Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant

August 6, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Milk Tea with Tapioca

Five Spiced Beef Wrap

Soy Flavoured Chicken – (Three Cup Chicken) with fresh basil

Shrimp Fried Rice

Off I went to Bellevue for the weekend to do some shopping for the weekend. It seems to be a tradition by now that we head down to the south for some shopping during the summer. And even when I’m on vacation, I love to try new food, so of course I urbanspooned some places to eat! My sister ended up finding Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant, which is basically sort of like our Pearl Castle, where they offer bubble tea and Taiwanese food. It was rated 93% on Urbansppon, so we thought it better be good!

The mall was quite small, but was jam packed with cars, and we basically had nowhere to park during the lunch hours. We ended up having to park a few blocks down and walked over to restaurant. The restaurant was quite packed with families and young adolescents eating, but we got a seat quite fast.

We had just ate breakfast during a stop on our way, so we weren’t too hungry. We ended up just sharing a few dishes among ourselves. My sister and I decided to share the Milk Tea with Tapioca, and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. It’s not even up to par with some of the worse bubble tea places I’ve had back in Richmond. We could see the milk tea powder floating up, and when we tried to stir it in, we realized there was no point since our drink was cold. So they basically didn’t even dissolve all the powder to begin with before adding the ice. You could taste the powder, and it definitely wasn’t great. We also got the Five Spiced Beef Wrap as an appetizer, and it was alright. I personally don’t like cilantro, so it wasn’t exactly my favourite. I’ve definitely had better at Chef Hung as well. Next up, we got the Soy Flavoured Chicken. I found it a little too salty and the chicken was a little overcooked, so it was a bit rough. The chicken pieces were however huge. Lastly, we got the Shrimp Fried Rice, which I found was the best dish out of the 3. The flavour was just right, not too bland and not too salty. It also had loads of shrimp, and the rice was cooked well.

Overall, I don’t really understand why Facing East has such high ratings, because I honestly think it was just average. I’ve definitely had better in Richmond, but maybe that’s because Richmond is full of good eats!

Mancakes Bakery

July 31, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Night 6 Pack

Buffalo Wing
Breakfast
Tequila Pineapple
Rum & Coke
Whiskey Lime
Chocolate Red Wine

Day 6 Pack

Buffalo Wing
Breakfast
Pink Peppercorn
Apple Brie
Bacon Chili Chocolate
King Kong

Steph knows I’m always up to try new food, and so for my birthday, she ordered some Mancakes! Two boxes…Day and Night. Definitely too much cake for my birthday this year! So what exactly are Mancakes? Well they were created by a few Vancouver guys who decided that cupcakes didn’t have to be all frilly and pretty with cute frosting decorations. They decided to create cupcakes with unique flavours that were catered to men. And although I’m not a guy, I definitely wanted to give these cakes a try! And yes, these bold cupcakes are not restricted for guys! I believe they only have 10 flavours currently, and they are packaged in either the Day or Night box. You have to buy the whole box, and you can order them online. They provide free shipping if you order 3 packs, and I believe there’s a small charge if you order less.

Sadly, I was not able to try all the different flavours, which was what I intended on doing! I left the cakes in the fridge and when I came home, many of them had been devoured by my parents already! They sure seemed to enjoy them! I did however get to try the Chocolate Red Wine, which probably was my favourite (well from the ones I tried). It came with a wine jelly, and the center of the cake had some nice chocolate filling. That was definitely a surprise, since I expected it to just be a full solid cupcake. Other than that, I also tried the Buffalo Wing, which I have to say was….quite interesting. This is their signature cupcake, which is why it’s in both the day and night pack. Honestly, I thought this bad boy was kind of weird. The cake itself was fine, but I didn’t like the flavour of the frosting. Even the bacon on top was fine, but something about the frosting’s flavour wasn’t satisfying. I also tried the Tequila Pineapple, which didn’t taste too special. It had a slight pineapple taste to it, but not strong in alcohol. Not too bad!

Overall, Mancakes are definitely worth a try. It’s something that I’ve never had before, and who would think that savoury cupcakes could taste great too!

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.

Outpost Mini Donut Co.

July 25, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Vancouver weather has finally been more pleasant and a sunny day meant heading over to the Steveston Village for a walk. Everyone has been talking about these donuts at Outpost Mini Donu Co. for a while, but I never even noticed this donut shop although I walk past it almost every time I’m there. The interior is really cute and cozy, and you can see the making of donuts coming fresh out of the oven. I got half a dozen of a variety of donuts, including chocolate, vanilla, pink lemonade and cinnamon to name a few. Although they have all these flavours, my favourites are still the original cinnamon sugar coated donuts. Overall, great fresh donuts in a lovely area!

Loving Hut

July 24, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Crispy Chick’n Burger

I’ve been interning in downtown these days, and finally met up with Andrew to grab lunch since we actually worked pretty close together! He brought me to Loving Hut, which is located just across the street from the Yaletown Canada Line Station, and in front of the Yaletown Roundhouse Community Centre. Loving Hut actually serves vegan burgers, but I honestly had no idea while I was lining up, until Andrew told me. And even when I took the bite, I still had no idea! I had the Crispy Chick’n Burger and the sauce, which was chipotle mayo was really delicious! It was a bit spicy, but something that I could handle. If I hadn’t known beforehand that the chicken was vegan, I probably would have finished the whole burger thinking I had ate real chicken. But since I knew, I took the bite of chicken more carefully, trying to taste it. It tasted like some sort of soy product I think. But honestly, I think the burger tasted better than some real chicken burgers I’ve had. Definitely a must try, and I would love to try the Grilled Mushroom Cheese Burger next time! They don’t operate everyday, and only during lunch hours I believe, so make sure to check beforehand.

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.

L.A. Chicken

July 10, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

8 piece Family Meal (1/2 regular, 1/2 spicy)

Everyone has been talking about L.A. Chicken and raving that their chicken is better than KFC’s and Church’s. I finally tried it and was surprised to see that the location wasn’t as sketch as I had imagined it to be. I was also greeted by an Asian lady at the counter who knew how to speak Cantonese. We first got the first tray of gravy, fries, and 4 pieces of regular chicken. I have to agree that the chicken was actually so much better than KFC’s or Church’s. The batter was pretty thin and I didn’t find it to be too oily. The seasoning also wasn’t too salty. The fries were just alright, and I think I prefer KFC’s more, since I like their fries with the potato skin. Then, the lady brought us out the other 4 pieces of spicy chicken, except she gave us one extra piece for free! No idea why, but that was very kind of her. Way too much food for us though! The spicy one had a different batter, and it reminded me of the KFC chicken when you ask for “crispy”. So it was basically crispy and spicy together, which made really good chicken! I brought the leftovers home for my parents, and they loved them too. I should mention that I went around 5pm, and people were all lining up to get take out, as well. Definitely will go there for some fried chicken again, although it’s a little far for me compared to Church’s.

Leisure Tea & Coffee

July 5, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Caramel Pudding on Shaved Ice

Honey Milk Tea?

Coffee

Combo of Taiwanese Chicken, Deep Fried Tofu, and Fishcake

Ice Cream Waffle

French Fries

We had a big group hangout before Jane left for vacation a few weeks ago at Leisure since they always have good food and drinks. Taiwanese owned and has a very nice vintage feel to it, which attracts both young and older crowds.

I didn’t try all the food above at this sitting, although I have tried many of them in the past. The Caramel Pudding on Shaved Ice is one of my favourites. The sweet caramel works well with shaved ice, although I can get a brain freeze after too many spoonfuls. It’s still a great dessert to share though. Another one of my favourites is the Ice Cream Waffle. The waffle is served warm, and accompanied with the ice cream, making a delicious dessert. I’ve also tried the French Fries which are also really good. They aren’t too oily, yet they are crispy. This time, I tried something new though. I got their Combo of Taiwanese Fried Chicken, Fried Tofu, and Fishcake. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with this dish, as it wasn’t presented too well, and was extremely oily. I’ve had their Taiwanese Fried Chicken as a separate dish before, and I thought it was really delicious. I didn’t find that tofu or fishcake to be any special, and they were way too oily. The whole dish was also spicy, which was good, but I also found it a little too salty. I would definitely recommend getting the chicken on its own though.

Overall, Leisure is always one of my favourite places to go to for late night desserts or bubble tea. They are also always extremely packed at night, especially on weekends.