Renfrew-Collingwood Archives - Page 2 of 3

In Chinese

Prince Seafood Restaurant: Chinese Dinner

July 23, 2015

Prince Seafood Restaurant is located right by Renfrew Skytrain and is one of the top Chinese Restaurants in Vancouver. They always draw a crowd for dinner and dim sum. Make sure you have reservations or else you may be out of luck.

Crab Meat with Fish Maw Thick Soup 金湯鮮蟹肉魚肚羹 ($20.80) it’s always good to start with soup for a Chinese dinner. My family usually orders this type of soup and it’s very delicious. If you don’t know what fish maw is, it’s the air bladder of a fish that controls its buoyancy. The taste and texture isn’t weird at all.

Diced Beef Tenderloin & Mixed Mushrooms with Black Pepper 野山菌黑椒神戶牛柳粒 ($22.80) is another favourite item of mine. I found the beef to be quite tender and had great flavour with the right amount of pepper.

Tofu Skin with Ginkgo & Pea Shoots 銀杏鮮腐皮浸豆苗 ($19.80) is one of my favourite dishes. The pea shoots were cooked perfectly and still retained it sweet taste that paired nicely with the tofu skin. I also love the milky broth.

Sizzling Oyster with Supreme Soy Sauce 鐵板頭抽生煎蠔 ($22.80) was a weird dish we ordered since my dad wanted to try it. The oyster was plump was was cooked quite well. There is a bit of caramelization on the outside of the oyster which has this amazing smokey flavour but its slightly sweet.

Scallops and Snowpeas Medley was cooked well. The snowpeas still had a nice snap to them and the scallops were very delicious.

Whole Tea Smoked Chicken was the last item that arrived at the table. There was a large gap in the service when the last dish arrived. We had to ask the waiter if this dish was on its way.

For dessert, they gave us an assortment of little treats. The almond cookie and mango rice roll things were a nice touch.

Then there is the red bean dessert with tapioca. Better than most places I would say, but I still don’t particularly like this dessert.

Overall, always a solid place for a Chinese dinner.

We rate Prince Chinese Seafood:

Address:
2881 Grandview Hwy
Vancouver, BC V5M

Website:
http://princeseafoodrestaurant.com/

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In Dessert

Icepik Shavery: Flavoured Shaved Ice

June 22, 2015

Have you seen this adorably cute penguin on Kingsway near Joyce?

Icepik Shavery just opened last April and they serve up flavoured shaved ice with yummy toppings. It is similar to Frappe Bliss in Aberdeen Mall. It’s a great addition to the Collingwood area and we can never have too many dessert shops.

Foodobyte, FoodQueen, EatingwithKirby and I came here as we kept seeing so many delicious pictures on Instagram. We do what we do best – eat!

There are 4 steps to creating your Icepik creation:

Pick your size
Pick your favour
Pick your toppings
Add any sauces on top

If you find it too hard to choose what to put into your dessert, choose their combos so you don’t have to make that decision. Sadly, you can’t make any substitutions on these.

They make the dessert by shaving up the blocks of flavoured ice, then all the toppings go on top.

Fresh Pik’d Fruit (Regular $5.85) has mango snow cream with mango, strawberries, house made rice cakes, and mango jelly.

It’s a good combination of toppings and they really pile it on top. Looks like a snow mountain. I love fruit, so I gravitated to this option. Its half way between traditional shaved ice and frozen yogurt.

Emperor’s Pik (Regular $5.85) has green tea snow cream, house made rice cakes, grass jelly, mango and lychee jelly.

Penguin Pik (Regular $5.85) has black sesame snow cream with house made rice cakes, oreo crumble, grass jelly, and tapioca pearls.

We thought all 3 needed a generous dose of condensed milk on top. It really enhances the flavours! Just stick with condensed milk, no need for the other syrups. With the hot summer heat making its way to Vancouver, this will be a popular spot to have dessert to cool down.

We Rate Icepik Shavery:

Address:
3377 Kingsway, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.icepikshavery.com/

In Burmese

Wahh Tee Burmese Restaurant: Hidden Gem

December 6, 2014

Wahh Tee Burmese Restaurant is close to Joyce Station in Vancouver. My mom has been searching for a good authentic Burmese restaurant for a long time as she spent part of her childhood there.

Burmese cuisine is actually quite interesting as it takes influences from India, Thailand, China, and Laos. So, when you take a look at their menu, don’t be surprised to see samosas here.

The restaurant seats about 16 people and only has 4 tables. We came here at 2pm, so it was quite dead, but we did see a few people do take out.

Myanmar Tea Leaf Salad ($5) has fermented tea leaves mixed with assorted fried beans. This is one of my favourite dishes! The fried beans give an amazing texture to the salad. There’s not a lot of tea leaves, but man, those beans are crunchy.

Noodle Salad ($5) has white flour noodles mixed with shrimp powder, tamarind sauce, bean powder, shredded cabbage, onions, and cilantro. It comes with a bit of soup on the side. This was really good! The flavours are really amazing! My little sister wanted to eat this all to herself.

Spicy Fish Noodle Soup (Large – $7.50) has rice noodle with fish broth, banana tree root, lemongrass, and cilantro. It was really good! It isn’t very spicy either but the broth was quite nice. I love the crunch of the fried bean crisps.

Spicy Fish Noodle Soup (Medium – $5.50) just a tad smaller, but still delicious.

Fish Noodle Soup (Medium – $5.50) was good too but was a bit bland, but they did provide some spicy peppers to add in. Man, adding those peppers made it hotter than the Spicy Fish Noodle Soup. The spicier the better! Mmm Mmm MMMM!

Deep Fried Vegetable Samosa was 6 pieces for $5. It comes with some spicy sauce on the side. It came super hot but once it cooled down it very delicious.

Beef Fried Rice ($8) uses jasmine rice the dish was quite bland by itself, but with the addition of some curry, it tastes pretty good.

The fried rice came with a mini salad with spicy sauce.

Shrimp Curry ($8) we didn’t get the rice to do with this since we had the fried rice already, so we ate it together.

Overall, the dishes were very cheap and affordable. The noodle dishes and salads are pretty darn delicious! This passed my mothers taste test, so it must be good.

We Rate Wahh Tee Burmese Restaurant:

Address:
4942 Joyce St
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/WAHH-TEE-Burmese-Restaurant/1501041706779853

In Chinese

Prince Chinese Seafood: Alaskan King Crab

April 8, 2012

The Prince Chinese Seafood is quite popular for dim sum, but today the family came here to feast on some Alaskan King Crab.

It was my fathers birthday, so he really wanted to eat some King Crab. The prices are a bit higher now, but only by a few dollars. We didn’t do any set meals, but we had the usual dishes plus a few extra items. In addition to the weight of the crab, we had to add around $10 – $15 per dish, so our bill did end up to be quite expensive. They don’t explicitly tell you how much extra they charge per item, so we did get a bit of a surprise at the end of the meal. It took my parents a while to figure out what was what on the bill since they don’t exactly make the bill easy to read.

For dinner time, the restaurant had a good amount of people even at 8pm. Theres also a private room that you can book for larger parties too.

The Alaskan King Crab that we picked out was 10 pounds and it looked quite freaky since one set of its legs were raised. It looked like he wanted to attack.

Shredded chicken sesame salad is a cold appetizer. The flavour of sesame was combined well with the vegetables and chicken. They even add crispy wonton strips into the dish to add a crunchy texture. It was highly addictive!

Steamed Garlic Alaskan King Crab Legs was very fragrant as it arrived to the table. 2 large plates of crab legs, who could resist? The legs had a lot of aromatic flavour from the garlic infusing into the crab meat. Very very delicious.

The meat was very tender as well.

Deep Fried Garlic Alaskan King Crab Knuckles with Eggplant was very savory and I was very surprised the eggplant blended so nicely into the dish. I think I enjoyed the eggplant more than the knuckles.

Baked Alaskan King Crab Fried Rice was originally in the crab head shell, but the waiter put them into bowls for us before I could get a photo. In a sense, it’s like fried rice with crab and a curry type of sauce. I actually quite like this because the crab just gives it the additional layer of great seafood taste.

Braised Bean Curd with Pea Shoots complimented the meal well as the crab is quite high in cholesterol. My little sister enjoyed the bean curd and I couldn’t help liking the broth that it came with.

Alaskan King Crab Broth with Noodles was very very fragrant! It is made from the sauce of the crab leg dish. I could eat this all day!

At the end of the meal, complementary sweets arrived at the table. There were almond cookies and mango custard roll with shredded coconut. The almond cookie were crunchy and not too sweet.

Mango Custard Roll with Shredded Coconut was not my favorite dessert since I really dislike the sweet shredded coconut.

Taro and Tapioca Dessert was the last item to arrive and everyone was too full to really enjoy this item. I thought it tasted ok, but I didn’t like the texture and grittiness of the taro.

Overall, the King Crab dinner was very delicious, but it did come out to be quite pricey. The service was good, but we were seated in a very strange area where there would be smells of cigarette smoke lingering in the air at random parts of the meal. We were not sitting close to the door either, which was very strange.

Words of Wisdom

Close to Renfrew Skytrain
Free parking in front and rear
Double check bill for mistakes (it does happen)
Decent service
Hit and Miss dishes especially during Dim Sum

We rate Prince Chinese Seafood:

They are located at:

2881 Grandview Hwy
Vancouver, BC V5M

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In Cafe

Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant: Wonton Noodle Soup

March 17, 2012

Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant is located in the plaza where T&T is on 1st Ave. They sell the usual HK style food at decent prices. They are open quite late, which is awesome but they are cash only. The prices are quite affordable, so you will probably only spend about $7 or $8 on lunch.

My parents and I just came here for a quick bite since we were in a bit of a rush. It was en route to where we needed to go.

I feel like this place has changed so many times that I can’t keep track of what restaurant this is. It’s been many years since I’ve been here, but I did notice the interior has had a face lift.

Steamed Rice Roll with Beef was quite decent. It was around $3, which isn’t too bad and the flavour was so-so.

Hot & Sour Soup was about $5 for a bowl and it tasted good. I’ve just been having a craving for hot and sour soup for some odd reason. The soup here wasn’t as intense but it had a good amount of ingredients in the soup, so every bite had something interesting in it.

Wonton Noodle Soup is very good. My mother swears that this is the only item that is good here. The wontons are quite large and plump with good flavour. Definitely recommended.

Roasted Duck Leg in Noodle Soup is probably like a bowl of fat, or at least that’s what my mom tells my dad. He obviously loved the duck leg, but he found the dish to be a bit salty.

Overall, the food is quite average, but some items do stand out. The service was quite lacking. There seemed to be only one person working the floor, which was super odd. It took them a while to give us menus and tea. They had a good amount of customers, but really needs more staff. I guess the price makes up for the horrible service since each item is quite affordable.

Words of Wisdom:

Bad service
Cash Only
Decent Food
Affordable prices
Free parking at lot

We Rate Venice Garden Seafood Restaurant:
Address:
262- 2800 E 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC V5M

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In Brunch

Bons Off Broadway: Grease-tacular Breakfast

February 21, 2012

Bon’s Off Broadway is known for their super cheap $2.95 breakfasts and has been a popular place for University students to eat ridiculously cheap food. The interior has lots of space.

They have been around for a long time and it’s just a good place to get cheap food.

Coffee is the normal black drip coffee. It’s definitely a must for the tired people of the world. It was hard getting a refill since the service wasn’t very good, so it was hard to flag down a server.

Corn Beef hash with a side of bacon was quite large! It comes with a few slices of toast and a mountain of potatoes, onions and corned beef slices. I also ordered bacon on the side too. The food was quite average and greasy, but I was super stuffed by the end of the meal.

Overall, the food isn’t super amazing, but you do get what you pay for. The service is a bit lacking, but they are quite busy in the mornings and on weekends.

Words of Wisdom:

Very affordable and cheap!
Under $10
Free parking in the residential area
Large portions

We Rate Bon’s Off Broadway:

Address:
2451 Nanaimo St
Vancouver, BC V5N

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In Mexican

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant: Burrito Packed Full of Shrimp

September 7, 2011

I came to Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant a while ago and it’s a really great hole in the wall restaurant with huge delicious portions. They serve up authentic Mexican food which will tingle your taste buds. Last time they ran out of the Cameron Burrito, so I just had to have it this time.

I am a huge huge shrimp lover and anything with lots of shrimp… I must devour.

Their menu can seem a bit pricey at first, but the portions will surprise you once it arrives at the table.

Camaron Burrito ($12.99) has garlic seasoned prawns, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers in a flour tortilla. It’s a good alternative to the other meaty dishes they have. The burrito is huge and you’ll be stuffed when you finish it… or you might be like me and get full half way. It can make for 2 meals.

This burrito had a lot of shrimp and I was surprised! There was probably over 10 pieces of shrimp. All the ingredients inside melded well together and you get good taste of the shrimp. One downside of this dish was the a few shrimp pieces had a bit of shell still on the shrimp. At least they aren’t bad quality shrimp.

Overall, I got my fill of shrimp. No matter if you get a meatless or meat dish, you will leave happy.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in front
Large portions of yummy food
Suggested – Caritas Burrito, Chicken Fajita Burrito, Cameron Burrito
Decent prices

We Rate Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant:

Address:

2891 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

In Japanese

Kimura: Changes in Portion Sizes Makes Me Sad

September 3, 2011

It’s always a good end to a day by having a delicious Japanese dinner with friends. Since Fabo is leaving soon to the east coast, she wanted to come here to eat their crispy rice. I came with her before, but I guess it was time for a revisit since it’s been a few month, who knows what has changed.

2L Asahi ($27) was their only option. They didn’t have any pitchers, so we had to get this. I dont think they have anything on tap, so most of their alcohol is just bought from the store.

Hakutsuru Sake ($21) is a cold bottled sake you would also find at any liquor store. I’m not exactly sure why M chose this sake, but I guess he wanted to try something different since he always just orders the hot sake.

Chicken Curry ($11.50) comes with the side of curry, rice and chicken cutlet. M enjoyed this since it really brought him back to the days when he visited Japan. This dish is pretty large, so don’t order too many dishes.

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice ($4.50) is much smaller than I remember! It has pureed spicy tuna sit on top of a piece of lettuce and on a circle of fried crunchy flavoured rice. It is also garnished with jalapeno, and various sauces. I think there are now 70% of their original size. It was still good, but it was just so disappointing to see it so big, to being so small.

Oyster shooter ($3.50) usually comes with the omakase, but I didn’t want to spent $30 to just have it in my meal, so I asked for an order of it and it was totally fine! It has quail egg on top, oyster on the bottom with ponzu and soy sauce mixture. I am not exactly sure what was 100% in the shooter, but it didn’t taste too bad. Just remember to mix it before drinking.

Everyone else at my table just stared at me as I drank this. They thought it was the strangest thing in the world.

They had a Black Cod Special ($19.50) that comes with grilled black cod, tempura, sashimi, yakitori, kobachi, rice and miso soup! I thought it was a pretty good deal since you get to try so many different items.

The miso soup is always my favorite since it has more than just the water, paste and green onions, He ads some tofu curds into it the soup so there is more texture.

Kobachi just means little dish. It has cucumbers and conch (I think). I’m not 100% sure, but it kinda tasted like it. It was a refreshing dish.

The Assorted Tempura had a light coating of the tempura batter and was nicely fried. What I like about their ebi is how they salt it a little but before battering. When you bite into it, you can taste more the of ebi and it really stands out.

Yakitori in this special comes with 2 skewers. One with chicken and bits of wasabi and mushroom and peppers. Their yakitori is pretty good! I think there might have been cheese wrapped around both of these. Yum!

The sashimi has salmon and tuna. Very thin sliced delicate pieces. I prefer my sashimi small because you can really taste the quality and favours of it.

Black Cod is the main dish of the combo and I have never had black cod till now! It is the most delicious delicate fish you will ever have. It is so fatty that it literally just melts in your mouth!

Another good experience at Kimura, it’s also good to note that some portions of items have changed. Spicy tuna Crispy rice…why couldn’t you have stayed the same size. I guess thats why revisits are good. Fabo was disappointed by the size too since she expected the size to be the same. Despite that little change, we all had a good time…and they way you can tell that is when the bill is over $200…for 6 people… ouch!

Words of Wisdom:

Grilled Black Cod and yakitori is delicious
They now accept reservation again!
Parking in front or in residential areas
Customizable dishes, order off the menu
Sushi is not very good
Best to stick with combos and special to get the bang out of your buck

We rate Kimura Japanese Restaurant:

Website: http://www.sushikimura.com/

Address:

3883 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant: Amazing Hole in the Wall

June 8, 2011

M has discovered that Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has one of the best Mexican foods in Vancouver. A few months ago, M wanted to take me here, but then as the girl I am, I scolded him for taking me to a crappy looking place. We made it to the parking lot, but went elsewhere. It’s my human nature to deter away from scary looking places. After actually trying this place out, I think we have fell in love with their food.

A small family owns Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant and they cook all their foods in house. They don’t make a large amount of their items, so when it’s gone… you won’t be able to get it till the next day. I tried ordering the Camaron Burrito and the Horchata, but nope… sold out.

Looking at their menu, there were lots of mouth-watering items. Most of the items are between $8 and $10, which can be seen as slightly expensive, but their portions are really large!

We started our meal off with Jarritos Soda ($2.50). This is a popular soft drink in Mexico. This was my first time trying it and man….if American pop can taste like this…I would be one fat girl right now. It’s so good and makes you want more!

We tried the Pineapple Jarritos and Grapefruit Jarritos. Both are great choices!

M ordered the Carnitas Burrito ($10.99). It has pork, rice, beans, onions and cilantro wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is covered in cheese and red sauce. This is not your small taco from Taco Time. Taco Time cannot even compare to the amazing taste of this burrito. It is large and you will be full. The pork is beautifully roasted and is very flavorful and tender. Totally worth the price!!

I ordered the Cheese Quesadilla ($8.99). I really was not expecting much since Cheese Quesadilla sounded very small. When it arrived, it was pretty large! They even had a lot of cheese inside the tortilla! Adding the sour cream and the salsa made this SO good! Never knew such a thing could taste so good.

They also have hot sauce if you want to add a kick to your meal.

Overall, great place for Mexican food. If all Mexican food tasted like this, it would be my next favorite cuisine. Too bad I have a hatred for beans. Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has a good deal for what you get. Try not to be like me and judge this place based on their décor.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in front
Large portions of yummy food
Suggested – Caritas Burrito, Chicken Fajita Burrito
Decent prices

We Rate Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant:

Address:

2891 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

In Cafe

E.Tea : Epically Failed Night

April 3, 2011

Jojocake, KoreanGirl and I were searching for food since Jojocake’s parents left her to fend for herself. How can she fend for herself if she does not even have essentials like milk? She called up KoreanGirl and I to go eat dinner.

Our first stop was supposed to be Pho 101, but when we walked into the restaurant…everyone looked at us funny as we sat down at a booth. We didn’t understand why there were mass amounts of spring rolls everywhere, nor all the awkward looks towards us. Apparently it closed 5 mins earlier … but no one told us they were closed until after many many awkward minutes. We felt embarrassed so we decided to drive west.

What was on Hastings that would be open after 8pm? We drove to Bo Laska King’s Bubble and Bits since I know for sure they are open till midnight. When we arrive, they were closed but the sign said they were open 7 days a week till midnight.

Another fail…. so what is the one place we know that for sure will not close early. E. Tea on Rupert and 22nd.

I got one of their dinner combos – crispy chicken + meat sauce on rice ($9.50).

I really did not take a liking to this meal. The crispy chicken pieces had a lot of cartilage and tendon still in the meat. So, I was constantly picking stuff out of my mouth.

The meat sauce on rice was not very hot. The sauce and the meat were room temperature and the rice was a bit hot.

KoreanGirl ordered the Crispy chicken with noodle ($6.95).

The meal was quite simple, crispy chicken and a bowl of noodles. There was a lot of noodles.

JojoCake ordered the Baked Curry Pork Cutlet on Rice ($7.50). As you can probably tell, the images above are NOT anything resembling curry.

When JojoCake’s order arrived, it looked more like a baked seafood. She is allergic to seafood, so for them to bring the wrong dish to a person with allergies is a no no. Good thing she figured out it was not the right order and asked the waitress about it.

The waitress brought back a menu to confirm which was the right item she wanted. She quickly confirmed the order and sent it back to the kitchen.

At this point, KoreanGirl and I were almost done eating our own dishes.

Next, the waitress brings another dish to the table, this time it could have been mistaken for the curry pork cutlet, but when Jojocake began poking around, it was mostly cheesy meat sauce and seaweed on top of rice.

At this point, she just really wanted her curry pork chop cutlet since she was STARVING! We talked to the waitress and she believed it was the Curry Porkchop cutlet, so she goes to the back to talk to the kitchen. Turns out, this was not the curry porkchop cutlet.

When KoreanGirl and I finished our meal, the correct dish for JojoCake arrived.

The appearance of the Curry Porkchop cutlet was not the best. The curry sauce was very watery and was not baked very well. As she stirred the sauce onto the rice, it started to become more of a congee type thing rather than rice.

She was very outraged.

As we were very disheartened about the visit to E. Tea, we expected E. Tea to be more respectful of their customers and at least offer some sort of compensation for the trouble. As we asked for the bill, the waitress said nothing as she handed us our bill. Not even a sorry for the trouble.

We just paid $27.33 and just left. No tips, just exactly $27.33. We felt slightly guilty for not tipping, but on the other hand it was a horrible experience. We jumped into my car and drove away.

I’ve been a customer for many years and I did notice a decline in their service and food. It is safe to say, we will never return to E. Tea.

Words of Wisdom:

Decent prices
Open late
Parking in front
Accepts Mastercards/Visa/Cash/Debt

We rate E. Tea:

E. Tea is located on:

3281 East 22nd Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5M

In Cafe

Etea Visit #2

March 5, 2011

Visit #1 : Click here

It’s usually a late night and the friends like to go somewhere to chat and have some drinks.

They have lots of food and bubble tea drinks.

TaiwaneseGirl ordered Milk Tea with Pearls. It didn’t seem like they give much pearls with their drinks.

Koreangirl ordered the peach green tea. Yeah, no pearls means less carbs in your belly!

Yet again, I ordered Chrysanthemum Black Tea. What I like about E. Tea is that they use real leaves to make this drink rather than just syrup. They used different cups this time. Some drinks are kinda misleading, since this drink has foam so it seems like you have more in your cup.

CanuckGirl ordered the Mango slush and M ordered the fresh mango slush. As you can tell there is such a large difference in color and appeal. CanuckGirl compared her mango drink to pineapples and was terrible. M’s drink did have more of the rich mango taste. They probably used frozen mangoes since I seriously doubt they are in season.

When selecting drinks here, it is worth is paying a few more bucks for the fresh options.

They have some super cool washroom signs. Only sexy girls and boys can enter the washrooms. And guys, if you think you want to peep into the girls washroom, you “will be slapped”. You can really capture some hilarious photos with your friends!

Words of Wisdom:

Decent prices
Open late
Parking in front
Accepts Mastercards/Visa/Cash/Debt

We rate E. Tea:

E. Tea is located on:

3281 East 22nd Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5M

In Four Beakers

Kimura (Visit #5)

March 2, 2011

My 5th visit at Kimura would have to be epic.

I know i’ve said great things about Kimura in the past, but reading all my posts will probably hype Kimura’s up a bit too much. So, your best best is to have a seat near the bar so you can actually talk to him and get to know him. I personally never sit at the bar so I’ve never had a deep deep conversation with him…nor does he really remember my face even though I’ve been there many times. FragileBoy and Insecuregirl always go there and take a conscious effort to talk to him every single time they go. I, on the other hand am super shy and awkward so … I am a ghost.

FragileBoy decided to have his birthday party at Kimura’s and talked to him a few days before so Kimura could set up a special Omakase set. There were 15 people, so he needed to prep before hand…plus we took up half the restaurant.

We started off with 5 big bottles of Kirin ($8.95 each), and a large sake ($12) to share between everyone. I didn’t take a picture of the sake, but in my previous posts you can see what it looks like.

Since Kimura was very generous, he offered fragileboy a special Omakase set for his birthday and all the guests. Usually the Omakase is 7 dishes, but today…there was way more!

We started off the first course with Gomae which is just cooked spinach. As usual his appetizers are very clean and simple tasting.

The second dish was the Salmon Carpaccio, but it was a bit smaller than usual, but it was expected since Kimura increased the amount of dishes and provided a cheaper rate for the omakase set. This was delicious as usual! It’s one of my favorite dishes because of the sesame oil, salt, and pepper he adds to the ponzu sauce.

The third dish was yaki tori skewers. Each person had 2 each. The yakitori had chicken, onions and peppers. The chicken was very moist and was not dry. They have this on the regular menu as well.

The forth dish was Tonkatsu (Fried Pork Cutlet). There were 2 pieces drizzled with plum sauce. I found there was not enough sauce since some pieces did not have any sauce. You should also ask for a slice of lemon to go with it because it actually goes really well with it.

The fifth dish was tempura. You are probably thinking, “oh it’s normal, nothings great about it”. I thought the same thing until I ate the shrimp tempura. The batter on the outside was not crunchy, but really soft. When you bite into it, the shrimp is already seasoned with a bit of salt which really brings out the taste. I usually avoid tempura, but because of the taste of salt and the texture of the batter it did not taste oily.

The sixth dish has approached and it is the miso soup. The reason why I like this miso soup compared to other places is because of the addition of the tofu skin. It adds texture and body to the soup. The rest is pretty much the same.

The seventh dish arrived, at this point we were like…how many dishes are there? All the girls were pretty much getting full.

There was 4 california rolls, 1 wild salmon nigiri, 1 tuna nigiri, 1 salmon nigiri, and one shrimp nigiri. It was nothing too fancy.

Hey, look it’s the 8th dish. >.<” (Asian face emoticon thing indicating I was full). Each person got 1 of the Spicy tuna on crispy rice. Smaller than usual but it was alright because we were all getting full. Some people were a but scared of this dish because the tuna is spicy.

If you have a SUPER low tolerance for heat, you probably won’t like this. But, it’s a really cool concept for a dish. I can stand heat so it wasn’t a problem for me.

Dish number nine. Yes, NINE! This was the spicy toro cone. This was not very spicy, so if you are a spicy hater, you would actually like this. Melt in your mouth toro!

The tenth and final dish was mango ice cream. This ice cream is pretty good, not like the artificial mango ice cream.

Since it was FragileBoy’s birthday, Kimura was kind enough to make him a plate of Frog Legs. On the plate were 8 frog legs, which meant 4 frogs had to die for this dish, but as someone said at the table “they are over populated anyways, so might as well eat them”. So, we did just that… we ate them all! haha. It was my first time trying out frog legs, so I jumped at the chance of trying it. It has a very interesting taste, it was like a cross between chicken and fish.

I spent most the the time comparing the frog leg to an olympic speed skater. The Frog legs are not on the usual menu, but you can call in ahead of time to order them.

When they were speaking on the phone prior to the dinner, FragileBoy insisted that Kimura should not go out of his way to get cake…but guess what happened? Kimura went to T&T to buy him 2 little cakes anyways. Really amazing chef that truly has a passion for food.

Words of Wisdom:

For best experience sit at the bar and talk to Kimura (the best advice you will ever get!)
Parking in front or in residential areas
Most items under $10
Lots of combos and specials
Customizable dishes
Amazing service! (Like actually!)
Fresh Ingredients
Be adventurous and don’t try the usual japanese items, thats how you will love this place
Omakase set and Spicy tuna with crispy rice and items you need to order!!

We rate Kimura Japanese Restaurant:

Website: http://www.sushikimura.com/

Address:

3883 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Sushiholic

March 2, 2011

I pass by Sushiholic quite often and at first I didn’t have high expectations for Sushiholic because they are in a location where there has been several failed restaurants. They did have a lot of reviews from anonymous users on Urbanspoon and some other website, good reviews too.

So, I went to see if it lived up to their reviews.

The exterior is quite an eye sore and looks quite ghetto.

When you enter through the door, it look every clean and modern inside. Nothing like the outside at all.

The Fire Dragon Roll ($9.95) looks super cool since they make it look somewhat like a “fire dragon”. The sushi was composed of spicy tuna, prawns and cucumber with mayo and spicy sauce. This was really really delicious!

The Spider Roll ($7.95) is similar to the other spider rolls you find. It has soft-shell crab inside. It was still delicious and the sauce in the shape of a spider web is a nice touch.

Volcano Roll ($11.95) is a sushi with asparagus and shrimp. It is then deep fried and chopped up. Having the roll deep fried give it a very crunchy texture, the addition of spicy tuna in the middle is really ingenious because it’s supposed to be set up like a “volcano”. The spicy tuna is coated with a sauce that has a combination of sesame oil and spicy sauce.

Overall it was a great dish!

Las Vegas Roll ($9.95) was another deep fried roll. It is chopped up and laid on its side and topped up with more crab meat and tobiko. The best way to eat this is to smush the crab meat down so you can fit it into your mouth.

We also ordered the Sushiholic Tray ($21.95). For this price, you get 54 pieces of sushi. These rolls include California Roll (8pcs), Dynamite Roll (6pcs), BC Roll (6pcs), Tuna Roll (6pcs), Salmon Roll (6pcs), Spicy Tuna Roll (8pcs),Kappa Roll (6pcs), and Chopped Scallop Roll (8pcs). It’s really good for the price if you are hungry.

The rolls aren’t anything special but they were made well.

At the end of our meal, the chef made us a complementary salmon belly sashimi. It was my first time having salmon belly and I did not take too much of a liking. I think I prefer toro instead. The presentation of it was really nice, it was made into a rose shape.

Our bill came out to be $69.16 for 5 people. The price of the sushi tray was an incredible deal. The specialty rolls were alright, you are essentially paying for the presentation of the rolls. Some rolls are worth it and some other aren’t.

Overall, my friends and I had a great experience. Well made sushi roll with quality. One thing we did notice was that this restaurant was owned by Koreans, which seems to be a trend in most sushi places in Vancouver. Either way, they know how to make sushi.

Words of Wisdom:

Parking on the right of the restaurant (small alley)
Decent prices
They have a ghetto exterior, but the interior is really nice
Amazing Specialty rolls
Volcano Roll is really really good!

We Rate SushiHolic:

Address:

3311 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
sushiholic.ca

In Cafe

Penang Delight Cafe

February 26, 2011

Every time I pass by Penang to go to Kimura, it seems like it is really packed. Plus the photos online looked very delicious.

Since it was time for dinner with ConsultingGirl, I suggested we try this place out.

Penang is located on Rupert and 22nd. They specialize in Malaysian cuisine.

The interior looks really nice and cozy. They even have some really cute decorations on the wall such as little crabs, coconuts and other decor. This place tends to be packed on weekends, so if you are going with more than 4 people, do make a reservation.

When we went it was busy at first but then it really died down around 8:30pm.

We started with the beef satay ($5.95). It came with 4 skewers of beef and I think peanut sauce. I did not like this dish very much because the beef was a bit tough. I really imagined these be a bit more larger and tender.

It was also hard to dip the skewer in the sauce dish, so you will need to use your utensils to spread it onto the skewer.

The satay at Thai House Royal are so much better.

The next appetizer was the Penang Shrimp ($4.95). It is deep fried marinated pork in shrimp in a bean curd wrap. There were other ingredients in here as well, such as water chestnut and cucumbers. There was also a sweet sauce to go a long with it.

This is was pretty good, I liked the change of the wrapper so it’s not the usual wonton wrapper. This gives the roll more of a crunch and a nutty flavour. The addition of the water chestnuts gives it more texture and i love the crunchiness.

The next dish was the Kari Ayam ($7.95), which is dark meat chicken with potatoes stewed in red curry, lemon grass and coconut milk. We were really unimpressed with this dish because it was mostly potatoes and chicken. This dish also got very very cold very fast.

After we had the first bowl, we went to get more and it was pretty cold by then. Not warm, but actually cold. Maybe it’s not their fault since is was a cold day.

Even if the dish didn’t get cold, I would probably not order this again.

The next dish was the Curry Chicken Laksa ($8.95). In has shredded chicken with rice noodle, bean sprouts, fried tofu in a coconut curry broth. This was a pretty good dish and had this subtle taste and i think it was saffron or some other asian spice.

The shredded chicken was very very shredded, it took us a while to figure out it this was a veggie dish or not. Sure enough, we did find it. If you do want more chicken pieces perhaps getting the Hainanese chicken version of this dish. You can also get beef or fish ball versions as well.

I ordered the Soy Milk with Grass Jelly ($2.50). I thought it was supposed to be a cool drink but turns out it is just soy milk and grass jelly. It was also very small too. 4 gulps and it was gone. This is something pretty basic which you can make yourself.

I actually ordered this drink and wanted it at the beginning of the meal but after reminding the waitress, they brought it at the end of the meal.

Overall, the taste of the food was so-so, not the best but decent.

In the end, ConsultingGirl and I got a very weird vibe from this place. One hour before closing, they started cleaning up the restaurant, putting the chairs up onto the tables and cleaning the floors. We kept thinking they were closing and felt like they were trying to get us out. The weird thing was they were still accepting new customers. We were super puzzled.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking on adjacent streets
Authentic malaysian cuisine
Slightly expensive for this type of cuisine

We rate Penang Delight Cafe:

Address:

3885 Rupert St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.penangdelight.com

In Cafe

Golden Oscar Cafe & Restaurant (Visit #2)

February 20, 2011

Visit #1

Another visit to Golden Oscars on Rupert Street with a bunch of people before heading out to Boss Night Club to check out an event. Since Oscars can usually accomodate a medium sized group of people, we headed over here..plus it’s cheap!

Golden Oscars is a Hong Kong style cafe, so you can find most of the usual items to be in the menu….fried rice, noodles, congee…etc.

I felt thirsty…very thirsty…perhaps it was from my lack of carbs for a while. Apparently it makes you very very dehydrated.
I started off my meal by ordering the Grilled Chicken Steak and Pork Chop on Rice meal ($8.99).

I ordered a cold milk tea with the meal. It came with a small canister of sugar water to add to the milk. I was a little bit distracted and poured a bit too much sugar into my milk tea. Not the best idea since it became super sweet.

I would recommend most people to just to add it in gradually until it’s the right sweetness for you.

The soup that comes with this meal is the usual creamed corn and ham soup. Nothing too special about this, jut normal soup.

What can I really say about the Grilled Chicken Steak and Pork Chop on Rice that I haven’t said in the last visit? There wasn’t anything different except I wish I had more meat. hahaha. No, seriously, I think the portion sizes have gotten a bit smaller in the past few years. Or, my appetite for meat is really large. The chicken and pork chop were both very tender and smelled amazing due to the gravy sauce they have poured on top of both steaks.

This dish also somes with a very very small side of steamed corn, carrots and broccoli. It is very minimal and for a women that likes her vegetables, it really was tiny.

M got his all time favorite dish, baked pork chop. He got the full sized plate rather than the dinner set. It comes with 2 large pieces of baked pork chop rather than just one.

A lot of baked pork chops are different, some come with out bones and some come with bones. Unfortunately Golden Oscars makes them with bones, so I would suggest you ask for an extra plate and cut up all the pork chops and removing the bone before digging into the meal. It makes it easier to eat…. and way less messy.

I do find it very hilarious every time I visit a HK Cafe because I can’t speak Chinese. I can only listen to Chinese but I just can’t speak, it’s super weird but thats what happens when you neglect speaking the language for many years. The waitresses always approach the table speaking Cantonese and i’ll only point at the menu and speak english. I always wonder what they think of me…

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in parking lot or residential areas
Large Portions at decent prices
Very busy during peak hours

We rate Golden Oscar Cafe & Restaurant:

Address:

3868 Rupert St
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Kimura (Visit #4)

February 17, 2011

Visit #1 Visit #2 Visit #3

As you probably know now, I am a huge fan of Kimura’s and is kinda my “go to” place to have some great food with friends.

Since it was Vday, I made reservations ahead of time just in case they became very busy. Indeed they were, but I was smart to make they a week in advance. You should be ok, if you make it a day ahead of time.

M and I had a big bottle of Kirin ($8.95). It was a Large size and it could fill up about 8 small cups.

M and I love their Spicy tuna on Crispy rice ($4.50). It has pureed spicy tuna sit on top of a piece of lettuce and on a circle of fried crunchy flavoured rice. It is garnished with jalapenos, and various sauces. Eat with your hands because eating with chopsticks are a bit hard. Plus, it is meant to be eaten with hands.

M wasn’t so keen on the Omakase set this time, so when he heard there was kobe beef steak for $25, he jumped at the chance to order it. You don’t only get the steak, but you get miso soup, rice, and a salad.

The kobe beef was made medium rare and it was very nice and juicy. Did you know kobe beef is quite sought after due to their distinct rich flavour? Because of the really nice marbling of the fat, it gives this steak it’s great flavour.

The salad was quite simple and had no dressing. It is made mostly out of cabbage, radish, carrots, cucumber and a tomato. Still quite refreshing.

I couldn’t help but order Kimura’s Omakase set ($30). This is the only place I find that I can’t get bored of their food, plus the set always changes up a little bit. It’s a good way to range the skills and strengths of the restaurant.

The first dish the came was the appetizer and it contained pieces of chicken, taro, gelatin, fried sardines and kabocha Japanese squash.

I like their appetizer because they are simple and not heavy.

I always feel awesome when the salmon carpaccio arrives with the omakase! Thinly sliced salmon in sesame oil, citrus sauce, peppercorn, salt, and garnished with sprouts and onions. This is my favorite dish! Never gets old!

Second dish was the baked oyster with a miso may sauce. This was a bit different than the ones they had before. They added mayo into it so it tasted more like a motoyaki. Still pretty good.

The third dish was another Spicy tuna on Crispy rice. I totally didn’t know this would came as well….so as you can imagine the rice get me a bit too full.

The fourth dish was the miso soup.This is always good to drink because it is refreshing and is not like the usual miso soups. It tastes a bit cleaner and has tofu skin in it!

The fifth dish was the shrimp pasta salad. There’s actually not pasta in this, he makes the noodles out of shrimp. You can see the shrimp in the noodles. Good light and refreshing dish and yummy sauce.

They changed this up a bit, this time the noodles were a bit more uniform like fettucini.

The sixth dish was nigiri. Shrimp, tuna and salmon. The tops of a few of the sushi already has a thin layer of soy sauce, so you may not need to add more. Personal preference perhaps.

The seventh and final dish was green tea ice cream! It was really good green tea ice cream! You can choose from a whole bunch of ice cream options – mango, black sesame, and red bean…but this can change due to what they have available.

Words of Wisdom:

For best experience sit at the bar and talk to Kimura
Parking in front or in residential areas
Most items under $10
Lots of combos and specials
Customizable dishes
Amazing service! (Like actually!)
Fresh Ingredients
Be adventurous and don’t try the usual japanese items, thats how you will love this place
Omakase set and Spicy tuna with crispy rice and items you need to order!!

We rate Kimura Japanese Restaurant:

Website: http://www.sushikimura.com/

Address:

3883 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Kimura Japanese Restaurant (Visit #3)

January 25, 2011

Clearly I go to the restaurant a bit too often.

Check out our past posts : Visit #1 & Visit #2.

This time I brought PinappleBun and ConsultingGirl to visit Kimura Japanese Restaurant.

PinappleBun ordered the saba and amaebi nigiri. They don’t like to waste any ingredients, so they also give you the rest of the amaebi shell fired. It may seem not edible, but be rest-assured, it is. Add a bit of the lemon and it’s quite delicious.

Next was the Miso Eggplant, it is grilled eggplant topped with miso sauce.

No visit to Kimura can go without the Crispy Rice with Spicy tuna ($4.50 / order). We got 2 orders of this for 3 people. It has pureed spicy tuna sit on top of a piece of lettuce and on a circle of fried crunchy flavoured rice. It is garnished with jalapenos, and various sauces.

I really recommend this dish and remember, eat with your hands!

I always order the omakase set ($30) since it gives you a variety of what Kimura has to offer, and it always changes because they don’t follow a recipe. I like to share one order of the set with the whole table because it’s way too but for 1 person.

The first dish of the Omakase is the pig ear appetizer. It comes with kabocha Japanese squash, fried sardines, and 3 pieces of pig ear in gelatin with peanut sauce.

Our second dish of the Omakase set is Salmon Carpaccio. It has thinly slices salmon in sesame sauce and citrus sauce. On top, there are a variety of garnishes.

Our third dish of the Omakase set is the baked oyster with miso sauce. Comes with 3 pieces.

Our forth dish of the Omakase set is shrimp pasta salad. There’s actually not pasta in this, he makes the noodles out of shrimp. You can see the shrimp in the noodles. Good light and refreshing dish and yummy sauce.

Our fifth dish of the Omakase set is sushi . There is a variety of nigiri to this dish and it’s not the usual ones you see.

We also got a miso soup but I drank it all before taking a picture.

Lastly, we go mango ice cream as our last dish. Very good mango ice cream!

The omakase set is almost the same as when I had my previous visit because I went the day after. (I am just that crazy to go 2 days in a row…but hey it’s good food).

Words of Wisdom:

Parking in front or in residential areas
Most items under $10
Lots of combos and specials
Customizable dishes
Amazing service! (Like actually!)
Fresh Ingredients
Be adventurous and don’t try the usual japanese items, thats how you will love this place
Omakase set and Spicy tuna with crispy rice and items you need to order!!

We rate Kimura Japanese Restaurant:

Website: http://www.sushikimura.com/

Address:

3883 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Kimura Japanese Restaurant (Visit #2)

January 23, 2011

Back at KImura’s again one week after the first post. I know the timelines of the posts don’t match up, but I’m behind on posting since I eat so much and school/work gets in the way sometimes.

I fell in love with Kimura Japanese restaurant, so please check out the previous post. This time M and I took Fabo to eat here.

Like usual M likes to start off his meals here with a beer and sake. They are the 2 things that make him relax…without throwing up.
He first got a small sapporo ($5) and the Small hot sake ($6.50).

Like last time, we got the dango skewers ($2) again. Really delicious, most and flavourful.

We also got the Tofu Steak III ($5). FYI, there is no steak in this dish. The tofu steak is a layer of eggs and tofu topped with sauce, bonito flakes and green onions. It’s a very simple dish, but I found it was a bit bland sometimes.

Next we ordered 3 plates of the Spicy Tuna with Crispy rice ($4.50 per 2). This was everyones favorite dish. Crunchy on the outside and so delicious on the inside. This is like a Japanese taco!

No meal is complete without ordering the omakase set ($30).

Our first dish of the Omakase set is the pig ear appetizer. On the left we have Japanese squash – Kabocha. The middle there is gomae and a prawn. On the right is the pig ear in gelatin. This pig ear is a it different that what I usually see in Chinese restaurants. Kimura San makes the pig ear gelatin himself and he seemed very proud of it. It was different and I liked it.

Our second dish of the Omakase set is the miso soup. This is always good to drink because it is refreshing and is not like the usual miso soups. It tastes a bit cleaner and has tofu skin in it!

Our third dish of the Omakase set is the baked oyster with miso sauce. Comes with 3 pieces. I did not particularly like this dish because since it was baked, i didnt get to taste the full flavour of the oyster,

Our fourth dish of the Omakase set is sushi – ebi, tuna, saba, uni, scallop, and ikura. The tops of a few of the sushi already has a thin layer of soy sauce, so you may not need to add more. Personal preference perhaps.

Our fifth dish of the Omakase set is Salmon Carpaccio. SO happy it came in the combo this time. YUMMMM! This is THE place to get this. No where else compares!

Our sixth dish of the Omakase set is shrimp pasta salad. There’s actually not pasta in this, he makes the noodles out of shrimp. You can see the shrimp in the noodles. Good light and refreshing dish and yummy sauce.

Our last dish of the Omakase set is mango ice cream with whipped cream and corn flakes. Delicious mango ice cream, I really wonder who his supplier is…

Our bill came out to be $70.56 for 3 people. Not bad considering we ate too much and splurged again.

I also gave them my new business card. It’s square!

Words of Wisdom:

Parking in front or in residential areas
Most items under $10
Lots of combos and specials
Customizable dishes
Amazing service! (Like actually!)
Fresh Ingredients
Be adventurous and don’t try the usual japanese items, thats how you will love this place
Omakase set and Spicy tuna with crispy rice and items you need to order!!

We rate Kimura Japanese Restaurant:

Website: http://www.sushikimura.com/

Address:

3883 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC