The Cake Workshop

August 6, 2014Leave a comment

On my birthday, my family pre-ordered a birthday cake for me. Instead of going to the usual mainstream bakeries, my dad has been frequently ordering cakes at The Cake Workshop. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, but the baker actually only recently opened an actual cake shop in the food court of Pacific Plaza Mall on Odlin Cres. He started the business at home, but eventually had too many orders and so it was better off to open an actual shop. My dad says he’s an experienced baker and used to bake in Hong Kong for years.

I chose to have the Tiramisu, which came nicely decorated with strawberries and whipped cream. This was a 6″ and cost only $18. Much cheaper than many other bakeries out there. The cakes are simple and nothing too fancy, but of good quality! I think most people enjoy his cakes because they aren’t as sweet as most of the cakes at other bakeries. If you’re someone who finds cakes too sweet, than this might be the choice for you.

The cake part of the tiramisu was moist, light and fluffy, whereas the mascarpone cheese was smooth and creamy. You do need to pre-order the cakes in advance. There aren’t any cakes for walk in sales at the shop. You also have the choice of getting the cake delivered for free if it’s within Richmond, or you can pick up at the shop.

Tropika – Lansdowne

August 5, 2014Leave a comment

Satays

Another birthday dinner, and I made the decision to have it at Tropika last minute. Tropika used to be located at Aberdeen Centre, but recently re-opened at Lansdowne Mall. There’s plenty of parking, which is the main reason why I chose it. I made reservations 30 minutes before heading there, and to my surprise, there were quite a few diners inside. We got seated in the back in the booths, and contrary to what many said about the the service, we actually had some pretty good service! First, we got the Satays. You can choose between the different types of meat, but we went for chicken and lamb. A nice char on the meat, and the satay sauce was filled with peanuts, which I loved. I did prefer the chicken over the lamb.

Roti Canai

Next was the Roti Canai. We got two orders of it, and each roti came cut in half, so perfect for sharing. I found the curry that came along a bit too oily though. I ended up dipping my roti in the green curry I ordered separately.

Pineapple Fried Rice with Ham & Chicken

For our entrees, we had the Pineapple Fried Rice with Ham & Chicken. As usual, it came in half a pineapple. I found that there was more rice than the rest of the ingredients. Definitely lacked on the pineapples, ham and veggies. Therefore, I found it a little bland and it could have been more flavourful.

Pad Thai

C got the Pad Thai for herself, but I tried some of it too. The stir fried rice noodle came with chicken, shrimp and tofu. It had a very tomato-based sauce and was sweet and sour at the same time. Also a hint of spice too! On the side were some bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and lime.

Thai Style Green Curry Chicken

I chose to order the Thai Style Green Chicken. It came with loads of chicken, along with some green beans in a green curry paste & coconut milk. The chicken was tender, but I felt that it was pre-treated too much, so it didn’t seem very fresh. It had a texture that seemed a little fake for some reason. As for the curry, it was spicy as green curry should be. It would’ve been great with rice!

Sambal Green Beans

Lastly, for veggies, we had the Sambal Green Beans. This was my favourite dish and the green beans were covered with coconut milk and Sambal sauce. A hint of spice, but not too spicy! Definitely very appetizing! Sambal sauce is usually made with a variety of chili peppers, shrimp paste, and fish sauce, hence giving it an unique flavour.

Overall, the food at Tropika was average. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but it seems to be a hit or miss sometimes. As for service, like I said, we had pretty good service. We sat for quite some time and they didn’t try to get us to leave or anything. We even sat for 30 minutes before ordering. The server even offered us free ice cream at the end of the night since it was my birthday. We were way too full to take it, but it was a nice place to have dinner with friends.

Kishimoto

August 3, 2014Leave a comment

On my birthday, I asked to have dinner at Kishimoto. I’ve seen gorgeous platings from this Japanese restaurant for quite some time now, but Commercial Drive isn’t exactly the area I usually drive by. Finally, we made our way here, and there’s surprisingly quite a lot of free parking in the residential areas across the street. There was a line up as usual, and we waited roughly 15-30 minutes before we got a seat. The restaurant doesn’t have many fans, so it was boiling hot as well. Most of the servers and chefs looked and spoke Japanese, so I’m assuming it’s Japanese run. Not a huge restaurant though, so I see why there are always line ups.

Hamachi Ishinabe

First, we got the Hamachi Ishinabe, which I apologize for the blurry picture. It’s very similar to a Korean bibimbap, where the rice is served in a hot stone bowl. It’s topped with hamachi fish, a raw egg, and some seaweed. When you squish the sides of the rice to the sides of the bowl, you get some crispy rice.

The server helped mix the rice for us, and this is the final product. The fish was very soft and smooth, and I love the flavour of the sauce used. It tasted sort of like the unagi sauce.

Salmon Oshi Sushi

Next was the Salmon Oshi Sushi. If you’re familiar with Miku’s signature Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, then you’ll find the one at Kishimoto very similar. Except it’s a few dollars cheaper! The sushi rice is shaped into a rectangular shape, topped with salmon, a creamy sauce and crackled black pepper and seared with a torch to give it a nice char. It’s then topped with a slice of jalapeno. Everything was great about this dish, but if you’re had Miku’s, then I think that their special Miku sauce still wins. Otherwise, I could settle for this less pricey version.

Chopped Scallop Roll, Spider Roll, Dragon Roll

Kishimoto is known for their plating – especially that thinly sliced radish and edamame flower. I was excited when the rest of our rolls came, since it came just with that beautiful plating. It also came with a candle with a radish sliced into a cylinder. Super cool! You can basically eat all this art too, but I’m not sure how clean it is. On the top left was the Chopped Scallop Roll. Quite average, with a good amount of filling and fresh scallops. In front, was the Dragon Roll, which feature 2 pieces of prawn tempura, tobiko, and avocado and unagi on top. It was flavoured with an unagi sauce. On the right around the flower, there was the Spider Roll, which was filled with avocado, softshell crab tempura, massago, cucumber, and lettuce. It was wrapped around a thinly sliced sheet of radish.

Salmon Sashimi (9pc) & Tuna Sashimi (6pc)

Then came the sashimi, which came in an impressive block of ice. That’s a huge block! The fresh fish were decorated with flowers and leaves. Super pretty! In the back were the Salmon Sashimi, which we opted for 9 pieces. Each were cut at just the right amount to have a a good texture. Very fresh! In front, the Toro Sashimi were curled up like flowers. Again, very fresh and the toro was smooth and buttery.

Plain Okonomiyaki

Lastly, we had the Plain Okonomiyaki, which was probably one of my favourites! It came with a side of bonito flakes. The okonomiyaki was quite thick, but filled generously with vegetables. I loved the flavouring and it was something that helped fill our stomachs.

Overall, Kishimoto lived up to it’s hype. Great food at decent prices. I’m not sure if I would make the trip all the way here that often though. But if I’m in the neighbourhood, I wouldn’t mind coming here for some Japanese food!

Kamamarui Ramen & Don

August 1, 2014August 1, 20142 Comments

J, S, and K had intended to surprise me with an afternoon of kayaking in the Burnaby Deer Lake, but unfortunately, it began pouring. We ended up going to Metrotown to walk around, and the sun decided to come out… As lunch time passed, we got hungry and began looking for food on our phones. After what seemed forever, we finally decided to go to Kamamarui. There’s barely any parking in the lot, so you may need to park somewhere further away. The restaurant is extremely small. It fits probably under 20 diners. It’s also run by only two young Korean men, so service is definitely much slower. One cooks, while the other serves. However, service is friendly and the decor is simple but clean. We waited roughly 15 minutes, and was able to get a seat.

Tonkotsu Cha-shu Ramen

They basically only have 3 types of ramen. Two pork soup based ramens, with one flavoured with soy sauce and one flavoured with miso. The other is the Veggie Ramen, which is miso soup based. Then you have the option to add cha-shu or sliced pork to it. For myself, I chose the Tonkotsu Cha-Shu Ramen, which was pork soup based and seasoned with soy flavour. It had green onions, bean sprouts and cha-shu (sliced pork). You get quite a lot of cha-shu compared to other ramen shops, but they were quite different. These were more marinated and flavoured. They were also slightly seared or grilled on the sides. I enjoy the traditional cha-shu much more than this modernized version. As for noodles, you get a decent amount, and the texture is chewy, just how I like it. On the table, there are three sauces. There is a chili sauce, a spicy sauce, and a ramen sauce. You can add these sauces as you wish if you find that you want more flavour, saltiness, or spiciness. To be honest, I found that the broth lacked flavour and depth. It wasn’t rich like the ones at Kintaro. I found it rather bland, and had to add quite a bit of the ramen sauce to bring more flavour to the soup.

Miso Cha-shu Ramen

J got the Miso Cha-shu Ramen, which is a miso & pork soup base seasoned with miso flavour. Again, it had green onions, bean sprouts, and cha-shu. Both the miso and tonkotsu ramen come to $11.50 if you choose to add the cha-shu. For each ramen, we also added the Special Nigiri Bomb, so the total became $13 for the set. I’ll speak more about the bomb below.

Vege Ramen

K got the Vege Ramen, which was miso soup based seasoned with miso flavour and topped with green onions, bean sprouts and corn. I actually wish my ramen had come with corn as well, but you had to pay for extra toppings for the non-vegetarian ramens. K said her vege ramen was quite delicious.

Soft Egg

I love soft boiled eggs in my ramen, since I love that runny yolk in the middle. Plus, it’s not something I would spend time making for breakfast in the mornings at home. For an extra $1.50, I chose to add the “Soft Egg“. We were all sad to realize that the soft egg wasn’t what we were hoping for. Instead, it came in it’s own separate dish, and looked like it had been pre-made. It had a runny yolk in the middle, and the whites were also very runny. It was topped with a teriyaki sauce and some green onions. I didn’t really like it and wouldn’t order it again.

Special Nigiri Bomb

Lastly, the Bombs arrived! They were seasoned seaweed with rice and teriyaki sauce and they were my favourite part of the meal! The rice was seasoned so well, and it wasn’t too sticky. Absolutely loved the flavouring!

All in all, the ramens are average, but if you’re in the Burnaby area, it’s not a bad choice. I would still choose the downtown ramen shops as I find the broth more flavourful. I really like the bombs though, so that’s something I would definitely re-order. They also have several donburi choices, so perhaps that would be something to try next time.

Guu Richmond (Lunch)

July 31, 2014Leave a comment

Negitoro & Spicy Sashimi Chirashi Set

For my birthday, N took me out for lunch and since we were too lazy to drive all the way Downtown, we settled for Guu Kitanoya in Aberdeen Centre. It was actually my first time at Guu for lunch, so I was excited as I heard they have good lunch sets and deals. They have daily lunch specials from 11:30am, and on Saturday, they featured the Negitoro & Spicy Sashimi Chirashi Set for only $10.80. I went for that set and it was super filling and delicious! It came with a miso soup and a spicy cold mini udon. The udon was one of those with a little bit of soy sauce, but it also had a kick to it. I loved it! Then, there was the chirashi set, which came with negitoro, spicy sashimi, and seasoned jelly fish with perilla sauce on rice. The chirashi set was negitoro style, as it was all minced sashimi. I really enjoyed the seasoned jelly fish though. It had a distinct flavour, and I loved the crunchy texture. Definitely was filled up with this set!

Chirashi – assorted sashimi on sushi rice

N got the Chirashi Don. It was super colourful and pleasing to look at! It came with a miso soup and a side of cold macaroni. The macaroni was seasoned with a bit of spice and was quite interesting. Her don featured salmon, tuna, surf clam and more. It looked really delicious! I think she enjoyed her meal just as much as I did, and she was very filled as well.

Overall, Guu never fails to satisfy me! I absolutely love their lunch sets too. They’re of such great value, quality, and quantity! They have a variety of other lunch sets, which I want to revisit and try!

Maji

July 29, 2014Leave a comment

N had just come back from exchange, so along with S, we headed to Maji for dinner. Maji has opened for some time now, and I kept hearing good reviews about this Taiwanese restaurant. It’s located on Alexandra Rd. right next to Leisure – also Taiwanese owned. When we arrived, it was quite empty, with only one or two tables for dinner. However, it was a random weekday. I hear that it’s quite packed on weekends. Apparently, it’s been quite packed recently as well, since they just launched their Taiwanese beers in mid July. They seem to have a large variety of beers and drinks, so it would be a great place for a night out. They also open until quite late.

Kimchi Pork Fried Rice – fried rice with kimchi, shredded pork, and egg

Maji is a great place to share dishes. It’s not like Pearl Castle and others, where you order your own set of food. Hence, we ordered 4 dishes to share. First, the Kimchi Pork Fried Rice. This was actually my favourite dish! A hint of spicy kimchi, but very addicting! The rice is also on the moist side compared to Chinese fried rice, which I really liked. I could not stop eating this! Very flavourful, but I didn’t feel like it had MSG in it since I wasn’t thirsty after.

Spicy Eggplant – pan-fried eggplant stir fried with chili-bean sauce, ground pork, dried chili, and soy sauce

I’m not a fan of eggplants, but J loves it, so we ordered the Spicy Eggplant. I ended up having some too, and it was quite delicious! The chili-bean sauce was what really made the dish for me. I don’t really like the flavour of eggplants, but the sauce and spiciness overpowered the flavour of eggplants.

San-Pei Squid – squid stir-fried with San-Pei sauce; tossed with basil

Next was the San-Pei Squid. This was more mild and the only non-spicy dish we had. Still, very flavouful with the San-Pei sauce. The squid were also very tender and easy to chew.

Kung-Pao Chicken – spicy boneless chicken leg stir fried with Sichuan pepper, dried chili, and nuts

Lastly, we had the Kung-Pao Chicken, which I unfortunately, took a blurry picture of. I found this dish quite spicy since there are Sichuan peppers and dried chili in it. However, it was super tasty at the same time! Love the nuts in it too. I believe they were cashews.

Overall, I was very pleased with the food at Maji. Prices are also very reasonable. It’s more about the food than presentation here. Since it wasn’t busy, we were also able to sit for quite some time to just chat and the waitresses kept refilling water for us. Great service and good food!

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (Dinner Menu)

July 28, 2014Leave a comment

For M and B’s exchange farewell dinner, they chose Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant. They had made reservations beforehand, so there was no wait for a table. As usual, MW decided what to order and he ordered just enough to have each one of us full. It was pretty fun to have a Chinese dinner with a huge group of friends since we don’t usually do this!

Sea Harbour Assorted Cold Cuts Platter

First, we started off with the Sea Harbour Assorted Cold Cuts Platter. It came with some cold cut meat, jelly fish, and bean curd wrapped with vegetables. My favourite was the jelly fish! Always a fan of that texture. Quite a typical dish, so nothing too special compared to other restaurants.

Minced Chicken and Corn Soup

Next, we had two types of soup. Half were the Minced Chicken and Corn Soup, which I didn’t try.

Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup

The other half were the Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup. I found that the soup lacked flavour. It was super bland! I had to add more vinegar to it to get some flavour. It was filled with lots of fish maw and crab meat though.

Roasted Peking Duck

Then came two plates of the Roasted Peking Duck. Crispy outer skin, with a thin layer of fat and meat. Quite good! It came on top of colourful shrimp crackers.

Roasted Peking Duck

The wrap that accompanied the roasted peking duck, however, was a disappointment. It was too thick and doughy. I’ve definitely had better.

Scallops Sauteed with Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce

The Scallops Sauteed with Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce was quite a hit. The scallops were tender and cooked perfectly and the black bean sauce was very flavourful. Mixed with the red and green peppers, it would have went very well with rice.

Lettuce Wrap with Stir Fried Diced Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Celery

Then we had the Lettuce Wrap with Stir Fried Diced Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Celery. This was average. Nothing too special again. I liked how it wasn’t too salty though.

Steamed Eggplant with Bean Sauce

Since we needed some veggies, we got the Steamed Eggplant with Bean Sauce. I’m not a huge fan of eggplants, but the bean sauce was quite delicious! The eggplants were also very soft.

Braised Tofu and Vegetables with Brown Sauce

The Braised Tofu and Vegetables with Brown Sauce was one of my favourite dishes. I love braised tofus! They are slightly crispy on the outside, and the inside melts in your mouth. Love this type of tofu! Super smooth and silky!

Braised Chinese Mushrooms with Seasonal Greens

Also had some Braised Chinese Mushrooms and Seasonal Greens. I actually didn’t get around to trying this.

Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice

Lastly, we had two types of Fried Rice. Pictured here is the Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice, which has been half eaten… And the one I tried was the Dried Scallop Fried Rice. Again, I found the fried rice a little bland. I guess it is good in a way that the food is a little bland since too much salt isn’t too good for you…

Lastly, the dinner ended with complimentary Red Bean Soup. Overall, we had great service and dinner was good. Our bill wasn’t even too pricey, with each person only paying a little over $20! Plus we were all full! A great way to gather for a farewell. Hope the boys are having fun in Australia! 🙂

Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar

July 8, 2014Leave a comment

Raspberry Burst

After checking out the Greek Festival, K and I decided to look for a patio back in Richmond to enjoy some drinks and the sun. I wouldn’t say there are too many patios in Richmond. Most of them are also quite pricey and more fancy than what we were looking for. We settled for Original Joes, which I’ve only been for lunch at the Broadway location. Original Joes in Richmond is tucked away on Steveston Highway, a bit further away from the rest of the restaurants in Ironwood Mall. Anyways, we sat outside in their small patio area. I chose the Raspberry Burst, which included vodka, raspberry syrup, sprite and lime juice. You can’t taste too much of the alcohol, so I really enjoyed the drink. A hint of sweetness and very refreshing.

Joe’s Sangria

K chose Joe’s Sangria. It had red wine, Scotch, Triple Sec with lemon, lime, pineapple and fresh orange juice. Her drink looked very nicely presented, but it also tasted pretty good! Drinks were around $7 each, so quite typical for any restaurant establishment. Overall, we were quite satisfied with the drinks and service wasn’t too bad. It’s pretty quiet in the afternoon, so it’s a good place to hangout and chat.