Tacofino Taco Bar

August 15, 2015August 14, 20151 Comment

The Taco Bar at Tacofino has been open for quite a while now and it’s been on my list of must try restaurants. Finally, I visited the famous Taco Bar with A, M, and K. M and A had arrived early, but we still had to wait for over 30 minutes to get a table. This place is so busy, so be sure to arrive early and place your name on the wait list. They will send you a text message when your table is ready. Also, the Taco Bar is situated behind the Burrito Bar which is for take out. You can enter the restaurant from the front, or from the Blood Alley.

The inside ambiance is super cool. I love the whole design of the restaurant with tiled floors and brick walls. Super hipster! Too bad it was rather dim inside, so it was difficult to take good pictures. They also have a patio outside, perfect for those sunny warm evenings.

Pitcher of Sangria

We ended up sharing a pitcher of red Sangria, which seems to be offered during the summer season. It’s a rather small pitcher for the price, but we still managed to get 4 full glasses.

Nachos

M recommended the Nachos and said they were really delicious. When I saw it, I thought it looked average, but boy was this delicious! The nachos are crunchy and layered with salsa fresca, chipotle and sour cream. We also added guacomole on the side for an extra $4. The portion may look small, but it will fill you up and we shared this among four girls.

Since we weren’t sure how much we could eat, we all started off by ordering one taco each for ourselves. In the end, this was just perfect for us. Their tacos are quite big and the filling is very generous. If you come here just for the tacos, you can probably fill up with just two. Most of their tacos are $6 to $7.

Al Pastor

I really wanted to try all the tacos, but since I had to pick one, I chose the Al Pastor. The only reason I chose it was because it said “while quantities last” on the menu. I immediately thought this would mean it’s one of the best and they sell out quick! Well luckily, they weren’t sold out yet and this was amazing. It had roasted pork, pineapples, pickled onions and cilantro. I loved the mix of the fruity pineapple with the meat. Who knew they would go together so well! I also like how they sort of toast or grill the tortilla itself first, so it doesn’t taste as bland.

Steak Taco

M went for her all time favourite Steak Taco, and I got to sample a bit of her steak bites. It was delicious, with a nice char and seasoning on the steak. The soft shell taco is filled with grilled skirt steak, pickled chayote and pineapples. Again, M commented that the pineapples surprisingly paired very well with the steak.

Mushroom Quesadilla

A got the Mushroom Quesadilla, which featured two tortillas sandwiched with seasonal mushrooms, aged cheddar, and cotija. She said it was pretty good but had way too much mushrooms. I guess she likes her meat… This is more of a taco for vegetarians.

Potato and Mushroom Taco

K got the Potato and Mushroom Taco. Unfortunately, the taco was a hard shell, which K was pretty disappointed about, since she had assumed all tacos were soft shelled. She found it to be a bit more messy to eat since the hard shell tacos usually crack at odd spots when you bite into it. It was filled with collard greens, almond herb crumb, chipotle crema, queso fresco, and of course potatoes and mushrooms. She said that there were way too many potatoes compared to mushrooms though.

Overall, I was very happy with Taco Bar. I can see why people love this place and will wait for it. If you’re in a rush, then you can visit the Burrito Bar, although they only sell burritos. It’s essentially the same fillings though. Otherwise, enjoy some amazing tacos and drinks inside the Taco Bar with a cool ambiance. Oh and if you didn’t already know, they also have their Tacofino Commissary in East Van and their food truck which is usually in downtown.

Pros:
– Nachos are the bomb!
– Tacos are filled generously and taste delicious

Cons:
– Long waits
– Service is average – our waitress wasn’t very friendly

Price Range: $15-20

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

Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 4 Parking: 3 Overall: 4

Amsterdam Cafe Pub

August 14, 2015Leave a comment

Canadian Beef Dip

I actually didn’t try many new restaurants this time around up at Whistler since I wanted a relaxing trip where I could just eat and enjoy my food without needing to get pictures before. We did end up trying Amsterdam Cafe Pub for an early dinner. They have a patio area outside with heated lamps, so great since we were up on the mountains on a rainy and chilly weekend. The pub has minimal service, with you going in and looking for your own seats and a waitress coming to take your order. We shared two dishes including the Canadian Beef Dip, which featured a roasted beef inside a toasted baguette and a side of au jus for dipping. It also came with a serving of fries. At around $12, this was a relatively reasonable price knowing that Whistler can be quite expensive for average food. I like it when my roast beef is medium rare, but this was definitely well done, so it more rough and dry than I’d like. The good thing is that you get the au jus to dip in, so it moistens the beef. However, the au jus was overly salty. Fries were average.

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

The other dish we got were the Honey Garlic Chicken Wings which came with a ranch dip. The wings were dressed heavily in sauce and topped with chopped green onions. I thought they were okay and would’ve gone great with beer. Wings were crispy on the outside and moist in the inside.

Overall, based on the items we tried at Amsterdam Cafe Pub, I thought it was average. Your typical pub food, so don’t expect too much. Service was also a bit slow since it was basically one waitress running around to serve all the tables. Good spot if you want food at Whistler that’s priced reasonably though.

Pros:
– Reasonable prices
– Decent eats but not amazing

Cons:
– Service can be a bit slow

Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: 3 Service: 2 Ambiance: 2 Parking: N/A Overall: 2.5

MoMa Contemporary Bistro

August 12, 2015October 6, 2015Leave a comment

For my birthday this year, I decided to do a small birthday dinner and wanted to stay in Richmond. The foodie inside of me told me that I needed to try something new though. And so I looked around and finally decided on MoMa Contemporary Bistro, which is in one of the oddest location hidden next to a printing company on Cambie Rd., hence most people don’t even know it exists.

The two chefs are Asian but have extensive culinary experience in Italian and French cuisine, so MoMa offers a fusion of that. The interior is small, but can fit probably around 30 diners. Simple ambiance and definitely bistro style. On a Friday night, it was rather empty. Service was a bit disappointing as our server was almost too quiet for our large group and was difficult to hear the specials. She also had to read off her paper, which didn’t seem too professional.

Steamed Clams

Anyway, onto the food. Our server had warned us that the dishes are quite small, but are meant for sharing. How are you supposed to share when the dishes are so small though…? Well SF got the Steamed Clams and this had a sake-miso broth, wakame, and scallions. I almost wished this came with bread or fries, since it seemed like a rather small portion to get full. I had a taste of this and the broth was quite good with the clams being fresh.

Prawn Fritters

MC and K shared the Prawn Fritters which are crusted with seaweed and came with a MoMa chili aioli. Again, the portion was quite small for around $11.

Seafood Bouillabaisse

Their special of the day was the Seafood Bouillabaisse. It had clams, shrimp, and peas. My friends said this was just alright. I also found it sloppy that the rims of the dish wasn’t cleaned since they seemed to focus on appearance here.

BC Sablefish

For myself, I shared with S a few dishes. The first dish was the BC Sablefish, which came with farmer’s vegetables, spaetzle, and a soy marinade. I really enjoyed the salad as the dressing was slightly sweet with a hint of citrus. The fish was cooked sous vide and was moist, but the portions were quite small given it was $25. Seemed more like an appetizer, but priced as an entree.

Fresh Chorizo Linguine

A got the Fresh Chorizo Linguine which features their house made marinara sauce. He said it was good but quite average. Didn’t blow his mind.

Slow Braised Veal Cheek Pappardelle

ML got the Slow Braised Veal Cheek Pappardelle, which was also an item I was eying. It’s topped with parmigiano cheese and he said it was quite good.

Portions were quite small again though, but price was more justifiable at $17 since Ask For Luigi prices and portions are similar.

Mushroom Tagliatelle

MC and K also shared the Mushroom Tagliatelle. It features truffle oil and a mushroom raga. Not bad.

Scallops

Next, I shared the Scallops with SS and it was beautifully presented. For a dish like this, I don’t mind paying a little more if they take the time to plate it nicely.

It came with a celery root puree, potato chips, peas, and MoMa bacon. The scallops were seared nicely and there wasn’t any gritty sand in it. I also quite liked the celery root puree and those homemade potato chips.

Pemberton Meadows Beef Striploin

Lastly, SS and I shared the Pemberton Meadows Beef Striploin. The dishefeatures a 8oz grass fed natural beef striploin, roasted potatoes with snap peas and a black pepper jus.

We asked for medium rare, but I felt that it was closer to a medium. I also really disliked how there were these fatty parts still stuck on the rims which were chewy. I ended up cutting most of that off. It was alright, but definitely not worth the $28 given the beef was rather chewy.

Overall, my friends and I found MoMa to be quite disappointing based on that nights service. I came here knowing that portions were going to be small and pricey, but I would have been fine with it if the food was executed well. My favourite dish was probably the scallops, but many of the other dishes were just average and I wouldn’t pay that price for it. Service was also very disappointing since the server had took down our orders based on where we were seated, but for some reason, our dishes were being placed in front of the wrong people. There was also an 18% gratuity as we had a larger group, but when we gave her more cash than what was on the bill, she did not return any of our change until my friend asked. Quite a disappointment overall, but I guess they are doing something right since they have been around for a few years.

Pros:
– Most plates are presented quite nicely
– Some decent dishes and many dishes use local ingredients

Cons:
– Small portions and average food for high prices
– Felt that service we received that night was unprofessional

Price Range: $30-40

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

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

Sushi House (revisit)

August 11, 2015August 10, 2015Leave a comment

Sushi House has been around for many years, and I realized the last time I visited and blogged about the restaurant was over 3 years ago! Looking for something quick to eat in Richmond, I suggested we give Sushi House a revisit.

Spicy Tuna Combo

I realized that they have some combos and they are quite well valued! My Spicy Tuna Combo was only $8.50 and consisted of the Spicy Tuna Roll, Negitoro Roll, Tuna, Salmon, and Ebi Nigiri.

All the rolls were pretty well executed and quite fresh.

Very reasonably priced for the amount of food I got. I was beyond full after finishing my plate.

California Roll, Dynamite Roll

S went for his favourite classics and got the California Roll and Dynamite Roll. He said they were well constructed and quite delicious.

Pros:
– Very reasonably priced
– Well constructed and fairly fresh sushi

Cons:
– Fairly small spot so can get packed quickly

Price Range: $10-15

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

Food: 3.5 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 3

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.

Zabu Chicken

August 9, 2015August 8, 2015Leave a comment

KH and KC finally made our trip to Zabu Chicken after months of talking about fried chicken and beer. We headed over on a random weekday after work, and we were surprised that that it had a decent amount of diners. Zabu Chicken offers Korean fried chicken and beer, and most of their diners are Korean. By 7:00 pm, the place shut off their lights and had some night club music going on. Contrary to what many people had said about their poor service, I actually didn’t find it a problem and the service was quite attentive. Food did take quite some time to come out, but since we had our drinks, it wasn’t too much of a problem.

Complimentary Coleslaw and Pickled Radish

After you place your order, you get some complimentary dishes. They served us Coleslaw as well as some Pickled Radish. At first, we thought the dishes were pretty underwhelming, but once you have some beer and chicken, you will appreciate it. The sourness of the pickled radish will help you cool down from the spicy chicken.

Sapporo

With fried chicken, you have to get some beer. We ended up getting two pitchers of Sapporo for the night. Not the cheapest, but at $17, it was a reasonable price to share. I like how they provide you with beer mugs which have been put in the freezer so that your beer is kept cold.

Zabu Hot Combo (M)

We decided to share a few dishes and started off with the Zabu Hot Combo. You can choose between medium and large size. We went with the medium, and you get a mix of wings and drumsticks. These were delicious! They are spicy, but a tolerable one and great with beer. The batter is so crispy! Something about it just tastes a lot different compared to American fried chicken. The sauce makes the chicken moist, but you still get the crispiness. The meat is also kept moist and tender.

Zabu Soy Combo (L)

We also got their original Zabu Soy Combo, and we got this in large. These were also very delicious, and it had a nice sweet taste to it. A must order! It’s funny because you can also order a whole chicken… When we asked the server about it, she said they literally chop up the whole chicken and fry it…

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with Zabu Chicken. The fried chicken isn’t the cheapest, but I’ve realized that fried chicken can be quite expensive. I also liked how we were able to sit around and chat and continue drinking our beer and the servers didn’t kick us out. Cool place to chill at night!

Pros:
– Chicken is crispy and moist
– Fun, chill place to drink and hang with friends

Cons:
– Prices aren’t exactly cheap

Price Range: $15-25

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

Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 3 Overall: 3.5

Masa Japanese Restaurant

August 8, 2015August 7, 20152 Comments

Kaneda closed down a few months ago, and everyone at work was pretty happy except for StevieD. When we found that the new restaurant, Masa, took over the spot, most of us were pretty skeptical about it since we thought that it would probably be the same management team. Since your restaurant choices at lunch start to limit after you’ve tried most of the ones around work, I suggested that we should go give it a try. StevieD and E joined me on this adventure. Masa is located above Mac’s convenience store and next to Joey’s on Broadway.

When we visited, it had literally opened for less than a week or so.

We immediately noticed some changes. They kept the section dividers, but it seems like they have done some renovation on the seats and decor. The cutlery has also all changed and it looked pretty upscale, with your own tray and all. Management has also changed to what seems like a Korean owner and staff. Goodbye to the weird old school music they used to play; they now play more upbeat music.

Sushi Course

The menu has also changed quite a lot, and we all noticed that the prices were much higher than the previous Kaneda. It’s not unreasonable, but you can tell that they are trying to be a more upscale Japanese restaurant. During lunch, they have their so called “lunch courses”. All lunch courses are served with miso soup, 3 side dishes and a “special deep fry”. My 3 side dishes and special deep fry never came, but at the time I wasn’t sure if mine came with it, so I didn’t want to make a nuisance. Looking back at the menu now, my course should have came with those dishes. Well, at least my Miso Soup came… This one had lots of kelp but no tofu.

Anyways, I chose the Sushi Course, and your first choice is between a Sunomono or Salad. I chose the Sunomono, which was nicely presented and had a slice of cucumber, cherry tomato, julienne carrots, and alfalfa. The second dish was a choice of tempura or yakitori. I chose the Yakitori and it turned out to be chicken. This was pretty good with two skewers with two big chunks of meat. Nothing too special with the sauce though

Chef Special Sushi 8 pcs Roll & Nigiri

And then the wait began… We soon realized that everyone’s sushi dishes were not arriving. It was already 45 minutes into our lunch, and we were getting impatient since we wanted to get back to work. They should know that most people coming in for lunch work around the area and need quick lunch services. Well, finally after letting our server know that our food still hasn’t come yet, our sushi arrived. Mine was part of my lunch course and it had 8 pieces. Four pieces were California Rolls and the other four pieces were nigiris that the chef chose to make. This included Salmon, Tuna, Ebi, and a Smoked Salmon Oshi. The fish was much more fresh compared to Kaneda, but it didn’t blow my mind. I would be happy eating at Sushi Van for a similar or cheaper price.

Chicken Yaki Udon

E got the Chicken Yaki Udon which came with vegetables and chicken. This was quite a large plate, but I thought it lacked in ingredients. From the looks of it, it looked like it didn’t have much sauce as well. Nonetheless, E said it was okay.

Tamago Roll

E also got the Tamago Roll. This also took 45 minutes to arrive. Seems like they only have one sushi chef? But seriously…this shouldn’t take long.

Best Top 3 Roll Combo

StevieD got the Best Top 3 Roll Combo. This included California Roll, Dynamite Roll, and Spicy Tuna Roll. It was presented quite nicely and StevieD commented that they were pretty good, but he had to eat all of this in 15 minutes. He also commented that it was quite pricey for similar quality to Sushi Van.

Overall, we were quite disappointed with Masa. It’s not that the food was terrible, but it also wasn’t above average. I’m hoping that the slow service was because they just opened, but if they don’t figure that out, then they are going to have angry customers leaving. StevieD for one has already banned the restaurant it seems… I may give it another try in a few months, but with so many other options around town, it may not be for a while that I return.

Pros:
– Decent eats
– Ambiance has been upgraded compared to previous owners

Cons:
– Service was extremely slow (perhaps they just opened)
– Slightly pricey for the quality of food

Price Range: $10-20

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

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

Save On Meats

August 7, 2015August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Save On Meats has been on my list of “to try” restaurants ever since it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. So when K suggested we give it a try, I was excited to see what it’s all about. What’s cool is that the building was actually built in 1891, so it has over 100 years of history! You cannot miss this building driving down Hastings because you’ll see the neon pig sign. Save On Meats also has a butcher shop next to the diner, so you can conveniently head over there for some fresh and local meats.

You can see that the interior has that retro old diner feel to it, but the seats and tables were well kept and clean. Funny paintings and signs decorate the walls of the diner.

Coffee SOM Milkshake

SOM is famous for their milkshakes, so I decided to share the Coffee SOM Milkshake with K. It’s quite the large one and it’s great since they give you all the leftovers from making it in a metal cup. You end up getting 1 and a half cups of the shake for under $5. The milkshake is thick spun and I loved the light coffee flavour we chose. It reminded me of an iced cappuccino! There are also various other flavours you can choose from.

Real Nova Scotian Seafood Chowder, Caesar Salad

We were supposed to be here for brunch, but it ended up more like lunch as usual… Well lucky us, since they feature breakfast and brunch items until 4pm on weekends. Both of us didn’t end up going for their breakfast menu though. Instead, K went for a simple soup and salad. She had the Real Nova Scotian Seafood Chowder, which came with a cheese scone on the side. She said the chowder was not as thick as she had expected, but filled with lots of ingredients. She was thinking it would be something like canned soup, but nope, it seemed to be homemade. She also got a side of Caesar Salad which was lightly dressed and topped with croutons and Parmesan.

Shepherd’s Pie

For myself, I was feeling like it was a pie day. I chose the Shepherd’s Pie, which showed up on a skillet with a side of green salad. I was slightly disappointed at first because I was expecting a pie, but this was rather deconstructed. Nevertheless, it actually tasted pretty good. There was a mixture of ground beef and vegetable stew and it was topped with a cheesy mashed potato crumble. It was very simple and probably something very easy to reconstruct at home but tasty.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Save On Meats. You will find simple diner food here – nothing extravagant or fancy. I wouldn’t say it blew my mind, but I don’t think I was expecting much anyways. Prices are kept low and probably the most expensive item is roughly $12. Plus, I think what makes SOM very special and worth a visit is that they are a strong supporter of the Downtown Eastside community and partner with various organizations in giving back to those in need. They also have a token program where you can purchase a token for $2.25 and this will allow you to redeem a Breakfast Sandwich. You can either distribute this yourself or have SOM do so. A great way to help those in needs and I personally think it’s a better way than donating money. Definitely a cool place to check out!

Pros:
– Cool retro ambiance
– Cheap simple food

Cons:
– Service was a bit slow at times

Price Range: $5-15

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

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

Every Day is a Food Day

Tag: food

Tacofino Taco Bar

Amsterdam Cafe Pub

MoMa Contemporary Bistro

Sushi House (revisit)

Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant – ChineseBites Media Event

Zabu Chicken

Masa Japanese Restaurant

Save On Meats