Firebird Cafe

March 21, 2016March 20, 2016Leave a comment

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

ChineseBites invited Naomi (Constant Cravings) and I along with our guests to sample some dishes from Firebird Cafe. Located in Continental Plaza, it took over Tasty Rice Noodles, which was short-lived in the original Deer Garden spot.

The interior looks exactly the same as Deer Garden and the menu is fairly similar.

They are famous for their customized noodle soups and have pretty much the same order sheets as Deer Garden and the previous Tasty Rice Noodles. All of us were not really feeling a noodle soup that night, so we skipped this.

A new addition is their custom sizzling grills as well as their custom steamed rice. For $13.95, you can choose two items for your custom sizzling grill. It comes with your a soup of the day, choice of a side (rice, spaghetti, fries, or mashed potatoes) and choice of a sauce (black pepper, mushroom, onion, garlic, and gravy). Coffee or tea is included with additional charges for cold or specialty drinks. Additional toppings are $3.95.

House Special Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, Taro Milk Tea with Pearls, Peach Green Tea with Pearls, Mango Slush with Coconut Jelly

We started off with an assortment of their specialty drinks. They were all pretty well made but don’t expect them to be as good as the ones from a specialty bubble tea shop.

Deep Fried Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets

For appies, we had the Deep Fried Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets which were surprisingly really good at a HK style type of cafe. Topped with loads of basil and lightly battered, these were extremely flavourful with the chicken remaining moist inside.

Custom Sizzling Grill

W got the Custom Sizzling Grill with Chicken Wings, Fish Fillet, Chicken Steak, Spaghetti and Mushroom Sauce. We were suprised how moist the grilled items remained. The grilled items were all very flavourful so the sauce was not really needed. I do find that for additional toppings, it can get a bit pricey.

Custom Sizzling Grill

S got the Custom Sizzling Grill as well but with Chicken Wings, Ribeye Steak, Chicken Steak, Fries and Black Pepper Sauce. I really enjoyed the ribeye steak as it was very tender. Veggies were rather bland, but again, all the meats were very flavourful.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice

For myself, I chose the Baked Pork Chop on Rice. This was a huge portion for under $10. The pork chop was moist and crispy, but I wish there was more sauce as I found myself left with lots of rice near the end.

Curry Boneless Chicken with Rice

N got the Curry Boneless Chicken with Rice which I really enjoyed! It was a lot spicier than most HK style curries. I liked the crispy potatoes and sauce!

Deep Fried Squid Tentacles

Lastly, we got the Deep Fried Squid Tentacles which took quite a while to arrive. We suspect that it was because they were taking the time to plate it so nicely… Anyways, they were slightly disappointing because the batter was slightly soggy. The squid itself was pretty good as it was chewy without being tough. They use a seaweed seasoning on top along with a sweet chili mayo, which is a little odd. This was just alright.

Overall, I quite enjoyed their baked dishes and custom sizzling grills. Portions are great for the price. Not a bad spot if you are looking for HK style cafe food.

8th Annual Chinese Restaurant Awards Ceremony

March 20, 2016Leave a comment

On March 2nd, 2016, we were invited to the 8th Annual Chinese Restaurant Awards (CRA) ceremony held at the River Rock Show Theatre.

The afternoon recognized the winners of the Critic’s Choice Signature Dish Awards and Social Media Choice Awards.

We were able to sample some of the winner’s dishes along with some drinks thanks to sponsors.

Each year, the CRA recognizes a Canadian food product-of-excellence that has incorporated into Chinese cuisine. This year’s winner is the B.C. Geoduck by Underwater Harvester’s Association.

We got to sample a dish using geoduck by the award winning Chef Sam Leung from Dynasty Seafood Restaurant. They presented to us a plate of B.C. Geoduck with Dungeness Crab Roe and Yuzi. This was creamy and the flavour and texture of the geoduck was right on.

Others who were present included the chefs from Peninsula Seafood Restaurant, including executive chef Yao Wei Guang and dim sum hed chef Keong Wong. Peninsula won the 2016 Diner’s Choice Awards for Best Fine Dining Restaurant.

They served us Chef’s Special Red-braised Pork which had just the right amount of fat to meat ratio. This was also extremely flavourful.

Memory Corner won Diner’s Choice Awards for the best Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice which we got to sample. Flavourful and fatty pork with a side of marinated hard boiled egg.

Saint Germain Bakery won Diner’s Choice Awards for best bakery shop and showcased a variety of their delectable cakes. Light and fluffy and not overly sweet.

Mission Hill Family Estate helped cover us for wines and we got to sample their Five Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay.

Hennessy showcased their Very Special Cognac.

K sampled the cognac with a mix of ginger ale.

Heineken was also at the event to cover the guests who wanted some beer.

Dawn Chubai from Breakfast Television, CityTV and William Ho Wood Kuen from Fairchild TV and Radio were the emcees for the afternoon and we got to congratulate all the winners of the recipients of the Critic’s Choice Signature Dish Awards and Social Media Choice Awards.

Another great year of delicious food and congratulations to all the chefs and restaurant winners!

To see the list of winners for the Chinese Restaurant Awards’ 2016 Diners’ Choice Awards which was released earlier, check out Vancity Buzz’s article.

Winners of the Critics’ Choice Signature Dish Awards – Metro Vancouver

SALT AND PEPPER CRUSTED DUNGENESS CRAB

Landmark Hotpot House
4023 Cambie Street, Vancouver (604) 872-2868

SABLEFISH WITH SHREDDED PORK, LUFFA, PICKLED VEGETABLES IN CONGEE SOUP

Dynasty Seafood restaurant
#108-777 West Broadway, Vancouver (604) 876-8388

STEAMED EGG WITH CLAMS

Shroom Restaurant
6555 Fraser Street, Vancouver (604) 568-7797

CHEF TONY’S SPECIAL CHARCOAL GRILLED DUCK

Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant
#101-4600 No.3 Road, Richmond (604) 279-0083

CHICKEN WITH STICKY RICE IN CLAYPOT

Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant
2141 Kingsway, Vancouver (604) 336-3389

LAMB HOTPOT

The Jade Seafood Restaurant
8511 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604) 249-0082

LAMB IN SOUP

Old Xian’s Food
#2010-8580 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604) 370-3888

BRAISED WINTER MELON WITH VEGETABLE AND MUSHROOM

Dynasty Seafood restaurant
#108-777 West Broadway, Vancouver (604) 876-8388

TOFU SKIN WRAPPED MUSHROOMS WITH VEGETABLES

Hoitong Chinese Seafood Restaurant
#155-8191 Westminster Hwy, Richmond (604) 276-9229

DURIAN EGGTART

Yue Delicacy Restaurant
8077 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604) 233-1219

Winners of the Social Media Choice Awards – Metro Vancouver

BEST SICHUAN WATER-BOILED FISH

Tian Shi Fu Restaurant
8151 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604) 273-3388

BEST TAIWANESE BRAISED PORK RICE

Corner 23
4008 Cambie Street, Vancouver (604) 879-8815

BEST HONG KONG-STYLE ROAST DUCK

Parker Place (Aberdeen) Meat & B.B.Q.
#1020-4380 No.3 Road, Richmond (604) 233-1138

BEST SHANGHAI-STYLE DRUNKEN CHICKEN

Top Shanghai Cuisine Restaurant
#120-5880 No.3 Road, Richmond (604) 278-8790

BEST MANGO SAGO WITH POMELO/GRAPEFRUIT

Doolami Dessert
8030 Granville Street, Vancouver (778) 737-7123

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

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!

Cattle Cafe

October 12, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve never tried Cattle Cafe and since the Richmond location was closed and we were near Metrotown, we decided to head over for lunch. Cattle Cafe is your typical HK style cafe food and I would say it’s quite similar to Deer Garden. I found the seating and interior to be quite modern and clean compared to many Chinese restaurants.

Sliced Beef in Satay Soup with Hand-squeezed Fish Noodles

S got one of their classics which is the Sliced Beef in Satay Soup with Hand-squeezed Fish Noodles. The noodles have a nice chew because they are made from fish. I liked the satay soup which was slightly spicy but not overbearing. I’d definitely order this dish next time!

Mixed Meat & Fish Balls with Flat Noodle Seaweed Soup

For myself, I ordered the Mixed Meat & Fish Balls with Flat Noodle Seaweed Soup. You get some pork, meat, and fish balls as well as fish tofu. The broth is quite strong in fish and seaweed flavour. Not bad.

Overall, Cattle Cafe is a good option for quick HK style food. I found that prices weren’t the cheapest with each dish still costing at least $9 and the portions being a little on the smaller side. I find the portions at Deer Garden to be much larger. Service is quick and to the point so don’t expect any more.

Pros:
– Average eats
– Clean spacious interior

Cons:
– Don’t expect much service

Price Range: $10

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

Food: 3 Service: 2 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 2 Overall: 2.5

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

September 23, 2015September 23, 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.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining 60 other foodies at the Taste of Aberdeen event hosted by ChineseBites. When you think of the food court, you might be thinking of Flaming Wok, Taco Bell and that sort of stuff. Well, the Aberdeen food court is a whole different story, with stalls serving up cheap, delicious Asian food. You’d be surprised to hear that many people regularly dine here for lunch or dinner. I brought along S to dine with me and we were seated with fellow foodie Instagrammers, Tea.Latte and Vancouverfoodie.

Dinner started off with an array of drinks from various shops. Starting from left to right was the Matcha Soy Bean from Strike, Iced Lemon Ribena from Bubble Waffle, Iced Honey Matcha Tea from Teppan Kitchen, House Special from 8 Juice, Milk Tea with Pearls and Coconut Jelly from Estea Express, and Iced Genmaicha Tea from Saboten. I was able to try the House Special which consisted of mango coconut juice with tapioca, mango and pomelo bits. It’s like drinking the mango pomelo dessert!

Sakura Roll

First up was the Sakura Roll from Aji Hana, which is the only Japanese stall selling sushi at the food court. The roll is filled with prawn tempura and avocado and topped with chopped scallop and tobiko. The toppings are quite abundant and I would say it’s pretty good considering it’s from the food court.

Bubble Waffle

Next was the infamous Bubble Waffle from Bubble Waffle. This was the original flavour and the outside was crispy with the interior having that nice mochi-like chew.

Curry Fish Balls

Included in my top favourites list (at the bottom of the post) were the Curry Fish Balls from Bubble Waffle. I loved the kick these had without it being numbing. These bite-size fish balls had that bouncy texture and were fun to eat.

Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Also making it on my favourite list is the Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Chives from Chef of Dumplings. I would have never thought of ordering these at the food court, but these were amazing! The wrappers were pan fried to a nice crispiness and there was a ton of filling inside. Flavours were great!

Hot Sour Noodle

The Hot Sour Noodle from Szechuan House was average for me. It had the strong numbing effect and reminded me of the Szechuan Boiled Fish Soup. Not sure if I would consider this a soup since I wouldn’t want to drink it… There were mostly glass noodles in it and tons of chilies. If you like spicy and Szechuan food, this is for you.

Prawn Wontons

The Prawn Wontons at Lung Kee were surprisingly pretty good! The wrappers were thin and the prawn was big and juicy. These are big wontons for sure!

Deep Fried Squid and Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Always making it on my favourites list is the Deep Fried Chicken Wings from Wu Fung Dessert. They are famous for them and you’ll always find the stall with a line up. What surprised both S and I were how good the Deep Fried Squid were! I never even knew they sold them, but they are just as good as the wings! The squid is extremely tender!

Drunken Chicken Hot Pot

The Drunken Chicken Hot Pot from Tofu Hot Pot was a crowd-pleaser as the broth was delicious. You get an array of vegetables, chicken and glass noodles in a broth cooked with Chinese wine. I could really taste the Chinese wine in the chicken and it tasted great.

Popcorn Chicken Nuggets

The Popcorn Chicken Nuggets from Yougo Chicken were nice and crispy and well-seasoned.

Club House Sandwich

The Club House Sandwiches from Strike were visually pleasing and was a bit of a surprise for us. The triple stacked sandwiches are filled with a meat patty, eggs, cucumbers and tomatoes. It had a sweet flavour to it and wouldn’t be bad for lunch.

Egg Rolls

Also from Strike were the Egg Rolls, which are filed with a thin slice of egg, canned tuna and corn. The wrapper reminded me of the Chinese chive pancakes. Thought this was just average.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice

A typical order from Mambo Cafe usually consists of the Baked Pork Chop on Rice. This is a huge filling portion at a cheap price. You can probably share this between two people. You get a ton of pork chop and the cheesy tomato sauce is delicious on top.

Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly

My least favourite item of the night was the Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly from Kitchen Korea. I found that both the chicken and pork were rather dry and tough. The flavours were also rather bland. I’ve tasted better Korean meats for sure.

Sticky Rice

The Sticky Rice from Leung Kee is filled with Chinese sausage and was quite flavourful.

Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken

Also from Leung Kee was the Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken. Both had a nice gelatinous layer of jelly and were marinated well.

Saboten Set

From Saboten, we got to try the Saboten Set which came with prawn, pork tenderloin and pork loin. It comes with a large choice of dipping sauces as well as a miso soup. The batter is extremely light and crispy. I preferred the tenderloin and the prawn the most as I found the pork loin to be rather dry.

Hainanese Chicken on Rice

Making it on my top favourites list is the Hainanese Chicken on Rice from Cafe D’Lite Express. The rice was well seasoned and the chicken had that nice jelly like skin. Loved the chili sauce on the side too!

‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn

If you like sizzling meat and rice, then Teppan Kitchen‘s ‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn will satisfy you. Coming in a hot skillet, the meat is sizzled along with the rice and you just mix everything together. Similar concept as Pepper Lunch.

Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks

Onto desserts! First up were Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks from Beard Papa’s. Always a good option for desserts!

Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe

The Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe from Mazazu Crepe was a bit of a disappointment for me since it had way too much cream. The crepes you normally get when you order the full size is usually really good with delicious fillings.

A Dream in Eden

To finish off our enormous meal, we got to sample two shaved ice from Frappe Bliss. The first was A Dream in Eden which came in these adorable flower shaped bowls. Almost looks like a bouquet of flowers! This one has strawberries, kiwi, mango, and mango ice cream. I liked the sweetness from the condensed milk.

Matcha Delight

The second shaved ice from Frappe Bliss was the Matcha Delight and this was one of my favourites. Topped with matcha icream, chewy rice balls and red bean, this is perfect for those who like matcha desserts. I especially like their shaved ice since it is the snow powder type where it isn’t chunks of ice. The powder like ice just melts into your mouth.

Thanks again to ChineseBites for hosting the event. To finish off, here are my favourite items from the night:

Deep Fried Squid
Deep Fried Chicken Wings
Hainanese Chicken on Rice
Curry Fish Balls
Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Golden Swan Restaurant

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015Leave a comment

For my mom’s birthday, she wanted to dine at Golden Swan Restaurant on Victoria Drive. The restaurant has been around for many years, and she wanted to see how the food was now. Parking is quite packed in the front, but you’ll easily find free parking in the neighbourhoods.

The interior is quite big and on a Friday night, the place was only half filled. Decor is a bit dated and there’s the whole wedding decor going on.

Daily Soup

My mom chose the restaurant mostly because they had the set menu feature going on for $98 for the whole table. The serving is supposed to be for 4-6 people, so since we had 5 people, it was perfect. The menu started off with their Daily Soup, which was watercress and pork soup. Not my favourite since I’m not a fan of watercress, but the soup came in a ceramic jar and the soup had been double-boiled.

Peking Duck (2 ways)

The set menu allowed you to choose between either lobster or Peking Duck cooked in two ways. We opted for the latter and the first course was the typical Peking Duck Wraps. The duck itself was crispy and had a good ratio of fat and meat. However, the wraps were a huge disappointment. They were covered in flour, and I had to dust it off before I ate since I felt like I was just eating raw flour. The shrimp chips were also quite soggy.

The second Peking Duck dish was the meat stir-fried with vegetables. I enjoyed the meat, but I thought the dish was rather bland.

Braised Chinese Mushroom with Vegetables

You then get to choose three dishes from their menu. The first item my mom chose was the Braised Chinese Mushroom with Vegetables. Quite average, and nothing mind blowing. Again, we noticed that the flavours at this restaurant is more bland. Not necessarily a bad thing, since it’s probably more healthy, but taste-wise it wasn’t as appealing.

Braised Egg Tofu

The second was my favourite Braised Egg Tofu. It came with snap peas and mushrooms. The tofu was silky smooth inside, but again, I’ve had better elsewhere.

Salt and Peppery Fried Pork Chop

Lastly, we got the Salt and Peppery Fried Pork Chop, which was the tastiest by far because of the garlic chips and chili peppers. And of course, because fried food is always tasty! The pork chops were fried crispy and there was a good amount of meat on each piece.

Taro Sago Dessert

Dinner finishes off with Taro Sago Dessert, but we found white bits in it, which we think might’ve been milk powder that wasn’t dissolved properly. Kind of gross in my opinion…

Overall, I thought Golden Swan was below average. Price is good, but the execution of the dishes just isn’t there. I feel like most of the diners who come here are just longtime regulars.

Pros:
– Prices are reasonable
– Large portions

Cons:
– Food is average to below average
– Sloppy presentation

Price Range: $10

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

Food: 2 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 2.5 Overall: 2.5

Tasty Rice Noodles

September 6, 2015September 5, 20151 Comment

If you haven’t noticed already, Deer Garden at Continental Centre has moved to Union Square (where Richmond Sushi is). What’s replaced it is Tasty Rice Noodles. Thinking it would be a new restaurant, we decided to go give it a try. Upon arriving, we noticed that the logo and colours still looked like Deer Garden’s.

The interior has also not changed. The menus have been updated to show Tasty Rice Noodles, but all the menu items and layout is exactly the same… Even the piece of paper to order your noodles has not changed.

Original Fish Soup with Instant Noodles, Pork Balls and Vietnamese Style Pork

We both decided to do the customized fish soup noodles where you can choose a soup base, two toppings, noodles, and a drink for $8.95. S got the Original Fish Soup with Instant Noodles, Pork Balls and Vietnamese Style Pork. Everything looked the same as Deer Garden. Even the choices to customize were the same! Soup tasted just the same and was delicious and filling.

Malay Laksa Soup with Rice Noodles, Cuttlefish Balls and Fish Puffs

For myself, I got the Malay Laksa Soup with Rice Noodles, Cuttlefish Balls and Fish Puffs. I like how the laksa soup isn’t too spicy. All the soup noodles already come with bean curd, cabbage, and mushrooms too. They’re big portions so you will be filled up for sure.

Deep Fried Pork Chop

When you order the noodle combos, you can also get a side order by paying an additional $1.95. It always seems like a good deal, but we never realize how much food we end up ordering… We got the Deep Fried Pork Chop, which S loves.

Desert Wings with Ginger

I suggested to get the Desert Wings with Ginger. They are always plump and the flavour is on point.

For our drinks, we both paid an additional $1 to get it cold. We both got the Lemon Ribena. For under $25, you will be very full and satisfied. So I guess we can conclude that Tasty Rice Noodles is essentially the same as Deer Garden… Another location to get the same the food and you don’t need to fight the parking on Alexandra. Plus, it seems like there aren’t as many line ups to wait for a seat here.

Pros:
– Reasonable prices
– Huge portions

Cons:
– Don’t expect much service

Price Range: $10-15

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

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

Every Day is a Food Day

Tag: Chinese

Firebird Cafe

8th Annual Chinese Restaurant Awards Ceremony

Chef Tony

Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House – ChineseBites Media Event

Cattle Cafe

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

Golden Swan Restaurant

Tasty Rice Noodles