Torarenbo Japanese Restaurant 虎連坊

January 11, 2015Leave a comment

Salmon Sashimi

I’ve been to Torarenbo years ago, and didn’t think it was too memorable, but I decided to go back and see how it is now. Parking is pretty difficult around dinner time in the complex on Park Road since there are several other restaurants. We were greeted by Chinese speaking employees, so we knew that this wouldn’t be authentic Japanese food. We started off with the Salmon Sashimi, with an order arriving with 7 pieces. The sashimi were a decent size and was very fresh. Slightly pricey compared to other restaurants.

Rainbow Roll

Next was the Rainbow Roll, which came with 8 pieces and was visually quite attractive. It was essentially a basic California roll, but topped with different sashimi, including tuna, salmon, and prawn. Not bad.

Fantastic Roll

Next was the Fantastic Roll, which was my favourite. It came in a pretty flower shape with 6 pieces. It was filled with chopped scallop, toro and mango, and topped with tobiko. I liked the hint of sweetness from the mango.

We also got the Seafood Nabeyaki Udon, which I forgot to get a picture of. This was a seafood hot pot style soup noodle and the soup was extremely delicious! Very sweet, but I’m assuming there wasn’t MSG since I wasn’t thirsty after dinner. A large portion noodles with scallops, two fried ebi tempuras, and fish.

Overall, we were quite satisfied with the food, but I thought it was slightly pricey. They seem to have a returning clientele though, since the servers seemed to know many of the customers. Most of their tables are reserved beforehand and it actually gets filled up during dinner time. I can see why since their service was extremely friendly.

Pros:
– Fresh sashimi
– Service was exceptional

Cons:
– Parking can be difficult
– Not your authentic Japanese owned restaurant

Price Range: $15-25

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4
Service: 5
Ambiance: 3
Parking: 2
Overall: 3.5

Copa Cafe (Richmond)

January 5, 2015January 5, 2015Leave a comment

On Christmas, most restaurants are closed and unless you make reservations well in advance, it’s pretty difficult to get a table on the day of. Mom had been talking about trying the new Copa Cafe on River Road in Richmond for some time now, and it was conveniently opened for Christmas. Not my ideal restaurant to go to for Christmas, but she really wanted to try it, so what could I say… I’m not a huge fan of HK cafe style food, which is essentially what Copa Cafe offers. What was worse was that on Christmas, they only offer their “Christmas menu.” I honestly thought it was a rip off since you had to get their 3 course menu, which was way overpriced for what I was eating. It started off with butter and bread. I didn’t end up eating this since I knew I would get too full by the end of the meal.

Shrimp Salad

First course starts with the Shrimp Salad, which was quite a large portion, but was missing the dressing sauce. I felt like I had a drop of dressing only. Therefore, the salad was really dry. You got some cocktail shrimps, bacon bits and croutons. I personally thought this was a pretty bad salad. Anyone could’ve made this and it definitely lacked flavour.

Shredded Ham Cream Soup

The second appetizer is the choice of Cream Soup or Minestrone. I chose the Shredded Ham Cream Soup. The soup wasn’t hot and already had a layer of cold soup at the top when it arrived. A medium consistency, which I liked, but it lacked any ingredients. You got the tiniest piece of shredded ham here and there.

Surf and Turf

For my entree, I chose the Surf and Turf. This came with a baked lobster tail, steak in peppercorn sauce, some blanched vegetables, and mashed potatoes shaped like a pear and deep fried. The dish was cold when it arrived. To add, my entree came 5 minutes after my two appetizers arrived. Do they expect diners to eat that quickly? It was the worst service possible, with three plates in front of me. I felt that was really unprofessional. As for the food, the lobster was just average. Nothing special. The steak itself was cooked perfectly to medium rare, but I personally thought the peppercorn sauce tasted disgusting. It ruined the whole dish. Something about the flavour was just off. The fried mashed potatoes were decent but needed to be flavoured. The potatoes themselves were bland. Overall, I wasn’t happy with this dish.

Turkey with Cranberry Sauce and Mashed Potatoes

Dad got the Turkey with Cranberry Sauce and Mashed Potatoes. It came with gravy and a side of vegetables. He said they were alright. Your typical turkey.

Crème Brûlée

For dessert, it was Crème Brûlée. The sugar at the top was burnt at the top, hence giving it a burnt taste overall. To add, the dessert was watery in the middle. I thought it was pretty disgusting. Your set menu also comes with your choice of hot drink. The menu ranged from $23 to $32, which I found wasn’t worth it considering the quality of food. It’ll get you full, but I wouldn’t order any of this again. Stick with their regular menu.

Pros:
– Decent amount of parking spots in the parkade shared with T&T
– Ambiance was pretty nice and decorated for a HK style cafe

Cons:
– Service was unprofessional – appetizers and entrees came out all at once
– The dishes we ordered weren’t that great

Price Range: $20-30 (Christmas menu); normally $10-20

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 2
Service: 2
Ambiance: 3
Parking: 3
Overall: 2

Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家 (revisit)

December 31, 2014Leave a comment

Winter Solstice is pretty big for Chinese families, so my mom said we needed to go out for dinner. We celebrated a few days early since it’s always difficult to accommodate with everyone’s schedule. She suggested we go to Jade Seafood Restaurant since they were having a Special Abalone Set Menu. It was $39.98 per person, which was a pretty good deal considering what we got and how full we were. The dinner started off with complimentary peanuts and XO sauce.

Double Boiled Soup

For soup, there are two choices. The Double Boiled Soup came in a clay jar and was extremely sweet and delicious. You could tell it had been boiled for a long time. If I tasted it correctly, it was boiled with chicken and conch meat, which brought lots of flavour.

Shark’s Fin Soup with Shredded Chicken

The second option was the Shark’s Fin Soup with Shredded Chicken, which was definitely less sustainable. I’m surprised they still offer it here since most restaurants have stopped selling shark fin soup. The broth was a thin gelatin consistency and came with ginger and shredded chicken.

Braised Whole Abalone

Next up was the Braised Whole Abalone, which sat on a bed of braised pea tips. Pea tips are one of my favourite Chinese veggies, and they were delicious soaked in the abalone sauce. The abalone itself was just alright. I found it a little too chewy and tough for my liking. The ones at Kirin are much better in my opinion, but also pricier.

Baked Conch with Cheese in Portuguese Sauce

Next was the Baked Conch with Cheese in Portuguese Sauce. The conch shell was presented as part of the dish, and you would’ve thought there would be conch meat inside, but there wasn’t even a bit! It was all mushrooms and onions mixed with the Portuguese sauce. We felt a bit ripped off because of that, but the dish was flavourful regardless.

Sauteed Chicken with Vegetables

A dish that was shared amongst the table was the Sauteed Chicken with Vegetables. It was a good mix of wood ear fungus, zucchinis, carrots, and onions. However, I found the dish to be a bit heavy on oil. The set menu also came with Fried Rice with Egg White and Dried Scallop, which I forgot to take a picture of. Each person got their own bow, and it was huge. Too much rice to finish off the meal.

Hot Almond Soup with Sesame Balls

Lastly, for dessert, it included the Hot Almond Soup with Sesame Balls. The almond soup was smooth and full of almond flavour. There were two glutinous balls filled with sesame paste. Not bad.

Overall, the set menu was a pretty good deal. I know that service is usually pretty bad at Jade, but surprisingly, we had really good service that night. Very attentive and our food came out just as we were about to finish the previous course. Parking of course was a nightmare though, as there are two other restaurants downstairs now.

4 Stones Vegetarian Cuisine 雅室友素食 (Revisit)

December 7, 2014Leave a comment

Herbal Soup

I haven’t been to 4 Stones Vegetarian for many years, mainly because of how difficult finding parking is. We went on a Friday night and the place was packed! Luckily, we got a seat within 10 minutes. Dinner starts off with a choice of soup – herbal or vegetable. K went for the Herbal Soup, which didn’t smell too appetizing. It probably was pretty good for your health though.

Vegetable Soup

For myself, I went for the Vegetable Soup, which was average. It didn’t taste amazing, but I could tell there wasn’t any MSG used. Just plain vegetable broth, so it was pretty healthy.

Combo Appetizers

The three of us both chose a main dish and made it into a combo. A combo comes with appetizers and a bowl of rice. Today’s appetizers included bean curd tofu and boiled veggies. It also comes with fruits, flax seeds, dried cranberries, and almonds for dessert.

Deep Fried Veggie Oysters

First, we shared the Deep Fried Veggies Oysters as an appetizer. I was surprised that the restaurant presents their dishes quite nicely. Typically, Chiense restaurants do not put much effort in presentation, but here, they definitely make an effort. The so called oysters were actually tofu. The batter is light and for some odd reason, it actually had some oyster flavour to it. It came with a satay-like sauce to dip. Very good!

Veggie Beef Brisket with Curry Sauce on Rice

For the combo mains, I chose the Veggie Beef Brisket with Curry Sauce on Rice. Veggie beef brisket? Yup! The beef brisket was actually a type of bean curd. It actually had the texture of eating meat though! Very impressive. I found that the curry sauce was lacking flavour, but in general, the restaurant’s food is not very salty. I guess that’s a good thing health-wise.

Grilled Veggie Unagi

E chose the Grilled Veggie Unagi, which came on a sizzling plate. The unagi was again made of bean curd, wrapped with seaweed and deep fried. It came with a lot of enoki mushrooms and basil leaves. I found that the unagi tasted more like squid instead though, since it had a chewy texture.

Sweet and Sour Bean Curd Fish

Lastly, K chose the Sweet and Sour Bean Curd Fish. Again, the fish was some type of bean curd and was layered with seaweed to imitate the fish skin. The sweet and sour sauce was not very strong, but the peppers and pineapples brought flavour to the sauce. I enjoyed this dish quite a lot.

Overall, 4 Stones Vegetarian is a great choice if you’re looking for Chinese vegetarian food. They have a large selection of choices, and shows that there are endless options other than eating salads. Reservations will most likely be needed for large groups, and they seem to cater to these groups quite well. Parking is also an issue, but other than that, they seem to have a loyal customer base since their food is quite consistent. Service is friendly, but also quite slow since there are not too many servers and the restaurant is always busy.

Mega Sushi (Revisit)

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014Leave a comment

Tuna Tataki Roll

Deciding where to eat in Richmond, I decided to do a revisit to Mega Sushi. They are known for their creative rolls, so that’s exactly what we went for. We started with the Tuna Tataki Roll, which is filled with avocado, cucumber and imitation crab. On top of the sushi is torched tuna and a homemade sauce. I found this one to be average. I would’ve liked the tuna tataki on its own.

Mega Roll

The next was the Mega Roll, which I’ve had before. However, it was presented differently this time. The sushi itself is battered and deep fried. Inside, there is deep fried salmon, green onion, and avocado. On top, there is imitation crab, spicy mayo, and tobiko. Lots of flavour and a hint of spice.

Big Boss Roll

The Big Boss Roll looked pretty interesting. It was filled with prawn tempura, cucumber, imitation crab and avocado. On top, there was torched tuna, four sauces, and tons of yam flakes. I loved the yam flakes, but it also got really messy eating this roll. Lots of textures going on here, but the flavours work well.

Godzilla Bite

Lastly, we got the Godzilla Bite, which was presented beautifully. These were square shaped rice patties with seaweed which were deep fried. On top, there was torched tuna and salmon, tobiko, alfafa and a special sauce. I liked how the deep fried seaweed and rice were sort of chewy and sticky. Definitely something different from your typical rolls.

Overall, Mega Sushi offers innovative rolls. They also have your traditional nigiris and other hot dishes, but I think they focus on modern and contemporary style sushi. The rolls are quite pricey, but are actually quite large in size so fill you up very easily. J and I shared these four rolls, and were beyond full. We couldn’t even finish them all! Parking is limited, but there are street parking available in the area. A bit hidden from the tourist areas of Steveston, so I would say it’s a bit of a hidden gem. Great service as well!

Wing Kee Restaurant 新榮記海鮮食館

December 1, 2014November 30, 2014Leave a comment

Free Range Chicken (1/2)

Wing Kee is super close to my place and I literally drive by it all the time going home, but I’ve never been intrigued to try it. It just didn’t look attractive from the outside. However, I did some googling, and the ratings turned out to be alright. Finally, we decided to make reservations for dinner here. The parking lot is quite big already for one restaurant, but it’s completely packed! We decided to go for their Choose 5 Dishes for a set price. It also came with half an order of complimentary Free Range Chicken. When we thought half an order, we thought it wouldn’t be much, but it was basically what you would get as a whole order normally at other restaurants! The chicken itself was pretty good too. The only issue I had was I found it odd that some of the chicken was cold, and some of it was warm. Definitely microwaved this.

Honey Garlic Spareribs

The first dish we got was the Honey Garlic Spareribs. I thought these were just average. The sauce was flavourful, but the meat was a little tough sometimes.

Pan Fried Clams with Black Bean Sauce

My favourite had to be the Pan Fried Clams with Black Bean Sauce. We had to add a bit of money on top of the set price for this dish, but it was well worth it. Every shell on the plate had clams in it and they were very flavourful. A good amount for the price.

Braised Deep Fried Bean Cake

Next were the Braised Deep Fried Bean Cake. It was mixed with broccoli, and mushrooms. The sauce was thick and flavourful. The tofu inside was very smooth.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Next up were the Deep Fried Chicken Wings. These wings were super plump and full of meat! Crispy skin and a peppery and spicy flavour. I wouldn’t say they were the best I’ve had, but not bad for the price since you get roughly 12 pieces.

Sauteed Beef in Satay Sauce Hot Pot

The last item was the Sauteed Beef in Satay Sauce Hot Pot. To our surprise, the dish did not come in a hot pot, but rather in a clay dish. There were tons of vermicelli noodles and it was covered with the satay sauce. There were a lot of beef as well, but the beef did not taste like beef. Sort of weird…Perhaps they used too much tenderizer?

Sweet Potato Dessert Soup

Lastly, dinner ends with complimentary dessert. Tonight, it was Sweet Potato Soup. Great to combat the cold since there’s ginger in it. Spicy and sweet, but also very warming.

Overall, Wing Kee was actually much better than expected. The prices are very affordable as well, and the portions are huge! We ended up packing a lot of the food up. What was even more surprising was how friendly the service was here. Most of the servers are young males, and they were very attentive and polite. To be honest, that’s not very common and expected at Chinese restaurants. Oh, and Wing Kee is also opened until til 3 a.m. everyday, so another place to add on the list for late night snacks.

Smokehouse Sandwich Co.

November 9, 2014November 8, 2014Leave a comment

It’s almost a ritual for N and I to take each other out for our birthdays and this year N suggested we try Smokehouse Sandwich Co. I’ve briefly heard about this spot, but I honestly had no idea where it was. Driving down Westminster Highway, I still could not picture where it was. Between No. 1 and No. 2, there is tiny little plaza and there hides these sandwich company. Such a hidden gem. We arrived early for lunch, but soon after, the place was absolutely packed!

They have a fairly simple menu board with sandwiches, sides, and drinks. I love how each sandwich has a name to it. You order at the front and they call you when it’s ready. You can then choose a seat to enjoy your meal.

The interior is rustic and cozy. Tall chairs against wooden tables, with sofas, books, brick walls and rugs. It almost feels like you’re at someones home.

Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea

We decided to try their only two drinks. Both drinks come as hot versions as well. They are definitely following the current Mason jar trends here. Most of the ingredients have sunk to the bottom, so we were told to shake it well before drinking.

Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea

N got the Iced Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, which was surprisingly full of ginger flavour. Almost a little too spicy for me! I can imagine the hot version to be perfect if you have a cold. For myself, I had the Iced Strawberry and Mint Tea. Mine was more bland than N’s, but still had a good amount of strawberry flavour. Very refreshing!

Samson

N got the Samson, which came with coffee crusted strawberry glazed beef brisket, butter leaf lettuce, red bell peppers, and aioli. She said it was delicious! It definitely looked really good! Tons of beef brisket for sure.

Billie

For myself, I went for the Billie. First, the bun itself is toasted perfectly! It’s crispy on the outside, and soft in the inside. I also liked how none of the ingerdients made the sandwich soggy. Inside the Billie, it was filled with salt-cured pork belly, butter leaf lettuce, tomato salsa and aioli. Something about that tomato salsa and aioli made this sandwich absolutely delicious! The flavours just worked so well together. A little spicy, but not overwhelming. The pork belly also had a good ratio of fat and meat. A must try!

Crisps

We decided to share a side of Crisps, which are basically like potato chips. They are thin cut potatoes fried in olive oil, so I guess it’s more healthy? The potatoes are so thinly cut! It’s so airy and light. They are already lightly salted, but we were told to try it with their two hot sauces if we like a bit of spice. The red one is made with chilis, smoked garlic, onions, red peppers, and vinegars. I don’t remember what was in the green sauce, but it was definitely much more spicy! Super addicting!

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the sandwiches we had. The service was also extremely friendly. I loved how the lady asked us what we thought afterwards. It’s always a good sign when restaurants value customer opinions. A hidden gem!

Master Hung BBQ Restaurant

October 5, 2014Leave a comment

Master Hung is near my house, but I have never made the effort to visit. Finally, we decided to give it a try, and surprisingly it is packed. Even with reservations, we had to wait 15 minutes. They are supposed to be famous for their Soy Sauce Chicken.

The restaurant is actually fairly small, and the interior is actually much nicer than I expected judging from the outside. Service was quick and friendly.

Daily House Soup

We started off with the Daily House Soup. It was simmered with meat and veggies and full of flavour.

Ling Cod (2 courses) – sauteed with celery and snap peas

Next was the Ling Cod which came in two courses. The first was sauteed with celery and snap peas. I found that it lacked flavour, but this was probably the better version of the two. Some of the pieces had bones in it, which I’m not a huge fan of.

Ling Cod with Tofu Hot Pot

The second course was the Ling Cod with Tofu Hot Pot. For some odd reason, there wasn’t much flavour to this either. You would imagine that this dish would be more flavourful. The best part was the tofu. The ling cod in this dish had a lot of bones too.

Soy Sauce Chicken (half) $2 extra

They have dinner specials, where you can order a number of dishes for a set price. We chose the combo of three, which came to $41.80. Our first dish was the famous Soy Sauce Chicken which came in half a serving. We had to add an extra $2 for this. The chicken was decent, but I didn’t find it too special. The meat had great chew, but I thought it was almost a bit too hard to chew.

Combo for three – $41.80

Bamboo Pith Buddha Feast $2 extra

Next, was the Bamboo Pith Buddha Feast, which came with an assortment vegetables. It included mushrooms, wood ear fungus, corn, bean sprouts, carrots, and broccoli. Again, it wasn’t very flavourful.

Honey Garlic Spareribs

Lastly, we had the Honey Garlic Spareribs, which was probably my favourite of the night. They didn’t look too appealing, but they were battered lightly and flavoured well. A good hint of honey and garlic so it wasn’t too sweet or overwhelming.

Overall, we found Master Hung to be overrated and just mediocre. We were surprised by how many people ate here and how good the ratings were on Urbanspoon. Fair prices, but the items really lack flavour. I guess it’s good if you like your food to be more on the bland side…