Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodle House

February 24, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Boiled Seasonal Vegetable

Braised Beef Flank with Noodle In Soup (Small)

Braised Beef Flank And Tendon with Noodle In Spicy Soup (Large)

After a early shopping trip at Metrotown, my friend brought be to a Taiwanese Noodle House nearby that was claimed to be really good. Apparently, it’s supposed to be the best Taiwanese noodles in Vancouver! To be honest, I think it wasn’t THAT amazing, but I have to say, the noodles are really good. You can tell that they’re handmade, and not like the ones you get at bubble tea places. The vegetables were a dish that I actually hadn’t had before. I’m not sure if it’s some typical Taiwanese dish, but it tasted really good. They had like bits of onion and garlic chips as well as a special sauce in it. Quite different from the Cantonese style dishes I’m used to. The size of a small was already very big, and when my friend’s large came, I was in shock. It was huge! That would probably be enough for two. The soup base was very good, and they say that there isn’t any MSG, which I trust, as I wasn’t thirsty afterwards. They have a lot of seasoned radish type of things on top which gave it a nice crunch while eating the noodles. Overall, pretty good, but I don’t know if it’s the BEST.

True Confections

February 18, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Love their little quote on the side of the box! “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First”

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut

Chocolate cake, chocolate hazelnut filling and Frangelico

I have to say, I have some of the best friends out there! So sweet of them to drop off some cake for me after a tiring day. I’ve always wanted to try True Confections, but never got the chance to! They got a me a slice of Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cake that was huge! The slice seems thin, but it is actually so filling! It’s actually surprisingly not too sweet too! Now I really want to go there myself to try all those cakes out! Yummy!

Hapa Umi

February 8, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

ALBERTA AAA BEEF TATAKI
Garlic ponzu, green onion oil, spicy daikon

Ahi Tuna

SCALLOP
Scallops, cucumber, ume mayonnaise, egg crepe wrapping

DYNAMITE
Tempura shrimp, green beans, mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce

KAKUNI AND SCALLOP
Soy-braised pork belly, seared scallop

WARM CHOCOLATE CAKE
Banana tempura, ginger caramel, coconut ice cream

I saw that there was a Groupon for Hapa Umi for $30 for $60 worth of food and thought that was a pretty good deal and decided to get it. Even though I had my Groupon, I really don’t think the food was worth its price. Portions were quite small, and there weren’t many choices to choose from on the menu. The sashimi selection was very limited and they didn’t even serve tuna toro. It seemed like they were trying to westernize their menu, so it wasn’t a lot of authentic Japanese food. Food was however quite fresh, and the desserts were okay. The beef carpaciccio was not bad, but nothing spectacular about it. I guess nothing was bad, but just not good enough to make me want to keep coming back. Going in with the perception that Hapa Umi was a higher end izakaya, which the ambiance gives and their price points prove to be, I was left disappointed and felt the food really wasn’t worth the price. I think if you want to go to a good izakaya place, I would recommend to go to Guu instead!

Kaneda Japanese Restaurant

January 31, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Assorted Sashimi, including Salmon, Tuna, Hokkigai, Tako (Octopous)

Beef Sashimi

Lobster/Kani, Chopped Scallop, Shark Fin, Mirugai Nigiri Sushi

Tobiko, Toro, Unagi Nigiri Sushi

Dynamite Roll, Alaska Roll, California Roll, Chopped Scallop Roll

Fresh Oyster, Gomae, Agedashi Tofu, Fish Soup, Prawn Tempura

Yakitori (Chicken Skewer), Beef Short Ribs

I was flipping through an asian food magazine and found that a new restaurant called Kaneda Japanese Restaurant had opened on West Broadway. I hadn’t had all you can eat sushi for a very long time since I hate that feeling of stuffing myself just to get my money’s worth, but I was definitely craving some this weekend. Decided to give it a try, but I have to say I was quite disappointed. I looked at the reviews and I saw that they had pretty good reviews, but I have to say that the food and service is not up to par. The food took extremely long to arrive and the order of food came in an awkward order. You would expect to get all your sashimi and salads first, but no, things like beef short ribs came before salmon sashimi was served. Salads as simple as gomae and shrimp sunomono took what felt like 30 minutes to come. You would assume that all you can eat places would have things like salad all prepared ahead of time since they need to send them out in bulk amounts. But no, they took forever, and they didn’t taste any better than other all you can eat places that served them right away. Our sushi was also all mixed up, or it was either that they didn’t have it and just substituted our food without asking. We ordered lobster nigiri sushi, but it tasted like imitation crab, and our albalone nigiri sushi never came, but something that was clearly chopped scallop, which we had not ordered, came. Would’ve appreciated if they let us know beforehand there wasn’t the items and they shouldn’t have just substituted it for something else. All the cook food, like skewers and agedashi tofu were pretty good though, and they presented the sashimi on a very nice platter. Food just took way too long to come though, and we had to even ask our server where our food was. He replied that there was only one chef preparing the sushi. Understaffed on a Saturday night? The restarurant wasn’t even full too though, so maybe that’s why. Service was just way too slow, and even when we asked for our bill, it took them 10 minutes to get it to us. Definitely not going back, but I have to say they have a large variety of food to choose from for all you can eat at around $25 a person.

Faubourg

January 23, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Cakes

Savouries

Types of Teas

Vert Provence – A grand green tea with flowery aroma combined with tastes of Provence, red and black fruits plus sweet lavender

3 sets of Purple Afternoon Tea – choice of 2 sandwiches, 2 pastries, and a scone with cream and jam, and choice of tea

My Purple Afternoon Tea Set! – Mini Opera, Chocolate Mousse, Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Cream Sandwich, Cucumber, Roast Beef, and Corriander Cream Sandwich, Scone with Cream and Mandarin Orange Jam

Went to Faubourg a little late in the afternoon, so most of their pastries and savoury items were already all sold out. We decided to have high tea, and they had a smaller set called the Purple Afternoon Tea for $16. We got to choose 2 sandwiches and 2 pastries, and it came with a scone and choice of tea. I have to say that service was quite terrible. We were served by a rude man who wasn’t very polite when we asked questions about the teas. He almost seemed impatient and didn’t want to serve us. Funny, since he was dressed in a dress shirt and all, and looked almost like a manager. He might’ve been, actually, but I don’t know. Food on the other hand was good, and everything was presented nicely. I extremely liked the Chocolate Mousse and the Smoked Salmon Roll. They also have another afternoon set for a slightly higher price, but it includes all the different pastries and sandwiches. I guess you have to go earlier if you want to try their full size pastries!

Deer Garden

January 15, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Salted Jelly Fish in Chili Sauce

House Special Desert Wings and Vegetables in Fish Soup (in back)

Probably the most random food you can order at Deer Garden, but that’s cause we had all ate lunch or weren’t that hungry at the time… Deer Garden is famous for their “Make your own noodles”, just like Bubble Waffle Cafe, but it’s supposed to be much better! I always hear people raving about how good their noodles are. Unfortunately, I still haven’t tried them yet, but I will do so soon! Got some appies instead this time and I have to say their desert wings are really delicious! Almost as good as the ones at the Aberdeen food court. I haven’t gone there in a long ti me, but I hope they still exist! Food is good, and service is great here. It’s always packed during lunch or dinner hours though, so be sure to go early to grab a spot!

Tsukiji

January 8, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Assorted Sashimi (Salmon, Tuna, Hamachi, Tako, Hokki, Hotate) and Uni (Sea Urchin)

Chopped Scallop Roll and House Roll (Prawn Tempura Roll Topped with Unagi, Avocado and Masago)

Nabeyaki Udon – Thick Noodle in Soup with Prawn Tempura, chicken, and Vegetables (Forgot to take the one in the big bowl!)

Negitoro Maki (Chopped Tuna Belly with Green Onion)

Unagi Don (Grilled BBQ Eel)

Karubi (Beef Short Ribs)

Went to Tsukiji for Christmas Eve Dinner since my family didn’t want to crowd at other restaurants, but Tsukiji was actually quite full too. They brought us to rooms where we actually had to take off our shoes and sit on mats, so it gave us a little Japanese ambiance to it. Food was quite good with good quality, but I have to say the portions are quite small for the price. We had to keep ordering after our first orders of food came since we were all still hungry! Place is still great though, and I’ll probably come back again!

The Edge Social Grill and Lounge

January 6, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Hot Chocolate

Sweet Potato Fries with Parmesan Aioli

Honey Garlic Wings

BBQ Wings

Mac & Cheese with Caesar Salad

Eating at The Edge was actually by random as we were planning to go to The Twisted Fork, just very close by, except they didn’t take reservations and was very full by the time we got there. Can’t say it was anything out of the extraordinary, but it’s not bad for the price and service. Food, did however take extremely long to be served. The yam fries were great, but maybe it was because I was hungry. The wings are just average – I didn’t really like the honey garlic ones as it almost tasted bland. Mac & Cheese is one of my favourite comfort foods, but this one was definitely not up to par. It didn’t have that cheddar taste to it, and tasted almost like alfredo. I really only enjoyed the crusted top, but it still wasn’t that great. I could get a better Mac & Cheese at Boston Pizza or somewhere else. Service and ambiance was great, although it was very empty, but maybe it was because it was a weekday. I just wish the food would’ve came out a little quicker. Okay food at a decent price, but probably wouldn’t go back again.