Kyo

January 6, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve gone to Kyo before, but the last time I went I was an hour late to dinner and everyone had pretty much finished eating. I ended up devouring a few pieces of sushi and sashimi and that was about it. When my family suggested Kyo, I was super excited to go try it out again. For $23.99 for all you can eat dinner, it’s a pretty good deal with the quality of food you get! It’s not only all you can eat sushi, but also Korean BBQ, which is always a plus!

They have a grill in the center and the service was actually extremely good. They changed our grill once after it got dirty, which you seldom get at other Korean BBQ places. That’s one reason why I normally dislike going to Korean BBQ since many places do not change the grill and you end up with just black coal on your food.

Miso Soup

First up were some appetizers.

Ebi Sunomono

Gomae

I had the Gomae, which was actually pretty good for all you can eat. You got to mix the peanut sauce yourself, and it was just enough for a tasty and refreshing dish.

Lamb

Next, our BBQ dishes arrived. For meat, we only chose to get Lamb, Chicken, and the Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs. Each dish was supposed to be a serving of 4, but we found that they gave much more chicken than the rest. I guess chicken is supposed to be cheaper… The lamb was quite good. It was tender and the marinade wasn’t too strong or bland. It was just right.

Chicken

The Chicken wasn’t as good as the other two meat. It wasn’t tough or anything, but I found that the marinade was a little too salty for my liking. The first piece was good, and then after that, it was too salty.

Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs

The Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs were my favourite. The meat fell off the bones easily, and we weren’t given a bunch of ribs with no meat on it, like what most all you can eat places do. The marinade was also just right for the short ribs.

Prawn

We also got a few rounds of the prawns for the BBQ. They were small, but fresh and were perfect for the grill. For BBQ, there were also a variety of other meat such as beef and pork, seafood, such as salmon, mussels, and squid, and also vegetables, such as corn, eggplant and mushrooms.

Pork Gyoza

The Pork Gyozas were quite delicious for an all you can eat restaurant. They weren’t burnt and didn’t seem to be strong in MSG like some places.

Dynamite Roll & Alaska Roll

The Dynamite Roll and Alaska Roll were quite typical and average. They were quite well made and the salmon was fresh.

Chopped Scallop and Hokigai Nigiri

The Chopped Scallop was one of my favourite sushis of the night. Well, they are basically my all time favourite choice of sushi. The Sushi was actually filled with chopped scallop and they tasted fresh. The Hokigai Nigiri was also fresh.

Tuna Tataki & Beef Sashimi

The Tuna Tataki was quite good. My dad really enjoyed it, but I found that the thin layer of skin that was still attached to be a little disturbing. It was still good, but I would prefer the ones at Guu. But of course, with the price I’m paying for unlimited tuna tataki, it was pretty good. Not to forget, the pieces were also quite large. I probably had more than what I would get at Guu. The Beef Sashimi however, was a disappointment. It was quite tough and didn’t seem to be too fresh. They seemed to be frozen when they were served.

Salmon Sashimi & Tuna Sashimi

The Salmon Sashimi was excellent. The pieces weren’t exteremely large in size, but they were definitely larger than pieces I’ve had at many all you can eat places. The sashimi was extremely fresh as well, which is an important part of sashimi. I didn’t get a chance to try the Tuna, but I was told it was great as well. I do want to mention that upon placing our second order of sashimi, the sashimi basically never arrived until we asked for it. The server wasn’t rude or anything and quickly told us she would look into it. We still had to wait for quite some time, but in the end, our sashimi came, and it was still fresh. Not sure if they sincerely forgot to place the order, or if they were playing tricks, like many all you can eat places do. The great thing is that they do not have a limit on sashimi, but that’s also when they may choose to play tricks.

Chicken Wings

Lastly, we also had some chicken wings just for the heck of it. They were lightly battered and well seasoned. Not bad!

We also had some other items that I forgot to take pictures of because it’s so difficult to capture pictures of every item at an all you can eat place. Everyone just wants to dig in! The Zaru Soba, which was another item I ordered was excellent and I liked how it came in a small portion so you wouldn’t get all filled up just by ordering that. For desserts, they also had mango pudding and jello. Jello was typical and came in a large plate and the mango pudding was light and refreshing.

Overall, Kyo is a great all you can eat place for the price you pay. It’s almost impossible to find all around good quality food at all you can eat places, but I think Kyo is pretty good for the most part. If you’re looking for some decent sashimi, sushi, and BBQ food, Kyo would be worth the visit.

Kitanoya Guu (Richmond)

January 4, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Tuna Tataki – seared tuna w/ ponzu sauce

Guu is always such a fun place to go for some izakaya food. The ambiance is awesome with the servers and cooks greeting you as you enter and leave. First up, we got some Tuna Tataki which is always delicious at Guu! Fresh and tasty with the ponzu sauce. Their beef tataki is always one of my favourites.

Oden

We also got some oden, but I only tried the Chikuwa. Typical stuff but I was just really craving it.

Chikuwa Cheese – deep fried breaded fish cake & mozzarella cheese w/ tonkatsu sauce & mayo

More Chikuwa! But this one is Chikuwa Cheese, so it was basically Chikuwa which had cheese oozing out of it. The chikuwa was also lightly breaded and fried and then topped with a tonkatsu sauce and mayo. I found that this was just decent. It was a little on the hard side because it was fried.

Kabocha Korokke – pumpkin & boiled egg croquette

The Kabocha Korokke was delicious! It was a pumpkin croquette with a boiled egg in the center. It was also topped with what I believe were pumpkin chips.

Agedashi Mochi

We decided to be a little adventurous and try out some of the items on their special menu. We got the Agedashi Mochi, which was literally mochi that was fried! I love mochi, but usually as a dessert. This was more of a savoury dish. You really had to dip the mochi into the sauce or else it was pretty bland. It was also a lot more sticky than mochi in desserts. It was interesting!

Diced Beef Tenderloin Steak and Mushroom w/ Garlic Onion Sauce – Special*

The Diced Beef Tenderloin Steak and Mushroom w/ Garlic Onion Sauce was on their Today’s Special item. The beef tenderloin was extremely tender and the dish came sizzling hot. Full of flavour and would definitely recommend if you love meat.

Yakiudon (beef on side) – pan fried udon w/ beef, mushroom, green onion, soy sauce & butter

Lastly, we got the Yakiudon because Guu makes one of my favourite yakiudons! The picture doesn’t have the meat in it since we had it on the side. The meat was still extremely flavourful and tender. I love the fish flakes on the top, and it’s always fun to watch them move when the dish is served hot.

Overall, Guu always lives up to expectations. Great place to grab lunch or have a night out with friends. The service is always cheerful and the quality of food is great!

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!

La Bocca

November 26, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

The next morning at Whistler, we decided to go for our team breakfast before we headed home. This time, we finally got the whole team sitting together. We ended up at La Bocca, which is next to La Brasserie, and they look basically the same. It was confusing to find it when a couple of us were late and were looking for the rest of the group. The place looks pretty diner style, but they don’t just serve breakfast food. It’s also located right in the heart of Whistler Village, so extremely accessible.

Sunrise Breakfast – 2 eggs served any style (sunny-side up) with hashbrowns, strip bacon, breakfast sausage and whole wheat toast

M got the Sunrise Breakfast. He said that it was pretty decent and that he would rate his meal 7/10. That’s pretty good! It looked like a pretty good breakfast since you get a variety of your favourite breakfast foods. I believe he mentioned that the toast wasn’t that great though…

Traditional Benedict – sliced black forest ham, soft poached eggs and homemade citrus hollaindaise on an English muffin, served with hasbrowns

I got the Traditional Bennedict, which was surprisingly really good. I think I had low expectations coming in because I saw that the ratings were terrible on Urbanspoon. The only bad thing about it was the English muffin, because I swear it was so difficult to cut into. If it takes me so much effort to cut into my eggs benny, it doesn’t make me happy! But, other than that, the eggs were poached nicely, and I liked the hollandaise sauce. The hash browns, which were really tater tots, were the best part. They were crispy on the outside and surprisingly weren’t super salty. They were perfect with the ketchup on the side. Overall, it was a pretty good breakfast. And the portion was actually good since I was able to finish all my food and be full, but not overly full. However, I felt that service wasn’t extremely good. The server wasn’t too friendly, and actually seemed a little annoyed by our large group. After getting home and reading the reviews again, I realized that most of the dissatisfaction was based on their dinner or lunch menus. So I’m guessing their actual entree food is probably not too good, but as for breakfast, I thought it was quite decent! Not so much like a tourist trap, like many said.

Sweet Revenge

November 22, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

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I’ve wanted to use my gift card for Sweet Revenge for a while, but I never really go to that area of Vancouver. Finally, I decided to head over there to get some desserts for my friend and I. I read reviews that the place is always packed with people since it’s only open at night, and indeed it was. People were lining up at the doors. I ended up getting take out and ate at my friend’s instead.

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The interior of the place is really cute though. It’s quite dim inside, but the red walls give it an interesting ambiance. They put framed pictures around, and the décor is quite vintage. I only waited around 5 minutes and my take out was ready.

Chocolate Mousse Cake – semi-sweet chocolate mousse, with cream cheese & a crunchy curst & White Chocolate Cheesecake – flourless cheesecake with home-made sauce

I got the Chocolate Mousse Cake, which was surprisingly not too sweet. It was smooth and had a really nice crunch at the bottom of the cake. There were also pieces of chocolate flakes on the top, which made a nice touch to it. The second dessert I got was the White Chocolate Cheesecake. It was recommended to me by the cashier. I really enjoyed this. It came with a raspberry sauce in a container. It wasn’t too sweet, and I love white chocolate and cheesecake, so it was the perfect pairing. Too bad I couldn’t see what it would look like presented on a plate with the sauce drizzled over it. My take-out box pictures clearly did not look as nice as the ones I saw in the store. Other desserts I really wanted to try were the tiramisu, and crème brulee, which were both recommended to me by the cashier as well. However, these had a $2 deposit that needed to be paid for the cups for take-out. I don’t live near that area so I wasn’t prepared to go back to return the cups, but I didn’t feel like paying that extra $2 either. I guess I’ll just have to try those desserts next time when I actually sit in. The place looks pretty cool with a variety of drinks as well. Check it out!

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.

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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White Spot (Oakridge Mall)

October 14, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

After a late morning hike up the Grouse Grind, we decided it was time to grab some food. Well basically our super late lunch. We decided to head back to Vancouver since we didn’t really know where to go in North Van. And we ended up at Oakridge Mall – more specifically, White Spot. I hadn’t ate here in a while actually, other than those random days at UBC’s Triple O’s, but that’s different.

Baked Potato Inspired Poutine

Signature fries with cheese curds and gravy loaded with classic baked potato toppings – bacon, sour cream and green onion

I decided to share two dishes with K. First up, we got the Baked Potato Inspired Poutine. It was new on their menu, and it sounded like something amazing. And let me tell you, I LOVE poutine. I used to eat it almost every week during my breaks in the mall at New York Fries, but the mall’s renovating so I’ve had to resort to other food 😦 This was a large plate, but I didn’t think it was that great. It was lacking cheese curds, although I liked the bacon, and surprisingly the green onion on it (just because I typically arent’ a big fan of green onion). I would’ve rather gotten the Butter Chicken Poutine at New York Fries. Oh, how much I miss it…

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti tossed in our signature marinara sauce and topped with three house-made meatballs and Parmesan. Garlic Panini bread.

E got the Spaghetti and Meatballs. It looked pretty good, and he said it was decent. I took a bite from the Garlic Panini bread and felt it lacking flavour though.

Toasted Shrimp Sandwich

Shrimp, lettuce, mayo & our chili sauce on toasted white

And the second dish I shared with K was the Toasted Shrimp Sandwich. It came with more fries and a coleslaw. I didn’t like the salad since it came with something like flax seeds. I know those are healthy, but I just don’t like the taste of them!

Here’s a closer view of the Toasted Shrimp Sandiwch. The sandwich was actaully pretty small compared to what I had imagined, but it was filled with lots of shrimp. I really enjoyed the mayo mixture combined with the shrimp and it definitely made it a light and fresh lunch. It could have had a bit more of the mayo as I found it to be lacking a little of the sauce, but good thing the shrimp was moist so it didn’t make the sandwich too dry.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal, but I have to say the service was lacking. I’m surprised that White Spot has so many people around the 3pm time, but even so, the wait to get seated and food was too long. I saw seats available inside, but the hostess still had to take at least 5 minutes to be ready for us. And remember, we were starving by that time after the hike. Perhaps we should have just gone to the food court instead… The server also took forever to take our orders. We had sat down, read our menus and were ready in no time, and our server kept walking by us saying give me one more minute. No! It’s been like 10 minutes! And then we wanted to make use of our time, so K and I went to a shop to look for something she wanted to get, hoping that our food would arrive by the time we got back, but nope. Food took way too long to arrive, and our dishes weren’t even difficult to make. Our server pretty much only had a real conversation with us when she was waiting for us to pay. So service was definitely poor! Food-wise, it was typical White Spot food.