Tera V Burger

September 5, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Barbecue Tempeh Burger – Organic tempeh, smokey barbecue sauce, fresh veggies and cheese on a whole wheat bun

Barbecue Tofu Wrap – Organic smoked tofu, fresh veggies, cheese, and smoky barbecue sauce in a whole wheat tortilla

Adventure time with K and J! We were originally supposed to try some vegan lasagna at a cafe, but unfortunately it was closed for good when we arrived. We were around the Broadway neighbourhood, so we decided to walk around to find a different place. Problem was, we weren’t exactly in the restaurant populated area of Broadway. We kept walking and started to get hungry and we spotted Tera V Burger. We checked out the menu and learned that it was a vegetarian so we thought it would be perfect. The place is supposed to be like a fast food burger chain and their mission is to try and make a movement for people to start eating vegetarian meals. You order your food first at the counter, and then you take a seat and they will serve it to you on a tray.

Both K and J got the Barbecue Tempeh Burger, which they said was quite delicious. Lots of veggies and an overload of barbecue sauce. For myself, I got the Barbecue Tofu Wrap since I wanted a small snack. It was actually quite filling and I was very full by the end. There were lots of tofu, and again, lots of barbecue sauce. Although the sauce was needed since the tofu was pretty much bland, I thought that it was almost too much, since it got really salty.

Not a bad place to go for some vegetarian burgers and wraps. The place was pretty empty, but I guess it’s pretty new. They also offer a variety of salads, sandwiches, and drinks.

Kit Kat Craze!

September 5, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Not a restaurant post today! Just sharing some crazy Kit Kat flavours with you thanks to K who brought them back from Japan 🙂 I don’t even remember all the flavours, but some were Green Tea, Cinnamon, Honeydew Blueberry, Apple, and Cookies and Cream. Some of them were exclusive to Japan I believe. Green Tea is my all time favourite, and you can get them in Vancouver as well at places such as Candyland. Honeydew was also surprisingly pretty good. A bite in, and you were literally filled with honeydew madness. The flavour was so strong! Another flavour that really struck me was the Cinnamon flavour. It was…spicy. Not too good!

Bottega Italiana

September 3, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Pistachio Gelato, Watermelon & Pineapple Gelato

Last food stop for the Seattle adventure! Of course dessert, and it’s my favourite – ice cream! We actually walked by Bottega Italiana on our way to Thoa’s, and we had a look around the market for other ice cream shops, but we decided this one was the one. Well actually, Bottega Italiana isn’t an ice cream shop, since it’s a gelato shop! Gelato has around 60% less fat and calories than American ice cream, so I like to think of it as a pretty healthy dessert…

Anyways, they let us try flavours, but I was mostly interested in the Pistachio Gelato, so I got a sample, and decided to get it right away. It was smooth and very strong in pistachio flavour. Maybe a little too strong actually. J got two scoops and got Watermelon and Pineapple. These were amazing! The Pineapple flavoured gelato was especially good. They were totally opposite from the creamy gelato I had, and was not at all creamy or milky. It was almost like eating pineapple slush, but not to that extent of iciness. It was still gelato, but without the cream. They were also made with fresh fruit since there were pieces of pineapple pulp inside. The watermelon flavoured gelato was also great, but not as good as the pineapple. I kind of regretted not getting one of the fresh fruit gelatos instead, since they had a variety of flavours.

Overall, great place to grab gelato around the market place, and the fresh fruit gelatos are a must try! Forget the normal gelato!

Piroshky Piroshky

August 29, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Beef & Cheese Piroshky

Off we continue with our Seattle foodie adventure. So after lunch at Thoa’s, we decided to head back to the Pike Place Market to explore. Still full of people, but most of the lineups at the food shops had definitely died down. On our way to Thoa’s, we had actually walked by a bakery. We actually didn’t spot the place originally, but the aroma was so strong that it attracted us to walk closer. And then we knew it was of course a bakery! A bakery named Piroshky Piroshky that had a massive line up too… Since we were starving, we obviously didn’t wait, but luckily, the line had shrunk by the time we got back after lunch! Okay, we were still pretty full to be honest, but hey, this place must have some good stuff with that long line up from before! So we lined up behind the others, excited to try a “piroshky”. So what exactly is a piroshky? I honestly had no idea, and was still pretty clueless after eating it.

We were quite full from lunch, so we decided to just share one piroshky, since they were quite large. So many choices! But a Beef & Cheese Piroshky seemed pretty safe. It was a bun filled with beef, cheese and some spices. The dough was soft and warm, and the filling inside was not overflowing or too little. Just the perfect amount. It actually sort of reminded me of a curry beef bun you can get in Asian bakeries, so I didn’t think it was THAT amazing. Maybe I had just expected much more seeing those line ups. They’re decent, but I didn’t find them too special. Perhaps next time, I would try some of their other unique fillings.

For those of you who want to know more about piroshkys, I went home and googled them up. So they are basically Russian baked goods – usually in the form of a baked stuffed bun. They are usually filled with meat and vegetables, (usually onions), so the meat and cheese piroshky was actually quite close to the traditional piroshkys! Other variations include savory fillings, such as fish, and also sweet fillings, such as apples. These were all offered at the shop as well!

Sapporo Ramen Shogun

August 27, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Gyoza

Miso Soup

Bibimbap

ChaShu Miso Ramen

It’s my last day interning at the office so M and H decided to take me out for lunch. And now I’m back in the office blogging, instead of working… All is good 🙂

Anyways, I took out my wisdom teeth last week, so I’m still stuck with eating soft food. At least I’ve moved away from drinking soups and congees all day! H decided we should get ramen since it’s something that I could eat. H and I both agreed that Denman had lots of great ramen places, but it was kind of far from our office, so H brought us to Sapporo Ramen Shogun instead. It’s a tiny little shop with wooden decor and cool Japanese cartoon decorations. It seemed pretty busy during the lunch hour as well.

We were seated quickly and service was prompt. Got our orders in, and food came within 5 minutes. We ordered Gyozas to share, and I thought these were quite good. Quite flavourful, and they weren’t burnt! Not bad! M got the Bibimbap, which I believe came with the Miso Soup and the side dish with what I believe were veggies. I didn’t try, but he said it was pretty good. H and I both got the ChaShu Miso Ramen. It was quite large in size and had lots of ChaShu pieces. The ChaShu pieces were not as tender as some I’ve had, but they were not bad. I liked the ramen noodles though, as they were soft but still had a chew to it. The broth could have been more rich in flavour, but it was alright. Wasn’t bland or anything, but could have been more flavourful.

Overall, a decent place to grab a quick lunch if you’re craving ramen in downtown. I wouldn’t say it is as great as the ones at Denman, but you won’t need to line up forever to get some food. Thanks M and H again! It’s been a pleasure working at the office 🙂

Thoa’s Restaurant & Lounge

August 27, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Mango Fizz

Strawberry Lemonade

Chicken Pad Thai – Traditional Thai styled rice noodles pan-fried with chicken, bean sprout, cilantro, crushed peanuts, lime and onions in tamarind paprika sauce

Chicken Curry Fried Rice – Chicken, rice, eggs, carrots, pineapple, coconut milk,
hint of yellow curry & onions

Recently J and I decided to go explore downtown Seattle and check out the Pike Place Market. I had this feeling that I came here when I was really young, but I really had no memory of it. We got there around lunch time and we were starving, so of course we decided to look for food. I had checked out some popular spots in the market beforehand, but since it was lunch time, line ups were everywhere. What a busy area! We were way too hungry to wait, so we walked beyond the market, more into the downtown area, but still near the waterfront. We finally found Thoa’s Restaurant & Lounge, which seemed to be a pretty nice, modern-looking Vietnamese restaurant. We were starving, and saw no line up, so we didn’t care anymore! We just wanted food! Thoa’s was definitely not as busy compared to those popular shops in the marketplace, but it was still roughly half occupied.

I decided to get the Strawberry Lemonade, while J got the Mango Fizz. I found my lemonade a little sour, but it was alright. It was a hot, sunny day, so the drink was greatly appreciated. As for food, I got the Chicken Pad Thai. I found the noodles a little overcooked, as they were pretty soggy and clumping together. It was also pretty bland, and lacking flavour. I’ve definitely had better pad thai back in Vancouver, so I was not too impressed. I tried a bit of J’s Chicken Curry Fried Rice, and it was also just mediocre. We both agreed that we’ve had better versions of these dishes. Service was also not that great. We weren’t greeted right away when we walked in, and the server also gave us no utensils until I asked for them. The mood seemed pretty “dead’ in there, even though it was all decorated to fit the cuisine’s culture. Overall, not bad, but probably wouldn’t revisit again.

Leisure Tea & Coffee

August 23, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Shaved Ice with caramel pudding, tapioca pearls, red bean, peanuts, raisins and much more..I don’t remember!

Strawberry Crepe

Revisit for Leisure again! I swear I revisit this place too often… But that’s cause the food and drinks are so good! This time, I decided to try their crepes. I got the Strawberry Crepe and it was presented really nicely. The middle was filled with lots of strawberries, and then it was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I found the strawberries a little sour, but the ice cream helped add some sweetness to it. Not bad!

Gingeri Chinese Cuisine

August 22, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Fresh Fruit Salad & Deep Fried Crab Claws w/ Shrimp Paste

Braised Whole Dried Scallops in Mo Qua Rings

Braised Superior Shark’s Fin in Supreme Thick Soup

Braised Whole Australia Abalones with Vegetables

Pan Fried Lobsters in Consomme Sauce

Steamed Rock Cod

Fried Rice with Shrimps in Cream & Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Dumplings in Supreme Soup

Chinese Petit

Coffee Jelly

Sweetened Sesame Dumplings in Red Bean Cream

Gingeri is one of my mom’s favourite dim sum place. I swear she suggests to come here every time we want dim sum food. Not long ago though, I attended a wedding and they held it at Gingeri. I don’t normally come here for dinners, so I was actually kind of curious what the food was like for dinner time. Chinese weddings always have some crazy dinner banquets, with hours of food. This one had around 12 courses I believe? I’m missing two pictures I think, since I was too excited to eat…

First up was Roasted Pig Slices with Jellyfish Appetizer, which was one of the dishes where I got too excited to eat that I totally forgot to take a picture of. The pig skin was roasted to a nice crisp, and the meat wasn’t too salty. Jellyfish is one of my favourite Chinese appetizers, and this one was marinated very well. The second dish was the Fresh Fruit Salad & Deep Fried Crab Claws w/ Shrimp Paste. It was basically a crab claw with shrimp paste surrounding it to form a round shape and then it was deep fried. I really liked the shrimp part, but the crab claw didn’t really have any meat to it. Way too many fruits on the side too..I was already starting to get full. Third dish: Braised Whole Dried Scallops in Mo Qua Rings. This was a really nice dish, as the Mo Qua, which were basically some sort of melon were braised in a very nice sauce. The dried scallops were also extremely soft. Fourth dish: Braised Superior Shark’s Fin in Supreme Thick Soup. The soup was definitely very thick, and you could feel the collagen stick to your lips. They also didn’t cheap out on the ingredients. Fifth dish: Braised Whole Australia Abalones with Vegetables. Another delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The abalone was quite large in size, and it was cooked so it wasn’t too chewy or too soft. Perfect tenderness! I also loved the sauce that it was paired with. But oh my, I was getting REALLY full by the fifth course…so I started leaving my vegetables behind.. Moving on, sixth course was the Pan Fried Lobsters in Consomme Sauce. These were alright. I’ve had better lobsters before. Nothing too special. Seventh course: Deep Fried Crispy Squabs. And yes, I forgot to snap a picture of it as well. It was served still hot and crispy. Good stuff! Eighth dish: Steamed Rock Cod. I’m not a big fan of fish, so this was probably my least favourite of the night. I have to say that the fish wasn’t fishy though, and the meat was quite tender. Still, steamed fish isn’t something I like to eat. Ninth course: Fried Rice with Shrimps in Cream & Chicken in Tomato Sauce. This dish, no one at my table even touched it. We were all too full, and stuffing ourselves with more rice seemed silly. Some of us ended up packing it away instead, so I can’t comment. Tenth dish: Dumplings in Supreme Soup. These were actually really nice to end the dinner off. The dumplings were filled with shrimp and the soup was a thin clear broth. As for the desserts, there were Chinese Petits, which were basiaclly some sort of cookie dough batter, with read bean paste inside. As well, there was Coffee Jelly, which was one of my favourites. It was strong in coffee flavour and was a great dessert for a summer night. Lastly, there was the Sweetened Sesame Dumplings in Red Bean Cream. I’m not a fan of red bean soup, but I enjoyed the sesame dumplings as I love the surprise of the filling spilling out when you bite into these sweet dumplings.

Way too much food for this set menu, and I wish everything was portioned smaller, so I could actually eat everything without feeling like my stomach would explode… Good food though! And service wasn’t too bad.