Cora’s Breakfast & Lunch (Ironwood)

August 13, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Fruit Cocktail

Jo Construction – 3 eggs (easy over), 3 sausages, and bacon

Toast that came along with Jo Construction

Eggs Ben et Dictine – two poached eggs and ham on an English muffin covered with Hollandaise sauce, served with roasted potatoes and fresh fruit

My parents normally don’t go out to eat breakfast, unless it’s dim sum, but we decided to head down to Ironwood to check out Cora’s since it had opened not too long ago. The service there is…interesting. The people are really friendly, but a little overly friendly that it seems almost fake. They seem to just recite these lines, and it’s almost a little awkward.

But anyways, my dad decided to try their Fruit Cocktail of the day, which was supposed to consist of 5 fruits or something like that. I don’t remember which fruits she said, but I took a sip, and it was alright. Just a bunch of fruits blended together I’m guessing, but not a smoothie texture for sure. It was much more light and watery. For myself, I got the Eggs Ben et Dictine. I seem to always get the eggs benedict at breakfast places, but that’s cause I feel like I can’t easily make that at home. Or at least I don’t feel that I’m skilled enough to do so! It was presented really nicely with fruits covering the plate in a nice presentation. Apparently, at Cora’s, their selling point is that their breakfasts are supposed to be extremely healthy because of all the fruits they add to the plate. But the funny thing was that my roasted potatoes were the last thing I would call healthy. They sure were roasted… Some of them were so burnt that you pretty much couldn’t even take a bite from the side. It was just pure black. I swear I had 1/3 of the potatoes left on my plate because they were just clearly inedible.

Other than that, everything was decent. Surprisingly, the portions weren’t as large as I had imagined. I think it’s probably because 1/4 of your plate is full of fruits, so it’s not as filling. So I would say Cora’s definitely has smaller portions compared to places such as IHop. I was also quite surprised that on a weekday morning, there were actually quite a few tables of people eating.

Hime Sushi

August 13, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Complimentary Edamame – cooked green soy beans

Red Dragon Roll – inside: crunch, prawn tempura, cucumber; top: salmon & avocado with house sauce

Oshinko Roll

Ankake Tofu – deep-fried tofu with mixed vegetable topping

Ebi Mayo – deep fried prawns & yam with house mayo sauce

Crunch Munch – inside: prawn tempura, crunch, tobiko, cucumber; top: grilled unagi, avocado with house sauce

J’s birthday was a while back, so yes this is from a while back too. Anyways, S and I had a whole day of fun planned and of course that included some delicious food! We had a beer tasting fundraiser for Sauder Africa Intiative (which by the way is something everyone should check out!), which was on Main Street, so we had to look for something nearby since we had to go set up as well. We remembered J liked Japanese food, so I did some urbanspooning and off we went to Hime Sushi. It’s a tiny little Japanese shop with pretty much all seats occupied during dinner hours, which is a good sign.

After placing our orders, they offered us a small plate of Edamame beans, which was great to munch on while waiting for our food. We ordered the Ankake Tofu after peering over at the table next to ours, and it was a good choice. It was a great alternative to Agedashi Tofu, as it was sill fried, but felt much more healthy. The vegetables and sauce covered the tofu and was a good change to the usual. S had her Oshinko Roll as always. I chose to get the Red Dragon Roll. I really enjoyed it as there was a crunch to it and it also had my favourite salmon sashimi. Yum! J chose to get the Crunch Munch. I found it to be sort of similar to the Red Dragon Roll, actually just because they both had that crunchy texture. It had grilled unagi on top, so I wasn’t as fond of it. We also got the Ebi Mayo, which I really enjoyed. The batter was light and not oily, which is always a plus. I also liked the crunchy noodles that the shrimps lay on.

Overall, Hime Sushi was not bad. They have some pretty interesting rolls and their food seems to be quite consistent. Not bad!

Nicli Antica Pizzeria

August 10, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Chili Oil and Rosemary Oil

Margherita di Bufala – pomodoro, grana padano, buffalo mozzarela, basil

I hadn’t gone on a food adventure in a while with Steph, so after a school meeting, we decided to go grab some food. I had a gift card for Nicli Antica Pizzeria, so I decided to bring her there to check it out. The pizzeria is located in the edge of Gastown, and although there are very nice looking boutiques and such around the area, the people in the area are still somewhat..sketch if that’s nice to say. We parked on the sidewalk in front of the pizzeria but there were some creepy men murmuring to us! A little scary… Anyways, when we got in, the place was totally different from the outside. The outside looks all antique and vintage, but the inside was clean and modern. I loved how everything was white with pops of red. So pretty!

We didn’t exactly know what to order since after reading the menu, we were still pretty confused. Most of the ingredients were in Italian, and I was just plain confused. We decided to ask our server what she would recommend. She suggested us to try the Margherita di Bufala as it was one of the most popular, and so we did. Basically, they make Neapolitan pizzas, which I’m still not too sure what exactly it is, since I didn’t really do much research. I read it briefly somewhere online though, and I think it has something to do with the crust and how they actually heat it using a special oven or some sort. And wow, the crust was actually so thin! The ingredients were also extremely fresh. You could tell the tomato sauce and the buffalo mozzarella were fresh. When you take a bite with the basil leaf on top, it was really good too! I did find that the crust got a little tough at the bottom after the pizza sat for a while. You could tell especially, when you tried to use a knife to cut it, and it became really difficult to slice. Parts of the crust were also a little burnt, which gave it an ashy taste, that I didn’t quite like. But other than that, the pizza was extremely delicious. The pizza is also large enough to share with 2 – 3 people, although we saw many tables ordering one pizza for each person.

The Local Yolk Cafe

August 9, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Fresh Orange Juice

Our Famous Combos – French Toast, Sausage Links and Three Country Eggs

One Pancake – with two eggs and two slice of bacon

Eggs Benedict – English Muffin, Slice of Ham, Hollandaise Sauce and Hashbrowns

My family had stayed in Lynnwood since we booked our hotel last minute, and everywhere in Bellevue was full, or at a ridiculous price. We got up early to start our day of more shopping, and we decided to head out to grab some breakfast. I really wanted to try these KFC chicken bites that were new, but we were 30 minutes too early, and it wasn’t opened yet. We decided to go to Denny’s which was in close proximity, but we ended up passing by The Local Yolk, which seemed to be a local breakfast place. So hey, why not give it a try. The parking lot had a few cars, so we thought it couldn’t be too bad.

It seemed to be a family run business, and surprisingly it was quite packed on a Sunday morning. The prices were the typical breakfast prices, around $10-$15. My sister and I shared the Eggs Benedict, which was quite large, and consisted of 3 English muffins. The hashbrowns were also really tasty with some crispy edges to them! I also enjoyed their Fresh Orange Juice, which consisted of pulp, so you knew it was freshly squeezed – at least I hope it was!

By the time we left, the parking lot was jam packed, so I guess people really do like coming here for breakfast. Much better than Denny’s for sure in my opinion.

Cheesecake Factory (Bellevue)

August 7, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Tropical Iced Tea

Complimentary Bread

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak served with Mashed Potatoes and Onion Rings

Petite Filet served with Fries and Onion Rings– a smaller version of Filet Mignon

Bistro Shrimp Pasta – crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms, tomato and arugula tossed with spaghettini and a basil-garlic lemon cream sauce

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake – raspberry-vanilla cake, creamy lemon cheesecake, raspberry lady fingers and lemon mousse

It seems that my family always ends up going to The Cheesecake Factory whenever we’re in Seattle. Perhaps it’s because it’s the perfect place to go to after a long day of shopping at Bellevue Mall. Cheesecake Factory is always packed around dinner time, so we had to wait for roughly 30 minutes before we got seated. I decided to get the Tropical Iced Tea, but I didn’t realize that American Iced Teas were unsweetened! And so I was left with a rather bland iced tea with hints of fruitiness to it. My parents both got steaks, and the Petit Filet Mignon was exceptional. I stole a bite, and the meat was extremely tender. I also tried an onion ring, and loved the outer batter as it was thin and crispy. And I forgot to mention, that Cheesecake Factory’s portions are absolutely huge, and it is almost impossible for me to finish a plate by myself. And so of course, I decided to share a plate with my sister, who doesn’t eat a lot either. We got the Bistro Shrimp Pasta, which was extremely delicious. I loved the spaghetinni, as it was thinner than normal spaghetti, and the shrimp also had a lovely texture since it was coated with a light batter. The sauce was light and not too creamy, which I liked. My whole family was extremely full by the end of dinner, but who goes to the Cheesecake Factory without getting a slice of cheesecake! Most tables had their cheesecake to go, but since we still had a long ride back to our hotel, and the weather was quite hot, we decided to just stuff ourselves and eat it at the restaurant. We chose a lighter cheesecake since we could not go for something extremely rich at that point, so we got the Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake. The lemon and raspberry gave the cheesecake a lighter taste to it, with its hint of tangy flavour. I especially love their whipped cream, since it’s super light and airy. You can barely even taste the cream in it! So delicious!

I do want to mention, however, that our waitress, Kelly, was one of the worst servers I’ve had. She came by at the beginning to take our orders, dropped off our drinks and food, and asked how our food was tasting once throughout our whole dinner. I’m not the type that likes to be bothered while eating, but it’s a common gesture to come by more than once throughout the dinner. Not to mention, that I asked for a straw for my drink, and she said she would be right back, but no straw ever came back. My parents also had to remind her to bring them steak knives, which was highly unprofessional. It was almost like we had to chase her down to get her attention. But that’s just our server. I’ve definitely had better servers in the past here, so I guess this is just an exception.

Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant

August 6, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Milk Tea with Tapioca

Five Spiced Beef Wrap

Soy Flavoured Chicken – (Three Cup Chicken) with fresh basil

Shrimp Fried Rice

Off I went to Bellevue for the weekend to do some shopping for the weekend. It seems to be a tradition by now that we head down to the south for some shopping during the summer. And even when I’m on vacation, I love to try new food, so of course I urbanspooned some places to eat! My sister ended up finding Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant, which is basically sort of like our Pearl Castle, where they offer bubble tea and Taiwanese food. It was rated 93% on Urbansppon, so we thought it better be good!

The mall was quite small, but was jam packed with cars, and we basically had nowhere to park during the lunch hours. We ended up having to park a few blocks down and walked over to restaurant. The restaurant was quite packed with families and young adolescents eating, but we got a seat quite fast.

We had just ate breakfast during a stop on our way, so we weren’t too hungry. We ended up just sharing a few dishes among ourselves. My sister and I decided to share the Milk Tea with Tapioca, and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. It’s not even up to par with some of the worse bubble tea places I’ve had back in Richmond. We could see the milk tea powder floating up, and when we tried to stir it in, we realized there was no point since our drink was cold. So they basically didn’t even dissolve all the powder to begin with before adding the ice. You could taste the powder, and it definitely wasn’t great. We also got the Five Spiced Beef Wrap as an appetizer, and it was alright. I personally don’t like cilantro, so it wasn’t exactly my favourite. I’ve definitely had better at Chef Hung as well. Next up, we got the Soy Flavoured Chicken. I found it a little too salty and the chicken was a little overcooked, so it was a bit rough. The chicken pieces were however huge. Lastly, we got the Shrimp Fried Rice, which I found was the best dish out of the 3. The flavour was just right, not too bland and not too salty. It also had loads of shrimp, and the rice was cooked well.

Overall, I don’t really understand why Facing East has such high ratings, because I honestly think it was just average. I’ve definitely had better in Richmond, but maybe that’s because Richmond is full of good eats!

The Crab King

August 3, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

My foodie friends, Steph, Mica and I 🙂

So many crabs in the tank!

Crab Poutine

Seafood Spring Rolls

Deep Fried Mussels with Crunchy Fries – paprika spice, lemon

After watching a video of the construction of Crab King, hearing all the good comments about it, and even walking by a few times and always telling my friends we would try it next time, I finally tried it on a nice sunny day! Crab King is located on the boardwalk of Steveston Village, and is apparently supposed to be floating, but it wasn’t exactly “floating” as I had imagined. Crab King is also sort of a self serve place. You place your order at the front, and then you take a numbered sign with you to the table of your choice. Then, they bring the food to you.

Steph, Mica and I wanted to try a bit of everything, so we decided to share three plates. First up, the Crab Poutine we had all been talking about! It was basically a plate of fries topped with crab pieces and layered with cheese and gravy. Interestingly, the cheese wasn’t like the cheese curd that we usually see in poutines at New York Fries and such, but it was much more stringy and I actually preferred this much more. The amount of crab was also not too shabby, so it was definitely a good dish. Next up, we got the Seafood Spring Rolls. I couldn’t exactly taste the seafood in it, but I thought they tasted better than some of the Vietnamese spring rolls I’ve had. Not bad! And lastly, I wanted to try the Deep Fried Mussels, which came with what they called “Crunchy Fries”. We asked the cashier why they were called crunchy fries since they also had something on the menu just called normal fries, but he just laughed and said “to make it sound more special” or something along those lines. Interesting… Anyways, the mussels were pretty interesting since they were “deep fried”. They tasted pretty much the same as normal mussels, but were a little more crispy on the edges. The paprika gave it a nice flavour, and along with the lemon, had some zesty flavour to it. As for the fries, definitely not anything different than those normal fries. Tasted just like any other fries.

Crab King is definitely a nice place to grab some boardwalk food if you’re in Steveston Village, and is a great option other than the typical Pajos Fish and Chips that we often get. It’s got an amazing view by the water and is breezy on a nice summer day!

Manzo Itamae

August 1, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Takoyaki

Mentaiko Chaahan

I realized that I’ve been getting lazy with food blogging, and now my posts are all from weeks ago! Anyways, a few weeks ago, we had Michelle’s birthday dinner at Manzo Itamae. I’ve actually been here a few times, although I personally think it’s just average. I wasn’t too hungry that day since I ate not long beforehand, so I decided to share some food. We got the Takoyaki, which I thought was pretty good. It came with loads of that fish flake stuff, and the fillings inside weren’t crappy like some places. Mica suggested that I try the Mentaiko Chaahan, which is basically fried rice with marinated roe of pollock. It was quite interesting since I don’t think I’ve really had Japanese fried rice before. You could definitely taste the flavours of the mentaiko, which made the dish great. Service was however terrible with this dish. The takoyakis came promptly, but I swear I waited for almost an hour for my Mentaiko Chaahan to come. I know that we had a large group, so it would take longer, but the fact that everyone else’s food came, but not mine, was a disappointment. Most of my friends had finished their food by the time my fried rice came. So service this time was definitely a disappointment, but food was average as usual.