Earl’s Restaurant & Bar (Richmond)

January 9, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Warm Gingerbread Cake – brown sugar roasted apples, salted caramel sauce, vanilla bean gelato

I realized I’m half a month late on my posts again… Blame the busy holidays and school starting! But anyways, back in December, the staff at work got together for a mini late night dinner, which was supposedly our Christmas party. We ended up at Earl’s since we get off so late that everywhere else is usually closed on a weekday. I had just grabbed dinner with some friends, so I ended up going for drinks and dessert. Service was not bad, since the restaurant was pretty empty at that time.

I got the Warm Gingerbread Cake, which is on their seasonal menu, and it was such a large piece of cake! It was moist and a little sticky, but surprisingly not too sweet after a few bites. The roasted apples on the side complimented the cake well since whenever I felt like it got too sweet, I would take a bite of apple and the sourness would balance it out. It also came with a vanilla bean gelato, but because the cake was so warm, the gelato was already half melted when it was served. Overall, not bad. But it’s definitely a huge piece to finish on your own. So a great dessert to share with a friend.

Kyo

January 6, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve gone to Kyo before, but the last time I went I was an hour late to dinner and everyone had pretty much finished eating. I ended up devouring a few pieces of sushi and sashimi and that was about it. When my family suggested Kyo, I was super excited to go try it out again. For $23.99 for all you can eat dinner, it’s a pretty good deal with the quality of food you get! It’s not only all you can eat sushi, but also Korean BBQ, which is always a plus!

They have a grill in the center and the service was actually extremely good. They changed our grill once after it got dirty, which you seldom get at other Korean BBQ places. That’s one reason why I normally dislike going to Korean BBQ since many places do not change the grill and you end up with just black coal on your food.

Miso Soup

First up were some appetizers.

Ebi Sunomono

Gomae

I had the Gomae, which was actually pretty good for all you can eat. You got to mix the peanut sauce yourself, and it was just enough for a tasty and refreshing dish.

Lamb

Next, our BBQ dishes arrived. For meat, we only chose to get Lamb, Chicken, and the Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs. Each dish was supposed to be a serving of 4, but we found that they gave much more chicken than the rest. I guess chicken is supposed to be cheaper… The lamb was quite good. It was tender and the marinade wasn’t too strong or bland. It was just right.

Chicken

The Chicken wasn’t as good as the other two meat. It wasn’t tough or anything, but I found that the marinade was a little too salty for my liking. The first piece was good, and then after that, it was too salty.

Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs

The Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs were my favourite. The meat fell off the bones easily, and we weren’t given a bunch of ribs with no meat on it, like what most all you can eat places do. The marinade was also just right for the short ribs.

Prawn

We also got a few rounds of the prawns for the BBQ. They were small, but fresh and were perfect for the grill. For BBQ, there were also a variety of other meat such as beef and pork, seafood, such as salmon, mussels, and squid, and also vegetables, such as corn, eggplant and mushrooms.

Pork Gyoza

The Pork Gyozas were quite delicious for an all you can eat restaurant. They weren’t burnt and didn’t seem to be strong in MSG like some places.

Dynamite Roll & Alaska Roll

The Dynamite Roll and Alaska Roll were quite typical and average. They were quite well made and the salmon was fresh.

Chopped Scallop and Hokigai Nigiri

The Chopped Scallop was one of my favourite sushis of the night. Well, they are basically my all time favourite choice of sushi. The Sushi was actually filled with chopped scallop and they tasted fresh. The Hokigai Nigiri was also fresh.

Tuna Tataki & Beef Sashimi

The Tuna Tataki was quite good. My dad really enjoyed it, but I found that the thin layer of skin that was still attached to be a little disturbing. It was still good, but I would prefer the ones at Guu. But of course, with the price I’m paying for unlimited tuna tataki, it was pretty good. Not to forget, the pieces were also quite large. I probably had more than what I would get at Guu. The Beef Sashimi however, was a disappointment. It was quite tough and didn’t seem to be too fresh. They seemed to be frozen when they were served.

Salmon Sashimi & Tuna Sashimi

The Salmon Sashimi was excellent. The pieces weren’t exteremely large in size, but they were definitely larger than pieces I’ve had at many all you can eat places. The sashimi was extremely fresh as well, which is an important part of sashimi. I didn’t get a chance to try the Tuna, but I was told it was great as well. I do want to mention that upon placing our second order of sashimi, the sashimi basically never arrived until we asked for it. The server wasn’t rude or anything and quickly told us she would look into it. We still had to wait for quite some time, but in the end, our sashimi came, and it was still fresh. Not sure if they sincerely forgot to place the order, or if they were playing tricks, like many all you can eat places do. The great thing is that they do not have a limit on sashimi, but that’s also when they may choose to play tricks.

Chicken Wings

Lastly, we also had some chicken wings just for the heck of it. They were lightly battered and well seasoned. Not bad!

We also had some other items that I forgot to take pictures of because it’s so difficult to capture pictures of every item at an all you can eat place. Everyone just wants to dig in! The Zaru Soba, which was another item I ordered was excellent and I liked how it came in a small portion so you wouldn’t get all filled up just by ordering that. For desserts, they also had mango pudding and jello. Jello was typical and came in a large plate and the mango pudding was light and refreshing.

Overall, Kyo is a great all you can eat place for the price you pay. It’s almost impossible to find all around good quality food at all you can eat places, but I think Kyo is pretty good for the most part. If you’re looking for some decent sashimi, sushi, and BBQ food, Kyo would be worth the visit.

Kitanoya Guu (Richmond)

January 4, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Tuna Tataki – seared tuna w/ ponzu sauce

Guu is always such a fun place to go for some izakaya food. The ambiance is awesome with the servers and cooks greeting you as you enter and leave. First up, we got some Tuna Tataki which is always delicious at Guu! Fresh and tasty with the ponzu sauce. Their beef tataki is always one of my favourites.

Oden

We also got some oden, but I only tried the Chikuwa. Typical stuff but I was just really craving it.

Chikuwa Cheese – deep fried breaded fish cake & mozzarella cheese w/ tonkatsu sauce & mayo

More Chikuwa! But this one is Chikuwa Cheese, so it was basically Chikuwa which had cheese oozing out of it. The chikuwa was also lightly breaded and fried and then topped with a tonkatsu sauce and mayo. I found that this was just decent. It was a little on the hard side because it was fried.

Kabocha Korokke – pumpkin & boiled egg croquette

The Kabocha Korokke was delicious! It was a pumpkin croquette with a boiled egg in the center. It was also topped with what I believe were pumpkin chips.

Agedashi Mochi

We decided to be a little adventurous and try out some of the items on their special menu. We got the Agedashi Mochi, which was literally mochi that was fried! I love mochi, but usually as a dessert. This was more of a savoury dish. You really had to dip the mochi into the sauce or else it was pretty bland. It was also a lot more sticky than mochi in desserts. It was interesting!

Diced Beef Tenderloin Steak and Mushroom w/ Garlic Onion Sauce – Special*

The Diced Beef Tenderloin Steak and Mushroom w/ Garlic Onion Sauce was on their Today’s Special item. The beef tenderloin was extremely tender and the dish came sizzling hot. Full of flavour and would definitely recommend if you love meat.

Yakiudon (beef on side) – pan fried udon w/ beef, mushroom, green onion, soy sauce & butter

Lastly, we got the Yakiudon because Guu makes one of my favourite yakiudons! The picture doesn’t have the meat in it since we had it on the side. The meat was still extremely flavourful and tender. I love the fish flakes on the top, and it’s always fun to watch them move when the dish is served hot.

Overall, Guu always lives up to expectations. Great place to grab lunch or have a night out with friends. The service is always cheerful and the quality of food is great!

New York Fries – Butter Chicken Poutine

December 29, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Butter Chicken Poutine

Ever since Richmond Center’s food court began renovating, I never got my dose of poutine from New York Fries. But now that they are back in the new dining terrace, I get to devour that fatty goodness again! Always so delicious!

Leisure Tea & Coffee (Revisit)

December 27, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

I’ve revisited Leisure way too many times by now. But there still seems to be items that I haven’t tried. I always tend to go for my favourites, but this time I decided to try some other menu items. These are actually two separate visits, but I’ll just put it in one post. The first item was the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. I’ve heard great things about their Club Sandwich, but I was curious to see what a Crispy Chicken Sandwich was. So glad I got this because it was really delicious! They come in a plate of four triangular sandwiches in white bread. Each sandwich has three layers of bread, so it makes it quite large in size. With the crispy chicken inside, which is really their famous Taiwanese chicken, the sandwiches are too big to take a whole bite of. But I didn’t mind that. Inside was also tomatoes, cucumbers and mayo. I would definitely recommend this.

Crispy Chicken Waffle

Then, on Christmas night after my Christmas potluck, I joined some friends to go to Leisure again… Only Asian restaurants are open on Christmas, so the place was surprisingly quite packed. With all Asians of course. Sadly, I wasn’t too satisfied with my potluck dinner, so I was actually craving some more food by then. I’ve had their Ice Cream Waffle before, but what was a Crispy Chicken Waffle?! I decided to give that a try and it was oh so delicious! It’s really the same thing as the Crispy Chicken Sandwich but in a waffle form. The waffle also had a lot more chicken than the sandwiches. It wasn’t too salty and all the ingredients just worked well together with the vegetables giving a refreshing feel.

Overall, extremely satisfied with both visits again. The food never seem to disappoint!

Curry Express

December 10, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Butter Chicken and Rice Combo

Dining Terrace has been open for around a month now! I was quite late in actually going to try out their food. I went a week after to check it out while doing some shopping, but never actually tried out any of the food. So finally, during my break at work, I decided to head upstairs and look for a small dinner. The dining terrace is huge, and for someone who is always so indecisive, it’s terrible. I swear I could’ve walked around five times and my break would’ve ended by then. So I decided to head straight to Curry Express. I mean, with work every week, I’m sure to try out every place sooner or later.

Curry Express is also at Lansdowne Centre, but I seldom go there so I’m guessing the last time I had it was when I was a kid. I decided to get a curry and rice combo. There were so many different types of curries in the heating trays, so I asked the cashier what was the most recommended. She immediately said Butter Chicken, so that’s what I went with! I found that the butter chicken was a little more on the watery side, and I would have probably preferred it to be a little thicker. The chicken however, was extremely tender. The sauce was good – quite typical, but I felt it lacked some spices that would be present when you eat at an Indian restaurant. The portion was also less than I had imagined, but I guess that’s food court portions. Overall, I would just say it was average.

Kari House Restaurant

December 4, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been trying to give Kari House a try for the longest time. Unfortunately, they only open for very short periods of time. Every time I’m at Steveston village, they’re closed! They don’t open on Mondays, and only for a few hours for lunch and dinner the other days. Finally, I suggested to go here with J for lunch the other day. It’s family operated, and during a Friday lunch hour, it was almost fully occupied. Although they are famous for their good valued lunches, we opted to go with the normal dinner menu since we could share the larger portions.

Spring Rolls (4 rolls) – Deep fried vegetarian spring rolls with plum sauce

First up, we got the Spring Rolls, which were vegetarian. I didn’t find these that tasty. There was too much wrapping paper so when it was folded over and over again, it became really thick. Only the outside was fried crispy, but the inside layers were soft.

Roti Canai (2 pieces) – Malaysian flaky bread with curry sauce

Whenever I think of Malaysian food, I think of curry and roti! I love roti, but these weren’t that great. Blotches of the roti were quite burnt, and it was one large piece ripped into two, unevenly. I also thought the curry sauce that came with it wasn’t that great. I found it too watery. I was kind of disappointed with this.

Satay Ayam (4 skewers) – Malaysian grilled marinated chicken with peanut sauce

I think these were my favourite of the meal. The Satay Ayam was served still hot and the chicken was super tender. It just ripped off the skewers. It was flavourful, and was perfect when accompanied with the peanut sauce. I found it not as tasty when I had my second one when it chilled though. Got to eat these skewers hot!

Kari Rendang – Traditional rich curry with coconut milk, onions, bell peppers & potatoes and beef brisket

Our last dish was the Kari Rendang. We knew we wanted some sort of curry, but we had no idea what to get. Decisions…! We ended up getting the Rendang because it said traditional curry… It was actually smaller than I had expected. But I guess paying a price of around $11, that was decent. I found this a little watery again. It wasn’t as thick as I would’ve liked. The beef brisket that we chose was quite tender though.

Steamed Jasmine Rice

We also got some rice to go with our Kari Rendang. It was actually a decent amount to share between the two of us.

Overall, Kari House was decent, but I had expected much more because of the reviews. I’m not sure if it’s because I ordered the wrong dishes, but I had much higher hopes. It’s still not bad for their prices, and I would like to give it another try if I’m around the area again (and if it’s open!). I still prefer places like Tropica…sadly… even though I know it’s not authentic Malaysian food at all. But it works for my taste buds!

Good Eat Seafood Restaurant

December 2, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

My parents wanted to go for dim sum last Sunday, but my mom forgot to make reservations the night before. And if you go to dim sum often, you know that dim sum restaurants are packed on Sundays. So we gave some calls to a few restaurants, but they all said the earliest would be 1pm, which meant I would be rushed to get to work. My mom ended up calling Good Eat, and they said we could get seats. I later realized that I had gone to Good Eat with a couple of friends a few years back. I remember the food was ridiculously cheap, but I didn’t exactly remember how the quality of food was. I was skeptical, since the outside of the restaurant is definitely not as classy as some of the other dim sum restaurants in Richmond. But I guess I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Anyways, parking is terrible here. You can basically park in front of other cars because the lot is so small. The manager would then call your license plate when a customer needs you to move your car so they can get out.

Seafood Fried Rice

We started with the Steamed Fried Rice. I think it was $7.99, which is a pretty good deal. The rice came in an unattractive and not very presentable way on the dish, and I got skeptical about the food. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad! There was lots of shrimp and scallops, and was actually pretty flavourful. Not bad!

Steamed Chicken Feet

And then we got the infamous $2.50 dim sum. Yes! Most of the dim sum here is only $2.50-$2.95. What a deal! Most dim sum restaurants charge you around $4 a dish. So then again, I was a little worried about the food. How can dim sum be so cheap?! But again, the Steamed Chicken Feet were surprisingly flavourful and not bad at all. The only issue I had with it, was that I think it was overcooked. It sort of broke off when I picked it up with my chopsticks, which doesn’t normally happen.

Sticky Rice Wrapped w/ Bamboo Leaf

My favourite dim sum is the Sticky Rice Wrapped with Bamboo Leaf. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of dim sum in general, but this is one of the few items I enjoy. It’s simple and filling, but the ingredients inside and slight bamboo aroma is what makes it delicious. These usually come three in an order, but of course, since they are only charging $2.50, they came with only two. They were still quite large in size and had lots of filling. Good!

Deep Fried Tofu

My mom wanted to get the Deep Fried Tofu. The tofu inside was really soft, and the sauce was tasty. I didn’t find it too special though. It was just average.

Steamed Rice Rolls with Dried Shrimp

Lastly, we got the Steamed Rice Rolls with Dried Shrimp. The steamed rice rolls were extremely smooth and soft. This is key to good steamed rice rolls. However, the dried shrimp were what annoyed me. I had multiple shrimps with either some sort of hard shell still on it, or just something that was hard inside my steamed rice rolls! It almost felt like it was sand or bits of rock… It was pretty annoying and distracted me from the great texture that it had!

Overall, I have to say I was pretty impressed by Good Eat. The food is actually decent, and for the price, it is definitely a great value! I’ve had much worse dim sum before at a much higher price. I think the only reason the place isn’t packed is because of the poor parking area. For a starter, I wouldn’t come here on my own, since I would have a headache trying to park. I guess cheap dim sum comes with other costs!