Tubby Dog

March 17, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Day 2 in Calgary: Shortly after lunch and some presentations, S, H, J and I decided to go explore the city a bit and look for some snacks. S had previously checked out the top places on Urbanspoon, and Tubby Dog was one of them. Since it was quite a far walk, we decided to take a cab instead. Upon arriving, there was a man cleaning the windows, hence the bizarre picture.

They had their menu on their door, and it reminded me of Japadog, but North American style. The prices are quite high for a hot dog, so I was hoping they better be good.

Inside, they have the menu again, but also with some specials. I wish I got a picture of the kitchen area, since you can watch your hot dog get cooked and assembled in the front. You basically order at the counter, and they call your name when it’s ready.

The place is super retro and hipster. If I were still in high school, I would probably think that this would be where the “cool” kids hung out. I love how they had a cabinet full of food items that seemed to be collectibles. They definitely weren’t the typical packaging you could find in a grocery anymore. I’m guessing some of them might’ve been limited editions.

And they even have a mini arcade! I can totally picture some skaters coming here for a hot dog and playing games after school. It’s so old school and almost gives you a “back in the day” vibe. The place has posters hanging around the walls, and they all add to that hip vibe. Even the employees have a retro vibe to them.

Tubby Dog – homemade chili, bacon, cheese, onions, mustard

And now finally onto the food! We decided to share a Tubby Dog since we had just ate lunch. We weren’t sure which hot dog to choose, but I guess you can’t go wrong with the one that’s named after the store! It was layered with tons of chili, onions, cheese and bacon bits along with a mustard sauce. It is definitely quite a large hot dog for one person, and would be decent to be shared between two for a snack. You basically need to eat this with knives and forks though, since there is no way to avoid a mess. I actually found that the bun was a bit soggy though, and wasn’t as crisp and toasted as I would’ve liked it. The onions were also barely cooked so the taste of raw onions were quite pungent. I loved the chili, bacon bits and loads of cheese though!

T-Rings

We also ordered a side of T-Rings. These are essentially double battered onion rings. I can almost be sure to say that they are also double fried… These things are deadly and oily! Because they are double battered, the batter is extremely thick and oily. I actually found that distracting and would’ve liked a thinly battered onion ring instead. It felt so unhealthy eating all that oily batter! The onion rings, however, were huge in circumference! Each order came with 5 onion rings.

Overall, I wasn’t extremely impressed with Tubby Dog’s food. I didn’t think it was as amazing as the reviews said. If I were to pay a price of around $7, I rather buy a Japadog instead. I guess Calgary needs to try some Japadogs, and they may rethink about what a good hot dog is! I do, however, love the atmosphere at Tubby Dog. That retro vibe is difficult to find, and they definitely played it well at this diner. A really cool place to hang out with some friends and devour some greasy food!

Ichi Rock [ra:ku]

March 16, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

For dinner, we took a 15 minute walk to an area with more food. S had urbanspooned some popular restaurants, and Ichi Rock [ra:ku] had some pretty good ratings.

The place is essentially run by a young Japanese couple. The man is the one cooking and behind the sushi bar, and the lady does all the serving and order taking. The interior is decorated with a modern twist, with lots of Ikea lights (Don’t ask why I recognize them..). The restaurant itself is quite small and can probably only fit 30 people max. It was still almost half full on a weekday night. Not bad for a small business. Food of course came out a little slower since there is only one chef.

Green Tea

I was surprised that we were actually charged a $1 each for our green tea when I looked at the bill later. However, I was fine with that as the green tea didn’t seem to be too watered down. It also came in fancy little cups!

Risotto Roll – avocado, crab meat, chopped shrimp, cheese, mayo topped with honey mustard sauce (served warm)

S and I decided to share two items. They have a variety of special rolls, but the Risotto Roll especially stood out for us. It said it was served warm! I’ve never had warm sushi, so I was curious what it would be like. It was served on a plate covered in tin foil, and the sushi was covered with sauce, mayo and cheese. It was stringy and definitely reminded me of risotto! Japanese style of course! It was essentially a California roll, but with a twist to it. Quite creative and worth a try!

Okonomiyaki – Japanese style pancake with seafood

The second dish we chose was the Okonomiyaki. I really enjoyed this dish. You can choose from bacon, seafood, or vegetables, but we chose seafood. It was filled with oysters and squid and tons of cabbage. It was then covered with cheese, mayo, fish flakes, and seaweed. I loved how the cheese added a stringy texture to it and it almost felt like there wasn’t any batter to it. Really flavourful and the portion was huge. We ended up sharing it with the other girls.

Overall, I was quite content with the food at Ichi Rock. Although the service was slow, I can understand since they are run by only two people and the friendly service definitely makes up for it. They also have some homemade desserts that looked quite good. The prices are average – not exactly cheap, but not ridiculously expensive. After trying two Japanese restaurants in Calgary, I still find that Vancouver has better restaurants at a better price!

The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家

March 12, 2013April 28, 20131 Comment

Located on Alexander Rd, Jade Seafood Restaurant is always packed with people. They essentially have their own parkade, which is a big lot, but the place is still impossible to find spots.

If you place an order before 11 a.m., you can also get a discount for your dim sum. I believe it was 20% off.

Salted Chicken Congee

Instead of ordering the typical dim sum, we chose to get a dim sum set lunch that would feed 4 diners. It was only $39.99 so it was extremely affordable and filling. First, we had the Salted Chicken Congee which came with salted Chinese donuts and salted peanuts on the side. The congee was flavourful because there were pieces of salted chicken in it. However, I disliked how the chicken still had bones, so it was a little difficult to eat.

Vegetable in Fish Soup

The second dish was Vegetables in Fish Soup. It was topped with bean curd. The vegetables dipped in the fish soup made it tasty and healthy.

Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein

The third dish was Chicken and Vegetable Chow Mein. I found that the noodles were way too oily but lacked flavour. This was just alright.

Assorted Dim Sum Platter – BBQ Pork Steamed Buns, Shrimp Dumplings, Seafood Spring Rolls, Siu Mai

The last item was the Assorted Dim Sum Platter. It included 4 of each items since it is designed for 4 people. The items were all decent but I wouldn’t say they were anything amazing. I found it odd that they put a steamed shrimp on top of the shrimp dumplings though. Only one…How odd…

Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll

Since we had 5 people eating, we decided to add some extra dishes although we were comfortably full already. I didn’t try the Beef with Chinese Parsley Rice Roll, but I was told it was quite smooth.

Steamed Phoenix Claws

Lastly, we also got the Steamed Phoenix Claws, which is one of my favourite items for dim sum. This one was marinated nicely with a little heat.

Overall, Jade Seafood Restaurant has decent dim sum food. It’s not a place to expect spectacular food, but it isn’t bad. Service was also a hit and miss. Our first server was extremely efficient, but when we asked another server, it took us around 10 tries to get his attention. He stared at our direction, but I’m not sure where his eyes were looking because he either just zoned out or had terrible observation skills.

Froshberg Gelato

March 5, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Matcha Gelato

The new Dining Terrace at Richmond Centre has been open for quite some time now, and everyone was talking about the new Froshberg Gelato. I finally decided to go try it out during my break from work, and chose the Matcha Gelato. However, I wasn’t too satisfied with the flavour. I found it really sweet and almost artificial. It didn’t have the true matcha tea leaves flavour to it. It almost felt too milky and creamy for it to be a matcha gelato.

I’ve yet to try the other flavours though, so perhaps the other flavours are much better.

Sun Sui Wah 新瑞華海鮮酒家

February 26, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I haven’t gone to Sun Sui Wah in a long time. It was decently busy on a weekday around 11a.m.

Congee

The congee was a decent size and I loved the little crisps at the top. It was filled with meat and wasn’t too salty.

Pan Fried Radish Cake

The Radish Cakes were lightly pan fried and were decent. Nothing too special.

Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves

I didn’t try the sticky rice but they seemed to be a decent size for three of them.

Steamed Rice Rolls with Chinese Donut

I found the Chinese donuts to be quite tough. They didn’t seem too fresh. I’ve definitely had better.

Siu-mai

The Siu-Mais were filled with lots of pork and topped with tobiko. Quite average as well.

Egg Tarts

Lastly, for dessert, we got some egg tarts. They had the flaky tart but it was quite thick. I think I’ve had better egg tarts before too.

Overall, I wasn’t too impressed by Sun Sui Wah. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything amazing. Everything was quite typical. The bill ended up being around $16 per person with tons of leftovers, so I guess the prices are not bad.

The Boathouse (Port Moody)

February 25, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

The Boathouse in Port Moody is in an isolated area right by the water. It’s got a really nice view and is much nicer and larger than the one in Richmond.

Oyster Bay – Sauvignon Blanc — New Zealand

This was quite sweet and I enjoyed it.

Thai Crab Cakes – lemon aioli & mango salsa

The crab cakes were crunchy on the outside and moist in the inside. The mango salsa gave it a little zest and along with the lemon aioli, they made a great appetizer.

The lobster came with a lemon hot drawn butter, but I found that the butter kept condensing really quickly. It became too thick and wasn’t that great for dipping.

1.5 lb. Live Atlantic Lobster Dinner – simply steamed, served with lemon hot drawn butter

The lobster was steamed and came with some veggies and potatoes. It was extremely difficult to eat though, because they literally just steamed the whole lobster and served it to us without cutting it apart. We had so much trouble eating it that we had to get our server to take it back to the chef to cut it open.

Mocha Ice Cream Pie – chocolate ganache & maple almonds

Lastly for dessert, we got the mocha ice cream pie, which reminded me of a fancier dairy queen ice cream cake. The top was ice cream, and the bottom was a cookie crust that was similar to oreos. It was then topped with whipping cream and maple almonds with a chocolate and raspberry sauce at the bottom. I enjoyed the ice cream a lot, but I wasn’t a big fan of the cookie crust since I found it too sweet.

Overall, the restaurant and service is great at the Port Moody location. However, I didn’t think that the food was anything spectacular. It is a great place to have a nice, relaxing dinner though.

Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館

February 20, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

Parents decided to go for some dim sum to celebrate Chinese News Years last weekend. We went to Top Gun J&C Restaurant. Top Gun owns a variety of other restaurants as well. For dim sum, you each individual gets their own choice of tea, which is pretty different. Above is the heater for the shared teapot of water, and then the bowl is to pour your tea out. Apparently, you are supposed to pour out the tea after you pour water in the first time since the leaves are dirty.

You get a little cup with a lid on top to steam your tea.

I don’t remember all the tea names..but you essentially get a small cup of leaves for each individual. Pretty neat!

Steamed Rice Roll with Chinese Donut

The Steamed Rice Roll with Chinese Donut is one of my favourite dim sum items to eat. These were quite delicious. The Chinese donut wasn’t too soggy or hard, and the rice rolls were soft and smooth.

Steamed Rice Roll with Wood Ear

I’m not sure if that’s the exact name, but the steamed rice roll is essentially filled with wood ear, which is also known as black fungus. It’s crunchy and has a great bite to it. Quite good when dipped in soy sauce!

Deep Fried Cuttlefish with Mayo

We also got some Deep Fried Cuttlefish, which was suprisingly really good! It wasn’t oily and the cuttlefish was soft to bite. The batter wasn’t thick, so it was a great dish that I wouldn’t normally get at dim sum. Dipped in the mayo, it added some extra flavour.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

The typical Shrimp Dumplings at dim sum! These were average and quite typical.

Fried Bean Curd with Shrimp

This was a tasty dish. It was bean curd that was filled with shrimp and then deep fried. It was a little crunchy and crispy on the outside, but the thin layers of bean curd allowed you to have tons of shrimp in each bite.

Chicken and Chinese Sausages on Rice in Clay Pot

My parents enjoy rice in clay pots as they are difficult to make at home. This one was topped with chicken, Chinese sausages, and veggies. You pour some soy sauce on top and mix it all together for a filling dish.

Radish Cakes

Whenever it’s Chinese New Year, Radish Cakes are seen everywhere. You can still order these during the whole year, but they are festive item to eat during this time. These were soft and the tops were fried to perfection. A little crispy and golden yellow. Yum!

Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf

Usually, each order has 3 at other restaurants, but the ones here come with only 2. However, the portions are much larger, so it makes up for it. They were filled with many ingredients and were quite delicious.

Marinated Steamed Chicken Feet

Lastly, we got the Marinated Steamed Chicken Feet. We found that this dish lacked flavour. They did not even have the fermented black beans that are commonly topped on this dish to bring some salty flavour. It was bland and in a way, we thought it would probably be healthy then.

Overall, the food was average. We didn’t think it was anything special, and the place was surprisingly quite empty on a Sunday morning. It’s a great place to go if you enjoy drinking tea though, since they have a large variety and you can experience having your own tea.

Bubble Waffle

February 18, 2013April 28, 20131 Comment

I was told that the Bubble Waffle that used to have their own store is now in the food court of Aberdeen Centre, so I decided to go check it out. The place was packed and had a variety of food to choose from. There were of course bubble waffles, their signature make your own noodles combo, and some surprisingly items like hurricane potato fries and rice rolls!

Hong Kong Rice Roll Combo – Rice rolls, fish balls, shiu-mai, all mixed with a mixture of sauces

K and I shared some items. We got the Hong Kong Rice Roll Combo because it reminds us of the ones we can get in Hong Kong. I have to say the quality of the rice rolls are nothing special at all, but it’s the fact that you get a bunch of your favourite food all mixed in a tasty sauce in a bowl. I didn’t find the fish balls to be that great, but the Shiu-Mai were pretty good. It was all mixed in a peanut and sweet sauce. Yum! This item, however, took quite a while to be ready. I think I waited 15-20 minutes for it.

Make Your Own Noodle Combo – Oil Noodles in Minced Pork Fish Soup with Fried Shrimp Ball and Fish Ball with Shrimp

We also got the Make Your Own Noodle Combo. We chose oil noodles, and a minced pork fish soup base. I felt like the soup base was full of MSG, but it was quite flavourful. It was filled with tons of cabbage which were tasty soaked in the soup. We chose to add two toppings, so it ended up for only $4.95, which is an extremely good deal for the portion you get. It is definitely enough for 1 person if you are not a big eater. We chose the Fried Shrimp Ball, which was alright, but I really liked the Fish Ball with Shrimp! It was basically a outer layer which was made of fish, and it was filled with shrimp inside. They looked like little dumplings which were pretty cool!