Cheesecake Factory (Bellevue)

August 7, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Tropical Iced Tea

Complimentary Bread

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak served with Mashed Potatoes and Onion Rings

Petite Filet served with Fries and Onion Rings– a smaller version of Filet Mignon

Bistro Shrimp Pasta – crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms, tomato and arugula tossed with spaghettini and a basil-garlic lemon cream sauce

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake – raspberry-vanilla cake, creamy lemon cheesecake, raspberry lady fingers and lemon mousse

It seems that my family always ends up going to The Cheesecake Factory whenever we’re in Seattle. Perhaps it’s because it’s the perfect place to go to after a long day of shopping at Bellevue Mall. Cheesecake Factory is always packed around dinner time, so we had to wait for roughly 30 minutes before we got seated. I decided to get the Tropical Iced Tea, but I didn’t realize that American Iced Teas were unsweetened! And so I was left with a rather bland iced tea with hints of fruitiness to it. My parents both got steaks, and the Petit Filet Mignon was exceptional. I stole a bite, and the meat was extremely tender. I also tried an onion ring, and loved the outer batter as it was thin and crispy. And I forgot to mention, that Cheesecake Factory’s portions are absolutely huge, and it is almost impossible for me to finish a plate by myself. And so of course, I decided to share a plate with my sister, who doesn’t eat a lot either. We got the Bistro Shrimp Pasta, which was extremely delicious. I loved the spaghetinni, as it was thinner than normal spaghetti, and the shrimp also had a lovely texture since it was coated with a light batter. The sauce was light and not too creamy, which I liked. My whole family was extremely full by the end of dinner, but who goes to the Cheesecake Factory without getting a slice of cheesecake! Most tables had their cheesecake to go, but since we still had a long ride back to our hotel, and the weather was quite hot, we decided to just stuff ourselves and eat it at the restaurant. We chose a lighter cheesecake since we could not go for something extremely rich at that point, so we got the Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake. The lemon and raspberry gave the cheesecake a lighter taste to it, with its hint of tangy flavour. I especially love their whipped cream, since it’s super light and airy. You can barely even taste the cream in it! So delicious!

I do want to mention, however, that our waitress, Kelly, was one of the worst servers I’ve had. She came by at the beginning to take our orders, dropped off our drinks and food, and asked how our food was tasting once throughout our whole dinner. I’m not the type that likes to be bothered while eating, but it’s a common gesture to come by more than once throughout the dinner. Not to mention, that I asked for a straw for my drink, and she said she would be right back, but no straw ever came back. My parents also had to remind her to bring them steak knives, which was highly unprofessional. It was almost like we had to chase her down to get her attention. But that’s just our server. I’ve definitely had better servers in the past here, so I guess this is just an exception.

The Crab King

August 3, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

My foodie friends, Steph, Mica and I 🙂

So many crabs in the tank!

Crab Poutine

Seafood Spring Rolls

Deep Fried Mussels with Crunchy Fries – paprika spice, lemon

After watching a video of the construction of Crab King, hearing all the good comments about it, and even walking by a few times and always telling my friends we would try it next time, I finally tried it on a nice sunny day! Crab King is located on the boardwalk of Steveston Village, and is apparently supposed to be floating, but it wasn’t exactly “floating” as I had imagined. Crab King is also sort of a self serve place. You place your order at the front, and then you take a numbered sign with you to the table of your choice. Then, they bring the food to you.

Steph, Mica and I wanted to try a bit of everything, so we decided to share three plates. First up, the Crab Poutine we had all been talking about! It was basically a plate of fries topped with crab pieces and layered with cheese and gravy. Interestingly, the cheese wasn’t like the cheese curd that we usually see in poutines at New York Fries and such, but it was much more stringy and I actually preferred this much more. The amount of crab was also not too shabby, so it was definitely a good dish. Next up, we got the Seafood Spring Rolls. I couldn’t exactly taste the seafood in it, but I thought they tasted better than some of the Vietnamese spring rolls I’ve had. Not bad! And lastly, I wanted to try the Deep Fried Mussels, which came with what they called “Crunchy Fries”. We asked the cashier why they were called crunchy fries since they also had something on the menu just called normal fries, but he just laughed and said “to make it sound more special” or something along those lines. Interesting… Anyways, the mussels were pretty interesting since they were “deep fried”. They tasted pretty much the same as normal mussels, but were a little more crispy on the edges. The paprika gave it a nice flavour, and along with the lemon, had some zesty flavour to it. As for the fries, definitely not anything different than those normal fries. Tasted just like any other fries.

Crab King is definitely a nice place to grab some boardwalk food if you’re in Steveston Village, and is a great option other than the typical Pajos Fish and Chips that we often get. It’s got an amazing view by the water and is breezy on a nice summer day!

Manzo Itamae

August 1, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Takoyaki

Mentaiko Chaahan

I realized that I’ve been getting lazy with food blogging, and now my posts are all from weeks ago! Anyways, a few weeks ago, we had Michelle’s birthday dinner at Manzo Itamae. I’ve actually been here a few times, although I personally think it’s just average. I wasn’t too hungry that day since I ate not long beforehand, so I decided to share some food. We got the Takoyaki, which I thought was pretty good. It came with loads of that fish flake stuff, and the fillings inside weren’t crappy like some places. Mica suggested that I try the Mentaiko Chaahan, which is basically fried rice with marinated roe of pollock. It was quite interesting since I don’t think I’ve really had Japanese fried rice before. You could definitely taste the flavours of the mentaiko, which made the dish great. Service was however terrible with this dish. The takoyakis came promptly, but I swear I waited for almost an hour for my Mentaiko Chaahan to come. I know that we had a large group, so it would take longer, but the fact that everyone else’s food came, but not mine, was a disappointment. Most of my friends had finished their food by the time my fried rice came. So service this time was definitely a disappointment, but food was average as usual.

Takifugu Japanese Dining

July 30, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Salmon Tororo-Ae – Atlantic Salmon with Grated Japanese Yam Potato

Assorted Oshinko – Assorted Japanese Pickles

Kawahaki Mirin Boshi – Grilled Dry Kawahaki Fish

Teba Shio Yaki – Grilled Chicken Wing with Salt

Fresh Clams

Niku Tataki – Seared AAA Beef Sliced with Special Sauce

Nabayaki Udon – Tempura Prawns, Chicken and Egg with udon in soup served in a Hot Pot

Kani Uni Roll (Fresh Sea Urchin with Real Crab) and Chopped Scallop Tobiko Roll

Long overdue, but a few weeks ago, it was my birthday! I went to Takifugu which is hidden in the inner corner of the same mall that West Lake moved to. The interior is really nice, and looks almost like it is fine dining, but when you look at the prices, it isn’t as expensive as you would think. It was also pretty quiet, with just one or two tables, but maybe because it was a weekday, and also because the location is quite hidden.

We ordered the Salmon Tororo-Ae to begin. I was so confused what the outer white stuff was for the longest time, until I looked at the menu again now, and realized that it was grated yam potato! I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to eat it before, since it kind of just slid off the sashimi when I picked it up. Not bad, but I would probably stick with the typical salmon sashimi, without the potato around it. Steph got the Assorted Oshinko since she is always crazy for oshinko. I swear everytime I eat at a Japanese restaurant with her, she orders something to do with oshinko… But anyways, I never tried it, since I’m not a big fan of oshinko, but she told me that they were some interesting oshinko, and that she probably would prefer the typical yellow ones we see in sushi normally. Next up was the Kawahaki Mirin Boshi, which was basically grilled fish. It reminded me of those grilled squid I used to always get when I was little. It was chewy, and was accompanied with a nice mayo sauce. I wanted the Teba Shio Yaki, which were basically grilled chicken wings. I thought they were grilled very nicely, with a thin crispy layer of skin. They were also having some seasonal items, and so we got tried the Fresh Clams. They were juicy, but I found them a little tough. Not tough to the point that I couldn’t chew, but I’ve had more tender clams.I really wanted something like beef tataki, so I ordered the Niku Tataki. It was presented really nicely on a bowl on ice, and they were tiny little strips of meat. I’m not sure if I ordered the right thing, but what I really wanted was something like Guu’s Beef Tataki. It was decent, but it could’ve been more juicy, and the sauce wasn’t any special.We also got the Nabayaki Udon, which had a very flavourful soup, and was actually very delicious. Lastly we got some sushi rolls, and we got the Kani Uni Roll, as well as theChopped Scallop Roll. I have to say, I was kind of disappointed in them, as they weren’t presented as nicely as the other dishes. They were also just alright, and weren’t too impressive. I’ve definitely had better chopped scallop rolls elsewhere.

Overall, Takifugu is a nice place to have dinner, with a variety of dishes to choose from. I like how they have a wide assortment of grilled items, similar to Zakkushi. I think their hidden location is the cause to their lack of customers.

Jang Mo Jib (Burnaby)

July 24, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Complimentary Assorted Appetizers – Sweet Potato, Kimchi, Bean Sprouts, Spicy Radish

Dol Sot Bee Bim Bahb – Assorted preserved vegetables, beef, sauteed Kimchi, onions and fried egg served on rice in a hot stone bowl, served with homemade hot chili paste on the side

Jab Che – Stir-fried sweet potato noodle with assorted vegetables and beef cooked in a house special marinade sauce

Hae Mool Pah Jun – Assorted seafood pancake with green onions and egg, served with house special soy sauce to dip

Jing Uh Bool Go Gee – Korean Traditional stir-fried squid and vegetables in spicy house special BBQ sauce

After more than probably a year, Steph, Sharmaine, Chris and I finally got together to celebrate our HR paper…well not that we didn’t see each other again, but we kept saying we would get together for dinner to celebrate finishing HR class! And since we all lived in different parts of Vancouver, we had to figure our which would be the closest for all of us. And so we met in between, and ended up in Burnaby, and decided to go for Jang Mo Jib.

I’ve had Jang Mo Jib in Richmond, but never before elsewhere, so I was curious to see what the menu was like here. Sadly, from what I recall, the menu is pretty much the same. We had originally wanted Korean BBQ I think, but we didn’t see the little cooking area built on our table and were a bit confused, so we ended up just ordering some Korean dishes.

Jang Mo Jib always provides complimentary appetizers as our side dishes. This consists of Sweet Potatoes, Kimchi, Bean Sprouts, Spicy Radishes, and a bowl of Rice. I love their sweet potatoes, but to this day, I’m still not sure what kind of sauce it’s in. As for our first dish, we got the Dol Sot Bee Bim BahbDol. It’s basically like a stone bowl, with rice, and you mix all the veggies and eggs that are on top together. Interestingly though, it had an interesting taste to it that we were all aware of. Now that I look back on the menu, I think we ordered the wrong one! This one was a different Bee Bim Bahp from the traditional one, as it included sauteed kimchi in it, hence the unique flavour. I love Jab Che, so I chose to order that. Enormous portion! But I love the texture of those sweet potato noodles. Definitely a lot of carbs too! And then we also got that Hae Mool Pah Jun, which is the popular seafood pancake. It was filled with lots of squid and green onions, and was crispy at the top. And lastly, we decided to try the Jing Uh Bool Go Gee, which was stir-fried squid in a slightly spicy sauce. We found the squid a little tough, but it was still very delicious.

We went on a weekday, so it actually wasn’t too busy. We basically sat there till we were given the bill, since we were catching up and lost track of time. That was probably like 3 hours! So I guess it’s a nice place to sit around for on a weekday. But I hear that it gets really busy on the weekends, especially since it’s located very central, near Metrotown.

Phnom Penh

July 18, 2012May 3, 20131 Comment

Mango Moo Moo Shake

Iced Rainbow Drink

Butter Beef

Special Combo A – Deep Fried Spring Roll, Vietnamese BBQ Beef Brochette, Prawn Supreme on Sugar Cane

Filet Beef on Rice with Egg

Phnom Penh Rice Noodle (no broth)

Phnom Penh Curry Chicken Hot Pot

Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wings

I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally try Phnom Penh. It’s been on my wishlist ever since I heard it was one of the top restaurants in Vancouver on Urbanspoon. The only thing really stopping me was where it was located. It’s in the Chinatown neighborhood, which can be a little sketchy at night, but luckily, Phnom Penh is located in a smaller street. The street is mostly small groceries, and is actually pretty quiet, other than the line ups at Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh doesn’t take reservations unless you have a table of 6, but luckily, we got our seat quite quick. We did however have to share a table with another group of 4, but it wasn’t too awkward as it was a long rectangular table.

We decided to grab some drinks, and I got the Iced Rainbow Drink. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the drink since I don’t like bits of red beans in my food, but my mom said it was the drink for Vietnamese cuisine so she wanted to take a sip from it. It was alright, and I liked the green jelly bits in it. Next up, we got the Butter Beef. This is one of their most popular dishes, and it was really good! It is basically half cooked meat, topped with a lot of cilantro and a special sauce. I really dislike cilantro, so I picked it all out, but the meat was still really good. I loved the sauce and the meat was not tough at all. We also got the Special Combo A, which included Deep Fried Spring Rolls, a Vietnamese BBQ Beef Brochette, and a Prawn Supreme on Sugar Cane. They were all very delicious and I especially liked the Beef Brochette. The beef was extremely tender and flavourful. We also got the Filet Beef on Rice with Egg, which seemed pretty typical, but their sauce was quite distinct. It had an interesting taste that I cannot describe! Next, we got the Phnom Penh Rice Noodle (no broth). I found it a little dry, but I guess it’s supposed to be like that since it said no broth! They have one with broth too, so maybe that one is better. It also had a very unique flavour again. I think the sauce had garlic or something, but I’m not quite sure. This one was just alright. We also wanted to try their curry, so we got the Phnom Penh Curry Chicken Hot Pot. I really enjoyed the curry, but I found it quite different from the usual Vietnamese curry I get back in Richmond. The curry wasn’t as thick, but rather very thin and was perfect to pour onto vermicelli to add some flavour. They also didn’t use potatoes, but instead yams, which was an interesting change to the usual. And lastly, we got the famous Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wings. People tell me they’re the best wings around, but maybe because I had such high expectations for them, they didn’t really live up to my expectations. They were still really delicious and I loved the dipping sauce that came with it. I have to say my favourite wings around the town are these, and the ones at Wo Fung Dessert in Aberdeen Mall.

Overall, Phnom Penh lived up to their high ranking on Urbanspoon. They definitely have great food. I’m still however confused what exactly is authentic Cambodian and Vietnamese food. Maybe I ordered the wrong dishes. But I’ll definitely come back again for more. The prices are however more expensive than I had expected, but it’s decent. Oh and to add, the interior was newly renovated, so it was actually really clean with brand new furniture.

Matsuyama

July 13, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Deep Fried Gyoza, Salmon Maki, Chicken Teriyaki, California Roll w/ Miso Soup

Salmon Maki, California Roll, Chopped Scallop Roll

Matsuyama Roll

I keep seeing people’s picture of Matsuyama all over my Facebook news feed, so I finally decided to go check it out. I think people usually go during their late night dinner since it’s supposed to be of very good value. However, I went for lunch instead, and they had a lot of sushi boxes and combos. I honestly don’t remember what the combo names were called since I didn’t take a picture of the menu. I had the second combo which had salmon maki, california roll, and chopped scallop roll. I didn’t think the fish were too fresh, and the chopped scallop roll had a weird fishy smell to it. It was a good price from what I remember, but the quality is definitely below average. The late night special would probably be of same quality but with a low price, it probably would attract a lot of customers. I would probably give the late night dinner a try, but most likely wouldn’t come back for their lunch or normal dinner.

Sushi House

July 12, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Half Order of Salmon Sashimi

Chopped Scallop Roll

Nabeyaki Udon

Crazy Boy Roll – Fried California Roll with Tobiko and Home Sauce

A few weeks ago, I finally met up with Natalie for lunch after saying this for probably half a year. Yes! I mentioned you Natalie 🙂 She treated me to lunch since my birthday was coming up soon and she suggested Sushi House. I didn’t really know of this place, but now I’ll probably come here again. It’s fairly small, with limited seats, but the food is pretty fresh at a decent price. We sat at the bar since we only had two people, and we were able to watch the sushi chefs do their thing.

We ordered a half order of Salmon Sashimi which was extremely fresh. We also ordered the Chopped Scallop Roll, which is one of my favourites. It wasn’t anything special, and was average like at any other restaurant. The Nabeyaki Udon was delicious and came with two prawn tempuras. I think my favourite item we ordered was the Crazy Boy Roll. It was something I had never tried before, and was really interesting. It almost looked like pizza when it was presented to us! It was basically california roll which was fried, and sliced up. It was then topped with tobiko, and a home made sauce, which was pretty spicy. The batter was like the tempura batter, and it wasn’t too thick. It gave a good crunch to it and was definitely the highlight of our meal.

I think Sushi House also does take out, since they have a great selection of party trays. Perhaps I’ll try that next time when I’m craving some sushi!