

The group of 5 of us waited close to an hour on a Sunday around 7pm. You put your name down on the wait list and linger around till your name gets called. For us, it was a pretty bad experience since the server almost skipped us on the list and told us to wait outside in the pouring rain and gusty winds.

Apparently there was an option to leave your phone number and they will call you back when its closer to your groups turn. It would have been nice if they gave us this option.

All seats were occupied and there was also a line up to get take out.

If you don’t have patience, take out might be your best option.

The prices are higher for take out, but it comes in the regular size.

The price difference is due to the fact they add ice packs and have an insulated bag to keep it cool on the way home. We did see quite a bit of people ordering take out.

Once you go to the counter to order, they give you a ticket with your order number. Once the order is ready, they will call it out.

If you don’t know what to order, they have all their items on display.

All the ones in the display case is a large, so if you are getting a regular sized bingsoo, it will be a bit smaller.

Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake with different types of fillings inside. They have 2 grills to cook them. The whole restaurant smells of the sweet taiyaki.

You can have it filled with either:

Red Bean
Ingeolmi Redbean
Custard Cream
Sweet Potato
Nutella

We got ours with Nutella and Custard Cream. The custard cream reminded me of vanilla pudding snacks from childhood. Not very good at all.

The Nutella was a bit better but it was slightly sweet.

Mango Bingsoo came with lots of fresh mango and whipped cream over the milk bingoo. I like the airy milky ice. A lot better than the traditional non-flavoured ice.

Green Tea Bingsoo with Korean rice cakes, red bean, green tea cake, and almonds.

Under all those toppings, the milky ice is hidden underneath.

Strawberry Bingsoo has strawberry bits, strawberry sauce and whipped cream.

Overall, I liked the fruit bingsoo a lot more. I prefer fresh fruits over the other types of toppings. I did enjoy it but the line ups were too long to come again.

We Rate Snowy Village:

Address:
8571 Alexandra Drive, Richmond

In Downtown

Ramen Gojiro: Gatsuri-Style Ramen in Vancouver

March 20, 2016

Ramen Gojiro is a new ramen shop in Downtown Vancouver and it is part of the Menya Kouji group that also owns Ramen Butcher and Taishoken.

They specialize in jiro-style/gatsuri-style ramen that has lots of noodles and toppings. They are trying something new that differentiates themselves from the other ramen shops.

It was a rainy day in Vancouver, no surprise right? My friend and I came here before heading off to work.

They are still very new, so there were grand opening flowers out front.

We came at 12:30pm on a Sunday, but there wasn’t a line up until about 1pm. We were pretty lucky to get a table as I’ve only heard people lining up outside during peak hours.

The interior is nice and simple with wood and cement textures. There’s even a painting of Godzilla.

The staff in the kitchen were wearing t-shirts from Ramen Butcher.

The menu is simple and you have the choice between 2 size, 2 toppings and 2 broths.

Beer, fried rice and tsukemen aren’t available just yet, but at some point, it will be.

After putting in our order, the server asked if we wanted an apron. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The paper napkin helps prevent any noodle slurping splatter from hitting your clothes or bags. As we put on our aprons, we realized NO ONE else in the restaurant had one on. We didn’t hear them offering these to other tables.

Regardless of how ugly it was, we kept it on and it really did help with the splatter.

Basic Chashu has their signature broth with pork and chicken. Noodles are made in-house.

The thickness of the noodles were in between udon and ramen. There is also lots of bean sprouts. My friend said the chashu was fatty and delicious, but the broth was meh.

Basic Bakamori with karaage is a mountain of food. It has the same broth but with more topping, more noodles, and more meat. If you are a big eater, you will want this option.

I wasn’t thrilled with the broth either. It was rich but lacked much depth to it and it was salty.

The chicken karaage was crispy and full of flavour, but I didn’t like the noodles. The option garlic on top was pungent as well.

Ramen Gojiro has its high points and low points, but I don’t think I would return. It’s just didn’t appeal to my tastebuds.

We Rate Ramen Gojiro:

Address:
501 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://ramengojiro.com/

In Kid Friendly

Haroo: Korean Cuisine in Richmond

March 19, 2016

Haroo Restaurant is located on Alexandra Road as is one of the top Korean restaurants in Richmond. Everyone seems to come here. I met up with a few foodie friends to check it out. I love Korean food and I still haven’t been here. I’ve eaten at a majority of the restaurants around K Town in Coquitlam and thought it was time to visit.

There is parking on the main level and the 2nd floor but it is very busy, so hunting for a spot might be tough.

The restaurant isn’t very large, but has mostly booth seating. You definitely want to make reservations before coming here. One the night we came here, it was so busy that they had to turn people away who did not have reservations.

Complimentary Korean Congee arrived at the table. One small bowl for each person at the table. Good start to the meal.

Kimchi Fried Rice was surprisingly small for $12.50. The flavour was nice and I loved the egg on top.

They also give you 5 complimentary side dishes for the whole table.

Soybean Sprouts is a standard side dish that Korean restaurants serve. One of my favourites as it is coated with a bit of sesame oil.

Green Salad had a carrot shaped like a star. Very colourful and simple.

Kimchi is a fermented side dish made of cabbage and other vegetables that tastes sour and a bit spicy.

Marinated Potatoes is another favourite of the table. Soft texture and slightly sweet.

Sweetened fish cake was good as well. There were stands of onions in this too.

Gamjatang Hot Pot is a pork back bone and potato hot pot. Is is already pre-cooked, so you just need to bring it up to a hotter temperature.

It was a good hearty hot pot and it came with 2 small bowls of rice. It was pretty expensive at around $30.

Seafood Pancake came out super crispy and is unique compared to other Korean restaurants. It seems like it was deep-fried as every inch of it was crisp. This is highly recommended.

Cheese Tteokbbokki has rice, pasta, meat, and vegetables in a spicy sauce then topped off with cheese. This was surprisingly really good. You can’t go wrong with anything covered in cheese.

Overall, it was a nice restaurant to go to in Richmond if you are craving Korean food, but it is price is a bit higher. Parking can be a nightmare in this area.

We Rate Haroo:

Address:
Venezia Place
2000-8580 Alexandra Road, Richmond

In Downtown

One Under: Urban Golf Club Review

March 16, 2016

One Under is Vancouver’s first underground urban golf club. Located right in the heart of downtown in the financial district, they have golf simulators, drinks and food. I was invited by BiteBC to try out the One Under experience.

Finding it can be a bit tough if you aren’t paying attention. Find the sign and walk down the stairs.

Golf Simulators

Make sure you have a reservation to insure your slot at one of their golf simulators. They have 6 booths in total. They also have a private room if you want more privacy.

Executive Simulators are $50/hr
1911 Private Room is $75/hr

Sundays & Mondays are 1/2 price on all golf simulator reservations, which is a pretty awesome deal.

You definitely don’t have to be an expert to play. The group of us had troubles playing as we are all beginners. The simulator has different types of games, so instead of playing on iconic golf courses, you can do a driving contest to see how far you can hit the ball.

There are extra balls and pegs around if you happen to lose a few. Since it is an indoor simulator, you shouldn’t be losing any balls.

The golf clubs are pretty nice too.

Drinks

If you’re here, you might as well get a drink.

Beer Flight is what I ordered. I told the staff to pick anything for me as long as it was light and had a slightly fruity finish. All very good beers but I really enjoyed the Phillips Blue Buck Ale.

If you’re a bit fancier, they have a good selection of cocktails on the menu.

Food

Burrata Cheese Plate has creamy burrata cheese, fresh bruschetta, arugula salad, and 18 month aged san daniele prosciutto served with balsamic crema and toasted crostini. I thought the burrata cheese was a bit small to split because it was so addictive. I wanted more.

Pulled Pork Sliders comes with soft brioche buns, bbq pulled pork, chipotle aioli, pickled jalapeño, fresh slaw & gherkin pickles. Good bite-sized sliders to share with a group. The pulled pork was very flavourful and juicy. I would order this again.

Spicy Sausage + Soppressata pizza has tomato, provolone, arugula, and fresh oregano.

The pizza was thin, had a good combination of toppings. The crust is a bit charred but it wasn’t as crispy in the centre.

Prosciutto, Mushroom + Olives pizza has caramelized onions and provolone cheese. It was ok, but I preferred the taste of the previous pizza.

Italian Sausage + Fennel Pizza has tomato sauce, beer braised onions, and fresh mozza. A good taste but the sausage could have been dispersed a bit more evenly around the pizza.

Hot Italian pizza has chorizo, sopresatta, mushrooms, banana peppers, sweet & smokey tomato sauce, and provolone cheese. I wasn’t a fan of this either.

The pizza’s were good but its pretty hard to eat pizza and golf at the same time. Wouldn’t you get mad at your friends if they got your golf clubs greasy?

If your group isn’t into golfing, you can still come here to have food and drinks.

One Under is a unique place to go Downtown with a large group to bond over golf and drinks.

If you are a BiteBC member, you get 2 for 1 meals from Monday to Thursday with a purchase of a beverage.

We Rate One Under:

Address:
476 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://oneunder.ca/

In lunch

Bao Down: Poke Bowls, Bao, and Fries

March 14, 2016

Bao Down has a new location in Olympic Village and it’s their Gastropub and Raw Bar. Their menu is slightly different than the one in Gastown and offers more than just bao.

I came with my coworkers the first time and had horrible service as we were not informed about an automatic service charge for groups of 6 or more. Also at the end of the meal, they didn’t show us the itemized bill before paying. So, we tipped about 15% on top of 18%. As one of my coworkers thought the meal was oddly expensive, she requested the itemized bill before leaving to go back to the office. We later found out there was the service charge.

After a few of us posted our frustration on Instagram, they invited us back for lunch on them. It was a nice gesture and they were able to change their service charge policy from 6 people to 8 people. Plus, they reassured us they have trained their staff a bit more so there is no more confusion for future customers.

The restaurant seats about 65 people and they do lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. I love the art piece on the left wall.

They have a wide variety of alcohol, but since it was a daytime lunch, we had to skip the alcohol.

The lunch time menu has poke bowls, salad, bao, curry, soup, and fries. Their menu seems to have been changing after hearing feedback from customers.

When they first opened, they didn’t have bao, which was shocking.

Poke Bowls comes with either ahi tuna, albacore tuna or tofu. You can choose the below sauces to go with it:

Sweet shoyu-sesame
Gochujang miso-mayo
Calamansabi

Of the 3 sauces, the table liked the sweet shoyu-sesame as well as the gochujang miso-mayo. You can also choose from brown rice or white rice.

It’s a pretty good portion for lunch. In the bowl is also a lot of vegetables. Definitely very healthy lunch option.

The second time we went, we noticed they added pineapples to it and had less fried noodles on top.

Consistency of what goes into the bowls did change, but they are probably trying to test the dishes to find a good combination or perhaps they were trying to use fresher ingredients.

Bao Chicka Bao Bao has garlic, lemongrass fried chicken, daikon, crisp garlic, fish sauce glaze, carrot and garlic scape mayo. A lot of people seem to order this one. My coworkers liked it.

Phrench Dip comes with a pho broth dip so you can dunk the whole bao into it. It is an interesting concept but it was quite pricey. It was almost double the price of their other baos.

YVR Bao has sesame seared albacore tuna, pea shoots, double smoked bacon, avocado, wasabi mayo and sweet soy.

Japayoki Fries has fried chicken, curry cheese sauce, seaweed, jalapeño, bean sprouts, pea shoots, white and black sesame, sweet soy, scallions, and togarashi. We ordered the small to share and it was pretty good.

Kimchi Fries has kennebec potato fries, crispy pork belly, sweet soy, crispy garlic, bean sprouts, garlic scape mayo and scallions.

Another good combination. With both fries, I wish the fries were more crispy, but I can see how it would be difficult since there are a lot of sauce and toppings that go on top.

Overall, the food was good for a lunch stop. You have the classic baos and fries that you would find at their Gastown location. The dinner and brunch menus do vary, so you might not find these items at other times.

I personally find the baos ok, but I would prefer getting their poke bowls.

We Rate Bao Down:

Address:
115 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://baodown.net/

In Chinese

Doolami Dessert: Ice Cream, Shaved Ice and Sago Desserts

March 13, 2016

Doolami Dessert is located in the Marpole area serving up delicious Chinese desserts. They pride themselves with using the best ingredients possible in their desserts. Everything is made in-house and they do not use any concentrates, preservatives, or sweeteners.

I came here with some awesome foodies and we ate through the menu. I’ve been to Doolami before and enjoyed their desserts, so it was good to have a revisit to see whats new.

Glutinous rice balls with peanuts and sesame seeds is a warm dessert and can be messy to eat. You may end up with a few crumbs on your shirt. It was ok, but the other desserts on their menu are a lot better.

Hot House Special Grass Jelly has handmade taro ball, yam ball, matcha ball, red bean, lotus seed, and peanut. They grass jelly is pretty good and you can taste more of it in the hot version.

Cold House Special Grass Jelly is a lot larger than the hot version. The grass jelly is cut up into cubes with the rest of the toppings surrounding it. I think I prefer the cold version over the hot. I usually prefer cold desserts over hot.

Purple Yam and Taro Paste has a very vibrant colour of bright purple. It may look artificial, but it’s not. It’s the true purple colour of the yam.

The taste of the paste is very deep in flavour without being too sweet. Definitely very unique. I’m not a fan of warm desserts, so I wouldn’t normally order this, but I’m definitely more open to it now.

Durian Sago Cream is an interesting item to order. It’s pungent in taste and smell for those who are unfamiliar with durian. M hates me eating this since my burps end up smelling like onions. The rule is that I can eat it when he’s not around.

Black Sesame and Walnut Paste had a really good black sesame taste. Warm desserts are good for the winter months.

Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo is one of the most popular items here. If you don’t order this, someone at your table will order it. It’s not too sweet and is so addictive.

One of their most expensive items on the menu is the Golden Dragon Fruit Snow Ice. The reason why it’s so expensive because the dragon fruit is imported from Ecuador.

I love the milky shaved ice and the dragon fruit tastes sweet and yummy. A lot better than the ones from the store. it’s not a super popular item since it is around $20 for this dessert. Great taste, but it is very expensive.

Fresh Strawberries with strawberry shaved ice is topped with strawberry juicy balls. If you love strawberries, you’ll enjoy this strawberry explosion.

Australian Mango and Mango Shaved Ice is good as well. Another favourite.

They use a lot of mango too, not just a few pieces on the side. Of course, you get what you pay for, so you are getting quality, but it is more expensive than other shaved ice places.

Papaya with milk shaved ice is another version that they have. I really liked the milk shaved ice, but with papaya added into the mix, its pretty good.

Durian Ice Cream in a waffle bowl isn’t for everyone. It’s a popular flavour, but it can be a hit and miss depending on your taste buds. To me, it tastes like onion ice cream. I can tolerate it, but others will fall head over heals in love with this flavour.

Vanilla Earl Grey Ice Cream is one of their newer flavours. They use real Tahitian Vanilla beans, so it really takes a lot of effort to extract the paste from inside.

Blueberry and Lavender Ice Cream is a unique flavour, but it’s not my favourite choice. Every time I think of lavender, it reminds me of soap or some cleaning product.

Green Tea Ice Cream in a waffle bowl. It’s creamy and smooth like the other flavours but has a strong matcha taste. It’s not too sweet and has a slight bitter taste to it. I actually like it this way.

If you don’t want to eat the ice cream in the store, they have their Take Home Pints for $11.99. They also do free delivery across the Lower Mainland.

If you’re ever craving their dessert, you can order it without jumping in the car or bus to grab some. I was pretty impressed by this service.

Fresh Young Coconut is cracked open and its one of my favourite drinks. I find that most of the coconut waters out there can’t even compare. When you’re done drinking, you can grab a spoon and start scooping the coconut meat out.

Overall, I did enjoy Doolami and it’s a very popular place to go at night. Their prices are higher than most dessert places but they work really hard to ensure the quality is there. The desserts are catered towards an Asian palette, so its not too sweet. I would recommend the sago desserts and the shaved ice. If you can’t wait in line to get a seat, grab a pint to go as an alternative.

We rate Doolami:

Address:
8030 Granville Street, Vancouver

In Cafe

Choco Coo Cafe: Dessert Shop in Coquitlam

March 11, 2016

Choco Coo is a Belgium chocolate and French dessert shop in Coquitlam right by Sushi California. I came here earlier in the afternoon to grab a drink but it was completely filled by people studying. Everyone looked pretty cozy, so it would have been a 1 hour+ wait for a table to open up. Also, the parking in the little plaza is crazy.

So, I returned later in the evening at around 9pm. It was about a 20 minute wait till a table opened up, but that was ok because I was determined to come here.

The space is very nice and hip. Lovely textures of wood and greenery.

Also, of course a chalkboard. They even have a happy hour special if you come between 1 – 4pm. A dessert and hot chocolate/ice teas are $8.95. Also 2 dessert and 2 hot chocolate/iced teas are $16.95.

You save a few bucks which is nice.

There are lots of cakes to choose from.

I started with an iced milk tea. I find that a good indicator of a café is if they can master a decent milk tea.The first few sips, I felt that it was lacking much flavour like it had too much milk or water.

I do like that it’s served in a double walled Bodum cup, so it stays cold for longer.

They have a bunch of hot or iced teas on their menu. Most of their teas are from TWG Tea.

Fresh Strawberry Cake looks beautiful with the layers of whipped cream, strawberries, and sponge cake. We thought the cake was ok as the sponge cake was a tad dry.

Mont Blanc looks like a person waving its arms around. It has pureed, sweetened chestnuts topped with powdered sugar and hazelnuts. In the centre, there is a piece of cake inside. The dessert was ok.

Overall, it’s nice to have this new cafe in the area as there aren’t too many hip cafes in the area. Plus, Koreans love cafes and coffee. With the teas and cake we ordered, we didn’t really enjoy it as much.

It’s pretty busy here and turnover isn’t very high. So, there may be a wait.

We Rate Choco Coo Cafe:

Address:
501 North Road, Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.chococoo.ca/

In Canadian

The Portside Pub: Drinks, Food, and Games

March 8, 2016

What is there to do on a Wednesday night in the Gastown area? The Portside has a Rock, Paper , Scissors tournament every Wednesday. There is a $5 entry fee to participate but if you want to just sit in your seats and laugh your ass off, you can do that too. They also have $4 Jameson shots on special too.

I was invited and brought a few friends with me to check it out. I’ve been here a while ago for happy hour and the atmosphere is definitely better later in the evening.

Once we went inside, there was a seat yourself sign before you enter the pub.

The pub looks pretty awesome with its mostly wooden look with a few taps.

It’s like a secret underground area with food and booze.

They serve up pub food inspired by the East Coast of Canada.

Flight of Beer comes with a shot of Jameson on a paddle board. I didn’t know what to choose, so we asked them for 4 of their lightest beers.

They chose for me:

Portside Pilsner
Postmark Blonde
Steamworks Kolsh
White Bark Wheat Ale

All were really good, but my favourite of the bunch was the Portside Pilsner.

The Jameson shot at the very end is deadly. It’s an Irish Whiskey.

Blue Buck Pale Ale by Phillips Brewing Co. was ordered by my friend. Another lighter beer.

Alexander Keith’s Indian Pale Ale in a bottle was ordered by Little A.

4 women cheers with all our light beers. hahaha. It was a good start to the night before the food and Rock Paper Scissors tournament began.

Of the 4 of us, 3 of up participated. It’s $5 to enter the competition, but its pretty fun. The winner get $50 in cash, 2nd place is $10 and 3rd place is $5.

You just fill out the sheets with your bio and they read it out loud to everyone. Everything you write on it, they will read. It was pretty hilarious hearing what people wrote. A few tame ones and a few hilariously funny ones.

Monster Nachos ($16 +$20) has corn tortilla chips, layered with roasted jalapeno, mixed olives, local tomatoes, and green onions served with sour cream, chipotle sour cream and fresh in-house tequila salsa. It also has Chilli lime chicken, Chris Bros Pepperoni, smoked bacon, chilli and Nova Scotia Lobster.

We went all out and had all the meat on top. It also comes with a shot of Jameson.

What we found with these nachos is that the topping to chip ratio is very good We actually wished we had more chips. The pepperoni did over power the rest of the meat since its more spicy and flavourful. The lobster was drowned out.

Mac and Cheese was ordered. It has house made farm-house cheese and ricotta cream sauce, served with garlic bread.

You can add things like Porter Cheddar, Smoked Bacon, or Nova Scotia Lobster.

Mini Perogies has tiny cheddar stuffed perogies, Chris Bros. Pepperoni, sautéed onions, topped with chipotle sour cream and served with a micro salad. Tasted ok, but nothing spectacular.

Beef Pot-Roast Sandwich has rosemary and garlic seasoned chuck Pot-roast with red wine dijonaise, tomatoes, mixed greens and Porter Cheddar, served with chips & salsa and a micro salad. The sandwich was filling, but the taste was average. Nothing very special from what I could tell.

At 8pm, the competition began and our amazing host made the entire evening very memorable. SO funny!

It was tournament style and best out of 5. I failed miserably and lost of my first round.

Even if you’re not participating or lost early in the tournament, you will be thoroughly entertained for the rest of the game.

It got busier as the night went on and I was really surprised. No one was rushing home to get to work the next day.

Overall, I had a great time with my friends here on a Wednesday evening. If you’re looking for something to do, grab a few drinks, share a plate of nacho, and enter the rock, paper, scissors tournament. The rest of the food is pretty average, but most people come here for the drinks.

We Rate The Portside:

Address:
7 Alexander Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://theportsidepub.com/

In Japanese

Sushi By Yuji: Nigiri and Gukan Sushi

March 7, 2016

Sushi By Yuji is on Kingsway is best known for their fresh nigri and gunkan types of sushi. After seeing lots of people commenting about my last post about Masayoshi, people told me to check out Sushi by Yuji.

The space is small and it’s best to make reservations here to guarantee a spot. On the night that we went, they had no more spots for walk ins.

Surprisingly, the menu is pretty vast with a lot of nigiris, rolls, sashimi, and a few hot items. For their freshest items, look at their board of specials.

Tea was complimentary. The server was really nice and filled it up often.

The first set of Gunkan sushi arrived. Eggs on eggs! It’s beautiful not to get.

Ikura with Quail egg was an explosive sensation in your mouth. Once you start chewing the saltiness of the ikura blends well with the quail egg.

Tokibo with quail egg was similar but with the flying fish roe. Equally as good but some people don’t like the raw quail eggs. M and I both enjoyed it.

Chopped Scallop was fresh and delicious.

Next plate arrived full of negitoro. The plain Negitoro Gunkan was good. Chopped of toro with green onions.

Because everything looks better with a quail egg, we got the negitoro with quail egg. Delicious as well.

Salmon toro nigiri was one of the special fresh items. They use wild sockeye salmon, so you will notice the warm red colours rather than the orange stripes at regular Japanese restaurants.

Salmon Carpaccio gunkan was an interesting item to see. It has green onion, salt and pepper on top. It would have been nice if there was a sauce to go with it.

Very clean flavours and different than most places.

Yuji Roll has tuna, prawn and salmon with cucumber. It has the rice wrapped on the outside. It was a good roll with fresh ingredients. The flavours didn’t stand out too much.

Tuna Toro Nigiri was cut thin and was fatty.

Overall, the quality is there but it can get a bit expensive if you are a big eater. The taste is very clean and doesn’t have any additional sauces to them.

At the end of the meal, they give you a packet of Pocky for each person. Very nice touch.

I feel like a kid again. hahaha.

We Rate Sushi by Yuji:

Address:
2252 Kingsway, Vancouver

In Dessert

Waffle Frenzy: Sweet and Savoury Waffles

March 6, 2016

Waffle Frenzy is a new sweet and savoury waffle restaurant in Downtown Vancouver close to SFU Harbour Centre. Bite BC invited a few of us to try a few items off their menu to promote their 50% discount for their members.

They took over the location of a pizza shop and have a cleaner look inside. Mostly white with simple IKEA furniture.

Chicken and Waffles Sandwich has buttermilk fried chicken with chipotle BBQ sauce, lettuce and tomato between 2 waffles.

In each order, you get 2 sandwiches loaded with a big piece of chicken.

Waffle Fries comes with chipotle mayo dip. Nothing spectacular about these fries and could have been a touch crisper. It’s a good item to munch on as a snack.

Oreo Cookie Crumble with Whipped Cream In my picture, its only half and order, but a normal order would come with 4 pieces. I found this to be quite boring as a topping. It needs something a but more than smashed oreos and whipped cream.

The waffles weren’t as crisp as I would have imagined either.

Berry Explosion Waffle has blueberry, strawberry, and kiwi. This was ok as well. For my personal taste preferences, fruit toppings is my go to. The variety I found was pretty meh. The golden kiwi was good, but it would have been nice to have blackberries or raspberries.

Nutella and Banana dessert waffles is a good combination and you can’t go wrong with nutella. The waffle itself was a bit limp.

2 Tier Waffle Cake sells for about $10. This particular one had maple walnut ice cream between the waffle. Then topped with kiwi, green tea ice cream, blueberry and strawberries.

I liked it a bit more than the other waffles as it had more toppings and textures to it. They made these last waffles a tad more crisp, but still wasn’t quite there yet.

Overall, the waffles were ok. Nothing too special as there are other waffles places in Downtown Vancouver but closer to the West End. In the immediate area, there’s no other competition close by. If you had to come here, the savoury sandwiches are a nice choice.

We Rate Waffle Frenzy:

Address:
420 Richards Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.wafflefrenzy.com/

In Cafe

Golden Oscar Cafe: HK Style Cafe

March 4, 2016

It’s been a while since my last visit to Golden Oscar Cafe and Restaurant on Rupert St in Vancouver – 5 years to be exact.

It’s an old school Hong Kong style café where you can find classic meals and set meals. The booth seating and the aging decor has never changed since I first came here year and years ago. There are movie posters all over this restaurant, but because it’s so outdated, you won’t find anything with Leonardo DiCaprio on it or anything from the last few years.

M got the Curry Beef Brisket mini set. It first comes with a Creamed Tuna soup. Pretty average and nothing special to it.

Cold Hong Kong Style coffee tea mix was his accompanying drink, but he had to add $0.50 for getting it cold. They give you a small cup of sugar water to sweeten the drink to your choosing.

Curry beef brisket arrived with a mound of rice. Piping hot and ready to be devoured.

The beef brisket chunks were nice and big. Tender and it really hit the spot.

I went with the Baked Spaghetti Bolognese. It took a little while for it to be ready, but I was ready. The picture of it look terrible as its brown and has burnt spots, but trust me, its good.

Once you mix it around a little bit, it’s not that ugly to look at. Pop it in your mouth.

Overall, the taste and quality are pretty average, but its this type of HK style café that brings comfort to me since it’s what I would eat often as a kid.

We Rate Golden Oscars:

Address:
3868 Rupert Street, Vancouver

In BBQ

Hopewell Chinese Kitchen: BBQ Meats in Vancouver

March 3, 2016

Hopewell Chinese Kitchen is located on the top floor of the 1st Avenue Marketplace. They are known for their high quality BBQ meats that are made fresh daily. The owners have been perfecting their craft for over 15 years.

I was invited by ChineseBites to try a few of their BBQ meats. I actually never realized there was this place here until recently. It’s been over 10+ years since I’ve been to the top floor of the plaza. Last time, this used to be a grocery store.

The prices are a bit higher than other BBQ joints, but it is better quality. It is slightly cheaper than HK BBQ Master in Richmond.

Hanging meat at a BBQ shop is an awesome sight.

To others, it might be a gruesome sight to see, but you can’t deny the taste…unless you’re a vegetarian.

Seriously, all I need is Chinese BBQ meats and rice and I am good to go.

Mmm I was seriously drooling before the meat made it to my plate.

You also need a huge cleaver to be able to swiftly shop up the meats. Music to my ears.

We made sure to have a can of pop with the plates of meat to wash down all the grease. A beer would definitely work as well, but coke is a classic in any asian household.

Soy Chicken was ok, some pieces weren’t as succulent as others. The white meat is more meaty, but the dark meat was more flavourful.

BBQ Duck is so good. Perhaps I have a duck obsession, but You can’t go wrong with this. I especially like the darker burnt bits.

BBQ Pork was quite thick and not too fatty or sweet. Very good.

Roast Pork is essentially roasted pork belly. It has crisp crunchy skin and juicy tender meat. I love the seasoning by the bones.

You can also ask for fatty or lean cuts if they have it available. This was quite fatty, so it was hard to eat a lot of it.

Whole Roasted Suckling Pork is a reservation-only item that you must order one week in advance for $200. Most people order these for special occasions or large gatherings. It’s a piglet and once we dug in, the texture of the meat is quite different than the Roast Pork as its from an older pig. I preferred the meat from the suckling pig as it was a big more lean and flavourful.

Overall, a good alternative for Chinese BBQ. I am glad I finally came here because I would come back for more.

We Rate Hopewell Chinese Kitchen:

Address:
1st Avenue Marketplace, 213-2800 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.hopewellchinesekitchen.ca

In Cafe

Cafe De L’Orangerie: Japanese Pasta and Curry

March 2, 2016

Cafe De L’Orangerie has been our favourite spot for Japanese pasta for a while now. Last week, M had a huge craving for their curry, so he picked me up after work and drove here before the dinner rush.

Its a bit far from our house, so we don’t always get to come here.

Mango Fruit Smoothie was a pretty bad option to get for a drink. It tasted super sweet and artificial. We agreed that we would not order this again.