Save On Meats

August 7, 2015August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Save On Meats has been on my list of “to try” restaurants ever since it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. So when K suggested we give it a try, I was excited to see what it’s all about. What’s cool is that the building was actually built in 1891, so it has over 100 years of history! You cannot miss this building driving down Hastings because you’ll see the neon pig sign. Save On Meats also has a butcher shop next to the diner, so you can conveniently head over there for some fresh and local meats.

You can see that the interior has that retro old diner feel to it, but the seats and tables were well kept and clean. Funny paintings and signs decorate the walls of the diner.

Coffee SOM Milkshake

SOM is famous for their milkshakes, so I decided to share the Coffee SOM Milkshake with K. It’s quite the large one and it’s great since they give you all the leftovers from making it in a metal cup. You end up getting 1 and a half cups of the shake for under $5. The milkshake is thick spun and I loved the light coffee flavour we chose. It reminded me of an iced cappuccino! There are also various other flavours you can choose from.

Real Nova Scotian Seafood Chowder, Caesar Salad

We were supposed to be here for brunch, but it ended up more like lunch as usual… Well lucky us, since they feature breakfast and brunch items until 4pm on weekends. Both of us didn’t end up going for their breakfast menu though. Instead, K went for a simple soup and salad. She had the Real Nova Scotian Seafood Chowder, which came with a cheese scone on the side. She said the chowder was not as thick as she had expected, but filled with lots of ingredients. She was thinking it would be something like canned soup, but nope, it seemed to be homemade. She also got a side of Caesar Salad which was lightly dressed and topped with croutons and Parmesan.

Shepherd’s Pie

For myself, I was feeling like it was a pie day. I chose the Shepherd’s Pie, which showed up on a skillet with a side of green salad. I was slightly disappointed at first because I was expecting a pie, but this was rather deconstructed. Nevertheless, it actually tasted pretty good. There was a mixture of ground beef and vegetable stew and it was topped with a cheesy mashed potato crumble. It was very simple and probably something very easy to reconstruct at home but tasty.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Save On Meats. You will find simple diner food here – nothing extravagant or fancy. I wouldn’t say it blew my mind, but I don’t think I was expecting much anyways. Prices are kept low and probably the most expensive item is roughly $12. Plus, I think what makes SOM very special and worth a visit is that they are a strong supporter of the Downtown Eastside community and partner with various organizations in giving back to those in need. They also have a token program where you can purchase a token for $2.25 and this will allow you to redeem a Breakfast Sandwich. You can either distribute this yourself or have SOM do so. A great way to help those in needs and I personally think it’s a better way than donating money. Definitely a cool place to check out!

Pros:
– Cool retro ambiance
– Cheap simple food

Cons:
– Service was a bit slow at times

Price Range: $5-15

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

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

McDonalds’ Great Canadian Taste Adventure

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015Leave a comment

Yes, I am extremely behind in my posts… and it has been more than a month since McDonalds’ Great Canadian Taste Adventure ended… Anyways, in June, McDonalds in Canada had a limited time offer where they promoted 5 of their Canadian menu items for each province. The big one being the McLobster, which I had been dying to try and I had made it my must try if I went to the east coast. Well, luckily we were able to try it at home here, so off we went to grab take out at the first McDonalds in Canada – the one on No.3 Road in Richmond…(who knew, right?).

McLobster

Not the most glamorous picture here, but the McLobster is their feature for the East Coast. The sandwich is a bit different here as it is in a roll, and it is filled with lobster chunks, lettuce, and a mixture of celery, lemon juice and mayonnaise. We actually had a decent amount of lobster, but I heard that others had experienced less in their lobster rolls. The lobster was actually pretty good with a nice chewy, bouncy texture to it. However, the sauce had way too much lemon juice to it and I didn’t like that celery flavour. It’s also quite pricey at $7.49 for just the sandwich and it is literally the size of my hand… More like a snack, but a pricey one.

To feature Quebec, they had the maple and Bacon Poutine.

Maple and Bacon Poutine

I’ve actually never tried their original poutines, so I was surprised when the fries used for the Maple and Bacon Poutine were the exact same fries from their original menu. The only difference is that there is bacon, cheese curds, and maple gravy on top. This was okay, with the sauce being sweet and salty at the same time. However, I’d much prefer the fries on their own. It was also quite pricey at almost $5 for a small box.

A&W

August 3, 2015August 3, 2015Leave a comment

Sriracha Burger

If you haven’t already heard, A&W had been offering coupons to redeem their new Sriracha Teen Burger for free. Unfortunately, the coupons have run out, but if you were lucky to get the coupon, but didn’t redeem it by their previous deadline, July 31, 2015, they extended it until August 9, 2015! The Sriracha Teen Burger features a sesame seed bun, filled with a pure beef patty, processed cheddar cheese, bacon, sriracha aioli, roasted red pepper, tomato and lettuce. It really tastes just like a teen burger but has the roasted red peppers and a hint of that sriracha aioli. I was expecting it to be more spicy, but it really wasn’t. I did like the roasted red peppers in it though.

Onion Rings

When you sign up with A&W online, they also post various coupons in your account. One of them was upgrading to Onion Rings for free when you purchased fries. So for $2.50, we got onion rings, compared to around $4.50 normally. Not bad! Their onion rings are also always crispy and sweet.

Chubby Chicken Strips

The must order for S at A&W are the Chubby Chicken Strips. They claim that they use 100% chicken breast from chicken raised without the use of antibiotics. I did think that the chicken tasted much more like real chicken without other random ingredients. They batter and bread the chicken with toasted wheat crumbs, wheat flour and spices. Quite crispy indeed, but I personally think they are quite pricey at around $8 for 5 small strips.

Poutine

On another visit, K brought take out home and I got to sample their Poutine. This was another deal where she used a coupon to upgrade her fries to a poutine for free. The poutine features Russet thick-cut fries with cheese curds and a poutine gravy sauce. We thought these were just average. The fries were a bit soggy and I would choose New York Fries over these for sure.

Overall, A&W’s new Srircha Burger is worth a try and I would probably order it again. I also like how when you dine in, your food looks pretty fancy in their little fryer baskets. Seems like a bit of an upgrade compared to your typical fast food restaurants. You don’t get this at the food court though, and we noticed that the food court’s quality was not as good as their restaurants with the food being cold and fries being fried in old oil.

Pros:
– Sriracha Teen Burger and Onion Rings are good
– Good deals when you sign up for their online coupons

Cons:
– Can be a bit pricey for fast food without the coupons

Price Range: $10-15

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

Food: 3 Service: N/A Ambiance: 2 Parking: 3 Overall: 3

Flying Beaver Bar & Grill

July 26, 2015Leave a comment

The Flying Beaver can be a bit out of the way as it is situated on Inglis Drive near the YVR airport. However, during summer, their patio is the perfect place to chill since you can watch the planes take off and land and also get some views of the Islands. We decided to check their Wings Wednesdays deal after work which begins at 5:00 pm. The place was bustling when we arrived! You look for your own seat, so there was a bit of standing around stalking for a seat, but we luckily found one within 15 minutes.

Coke Zero, Sleeman Honey Brown Lager

Their Wednesday drink deal was the Sleeman Honey Brown Lager for $4.56 a sleeve. We were also told that to get the wings deal, each diner had to purchase at least some sort of drink, even if it was non-alcoholic.

Honey Garlic

On Wednesdays, the wings are 49 cents after 5:00 pm. They have a decent list of flavours, including Honey Garlic, BBQ, Teriyaki, Thai Chili, Hot, Salt & Pepper, and Lemon Pepper. Our first flavour was the Honey Garlic. It was lathered with honey, but I found it to be slightly flavourfuless. I wished it had more garlic flavour to it.

Salt & Pepper

Next up were the Salt & Pepper, which was probably my favourite. Seasoned with simply just salt and pepper, these were crispy and tasty. The meat was also for the most part moist. You get one or two that are a bit dry.

Teriyaki

Lastly, we got the Teriyaki which had a good amount of sauce.

Overall, Flying Beaver is a nice choice for a bar in Richmond. Most of our pubs don’t have the best patios, so this is great without needing to go downtown. Not the cheapest deal for wings, but still a pretty good deal. Service is your typical pub service, but it was quite attentive. They also have a large menu for other food and drinks.

Pros:
– Wings are decent and reasonably priced on Wednesdays
– Awesome views out on the patio

Cons:
– Extremely busy
– You have to look for your own seat

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Chatime – ChineseBites Media Event

June 3, 2015June 4, 20151 Comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were comped

The other week, I was invited by ChineseBites to attend the Chatime media event. This was the Broadway location, but they have opened up stores on Robson and in Richmond as well. They are the #1 bubble tea brand in the world and have over 1200 locations worldwide.

We got to try their top 10 drinks, which included:

1. Pearl Milk Tea
2. Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea
3. Taro Pudding Milk Tea
4. Brown Rice Green Milk Tea
5. Taiwan Mango QQ
6. Matcha Red Bean Milk Tea
7. Mango Smoothie
8. Red Bean Pearl Milk Tea
9. Matcha Tea Latte
10. Chocolate Mousse

You can also customize your drink with pearls, grass jelly, coconut jelly, red bean, coffee jelly, aloe vera, rainbow jelly and pudding.

They have two sizes – regular or large. Their large size is basically the size of the regular bubble teas elsewhere. The great thing about Chatime is that you can customize ice and sugar level.

They are famous for their teas, which are brewed fresh in store, using tea leaves and other high quality natural ingredients. Therefore, they rely on natural flavours without the use of preservatives, pre-made tea or tea powders.

There is a decent amount of seating, and the interior is bright and modern.

Taro Pudding Milk Tea and Mango Smoothie

I decided to try the Taro Pudding Milk Tea, with regular sugar and ice levels. You could immediately tell that they used fresh taro, since the drink was rather gritty with the taro bits. The pudding was smooth, but I wished that pudding was chopped up a bit, since I found it hard to get through the straw. S got the Mango Smoothie, which was refreshing with a slight tang. The ice wasn’t blended fully, so you got some bits of ice, which I enjoyed.

Chatime also treated us to some of their in house desserts and fruits. I’m not sure if they actually sell these during regular hours though.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Chatime, and since it’s right near work, I’ll likely be visiting soon again. Thanks to ChineseBites for the invite!

Pros:
– Tea based drinks are of high quality
– Sugar and ice levels can be customized

Cons:
– Slightly on the pricey side for bubble tea

Price Range: $5-10

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

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

Strike 破店 (Richmond)

May 25, 2015Leave a comment

Beef Rolls

Strike has been around since forever, but I just never got the chance to try it. There are so many other bubble tea shops to choose from that I always forget to try Strike. Anyways, we decided to head there for an early dinner at around 5:00 pm. There were around two other tables of diners, but lots of staff already. However, the staff were all young teens and were chatting among themselves and completely ignored their customers. You really had to wave around to get the attention of them. Quite unprofessional. We started off with the Beef Rolls, which were probably one of the worst I’ve had. There was way too much dough and the dough wasn’t even crispy. The ratio to meat was also so little and there was barely any hoisin sauce.

Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets

Next up, we got S’s must order item: Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets. These were actually decent. They were crispy on the outside and moist inside. I also liked how they used the basil leaves to season the chicken. A dish I wouldn’t mind ordering again.

Taiwanese Sausage and Veggie Egg Fried Rice

Lastly, we got the Taiwanese Sausage and Veggie Egg Fried Rice. S found the rice to be a bit too moist and I didn’t really like the flavour of the Taiwanese sausage. I wouldn’t be ordering this in the future.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed with the food at Strike. Based on the items we ordered, nothing really wowed me and you could probably find the same quality of food at other restaurants.

Pros:
– Lots of seating

Cons:
– Service is lacking
– Food is just average or below average

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Pho 37

May 20, 2015May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Pho 37 is a newly opened pho shop in the Ironwood Plaza and to be honest, I wouldn’t have noticed this shop. The signage doesn’t really stand out, and I couldn’t find the word Pho 37 anywhere on the shop…

The outside may not look any glamorous, but I was definitely surprised when I walked in. The interior is clean and modern and I would say it’s probably one of the better looking pho shops for interior atmosphere. Service was not very friendly in the beginning and I felt like the waitress hated her job. However, near the end of the meal, service picked up and one of the waitresses was quite friendly.

Lunch started off with some complimentary sides. This consisted of your typical bean sprouts and peanut sauce. We weren’t sure what the third was, which seemed sort of like a soup.

House Special Pho

Of course, my go to pho is always the House Special Pho, since you get everything in a bowl of noodles. There was rare beef, tendon, beef balls and tripe. The noodles were quite typical, nothing too special but it did its job. The soup didn’t have any MSG, yet it was very flavourful.

Lemongrass Chicken Rice

S got the Lemongrass Chicken Rice, which I believe was some sort of combo since it came with a variety of sides as well. You got fried spring rolls as well as shrimp rolls and a side of salad. Perfect for those who want to try a bit of everything. We were surprised how nicely the dish was plated. Probably one of the best looking Vietnamese platings I’ve seen and not at a high price. S said this was quite good and the portion was perfect to fill you up.

Overall, our experience at Pho 37 was quite good. Prices are quite reasonable and the food is great. Plus, the ambiance is definitely one of the better compared to your typical pho spots.

Pros:
– Nice plating and decent eats
– Ambiance is pretty nice for a pho shop

Cons:
– Service lacked in the beginning

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Chatime (Broadway)

May 12, 20151 Comment

Chatime is a Taiwanese bubble tea chain store and has franchises all around the world. In Vancouver, they have actually been selling their bubble tea inside Chef Hung restaurants, but they never had their own storefront. However, last month, they expanded in several locations around the Greater Vancouver. I believe they have one on Robson, one in Richmond and one on Broadway. Conveniently, the Richmond location is a few blocks away from my house, but the grand opening promotion had already passed for that location. Since Broadway’s location is also extremely close to work, I decided to head down there after work to take advantage of their grand opening promotion.

For the first week, they offered buy one get one free drinks. The free drink was either the Pearl Milk Tea or Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea. A really good deal!

As for your first drink, you can choose from their large assortment of drinks. They specialize in their tea drinks, so of course we tried one from their fresh tea line. They also have small or large sizes. The small is quite small compared to your typical bubble tea, yet the prices are around the same. Chatime definitely is on the pricier side, so the promo was great.

The great thing about Chatime is that they offer customization. They will always ask you for your sugar and ice option. This is great for people who are conscious about their sugar intake and I especially liked the ice option as I usually like my drinks to have less ice.

Service was not the quickest that day, but it can be understandable since they just opened.

Brown Rice Green Milk Tea & Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea

We decided to get the Brown Rice Green Milk Tea, which we opted for less sugar and less ice. This was delicious! You don’t normally see brown rice flavoured milk tea on the menu at other bubble tea shops, so we had to give this a try. Tasted basically like milk tea, but it had a hint of wheat flavour to it. This was a large size, and it came to be the same size as typical bubble teas. As we had purchased a large bubble tea, we got the free bubble tea also in a large size. We chose the Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea, which is a must try. The grass jelly is not super sweet, but was very smooth and soft. The milk tea itself was smooth and had a roasted flavour to it. Way better than your typical milk tea. I also find that their consistency is much more thin, rather than being very thick and milky. I actually prefer this consistency as you don’t get as filled up.

Overall, I’m super happy that there is a new bubble tea shop right by work and also home. They are on the pricey side, at around $5 for a large sized drink, but the quality of the drinks are great! Also a good amount of seating to enjoy your drink.

Pros:
– Roasted Milk Tea is delicious!
– Sugar and ice options

Cons:
– Service was a bit slow
– On the pricier side

Price Range: $5

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

Food: 4 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 3 Overall: 3.5

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: $

Save On Meats

McDonalds’ Great Canadian Taste Adventure

A&W

Flying Beaver Bar & Grill

Chatime – ChineseBites Media Event

Strike 破店 (Richmond)

Pho 37

Chatime (Broadway)