Dinesty

August 1, 20132 Comments

Dinesty is next to Starbucks and Ebisu in Richmond, and I believe they recently opened one in Downtown on Robson. I’ve gone by this restaurant multiple times, but I don’t think I’ve actually ate here before. At last, J and I decided to grab an early dinner, and he suggested we go to Dinesty. It seems to be his favourite place to go.

I think we got there around 5 pm, so it was quite empty. However, shortly after sitting down, the place quickly became filled. Apparently, there are usually long waits during dinner time, and it’s almost impossible to get a seat without reservations. The food here seems to be a mix of Taiwanese and Shanghainese food. Decor is simple and clean, and I like the open kitchen they have. You can see the chefs preparing your food, just like Shanghai River. Sort of a similar concept in terms of their floor plan.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

I wanted some Steamed Pork Dumplings, or better known as Xiao Long Bao! An order came with 8 hot and steamy dumplings. The wrappers were thin, yet held the pork, and inside, it was juicy. The soup was very delicious!

Ma Po Tofu

J chose the Ma Po Tofu. It was a large serving, and definitely too much for two people to share. The tofu was soft and the sauce wasn’t too spicy. It would’ve been perfect with white rice, but we had ordered another rice. We ended up mixing it with our Shrimp Fried Rice, since it would be too spicy and salty to eat alone.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Lastly, I chose the Shrimp Fried Rice. It had a hint of shrimp paste flavour, and the rice was cooked so it wasn’t too moist and sticky. There were also an abundant of shrimps inside.

Overall, I enjoyed the dishes we had at Dinesty. I can see why people enjoy coming here for meals. You get a good amount of food, which is of decent quality, at a decent price. I hear that service isn’t as great once it gets really busy during peak times, so perhaps going early is the way to go here. I also like how all their menu items have pictures, so you get a sense of what you are ordering beforehand. Perfect for beginners of Chinese food!

Guu Richmond (Revisit #3)

July 31, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been to Guu in Richmond plenty of times, and for my birthday dinner with my family, we somehow ended there again. I wanted to Zakkushi, but we were quite last minute, and they were fully booked up. My family ended up wanting to go to Guu, so why not, since it’s close by.

Complementary Salad

After placing our orders, we were given two small bowls of this Complementary Salad. It was mostly yellow cabbage, and was lightly marinated with a sour sauce. Quite refreshing, but nothing too special.

Beef Tataki – thin sliced seared beef w/ ponzu sauce

As usual, I went with the Beef Tataki, because I always enjoy the sauce that Guu uses. I’ve had some bad experiences with the beef tataki at Guu Richmond, but this time, they were very nicely seared. It wasn’t overdone, and each bite was easy to chew.

Oden – Fish Puff

K ordered Oden, and got the Fish Puff. This was my first time trying this. It had a very funny texture and was a bit bouncy, but soft at the same time. It’s so hard to explain, but it was good! Reminded me a little of fish tofu puffs. The oden was also very delicious.

Kabocha Korokke – Pumpkin and boiled egg croquette

The Kabocha Korokke is also one of my all-time favourites at Guu. It’s essentially mashed pumpkin wrapped around a boiled egg and then deep fried. It’s then topped with a mayo sauce. I also love the pumpkin chips on the side.

Okonomiyaki – Deep fried squid & cabbage Japanese pancake w/ tonkatsu sauce & mustard mayo

This time, I also wanted to try some new items. I chose the Okonomiyaki, and this was really good! I think the mustard mayo really made the pancake taste really good. It had a decent amount of squid inside each piece. This is a perfect dish to easily share between four people.

Aigamo Pizza – teriyaki duck breast Guuu’d style pizza w/ tomato sauce & mayo

And then I decided to try the Aigamo Pizza! Yea, I’ve seen this plenty of times on their menu, but have never thought of trying it. So glad I did, because this was really delicious! There were an abundant of teriyaki duck breast, and each piece was thick, yet had an incredible chew. Extremely tender. We were however, disappointed that half our pizza crust had been burnt. Sort of too burnt to be edible, at least in a health perspective…

Karubi – BBQ garlic sauce marinated beef ribs

My dad is always a beef ribs person, so he ordered the Karubi. There were only a few on the plate, and it came with some mustard on the side. We thought that this was way too salty though. My mouth just felt like salt after and I had to wash it down with tea. Not recommended!

Crazy Salmon Sashimi – lightly seared salmon

We also wanted some sashimi, and like many authentic Japanese restaurants, salmon sashimi is not usually found. They had it in some assortment sets, but my dad wanted just salmon sashimi. Well we saw something on the daily special menu called Crazy Salmon Sashimi, so we asked our server what it was. She told us it was basically salmon sashimi, but it is lightly seared, just like tuna tataki. So we ordered 12 pieces. It was definitely lightly seared and melted in your mouth with a few chews. The only issue we had was the saltiness again! It was topped with way too much freshly ground pepper and salt. It had a very smoky flavour to it, which I didn’t mind, but the saltiness of it was beyond what I could take. It seemed that tonight’s chef seasoned everything too salty!

Yakiudon – Pan fried udon w/ beef, mushroom, green onion & soy sauce and butter

Lastly, we got our usual Yakiudon. Guu’s yakiudon is always my favourite. Their sauce is just spot on, and the udon is cooked so it has a nice chew, and the sauce makes the noodles a little sticky, which I really like.

All in all, it seems that the dishes I usually order are still spot on. And now I will add the pizza and okomiyaki to the list. However, I would stay away from the beef ribs and crazy salmon sashimi. Service was wonderful as usual, and we didn’t need to wait long before our dishes arrived.

To read my previous visits at Guu: https://everydayisafoodday.com/2013/01/04/kitanoya-guu-richmond/
https://everydayisafoodday.com/2013/01/24/kitanoya-guu-richmond-revisit/

Rodney’s Oyster House (Yaletown)

July 30, 2013Leave a comment

For my birthday, N treated me for lunch and she suggested we go to Rodney’s Oyster House. I remember her raving about this place years ago, but I still hadn’t tried it! They now have another location in Gastown, but we headed to the original Yaletown location. N told me they also have other locations in Toronto!

They have two levels, and we chose to sit upstairs. We were seated near the edge so we could look down and see the oyster shuckers doing their thing. We went on a weekday lunch hour, so the place wasn’t very full. I hear that there are much better deals during their Low Tide Happy Hour, and it’s actually difficult to get seats.

This is the other side of the seating area for upstairs. The place is decorated with wooden furniture, and it sorta makes you feel like you are on a boat with all the decorations.

Complementary Sourdough Bread

After placing our orders, we were given some Complementary Sourdough Bread. It also came with some butter in a ketchup container… The place is definitely very chill, so don’t expect any amazing plating. I ordered a glass of white wine, and it came in a highball glass, but he definitely filled it up to the very top. The place has more of a bar vibe to it, but you get to eat all the yummy seafood instead of burgers and fries.

Since we ordered some oysters, we were also given a tray of sauces! Our server explained that they went from the least spicy to the most. I tried all of them, and even the spiciest one wasn’t too spicy. It had an after spice to it, but was still acceptable for my tastebuds! I think my favourite was the Seawitch Sauce, as it wasn’t too spicy and reminded me of salsa! They also had a variety of vinaigrettes, and Tabasco sauce.

1/2 dozen Raw Oysters

We got a half dozen of Raw Oysters. I think they are normally $3 each, and during Happy Hour it’s $1.50, so definitely a way better deal since they are priced quite high. They were extremely fresh and sweet though. Some were a little smaller than others, but they were still all very plump. I honestly hadn’t had raw oysters in a long time, and I didn’t exactly remember if I liked them. However, these were so fresh and sweet, that I immediately fell in love with them! They also had some grated cheese on the side, so I decided to try what it would taste like, but I actually didn’t really like the texture of the cheese on it. Since the oysters were cold, the cheese just sat on top of the oyster and gave it a really rough texture to it. I think the cheese with oysters only works when it’s baked oysters with the cheese melted on it!

Pan Fried Oysters

Since we’re at an oyster house, why not continue with more oysters! We got the Pan Fried Oysters, which were lightly battered and came with a tartar sauce. It was extremely good with the lemon squeezed on top. Again, the oysters were plump and fresh. Really good!

Steamed Mussels

Lastly, we had the the Steamed Mussels. I love steamed mussels, mostly because the broth is usually really delicious and complements the mussels really well. I found the mussels at Rodney’s a little smaller, but they were still extremely sweet and tender. I think the sauce was a butter base, and it was extremely delicious. At the end of our meal, our server advised us to dip our leftover sourdough bread into the broth, and it was extremely delicious! I could eat that all day.

And this was a snapshot of our lunch. Plenty of food for two to get us full. The food can be quite expensive during lunch or normal hours, so definitely take advantage of their Low Tide Happy Hour. Service was pretty good, and our server was pretty nice and friendly. And did I add, that most of the servers are pretty good looking ; ) Apparently, they are also the winner of the Hottest Male Servers, so I guess that says it all! Will definitely return!

Sushi Mori

July 26, 2013Leave a comment

We were in Coquitlam and craving some Japanese food as usual. And of course J is always craving his nigiris. So we urbanspooned around for a while to see what was nearby. Sushi Mori popped up and the reviews seemed pretty good so off we went.

The inside is extremely nice! It’s filled with wooden furniture and cherry blossom trees with lanterns so it glows. It almost feels like you’re in a cherry blossom wonderland in Japan. The place seems to be operated by Koreans though, as they all knew how to speak Korean.

The tableware is extremely cute. The teapot has an ancient feel to it, and the tea cups are so petite! Okay, a little too small, making the need to repour yourself some tea after every sip… We were also given some Edamame Beans to start as a complementary appetizer.

Spicy Tuna Roll

J got the Spicy Tuna Roll, and it was drizzled with a lot of spicy sauce. Essentially just a normal tuna roll, but drizzled with the spicy sauce.

Crazy Boy Roll – Deep Fried California Roll, Masago

Everyday, they also have a list of items that are at a discounted prices. I think the Crazy Boy Roll was one of them for that night, hence we got it. I’ve tried this type of roll at another sushi restaurant, and it is essentially a california roll that has been battered and deep fried. It was covered with a spicy mayo and topped with masago. I thought it was pretty good, but anything deep fried is usually tasty.

Salmon Don

For myself, I got the Salmon Don. There was a large amount of salmon sashimi – a total of 8 fatty pieces. On the side was a bit of marinated squid and seaweed salad. I did find it quite bland though, and the rice wasn’t cooked that great and wasn’t well seasoned. Something was just lacking, and it tasted rather bland. I wouldn’t say that the salmon was extremely fresh either.

Complementary Salad

Halfway through dinner, we were also given a Complementary Salad. Sort of random, but we’ll take it if it’s free! It was actually a really large plate too. I’m guessing they had extra scraps of vegetables or something. It was filled with lettuce, julienned cucumbers, beets, and pineapples. The pineapples were a real surprise for me, but also my favourite part. I love how the sweetness gave the whole salad some flavour. The portion was definitely too big for us though and we didn’t end up finishing it.

Saba Nigiri, Hamachi Nigiri, Ebi Nigiri

And here were J’s Nigiris. I think the Ebi Nigiri was also on the special menu, hence he ordered quite a few. I didn’t try any, as none of the fish are really my favourites, but he said they weren’t good at all. He was quite disappointed and said they were priced at too high of a price for the quality you are getting.

Overall, I wasn’t too amazed by the food at Sushi Mori. J, on the other hand, was extremely disappointed and said he wouldn’t be coming back. I guess I can’t say much since I only had the Salmon Don, and it honestly isn’t too hard to make. J, however, had high expectations for his nigiris, so he wasn’t happy with them at all. We both agreed that the restaurants atmosphere and decor is probably the reason why people come here. Really nice looking place, but definitely just average food. Probably not coming back again.

Indian Star Restaurant

July 24, 2013Leave a comment

We had originally wanted to go to The Bombay for some butter chicken since J said it was pretty good. Of course, we had to decide to go on a day it wasn’t opened though… Really? A random Tuesday. So yes, we ended up Googling another Indian restaurant closeby, since we were still craving for that butter chicken… And with the limited choices in the Port Coquitlam area, we ended up at Namaste Indian Restaurant. Wait hold on, where is the Namaste on the banner? We got kind of confused, but realized it’s printed on the very side of it vertically… So weird…

Surprisingly, the inside was really nice compared to the outside. It actually looked pretty fancy. They had their lunch buffet advertised at $10.95 outside, so we asked if we could take a look at what the buffet offered. It’s literally just that tiny section at the back corner of the restaurant and there is a salad bar, which to be honest, looked pretty gross. And then there was the meat, veggies, and curry area. Not a lot of offering, but what do you expect when it’s $10.95 and all you can eat. We also asked to look at their regular menu, and we saw that most entrees were probably more expensive than the buffet, so we ended up going for the buffet. What was funnier, was that we asked the man, who basically operates the whole restaurant, how much the buffet was, and he said it was $9.95! Okay, now that’s definitely a deal.

There’s Basmati Rice, and Kofta Curry, which I tried a bit of. It was just decent, and wasn’t one of my favourites. Let’s just say it was “alright”.

I also tried some of their Mixed Vegetables, which were just vegetables, like beans, potatoes, and cauliflower mixed in a seasoning. It was decent, but I felt like their warmer wasn’t heating the food hot enough. They were just warm, and definitely not that great. The Tandoori Chicken were also one of the more popular options. Definitely not the best, but it also wasn’t terrible. It could’ve been more well-seasoned though.

They also had something called Dal Turka, but I wasn’t too sure what it was, and didn’t really want to try it. It looked like no one had touched it! On the left were some Vegetable Pakoras. They were pretty cold, so they weren’t that great. A lot of batter as well.

And then there was what we came here for! Our Butter Chicken. It was alright, and definitely one of the repeat items for us, since there were limited items that were actually decent. There was tons of chicken, but we didn’t find it extremely moist. The sauce was on the creamier tomato side and I found it quite salty. I guess it worked well with the rice and Naan though.

The warmers also had some Naan, but it was cold and quickly gone. So the man occasionally came by and brought us some fresh naan. I found it really oily and it wasn’t flaky at all. Quite disappointing.

And here’s a picture of our first plates. Not a lot of food, since we wanted to try a bit of everything first to get a sense of what’s good and what’s bad (the key to eating at buffets!). I guess Namaste is alright for what you pay for. I mean, you can probably get really full if you keep going for the butter chicken, tandoori and some rice. And all for the price of $9.95 (since apparently it’s a dollar off now…). But then again, I’m not sure how fresh your food is, since the whole time we were there, there was only one other couple eating with us. So imagine your food being in those warmers for the whole lunch hours. I wonder if their regular menu would be better though.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant 海港大酒樓

July 23, 2013Leave a comment

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant has been known for their quality in food. They used to be on No. 3 Road, but several months ago, they moved to a brand new location at River Rock Casino. The place is now extremely grand, like any other Chinese dim sum restaurant, and they even have a showcase of their wines upon entering. However, you definitely do not want to come here if you’re in a rush. Even though we made reservations, we waited 45 minutes to get a seat. It was pretty ridiculous, and I had to go to work in an hour. We had 5 people, so they kept giving up 4 table seats to other people, when we really could’ve gotten the seat. In the end, my mom got pushy and told them we wouldn’t mind taking a 4 table seat, and they finally gave us a seat. I guess you need to be a bit aggressive at these places… So once we got seated, we handed in our order list that we had pre-checked while waiting. Our food did come quite quickly, which was good. I ended up eating everything in a hurry and in less than 30 minutes, so I definitely didn’t taste everything carefully.

Flaky White Radish Pastry

These are one of their famous items. They were so flaky at the top and the mixture of white radish was savoury and seasoned so well. The pastry wasn’t oily at all and is a must order!

Special Honey Flavour Cake

This is supposed to be a dessert, but it actually came as our second item. I’ve had these before and they are an interesting texture. Looks like a honeycomb and there is a slight honey flavour to it. It’s not sweet at all, and the texture is very interesting. Not soft like a spongecake, but definitely has more of a bounce and chew to it!

Steamed Shrimp and Pea Sprouts Dumplings

I didn’t end up trying these, but they looked pretty good. The outer dumpling skin looks thin and the amount of filling is just right.

Pan Fried Radish Cake with XO Sauce

These pan fried rasdish cakes are great if you want some flavour to your dishes. They’re pan fried with xo sauce, so it gives it a bit of spice, although it is quite minimum. I love how they are fried ever so lightly so the sides and corners are a bit crisp, but definitely not burnt. Loved these ones!

Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce

I actually thought the colour of the chicken feet were a bit artificially red. It also tasted slightly off. It wasn’t exactly the black bean sauce or barbeque sauce that I normally taste at other restaurants. I didn’t think this was one of their good dishes.

Braised Ox Stomach with Tendons

The braised ox stomach with tendons also tasted sort of funny. It seems like their braised items have a marinade that isn’t too tasty. At least not one that I personally like. The ox stomach and tendons, however, were quite tender and soft and easy to chew on.

Crystal Shrimp Dumplings

I also didn’t try the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, but they were plump and the skin was fairly thin.

Baked Barbeque Pork Bun

The pork buns are soft and the barbeque pork is full of flavour. The buns remind me of the ones you get at Chinese bakeries, and they were steaming hot when cut open.

Deep Fried Duck Meat and Taro Cake

The taro cakes are always one of my favourites. They have a nice taro cake paste inside with some duck meat filling and the outside is battered and lightly fried. Surprisingly, they didn’t feel too greasy.

Steamed Preserved Salty Egg Yolk Bun

I wasn’t able to try this during lunch time as I had to leave for work, but my family packed one of them up for me. They told me it was extremely good because the preserved salty egg yolk would literally just ooze and drip out and they warned me to be careful of dripping the yolk every where. However, after heating it back up, my bun did not ooze the yolk out. I guess you just have to eat this at the restaurant when it’s freshly made. My yolk ended up being quite gooey and solidified, but it was still pretty good. This is also one of their must-orders, so definitely give it a try if you like some running salty yolk in your bun.

Silky Chicken and Taro Wrapped with Bean Curd Sheet

I didn’t really try this one, since I’m not a big fan of chicken with black skin. I’m sure it tastes the same, but I’m just a picky eater I guess.

Deep Fried Assorted Seafood Dumplings

The Chinese name of this dish also includes the words pumpkin in it, so it’s basically a pumpkin batter dumpling with some seafood in it. I think it was mostly scallops. The batter is chewy and a little mochi-like. Then it’s lightly fried on the outside. Not bad.

Chinese Donut Rolled with Steamed Rice Rolls

Last but not least, my favourite Chinese donut rolled with steamed rice rolls! These ones were really different from other Chinese donut rice rolls. Inside the Chinese donut, they are stuffed with a fish filling. It’s a chewy, bouncy gluten fish filling that is often found stuffed in tofu puffs too. This gave it another level of texture and were extremely good!

All in all, Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant definitely meets the standards and I would say it is one of the best Dim Sum Restaurants in Richmond. However, it is quite pricey, and the place is always packed. If you’re not up for waiting long times even with reservations, then this might not be the place for you. Other than that, I think you should give it a try!

Sushi Itshoni

July 19, 2013Leave a comment

J and I are always in this complex on North Rd, since he has to do his grocery shopping at H-Mart. I guess we are slowly trying out every restaurant in that complex. We decided to give Sushi Itshoni a try. It seems to be Korean operated, and serves a mix of Korean and Japanese cuisine.

The place was quite full during lunch on a weekday. They seem to have pretty good deals, which might be the reason why.

Complementary Appetizers

We were served some complementary appetizers, like any other Korean restaurant would offer. It consisted of Kimchi, Marinated Seaweed, and Boiled Broccoli. Typical stuff.

Friday’s Bento Box

Every day, they have a menu item on special for around $8. For Friday, it consisted of a Bento Box that had Assorted Fried Tempura, Marinated Beef, California Rolls, and a Green Salad. I have to say the food wasn’t that great. It’ll fill you up, but is very average. The tempura batter was extremely thick, and California rolls are pretty bad.

Cold Buckwheat Noodles

J got one of those Cold Buckwheat Noodles. This one was quite simple and didn’t have much in it other than an egg, tomato and some cucumbers. They also had a variety of other ones to choose from.

I probably wouldn’t come back to Sushi Itshoni again. I mean, the prices are decent for lunch, but the quality isn’t that great. Kind of disappointing.

Seto Sushi (Revisit)

July 17, 20131 Comment

We were in Richmond, and J wanted some authentic Japanese food and some good nigiris. I honestly don’t know too many truly authentic Japanese restaurants, so I immediately thought of Seto Sushi. I always know that I’m going to be getting good quality food, even though their prices can be a bit steep sometimes. It’s worth it if you want some good food though!

Fresh Saba, Saba, Hamachi Nigiri

J and his nigiris… He keeps ordering fish that I would have never otherwise tried, but I guess that’s a good thing. I didn’t dare try the saba, since it looked pretty fishy, but I did try the Hamachi. It had a nice texture and was extremely fresh. Not fishy at all. J said the Saba was also pretty good, but you definitely get the fish taste to it. They also had Fresh Saba on the special menu, so he tried that as well. What I love about Seto’s nigiris are is that they put the wasabi inside the piece of sushi too. Makes it so much more authentic!

Chopped Scallop Roll, Negi Toro Roll, House Roll (4 pc)

Seto doesn’t have any creative rolls, and they stick to the basics and authentic sushis. So I didn’t dare try to explore and try something new, and stuck to some of my favourite items that I reorder every time. The Chopped Scallop is always good with an abundant of fresh scallops and a mixture of mayo sauce. I also got half an order of the House Roll, which is always too big to eat in one bite. I end up dissecting the sushi to eat, but it’s always good. It’s filled with salmon, imitation crab, avocado, and topped with tobiko. J also got the Negi Toro Roll, which looked quite typical.

Pickled Plum (Ume) Yakionigiri

J also got the Picked Plum Yakionigiri, which is essentially onigiri, but slightly grilled. It came with seaweed packets so you could wrap it up yourself, which we had some trouble in the beginning. The pickled plum is extremely sour, so it’s not for everyone.

Again, I was extremely pleased with Seto. Definitely one of the best Japanese restaurants in Richmond.

To see my previous post on Seto: https://everydayisafoodday.com/2012/05/21/seto-japanese-restaurant/