Sushi Mori

July 26, 2013Leave a comment

We were in Coquitlam and craving some Japanese food as usual. And of course J is always craving his nigiris. So we urbanspooned around for a while to see what was nearby. Sushi Mori popped up and the reviews seemed pretty good so off we went.

The inside is extremely nice! It’s filled with wooden furniture and cherry blossom trees with lanterns so it glows. It almost feels like you’re in a cherry blossom wonderland in Japan. The place seems to be operated by Koreans though, as they all knew how to speak Korean.

The tableware is extremely cute. The teapot has an ancient feel to it, and the tea cups are so petite! Okay, a little too small, making the need to repour yourself some tea after every sip… We were also given some Edamame Beans to start as a complementary appetizer.

Spicy Tuna Roll

J got the Spicy Tuna Roll, and it was drizzled with a lot of spicy sauce. Essentially just a normal tuna roll, but drizzled with the spicy sauce.

Crazy Boy Roll – Deep Fried California Roll, Masago

Everyday, they also have a list of items that are at a discounted prices. I think the Crazy Boy Roll was one of them for that night, hence we got it. I’ve tried this type of roll at another sushi restaurant, and it is essentially a california roll that has been battered and deep fried. It was covered with a spicy mayo and topped with masago. I thought it was pretty good, but anything deep fried is usually tasty.

Salmon Don

For myself, I got the Salmon Don. There was a large amount of salmon sashimi – a total of 8 fatty pieces. On the side was a bit of marinated squid and seaweed salad. I did find it quite bland though, and the rice wasn’t cooked that great and wasn’t well seasoned. Something was just lacking, and it tasted rather bland. I wouldn’t say that the salmon was extremely fresh either.

Complementary Salad

Halfway through dinner, we were also given a Complementary Salad. Sort of random, but we’ll take it if it’s free! It was actually a really large plate too. I’m guessing they had extra scraps of vegetables or something. It was filled with lettuce, julienned cucumbers, beets, and pineapples. The pineapples were a real surprise for me, but also my favourite part. I love how the sweetness gave the whole salad some flavour. The portion was definitely too big for us though and we didn’t end up finishing it.

Saba Nigiri, Hamachi Nigiri, Ebi Nigiri

And here were J’s Nigiris. I think the Ebi Nigiri was also on the special menu, hence he ordered quite a few. I didn’t try any, as none of the fish are really my favourites, but he said they weren’t good at all. He was quite disappointed and said they were priced at too high of a price for the quality you are getting.

Overall, I wasn’t too amazed by the food at Sushi Mori. J, on the other hand, was extremely disappointed and said he wouldn’t be coming back. I guess I can’t say much since I only had the Salmon Don, and it honestly isn’t too hard to make. J, however, had high expectations for his nigiris, so he wasn’t happy with them at all. We both agreed that the restaurants atmosphere and decor is probably the reason why people come here. Really nice looking place, but definitely just average food. Probably not coming back again.

Indian Star Restaurant

July 24, 2013Leave a comment

We had originally wanted to go to The Bombay for some butter chicken since J said it was pretty good. Of course, we had to decide to go on a day it wasn’t opened though… Really? A random Tuesday. So yes, we ended up Googling another Indian restaurant closeby, since we were still craving for that butter chicken… And with the limited choices in the Port Coquitlam area, we ended up at Namaste Indian Restaurant. Wait hold on, where is the Namaste on the banner? We got kind of confused, but realized it’s printed on the very side of it vertically… So weird…

Surprisingly, the inside was really nice compared to the outside. It actually looked pretty fancy. They had their lunch buffet advertised at $10.95 outside, so we asked if we could take a look at what the buffet offered. It’s literally just that tiny section at the back corner of the restaurant and there is a salad bar, which to be honest, looked pretty gross. And then there was the meat, veggies, and curry area. Not a lot of offering, but what do you expect when it’s $10.95 and all you can eat. We also asked to look at their regular menu, and we saw that most entrees were probably more expensive than the buffet, so we ended up going for the buffet. What was funnier, was that we asked the man, who basically operates the whole restaurant, how much the buffet was, and he said it was $9.95! Okay, now that’s definitely a deal.

There’s Basmati Rice, and Kofta Curry, which I tried a bit of. It was just decent, and wasn’t one of my favourites. Let’s just say it was “alright”.

I also tried some of their Mixed Vegetables, which were just vegetables, like beans, potatoes, and cauliflower mixed in a seasoning. It was decent, but I felt like their warmer wasn’t heating the food hot enough. They were just warm, and definitely not that great. The Tandoori Chicken were also one of the more popular options. Definitely not the best, but it also wasn’t terrible. It could’ve been more well-seasoned though.

They also had something called Dal Turka, but I wasn’t too sure what it was, and didn’t really want to try it. It looked like no one had touched it! On the left were some Vegetable Pakoras. They were pretty cold, so they weren’t that great. A lot of batter as well.

And then there was what we came here for! Our Butter Chicken. It was alright, and definitely one of the repeat items for us, since there were limited items that were actually decent. There was tons of chicken, but we didn’t find it extremely moist. The sauce was on the creamier tomato side and I found it quite salty. I guess it worked well with the rice and Naan though.

The warmers also had some Naan, but it was cold and quickly gone. So the man occasionally came by and brought us some fresh naan. I found it really oily and it wasn’t flaky at all. Quite disappointing.

And here’s a picture of our first plates. Not a lot of food, since we wanted to try a bit of everything first to get a sense of what’s good and what’s bad (the key to eating at buffets!). I guess Namaste is alright for what you pay for. I mean, you can probably get really full if you keep going for the butter chicken, tandoori and some rice. And all for the price of $9.95 (since apparently it’s a dollar off now…). But then again, I’m not sure how fresh your food is, since the whole time we were there, there was only one other couple eating with us. So imagine your food being in those warmers for the whole lunch hours. I wonder if their regular menu would be better though.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant 海港大酒樓

July 23, 2013Leave a comment

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant has been known for their quality in food. They used to be on No. 3 Road, but several months ago, they moved to a brand new location at River Rock Casino. The place is now extremely grand, like any other Chinese dim sum restaurant, and they even have a showcase of their wines upon entering. However, you definitely do not want to come here if you’re in a rush. Even though we made reservations, we waited 45 minutes to get a seat. It was pretty ridiculous, and I had to go to work in an hour. We had 5 people, so they kept giving up 4 table seats to other people, when we really could’ve gotten the seat. In the end, my mom got pushy and told them we wouldn’t mind taking a 4 table seat, and they finally gave us a seat. I guess you need to be a bit aggressive at these places… So once we got seated, we handed in our order list that we had pre-checked while waiting. Our food did come quite quickly, which was good. I ended up eating everything in a hurry and in less than 30 minutes, so I definitely didn’t taste everything carefully.

Flaky White Radish Pastry

These are one of their famous items. They were so flaky at the top and the mixture of white radish was savoury and seasoned so well. The pastry wasn’t oily at all and is a must order!

Special Honey Flavour Cake

This is supposed to be a dessert, but it actually came as our second item. I’ve had these before and they are an interesting texture. Looks like a honeycomb and there is a slight honey flavour to it. It’s not sweet at all, and the texture is very interesting. Not soft like a spongecake, but definitely has more of a bounce and chew to it!

Steamed Shrimp and Pea Sprouts Dumplings

I didn’t end up trying these, but they looked pretty good. The outer dumpling skin looks thin and the amount of filling is just right.

Pan Fried Radish Cake with XO Sauce

These pan fried rasdish cakes are great if you want some flavour to your dishes. They’re pan fried with xo sauce, so it gives it a bit of spice, although it is quite minimum. I love how they are fried ever so lightly so the sides and corners are a bit crisp, but definitely not burnt. Loved these ones!

Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce

I actually thought the colour of the chicken feet were a bit artificially red. It also tasted slightly off. It wasn’t exactly the black bean sauce or barbeque sauce that I normally taste at other restaurants. I didn’t think this was one of their good dishes.

Braised Ox Stomach with Tendons

The braised ox stomach with tendons also tasted sort of funny. It seems like their braised items have a marinade that isn’t too tasty. At least not one that I personally like. The ox stomach and tendons, however, were quite tender and soft and easy to chew on.

Crystal Shrimp Dumplings

I also didn’t try the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, but they were plump and the skin was fairly thin.

Baked Barbeque Pork Bun

The pork buns are soft and the barbeque pork is full of flavour. The buns remind me of the ones you get at Chinese bakeries, and they were steaming hot when cut open.

Deep Fried Duck Meat and Taro Cake

The taro cakes are always one of my favourites. They have a nice taro cake paste inside with some duck meat filling and the outside is battered and lightly fried. Surprisingly, they didn’t feel too greasy.

Steamed Preserved Salty Egg Yolk Bun

I wasn’t able to try this during lunch time as I had to leave for work, but my family packed one of them up for me. They told me it was extremely good because the preserved salty egg yolk would literally just ooze and drip out and they warned me to be careful of dripping the yolk every where. However, after heating it back up, my bun did not ooze the yolk out. I guess you just have to eat this at the restaurant when it’s freshly made. My yolk ended up being quite gooey and solidified, but it was still pretty good. This is also one of their must-orders, so definitely give it a try if you like some running salty yolk in your bun.

Silky Chicken and Taro Wrapped with Bean Curd Sheet

I didn’t really try this one, since I’m not a big fan of chicken with black skin. I’m sure it tastes the same, but I’m just a picky eater I guess.

Deep Fried Assorted Seafood Dumplings

The Chinese name of this dish also includes the words pumpkin in it, so it’s basically a pumpkin batter dumpling with some seafood in it. I think it was mostly scallops. The batter is chewy and a little mochi-like. Then it’s lightly fried on the outside. Not bad.

Chinese Donut Rolled with Steamed Rice Rolls

Last but not least, my favourite Chinese donut rolled with steamed rice rolls! These ones were really different from other Chinese donut rice rolls. Inside the Chinese donut, they are stuffed with a fish filling. It’s a chewy, bouncy gluten fish filling that is often found stuffed in tofu puffs too. This gave it another level of texture and were extremely good!

All in all, Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant definitely meets the standards and I would say it is one of the best Dim Sum Restaurants in Richmond. However, it is quite pricey, and the place is always packed. If you’re not up for waiting long times even with reservations, then this might not be the place for you. Other than that, I think you should give it a try!

Sushi Itshoni

July 19, 2013Leave a comment

J and I are always in this complex on North Rd, since he has to do his grocery shopping at H-Mart. I guess we are slowly trying out every restaurant in that complex. We decided to give Sushi Itshoni a try. It seems to be Korean operated, and serves a mix of Korean and Japanese cuisine.

The place was quite full during lunch on a weekday. They seem to have pretty good deals, which might be the reason why.

Complementary Appetizers

We were served some complementary appetizers, like any other Korean restaurant would offer. It consisted of Kimchi, Marinated Seaweed, and Boiled Broccoli. Typical stuff.

Friday’s Bento Box

Every day, they have a menu item on special for around $8. For Friday, it consisted of a Bento Box that had Assorted Fried Tempura, Marinated Beef, California Rolls, and a Green Salad. I have to say the food wasn’t that great. It’ll fill you up, but is very average. The tempura batter was extremely thick, and California rolls are pretty bad.

Cold Buckwheat Noodles

J got one of those Cold Buckwheat Noodles. This one was quite simple and didn’t have much in it other than an egg, tomato and some cucumbers. They also had a variety of other ones to choose from.

I probably wouldn’t come back to Sushi Itshoni again. I mean, the prices are decent for lunch, but the quality isn’t that great. Kind of disappointing.

Seto Sushi (Revisit)

July 17, 20131 Comment

We were in Richmond, and J wanted some authentic Japanese food and some good nigiris. I honestly don’t know too many truly authentic Japanese restaurants, so I immediately thought of Seto Sushi. I always know that I’m going to be getting good quality food, even though their prices can be a bit steep sometimes. It’s worth it if you want some good food though!

Fresh Saba, Saba, Hamachi Nigiri

J and his nigiris… He keeps ordering fish that I would have never otherwise tried, but I guess that’s a good thing. I didn’t dare try the saba, since it looked pretty fishy, but I did try the Hamachi. It had a nice texture and was extremely fresh. Not fishy at all. J said the Saba was also pretty good, but you definitely get the fish taste to it. They also had Fresh Saba on the special menu, so he tried that as well. What I love about Seto’s nigiris are is that they put the wasabi inside the piece of sushi too. Makes it so much more authentic!

Chopped Scallop Roll, Negi Toro Roll, House Roll (4 pc)

Seto doesn’t have any creative rolls, and they stick to the basics and authentic sushis. So I didn’t dare try to explore and try something new, and stuck to some of my favourite items that I reorder every time. The Chopped Scallop is always good with an abundant of fresh scallops and a mixture of mayo sauce. I also got half an order of the House Roll, which is always too big to eat in one bite. I end up dissecting the sushi to eat, but it’s always good. It’s filled with salmon, imitation crab, avocado, and topped with tobiko. J also got the Negi Toro Roll, which looked quite typical.

Pickled Plum (Ume) Yakionigiri

J also got the Picked Plum Yakionigiri, which is essentially onigiri, but slightly grilled. It came with seaweed packets so you could wrap it up yourself, which we had some trouble in the beginning. The pickled plum is extremely sour, so it’s not for everyone.

Again, I was extremely pleased with Seto. Definitely one of the best Japanese restaurants in Richmond.

To see my previous post on Seto: https://everydayisafoodday.com/2012/05/21/seto-japanese-restaurant/

The Famous Warehouse

July 9, 20132 Comments

I finally met up with the people from my school who are going to Barcelona with me for exchange! K suggested we go to The Famous Warehouse for lunch to talk about our traveling plans over some cheap food and drinks. I’ve heard of this eatery before but never knew where it was exactly. I’ve probably walked by it multiple times as it’s located right on Granville, just a little past the shops and right next to multiple clubs. No wonder people come here for drinks and food before and after clubbing. Don’t expect good service at all, because the selling point of this eatery is their cheap food. All at $4.95. The place is pretty much like a pub, and it definitely smells like a pub. After waiting for around 20 minutes with no one acknowledging us, a customer who was leaving tells us there are spots in the back. We walk a few steps in, and a server finally talks to us and takes us in. We were then served by a lady, who I have to say gave decent service compared to the reviews I’ve read online. She checked up on us, which I was surprised after reading such terrible reviews.

K got a glass of beer and Yam Fries, while U got a glass of white wine, which was poured in a highball glass… Pretty weird. She also got the Twisted Greens and added chicken to it for another $2.

Mushroom Jack Burger – premium Alberta beef, sauteed mushrooms, gravy, macho sauce, Monterrey jack, toasted brioche bun, shreeded lettuce, tomato, pickle

For myself, I had read some reviews before hand, and most diners agreed that the burgers were the most decent. I got myself the Mushroom Jack Burger, which was a fair size. Not as big as other restaurant, but definitely not a slider. Maybe the size of a McDonald’s burger. It also came with a side of Peppered Fries, which I couldn’t finish in the end. The beef patty was moist, and there was an abundant of mushrooms. I have to say it was a decent burger, especially at the price. I also got myself a Palm Bay, which ended up being more expensive than my meal.

I think they make money through their drinks, because all their drinks are priced higher than your actual meal. My Palm Bay was around $5, and it’s probably one of the cheapest alcoholic drinks you can get on the menu. Oh, and they don’t list the prices of beverages on the menu, so you don’t really know how much you’re paying for until you get your bill. I think most of our bills ended up over $10. The place also seems to always be busy. It’s a great place to go if you’re just looking for cheap food and don’t care about service or waiting. If that’s not your cup of tea, then definitely avoid it.

Midam Rice Cake House

July 7, 2013July 9, 2013Leave a comment

Midam Rice Cake House is tucked away in a Korean mall in Coquitlam and you probably wouldn’t notice it at all. If it weren’t for all the instagram pictures, I’m pretty sure I would’ve never came here.

Inside, the place reminds me of bubble tea shops, but with a Korean touch to it. Maybe it’s the wooden furniture and decor. Oh and I guess pretty much all the diners were Korean too…

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

Midam is famous for their rice cakes of course, and especially for their rice cake desserts. Green tea, mochi, and ice cream are three of my favourite things, so of course I had to get the Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream! This was so delicious. The rice cake was chewy and the ice cream was hard so it melted in your mouth slowly. And of course, it was presented nicely too. A must get!

Green Tea Shaved Ice

And then there’s the Green Tea Shaved Ice. I’m not usually a big fan of shaved ice because after I few spoons, I usually get a brain freeze and start shivering. However, Midam seems to be famous for these, so I had to give it a try. It was bowl of shaved ice topped with red bean, almonds, green tea covered rice cakes, and a spoonful of green tea ice cream. We found it extremely bland, and the girl brought us something that tasted like condensed milk. Immediately after pouring it, it tasted much better. Still, I’m actually not a huge fan of red beans, unless it’s red bean paste, so this wasn’t exactly my favourite. I wish it was just all green tea rice cakes and ice cream! The rice cakes were decent, although I found the green tea to be a little bitter. A hint of sweetness would’ve made it better. It was still chewy and soft and I loved the texture of it. I also found the shaved ice to be pretty big chunks of ice. If it were finely ground, it would’ve been better. Overall, it was just okay.

Lastly, J got the dinner set, which I can’t remember the name of and I can’t find it on their website. We came during dinner time, but silly me decided to have desserts for dinner. J, on the other hand, wanted an actual meal. The lunch set included some appetizers, like salad, beans, kimchi, and miso soup. It also came with black rice and I think his main dish was squid with rice cakes. On the side, it also came with a bowl of steamed eggs.

Midam Rice Cake House seems to be quite popular for the Koreans. You could find different ages eating during dinner time, and many would order desserts too. I guess it’s similar to a Taiwanese bubble tea house, but this one is filled with Korean rice cake desserts. The rice cakes itself are delicious, but some items seem to be a hit or miss. I think I came in with high expectations for the shaved ice, so I left quite disappointed.

Boiling Point

July 6, 20131 Comment

I’ve been seeing people’s pictures of their miniature hot pots and of course I decided to check it out on one of the hottest days… Bad idea, but I guess it satisfied my craving. Boiling Point is located in a small plaza on No.3 Road and boy did I never think parking would be so bad there. We literally waited around 15 minutes, circling around the lot. It’s weird because there really isn’t that many restaurants here, so you would think that parking would be relatively easy…

Inside, the place reminds me of Taiwanese bubble tea spots. I have to say the service is quite mediocre. It took forever to get the attention of a server just for us to place an order.

Green Tea

Apparently if you dine before 3pm, then you get a complementary choice of Green or Black Tea. I chose the Green Tea, and it was a refreshing way to enjoy your hot pot.

Curry Fishball Hot Soup (Tiny Spicy)

I’m not sure what’s up with me and curry fishballs lately… probably because I keep eating them at the night market, but after minutes of indecisiveness, I ended up getting the Curry Fishball Hot Soup with tiny spicy. It included Nappa, Vermicelli, Pork Sliced, Enoki Mushroom, Imitation Crabstick, Kamaboko, Fishball, Fired Tofu Skin, Corn, Tempura, Mountain Yam, and Chinese String Bean. I have to say I wasn’t too impressed with it. The curry was so thin that it lacked flavour. I was expecting a thicker soup base, but it was more like curry powder in water. The fish balls weren’t even coated in curry, which was quite disappointing.

Beef Hot Soup (Very Spicy)

N got the Beef Hot Soup. It included Nappa, Vermicelli, Beef Sliced, Enoki Mushroom, Tomato, Firm Tofu, Tempura, Corn, Meatball, Kamaboko, Fired Tofu Skin, and Imitation Crabstick. It looked pretty good and apparently it wasn’t too spicy for her. We did find that it was weird how the beef was still quite pink, even though it was cooked for a long time.

Beef Hot Soup (Flaming Spicy)

J is crazy for spicy food, so she also got the Beef Hot Soup, but with flaming spicy. I like how there was a warning sign on the menu, but she clearly did not think it was spicy at all. I tried a piece of her cabbage in it, and I thought it was really spicy!!

All hot pots also came with a bowl of rice, so the meal is quite filling in the end. I like how you get a variety of ingredients and the choice of how spicy you would like the soup base. At a price of around $11 for most of the hot pots, it’s a great place to grab a filling meal.