Commercial Drive / Grandview Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Cafe

Yama Cafe: Japanese Cafe in Vancouver

April 30, 2017

Yama Cafe has taken over Basho Cafe a few months ago. Everyone was so sad that Basho closed their doors, but Yama has kept the essence of Basho and put his spin on the menu. I came here with a few foodie friends to check out the space and have a treat. They serve up drinks, rice bowls, salad bowls, bread, and soup.

Interior

The interior is still the same with their wooden rustic look and bunting spread across the room. There were lots of people inside here, but if you come at off-times, there are tables.

Treats

They have a selection of treats like brownies, moffins (made with mochi), and other treats. You can’t go wrong with any of them as they are very well made. They are delicious and it’s just the right amount of sweetness to go with their drinks.

Matcha Latte

Their matcha lattes can be sweet or unsweetened, I went with the unsweetened kind as I don’t like to much sugar in my drinks. It was delicious and they did a very pretty latte art on top.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I love this space. It’s so cozy and great for hanging out with friends. Their drinks and baked goods are delicious too. I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Yama Cafe:

Address:
2007 E Hastings Street, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Yama-Cafe-699753386865794/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

77K Freeze: Nitrogen Ice Cream on Commercial Drive

April 5, 2017

77k Freeze is a new nitrogen ice cream shop that just opened on Commercial Drive. I came with a friend for a sneak peek of their shop before their grand opening. They are named after the low boiling point of liquid nitrogen – 77 Kelvins.

The owners, which are scientists discovered the joy of using liquid nitrogen to make frozen desserts while doing cryogenic experiments. They created a Cryogenic Control Unit to control the liquid nitrogen for making ice cream.

Interior

The interior is all white with snowflake decorations and blue accents to give the space a cool atmosphere.

There are seats out front, but they also have this lounge area that can be booked for events.

It’s great if you want to host an ice cream party or some gathering.

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

You can create your own ice cream selecting the base, flavours, toppings and sweeteners. Or, they also have a few creations of their own creations like Snowflake, Oh Canada, Blueberry Pine, and Vancouver Red Velvet.

When you choose what you want, they start mixing it up and thats when the liquid nitrogen works its magic.

I tried a few of their flavours but I really enjoyed the Oh Canada with the milk base, a bit of maple to sweeten it and it has crunchy bacon bits and poppy seeds. I loved the crunchy texture of the whole ice cream, but at $8 for their signature flavours, the price needs a bit of work as it’s very expensive compared to the other shops in town.

As they just opened, they have some kinks to work out, but hopefully with more customers giving feedback, they will improve.

Website:
http://www.77kfreeze.ca/

Address:
2240 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

In Brewery

Luppolo Brewing Company: Brewery in East Vancouver

December 19, 2016

My friends take me to the coolest breweries. We made a stop at Luppolo Brewing Company in East Vancouver. Luppolo means hops in Italian, thus the name. They were inspired by the values associated with Italian culture – quality, craftsmanship, community and family. This really fit with what they’re trying to create at their brewery.

Interior

There are tons of tables inside the tasting room. For a Sunday evening, this place was almost full.

Beer Flight

I got a beer flight and as usual I ask them for their recommendation of beers that are light and not as hoppy.

One of my favourites was the New World Sour. You can taste the notes of grapefruit and other citrus fruits.

Another one that I enjoyed was the Dunkleweizen, which is a German style dark wheat beer has a silky mouth feel with hints of banana and clove that compliment the light roast malt character. Subtly sweet and surprisingly refreshing.

Saison was on my list too. Always a great light bodied, fresh and crisp beer. Super easy to drink with minimal hoppiness.

Snacks

Antipasto Platter comes with Grana Padano, marinated peppers, eggplant, olives, and artichokes served with bread.

We all nibbled on this as we all drank out flights and pints.

We Rate Luppolo Brewing Company:

Address:
1123 Venables Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://luppolobrewing.ca/

In Brewery

Storm Brewing: Craft Beer in East Vancouver

December 18, 2016

Storm Brewing is a bit different that other breweries in Vancouver. They don’t have a lounge or a tasting room.

When you walk through their sliding door, you are right in the middle of where the brewing magic takes place.

You are essentially in their workspace brewing away some amazing beers. There are no seats, no tables, and no food.

Anyone 19+ can sample up to 6 different brews one at a time by a cash donation. They do not have pints or flights.

They have lots of beers to choose from. They have their mainstays and a bunch of experiments brews.

Mainstays:

Precipitation Pilsner 5%
Highland Scottish Ale 5%
Hurricane IPA 7%
Black Plague Stout 8%
Imperial Flanders Sour Ale 8%
Chales Dickens 7.5%

Brainstorms:

Vanilla Whiskey Stout 9%
Rosemary IPA 7%
Turkey Dinner IPA 7%
Snake Eyes Ale 7.5%
Glacial Mammoth Extinction 25%
Mrs Claus Pilsner 5%
Lemon Ginger IPA 7%

We spent more time trying these ones as they are pretty unique compared to other breweries. Rosemary IPA and Turkey Dinner IPA have strong aroma of herbs. I was surprised this flavour combination would be possible.

My friends also paid $5 extra to try the Glacial Mammoth Extinction at 25% alcohol. I didn’t try it since I had to be a responsible driver to get everyone to our next spot.

Overall, this place is super unique, but you most likely won’t be spending too much time here. The space is definitely sketch, but they do have some pretty cool beers. I love how much they experiment with beers.

We Rate Storm Brewing:

Address:
310 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.stormbrewing.org/

In Brewery

Doan’s Craft Brewery: Beer in East Vancouver

December 16, 2016

Doan’s Craft Brewing Co is a family run brewery in the heart of the East Van. From home-brewing to Craft Brewing, the Doan’s family is inspired by great beer, the art and science of craft brewing and the community created by the craft beer movement.

I passed by this shop a few times and thought it looked pretty cute and not pretentious at all. A few friends and I visited their tasting room on a Sunday night and they are open pretty late, which is great.

They do flights, glasses of beer, growlers, and some food too.

Interior

Their space is small and doesn’t have too many seats for large groups, but there is one larger communal table and 3 smaller ones in another corner. They also have some cool local art on the walls too.

If you love arcade games, they have an arcade machine with a few games you can play by yourself or with a friend.

Beers

Looking at their drinks, I had to get a flight of 4 tasters to get a taste of how their line up of beer tastes.

I got them to pick 4 drinks for me that were on the light end of the spectrum and isn’t too hoppy.

I got the:

Kolsch
Scrooge’s Light Ale
Doan Bros Pale Ale
Rye Stout

All 4 beers were really good, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Kolsh. Very light and refreshing, which I enjoy the most.

Overall, it’s a cool space to hang with friends and enjoy a beer. Super casual atmosphere with good beer.

We Rate Doan’s Craft brewery:

Address: 1830 Powell Street, Vancouver

Website: http://doanscraftbrewing.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Natsumi Ramen: Ramen on Commercial Drive

November 16, 2016

Natsumi Ramen on Commercial Drive is one of the newer ramen shops to pop up in Vancouver. There aren’t any ramen shops in the area, so I was surprised this was here. I was walking along Commercial Drive with a few friends and we decided to stop here, avoid the rain and have a hearty bowl of ramen.

Interior

The interior has a lot of cat silhouettes. No problems here since I love cats. Dog lovers are welcome here too.

There are a decent number of tables here for small and large groups.

Side Dish

Before the ramen arrives, everyone was given pickled and marinated onions. Surprisingly really good. Something to munch on before the ramen arrives.

Ramen

Tsukemen has a soy sauce based broth with noodles on the side. There is also diced pork belly, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoot, green onion, and roasted seaweed. This is a dipping ramen, so you take some noodle and dip it in the broth, then slurp it up.

Miso Ramen has pork belly, bean sprout, bamboo sprouts, blacktree fungus, fried onion, green onion, corn and roasted seaweed. My friend added an egg to this.

Cheese Kimchi Ramen has a soy sauce based broth, pork belly, soft boiled egg, bean sprout, green onion, corn, mozzarella, chopped kimchi, and roasted seaweed. This loaded ramen had an interesting concept, but the cheese easily dissolves into the ramen and doesn’t hold together well after it melts.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the meal, cute little candies come in a box to finish up the meal. The ramen was pretty average, but it was nice to have a ramen shop in the area.

We Rate Natsumi Ramen:

Address:
1179 Commercial Dr, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ramennatsumi/

In Cafe

The Drive Coffee Bar: Coffee and Beer

May 22, 2016

The Drive Coffee bar is located right near 1st Avenue and Commercial Drive. I came here for their Grand Opening/1 Year Anniversary Party to check out what they offer. Strange combination to have a Grand Opening and 1 Year Anniversary party, but I guess that works. Any excuse is a good excuse to have a party. With the abundance of coffee shops just a few blocks away, I was curious to see how it would perform compared to the other established coffee shops on the same street.

The Commercial Drive Coffee Company are a local producer of roasted coffee beans and sell that at several retailers around town. They took that business and decided to create a coffee bar showcasing their different types of coffee beans.

They have coffee and tea based drinks. They also offer hot chocolate for kids too.

Iced Latte is served in a clear pint glass and I love seeing the contrast between the milk and the coffee. A great drink for a hot summer.

Latte with a leaf latte art on top. The latte was well-balanced and was a bit on the stronger side, which I like.

Of course, coffee is a main staple at any coffee shop on commercial drive, but they try to set themselves apart by offering Parallel 49 beers on tap.

If you ever wanted a beer instead of coffee, it’s definitely an option here.

They also sell Cartem Donuts here too. How can you say no to an earl grey donut?

Overall, they have good coffee and many other items to offer customers.

We Rate The Drive Coffee Bar:

Address:
1670 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://thedrivecoffee.com/

In Brunch

La Mezcaleria: Weekend Brunch

December 17, 2015

La Mezcaleria has been on Commercial Drive now for quite a few years as a Mexican Cantina. For brunch they infuse traditional Mexican flavours with West Coast influence. When I think of La Mezcaleria, I never thought they had brunch. It was surprising, so M and I decided to check it out.

We were on our way next door to go to the wine store, but could help gravitate in here to grab a bite.

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. M always orders horchata at Mexican restaurants and just loves it.

Huevos Rancheros has two corn tortillas served with two sunny side up free-range eggs topped with refried black beans, quesofresco, pico de gallo, salsa ranchera, calabacitas, beans and crema. Definitely very saucy but with a lot of delicious flavours. Plus, a good amount of bacon if you add it.

Almon Con Tequila has toasted english muffin topped with tequila and citrus cured salmon, two poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise. Served with seasonal greens and hashbrowns. The hashbrowns were amazing and super crisp! The salmon is also Oceanwise. The whole dish was delicious and well balanced. The poached egg was perfectly soft.

They also gave a us a few sauces with our meal.

Overall, the brunch was great and I would highly recommend it. I’m glad we stopped here for brunch since it was totally unplanned.

We rate La Mezcaleria:

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

In American

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive

September 22, 2015

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive opened in the Summer serving the community with yummy burgers. The restaurant comes from the East Coast of Canada – New Brunswick. They also have another location on Davie street and will soon open another in North Vancouver.

M suggested we eat burgers for dinner since it was National Cheeseburger Day. Since I didn’t want to make dinner, I happily agreed.

The Great One ($8.96) has cheddar cheese, bacon, and roasted garlic mayonnaise in the sesame and poppyseed bun. I got it with the angus beef patty and it was pretty delicious. I love the char on the patty.

Beefeater Onion Rings ($4) didn’t come with very many on the side, but they were surprisingly delicious. It was the right amount of batter on the onion rings. Very crispy texture on the outside.

The Italian Stallion ($9.95) has tomato basil marinara sauce, Italian sausage, and mozzarella. M chose the angus beef patty to go with this. The Italian sausage was cut quite thinly, so it was really hard to get a balance of it with the patty. Still, nonetheless, M loved the burger. The burger was put together nicely and I was surprised it wasn’t too messy to eat.

reLiSH Green Peppercorn Poutine ($6.45) the poutine comes as a side and it was also a bit small for the price. The fries were nice and crisp, but it could have used more gravy and cheese.

Overall, the burgers were pretty tasty, but when you add the side to it, it can get pricey. The sides could be a little bit bigger too.

We Rate reLiSH Gourmet Burgers:

Address:
2290 Commerical Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.relishlife.com/

In Cafe

Continental Coffee: Independent Coffee Shop on Commercial Drive

June 1, 2014

I was walking down Commercial Drive and I saw Continental Coffee House, so I decided to stop here and grab a coffee. It was cool to see an independent coffee joint in the neighbourhood. The place was packed in the middle of the day with people having meeting, people hanging out with friends, and people doing homework. It’s been around for a long time since 1979. They have been voted one of the best independent coffee shop in Vancouver.

There is also a second location on Main Street, that opened on December 2012.

Cappuccino was what I ordered. It was good coffee with a rice strong flavour.

I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Continental Coffee:

Address:
1806 Commercial Dr
Vancouver BC

Website: http://continental-coffee.ca/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: I Got Cravings

May 11, 2014

Right after work, M and I were deciding if we wanted to go home to cook dinner or just to go out for dinner. After pondering in the car for a while, I thought about Kishimoto and we ditched our cooking plans to chow down at Kishimoto. Seriously, it’s a good place, but the wait is nuts. It was a little before 6pm and there was already a line forming.

All the tables were full.

Luckly, the bar was open, so we sat there without hesitation. Plus, I really like looking at the chefs doing their thing. I was amazed because the staff didn’t say much but they had a very good rhythm of execution.

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. This is one of their signature items. A lot of people compare it to Miku, but it’s still good here too.

The time around there is more scorched top and it tasted heavenly. The charcoal makes a huge difference.

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) comes with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. Good quality of sashimi! Plus a nice presentation.

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce. The sweet sauce is what makes it different that the usual chicken karaage.

Toro Nigiri just melts in your mouth because it’s so fatty. So good! Don’t put it all in your mouth at once, eat it in 2 or 3 bites to really enjoy it.

Unagi Nigiri was good and full of flavour.

Tamago Nigiri was good as well.

Overall, we had a great dinner. It is always a bit pricier than most places, but the quality is there. The downside is the wait. Some people waited 45 minutes for a table.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:
Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: Beautiful Sushi Rolls on Commercial Drive

February 2, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:

Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

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

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In Cafe

Waves: $2 Lattes for January

January 22, 2014

Waves $2 latte deal is back! Now I don’t need to have a Starbucks Treat receipt to wait for a coffee after 2pm. The deal is pretty good and its a medium sized latte. I always drink lattes, so as you can see, it hurts my wallet if I always buy it at regular price.

My girlfriends and I came on the weekend to just chat and chill over the $2 lattes.

Waves on Commercial Drive was packed on the weekend. Lot of people studying and hanging out.

The latte was pretty good and is a great size. It is an espresso based drink that is bold and balanced. The steamed milk that sits on top makes the drink sweeter. Some people add sugar, but I just like it as is. The latte art is definitely a plus.

Go grab one before January ends.

Website:
https://wavescoffee.com/

In Bar and Grill

Storm Crow Tavern: Board Games, Beer, and Burgers

November 16, 2013

M told me about Storm Crow Tavern and now it is the nerdiest bar in Vancouver. I totally had to tell my nerdy blogging buddies – Gastrofork, FoodQueen, and EatingWithKirby. We are secretly really big geeks inside.

The tavern is on Commercial Drive right beside Grandview Park.

There’s a giant cthulhu with a mini skull.

There are battle axes, swords and a bunch of memorabilia on all the walls. You definitely have a tavern feel when you get inside.

There are also lots of board games to use free of charge.

Guns!

Mead ($6.50) is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented honey and water. If you play video games, you know this drink pops up a lot.

The Wolverine ($9) has maple whiskey, butter schnapps, frothy cream in an adamantium mug and a stick of crunchy bacon. It sounded like a cool drink but it definitely wasn’t for me.

The Jack Burton ($5) Jack Daniels with Lager. Dee rolled the 20 sided dice and landed on number 3, which was this drink. We all wanted her to land on 20 to get the Critical Hit drink, but it wasn’t meant to be. I think she just wanted to roll the cool dice.

Chickpea Fries ($6) are huge fries made of chickpeas. It also came with vegan gravy. This was the best thing we had here. Definitely recommended

With our drinks in hand, we played a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity. I think it’s probably one of the most popular games here. It’s an easy game.

Crow Burger with gluten free bread ($9) has chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, dijon, mayo, and onion.

Thunder Burger ($8 + $3) is a storm burger with a few upgrades. It has a 6 oz beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, sun-dried tomato aioli, bbq honey sauce, smoked provolone cheese, and crispy bacon on a Portuguese bun. I chose to have salad on the side.

The burger was ok. Lots of bacon, but everything else was pretty mediocre.

Elvish Veggie Burger Supreme with Daiya vegan cheese ($8 + $2) has a patty made of chickpeas, lentils and rice. The burger also has roasted corn, black beans, tomatoes and a salsa verde and veganaise sauce.

Barbaric Beef Stew ($8) is a savage stew of roasted potatoes, yams, onions, carrots, butternut squash and beef covered in gravy. There is also garlic bread that comes with it. Looks pretty meh and from Dee’s expression, it didn’t seem very good.

After our meals, we thought a proper game of Jenga was in order. It’s quick and there really isn’t too much strategy that goes into it. I lost twice out of three rounds and I totally blame the uneven tables.

When the bill came, we also got a few magic cards. As I don’t play magic, I just took them home and gave them to M. He’s a big magic fan, so I’m sure he will make use out of these.

Overall, the food is very mediocre and the drinks can be a bit expensive depending on what you order. I wouldn’t come again for the food. I’d come here for a beer and play some board games.

We Rate Storm Crow Tavern:

Address:
1305 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.stormcrowtavern.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1305+Commercial+Dr+Vancouver,+Bc&t=m&hnear=1305+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5L+3X5&z=16″]

In Cafe

Fung Sing Cafe: New Hong Kong Style Cafe

January 15, 2013

Fung Sing Cafe is a new Hong Kong style cafe. This cafe was previously Sun Yee Cafe Restaurant but has switched owners and a new menu to go along with it. The owner of Fung Sing Cafe was a chef at Curry King and opened Fung Sing Cafe to call his own.

The interior isn’t amazing but there are large tables if you want to come in big groups.

Depend on what set you order, it might come with soup. They have 3 types of soup – cream soup, Chinese soup, and Russian borscht. All of them tasted pretty good. Everyone at our table had their own favorite soup. I personally love cream soup.

Cold Milk Tea is always a must when going to a HK style cafe.

House Special Beef Short Ribs ($10.50) has lots of short ribs and was tender. Pretty solid dish.

Sweet and Sour Pork ($10.50) was really good. I usually hate sweet and sour pork but they make it really good here! The breading is thin, so you can taste the pork inside. Definitely recommended!!

2 item sizzling combination ($12.95) comes with your choice of any 2 meat choices, soup, drink, a sauce and a side. I chose the rib eye steak and the chicken steak. I also chose the side of vegetables and mushroom sauce.

Choice of 2 combinations ($9.95) thats what the menu said what this was. Essentially you choose 2 meats, a sauce, and a side. It also comes with a choice of sauce and drink. Kgirl chose her option with fries.

This is what it looks like if you chose rice as a side.

This one would be the one with the side of vegetables.

It’s a pretty good value for under $10 and you get full. This option is very popular.

4 of us ordered the same thing. It’s simple and good.

Baked Ying Yang Rice (King Size -$9.50) is a must order! It’s huge! It’s so large that I have no idea who would be able to finish it.

Trust me, it’s quite large even if the pictures don’t 100% justify the size. It tastes good and its worth your money!

You can get a choice of dessert if you order a set item. There are 3 options – Mango pudding, tapioca with coconut milk, and ice cream crepe.

The mango pudding is quite plain but still a nice ending to the meal.

The coconut milk with tapioca is typical of a Chinese restaurant, but still good.

The ice cream crepe was a surprise to see.

Once you cut into it, the ice cream just oozes out. Really cool and a fun desssert for kids.

Overall, Fung Sing Cafe is pretty solid and we had no complaints. The price is very reasonable, staff were nice, and food was decent. I’d definitely come back for some of their specials!

Words of Wisdom:

You gotta order Choice of 2 combinations and the Baked Ying Yang Rice
Free parking at rear

We Rate Fung Sing Cafe:

Address:
2128 East Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://fungsingcafe.com/

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In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen: It’s SO Good

December 23, 2012

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen is a restaurant on commercial drive and specializes in healthy, sustainable, and delicious Indian food. I’ve been here a few times and I love the food. I came this time with KoreanGirl since she wanted to try something new. We haven’t had Indian food in a while, so I thought I would take her here.

They cater to people who are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free too. It’s nice since you know there will be a yummy dish awaiting you no matter what your diet restrictions are.

The interior is spacious and has lots of seats.

Aloo Tikki ($6.99) comes with 3 crispy potato cakes served with delhi sauces and pomegranates. It was so good! The blend of the spices are so yummy! All KoreanGirl and I could say during this was “It’s so good”. There is also a vegan option too.

Murg Makhani aka Butter Chicken ($10.99) has a Shahi sauce infused with fenu-greek leaves, cream, tomato marinade and a hint of coconut . It is also tossed with boneless marinated chicken. This is one of their most popular items and it comes with rice.

Palak Paneer ($11.99) is made of a spinach blend with unfermented cottage cheese sticks and served with a salad and rice. There is plenty of paneer inside with creamy creamy spinach. Definitely delicious and ITS SO GOOD. One of my favorite items here.

Garlic Naan ($3) is made freshly in a tandoori oven with roasted garlic and butter. A must if you are here.

The meal was pretty awesome and the 3 items didn’t disappoint at all. KoreanGirl loved it too and we both agreed it was good stuff!

Words of Wisdom:

Aloo tikki, Veggie Pakora, Saag Paneer, and Lamb Shank is recommended!
Metered street parking
Close to Commercial Skytrain
Decent Prices

We Rate Siddartha’s Indian Kitchen:

Address:
2066 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siddharthaskitchen.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2066+Commercial+Dr.+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=2066+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V5N+4A9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen: Lamb Shank and Saag Paneer

April 26, 2012

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen is a new restaurant that opened up on commercial drive and specializes in healthy, sustainable, and delicious Indian food. Chef Siddharth Choudhary took over the former restaurant – Corner Tandoori in 2011 and reopened in early 2012. They commit to traditional gluten-free vegetarian preparations, vegan options and certified sustainable ingredients. When you taste their food, you will definitely be able to taste the difference!

I came down here with LinLin and LoiLoi to check out Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen.

The interior is quite nice and the paintings are just breath-taking. I absolutely adore the amazing all the images on the interior and exterior. I came here at 6pm and the place slowly filled up as the night went on. I even bumped into 604Foodtography!

Housemade Chai Tea was ordered by LoiLoi. It reminded us of an Indian version of HK-Style Milk Tea. Of course it’s not the same, but same concept of mixing the sugar and milk into the tea. It was quite aromatic with subtle tastes of spices.

Mango Lassi is a mango and yogurt based drink. The drink was creamy and had a delicious mango taste, which I absolutely love. It is also topped off with a mango puree swirl on the top. The only thing that could be improved is the temperature, I would have liked it to be a bit colder. LoiLoi agreed too.

Lamb Shank comes with a large slow cooked piece of lamb. It is very tender and is cooked in the curry. It was highly recommended by the owner, so we decided to get it.

The accompanying sauce is as delicious as the meat. It was not very oily, which is nice because Indian food tends to be quite oily. Clearly their cooking techniques and ingredients shine through. It also comes with a choice of rice or naan.

We decided to choose the rice to go with the lamb shank since it works well with the sauce.

Saag Paneer is made with cheese and curried spinach. It wasn’t like the usual curries as it was more dense and thick. It is vegetarian and it very very delicious. It was our favorite dish of the night! You can tell they used a lot of spinach in the dish. Highly recommended! It also comes with rice or naan.

Garlic Naan is fresh tandoori baked naan with roasted garlic & butter on top. It was actually a perfect item to accompany the naan because you could slather a bunch of saag paneer and eat it. We did notice that the naan was a bit unevenly cooked, so one of our pieces were more burnt than the rest.

Overall, we did enjoy our main dishes and I just love the fact where its healthier and you can actually taste it…and it tastes better. Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen is a great addition to Commercial Drive and their Saag Paneer is out of this world! The guys at VANEATS.ca have a dining package right now for $16 that showcases their other dishes.

Words of Wisdom:

Veggie Pakora, Saag Paneer, and Lamb Shank is recommended!
Metered street parking
Close to Commercial Skytrain
Decent Prices

We Rate Siddartha’s Indian Kitchen:

Address:
2066 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siddharthaskitchen.com/

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In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria: Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

April 25, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited to their media event to try out their food and hear more about the restaurant. I tried not to be biased and focused more on the taste of the food. All items are the same size as what you would normally receive.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria is a fast casual restaurant serving Neopolitan pizza. The have several locations in Alberta. They just opened their first location in BC on Commercial drive. They try to use similar ingredients as they would in Naples….except the difference is that they use a gas oven instead of a wooden oven.

Ange (FoodPunk), Sean (SeansAdventuresInFlavourTown), Tess, and I sat together at a table and decided to share a variety of items. We ate too much for our own good.

The kitchen is very open, so you can see the staff at work. There are tons of seats, so good for groups.

At first it is a bit confusing to figure out how to order. At your table, you will have a note pad and a pencil. You just write down your order, go up to the counter and complete your transaction.

It’s a little bit strange, but I guess that’s what makes it a “fast casual” restaurant. You can easily order to go or take your time eating at the restaurant.

Italian Spritz ($6.50) has prosecco, aperol with a splash of soda water. I liked it because it had a bold citrus taste.

Sangria ($9.50) is a fruit-based Italian wine punch with Grand Marnier and orange Italian soda. It tasted ok.

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozarella Balls (6 for $18) has fresh mozzarella wrapped with prosciutto in tomato sauce, fresh basil, and pecorino romano. I naturally liked it because it has meat and cheese. What was odd about the dish was the sauce was a bit cold.

It also comes with flatbread. It’s great just dunking this into the tomato sauce.

Famoso Salad ($13.50) has romaine lettuce, prosciutto crisps, carrots, cherry tomatoes, spicy sopressata, fire-roasted chicken, feta, and dijon-balsamic vinaigrette. It was a large salad and I liked it because it had a little bit of everything.

Funghi Tartufo ($14.50) has roasted white mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, white truffle oil, reggiano parmesan. This was my favorite pizza because I just love mushrooms and truffle oil. The people at my table had varying opinions on this pizza. It all comes down to personal tastes and what makes you drool.

The thing I didn’t like about the pizza was how super thin the pizza was in the center. With the toppings, it made the center a bit soggy and floppy.

Margherita Pizza ($11) has fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, pecorino romano, and extra virgin olive oil. Very simple, but packs a lot of amazing flavour from the tomatoes.

Prosciutto Arugula ($14.50) has prosciutto, arugula, and pecorino romano. I wasn’t a big fan of this pizza since there could have been a bit more arugula and the toppings didn’t stick too well to the pizza. The prosciutto was good by itself, but I didn’t like the overall item.

San Andreas ($14.50) is a California style pizza. It has Bianca sauce, fresh mozzarella, and chili-lime marinated roasted chicken. Then its topped with fresh avocado slices, diced roma tomatoes, diced onion, cilantro, and drizzled with light cream. It was definitely a busy pizza with lots of different ingredients. It kinda reminded me of a taco.

Affogato ($5) has a shot of espresso on top of a scoop of gelato. You can choose any of their gelato flavours but i stuck with vanilla since it just seemed right to pair it with espresso. I would have preferred the two items separately until it arrives to the table because my gelato melted quite quickly.

Dolce and Banana ($7) has oven-roasted bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar, crushed pecans, caramel sauce, vanilla bean gelato. I am not a fan of caramel because it sticks to your teeth, but if you love caramel and bananas, then you should get this. It’s a good dessert to share with other since it’s easily splitable.

Nutella Pizza ($8) is smothered in Nutella, folded into a calzone, then cut into strips. It’s a great sharable item as well. Since the crust is quite thin, you should be able to finish this with no issues. In our case, we couldn’t finish it because we ate SO much.

Tiramisu ($6) is imported from Milan, Italy. It has mascarpone cream on a sponge cake base, drenched with espresso, topped with mascarpone and dusted with cocoa. It was pretty standard and nothing too special about it.

Pineapple Panna Cotta ($4.50) is a sweet Italian custard made with pineapple and served with crushed pineapple and coconut shavings. It is one of their lighter desserts and I enjoyed it because it was a refreshing end to the meal. The pineapple in the custard didn’t stand out, but when you scoop up some of the custard with pineapples, it makes a good combination.

Overall, they have a large selection of items on their menu, but some items are a hit and miss. If you choose items that have your favorite items in there, you should have no problems at all. With so many pizza restaurants popping up in Vancouver, the competition is heating up!

Words of Wisdom: