Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 1)

December 31, 2015December 28, 2015Leave a comment

At the end of September, we went on a trip to Singapore and Taiwan for around two weeks. This series of posts will share with you my day to day itinerary of landmarks we visited and of course the delicious food we tried.

We took China Airlines, a Taiwanese airline, since it was the cheapest flight available. We took a red-eye flight and left Vancouver at 2am. Since there are no direct flights to Singapore, we first did a layover to Taipei first, of which we arrived at around 6am local time the next day.

The layover was around 2 hours and it took another 4.5 hours to arrive in Singapore. The Taipei Taoyuan Airport has a decent amount of shops so it wasn’t too bad of a layover. The flights itself were a hit and miss. The flight from YVR to SIN was pretty bad since the aircraft was much older and the food wasn’t very good, but the SIN to TPE flight was an upgrade with a new aircraft. Overall, the flights with China Airlines were still okay for the price we paid.

We arrived in Singapore at around 1pm and the weather was humid with 30 degree weather in late September. S’s aunt picked us up from the airport, but it is extremely easy to take the metro to the city center. We then checked into Holiday Inn Express on Orchard Rd. since we would stay there a few nights before moving to the aunt’s place. The hotel was clean and the room size was sufficient. Would highly recommend especially since the location is very convenient.

Since we were pretty tired, we took the rest of the day easy and just walked around the malls in the Orchard area.

We headed into Takashimaya which had the chain store Four Seasons Durians. Since we were in Singapore, of course we had to give durian a try. We tried the durian crepe which had freshly made pancakes wrapped with real durian. Very fresh and pungent of course.

Moving on, we headed to ION, another popular mall on Orchard Rd. and tried the jerky at Lim Chee Guan.

They sell by the weight, and we tried both the pork and beef jerky. We actually enjoyed the beef much more. This is a must try in Singapore though! So delicious!

We did a bit of shopping and then headed to the basement floor of ION where the food court is. We tried the Ice Shop which features an assortment of icy goodies.

I tried the Cheng Tng while S got the Ice Kacang. The Cheng Tng is a traditional Singaporean dessert with light refreshing soup with longans, barley, agar strips, lotus seeds and syrup. The Ice Kacang is popular in both Malaysia and Singapore and this one was a colourful shaved ice with mango, jellies, and red bean. Reminded me of the ones in Vietnamese cuisine.

For dinner, we headed to Newton Food Centre, a famous outdoor hawker center. In Singapore, if you want to try local food, hawker centers are the way to go. Not only are they relatively cheaper than going to a restaurant, these are the spots were the locals actually dine at.

Newton Food Centre actually had a very nice ambiance, but I found it way too hot to eat at since there aren’t any fans or coverings on top to keep cool. It was also the most touristy market in my opinion.

We ordered from a variety of stalls, but most of it came from Sin Sin BBQ Seafood. The aunt said that most of the stalls have pretty good food, but this is usually their go-to. You can sit anywhere you want and they will come to you and take your order as well as bring you the food when ready.

The aunt suggested I try a very popular and refreshing drink which was the Sugarcane Juice with Lemon. You can also get this without lemon, which I actually preferred. The drink is rather sweet but perfect in the hot weather.

Another famous dish are Cockles, which reminded me of periwinkles. You open up the shell and pick out the meat and can dip it in the chili sauce. Great to share.

Popiah is the Singapore version of springs rolls. The thin dough wrapper is filled with shredded turnip, bean sprouts, peanuts, and fried tofu. You can dip this into a hot chili sauce. Good but wasn’t really my favourite.

The Chicken Wings were one of my favourite! A nice char and crispy skin.

Another popular dish is the Hokkien Mee which was topped with prawns and bean sprouts. It was delicious when mixed with the hot chili sauce.

Of course we had to try the Grilled Stingray since it’s what Singapore is known for. We tried two versions – one with chili sauce on top and one without.

It was my first time trying stingray, and the meat has an interesting texture. The middle is one bone, so you can scrape the meat off easily. The meat is rather on the tough side but is worth trying in Singapore.

My all time favourite were the Chicken and Beef Satays. Dipped in the peanut satay sauce, these were full of flavour. It also came with Ketupat which is a common Malay item served with skewers. This is rice packed inside a coconut leaf. The rice therefore is very flavourful and you can dip it in satay to moisten it.

Finally after dinner, we headed back to Orchard Road to window shop the luxury retail stores since it was close to our hotel. This is a great place to take a breezy walk at night. We were extremely tired after basically a whole day without sleep. We went to bed early that night and this wrapped up our first day in Singapore!

Details:

Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road: 20 Bideford Road, Singapore 229921

Takashimaya: 391 Orchard Road, Singapore 238873

ION Orchard: 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801

Newton Food Centre: 500 Clemenceau Ave North, Singapore 229495

Top 10 Restaurants I Tried in 2015

December 30, 2015December 30, 2015Leave a comment

As 2015 is coming to an end, I thought it would be fun to look back at the restaurants that I’ve tried during the year to pick my top favourites. These are restaurants that I discovered in 2015 of which I personally enjoyed and now frequent or would love to revisit again in the near future. I couldn’t pick my top favourite so they are randomly ordered. I’d also like to take this chance to thank all the readers who have followed me this past year and I can’t wait to share my food adventures with you all in the new year! Happy New Year!

Sushi by Yuji
Cuisine: Japanese (Sushi)

A hidden gem I discovered this year is this tiny Japanese run sushi spot offering fresh sashimi and eye-catching nigiris. Good quality and reasonably priced.

Café Salade de Fruits
Cuisine: French

A longtime restaurant I only discovered this year is this cozy French bistro hidden inside the French Cultural Centre in the Fairview area. The mussels are plump and juicy and portions are generous.

Tacofino Taco Bar
Cuisine: Mexican

Expanding past their burrito shop earlier this year, this taco bar is my go to place for a good taco and their must-order nachos. Fun ambiance with great food and drinks in the Blood Alley of Gastown.

Chef Tony
Cuisine: Chinese (Dim Sum)

A new addition to the vast Chinese restaurants in Richmond in 2014, I only visited the restaurant this year and was very impressed. Elevating simple Chinese dishes by incorporating luxury ingredients like truffle and abalone, this spot is sure to impress your guests.

Chatime
Cuisine: Taiwanese Bubble Tea

2015 marked the addition of this Taiwanese bubble tea chain which has expanded rapidly over the Greater Vancouver. They offer quality and consistency in their drinks as well as a large variety of choices. Also one of the few bubble tea shops that allow you to customize sugar and ice levels. The must order here is the grass jelly roasted milk tea!

Hawksworth
Cuisine: Westcoast

Awarded Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants in 2015, David Hawksworth carefully prepares dishes which feature the best ingredients of B.C. With a stunning ambiance and exceptional service, this upscale restaurant is perfect for special occasions when you want to splurge.

Pho 37
Cuisine: Vietnamese

This hidden gem in the Richmond Ironwood Plaza may look underwhelming on the outside but the clean, well-kept interior and friendly service always impresses me. It’s now my go to place in Richmond for pho.

Yah Yah Ya Ramen
Cuisine: Japanese (ramen)

There are very few choices for ramen in Richmond, but I discovered this Japanese run ramen shop this year. They specialize in their pork bone broth. Diners are able to customize the firmness of noodles, heaviness of broth, and amount of oil. I find myself returning here whenever I want ramen but too lazy to travel Downtown.

Temper Chocolate & Pastry
Cuisine: Desserts

Tucked away in the village of Dundarave in West Vancouver, this chocolate and pastry shop is perfect for those with a sweet tooth. Owner and chef, Steven Hodge trained under Thomas Haas, so you will find many chocolates and pastries inspired from his training there.

Ask for Luigi
Cuisine: Italian

In a tiny white house past the bustling Gastown shops towards the Railtown area, you will find line ups at this spot at all times. Be sure to get here early or expect a wait at this casual Italian family style restaurant offering delicious fresh pasta and other goodies.

Hawksworth Restaurant

December 30, 2015January 4, 20161 Comment

Hawksworth has been on my list of must-try restaurants for quite a long time now. Since opening in 2011, the restaurant has won many awards including second place for Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. But with all those awards means an expensive meal. So when S surprised me for our anniversary and Christmas Eve dinner at Hawksworth, I was one happy girl!

The restaurant is located under the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and the ambiance is truly beautiful. Dimly lit with beautiful chandeliers and a massive wine cabinet, this place makes you feel chic. Service was extremely friendly and didn’t give you that snobby feel that many upscale restaurants can have. On Christmas Eve, this place was bumping!

Pan Roasted Scallops

We started off sharing an appetizer of the Pan Roasted Scallops which was presented beautifully. The dish came with some smoked mangalitsa lardo, which reminded me of bacon, sunchoke purée, chestnuts, and were topped with crispy celeriac. The scallops were cooked to perfection and I loved dipping it into the sunchoke purée. All the components just worked so well together.

Charred Wagyu Flank

For my main, I chose the Charred Wagyu Flank, which was accompanied with chickpea beef neck panisse, charmoula, sunchoke, and yogurt. Again, this was visually appealing and all components went well together. However, I was slightly disappointed with the Wagyu flank since it was a bit tough to chew even though it was cooked medium rare. I know that flank steak is usually chewier, but I found that mine had quite a lot of connective tissues that made it difficult to chew. Still, the meat was very flavourful and had a nice char. It paired very nicely with the charmoula sauce. An interesting component of the dish were the chickpea beef neck panisse which I absolutely loved. I later learned that panisse is fried chickpeas and this one was extremely crispy on the outside. A great alternative to your typical fries with steak.

Yarrow Meadows Duck Breast

S got the Yarrow Meadows Duck Breast, which featured leg confit croquette, pumpkin purée, gai lan, and lingonberry duck jus. I was hesitant of his choice at first since I usually find duck breast to be easily cooked to dry, but this was honestly the best duck breast I’ve had! They suggest to have it medium rare and the meat was so tender! A must order!

Dark Chocolate

For dessert, our server recommended the Dark Chocolate, which featured a mousse like cake, a peppermint sorbet, and cocoa nibs. Since S had ordered in advance on Open Table and made a note that it was our anniversary, they surprised us by adding a chocolate card which was a nice touch. This was a great dessert especially for the holidays, with the rich dark chocolate balanced by the minty sorbet.

Dinner ended with complimentary peppermint shortbread cookies and raspberry jellies. Both of which were quite good.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with Hawksworth. You can tell the chef prepares each dish with care and thought. The portions were actually larger than I had imagined, but entrees still ranged from around $40 and up. Our bill ended up around $130 before tips with no beverages for the two and I was pleasantly full. Looking forward to return to try other dishes, but it will definitely be left for a special occasion!

Pros:
– Carefully prepared dishes
– Excellent service and ambiance

Cons:
– Very pricey

Price Range: $60-80/ person

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

Food: 4.5 Service: 4.5 Ambiance: 5 Parking: 3 Overall: 4.5

Chef Tony

December 29, 2015December 28, 20151 Comment

Chef Tony has been the talk of the town for quite some time and even won Vancouver Magazine’s 2015 best dim sum award.

The restaurant is known for their high-end Chinese cuisine and you can tell just by the interior of the restaurant. Crystal chandeliers and VIP rooms with closed doors perfect for hosting parties.

Even the entrance has a gallery of expensive Chinese liquor as well as tea. We made reservations ahead of time on New Year’s Eve for dim sum and we waited less than 10 minutes and were seated. Pretty good since dim sum restaurants never get you seated on time based on your reservation.

Dry Shrimp and Chives Rice Noodle Roll

We started off with the Dry Shrimp and Chives Rice Noodle Roll which had loads of dry shrimp. The rice noodle roll was very smooth and thin.

Black Truffle Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

Next up were the famous Black Truffle Shrimp and Pork Dumplings. Once placed on our table, we could smell the strong black truffle. This definitely made the typical dim sum very luxurious. The black truffle gave the dumplings an earthy flavour which I quite enjoyed. The wrappers were also thin and filled with a large shrimp and abundance of pork.

Baked Barbecue Pork Bun

The Baked Barbecue Pork Buns were glistening on the top. They were soft and fluffy and filled with lots of meat.

Marinated Chicken Feet

The Marinated Chicken Feet was a bit of a disappointment as I found that they were rather bland. They had a bit of chili flavour but nothing else.

Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

The Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf came with three servings.

These were different from the usual as they had wild rice mixed in. This made it rather dry. It was also filled with some minced meat and salty egg yolk.

Deep Fried Taro and Abalone Dumplings

The Deep Fried Taro and Abalone Dumpling was another dish that was elevated from a simple dim sum to a high-end dish. The deep fried taro were topped with mini abalones. Crispy and flaky on the outside with a slight chew from the abalone.

Deep Fried Sticky Rice

An interesting dish was the Deep Fried Sticky Rice. It was essentially sticky rice which used wild rice again and was coated in a thin batter and deep fried. I thought this was average as it was rather dry and the rice would stick to my teeth.

Braised Mushrooms with Egg Tofu

We also ordered a larger dish which was the Braised Mushrooms with Egg Tofu. The sauce was thick and gooey as it should be. The tofu was smooth in the inside and crispy on the outside.

Steamed Egg Sponge Cake

Lastly, we finished off with some desserts. First was the Steamed Egg Sponge Cake. I found this to be rather dense and wasn’t my favourite.

Baked Durian Paste Pastry

The last was the Baked Durian Paste Pastry. The outside was extremely flaky with the inside filled with some durian paste. The paste was actually not very strong but still pungent nonetheless. If you want strong durian pastries, I would suggest trying Shiang Garden’s.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Chef Tony. The food is carefully prepared although there were some hits and misses. It’s nice that the chef is getting creative with traditional dim sum and adding other complex flavours to the dish. This of course comes with a price but the service and ambiance is also much better than many other Chinese restaurants.

Pros:
– Pretty solid dishes
– Great service and ambiance

Cons:
– Pricier
– Parking is a pain here

Price Range: $20-30 / person

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

Food: 4 Service: 3.5 Ambiance: 4 Parking: 2 Overall: 4

Ramen Koika

December 28, 2015December 28, 2015Leave a comment

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a ramen craze so I’ve been trying out different ramen shops around Vancouver. One shop on my list was Ramen Koika on Davie Street.

Ramen Koika is known for their ramen burgers which consists of two dried ramens in substitute of the burger bun. The interior is a decent size and when we arrived on a Wednesday evening around 5:30pm, it was almost empty.

Black Garlic Ramen

I heard that the ramen burger isn’t that great and would be messy to eat, so I decided to try one of their ramens instead. The Black Garlic Ramen consisted of bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, a soft boiled egg, cha-shu, black fungus, green onion, garlic chips, and black garlic oil. You can choose between soft or hard noodles of which I chose the latter. You can also choose lean or fatty for cha-shu and of course I went for the fatty. The cha-shu is interesting since it is lightly grilled on the stove so it has a smoky flavour. However, I found that the noodles didn’t soak up the broth. Therefore, I found the noodles to be rather bland. Quite average.

Sizzling Yaki Soba

S got the Sizzling Yaki Soba which only comes with a soft noodle. It consisted of cabbage, spring onion, onions, bean sprouts, beef, red pepper, mushrooms, black fungus, and carrots. This was quite a big portion and S said it was quite good.

Overall, I found Ramen Koika to be just average and would much prefer the ramen shops along Robson or Denman. They aren’t exactly your traditional Japanese ramen shops, so if you’re looking for fusion ramen, then this is a good choice. Service was quite friendly and we even got 10% off on our bill. Not sure if it was because we were dining early evening.

Pros:
– Smoky cha-shu
– Large variety of ramen choices

Cons:
– Not your authentic Japanese ramen

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House – ChineseBites Media Event

December 27, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food and beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House is just a few blocks down from my office on West Broadway and we usually order take out here during busy season. From my previous experience, it wasn’t exactly the greatest, so I was curious to see what there was to offer during the ChineseBites media event.

The restaurant was bustling when we arrived around 6:30pm and had a good amount of traffic the whole time. Ambiance is quite average.

Marinated Gluten Curds 美味烤麩

We started off with some cold appetizers. First up were the Marinated Gluten Curds. These were served cold and consisted of bean curds and black fungus. The flavours were quite good and not overly salty.

Smoked Fish 美味熏魚

Another appetizer was the Smoked Fish. This again was very flavourful and I liked how it was still relatively moist inside.

Shanghai Vegetables with Pressed Tofu 馬蘭頭

The last cold appetizer was the Shanghai Vegetables with Pressed Tofu. The server told us that this is a very popular Shanghainese dish. I thought this would go quite well with rice.

Xiao Long Bao 小籠湯包

Next up were the table’s favourite Xiao Long Bao. You can watch the chef make these fresh behind the glass. These were rather small and left us wanting more. Soup was delicious and the wrapper was thin.

Chef’s Special Supreme Hotpot Soup 全家福

The Chef’s Special Supreme Hot Pot Soup is apparently a great dish to eat with your whole family since each ingredient has a meaning of the family being united and together. The pot was filled with huge meatballs which were extremely juicy, as well as potstickers, noodles, and various other dumpling like items. Great to have during the cold winter season.

Green Onion Halibut 蔥烤銀鱈魚

The Green Onion Halibut had a delicious sauce. The only complaint I had were the amount of bones in it since I’m not fond of picking the bones out in my fish. Otherwise, a very tasty dish.

Braised Pork Ribs 無錫排骨

Another favourite was the Braised Pork Ribs which is in a sugary syrup sauce. If you love sweet dishes, this is great for you. It didn’t taste very healthy but the meat was so tender it just fell off the bones. Yum!

Honey Prawns 蜜汁大蝦

My favourite of the night were the Honey Prawns. Again, this is a rather sweet dish, but I loved it. The prawns were huge ad lightly battered and then deep fried. They were then covered generously in a honey sauce.

Tea Smoked Duck 樟茶鴨

The Tea Smoked Duck was served with little Chinese buns on the side. However, since the duck still had bones in it, it was rather hard to eat along with the buns. As well, I found the duck to be on the salty side. Still, the skin was crispy.

Shanghai Vegetable Rice Cake 齊菜年糕

A filling dish was the Shanghai Vegetable Rice Cake. I believe the veggies were the same that was used in the cold appetizer. The rice cakes had a nice chew but were still very soft. Quite good.

Shanghai Spicy Tofu Hot Pot with Seafood 上海辣子豆腐煲

Another favourite of mine was the Shanghai Spicy Tofu Hot Pot with Seafood. This actually reminded me of a Sze Chuan dish instead. The prawns were large and the soup was flavourful with some heat. I could eat this with rice all day.

Eight Treasure Sweet Sticky Rice 八寶飯

To wrap up our dinner, we were served the Eight Treasure Sweet Sticky Rice, which seems to be the given dessert at any Shanghainese retaurant. It was filled with red bean paste and various candied items (apparently 8 items). It was alright, but I found it rather sweet and I guess I’m just not a fan of this dish in general.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the items I tried at Lin Chinese Cuisine this time around. I didn’t know the chef is Shanghainese, so apparently their top items are actually the Shanghainese dishes. I feel like I’ve been getting the more Cantonese style dishes here which do not seem to live up to the prior. Will definitely be giving these items another try again during my busy season coming up!

Ramen Danbo

December 25, 2015December 25, 2015Leave a comment

During the pre-CFE results celebration night, a few of us got hungry and decided to head over to Ramen Danbo for a quick snack. Ramen Danbo first opened on West 4th, but has since opened a new location on Robson.

When we arrived at around 8pm, so the place was quite empty. There is bar seating as well as table seating depending on how large your group is.

What I like about Ramen Danbo is the fact that you can customize your noodles and soup.

Classic Tonkotsu Ramen ‘Shio’

E, JS, and JF all got the Classic Tonkotsu Ramen ‘Shio’. E added soft-boiled egg and seaweed as add ons. The shio option is really a salt version of the classic. She said this was quite delicious.

Classic Tonkotsu Ramen

For myself, I got the Classic Tonkotsu Ramen and added the soft-boiled egg as my add-on. This is their signature Tonkotsu pork broth and is recommended for first-timers. I thought the broth was quite good and with the choice of standard for spicy, I thought it actually had quite a bit of heat. For noodles, I chose firm classic thin noodles, so I quite enjoyed the nice chew you got. The cha-shu was a bit disappointing though as the fatty part didn’t melt in your mouth and parts of the meat was a bit chewy. The portion of the noodles are also quite small! I feel like the price is around the same as other ramen shops, so I find it quite expensive for the amount of noodles you get. You can however, add $1 for half a size or $2 for the full size of extra noodles. Just be sure to leave enough soup!

Pros:
– Able to customize your noodles and soups
– Service is quite friendly

Cons:
– Portions are on the smaller side
– Cha-shu didn’t melt in your mouth

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Gokudo Shabu Shabu

December 5, 2015December 4, 2015Leave a comment

K goes to Gokudo Shabu Shabu quite often and she has been telling me to check it out for the longest time. Finally, on a Friday night, we headed over at around 7pm with reservations along with S and E.

The interior has a bar like setting where people sit in a oval for their hot pot. However, since we had 4 people, we were seated at a separate table near the door. The only downside was that door kept opening and the chilly weather got to us.

At Gokudo, everyone gets their own pot, but it’s not like Boiling Point where all your food is already cooked. You still get to go through the process of cooking your own food, but you have your own stove and pot. Each person also gets their own sauce which is plenty for the meal.

Sirloin Combo

Most of us got the combo since it’s a pretty good deal. K ordered the items individually though as she didn’t want too much meat. The rest of us got the Sirloin Combo, which comes to around $16. It comes with a huge plate of sirloin beef which was very tender. I really enjoyed the meat!

All combos come with a plate of mixed seafood and vegetables. By seafood, it really is just a prawn. You do get a variety of fish balls and tofu along with some veggies like corn, shitake mushrooms and napa cabbage.

You also get a choice of noodles and tea. I got udon and milk tea. It’s plenty of food and at a pretty reasonable price for hot pot. I couldn’t end up finishing all the udon. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed my meal. The only downside is that the service is quite slow and the servers seem to have their heads down all the time or are chatting amongst themselves.

Pros:
– Large portions for the combos
– Quality of food is pretty good

Cons:
– Service is inattentive and slow
– Seating is not that comfortable

Price Range: $15-20

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

Food: 3.5 Service: 1.5 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 3 Overall: 3