Sapporo Ramen Shogun

August 27, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Gyoza

Miso Soup

Bibimbap

ChaShu Miso Ramen

It’s my last day interning at the office so M and H decided to take me out for lunch. And now I’m back in the office blogging, instead of working… All is good 🙂

Anyways, I took out my wisdom teeth last week, so I’m still stuck with eating soft food. At least I’ve moved away from drinking soups and congees all day! H decided we should get ramen since it’s something that I could eat. H and I both agreed that Denman had lots of great ramen places, but it was kind of far from our office, so H brought us to Sapporo Ramen Shogun instead. It’s a tiny little shop with wooden decor and cool Japanese cartoon decorations. It seemed pretty busy during the lunch hour as well.

We were seated quickly and service was prompt. Got our orders in, and food came within 5 minutes. We ordered Gyozas to share, and I thought these were quite good. Quite flavourful, and they weren’t burnt! Not bad! M got the Bibimbap, which I believe came with the Miso Soup and the side dish with what I believe were veggies. I didn’t try, but he said it was pretty good. H and I both got the ChaShu Miso Ramen. It was quite large in size and had lots of ChaShu pieces. The ChaShu pieces were not as tender as some I’ve had, but they were not bad. I liked the ramen noodles though, as they were soft but still had a chew to it. The broth could have been more rich in flavour, but it was alright. Wasn’t bland or anything, but could have been more flavourful.

Overall, a decent place to grab a quick lunch if you’re craving ramen in downtown. I wouldn’t say it is as great as the ones at Denman, but you won’t need to line up forever to get some food. Thanks M and H again! It’s been a pleasure working at the office 🙂

Banana Leaf

August 19, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Curry Boneless Chicken – boneless chicken breast simmered in creamy curry with lemon grass, coconut cream

Coconut Rice in Banana Leaf – rice wrapped in fresh banana leaf cooked with coconut milk

Singapore Laska – rice noodle in coconut soup base made of dried shrimps, chili, garlic, lemon grass & turmeric with bean sprout, cilantro, tofu, egg, chicken, fish-cake, squid & shrimps

After hitting up Bella Gelateria, we went on Davie Street, since I wanted to try Thai Basil. Sadly, it was going to close in about an hour or so, and the seating was very limited. So off we went to explore what food there was to eat on Davie. And there was a lot! Such a busy street. We ended up at Banana Leaf, since it was still sort of Thai/ Malaysian – well it’s supposed to be Malaysian, but close enough. It was actually already pretty late for dinner time, but the place was still quite full. It’s dim inside, and you get a pretty Malaysian feel to it.

I got the Singapore Laska, which was actually quite delicious. I’m always kind of unsure about places that seem pretty westernized, just because I feel like the food may not be as authentic and probably just catered for the Canadians. But the laska was actually quite comparable to many of the laskas I have tried at other Asian restaurants. I loved the tofu puffs and fish-cake, and there was a large abundance of ingredients. The soup was really nice with a hint of coconut flavour, and wasn’t so spicy that I couldn’t eat it.

Good food and service! I believe it’s a chain restaurant, so there are a few more around Vancouver.

Bella Gelateria Handcrafted Gelato

August 16, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Matcha Organic Green Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Lavender

Espresso ‘La Futura’ – Milano Coffee

J got me a gift card to Bella Gelateria Handcrafted Gelato, and I must say it was my favourite gift card out of all of them! I didn’t even know of this place, but I looked on Urbanspoon after and found it was one of the top places! I was extremely excited to try it since my favourite dessert is ice cream! And so why not get three flavours at once…I wanted more, but the biggest size only contained three flavours, unless I wanted to get a second cup… We got there around dinner time, but it was packed! There was a line up, but it moved fairly quickly as they make you pay first, and then you can try and decide what flavours you want.

So many flavours to choose from, but I knew I wanted to try the Matcha Organic Green Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Lavender, although I still want to try the sesame flavour. Next time! Anyways, The Matcha was definitely my favourite. My next favourite was the Lavender. I personally love anything lavender, as I think it smells so good! It had a strong floral flavour to it, and I found it really interesting. I don’t think J really liked it though. The earl grey was alright too. Not my favourite, but pretty interesting. I find that earl grey flavours are usually pretty bland for most desserts though. J got the Milano Coffee, which was pretty good. It was really strong in coffee flavour.

Bella is a great place to get genuine Italian gelato, and although it is a bit pricey, it is definitely worth it!

Cartems Donuterie

August 12, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

On our way to Nicli Antica Pizzeria, we drove by Cartems Donuterie, which is said to be one Vancouver’s best donut shops. S and I knew we had to stop by after desserts, and so we did. And of course we had a little adventure while heading over. We left the car at our paid street parking near the pizzeria, and started heading towards the donut pop up shop. It’s literally only 2 blocks away, and short blocks too, but did it ever feel like the longest walk ever… I have to remind you this is on the edge of Gastown, and not to be judgmental, this area is full of homeless people. And so S and I began to speed walk. Or more like run. We were so desperate for these donuts that we sped down that block to avoid all the sketchiness. We were literally panting when we got there, or at least I was. Shows how much I exercise…

Anyways, we were greeted by a friendly man, whom I’m guessing was the owner. S and I were just staring at all those donuts behind the window. So many choices! But we had just ate. So we decided to choose two! The man saw that we were kind of confused staring at all those donuts, so he offered some help. We told him it was our first time, and asked what were the most popular donuts, and he said the Earl Grey and the Maker’s Bourbon Bacon. And so we got those two. He was really nice, and actually gave us two Earl Greys. He said that he had made a batch of them that were smaller than usual, and so he gave us two of those instead. But when I looked at them, they were still pretty big! So nice of him. Anyways, I forgot to take pictures of them, since I was too excited to eat them, but you can see what they look like on their website. We basically ran back to the car again…excited to try these donuts.

The Earl Grey was oh so delicious! It’s a cake donut infused with organic earl grey tea, topped with earl grey glaze and a sprinkling of rose petals. I’m a fan of earl grey or green tea when I go for high tea so this was perfect for me! The earl grey wasn’t too strong, and I liked that, and the rose petals on top were perfect with the hint of floral aroma. Floral teas are also one of my favourites, so this was like full of goodness!! Next up was the Maker’s Bourbon Bacon. Bacon? Yes Bacon on a donut. (I’m still waiting to try Bacon Gelato by the way…) But yes, bacon on donut is now one of my favourite donuts! The donut was glazed with the Maker’s Mark bourbon glaze and topped with double smoked house cured candied bacon. So delicious! I love how it was sweet and salty at the same time, but it just worked all so well! Another note to keep in mind: these donuts are gourmet and expensive. They use local ingredients, and are priced at $3.00 a donut! Yes, that’s triple the price of the donuts and Tim Horton’s…

So worth the sweat and run to get these donuts though…

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.

Benkei Ramen

July 5, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Shio Ramen

Miso Ramen

Shrimp Gyozas

I was craving some ramen the other day, and we were headed towards the downtown area so I quickly urbanspooned what was around, and of course the typical Kintaro and Santouka come up. I spotted Benkei Ramen, which had pretty good ratings, so I was down to try something new.

The exterior is really Japanese with the wooden decor and upon entering, we found ourselves with a bunch of Japanese customers. I always think that if you find lots of Japanese people in a Japanese restaurant, it must be good. Same goes to other cuisines. The employees were also all Japanese, and after looking at the website now, I learned that it is also owned by a Japanese man who has many restaurants in Japan.

I had the Miso Ramen, which came with bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions, and Chashu. It had a seafood broth, pork base soup, and their special miso, which was very delicious. I didn’t think this was the best ramen I’ve had, but it’s honestly not bad. I also tried a Shrimp Gyoza, which was something different since I usually get pork. It definitely had a shrimp in it, but I thought it tasted quite simliar in taste to the pork ones.

Benkei is a great place to go for ramen if you’re in the downtown area, although it is quite far down the shopping area. It’s also surrounded by both Kintaro and Santouka, but those places always have huge line ups, so if you can’t wait, then Benkei is a great place to go.

Red Robin

June 30, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

5 Alarm Burger with Yam Fries – Pepper-Jack cheese, jalapeños, fresh tangy salsa layered on a juicy beef burger and topped with crisp lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle mayo

Calamarvelous – lightly seasoned tender calamari fresh-fried golden, topped with red onions and served with tzatziki

I haven’t had Red Robin in quite some time now, so we decided to make a stop for a quick snack while shopping downtown. Red Robin always seems to have people eating no matter what time. I decided to get the Calamarvelous since I was craving some calamari. I thought it was just decent though. The batter wasn’t that amazing, and wasn’t as fluffy as I would have liked it to be. I’ve definitely had better calamari before. I never got a chance to try the burger, but it looked pretty delicious.

Twisted Fork Bistro

May 27, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Snails – Tender garlic snails cooked with shallots, mushrooms, herbs and white wine served with tomato basil sauce, arrugula and crushed croutons

Scallops and Bacon – Pan seared scallops marinated in thyme and chipotle oil served with caramelized onion, potato puree, Vancouver Island’s double smoked bacon and house corn relish

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom – Filled with arrugula, and pesto vinaigrette, topped with a cashew dill crust served with lentils, baby carrots and tomato basil sauce

Fresh Mussels – One pound, with cream, herbs and fresh tomatoes, served with frites

Confit Duck – Crispy Confit duck served with bacon braised cabbage, duck jus and finished with fruit ketchup

Lavender Creme Brulee

Chocolate Terrine – Frozen dark chocolate mousse layered with raspberry sorbet, with biscotti crumbs and raspberry coulis

Twisted Fork Bistro has been on my go to list for quite a while now. I was so excited to try it finally since there’s always huge line ups for it. Waited a little more than 15 minutes and finally got a seat. The place is really small, so it usually gets packed quite fast. It’s got a warm, homey feeling to it which I love. They serve cozy French cuisine, and are known for their great desserts.

First off, we got the Escargots, which I didn’t find particularly special or anything. There were a lot of escargots, but the flavour was nothing special. The Scallops and Bacon had a sauce that basically tasted like salsa with corn, and I found it a little too sour for my liking. The Stuffed Portabello Mushroom was just alright again. Nothing too special. As for the Fresh Mussels, I found that there were not enough flavour. It was a little bland for me, and I usually don’t eat very feisty flavoured things too. My favourite dish had to be the Confit Duck. The duck was cooked really tender and the sauce complemented the duck breast very well. And finally, we ordered desserts! Tha Lavender Creme Brulee was really delicious! It was infused with a lavender flavour, which I found very special since not many restaurants serve creme brulee with lavender. The lavender actually worked very well with the creme brulee. Lastly, we also ordered a Chocolate Terrine, which had raspberry sauce, and was extremely rich and creamy.

Overall, the main dishes were just alright, but I really enjoyed the desserts, and would probably come back again for that. Always so packed though, so I’ve got to come here earlier!