Mimibuloveme (Revisit #2)

June 23, 2014Leave a comment

White Pasta – bacon and creamy Parmesan cheese

On my last day of final exams, that feeling I got walking out of the exam room was actually sort of bittersweet. I felt so relaxed, but at the same time, it would be my last final exam of my university life. I decided to celebrate so K came to pick me up along with others. She wanted her parfaits again, so we ended up going to Mimibuloveme. It was packed as usual, but we luckily scored a tiny square table for the four of us. I was extremely hungry after my exam, so I decided to actually get a meal. They recently added pastas to their menu, so I went for the White Pasta. I had originally wanted the Yellow Pasta, which is curry based, but they sold out! I like how it seems like their food is fresh as they will actually sell out! Anyways, the White Pasta reminded me of a Carbonara. A creamy white sauce with Parmesan cheese and loads of bacon. It also came with a small side of salad. I would say that their portions are quite small for the price, but the pasta was cooked to al dente.

Brownie Banana Parfait – chocolate ice cream, organic banana, brownie

The rest of them got some desserts. E got the Brownie Banana Parfait. It had a huge scoop of chocolate ice cream and a slice of brownie on the side. Underneath were slices of banana and topped with loads of whipped cream.

Black Sesame Parfait – black sesame ice cream, vanilla bean ice cream, mochi balls, gluten free graham crackers

K got the Black Sesame Parfait. It came with a scoop of the black sesame ice cream and lots of mochi balls which I liked! The black sesame ice cream was also rich in sesame flavour.

Chocolate Banana Waffle

Dad got the Chocolate Banana Waffle. The waffle itself isn’t too special, but you get loads of ingredients on top and on the side. They don’t cheap out on the slices of bananas, and there’s also a lot of chocolate brownie cakes on the side. A huge scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream to top it off.

Overall, the food is always quite good at Mimibuloveme. The service is also very friendly, although the wait time can be a bit long. They only have 2-3 people working, so don’t expect fast service here. Prices are average like anywhere else. I guess the seating is the biggest problem here. This place is good for a maximum of 4 people. It’s also extremely difficult to find a seat during busy hours and weekends.

Mercante

June 21, 20141 Comment

Alla Salsiccia – chorizo, tomato, basil, oregano and mozzarella

Ever since coming back from exchange, I’ve noticed a new building at UBC when I drive towards the Henry Angus Building. My friends later told me that the building was called Ponderosa Commons. So when we had a final exam and were looking for a place to study and grab a quick snack, my friends suggested we go to Mercante. It’s a new Italian cafe and they offer a large selection of pastas, salads, pizzas, and soups. Their pizzas are also made ready to order and are baked in a stone oven. We chose the Alla Salsiccia, which was topped with tons of chorizo, tomatoes, basil, oregano and mozzarella. The dough was light and fluffy and they didn’t cheap out on the ingredients.

Al Pesto – pesto, pancetta, zucchini, basil, mozzarella, and roasted artichokes

We also shared the Al Pesto, which had a pesto base, lots of pancetta, zucchini, basil, mozzarella and roasted artichokes. This was my favourite out of the two. I loved the addition of zucchinis in it! It felt healthy and again there was an abundant of ingredients.

Very affordable food as well, with most pizzas priced at no more than $10. Other than great food, they also have a really hip area for you to eat if you choose to dine in. I love the wooden tables and benches and the outdoor sunlight they rely on. Many students study here too. We then discovered that they had 3 study rooms! It seemed like you didn’t need to book them in advance and it was more like a first come first serve. Extremely nice rooms to study in, and the rooms are completely sound proof. I wish I discovered this spot earlier, but for anyone looking for a chill place to study at UBC, here’s another one!

Memory Corner

June 19, 2014Leave a comment

Memory Corner just opened this year and it seemed to catch many people’s attention. It’s located at the corner of No.3 across the city hall. That location has changed restaurants multiple times, probably because it’s an odd location. Well Memory Corner now takes the spot and they offer what many say is authentic Taiwanese food. I decided to try it out with J for a late lunch. I had saw tons of pictures online, so I had to give the Potted Milk Tea a try. I’m the type that will try things that look cute, even though it might not be amazing. Anyways, this was definitely a disappointment. Although it was very whimsical to look at, I definitely didn’t like that so called “soil” on my drink. It was basically cookie crumbles and I found it difficult to go down my throat. Imagine drinking some rough sediments. Not a great feeling. On the other hand, the milk tea itself was quite good. I wish I had just ordered a regular milk tea…

Satay Beef Fried Noodles

J got the Satay Beef Fried Noodles. I like how the food here looks very home cooked, so I feel like it might be more authentic tasting. J said it was pretty good.

Taiwanese Sausage

J also got a side of Taiwanese Sausages. This was my first time trying them. I found that they reminded me of a mix between Chinese sausages and typical American sausages. It was definitely interesting, although not my favourite. J is Taiwanese though, so he seemed to really enjoy them.

Taiwanese Deep-Fried Crispy Chicken Thigh in Noodle

I got the Taiwanese Deep-Fried Crispy Chicken Thigh in Noodle and the chicken came in a separate bowl so it wouldn’t get soggy. I love Taiwanese crispy chicken, and currently Sunway is my favourite place for them. Here, they were also quite crispy with a thin layer of batter. The seasoning wasn’t too strong or salty which I liked. I don’t think it beats Sunway’s though!

As for the noodles, I really enjoyed them! They were cooked to al dente, which is not common for Asian noodles. Something about the noodle’s texture was really good! It had a slight chew to it. I wonder if they were handmade. The broth was a bit of a disappointment though. Seemed more like a plain chicken broth with garlic chips in it. It really lacked flavour.

Overall, I was quite happy with Memory Corner’s food. The food is affordable, but keep in mind that the interior is nothing impressive. It’s really casual and similar to what you would see in Asia as a snackbar. They also only take cash and debit cards. I hear that they are famous for their lamb though. Will definitely give that a try next time!

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill – Denman (Revisit 2)

June 17, 20141 Comment

Zakkushi Set – Umeshiso Yaki, Momo, Me Maki, P-toro & Oropon Beef

For M’s birthday, he wanted a cool, chill atmosphere with great snacks and lots of drinks. Off we went to one of his favourites – Zakkushi! There are two Zakkushis – one on Main St and one on Denman. We went to the one on Denman just because it’s usually more lively. They also used to have a third location, but it recently closed down. Since we made reservations, we were quickly seated. The restaurant is very small at this location, so we probably took up a quarter of the space. A lot of my friends shared a large variety of different skewers. Zakkushi is known for their yakitori and izakaya type of food. Yakitori are essentiall grilled chicken skewers. For myself, I chose the Zakkushi Set. Starting from the left was the Umeshiso Yaki, which was a chicken thigh with a sour plum sauce and Japanese basil. Next was the Momo, which was a chicken thigh with a nice barbecue sauce. In the middle, was the Me Maki, which were garlic stubs wrapped with pork. I actually didn’t even realize they were garlic stubs. They didn’t give me that garlic breath at all, and I thought it was just asparagus or some type of veggie. Next, was the P-Toro, which was a crunchy and juicy pork. It reminded me of porchetta. My friends and I agreed that it was more fat than meat though. Last but not least, on the very right was the Oropon Beef which came with grated daikon and Ponzu sauce. Oropon beef is essentially their ‘AAA’ beef, so it was very tender and the daikon and Ponzu sauce was very light and refreshing. Overall, a good deal for 5 skewers priced at $9.20.

Matcha Mochi Ice Cream

Other than food, we also had tons of Sapporo and their plum wine. The plum wine was really good! For dessert, MC and I shared the Matcha Mochi Ice Cream. This was the perfect way to end the night! The mochi balls were still slightly frozen and filled with matcha ice cream. It came with some whip cream, red bean paste and topped with matcha powder on the top. After ordering, everyone at our table ended up getting it too. Unfortunately, some weren’t able to get their orders as they were eventually sold out. Definitely a best seller!

Matcha Chiffon Parfait

We realized that another table was also celebrating a birthday, and the restaurant would turn off their lights and bring out a dessert for the birthday customer. They also sang the birthday song! We immediately sneaked over to the waitress and asked for a Matcha Chiffon Parfait for M as well. Again, they shut off the lights and sang the birthday song carrying the cake over. Pretty nice place to celebrate your birthday. The dessert came with a chunk of matcha chiffon cake, topped with whipped cream, mochi and red bean. Not bad.

Overall, we had a good night at Zakkushi on Denman. They gave us great service even though we were pretty loud and probably sat their for quite a while. The bill came to be quite expensive due to the drinks, but everyone enjoyed their night. It’s a great place to grab a small snack, but it is definitely expensive if you want to be fully filled up.

La Mezcaleria

June 16, 2014Leave a comment

After many attempts, S, J and I finally found time to try La Mezcaleria. The Mexican joint is located in the Commercial Drive area and is the newly opened sister restaurant of La Tacqueria.

The inside is dimly lit and has a casual vibe with a bar table and a small section of seats against the other side of the wall. They are famous for their Mezcal and Tequila flights as well. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from a plant similar to agave and is a typical Mexican drink. Unfortunately, we did not try their drinks this time, but I hear they are quite good.

After ordering, we were given 4 types of sauces that we could add to our food. It ranged from mildly spicy to very spicy. Salsa Verde was the least spicy, then it moved on to Chipotle, Chile de Arbol and the spiciest Habanero. The Salsa Verde was good in the beginning, but once you tried the spicier ones, you got hooked onto the spicy ones! In the end, most of us were using the Chile de Arbol or the Habanero. You can definitely feel the heat with those two.

Our food actually took quite some time to arrive, but it then came at a consistent speed. First, we had the Campechano Flight. It came with 4 glasses of dips that we could use with our tortilla chips. Starting at the front, the green one was the Guacamole. It was made with tons of fresh avocado, some lime, onion, jalapeno, tomato and cilantro. Next was the Albacore Tuna Ceviche. It consisted of diced up albacore tuna, avocado, lime, radish and pico de gallo. It also came with pork chicharron, which are like deep fried pork rinds. A nice crunch and the tuna was very fresh. Next, the glass in red was the Pico de Gallo. It’s very typical in Mexican cuisine and is also sometimes called the salsa fresca. It’s made with chopped tomatoes, white onions, and chilis. Definitely very appetizing. Lastly, there was the Pacific Red Snapper Ceviche, which included tomato, lime red onion, serrano and cilantro. I really liked it since I loved the bouncy texture the red snapper had. The flight is a really good deal if you have a group of friends to share, since for $17 you can try most of their ceviches and dips. Normally, one of these dishes around $9-$15 on its own and the sizes looked somewhat similar. We had so much leftover compared to the chips, so we had to order another side of chips for an extra $1.

Next up, we got their signature dish, the Queso Fundido. We’d been looking at pictures of this all over the Internet and were excited to try this interesting looking cheese fondue. It comes in a volcanic rock molcajete, which is a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle. Back then, people would use it for grinding food. We also added the chorizo for an extra $2.50. It was definitely very cheesy, but I also found it too oily. Well I guess cheese is oily to begin with. Unfortunately, I was too busy stirring this bad boy so I didn’t get a picture of how stringy the cheese is.

It comes with around 6 soft tortillas. I found these tortillas to be just okay. To be honest, I didn’t find the cheese dish to be amazing. I didn’t like how the cheese cooled so quickly, and you were just biting into a chunk of cooling cheese. You really needed the sauces to add more flavour to this dish.

I was told by the server to shake the bag up a bit, then open it and dump it on top of the rice. After shaking, you open the bag up, and this is what it looks like. Not too appetizing I know. We had chose the chicken, so it had been slow steam cooked along with a green tomatillo sauce, onions, cilantro and poblano peppers to add flavour. I thought this was just average. Not my favourite, and I found it quite pricey for the portions at $17.

Meat Tacos – Asada, Pescado, Carnitas, Al Pastor (front left clockwise)

We also got the Meat Tacos which were priced at 4 for $11.50. I’ve had the tacos at La Tacqueria and the menu is essentially the same (although La Tacqueria has more choices). I got the Asada which came with grilled ‘AAA’ flank beef and onions. I loved the flavour and tenderness of the meat. Above the Asada was the Pesacdo, which included Zarandeado fish with a chipotle mayo, radish and pepitas. Next to it, was the Carnitas which consisted of pork confit and pickled red onions. At the bottom right corner was the Al Pastor which was pork marinated in achiote chili and pineapple. Everyone enjoyed their tacos, although it gets quite messy since they fill them up quite full.

By the end of our night, we were beyond stuffed. Prices are average with each dish ranging at around $17. It’s a great place to go with at least 4 people, so you can really try many of their dishes and share. For the 3 of us, we found ourselves wanting to try more dishes, but we were definitely too full! A really cool, hip, and casual spot to spend your evening. I hear they are also having late night menus now with DJs too, so it’ll definitely be lots of fun. Looking forward to coming back again.

Phnom Penh (Revisit #2)

June 15, 20141 Comment

Marinated Butter Beef

I’ve been to Phnom Penh before, and although I really enjoyed it, it’s a bit far for me. When M and J suggested going there though, I said sure why not! However, when we got there at around 7pm, the place was packed as usual! We were told to wait an hour… I would’ve probably left, but M and J had never been, and we made a trip all the way down, so we waited. We ended up going over to Besties to get some German sausages first, which I wish I took pictures of… Next time! Anyways, by the time we got back, which was around an hour later, our seat was ready. We were all half full by now after the snack, so we tried not to order too much. I suggested we get their famous Marinated Butter Beef. I absolutely love this dish! The beef is so soft and tender! The sauce is what really makes the dish, but I do find it a little too acidic. It’s really sour but good at the same time. This time, I tried eating it with the cilantro (although I hate cilantro). Surprisingly, it worked really well together, and I didn’t mind it as much. A must order here.

Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Next, we hard another famous dish – the Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wings. People say it’s the absolute best chicken wings, but I can’t say if they are the best. They are pretty damn good though, with a light batter on the outside, and a great salt and pepper seasoning. I’d probably wait half an hour for this, but probably not an hour again. We couldn’t end up finishing all of this, so M packed them home. This was the portion for a large size.

Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg

If you look around, you’ll see that most diners order somewhat of the same dishes. The Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg is again a very popular dish. It seems like such a simple dish, which anyone could make at home, but that filet beef is so delicious! The meat is so soft and tender and the sauce makes the dish perfect. Break the egg yolk and mix it with your rice, and you’ve got yourself a perfect comfort dish.

Chiu Chow Fried Oyster Cake

We decided to get one more dish and asked our server to recommend something. He suggested us to try the Chiu Chow Fried Oyster Cake. It was a huge portion, and at first bite, I thought it was average. I wouldn’t say it was amazing, but then soon after, J mentioned that it tasted disgusting. M and I were still eating it, and she began to describe how sticky it was. Indeed, the batter was very sticky. It was a clear goo, which is very common in say Taiwanese oyster cakes. The more she described it, the more we felt disgusted by it. I could understand that odd taste she was describing too. I’m not a huge fan of Taiwanese oyster cakes since they have a very gooey texture compared to some other oyster pancakes, so this literally eating a huge piece of goo. We ended up barely finishing half of this pancake, since the texture just really didn’t do it for us.

Overall, I had another good meal at Phnom Penh. Next time, I will stick to their signature dishes though. It seems that some of their other dishes are either a hit or miss. Look around and see what others have on their tables, and it’s probably a good one. The wait for an hour is a bit of a stretch for me though. Definitely would not wait for more than half an hour next time.

Check out my previous on Phnom Penh: https://everydayisafoodday.com/2012/07/18/phnom-penh/

Minami

June 12, 20141 Comment

A spontaneous night took J and I to Minami, the sister restaurant of Miku. Miku is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants when I’m looking for creativity and aburi sushi, so I had always wanted to try Minami. The restaurant was packed and although we had no reservations, we got a spot at the bar. The environment is definitely much more casual and loud compared to Miku.

Sitting at the bar was actually quite nice as the bartender pretty much serves you the whole night. We had some great prompt service and she was able to answer all our questions. The only downside is you may not have as much privacy since she’s always standing there making drinks.

You get two types of soya sauces at Minami. She said that one is the regular soya sauce, while the other is a little sweeter. I liked the sweeter one.

Premium Nigiri – chef’s selection traditional nigiri

J loves traditional Nigiris, so he got the Premium Nigiri set. It came with seven nigiris that the chef had chosen.

I believe there was tuna, salmon, saba, unagi, and scallop to list a few. He said they were all very fresh and the amount of fish to rice portion was perfect.

Aburi Sushi Sampler – aburi temari, oshi and roll topped with specialty sauces and garnishes

For myself, I got the Aburi Sushi Sampler. It came with 7 dainty little sushi. They were so cute! Some were in the form of temari, which are ball-shaped sushi. Others were oshi (square shaped), while some were regular rolls. They were beautiful to look at! I almost didn’t want to eat them.

Some of the fish I remember included, saba, scallop, salmon and tuna. They were all quite delicious, and the fish was very fresh. However, you don’t get too filled up by these, since they are really half the size of a normal nigiri.

Ebi Oshi Sushi – pressed shrimp, lime zest, ume sauce

We also shared an Ebi Oshi Sushi. We wanted to try one of the oshi sushi, since Miku and Minami are famous for them. The bartender recommended the Ebi Oshi and it was absolutely delicious. The shrimp was slightly seared and it melted in your mouth. I loved the hint of smoky flavour. Definitely recommend trying this!

Green Tea Opera – green tea genoise, dark chocolate ganache, matcha ice cream

Obviously we were still a little hungry by the end of the night. We shared a dessert, and I chose the Green Tea Opera. I’ve had this back at Miku, but I found the one at Minami presented slightly different. Again, it was delicious since I’m a huge matcha fan. It was made of a green tea genoise, which is an Italian sponge cake which is really thin. It had layers of dark chocolate ganache, which made the dessert very smooth in the mouth. It was then topped with fruits and caramelized sugar. On the side, there was a scoop of matcha ice cream topped with a sesame crisp. Definitely ended up our meal very nicely.

Overall, Minami wasn’t too bad. However, I find that the prices are only a few dollars cheaper than Miku. With that being said, I would rather pay a few extra dollars and dine at Miku, since the environment and dishes are much better in my opinion. I find the atmosphere too loud at Minami, and it’s more casual. I also found that the food at Miku was executed more carefully. Not a bad option if I’m in the Yaletown area though.

Trattoria Italian Kitchen – Dine Out 2014

June 11, 2014June 9, 2014Leave a comment

For my final Dine Out, it was last minute and we decided to visit Trattoria Italian Kitchen. They don’t take reservations, so we had to wait. There were plenty of people waiting, and we waited almost an hour. Super busy, but their $18 menu for 3 courses was definitely a good deal and probably attracted the crowds. Trattoria is part of the Glowbal group, and having been to the other restaurants, I’m confident that the food can’t be too bad. There’s an open kitchen and it’s quite noisy in here with families gathering for some Italian food.

Raspberry Italian Soda

We essentially celebrated Chinese New Years at an Italian restaurant ironically, so we started ourselves with some Italian Soda. My family aren’t drinkers, so we got these as virgins. They were surprisingly really good! A bit of fizz and there were a variety of flavours to choose from. I chose the raspberry flavour and it was a bit sweet and sour and definitely very refreshing.

Raspberry, Cucumber, Passionfruit Italian Soda

We pretty much ordered every flavour on the menu, including peach as well. Pictured here is raspberry, cucumber, and passionfruit. My favourite was actually the cucumber flavour. It was so refreshing! The passionfruit sort of tasted more like peach, so it wasn’t a huge hit.

Zuppa di Zucca

My mom ordered the Zuppa di Zucca. This was a roasted butternut squash soup with sage oil. It was a medium consistency and my mom enjoyed it. It also came with a prosciutto wrapped grissini, which is like a breadstick. That was a nice touch to the soup.

Tuna Salad

The rest of us got the Tuna Salad. We were actually slightly disappointed with the salad, since the menu had said seared albacore tuna. We were expecting something like tuna tataki. Turned out, it was more like poached can tuna. I’m not a huge fan of canned tuna since it’s really flaky, so I wasn’t a huge fan. It came with arugula, cannellini beans, radish and finished off with a citrus vinaigrette.

Pollo Marsala – pan roasted chicken breast, Marsala and mushroom sugo with fennel salad

Mom and dad got the Pollo Marsala as their main. It was a pan roasted chicken breast topped with a Marsala wine and mushroom sugo sauce. A sugo sauce is an Italian tomato based sauce. We weren’t expecting much from this dish, but it turned out to be probably the best! The chicken was so moist and juicy that my parents were raving about it the whole night. The sauce was also absolutely delicious. It wasn’t too creamy or rich, but a perfect consistency to lightly bring some flavour to the chicken. It came with a side of fennel salad that was similar to the tuna salad.

Braised Lamb Cheek Pappardelle – bean ragout, smoked pancetta

The rest of us got the Braised Lamb Cheek Pappardelle. I found this average. I like to eat lamb, but I found that they didn’t season it enough, so you could still taste the gamey flavour of lamb. However, the lamb cheeks were absolutely soft and tender, which was a plus. I think I just didn’t really enjoy the flavour of this dish overall. Something was a little off for me.

Tiramisu with Biscotti

Lastly, for dessert, the only choice was the Tiramisu. When the cake came, we were all underwhlemed. This was probably the nicest slice that was plated, as the rest were all lopsided and messy looking. However, when we took a bite into it, we all agreed it was delicious! It felt like a homemade traditional Italian recipe. The cake was moist and soaked in espresso and the Mascarpone cheese mixed with whip cream was just the right amount. The biscotti was also a nice addition on the side. We were all full by the end of our meal, but we still managed to stuff ourselves with the Tiramisu.

Overall, we were all very happy with Trattoria’s Dine Out menu. I wouldn’t say the choices were dishes I would normally order, but for $18, we were literally filled up and the service was great. Their regular menu also looks like a pretty affordable menu and I’m looking forward to coming back to try some of their other dishes. The only downside would be the no reservations policy.