October 2008

Motomachi Shokudo
740 Denman St, Vancouver

It was just a matter of time I visit Momotachi Shokudo, the third ramen shop near the corner of Robson and Denman, the two others being Benkei and Kintaro. Although I already had plans to go there, the cool weather in the last couple of days expedited that…

An odd picture of the table – in the background and out of focus, the kitchen.

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When I wrote about Ferran Adrià and his opinion about McDonald’s, in addition to the places i listed where I could get a meal for less than CAD $5, there was one I did not mention on purpose. This place is Kent’s Kitchen.

Why I did not include it? Although I am not sure, I think the fact I feel slightly guilty about coming here has something to do. So, what is so particular about Kent’s Kitchen? First, is its location: they have two and the one I visit the most is located in Chinatown Vancouver. Second, is the cost. For $4.50, you get steamed rice and two “toppings” (that is, different sides to go with the rice; although some will cost extra $1.25). You could get fried rice, noodles or sticky rice rather than steamed rice but that cost extra. And we are not talking small portions…. Here is, for example what I had on the weekend:

A takeout order from Kent’s Kitchen

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Thomas Haas
Unit 128, 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver

When restaurateurs name their businesses, I always wonder what is behind the name. For example, if you hear Popeye’s, to those who have watched the comics, the first reaction would be a sailor and, as a result, seafood. However, that is as far from the truth, it is actually a fried chicken chain and the name is from a character name Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. (However, it seems they licenced Popeye the Sailor to use it as mascot for some time).

When restaurateurs name their business after themselves, I wonder if they know what they are doing. No, it is not about being selfish or egotist. Rather the risk they take if something happens to their business. For example, chef Rob Feenie with the defunct Feenie’s. So, when Thomas Haas named his shop after himself, I would believe he knows what he is doing… With that in mind, I visited his chocolate shop.

The shop inside – facing the stands

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DeDutch
Several locations across Metro Vancouver.

Unlike a lot of people, I almost never skip breakfast. About the only reason I do so would be if I wake up really late (read: after 9:00 a.m., which almost never happen). And, if by any chance that happens, most probably it will be a brunch. As for the breakfast itself, more often than not it is cereal + milk/yoghurt + some fruit (banana, blueberry, et al). Being a long weekend, I decided to do something different, in this case, DeDutch.

Actually, this is the back-entrace from the Burnaby location.

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I think this is the weirdest blog title so far but…

After having pizza the other day, I decided to take a stroll before taking the SkyTrain home. While walking north towards Gastown and I remembered a small cookie shop in Harbour Center. The name of this shop is Cookies of Course.

It was already late in the afternoon so, as expected, most of their goods were already sold. Still, I managed to secure a couple of cookies:

Their price structure is a bit weird for cookies. Instead of a flat price per cookie, they charge $1.98 per 100 grams. In other words, they weight your cookie and charge depending on its mass. If it is something like a salad bar or U-Grill (where you get charged by “weight” of what you pick up for yourself), that’s fine but cookies? I mean, can I have half a cookie? Anyway, they do list a cookie usually ends up costing $1.00 each (so ~50 grams per cookie). If that is the case, I was a bit unhappy when the cookies I was given were around 45g each (on average) and was charge $1.00 anyway. It is not me being cheap (most probably the change to the nearest dollar would have ended up in the tip jar) but the fact they were not honest about it. NOT a happy customer here.

Now, let’s being objective and comment about the cookies themselves. First, I think this was the white chocolate chip:

I broke it in the middle so you could see the center of the cookie itself. To those who prefer crunchy cookies, unfortunately, I will have to say these are chewy and though not too moist. However, it is possible because they have been there for the whole day. Unlike some other chocolate cookies I have had, at least they have a chocolate-y taste.

The second cookie was an oatmeal raisin cookie:

I mentioned above the cookies are chewy; however, in my personal opinion, oatmeal raisin has to be chewy… extremely chewy. In this case, it was not chewy enough. Ouch.

Overall, the cookies are better than some other places. Might try it again if I am in the area; however, will do so with some hesitation based on what happened with how they charged me for the cookies…