Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家 (revisit)

December 31, 2014Leave a comment

Winter Solstice is pretty big for Chinese families, so my mom said we needed to go out for dinner. We celebrated a few days early since it’s always difficult to accommodate with everyone’s schedule. She suggested we go to Jade Seafood Restaurant since they were having a Special Abalone Set Menu. It was $39.98 per person, which was a pretty good deal considering what we got and how full we were. The dinner started off with complimentary peanuts and XO sauce.

Double Boiled Soup

For soup, there are two choices. The Double Boiled Soup came in a clay jar and was extremely sweet and delicious. You could tell it had been boiled for a long time. If I tasted it correctly, it was boiled with chicken and conch meat, which brought lots of flavour.

Shark’s Fin Soup with Shredded Chicken

The second option was the Shark’s Fin Soup with Shredded Chicken, which was definitely less sustainable. I’m surprised they still offer it here since most restaurants have stopped selling shark fin soup. The broth was a thin gelatin consistency and came with ginger and shredded chicken.

Braised Whole Abalone

Next up was the Braised Whole Abalone, which sat on a bed of braised pea tips. Pea tips are one of my favourite Chinese veggies, and they were delicious soaked in the abalone sauce. The abalone itself was just alright. I found it a little too chewy and tough for my liking. The ones at Kirin are much better in my opinion, but also pricier.

Baked Conch with Cheese in Portuguese Sauce

Next was the Baked Conch with Cheese in Portuguese Sauce. The conch shell was presented as part of the dish, and you would’ve thought there would be conch meat inside, but there wasn’t even a bit! It was all mushrooms and onions mixed with the Portuguese sauce. We felt a bit ripped off because of that, but the dish was flavourful regardless.

Sauteed Chicken with Vegetables

A dish that was shared amongst the table was the Sauteed Chicken with Vegetables. It was a good mix of wood ear fungus, zucchinis, carrots, and onions. However, I found the dish to be a bit heavy on oil. The set menu also came with Fried Rice with Egg White and Dried Scallop, which I forgot to take a picture of. Each person got their own bow, and it was huge. Too much rice to finish off the meal.

Hot Almond Soup with Sesame Balls

Lastly, for dessert, it included the Hot Almond Soup with Sesame Balls. The almond soup was smooth and full of almond flavour. There were two glutinous balls filled with sesame paste. Not bad.

Overall, the set menu was a pretty good deal. I know that service is usually pretty bad at Jade, but surprisingly, we had really good service that night. Very attentive and our food came out just as we were about to finish the previous course. Parking of course was a nightmare though, as there are two other restaurants downstairs now.

4 Stones Vegetarian Cuisine 雅室友素食 (Revisit)

December 7, 2014Leave a comment

Herbal Soup

I haven’t been to 4 Stones Vegetarian for many years, mainly because of how difficult finding parking is. We went on a Friday night and the place was packed! Luckily, we got a seat within 10 minutes. Dinner starts off with a choice of soup – herbal or vegetable. K went for the Herbal Soup, which didn’t smell too appetizing. It probably was pretty good for your health though.

Vegetable Soup

For myself, I went for the Vegetable Soup, which was average. It didn’t taste amazing, but I could tell there wasn’t any MSG used. Just plain vegetable broth, so it was pretty healthy.

Combo Appetizers

The three of us both chose a main dish and made it into a combo. A combo comes with appetizers and a bowl of rice. Today’s appetizers included bean curd tofu and boiled veggies. It also comes with fruits, flax seeds, dried cranberries, and almonds for dessert.

Deep Fried Veggie Oysters

First, we shared the Deep Fried Veggies Oysters as an appetizer. I was surprised that the restaurant presents their dishes quite nicely. Typically, Chiense restaurants do not put much effort in presentation, but here, they definitely make an effort. The so called oysters were actually tofu. The batter is light and for some odd reason, it actually had some oyster flavour to it. It came with a satay-like sauce to dip. Very good!

Veggie Beef Brisket with Curry Sauce on Rice

For the combo mains, I chose the Veggie Beef Brisket with Curry Sauce on Rice. Veggie beef brisket? Yup! The beef brisket was actually a type of bean curd. It actually had the texture of eating meat though! Very impressive. I found that the curry sauce was lacking flavour, but in general, the restaurant’s food is not very salty. I guess that’s a good thing health-wise.

Grilled Veggie Unagi

E chose the Grilled Veggie Unagi, which came on a sizzling plate. The unagi was again made of bean curd, wrapped with seaweed and deep fried. It came with a lot of enoki mushrooms and basil leaves. I found that the unagi tasted more like squid instead though, since it had a chewy texture.

Sweet and Sour Bean Curd Fish

Lastly, K chose the Sweet and Sour Bean Curd Fish. Again, the fish was some type of bean curd and was layered with seaweed to imitate the fish skin. The sweet and sour sauce was not very strong, but the peppers and pineapples brought flavour to the sauce. I enjoyed this dish quite a lot.

Overall, 4 Stones Vegetarian is a great choice if you’re looking for Chinese vegetarian food. They have a large selection of choices, and shows that there are endless options other than eating salads. Reservations will most likely be needed for large groups, and they seem to cater to these groups quite well. Parking is also an issue, but other than that, they seem to have a loyal customer base since their food is quite consistent. Service is friendly, but also quite slow since there are not too many servers and the restaurant is always busy.

Wing Kee Restaurant 新榮記海鮮食館

December 1, 2014November 30, 2014Leave a comment

Free Range Chicken (1/2)

Wing Kee is super close to my place and I literally drive by it all the time going home, but I’ve never been intrigued to try it. It just didn’t look attractive from the outside. However, I did some googling, and the ratings turned out to be alright. Finally, we decided to make reservations for dinner here. The parking lot is quite big already for one restaurant, but it’s completely packed! We decided to go for their Choose 5 Dishes for a set price. It also came with half an order of complimentary Free Range Chicken. When we thought half an order, we thought it wouldn’t be much, but it was basically what you would get as a whole order normally at other restaurants! The chicken itself was pretty good too. The only issue I had was I found it odd that some of the chicken was cold, and some of it was warm. Definitely microwaved this.

Honey Garlic Spareribs

The first dish we got was the Honey Garlic Spareribs. I thought these were just average. The sauce was flavourful, but the meat was a little tough sometimes.

Pan Fried Clams with Black Bean Sauce

My favourite had to be the Pan Fried Clams with Black Bean Sauce. We had to add a bit of money on top of the set price for this dish, but it was well worth it. Every shell on the plate had clams in it and they were very flavourful. A good amount for the price.

Braised Deep Fried Bean Cake

Next were the Braised Deep Fried Bean Cake. It was mixed with broccoli, and mushrooms. The sauce was thick and flavourful. The tofu inside was very smooth.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Next up were the Deep Fried Chicken Wings. These wings were super plump and full of meat! Crispy skin and a peppery and spicy flavour. I wouldn’t say they were the best I’ve had, but not bad for the price since you get roughly 12 pieces.

Sauteed Beef in Satay Sauce Hot Pot

The last item was the Sauteed Beef in Satay Sauce Hot Pot. To our surprise, the dish did not come in a hot pot, but rather in a clay dish. There were tons of vermicelli noodles and it was covered with the satay sauce. There were a lot of beef as well, but the beef did not taste like beef. Sort of weird…Perhaps they used too much tenderizer?

Sweet Potato Dessert Soup

Lastly, dinner ends with complimentary dessert. Tonight, it was Sweet Potato Soup. Great to combat the cold since there’s ginger in it. Spicy and sweet, but also very warming.

Overall, Wing Kee was actually much better than expected. The prices are very affordable as well, and the portions are huge! We ended up packing a lot of the food up. What was even more surprising was how friendly the service was here. Most of the servers are young males, and they were very attentive and polite. To be honest, that’s not very common and expected at Chinese restaurants. Oh, and Wing Kee is also opened until til 3 a.m. everyday, so another place to add on the list for late night snacks.

Master Hung BBQ Restaurant

October 5, 2014Leave a comment

Master Hung is near my house, but I have never made the effort to visit. Finally, we decided to give it a try, and surprisingly it is packed. Even with reservations, we had to wait 15 minutes. They are supposed to be famous for their Soy Sauce Chicken.

The restaurant is actually fairly small, and the interior is actually much nicer than I expected judging from the outside. Service was quick and friendly.

Daily House Soup

We started off with the Daily House Soup. It was simmered with meat and veggies and full of flavour.

Ling Cod (2 courses) – sauteed with celery and snap peas

Next was the Ling Cod which came in two courses. The first was sauteed with celery and snap peas. I found that it lacked flavour, but this was probably the better version of the two. Some of the pieces had bones in it, which I’m not a huge fan of.

Ling Cod with Tofu Hot Pot

The second course was the Ling Cod with Tofu Hot Pot. For some odd reason, there wasn’t much flavour to this either. You would imagine that this dish would be more flavourful. The best part was the tofu. The ling cod in this dish had a lot of bones too.

Soy Sauce Chicken (half) $2 extra

They have dinner specials, where you can order a number of dishes for a set price. We chose the combo of three, which came to $41.80. Our first dish was the famous Soy Sauce Chicken which came in half a serving. We had to add an extra $2 for this. The chicken was decent, but I didn’t find it too special. The meat had great chew, but I thought it was almost a bit too hard to chew.

Combo for three – $41.80

Bamboo Pith Buddha Feast $2 extra

Next, was the Bamboo Pith Buddha Feast, which came with an assortment vegetables. It included mushrooms, wood ear fungus, corn, bean sprouts, carrots, and broccoli. Again, it wasn’t very flavourful.

Honey Garlic Spareribs

Lastly, we had the Honey Garlic Spareribs, which was probably my favourite of the night. They didn’t look too appealing, but they were battered lightly and flavoured well. A good hint of honey and garlic so it wasn’t too sweet or overwhelming.

Overall, we found Master Hung to be overrated and just mediocre. We were surprised by how many people ate here and how good the ratings were on Urbanspoon. Fair prices, but the items really lack flavour. I guess it’s good if you like your food to be more on the bland side…

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (Dinner Menu)

July 28, 2014Leave a comment

For M and B’s exchange farewell dinner, they chose Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant. They had made reservations beforehand, so there was no wait for a table. As usual, MW decided what to order and he ordered just enough to have each one of us full. It was pretty fun to have a Chinese dinner with a huge group of friends since we don’t usually do this!

Sea Harbour Assorted Cold Cuts Platter

First, we started off with the Sea Harbour Assorted Cold Cuts Platter. It came with some cold cut meat, jelly fish, and bean curd wrapped with vegetables. My favourite was the jelly fish! Always a fan of that texture. Quite a typical dish, so nothing too special compared to other restaurants.

Minced Chicken and Corn Soup

Next, we had two types of soup. Half were the Minced Chicken and Corn Soup, which I didn’t try.

Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup

The other half were the Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup. I found that the soup lacked flavour. It was super bland! I had to add more vinegar to it to get some flavour. It was filled with lots of fish maw and crab meat though.

Roasted Peking Duck

Then came two plates of the Roasted Peking Duck. Crispy outer skin, with a thin layer of fat and meat. Quite good! It came on top of colourful shrimp crackers.

Roasted Peking Duck

The wrap that accompanied the roasted peking duck, however, was a disappointment. It was too thick and doughy. I’ve definitely had better.

Scallops Sauteed with Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce

The Scallops Sauteed with Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce was quite a hit. The scallops were tender and cooked perfectly and the black bean sauce was very flavourful. Mixed with the red and green peppers, it would have went very well with rice.

Lettuce Wrap with Stir Fried Diced Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Celery

Then we had the Lettuce Wrap with Stir Fried Diced Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Celery. This was average. Nothing too special again. I liked how it wasn’t too salty though.

Steamed Eggplant with Bean Sauce

Since we needed some veggies, we got the Steamed Eggplant with Bean Sauce. I’m not a huge fan of eggplants, but the bean sauce was quite delicious! The eggplants were also very soft.

Braised Tofu and Vegetables with Brown Sauce

The Braised Tofu and Vegetables with Brown Sauce was one of my favourite dishes. I love braised tofus! They are slightly crispy on the outside, and the inside melts in your mouth. Love this type of tofu! Super smooth and silky!

Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Seasonal Greens

Also had some Braised Chinese Mushrooms and Seasonal Greens. I actually didn’t get around to trying this.

Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice

Lastly, we had two types of Fried Rice. Pictured here is the Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice, which has been half eaten… And the one I tried was the Dried Scallop Fried Rice. Again, I found the fried rice a little bland. I guess it is good in a way that the food is a little bland since too much salt isn’t too good for you…

Lastly, the dinner ended with complimentary Red Bean Soup. Overall, we had great service and dinner was good. Our bill wasn’t even too pricey, with each person only paying a little over $20! Plus we were all full! A great way to gather for a farewell. Hope the boys are having fun in Australia! 🙂

Yuu Japanese Tapas (Revisit #2)

May 26, 2014May 25, 2014Leave a comment

Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait

After some sushi, K was craving some deserts – specifically a parfait. Since we didn’t want to drive all the way to Vancouver, we decided to go to Yuu Japanese Tapas. We remembered that they had a large assortment of desserts, and I had also tried their parfait before. I warned K that it wasn’t amazing, but she still wanted to satisfy her parfait craving. She went for the Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait, which I had also ordered before. She, too, felt like it was a disappointment.

Warm Sweet Yam with Ice Cream

For myself, I wanted to try something unusual. I went for the Warm Sweet Yam with Ice Cream, and it was definitely really odd. It was purple yam that was mashed, with red bean surrounding it and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We all agreed that it was something that we could probably make ourselves and definitely not worth the money.

Crispy Toast Cube with Chocolate, Almond & Ice Cream

Lastly, E got the Crispy Toast Cube with Chocolate, Almond & Ice Cream. This was probably the best one out of the bunch. Essentially toast that had been lightly fried and drizzled with lots of chocolate sauce.

Overall, we didn’t find that their desserts were any amazing. Desserts cost around $7 each, which is quite pricey what they were. Probably won’t be visiting here again for their desserts.

Bits and Pieces of Amsterdam

March 14, 2014March 13, 2014Leave a comment

During my visit in Amsterdam, I also snacked on some food that I think are worth mentioning. After the Burger Bar, we walked a few steps and smelt some freshly baked goods! It was coming out of the Metropolitan, which offers a variety of pastries and sweets, including waffles, ice cream, and chocolate.

For myself, I chose this Chocolate Crispy Ball. It wasn’t something I had seen before, so I decided to give it a try. It’s sort of like corn flakes but coated with chocolate and all stuck together. Not bad, but it got a little too sweet after a while!

Then, another night we were wandering the streets and ended up in Chinatown. We were starving and M suddenly disappeared into Nam Kee. Nam Kee specializes in Chinese BBQ meats, and the ironic thing is that I usually hate it when my mom buys this back in Vancouver.

However, a few of us girls decided to share a box of mixed meat and the weirdest thing was I thought it was so delicious! I guess when you don’t eat something for 3 months, it tastes really good to you. I used to eat this pretty much every week when my mom was lazy to cook and I just got sick of it… And never had I thought soy sauce on rice could be so delicious… The meats were lean and you got a lot for the price you paid for. Nam Kee also has 2 other restaurants in Amsterdam, one of which we visited on a different night. However, I didn’t’ think the other restaurant was as good as this one. Or perhaps I was just really hungry and standing on the street eating this take out box was so satisfying…

Duvel beer is a Belgian beer owned by a Flemish family. It’s a strong golden pale ale, which M said was really good. Although it is supposed to be a little bitter, I found it quite easy to drink. I enjoy my beers to be light and easy to drink.

Our hostel had a bunch of coupons for activities in Amsterdam, and one that caught our eyes was the XtraCold Ice Bar. Honestly, we were all quite disappointed in this. It cost around 16 euros and to make things worse, S and I had split up from the group. We also got a bit lost trying to find the bar, and by the time we got there, we were told that we only had 15 minutes left of the “experience”. When we bought our tickets, we had “reserved” a time for the experience… Apparently, the whole experience only lasts around 50 minutes. We asked if we should still go in, and the guy at the till said it was up to us, but that we wouldn’t be getting the full experience. Since we didn’t want to split up from the group, we quickly got put into these parka jackets and gloves that were supposed to keep us warm. They also gave us some 3D glasses. When we got in, all our friends were freezing. Apparently the experience was watching some penguin cartoon show… which I definitely did not understand for the last 15 minutes. The ice room was extremely small with “fake glass”. I’m pretty sure it’s not real but more like clear plastic since I took off my gloves and touched it. They also did not have enough seats, so many people ended up having to stand in the back for the entire show. They have a mini bar in there with one bartender and you receive 2 complimentary shots in these ice shot glasses. Honestly, I did not think it was worth our money and our friends were freezing for the whole hour and said we hadn’t missed out much and would’ve rather came in late so they didn’t have to suffer the cold. They also didn’t allow photography inside, but only with their camera which of course, you needed to pay for the photos after. Outside of the room, there is an actual bar with more normal temperatures, and I thought the setting seemed pretty nice. I’m pretty sure the drinks were really expensive though, and it seemed more like a tourist attraction since the bar was pretty much empty.

On a different morning, we got up early and went to look for some breakfast. And…we ended up at a Donair shop and ordered some chicken nuggets and fries. The chicken nuggets actually reminded me of Mcnuggets and they were extremely crispy on the outside. The fries were also quite different from American and Spanish fries. They were very crisp, and my friends said they were Belgian fries. Belgian fries are fried twice, hence they are much crispier.

During our sightseeing, we found the famous I am Amsterdam sign!

Another cool attraction we discovered was the Amsterdam Cheese Museum. It’s not exactly a museum because it’s more like a cheese shop. Inside, they have literally all types of cheese. Cheese with flavours such as truffles, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, sausage and much more. My favourite was the pesto cheese and the hickory cheese which literally tasted like sausage! The shop is quite small, but it’s filled with such a large variety of cheese, and almost every type of cheese has samples for you to try. The staff are also really friendly and don’t really force you to buy anything. I wish I took some cheese back, but my backpack traveling really limited how much space I had… Downstairs, there is an extremely mini museum. They have a few boards with some cheese history, and then they have outfits and props like traditional Dutch wear and clogs for you to dress up in to take pictures. Other than that, it’s really more of a cheese shop than a museum. Worth checking out if you’re a cheese lover and won’t take up too much of your time!

Restaurante Japones Wok – Barcelona

January 10, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

I guess my Asian food craving continued, as a few days later, my friends and I decided to go to an all you can eat Japanese restaurant called Japones Wok near Arc de Triomf. It seems that this metro station area has a lot of Asian food. Anyways, for lunch, you can have all you can eat for 9.50 euros. Not bad, considering you’re in Spain. However, the little trick is that you must order a drink as well. And their drinks cost at least 2 euros, even for a bottle of water. You end up paying over 10 euros for your meal because of that. And to think that all you can eat places in Richmond are bad sometimes….well yea, let’s just be grateful for that. At Restaurante Japones Wok, which is considered a very good Japanese restaurant in Barcelona, it really isn’t just Japanese food. You get a mix of Japanese and Chinese food. I haven’t really seen any Japanese locals in Barcelona for the four months I stayed, but learned that most Japanese restaurants are operated by Chinese. So here we have some Chow Mein, Fried Rice, Calamari, Beef Stir Fry, Assorted Grilled Seafood, Seaweed Salad, Gyoza and Sushi. There’s actually a lot to choose from, and they even have a section of dim sum… For sushi, there actually isn’t a lot to choose from, and each piece is very dainty and small. I almost feel embarrassed if I take more than two of each as they don’t put out a lot each time. The fish is definitely not as fresh as the ones in Vancouver, but they are bearable.

What I liked about this place was they also have all you can eat teppanyaki. That’s something that wouldn’t be as common. You choose a variety of seafood, meet, kebabs, and vegetables and place it on a plate. Then you line up, and the chef will grill your items right in front of you. Pretty cool, and the seafood here is quite fresh. I also ordered steak, but I have learned that their steak in Spain is basically a thin slice of beef. It almost reminds me of pork because it is so thin, and after grilling it, it becomes super tough. Not juicy like the ones back at home.

But if you’re looking for some Asian food, give Japones Wok a try. It won’t be authentic, but it can satisfy your cravings in the meantime. Also, they have a variety of candies and gummies along their buffet too! Yes…I ended up eating a lot candy instead…

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Chinese