My Secret Eden

Won Jo - worth the drive if you like noodles

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Won Jo BBQ & Noodle Restaurant

105-508 Clark Road, Coquitlam

Food: 4
Service: 3
Price: Fair

One benefit for being a food blogger is that all my friends have the urge to share all the good restaurants they've been to. Of course, I am more than happy to take down the notes, and even more happy to find out they are right. This is exactly the case with Won Jo noodle house.

Given the name of the restaurant, it's pretty obvious what they are famous for: BBQ and noodles.

The 2 time I've been here, it was always for their noodle (there is only one grill on the table), so can't comment on the BBQ aspect. There is around a handful or choices for the noodle, all at $8.99/portion. Since I know their chicken noodle soup is good, that is what I went for. When the pot came, this is all there is, so where are the noodles?

The fresh noodles actually come in a separate dish, which the waitress will bring over once the soup boils. On top of that, they added some mushroom, onion and zucchini slices. You know that old saying, don't judge a book by its cover, well, it is totally the case here. The soup may look bland, but it's amazingly delicious. The soup is rich and thick (due to the noodle). The noodle is chewy, and you can control how well you want it done. Despite the chicken soup being flavorful, the chicken itself was still tender. In a nut shell, if you come here, don't skip this. The picture above is 3 portions.

Other than the chicken noodle soup, the meal came with a side of rice, hot sauce and pickle veggies. The portion was so tiny, I am assuming it's an appetizer? Of course, there was also kimchi, and they were not stingy here at all. They gave us a huge bowl and we actually got one refill after as well. Just a side note, I really like their kimchi, I think it's home made.

Since there were 6 of us, and we only ordered 3 portions of the noodles (this really could feed at least 4 ppl), thus we added a pork belly dish (medium size) for around $12-$13. For the price, this was a big portion. The pork belly was tender, and already had a slightly salty flavour. Despite all that fatty layer, it didn't feel fatty or oily at all. On the side was the cabbage wrap and a nice portion pickled veggie with some Korean hot sauce. Amongst the veggie/hot sauce mix, they also include pear, which I thought was a quite good.

Just in case all that carb was not enough, we got an order of Jap Chae (stir fry potato noodle) for $11. Although the flavour was good, but the noodle was not. It was too undercooked and thus chewy in a bad way.

As with most Korean restaurant, they too have a bell system. If you need service, just ring it. Unfortunately, if the place is busy, they may ignore your bell. If no body comes to you within 10 minute, just ring the bell again. Food here is solid, with some better tasting that other. I actually tried their Kimchi noodle pot, but it not as good as the chicken one. If you are a noodle soup lover, I would actually recommend driving out here to try this place.

A Piece of the Pie - the sugar debate

2012-01-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

Another article brought to you by R:

image from http://www.redbrickpaper.co.uk

How do you start your day? A cup of coffee might be many people’s routine. Cream and sugar? Sure, why not, after deciding on milk or half/half, next up is sugar : white or brown? Brown sugar has better aroma and seems more natural.

image from http://fiestafarms.ca

Wait a second. Is brown sugar really less processed?

Let’s see how sugar is made (briefly):

1) Juice the sugar cane
2) Boil the juice
3) Let it crystalize and separate the molasses
4) Repeated
5) De-coloring or purifying
6) Drying

Most of time, yellow/brown sugar is made by...re-adding molasses syrup to WHITE refine sugar crystal and then turns into brown sugar. It is easier for the sugar refinery to control the colour, and it is more effective for the manufacturing. A molasses will give the sugar the nice caramel-ish flavour and the colour.

If you are interested in for less processed sugar, you might be looking for:
1) Raw sugar (Plantation Raw Sugar)
2) Demerara-style Sugar (kind of moist and brown)
3) Black sugar/Red sugar (it is sugar still contain a lot of molasses and impurity. In some part of Asia, people used black sugar as dessert flavour or dessert soup base).

From the nutrition point of view, white refine sugar is pure carbohydrate, which simply provide energy nothing else. However, there are about 5-10% of molasses in the brown sugar, so brown sugar has fewer calorie than white sugar by weight. On the other hand, brown sugar contains a trace of minerals such as calcium and potassium due to the presence of molasses. Black sugar has even more minerals (the "impurities") since it is less refined.

image from http://japanizmo.files.wordpress.com

Personally. I love the black/red sugar. It tastes so much better (10 times intensity of brown sugar) with a hint of real sugar cane taste; it is perfect with milk or soya drink.

Summary
1) Yellow/Brown sugar is not necessary “less processed”
2) Yellow/Brown sugar = sugar plus molasses to create brown colour and caramel aroma
3) Black sugar/Red sugar is very less refined with more impurity; it has very unique taste and flavour.

Shanghai House - cheap, if you know what to order

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Shanghai House Restaurant 上海人家

6340 #3 Rd, Richmond

Food: 3.5

Service: 3.5

Price: Cheap (depend on what you order)

If it wasn't for the food, I think Richmond would lose its appeal real fast. First, finding parking is like finding a needle in the hay stack. Second, it seems like the parking stalls are made for smart cars only, and third, driving skills in that city really varies greatly :P. Anyway, so it's no surprise we are once again back in Richmond just for food, this time to buy some speciality food and to eat as well.

Since I was craving Xiao Long Bao and I wanted to try something new, thus we ended up at Shanghai House Restaurant right across from Richmond Centre. If fact it was so close, we just left our car parked in Richmond centre and walked across the street (see complain no. 1 and 2).
The restaurant didn't look like much from the outside, but it was actually quite nice and spacious on the inside. Since we went late in the afternoon, there was barely anyone there. I am pretty sure if you were to come around lunch time, this place would be jam packed like every other Chinese restaurant.

First things first, a steamer full of juicy xiao long bao. Here you can get 6pc for $4.50, which I thought was actually quite cheap comparing to some other ones. The skin was thicker than I am accustom to, especially the pleats at the top was chewy due to the thickness. The soup was thicker and slightly oily, despite this, it was delicious. What they lacked in skin is more than made up for by the stuffing/soup. I love the rich tasting glutinous soup.

Well, although I said their xiao long bao is cheap, but their typical Chinese dishes were not. They were in the ranges of $10-$20. However, the noodle soups were a bargain. The above bowl of Sichuan spicy beef noodle was only $5.98. I don't even think you can get it for that price at the food court, let alone having someone serve it to you. First the good, I loved their al dente slightly chewy fresh tasting noodles. There were plenty of beef briskets to go around. However, the brisket was a bit tough, which meant it wasn't cooked long enough. Therefore the soup also lacked that meaty flavour. Despite the downside, it was still a good bowl of noodle soup at $5.98

R ordered the clear broth chicken noodle soup for the same price. The chicken broth was better than mine and actually had that rich chicken stock flavour. The chicken was tender, but rather flavourless. I guess all the flavour went into the soup. The noodle was the same, so it was really good.

Although we were more than full from the above 3 dishes, I just couldn't skip one of my favourite dishes: sticky rice cake with pork rib. For $5.50, this was a rather generous portion. The rice cake was soft and chewy, but not really sticky. The pork rib, more like pork chop, was tender and juicy, with a nice crispy coating. The accompanying sauce was sweet and savoury, it was like the Chinese oyster sauce mixed with palm sugar.

Since there were barely anyone in the restaurant, the service was rather attentive. They quickly filled our tea and brought out our food. After that, they all retreated to the back for their own lunch break. Overall, service was actually not bad, but I can't say if it would stay this way when they are actually busy. Although I did not order any typical dishes, but base on what I've tried, I do recommend this place. Therefore, if you are hungry, do keep this place in mind, because they offer good food at a very affordable price, not to mention big portions as well.

East India Grill - good Indian food in Langley

2012-01-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

East India Grill

#106-19653 Willowbrook Dr, Langley (map)

Food: 3.5

Service: 4

Price: Fair

I think Langley get a bad rep for a place without much diversity (at least from what I heard), but I beg to differ. Other than many big chain restaurants, they do have many small unique restaurants, such as Mai's, and Luxe. They also have the nicest/cleanest Pho 99 I've ever seen.

East India Grill is located right next to Luxe. Since I been there once before, it was easy to find. They are open from 11-9 everyday except Sunday.

The interior was spacious and comfortable. They do have a couple flat screen TV hanging around. The decor was also very classy and beautiful.

Of course I had to order Naan bread, as it's a must in all Indian restaurant. The naan bread was nice and fluffy. The outside was burnt just enough for it to be crispy. I do recommend getting this, as it was perfect for scooping up sauces.

This rice was very interesting. I know basamti rice was not suppose to be sticky, but this was downright dry. Also it was curly as if someone split each grain in half. Although I didn't particularly enjoy the rice, but it worked for the sauces from our dish, because it's absorbent.

The first dish we ordered was the Lamb Bhuna ($10.95). I love the presentation here, it came in a small iron pot over a small burner. The food remained hot through out our meal. The downside to this was the size. The portion appeared much smaller than other places. The lamb was rather tender but slightly gamey. Although I did like the tangy flavoured sauce, but it was really quite salty. That is why you will definitely need rice when eating this.

We ordered the Chicken Vindaloo ($9.95). The chicken was over cooked, so it was a bit tough. The potato was great, soft and full absorbed the zesty flavour from the heavily spiced sauce. I actually really liked the sauce, and can taste the distinct flavour of cumin.

Service here was great, but then again there were only about 3 tables present. One thing I must note was the ambient temperature in restaurant was rather low, I guess that's why they have burners for their dishes?. Either way, their food was actually quite good, although prices seems a bit high to me, then again this is Langley (no competition = higher price). All in all, a good restaurant worth visiting if you are in Langley.

'Travel is to Live' - Cruising is the way

2012-01-06T14:20:00.000-08:00

Why You Should Cruise - confession of a cruiseholic, and just because I think you deserve to know.

For that unreal sunrise...

For that gorgeous view of the shoreline...

For the perfect sunset...

To travel the world in the comfort of your own bedroom, which someone else will clean...

For a touch of fun during your vacation...

To be able to taste the foreign coffee (good and bad) all with a view by the sea...

To try all the delicious multi-cultural cuisine in one place...

To go out and experience the world we've only seen from textbooks...

To appreciate the smallest detail in a foreign land...

Last but not least, to have the most comfortable and care free vacation you can imagine.

I just think not enough people are aware of the benefit of cruising, so I thought I write a little summary. I wasn't paid to write this nor promoting it for any other reason, this is purely me speaking from experience. So far I have embarked on 2 NCL Cruises (Jade and Sky), and can't wait to go back. My next goal: NCL Epic.

*more travel post coming up soon.

A Piece of the Pie - Salmon: Red = Better?

2012-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Ever get a headache from just looking at the long list of non-understandable ingredients, well because of R background in food and nutrition., I now have some basic understanding of what I am looking at when picking up processed food at the supermarket. Learning about the food industry and as well as food in general has definitely been enlightening. Therefore, I constantly badgered R to write something, and now he is finally on board and will star in a new section called: A Piece of the Pie (shorten to APP if you are looking for tags), because really all this information is just a piece of the pie. Also all the information provided on here are base purely on R's understanding of the subject. So without further ado....

image from plankcooking.com

Did you ever order a serving of salmon from your favourite restaurant and realize it was not the colour you were expecting? The pan-fried white-ish “wild salmon” was lying on the plate in front of you; the greens on the side makes the grey-ish fish even less appetizing. Where is the nice orange colour or the brilliant red you are so accustom to?

image from paleocookbookdiet.net

Salmon are “what they eat”; the pigment in their diet will change the colour of their flesh. In the wild, salmon consumes mainly krill (shrimp like crustaceans), the pigments in the krill (carotenoid and astaxanthin) will produce the orange-red colour seen in their flesh. While for the farmed salmon, the feed also contains natural or artificial carotenoid or astaxanthin to create the same effect. Therefore, if you found your salmon not in the colour of orange-pink, it is mostly likely wild (because their diet varies, and some are bratty eaters). Or, the feed in the fish farm contains insufficient pigments. Also, there is one exception: the White Spring salmon, this salmon do not genetically show the carotenoid in the flesh.

So, is the orange-pink salmon more nutritious than the white one? Since there is more pigment and carotenoid? Perosnally, I do not think so.
1) Most of pigment in salmon is astaxanthin, which possesses less anti-oxidation activity than most carotenoid does.
2) Astaxanthin is not converted to vitamin A
3) Carrot is much better source for the carotenoid.

Summary
1) The pigment in the feed makes salmon orange-pink.
2) White salmon may not consume sufficient level of carotenoid in their diet.
3) White salmon is not much different than orange-pink salmon in terms of nutritional value.

PS: If you have any question, you can email R@my-secret-eden.com. Also any comment or feedback on this new section is more than welcomed :).

G-Be Izakaya - Hot Pot is a must

2011-12-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

G-Be Izakaya

4331 Dominion St, Burnaby (connected to Grand Villa Casino)

Food: 4
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

It's officially winter, and I have yet to go out for any sort of hot pot (not counting the ones at home). So when a recent deal popped up for Japanese hot pot, I was more than happy to snatch it up.

The weather was perfect, windy and cold, so R and I decided headed out for some hot pot.
G-Be Izakaya was easy enough to find if you ever been to Grand Villa Casino by Brentwood area. It was literally on the right hand side next to Grand Dynasty restaurant. The Japanese elements were clearly visible in their decor from the hanging paper cranes to the raked sand/stone wall. The ambiance here was great, but I found the air to be a bit chilly.

Hot pot here is AYCE style for the price of $13.99/person. Just like most Chinese restaurant, the soup base is a separate cost. One soup base was about $8 to $9. However a split pot of 2 soup bases was only $.50 more. Naturally R and I went for the double soup base with Yokohoma Spicy Miso and Osaka Katsuo (Fish soup).

The price also included one dipping sauce (sesame, ponzu or soy sauce). Along with the AYCE hot pot, there were also several side dishes that we can order as well. The above seaweed was one of them, and I must say for a simple side dish this was delicious. The seaweed was not fishy, nor slimy. It was a delicately balanced mixture of sweet rice vinegar and sea salt with a touch of sesame.

On top of the seaweed they also offered cones. On the left is a spicy salmon, and right is a negitoro/green onion cone. The rice was sticky and well done, and the fish was fresh. I am not sure why the rice was purple, but there wasn't any special taste to it either. Overall, these cones were solid, and taste a lot better than many AYCE Japanese restaurants.

On the order sheeting, there was a item called fries. We were rather perplexed and intrigued by it. It turned out to be just that: fries. These fries were actually pretty good. It was crispy on the outside with just a touch of salt. It wasn't oily either. Despite the oddity, I would actually recommend people to try this.

There were more appetizers on the menu, but I am here for the hot pot, so this is what we ordered on the first round. Although it doesn't really show in picture, but this was a HUGE bowl of food. At first we were quite shocked, because this bowl was not only huge but deep, until we noticed...

Everything was resting on a bed of ice. I thought this was very attentive, this way our food will stay fresh. However I do feel bad for the waitress, because lifting this bowl of ice was definitely a work out (or maybe I just need to work out XD). Either way, I really like the idea of keeping the fresh food on ice.

The hot pot items were fresh and tasty. For the meat part, there was 4 different choices: fatty beef, lean beef, pork and chicken. For seafood, they had fish slice, squid, and fish ball. As for the veggie, there was plenty of options (just look at the 2 pictures above). Both R and I were impressed with their food quality, because none of the root vegetables were fried (fried veggie can be kept longer than fresh ones), the leafy greens were fresh, and none of the meat was frozen. My favorite was definitely the fatty beef.

After we finished all the food, both R and I drank the soup. It was insanely delicious with that hard to describe umami taste. All I can say is, I wish I can ask for it to go (can I?) and cook some congee in it.

Now that Posh has changed their menu and charging a fortune (around $25/person), this place has just become the ultimate winner for Japanese AYCE hot pot in my opinion. Not only was their food tasty, but their service was also pretty good. One of our waitress was extremely polite and attentive. Just like Posh, they do charge for drinks, and that includes tea. Pops are $1/can, and tea is $1.25. Like everywhere else, ice water is free of charge.

This place definitely gets 2 thumbs up from me (base on their hot pot of course). R and I both can't wait to go back and try their other soup bases, such as the tonkatsu (pork bone broth) base. Given the price of only $13.99, I think it is well worth the money, much more so than Chinese AYCE hot pot.

Meat & Bread - Finally I can cross it off

2011-12-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

Meat & Bread

370 Cambie Street, Vancouver

Food: 3.5
Price: Fair

Finally, and I mean finally I have tried the famous Meat & Bread. I been wanting to try this place for at least over a year now. The problem was that it never opens on Sunday, and for some bazaar reason, I am always in downtown on Sunday. Finally, I manage to get myself to downtown on a Saturday and this place was packed, definitely a good sign.

The restaurant had high ceiling to create that sense of space. There were only about a hand full of individual tables, and one long communal table. The menu was very simple, there was maybe 10 things on there with about 4 of them being the main course: sandwiches. Food here is served cafeteria style. You go up to the counter and order. The food is pretty much done by the time you reach the cashier.

One look at the roast above, I was sold on their porchetta sandwich ($8). It seems like I wasn't the only one, cause almost everyone in line ended up with one of these.

The Porchetta sandwich was divine. The bread was chewy but airy. The meat was delicious to say the least. The skin was crispy, and the meat was tender and flavorful. To top it off, there was just enough fat in their to create a perfect juicy sandwich without being oily. Because the pork was roasted with a mixture of spices and pesto, the flavor was well infused in the meat. In a nutshell, don't skip this sandwich if you visit.

R went for their daily special, which at the time was a turkey sandwich ($8). Although it was decent, but it didn't stand out like the Prorchetta. Also the pulled turkey was dry and wet at the same time. I mean the meat was a bit dry, but the sauce + juicy/water from the turkey just created a mess and keep dripping everywhere. Also, one of the mean reason this did not stand out was probably because R took a bite of mine earlier on, and of course it was much better.

You can either pair your sandwich with a homemade soup or a salad for $4. The soup of the day was parsnip and that's what I went with. I liked this soup, it was creamy without being overly so, with a slight sourish taste. R on the other hand was not a fan. I think this just boils down to personal preference. Like it or not aside, you can taste the pure ingredients, and know that this is indeed a homemade soup.

Given the amount of traffic at this restaurant, you really can't go wrong. Their sandwiches are good, but Porchetta is definitely the winner here. They also have a meatball sandwich and a grill cheese sandwich that looks really good, now I can't wait to go back. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I actually inquired their catering business for the pork roast. If anyone is interested, it's $12/lb cooked or $10/lb uncooked. Each roast is approximately 15lb. If you would like to order, emailing them is your best bet, or so I was told.

Wholefood Market - Holiday Preview

2011-12-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, I received an email from Lisa asking if I would like to attend a Wholefood Market Holiday Preview event. Since most of these event lands on a weekday, I typically skip them. However, this time I really wanted to go, because I had purchased a $20 voucher awhile ago and really wanted to use it.

The event was held at their Cambie store which was easy to find, as it was just on the corner of Broadway and Cambie.
The actual event was held in the florist department. Although it was very pretty, but at the same time it was also very cramped due to the amount of people present at the event.

As I mentioned this was a Holiday Preview event, so Wholefood pulled out all the holiday favorites and gathered them up for our viewing and sampling. The above is the first stop: drinks. The apple cider I was presented was sweet with a hint of caramel aftertaste.

Next table over was a tasting of their fresh Fanny Bay oysters. There were plump and fresh. At the time of this event, there were selling for $9.99/dozen. One thing I should mention is that all the fresh seafood here can be processed for free, that means they can de-shell your shrimps, cut open your oysters etc. I was actually quite surprise to learn they offered such service, as it's perfect for the holidays (save you the work).

I really couldn't remember all the cheese that were present, but I do remember trying a piece of brie. To be honest, I don't really know my cheese very well.

Of course, nothing is complete without a booth just for holiday meals. Wholefood has come up with a packaged dinner plan, so all you need to do is take a home and re-heat and it's ready to go. This mean can be pre-ordered online for in store pick up. The above is a holiday feast muffin made with turkey, stuffing, cranberries and mash potatoes topped with gravy. It was certainly interesting, and good for anyone who is craving the feast without all the calories. :P

Last but not least: the dessert/sweets table. It was filled with goodies, such as Stollen from Thomas Haas, pumpkin pies, hand pulled candy canes etc.

My favorite from this table was this gingerbread cookie mix gift jar with attached receipe. This would be perfect for a friend of mine, aka the baker ;).

At end the night, Denise (forager for Wholefood Market) presented us with a tote bag filled with goodies from local merchant. For example the Nonna Pias Balsamic Reduction was from Whistler, and the Untamed Feast Dried Mushrooms was from the islands.

Actually I didn't receive the Balsamic Reduction in my tote, so when Lisa thanked me afterward, I told her about it. She asked me to stop by and pick it up from customer service. The girl at the counter didn't know about it, and pretty much said she could do nothing (no smiles either, maybe she was in a bad mood). However a nice gentleman was beside her, and after taking one look at our email exchange, he went to grab a bottle for me. He was very professional, but also very friendly. So I would just like to acknowledge Ivan for his excellent attitude and customer service. Thanks!

If you didn't notice, one of the included item was the Stollen from Thomas Haas. It was one of those things I couldn't wait to try. This cake was moist, and super dense. It was like a cross between a cookie and cake with tons of nuts, and raisin. Raisin was actually in front of flour on the ingredient list. Base on appearance, I thought it was be sweeter than candy with all the sugar on top, surprisingly it was just about right. If you are fluffy cake lover, then this is definitely not for you, but for those nutty cake lover who want to pass on the fruit cake, this fits the bill just right.

Well, since I did mention I wanted to attend this event mostly because I had a voucher, so the question remain, what did I purchase:

One thing that R really wanted to try was coconut oil. This is because it contains middle chain fatty acid that can be utilized right away instead being stored in your fat cells(something along those lines, R is in the field but I am certainly not). We actually already tried it, it doesn't have any particular taste, so basically we use it like regular cooking oil since it can tolerate high heat. The Sliver Hill bread was on sale, and it made from sprouted wheat (no flour at all). According to R, sprouted wheat have more nutrients. We also grabbed some delicious looking nutty snacks and a organic vegetable broth that we have yet to try.

We did love shopping at Wholefood Market, but let's face it, the prices are definitely higher than other grocers. However let's not forget that famous line "you get what you paid for." Most of their food are made from ingredient I can understand instead of a mile long list of chemicals. Now, if they just open up one in Surrey, then it's all good.

* Before I end this post, I just had to post this picture. Doesn't it look interesting, this apparently is a citron fruit called Buddha Hand.

Bubble 88 - finally another BBT with food in Surrey

2011-12-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Bubble 88

10209 King George Hwy, Surrey

Food: 4
Service: 3
Price: Cheap

Whenever I crave Taiwanese food, I always either end up at Bubble World Surrey or Richmond. To be honest traveling 45 minutes just for some bubble tea food is not exactly ideal, so when I heard a new place popped up in Surrey, I was ecstatic.

Bubble 88 is located next to Surrey Central and really close to SFU campus.

I have to say they picked a really good location, consider the traffic in the area. From what I heard, they just opened in November, so it was no surprised the place looked spanking new. The decor was the typical modern design, but the big difference was the layout. It was spacious, unlike the ones in Richmond where you will be touching elbows with the next table while you dine :P.

All the drinks here come in 2 sizes, a regular and a large. I really liked the this, because I rarely finish my drink when I order a meal. Also the prices for a regular green/red/milk was only $2.95. The above was a specialty item: guava slushy for $3.45 (regular size). As much as I liked the price, but this drink was a fail. It was very light, and only a hint of guava taste. I've also tried their milk tea on other occasions, it wasn't rich enough.

One of the reason I chose to come here was because of their highly recommended half brisket/half tendon beef noodle soup ($7.50). Since one of our friend highly recommended, I had some equally high expectations. The noodle was al dente, but the beef was inconsistent. Some pieces were really soft, but others were a bit chewier. The soup was also not meaty enough in my opinion. So in conclusion, it was a good bowl of beef noodle soup for that price, but not the best I've had.

Second time around, I ordered one of their recommended items: Spicy Fish Hot Pot ($8.95). Although this typical Szechuan dish was not authentic, but it was actually good. The fish was tender and not super spicy. The soup was a bit salty, but this was given because you weren't really suppose to drink it. There was plenty of fish slices to go around and it was also loaded with my favorite vermicelli on the bottom. Their side dishes was interesting as well, this time we had conch salad and braised gluten.

The miso seafood hot pot ($8.95) was very different from my spicy fish hot pot. It was sweet miso mixed in with a hearty seafood broth. There was a few piece of prawns, some fish balls, Chinese cabbage and vermicelli. Personally I really liked the soup, as it was not too salty but full of seafood flavors.

I also tried their Stew beef brisket in clay pot ($8.50), and I must say it was very satisfying. The beef briskets were super tender and full of flavor. It was savory but at the same time slightly sweet. Also they sure are not stingy with the meat, because I was very full by the end of this meal.

Bubble World Surrey has been running a monopoly out here since forever, but they are now looking at some stiff competition. The prices at Bubble 88 is just as cheap as Bubble World ( I went recently, they actually raised their price, their spicy beef noodle is now $8.25), and food taste just as good. Also, they are more spacious as well. I am certainly happy about this new place, because now I actually have a choice when craving bubble tea food. :)

Penang Delight - delightful and delicious

2011-11-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Penang Delight Cafe

3885 Rupert St, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Price: Fair

The last time I was at Kimura, I noticed a Malaysian Restaurant called Penang Delight. Since I love Malaysian food, I immediately add it to the list of restaurant to try.

This moderate sized restaurant was very cute and nicely decorated. I especially liked the fake coconut tree at the front of the restaurant. We were promptly greeted by the door and brought to our seat. We were there at about 11:30, and the place was packed by 12.

The first appetizer we got was the Crispy Pork for only $5.95. For the price we paid, this was a huge portion, because there was at least 2 large piece of pork cutlet cut up into strips. The pork was also very good, as it was tender and already flavored. The sweet chili dip had the typical South East Asian flavor.

Of course, roti canai is a must. Here at Penang Delight, each order consist of 2 roti and cost $5.95. Since we had 4 people, I automatically ordered 2 sets. The picture really doesn't do it's justice, these were huge. Each order was cut into 4 pieces, so it was more than enough for 4 people. Needless to say, we had lots of roti to go around. The roti itself was pretty good, but not flaky/buttery enough. The curry deep was sweet and savory, quite good in my opinion.

Next up was theNasi Nenas, which was essentially a pineapple fried rice ($7.95). The rice was harder than I would have liked with distinct turmeric flavor. Since I dislike pineapple, I am bias, and was not fan of this dish.

I chose this Clay pot fish dish for $13.95. The deep fried fish fillet was left simmering ina coconut curry broth. The fish was tender and flavorful, but the vegetables could use a bit more simmering, as it didn't fully absorb the flavor of the broth.

Last but not least, we had to get this dish : chicken rendang ($9.95). Typically you would only see beef rendang available, which is rather sad because R does not eat beef. So I was very happy to see this dish. R loved it for its slight spiciness coming from the chili and the detectable lemon grass flavor. Also the chicken was very tender.

Service here was great as well. From the moment we walked in, the owner (who I am assume it was) was friendly and genuine. He checked on us often and often chatted with us as well. Our water glass was never left empty. Overall, we all liked Penang Delight and we would definitely recommended to anyone looking for some authentic Malaysian food.

Around the Mediterranean in 16 days - a summary

2011-11-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

I know I been MIA for awhile now, but I am finally back and jet lag free. Ever since I went on a cruise back in Dec. of 2009, I been wanting to take another one. Finally that wish has been fulfilled with my 16 days trip to Europe.

Well, the trip started in Rome, after a 14+ hour connecting flight, we finally arrived. Being inside the Roman wall is literally like living in the past. Every corner you turn, you are faced with beautifully preserved ruin sites. To top it off, their October weather is just fabulous, warm (~20C) and sunny (big contrast to what our weather is like).

Spanish Steps

On our day in Rome, we did all the tourist areas: Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese, Piazza Navona, Capitoline Hill, Pantheon and Spanish Steps. I know it sounds like a lot, but these places are all within walking distance, but do prepare to be drop dead tired at the end of the day. The one place that really didn't impressive me much was Spanish Steps, just look at the amount of people there, it was chaotic.

One of the most well known place in Rome is the Colosseum, so I definitely couldn't skip it. Because we were so tired on our Rome walking tour day, we didn't actually make it. So we ended up putting this off until the last day after our cruise. After actually going inside, I understand why it's so famous, to think this was actually built in the 80 AD, there were some pretty sophisticated mechanics built into the place.

(World renown spiral staircase at Vatican Museum)

Of course, no trip would be complete without a visit to Vatican city, since it's right there. We went on a Monday, which is consider busy because of its closure on Sundays. There were tons of group tour vendor trying to get you to buy their skip the line pass for the museum by telling you the wait is over 2 hours. In reality we only waited for 1 hour despite the fact that the line up looked more like it would be 4 hours long. There was so much to see at the museum. So if you are really into the history of everything, be prepare to spend a day there.

Since we only had a day at Vatican city, we went to visit St. Peter's Basilica in the afternoon. This church was truly impressive. The ceiling was at least 3 stories high. Detailed artworks and sculptures were everywhere. Although the line up maybe long for this place as well, but it's well worth it. (we didn't actually line up, see next picture)

(no picture allowed once you are on the tour, also remember to dress appropriately)

A couple month before I left for my trip, I did a lot of homework and thus found out about a St. Peter's tomb (Scavi) tour. I booked with the excavation office directly and was told to be there at a certain time for my English speaking tour. Finding the office prove to be difficult, base on the basilica picture above, it's on the left hand side. along the edge of St. Peter's square (just ask any Swiss guard). The tour itself was certainly highlight of the day. Our guide (a priest from Connecticut), was both humorous and detailed, so it made a huge difference, as we learned a lot on this short tour. The evidence they present to us was very compelling, and I do believe the remains we saw was indeed St. Peter's.

Tip: I highly recommend this tour to everyone, except people who are claustrophobic. It was pretty tight and humid down in the tombs. Also if you purchased this tour, I would suggest you go first before checking out the basilica, because the exist of this tour was right inside the church, so no need to lineup, and save you a good half an hour to an hour.

Because of our limited time in Italy, we tried to maximize it by booking a trip to Venice via the Eurostar train (3.5 hours). If you went by regular train, it would be more than 7 hours. Venice was our favorite city. I know I've said it too much already, but really this was very impressive despite the rainy weather. Water bus, taxi, or gondola served as the only forms of transportation in the city. Their street were purely for pedestrians. We went everywhere either on foot or by water bus, because I couldn't really justify spending 80 Euro (listed price, but they try to charge your for more) for 40 minutes on the Gondola, as romantic as it may sound. Plus it was rainy that day and I get sea sick very easily. XD

Tip: booked your train tickets early at Trenitalia, because it's a lot cheaper than buying it there. Look for something called mini fare.

Finally was our embarkation day on the NCL Jade. The day didn't really start out well. First, there was heavy rain in the morning, luckily it cleared up when we were headed towards the train station. Once we got there, we barely made the early train. As we were getting on, there were some 'nice' people who offered to help haul everyone luggage on board. It turned out these were gypsies, and they turned right around to ask for money. It wasn't really a problem for us, as we were firm on the tip we were willing to give, but they did hold some old lady's luggage and demanded more money.

Once we got to Civitavecchia port, that was another mess. Apparently there were shuttles that took you from port entrance to the actual ship, but there were Nobody around to facilitate this. After a good 10 min pass by, we saw a bus labelled NCL Jade, so decided to hop on. Once we got off that bus, it did not get any better. There weren't any clear signs anywhere, so we followed this huge crowd into a warehouse that was apparently the luggage drop off zone. As we were all slowly moving towards the drop off, some officer point us all to another entrance, which turn out to be the check in. At this point, we were in line for the check in, so decided not to go back for the drop off. However once we were on board, everything was great. Good thing our room was actually ready ahead of time, so we were able to drop off everything before grabbing lunch. So, if any NCL staff is reading this, your check in process could definitely use some improvements:
- more signage
- more staff to direct the passengers, facilitate line up, so it won't be such a mess.

Our first port of call was Katakolon, in fact the picture of the cruise ship above was taken at that port. It was a charming little town with lots of local flairs. One of the main attraction near by was the ancient site of Olympia where the Olympic games was started. Although interesting, but really it's all up to the imaginations, as this was one of the least well-preserved ruins. Olive trees were everywhere at this place, I guess there is a reason why people in Greece use a lot of olive oil.

Tip: we didn't do a excursion, so we used Geo-travel right outside the port, and it's only 10 Euro/person for return tickets to Olympia.

A day later we docked in Athens, well technically it's Piraeus port. After a short metro ride, we were at the foot of the Acropolis. The hike up to the top was beautiful and not really steep. It was super windy up there, so it was a bit chilly at time. The Parthenon was magnificent, but part of it was under renovation. Also the marble stone up there was super slippery because of its smooth surface polished by the millions of visitor yearly.

Tip: before you get to the metro station, there is a good 20 minute walk from the port. Just ask the locals, they will point you in the right direction. Also, take caution with your belonging while riding the metro, especially if locals start to talk to you and try to help you without asking. We were actually pick pocketed, which I actually witness, but because there was nothing in R's bag, so we didn't make a scene.

Next country we visited was Turkey (Izmir Port). One of the most famous site is the House of Virgin Mary. Of course the top of the house was reconstructed base on studies done, but the bottom layers are the actual remains of the original house.

The ancient site of Ephesus was another stop on our guided tour. This was the best preserved site we saw during the whole trip. Does the above symbol look familiar? Well, you are actually looking at the first documented sign for medicine which probably dates back to at least 1st century BC.

Did you know Nike was a Goddess, before it became a brand? Don't believe me, just look at the sign underneath the left arm, looks familiar?

Tip: skip the Carpet/Leather factory if you can, they really wasted so much time (at least 1.5 hr), the the prices are also insane.

Last but not least, the highlight of this cruise: Egypt. I booked this cruise mainly because it stopped in Egypt, because seeing the Pyramid was just one of those things that was on my list since forever. I have to say we were very lucky, because at the time, there was no protest or any form of violence. In fact, the people there are generally happy and friendly, with the exception of the vendors. Visiting the Pyramids were great, it was definitely breathtaking. Now, if only there weren't hundreds of vendor running around trying to push you to buy things by placing things directly on you, it would have been a better experience. Despite this, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Also, Egypt was definitely an eye opener for me. They don't have any waste disposal system, so they would throw garbage into the streets. Once it piles up, they would just burn it down and start the cycle again. All I can say is we are truly fortunate for where we live, how we live and our clean environment.

Tip: if you are not planning to buy, then just ignore the vendors as rude as that may sound, it's the only thing that worked. Also, get a local guide (we used Ramses tour), because it definitely helps when dealing with the camel ride operator and local vendors. We were pressured for a lot more tips at the camel ride. Although we paid the high tips, but eventually got part of it back after we told the guide of our experience.

* more detailed reports coming soon :). If you have any question, just let me know.

Yellowstone National Park

2011-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I last blogged. Instead of the usual food talk, I am going to post about my recent trip to Yellowstone park.

Although Yellowstone Park is not terribly far from us, but still driving down there requires at least 12 hours. We left Seattle around midnight on a Thursday, and finally arrived next day at around 1pm. At this time of year, the road condition was still pretty good, only some rain showers along the way. However it was pretty cold in Idaho and Montana, just take a look at those snow capped mountain range.

By the time we arrived, everyone was super tired with the look to match. So the question is "Was it worth the drive?", and my answer is
"Definitely". Just take a look at the pictures below, they are worth a thousand words.

First up was Mammoth hot spring, the one spot I really wanted to visit. The reason is because this is one of the only 3 places in the world that have naturally existing travertine terrace. If you are wondering what travertine is, it's a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs. The most famous and largest site is in Pamukkale,Turkey, which I am determine to visit someday.

Of course, no trip would be complete without a visit to the famous Old Faith Geyser. To be honest, as famous as it is, it was not impressive at all. The reason is because there are tons of other Geyser around this area that are more grand (such as Riverside Geyser). Old Faith is just that: faithful, because you can calculate the time it will start.

This beautiful pool is called " Morning Glory" and requires a bit of a hike, but totally worth it. As beautiful as it may seem, but because of pollution from garbage/coins being thrown into the pool, the water will soon loose its beautiful blue center, as it's already showing in the picture.

Another absolutely beautiful hot spring area with beautiful colors. The green seen here is created by bacteria/fungi that thrives near hot springs.

This place is so diverse in terms of natural occurrences, this is a mud pot. Basically it's a mixture of mud and hot boiling spring water, thus it created these interesting bubbling mud pots.

Although many of the natural phenomenons at Yellowstone are created by the geothermal activities, but this one is not and also equally impressive. This is their Grand Canyon. Since it was beautiful that day, we even saw a rainbow.

Yellowstone certainly have so much natural wonders, but they also offers a lot of natural wild life. Bison such as this one was seen through out the park. We also saw some elks and bears as well.

As much as this post is about the natural beauty of Yellowstone, I have got to share their specialty cuisine as well: the buffalo burger. The meat was leaner in comparison to beef, but it was still juicy. The meal here was around $10, and totally worth it, just look at that huge patty. We went to a local restaurant right outside of North gate just in case if you are wondering.

Last but not least, I leave this post with this panoramic shot of Yellowstone. This place was amazing and beautiful, probably even more so in the summer when there is less steam coming off the hot springs. If you ever consider doing a road trip, this should definitely be in your top contenders :).

Kalvin's - good but be prepare to wait

2011-09-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Kalvin's Restaurant (松林居)

5225 Victoria Dr, Vancouver

Food: 3.5
Service: 2.5
Price: Fair

This is not my first time at Kalvin's restaurant, but it is my first time dining here. Well you see, the first time I came here was at least 5 or 6 years ago for a friend's birthday. We made a reservation and arrived on time, but our table was not yet ready. The waitress specifically told us which table will be ours and walked away. After 10 min. another group showed up as the people from our table were leaving. They walked up to the waitress and she told them to sit at our table. We informed her that we were here first, but she pretty much ignored us. By this time, we were hungry and angry and just left.

With the above experience in mind, once again we went to Kalvin's restaurant with a reservation for our large group of 12. This time, everything went smoothly and we were promptly seated in a rather small restaurant. We had to squeeze in at a table really meant for 10, but good things we were all good friends :).

First dish we ordered was their large pork blood (large).
I am so glad we got the large, because it really wasn't that big. Everyone really enjoyed this dish, as it was spicy, but not overly done. Also the pork blood was cooked so that it was soft, but not falling apart. I personally don't eat intestine, but from what I heard, it was also very good.

Second dish was the ants on tree (literal translation). This dish is made with vermicelli and ground pork. This was rather saucy, as my mom usually make it dry. Although it was rather soupy, but it worked, because the vermicelli was very flavorful because it soaked up all the sauce.

Next up is green onion lamb. There were no gamey taste due to the liberal use of green onion. The lamb slices were really thin and tender.The only downside to this dish was the size, it was a rather small portion for our table of 12.

This is the dish I insisted on ordering. Although the sauce was sweet, savory and aromatic, but the pork was simply too fatty. There were barely any lean portion at all. Because of this, the dish was overly oily in my opinion.

Of course, we had more food, but we were just too hungry for pictures for some dishes. So the above is just 4 of the dishes we had. The prices here were not cheap, but nor expensive. It's in the range of $10 to $15/dish. Service is average and very typically Chinese. If you need anything, you must ask for it, they will not come by to fill your tea or bring you more rice.

Overall, everyone thought their food was delicious and perfect over rice (most dishes are very saucy). However this restaurant is small, make sure you make reservation no matter your group size. Even with reservation, there is no guarantee (like my first experience). So my one piece of advice, go on weekdays or before 6pm on weekend to avoid the crowd.

Ah Beetz - worth the drive

2011-09-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ah Beetz New York Pizza

2664 Gladys Avenue, Abbotsford

Food: 4
Service: 4.5
Price: Fair for the quality

I been meaning to check out Ah Beetz pizza for at least over a year now. The last time I went down to Abbotsford it was around lunch time. Unfortunately at that time, they did not open for lunch, but apparently now they do.

After a fun filled day at Castle Fun Park (it's more fun than you think), we decided to grab dinner, so I immediately suggested Ah Beetz.

We arrived to find a tiny restaurant with only a few tables, but no air condition (it was so hot in there).
Since it was a Sunday and other local businesses were closed, the restaurant owners were kind enough to let us bring out their chairs and tables and dine in the parking lot.

The owners were very nice, and quite knowledgeable. We asked them for some suggestion, and base on our size, they said we should consider their weekend special: 2 XL pizza with 1 bottle of 2L pop for $45. We took their suggestion an ordered a couple of their recommendations.

I loved the Amore Mio made with Calabrese salami, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, bocconcini, topped off with fresh basil and parmigiano reggiano. This was definitely my favorite. The roasted garlic worked with slightly spicy salami. Also the caramelized onions added a hint of sweetness to it.

Their crust was special too, because it's slightly charred at the bottom. The reason for this is because they don't use any baking pans, the pizza are loaded directly in the oven as is. The crust was very thin and crunch near the edge, and slightly chewy in the middle.

The 2nd pizza we ordered was the Salsiccia ($25) made with Italian sausage, red onions, tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, and bocconcini, topped off with fresh basil & parmigiano reggiano. This was definitely the more meaty pizza out of the 3, because of the sausage. I found this one overly salty in comparison, but then again half of our group absolutely loved it.

Because we had 12 people, 2 extra large pizza just wouldn't be enough, thus we ordered a 3rd XL pizza: Funghi ($24). This one is made with mushrooms, black truffle oil, tomato sauce and aged mozzarella, topped off with fresh basil and parmigiano reggiano. Although this was also very good for a vegetarian pizza, but I found the abundance of mushroom over powered any hint of the truffle oil. On the other hand, R absolutely love this one and would highly recommend. As I said many times, taste is subjective :P.

After 3 XL pizza, we were all very full. This definitely not your typically pizza joint with the options for Hawaiian or Pepperoni, these pizza are made with fine ingredients on a delicious hand made crust. You can definitely taste the freshness of all the toppings. Also their tomato paste was more like a home made chunky tomato sauce. Overall, I definitely recommend this place to anyone, it might be even worth the drive for the avid pizza lovers.

Hart House - love the ambiance

2011-09-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hart House

6664 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby

Food: 3.5

Service: 4.5

Price: Expensive

Hart House restaurant is a picturesque mansion located inside Deer Lake park. Just from looking at it, you know it definitely has some history. This restaurant has been in operation since 1988, and still going strong.

The inside was equally impressive. As soon as you walk through the front door, you are greeted by the host standing in a nice foyer with a antique fireplace, then you are seated in one of the many dining rooms. I think we were seated in the family room, but who knows, this place is huge with a 2nd floor too. I loved the big windows that provided the natural lighting.

R ordered the 3 cheese omelet for $13. The egg was very fluffy and moist, but because it only had cheese in it, it seemed to be lacking substance (I prefer hearty omelet). The fingerling potatoes on the side was nice and crispy, and the mix green salad was fresh.

I ordered the Knuckle Sandwich for $18. It was essentially a seafood sandwich with lobster, shrimp, apple and mayo on a grilled brioche bun. I loved the filling, the seafood was fresh and slightly sweet. I think the addition of apple is ingenious, because it provided a nice crunchy texture and a slightly tart taste which works so well with seafood. The grilled brioche bun was okay, and it was quite flatten by the grilling, but still not crispy enough.

Lastly, we also ordered a Mussels and Fries to share for $16. These Salt Spring Island mussels were fresh, but not very big. The garlic, leek, and white wine cream sauce was delicious with a hint of spicy kick from the Chorizo sausage.

For our fries, we upgraded to their Truffle and Parmesan fries. I think out of everything this was the biggest disappointment, because the fries was not crispy enough and quite oily. However I did detect the truffle oil flavor.

Service of course is top notch as you are paying for it given the food prices here. I loved the ambiance, it was relaxing yet elegant. I would definitely recommend Hart House to anyone looking for a great place for brunch, as I certainly enjoyed this dining experience.

Kedah House - Malaysian AYCE

2011-08-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Kedah House Restaurant and Cafe

1652 SE Marine Dr, Vancouver

Food: 3.5

Service: 3

Price: Fair ($9.95 for AYCE)

I probably would have never found this place if it wasn't recommended to me. A couple weeks ago, A. extended an invite to R and I to join him to try the AYCE (all you can eat) at Kedah House which is only available on weekends.

Kedah house is located on Marine Way in a small strip mall next to Visions Electronics. R and I nearly missed it if it wasn't for its bright fuscia colored sign.

Their AYCE was very simple, it consisted of a salad bar with peanut sauce, rice, noodle, chicken, beef, and sambal egg.

Oh yeah, there was also a pot of soup. It was slightly sour and a bit spicy. This reminded me of Tom Yang soup with less complicated flavors (less spice, such as basil leaf).

Although the selection was simple, but most of the food was very well done. The beef rendang was excellent. The lemon grass flavor was very evident and the beef really well braised and flavorful. The chicken was not bad, as it was flavorful, but just a bit dry. Both the rice and noodle were okay. Typically I hate peanut sauce, but for some reason the ones here was really tasty. The peanut was coarsely chopped, and there was also a hint of sweetness in the sauce.

Also, I forgot to mention, they also had dessert: a coconut jello or sweet black sticky rice soup. The coconut jello was pretty good, as it tasted like real coconut milk and water. I really like the black sticky rice soup, as it was not overly sweet and cooked to the perfect state of being glutinous without being too sticky. This soup was served hot, personally I wish they would serve this cold.

Kedah house is definitely what you would consider a hole in the wall, but they do serve good food. Also for the price of $9.95, it really is quite a bargain considering only one dish at any Malaysian restaurant will probably cost the same. Overall, I definitely recommend Kedah house to anyone who loves Malaysian food, as it's pretty authentic (says our friends) and good.

Alishan - had better else where

2011-08-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Alishan Restaurant 阿里山品味餐廳

4500 Kingsway, Burnaby (at Crystal Mall)

Food: 2.5
Service: 2.5
Price: Cheap

Sorry for the lack of post, I will try my best to update more often. Anyways, summer has finally arrived, and once again our group of beach volleyball lovers has resume our normal activity. The one thing I always look forward to is eating after a good game.

H suggested the new Alishan restaurant which is located on the outside circle of Crystal Mall.

The restaurant is average size that claim it can accommodate 50 people at a time. I guess this type of restaurant is really popular in the area, cause you will always have to wait. The first time, we gave up after 20 minute, but finally tried for it again this time. After a good 15 minute wait, we were finally seated.

I had the chicken cutlet with egg covered ketchup fried rice ($8.20?). The portion was pretty good, and the chicken was rather tender. However the ketchup fried rice was disappointing. It barely had flavor, and there were still chunks of un-fried white rice. The vegetable was bland as well.

W had the Curry fried rice with pork cutlet. It bared had any curry sauce, that spoonful was all he got.

Service was very inconsistent. We had one waitress who was all smiley and cheery, but another was quite mean and spoke rather impatiently. On top of that, they forgot one of our orders. After a good 30 minute wait, we just cancelled it, as most people already finished their meal.

I have actually tried this place twice, and just forgot my camera the 2nd time. Although I tried to give them a 2nd chance, but once again they failed to impress. The one thing I do have to say is that their price is cheap. Overall, I'd say they have average food and average service. If you really want some good set meal kind of food, give Cattle Cafe a try, it taste much better with a slight better service.

In-N-Out - good for the price

2011-07-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

In-N-Out Burgers

6391 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach CA

Food: 3.5

Price: Cheap

My life is a little hectic at the moment, and will probably stay this way for at least a few more month. So I will start a new style of blogging keeping it simple and short. The pictures for future post will probably remain raw imagine without cropping or watermark.

I have tried Five Guys Burger and many people suggested I try In-N-Out.

Finally that chance came when I was in LA last month. In-N-Out is a fast food chain restaurant that started in California and only available in a few States.

Their menu was simple enough: beef burger, fries, and drinks (pop, milk shakes and coffee). Prices are quite cheap considering a regular meal is under $5. Although I think Dick's is still cheaper though.

I got the cheeseburger meal for $4.85.
Patty: was rather thin and a not juicy bit dry, but the tomato spread, and cheese made up for it.
Bun: Soft and toasted, so that it doesn't get soggy to fast
Fries: Crispy and lightly salted

Overall, a good burger, but not that special. However for the price ($2.15 for the burger), it was well worth it. The food here is good, but nothing really warrant a special visit. With that being said, if you are already down there, then give it a try.

Rockenwagner - delicious souffle

2011-07-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Rockenwagner Bakery

311 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, CA

Food: 4
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

I been super busy lately, and most likely it will stay this way for quite awhile. Anyways, I will try to blog as much as I can (sorry in advance if I am MIA for a few days). A couple weeks back, R and I had to make a short trip down to LA. One of the places we visited was the Santa Monica Pier. Unfortunately for us, that day was windy and cold, so we sought out indoor shelter instead. Therefore discovered this beautiful bakery shop by chance.

The Rockenwagner Bakery location we visited was in 'The Market' at Santa Monica Place.
The place was beautiful with their wooden decors. Their menu was short and simple with most of their food in the display case for you to see. In all honesty, what drew me in initially was the simple yet elegant decor, but what made me stay was their delicious sounding souffle menu.

I watched to try their Passion fruit souffle, but they weren't offering that anymore. So in the end, I went for the raspberry souffle with white chocolate bread pudding ($7ish). I know with souffles, it is best to consume when it's still hot. Therefore, they told us to be back in 20 minutes after ordering. We got back in time only to find out that their first one did not rise as nicely as they would have liked, so they are making a 2nd one. They apologized for the delay and hope we can accept. Since we weren't in a hurry, we did wait it out. Let's just say it was so worth it. The souffle was light and fluffy with a slight liquid center. The tartness from the raspberry was balance out nicely by the addition of the white chocolate bread pudding. This was also very good, but a bit dry in places.

Overall, both R and I really enjoyed their souffle and would definitely recommended it to anyone. Also what we really loved was the decor, the wooden counter tops and the grass bar stools were a nice touch for that all natural feel. So if you ever in Santa Monica, definitely give this place a try, it's totally worth it.

Countryside - not your typical Chinese

2011-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Countryside Chinese Restaurant 田園東北人家

7506 Edmonds St, Burnaby (map)

Food: 2
Service: 3
Price: Fair +

When people talk about Chinese food, they are usually talking about Canton, Sichuan or Shanghai style cuisine. If you head to Richmond, it seems every restaurant is one of these 3 types. A few weeks ago, my parents and I were driving past our old neighborhood and noticed this somewhat new resgtaurant the offered food from Northern China, so we decided to check it out.

Parking was limited at the back of the restaurant. The restaurant was rather small, but made to appear larger with the added mirror walls. I wonder what was here before, maybe it was a pho restaurant, since the decor certainly felt that way.

We initially order Catsup Pork Hock, but sadly they were out. The owner suggested their pork bone instead which was cooked the same way and at the same price ($9.95). They did give us these flimsy gloves to use to pick up the bones with our hand. This was disappointing. The meat was not fall off the bone tender and they were rather boney as well. On top of that, the sauce was not infused in the meat, but simply 'sitting' on top of it. For $9.95, I would have much prefer to order their pork hock instead.

The next dish was the stir fried pork liver ($9.95). Personally I liked it, because it was fully cooked, yet still retained that springy texture. My dad on the other hand thought the liver was over cooked. The sauce was good and it coated all the liver slices evenly, and I liked the addition of the wood ear.

Next dish was the one I chose for my love of anything with vermicilli. It wa their braised pork with thick sweet potato noodle ($12.95). Typically use the wide type, but they actually asked which one I wanted, so I went for the skinny ones. The sweet potato noodles were too soft. The flavor was mostly just soy without much variety. The meat was over cooked to a point of being a bit mushy. Overall, this felt like a very home style dish not done properly.

The last dish was chosen by my mom, it was mix veggie sauteed of potato, green pepper and eggplant ($9.95). We all loved this dish, because all the veggies were deep fried, so they were nice and crunchy. The slightly sweet hoi sin sauce was the perfect compliment. Also, there weren't too much sauce to drawn the vegetables, thus they remained crispy.

When the veggie dish become your favorite among all the meat (especially if you are not vegetarian), you know this restaurant has really failed to impress us with their food. Service was good, they were quite attentive, but then again there were less than 3 tables in the restaurant. Anyways, if you are craving something different from the typical Chinese food, maybe you can check this place out, other wise, I would skip it.

Mai's - a whole different experience

2011-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant

20378 88 Ave, Langley (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair+

R and I were out in Langley Colossus theater watching a movie, but the movie started at a awkward time, so we didn't really eat much before hands. After the movie, we decided to look around for some food, but it was chain restaurant after chain restaurant. We drove a bit more out of the area, and discovered this unique pho restaurant called Mai's.

This was not your typical pho restaurant with the mirrored walls, and vinyl tables. This place looked and felt different from the minute we walked in.

The lighting was soft and intimate. The tables and chairs were comfortable. Their table top was a coppery metal sheet with intricate design of leaves. They did not have any napkin holders, instead they brought us over cutlery wrapped nicely in a cloth napkin. From all the little detail, you can see this was a more upscale restaurant.

Both R and I ordered noodle soup, so they did provide the typical bean sprout, lime and basil. They even provided sauce dish which was a nice touch. Most time, I just use extra spoon for the sauce. Given this was a much nicer restaurant, the prices were slightly higher but totally reasonable. A medium pho will cost you $8 while a large is $9.

R wanted to try something special, so he went for the Phnom Penh noodles ($9 one size). It a Cambodia noodle soup with pork and prawns. The soup was really delicious with the addition of fried shallow, it was meaty yet slightly sweet. Also it was not oily at all. The al dente noodle was soft but not stuck together or falling apart. The only thing was that there weren't too many pieces of prawns and they were a bit over cooked.

I really had a hard time deciding between ordering the typical pho or something special. In the end I opt to try something new. The Hue Style Soup ($9 one size) I order was spicy and aromatic. The taste was similar to Tom Yang soup from Thailand. It did get kinda spicy after I was half way through it.

The noodle used in my soup was not the typical pho noodles. There were round spaghetti like noodles. They are also made with rice and quite chewy. For my topping, there were quite a lot of beef slice, beef and pork balls. The beef slices were very lean, I would have preferred beef brisket slices instead.

Overall, both R and I liked Mai's Vietnamese restaurant. The food was good, but slightly more pricy. However given the location and decor, I'd say it was fairly priced. So if anyone is looking for a different pho experience should go check it out, if you don't mind the drive that is. :P

Cardero's - beautiful restaurant, but disappointing food

2011-06-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cardero's Restaurant

1583 Coal Harbour Quay, Vancouver (map)

Food: 2
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair +

I don't know what's with all the summer babies, but it's definitely the season for birthdays. A couple weeks back, J had a birthday party originally planned for Sand Bar, unfortunately they didn't take reservation (or was it our party was too big), so we had to relocated. The new chosen restaurant was Carderro in Coal Harbor area.

I don't know if I been living in a hole or what, but I don't think I actually been to this area. This place was nice especially during a sunny day.
The restaurant is situated right next to the marina, so it's rather picturesque. The interior had a large airy open market feel. Because of this, the noise level was quite high as there restaurant got more busy, so it was hard to hear sometime. Also, they do have live music after 9pm on weekends, but once again due to the loud noisy, it was not as enjoyable as I would have liked.

Since we had such a big party, we ended up ordering in groups. For our group of 5, we shared a Margherita Pizza ($13). Although the crust was airy and crunchy at the same time, but the topping was disappointing. it was just some measly shredded basil scattered everywhere that didn't really contribute much to the flavor. Also the pizza was not really hot enough when served.

I ordered the Linguini Vongole ($17). The sauce was a good combination of white wine and extra virgin olive oil. The clams were good, but could be fresher. I am not sure if it's because we had such a big group, this pasta was once again luke warm. On top of that the pasta felt undercooked.

R ordered the oyster burger ($12). The sandwich came with either a side of salad or fries, and R went with the latter. These fries were pretty good: well seasoned and crispy.

As for the burger, he said the oyster were not oily or fishy and was nicely fried so that it's juicy yet crispy on the outside. The bread they used was not bad either, it seems to be a cross between foccasia and ciabatta.

Another dish which I accidentally deleted the photo was A's salmon. I have to talk about this dish, because it was horrible. I think it's the driest salmon I have tried thus far. A pretty much had to drink some water with each bite. Also the burger barely had any tar tar sauce which could have helped with the dryness. In a nutshell, this is definitely one dish that I won't recommend.

Although I liked the restaurant location, decor and service, but I just can't say the same for their food. Therefore, if you are looking for a good place to chill for the summer, this may fit the bill, but just be prepare for some average food (at least base on what I had).

This is a rant, but one that I feel strongly about.

2011-06-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a historical yet unfortunate day for reasons more than one. I know I haven't been the die hard Canucks fan for very long, but the feeling of loss is all the same. I must congratulate the Bruins, as they fought hard and won it fair and square. I don't blame anyone for the loss, it simply means we have to do better next time, as the playoff is held every year. In fact, I think the Canucks did great, and took us on a good ride. I enjoyed it all while it lasted, and hope for the best for next year.

I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by the few (in comparison to all the fan as a whole) who started this riot. These people aren't fans, they were out looking for trouble win or lose. Also the bystander just fueled their desire to create more havoc, because they need the audience to "perform". I guess this is how the situation got out of control so fast. At this point, I am more disappointed/angry at the riot than the game.

We must all be responsible for our actions, and I hope those who caused the riot will be held responsible for theirs. I hope the city band together (like this facebook page) and help find criminals who started it all, and put them behind bars to think about what they did. Because if we don't, it will only get worse for next time. (pictures can be sent to robbery@vpd.ca to help identify the criminals)

The one thing I do hope is that the world will not view Vancouver as a barbaric city with sore loser, because the truth is so far from that. We have sportsmanship, we have class, and we love our city and our team. If anyone was watching the post game Stanley Cup presentation ceremony, should know how real fans acted. There was a standing ovation for Tim Thomas and lots of cheering for Lucic our hometown boy. Now this is the Vancouver that I love and hope to maintain. I think this tragic incident has brought people together, as there are tons of people downtown doing post game clean up, now these are the real fans and real Vancouverite. Kudos to them and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Pearl Castle - consistent food

2011-06-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Pearl Castle

6060 Minoru Blvd, Richmond (inside Richmond Center)

Food: 3.5

Service: 2.5

Price: Fair

Pearl Castle use to one of my favorite 'go-to' restaurant, because of its convenient location, and their good food. I guess there was just not enough traffic in Coquitlam, because they closed the one location I liked the most. Since I was craving for some old favorite, I dragged R all the way out to Richmond for it. XD

There are two locations in Richmond, one is in Continental Square and the other one is in Richmond Center. I have actually been to both, but this review is for the one in Richmond center.

The restaurant was nice and modern, but much smaller in comparison to their old Coquitlam location.

The 3 cup chicken ($8.25) R ordered was rather boney, and small in comparison with my entree. The taste was only 2 dimensional, with the soy sauce being the most prominent. It's missing that aromatic sesame oil flavor. Their side dishes were plenty and good, but their dessert has weaken to store bought jelly cups.

Of course, I ordered my favorite pig blood/beef brisket hot pot ($8.95). This seems to be the only restaurant that had this combination, as most only carry the traditional pig blood/pork intestine hot pot.

This was just as good as I remembered, there were tons of soft beef briskets. The pork blood was not over cooked, so it still had that springy texture. The sauce mildly hot and packed full of flavor, so it was perfect over rice. If you adventurous, and not afraid of pork blood, I definitely recommend this dish.

Service here was typical, all the waitress move at light speed because of how busy they are. Overall, I would recommend Pearl Castle, as they are very consistent in terms of food, and their prices are fair. Plus, this location is just so convenient for all those who love to shop.

Chez Meme - finally tried it :)

2011-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Chez Meme Baguette Bistro

4016 Hastings Street, Burnaby (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

I have tried at least 2x to visit Chez Meme after M recommended it to me. However this is one huge problem, it's closed every 2nd Saturday, so far luck has not been on my side. Since J and I wanted to plan a brunch together, Chez Meme has once again came up as a contender. This time I called way ahead to ensure that it was open for the Saturday we intended to go.

We arrived around 10:00am, and this place was already packed.
The waitress asked if we would mind the "window bar" seats, we happily accepted since it means we don't have to wait. The restaurant was not very big, it can accommodate about 25-30 people at a time. One look at the diner, you know this is definitely a local's favorite base on how relax and at home they seem to be.

Both R and J ordered coffee ($2.25), I just had water. Since R like coffee with milk, they brought over a cute little jug just for the milk. The same was done for people who prefer cream, such as J's coffee. Also, I think the coffee here is unlimited, as both R and J's coffee was constantly refilled.

R went for their Duck Confit omelet ($10.25). I found the omelet to be a bit bland, it really need some salt or spice to kick it up a notch. On the other hand, I loved those small golden potatoes, they were crispy and lightly salted. Although this was R's dish, but I think I ate more than half of those potatoes. XD

I had a hard time deciding whether to order an breakfast item or a regular item. In the end, I went for with their famous baguette sandwich: Jarret ($10.25). The lamb was really tender and flavorful, but it was also very gamey which I dislike. The garlic jam was very interesting, it was rather sweet and really provided a nice contrast to the gamey lamb.The baguette was really good, it was chewy and crunchy on the outside but not to a point that it would scratch my hard palette. It was soft and buttery on the inside. I upgraded my daily soup to their French Onion Soup. You can taste both the meat and the sweet onion flavors in the soup. It was also rather oily, but totally worth the upgrade ($3?).

J went for the other famous sandwich: Bourguignon ($10.25) . The slow cooked beef was soft and juicy with a strong red wine flavor and a hint of sweet onion. Instead of the upgrade, J went for the daily soup. In contrast to the strong flavored beef, the soup was much lighter and very refreshing with a hint of sweetness.

Would I recommend this small cozy French restaurant, the answer is 'Yes', because not only do they have good food, quality ingredient, but they also had great service, despite the heavily French accented English. Just remember one thing, it's open every other Saturday and closed Sunday. According to my calculation, it should be open this Saturday. :)

Golden Spoon - not worth the drive

2011-06-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt

5 - 7550 King George Blvd, Surrey (inside Superstore)

Food: 2
Price: Fair

Once again it was another online deal that brought me all the way to Newton Surrey to try this new frozen yogurt shop. I think this is actually an American chain frozen yogurt store that has just opened up 2 locations in the Lower Mainland. There is one in Surrey and another in Coquitlam.

One look at the address, I thought it would be a breeze to find it, but I am so wrong. R and I drove in circles for a good 10 minutes, trying to find this place. Finally I had to call a friend for help to get the phone number. It turn out this particular location was located
inside Superstore, no wonder we couldn't find it. Since this place has no tables or chairs, so it's more of a take out place.

Here is the menu, with comparable pricing to other places. Btw, the Fruit Topping are actually fresh fruit, so the typical frozen blueberry or strawberries are counted as regular toppings.

They had quite a few yogurt flavors which you are allowed to sample before purchasing. R went for the coffee yogurt while I chose blueberry yogurt. The yogurt here was rather thick in comparison with places like Qoola, so it melted relatively slow. Because of the thickness, it was more creamy, but lacked the yogurt taste. R's coffee flavor was not good. It had a weird after taste that is neither coffee like or yogurt like. My blueberry yogurt was not bad, it had only a light blueberry flavor. Personally I think only fruit flavors work with frozen yogurt. They had tons of candy/nuts toppings, but only a few fruit ones (because they didn't have any fresh fruit options).

Overall, we weren't fans of the frozen yogurt here, because it had more of a ice cream consistency and the flavor was not very natural. Therefore, there is really no need to drive out here (or to Coquitlam) to try it, if you are not in the area. However if you are more of a ice cream lover, then this place could be perfect for you.

Dasarang - deep fried chicken, but expensive

2011-06-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Dasarang Chicken

4501 North Rd, Burnaby (map)

Food: 2.5
Service: 3
Price: Fair +

I am usually not one to believe in FengShui, but when a corner location keep changing restaurant, it really make me wonder why. A relative new restaurant called Dasarang has opened up in the old location of Bool Chul Pan Korean Hot Grill. This is definitely not the first time this location has changed its restaurant. Throughout the years, there as been at least 4 different ones (2 Chinese, 1 Vietnamese and 1 Korean), while the restaurant (Ddoo Gau Bee) next door has been there since forever. I guess we will have to see how long this one will last.

Because I have actually been to the previous restaurant (Bool Chul Pan), I know that the new owner did some major redecorating. The place looked much nice with beautiful booth, soft lighting and vibrant color walls. I have to say I like the new look and feel.

The first thing we ordered was the fish cake soup ($12.95). Although it was not cheap, but the portion was good for at least 4 people. The soup was really good, it was very flavorful (could be MSG?), but it also had a strong peppery flavor. The fish cakes were soft and also infused with a slight peppery taste.

The next dish was the pork belly with chili sauce ($10.95). Although they say it's spicy, it really wasn't that bad. It had that distinct korean spicy yet sweet flavor. The pork was a bit dry, and really thin. I think if it was of a thicker cut, it would have been better.

The last , we ordered Yangnyeom Chicken ($18.95). This deep fried chicken was tender and mostly boneless. The sauce was spicy with a plumy taste. Although the sauce did not appear to be too spicy at the beginning, but it really get you after a while. At this point, a nice glass of ice cold water will be your best friend. Although the portion was big, but really the price of $18.95 was a bit much. I think at most I would be willing to pay around $15 for this.

What I liked about the restaurant was the nice decor and the fish cake soup. On the other hand, I didn't really like the pork belly and I found the chicken to be over priced. In the end, I am not a huge fan of this place, but I don't dislike it either. Therefore, if you like deep friend chicken (seems like it's their specialty), maybe you can check it out, but just don't expect KFC type prices. :P

Stonegrill - lack of service

2011-05-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Stonegrill @ the Met

259 - 4820 Kingsway, Burnaby

Food: 2.5
Service: 1
Price: Fair

I haven't been to Metrotown for ages, so I was totally unaware of any new opening. Apparently a new Stonegrill location has sprung up right next to the new Disney store (what, there is a new Disney store??). Anyways, since K and I had some major catching up to do, we decided to check out this new restaurant, and get some shopping done after :).

Stonegrill is located on the first floor right underneath the food court. Their doorway was so narrow, I nearly missed it. The restaurant was actually quite nice, as it was spacious and very bright due to the huge floor to ceiling windows. The decor was contemporary and upscale. Overall, the restaurant definitely looked nice, but the same can't be said for their service.

We were brought to our table promptly, but they never bother to come back and take our order. After about 15 min or so, another couple (dressed nicely) showed up, and the waitress immediately brought over water and was ready to take their order, all the while leaving us waiting without water. At this point, I had to flag down a manager to get our waitress.Oh did I mention, she and other waitresses actually made eye contact with me during this time, and still managed to ignore us.

Initially I was planning to stick with water, until I noticed that they served bubble tea. Purely out of curiosity considering this is a more upscale restaurant, I decided to order the taro milk tea ($2.75). The price certainly was cheap for such a nice restaurant, but the taste matched the price. It was not very creamy with artificial flavor, and there were barely any sweetness at all.

We waited 15 min for the waitress to take our order, and then waited another 20 min before our food actually arrived. If I wasn't there just for the pure purpose of catching up with K, thus did not mind the lack of service, I would have walked out.

This stone grill had a whole full menu on top of the 'stone grilled' items, so for my main, I went with the lobster panini with yam fries. For only $11, I was definitely not expecting real lobster, the "lobster" patty was actually good, as it does have a slight lobster taste. The bread was very interesting, as was very flat, but still airy and soft. The yam fries were sweet and crispy and came with a side of chipolte aoili for a spicy kick.

K went with the seafood pasta ($18). Remember I said we waited 20 min for our food, so when this came luke warm, I was not surprised. Although the al dente pasta was smothered in a nice light olive oil/white wine sauce, but it was just not as good as it should have been, if it was served hot. In fact, the mussel was actually cold. :(

Overall, the food was average, but I am really disappointed with the service. I am not saying our waitress was not friendly, but just time management was a major issue here. Also I am not saying that they judged us base on appearance, but it certainly appeared that way with the whole dressed up couple who got service first. As convenient as this location may be, I don't think I will come back anytime soon.

La Petite France - solid dessert, lovely shop

2011-05-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

La Petite France

2655 Arbutus St, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Although all these deal coupons are suppose to save me money, but I think I actually end up spending more than I normally would. Once again I fell for one of these, and this time it was the LivingSocial deal for $6 you get $12 worth of food at La Petite France. This was another dessert restaurant that I been wanting to try. I even went by once only to discover that it closes early (around 6-7pm).

This time around, I decided to go in the early morning. R and I got there around 11:30ish, and the place was packed.I think a lot of people were there for brunch, as they do have a actual food menu. Their crepe looked amazing, as well as some of the breakfast sandwiches. Since we had somewhere to go for lunch, thus we just decided to stick with desserts.

For the drink, R got the double shot Americano, and I went for the hot chocolate. I am not sure, but I think they used Illy coffee beans. R certainly enjoyed it. Sorry, I can't remember exactly the cost, but the prices are at par with other places. When the waitress brought over my hot chocolate, she specifically pointed out where the sugar stand was. Although she was talking to me, but I automatically assumed she was talking about R's Americano. It turn out, she was indeeded talking to me, because this hot chocolate was non-sweeten. It was made with pure cocoa powder, so I had to stir for quite awhile before it got all dissolved. Although the drink was really strong, but I wished they used milk instead of water for a creamier taste.

They had quite a few desserts in the display case. After the server went through what each one was (she was really patient), I decided on Sacher ($5.50) and orange and white chocolate creme bruless ($2.75).

Sacher was described to me as a chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache and raspberry filling. Although the raspberry layer was rather tart, but it was balanced out nicely by the sweet and rich chocolate ganache. Overall it was a tasty dessert.

For the creme brulee, I loved the addition of the orange flavor for the caramelized sugar top. As for the white chocolate, I really couldn't detect it. Although the custard was creamy and used real vanilla, both R and I thought there was a lack of eggy flavor.

We loved the floor to ceiling windows that provided ample natural lights and the simple yet elegant decor. The service was personal and friendly. The food was solid, or more precisely the desserts were. Although judging from the amount of people who ordered from their regular menu, I would say it certainly looks good. Overall, I definitely recommend this place to any dessert lovers, just make sure you go early enough.

PS: I know I writing about these deals after they already passed, and thus you won't be able to take advantage of them. Would you prefer for me to post food deals that I think are worthwhile (meaning that I probably purchased it) while they are still valid?

New Age Chinese - convenient location for good Chinese food

2011-05-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

New Age Chinese Cuisine

5411 Kingsway, Burnaby (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

We needed a Chinese restaurant around Metrotown area, and a search on Urbanspoon didn't really yield too many options, as many didn't have favorable rating. However one restaurant did caught my eyes and I seem to recall hearing good things about it, so off we went to New Age Chinese Restaurant.

The restaurant was not hard to find, because all you need to look for is Best Western Hotel, as it is located directly next to the hotel.
I think this was the hotel restaurant prior to being acquired by New Age. The place looked more modern than traditional Chinese restaurant. The staff member here are also on the younger side as well, I guess this also may be the reason why service was not bad.

The first dish we had was the braised beef brisket hot pot ($10.75). This was also my favorite dish of the night. The beef brisket was just right, that it's soft enough, yet not mushy. The bottom of the dish was layer with lettuce which is really typical for Chinese restaurants.

Since I love eggplant, I chose to go with eggplant with shredded pork and basil leaf ($10.25). This dish was quite oily, but at least it was also very flavorful. Although they used basil leaf, but I didn't really detected in the sauce. I think maybe they didn't cooked it long enough or maybe they added it late during the cooking process.

Although the fish in spicy sauce ($13.95) was not authentic, but it was till rather good. The fish slice were of nice size and quite tender. The sauce lacked depth, as it was purely just dried chili pepper with oil. It did not consist of any Sichuan peppercorn. The bottom of the dish was layered with lots of vermicelli and big bean sprout.

The diced chicken in plum sauce ($10.50) was really delicious. It was tender and full of flavor. Each piece chicken and onion is coated nicely by the slightly sweet plum sauce. This kind of dish is perfect over rice.

Although this restaurant does not serve any specific Chinese food, but it does provide a good mix of their own version of traditional dishes. The food here was tasty, and the service was not bad. Given the easily accessible location, I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who is in the area.

Bo Laksa King - definitely king of Laksa

2011-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Bo Laksa King's Bubbles and Bits

2546 E Hastings St, Vancouver

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Cheap

Bo Laksa King has been on my list for awhile now. A couple of month ago, I actually made my way to their original location by Joyce station only to discovered that they have moved to a new location on Hasting street. Although the old location at the time still had a few stuff they were offering, but they didn't have their most famous Laksa, so R and I just decided to wait and try the new restaurant.
Since I was attending a seminar in the area, I finally made my way over there.
The new restaurant looked a lot like a bubble tea shop, except it had a full menu. The restaurant was not big, it only had a few tables that can maybe accommodate up to 20 people at one time.
The food seemed like it took forever to come, but maybe it's because I was in a hurry, since we only had 1 hour for lunch. First up was the small Roti Canai ($3.99/small). The roti itself was flaky but it lacked that buttery taste. The curry dip was really disappointing to me. It was quite watery and missing the rich curry flavor.
Next up was my Thai Chicken Basil Fried Rice ($7.50). I loved this fried rice, as it really did bring back memories from back in the days when I use to live in Thailand. The rice was moist and flavorful. The chicken was tender and delicious. The basil really added that authentic taste. Also, did I mention this portion was huge, I only manage to finish about 1/2 of this. In a nutshell, I give this 2 thumbs up for taste and value.R went for their famous Laksa ($7.50), after all this is why we decided to try it in the first place. The broth was rich and creamy with a heavy coconut accent. The curry and dry shrimp paste was mild in comparison. Although milder than some other, it was still a very flavorful dish with a nice spicy kick to it. They also didn't skimped out on the toppings, as it was loaded with fish balls and tofu puffs. Overall, this was a solid dish.

As I already mentioned, the restaurant was rather small, so I am guessing there were maybe around 1 or 2 chefs at the back. Our orders took almost 20 minutes, but I guess the table of 6 that came in before us probably had something to do with it. Either way, the food here was definitely commendable, but just make sure you don't have somewhere else to go if they are busy, cause it could take awhile.

Ming & Sing - food court style Chinese food

2011-05-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ming & Sing

#106 - 18640 Fraser Highway, Surrey

Food: 3
Price: Expensive

Ever since Stanley Cup playoffs began, cooking is just too time consuming. So that only left me with 2 choices, I either dine out at a restaurant with TV or buy take out. This is how I ended up at this Chinese take out restaurant. Although I consider this type of food bad Chinese food, but there is something "special" about it, because I always seem to crave it once in awhile. XD

Awhile back when we were visiting Memphis Blues in Cloverdale, we noticed a Chinese Fast Food joint called Ming & Sing. From far away, it looked like 'Ming Sing', which led me to think it it was opened by some celebrity, because Ming Sing in Chinese literally translate to celebrity lol. Anyways, the restaurant actually looked quite nice from the outside, and really clean in the inside. Despite that it's mostly for take out, there are tables and chairs provided for in house dining.

Food was quite typical, with Chicken as the main meat source for most dishes. There were maybe 3 or 4 dishes that were beef and pork. Prices were on the high side, because 3 items will set you back nearly $10. I guess because of the location, there really isn't any competition to bring the price down.
R and I decided to share 3 items, as we were planning to grab bubble tea later. Their portion was actually not bad, but then again it wasn't cheap. We ordered the sesame chicken, this was rather bland, because there were barely any sauce at all. Also deep fried chicken was not crispy. The 2nd item we had was the Sichuan chicken. This was much better, as the chicken was tender, flavorful and only mildly spicy. For our main, we got a combination of fried rice and noodle. Surprisingly both were not bad. The rice was not oily, but flavorful. The al dente noodles and crispy vegetables really made this stir fried noodle stood out.
Lastly, we got the Sweet & Sour Pork. Instead of just piling it on our rice, they actually provided a separate take out box for it. The pork was pre-marinated, so you can actually eat it without the sauce. In fact, I preferred it that way, because it was super tender and delicious. Also, it wasn't heavily battered either. On the other side, the sauce was rather generic.

So the question is "Did this satisfy my craving for bad Chinese food?", and the answer is "Yes". The food was actually not bad, but just the price. For $10, I could have had much better Chinese food in Richmond, then again this is in Surrey, borderline Langley. Overall, I would recommend this place if you are in the area and craving this type of food, but just be prepare to pay more. :P

900 West Lounge - another Fairmont afternoon tea

2011-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

900 West Lounge @ Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

900 W Georgia St, Vancouver

Food: 2.5
Service: 3
Price: Expensive

As I have said many times, taste is totally subjective. Although taste maybe a huge factor on how I grade my food adventures, but I think past experiences and expectations also plays a big part. I guess this would be the case with this particular afternoon tea at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, because I expected to be at par with other Fairmont afternoon teas.

Once again it was another online deal (Dealfind) that lead me here. Just like the last one from Fairmont Pacific Rim, this was also a 2 for 1 deal ($36/2 ppl). I know this has nothing to do with food, but this deal actually sold more than 10,000+ vouchers, comparing to the 2000+ vouchers from the previous deal. I am not sure if it was intentional or someone just dropped the ball and never capped the deal. On top of that, this deal is NOT valid on Sundays. So that means it's only valid one day on the weekend. I am not sure about you, but I for one works during the week days, as I would assume most people do. So if you bought this deal, you better reserve soon, because I hear the wait time is about 2 month now. Anyways enough with my ranting and let's move on to the food.

I have just been to the afternoon tea at the Fairmont Pacific Rim a couple of month ago, so the memories are still fresh in my mind. Therefore it's only natural that I drew comparison between the 2. First, I loved the tea cups here, it was more traditional. Second, I love how they didn't only provided the sugar and cream, they also provided a small jar of honey as well. For my tea, I went with the ice wine tea(a delicious fresh and piquant white grape flavor with hints of exotic fruit that pleasantly lingers on the tongue). The tea had a fragrant grape aroma with a slight grape taste. It was really refreshing and tasted even better with honey. I highly recommend this tea.

Although my tea was delicious, but I would have preferred to see and smell it first like the Tea Box presentation seen at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Since these tea pots are actually made of metal including the handles, they are really hot to the touch. Remember my little rant above, well because they had too many people that day (not surprised), they can only offer us napkin as handle cover instead of the real ones. These fell off really easily, and I did get slightly burnt once.
The food came after about 15 minutes after the tea. I loved the traditional two-tiered serving tray. Usually there are 4 desserts, but here they only had 3 plus the scones. There were 4 savory sandwiches, which is comparable with other places, but Fairmont pacific rim had 6 savory treats (2 sandwiches and 4 'sushi').

Here is what we thought of the sweets:

Scones: Best ever hands done. These scones were buttery, warm and soft. Despite being so buttery, it wasn't oily at all. To push it over the top, added the delicious jam and devonshire cream, and I am in heaven :)
Lemon tart: Although the shortbread like crust was good, but the lemon custard was too sour for me.
Eclair: This was quite sweet, due to the milk chocolate cream filling.
Special cheesecake: I love cheesecake, but this was the biggest disappointment. It was way too sweet, and didn't really have any cream cheese taste to it. Also the white chocolate shaving outside was a bit overkill since it was already so sweet.

Overall, I think the scones are too die for, but the rest was a bust.
For the sandwiches, here are our thoughts

Smoked salmon on dark rye: The smoked salmon was good, nothing really stood out, but nor was it bad
Croissant with ham & brie: The croissant was buttery and flaky and the brie just enhanced the flavor of the sandwich. They also spread some mustard in this which I was not a fan of (personal preference).
Cucumber & watercress: I didn't like this, as it was rather bland. Also, I found the bread to be stale.
Curry chicken on baguette: Although the curry chicken was good, but the bread was soggy. Maybe because we ate this near the end.

All in all, both R and I found the savory treats to be on the weak side, and we both much prefer the ones we had at Fairmont Pacific Rim.

The tables and chairs here all looked like miss matched antiques, but it works. This place certainly did have that British flare. However the only problem I had was with the lighting. It was rather dark because there weren't any natural lights at all. Service was not bad, some were more friendly than others. Our waiter never bothered to explain what each piece was like some others were doing.

Overall, R and I did enjoy the experience, as our high back sofa chairs was rather comfortable. However, since this was a food experience, so I will have to say this didn't really live up to my expectation. As I have said, taste is subjective, so please do try it for yourself if you really enjoy afternoon teas, because your experience could be the total opposite of mine. ;P

Toe Dam - must get the BBQ eel

2011-05-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Toe Dam Korean Fusion BBQ

#250-329 North Rd, Coquitlam (map)

Food: 3
Service: 3
Price: Fair+

If you want Korean food, Coquitlam is THE place to be. With so many choices, sometime it's hard to make a decision on where to dine. Anyways, after a few games of pool, a bunch us of didn't really know where to go, but I did know I wanted Kam Ja Tang (aka Korean Pork Bone Soup).
Since we had no idea where to go, we just headed to the open square mall by H-Mart. It turned out the first restaurant we walked in had the Kam Ja Tang, and that's how we ended up at Toe Dam restaurant. The restaurant had no open area, it's all individual booth/room. I actually like this layout, because it gives diner more privacy. Despite the individual booth, we had no problem getting a hold of the waitress, because like all Korean restaurant, this one also had the bell system.
The side dishes were pretty standard, but they didn't carry my favorite potatoes which was disappointing. Refill of side dishes are still free here.We ordered 2 set of the pork belly (minimum requirement) for $14.95/set, and it came with all the fixings (lettuce, garlic, jalapeno and sauce). The pork belly was of a nice cut and quite thick. It was fresh and and perfect bite size. Of course we had some 'professional' BBQ chef, so these turn out nice and juicy. On a side note, you can always ask for more lettuce, but if they are busy, it may take awhile.
The pork belly came with a side of miso soup, so the menu claim, but this was more of a kimchi tofu soup. The soup was actually quite sour due to the kimchi. Let's just say I was not a fan.
We ordered a side of BBQ eel ($14.95), These were so delicious. The sauce tasted like a combination of BBQ and teriyaki sauce with a touch of sauteed onion. It was prefect over the nicely grilled yet still super tender BBQ eel. I highly recommend this dish.
Lastly, we ordered a medium Kam Ja Tang for $28.95 (large is $39.95). The soup was rather disappointing, because it lacked flavorful. Typical Kam Ja Tang is usually cooked with Perilla seed to intensify the flavorful, but here it is mostly a kimchi based soup. Although the meat was fall of the bone soft and good, but the potato was undercooked. I think they should have stewed it more before bring it out to us.

Overall, the meal was good. The service was average and the the price was acceptable. Since they claim to be more of a BBQ restaurant (it's in their name), then I think I would recommend, because their BBQ was indeed very good (including the eel). So if you are ever looking for some good Korean BBQ, give this place a try.

The Red Wagon - great brunch

2011-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Red Wagon

2296 East Hastings Street, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Even since I joined this food blogosphere, I have met some great people. Because of our love for food, we often gather together to try new restaurant. So when TS of EatingClubVancouver suggested we should do another gathering, I was more than happy. The question is where should we go? There was no better person to ask for recommendation than Sherman, since he had probably eaten at half the restaurants in Vancouver. In the end, we went with Red Wagon because we wanted to do brunch.

The Red Wagon was easy enough to find with its big white block letters on a red background. The restaurant doesn't really stand out in anyway, but there was a line up when we got there at 11:30am, which was a good sign. We were told the wait would be 20 minutes. While we were waiting, I though the decor and setting looked more like pho restaurant. Does anyone know what use to be here?

R ordered the Pull Pork Benny ($10). This was great, the soft poached egg was at the perfect consistency, and the hollandaise sauce was buttery and smooth. The pull pork meat was tender and flavorful. The home fries were average, they could be crispier.

I got the crisp pork belly($10.95) that came with 2 eggs any style, grill tomato, home fries and toast. Even before I dug into the pork belly, I thought it looked dry, and I was right, it was more like smoked meat. Although the skin was crispy, but the rest was just too tough to chew. Also this was suppose to be pork belly, but where is the fatty part. On top of it, it was rather salty. Despite the mishap with the pork belly, I still loved the egg. It was at the perfect consistency for easy over. The whole wheat toasts were great and came already buttered, they also give me a side of jam for them.

JS ordered The Reuben ($9.50): a homemade corn beef on rye bread with a side of chips . I didn't get to try this, but I didn't hear any complaints against it either. Remember at the beginning how I speculated that this could have been a pho restaurant, well the plate just proves it even more. :DLastly was TS's Pull Pork Pancakes with Jack Daniel Syrup ($12). Once again I didn't try this, but I am pretty sure this was not disappointing, consider the amount of people who ordered this. In fact, the people who occupied this table before us all ordered this, talk about lack of varieties, but I guess that shows how good it is.

The food here was solid, and the service was great. Prices are definitely in the acceptable range for the portion and quality. However there isn't any ambiance per se (unlike Cafe Medina), but it does have that typical neighborhood diner feel. Anyways, they don't take reservation, so make sure you go early.

Jimoco - pasta with a Korean twist

2011-04-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta

1046 Austin Ave, Coquitlam (map)

Food: 3
Service: 3.5
Price: Cheap

A friend recommend Jimoco awhile back, but since I no longer live in the Tri-city area, I just never found the time to visit. A couple weeks ago, P had a birthday party which was initially suppose to be at Raku Raku, but since they didn't have room to accommodate our party, so we changed it to Jimoco at the last minute. This suited me fine, since I been meaning to check it out ever since Sherman blogged about it.The restaurant was not eye catching by all means. In fact, it looked quite small from the outside. Although we were there on a Wednesday, the place was quite busy which was definitely a good sign. First we got the garlic bread, and it was alright. Although toasted, but a bit uneven, with some parts being crunchy while others are soggy (from the garlic butter).All their pasta ranged from $13-15, so the prices are a bit high. However they seem to have a never ending "Grand Opening Special of 2 for 1", so in reality all the pasta were about $7-8. I had Fusilli alle Salsiccie. Although I liked the al dente pasta, but the rose sauce was disappointing. Typically this sauce would be a nice blend of tomato and cream, but here it was mostly tomato sauce. Also, they don't offer any cheese or pepper like typical pasta restaurants.R ordered the Piccata Parma with pork tenderloin in a masala cream sauce with porcini mushroom. The pasta was rather bland and the meat was just alright, not tender enough. The masala cream sauce was also on the lighter side. The biggest problem I had with this was the timing, you see each plate of pasta came out at different times, so by the time the birthday girl's pasta arrived, this was pretty much cold. Also, because it was served on a flat plate, the heat dissipated really fast.
A ordered the Linguine al frutti de mare with white wine sauce. I did like this sauce, as you can taste the slight white wine infused in the garlic olive oil sauce. It wasn't really salty, but I preferred it this way, because you can really taste the fresh seafood flavor.
You know the expression save the best for last, well in this case it's true. K had the seafood linguine in a spicy tomato broth (aka Linguine Soul), and it was absolutely delicious. First off, what's with the portion, it seems twice the amount comparing with everything else. Also because it's more of a broth than sauce, thus the whole dish stay hot through out the meal. The sauce was nice combination of Korean hot sauce and tomato sauce. The didn't skimp out on the seafood either, there were quite a few pieces of prawns, scallops, clams, and mussels. So if there is one dish I recommend trying, this is it.

The one thing I learned while dining here was that the restaurant owners are Korean and as well as the cooks. This was really not surprising, consider the sauces here are more like fusion than traditional. Anyways, the food here was okay and the portion only moderate, but for the price you pay, I'd say this is a good deal.

Triple Coconut Tree - cheap and decent

2011-04-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Triple Coconut Tree Restaurant

4124 Hastings Street, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3
Service: 2.5
Price: Cheap

I guess the word is out: "I love food" :), so many people has been recommending place to me to try. A friend of mine keep telling me how good Chez Meme is, so I decided to go check it out. It was just not my lucky day, because they close every 2nd Saturday and on all Sunday. So if anyone is wondering, they should open this Saturday. Anyways, since I really didn't want to travel any further, R and I just sought out the closest restaurant that peaked our interest.

Since both R and I are avid lover for pho, so we decided to check out Triple Coconut Tree restaurant which was about a block away. The restaurant was quite large in comparison with other ones.
As always, R got an Vietnamese coffee. This was pretty standard with the drip coffee and the condense milk. The price of $2.50 was also on par with other places.
Here they are certainly not stingy with the basil. These were fresh and lots of it. The sprout in comparison seems less than other places, or maybe it's just the amount of basil that made it look less.
I went for No. 28, small pho with beef tendon, brisket and rare slices ($5.49). The first thing I noticed was the color of the beef, it seemed really light with resulted in a less meaty taste. The tendon was very soft and quite good. For the price I paid, they certainly did not skimp out on the meat. The soup was on the lighter side with out any oil bubbles. So if you like heavier soup, this is definitely not for you.
R ordered the lemon grass pork with pho ($5.99). Just like my beef pho, they were quite generous with the meat. The lemon grass pork chops were tender, yet flavorful. Although the soup slightly more oily comparing to mine, but it taste much better more flavorful with a hint of fish sauce taste.
We didn't really intend to order anything else other than the pho, but they had these wings on special for $4.95. The wings were was crispy and juicy without being oily. The flavor was mostly just salt and pepper, nothing really stood out. Actually these reminded me of the ones we had at Cattle Cafe, but with less flavor.

The pho here was certainly not bad, especially given the price. The portion was also quite generous. Service was quite typical, and not really worth mentioning. Overall, if you are in the area, and looking for a decent place, give it a try. If not, then there is no need to drive all the way out there for it.

Cute Pearl Tea House - Tasting event for Honey Toast Box

2011-04-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

Cute Pearl Tea House

2130 W 40th Ave, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Price: Cheap

Over a week ago, Elaine of O My Sweet Tooth extended an invite for an tasting event at Cute Pearl Tea House. This particular event was mainly focused on a new item they would like to launch, and for sure there was NO WAY I was going to miss it. Why? Because this was for none other than my favorite: Honey Toast Box. If you've been following this blog, you will know that I am 'obsessed' with Honey Toast Box. Not only did I went out looking for places that served this, but I also created my own DIY version. On top of that, I always like to meet new people, so I gladly accepted this invite and off we went.
A total of 3 bloggers attended: Elaine of O My Sweet Tooth, Buddha Boy and Buddha Girl of Food for Buddha, and of course myself and R. First of, I would just like to say we had a fantastic time chatting and it was a pleasure meeting you all. Anyways, back to the food, or in this case drinks. I ordered the fruit green tea, which tasted like a tropical fruit juice with a hint of green tea. This was not overly sweet like some others I've tried. R ordered the Oolong milk tea, which I loved, because it was creamy and had stronger tea flavor comparing to mine, but R thought it was too sweet. Elaine had the passion fruit tea and Buddha girl had the lemon aloe juice with crystal pearl. The prices here are on par with places like Bubble World, with drinks starting at only $3.25, and going up to $4.50 for specialty items. I would consider this cheap, since the other day I paid around $5 for a Jasmine milk tea without pearls at Tri-ty cafe.
The 1st appetizer we got was the Taiwanese Deep Fried Chicken ($5.50). They brought us the authentic kind with fried basil leaf. Apparently you can also order it without the basil leaf. Although flavor here is milder comparing with other bubble tea joints, but both R and I thought it had just the right amount of season, also the chicken was rather tender and juicy.
We also got an assorted platter of marinated items including chicken wings, bean curd, pig ear and egg. The bean curd was rather salty, but the rest was not bad, especially the crunchy pig ears. The marinating sauce was generally on the sweeter side of things, but I would have preferred a more balanced flavor.Buddha Boy & Girl ordered the Stir Fried Pork Assorted with Rice ($8). The name is really ambiguous if you don't read Chinese, because this was more like a hot pot stewed with pork blood and intestine. The sauce was really rich in flavors and was only slightly spicy (keep in mind, I can take spicy food). The pork blood was fully cooked, so it's not as 'bouncy' as I've would have prefer and since I am not a fan of intestine, I will not comment base on my biased opinion. :PActually this is not my first time visiting Cute Pear Tea House, I've been here numerous time when I was studying at UBC. My favorite has always been their deep fried Chicken Leg meal ($6.75). I can't believe their price is still so low, it's even cheaper than Bubble World. Anyways I am not sure if it's because I had glorified memories of this dish, but it didn't really live up to my expectations. Although the chicken was crispy, but it wasn't as juicy as I've liked. Also the coating was rather thick. Despite the mishap with the chicken, the flavor was still as good as I remembered: salty/peppery with a hint paprika like spice.
R ordered the Pork Knuckle with Rice. Although they say it's pork knuckle, but it was more like boneless pork hock. The skin was soft yet still retained that chewiness. The meat was very flavorful and soft. The sauce was a nice combination of savory and sweet flavors, and it goes great with rice. For only $7.25, I highly recommend this, as they were definitely not stingy with the pieces.
After a very fulfilling meal, the 'stars' finally arrived. The first toast box we received was the Apple Crumble Honey Toast Box. All the toppings you see were made in house. I particularly enjoyed the apple sauce, because its tartness really balanced out the rather sweet toast sticks and ice cream combination. As much I loved the toast sticks inside, but I was not a fan of the box itself. The box was only lightly toasted with nothing brushed on. Therefore the box was only slightly crunchy, and had no flavor. Because it wasn't toasted long enough, the box became soggy easily.
The Chocolate Brownie/Banana Honey Toast Box came next. Because this dessert was already topped off with banana, ice cream and chocolate syrup, thus the addition of the chocolate brownie was a bit much, because it turned into some serious sugar overload.
Here is what the inside looks like. These toasted bread sticks was delicious. They were sweet, buttery and crunchy on the outsides, and still soft on the inside. Now, if the whole box was toasted to this consistency and actually tasted like this, I think I would definitely finish the whole dessert box without a question.
The last toast box was the Strawberry Honey Toast Box with pudding. You see they actually had another pudding flavor, but we really couldn't eat that much food. They have combined the pudding and strawberry together in one toast box per Elaine's request. Just in case you don't see it, that light yellow custard resting underneath the ice cream is the pudding. If I had to pick a personal favorite, this would be it. I loved the fragrant, yet tart strawberry sauce on ice cream with the sweet bread sticks. I just wish there were more of the sauce. On the other hand, the pudding really didn't add anything, because it's texture and taste just was too different and did not mix well in general.

Anyways here is a short summary on what R and I like and disliked about these Honey Toast Box. We did give them these feedback right away, so the version they launch should be even better than the ones we tried. On the side note, they mentioned the price range would be around $7-8, which I think is quite reasonable consider the amount of work required.

Good	Bad
Perfectly toasted bread sticks that are crunchy, yet soft in the middle	Plate is too small to fit when box is cut open
Great balance of butter & honey flavor on the bread sticks	The butter cream surrounding the rim does not add flavor, only sugar
Home made fruit sauces add balance to the sugary dessert	The toast box was not toasted with honey/butter and was not crunchy enough
Beautiful presentation with home made cookies	The sprinkled sugar on the bread after baking (way too much sugar)

As I already mentioned, this was a tasting event offered by Cute Pearl Tea House, so all the food we had was free of charge. However, there weren't any obligation or request from them, so I am writing purely base on my experience and taste preference. Since I've actually visited the restaurant prior to this event, I have to say they do have good food here at a very reasonable price. If it weren't so far away from me now, I would revisit often. :)

Hunghwa Teppanyaki - expensive, but so WORTH it!

2011-04-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Hunghwa Teppanyaki Steak House

Shifu Road 45, Sinyi District Taipei (insdie Taipei 101 on 4th Floor)

Food: 4.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Expensive

Not only does Taiwan has tons of delicious street food (see proof here), but they also have many great restaurants. Since R is a big fan of Teppanyaki, we decided to check out at least one. Just like specialty tonkatsu shop, there are many choices with different price range, some are only $14-$20 for a meal, while others can cost up to $80-$100. The one we decided to check out was located in Taipei 101. If you ever been there you know this was not going to be cheap, as it was a nice restaurant in a high end mall.The restaurant was quite upscale with nice decor and good ambiance. Each grill was house in an individual dining room which can accommodate 6 people or more. I guess this will ensures that each chef will not be overwhelm by the amount of order they have to take. We ordered the set meal costing $1680($56)/person with additional 10% service fee. Although the price was certainly expensive at first glance, but take a look what was include, you will see this was definitely a worthy meal.
Since there were 3 of us, so we each chose a different soup. The first was the mushroom/seafood soup, which had almost oil free, yet it has very flavorful. R soup was the spinach soup, which to me looked a bit scary since it's so green. However the soup did not have the 'grassy taste' due to the grind up spinach, but I didn't particular love it either. Lastly, I had the French Onion soup which was thicker in comparison. The soup base was rather meaty, I would have wished for a lighter taste. All soup came with a slice of garlic bread, and it was pretty standard.
Next up is the cold plate appetizer: smoked salmon with crab salad/caviar, and salmon roe. The crab salad was super fresh and just the right amount of mayo, so that it doesn't over power the seafood flavor. The smoke salmon was also very good and not mushy at all. The salmon roe was very fresh.
If you are very observant, then you must have noticed those green globes that looked like tiny grapes. These are widely known as green caviar or sea grapes (aka vegetarian caviar). I was definitely fascinated as this was my first time trying them. These tiny sea grapes were succulent and tasted like kelp, but lighter.The 3rd course was a refreshing salad with a citrus dressing. Although there were a few pieces of lettuce present, but it was mostly a fruit salad. Just like the seafood appetizer, all the fruits was fresh and delicious. The sweet yet slightly tart dressing really complimented the fruits and opened up ones appetite.
As we were consuming our salad, the chef walked in with the 'real food' and started to prep our hot appetizers and entree. One thing I noticed in Taiwan was that anyone who directly handled the food were all wearing face masks, this was also seem at Ding Tai Fung in Taipei. However the same was not required in Bellevue's branch. :P
The first hot appetizer was the lightly season grilled prawn. The meat was cooked to perfection, so it has that snap to it when biting in. Although there was a side of honey mustard sauce, but I think the prawn should be enjoyed as is to taste its freshness.
Next up was grill fish fillet. I am not too sure what kind of fish was used, but it could either be cod or halibut. Anyways, this was also grilled to perfection, as the outside was slightly crusted, yet the inside was still succulent and soft. The fish is only season with some salt and pepper, but they did not forget the people who needs a little more flavor, as there was a side of fresh salsa.
At this point I was already feeling full, but the 5 courses above are only appetizers. Finally the main course came. For mine set meal, I went for the sirloin steak grilled medium rare. One look at that meat, you know it's done perfectly, as each piece was tender and juicy. They even sliced the steak into small pieces, so no additional work is required. :)
R's entree was the grille lamp chops. This was also done very well, the meat was tender yet chewy (in a good way). Lamb could easily turn out to be gamey if not cooked properly, but here that was definitely not a problem. They certainly do pay attention to details here (just like my pre-cut steak), they wrapped the end of each lamb chops, so that you hand won't get dirty if you decide to pick it up.
The last entree was the chicken breast. At first when I saw it on the menu, it sounded least interesting out of the 3, but once it was served, I know I couldn't be more wrong. The chicken meat was juicy and soft, and the skin was nice and crispy without any fat. They also served with a side of sauteed bacon, chili pepper and green onion. This was the a great addition, as the chicken was not as flavorful as the lamb or beef.

So if you think that's it, there is more. I missed a picture of the last dish, which was a plate of teppan bean sprout/mushroom. I guess they just wanted to add this to clean your palate and add some veggie after all that meat.
There was no question that I was stuffed from the meal above, but there was still dessert. Outside Hunghwa, there was adjoining coffee lounge, and that was where they took us to serve the dessert. I guess this way you won't have to smell other's food or inhale any smoke while eating your dessert. Plus the ambiance was much better suited for tea/dessert. If I had to pick the most disappointing dish of this whole meal, I guess I will have to go with this. It was just your average coffee cake with icing.

I know this meal was not cheap, but we had a grand total of 8 dishes, and that average of $7 dollars per dish. Given the fresh ingredients and the excellent execution, I'd say this was a very worthy meal. So if you like food that are fresh food cooked with minimal spice/sauce then Hunghwa Teppanyaki definitely definitely can not be missed.

Acme Cafe - worth a visit

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Acme Cafe

51 W Hastings St, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Acme Cafe has been on my "To-Try" list for way too long. So I finally decided to head that way, even though it wasn't really convenient. At first I thought it was close to Waterfront station, but then it turned out to be about 2 blocks away from Stadium station instead. :(
Acme cafe is located on Hasting street, and it is literally the last shop before the typically Chinatown scene hits. The shop itself was quite spacious and bright, and it had an upscale diner feel to it (especially with the diner bar type setting).
Since R love eggs, he went for the daily quiche with soup and salad for $9.50. The soup of the day was tomato and endive soup. It was really hearty and chunky. Although I am not a fan of tomato soup, this one was not bad. The flavor was smooth without being too acidic, and the vegetables tasted fresh. Neither R nor I was a fan of the salad, it was rather bitter. However this was all made up for by this lovely smoke salmon/pea quiche. To quote R: "this is the best quiche I've ever tried." The quiche had a special crust on top, thus it added a whole new texture when biting into the flavorful salmon/egg filling. The richness not only came from the almost undercooked eggs, but also from the Swiss cheese they mixed in. Initially R thought the price was a bit high, but now he believes it's totally justified.
For myself, I ordered the High-falutin's Grill Cheese sandwich with almond broccoli coleslaw and chips ($11). The sandwich was made with cheddar, swiss, brie, cranberry-Grand Marnier relish. I loved this mixture of cheese, and the sweet yet slightly tart cranberry relish. However I wasn't too fond of the Ciabatta bun, because they really pressed down when grilling it, thus the bread was extremely hard and crunchy. I would have preferred a more crispy yet slight soft type grilled bread. Also because of the multiple cheeses they used, this sandwich was a bit greasy to the touch. On the other hand the almond coleslaw really stood out, because they used almond slivers instead of slice, so it really enhanced the flavor and texture of the coleslaw.
Although we were full from our entrees, but I just couldn't pass up on dessert. It seems their dessert changes from day to day, so you will just have to ask when ordering. For our dessert, we went for the Apple Crumble (~$4.75). They used chunky apples for the filling, thus it wasn't mushy at all, in fact I though it was a bit too hard. The apple was rather tart, but it was balanced out nicely by the sweet 'crumble' on top. The side scoop of vanilla ice-cream was $0.75 extra, but I think it fail to serve it's purpose, because the apple crisp was served cold. Vanilla ice cream is only good with warm desserts (IMO).

In general, I love this rather new cafe, it just give off a different feel from other typical sandwich shops. Prices here are not exactly cheap, consider I just paid $11 for a sandwich. However I would still recommended it, because I love the relax feel, the good service and most of all the good food.

Paliotti's - a hidden gem in Abbotsford

2011-04-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Paliotti's Italian Restaurant

33886 Essendene Ave, Abbotsford (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3
Price: Fair

If I wanted to eat out at a new restaurant everyday for a year, I don't think it would be a problem. That is how many restaurants there are in Greater Vancouver, and also one of the reason why I love this place. So the question is why did I go all the way out to Abbotsford for Italian food. You see the restaurant I wanted to visit was Ah Beetz, a New York style pizzeria that a lot of bloggers were raving about, but unfortunately it did not open for lunch, so we had to to settle for something else.
I am so glad we decided check out Paliotti, because it's certainly a hidden gem to me. The restaurant was quite spacious with very nice vineyard like decor. It really did have a Italian feel to it. First up is the complimentary bread. These were slightly toasted with garlic butter, so they were soft and buttery with a mildly crunchy crust. Since I am not a fan of vinegar type dips, I ate the bread as is. R on the other hand thought the olive oil/vinegar dip was great.
Originally both R and I only intended to get pasta, until we noticed a section called Pizzetta right under appetizer. The first item was called Brushetta and it was only $4.95. With that price in mind, both R and I thought it would an appetizer portion, but we were so wrong. The crust was similar to flat bread, the outside was crispy, but the inside was airy and soft. I loved the garlic/extra virgin olive oil base with fresh tomatoes, and they were certainly generous with the cheese. If there is one thing you must try, this has to be it.
R ordered the Chicken Asiago Tordelli ($13.95). This was a whole wheat mushroom ravioli with roasted garlic, chicken, sun dried tomato, onion, and mushroom in a creamy Asiago sauce. Although the sauce was rich and creamy, but the strong flavor of the garlic masked the slight nutty taste from the Asiago cheese. On the other hand, the mushrooms flavor really shined through with the stuffed ravioli because it was so finely chopped.
I am usually the one to order cream sauce, but this time I chose a Rose sauce pasta instead: Linguine Club ($12.95). This pasta was loaded with lots of chicken, bacon, mushroom, onion and garlic (they really love garlic here). Although the pasta was al dente, and the rose sauce was delicious with a nice smokey bacon flavor, but I found it to be quite salty.

Service here was pretty standard, they were friendly and checked on us once in a while. Food here was solid, everything was good if not great. Ambiance was nice. So in a nut shell, I definitely recommend Paliotti's to anyone who is visiting Abbotsford. Heck, it might even be worth the drive if you don't live too far away.

Chada Thai - fine dining Thai restaurant

2011-04-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Chada Thai Fine Cuisine

#107 2991 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Price: Expensive

I use to purchase the Entertainment book with every intention of checking out majority of the restaurants, but I always end up visiting only a few. So when this new trend of group buy popped up, I gladly canceled that subscription and started to follow these instead. I know these website are suppose to save me money, but I think I actually end up spending more because of all the 'good deals' XD. Anyways I digress, the point is that Groupon recently had a deal on a restaurant I been meaning to try, so I immediately snatched it up.
Chada Thai Fine Cuisine is a small restaurant located in the strip mall (next to Save on Food) across from Coquitlam center. From the outside, I really couldn't tell much, because it looked like your typical neighborhood restaurant. However once you step inside, the feeling totally changes. The decor was very nice and looked authentically Thai. Also the table setting certainly looked like fine dining restaurant. I guess it's true, you should never judge a book by its cover.
The first appetizer was the Stuffed Chicken Wings ($11.99). I've had this dish before, but it looked nothing like this. The plating was already very impressive. The chicken wing itself was also delicious. The outer shell was quite thin and crispy without being oily. The stuffing of vermicelli and various of vegetable was moist and good, it created a nice balance to the crispy outer shell.
Their dinner prices were certainly in the high range, as the above Seafood Plate was $25.99. To be honest, when I saw this I couldn't believe this moderate portion cost so much. This was a combination of grilled prawns, squid, mussels and scallops in a red curry sauce. The red curry was smooth and spicy with a hint of sweetness. These grilled prawns were huge, but not as juicy as I would have liked. On the other hand, the scallops were excellent, they were tender and soft. The mussels and squid were good, but nothing spectacular. Although the dish was good, but I don't know if it's worth that price.
When I noticed they had Mango with Sticky Rice ($6.99) on their menu, I was excited, as it was one of my favorite Thai dessert. This tasted just like what I use to have back when I was living in Thailand. The warm sticky rice was infused with coconut milk with a hint of saltiness. On top of that, their mango was really fresh and sweet. In a nut shell, I really liked this dessert.

Service here was superb, it was really up to standard of a fine dining restaurant. The hostess/waiter was very professional, he specifically asked if I had any food allergies when ordering. They paced the timing of each dish very well and frequently checked on us.

Overall, both R and I enjoyed our meal at Chada Thai. Base on their food and service, I'd say they certainly deserved to be in the fine dining category. Because of this, their price point are higher than other typical Thai restaurants. However they do have a lunch menu with affordable prices, so do check them out if you are a Thai food lover.

Saboten Tonkatsu - Premium Pork Cutlet

2011-04-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Saboten Tonkatsu (勝博殿)

Mitsukoshi XinYi, A9. 6th Floor
No.9, Song Shou Road, Taipei

Food: 4
Service: 3
Price: Fair

Tonkatsu can be easily found in any Japanese restaurant, but a restaurant just dedicated to this one item is hard to come by. At least I don't know a single restaurant in Greater Vancouver that focus on this. However this is completely opposite in Taiwan, cause there seems to be one on every street. There is also quite a range of these restaurants, some are fast food places, while other are higher end with nice ambiance and good service. Saboten Tonkatsu just so happen to be one of those.

There are several good quality Tonkatsu places around Taipei, we just chose Saboten because they had one location that was very convenient for us. This branch was located on the 6th floor of Mitsukoshi shopping center in XinYi district. The first thing that came are the unlimited 'side dishes'. The first are very finely chopped cabbage, and you are suppose to drizzle the ponzu-like vinaigrette dressing on top. The light acidity from the ponzu sauce really open up ones appetite, and since you are just munching on light veggie, it keep the stomach relatively empty to enjoy the tonkatsu that was yet to come. They also give us some picked daikon and black beans which I didn't particularly enjoy.
Next they bought out the DIY sauce 'kit', a grinder with a bowl of black/white sesame. Basically, you are to grind up the sesame to any consistency you prefer, and the pour on this tonkatsu sauce to make a runny paste. The tonkatsu sauce was slightly sweet and tangy at the same time, it's hard to describe, but all you have to know that it's GOOD.
R ordered the regular tonkatsu meal for around $300NT ($10). I know I know, how is that high end you ask. Well, let's just say you can have the same meal for only $5-6 at regular tonkatsu shop. Anyways, the pork here was super tender and juicy. The Penko crust was nice and crispy without being oily. Also, all the meal here come with miso soup and unlimited rice.
I went for something different, I had the stuffed tonkatsu (3 ways) for around $350NT($12). I have to say the extra $2 was so WORTH IT. I loved all three kinds, with my favorite being the ginger flavored stuff pork in the back. All the pork used here are chewy, but the good kind of chewy. Just like the above dish, the outside crust was really crispy, this provided a nice contrast to the soft and delicious pork on the inside.
Although the set meal was more than enough, but I just couldn't resist and ordered the Chawamushi. This was once again very good, it was smooth and flavorful with a hint of seafood umami taste.
The set meal ended with 1 scoop of matcha ice cream. As much as I loved all the food, this was just mediocre, but I won't complain, since I didn't came here for dessert anyways. XD

Overall, I definitely recommend Saboten, as their tonkatsu were seriously great. I can honestly say I haven't found a place here that serves such tender pork cutlet. So make sure you mark this place down, if you do intend to visit Taiwan.

Recipe - Honey Toast Box with Barlean's Omega

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love honey toast box, just see my glorified review of the original ones here. I was really sad that they were none in Vancouver, until I discovered What8ver Cafe, but it just wasn't the same as Dazzling Cafe. Having tried the original, I had a pretty good hunch how it's made, besides how hard can it be right? :P
Here is it, our very first attempt, not bad might I add :). So without further ado, here is the simple recipe that we came up with...
See, it's really simple isn't it. I think the key is toasting the bread to a golden crisp without burning it. So make sure you watch it like a hawk when baking. Btw, if you are planning to use a toaster own, make sure to turn down the heat to around 300F.Since our first time was a complete success, we just had to do it the 2nd time. This time it turned out even better, no burnt area at all XD. The bread was buttery and crispy yet still soft in the middle. I don't know if you have noticed, but both honey toast box have some really nice drizzle sauce on top. There are really delicious and definitely deserve to be mentioned.
Awhile back I went to the Wellness Show, a company called Barlean's was show casing their omega oil in 6 delicious flavors. After showing high interest in their products, they were kind enough to give me all 6 sample bottles to take home.
I simply loved the strawberry banana (favorite), it tasted like a smoothie. The peach mango is also great, the mango flavor really shines through. Since I am not a fan of chocolate, so I didn't really like the chocolate raspberry, but this one is especially designed for women:P.The lemon zest goes great with desserts. The pina colada would be perfect to add to the actual drink. Last but not least, R's favorite flavor orange cream: a very smooth creamy orange flavor that goes great with plain yogurt.
All these sauces are great, because it certainly dresses up anything. This will make your plain yogurt less boring, and enhance the flavor of your dessert, and add beneficial omega to your smoothie. Although it may sounds like a commercial, but I was not paid to write about them, nor do they know I was going to do so. I am simply writing this because I have tried them with all the things I mentioned above and I loved it. Also I have to say their omega really do taste the best, because I've recently tried So Good with Omega, and I hated the 'fishy' taste. So really I have to give props to Barlean for making omega taste so good (for real this time, unlike So Good XD) .

PS: I've seen them at Capers, but they are probably available at other markets as well.

Lobby Lounge - Shangri La Afternoon Tea

2011-03-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Lobby Lounge at Shangri-La Hotel

1128 Georgia Street West, Vancouver (Map)

Food: 2
Service: 4
Price: Expensive ($34)

Afternoon tea is really the perfect activity for girlfriends to meet up and catch up, and that was exactly what we did. Because of certainly event, J had decided to treat us girls to some nice afternoon tea. After a short discussion, we decided to try the afternoon tea at Shangri-la because of the good reviews.
The Shangri-la's lobby lounge was nicer and more intimate than the one at Fairmont Pacific Rim. It actually felt like a proper upscale restaurant. To make the place even better, they had live music. The pianist of the day was great, and he certainly upgraded the overall ambiance.
Here at the Shangri-la, they did not have the actual tea for us to see and smell, so we had to choose base on the description. The tea I chose was called Heaven and Earth: mildly tart Sencha with strawberry and kiwi. I got to say, this tea was great. The flavor was smooth without that usual tartness from the fruit. It was tasted even better with a bit of rock sugar to add a touch of sweetness. The one thing I really liked was the strainer they provided with each cup to prevent tea bits from falling in.
When they brought out the food, they informed us that their afternoon tea menu changes often. In celebration of Chinese New Years (I went in Feb.), their Feb. Afternoon tea is Chinese cuisine inspired. One look at the 1st and 2nd tier, it is indeed very much Chinese inspired.
As always, the scone was was buttery and soft. It was only slightly warm. I think if it was served warmer, it would have help the devonshire cream and jam to really sink into the scone. There were definitely good, but certainly not the best I've tried.
Although it looks like there were only 2 sandwich, but the one in front is actually 3 small sandwiches stuck together: pickled Cucumber with cream cheese, pacific candied salmon and roast beef. The consensus was that they were pretty blend, and did not stand out. However, the egg salad croissant certainly did. The croissant was buttery and flaky, and the moisture from the egg salad help to held it all together. The combined flavor was just perfect. This was by far my favorite of the day.
The next layer was definitely the Chinese inspired canapes. We had:
Chive crepe with Japanese Eggplant: this was really mushy/cold and tasted like left overs.
Char Sui Profiterole: basically a small puff with small bits of Char Sui.
Chicken and Wonton Salad: this was mostly soy sauce flavor.
To be honest, none of us really liked this layer, it was just average or even below average.

Last but not least the dessert layer:
Osmanthus flower and goji berry jelly: I was really excited to try this, as I love the smell/flavor of the Osmanthus flower, but unfortunately the flavor was too light. So basically it just a slightly sweet jelly, and nothing special.
Opera cake: This would be a dark ganache cake. I like the slight bitterness to balance out the sweet layer.
Sesame ball: this was not good at all. The ball was really hard, and it had no fillings. I think I had better ones at Chinese Buffet restaurants.

Service here was great. The waitress was super attentive and patient. She explained each and every item. Ambiance was the best out of all the ones I've tried (Fish House, Fleuri, Adonia, Fairmont, Provence). Unfortunately it was just the food that was disappointing. Personally I think it's because all of us are Asian, and thus had much better Chinese food else where. So in the end, I still do recommend checking out the Afternoon Tea at the Shangri-La, just don't go in February if you are Chinese. :P

Man Ri Sung - Duck Feast

2011-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Man Ri Sung

8211 Westminster Hwy, Richmond (Map)

Food: 4
Service: 3
Price: Fair

When I first heard that Man Ri Sung was closed, I was disappointed. You see about almost 2 years ago, I discovered this restaurant and that they had really cheap/great lunch combos. Later on, I went on to discover their new duck fest (blogged here), which really made an impression. So when Chowtimes blogged about spotting the new Man Ri Sung restaurant opening up in Richmond, I was certainly happy.Since it seems the duck feast also made a great impression on Ben and Suanne, they have decided to host another Chowtimes reader dinner which I gladly help to organize (because the chef only speaks Mandarin or Korean). The new Man Ri Sung restaurant is located in a square mall across from Richmond Public Market. Given the traffic in that area, I'd say they picked a good spot.As usual, the side dishes arrived first. These are pretty standard, but they did have my favorite potato dish which I loved.Originally we ordered 5 duck feast for 20 people, because each one is intended to be share by 4 people. However because of our table arrangements, the chef has suggested that we just get 4 duck feast for the two tables, but substituted the last feast with extra dishes instead. So the first dish he suggested was the seafood pancake ($13.99). It was hot and crispy, just the way I like it.The 2nd dish that we added was their deep fried chicken with spicy sauce ($14.99). Although it may look like sweet and sour pork, but it tasted so much better. The chicken was coated with a glutinous batter, so when you bite into it, the texture was slightly sticky. I also really liked the spicy sauce.
Finally the 'star' of the night arrive: the charcoal grilled duck. Just like old time, he wheel out the duck and carved it in front of everyone. The duck was just as good as I remember, it was grilled perfect with all the moisture and none of the fat. Once again they don't give you the typical flour type wrap, instead it's the bean curd type.
They also curved off the wings for us to enjoy. These wings were certainly unique, because the whole thing was edible, including the bones (it was that crispy). It was like eating chips. Although it was very interesting to eat, but I wasn't really a fan of it, as it didn't really have any flavor.
The feast also came with a choice of knife cut noodle hot pot or congee with the remaining duck meat. Since we had 2 duck feast per table, thus we ordered one of each. This would be the duck congee made with a mixture of brown rice and sticky rice which resulted in a rather creamy texture. The congee was also very flavorful due to smoked duck meat they used to cook it with.
Although the duck congee was good, but I still preferred the knife cut noodle hot pot.The soup was to die for. After conversing with the chef, we found out that he does not use any form of MSG, just simply the duck meat and spicy/herb. The noodle was good, but it lacked the usual chewiness, I think it's a bit over cooked.
The duck feast also included 1 more dish, a choice between jap chae (stir fry potato noodles), sundae (blood sausage) or steam dumpling. For our 2 duck feasts, we chose the potato noodle and blood sausage. The blood sausage was rather tasteless, so they provided s salt and chili dip. If there was any advice needed, it's right now: don't over dip the sausage, or else it becomes super salty. T.T
The Jap Chae was good, but nothing really special about it either. The portion size was rather small, but I guess this was really meant to be share by 4 people only.

Service here was a bit slow, it seemed they only had one waitress that night, and it was a Friday night too. Also it seems like their heating system was not that efficient, because despite all that food, I was still feeling cold most of the time. Anyways, they do have some kinks to work out, but their food was solid. So what's the total damage after this very filling meal: $18/person including tax and tip. I'd say this was a very worthy meal and I definitely recommend. Of course, the best part of the night was still meeting new friends and chatting about food :).

Modern Toilet - unique cafe, average food

2011-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Modern Toilet (Taicung Branch)

2F., No.101, Yijhong St., North District, Taichung

Food: 2.5
Service: 3
Price: Fair

Theme cafes are hugely popular in Taiwan, just like the Hello Kitty cafe which I visited. I can't remember when, but I know it was ages ago when I first heard about the toilet theme cafe in Taiwan. I still remember my reaction "What! Toilet cafe, interesting, but isn't that kinda gross?". Despite that attitude, I still insisted to R that we must go try it.
There actually quite a few stores all over Taiwan. The one we chose to visit was in Taichung. It was located on very popular/busy Yijhong St. I was almost reluctant to visit, after seeing all the delicious Yijhong street food. Anyways, the restaurant was interesting, all the tables are either sinks or shower tubes with a glass table top. Of course, all the seats are toilet decorated with different seat covers.
R ordered their House special item: curry chicken with rice($6). I know it's a theme restaurant, but still when I saw the curry in the toilet bowl, somehow it did become less appetizing. Anyways, despite being one of their most popular items, this was just average. The vegetables was rather soft and mushy. The curry was not as strong as I would have liked.
What I order turned out to be a set meal, with a separate soup. It was suppose to be creamy soup, but it tasted really water down and a bit bland.
I ordered a Tom Yum baked Penne ($7.50). Despite the average food above, this was actually good. The sauce was a combination of creamy coconut milk and tom yam flavor which I loved. The baked cheese only enhanced the dish. I also liked the fact that mine came in a cute bath tub (which seemed more appetizing).
All the meal here came with dessert: chocolate soft serve (you can imagine why chocolate :P). Although the consistency was good, but the flavor tasted water down, and it wasn't creamy enough.
Last but not least, I have to share this picture. This was the share sinks outside the men/women washroom. To be honest, because it does have some yellow stain around it, I felt a bit queasy washing my hand here.

After trying the food at Modern Toilet, the novelty certainly wears off for me. I mean the restaurant was certainly unique, but I think Taiwan just has way too many delicious restaurant/street food to try. So if you are person who doesn't really care for the food, but loves a theme cafe, then this place is perfect for you. Other wise, skip it, and just enjoy the countless street food on Yijhong street.

Lobby Lounge - Fairmont Afternoon Tea

2011-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Lobby Lounge @ Fairmont Pacific Rim

1038 Canada Pl, Vancouver

Food: 4
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair (for the quality)

Afternoon tea is one of my favorite activities, so it's my goal to go to as many as possible. So when a 2 for 1 ($35) afternoon tea deal popped up on SocialShopper for half price, I immediately snatched it up.Afternoon tea at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel is served at the Lobby Lounge, which is literally an area sectioned off from the lobby hall. As you can see, the atmosphere is really casual, they used marble top coffee tables, and low swivel chairs. Although very comfortable, but the ambiance is not as intimate when comparing to an actual restaurant (you can hear everything happening at the front gate/desk).First is the tea, they had the exact same box set tea offered at Fleuri afternoon tea. Personally I loved the idea of being able to smell and see the actual tea. After going through all of them, I decided to go with the Pear Green, while R went for the Jasmine pearl tea. I loved the fragrance of my tea, the sweet smell of pear. The taste was rather light and refreshing. R's tea was more standard, and it didn't really stand out. One thing I must note here is their cast iron tea pot, lifting these required a bit of muscle strength (great for a work out while you eat XD).Next came the sandwiches and sweets. I love their 2 tier frosted glass serving tray. Everything looked really delicious. Also we noticed that the portion seems to be more than other places, at least that's true for the sandwiches.
Immediately following the 2 tier glass tray, a plate of warm scone was brought to us. I love their consistency, because the scones were served in a plate that comes from the same set as the 2 tier tray. These scones were great, they were very soft and buttery. I loved the rich and thick real devonshire cream and as well as the sweet jam.Both R and I loved the sandwich section. Apparently all their bread was baked in house. Here are our thoughts:
Egg salad sandwich: the slightly under cooked eggs made this sandwich very creamy, thus we really enjoyed it.
Chicken tandoori with mango salad sandwich: Although chicken had lots of flavor, but it wasn't really salted. We both loved their freshly baked focaccia
Prawn open face sandwich: the prawn was fresh, but overall a bit bland
Smoked tuna tataki open face sandwich: love the smokey flavor along with the spice rub. Their rice was rather authentic too.
Fresh crab cucumber roll: they used real Dungeness crab, and not a lot of spice, so the seafood fresh taste really shined through.
Tofu miso nigiri: R liked it, but I thought it was just too bland.
Here are our thought on the desserts:
Chocolate square: they used dark chocolate and filled with dark chocolate ganache.
Matcha cake: Although the cake was not very sweet, but they used white chocolate as base, so it was sweeter than I liked. Also, there was only a hint of matcha taste
Mini muffin: looks can be deceiving, although it looks plain, but it turn out to be one of the best ones. There was a light nutty (macadamia?) flavor on top. The inside was buttery/softy with one large blueberry in the center.
Lemon tart: I didn't really like this, because the custard was just too tart.
Macaroon: I find them overly sweet in general, but this one used a dark chocolate center which some what balance out the sweetness.

Overall, both R and I really enjoyed the afternoon tea. The service was good, and the food was great. Of course, company is even more important, as you do have to spend the next 2-3 hours talking to that person ;). In the end, I do recommend this place to all who loves afternoon tea, just don't expect too much ambiance.

Imperial Court - cheapest AKC around

2011-03-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine

6360 #3 Rd, Richmond (Map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3
Price: Fair

I don't typically blog about a restaurant right after I visited, simply because I have other post lined up, but this time I really have to interrupt 'regular programing' for some breaking news: Alaska King Crab (AKC) for $9.99/lb. How is that breaking news? Well, you see AKC is on sale at T&T for $10.99/lb, but you can have the exact same thing except cooked. To make the deal even sweeter, someone will also wash your dishes and take out the trash ;). The question 'where is it?', the answer 'Imperial Court restaurant in Richmond'.Chowtimes did a post on AKC and listed a whole bunch of Chinese Newspaper ads, and Imperial Court just happens to be the cheapest one @ $10.88/lb. However we we got to the restaurant their sign read $9.99 and with the slogan "Cheapest crab in town" (of course in Chinese that is). Anyways, we were certainly happy with this surprise and ordered ourselves a nice and fresh 12lb AKC (this big guy was feisty).Of course no meal is complete without soup, so our waiter suggested this crab and fish maw soup. I have to say I liked his recommendation. The soup had that seafood umami taste due to the real crab meat and the fresh fish maw they used.
I know many restaurant offer several ways to cook the AKC, but here you only get it for one way. If you add another style, it will be $10 more. We decided to stick with just steaming the crab with garlic sauce, because it's simply the best way to preserve the fresh taste. I must say, we weren't disappointed. They brought us 2 huge plates of pre-cut steamed crab legs. The garlic/seafood aroma was heavenly.The crab meat was succulent and juicy, you can definitely tell this was really fresh. The best part eating AKC was the no fussy meat removal process, because all you have to do is simply lift it up with a fork.Although we opt to cook the crab only one way, but we did opt for the baked fried rice in the AKC shell for $15 more. The fried rice was quite yellow, so I believe this was a Portuguese style fried rice topped off with some creamy cheese sauce. The rice was a bit dry, but the cream sauce provided the necessary moisture. However there wasn't enough sauce for all the rice.We also ordered a cod/tofu hot pot ($13.99). The portion seems smaller than other restaurant, but at least the taste was great. B thought the usually bland fish was really flavorful here, because it absorbed the sauce quite well.Next is the garlic style gai lan ($12.99). The vegetable was fresh and crunchy, but I thought it could use a bit more flavor. I could barely taste the garlic.We ordered a 2nd vegetable dish: Spinach with dried scallop and 2 eggs ($14.99??). The portion here is really generous, but the taste was not all that impressive. I find the flavors of the eggs(century and salt duck egg) fight each other instead of working together. Although the dish claim to have dried scallop, but really it's just random shredded kind scatter among the spinach. If you don't look careful enough, you won't be able to see it.
This was half portion of the tea smoked duck ($12.99). First I have to this, this was not taken after it was half eaten, this was the full half-portion size as is (maybe they should have used a smaller plate). Anyways despite the small size, the taste was good. I loved the smoked flavor and the duck was tender.
Last but not least, we got the braised pork belly ($16.99). Honestly, I was really disappointed when I saw it. The portion seemed really small (they really need to have better plating). Although the meat portion was small, but I pretty sure the it wasn't meant for only 3 people, why they give us only 3 pieces of Chinese bun was beyond me. Anyways, the meat was actually really good, it has the savory yet has a nice sweet flavor, and the fat/skin just melt in your mouth. The buns were perfect for soaking up the sauce, but there just wasn't enough. Although the taste was great, but I really didn't think it's worth the price of $16.99.

Service here was not bad. They all moved at light speed, but still paid attention to us by changing our plate and filling our tea often. One thing worth mention was that, they didn't only move at light speed, their dishes also came out in record time. The soup was on our table being served 10 minutes after we finished ordering. Soon after, other dishes just keep rolling out one after another. Another thing I want to point out was that the prices for regular dishes were not cheap, the only reason I gave it a 'fair' is because of the incredible AKC deal.

As I already mentioned, I am writing this post now simply because this is too good of a deal to pass up. The other reason is that AKC season is short and almost over, so if you want to enjoy some AKC for cheap, then make sure you make that reservation within the next week or so.

What8ver - the one place that serves Toast Box

2011-03-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

What8ver Cafe

1108 - 8328 Capstan Way, Richmond (Map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Anyone who's been reading this blog knows that I highly recommended Dazzling Cafe in Taiwan that serves honey toast box, so when Buddha Boy left a message telling me there is a place in Richmond that also had the Honey Toast Box, I was ecstatic, and immediately went looking for it.

The only clue I had to finding this place was that it's at Union Square. So basically R and I went to all the possible restaurants and asked one by one if they served the Toast Box. After about 4 restaurants, we were about to give up, until I decide to try one last one: What8ver Cafe. To my surprise, this time the answer was "Yes, we do have it, but only one flavor". I didn't even ask the price and just said "I will take it", after all this is what I came for.
What8ver Cafe is very much a bubble tea type joint that served light meals, and of course some desserts, such as waffles and toasts. Just like it's counterpart in Taiwan, they too have a limit time restriction (90min) for dining, but only on weekends. The one good thing I immediately like about the place is that it's HST included, so I know exactly what I will be paying.
Since it's a BBT place, we both started with a drink. R ordered the hot herbal grass jelly with 3 'toppings' of your choice for $4.50. For the toppings, R went with green bean, red bean and tapioca noodles. The grass jelly had that typical herbal taste, but it's sweetness level is something R and I disagree on. I think it's good, but R found it too sweet (you can see who has the sweet tooth :P).I ordered the hot fresh taro milk also for $4.50. This took forever to come, at least a good 15 minutes, but it was so worth it, because this was by far the best Taro drink I've tried. It was fresh, creamy, with just the right amount of sugar. I highly recommend trying this if you are taro lover. They also served various Taiwanese snacks, which you can add $2 to turn it into a meal. The extra $2 will get you 1 bowl of marinated minced pork on rice, and $1 off your drink. To simplify things, it just means you can use $1 to purchase the pork on rice (originally $3.50). We ordered the marinated tempura, but they actually served us the deep fried kind. Anyways, despite being the wrong item, it was actually good. The tempura was nice and crispy, and the basil leaf was nice touch as well. Since we upgraded to the meal, we were also served the pork on rice. To me, this was disappointing as the pork was not juicy enough (too lean) and felt a bit over cooked.
We also got another snack: deep fried chicken nugget ($5.50). These were really tender and juicy with a nice kick of salt/pepper flavor. Once again, the addition of fried basil leaf just enhanced the flavor of this dish.
After 20 minutes of wait time, we were finally served the Honey Toast Box ($7.99). Their 'one flavor' was essentially just a regular toast box topped off with a huge scope of vanilla ice cream, chocolate Pocky, Oreo, strawberry sauce, strawberry and banana.
After almost finishing the whole thing (this was really filling), here is what R and I thought:
- Bread box: used honey water and sugar to coat, then toasted. It was nice and crunchy
- Bread sticks: most were good, but some are not toasted long enough, thus became soggy really fast after soaked by ice cream/sauce.
- Ice cream is ice cream, but really loved the real strawberry sauce (sweet, yet a bit tart).
When comparing with the original from Dazzling cafe, the bread was not crunchy or buttery enough, but we still really enjoyed it.

Now if you just want to come here for the honey toast box, you will have to specifically ask for it, as it's still not on the menu despite the fact they been serving it for almost half an year. Also this is a dine in only item, because it does have to be eaten fresh. Overall, we liked it this place, as their food and service were both good.

Benkei - new Curry ramen

2011-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Benkei Ramen (CrossRoad)

545 West Broadway, Vancouver (map)

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Recently a friend shared a picture of a bowl of curry ramen, and I was immediately intrigued. You see, if anyone ask me what's R's favorite food is, I would definitely go with Curry. So it was no surprised that R wanted to try it. After asking the friend, I found out that it was Benkei who was serving this new soup base.
Benkei is seriously popping up everywhere. I mean there are 2 just on Broadway, not to mention the original 2 in downtown. For this visited, I decided to check out one on Broadway near Fairview area.
Since my all time favorite Ramen from Benkei was the Akoani ($7.80), I had to get it again. However, as soon as I received it I noticed a difference. This bowl of ramen had black oily bits floating on top (see old version in post here). After tasting the soup, I came to the conclusion it's grounded black pepper. Both R and I think the soup base now taste like Sichuan Mapo Tofu. I mean it's not necessarily a bad thing, but I want the old version back, because it was more original.
This would be the Curry Ramen ($7.80?) that R came for. Both of us like the curry soup, it wasn't very thick, but quite flavorful with a medium curry taste. The noodle was al dente as always. The vegetables were a bit weak, as the carrot was really soft, but had no flavor. The same can be said about the chicken, but maybe it was intended this way so it won't conflict with the curry base.

Other than the curry ramen mentioned above, they also had this new curry beef on rice combo. I am not entirely sure, but this new curry ramen/rice might be branch specific, because I don't see it mentioned anywhere else. Anyways, if you like curry, I would recommend you to check it out.

ps: anyone knows any other place that serves curry ramen or have any curry recommendations?

Taiwan - Hualien B&B

2011-03-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

I seriously recommend staying at B&B in Taiwan when visiting, cause they are so much more interesting than hotels. When R and I were visiting Hualien, we stay at another beautiful B&B called Flower Happiness B&B. I know I know, the name does sounds funny, but trust me it's sounds much more beautiful in Chinese. Unfortunately on the day we arrived, the weather was crappy, or else the picture would turn out much nicer. Anyways, one of the owner came to pick us up from the train station. When we were reserving, he did mention a $100NT cost for the pick up, but that was actually never charged.
There room was very cute and homey. Of course, the theme was flower, given the name of the place. I loved their creamy flowery wall paper and the cute patch quilt bed spread. The bed was also very comfortable as well. They placed 2 apples with a nice personal greeting card on the coffee table, I certainly appreciated the personal touch.
Aside from the bed, the room also had a cute dressing table with a mini fridge underneath. Personally I found the room very whimsical, and fairy tale like.Although they did not have a standing shower like the other B&B, but it was definitely more than sufficient.
There was also a charming patio attached to the room. If only the weather was nice, I would have totally enjoy sitting here and soaking up the sun.All the patios faced this little man made lake. It was rather calming to watch the rain fall. There was also a star walk way leading to each room, then you will cross over a little bridge which leads you to the front door.This would be the dining area that is connected directly to the front desk. Since there is no restaurant on premises, this is mainly used for breakfast and tea.Although not as elaborate as the last B&B, they also offered us complimentary tea and dessert. I have no idea where they bought this tiramisu, but it's really delicious, I was almost tempted to ask for another.
This is what we were offered for breakfast, plus some toast and a creamy corn soup. Everything was quite good, and especially the purple dragon fruit which I've never seen else where. This was actually grown on premises, and we were just lucky that they still had a few available.
Although there wasn't a close by night market, but there was a downtown area with lots of things to eat. Since our main transportation was by train, the owners (a very nice couple) offered us a ride into town. They insisted that we try the above pork bun shop, and I must say I was not disappointed. Although it doesn't look all that appetizing, but both the steam pork bun and dumpling were absolutely delicious. This place is not to be missed if you are going to visit Hualian.
The owners also suggested a place that serves good oyster omelet, but unfortunately it was closed on Tuesday night. Fortunately for us, we found another place that serves it and more. Both the ketchup fried rice and oyster omelet was very good, I highly recommend.

There is one important detail I missed and that is the price. I have to say for only $2300NT ($77) a night, this place is a bargain. I also loved the couple who owns this place, they were highly personable and very friendly. So in the end, I recommend this B&B, because it really did leave a lasting impression on me.

The Apron - molecular gastronomy

2011-02-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Apron

3099 Corvette Way, Richmond (inside Westin Hotel)

Food: 2.5
Service: 4
Price: Fair ($28 menu)

I always attend Dine Out Vancouver every year, and this year was no exception. However this year, nothing really intrigued me except this one restaurant: The Apron. The 1st reason was that the menu looked good, and the 2nd reason was because I heard the chef likes to use some form of molecular gastronomy, which I been wanting to try.To start off our meal, both R and I choice a drink. He went with a beer, and I went for a non-alcoholic ginger ale with strawberry puree. I loved this drink, it was like drinking strawberry flavored champagne without the alcohol after taste.We were presented with a complimentary amouse bouche. This was made with sour cream foam topped off with popcorn and assorted veggie. There was definitely molecular gastronomy presented here, because it was like eating air, but with flavor. The foam melts into nothing as soon as it touches your tongue.For my starter I chose Cherry Lane Butternut Squash soup with apple pearls, pumpkin seed and shallot. The soup and the other ingredient came separately, it was then combined in front of me. I have to say the most interesting part was the apple pearls, although it may look like tapioca pearls, but it was not. These were more jello like (agar based) and a bit tart. Overall this soup was too sourish for me, so I did not particularly enjoy it.
R had the Blown Mozzarella with eggplant puree, compressed mile's tomato and preserved walnut. Once again, molecular gastronomy integrated into this dish with the blown mozzarella. The cheese was blown to such a thin state that it virtually had no taste. The leafy green used here was quite bitter. The best thing on this plate was the tomato, as it was flavorful and juicy. Again, this was another dish that didn't wow us in taste.
For my main, I chose the Spiced Duck Confit with pomegranate, orange, walnut, and kale. The duck was way too crispy, and not juicy enough. Also, I found it lacked in flavor.
R had the Braised Lamb with Israel couscous, red bean puree, grilled scallion and dry lime parsley foam. The lamb was served 2 ways, one is in slice form, while the other is in a cube form. The cube was quite interesting, as it seems to be pieces of lamb 'glued' together to form the cube. The plating seemed a bit random, but generally a good dish.
To end the meal, I went for the Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee with almond biscotti. Although the creme brulee was smooth and creamy, but it wasn't as 'eggy' as I liked. Also the caramelized candy top was really thick, I had to knock on it pretty hard to crack it. The mini almond biscotti was good.
R had the Broken Down Baklava along with saffron pistachio ice cream, cardamon dates and rosewater honey. Both of us really liked this dessert, it was unique and great tasting, all the flavor just seems to work harmoniously.
Here is the final evidence that shows the presence of molecular gastronomy: the rosewater honey bubble. Although it looks like a droplet of honey, but really it was rosewater encased in a honey flavored bubble. The minute you pop it, you will taste the rosewater. It was really quite interesting.

Overall, both R and I weren't too impressed with flavors, but was certainly fascinated by the cooking techniques and presentation (it's random, yet artistic). Service here was great, they were friendly and sincere. In the end, I would actually recommend this place for anyone who is looking for a unique dining experience, because I certainly never had this type of food else where.

Faubourg - another worthy dessert shop

2011-02-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Faubourg

2156 W 41st Ave, Vancouver

Food: 4
Service: 4
Price: Fair

Although taste is subject, but I have yet to find a girl who didn't love some sort of dessert. So when a friend told me about this new dessert shop in Kerrisdale, I was all too excited. In fact, I dragged R out on a week night to try it.
The restaurant was a dessert shop, but at the same time also a bakery and a bistro. The front of the store has a simple set up similar to coffee shop, where as the back was a sectioned off bistro area for regular dining and afternoon tea. They has a nice display window showing what their afternoon tea ($25) has to offer. From the looks of it, I will be back soon :).
Here is their drink menu on a flat screen. This was also seen at Bella Gelateria, I guess with this type of menu display, they can change it easily.
For the drinks, R had a regular Americano, and I had the Marco Polo Latte, which was actually a tea latte. The tea had a slightly fruity taste with a hint of floral scent, which I enjoyed.
Since we arrived late (around 6pm), there was only a few desserts left. I was really keen on trying the chocolate tower, but I guess there is always next time. The first dessert we chose was the Raspberry Pistachio Mille Feuille (Napoleon) for $5. The tartness from the raspberry cream provided a nice balance to the sweet pistachio cream. I do have one little advice with this dessert, that is make sure you don't breath (more like inhale) when eating this, because you probably don't want to end up with sugar powder all over your face and up your nostrils.
I did not drive all this way just to try one thing, so we had to get a 2nd dessert: Chocolate Tart ($5). The shortbread crust was filled with rich and thick dark chocolate ganache. I like the dark chocolate ganache, because the bitterness from the dark chocolate help to off set that richness of the ganache. I also really like the short bread crust, it was buttery and delicious.

I think I saw one of the owner, she was speaking fluent mandarin with one customer, and conversing smoothly in French with another (impressed). Service here was really good as well. They were courteous and friendly. When I asked if they had any chocolate tower left, they even went to the back to check for me. Overall, both R and I were impressed with this new French pastry shop, and can't wait to come back and try their afternoon tea.

Shabu Shabu - Sushi Express Chain

2011-02-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Sushi Express Shabu Shabu Restaurant

36 Minquan West Road (Exit 1 of Minquan MRT station and turn right)

Food: 4.5
Service: 3
Price: Cheap

There are 2 types of stores that Taiwan is in no shortage of, one of them is 7-11 (there seems to be one on every block) and the other one is shabu shabu hot pot restaurant. So of course, R and I had to visit at least one of them.

Sushi Express is a huge company that started with just AYCE conveyor belt style sushi restaurants, but now they have expanded to include a AYCE hot pot and as well as a set meal restaurant. The hot pot restaurant we visited charges $300NT/person ($10) and they do not charge any form of service tax. However we were there around 11am, so they informed us that it's only $500NT/2 people before 12pm, that's only $17.
First up is the veggie section, lots of fresh leafy green and various type of cabbages.What more impressive is the amount of other types of food they offered. There was around 10 different kinds of meat/fish balls. They also had seaweed, tofu, sticky rice cake, and various type of non-leafy vegetables.
Now on to the seafood, there was fresh salmon head, scallop, prawns, clams, squid and many different kinds of fish slices. At this point, I was already in awed by the sheer amount of choices I had, but that's not all.
They also had a meat slicing station offering lamb, pork, chicken and beef. There were good quality meat which was sliced super thin so it cooks easily. I particularly enjoyed the beef, pork and surprisingly chicken too. Since it was sliced so thin, the chicken cooked really fast and was super tender.Now before you even start cooking, there is also a big sauce station, where you can mix and match different ingredients to make your unique sauce. Just to mention a few things being offered here are: soy sauce, sesame paste, vinegar, egg, chili and green onion.
As I mentioned this is shabu shabu, so R and I each had our own pot. We had 3 type of soup bases to choose from: original, miso or spicy. I went with the spicy and R went with the original, both were very good. There are 2 things worth mentioning: 1. they had a huge jug of soup base right on each table, so you can add soup to your pot at anytime. 2. There is a built in garbage can (the plastic bag silver can) right on our table, so we can easily dispose of tissues and shells.Did I mention there was more. We can also get sushi as seen above, or order freshly made sushi cones as well. Also there was pre-made snack size salad being served.
Just in case you still have room after all that food, there is desserts too. For the day we went, they were serving green tea mousse and Japanese cheesecake.
Well, if you are not in the mood for cake, there is also ice-cream too. Also I forgot to mention, there is also a drink bar, where you can choose between, pop, coffee, tea or juice.

If you think this is an unbelievable deal, raise your hand. Remember, all this is only for $10 or less per person depending on the time. Personally, I was surprised by the sheer amount of choices I had. I think even if I just eat 1pc of each item, I would be too full. Anyways, this is just way too good of a deal to pass up, so I am passing it on instead. Make sure you mark it down if you plan to visit Taiwan, cause it's so worth it.

Montana's - 2nd chance

2011-02-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

Montana's Cookhouse

1046 - 2929 Barnet Hwy, Coquitlam

Food: 2.5
Service: 3.5
Price: Fair

Do you believe in 2nd chance? Well, I usually don't, but this time it's an exception, because I had a birthday party to attend to. The first time I went to Montana's was at least 4 years ago, and at that time I was less than impressed with their ribs. In fact, I thought it was down right inedible. Anyways instead of complaining (which I probably should), I just paid the bill and never came back.
The reason J chose this restaurant was because they are having he All You Can Eat ribs promotions, where you just added $1 more to turn their full slab portion into AYCE. Well, nobody can say I didn't give them another chance for redemption. :P
First up was the calamari appetizer (~$9). Although it looks good and was rather crispy, but it was tasteless. The only flavor came from the Thai style sweet chili sauce, which I find a bit weird.
As we had tons of people order ribs at our table, I thought I get something different. I ordered the baked chicken penne (~$14). The pasta was not bad, a bit on the soft side. The garlic cream sauce was a bit mild for my taste. I did like the chicken, as it was tender and flavorful.

Although there was a no sharing policy for the AYCE ribs ($24), but they really couldn't keep track, consider more than half of our table ordered it. So R ordered the regular ribs in the new Chipotle Honey BBQ sauce instead ($18). Well, the ribs are definitely better this time around, BUT it's still not as good as some other. Although I loved their new flavor, but the meat was just not tender enough. Usually the meat would be fall of the bone soft, but these required some gnawing. I also tried all their other flavors, but none stood out. In the end, I still preferred their chipotle honey.

Service here was good. Since it was J's birthday, they did bring out the huge antler hat and sang an unique birthday song. I must say, that was definitely the highlight of the night. Although I had tons of fun that night, but it was more about the company than anything else. If I really wanted ribs, I think I would go else where though.