Zabu Chicken
1635 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

I might be overstating the obvious here: Restaurant business is a cuthroat business. Even more so in Vancouver where restaurants seems to come and go. Restaurateurs blame the economy, HST, drinking laws, etc. However, what they forget is that eating out is not a necessity; is a luxury. If you can’t make people come to your restaurant and generate revenue and income, probably you are doing something wrong. While I do miss some restaurants that are long gone, those empty spots are usually filled up by something else down the road. Or, in some cases, just close for a week and reinvent themselves. Fuel, in Kitsilano, for example, turned into Refuel. Am I digressing here? Maybe; however, thoughts like these came to my mind when I saw Zabu Chicken…

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Tagged as:
Chicken,
Downtown,
Korean,
Lunch,
Vancouver
Big Lou’s Butcher Shop
269 Powell Street
Vancouver, BC

“Me, too”, “Me, three!!!”. Isn’t it funny that, once somebody establish a new type of restaurant, copycats pop out as if there is no tomorrow? After Meat & Bread opened, there is Dirty Apron Deli and Big Lou’s Butcher Shop – the topic of today’s post. Well, it is not that it is bad; specially when these are different enough and/or has an unique twist. Rather, it is the fact that it does not feel… Original? Regardless, here is the question: How is the end product?

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Tagged as:
Chinatown,
Pork,
Sandwich,
Vancouver
The Beaver & Mullet Canadian Bistro
1184 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Cupcakes
1168 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

I have started to wonder… Have I blogged literally all the restaurants in Denman Street? Nah, wishful thinking! A lot of times restaurants come and go and we always play a catch up game. Of course, there are also restaurants that I haven’t visited for other reasons. For example, in that area, I haven’t been yet to Westender Korean Cafe, Vina Vietnamese, Central Bistro & Lounge, et al. Why? In some cases, because the restaurant does not entice me; in other cases, the food type does not entice me. Of course, I might be overlooking something and, if so, I will always appreciate if readers point those places out! But back to this post. On a Friday, PO and I were looking for a good eats place in Denman and we walked all the way from Robson towards English Bay and then we remembered The Beaver and Mullet Canadian Bistro (Beaver and Mullet).

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Tagged as:
Canadian,
Downtown,
Pasta,
Pastry,
Vancouver
Motomachi Shokudo
740 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Here we go again… A two months ago, I did a revisit to Kintaro (original post here). When I first visited it two years ago, it was regarded as the best in town. But, looking back, there wasn’t much to compare against. After an onslaught of ramen shop after ramen shop, with Benkei, Santouka and Sanpachi, among others, it was a question of whether it could hold itself up. Alas, it didn’t. The question is now if Motomachi Shokudo, a sister restaurant to Kintaro, in a similar way, would hold itself up or not. As usual, there is only one way to find out… A revisit!

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Tagged as:
Downtown,
Japanese,
Ramen,
Vancouver
Romer’s Burger Bar
1873 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

When I wrote my post on Delux Burger Bar (located in Edmonton), at the very end, I added a note about a place I had visited in Vancouver but, for other reasons, I didn’t write about it yet and required a revisit. As you can guess by now, that place was Romer’s Burger Bar. While I already had an idea about it prior to visiting Delux, would my additional knowledge/experience would make this a better or more complete post? Or by revisiting after Delux would provide a better perspective? Keep on reading to find out!

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Tagged as:
Burgers,
Kitsilano,
Vancouver
Hida Takayama Ramen
203 – 1610 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Wow… How long it has been? Almost a month already since my last post of Vancouver! Anyway, after I came back, it was time to check with people from right here and food that makes Vancouver sort of well know. One of those is Japanese and, among the different options, is ramen. Given I work near Robson and Denman, I have easy access to the popular ones: From Santouka to Benkei to Sanpachi. And then there are Kintaro and Motomachi Shokudo. However, in a case of “me, too!”, some smaller places have opened and today’s post is one of them: Hida Takayama Ramen, located in, out of all strange places, in the food court at Robson Market.

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Tagged as:
Downtown,
Japanese,
Lunch,
Noodles,
Vancouver
A bit over a year ago, when Tim Horton’s announced their English muffins, I jumped into the opportunity of comparing their sandwich against McDonald’s. In a funny reversal on things that have happened, recently, McDonald’s announced the return of my once-upon-a-time favourite: their buttermilk biscuits (OK, not really, more details in a moment). So, now that McD’s are back into this game, why not a second heads up battle? And, repeating what I wrote on that post over a year ago… (And borrowing that line from Iron Chef:) Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

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Tagged as:
Breakfast,
Chain Restaurant,
Sandwich