Foodology
Tag

chinese

Browsing
In Chinese

No 1 Dumpling in Vancouver: Review

No 1 Dumpling is a new Chinese Restaurant near Broadway and Burrard specializing in all things dumplings. When I saw it, I needed to come check it out with some friends as we love discovering new hole in the wall restaurants especially when it involves dumplings.

Interior

The interior looks like a sushi restaurant, so I assume they only made minimal renovations prior to opening up. When you walk inside, you’ll see a brightly lit menu and a few tables in the front. There are larger tables in the back but the space isn’t very large. When we were here on the weekend, it seemed to get busier around 7pm.

Menu

Xiao Long Bao

The Xiao Long Bao comes with 8 pieces per ordered in a steamed basket. It was good but not as soupy as some other places in town. It wasn’t too salty and had a good flavour.

Spicy Soup Dumpling

The Spicy Soup Dumplings were really good. A good size to share among the table and there were a good amount of juicy dumplings inside. It has a decent spicy kick but it wasn’t too spicy at all.

Wonton Noodles

Wonton noodles were huge for what you pay for. Lots of noodles but the wontons could have been larger in size. It was pretty small so when you eat it with the noodles and veggies, it doesn’t stand out.

Peanut Butter Noodles

This peanut butter noodle is essentially dan dan noodles. It had a good amount of peanut flavour with a subtle spice behind it too.

Leek Pancake

The leek pancake is folded in half like a calzone and stuffed with leek and what seemed to be egg or tofu. They cut this up into 2 pieces so depending on how many people you are dining with, you may need more.

Green Onion and Egg Pancake

This is cut up into 4 pieces and had a good amount of egg and green onion inside. The exterior was crisp and delicious.

Guotie

These dumplings are pan fried and tasted good when you add some soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil to it.

Cucumber Salad

If you want some vegetables to balance out all the dumplings, the cucumber salad is good. It’s not marinated for a long time but it is delicious nonetheless.

Beef and Onion Dumpling, Steamed

They have a few varieties of dumplings but we chose the beef and onion dumpling and had them steamed. It comes with 12 pieces per order.

Chicken and Mushroom Dumpling, Pan Fried

This also has 12 pieces per order. The chicken and mushroom was really good and we found that having their dumplings pan-fried are the best as it adds texture to it.

Final Thoughts

The restaurant is homey and food is on point. The prices are also very fair. The downside is really the service as there is really one person taking care of the customers and 2 other people in the back preparing food when we were there. You really need to track the staff down to get water or tea refills, menu, bills and anything else. Don’t expect them to take any initiative of any kind to serve you.

Address:
1888 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.no1dumpling.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee in Richmond: Review

Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee is located in South Richmond near a bunch of warehouses. You definitely wouldn’t expect this restaurant to be here, but it has gained quite a level of popularity recently for their delicious homey dumplings. I came here with a few friends on the weekday to check it out and see what everyone is raving about. It’s family-run and operated, so its a great business to support.

Interior

On the weekdays around noon, it wasn’t too busy just yet. It got busy closer to 12:30pm. We’re not exactly sure about on weekends, but we hear some of their dumplings can sell out.

Menu

Ordering

They accept cards, so we were happy it’s not cash only. Once you place your order and pay, you get this electronic device that will beep once your order is ready. As it wasn’t very busy, nor were we doing takeout, this didn’t do much for us as they delivered our order to our table.

Green Tea

We were tempted to get coffee, but it just didn’t seem like a match for Chinese dumplings, so we ordered hot green tea. They charge $1.90 per cup of tea.

Shanghai-style Fried Noodles

You get your choice of pork or chicken and we chose chicken. It was deliciously pan-fried with a good amount of char on some noodles. The noodles were a good texture.

Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil

There are 8 wontons to an order and the spicy chili oil is mixed with a sesame paste, so that was surprising as I didn’t expect that. Nonetheless, it was still delicious.

Shrimp, Egg and Chives Dumpling

You can get these in portions of 12, 16 or 20 pieces. We sent with 12 since it was just the 3 of using having lunch. They were really good! Delicious filling and the skin wasn’t too thick.

Nanxiang-Style Xiao Long Bao

Each order comes with 6 pieces. It’s hot and soupy in the centre, so be careful when eating it. You can pair it with soy sauce and vinegar on the side of the table.

Green Onion Pancake

The green onion pancake is cut up into 4 pieces. Super crisp on the exterior and has a good amount of green onion spread out.

Shanghai-Style Fried Pork Buns

When coming to Mama’s Dumpling and Coffee, a lot of people order their Shanghai-style Fried Pork Buns. It’s their most popular item and comes in 4 pieces. It can take up to 30 minutes to prepare, so they recommend pre-ordering the dish so you aren’t waiting a long time.

The dumplings are fluffy on top, crisp on the bottom and the inside is so savoury and soupy. Highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and all the dishes were very homey and hit the spot. For myself, the location is quite far for me to drive to and taking transit is a pain. If you’re in the area of South Richmond, definitely make a stop here.

Address:
103-11782 Hammersmith Way, Richmond, B

Website:
https://www.mamasdumpling.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Pink Pearl: A Sustainable Cantonese Dinner

Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant in Vancouver’s east end, has taken a major step in its sustainability journey – removing shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy, from its menu – and highlighting the bounty of sustainable seafood options in classic, Cantonese cuisine.

To celebrate this milestone and the restaurant becoming an Ocean Wise Seafood partner, they hosted a banquet-style dinner featuring a delicious spread of sustainable seafood like steamed black cod, pan-fried clams and Dungeness crab, among other mouthwatering dishes.

Knowing where you food comes from and the impact on the environment is more important than ever as it impacts our health.

Pan Fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce

The pan fried clams were covered in black bean sauce and it was delicious. Make sure you get some rice to really soak up a that black bean sauce so it doesn’t go to waste.

Farmed shellfish like clams are some of the most sustainable seafood options widely available globally. These shellfish are grown in suspended rafts and beach farmed and are harvested by hand, hand rakes, or dredge worldwide.

Basa Fillet with Garlic and Roasted Pork Hot Pot

This dish has a combination of tofu, bok choy, mushrooms, garlic, roast pork and the basa fillet. Another delicious dish and the basa fillet was moist and went well with the sauce.

Conventionally farmed basa is not considered Ocean Wise. They are farmed in extremely high density ponds and as a result have a high risk and concern for disease and the spread of pathogens. As a result, chemical use is high.

In contrast, the basa served at Pink Pearl is from an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified farm raised in Vietnam. In order to be ASC certified, farms must adhere to standards set by ASC and are audited for compliance. This includes standards on minimizing disease, water pollution treatments and monitoring, criteria on the fish feed they are allowed to use, and minimizing impacts on the local ecosystem. ASC also has chain of custody which means that processors, distributors, or any supply chain company that handles an ASC-certified product can be certified throughout the supply chain to improve product traceability.

Oysters with Ginger and Green Onion Sizzling Hot Plate

These big fried oysters are massive and paired with aromatic of ginger, onion and green onion which is always a good pairing. The oyster is definitely a mouthful, so one piece is pretty hefty.

Similar to clams, shellfish are one of the most sutainable seafood options. As these species are filter feeders, they extract nutrients from the water and require no external feed inputs. In addition, chemicals are not used in the production and effluent is not a concern.

Steamed Black Cod in Preserved Vegetables

Steamed black cod with preserved veggies was well cooked too. Some people may not like the preserved veggies, but it add a tang of fermented taste to the dish. The cod was a good texture, but there were a good amount of bones so be careful.

Black cod/sablefish in BC is managed as part of a multi-species groundfish fishery using bottom longline and trawl fishing gear.The sablefish population in BC is considered healthy and fishing rate is stable. There is effective enforcement on the total allowable catch and where they are allowed to fish in order to avoid sensitive habitats.

All fishing boats have 100% at-sea, dockside, and observer coverage that records and accounts for each fish that comes on board a fishing vessel and makes it to land.

Dungeness Crab with Spicy Dry Garlic

The next dish was the highlight of the meal. It was our favourite item of the night, but then again, how can you resist a pile of dungeness crab? The exterior is deliciously seasoned and there was a good amount of meat inside.

Dungeness crab are caught by trap in BC and is considered a well-managed fishery that regulates legal catch limits based on size, sex, and season. They have a life cycle that makes them inherently low in vulnerability since they mature and reproduce at an early age, are quite reproductive and have a fairly short lifespan.

Bycatch concerns are considered low and the trap fishing gear has low impact on habitat since the trap is immobile once it’s dropped and does not drag along the sea floor.

Beef and Lettuce Fried Rice

To end off the meal, we had beef and lettuce fried rice to accompany the other dishes.

Final Thoughts

It’s great that another Cantonese Restaurant is getting the Ocean Wise certification as the clientele likes certain types of seafood like shark fin. The showcase of sustainable seafood for today’s meal tasted good and it takes a lot of effort to make the switch to ensure our oceans stay healthy without depleting the supply of seafood or causing additional harm to ourselves.

To find more about the Ocean Wise program, check out  seafood.ocean.org.

Address:
1132 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.pinkpearl.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Shine Valley Lamb Soup: Chinese Lamb Soup, Dumplings, and Skewers in Richmond

Shine Valley Lamb Soup is located in Richmond and they specialize in exactly what their name suggests – lamb soup. I met up with a few friends and headed here for lunch as we heard it was good. They started in 2014 in a food court stall and since it was so successful, they decided to move into a storefront. Their more popular items are Chinese lamb soup, dumplings, and skewers.

If you’re a fan of lamb, you’ll like this place.

The restaurant is located on the second floor, you can take the stairs of elevator to get there.

Interior

The interior is large with lots of tables for small to large groups. The look is very rustic and feels like you’re transported back in time.

Menu

Lamb Soup with noodles and liver

We got the large size to share. The broth was really delicious and the noodles were cooked perfectly. We really enjoyed it. You can tell the noodles are hand made and the whole dish has a very homey feel and taste. Highly recommended.

Eggplant with Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is also one of their specialties. It was surprisingly good. Very savory and not too sour.

Green Onion and Ham Cake

The bun was very flakey and stuffed with a good amount of green onion and ham scattered inside. It’s easily sharable if you don’t want to have the whole thing. You can dab this in eggplant’s sweet and sour sauce too.

Grilled Chicken Gizzard

Chicken gizzard is the thick part of a chicken’s stomach that grinds the food. It’s very muscular and has a crunchy texture. We got this in mild spice level.

There is a minimum order of 5 pieces.

Lamb Skewer

You have to come here for the lamb skewers, we got these with medium spice level. There is a minimum order of 5 pieces.

Lamb Meat Stuffed Dumpling

The dumplings were boiled and can be eaten with vinegar and chili oil. Very delicious too. Simple and just like what you would get at home. It’s a nice change.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was delicious and had a homey taste to it. Not too salty at all. If you’re a lamb lover, you’ll enjoy their signature dishes. I would definitely go again.

If you want to pay with card, you have to pay the whole bill. If you want to split the bill, it all needs to be paid in cash. Fair enough, but just so you know.

Address:
4653 Garden City Rd #2215, Richmond, BC

Website:
https://www.shinevalleylambsoup.com/

by
Read More
In Bubble Tea

Exposure Social House 曝光奶茶: Bubble Tea in Richmond

Exposure Social House is one of the newer bubble tea shops that opened in Richmond. They are also an event space and hiphop culture event centre. When I was in Richmond, my friend told me about this place, so we headed out to give it a try. They pride themselves of using real ingredients like Avalon Milk.

The parking is a bit tough during the day as there are a lot of other popular restaurants and a grocery store in this plaza. You may need some patience when navigating this area.

Interior

The interior is small as they only have seating capacity of 10. Most people come grab their bubble tea to go.

Mostly standing room, 3 tables, a washroom and a retail area at the back of the shop.

There’s also a lot of little figurines to look at all. This place sure has character.

Menu

Devil’s Fresh Milk

Devil’s Fresh Milk is essentially brown sugar milk tea using Avalon milk. It’s the most trendiest bubble tea drink lately and has taken Asia by storm too. You can get this at set times during the day and may sell out.

Japanese Roasted Milk Tea

Japanese Roasted Milk Tea with pearls was my friend’s choice. The tea is fragrant and tastes pretty good. A classic item to order.

Supreme Milk Tea

I went for the Supreme Milk Tea which comes with a base of pudding an pearls. You can choose your tea, which can be JX Light Oolong, Earl Grey, Assam, Spring Green Tea, Jasmine or Gyukuro. I went with Assam tea for mine. I also got it 50% sweet and less ice. It was pretty good and I enjoyed the combination of pudding and pearl toppings.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to have more diversity of bubble teas in Vancouver. Any opportunity to customize is great too. On the menu, there is a little bit of everything. They can also make your bubble tea with almond milk, soy milk, ice cream or yogurt.

Address:
131-4600 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3V7

by
Read More
In Chinese

Old Xian’s Food: Now Open on Robson Street

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.

Menu

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/

by
Read More
In Cafe

Hui Lau Shan: Now Open in Downtown Vancouver

It was late at night and my friends and I stumbled upon Hui Lau Shan open on Denman Street close to Robson Street. I have been anticipating their opening for a while as the first location in Kerrisdale is a bit far for me to get to.

Hui Lau Shan is a Hong Kong dessert maker that specializes in Mango desserts. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, it’s the place to cool off during the hot Summer with their mango drinks. They look like they are slowly expanding in Metro Vancouver with the next location inside the T&T Supermarket in Richmond.

Interior

The space is a decent size with a few tables for groups of 4ish. There seemed to be some people doing take out and some staying inside to eat and chit chat. My friends decided to stay a bit and enjoy the desserts while chit chatting.

After you put in your order, you get an electronic device that will signal you when your order is ready.

Menu 

Mango Romance

This is a popular item as it’s essentially a taster of 3 different dishes – mango pomelo sago, mango mochi and mango chewy ball. It’s full of mango goodness.

Mango Pomelo Sago

A classic item with mango puree, tapioca, mango pieces, and pomelo. You can devour this all yourself or share with a friend.

Final Thoughts

We got the 2 most popular items on the menu and it really took us back to Hong Kong. The mangoes were perfectly ripe with the right amount of tartness and sweetness. The size of the overall desserts could be a bit bigger for what you pay for but given the rising costs in Vancouver like rent, labour, and food costs, I can see why they charge higher prices in comparison to places in Asia.

The taste itself was good, but presentation could be a bit better as the mango chunks were hastily cut. It took then a while to create the desserts but given that it was their first day, they have some kinks to work out before they have their grand opening.

Nonetheless, they are in Vancouver and gives us more dessert options in Downtown Vancouver.

Address:
907 Denman St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.hlsvancouver.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Hon’s Wonton House: Olympic Village new menu

We’ve already visited and reviewed Hon’s new Olympic Village location. We went back when they invited us to the media event and introduced their updated menu. We also learned that a new location will soon open near the Commercial and Broadway area.

The new menu

Hon’s Wonton is adding a few more items to their menu. New ingredients include bbq pork, curry sauce, and “vegetable bites” (seitan). The update includes:

BBQ Pork on Rice

The meat is tasty and had good caramelization, but the sauce is very salty. I would try to ask for the sauce on the side so you can control the amount.

Curry Beef Brisket On Rice

This dish is simple and tastes exactly what you would make at home. It’s a good option if you’re way too tired after work to make a hearty meal.

Sweet & Sour Veggie Bites on Rice

The sweet and sour sauce is good, but I expected the seitan to be crispy since it’s deep-fried before covered in sauce. Fun fact: Hon’s is the largest supplier of seitan in North America.

Same taste, new approach

We learned at the media event that the menu was created with the belief that restaurants must adapt and change to remain relevant. To cater to modern patrons, Hon’s seafood ingredients are Oceanwise and their beef is Canadian AAA. Additionally, they have a vegan option featuring seitan as the protein.

Final thoughts

Hon’s differentiates itself from the typical Chinese restaurant by offering a streamlined menu. I was very pleased to learn that they are using sustainable seafood and quality Canadian beef. It was also a nice surprise that they offer a vegan option.

We have to mention that the taste and quality in the food offered during the media event differs from our experience when we visit Hon’s on a normal day. The pork potstickers we tasted at the event was crispy, whereas our previous experience was not. Operational consistency is a challenge for many restaurants and I hope that Hon’s can regularly make their signature items the same, for each and every visit.

Address:
25 E 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.honswontonhouse.com/

by
Read More
In Cafe

Miss Lina Crepe Cakes: Pastries and Drinks in Richmond

Miss Lina Crepe Cakes in Richmond is another new addition to Alexandra Road for desserts. There have been a few dessert shops in Metro Vancouver opening up that specialize in Crepe Cakes, so it’s interesting to see the demand for them. They also have a liquor license if you want a boozy drink to go with your sweet treats.

We came here specifically for the crepe cakes but they do have other items on the menu like Afternoon Tea.

Interior

The interior is nice and has lots of tables for small to large groups. They try to make the decor look luxurious with the simple and light colours.

Menu

Matcha Crepe Cake

Matcha crepe cake is a classic flavour with 25 layers of matcha creme and crepes. It’s definitely a labour of love to create, but delicious to devour. Matcha is generally bitter, so you will have to like matcha to fully enjoy the balance of sweet and bitter tastes.

Earl Grey Crepe Cake

Earl Grey tea is infused into this crepe cake with a good balance where the earl grey shines through and overall isn’t too sweet. Pair it with some tea and it hits the spot.

Taro Crepe Cake

Have you heard of taro crepe cake yet? It’s a pretty great combination that I don’t see that often. If you are a taro fan, you’ll enjoy this. The natural colour of the taro shines through and it’s very good.

Final Thoughts

The crepe cakes that we tried were very delicious and delicate but can be pricey as you are paying over $12 per slice. Even their rainbow crepe cake has a price tag of $16. Definitely not an everyday indulgence.

Address:
1200-8580 Alexandra Rd, Richmond

Website:
https://www.misslinacrepecakes.com/

by
Read More
In Cafe

SweetHoney Dessert: Now Open in Richmond

SweetHoney Dessert is a new Hong Kong style dessert restaurant in Richmond. It’s tucked away in a small plaza near Aberdeen Mall. They serve many hot and cold soup based dessert items.

SweetHoney Dessert takes pride in preparing all ingredients in-house daily. They let us know that they don’t use powdered additives, instead they grind the raw ingredients in their kitchen. This extra step makes a difference in taste, texture, and quality. The morning is spent doing prep, then they open at 3:00pm until 12:00am everyday.

SweetHoney Dessert Richmond is part of a franchise that have over 600 locations in China, over a dozen in California, and now its first location in Canada.

Interior

The interior is cute, well lit, and welcoming. It’s a large space with plenty of comfortable seating. As part of a franchise, the look and feel is consistent with other locations throughout North America.

Mango, Strawberry, and Durian Pancakes

SweetHoney Pancakes is fruit and fresh cream wrapped in surprisingly thin crepe. The wrap is so delicate, there is one dedicated staff trained to make them.

We tried mango, strawberry, and durian. My favourite was the strawberry, which had sesame flecks on its wrapper and provided a flavour contrast.

Durian and Thai Black Glutinous Rice

Fresh durian and black glutinous rice ball are served on vanilla “frost”. Frost is a semi-sweet sauce that is half liquid, half very finely shaved ice. It looks liquid but retains a slushy texture as you eat it. The durian is flown in from Thailand.

Mango with Grass Jelly in Vanilla Frost

This is one of their most popular items. It’s served with a generous amount of fresh, ripe mango. The grass jelly and their signature vanilla frost is a great combination.

Mango Pomelo Sago Tofu Pudding

These are all ingredients that I know and love together. SweetHoney makes its own tofu in-house, which was very delicate and semi-sweet. The pomelo bits were a burst of flavour. It’s cool, refreshing, and is easily my favourite item on their menu.

Sesame and Almond Soup with Glutinous Rice Balls

SweetHoney also serve warm dessert options. They toast, grind, and make all the ingredients in this dish within their kitchen. It’s tasty, comforting, and would be a perfect cold, weather treat when fall arrives.

Final Thoughts

I visited during the heatwave and the cold desserts were a perfect way to cool down. The fruits were all very fresh and juicy.

Fair warning: the portions are large, and because the warm soup can be quite filling, make sure to bring a friend or two. Treat it like dimsum, more people means more options!

SweetHoney Richmond is slightly difficult to find because of the parking lot layout, but it’s worth visiting. They offer so many ingredient variations and options, that everyone can find something they will like.

Address:
160 4200 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.sweethoneydessert.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Hon’s Wonton House: Same Old Taste, Brand New Decor

Hon’s Wonton House is the rebirth of the Hon’s empire with their newest location on 2nd near Olympic Village. Hon’s has been around since 1972 and was a popular Chinese wonton house in the Lower Mainland. As our palates have evolved and the rise of other noodle shops has since given them stiff competition, they have seen better days.

With this new location, their look has been revamped to fit the neighbourhood. I was really curious how the food would compare this time.

Interior

All the seating are in tables of 4s and reminded us of seating in street markets back in Asia. You will see wooden panelling, black furniture, stone bricks and off white paint.

Their kitchen is in full view so you can see how they make your meal. No secrets and it’s all exposed, which is nice to see all the staff hard at work.

Menu

The menu is condensed and features customer favourites like potstickers, rice rolls, wonton soup, and beef brisket. The prices are affordable with fishes ranging from $5 to $11.

Pork Potstickers

For $5, you get 6 pieces of their classic pork potstickers paired with ginger and the potsticker vinegar. All the dumplings seemed like they were boiled or steamed. It would have been nice to have a pan fried version of theses to have more texture.

Wonton Noodle Soup

I got the wonton noodle soup with thin noodles and prawn wonton. There was a lot of noodles in each bowl, so you’ll definitely fill up on that. There were 6 pieces of wontons in this dish and tasted ok. They kept the standard the same and consistent  for all these years and I saw that they were using their prepackaged Hon’s wontons, which isn’t surprising.

One thing I didn’t like was the slightly sweet broth for the dish.

Beef Brisket Wonton Noodle Soup

The most expensive item on the menu is this beef brisket wonton noodle soup. It has the same broth as the wonton noodle soup, so it does have a sweet after taste. You get 3 shrimp wontons, lots of noodles, garlic chips, a scoop of the beef brisket, and veggies.

It looks great but the taste was lacklustre. The beef brisket was tough and chewy.

Final Thoughts

The new space is nice, but the food has definitely been stuck in the olden days. The broth was the most problematic for me as I personally prefer it to be saltier than sweeter.

The price range is great for the area and they are able to pump out bowls of food quite quickly, so they have a good rhythm going if they get busy. I really wanted to like the food, but it didn’t hit the mark. Felt like corners were cut so they can’t really create a good bowl of wonton noodle soup. There’s definitely better options around town, but if you like the nostalgia of Hon’s, you can give it a try.

Address:
25 E 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.honswontonhouse.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

[Sneak Peek] Vitasoy Summer Dessert Collaboration with 720 Sweets

Are you a Vitasoy fan? Growing up, we have always had this treat in our household since I can remember. It’s very nostalgic and Vitasoy is partnering up with 4 dessert shops in NYC, LA, Vancouver, and Toronto this Summer. Together, they will be bringing you unique summer Vitasoy desserts from June 30th to August 19, 2018. Some dates do vary.

These are the locations revealed so far:

  • Vancouver – 720 Sweets (July 7 to Aug 5)
  • New York – New Territories (June 30 to July 29)
  • Los Angles – ?
  • Toronto- Matcha Tea and Dessert (July 14 – Aug 12)

As I am in Vancouver, we were given a sneak peek of the Vitasoy x 720 Sweets collaboration prior to the launch, so lets see what you can expect on July 7th.

720 Sweets: Vancouver

720 Sweets have been known for their whimsical soft serve that was an instant hit when it open many years ago and has since opened various locations across the Lower Mainland. Their desserts are always stunning and the dry ice effect make it very photogenic.

The Special Vitasoy Creations

There are two options to choose from – Soy Good! and Oh Malt Goodness! Both are made with the 2 classic Vitasoy flavours – Original and Malt. They are so pun worthy with the naming of their desserts.

Soy Good!

A soy-milk soft serve with cornflakes, red bean, chocolate stick and condensed milk drizzle.

Oh Malt Goodness!

A malt soy-milk soft serve with maltesers, crushed almonds, Pepero sticks and caramel drizzle.

Behind the Scenes

The magic happens in their open kitchen where you can see the desserts being made. You have original soft serve on one side and then malt on the other. Once they pour in the delicious soft serve into the cups, it’s time for all the toppings.

Soy Good!

This soy-milk soft serve is topped with crushed up cornflakes, red bean, a chocolate stick and condensed milk drizzle. The Vitasoy is very subtle, but one it hits your tongue, it will bring you back to your childhood. Of the two, this was my favourite. The cornflakes were a nice touch to add texture and crunch.

Oh Malt Goodness!

This has malt soy-milk soft serve with maltesers, crushed almonds, Pepero sticks and caramel drizzle. Similar in look with the dreamy dry ice effect. The malt soy milk isn’t as strong in the soft serve, so you really need to concentrate to connect the flavours. Toppings complimented well and wasn’t too sweet.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the desserts were fun and it’s a great collaboration. With the subtle flavours of the soy milks, they did a good job incorporating the flavours and pairing with the toppings. If you’re a huge Vitasoy fan, you won’t want to miss this as it won’t be available for too long.

Also, from July 16 -22, 720 Sweets has a promo where if you purchase their Vitasoy creations, you can buy a 6-pack of Vitasoy for $1. Great deal!

Address:
3278 West Broadway, Vancouver

Website:
http://720sweets.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Chi Men 吃面: Lanzhou noodle soup in Vancouver

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.

Menu

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

by
Read More
In Chinese

Jasmine Club Restaurant: Korean-Chinese Cuisine in Coquitlam

Jasmine Club Chinese Restaurant in Coquitlam serves up Korean Chinese cuisine. Three popular dishes are Jajangmyeon – noodles with a thick sweet bean sauce, Jjamppong – spicy noodle soup, and Tangsuyuk – sweet and sour pork dish.

We came here for dinner since M really craved some jajangmyeon.

Interior

The space was pretty busy for a weekend evening and the tables filled up very quickly. For large groups, its best to have reservations.

Banchan – Complimentary Side Dishes

Banchan are small side dishes that come complimentary with the meal. There is pickled daikon and picked carrots and cabbage. It was good to nibble on throughout the meal.

Mandu – Fried Dumplings

There are about 8 pieces that come in an order. It’s so delicious and deep-fried till a golden brown on the outside. The inside is very savoury and yummy.

Tangsuyuk – Sweet Sour Crispy Pork

This is very different than the usual sweet and sour pork. The pork is covered in potato starch, thus the pale coating around it. There are a lot of veggies like wood ear mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, onions, peppers, and maraschino cherries.

Jjajang bokkeumbap – Fried Rice with Black Bean Sauce

This is what I ordered. I really like the fried rice with the black bean sauce. It was good, but I wished they gave a little bit more black bean sauce

Jajangmyeon

There is a lot of black bean sauce with the noodles. Mix it all together and slurp up all the noodles.

Final Thoughts

Jasmine Club Chinese restaurant has some pretty good Korean Chinese food, but it is pricey compared to what you would normally pay in Korea.

We Rate Jasmine Club Chinese Restaurant: 

Address:
1001B Austin Avenue, Coquitlam, BC

by
Read More
In Chinese

Xi’an Famous Foods: Spicy Noodles in New York

Xi’an Famous Foods is a chain of fast casual restaurants based in New York City that serves authentic Northern Chinese dishes. When in New York, I had to try it since I love some good spicy noodles. We went to the location closest to MoMA and it’s literally across the street.

Interior

There is seating on either side of the walls, but no group tables at all. Those who are eating alone or with people don’t have to worry. It was busy in the evening, so we waiting a little bit till another group left.

Menu

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles in Soup

The hand-ripped noodles, topped with sauteed spicy cumin lamb, in a lamb/beef broth. It was definitely spicy but so good if you are a spicy food lover. For those who aren’t into spicy food, you shouldn’t get this.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles

Their hand-ripped noodles mixed with sauteed spicy cumin lamb. It was so so so delicious and comforting, but it had a kick of heat to it. There are good chunks of lamb in it. The noodles were a bit chewy.

Final Thoughts

It was great to have something in New York that wasn’t burgers or pizza.

We Rate Xi’an Famous Foods: 

Address:
37 W 54th St, New York

Website:
http://xianfoods.com/

by
Read More
In Chinese

Peaceful Restaurant: Northern Chinese Cuisine for Chinese New Year

Peaceful Restaurant rings in the Year of the Dog with auspicious and culinary dishes created by owner and Master Chef Charlie Huang. We were invited to check out Traditional Chinese New Year foods and dishes to ring in the new year. They currently have 7 locations across the Lower Mainland and you can get all these items on their regular menu.

Master Chef Charlie Huang

Owner-chef Charlie Huang’s culinary inspiration stems mainly from his upbringing in Xi’an, an ancient Silk-Road city in North-Western China. The cuisine in the city-region reflects the fusion of various cultures over the course of several thousand years, which Charlie has sought to bring to Vancouver and share with others. His cumulation of his various experiences and the desire to spread the experience and diversity of Chinese cuisine – he calls ‘homecooked comfort food’ – has led to the creation of Peaceful Restaurant.

He even did a dumpling demonstration to see how it’s all made by hand.

Sichuan Cucumbers 麻辣黃瓜

Woodear Mushroom Salad 涼拌木耳

Xi’an White Lamb Soup 羊肉泡饃

Sichuan Broth Braised Fish 水煮魚片

Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb with Sesame Flatbread 孜然羊肉加燒餅

Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles 木須肉炒面

Chinese Rice Cakes 炒年糕

Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken 四川辣子雞

Sichuan String Beans 干煸四季豆

Dan-Dan Noodles 擔擔面

Sizzled Hot-Chilli Noodles 油潑辣子面

Xi’an Cold Steamed Noodles 陝西凉皮

Northern Pork Dumplings 北方水餃

Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns 小籠包

Peaceful Beef Rolls 牛肉卷餅

Pan-Fried Vegetable Dumplings 素菜鍋貼

Hand Pulled Noodles

I love hand pulled noodles especially when its freshly made. A piece of dough is repeatedly stretched and folded onto itself in order to align the glutens and warm up the dough for stretching. This dough is then pulled to about an arm span’s length. The puller then makes a loop with the dough, joining the two ends into one clump of dough, and inserts his fingers into the loop to keep the strand from sticking to itself. Doing this, the pull has doubled the length of the dough while fractioning its thickness. This process is repeated several times until the desired thickness and quantity is achieved.

Blade Sheared Noodles

With one hand holding the dough pointed downward at a 30º angle, and the other hand clutching a special sharp knife specifically made for this purpose, the noodles are shaved directly into a large pot of boiling water. It’s fast and has been described as an endless loop.

Final Thoughts

Traditional Chinese New Year foods and dishes include noodles, dumplings, fish and nian gao (glutinous rice cake). They symbolize happiness, longevity, an increase in wealth and prosperity.

A few of my favourite items of the night were:

  • Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken
  • Xi’an White Lamb Soup
  • Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles
  • Sichuan String Beans
  • Peaceful Beef Rolls

If you’re looking for a very casual restaurant for Northern Chinese cuisine, check out Peaceful Restaurant. There are many locations, but this particular one we went to is on West 4th Ave in Kitsilano.

Address:
2394 W 4th Ave, Vancouver

Website:
http://peacefulrestaurant.ca/

by
Read More
In Burnaby Central

Liuyishou HotPot: Comforting Chongqing-style HotPot

It’s been a while since coming to Liuyishou Hotpot and their interior and menu have been revamped. Founded in 2000 in Chongqing China, Liuyishou Hotpot has grown to over 1000 locations worldwide over the past 17 years. From a single location on a small street in Chongqing, Liuyishou has expanded to a prominent franchise with locations in China, Canada, U.S., Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Thailand, and France.

Hot Pot

Hotpot is an interactive method of cooking and eating Chinese food as diners simmer their food in a pot of delicious broth, giving the food a blast of true Chinese flavour while cooking food to the perfect temperature.

You start by selecting the types of broth for your hotpot. I can be spicy or more of a mild broth. I love getting my hot pot with both spicy and a mild broth.

Chongqing style hotpot is extremely popular in China and many other regions, is well represented by Liuyishou, and the recipe of traditional hotpot broth. Prepared with special premium butter, red hot chili, Sichuan peppercorn, and many other exotic herbs and spices, it is the secret of how to achieve spicy, stimulating, umami and aromatic pleasures to astonish all your senses.

Then you add an array of veggies, meat, and seafood, or noodles to the meal. You start by cooking the raw food in your part in a particular order – meat, seafood, mushroom, veggies and noodle. All items are good quality and it’s a la carte unlike some of the all you can eat hot pot restaurants.

Sauce Bar

Liusushou hotpot has a huge sauce bar with so many items you can add to your sauce that you can mix for the cooked food items.

There are also diagrams if you don’t know what to mix your sauce with. I always a little bit of my favourite sauces like satay sauce, garlic, chili oil, sesame sauce and green onions.

Drinks

The best drinks to go with hot pot is beer, pop, and plum juice especially if you have the spicy hot pot.

Sweets

Golden Mantou buns with condensed milk is a sweet treat with the meal outside of the hot pot.

Bing Fen is a traditional Sichuanese cold dessert jelly with different toppings.

Liuyishou Hotpot Week

For a week-long celebration, join Liuyishou Hotpot at any Canadian location to celebrate the year of The Dog with a special menu offering. The holiday dinner specials (available 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm only) include the dinner set for 2 and the dinner set for 4 from February 26 to March 2, presented by Vancouver Gourmet Tours. More details and tickets are for sale now on Eventbrite.ca:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/vancouver-gourmet-tours-16495752595

Address:
5507 Kingsway St, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://liuyishouna.com/

by
Read More
In BBQ

Happy Tree BBQ: Now Open in Burnaby

We were originally in Richmond wanting to go to Happy Tree BBQ there but the wait was an hour long, so we drove to their Burnaby location as the line as shorter. When we got there, we were seated right away as the space is larger. They specialize in skewered street food especially cumin lamb skewers. I’ve heard lots about this place and it’s always packed.

Make sure you bring cash if you are spending less than $50. I just came with one friend and we spent $49, but they were wanting us to pay in cash. Since there were no signs, they eventually eased up and let us pay by Credit Card.

Cucumber

For $4.95, this is a lot of cucumber in a spicy sauce. So delicious and it was a great item to pair with all the lamb skewers.

Lamb Kebob (Original)

Of all the skewers, this is the most popular and most delicious. Covered in delicious spices like cumin. There is a minimum order of 5 skewers, but for 2 people to devour it, it wasn’t a problem at all. You must order this.

Lamb Kebob (Special)

This lamb kebob is served on a metal skewer and also has a minimum 5 pieces per order. A good sprinkling of spices, but the original still wins out by a hair.

Angus beef Kabob

This also have a 5 piece minimum order with the angus beef. It has similar spices as the lamb but the texture of the beef was a bit tougher.

Chicken Wings

Unlike the other skewers, there is a minimum order of 2 skewers of the chicken wings. Delicious exterior and moist mean on the inside.

Steamed Buns

On each skewer, there are 2 pieces of the steamed buns which are them grilled. This could have used a bit longer on the grill as it cooked a bit unevenly. Not as delicious at the other meaty skewers, but it was go to try out.

Coconut Juice

Beer is a no-brainer with this type of food, but they have juices and non-alcoholic beverages on the menu. When I was looking at other people, I had to get it as its a good coconut drink.

Final Thought

Overall, the skewers were delicious and a great place to go to with a large group. The spices on the skewers were delightful. I would come back again.

We Rate Happy Tree BBQ: 

Address:
3502 Kingsway St, Vancouver, BC

by
Read More
Load More