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

Pho Han Vietnamese Restaurant

August 30, 2015August 29, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve been trying to convince S that good food sometimes comes in the dingiest looking restaurants. So that’s when I tried to convince S that Pho Han might be one of them after reading some of the positive reviews on Zomato. Pho Han is located on Garden City in the same mall as Capstone and Manzo. It’s on the very corner, so you usually only see a sign pointing into the mall, but not the actual store front.

The outside already looks pretty dingy looking, but the inside is quite the same. It fits less than 20 diners at a time and is run by husband and wife. We were seated on the side next to the windows and there were bars on the windows for security. S described that it felt like he was in a prison… Anyways, first thing I noticed was that the prices had increased from what I had saw online. Previously, a small pho was only $5.99, but it was now $6.50, so quite comparable to other pho spots.

House Special Beef Noodle Soup

I chose the House Special Beef Noodle Soup and it came with rare sliced sirloin beef which were presented laying on the side of the dish. For some reason, that didn’t feel really appetizing to me, even though I eat rare beef. The bowl also came with beef flank, brisket, tendon, meatballs and tripe. The bean sprouts that came with the noodles were old and wilted. The soup itself was okay, but not mind blowing. There is definitely better pho around Richmond.

Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chop on Rice

S got the Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chop on Rice, which S complained throughout dinner. The pork chop was dry and most of it was inedible since it was either fat or too chewy. The dish also came with shredded pork, fried egg, and vegetables on rice. To be honest, the plate looked pretty sad and I felt like my parents could do a better job. S obviously was unhappy with the dish.

Overall, I guess S proved me right with Pho Han that it was dingy looking and also had poorly executed food. They also completely forgot our order of spring rolls, but we didn’t want to give it a try anyways after having our food. Service is also basically non-existent and we had to go up to pay since we weren’t able to get the attention of anyone. Still, I have yet to prove to S that there are spots with poor ambiance but delicious food.

Pros:
– 10% off on Mondays
– Pho is somewhat cheaper than other spots

Cons:
– Poor ambiance and service
– Pho is average and pork chop was poor

Price Range: $10-15

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

Food: 2 Service: 1 Ambiance: 1 Parking: 3 Overall: 2

Cook Your Life – 2015 Gateway Theatre Pacific Festival

August 26, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: I was provided two complimentary tickets to the Cook Your Life show.

I was invited by Gateway Theatre to enjoy the Cook Your Life show happening this September 17-19. Just like last year, the Gateway Theatre is bringing back the Gateway Theatre Pacific Festival, showcasing the best contemporary theatre Hong Kong has to offer. This year’s festival runs from September 3 – 26, 2015, with various different acts, including Cook Your Life, which is perfect for anyone who enjoys food!

Cook Your Life stars MayMay Chan in a hilarious solo performance, cooking live on stage as she draws insightful parallels between food and love. The show incorporates a 4-D theatre approach where the audience can see, hear, smell, and taste the experience. May is also a seasoned cook herself with her own cooking channel in Hong Kong. The show will be in Cantonese with English subtitles.

By going to watch Cook Your Life, you’ll also get to watch MeChat, which explores the delightful and not so delightful aspects of the Internet, with rising Hong Kong theatre and television star Eric Tang guiding the audience through online romance, cybersex, selfie-mania, Groupons, and the price we pay when we trade in real life for cyber-living.

Dates:

Full festival: September 3 – 26, 2015.
Cook Your Life / Me Chat: September 17 – 19 at 8pm (2hrs45min, including 15min intermission)

Ticket information:

Festival Passes: $60 (Includes one ticket to the double bill Cook Your Life / MeChat plus one ticket to Tuesdays with Morrie, and priority registration for all free events)

Individual Tickets: $40 adult; $20 student; $35 groups of 10 – 19; $30 groups of 20+

For more information, visit gatewaytheatre.com, or check out their social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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

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

Tandoori Kona

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Looking for a new place to try, MH (pictured above as he wanted to be featured) suggested I try Tandoori Kona in Richmond near Cambie and No. 5. I’ve heard great things about the restaurant, but I just never made the effort to try since it’s sort of out of the way. The restaurant doesn’t look very nice from the outside, but I was surprised that the interior is actually pretty nice and well decorated. It’s fairly small inside and on a Saturday night, we were lucky to find seats without reservations.

Vegetable Samosas

We ended up inviting MW, S and J along and that was perfect since we could try more dishes! We started off with Vegetable Samosas (although we had wanted meat samosas, but they had sold out). It came with two sauces – one being slightly spicy.

For $1.50, you get two samosas, which is a pretty good deal. The samosas were crispy on the outside and stuffed with peas, potatoes, and spices.

Lamb Vindaloo

MW suggested we try the Lamb Vindaloo. The boneless lamb is cooked in ginger, coconut, vinegar and cream mixed with potatoes. For all the curries, they will ask you how spicy and you can choose from mild, medium, or spicy. We went with medium, but I was surprised it wasn’t too spicy. MH commented that this was surprisingly very good. The lamb was tender and the sauce was a nice change from your typical masala or butter chicken.

Butter Chicken

Well we had to get the typical Butter Chicken as well. MH and MW had told me that this was very good at Tandoori Kona. The boneless chicken is marinated in their special buttery sauce, cooked in garlic ginger, and cream. Chicken was well tenderized and the sauce was creamy yet flavourful.

Naan

All the dishes came with Naan as well, which is baked in a Tandoor oven. I really liked this leavened bread because it didn’t feel oily at all! It was much different from the naan I’ve tried at other restaurants, which are usually drenched in oil. Very fluffy and perfect to pair with all that sauce!

I think you get a bowl of rice for each dish you order, so we got 4 bowls of basmati rice. Rice was fluffy and seasoned with some vegetables. The curries may look small in the bowl, but along with the naan, rice and all the cream that’s in it, you actually get really full!

Chicken Tikka

The Chicken Tikka featured boneless chicken marinated in yoghurt ginger, cooked in a Tandoor and served with butter sauce. This was slightly more spicy and the chicken was very tender. I thought the sauce was not really necessary since the chicken is already well flavoured.

Mixed Grill

We also got the Mixed Grill (I think it was called a different name on the menu), but the platter featured BBQ chicken, chicken tikka, lamb tikka, fish tikka, and was served with butter sauce. This is great if you haven’t tried a lot of their grilled dishes and want a bit of everything. I found that the fish wasn’t that great since it didn’t seem very fresh.

Overall, Tandoori Kona is definitely a hidden gem in Richmond. Prices are reasonable since Indian food is very buttery and you will get very full with the rice and naan. Good idea to come here with a small group of friends so you can share a variety of dishes. However, the restaurant is fairly small, so larger groups may need reservations.

Pros:
– Great food at reasonable prices
– Ambiance is surprisingly quite nice inside

Cons:
– Service is a bit slow (seems to be run by husband and wife)

Price Range: $15-20

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

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

McDonalds’ Great Canadian Taste Adventure

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015Leave a comment

Yes, I am extremely behind in my posts… and it has been more than a month since McDonalds’ Great Canadian Taste Adventure ended… Anyways, in June, McDonalds in Canada had a limited time offer where they promoted 5 of their Canadian menu items for each province. The big one being the McLobster, which I had been dying to try and I had made it my must try if I went to the east coast. Well, luckily we were able to try it at home here, so off we went to grab take out at the first McDonalds in Canada – the one on No.3 Road in Richmond…(who knew, right?).

McLobster

Not the most glamorous picture here, but the McLobster is their feature for the East Coast. The sandwich is a bit different here as it is in a roll, and it is filled with lobster chunks, lettuce, and a mixture of celery, lemon juice and mayonnaise. We actually had a decent amount of lobster, but I heard that others had experienced less in their lobster rolls. The lobster was actually pretty good with a nice chewy, bouncy texture to it. However, the sauce had way too much lemon juice to it and I didn’t like that celery flavour. It’s also quite pricey at $7.49 for just the sandwich and it is literally the size of my hand… More like a snack, but a pricey one.

To feature Quebec, they had the maple and Bacon Poutine.

Maple and Bacon Poutine

I’ve actually never tried their original poutines, so I was surprised when the fries used for the Maple and Bacon Poutine were the exact same fries from their original menu. The only difference is that there is bacon, cheese curds, and maple gravy on top. This was okay, with the sauce being sweet and salty at the same time. However, I’d much prefer the fries on their own. It was also quite pricey at almost $5 for a small box.