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!

Starbucks – Caramel Brulée Latte

November 30, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Caramel Brulée Latte – Espresso and steamed milk flavored with caramel Brulée sauce, topped with sweetened whipped cream and caramel Brulée topping

With school ending, I couldn’t resist myself and decided to get another holiday drink from Starbucks. This time I got the Caramel Brulée Latte, which is one of my favourite Starbucks holiday drinks. I’ve gotten this in the past years, and it has never disappointed me. I love the caramel sweetness at the top, and I find it creamy all throughout. I do find that the sweetness sort of disappears as you get lower and lower. It’s basically since the caramel Brulée toppings melt, so the sweetness disperses throughout the drink. Great drink to warm up during the holidays!

Starbucks – Pumpkin Spice Latte

November 20, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I’m not a coffee drinker, so I really can’t judge what a good coffee is, but I love getting Starbucks’ espresso beverages. I don’t even know if they are really considered “coffee”, but I don’t drink their freshly brewed coffee for sure. I just love getting their frappuccinos, lattes, mochas and teas! And now that the holidays are here, I get super excited to try out the holiday drinks! This time, I chose to try their Pumpkin Spice Latte because I’ve been hearing really good things about it. People say even if you don’t like pumpkin or coffee, you’ll like this since it apparently doesn’t even taste like pumpkin. To be honest, I just thought it was average. It wasn’t really a taste that I absolutely loved. I don’t normally like drinks with spice, and even though the spice wasn’t strong, it was still there. It was alright, but I would probably choose another drink next time.

Deer Garden Signatures 鹿園魚湯米線

November 18, 2012May 2, 20131 Comment

Everyone got home super late the other night, so we were all starving. Problem was…no one wanted to cook. So off we went to grab some quick food. Mom decided that we go to Deer Garden. She seems to love those noodles. The place is always packed though! We probably waited around 15 minutes before getting a seat for dinner.

Hot Lemon Ribena

They are famous for their “Make Your Own Noodle Combo” type of menu, which is similar to many other Chinese restaurants out there these days. However, they also offer other types of HK style food. I shared two noodle bowls with my sister and mom since I had just ate some dim sum an hour earlier. This is the Hot Lemon Ribena that my sister ordered that comes with your noodles. All noodle combos, and many of the HK style combos come with a hot drink free of charge as well. I found the lemon ribena to be quite sour, and would much prefer it cold, but that would be an additional charge.

Original Fish Soup + Sliced Beef Brisket + Fish Puffs + Rice Noodles

For the Noodle Combos, you choose your soup base, 2 toppings, noodles, and a hot drink for $8.50. Mom got the Rice Noodles in the Original Fish Soup, with Sliced Beef Briskets and Fish Puffs. The soup had no MSG according to their menu, and I would believe so, as I wasn’t thirsty after drinking the soup. It was strong in fish flavour, but other than that, I found it a little bland. The beef brisket was extremely tender, and I liked the rice noodles as they had a great texture. Mom also got the Hot Ovaltine with her combo.

Desert Wings with Ginger

She also added a $1.75 to get 3 Desert Wings added to her combo. I didn’t eat them, since I was still sick, but I’ve had them before and they are quite delicious.

ChaoChou Style Dried Fish and Minced Pork Fish Soup + Chicken Balls + Beef Stomach + Udon

Sis got the Udon with the ChaoChou Style Dried Fish and Minced Pork Fish Soup, with Chicken Balls and Beef Stomach. I found that her soup base had much more flavor, even though it said the fish soup had no MSG on the menu. Her Chicken Balls, however were full of MSG. It was super salty and flavourful…totally MSG. All noodles also came with lots of cabbage, mushrooms, and bean curd.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice with Honey Tomatoes Bacon Sauce

Dad wanted to be adventurous and decided to get something other than their famous noodles. He chose the Baked Pork Chop on Rice with Honey Tomatoes Bacon Sauce instead. It was a large portion and he said it was extremely hot all throughout the dish. The amount of pork chop was also extremely generous. It was one large piece that reached from one side of the casserole dish to the other. However, he expected some bacon, and it took him a while to discover some bacon bits on the top of the sauce. He also said that he couldn’t really taste any honey, which he was expecting. All in all, he said it was not bad.

Overall, Deer Garden is a great place to get a decent meal if you’re looking for noodle combos, or HK style combos. The prices are quite average, but you are looking to be waiting around during busy lunch and dinner times. The food never seems to disappoint too much, but you won’t be expecting any superior service at this busy restaurant.

Pho Lan

November 16, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

On Remembrance Day, I didn’t have work or school, so it was a pretty chill day for me. Only thing was the house was left with just my dad and I, and we were both too lazy to cook. So off we headed out to look for food close by. My dad ended up suggesting Pho Lan, since it was close to our house and he was also craving some Vietnamese food. To be honest, I used to never want to even step inside this restaurant. The restaurant looks old and dirty from the outside, but last year, my dad finally dragged me in, and ever since, I’ve been okay with the place. And after hearing the great reviews about it, I guess I will enter a less pleasant looking place if it means good food. I’ve only visited Pho Lan once before this time, but each time I arrive, the place is jammed pack with people. It might have to do with the fact that the place is really small! When you enter from the back door and try to make your way up to the front, you really got to squeeze by those chairs on either side of you. It’s THAT tight fitting. But nevertheless, it is always filled with people.

Pho Lan Special Beef Noodle Soup (Medium)

We waited for approximately 5 minutes to get a table, and boringly enough, my dad and I ended up with the same order – Pho Lan Special Beef Noodle Soup. It’s got everything in it, including rare steak, well done flank, tendon, tripe and beef balls. I’m always so indecisive so I always get the specials for pho. I got the medium and my dad got the large. It’s pretty hard to tell from the pictures that the bottom bowl is much larger than the first. So the pictures don’t really do justice. But the large is much larger than the medium!

Pho Lan Special Beef Noodle Soup (Large)

From the last time I ate here, I remember that the soup used to be really good. And frankly, that’s what makes a good pho – at least in my opinion. Sadly, I didn’t think that the soup this time was any good. My dad and I both agreed that the soup didn’t taste the same as last time’s, and that it overall, wasn’t as good anymore. However, service was still extremely friendly and polite. I would probably opt to go somewhere else next time though, unless they improve on their soup again. Prices are definitely great for the quantity you get though!

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House of Tofu Soup

November 8, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

I know I am totally guilty of not posting in a very long time…It’s probably been literally a whole month since I’ve last posted, but early October was midterms for me, and then I got sick. And now I’m still sick, so I’ve been eating at home pretty much every day. I pretty much got sick two times in the month, and while I was sort of recovering from my first cold, I decided I should finally go out to eat! But that also meant limited choices since I shouldn’t be eating oily, greasy food. I ended up looking some places offering soup and came across House of Tofu Soup. I’ve actually driven by the the restaurant multiple times on Garden City, and I was always curious if it were good. Looking at the reviews, it had pretty good ratings, but those can be deceptive sometimes.

J and I got there at around 8 for dinner and the place was pretty packed! It wasn’t fully occupied, but pretty full compared to what I had imagined. The place looked really small from the outside, but it was actually quite large and could fit many tables. I felt like there was a lot of the young crowd here, although there were families as well.

After taking down our orders, we were served appetizers just like any other Korean restaurant. However, their appetizers were a little different from the usual ones I see. What was really interesting was the Pumpkin Soup. It was funny because J did not believe me when I said it was soup, and refused to drink it. We asked the waitress after, and she confirmed that it was pumpkin soup. I actually thought it tasted a little like cream of corn, but I guess my taste buds were acting a little funny since I was still sick. I actually really enjoyed the soup though. It was quite thick, but the amount they gave you was perfect so that you wouldn’t get sick of that thickness. It also had a hint of sweetness, which I really enjoyed. Another interesting appetizer was the Mashed Potato. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. It was a tiny scoop with beans and corn mixed inside. It was smooth and creamy, and was pretty good as well. And then there was the typical Kimchi and Marinated Seaweed, which I both enjoyed. The last appetizer was the Radish, which I took a bite out of, but did not enjoy due to personal taste preferences. What I really wanted as part of the appetizers were sweet potatoes! But guess they don’t serve them here… Oh and they also brought an egg as well, which I assumed was to be thrown into my soup.

J got the JapChae, which apparently wasn’t that great. I only took a few strands to try, but I wasn’t exactly able to get a good taste of it. The appearance of it didn’t look as flavourful as some of the other ones I’ve seen before though. It also seemed to lack some of the usual veggies that other Korean restaurants use. It looked as though there were more potato noodles than the accompaniments, which might be the reason why it wasn’t as tasty. It was a huge portion however.

And for myself, I got the Tofu Soup, where you get to choose your toppings and soup base. I chose to get a Mix, which basically means there’s both seafood and beef. As for the soup base, I had to go with “White” since my throat definitely would not be able to take the spice. I kind of regret getting the mixture of toppings, because most of the seafood portion were shrimp that were so tiny that it was pretty impossible to rip off the outer shell. I already hate making a mess with seafood in public, and the fact that the shrimps were so tiny, I just completely gave up on doing so. So it was pretty much a waste for me. They did however have mussels in it too, but they didn’t come with the shell and were extremely tiny as well. The beef was limited as I got the mixture, so I should have probably just gotten all beef instead. However, I really enjoyed the tofu and the soup was full of it. I liked how they weren’t cubes of tofu, but they were the ones that were extremely soft. It mixed in well with the rice. I have to say the soup lacked flavour though, but I’m guessing that most people normally order the soup with spice, so that should probably help.

What was really interesting about this tofu soup was that, the waitress would come with a trolley and there would be your tofu soup as pictured above, and then there would be a stone bowl with your rice in it. Then she would scrape the rice and put it in the metal container that was beside the soup in the previous picture. There would be a little leftover rice sticking to this stone bowl, and she would pour this tea in it. She told me that it was for cleansing at the end of my meal. Pretty interesting! I’m guessing if she didn’t pour the tea in it, then it would be like the crunchy rice in bibimbaps! I tried the rice with the tea at the end of my meal, and indeed it was quite cleansing! It was like rice tea… well that was literally what it was. The most interesting part of my meal for sure.

Overall, I wouldn’t say House of Tofu Soup is anything amazing. I actually prefer the Han Ju Tofu Hot Pot, which is pretty much the same thing, although I heard they changed names. House of Tofu Soup would definitely be able to fit larger parties though. Prices were decent, but nothing too special. It might be a place I would go again if I ran out of choices and was around the neighborhood.

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HML Seafood Restaurant: Lobster Feast!

October 12, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Located in central Richmond, HML Seafood Restaurant has been here for quite some time now. I’m pretty sure I’ve ate here before in the past too, but my memory of dim sum restaurants are always faint since I’m not a big fan of it. We usually make turkey every year for Thanksgiving, but we were really lazy this year. I mean, it’s literally a whole day in the kitchen preparing for that big day. So lazy of us…but we decided to go out to eat instead. And since my mother is obsessed with Chinese food, of course she chose a Chinese restaurant.

My parents had recently gone to HML Seafood Restaurant with their friends for dinner. My mother told me that their dim sum is definitely no good, and they had only tried their dinner menu for the first time last time. She was surprised that it was actually pretty good, especially at the amazing value and price. They have a few promotions, and when they ate out last time, they had the lobster meal, which included 6lbs of lobster along with 3 dishes for only $98! What a deal! They said that the portions were large and the dishes weren’t too bad, so off we went.

The restaurant was pretty packed, and literally every table had lobster. I’m guessing everyone was taking advantage of this lobster promotion since it’s probably only available for a limited time. This deal is perfect for 4 if you want to be extremely full, or for 5, which is what we did, and we were still pretty full!

Specialty Chicken (half)

We started off with our first dish of Specialty Chicken. I have to say that the dishes seemed to be a little smaller than at other restaurants, but for this deal, it’s still a pretty good value. These dishes are normally $9.99 if you get them separately which is also a promotion they are having. The chicken wasn’t too tough and it was flavourful. Not bad.

Deep Fried Squab

And then we had Deep Fried Squab. This came in 4 pieces, basically the whole squab. It was hot and the skin was fried to perfection. It was crispy and the meat was flavourful.

6lbs of Lobster!

And of course our main dish – the lobster! You can choose to add noodles underneath for an additional price, but we chose not to. It was presented nicely, and each piece was filled with meat. The sauce was also flavourful, but not too strong. I thought it was just right. There’s actually so much lobster that you get pretty filled up. And the service was actually pretty good. They changed my plate at least 3 times, as opposed to some restaurants that only do it once, so I was pretty impressed.

Deep Fried Egg Tofu Topped with 3 Kinds of Mushroom

Last but not least, we had the Deep Fried Egg Tofu Topped with 3 Kinds of Mushroom. This was one of my favourite dishes. I loved the egg tofu, since it’s extra smooth compared to normal tofu. My mom also said that it’s a difficult dish to make at home because of the amount of oil you need to deep fry these tofu. So delicious though and it was great to have some vegetables after all that lobster meat. It was perfect to pair with a bowl of white rice. Yum!

Overall, HML is not bad for dinner. I read many reviews saying that it’s not that great, and I’m pretty sure dim sum isn’t great here, since my mother repeatedly told me that. But if you catch their promotions for the lobster, I think it’s worth it to give it a try. You can’t expect to have anything magnificent here, but you definitely get what you paid for!