My 3rd year of school is officially done! For now at least… until summer school begins again. This called for a celebration dinner! Since N and I finished our exams at the same time, we decided to meet up for dinner and J joined along. We went to Burgoo on West 4th since I’ve been craving some comfort food and have been seeing too many of their delicious pictures on Instagram these days. Continue reading
I’ve been to Pho 99 in Richmond, but this time we went to the one in Coquitlam, It’s a lot larger and was filled with people at around 5pm.
Fried Spring Roll
The Fried Spring Rolls were served sizzling hot and were fried until golden brown. These were quite good!
#14 – House Special – Noodle soup with eye round steak, well-done flank, fatty brisket, soft tendon & beef tripe
I always get the House Special at Pho restaurants since I want everything in my noodles! I got a small #14, which was quite a huge portion compared to other pho restaurants. The tripe was also cooked so it was tender, and not tough. Soup wasn’t bad!
#3 For the Beginners – Noodle soup with brisket & well-done flank
J got #3 under the For the Beginners section. It was filled with mostly well-done flank and brisket.
Overall, Pho 99 seems more popular in Coquitlam than Richmond. Service was friendly and quick. And the place doesn’t seem as dirty as most Pho restaurants – always a plus!
Originally, we had wanted to go to Sushi Hachi, but it was closed on a Sunday! So instead, we went to mall across to look for food. I’ve walked by Yuu Japanese Tapas many times, but I haven’t tried it before, so I decided to give it a try.
The place doesn’t serve authentic Japanese food, but it does offer a large menu of different Japanese snacks, noodles, and desserts. I heard the owner speaking Chinese, so I was already a bit hesitant on how good the food would be. The place is filled with young diners and families though. I’m guessing it’s because the prices are decent.
Deep Fried Boneless Chicken
First, we got the Deep Fried Boneless Chicken as our appetizer. It’s basically chicken karaage and it came with a spicy mayo. This was alright, but I found the batter a little thick.
Ramen in Special Pork Bone (Tonkatsu) Soup Base
I got the Ramen in Special Pork Bone (Tonkatsu) Soup Base. It came with Cha-Siu, corn, leeks, and an egg with a half-runny yolk. The ramen, however, wasn’t that great. It reminded me of instant ramen. The soup base on the other hand, was rich, but salty. It says on their website, that the chef makes this daily.
Unagi Fried Udon
J got the Unagi Fried Udon. He said it was just alright. It looked nice when it was presented, but I guess it wasn’t anything spectacular.
Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait
Yuu has tons of desserts that look really good on their menu. We got the Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait, but I was quite disappointed with it! The green tea ice cream on the top was decent, and I loved the mochi that came with it. What disappointed me was that the rest of the cup was just filled with whip cream! And it wasn’t even good whip cream. I was expecting layers of different snacks since it’s a parfait… Chico on Robson definitely makes better parfaits!
Overall, I left quite disappointed with the food at Yuu. I can’t say the food is bad, but I was expecting better. The service was alright, as our server was quite friendly. However, I don’t think I would be coming back. I can get better food for similar prices elsewhere.
Kimbab Cheonguk which means Kimbab Heaven is located in a small mall on North Road. This area is basically filled with Koreans. Kimbab, which seems to be spelled Kimbap, are essentially the Korean style of sushi rolls. Basically, seaweed wrapped rice with veggies filled inside. Kimbab Cheonguk does sell them, but they seem to be more popular with the other items. The restaurant is basically a quick snackbar.
The shop is fairly small and the seating is very basic. It seems to family run and most diners are Korean. The place seemed to have a constant flow of people even on a weekday afternoon.
Their menu is fairly simple, with only around 12 choices. They are listed across the kitchen counter as well as by the wall next to your table. The menu is basically in Korean, or with Korean written in English, so it’s difficult to understand if you don’t know any Korean. Luckily, they also have pictures stretched across the wall, so you have a sense of what you’re ordering.
Soon Dae
J asked me if I had Soon Dae before. I looked at the picture, and was confused as to what it was. They looked like some sort of meat. He told me that it was basically Jap Chae, but had a weird smirk on his face. Whatever. So we ordered it and when it came, I honestly thought they looked sort of gross. But I guess I would give it a try anyways. It is to be dipped in the seasoning, which gives it a little salty flavour. Still having a smirk on his face, I decided to Google what it was. Turns out, Soon Dae is essentially an intestine filled with pork blood and Jap Chae noodles. The good part is, that the only intestine part of the dish was the outer layer, which I had kept asking what it was made of. I thought it was some sort of thin rice wrapper for the longest time. I guess it wasn’t that bad, and it tasted more like bland noodles compressed together. Apparently, it’s a popular snack in Korea, kind of like how beef stomach is popular for the Chinese.
Mul Naeng Myeon
Since I essentially had no idea what the menus meant, J ordered me the Mul Naeng Myeon. This is a popular Korean dish, meaning “ice water noodles”. It’s made from flour and starch, including buckwheat, potatoes and among others. It is served in a stainless bowl filled with a tangy iced broth, cucumbers, slices of beef, and a hard-boiled egg. Upon serving the dish to us, the server then took scissors to cut the noodles apart.
When mixed together, it looks like this! You then add a spicy msutard sauce and vinegar to add more flavour. I eat quite bland at home, so I thought the addition was a little too tangy for my taste-buds. The noodles were extremely chewy, and had a texture that I hadn’t quite tried before. Really interesting and a great dish to have on a sunny day as it was refreshing. J on the other hand, got a variation of this noodle, which was a spicy version. It was way too spicy for me though!
Oh and another note is that they serve you a beef broth that comes in a teapot. At first, I was really confused what it was. But apparently, this tea is supposed to help you digest your food. How thoughtful! It was rich and tasted extremely good! A little salty, but so tasty.
Book Kyung Ban Jeom is located on Robson St. where the rest of the Korean restaurants are located. It seems that there is this one little strip that is just filled with Koreans!
The restaurant is filled with mostly Korean families and young diners. The promotions on the wall are also all in Korean, so you basically don’t know what they are unless you’re Korean. The menu, however, has both English and Korean.
Side Dishes
The side dishes aren’t exactly the ones I prefer. They included yellow daikon and radish in a kimchi-like sauce.
Tang Suyuk
We ordered the Tang Suyuk, which reminded me of the Chinese sweet and sour prok. I believe this actually beef though. The outer layer is thin and crispy and not too greasy. It’s quite a large dish, so great to share. The sauce is thick and gooey, but not more on the sweet side than sour.
Ja Jang Myeon
We each got a Ja Jang Myeon, which is essentially the Ja Jiang Mian that Chinese people eat. However, the sauce and fillings are completely different! It’s a very gooey sauce and filled with lots of onions. I’m not a big fan of onions, so I actually prefer the Chinese style much more. The sauce is also much more focused on the sweet side, rather than the spicy side. An interesting variation!
Santa Fe Smoked Turkey Wrap
I’ve actually never ate at BG Urban Cafe but this chain cafe is everywhere. I didn’t know what was good so decided to grab a wrap. I got the Santa Fe Smoked Turkey Wrap which they grilled for me. I found that it was way too soggy after a bit though, and the sauce which was watery kept dripping everywhere. I’ve never had so much difficult eating a wrap! The flavour was a little bland which I was fine with since the sour cream helped it a bit.
SP wanted to try Sushi K Kamizato, but it’s all the way in Coquitlam. Finally, we decided to go after our exam since it has some pretty good reviews! The restaurant is tucked away in a town center type of mall and is quite small.
When we arrived, we were surprised that the customers were mostly Caucasian. Usually, I look for Japanese customers to figure out if the place is authentic or not. But it does seem to be! The chef and lady, who seems to be the wife of the owner/chef, seemed to know every single customer. We almost felt a little strange since we were like foreigners in the restaurant. We were still greeted regardless, but the restaurant definitely has a loyal customer base.
The owner also seems to be a big fan of metallic rock music. The restaurant was playing rock music the whole time, except some of my friends found it a little too much for dinner.
Salmon and Tuna Karaage
We each received a complementary dish of Salmon and Tuna Karaage while we waited for out food. This was quite addicting with the chili mayo sauce.
Ebi Sunomono
C and M both got an Ebi Sunomono. Looked like the average appetizer.
Saba Pressed Sushi
They also got the Saba Pressed Sushi, which looked quite delicious!
Chicken Teriyaki Combo
C got the Chicken Teriyaki Combo which came with a side salad, rice and miso soup.
Grilled Aburi Saba Combo
M got the Grilled Aburi Saba Combo, which also came with a side salad, rice, and miso soup.
Spicy Chopped Scallop
Salmon Roll and Chopped Scallop Roll
Kamizato House Roll
For myself, I got the Kamizato House Roll. I actually didn’t find it as amazing as I had imagined. The top had some sort of mayo but it was also charred. I found that because it was charred, the flavour tasted a little burnt, which bothered me a little.It was basically a California roll with a little bit of salmon sashimi.
Chicken Yakiudon
I also got the Chicken Yakiudon which was a huge plate! I did find that the udon was a little undercooked as it was kind of hard. It also wasn’t what I had imagined and seemed quite simple. I was craving the one at Guu and it definitely wasn’t as good as that.
Spicy & Shout
Let it Beef
The specialty rolls definitely looked and tasted delicious according to my friends. I never actually tried them, but they seem to be what people come here for. Their ingredients are definitely fresh and I believe they cater to their loyal customer base. Overall, it wasn’t bad and I would love to come back to try their specialty rolls.
Earlier in the month, I went to Moxie’s for M’s birthday. It’s located by the Sandman Hotel, but sadly I took forever trying to find the entrance to the parking lot. Silly me.
Surprisingly, it was my first time going to Moxie’s. I guess it’s because it’s located near all the hotels, and not so much Central Richmond. The service and ambiance reminded me of Earl’s and the prices are reasonable.
Every Day is a Food Day 