C-Lovers (Pine Tree)
Several locations
108-2991 Lougheed Highway (location visited)

It is funny that, while this region is collectively called Metro Vancouver, everything is focused in Vancouver itself, specially the areas I call the “well known” ones, i.e., Downtown, Gastown, Yaletown, Kitsilano and so on. However, we know there are things around if you know where to look. Such was the case some days before the holidays when I was looking for a new camera bag (the old one was pretty beat up) and a local shop had a suitable one. But it wasn’t available in their Vancouver location. Looking at their other ones, I found out their Richmond location had it… But in a really odd colour: green. Nothing wrong with green but too… Flashy? However, I found out their Coquitlam location had it so a drive to Coquitlam was! Of course, it was way after work which meant early night and also meant… Food!!! The interesting thing is that there were several places I wanted to go but could only go to one. There was Matoi Sushi (not sure if related to the Matoi Sushi in Downtown Vancouver), Chada Thai (which is supposed to be a good Thai places, though not certain it would have been a good idea to go by myself) and some Vietnamese restaurants like Pho Huy and Pho 99. However, I wanted something “different” and that ended up being, out of all things, fish and chips in the form of C-Lovers (and that is despite it is a chain with several locations!).

Given it was so closed to the holidays, I wasn’t surprised it wasn’t packed fulled (but, then again, it was getting late as well). And, in an odd way, I have to let this one out: Finally, a restaurant where half of the staff and/or customers is NOT Asian! I know this is a strange statement but, let’s face it, in Vancouver, the Asian population is so large and, as a result, restaurateurs and restaurants cater to it. But, despite I am Asian myself, you NEED a break from it. Visiting C-Lovers provided that break! But, back to the restaurant…

I started off with their seafood chowder (or “C-Food” chowder, as they call it). OK, this is not a clam chowder so there is no point on drawing comparison to, say, a creamy New England clam chowder or a tomato-ey Manhattan clam chowder. But, as a seafood soup, this was quite good, though, there was one detail I wish it had: more other form of seafood aside from the fish. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this and could have had a couple of bowls of this.

Of course, going to a fish and chips shop also means I should have some fish and chips! In this case, I went for their fish platter which has 3 prawns, 2 oysters, 1 piece of fish (in this case, cod), fries (ok, ok, chips!) and coleslaw. While I have a preference for vinegar-y coleslaw, this one was creamy but it worked fine. The fries could have been seasoned a bit better but, then again, that’s why you have salt and pepper on the side. On, on that note, notice the picture does not contain tartar sauce. That’s because, similar to Cockney King’s, it is in a squeezable bottle. On that note, unlike Cockney King’s, the one here was stored in the fridge and brought at the table upon request.

As for the shrimp, it was what you would expect from fried shrimp, though I wish it had a bit more “snap”. As for the oyster, some would say they prefer raw; however, I doubt this is a place where this would be served so fried it was. As for the final product, well, I won’t complain, it is what it is, though, again, won’t complain if I were to eat it this way. Finally, the cod… OK, one thing that had me confused at first was the size. Specifically, rather than a filet, it was a long piece. I wonder how that happened… Also, I am sure you would have noticed by now: the batter seems to be quite “yellow”. I wonder if they used some turmeric in the mix. Regardless, the piece itself… Well, it has the same “complain” I have with most fish and chips places: the fish is too lightly seasoned for my liking hence it desperately needed help from the tartar sauce. Regardless, one thing I will have to give them credit: The batter wasn’t as thick as some other places I have been to, so, kudos for that.

In the end, I thought it ended up being a good alternative for me. However, the major problem will be its location (or other locations). Given it is not necessarily near, in the meantime, if I want fish and chips, I will have to look for alternatives but, if that’s what I want and I am in the area, that will work for me. Oh, on that note, if you *really* want fish and chips, they have all-you-can-eat on some days/times of the day…

Chronic Tacos
382 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Here I go again, to another taco shop. Somehow it has become such a popular dish there is a need to open yet-another-location. OK, OK, Chronic Tacos an American import is not necessarily new(est) kid on the block, not to mention they sell other tex-mex fare (like burrito) but, lately, I think I have seen one too many places selling tacos popping here and there (namely, Cartel Taco and Arturo’s Mexican To Go). Of course, while some taco shop are “traditional” (as in La Taqueria and Doña Cata) others add that dread “fusion” twist, like Roaming Dragon and Cartel Taco, Chronic Tacos does not hide one fact: it is not necessarily meant to be authentic Mexican fare, rather the Californian iteration, based on the original version. With that in mind…

Ambiance is not something that I mention often but, in the case of Chronic Tacos, I have to do so: It is not a restaurant in the same veins as, again, Doña Cata or La Taqueria. Instead, think a sports bar, with an actual bar. Something like this:

On my first visit (yes, I went there more than once), it was pretty quiet mainly because there was nothing sport-y going on. However, on my second visit, it was a Sunday around noon and the place was over half full by sport jocks (read: NFL Sunday). With over six big screen TVs showing different games, I am not sure how they were keeping track of which game or what but, every couple of minutes, I could hear them yell and shout. As a note, I used to watch NFL as well as NBA but there are reasons I no longer do so… Anyway, I am not here to watch games but something more important: the food.

In a quasi-built your own combo scheme, you can add a drink and chips (with salsa) for an additional charge. Just for kicks, I ordered it with my order and… Well, I have had worst. While this can be considered free in Doña Cata (but not in La Taqueria), I felt that additional charge wasn’t worth it. The bag of chips was so large for the amount of salsa that, well, I wasn’t sure what I would have done had I finished the salsa. Otherwise, it is something you could get from the supermarket. As for the salsa… Well, it was chopped finely and has too much liquid but, otherwise, your regular salsa.

Taco #1 (or as they call it “Fatty tacos”) was the carnitas. I will go straight to the point is that I ordered them with *everything* but the kitchen sink. After they reheat the tortillas and add the appropriate meat, in a Subway-like assembly line, you can add cheese, salsa, guacamole, onion, cilantro and cabbage. OK, purist, don’t bother bashing either me or them, it is what it is. Cheese??? Cabbage? The cabbage was bitter so, by the time I was having my second taco, I was removing it. Now, I have had raw cabbage but this one didn’t work for me. And cheese… I won’t have mind something on the line of queso fresco just that cheddar here… No…

But, as for the taco itself – or the pork meat here – actually, the meat was quite “juicy”, in the sense there was still a lot of liquid, though the fact it was submerged in it before scooping and putting on top of the taco had a lot to do. Overall, it was messy but will have to admit the pork wasn’t that bad (as in have had worst, not that it is necessarily good).

Taco #2 is al pastor; however, the meat resembled more ground meat than meat sliced from a spit. As for the taste… Nah, it was lightly spiced but nothing special. Sorry, the description is a bit lacking because the carnitas was better than this that I just didn’t care much.

Normally, I would have stomach to eat at least three if it wasn’t for one interesting detail: At $3.29, these can be considered expensive out of the gate; however, it is also slightly larger than the one of the other taco shops. So, because I could only taste that many, I went back for a second visit to try more tacos (yeah, shame on me…)

Taco #3 is a fried taco, with the filling being a potato. OK, what happens here is that they wrapped the cooked potato with the tortilla, chill it and, when requested, throw it to the fryer. After it is out, it is “opened” and dressed with the fillings mentioned above. Now, I learned from my initial visit so I skipped some toppings, namely the cheese and the cabbage, as I thought they didn’t add much, if anything at all.

As for this one… Well, it was crispy but was a mess to eat. That’s because, after it was “opened” to fill it up, it sort of “broke” the taco at the bottom. Given it is not flexible, it “felt” down when I tried to lift it. The potato filling was interesting in the sense it was soft to contrast the crispy texture of the outside. But, past that, nah.

Taco #4 is fish, grilled version. They also have fried but I chose this one instead for one reason: It goes on the lines of the Baja California taco de pescado (literally fish taco). In addition to the same toppings as mentioned previously, they added some “Baja sauce”, which was slightly tangy and sweet sour-cream-like sauce. It was a good thing they added it because, while you could see the fish was there, you couldn’t really taste it or even “feel” it and the Baja sauce is what made the taco. Now, it isn’t that the fish was bad; rather because of the soft flesh of the fish used, it couldn’t stand to the texture of the rest of the components.

Finally, taco #5 which is the shrimp, battered version. A comparison point would be the one I had at El Centro. So, how do these compare? On one side, there were several small shrimps here but the batter wasn’t as seasoned compared to the one in at El Centro. Unfortunately, because it wasn’t too seasoned, it didn’t translate too well in the final product and, similar to the fish taco, it had to rely a bit too much in the Baja sauce again.

Overall, I initially thought it was sub par, in some cases, par at best, compared to those mentioned above. However, it hit me: probably I am not making a fair comparison. Given this is an American chain, why should I try to compare it to more “traditional” Mexican establishments? If I use that fact as a starting point instead, plus the fact it is a sports bar, I will give them some credit: you could just go there to have some tacos, burritos, burritos bowl or similar fare and hang out to watch a game. However, I am not that market and I have had better food so, to me, it is a pass.

The Reef
4172 Main Street
1018 Commercial Drive (location visited)
Vancouver, BC

On Monday’s post of Luda, I made reference to a failed initial attempt. What I did not mention was that, to salvage this epic fail, Sherman and I were mulling about what to do next. In our cases, we were drawing blank until Sherman suggested we drive to Commercial Drive and go from there. We did and, even then, we were walking around and, for each suggestion, it was either me been there previously, Sherman been there previously or too shady for Rich Guy. Well, to badly misquote Sherman, there is a reason why he is “Rich Guy”, right? Fortunately, in our group was Viv also and, at least, she was the voice of reason when she gave sort of an ultimatum: establish up to what block to walk.

In the end, we ended up turning back and let Rich Guy decide: Britannia Sushi (which none of us have been but wasn’t too enticing at that moment) or, its next door neighbour, The Reef. While both Sherman and I have been to The Reef (my previous post here), we weren’t there for dinner so we opened to that possibility.

Update: Sherman’s post here. And, just for kicks, Elaine post here as well!

After we sat it in and the menu given to us, that argument of dishes to order and what not began. Hey, we want to cover all the basis, you know! Eventually, we decided on the dishes and, in-lieu of complimentary bread, we were given these:

Johnnycakes or journey cakes or whichever iteration you want to use. At first I was confused why Sherman called it as such but that’s because I am more used to the flat version. But, past that initial confusion, I thought it was quite a good substitution for bread. It had a denser consistency compared to fluffy bread and the honey (?) coconut butter was a great compliment to it. The only danger of these is that it could end up quite filling, specially if you start drinking a lot of liquid. One per person? Good way to start.

We ordered some appetizers, starting off with plantain chips. For the most part, these were good; however, from personal preference, I would have preferred them crispier. That’s nitpicking though. We were debating about the dipping sauce and what was in it but, in the end, we just agreed that it was good!

We ordered two patties: a beef version and a vegetarian version. From visuals alone, it would have been quite difficult to tell one from the other. In fact, even from the texture perspective, they were about the same. When we got the second one (the supposedly vegetarian one), we kept mulling if they made a mistake. But, after a while, given the amount of spices and small texture differences (this pointed out by Viv), we concluded the second one had to be the veggie one. As for the crust, it was flaky, thick in some parts, slightly overcooked but, otherwise, good.

Moving to the main, here is Rich Guy’s: jerk chicken. I only taste a piece of the chicken (white meat, in this case) and it was actually quite moist. It was good but not sure if I would order it… Now, not for that reason; instead, it is because of the other dishes.

In my case, ackee and saltfish, that stereotypical Caribbean dish. And, while the name would suggest this to be a salty dish, it ain’t. Aside for the dried fish texture (think a tougher, flaky version of canned tuna), for the most part, it had a slightly fruity taste (difficult to describe, though). Would I order this again? Certainly but, unlike the jerk, there might be a bit of acquired taste for this dish so, some people might not necessarily appreciate it.

Viv’s dish: oxtail. Sorry about this picture: I didn’t try to take a second picture as Sherman and I were blinding Viv a little bit. This dish was both a winner and a loser. The meat was tender; however, it was also well seasoned – Probably a bit too seasoned. So, while it was good for me, to Viv, she thought it was a bit too salty, and depending on your tolerance, it might be the case. However, it might also be the broth at the bottom, as the rice soaked it.

Finally, Sherman’s dish: lamb, served with mashed potatoes. The lamb itself was OK, though Sherman did make mention it was slightly overcooked. The mash potatoes, on the other hand, was quite well seasoned. We were guessing if they used milk, cream or buttermilk, as it had a unique taste. However, what really made it was the curry-like sauce served with the lamb. Its coconut-y taste gave an additional, unique layer of flavour to the mash.

One part I didn’t really make reference was the rice and beans and the sides. For the most part, it worked quite well for me, as it is something I grew up eating. Now, I could say they could have used coconut water/milk to prepare it but, nah, that, again, would be nitpicking.

Before hitting my last thoughts about The Reef, there were two instances during our dinner that I have to make mention: First, it was the vegetarian patty. While we ordered the patties together, the vegetarian one came a couple of minutes later (~9 minutes). According to them, the original order was overdone so, rather than serving it that way, they decided to make a second one. Something similar happened with Sherman’s lamb: It seems there was a mix-up and, rather than making us wait for having that ordered re-fired, they served the remaining dishes (~17 minutes after the second patty) and, to make up, they served an additional plate of the oxtail. At this point, we were wondering if all this extra service was due to the fact of both Sherman and I taking pictures (with flash, I must mention). I mean, some of the dishes, namely the lamb, is not something you can re-cook in 15 or so minutes! (On that note, the oxtail plate came ~10 minutes after the other dishes were served). So, let me put it this way: Were they trying to sway us with extra service/food? I can’t help but help but wonder considering all the dishes require a lot of heads up preparation (stewing the oxtail, soak the saltfish, braise the lamb and so on).

But, putting that aside, I thought the food was actually good. Of course, I can’t help but wonder how much of this might be due to what was mentioned above. So, think of it as a good but with a small caveat…

Cardero’s
1583 Coal Harbour Quay
Vancouver, BC

At the company I worked for, there are some “interesting” practices. For new employees, there is one that particularly stand out. Rather than throwing you into the fray, you are assigned a “buddy”. When three new employees joined at the same time, I “volunteered” to be one. Part of the reason was that I had just been assigned a long project which side effects include me to be “grounded” for the rest of the year. So why not! Now, there is a follow-up unwritten policy: you are entitled to two “free” lunches – one of them when you join. You can guess which is the other one! So, given I had “seniority”, I was assigned to the task of organizing this lunch. I wonder… Anyway, between the buddies we argue back and forth as to where and, in the end, we chose a “safe” place, which ended up being Cardero’s.

I will admit I have been to this place in the past; however, the experience was barely OK. It just that it falls in the category of places with a great view (which nobody will deny, as it is located in a marina), decent wait staff (unlike, say, Earl’s or Moxie’s, for the most part, they seem professionally dressed) but too standarised food with a slightly over the top price (heck, I didn’t even foot the bill in the previous instances!). Given that I would have five other not-necessarily-consenting-volunteers, things might be slightly easier, i.e., is it only my thought or they would also have a similar line of thought? Anyway, after we made our order, we got this basket of bread.

I will have to give them some credit here: the bread felt as if it was recently taken out of the oven so, from that perspective, it was good. What wasn’t necessarily good was that it was almost plain, i.e., without any outstanding qualities of its own. Depending on your perspective, it can be either good or bad. Since it was “complimentary”, I won’t put too much emphasis here.

Since all the new guys wasn’t sure of the “rules”, they were slightly shy of what to order (well, not really, more details below) and ordered only entrees. In my case, I sort of knew better and decided to order some mussels to share – lemongrass coconut curry sauce, julienne Asian herbs. What I didn’t ask, though, was whether they like shellfish or not. As a result, some of them only tried a morsel. Well, more for those who do eat mussels!

Notice these mussels are quite plump. From what I was explained long time ago, when you see them like this, chances are these are Pacific mussels: if you see them smaller, chances are they are Atlantic. True or not, I will repeat myself: they were quite plump. The broth was OK: While I could taste some of the lemongrass, I can’t say I tasted much of the coconut. As a result, it wa average with some high notes and low notes.

OK, here are some differences between me and Sherman when we go with his colleagues or sports team for a meal: He has them “trained” already to the point they always end up ordering different dishes. Alas, that didn’t really happen to me. In this case, almost all of them ordered steaks in different forms (all over $20) – after one of the other senior people went for the steak! However, unless you actually bite into it, from visuals, you might not tell some of them apart. Anyway, from what was reported, it was OK, nothing that would set them above that of other steaks at a similar price (or even lower). Since I didn’t get to try it, I won’t say anything else. That brings the question of what did I order?

Since it was salmon season, I went for exactly that – baked salmon. Funny enough, this place is about the same price as the steaks (if not slightly more, depending on which steak)! The salmon was decent; however, I thought the piece was a bit small for its price, specially during salmon season. OK, I will give them the benefit of doubt it might be caught in different ways which leads to a higher price but I still can’t shake away those thoughts… Once again, it was just OK, nothing extraordinary. The sides were decently cooked but almost average and predictive.

In the end, what I thought originally about Cardero’s didn’t change much after this visit. Again, not a place I would visit by myself, due to what was offered for the price – a sentiment that was shared by everybody. However, I won’t be surprised if some others would like it. Just not me.

New West Fish & Chips
413 6th Street
New Westminster, BC

Anny’s Dairy Bar
722 Sixth Street
New Westminster, BC

Ah, here I go to New Westminster again! It is as if suddenly I have that urge to visit that part of Metro Vancouver but, hey, if you think about it, if there is people in the area, there ought to be some restaurants, right? Of course, they can be good, they can be bad, it is a matter of dropping by just to find out (or, in lieu, check blogs!). In my visit to Pattaya Thai, Sherman made mention of a fish and chips place across the street. In my case, I was up for some good old fried fish, despite I knew it might not live up to the expectations of fish I had in Panama. But, Panama is hundred of miles away so I had to live with what is available locally. In this case, that place was New West Fish & Chips. (And, oh, since you can read from the header of this post, I also dropped by Anny’s Dairy Bar!).

Upon arriving, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Customers aside, the only person in the store was at the cashier and was quite busy with another customer. At that point, I wasn’t sure how to proceed… Should I order at the cashier? Should I take a sit and the menu would be brought in? Eventually, she noticed I was there, gave me the menu and told me to take a sit. Now, one thing I noticed right away was the prices. Did time stop at this place? I mean, some single orders where ~$7 (or two can dine for $11!) with the caveat you had to order a drink, something that most people would have done anyway. But, wait, there is also an all-you-can-eat for $11! Of course, at that price, I would think portions will be small so I ended up ordering a lot of things, starting with…

Clam chowder, $1. No, no typo here! If you make an order, for an additional loonie, you could get this small cup of clam chowder. Of course, for $1, I had to keep expectations in check. It was your basic broth, some potatoes, some seafood and that is about it. Won’t say it was that great but it did what is is supposed to do.

As another “appetizer”, I went for Fried Mushroom. At just under $3, this is a large plate of battered and fried button mushroom. It is a really simple dish and I will have to admit it was quite well executed for this operation. (Oh, yeah, not that that one piece came out like that, I took a bite of that one!). I mean, the button mushroom by itself can provide some savoury tones but that is about it. However, the batter provided some complimentary taste to it in the form of salt and pepper. And, oh, some crispy crunchy notes. Yes, it was good in its own ways.

For my $7 order, I had several options… And not only fish, they also had some dinner-type items, like roast turkey, chicken, beef liver, curry chicken, roast beef, salisbury chicken, etc. etc. While I would have tried them as well, there was only one stomach and, given this is a fish and chips place, I would have ordered exactly that. In this case, the captain’s platter which had a little bit of everything, i.e., a (small) piece of fried fish, shrimp, clam and an oyster.

As mentioned, the piece of fried fish was a bit small and, despite the look of the picture above, the batter was actually cooked through. That same crispiness of the mushroom was also here as well; however, I have the odd feeling they used a different type of batter, as the batter was somewhat bland. I had to rely on lemon juice (!) as well the tartar sauce (which was borderline a ranch sauce rather than tartar). Still, it is something that I can eat without any problems. As for shrimp, it had a panko crust but the shrimp looked it was precooked prior to frying. Not necessarily good but it wasn’t bad either. The clam was more batter than clam but the clam taste was there so no complains. The oyster… Well, it had that strong oyster taste so you know what to expect. But, any shortcomings from the seafood was easily salvaged by the lemon and tartar/ranch sauce.

I will have to admit that it was better than what I thought. I mean, at those prices, you have to check your expectations in check but even better was the part that they delivered. One caveat, though. Considering this is New Westminster, don’t expect a hip ambiance. In fact, during the whole dinner, there were several tables (and take out) and I could have easily be the youngest person in the crowd… For more than 15 years… Ouch… >_<

After I was done with my meal, next was driving home. That’s until I noticed there was Anny’s Dairy Bar. I recall Jessica making previous reference to this place. So, I thought, why not! And, as you can see above, what was I was going to order was almost a no brainer…

That’s a maple twist, 100% pure Canadian maple butter on creamy soft serve ice cream. Canadian butter? It tasted almost as just pure maple syrup! And, see that piece hanging on the tip? It was like that during the whole 5 or so minutes I spent taking the pictures! It shows how the maple butter/syrup held the soft serve together. As for the taste…. Ah… If you ever had pure maple syrup by itself, it tasted almost exactly like that but, of course, it had that creamy soft serve texture. Drool… So, Jessica, you are right. This is goooooooddd.

So, another “successful” visit to New Westminster. Wonder what would be next. Greek?

Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant
703 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Alas, good things always seems to come to an end. After my trip to Panama, everything started to settle back to its usual routine, including lunch at work. In the past, PO has been my *cough*victim*cough*, I mean, partner in crime. However, for this lunch, I was able to gather another “recruit” – CN. With this “hobby” of visiting restaurants, there is always that element of expectation but also that element of discovery. So, with that in mind, we were settled for lunch. Then the usual question… Where? A couple of weeks prior, PO and I went to Le Bistro de Paris and mentioned the relationship with Ciao Bella Restaurant. So, we though “why not?”. And to Ciao Bella we went…

When we got there, we had the option to sit inside or the patio (which was partially covered). It was a bit cold but sunny at the same time so we (actually, I) chose the patio. Hey, that means better light conditions, you know! Anyway, going back and forth between different lunch options, we finally decided on our orders, just in time for…

Complimentary bread. Now, this being an Italian restaurant, I guess the expectation was olive oil and balsamic rather than butter. But, after the butter/balsamic of Tomate y Amor, well, let’s just say it would be difficult to top. At least, the bread was steaming when it arrived and replenish so, no complains about it.

CN and I both went for soup – here, minestrone soup. My expectations for this soup was low so, regardless of what was served, I won’t have complained at all. Anyway, as for what was served, there was your combination of vegetables, though one was lacking: beans. Whether this was good or bad, well, it does not really matter.

On the other hand, PO went for melanzana alla parmiggiano – baked eggplant, tomato basil sauce with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. At first we thought it was something else, namely, a lasagna (which, was what PO ordered). But, after “cutting it through”, it actually resembled a lasagna, in the sense it was layers of eggplants. As for the sauce, it was OK, though, oddly, neither too acidic or too sweet. But, the combination of cheeses made it savoury enough.

CN ordered fettuccini carbonara. In my opinion, something along with Fettucini Alfredo are dishes that years ago would have ordered but not nowadays. Too much cream, cheese and dairy! But, then again, it wasn’t me ordering it, hehehehe. I sampled one (literally) noodle and I thought it was a bit dry. However, that might be because I tasted it before CN tossed it (as part of the sauce have settled already). But, based on the noodle I tasted, it did have some heavy cream taste, something that I am sure a lot of people would like.

As mentioned above, PO went for lasagna della mama – layers of pasta, meat sauce, cheese & bechamel, mamma’s recipe. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it cut through. Had I done so, you would have seen layers of pasta and a really heavy meat sauce. How heavy? Well, there was about the same amount of pasta and meat sauce! I sampled a little bit and the “meatiness” was quite noticeable. PO managed to finish it in the end but barely so. I think PO was lethargic the rest of the afternoon…

As for me, I went for the special of the day, which was fresh BC salmon and pasta (had the option of vegetables), which came also with the minestrone soup mentioned above. I will have to admit the salmon was quite good: It was really dark orange colour to it and, best of all, some actual fish taste, not a bland piece of fish. However, the capers didn’t really add much to the salmon but, fortunately, it wasn’t too strong enough to get into the way.The penne (didn’t have option for pasta or sauce) was OK, though the sauce didn’t bind too well with the pasta. In a way, it felt too thin and, as you can see from the picture, almost a poodle of liquid.

I will have to say that I had mixed feelings towards some dishes. For example, the lasagna would be something I would definitely order, as well as the salmon (but not the pasta that came along). The fettucini carbonara not necessarily because, well, too much creaminess. However, the one saving grace overall is that the dishes weren’t that expensive. For example, CN lunch order was $10 (pasta and soup). I am not necessarily crazy about Italian food but still I have to admit this is a decent option. Would I come back? Despite those mixed feelings, I will have to admit I will.

Restaurante Mi Ranchito
Amador Causeway
Panama City, Panama

More often than not, I do not re-blog a restaurant visit. For the most part, in my experience, my follow-up visits are pretty much similar to what I experienced and blogged. However, there are times I do re-visits thanks readers suggestions. So far, most re-visits have been locally here in Vancouver – after all, I live here. However, to “break” that pattern, I returned to Mi Ranchito, I restaurant I blogged about last year! After all, locals suggest this place and, since I was with my parents’ friends, it was a good way to introduce them to local cuisine!

Now, there was a reason I wanted to come back. Last time, I did not have my SpeedLight yet and the pictures used the regular flash. The end result? They weren’t pretty pictures. This time, let’s just say I wanted to make sure they will turn out better, hehehehe. Yes, while we did end up ordering similar dishes, we also ordered something else. Without further ado…

Ceviche de Corvina

Remember this picture?

Yup, now THAT is ceviche (specifically, ceviche de corvina; corvina being a fish usually found on the Pacific Ocean). Unlike the one I had in Baru Latino, you could really taste the acidity from the lime/lemon juice here and, to quote my friend, the texture was almost like that of chicken. I so wished I could find it here in Vancouver…

Dish #2 was almejas al ajillo, clams in garlic sauce. The “sauce” wasn’t only garlic based; it also had some butter and ají chombo, a hot pepper related to habañero pepper, which is one of the spiciest hot peppers around. However, there weren’t that much of the later so, it wasn’t that bad. Too bad we didn’t order a side of rice to go along with all that sauce… As for the clams, it is difficult to describe unless you have had it. Trying to compare it to local clams would be difficult but let’s just say you could taste a bit of the sea with each piece.

Moving forward, here is a dish that was also ordered last time: arañitas or squid tentacles. It is fried stuff, what else do you need me to say!

Patacón, or fried, smashed and refried green plantain. Remember I ordered something similar in Delicias de Alicia? This is the way I am used to eating. Needless to say, these were still warm (read: freshly fried). The only “issue” was that they didn’t add some salt as soon as they got out of the fryer.

Calamar al Ajillo – squid in garlic sauce. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the sauce in the clams dish, except it didn’t have the ají chombo, hence it wasn’t spicy. The squid itself was cooked tender so no complains. We had options of one side and we (actually, it was I!) chose yuca, aka, cassava.

In addition to the portion that comes with the squid order, I ordered a second serving. To those who have never had yuca, I will highly suggest you give this a try. It has a starchier, dryer texture compared to regular fries. Unlike fries were a lot of times you need catsup, mayo or mustard, you can have this as is. Yes, it has some unique taste of its own.

Finally, the cost of the meal. Notice one thing: tips were included in the final bill, something that a lot of us are against. At least, for Canadian standards, it is fine – it was 10% (it is the $3.43 line item in the bill above). Given that I have come back, it is needless to say I won’t hesitate to go one more time, next time I am in Panama City. So, if you happen to be a traveller and you are in the city, try to find your way to get there. Even if it is not the food, the causeway has a great scenery. A win-win scenario.

Maple Grill
1967 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Different cultures have different standards. In my case, being born Chinese, specifically Cantonese, means there is almost no boundaries as to what I can’t eat (which helps because, as far as I know, I do not have any food allergies). However, that is not the case with other cultures, where they have some dietary restrictions. For example, in the case of Muslims, there is the concept of halal and, in the case of Jewish, the concept of kosher. In the case of halal, several middle eastern restaurants in Vancouver have the halal certified sign but, in the case of kosher, not that I could find. But, Sherman found about Maple Grill and asked the usual question… Who is up for it?

But, I wasn’t the only one who answered that call. Along was also Victoria and Karl. Darina originally also replied; unfortunately, it seems she was under the weather that day. Darina, I hope you are feeling better now!

After ordering drinks, it was a debate of what to order. Given it was four of us and the menu of entrees is somewhat limited, we thought we would be able to do a good dent to that, specially considering we would be able to order all the sides. OK, let me try that again: they have 6 entrees (appetizers, soups and sandwiches aside) and there are 8 possible sides. We could order our entrees with any two sides. In fact, you could order seconds for the sides but we chose not to do so in the end. However, we still had big plans for the food, which started with…

Rather than a single appetizer, we ordered *two* appetizers, in this case, hummus and baba ghanoush. Both were served with what seems to be whole wheat pita bread rather than plain pita bread. In both cases, they were good; however, we thought that, in general, there was something that could have been added to make it “better”. For example, the hummus was a bit chunky and some more seasoning would have helped the baba ganoush.

Did I mention something about us trying to do a heavy dent in the menu? And, since we were in a Jewish restaurant, that meant ordering also that stereotypical soup: matzo ball soup. This might be the very first I have this and… It was disappointing. From what I understand, it soup base is chicken soup. However, that chicken taste was really, really faint, almost as if it wasn’t there. As for the ball itself, again, I wasn’t sure what to expect, other. It was fluffy, yes, but devoid of much taste (let’s just say I was expecting something in it).

And, now… The entrees! Since they had six entrees and it was four of us, it was sort of a mad scramble to see who ordered what. However, being food bloggers, after we ordered the food, we ended up sharing what each of us ordered anyway… So, here are the four entrees we had!

Sherman’s Maple Salmon with saffron risotto and steamed vegetables.

Karl’s schnitzel with Schezuan chop suey and mashed potatoes.

Once again, Karl’s schnitzel, this time showing the mashed potatoes.

Victoria’s lamb chops with basmati and wild rice and Israeli salad.

My Ahi Tuna with roasted bell peppers and asparagus and rosemary potatoes.

Once again, my ahi tuna.

From a protein perspective, for the most part, they were well prepared. The schnitzel, while not extremely tender, it was crispy and cooked through. The salmon was slightly overcooked but, otherwise, it was still flaky. Victoria’s lamb chop was juicy (in fact, we thought this was the overall winner out of all dishes) and my tuna, well, it was still raw inside while seared outside. On the sides, though, the story is a bit different. most of the sides were either epic fail or just average, as in something anybody would have been able to do at home. The only exception was the Israeli salad, which had a crunch and seasoned well enough.

We were of course pondering why we thought the sides were subpar when it hit us: because of the kosher guidelines, some combinations are not allowed, namely, that of dairy and non daily. In this case, that meant, some ingredients oftenly used to flavour dishes couldn’t be used. For example, no butter in the mashed potatoes (which all of us thought was bland), instead they added herbs to make up for that lack of flavour – in this case, they added dill. Likewise, in the case of the risotto, since they are not using butter or cheese (i.e., parmigiano), it felt short.

Once we finished, the usual question came: dessert anybody? At first, we weren’t that interested but, after the waitress made some suggestion, that ended up being a snowball effect. Now, what was ordered… Well, I am not sure about it’s name. (Victoria mentioned something on the lines of “ring”). The only thing I heard was that it had poppy seeds. How much poppy seeds? Check the picture below!

There was so much poppy seeds we were wondering if we were going to get in trouble if we suddenly had a drug tests! Anyway, this was quite interesting – it felt like a flaky, soft version of a pancake. Not extremely sweet but sweet enough and the semi-silkiness of the soy ice cream complemented it.

After thinking a little bit, I won’t deny the food has qualities of its own. Price-wise, it would be almost at par to those found in regular dining restaurants. Of course, the problem is that, in some cases, the taste felt a bit short due to dietary restrictions. Given that I don’t have such restrictions, Maple Grill won’t be my first option. But, if somebody checked with me if I wanted to go there, I will put only a token resistance.

Go Fish
1505 W 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC

My next to last post associated in a way to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games! Now, don’t get me wrong, it was a blast but, alas, all good things must come to an end…

So, how this post is related in any way to the Olympics? In two ways: first, I mentioned it in my Where to Eat post and, second, after a failed visit to Atlantic Canada House (one of the few Canada exhibits I completely failed to visit), I wanted lunch and Go Fish was the option I had in mind. So, there you go, my explanation of why Go Fish! (Let’s face it, do I *really* need an explanation of why I like to eat??? )

Now, being a fish and chips shop, the choices are usually straight forward: what fish and how many pieces. Well, for the most part it was. However, in addition to their usual stuff, I wanted *something* else. I knew I was going to over order but, let’s face it, when was the last time I did not do that? Shame on me, shame on me…

So, I started off with their taco. Here are two curve balls: At $5, it is not a cheap taco. And, since I was going to order fish and chips, I decided to skip the tuna version – the one usually lauded by everybody – and went for the oyster version instead. And, if you noticed the lemon wedge on the back, no, it wasn’t intended for this taco but the fish and chips!

If I had to give a one word description of this oyster taco, that would be disappointing. There are several reasons behind it: The crunchiness of the coleslaw which killed any texture from the oyster, the small piece (almost MIA), etc. etc. Don’t get me wrong, the way the taco was setup was good (the way it is tortilla flour was grilled, how it was wrapped and so on); however, the combination of the two did not work for me. I guess I should try the tuna taco next time…

And here is what I came for, fish and chips. In this case, I went for cod (the long piece) and salmon (the “square” piece). C’mon people, you knew I wasn’t going to stop with only one version, do you? And, in addition to the “chips”, it also came with a small coleslaw and tartar sauce. Hey, I had my share of veggies that day, you know!

On the note of the coleslaw, I will have to say it was better than a lot of coleslaw I have had: It was crunchy, it wasn’t overdressed, neither creamy nor acidic and the seasoning was well balanced. There was a hint of sesame oil, something that might be too much for some. But, me being Asian, that wasn’t going to be the case, hehehehe.

As for the fries, I will give them some credit: Rather than bland, almost tasteless pieces of starch, they were actually seasoned and had some slight bite into it. See the black dots on the fries? I had some hard time trying to identify what seasoning or herbs used but it did not matter.

Finally, the fish… Unfortunately, it suffers from the same fate most fish and chip places suffer: The fish itself was not seasoned at all and relies on sauces and what not to make up for it. However, while the fish itself wasn’t seasoned, the thin, crispy batter made up for it. It was lightly seasoned and, while it wasn’t the best tartar sauce, it did provide some creaminess. But, what really heightened the fish and chips was a squirt of lemon juice, which added some acidity that the tartar sauce lacked and contrasted very well with both fish.

I know that comment about the fish might be a bit harsh, mainly because I my concept of fried fish is different from most people: namely, frying a ~20cm/8″ fish whole and stuffed with herbs. But, from a Vancouver standard, I will have to say these were quite good. If I had to compare it against my other favourite, Moby Dick, I will have to say both are comparable, with Go Fish having an edge because it does not have to rely on the tartar sauce as Moby Dick did, plus the fact they offer salmon and halibut in addition to cod. But, then again, neither one is cheap so I will leave it at that!

Betty’s Fish & Chips
4850 Imperial Street
Burnaby, BC

There are times when, for good or for bad, a restaurant close, it is cherished for what it was or simply forgotten. However, when a restaurant re-opens, one might wonder if it is in name only or it is really a spiritual reincarnation of its former self. Now, I am not talking about re-branding themselves (read: Fuel into Re-Fuel) or changing its theme (Gastropod into Maenam). We are talking about the same restaurant, same food. Something like Wally’s Burger which met its demise when its lease wasn’t renewed in its former Kingsway location but reopened last summer in Cates Park in North Vancouver. However, that new place was, in my opinion, a shadow of its former self… And then there is Betty’s Fish and Chips, an out of the way fish and chips place in Burnaby, not far from Metropolis at Metrotown, which claims to be the best fish and chips in town. If that is true, how come it closed to re-open?

Sorry, I messed up and did not take a picture of the outside… >_<

I remember seeing Betty’s Fish and Chips several times when I drove by Imperial Street; however, during our blogger’s dinner at Alvin Garden, it was replace by a sushi spot. Now, I guess, it being out of the way for most people did not work and, somehow, it bounced back as Betty’s. With the fact that I never been to the previous instance of Betty’s prior to this visit, there is no way for me to compare. Instead, this will be based on “as is” basis…

Now, getting there had its own issues and driving to the area or finding parking (they have parking in the back) were the lesser of the issues. Instead, it is their erratic hours of operation. According to a note in the entrance, they are open until 9:00 p.m. every day except Monday’s where they are not open. However, there were a lot of instances where I drove by 7:30 p.m. and they were closed already! So, one day, while driving by again and noticed they were open, I seized the opportunity.

When I walked in, there was a large party (a whole family) waiting for their order and another customer who, just like me, was about to order takeout. OK, that works for me… Since I was told it would take some time, I decided to go to a nearby gas station to fill up the tank and, when I came back, the order still wasn’t ready. Unfortunately, that is when I heard a funny sound that made me wary, as in “WTH!?”. And what sound is that? As in the one of a microwave. OK, I do not have any problems with microwaves in a kitchen: similar to some tools like mixers, blenders and so on, they have their place. The problem is that I was in a fish and chips place. I mean, what in the world can you/should you be microwaving?!

I wasn’t expecting to eat in, rather I was to take it home and take pictures there. The first oddity, if you can call it as such: Wrapped in newspaper! OK, this does not really bother me; heck, even butcher paper works for me. C’mon guys, fish and chips is, by no means, fancy dining! Anyway, in addition to the fish and chips I also chose to order two additional sides:

The coleslaw was sort of a no brainer: I wanted some vegetables and coleslaw sort of fit the bill. It was interesting in the sense it wasn’t too dressed; instead, it was almost plain, which fits me fine (again, at times, I eat salads without dressings…). As for the chowder… At the first sip I noticed some odd taste to it. No, it wasn’t bad or anything on those lines. Rather, it was a bit similar to that of canned Campbell chowder. Because of that, I had a hard time trying to “break” down the soup without stopping to think about that odd point…

Now, back to the fish and chips. I ended up ordering the seafood platter which has a piece of cod, 2 prawns, 2 oysters, 2 scallops and fries. By now, you should see something noticeable about the fish or rather, the newspaper used to wrap it. See the amount of oil?! Yes, that ended up being a constant, everything felt oily: the fish, the fries, the shrimp, the scallop… As a result, I had to bring some paper towel to try to “soak” away all that oil before eating any piece. That was quite problematic. Past that, I will admit the the batter was fried quite crispy and was seasoned.

As for the pieces of fish, the cod was really thin, almost a fillet. Hell, I thought the batter was thicker than the fish itself! The fish was mostly tasteless but the tartar sauce managed to salvage it. The prawns were odd. It felt as if it was pre-cooked prawns, battered and then fried. As a result, it lack some of the texture of fresh prawns… The oysters had a bit of that unique cooked oyster taste but, otherwise, it was OK. Finally, the scallops. I will have to admit I was a bit surprised by the size of these. It is not those small ones; instead, these were easily the size of a toonie! In all cases, the batter made some wonders and, in the cases were it did not, the tartar sauce helped.

Aside from the fact I can’t compare it against its previous incarnation, I will have to say I was quite disappointed with what was served. The oil part is something that can’t be overlooked considering you are frying stuff the whole day. Likewise, the thinness of the fish was quite distracting. I have the feeling it could have been better but they did not deliver. As a result, I will pass.