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

Momo Sushi (Robson)

November 30, 2015November 29, 2015Leave a comment

Since we were in downtown, I suggested we try something new. A bit of Googling got us settled at Momo Sushi which is down on Robson Street past the shops. Apparently there are tons of Momo Sushi shops around downtown.

The interior is simple and relatively clean. When we arrived, there were still many seats open, but closer to dinner time, the place was all packed.

Chicken Teriyaki Roll, Yam Roll, California Roll

I knew we were here for “good value” sushi so I wasn’t expecting much here given the lower prices. S chose a variety of his usual rolls and when the plates came we were surprised how large the portions were! He was beyond full at the end and it didn’t cost us much.

Spicy Combo (Spicy Tuna Roll and Spicy Chopped Scallop Roll) and Negitoro Roll

For myself, I chose their Spicy Combo and added a side of Negitoro Roll since I thought I would still be hungry… Guessed wrong since I could barely finish my plate. The chopped scallop roll had chopped scallop inside the roll but also piled on top. You could make two rolls with the amount of scallop they put… The only thing that I wasn’t fond of was that cheap spicy sauce they used. But I can’t complain given the prices I paid. The fish was also surprisingly quite fresh!

Overall, S and I left the restaurant happy that we had a good deal and were pleasantly full. Don’t expect authentic sushi here, but I found that the rolls were decently executed and fish appeared fresh. When I want cheap sushi without sacrificing too much quality, I’ll be returning to Momo!

Pros:
– Reasonable prices
– Large portions

Cons:
– Not your authentic Japanese restaurant
– Very busy during prime hours

Price Range: $10-15

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

Food: 3.5 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 2.5 Overall: 3

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

Ole Wings & Tapas

November 27, 2015November 27, 2015Leave a comment

Another meet up with SP and SK meant looking for a spot with good food and cheap drinks. We decided to give Ole Wings and Tapas a try although the drinks didn’t have any deals going on. It’s pretty hidden since it’s upstairs, but by dinner time, the place was filled with rowdy Koreans playing games while drinking.

Spicy Soy Boneless Chicken

They have a variety of chicken items and we decided to share the Spicy Soy Boneless Chicken. This was actually a very large plate and we could barely finish it! The batter is very crispy and if you like your chicken with sauce, this is great. At first bite, it was quite spicy, but as you ate it along with the beer, it was actually quite bearable. I think it was a much better deal than Zabu Chicken.

Seafood Pancake

We also got an order of Seafood Pancake, but I was quite disappointed with this. It wasn’t very crispy and there wasn’t a lot seafood in it. I’d suggest sticking with their chicken here.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Ole Wings and Tapas. A good choice among the Korean restaurants in this stretch if you want chicken and beer. Pitchers run at around $15 which is around the same as most restaurants, but I found that the value of the chicken was pretty good since we only needed to order one plate for the three of us. You also get free pickled daikon since it pairs well with spicy food. Service was also quite friendly and attentive even though we were probably the only non-Koreans dining there.

Pros:
– Prices are reasonable for the amount of chicken you get
– Crispy chicken and variety of sauces to choose from

Cons:
– Food other than chicken appears to be just average
– Can get very loud at night

Price Range: $15-20

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

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

Fondway Cafe – Media Launch

November 20, 2015November 22, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary as part of the media launch, but all opinions are based on my personal experience.

I was invited to Fondway Cafe‘s media launch last Sunday organized by Chobee PR. Apparently Fondway used to be inside Crystal Mall, but it has relaunched near the Metrotown skytrain station, so is very accessible.

Their menu offers coffees, teas, and cafe style snacks. It is a Taiwanese cafe but mixed with a hipster European feel.

They offer over 60 teas and you can purchase the teas to bring home. They also sell a variety of tea and coffee appliances.

For the media launch, we got to sample an array of their garden fruit teas. The teas are brewed with a special machine called Teapresso that uses a 9-bar water pressurizer to extract the flavour of tea.

Signature Iced Tea

I tried the Fruit Garden, which had hibiscus, rose-hip peels, apple bits, citrus peels, and sunflower petals. The teas were served cold and I enjoyed the fruitiness and floral flavours.

We then moved over to the coffee bar where the girls were pumping out the drinks. They offer coffee beans from Elysian coffee roasters and the beans are from Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Nitrogen Coffee

Fondway differs from other coffee shops as they feature a Nitrogen Coffee, which is cold brewed and infused with nitrogen gas to create a silky texture and bubbly taste. The coffee was very smooth and clean but I found it very odd that that the coffee taste disappears after you consume it. Your first initial contact with the coffee will give you that strong coffee flavour, but it disappears right after. It’s great for people like me who do not enjoy the after coffee taste that lingers in my mouth.

Honey Lemon Coffee

The Honey Lemon Coffee was a bit of an odd one for us. We found it to have that odd sour taste that we didn’t really enjoy.

Grass Jelly Milk Tea

One of my favourites was the Grass Jelly Milk Tea. The milk tea was strong in fresh tea flavour.

Caramel Macchiato

We also tried the Caramel Macchiato with one shot of espresso. The coffee was smooth and the caramel wasn’t too sweet. I also noticed they have really neat menus where you can check the items you want to order with an erasable marker. Pretty neat!

And then we hurried over to the food! This was a foodie’s dream with all the food presented beautifully!

Belgium Waffles, House Salad

Taiwanese Sandwich, Chicken Croissant

Tuna Waffles, Cheese Salmon, Pumpkin Cracker, Daily Sandwiches

Daily Soups

Daily Soups included a Minestrone and Clam Chowder Soup. M and I both agreed the chowder was the best. It was flavourful and didn’t taste like your typical canned soup.

These were the items we sampled. Our favourite was the Cheese Salmon which featured smoked salmon on top of a cracker along with cheese, lettuce and dill. The Tuna Waffle was also a favourite as the waffles were light and fluffy and tuna was flavoured nicely with a light mayo. The Taiwanese Sandwich was a nice twist as it featured waffles as the bread.

Coffee Pana Cotta

And onto the desserts! We started off with the Coffee Pana Cotta which is more like a creme brulee with coffee caramel liquid at the bottom. Quite sweet, but the custard was smooth.

New York Cheesecake

The homemade cakes then started rolling in. The New York Cheesecake had sugar on top and it was torched to give that creme brulee hard sugar feeling. The cheesecake was denser than what I would’ve liked as I prefer the light and fluffy Japanese ones, but good nevertheless.

Ujikintoki Cake, Seasonal Fruit Cake, Earl Grey Cake, Concentrated Chocolate Cake

We also got to try a variety of their daily cakes. Since we were too full, we only tried the Earl Grey Cake. The cake itself was very fluffy, but I found that the hazelnuts on top stole the show so it tasted more like a hazelnut cake. More earl grey flavouring and less hazelnuts would’ve made the cake perfect.

Overall, we had a good time and enjoyed the beverages and snacks that Fondway offers. Service was also extremely friendly and waitresses are able to speak both Mandarin and English. I can see this as a cute place to catch up with your girl friends.

Fondway is offering a grand opening day special and you can experience a 4 signature course for only $20. You can choose from either option A or B. Please see picture above for details and contact details to reserve your ticket in advance.

720 Sweets

November 6, 2015November 6, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

If you have Instagram, you’ve probably been seeing pictures of ice cream with smoke coming out. The ice cream is from the newly opened 720 Sweets on Broadway and Blenheim. I’ve been wanting to try this because of the pictures, and since the owners reached out to us to give it a try, we headed over after work. It’s quite hidden, but it appears that many people have found their way here.

The shop is very small, with tables along the two sides of the wall which fits probably 10 people. Simple, clean decor, but I especially like their little saying on the wall.

They currently offer 5 flavours, which are all priced at $5.95:

The Classic: crushed graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, and freshly baked butter cookie
Honey720: rich honey drizzle and golden honeycomb
S’Mores Please: chocolate corn flakes, dark chocolate drizzle, crunchy almond stick, and toasted marshmallow
Milk’ee: crushed walnuts, light caramel drizzle, Espresso grass jelly, and crunchy almond cookie
Cloud Nine: crunchy almond stick, cotton candy popcorn, and dreamy n’ fluffy cotton candy

They also carry an assortment of marshmallows from the famous Archimallows. Great for gifts!

What’s different about 720 Sweets is that their ice cream is visually appealing and fun to look at. The ice cream sits on top of a separate cup which is filled with hot water and dry ice to give the liquid nitrogen smoking effect. It only lasts for around 2 minutes, but is quite fun to watch. Unfortunately, liquid nitrogen isn’t churned into the ice cream like they do in Korea and many other cities which that type of ice cream is the trend now. This makes it much quicker for them to get the ice cream to you. Marshmallows are also toasted on the spot.

S’Mores Please

S chose S’Mores Please, which is perfect for chocolate lovers. The ice cream is rich in chococlate flavour and extremely smooth. It came with a crunchy almond stick and on top, the toasted marshmallow, which was fun to eat.

Milk’ee

For myself, I chose the Milk’ee since it had everything I liked in it. The milk tea flavour was strong and delicious when paired with the grass jelly. I especially liked it since it wasn’t too sweet and the crushed walnuts gave it a good texture.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with 720 Sweets and am happy that there is a new spot for ice cream lovers. I found the pricing very fair as you got a good amount of ice cream and toppings. We were actually quite full after each having one. Service was also friendly and quick. Definitely will be returning to try out the other flavours, but for now, the Milk’ee is my favourite!

Dunn’s Famous – Relaunch Media Event

October 31, 2015October 31, 20151 Comment

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

I’ve been to Dunn’s Famous during the PaintNite events, so I was excited when Peak Communicators contacted me about the Dunn’s Famous Relaunch Media Event. As I was away during the actual event, Peak Communicators was able to arrange for me to visit the restaurant at another time. I met with Yonathan Delgado, the General Manager who gave me a thorough tour of the newly re-opened restaurant.

Dunn’s Famous is the only franchise outside of Quebec. The store launched in 2011 and the grand re-opening was on October 9, 2015. They have revamped their menu to focus more on their signature dishes, but have also added a couple of new items. My immediate reaction when I entered was how bright the restaurant is now.

You’ll find brick walls on one side and tables with black and white photography of Quebec.

The new addition is the deli experience where customers can purchase both quick lunches and also goods to take home. They offer a variety of smoked meat, pickles, salads, and soups. Of course, you can also choose sit-down dining, but it’s great that there’s an option for Downtown workers for a quick sandwich.

Dunn’s Famous specializes in authentic Montreal smoked meat, an artisan meat product produced from beef brisket that is cured and spiced using old-world techniques before a slow cooking process. It is then steamed again and hand sliced to order, before used to create the iconic Canadian Montreal smoked meat sandwich.

Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

Of course I had to try their signature item, so I ordered the Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich. For the sandwiches, you can choose the size, cut of your meat, mustard, and any side add ons. I asked for advice from one of the servers (who by the way, are extremely well-trained and knowledgeable with the products) and chose the smallest size, a 4 oz meat sandwich, with a medium cut, and Dijon mustard. They use rye bread which comes from the local bakery, Brekka, so the bread is extremely fresh. All sandwiches also come with a pickle, which is refreshing to eat between the sandwich. The smoked meat is seriously some of the most melt-in-your-mouth meat I’ve had though. This is because Dunn’s offers the only hand-sliced Montreal smoked meat in Vancouver. The hand slicing is an art that takes years to perfect and allows the meat to be cooked for a longer period of time and it can be cut against the grain. This would not be achievable with a machine. With a medium cut, you get a mix of lean and fat meat, so you still get the perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Quebecoise Poutine

For my add-on, I chose the Quebecoise Poutine. The fries are hand cut and made from Kennebec potatoes, and topped with fresh Canadian cheese curds covered in an original BBQ beef gravy. The gravy is made in house from scratch using roasted beef bones and a signature barbecue spice mix, which I thought was quite different from your typical gravy sauce. I quite liked this and the fries were extremely crispy.

Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the service and food at Dunn’s Famous. There are very few, if any, Montreal smoked meat restaurants that I’m aware of so it’s great that Dunn’s still keeps the traditions and authenticity of this delicious artisan meat. Great location and I’m loving the new vintage retro ambiance at the restaurant. Plus, you can now bring home the smoked meat to assemble your own sandwich!

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

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Location

Shikisai Japanese Restaurant

Momo Sushi (Robson)

Gang Nam Korean BBQ

Ole Wings & Tapas

Fondway Cafe – Media Launch

720 Sweets

Dunn’s Famous – Relaunch Media Event

Bone Sushi