Shyun Sushi Bar

March 13, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Shyun Sushi Bar seems to be a hidden gem. It’s not exactly easy to spot, but looking at the reviews online, it has really good ratings.

It serves authentic Japanese food, and I believe that the owners were working that day. We were greeted by a Japanese lady and there was a man behind the sushi bar. The place is quite simple but homey. There was only another table during our time at the restaurant, but it was a weekday night.

I thought their chinaware was quite special. They were decorated as opposed to typical plates that you could purchase on the market.

Gyu-Tata – quick-seared beef tenderloin sliced and immersed in “ponzu” sauce

We started off with the Gyu-Tata, which is basically their beef tataki. It was a large plate and the beef tenderloin was sliced thinly and lightly seared on the sides. Not bad!

Flying Dragon – BBQ eel, yam tempura, cucumber and salmon
Unagi Nigiri

We also got some sushi. We got the Flying Dragon, which had yam tempura and cucumber inside and topped with eel and salmon on the top. It was flavourful with the sauce and therefore you didn’t need to dip it in soy sauce. The Unagi Nigiri was also quite delicious.

Aburi Butter – *not on the menu!

J saw online that there was some sort of clam dish, but we realized that it was just a clam miso soup. We asked the lady if the chef could just cook up some sort of clam dish, and they did! It was flavoured with mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and a buttery sauce. Quite delicious!

Chopped Scallop Nigiri

I love chopped scallop, so I got the Chopped Scallop Nigiri. I was surprised that they had a little bit of tobiko on top, which I don’t see often. The scallops were extremely fresh and it was one of the best Chopped Scallop Nigiris I’ve had!

Sweet Crunch – some vegetables and kaiware

Lastly, we got the Sweet Crunch. It’s basically a california roll with something crunchy inside! I guess it was just a tempura batter, but it added some great texture.

Overall, I must agree with the other reviewers that Shyun Sushi Bar is a hidden gem. It’s authentic and the service is genuine. They also have some homemade desserts that sound delicious!

The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家

March 12, 2013April 28, 20131 Comment

Located on Alexander Rd, Jade Seafood Restaurant is always packed with people. They essentially have their own parkade, which is a big lot, but the place is still impossible to find spots.

If you place an order before 11 a.m., you can also get a discount for your dim sum. I believe it was 20% off.

Salted Chicken Congee

Instead of ordering the typical dim sum, we chose to get a dim sum set lunch that would feed 4 diners. It was only $39.99 so it was extremely affordable and filling. First, we had the Salted Chicken Congee which came with salted Chinese donuts and salted peanuts on the side. The congee was flavourful because there were pieces of salted chicken in it. However, I disliked how the chicken still had bones, so it was a little difficult to eat.

Vegetable in Fish Soup

The second dish was Vegetables in Fish Soup. It was topped with bean curd. The vegetables dipped in the fish soup made it tasty and healthy.

Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein

The third dish was Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein. I found that the noodles were way too oily but lacked flavour. This was just alright.

Assorted Dim Sum Platter – BBQ Pork Steamed Buns, Shrimp Dumplings, Seafood Spring Rolls, Siu Mai

The last item was the Assorted Dim Sum Platter. It included 4 of each items since it is designed for 4 people. The items were all decent but I wouldn’t say they were anything amazing. I found it odd that they put a steamed shrimp on top of the shrimp dumplings though. Only one…How odd…

Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll

Since we had 5 people eating, we decided to add some extra dishes although we were comfortably full already. I didn’t try the Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll, but I was told it was quite smooth.

Steamed Phoenix Claws

Lastly, we also got the Steamed Phoenix Claws, which is one of my favourite items for dim sum. This one was marinated nicely with a little heat.

Overall, Jade Seafood Restaurant has decent dim sum food. It’s not a place to expect spectacular food, but it isn’t bad. Service was also a hit and miss. Our first server was extremely efficient, but when we asked another server, it took us around 10 tries to get his attention. He stared at our direction, but I’m not sure where his eyes were looking because he either just zoned out or had terrible observation skills.

Froshberg Gelato

March 5, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Matcha Gelato

The new Dining Terrace at Richmond Centre has been open for quite some time now, and everyone was talking about the new Froshberg Gelato. I finally decided to go try it out during my break from work, and chose the Matcha Gelato. However, I wasn’t too satisfied with the flavour. I found it really sweet and almost artificial. It didn’t have the true matcha tea leaves flavour to it. It almost felt too milky and creamy for it to be a matcha gelato.

I’ve yet to try the other flavours though, so perhaps the other flavours are much better.

New Concept Hot Pot 蜀九香

March 3, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been to New Concept Hot Pot once before, but for some reason, I don’t have a fond memory of it. It’s a tiny little shop on Westminster Hwy, so reservations are pretty much a must. I find that the place is much cleaner than many of the other hot pot places too. However, they are not that great in English, so it’s more catered to mandarin-speaking customers.

They use an electronic heater, and you can tell that everything is pretty brand new and clean. It’s interesting how they offer sunflower seeds while you wait for your food. Their menu isn’t too extensive though, so they really only have the basics.

We got one side with spicy Sze Chuan soup base, and the other side a mushroom soup base. The mushroom soup base was also filled with goji berries. New Concept Hot Pot also offers a pot that can have 3 soup bases, which isn’t seen at many restaurants.

Udon, Rice Cake

I found the udon to be of poor quality since it wasn’t chewy at all. The rice cakes were also not that chewy. I wasn’t too satisfied with these two items.

Tripe, Ice Tofu, Soft Tofu, Octopus, Lotus Root, Wintermelon

Sweet Potato Noodles, Yam Root Noodles

Dumplings

Variety of Veggies

Enoki Mushrooms

Spicy Beef and Spicy Fish

I found this too spicy personally, but the beef was very tender. It was almost like a chili base for the spice.

Beef

Another variety of Beef

Overall, the food was quite typical. Nothing extremely amazing. We ended up paying a little under $30 each person. Their menu is definitely smaller than many other hot pot places though. But the quality of their food is decent. Service was also quite well. The food took a little long to arrive in the beginning, but after that, the wait was quite reasonable.

Suika

March 2, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

For our school club’s team dinner, I chose to have it at Suika. It’s located conveniently on Broadway and offers a selection of Japanese tapas, similar to the ones you can find at Guu.

We ordered a bunch of dishes to share, but it was difficult to share with such a large group. I suggest going here with smaller groups since each dish cannot be shared with probably not more than 4 people. Above was something similar to a tartar I’m guessing? I don’t really know since I didn’t order or try it.

Plum Wine

We all got some plum wine and this was sweet and easy to drink. It was really good served over ice.

Deluxe Suika Box – nine kinds of appetizers

I chose to order the Deluxe Suika Box, but unfortantely it is extremely difficult to share. H and I ended up being the only ones who devoured it… It was an assortment of 9 appetizers and was presently really nicely in a box. Some items were marinated lotus root, eggplant, spicy tofu, a few types of fish, something that tasted similar to beef tongue, and also something similar to a cracker with something like cream cheese. I’m not exactly sure what each dish was, but it was exciting to try a bit of everything!

Kakuni Bibimbap – stewed pork belly, sweet dried shrimp & scallions on rice served in a hot stone bowl

We also got the Kakuni Bibimbap, which was full of flavour. The pork belly was an interesting choice for a bibimbap.

Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio – thinly sliced sockeye salmon with sesame soy dressing, yuzu zest, garlic chips & wasabi mayo

I’ve heard great things about the Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. This was really good! The dressing complemented the salmon really well and I would definitely order this again next time.

Chinese Poutine – french fries topped with spicy ground pork sauce, mozzarella, chili oil, sansho and minced cilantro

The name Chinese Poutine really got us curious about what it was and so we ordered it. I don’t really know why it’s called Chinese poutine, but I guess they used some Asian ingredients in it. I’m a fan of poutine, so this was definitely something I enjoyed. It’s got more of a sauce than say the typical cheese curds though. They basically melted mozzarella on the ground pork sauce, but it was very flavourful, and had a hint of spice.

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki – with home made chili oil on a bed of sliced onion topped with scallions

I ordered the Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki and enjoyed this quite a lot. It was lightly seared on the sides and the sauce was different from other restaurants I have tried. It worked well with the fish!

Beef Filet Fried Rice – cured beef & garlic fried rice

The Beef Filet Fried Rice didn’t look like anything special, but it was surprisingly really good. The beef filet was extremely tender and the garlic in the fried rice definitely gave the dish some flavour. Great variation to the typical Chinese fried rice.

Grilled Duck – grilled duck breast with tomato, granny smith apple slices and special sauce (balsamic, soy, butter & Japanese pepper)

I didn’t try the Grilled Duck, but it looked quite delicious. I found that the accompaniments on the side were also quite interesting. Granny smith apples and tomatoes along with duck? I’m actually quite curious now to know what it tasted like.

Asari Yaki Udon – pan fried thick noodles with manila clams & citron pepper

I love a good dish of yaki udon, so I ordered the Asari Yaki Udon. It wasn’t a large portion, but there were a decent amount of manila clams for the portion of noodles we were given. It was extremely flavourful, and the udon were covered evenly with a bit of sauce.

Chicken Kara-age – famous Japanese “o-sho” style deep fried chicken served with sansho jio (Japanese salt & pepper)

I also ordered the Chicken Kara-age, and they were such large pieces of chicken! I would’ve preferred them to be cut into smaller portions so more of us could try it. It also came with a salt and pepper for dipping instead of the typical mayo.I felt like the chicken was covered with more batter than it needed, so it felt like you were eating batter instead of chicken for the most part.

I’m not sure what this was called, but it looks like a Japanese pizza. I never tried it either, so I’m not sure what ingredients are in it.

Someone at the table also ordered some sashimi, which I believe both are some sort of tuna. I tried the one on the right, and it was extremely fresh. I loved how it was topped with some tobiko too.

Tokyo Oxtail Ramen – slowly braised oxtail & noodles in soy broth topped with dried fish powder & scallions

Someone also ordered the Tokyo Oxtail Ramen, which actually looks really delicious! I didn’t try it though, but it looks like it would be full of flavour.

Yukimi Daifuku – green tea & red bean gelato wrapped in sticky rice cake

And onto the desserts! We ordered pretty much every dessert on their menu and decided to share them all. First up was the Yukimi Daifuku. I actually really wanted to try this, but it was extremely difficult to share. It’s like the perfect combination of my two favourites: gelato and sticky rice cake, better known as mochi! I am definitely going to come back here for this.

Almond Tofu – served with blueberry sauce

The Almond Tofu was extremely smooth and delicious. It was like having tofu dessert but with almond flavour! It was also served with a blueberry sauce, but none of us ended up using it since the dessert was already great on its own.

Earl Grey Tea-Creme Brulee

The Earl Grey Tea-Creme Brulee was so delicious! It was basically a creme brulee but infused with earl grey flavour in it. I love variations of typical creme brulees and this one definitely worked!

Japanese Legendary Matcha Tiramisu

The Japanese Legendary Matcha Tiramisu was also delicious. The cake was so fluffy and light, and the matcha was strong in flavour so I loved it. Along with the whipping cream, it was just perfect! I love the Japanese twist they add to these French desserts!

Matcha Brulee – frozen matcha creme brulee with fresh whipped cream & red bean sauce

And then we also got the Matcha Brulee. Okay, so we had an earl grey creme brulee and now a matcha one? Nope! This was a frozen creme brulee! It felt like I was eating matcha ice cream or something! So smooth but icy at the same time. The top was lightly caramelized just as a creme brulee would be. Such an interesting but delicious dessert!

Souffle Cheese Cake – fluffily baked cheese cake w/ brown sugar sauce

Lastly, we had the Souffle Cheese Cake. This was extremely fluffy and light. It reminded me of Japanese cheesecakes as opposed to the typical cheesecakes because of how light it was.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the food at Suika. They have a normal menu that they have every night, but they also have a menu where they change it up every night. Definitely a great place to share some plates with friends, but probably not in too large of a group. I’m definitely coming back again, whether it be just for the food, or the desserts…Definitely for the desserts though!

Gyo-O 魚王

March 1, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Gyo-O is a cute little restaurant in the mall on Capstan. I’ve gone here years ago, but hadn’t gone back since. They are famous for their noodles and donburis.

Inside, the place is nicely decorated with lots of wood and paintings.

Deep Fried Chicken Soup Udon – Deep Fried Chicken in Soup Udon

I had originally ordered the Deep Fried Chicken Bukkake Udon, but unfortunately they brought me a Deep Fried Chicken Soup Udon. I was actually pretty annoyed since our server actually came back to confirm our orders and I specifically pointed it out to her on the menu. I wanted to try their Bukkake Udon because I don’t see many places with this. It’s supposed to be served with only the udon and then you pour this sauce over it, and the noodles are supposed to be extra chewy. Anyways, the soup udon was not bad. I found it a little salty, but the udon was cooked al dante. It also came with lots of deep fried chicken which was great dipped in the soup so it didn’t feel too oily.

Seafood Tempura Bukkake Udon w/Egg (NO EGG) – Prawn, Salmon, Squid, Unagi, Fishcake, Vegetables Tempura with Half Boiled Egg on Dry Udon

J got the Seafood Tempura Bukkake Udon without the egg. The sauce was pretty much something similar to soy sauce, so it was actually way too salty.

Overall, Gyo-O was alright. I felt a little disappointed just because I didn’t get what I had ordered specifically although I tried J’s and it was a little too salty for my liking. They also have a lot of other donburis that look pretty good. Their menu is quite large, so there are always lots to try.

Sun Sui Wah 新瑞華海鮮酒家

February 26, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I haven’t gone to Sun Sui Wah in a long time. It was decently busy on a weekday around 11a.m.

Congee

The congee was a decent size and I loved the little crisps at the top. It was filled with meat and wasn’t too salty.

Pan Fried Radish Cake

The Radish Cakes were lightly pan fried and were decent. Nothing too special.

Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves

I didn’t try the sticky rice but they seemed to be a decent size for three of them.

Steamed Rice Rolls with Chinese Donut

I found the Chinese donuts to be quite tough. They didn’t seem too fresh. I’ve definitely had better.

Siu-mai

The Siu-Mais were filled with lots of pork and topped with tobiko. Quite average as well.

Egg Tarts

Lastly, for dessert, we got some egg tarts. They had the flaky tart but it was quite thick. I think I’ve had better egg tarts before too.

Overall, I wasn’t too impressed by Sun Sui Wah. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything amazing. Everything was quite typical. The bill ended up being around $16 per person with tons of leftovers, so I guess the prices are not bad.

The Boathouse (Port Moody)

February 25, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

The Boathouse in Port Moody is in an isolated area right by the water. It’s got a really nice view and is much nicer and larger than the one in Richmond.

Oyster Bay – Sauvignon Blanc — New Zealand

This was quite sweet and I enjoyed it.

Thai Crab Cakes – lemon aioli & mango salsa

The crab cakes were crunchy on the outside and moist in the inside. The mango salsa gave it a little zest and along with the lemon aioli, they made a great appetizer.

The lobster came with a lemon hot drawn butter, but I found that the butter kept condensing really quickly. It became too thick and wasn’t that great for dipping.

1.5 lb. Live Atlantic Lobster Dinner – simply steamed, served with lemon hot drawn butter

The lobster was steamed and came with some veggies and potatoes. It was extremely difficult to eat though, because they literally just steamed the whole lobster and served it to us without cutting it apart. We had so much trouble eating it that we had to get our server to take it back to the chef to cut it open.

Mocha Ice Cream Pie – chocolate ganache & maple almonds

Lastly for dessert, we got the mocha ice cream pie, which reminded me of a fancier dairy queen ice cream cake. The top was ice cream, and the bottom was a cookie crust that was similar to oreos. It was then topped with whipping cream and maple almonds with a chocolate and raspberry sauce at the bottom. I enjoyed the ice cream a lot, but I wasn’t a big fan of the cookie crust since I found it too sweet.

Overall, the restaurant and service is great at the Port Moody location. However, I didn’t think that the food was anything spectacular. It is a great place to have a nice, relaxing dinner though.