Kin Resto Bar

April 26, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Hand-made Lotus & Taro Chips – spiced soft tofu dip

Spicy Tofu & Mushroom – garlic honey, chili & soy sauce

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken – vermicelli noodles & herbs

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged, but I’m back! Exams are finally over and now I have two more weeks of summer until summer school starts again… Anyways! Finally got a chance to try Kin Resto Bar after seeing it probably a year ago while wandering around in downtown Vancouver. At first, Steph and I thought it was a restaurant with Caucasian food, but looking closer, we realized it was a Vietnamese restaurant that was of higher class I guess. Not the typical pho places where there’s mediocre decor and service. I think Kin used to be called Chau, and I overheard a customer speaking with the manager, and said that he just became the new manager recently. I love the brick walls on one side of the restaurant, giving a really vintage feeling to it.

We first got the Hand-made Lotus & Taro Chips which were really delicious! I especially liked the lotus chips. The sauce was a little spicy but really light and flavourful. It was also a great portion for $6. Next we got the Spicy Tofu & Mushroom. I thought it was really spicy after a few bites and had to drink lots of water! But the spice was a good spice. It made everything come together and the honey evened out the spice. Lastly, we got the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken. At first, I thought they had given us BBQ Pork at first since I hadn’t seen lemongrass chicken that was red before. The ones I always got at pho places were a light yellow colour. But when I tasted it, it was totally lemongrass! Weird. The chicken was very tender and easy to bite and worked well with the vermicelli at the bottom. I love how all the dishes are so different from traditional pho places, and they have a different flare to it. Service was also prompt and friendly. A great place to go to if you are around the Robson area and want some Vietnamese fusion food.

Soirette Macarons & Tea

April 7, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Tried all 21 flavours with a double for matcha, lavender and rocher 🙂

Rocher

Lavender Earl Grey Tea

Lavender Earl Grey Latte

Bought another box home 🙂

Matcha Macaron

Soirette Macarons & Tea has been so talked about around Vancouver as one of the newest and top macaron shop in town! I had it on my wishlist on Urbanspoon and can definitely check that off now! And yes, I’ve got to agree with all those bloggers out there. It seems like they have the largest selection of macarons, and they are really specialized in them, as they only sell a few desserts on the side. I got a sneak peak in the kitchen when I was on my way to the bathroom and also saw the owner of the shop. Pretty cool! Soirette is located near the Coal Harbour area, and the store is furnished so that it feels extremely clean and bright. Everything is white and modern, and the colours of the macarons totally steal the spotlight. It can seat around 10 people max, but many people get them to go.

Seeing all those different flavours, my friends and I wanted to try all of them, and we ended up getting all 21 flavours and cutting them into quarters! Yes, quite small pieces, but I don’t think we would’ve been able to finish all 21 individually on our own… The 21 flavours included: Matcha, Lavender, Cappucino, Rocher, Chocolate, White Truffle, Raspberry, Passion Fruit, Black Rose, Vanilla, Guinness, Orange Blossom, Malibu, Pistachio, Earl Grey, Violette, Maple, Lemon, Pink Peppercorn, Jasmine, Rose, and Caramel. So let me tell you which ones really caught my attention, and which ones I disliked! I left with another box of 6, so let me tell you which were my top 6! In order beginning with my favourite would be: Matcha, Lavender, Rocher, Pistachio, Cappuccino, Raspberry, Chocolate. Matcha is one of my favourite all-time flavours for almost anything…but I loved how this macaron had just a hint of matcha flavour and it worked really well against the white chocolate cream. Lavender surprisingly wasn’t too flowery and had just the perfect amount of flavour so it wasn’t too strong. Now let’s go on to the ones I disliked the most. Number one would have to be white truffle. The flavour was way too pungent and although it was supposed to be a savory macaron, I didn’t like it. Black Rose also had a very weird flavour to it, and pink peppercorn had a spice that I wish wasn’t paired with a macaron. Surprisingly, Passion Fruit and Vanilla really let me down. I thought they would be very original flavours, so should be quite typical, but I found Passion Fruit to be too sour, and Vanilla to be really bland and lacking even vanilla flavour. Both beverages were also very good with a lovely hint of lavender that I loved! Overall, this is the place to be if you want to try the most talked about macarons in Vancouver!

Macarons are $2 each, or you can purchase them in boxes of 6 or 12 at a discount.

Mom’s Grilled Cheese

February 28, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Mom’s Classic: Marbled Rye with Havarti and Double Smoked Bacon
2 Shots of Roasted Tomato Soup – topped with basil mascarpone
Pineapple Pop Shoppe Pop

Sunny day in Vancouver the other day! Okay actually, weather has been acting weird here, with hail and snow in end of February… but this was before that crazy weekend happened…So it was actually a nice sunny day, but windy and cold! Decided to head downtown to try out Mom’s Grilled Cheese! I have heard such great things about them, and who can resist grilled cheese sandwiches… I can just never get them cooked perfectly at home! Did a little google mapping, and realized that it was so close to Pacific Center! I guess I just never walk on that side of the street normally! We approached the truck with a lot of people surrounding it waiting for their food. Apparently, they are only open on weekdays during lunch hours. Steph and I shared a Mom’s Classic, where we got to choose our choice of bread and cheese. We chose the Marbled Rye with Havarti, and added $1.50 for some Double Smoked Bacon! Mmmm, mouths were already watering with the aroma coming from the truck! While we were waiting in the freezing cold, we saw other customers buying shots of Roasted Tomato Soup, and thought it would be a great idea to warm up! Good choice because it was so delicious!!! I’m not sure if it’s just because I was freezing cold, but the basil mascarpone topped on the soup made everything so much better! We waited for probably 5 minutes or more til our food came since there were a lot of people ahead of us, but when it got to ours, they had forgot to put bacon in ours. They however, quickly apologized and redid our sandwich. Something about their friendliness didn’t make me mad about the wait though. It seemed like they had regular customers as they knew each others names, and everything seemed so personalized when they presented your food with your name. They seemed like such fun and friendly people to talk to, and they even joked with customers that they are always illegally parked here, and to look out for the cops… I don’t know if they were joking or what, but they gave me a good laugh. We went back to Pacific Center to eat since it was freezing cold, and yum! It was so good! They also came with two pickles, and potato chips at the bottom that had the Ms. Vickie’s texture, but I think they are homemade. Also tried the Pineapple Pop Shoppe, which was actually pretty good! Reminded me of Jones Soda, with the colour and cool, vintage looking bottle. Really fizzy though, and probably not the healthiest thing. I will definitely be back for some Mom’s Grilled Cheese! I just wish they opened during the weekends!

True Confections

February 18, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Love their little quote on the side of the box! “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First”

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut

Chocolate cake, chocolate hazelnut filling and Frangelico

I have to say, I have some of the best friends out there! So sweet of them to drop off some cake for me after a tiring day. I’ve always wanted to try True Confections, but never got the chance to! They got a me a slice of Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cake that was huge! The slice seems thin, but it is actually so filling! It’s actually surprisingly not too sweet too! Now I really want to go there myself to try all those cakes out! Yummy!

ensemble Restaurant and Bar

February 2, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Prawn Cocktail

Black Cod with Pork Thai Broth – Bok Choy, Coriander, Chili Oil

Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio – Radish, Crisp Shallots, Rosemary Bannock

Beef Shin and Fritz – Carrot Purée, Watercress

Strawberry Soufflé

As a Top Chef fan, who got excited when we had Top Chef Canada, the discovery of ensemble Restaurant and Bar meant more excitement! Top Chef’s first Canadian winner Dale MacKay opened ensemble sometime last year in the spring, actually before Top Chef Canada was actually aired, and hearing pretty good reviews, I was excited to finally go try it out! Clearly, he did not disappoint! The Black Cod with Thai Broth had great flavour and the cod was cooked perfectly so that it was still moist. This was also top rated on his menu, and from what I remember, it was also featured on Top Chef. If you love carpaccio, the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio is a must try! It was probably my favourite dish that night. It was extremely fresh and the seasonings were great! Lastly, for dessert, the Souffle of the Day was a Strawberry Souffle, which I enjoyed a lot. Not only did it look pretty, but it was fluffy and light and I liked the hint of strawberry twist to it. It’s interesting to also note that if you go to their website, they call themselves a French Restaurant, but I have to say that the food is more like contemporary WestCoast food.

Donburiya

December 2, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Takoyaki

Chicken Karage

Curry with Pork Cutlet on Rice

I’ve always wanted to try those restaurants down Robson Street – the ones past all the shops. Their store front or ads on their windows always attract me but I’m never in the mood to eat at that time! Finally a day where I was craving some food and of course I walk past Donburiya. This chicken karage picture on their ad outside totally attracted me, and it’s actually not the first time. I remember seeing it a long time ago and wanting to try it. And aren’t I happy that ad pulled me in! The chicken karage comes in a bowl of 4 for $3.50 and are boneless. The batter isn’t very thick so it wasn’t very oily. Also decided to try the takoyaki which I have to say is one of the best I have had. And lastly, the curry with pork cutlet on rice was a great deal as it was a huge plate for only $9.25, compared to places such as Aoyama which charges around $13 for a small plate that isn’t as good as this one! The place is however very small and can probably only sit 20 people and it is more like a self serve restaurant. You pick up your own utensils, seasonings, and water. They do however bring you your food in a tray. So perhaps take out is the way to go. They are famous for their rice bowls which I saw many people eat and it looked delicious. It seemed like a lot of Japanese people were eating here too so it must be good Japanese food! Definitely going back here again!

Chicco Coffee & Dessert Bar

December 1, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Cheesecake Parfait & Green Tea Parfait

I’ve been seeing pictures of these delicious parfaits in food magazines for a long time but never really knew where Chicco was. Finally decided to search it up, and found it was on Robson St, past all the shops. A very small store, but greeted immediately with friendly employers that seemed to be Japanese. They have a variety of hot and cold drinks, cakes and other small desserts, and their famous parfaits. My friend and I decided to try the Cheesecake Parfait and Green Tea Parfait. Both have pieces of cake at the very bottom, then a layer of cornflakes, then a layer of jelly depending on the flavour, and some whipped cream along with ice cream. The cheesecake parfait came with vanilla flavoured ice cream topped with a piece of Japanese soft cheesecake and drizzled with strawberry sauce. The green tea parfait came with green tea ice cream, red beans, mochi, and a piece of green tea sponge cake. Definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

November 8, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Miso Ramen

Always hearing fabulous stories about Santouka for their delicious ramen, so finally decided to check it out. This place is always packed! Line ups, but totally worth it. The soup base is delicious and is said to be one of the best authentic ramen restaurants in Vancouver. Kintaro is my other favourite. Prices are on the higher end for ramen compared to other restaurants, but quality is what it’s famous for! So definitely worth it!