a little bit about travel, a little bit about food, a lot of everything in between; as seen, tasted and experienced by different points of view..
I’ve been trying to find out the name of this place but it’s all in Chinese characters so I don’t know, I guess I will just have to call it that Taiwanese Noodle place near Green Basil in front of Metrotown, really long name but …
I was craving for Filipino food so I jogged five blocks and went to this local carenderia to try their kare kare and kaldereta. I think it’s been at least eight months since I last went to this place, and I only went just to …
Just before we watched Sherlock Holmes, we decided to grab a quick dinner at Sui Sha Ya. I think the only striking thing about the place is its signage and ambience when you enter the it, makes you think you’re going to an expensive sushi place, which it actually is compared to others I’ve been to, but not really as good at all.
We chose the AYCE menu and got more than we can finish. We picked the miso soup, ebi sunonomo, kimchi, chicken teriyaki, ebi and veggie tempura, ika karaage, chicken karaage, house roll, crab cone, salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, spicy salmon sashimi, spicy tuna sashimi, unagi, tobiko, cuttlefish and grilled beef short ribs.
It was a lot, and yes there were only two of us to finish all those. I have tried a lot of AYCE sushi places and several other Japanese restaurants here but I haven’t really been to one that is owned by a Japanese. It’s usually owned by Koreans or Chinese, not that I’m complaining but wouldn’t it be more authentic if food from a certain country is actually served by people from that same region?
Anyway, nothing from the dish really stood out, I’m not sure if we should have tried one of each item on the menu but that would have been food coma and we would be falling asleep on the movie house. One thing I noticed though was that the unagi was actually twice as long as the rice ball and not as sweet as it is on other sushi places – which works for me. They were also generous with their grilled short ribs servings, one of my favorites.
Verdict:
N: 2.0/5.0 [-3 because sushi is a dime a dozen in Vancouver and this one didn’t justify its hefty price tag]
Sui Sha Ya Japanese Restaurant
4820 Kingsway, #236 Burnaby, BC
– that’s the name of the play we saw at Granville Island last Saturday. But before feeding our penchant for the arts,we went ahead and indulged at Joe Fortes, a really cozy upscale resto in downtown Vancouver with very attentive waiters. The amuse-bouche was seared …
Eclectic and inventive are two words that best describes Kiku Sushi. With the myriad of sushi places sprouting up along Kingsway from Vancouver to Burnaby, it’s easy to miss Kiku, hidden away at the RBC/London Drugs complex. What’s good about trying out hole-in-the-wall kind of …
@ White Spot. As I was cleaning up my dresser, I saw a pile of unused gift cards, remnants of my rewards for being a reliable software warrior back when I was still using my left brain. Since the rest of my place is empty, even the fridge, I decided to start using these cards to fill my also empty tummy 배고파요. No, I didn’t stew them, if that’s what you were thinking.
And so Boxing Day found me past crazy lineups at Metrotown, past Bubble Tea Time, past Jang Mo Jib, past KFC, past IHOP and finally stopping at White Spot. I have 25$ to spend so I got the works.
Just to have a comparison, I tried their Bellini which was on specials every Saturday. I loved the presentation, it was like a tower or shaved ice, with maybe .00001% alcohol, yes it was that negligible, none of my allergies came out to prove it.
For starters I got the Five Cheese Caramelized Onion Dip [A creamy blend of Asiago, Parmesan, Jack, Mozzarella and cream cheese with caramelized onions and shallots] served with fresh cooked tortilla chips. I love Nachos, I could just eat Nachos for dinner and I’d be fine, and that’s basically what I did. The dip was ok, I would be happier with guacamole and jalapenos though, but then that would not be the same menu.
My entree was the Monty Mushroom Bigger Burger [6 oz., 100% pure beef patty with Jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms, lettuce, tomato & Triple “O” sauce] I was actually looking at the New York steak but I figured that would be way out of my gift card limit, and I’m sticking on my budget, so that was out. I didn’t get to eat this burger coz I got so full with the tortilla chips and drinks so I can’t really tell if it’s good, and I’m sure it won’t be the same after spending a night in my fridge.
For desert, yes there’s room for desert even if I couldn’t even eat the burger anymore, I got the Spot Sampler [Mini versions of the White Spot Cheesecake with strawberry topping, classic Apple Cinnamon Crumble topped with vanilla ice cream and Hot Fudge Brownie topped with chocolate ice cream] The desert was not spectacular, I took one bite from each then I was done. I guess was expecting something like the bite of brownie but the hot fudge brownie with chocolate ice cream failed my expectations. The cheesecake was not sweet and not creamy either, which was just the way I like it, so plus points to that one. The apple cinnamon crumble had slivers of almonds which I didn’t really notice until I felt like I swallowed fibrous strands and my throat got itchy [allergy alert!]. I guess I wont be a fan of apple crumble for a while so I settled with the ice cream.
All in all it was an ok dinner, I might have been happier if I chose the steak though, maybe I’ll do that next time.
Verdict:
N: 3.0/5.0 [-2 because the food was mediocre and the service was slow even though the place was virtually empty, ]
White Spot
5550 Kingsway,
Burnaby, BC V5H 2G2
or at least that’s how I call it. I was invited to join a girls’ dinner out last night with L, J and F, and since my fridge only had cookies I felt it was time to go out and eat real food. They were …
and the more, the merrier, or so they say. So in an attempt to make this blog a truly global phenomenon, I’ve enlisted more contributors who I know are into food and travel, after all that’s the main theme of this site. I hope they’re …
and while waiting for PR107 to board, we decided to grab a *light* dinner while watching the Canucks beat the Capitals at the comfy couch of Koho.
For starters we got the calamari which was cooked to perfection, although a bit salty I might admit; squeezing the lemon on top did make a difference though. The ranch dip was uninspiring, but then again, I never really liked ranch to begin with. [to be updated by K]
Moving on to the entree, we thought it would be best to try the seafoods this time, just to take a break from the hefty meat-filled lunch we just had. Krissy got the maple glazed grilled salmon while I picked the seared sesame covered ahi tuna.
[to be updated by K]
I haven’t tried seared ahi tuna in my life, so I didn’t really know what to expect. My dish came with grilled mixed vegetables – broccoli, peppers and zucchini – which I thought were tasty so I finished them all before I dissected my fish. I thought the tuna was not that fresh, it had a bit of an aftertaste that I needed to drown on the fish sauce side dish before I could swallow. I researched the recipe for this dish and it calls for really fresh sashimi-grade tuna to make it perfect, so I guess this failed that requirement. My dish was salvaged by the coconut-infused steamed rice (it was good even though I don’t really eat rice) and the veggie side dish (which was my favorite). [to be updated by K]
We didn’t really have room for dessert anymore, (there’s no topping the bite of brownie I had for lunch) and K still had to organize her luggage, so we skipped the sweets and headed out. [to be updated by K]
Verdict:
N: 2.5/5.0 [-2.5 because I thought the ahi wasn’t fresh but plus points for service because the waitress moved the TV so we could see the Canucks game]
K: [to be updated by K]
Koho Restaurant and Bar
Level 3, International Departures
YVR, Vancouver, BC
is Moxie’s Classic Grill. “Let It Snow” was blasting from the restaurant’s speakers as we walked up the stairs to the dining area, I do hope it would snow, I like waking up to a white Christmas. The server led us to good seats, right …
Don’t we just love this part – the telling of how stuff came to be, the reasons behind the conception of things, the how’s, the why’s, the when’s? Well it’s always interesting to know the once-upon-a-time, after all everything has a beginning, just like this …