Chef Tony

December 29, 2015December 28, 20151 Comment

Chef Tony has been the talk of the town for quite some time and even won Vancouver Magazine’s 2015 best dim sum award.

The restaurant is known for their high-end Chinese cuisine and you can tell just by the interior of the restaurant. Crystal chandeliers and VIP rooms with closed doors perfect for hosting parties.

Even the entrance has a gallery of expensive Chinese liquor as well as tea. We made reservations ahead of time on New Year’s Eve for dim sum and we waited less than 10 minutes and were seated. Pretty good since dim sum restaurants never get you seated on time based on your reservation.

Dry Shrimp and Chives Rice Noodle Roll

We started off with the Dry Shrimp and Chives Rice Noodle Roll which had loads of dry shrimp. The rice noodle roll was very smooth and thin.

Black Truffle Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

Next up were the famous Black Truffle Shrimp and Pork Dumplings. Once placed on our table, we could smell the strong black truffle. This definitely made the typical dim sum very luxurious. The black truffle gave the dumplings an earthy flavour which I quite enjoyed. The wrappers were also thin and filled with a large shrimp and abundance of pork.

Baked Barbecue Pork Bun

The Baked Barbecue Pork Buns were glistening on the top. They were soft and fluffy and filled with lots of meat.

Marinated Chicken Feet

The Marinated Chicken Feet was a bit of a disappointment as I found that they were rather bland. They had a bit of chili flavour but nothing else.

Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

The Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf came with three servings.

These were different from the usual as they had wild rice mixed in. This made it rather dry. It was also filled with some minced meat and salty egg yolk.

Deep Fried Taro and Abalone Dumplings

The Deep Fried Taro and Abalone Dumpling was another dish that was elevated from a simple dim sum to a high-end dish. The deep fried taro were topped with mini abalones. Crispy and flaky on the outside with a slight chew from the abalone.

Deep Fried Sticky Rice

An interesting dish was the Deep Fried Sticky Rice. It was essentially sticky rice which used wild rice again and was coated in a thin batter and deep fried. I thought this was average as it was rather dry and the rice would stick to my teeth.

Braised Mushrooms with Egg Tofu

We also ordered a larger dish which was the Braised Mushrooms with Egg Tofu. The sauce was thick and gooey as it should be. The tofu was smooth in the inside and crispy on the outside.

Steamed Egg Sponge Cake

Lastly, we finished off with some desserts. First was the Steamed Egg Sponge Cake. I found this to be rather dense and wasn’t my favourite.

Baked Durian Paste Pastry

The last was the Baked Durian Paste Pastry. The outside was extremely flaky with the inside filled with some durian paste. The paste was actually not very strong but still pungent nonetheless. If you want strong durian pastries, I would suggest trying Shiang Garden’s.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Chef Tony. The food is carefully prepared although there were some hits and misses. It’s nice that the chef is getting creative with traditional dim sum and adding other complex flavours to the dish. This of course comes with a price but the service and ambiance is also much better than many other Chinese restaurants.

Pros:
– Pretty solid dishes
– Great service and ambiance

Cons:
– Pricier
– Parking is a pain here

Price Range: $20-30 / person

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

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

Gokudo Shabu Shabu

December 5, 2015December 4, 2015Leave a comment

K goes to Gokudo Shabu Shabu quite often and she has been telling me to check it out for the longest time. Finally, on a Friday night, we headed over at around 7pm with reservations along with S and E.

The interior has a bar like setting where people sit in a oval for their hot pot. However, since we had 4 people, we were seated at a separate table near the door. The only downside was that door kept opening and the chilly weather got to us.

At Gokudo, everyone gets their own pot, but it’s not like Boiling Point where all your food is already cooked. You still get to go through the process of cooking your own food, but you have your own stove and pot. Each person also gets their own sauce which is plenty for the meal.

Sirloin Combo

Most of us got the combo since it’s a pretty good deal. K ordered the items individually though as she didn’t want too much meat. The rest of us got the Sirloin Combo, which comes to around $16. It comes with a huge plate of sirloin beef which was very tender. I really enjoyed the meat!

All combos come with a plate of mixed seafood and vegetables. By seafood, it really is just a prawn. You do get a variety of fish balls and tofu along with some veggies like corn, shitake mushrooms and napa cabbage.

You also get a choice of noodles and tea. I got udon and milk tea. It’s plenty of food and at a pretty reasonable price for hot pot. I couldn’t end up finishing all the udon. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed my meal. The only downside is that the service is quite slow and the servers seem to have their heads down all the time or are chatting amongst themselves.

Pros:
– Large portions for the combos
– Quality of food is pretty good

Cons:
– Service is inattentive and slow
– Seating is not that comfortable

Price Range: $15-20

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

Food: 3.5 Service: 1.5 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 3 Overall: 3

Shikisai Japanese Restaurant

December 1, 2015November 29, 2015Leave a comment

Shikisai Japanese Restaurant is located in Blundell Mall, so conveniently near home. The restaurant is run by Japanese and have many patrons who order take out.

Upon entering, you will see the sushi chefs at work. This is also the waiting area. To the left, there is a doorway leading to the dining room. I asked the lady for a seat for two and she just pointed telling me to write my name on the waiting list. I looked inside and noticed that the place was half empty, so I was confused why we had to wait.

We ended up waiting for probably 15 minutes although the restaurant had more than half of the seats empty… Another couple was also in the same situation. Anyways, we finally got seated, but by one of the sushi chefs who I had seen working at the front. Odd… The restaurant apparently had renovated recently, but it was still rather simple and modest looking.

Yam Roll, Chicken Teriyaki Roll, California Roll

S got his usual and I was surprised how nicely presented they were. I thought they looked pretty well constructed, but S begged to differ. He appeared to already be biased after the long wait and also since the prices were a bit higher for a neighborhood mall shop.

Negitoro Roll

For myself, I had the Negitoro Roll. Very nicely constructed with a good amount of filling. The tuna was very fresh.

Mini Chirashi Don

I also ordered a Mini Chirashi Don, and it ended up being a decent size although you don’t get a lot of rice. That was fine with me since I really just wanted the sashimi. There was salmon, tuna, octopus, ebi and tamago. All sashimi was very fresh.

Overall, I thought Shikisai’s quality of food was pretty good. Sashimi was fresh, but the prices are definitely a little on the higher side for a basic neighborhood restaurant. Service was also really odd with the long wait times when there were no customers. I also overheard the couple next to us who tried to order a variety of dishes and they were told they did not have any that night.

Pros:
– Sashimi is fresh
– Japanese-run

Cons:
– Portions are a bit small for the price
– Long wait times when there are no customers

Price Range: $15-20

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

Food: 3 Service: 1.5 Ambiance: 1.5 Parking: 4 Overall: 2.5

Gang Nam Korean BBQ

November 29, 2015Leave a comment

Gang Nam Korean BBQ is located on the corner of Empire Centre and has been around for quite some time, but for some reason or another, I never gave it a try. Finally, on a weekday night, I headed over with S, J, and M for a Korean bbq night.

Each table has a grill in the middle, so space-wise, you don’t get a lot and it gets rather crowded to eat.

Banchan

Once you’ve placed your order, they bring you a large assortment of complimentary Banchan, which included marinated bean sprouts, kimchi, sweet potatoes, pickled radish, green salad, and lettuce to wrap your meat in.

Marinated Pork Short Rib

We ended up ordering one of their BBQ dinner combos which was around $45 and is supposed to fill 2-3 people. It came with 4 meat dishes, a choice of Seafood Pancake or Japchae and a choice of Bibimbop.

Chicken Bulgogi

All their meats were very flavourful since they were well seasoned. You got quite a lot of meat for the price you pay. Our combo also came with Pork Belly and Pork Jowl.

Japchae

We chose Japchae as one of our options and it was a large dish (the picture above was half eaten already).

Bulgogi Bibimbop

For Bibimbop, you can choose between vegetables, beef, seafood or pork. We went for the stir fried beef and it was very flavourful.

Beef Tongue

We also added the Beef Tongue separately and these were delicious. I love the chew on it.

Man-du

The last add on we had was the Man-du which are steamed meat dumplings. These were addicting and I loved the sweet soy sauce that came with it.

Overall, we were extremely happy with Gang Nam Korean BBQ. We were beyond full and could have done with just the combo itself. Prices are quite reasonable, although we had some soju and beer, so it ended up costing over $30 a person. Otherwise, it can be quite reasonable. Service is also quite friendly.

Pros:
– BBQ dinner combos are great value
– Most dishes were well executed

Cons:
– Restaurant is a bit small so can be crowded on weekends
– Table gets very crowded

Price Range: $20-40

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

Food: 3.5 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 2.5 Overall: 3

Bone Sushi

October 20, 2015Leave a comment

Tucked away at the corner of Empire Center next to a sex shop is Bone Sushi. It’s an odd location, so I’ve always kept it as an option in the back of my mind. They offer both eat in and take out and are operated by Chinese.

The interior is extremely colourful with pictures of their dishes plastered all over the walls. They are known for their creative rolls and many say they are decently priced for the quality of the sushi.

You can also enter Bone Sushi from the inside of the Empire Centre mall. Limited seating, but it wasn’t very busy during our visit as we went quite early. Still, we decided to just grab take out.

Beef Teriyaki Roll

Even though they are known for their creative rolls, S and I opted for the more typical stuff. S got the Beef Teriyaki Roll, which were decent sized and had a good amount of filling to rice ratio. He did find that the beef was a bit hard to chew for some.

Sushi Combo B + California Roll

S also got the California Roll which again was nicely made. I decided to go for Sushi Combo B which had a roll of Salmon and Tuna Maki as well as Tuna and Salmon Nigiris. I thought the sashimi was fresh and the rolls were constructed well. A decent price at $7.50 for my combo.

Overall, I wouldn’t mind coming here again for take out or even dine in. Service was pretty friendly too.

Pros:
– Fresh and well-constructed
– Reasonable price

Cons:
– Odd location

Price Range: $10-20

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

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

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food and beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining 60 other foodies at the Taste of Aberdeen event hosted by ChineseBites. When you think of the food court, you might be thinking of Flaming Wok, Taco Bell and that sort of stuff. Well, the Aberdeen food court is a whole different story, with stalls serving up cheap, delicious Asian food. You’d be surprised to hear that many people regularly dine here for lunch or dinner. I brought along S to dine with me and we were seated with fellow foodie Instagrammers, Tea.Latte and Vancouverfoodie.

Dinner started off with an array of drinks from various shops. Starting from left to right was the Matcha Soy Bean from Strike, Iced Lemon Ribena from Bubble Waffle, Iced Honey Matcha Tea from Teppan Kitchen, House Special from 8 Juice, Milk Tea with Pearls and Coconut Jelly from Estea Express, and Iced Genmaicha Tea from Saboten. I was able to try the House Special which consisted of mango coconut juice with tapioca, mango and pomelo bits. It’s like drinking the mango pomelo dessert!

Sakura Roll

First up was the Sakura Roll from Aji Hana, which is the only Japanese stall selling sushi at the food court. The roll is filled with prawn tempura and avocado and topped with chopped scallop and tobiko. The toppings are quite abundant and I would say it’s pretty good considering it’s from the food court.

Bubble Waffle

Next was the infamous Bubble Waffle from Bubble Waffle. This was the original flavour and the outside was crispy with the interior having that nice mochi-like chew.

Curry Fish Balls

Included in my top favourites list (at the bottom of the post) were the Curry Fish Balls from Bubble Waffle. I loved the kick these had without it being numbing. These bite-size fish balls had that bouncy texture and were fun to eat.

Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Also making it on my favourite list is the Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Chives from Chef of Dumplings. I would have never thought of ordering these at the food court, but these were amazing! The wrappers were pan fried to a nice crispiness and there was a ton of filling inside. Flavours were great!

Hot Sour Noodle

The Hot Sour Noodle from Szechuan House was average for me. It had the strong numbing effect and reminded me of the Szechuan Boiled Fish Soup. Not sure if I would consider this a soup since I wouldn’t want to drink it… There were mostly glass noodles in it and tons of chilies. If you like spicy and Szechuan food, this is for you.

Prawn Wontons

The Prawn Wontons at Lung Kee were surprisingly pretty good! The wrappers were thin and the prawn was big and juicy. These are big wontons for sure!

Deep Fried Squid and Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Always making it on my favourites list is the Deep Fried Chicken Wings from Wu Fung Dessert. They are famous for them and you’ll always find the stall with a line up. What surprised both S and I were how good the Deep Fried Squid were! I never even knew they sold them, but they are just as good as the wings! The squid is extremely tender!

Drunken Chicken Hot Pot

The Drunken Chicken Hot Pot from Tofu Hot Pot was a crowd-pleaser as the broth was delicious. You get an array of vegetables, chicken and glass noodles in a broth cooked with Chinese wine. I could really taste the Chinese wine in the chicken and it tasted great.

Popcorn Chicken Nuggets

The Popcorn Chicken Nuggets from Yougo Chicken were nice and crispy and well-seasoned.

Club House Sandwich

The Club House Sandwiches from Strike were visually pleasing and was a bit of a surprise for us. The triple stacked sandwiches are filled with a meat patty, eggs, cucumbers and tomatoes. It had a sweet flavour to it and wouldn’t be bad for lunch.

Egg Rolls

Also from Strike were the Egg Rolls, which are filed with a thin slice of egg, canned tuna and corn. The wrapper reminded me of the Chinese chive pancakes. Thought this was just average.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice

A typical order from Mambo Cafe usually consists of the Baked Pork Chop on Rice. This is a huge filling portion at a cheap price. You can probably share this between two people. You get a ton of pork chop and the cheesy tomato sauce is delicious on top.

Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly

My least favourite item of the night was the Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly from Kitchen Korea. I found that both the chicken and pork were rather dry and tough. The flavours were also rather bland. I’ve tasted better Korean meats for sure.

Sticky Rice

The Sticky Rice from Leung Kee is filled with Chinese sausage and was quite flavourful.

Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken

Also from Leung Kee was the Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken. Both had a nice gelatinous layer of jelly and were marinated well.

Saboten Set

From Saboten, we got to try the Saboten Set which came with prawn, pork tenderloin and pork loin. It comes with a large choice of dipping sauces as well as a miso soup. The batter is extremely light and crispy. I preferred the tenderloin and the prawn the most as I found the pork loin to be rather dry.

Hainanese Chicken on Rice

Making it on my top favourites list is the Hainanese Chicken on Rice from Cafe D’Lite Express. The rice was well seasoned and the chicken had that nice jelly like skin. Loved the chili sauce on the side too!

‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn

If you like sizzling meat and rice, then Teppan Kitchen‘s ‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn will satisfy you. Coming in a hot skillet, the meat is sizzled along with the rice and you just mix everything together. Similar concept as Pepper Lunch.

Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks

Onto desserts! First up were Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks from Beard Papa’s. Always a good option for desserts!

Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe

The Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe from Mazazu Crepe was a bit of a disappointment for me since it had way too much cream. The crepes you normally get when you order the full size is usually really good with delicious fillings.

A Dream in Eden

To finish off our enormous meal, we got to sample two shaved ice from Frappe Bliss. The first was A Dream in Eden which came in these adorable flower shaped bowls. Almost looks like a bouquet of flowers! This one has strawberries, kiwi, mango, and mango ice cream. I liked the sweetness from the condensed milk.

Matcha Delight

The second shaved ice from Frappe Bliss was the Matcha Delight and this was one of my favourites. Topped with matcha icream, chewy rice balls and red bean, this is perfect for those who like matcha desserts. I especially like their shaved ice since it is the snow powder type where it isn’t chunks of ice. The powder like ice just melts into your mouth.

Thanks again to ChineseBites for hosting the event. To finish off, here are my favourite items from the night:

Deep Fried Squid
Deep Fried Chicken Wings
Hainanese Chicken on Rice
Curry Fish Balls
Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Hugo’s Churros

September 11, 2015September 14, 2015Leave a comment

The Hawkers Mercado in the new McArthurGlen Designer Outlet has been opened for the summer, but if I’m not mistaken, it has been closed since now as it was a temporary pop up location so shoppers could have something to snack on while the restaurants were being constructed. There are a variety of food stalls that you normally may find all over Vancouver.

We came here for Hugo’s Churros, which also has a sister store called Hugo’s Tacos (which sells tacos). We actually saw the stall on the opening day when we went, but we weren’t too hungry, so we skipped it. A few months later, my Instagram feed has been filled with their pictures and I knew I had to go back.

Their menu is small with Mexican food, but most people come here for the churro ice cream sandwich.

Your churros are made to order so they are extremely fresh. You’ll have to wait at least 5 minutes since she will literally pipe out the dough and deep fry it after you order.

Churro Ice Cream Sandwich ($7.50)

The Churros Ice Cream Sandwich features two churros rolled into a swirl and sandwiches three scoops of vanilla bean gelato. I heard that they have since teamed up with Nice Vice, the gelato shop also in the same outlet to offer vegan friendly gelato. The ice cream melts extremely fast, so scoop it up as quick as you can. It’s pretty messy to eat, but the flavours of cinnamon and vanilla work perfectly together.

Be sure to follow them on their social media accounts, like Facebook to see where their cart is located daily, as they move around.

Pros:
– Delicious churros

Cons:
– Pricey

Price Range: $5-10

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

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

Pho An Nam Restaurant

September 10, 2015September 8, 2015Leave a comment

Looking for a new pho spot to try in Richmond, we headed over to Pho An Nam which is located on No. 3 Road. It’s just a block down from another competitor, Pho Lan. There is an abundance of free parking at the back, which is always a plus!

The outside looked quite dingy, but we were surprised how clean and nice the interior was for a pho shop. Hardwood flooring was also an interesting touch for a restaurant.

All pho comes with a plate of bean sprouts.

An Nam Special Mixed Beef with Rice Noodle Soup

All three of us ended up getting the same noodle soup, which was the An Nam Special Mixed Beef with Rice Noodle Soup (or Pho Dac Biet). We all got a bowl of small, and it’s a tad pricey at $8 compared to other pho spots. The bowl of noodles was also noticeably small. However, the broth was delicious and we all agreed it is one of the top in Richmond. It’s interesting to note that they put a lot of pepper on the top, but I didn’t mind it. Loved the broth and you get a good amount of beef, beef balls, tripe, tendons, etc.

Pros:
– Pho broth is delicious and didn’t taste like MSG
– Surprisingly decent and clean ambiance

Cons:
– More expensive than most pho joints
– Don’t expect much service as usual

Price Range: $10

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

Food: 4 Service: 2 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 4 Overall: 3.5

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Richmond

Chef Tony

Gokudo Shabu Shabu

Shikisai Japanese Restaurant

Gang Nam Korean BBQ

Bone Sushi

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

Hugo’s Churros

Pho An Nam Restaurant