Beijing Noodle House

September 2, 2015September 1, 2015Leave a comment

I drive by Beijing Noodle House pretty much every week and I’ve noticed that there’s always people dining in there. It’s been around for many years, but I’ve never wanted to try it since it doesn’t look very appealing from the outside. S told me that the food is actually pretty good there, so we headed over to try a few dishes.

Surprisingly, the inside looks much better than what I imagined. Still, it’s not the nicest ambiance, but everything felt clean, so that’s good.

Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin

S suggested we try the Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin. This was very crispy with the sauce being more of a thin consistency. The pork was slightly dry, but I quite enjoyed the flavours.

Stir-Fried Shredded Pancake, Beijing Style

The Stir-Fried Shredded Pancake, Beijing Style, was an interestnig dish. It tasted basically like noodles but more chewy. It tasted similar to knife cut noodles and I really enjoyed the chewiness. It was mixed with a variety of noodles and shredded pork. I quite enjoyed this dish.

Overall, I was surprised with this hidden gem. The prices are quite reasonable and the food is decent. I wouldn’t say the food blows my mind, but based on the dishes we tried, they were executed pretty well.

Pros:
– Food is decent
– Reasonable prices

Cons:
– Ambiance isn’t the nicest

Price Range: $10-20

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

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

Le Tigre

September 1, 2015August 30, 2015Leave a comment

Looking for a new lunch spot near work is always a challenge, so on a sunny Friday afternoon, E and I decided to head down on Granville Street to check out the food trucks. Le Tigre roams around the city and on Fridays during lunch hours, they are on Granville and 10th. We spotted Chef Clement Chan, who appeared on Top Chef Canada, and along with his staff, they were decked out in their hello kitty frames.

The menu at Le Tigre is limited but features contemporary Chinese street food with a west coast influence. All items are under $10, so a good price for lunch.

Angry Kitty Cat Squares

E and I decided to share a couple of items and bring it back to work to eat. We started off with the Angry Kitty Cat Squares which are the bomb! A must order! These are crispy fried rice squares, seasoned with kimchi, chilies, basil, spicy mayo and nori. When the sign said these are spicy, I didn’t believe it, but these are definitely hot! I also loved how these squares were filled with rice – a creative take on kimchi fried rice.

Steam Pulled Pork Bun

Next was the Steam Pulled Pork Bun, which featured a steamed bun filled with pulled pork, cabbage slaw, cilantro, basil, and a sweet chili bean sauce. I thought this wasn’t as special as some of their other items, but the pulled pork was extremely tender and flavourful. The bun was also soft and fluffy.

That “Fricken” Chicken

Lastly, we got That “Fricken” Chicken, which is fried chicken marinated in a special Le Tigre sauce, and seasoned with chili, garlic and shallots. It also comes with a 7 spice mayo. The chicken was moist but the skin wasn’t as crispy as I’d like it. I have a feeling it might be because of our walk back with the box closed, so the crispiness couldn’t be contained. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the sweet and savoury flavours of the chicken.

Overall, we were pleased with what Le Tigre had to offer. Funky asian food is what I’d like to call it. I will be going back to try some of their other items! The team has also opened up Torafuku, which is on my list of restaurants to try!

Pros:
– Great flavours and creative dishes
– Reasonable prices for lunch

Cons:
– Food cart means no where to sit to enjoy the food! (especially around the Granville area)

Price Range: $5-10

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

Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: N/A Parking: 3 Overall: 3.5

Mango Yummy

August 22, 2015Leave a comment

Mango Yummy started out at the Richmond Night Market, and late last year, they opened their first store just across Richmond Centre on No. 3 Road. The interior is rather small, so you may need to get take out if it’s really busy. You first order at the front and then they will call your name for pick up.

Durian Shaved Ice

I came here looking to get some mango type of cold dessert, but I have no idea how S convinced me into getting two durian desserts… Apparently there is a durian menu and so we ended up with the Durian Shaved Ice as one of our desserts… A big bowl of ice with blobs of durian and topped with vanilla ice cream and condensed milk. I wished that the condensed milk was unlimited, but it wasn’t. Well the durian was creamy and fragrant and I think durian lovers will enjoy this dessert. This is one of their pricier shaved ice though since durian is expensive.

Durian Pancake

And next was the Durian Pancake. The pancake was thin and soft, but very smooth. It was topped with some whipped cream and chocolate pearls.

The durian again was very creamy so this dessert is quite mushy with all the cream. You get quite a good amount of durian though.

Overall, based on these two durian items, I thought Mango Yummy was pretty good and I would revisit to try their other items. I guess this visit should be called more like Durian Yummy for us though…

Pros:
– Large variety of desserts – hot and cold
– Reasonable prices for what you get

Cons:
– Not much seating
– Don’t expect any service

Price Range: $15-20

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

Food: 4 Service: N/A Ambiance: 3 Parking: 4 Overall: 3.5

Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant – ChineseBites Media Event

August 10, 2015August 9, 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.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by ChineseBites to test 11 dishes at Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant along with a few other food bloggers. Fraser Court is pretty popular and I always hear my parents talking about their dinners here with their friends, but I, myself, had not been. It’s located on Fraser St. so not particularly an area that I would make my way out to with my friends. More like a place for family dinners. There is tons of parking in the back, which is always a plus in Vancouver. Oh, and they have a ballroom type of room that is separated out where people turn on the disco ball and start dancing and singing… Yes, live Chinese karaoke goes on during dinner time…

Fraser Court Deluxe Appetizer Platter 紅日大拼盤

Anyways, our first dish that arrived was the Fraser Court Deluxe Appetizer Platter. A very typical dish that is served at weddings and special events. It consisted of jelly fish, jellied pork hock, honey garlic spareribs, and beef shank. Most of it was pretty mediocre, but I did enjoy the spareribs.

Whole Winter Melon with Seafood 八寶冬瓜盅

Next up was the impressive-looking Whole Winter Melon with Seafood. This one had loads of ingredients, including duck, lotus seeds, Chinese ham, pork, snow fungus, peanuts, crab meat, fish maw, dried scallop and lots more…

The servers split this up for us and every spoonful was loaded with ingredients. The soup was very tasty.

Lobster in Supreme Soy Sauce 頭抽龍蝦

Next up was the Lobster in Supreme Soy Sauce. I quite enjoyed the sauce since it was a mix of salty and sweet.

Chef’s Secret Recipe Jumbo Crab 招牌秘製大蟹

The Chef’s Secret Recipe Jumbo Crab is supposed to have the “secret recipe sauce,” but I honestly thought it tasted quite like the same sauce used for the lobster. I was a little disappointed with how skinny the crab legs were so it was quite difficult to get the meat out. Nevertheless, still pretty good!

Sauteed Three Kinds of Seafoods with Black Fungus & Greens 金瓜雲耳炒三鮮

The Sauteed Three Kinds of Seafoods with Black Fungus and Greens had shrimp, scallops, and cuttlefish. The snap peas were cooked so they remained crunchy and this was a flavourful dish overall.

Roasted House Specialty Chicken 秘製生焗走地雞

The Roasted House Specialty Chicken seemed to be a favourite among the table. The chicken was moist, but most importantly, the skin was extremely crispy! I also found that it had a bit of alcohol flavour to it.

Clams & Whole Tilapia Fish Chiu Chow Style 潮式大蜆鰂魚煲

The Clams & Whole Tilapia Fish Chiu Chow Style was not my favourite since I’m not a huge fan of whole fish cooked Chinese style in general. The fish was quite moist though.

Scallops & Egg Tofu with Eggplants in Spicy Garlic Hot Pot 漁香三子煲

One of my favourites was the Scallops & Egg Tofu with Eggplants in a Spicy Garlic Hot Pot. I LOVE egg tofu, and this one didn’t disappoint. The tofu was soft and silky with the outer layer being crispy. I also quite liked the spicy sauce, although I found it to taste like Thai sweet chili sauce…

Sliced Tender Beef with Mushrooms 醬燒肥牛粒

The Sliced Tender Beef with Mushrooms were average, as the beef wasn’t very tender.

Halibut Belly with Shallots & Green Onions 京蔥頭抽哈利拔頭腩

The Halibut Belly with Shallots & Green Onions tasted quite like the lobster and crab. This is pretty appetizing since it’s flavourful and fried. Not bad!

Baked Tapioca Pudding 西米焗布甸

To finish our large meal, we had Baked Tapioca Pudding for dessert. One of my favourite desserts at Chinese restaurants since I don’t like red bean soup. The top crust was crunchy and sweet and the tapioca was cooked to just right. Yummy!

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Fraser Court’s dishes. If you don’t mind the live karaoke from your fellow diners, then this would definitely be a great place for family or larger gatherings.

Dinesty (Ackroyd)

July 28, 2015July 28, 2015Leave a comment

Cold Jelly Fish on Cucumber

Dinesty is one of my favourite go to places for Shanghainese food in Richmond. They have several locations, but my favourite has been the one on Ackroyd. However, I was a bit let down this time around when I visited. The food wasn’t up to par and the service was quite rude. Starting off, we had several cold appetizers. The Cold Jelly Fish on Cucumber was not your typical jellyfish. I think this was the part of the head, so it had more of a cartilage type of texture. I wasn’t a huge fan of it, and I found that the soy sauce underneath also didn’t seep into the jelly fish. They should have probably marinated this overnight.

Kao-Fu with Stewed Mushrooms and Peanuts

Next up were Kao Fu with Stewed Mushrooms and Peanuts. Tons of gluten here! The gluten soaked in the sauce and was very flavourful.

Preserved Pork Slices

Preserved Pork Slices sort of reminded me of spam, but with a less mushy texture. These were thinly sliced and had a bit of fat on both ends. Not too salty.

Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings

And of course, we got the Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings, which are a must order. Each diner gets their own dipping sauce which is vinegar with strips of yellow ginger. The dumplings are filled with a creamy soup and the skin is thin.

Shanghai Fried Noodles

The Shanghai Fried Noodles was probably the dish that really let us down. For some reason, the noodles seemed to be way undercooked. I like it when my noodles are al dente, but these were really hard! And as always, this dish is always super oily!

Stewed Pork Belly

Another entree we ordered was the Stewed Pork Belly. We had expected lots of meat, but the dish turned out to have a bunch of other items, like tofu, knotted bean curd, and eggs. The sauce was delicious and the pork belly itself had a good proportion of meat to fat. It wasn’t the melt-in-your-mouth type of pork belly though.

Steamed Glutinous Rice & Red Bean Paste Dumplings

Last up, we had the Steamed Glutinous Rice & Red Bean Paste Dumplings for dessert. The only complaint we had was how the skin felt so thick. I think it was because we chose the option that included glutinous rice as well. This gave the dumpling a more mochi-type of texture, but it wasn’t executed well. I will stick with their regular red bean paste dumplings next time.

Overall, Dinesty usually executes their dishes pretty well. It was unfortunate that some of our dishes were not as great as I’ve had in the past. Also, service was pretty rude this time, with our server giving us a lot of attitude. Ambiance-wise, their decor is definitely nicer than many Chinese restaurants, but be aware that it is still extremely loud with chatter from the diners.

Pros:
– Large variety of decent Shanghainese dishes
– Reasonable prices

Cons:
– Some dishes were a miss
– Service we received this time was pretty rude

Price Range: $20-30

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

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

Nu Chinese Bistro – ChinesBites Media Event

July 23, 2015Leave a comment

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

Nu Chinese Bistro is located on the second floor in Richmond’s Cosmo Plaza on McKim Way. It used to be called Nu Shanghainese Bistro, but has since changed names because of new ownership. I was invited by ChineseBites along with 10 other food bloggers to taste their menu. Since we had a large group, we got seated in a private room. The interior of the restaurant is pretty nice.

Xiao Long Bao 南翔小籠包

Right off the bat, we were served the Xiao Long Bao with vinegar sauce on the side. These were decent with the skin not being too thick and there was a good amount of soup.

Sautéed Black Fungus 涼拌木耳

We were then presented with three cold appetizer dishes. At first, I thought the Sautéed Black Fungus was underwhelming since there was nothing but the fungus in the dish. However, we later realized that the black fungus was seasoned with wasabi! Sort of odd, but I sort of enjoyed it after eating a few more spoons.

Traditional Shanghai Smoked Fish 老上海熏魚

Another cold appetizer was the Traditional Shanghai Smoked Fish. This was flavourful and smoked nicely. I personally didn’t really like the dish just because there are bits of thin bones in it, which you can technically eat.

Soy-Braised Kaofu Bran with Assorted Mushrooms 四喜烤麩

The last cold appetizer was the Soy-Braised Kaofu Bran with Assorted Mushrooms, which I quite enjoyed. This is a typical Shanghainese appetizer. The gluten, mushrooms, and black fungus were soaked in a flavourful sauce.

Clay Pot Wonton Chicken Soup 砂鍋竹笙餛飩雞

Next up was the Clay Pot Wonton Chicken Soup, which I really enjoyed. The soup was sweet and flavourful and filled with chicken, wontons, black fungus, and pea shoots. The pea shoots were tender and delicious. The wontons were just average with the skin being a bit too thick.

Special Beef Wrap 撈餅牛肉卷

The Special Beef Wrap was just average. I still enjoy the one at Peaceful Restaurant the best. The dough was a bit too thick and not crispy enough.

BC Dungeness Crab with Fried Shanghai Rice Cake BC肉蟹炒年糕

Next up, the BC Dungeness Crab with Fried Shanghai Rice Cake was a messy but flavourful dish. The dish came with two crabs and was braised in a savoury sauce with green beans. I usually love rice cake, but I thought they overcooked them a bit too much so it was mushy. The crab itself was fresh and filled with meat.

Stone Pot Braised Pork Belly Shanghainese Style 石鍋紅燒肉

As usual at Chinese dinners, there is pork belly. The Stone Pot Braised Pork Belly Shanghainese Style came with knotted bean curd and was quite flavourful. However, I found this to be slightly on the oilier side.

Braised Tofu with Seafood 瓊山海鮮豆腐

The Braised Tofu with Seafood would’ve been great served with rice. The tofu was smooth and silky. A good dish.

Zhenjiang Style Ribs 鎮江骨

One of my favourites of the night was the Zhenjiang Style Ribs. It was sweet but you can also taste the vinegar that was used to flavour it. Meat was tender and fell off the bone.

Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork 幹煸四季豆（攬菜肉鬆）

The Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork was pretty average. I thought it was flavoured enough and they were quite oily.

Sichuan Style Boiled Fish 蜀香水煮魚

Another one of my favourites was the Sichuan Style Boiled Fish. I am not one that can take a lot of spice, but I like to eat spicy food once in a while. I liked how they give you a ladle that has wholes so that you don’t end up scooping the soup onto your plate too. The fish was tender and numbing because of the fish, but the spiciness didn’t last long. It was a good numb!

Xiang Jiang Tea Smoked Duck 湘江樟茶鴨

The Xiang Jiang Tea Smoked Duck comes with little buns. The skin was crispy, but some of the meat is a little dry. It depends which part you get.

Beef Tenderloin and Eggplant with Black Pepper Sauce 黑椒茄子牛柳粒

Another veggie dish was the Beef Tenderloin and Eggplant with Black Pepper Sauce. Quite flavourful with the meat being tender and eggplant cooked well. Again, it seems that their veggies are slightly too oily for my liking.

Eight Jewel Sweet Rice 八寶飯

To finish our huge meal, we had the Eight Jewel Sweet Rice. This reminded me of the lotus wrapped rice you eat during Mid Autumn Festival, but the sweet kind. The rice is flavoured mostly with red bean paste. Flavour-wise, I thought it was okay, but it didn’t look too attractive.

Overall, Nu Chinese Bistro had some hits and misses. Service is also a bit sparse. The ambiance is quite nice to host family dinners though.

Coco Hut

July 19, 2015July 19, 2015Leave a comment

I think I’ve been to Coco Hut a long time ago, but it’s been years since. Since S is Singaporean, we decided to check it out and see whether it was up to par.

The restaurant is rather small, but it was quite packed during dinner. Service is average as there is basically one women taking orders and serving the dishes.

Pearl Barley Tea, Lemon Tea

We decided to get the Meal for Two Combo which is priced at $20.95. You get two drinks, an appetizer, and two entrees. We both added $0.50 extra to make our beverages cold. I got the Pearl Barley Tea, which has a slight barley flavour which tasted quite refreshing. S said that he has had much better though. Lemon Tea was quite your typical.

BBQ Satay Skewers

For our appetizer, we got the BBQ Satay Skewers. You can choose from chicken, pork, or beef. We went for chicken and you actually get 4 skewers. I think the menu said only 2 skewers, so I was quite surprised. It comes with some peanut satay sauce with chopped up peanuts in it. The chicken had a nice char, but I didn’t find them to be mind blowing.

Hainanese Chicken with Flavour Rice

S got the Hainanese Chicken with Flavour Rice. I hear that they are famous for them, but S said he was extremely disappointed. Mainly because the rice was not flavoured as he expected. It had only a very slight flavour, and he said this was not even close to being comparable to the ones in Singapore or at home. I found the chicken to be decent, with a nice jelly on the skin. I guess S is the expert with the chicken, since he’s had lots of it. He claimed it was very sub par.

Laksa Noodle in Soup

For myself, I got the Laksa Noodle in Soup, which was a huge bowl. It was filled with seafood, bean sprouts, and even some chicken. The soup was spicy, but definitely one that I could handle. I sort of wished it had more spice actually.

Overall, I thought Coco Hut was decent, but S really didn’t enjoy it. I guess if you’re not an expert in Singaporean cuisine and you don’t eat it too often, then you’ll find Coco Hut to be pretty decent. Prices were decent for two and there is decent parking at this mall.

Pros:
– Laksa and Hainanese Chicken was decent
– Prices were reasonable

Cons:
– If you’ve had Hainanese chicken in Singapore, you may find it to be below average
– Service is a bit lacking

Price Range: $10-20

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

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

Hakkasan Bistro – ChineseBites Media Event

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: Today’s post will be a guest post since K attended the ChineseBites media event on behalf of me. As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food was free, but all opinions are based on K’s own experience.

With work being so hectic and exams coming up, K got the chance to attend another ChineseBites media event on behalf of me. This time, it was at Hakkasan Bistro, where we have both been years ago when it first opened. It’s located in such a random area, with industrial offices on No.5 Road, that I have almost forgotten about this restaurant as an option.

Honey Roasted Pork Cheeks

The ChineseBites media dinner featured a good 10 course meal. It started off with the Honey Roasted Pork Cheeks, which is a chef’s signature dish. The cheek, or jowl was very tender and had that nice chewy texture. It was marinated in a honey glaze so it had a hint of sweet flavour.

Chef’s Signature Whole Coconut Pork & Snow Fungus Soup

Another signature dish was the Whole Coconut Pork & Snow Fungus Soup. The soup is double boiled for over three hours with pork, snow fungus, and savoury broth. K liked how the soup had coconut flavour, but also that you could scrape the coconut on the side, which was soft enough to eat. It also came with a soy sauce and chives dipping sauce which helped flavour the chicken. K’s only complaint was that the hole was a bit small, so a bit hard to eat, but nevertheless, one of the favourites of the night.

Steamed Specialty Odorless Garlic Lobster, Jasmine Rice

Next up was the Steamed Specialty Odorless Garlic Lobster which is one of their famous dishes. The garlic is odour-less so you won’t have garlic breath after eating this! K thought that the garlic flavour was not as pungent, and many others agreed that they would still prefer the real garlic. However, the lobster was pretty fresh and came with a fragrant jasmine rice.

Ancient Style Salt Baked Chicken

Another specialty is the Ancient Style Salt Baked Chicken. The free range chicken is marinated with a special blend of ten different flavourful Chinese herbs and spices, and then wrapped in parchment paper and placed in a clay pot filled with hot salt. This ancient baking technique gives the chicken a unique aroma and taste.

K liked this a lot since it was not super salty despite being cooked in salt. She also found the meat to be very tender.

Braised Pork Hock and Steamed Mini Flour Rolls

The Braised Pork Hock is glazed in a sweet braise sauce and came on top of some broccoli. K said that the fat didn’t melt in your mouth like some other restaurant’s pork hock, but it was still pretty good. The Steamed Mini Flour Rolls were also perfect to pair as there were lots of dipping sauce.

A nice layer of fat on top of tender meat.

Mui Choy Stirfry Seasonal Greens

Some greens for dinner were the Mui Choy Stirfry Seasonal Greens. The mui choy was pickled and flavoured well, and was great to go with rice. You don’t see many restaurants using mui choy to stirfry with veggies, so this was an interesting dish.

Hakka Homestyle Steamed Egg, Pork with Duck Yolk

The Hakka Homestyle Steamed Egg was a favourite because it was simple yet had the homey feel to the dish. Again, it paired well with rice and featured pork and duck yolk inside the silky smooth steamed egg.

Stirfry Fish with Pickled Cabbage

The last savoury dish was the Stirfry Fish with Pickled Cabbage. K found it to be quite average and her least favourite dish. Not that it wasn’t good, but there wasn’t anything too special and she felt like she could order this at any other Chinese restaurant.

Steamed Milk Egg White Custard

To finish off the huge meal, there was Steamed Milk Egg White Custard, which was great to ease off the savoury dishes. The custard is not very sweet, and K said it seemed like a great dessert if you’re on a diet!

Overall, Hakkasan definitely had quite a few impressive menu items. Prices are a bit on the higher end but they execute well with good quality items. Be sure to check to make sure whether you need to order some of these items a day in advance. The coconut soup and salt baked chicken, for example, require reservations.