East Village Archives

In East Village

Tamam: Fine Palestinian Cuisine Review

February 5, 2019

Tamam serves up Palestinian cuisine in Vancouver close to Hastings and Nanaimo. This family run restaurant has a lot of heart and soul to craft up delicious dishes that are unique to the Vancouver food scene. You’ll notice it’s a mix of influences from neighbouring countries. We definitely noticed the Greek and Mediterranean influences.

When I saw this place pop up on my Instagram feed, I knew I had to check it out with a few friends as we love to discover new cuisines.

Interior

There are 2 seating areas in the restaurant, one is inside and the other one is like a sun room.

Halloumi Eggplant

We started off with some appetizers to share among the table. The Halloumi eggplant has grilled halloumi cheese on a bed of grilled eggplant slices, and topped with their special sauce. It was an ok dish, but I didn’t feel like the special sauce brought the eggplant and the halloumi together.

Mutabbal

This is an eggplant dip made with roasted eggplants, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and sumac. It also comes with pita bread, olives and a spicy sauce on the side. I really liked this dish as it has the creaminess of the eggplant and a good amount of garlic.

Fattoush

This salad has tomato, cucumber, parsley, lettuce, onion, toasted wholewheat bread, olive oil, lemon, and sumac. I really liked this salad as the crispy bread really added texture to the salad. Good flavours as well that brought all the ingredients together and was very enjoyable.

Lamb Shanks with Freekeh

This was one of our favourite dishes of the night. The Lamb shank was tender and fell apart nicely off the bone. We got it with a side of Freekeh, which is a cereal food made from green durum wheat. It has a nice texture and a nice bite to it. The Lamb Shank sauce that accompanied it was delicious. Highly recommended.

Chicken kebab with Humus and Pita Bread

This dish has boneless, skinless, halal chicken, marinated and grilled to perfection. With a side of delicious humus and salad. Very good too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the dishes we ordered. Prices were very fair and our friends had fun here chit chatting away. During the weekend, they have specials available, which I heard were also very good. As we came on a weekday, there were no specials, so we indulged more in the regular menu. If you haven’t checked out Tamam, you should definitely do so.

Address:
2616 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.tamam.ca

In Chinese

Pink Pearl: A Sustainable Cantonese Dinner

November 23, 2018

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/

In East Village

Vietnamese Tea House: Pho in Vancouver

February 11, 2018

Vietnamese Tea House opened a few months ago serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine in the East Village on Hastings Street close to Nanaimo Street. A few of us were invited to come dine here for dinner. The restaurant is small but there is definitely a lot of soul in the kitchen for making good food with great value for what you are paying. Even tax is included in all prices. Everything is under $10.

Pandan tea

As we sat down, we were given a delightful pandan tea.

Avocado Rolls

This comes with 2 rolls cut in half, so you get 4 pieces per order. Nicely wrapped in a rice paper with lettuce vermicelli noodles and slices of avocados. There is a sauce on the side to dip in the avocado roll.

Beef Sashimi

Beef sashimi is cut thin and plated. It is topped with cilantro, peanuts, onions and sauce. Eat it up with a bit of everything on the plate. It was ok, but I felt like it needed some more acidity for my personal preferences.

Chicken Wings with garlic butter

The wings are golden brown topped with garlic butter sauce on each wing. With the addition of the sauce, it made the wing less crisp.

Chicken Wings with honey sauce

The honey sauce covers each wing but I guess kinda miss one of them. It was good but not as crisp similar to the other one. Some people do like saucy wings, but I prefer a bit crisp.

Stir Fried Corn with Shrimp

My favourite dish of the night was this dish of corn and shrimp. Such a simple item, but so full of flavour. It’s better known as a Vietnamese street food in Saigon, so you won’t typically find this in a restaurant.

Green papaya with beef jerky

The shredded green papaya and carrots are mixed with some basil, nuts and topped with pieces of beef jerky. Sounds like an odd combination, but this is another popular item in Vietnam.

Pork Spring Rolls

There are 2 spring rolls per order. Crisp on the outside and stuffed with a good amount of pork.

Pho

We chose ours with Beef Balls, Beef tripe and Rare Beef. A large is very affordable and you can add on all this meat. The broth is delicious and full of depth. tastes healthy too.

Bun Bo Hue

This is the spicy beef vermicelli soup loaded with lots of meat. Another favourite dish of the evening.

Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup

They use real crab in this noodle soup, so it can be too crabby for some people. I liked it because it was hearty and goes well with the Vancouver rainy days.

Lemongrass Chicken and Pork Patty Vermicelli

The bottom has vermicelli noodles and topped with veggies, lemongrass chicken, pork, nuts and green onions.

Shredded Pork Banh Mi

The banh mi has the pork pickled veggies inside the soft bun. The exterior was a bit crisp but could have been a bit more.

Chicken Curry on Rice

The chicken curry comes in a small bowl with a huge plate of rice and veggies.

Then there is also a soup that accompanies this meal too. The curry sauce was a bit thin and could have been a bit better. I could stick with the other dishes and pass on the curry next time.

Special Vietnamese Pandan Milk Tea

Being called a Tea House, the tea better be good. I had the special Vietnamese Pandan Milk Tea with coconut jelly. The pandan milk tea is subtle but was yummy.

Avocado Slush

Avocado slush is made with real avocados. There is even a slice on top.

Jackfruit Slush

Everyone loved the jackfruit slush. Not very icy compared to other places around town and its great that there are a few pieces of jackfruit on top. If you’re looking for something quick, casual and affordable, this is the place to go.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised about this little restaurant. It has good pho, appetizers and drinks at great prices with tax included.

We Rate Vietnamese Tea House:

Address:
2526 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vietnamese-tea-house.business.site/

In East Village

Raclette NYC: Delicious Melted Alpine Cheese

January 27, 2018

A popular place is Raclette NYC is the East Village for some savoury melted cheese over your meal. How can you deny such a glorious thing? When we visited New York, we couldn’t say no. It’s gotten very popular in the news lately for this classic Swiss dish.

Interior

It was busy for lunch, so reservations are recommended to ensure you have a seat. We made reservations a few days in advanced and they did call us a day before to confirm our attendance.

Parsienne

The Parsienne has a 7 oz pan-seared marinated skirt steak, sautéed mushrooms, roasted asparagus and potatoes. The we got the black truffle cheese from France. One of the most popular choices. The best part of this experience is seeing the staff bring the raclette to your table and scrape the oozy cheese onto your plate right before your eyes. The stake was done medium rate and it was delicious.

Savoyarede

This dish has roasted potatoes, cornichons, and pickled white pearl onions. I wanted something simple and not too heavy as I already had a meal prior to this. I chose to have the porchini cheese from Switzerland. Delicious and cheesy with the savouriness of porchini. The overall dish was pretty meh, but then again, I chose a dish that wasn’t as interesting.

Final Thoughts

You pay for the dish and then you pay for the addition of the cheese. So, the menu is a bit deceiving even though these are both raclette dishes. If you’ve never tried this before, it’s still fun to try out and remember to get a reservation.

We Rate Raclette NYC:

Address:
511 E 12th St, New York

Website:
http://raclette.nyc/

In Cafe

Platform 7: Coffee Shop like a Train Station

May 15, 2015

Platform 7 is located in the heart of the East Village on Hastings Street near Nanaimo. When you step in, you will be magically transported to a Victorian London Train Station to experience beautiful hand-crafted espresso and coffee brew bar drinks. They use Stumptown Coffee for their beans.

I stopped here with my bridesmaids a day before my wedding as we were in the area getting our nails done. It’s really a great setting to hang out with the girls and chat for a little bit. With all the hard wedding planning, I really needed some caffeine.

They also serve up a bunch of different pastries from locally-sourced artisan bakers in the area.

Hazelnut Brownie ($3.50) was amazing! It was very moist and so rich with chocolate flavour. It also has salted caramel. This was really the perfect brownie and we all shared a bite of it.

Iced Pour Over Coffee was just what BaguetteGirl and KoreanGirl needed for the hot weather.

Chai Latte ($3.50) was what Mandu ordered.

London Fog ($3.50) is what I ordered. I know, I should have tried their coffee, but it was the middle of the afternoon and I know if I have coffee late in the day, I won’t sleep. Plus, I needed my beauty sleep because my wedding would be the next day. The london fog was delicious!

Overall, Platform 7 is a pretty awesome café and I would come back with more friends to show them the awesome space and coffee.

We Rate Platform 7:

Address:
2331 East Hastings Street
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://platform7coffee.ca/

In Bakery

Renfrew Cafe: Pies, Coffee and Tea

March 1, 2015

Renfrew Cafe just opened up a few months ago. They are located a few blocks away from PNE and Playland. Their boutique cafe serves fusion Asian & Western pies (both savoury and sweet), as well as a range of specialty coffees.

They use local, natural ingredients in their savoury and sweet pies. The pies are served fresh and made from scratch on site every day. They brew a rotating selection of coffee from Elysian Coffee and serve single origin teas from Oollo Tea.

The interior is nice, cozy and clean. It’s a good quiet place to get some work done or a chat with a friend.

Cappuccino (6oz – $3.50) was delicious and beautifully put together.

Iced Coffee ($3.50) is brewed to order with an aeropress and then iced.

Mushroom and Spinach Pie ($7) has sautéed mushroom & spinach, all natural mozzarella cheese from Scardillo Cheese and homemade tomato sauce. This pie is pretty awesome and it smiles back at you. Instagram worthy!

I liked the balance of flavours and it reminded me of a calzone instead of a pie due to the shape. This one was my personal favourite.

Beef and Kimchi Pie ($7) is made of all natural beef brisket from Okanagan with locally made kimchi.

Ham and Cheese Pie ($7) is made of all natural ham from Johnston’s in Chillwack, all natural mozzarella cheese from Scardillo Cheese, homemade tomato sauce and organic pineapples.

This reminded us of a Hawaiian Pizza.

All 3 savoury pies were on par with each other and had a good combination of ingredients. For $7 a pie, it’s a good size for a snack, but not for a meal to make you full. You probably need 2 or 3 to get full.

Their dessert pies are $4 each and the flavours vary day to day. All of them are delicious when paired with coffee or tea.

Classic Apple ($4) is made with stewed Granny Smith apples with cinnamon.

Mocha Banana Pie ($4) is made with organic bananas, homemade mocha sauce and almond cream.

Very Blueberry Pie ($) is made with stewed all natural blueberries with almond frangipane.

Matcha Mochi Anko Pie ($) is made with Matcha from Kyoto, homemade mochi and anko (Sweet red bean paste).

It’s very good and filled with the mochi and red bean paste, we wished the matcha stood out more. It was hard to taste since it’s sprinkled on top.

They have a few toys in the store to keep kids occupied while you sip away on coffee and devour pies.

Renfrew Cafe is a great addition to the neighbourhood and serves great pies and coffee. Definitely stop by this cute cafe.

We Rate Renfrew Cafe:

Address:
826 Renfrew St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.renfrewcafe.ca/

In Brunch

Kessel&March: Brunch Time

July 10, 2014

Kessel&March is an awesome restaurant on Powell Street. They do have brunch! TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl, and I headed off on a Saturday to have our usual brunch get-togethers. The menu looked great and you can get brunch between $9 and $13. Pretty decent price point and also the food is high quality.

Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 10am till 3pm.

Kessel&March isn’t a large restaurant, but it’s still pretty quiet during the weekend as it’s not very close to any skytrains.

The upstairs of the restaurant is pretty cool as you can see their huge shelves of food.

The upstairs is a nice cozy space. Great for large groups!

Fisherman’s Eggs ($12) has 2 poached eggs, tuna, cod, clams, bacon beer broth, fiddleheads & a side of toast. MMMmmmm Mmmmm good! If you love seafood, this is a dish you should get. I didn’t expect this combination to be good, but it tasted great. Very healthy! The toast was beautifully toasted and its the best toast I’ve ever had.

The poached eggs were beautiful too.

Chorizo Hash ($11) has 2 poached eggs, rainbow swiss chard, rapini, potatoes, romesco sauce & toast. You can also turn this into Smoked Tofu Hash for the same price if you are not a meat eater.

Meat Skillet ($13) has 2 baked eggs, ham, breakfast sausage, potatoes, baked beans, tomato, mushroom & toast. CanuckGirl was amazed at how healthy this dish felt because it was not greasy at all!

Overall, the brunch was pretty good and the quality is there. No matter what you get, it tastes great and that toast is addictive.

We Rate Kessel&March:

Address:
109-1701 Powell Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.kesselandmarch.com/

In East Village

Kessel & March: So Damn Good

June 16, 2014

Kessel & March is one of the newest restaurants on Powell Street. It’s right beside Odd Society Spirits. They offer private events here as well, which worked out for us because my coworker decided to book out the entire place for the night. Seeing that there was about 25 or more of us, there would be no way they could seat of for a regular evening.

The offered us a 3 course set menu for $28, which is a pretty good price!

They also have a Family-Style supper every Wednesday, which you need to reserve ahead of time. It looks like a good deal.

The kitchen is viewable for everyone to see and its’ pretty fun to see them work their magic.

They have seating on the bottom floor.

Then there is a staircase at the back of the restaurant that leads you to the seating upstairs. The tall shelves are pretty to look at too.

Chicken Liver Pate served with toast and a side of marmalade. Mags said it was really good! She gobbled this up quite quickly.

Tuna Tartare with crostini was great! It has slice of orange to balance the flavours. It was a great dish as well.

Lamb Meatballs with White Beans & Rapini was so good! Probably one of the best meatballs I have ever eaten. I would eat a dozen of these if I could. So GOOD!

Sticky Toffee Pudding was surprisingly amazing! I usually don’t like sticky toffee pudding but this one was s good. The pudding wasn’t overly sweet and it was perfect.

I loved eating everything here. Nothing disappointed. The portions are small, but if you order 2 or 3 dishes, you will be satisfied. Sometimes its good to share a few dishes with some friends so you try a little bit of everything. I’ll definitely be back!

We Rate Kessel & March:

Address:
109-1701 Powell Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.kesselandmarch.com/

In Canadian

Odd Society Spirits: Tasting and Tours

June 15, 2014

After work, my amazing coworker took us on an adventure in the East Village. We stopped at Odd Society Spirits for a few drinks and a tour of their distillery. On a Friday evening, this place was lively with people socializing and having a few drinks.

Odd Society is a small-batch craft distillery on Powell Street and they are dedicated in combining Old World distilling traditions with New World ingredients to create their signature whiskey, vodka and gin.

You can try some of their creations on their menu. It’s not a large list, but you have a good amount of items to choose from so you can get a taste of what they produce.

Razzle basil (Pitcher- $24) is made with East Van Vodka, cassis, lime, basil and soda. This was sweet and refreshing! A great item to order in the summer.

East Side Sunrise ($9) is made with East Van Vodka, an orange infusion, eastern spice, orgeat, lemon, egg white and blood orange soda. Some say this taste like a creamsicle, but I have to disagree. The eastern spice threw me off.

Some people really love it but it wasn’t for me.

Once we had a few drinks, we decided to take a tour of the distillery. It’s not a large space, so they can only do it in groups of 10. It was definitely cool to see the process of how it all comes together.

Tours begin Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 4pm and there are no reservations needed. It’s also free. Just ask them kindly and you’ll be able to see the distillery and get a tour.

Canadian Single Malt Casks can be seen on a bunch of shelves and it will age at the distillery for 3 years until it’s ready to be bottled. It’s 30 litres and costs about $1,350. As 3 years is a long time, they give you the opportunity to follow the aging process and taste the product periodically during tasting events.

Their signature East Van Vodka looks pretty cool. It is made from 100% malted barley from Prince George and malted in Armstrong. Then, it’s sent here to be distilled twice in small batches. It is lightly fragrant, sweet smelling and tastes smooth.

When you are looking through the distillery, you will see their beautiful 350-litre copper pots used in the distilling process.

There are a lot of crazy contraptions. If they ever make you taste the liquid going into the bucket, it’s like 90% alcohol. It’s crazy strong!!!! We dipped our finger into it to taste it. Some of us thought they were making their own moonshine.

Overall, it was a great place to go with friends for a drink. It’s definitely unique and not the typical place to go to.

We Rate Odd Society Spirits:

Address:
1725 Powell St Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/

In Bakery

Basho Cafe: Lunch Times with Family

June 8, 2014

I came with my family to indulge in Basho’s delicious sweet treats. Previously, I came here with friends and it has always been a positive experience. The wait for a table was quite a while for a group of 5, but if you are able to endure a little bit of a wait or some here early, you’ll love this cozy cafe.

Sitting here with matcha lattes ($3.75) and a few treats that range from $1 to $3.

It’s a bit bitter without sugar, so you can add some to sweeten it up for taste.

Sesame brownie, red bean mochi, nut mochi, chocolate mochi are some treats they offer.

Earl Grey Tea ($2.85) and sesame brownie is what my sister ordered. The tea comes already steeped so you don’t have the bag sitting in it getting stronger and stronger.

Smoked Cheddar and Chive Scone was an item on the counter and it was SO good and addictive. I would highly recommend getting this.

Teri Pulled Pork with lunch set ($8 +$3) the pulled pork is delicious and tender and it comes over rice with a few veggies. Alternatively, you can get it as a salad. With the lunch set addition, you get soup, mini sweets, and a coup of tea. It was really good.

Tuna Tataki with lunch set ($9.5 +$3) is my favourite. It’s a light meal, healthy, and the perfect amount for a meal. The 3 treats are worth it too.

Overall, all the baked treats were good and none of them disappointed. It’s a cute cafe to just chill and catch up with friends over drinks and nibbles. Highly recommend this cafe!

We Rate Basho Cafe:

Address:
2007 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://bashocafe.com/

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In Brunch

Roundel Cafe: Egg Benny Brunch

May 18, 2014

Roundel Cafe is located on Hastings in the East Village. The interior reminds me of a diner but with a splash of hipster. My friends and I came here for brunch as we heard they serve eggs benny.

The water came in a mason jar. Water is more fun to drink from a mason jar. It’s the trendy thing to do.

Classic Ham Benny comes with salad and roasted potatoes on the side. The poached eggs were hard and it ruined the experience because its all about the soft poached eggs and how they ooze. But, sadly, none of that here. Everything else on the plate was ok.

Avocado, Tomato and cream cheese benny had the same issues with the hard poached egg.

At the end of the meal, it was a nice surprise that we get fortune cookies.

Overall, my friends did not like their experience here. We put in our order with the server and it took about 35 minutes to get our eggs benny. Also, the server was a bit rude. I didn’t really notice, but the friends that came with me did not like their attitude. They couldn’t explain clearly what was hot sauce and what was ketchup. The look the same as they are homemade.

Food and service is pretty mediocre when we dined here, and our fortune may have been accurate – “Minimize expectations to avoid being disappointed”.

We Rate Roundel Cafe:

Address:
2465 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

In East Village

Laksa King: Laksa and Roti

May 3, 2014

M and I were craving some laksa and we were passing by Laksa King restaurant. The last time I came here was in 2011, which it was called Bo Laksa King, but Bo has left and now it’s just called Laksa King. With new owners, comes with new interior look with booths and a new mural painting.

The mural looks like a diner with some classic cars in the front. I thought this was a bit odd since this is a Burmese restaurant.

The menu more or less has stayed the same.

Nasi Goreng ($9.25) has stir fry rice with egg, shrimp, beef, shrimp paste, chilli and shredded lettuce. It tasted ok, but it all tasted quite bland and dry.

Laksa ($8.75) has your choice of vermicelli or yellow noodles served with tiger prawns, fish ball, tofu buff, hard boiled egg, chicken and a coconut curry broth. It was a tad spicy, but it is full of deep flavours.

Roti Canai (large – $6.99) has 2 pieces with the curry dip in the centre. The roti was beautifully crispy on the outside and it went really well with the dip. I could eat this all day.

Overall, the food was ok. It was a bit weird dining here since we were the only table dining here. Plus, even though we were the only ones here, the service was cold and not nice.

We rate Laksa King:

Address:
2546 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC V5K

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

In East Village

Momofuku Noodle Bar: Ramen and Pork Buns in New York

July 1, 2012

Momofuku Noodle bar is a popular restaurant to have noodles and are known for some amazing pork buns. CanuckGirl and I went here for dinner and the place was packed! It was about 30 minutes for a table for 2.

This location is the first momofuku restaurant. It serves ramen and dishes that changes with the seasons.

There is a bar and also a lot of other seating in the back.

Pork Buns has pieces of fatty pork belly with hoisin, scallion, and cucumber.

The meat was very nice, but I wish the skim was crispy…that would put this item over the top! CanuckGirl thought it was good too, but a bit too fatty.

Momofuku Ramen has pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg and some other items. Canuckgirl thought it was ok, but a bit salty.

Ginger Scallion Noodles has pickled shiitakes, cucumber, and cabbage. This bowl of noodles were quite big. I expected some broth to go with this, but it was mostly dry noodles. I was kinda disappointed with this item.

Overall, the noodles were decent and the pork buns were delicious. The wait is very long during peak dinner times, so be prepared to wait. The tables are very close together, so you won’t have any to deal with people everywhere. They try to pack a lot of people into this restaurant.

Words of Wisdom:

Pork buns a must
Long line ups
A tad expensive
No reservations

We Rate Momofuku Noodle Bar:

Address:
171 1st Ave
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.momofuku.com/

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In East Village

Ippudo: Ramen in New York with Huge Lines

June 28, 2012

Ippudo NY is the first overseas branch of the famous Japanese ramen chain. It was open in 2008. Ippudo was founded by Shigemi Kawahara in 1985 in the Daimyo District of Chuo Ward, in Fukuoka City. By the time Ippudo NY was opened, there were over 30 branches throughout Japan. By 2012, Kawahara had expanded his ramen empire to over 40 locations.

I arrived at 5pm for 1 person and the wait was already one hour! I wanted to give up at this point since that wait was ridiculous. Fortunately, CanuckGirl really wanted some noodles and they take same day reservations…so we made a reservation for 2 at 10pm.

The bar at the front of the restaurant has some nice decor.

There is even a wall of ramen bowls!

The East Village location features two dining rooms, a sake bar, an open kitchen for non-ramen dishes, and an open ramen bar. The noodles are made in-house in the basement.

It’s very dark inside, but it made for good ambiance.

Complementary tea is something I definitely needed on my travels.The servers were very good about refilling my cup.

Miso Ramen ($15) has soy bean paste flavored noodle in Tonkotsu (pork) based soup with pork chashu, cabbage, menma, ginger, and scallions. CanuckGirl did enjoy her ramen.

“The Kuro Kasane, or Kasane Black is a limited time special ramen at Ippudo NY. It has an authentic “Kasane” tonkotsu & chicken soup with noodles, topped with pork loin chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, red pickled ginger, naruto, scallions, and fragrant “Black” garlic oil.

It was pretty good, but with the addition of the garlic oil and the broth, it was a bit salty for my liking. It’s still a pretty solid bowl of ramen.

Overall, the waits for a table are ridiculous, but if you make a reservation on the same day, you should have no issues at all. The prices are a bit high compared to what you would find in Vancouver, but you’re in NY, so be prepared to pay more.

Words of Wisdom:

Make same day reservations
Has daily specials
Ramen is a must!

We Rate Ippudo:

Address:
65 4th Ave
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.ippudony.com/

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In Bakery

Momofuku Milk Bar: Crack Pie in New York

June 23, 2012

When visiting New York City, we knew we had to try the Momofuku Milk Bar. People around the world rave about their amazing desserts. I’ve never heard of a milk bar before, so this would be a fun-filled adventure to East Village with CanuckGirl. They have various locations around New York. They even sell their popular Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook here too.

Blueberry Miso + Cereal Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream ($4.50) I didn’t know which flavour to get since they were so good, so I asked them to twist the two flavours. To my surprise, they were able to do it. I think my favorite would have to be cereal milk because it reminded me of the sweetened milk after you eat your cereal. Highly recommended.

Another item on the menu that really intrigued me was the crack pie. Looking at the first few ingredients, you know this isn’t a pie if you are on a diet. Butter, sugar, brown sugar and cream.

Crack Pie ($5.25) was so good. Bad for the hips, but very delicious. It will definitely satisfy any sweet tooth.

All the items that was sold at this shop was all pre-packaged, so don’t expect a bakery type of setting. There are very little seats inside, so most people just do take-out. The locations do vary, so not all locations have all their items.

Words of Wisdom:

Order anything with Cereal Milk!
Crack Pie is a must!
Under $10
Very little space to sit and eat

We Rate Momofuku Milk Bar:

Address:
251 E 13th St
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.momofuku.com/restaurants/milk-bar/

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In Dessert

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop: Twist Cone with Sprinkles in New York

June 21, 2012

When visiting New York, I knew I had to go try te Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I saw it on Food Network a few months ago and I had to see what all the buzz was about. It was a very hot day in New York, so ice cream was definitely needed!

They also have a Food Truck called Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!

The interior is very small, so you can’t really sit down anywhere. You basically go in, give your order, pay, get your order and leave. A lot of people were eating outside or were walking around.

Vanilla and Chocolate Twist Cone with Rainbow Sprinkles

So many sprinkles! I had the choice of choosing between chocolate sprinkles or rainbow sprinkles. I think I made the right choice! It really does turn you into a kid again.

The taste was quite good, but it wasn’t super amazing. It’s something simple that’s enjoyable. They also have other more adventurous types of ice creams too. I really wanted to try something more basic. I did enjoy my visit!

We Rate Big Gay Ice Cream Shop:

Address:
125 East Seventh Street
New York, NY

Website:
http://biggayicecream.com/