Bestie

April 5, 2015April 5, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve been to Bestie before, but the last time I went, I was too hungry to even bother taking pictures for the blog. This time, we did a midnight run and took the food to go to G’s place. Bestie is located in Chinatown and is definitely the definition of a hipster spot. They are a sausage and beer spot and makes the perfect midnight snack.

The menu is inspired from German street food, and they are famous for their currywurst, which originates in Berlin. I’ve tried the real currywurst in Berlin, but I would say Bestie does it just as good or even better! Currywurst is really just sausage on fries with a curry powder mixed ketchup sauce.

Currywurst – Classic Pork Thüringer

At Bestie, there are really two main sausage menu items: the currywurst or sausage with sauerkraut. I’m not a huge fan of sauerkraut, so S and I chose the currywurst. You can then choose from the type of meat you want in the sausage. We went for the Classic Pork Thüringer, which was very delicious. You can tell the sausages are made with fresh meat. The curry ketchup is slightly spicy, but not overwhelming. I also liked the tangy flavour of the ketchup, which was more like tomato paste. The fries themselves, aren’t anything special. I wuoldn’t say they are crispy, but the sauce makes the fries flavourful and tasty.

Currywurst – Turkey Chorizo

G go the currywurst with the Turky Chorizo as the meat in the sausage. The chorizo gave the sausage a slight more heat than the classic pork sausage. Very good as well. If you like ketchup and spice, you will like Bestie’s currywursts.

I do find that the prices are on the high side at around $8.50 per order. It’s almost like paying for a full meal! It does fill you up, but knowing that it’s just fries and sausages makes you wonder how much they make from this.

Pros:
– Great spot to try currywurst
– Quality sausages

Cons:
– Pricey

Price Range: $10

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

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

Twisted Fork Bistro

March 29, 2015April 2, 2015Leave a comment

Twisted Fork is a busy little bistro on the Granville strip in downtown Vancouver. No reservations mean long waits, but as we arrived at the restaurant around 6:00PM, we managed to get seating almost immediately.

The restaurant features an open kitchen concept with seating that features an ample amount of pillows. In a word, it’s “chill.” Service is friendly.

The menu features a “fresh sheet”, featuring dishes which may change daily (updates are provided on their website).

The complimentary bread was average, suffering from being both cold and tough to the chew.

Duck Confit

S ordered the Duck Confit with bacon braised cabbage, jus and pickled pumpkin. He said that it was “not bad.”

Mussels with Frites

I got the Mussels with Frites, which feature a pound of mussels tossed in cream sauce and topped with fries. I think the fries were actually yam fries, so that’s always a plus. However, the fries were quite soggy. The mussels were small, but sweet. Quite good

Pros:
– Quality food
– Cozy ambiance with friendly service

Cons:
– Bread was disappointing
– Usually long waits and no reservations

Price Range: $20-30

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

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

Gyoza King

March 9, 2015March 15, 2015Leave a comment

Gyoza King has been around for a long time and is famous for their gyozas and izakaya style food. The place was quite busy when we arrived, so be sure to make reservations ahead of time.

Ebi Mayo

We started off with the Ebi Mayo, which had a light but crispy batter. Not the largest prawns, but still very fresh and satisfying.

Pork and Chicken Gyozas

And of course we had to try their Gyozas. We decided to try an order each of Pork and Chicken. They showed up looking the same and the waitress quickly told us which was which. However, we weren’t paying attention, and by the time we started eating, we couldn’t tell the difference between the two. Honestly, they taste quite the same, so if you want variety, you should choose one with shrimp or veggies instead. Other than the fact that we couldn’t tell the difference between the two apart, the gyozas were some of the best I’ve had in restaurants. The skin was thin and crispy both top and bottom. There was a good amount of filling and the dipping sauce complemented well.

Overall, Gyoza King lives up to its expectations for good gyozas. They also have a wide variety of choices for izakaya food and seems like a fun place for drinks. Service is attentive and friendly. Seating can be a little crowded since the restaurant is quite small.

Pros:
– Gyozas are pan fried to crispy
– Large variety of izakaya choices

Cons:
– Seating is pretty cramped

Price Range: $15-25

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

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

Guu Garlic (revisit)

February 23, 2015Leave a comment

Okonomiyaki

Went for a revisit at Guu Garlic on Robson Street again, and the izakaya spot is always a full house. Luckily, we got a seat at the bar. We started off with the Okomiyaki, which is a deep fried squid and cabbage pancake. It came with a tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo and was topped with bonito flakes. The pancake gets quite messy and it falls apart easily, but has a good amount of ingredients. Very flavourful, but I found it to be a little salty.

Karaage

Next was the Karaage, or deep fried chicken, which came with a garlic mayo on side. Large pieces of chicken, but I also found that it had too much batter on it. The seasoning was just right though.

Kabocha Croquette

We also got the Kabocha Croquette, which is a croquette of mashed pumpkin squash with a boiled egg in the center. I always love getting this. Crispy on the outside with the mash being slightly sweet. It comes with a mayo sauce for dipping.

Yaki Udon

Lastly was my all time favourite – Yaki-Udon. The pan fried udon comes with beef, mushroom, green onion, soy sauce, and butter. Something about their sauce makes it my favourite yaki-udon of all times. However, the beef was slightly over done this time and I found it very tough. Otherwise, flavour was on point again.

Overall, Guu Garlic consistently executes good izakaya food. It’s also very noisy in there, but that’s the ambiance they are going for. Service is friendly and attentive. Great place for izakaya snacks and drinks.

Pros:
– Consistently good izakaya food
– Reasonable prices

Cons:
– Seating may not be the most comfortable
– Can get quite loud

Price Range: $15-30

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

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

Hapa Izakaya (Robson) – DOVF 2015

February 3, 2015February 3, 2015Leave a comment

Beef Tataki

For my last Dine Out, I went to Hapa Izakaya on Robson Street. I had a pretty bad experience at the Yaletown location, but the Robson location had an $18 menu and the choices seemed pretty good. The restaurant wasn’t fully booked like most of the other dine out restaurants, so it made getting a table last minute very easy. We decided to share all our dishes and started off with the Beef Tataki. The lightly seared AAA beef was fresh and cut to the right thickness. It was topped with a sesame-chili sauce and came with some garlic chips.

Bintoro

The second appetizer was the Bintoro, which is lightly seared Albacore tuna sashimi. The tuna was seared just so the edges were cooked, and the sashimi itself was tender and fresh. It came with a ponzu sauce and was paired with a salad.

Raw Oyster

The third appetizer we chose were the Raw Oysters, which features the Chef’s selection oysters with daikon ponzu sauce. The oysters were rather large, but were still very fresh. I found it interesting that they gave you pickled ginger and wasabi, but none of us gave that a try. A pretty good deal since you get three oysters for the order.

Taster Plate (2pc ea. Ebi Mayo, Karaage, Gyoza)

For our second course, we chose the Taster Plate, which included 3 types of snacks. There were two pieces of each snack. First were the tempura prawns, which came with a spicy mayo sauce. I wasn’t a fan of these since the prawns were very small, and the batter wasn’t crunch. These were sort of soggy. In the middle were the Karage – deep-fried boneless chicken. This came with a soy ginger sauce, which was also just average. Lastly were the Gyozas, which did not really look like gyoza. It was essentially minced pork layered with lotus root and tempura battered. Overall, the taster plate was just average. Nothing too special.

Gindara

Another second course we ordered was the Gindara, which was baked sablefish with a sake-miso marinade.It came with some grilled vegetables. The sablefish was very moist and tasted great with the sake-miso sauce.

Kakuni

The third second course we got was the Kakuni. This was an interesting dish, featuring soy-braised pork belly with steamed buns. It also came with some Japanese hot mustard and salted cucumber. The bun was soft and the pork belly was tender with a good amount of fat. One of our favourite dishes.

Spicy Pork Ishiyaki

For our third course, we chose the Spicy Pork Ishiyaki. The rice was mixed minced pork, garlic sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce, spicy miso, and served in a hot stone bowl. Sort of like the Korean bibimbap. It was slightly spicy, but not overpowering. Very flavourful!

Tartar Sushi Donburi

We also got the Tartar Sushi Donburi, which was probably my favourite. Essentially a chirashi don, with assorted chopped sashimi, shiso, and ginger-soy mayo. It featured salmon and two types of tuna. Perfect for those who love sashimi.

Mentaiko Udon

Lastly, we got the Mentaiko Udon. The udon noodles were mixed with a spicy cod roe sauce, but I found this to be just average. I prefer Guu’s yakiudon.

Overall, I wouldn’t say any of the food was too memorable, but everything was decent. I still prefer Guu if I want izakaya food. Hapa is more bar like and somewhat more formal. It’s still a great place for happy hour or to grab drinks.

Pros:
– Reasonable prices
– Ambiance is pretty nice

Cons:
– Service was just average
– Food isn’t too memorable

Price Range: $20-30

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

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

Maji Restaurant – revisit

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve been wanting to revisit Maji for some time now, since I found that they had some pretty decent Taiwanese eats. However, parking here is just a nightmare, with Alexandra Street filled with diners on Friday nights. The restaurant itself is also packed! Luckily, we made last minute reservations while driving here and we were seated right away upon arrival. So be sure to make a call first!

Deep Fried Oysters

First up, we got the Deep Fried Oysters. These were big juicy oysters battered and deep fried. Along with a squeeze of lemon and this sweet chili sauce, it was very delicious. All of Maji’s dishes are meant to be shared, so this is great with a larger group.

Deep Fried Shrimp with Salted Egg Yolk

We also got the Deep Fried Shrimp with Salted Egg Yolk, which would have been perfect with white rice. The shrimps were deep fried with mashed salted egg yolk batter. You get tons of that egg yolk and I like how it was crispy and gave it a nice texture.

Taiwanese-Style Stir-Fried Noodles

Last but not least were the Taiwanese-Style Stir-Fried Noodles. A dish of oil noodles stir-fried with shredded cabbage, carrots, shredded pork, and basil. The basil flavour was very strong, and there was a good ratio of ingredients to noodles.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Maji once again. The only disappointment was they didn’t have their Taiwanese fruit beers that night, which I have been wanting to try. Prices are reasonable, and it’s a great place to share dishes with larger groups.

Pros:
– Great Taiwanese dishes for sharing and reasonably priced
– Ambiance is rustic, but modern

Cons:
– Parking is a nightmare
– Long waits if you don’t make reservations

Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Parking: 1
Overall: 3.5

Earls Kitchen + Bar (Richmond) – revisit

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015Leave a comment

Fish and Chips

Making reservations on the day of New Year’s Eve proved to be a difficult task. In the end, we resorted to Earls Kitchen and Bar in Richmond since they had more seating compared to other restaurants. A short wait and we were seated. It seemed that people were rushing to their New Year’s Eve parties. S got the Fish and Chips, which came with two pieces of beer battered Icelandic cod, house tartar, coleslaw, and a side of fries. S said the fish was moist and the fries were crispy. He said Earls does fish and chips pretty well and probably better than most places he’s been to.

Fettuccini Alfredo

K got the Fettuccini Alfredo, which came with the classic cream sauce and topped with grana padano parmesan. It looked rather plain, but she said it was pretty good.

Italia Pizza

For myself, I got the Italia Pizza, which was topped with Virginia ham, Genoa salami, chorizo, and Provolone cheese. A 10 inch pizza, this was actually quite a lot and could easily feed two. I liked the thin crust and the chorizo made gave it some heat. Pretty good for a chain restaurant, but also a little on the oily side.

Overall, Earls is your typical chain restaurant, but their food is pretty consistent in quality and flavour. Service was also pretty good. Plus, there’s an abundance of parking at Lansdowne which makes things more convenient.

Pros:
– Food is always consistently decent
– Service and ambiance is nice

Cons:
– Your typical Chain restaurant menu
– No reservations ahead of time for parties with less than 6

Price Range: $15-25

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

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

Kingyo Izakaya

December 16, 2014Leave a comment

Yuzu Gin Tonic

I’ve always wanted to try Suika’s sister restaurant, Kingyo, so when K and U told me to decide, off we went to Kingyo. I made reservations beforehand and was told that there was only a seating at 6:00pm and that we would need to leave by 7:30pm. This place is packed! Anyways, we started off with their cocktails, since U said they are really good. I went for the Yuzu Gin Tonic, which was essentially a gin and tonic with yuzu juice. It was topped with some yuzu zest and a slice of lime. Loved how it was refreshing and not overly sweet.

Fresh Melon White Wine Sangria

K went for the Fresh Melon White Sangria, which consisted of fresh melon juice, calpico, melon liqueor, white wine, soda, and lime. His was slightly more sweet, but really good! As for U, she got the Kingyo, which had rum, shiso, lime, 7up, soda, tonic, goji berries and yuzu juice. Again, the drink wasn’t overly sweet.

My Ebi Mayo

To start, we had the My Ebi Mayo, which I loved! The ebi were huge black tiger prawns and were tempura battered, then deep fried. The prawns were so juicy and fresh. Dipped in the spicy chili mayo sauce and topped with paprika powder, it gave the dish just a bit of heat.

Rock’n Kobe

Next up was the Rock’n Kobe, which came with a large stone to self-grill. The kobe beef was already marinated, but it also came with 2 kinds of Kingyo’s original sauces. One was a spicy sauce and the other was more like a garlic sauce.

There aren’t too many slices of kobe beef for $22, but the meat was definitely a nice cut. Very tender and the marinade was flavourful. Just make sure you don’t overcook it!

Deep Fried Chicken Breast Tender

The Deep Fried Chicken Breast Tenders were marinated in plum and shiso. It was served with lemon, wasabi, and a side of chopped jelly fish marinated in plum sauce. I thought they were pretty much like chicken strips, but nevertheless, they were good.

Invincible & Undefeated Tantan Noodle

The server recommended the Invincible & Undefeated Tantan Noodles. These noodles were similar to instant ramen, but they were cooked in a pork bone and shrimp broth. It was seasoned with sesame oil and miso, then topped with cashew nuts, ground pork, chili marinated Chinese chives and black sesame. A mouthful of flavour! I wish it had more of a kick to it though, since it wasn’t spicy at all compared to your typical tantan noodles.

Cheese Tofu

Lastly, we added a dish off their December special menu, which was the Cheese Tofu. Sounded weird, so we gave it a try. It came with a few slices of toasted bread, and 4 slices of “cheese tofu.” It looked like tofu, but it tasted like cream cheese! It was definitely odd, but not bad at the same time. Not sure what I was eating really.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with Kingyo. Even though we felt a bit rushed at the end, the service was still there. Definitely make reservations ahead of time if you want to eat during the busy dinner times. Otherwise, a great place for food and drinks. Definitely coming back!