Sky is falling!!! In my last post, I wrote about Excellent Tofu & Snack, a dessert tofu shop in Richmond next to Aberdeen Centre. Going there wasn’t that much of an issue; after all, it was late night (*) and I was already in Richmond in YVR. However, the issue is going to Richmond during the day where all hell break loose!

(*) Just because it is night does not preclude from tweens driving expensive cars taking over the parking lots of most strip malls!

But, in this case, Chris, Sarah and Bin wanted to go for some Chinese eats and to Richmond it was… However, there was sort of a reason…

We arrived at Yaohan Centre and the experience I was hoping to show Chris and Company happened almost right away: The crazy Richmond drivers. See, one of the things that some of us have complained about Richmond, aside from the narrow parking spaces, is their drivers. Truth is, people there do NOT know how to drive. I am not talking about just hitting the gas or brake; people don’t know know how to maneuver nor want to walk an additional 100 metre. Instead, they would rather double park (and don’t give a damn in the process) or stop, holding all the traffic while waiting for somebody who is starting to load his/her car, rather than turn around to the next open spot. In fact, in the two trips to Richmond, I think Chris and Company saw a bit of everything. In the particular case of Yaohan, I was turning around and had the right to take a parking spot. However, a SUV speeds up trying to take that same spot. Nope, I didn’t budge! Just because you have a bigger car does not mean I will yield to you, bastard!

But back to the trip. Once in Yaohan, we went to Osaka Supermarket (aka, T&T in disguise) and then a peek at their food court. Alas, we arrived a bit too early and several of the shops there was still empty. So, we took a quick drive to the mall across the street to Aberdeen Center. First thing I had to show them? That insane turn at the entrance. To those who haven’t driven there, as soon as you enter the building (driving, of course), you have to do a sharp right turn and, less than 10 metres later, a sharp left turn which leads you to the parkade. Here is the problem: as mentioned above, people do not want to walk an additional 100 metres and, given there is only lane up and one lane down, they would hold all the cars while waiting for somebody to leave. Going to the next level? Not a chance! “Fortunately”, we were still relatively early and managed to snag a spot almost right away.

Taking them to a small tour to what this mall has to offer, we went to our intended destination: their food court. Now, I must mention that I offered to drive to Burnaby, specifically to Crystal Mall as an alternative but, I guess due to time (despite it was noon, remmeber the one hour time zone difference), we decided to look for options at the food court. So, it was Chris and Sarah, Bin by himself and I by myself, buy something and meet back in ~15 or so minutes. In the end we got…

Chris seemed to be hypnotized by the siu mei and ended up getting not one or two but *three* dishes from Leung Kee Cantonese Food, from char siu pork to rib and Chinese sausage on rice and curry. All of these came with a small soup.

On Bin’s side, he went to Cafe D’Lite Express and got an order of Hainanese Chicken with rice. To me, it was OK. For some reason, I felt there was something… Missing? Probably I didn’t scoop too much of the sauces? Maybe…

And, finally, despite people have said it has gone downhill, chicken wings from Wo Fung Dessert (my previous post here). Has it gone downhill? Well, I will have to say that, probably a bit less of that ginger marinade like taste it had in the past but still delicious in its own ways.

And here is a plate with a bit of everything.

To me this food is more on the lines of “comfort” food, not necessarily fine dining or anything on those lines. After all, hey, this is a food court! As for the food itself, aside from too much carbs/rice, I won’t necessarily call the best (for example, for pork only, I would have gone to HK BBQ Master) but, for variety and quick fix, this definitely does the job. Is this food court better than the other ones? Well, it is a hard call. Aberdeen’s have things that Yaohan does not have (Frappe Blisse) and vice-versa (congee in Yaohan). Likewise, these do not have something that Crystal Mall has (XLB at Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine) and, once again, vice-versa. In the end, it is a matter of whether you want to travel to these places, else just what is available in the closest place and enjoy what you can get. As for myself… Well, while most of the stuff here are things I can find alternatives without driving down to Richmond so unless there is a good reason, like driving out-of-town friends to visit them, I will stick with what I can find in either Vancouver or Burnaby. As for Chris’ thoughts? How about you check his post!

Oh, one another thing I really hope happened is that Chris, Sarah and Bin now know what mean when people like me and Sherman says “Richmond”! Why? Because, when leaving the parking lot, what I described about Aberdeen Centre parking lot actually happened: long line from the entrance, almost bumper to bumper. As soon as I signaled, there was a car right next to mine waiting to take my spot. At least they were using the blinkers!

Excellent Tofu & Snack
160 – 4231 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, BC

Almost two months ago, I was in Edmonton and, while there, I visited Corso 32 with Edmonton food blogger Chris, who writes Eating is the Hard Part. During our conversation at Corso 32, I briefly made mention he should visit us and, indeed, that’s what Sarah and himself did a couple of weeks ago during Family Day weekend – also Louis Riel Day as well as Islander Day, but, for us in BC, the holiday that, as of 2011, we don’t have. While it was “late” and despite they could have easily taken the Canada Line, I offered to pick them up at YVR. Why? Hey, would I leave out a chance to eat out? Of course not! Now, since they have had dinner already, I gave them the options of something “light” and that one option became Excellent Tofu & Snack.

Located in one of the several strip malls in Richmond, Excellent Tofu is just behind Aberdeen Centre. Getting there wasn’t that much of a problem. Finding a parking space was! In fact, one car was double parked. Bastard! Fortunately, as soon as I turned around, there was an opening so I grabbed it.

Due to the layout, there was no table for three (or four); instead, we just grabbed a spare chair. Once given the menu, I started tossing around the options and ended up with these three:

What are these? Dou Fu Fa, aka, silken tofu. Top down are the black glutinous rice, red beans with coconut milk and, finally, grass jelly (all of them warm). And, on the first picture, there are the two squeeze bottles with syrup: one “regular” and one with ginger. One thing I mentioned to Chris and Sarah was that these will be really plain (you might need to try really hard even with the toppings) but, despite that, they liked it! (Check Chris’ post, here!). And they liked it even more when they added some of the ginger syrup. As for me, well, I am Chinese, what do you expect?

Out of the three, I will have to say I prefer the red beans and coconut milk more than the others. Part of the reason is the coconut milk, as it gave a really light hint of nuttiness. The one requires a bit of an acquire taste is the grass jelly. By itself, other than a light herby hint, it was quite bland.

Given its hours and type of food (which you can also have to go), one can imagine why it is a popular stop for a quick stop for snack. Alas, for me, it is in Richmond so I am not necessarily in a hurry to go back. Even if I was in Richmond is the issue of parking in this tight strip mall. So, in the end, it is almost a perfect storm type condition for me to go back but, if they were met, definitely.

Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle
2800-4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, BC

I think it is somewhat commonly accepted by food bloggers in Vancouver that the larger the hype, the higher the standards by which you will be judged against. Of course, when I mean food bloggers, I am referring to those who actually go there, sit, order, eat and pay as would any customers and then write what he/she thought about it. Among my peers, I have been considered to be the biggest ba$7@rd when it comes to “criticizing”, despite I have mentioned a lot of times I don’t do reviews but, what I write, are merely experiences of my own. The funny part about this was that a dear friend told me that, lately, I have not been as bashful and harsh as in the past and have mellowed out a little bit. How true this is, I will leave it up to you; however, it might also be because I haven’t be to any of such “hyped” restaurants in a long while. Until the day I had to venture to that driving hell hole called Richmond to pick up my car, which gave me the opportunity to go to Aberdeen (which, fortunately, was somewhat empty that night) and go to one of the most hyped Chinese restaurants in a while: Chef Hung.

When it opened sometime by the end of last year, there was something that you seldom hear for the type of restaurant Chef Hung belongs to, namely a noodle house: hype. It just happens it was the first franchise of a Taiwanese chain. I myself haven’t been in Taiwan so that is not an issue to me. However, what was an issue for me was that it is located in Richmond – and in Aberdeen Centre out of all parking hell-holes. Compounded to that was the fact people were actually willing to queue up for a bowl and, to make things “worst”, there was a time limit for customers to finish and get out of there. I could have been part of that crowd but given all these factors, I chose not to go. But, given this opportunity, I thought I might as well…

As mentioned above, I was in the area in the middle of the week and there were not that many people. Walking in revealed only a handful of customers which gave me the opportunity to choose a table to sit. Of course, given there is window area, I chose to seat there to obtain as much benefit from sunlight as possible. Once done, I was opened a sheet of paper with the different options plus a small pamphlet explaining the dishes with a greater detail. This method provides a good way to make sure you are ordering what you want and not have things lost in translation. Of course, on the flip side, that’s a lot of printing and wasted paper!

I was there obviously for a bowl of noodles; however, I wanted something else. I was coin flipping between chicken nuggets, cucumber, some form of offal but, in the end, not trying to go meat overboard and carb on carb, I chose their cold mixed dry seaweed. It had a nice initial gooey-ness to it, follow bit a light crunch. I only wished it had a bit more acidity or sweetness or some strong sesame oil taste into it. However, at the same time, I was afraid that would have overpowered the dish. On its own, it is OK, not much to talk about.

So here it is, their bowl of noodles. Now, before I continue, a small note: as you can find from other fellow bloggers who have visited it, their “signature” bowl is the champion beef shank with noodle in spicy soup. I intentionally chose not to order it because, well, it has been made reference enough. Instead, I chose something more “mundane”: their champion braised beef shank, tendon & tripe with noodle in soup. Here is my reasoning: I will have to draw some comparison with some other places, namely Lao Shang Dong (aka LSD, and its offspring, The One), No 1 Beef Noodle House (and its offspring Beefy Beef Noodle) and ordering something that can’t be compared directly would be considered “cheating” in a way. So, this was the one I thought would suit better for comparison purposes. And, to make it “interesting”, I went for their flat noodles.

The first time I went to LSD, one thing that I really like was the consistency of its noodles; specifically, it had a bite plus a starchy texture when you tried to slurp it. Alas, that has sort of gone downhill since and The One didn’t really address that. This noodle brought back a little bit of that experience. So, indeed, it was good. The meats were a bit of hit and miss. There were a total of six pieces, two of each. I thought the shank pieces were cut a bit too long. Had they sliced it in three, it might have worked better from an eating perspective. The tripe and tendon had that chewy, mushy, gelatinous-like consistency so, from the perspective, it is what I expected. However, that brings the point of… How else would you make it? The broth was neutral for the most part, i.e., it was good for what it was but not crazy about it. One thing I wished was the broth to be hotter (as in temperature). Not sure if this is a one occurrence or intended but I wished they change it.

Overall, to me, it does and does not live up expectations. On the noddle side, actually it was quite good; however, I do not believe it would have been worth queueing up for. As mentioned, I thought LSD in the past would have done something similar (though not in the flat form). The rest of the soup was again a bit of hit and miss so, again, given the hype, I would have expected something more. That finally brings one point that almost everybody brought up: price. Is it worth the price? Well, my bowl was $11 so, from a perspective, it is considered expensive. However, on my visit, they were not charging HST so, in a direct comparison, it would be more on the lines of just under $10 and that might serve as an incentive. And that brings the grand question: would I go back? Hmmmmm…. Not in a hurry mainly due to compounding effects (including location). If I was closer, I might. But that would be a big “might”.

Richmond Public Market
Guang Dong Flavor Fast Food
Lu Zhi Shen
8260 Westminster Highway
Richmond, BC

Long time readers of this blog might be rubbing their eyes right now. What??? Did you just read RICHMOND?! Unfortunately, yes, I was in Richmond but not because of my own free will. What happens is that I needed to take my car to a car shop and, out of all places, the ones suggested happen to be in Richmond. Granted, I could have taken it somewhere closer to home but, when you don’t know better, I would instead rely on suggestions. (On that note, since I dropped the car in Richmond and didn’t request the car to be delivered, it means there will be a second post… The day I went back to pick it up!). Anyway, I timed it in such a way that, after dropping the car, I would have some time to walk around, specifically to one place that had me curious for a while: Richmond Public Market.

That, of course, brings the question: Why??? Considering there are some many places to eat in Richmond, why the humble public market? Actually, there was no real particular reason, except that fact you could go around the different stands and hop without having walk a long street of road. Granted, I could have gone to Yaohan or Aberdeen but, considering I have been to these two, it was more a matter of trying something else.

Now, similar to Crystal Mall in Burnaby but unlike Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, the food court area is located in the second floor. Is this an issue? Well, for me, not really since I have an able body as of today and have no problem taking the stairs. However, this layout had some issues in the past: from some hear-say, there were some conflict between the food court and vendors in the lower level, specifically that of trash being thrown. Whether it is true or not, I can’t say but I will safely assume it has been resolved. As for myself, I won’t be driving to Richmond for produce (though with the possible exception of the area in No 5 and No 6, aka, the “safer” areas of Richmond for driving) so that does not really affect me. Now… To the food!

Drawing comparison again with Crystal Mall and Lonsdale, this food court area is a lot smaller than what I thought would have been. Should I have expected it? Well, yes and no. Again, given Yaohan and Aberdeen is more popular, plus the fact there are some many restaurants outside, it would be sort of survival of the fittest (or who can draw the crowd). But, then again, your crowd is only that big and being in the second floor might not necessarily help your case. In the end, I took what is available and go from there.

And taking what was available started with some Cantonese style chicken and sausage rice from the Guang Dong Fast Food stand. Now, before I continue, I was initially looking for the stand that sold really cheap Hainanese Chicken Rice if purchased before noon. However, either they were closed (there were several that day) or I completely overlooked it. Regardless of which one it was, I needed an option and the one that caught my attention was this one.

As for the food itself, I will admit this is something I grew up eating so my standards and expectations will be skewed. In this case, despite the side of soy sauce, there was something missing in the chicken. Now, it wasn’t tough, it just was missing some flavouring, a something “extra” that couldn’t really say or the combined ingredients didn’t yield something… Magical? As for the sausage, it was OK, but, then again, since this is something seldom prepared in house, I was expecting it to be “generic” (not in a bad sense but something that I knew I would find regardless of where I would get it).

The rice… ah, the rice… That one component that compliments the chicken. It is possible that this is the part that “failed”, as it didn’t meld together. The rice was OK but, again, there was something missing, aside form the references to flavouring. Could it be that, because it didn’t really develop a crust at the bottom means something else (I will let the reader draw conclusions).

But, despite these comments which might lead to some negative thoughts, actually the food was decent and edible (again, my line of thought skew things around). But, the key here is that, at $5, it is quite of a deal: it even beats what you pay in some mobile type food carts in Vancouver!

However, given the size of that serving is medium, I thought I still needed something extra. Again, browsing through the food court, I was looking for something decent sized that didn’t end up in me overeating. Alas, almost anything was a regular sized… Except the Lu Zhi Shen stand which had some chicken wings (actually, I could have gone to the skewer stand at the end; however, the Chinese-in-me would have made me spend $10 ordering half a dozen of such skewers! Instead, I went for something more manageable and ended up being half a dozen chicken wings. They came out warm (as if they just dipped into their soy based stock) which let me a bit perplexed. I have had these before but I usually have them cold so that the wings can soak that flavour in. As a result, these wings were slightly bland. However, it had one saving grace: that of it being spicy. So, if it is your thing, you might like it.

One of the stands I wanted to visit but wasn’t open was Xi’An but it was closed that day. So that brings that bigger question: would I come back? Unfortunately, the answer is not in a hurry. I mean, the food was OK, probably slightly better than some places I have been, just that, in no way, it blew me away. But, my bigger overall picture issues are that (1) it is in Richmond and (2) I would rather go to Crystal Mall for this type of fare instead. The other question would be, if you are in Richmond, would you go here rather than other places? If I was working in the area, I won’t mind dropping by once in a while. The key here is that I am not so that answers my part of the question…

To those who do not know yet, last Friday was   the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. During the next two weeks, in addition to my regular food/restaurant blog posts, I will try to do photo essays of the city, specially of the Downtown Vancouver/Yaletown area and probably some of the other installations across town. Sorry, no Cypress or Whistler… I mean, you can watch the sport events themselves in TV and news you might not necessarily see the rest that Vancouver has to offer. And that brings the topic of this post…

In the last week or so, I have been receiving emails asking for suggestions on places to eat, things they have to try, restaurant they should visit and so on. And it goes all ways, some for cheap, something they should spare no expense and so on. The commonality of the request is the Downtown/Yaletown area of town. I tried my best answering those emails but, as explained in my response, in my opinion, Yaletown is full of expensive restaurants where the focus is not always in good food. Instead, I suggested expand a little bit more. Based on the couple of emails I have replied, I thought I should compile what I have written and put it in a post.

Update: The topic of price gouging has popped up in the comments section. I thought I should include some links here, as a caveat emptor for out of town customers. I love Vancouver but despise that restaurant owners is taking advantage of the Olympics to obtain additional revenues.

• An article in The Globe and Mail from Alexandra Gill, the newspaper’s food critic.
• A site maintaining a naughty or nice list of restaurants.
• An article (and video) from CTV.

Now, although I am an auditor by trade, at one time, I was also a network admin. One of the things you “learn” in this field is the concept of laziness. Specifically, if you had to put the effort on doing something, make it good enough so it can be reused at a later time. What this has to do with this post? Well, I could start with some suggestions already provided by fellow food bloggers.

Melody Fury (of Gourmet Fury) has been asking us Vancouver local food bloggers for suggestions on different best eats and has compiled as series of posts for Serious Eats.

Top 10 Grab and Go
Top 10 Ethnic Specialties
Top 10 Breakfast and Lunch
Top 10 Dessert Destinations
Top 10 Sips and Bites
Top 10 of City’s Best

Likewise, Michelle (of Cheap Eats 2010), has written some posts on restaurants in the area as well.

It is possible I will repeating some of those suggestions so bare with me, OK?

One more thing before we continue…! Depending on your accommodations or if you will be renting a car, the best way to move around town will be public transit. There are people who say the local transit system sucks but, believe me, it is not as bad as it sounds. Putting politics aside, if you know you will be travelling around, I highly suggest you get a Faresaver booklet, if not a 2010 Game Transit Pass (specially if you will be for a long period of time in town – I should have purchased one myself! >_< ). If you are only in Vancouver, a one zone pass/ticket will work fine. If you will be going to North/West Vancouver, Burnaby or Richmond, you will need a two zone pass/ticket (and some of the suggestions are not in Downtown Vancouver!). So, without further ado…

Things/Food types you should try:

• Poutine: If there is a Canadian dish in some straigh sense of the word, I think this should be it. This fries plus cheese curds plus gravy concoction might sound gross but, believe me, it tastes better than it sounds.
• Timbits: If you are Canadian, feel free to skip this one, you know what to expect. For non-Canadians, it is not the fact you should try these donut holes. Rather is that you should go there, order a double double and a pack of 20 timbits. Don’t ask, just do it.
• Seafood: Pacific Northwest is known for seafood so, if you can, give it a try. From Ocean Wise program down to Fish and Chips, you should be able to find something.
• Dim sum: I am skeptical about this but will take it anyway: Traveller’s magazine Conde Nast said Vancouver has the best Chinese food in the world. While dim sum served here is more on the Cantonese style (more often than not, with some flare and, to quote fellow blogger Sherman “more modern”), it is a good starting point. Aside from the usual pork and shrimp dumplings check if they have xiao long bao.
• Sushi: Similar to what is being said about Chinese food, it is also said that, outside of Japan, Vancouver has really good sushi. Once, again, I have doubts about this. Sure, a lot of sushi places; the problem is that there are a lot of run off the mill, mass produced sushi ones and the task is to separate the good ones from the bad ones without blowing a hole in your pocket.
• Izakaya: This is one of the current trends in Vancouver. Though the concept is similar to that of a small bar serving snacks, it has turned around into establishment serving both food and alcohol, often with more emphasis on food.
• Beers and wines: Despite what Stephen Colbert says about us Canadians being (maple) syrup suckers, not much maple syrup is produced in here in BC. However, there are microbreweries and local wineries. After all, the Okanagan Valley is sometimes referred to the Napa of the North. If you are a wine enthusiast, try the ice wine produced here in BC. On that note, if you are looking for wines, make sure they have VQA stamp (Vintners Quality Alliance), the entity that regulates wines in Canada.

Having said all that, the question now is, given that much time, which places should you go? This list is long and, despite some of them I have not visited myself, I trust the opinion given by fellow bloggers and I think it is worth mentioning (even on instances I have visited myself!). Of course, since budget is always an issue, I will add notes to indicate how cheap/expensive that place might be. So, without further ado and in no specific order, places you might want to visit if you are in the Downtown/Yaletown/Gastown area of Vancouver…

• Market by Jean-Georges: My blog post here. A celebrity chef restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel in Downtown Vancouver. If the Prix Fixe Olympic menu is too high ($95), you can always try lunch ($29).
• Le Crocodile: While not as “celebrity” as the previous one, if you want to splurge in classic French restaurant, this might be the place. Just check what Jessica (of Yum-o-Rama), Gigi (of Ho Yummy) and ET and Christina (of Doesn’t Tazte Like Chicken) have to say!
• Guu: One of the best known izakaya in Vancouver, it is better to go in a small group to be able to share several dishes. Out of their locations, I have visited the one in Gastown but, as for the other ones, you can check Gigi’s thoughts on its Thurlow location and Sherman’s (of Sherman’s Food Adventures) thoughts of its Robson location.
• Kingyo: Another izakaya. I have been there for lunch and, while good, for the better stuff, you should go for dinner. The same principle as Guu applies here: It is better to go in a small party. For thoughts about their afterhours fare, check Mijune’s thoughts.
• Hapa Izakaya: Out of all the izakaya, I have the feeling this is the most westernized. It is not that it is bad but it is not that good. However, I am aware some people like it. Just ask Victoria (of Victoria’s Food Secrets)!

I think I can keep on and on about izakaya but I think I can defer the other izakaya places to Melody, who did a crawl of such places… Brave girl I must say.

• Cactus Club Cafe: One of the many local chain restaurants where one of selling points is the view of girls in skimpy dresses. However, unlike other similar restaurants (which shall be left unnamed), the food here is actually good. Though the dishes are expensive on the expensive side, some of them are worth it. Check specially those “inspired” by Rob Feenie, a local celebrity chef.
• La Belle Patate: I mentioned poutine at the very beginning and it is something you can find in pretty much any restaurant that serves french fries. However, for a more “authentic” version, go to this place. Although I blogged about it, I think Mijune did a better job by actually doing a vlog! Check it here.
• Japadog, The DogFather and DougieDog: If you want hot dog, these are the places to go. Pretty much every blogger has written about Japadog and, for the most part, they liked it. As for the other two places, check my posts here and here.
• Raincity Grill: They have something for every budget, from $10 fish and chip lunch (from their take out window, my post here), to brunches (Victoria’s thoughts) to fine dining dinner (and Sherman’s thoughts).
• Provence Marinaside: I was asked a couple of times about brunch and, in addition of Raincity Grill, this is another suggestion. I haven’t been there myself by I will defer thoughts to, once again, Victoria and Sherman.
• Cafe Medina and Chambar: Located next to each other, the former offers breakfast and brunch (also well known for its waffles) while the later offers late night. I don’t like either one for personal reasons but I am sure there are people who will appreciate them, like Jessica (for Cafe Medina) and Joyce (of Vanfoodies, for Chambar)
• Ganache Patisserie: If you are up for sweets, this is one of the best locations in the Downtown area. Just ask Elaine (of Parker Pages)!
• The Irish Heather: I have only been to their Long Table Series, a dinner in a communal table, which requires reservation (sometimes there are cancellations so you might as well give them a last minute call). If you can score one, you can get a meal for cheap with beer for ~$15! I organized a food bloggers gathering there in the past (check here, with links to other bloggers posts) and Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) did a “tw-EAT-up“.
• Kirin: A couple of weeks ago, traveller magazine Conde Nast Traveler wrote Vancouver has the best Chinese food in the world. I have issues with that statement but, still, if you are in Downtown Vancouver and want Chinese, specifically, dim sum, this might be the best place to go (though it did not really “wow” me – feel free to call it different standards). For different thoughts, check with Jenny (of My Secret Eden), hehehehe.
• Joe Fortes: Pretentious, over-rehearsed service and expensive, this is one of the best known seafood restaurants in Downtown. I did not necessarily like it but I am sure it has its crowd.
• H-Mart: OK, this is not the name of a restaurant but the name of a Korean supermarket. However, their food court serves quite good (and cheap!) Korean and Japanese food. Check Degan’s (of Ethnic Eats) thoughts about this place.
• Update! In addition to H-Mart, in the same block, there are a couple of small restaurants that might be worth for you to visit, specially if you are looking for cheap eats. They include GyuDonYa (soon to be open, as of Feb 14th), Kushi Box (just opened, thoughts from Gigi, here!), Beard Papa’s and Viet Sub (thoughts from Tana of Cheap Appetite, here)

By no means this list is inclusive – there are a lot of other good eats and trying to list them all will take me forever. Furthermore, Downtown Vancouver is not necessarily the best place for good eats. If you are willing to go around town (accessible by transit), here are some places you might want to consider:

• Vij’s/Rangoli: I haven’t been myself but it is said to be one of the best Indian food in town (modernized, thouhg). Since Vij’s does not take reservations, there seems to be always a line and despite being considered fine dining, Rangoli’s might be the backup plan (they have the same owners). Some thoughts of Vij’s by fellow blogger Jenny and Sherman.
• Thomas Haas: A lot of people believe the best pastries in Vancouver are done in either Ganache Patisserie (mentioned above) or Thomas Haas (and some people squeeze Kreation Artisan Cake in that mix as well, check Mijune’s post). In addition to me, Mijune believes it is good as well! (Note, they have two locations, one in Vancouver West Side and another in North Vancouver).
• DB Bistro Moderne: Another celebrity chef “run” restaurant located in Vancouver West Side. I haven’t been there myself but you can check Sherman’s post, here. It is not cheap so you might want to check also for some deals from Let’s Go for Dinner.
• Salade de Fruits Cafe: A French restaurant located in the Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver (remember, Canada is bilingual!). Overall decent prices and, as for the food itself, here are Polly’s (of Deeelish!) thoughts.
• Commercial Drive: Once again, not a restaurant per se but an area of Vancouver. If you are taking Skytrain, get off at Broadway Skytrain station and walk north (the direction of the mountains). There, you can find several type of restaurants, from African (Harambe, my thoughts here), Pastries (Fratelli Bakery, Jessica’s comments here), sandwiches (La Grotta del Formaggio, you can get cheese here, as well! Sherman’s thoughts about their sandwiches here) or even Salvadorean (Rinconcito Salvadoreño, my thoughts here). This is a really multi-cultural neighbourhood and chances are you will find something that will fit your bill.
• Three Lions Cafe: If you are British, this might be the place for you to go. And fellow blogger Tre (of Noshwell) seems to agree (check here)!
• Granville Island: Similar to Commercial Drive, Granville Island is an area but, this time, a market. When you have a market, good eats are expected; however, one of the bests in the area is Go Fish (as the name suggests, fish and chips). Check Sherman’s thoughts.
• Shanghai River and Shanghai Wonderful: If you are in Richmond (say, for the O Zone for skating events), these might be good places for Chinese. Notice the Shanghai part of the name; that means, if you are there for dim sum, you must order xiao long bao (a soup filled dumplings). For thoughts about Shanghai River, Mijune wrote three different posts (check here with appropriate links to the other two) and, for Shanghai Wonderful, check Jessica’s thoughts here.
• Yaohan Centre and Aberdeen Mall: Two malls located in Richmond, next to Aberdeen Skytrain Station, again, not that far from the O Zone. I am certain that most of you think “food court food sucks”. While that is true for the most part, these are not any food court. Instead, these are mostly Asian style; think a hawker centre.
• Main Street: For the third time, another area, rather than a specific restaurant. Similar to Commercial Drive, mentioned previously, you can find a bit of everything, from Chinese (dim sum) with Sun Sui Wah (though, a lot of bloggers, including the Foodosophy team, believe it has declined), Hawker’s Delight (for really cheap eats, once again, Foodosophy team’s thoughts) and some bagels rom Solly’s Bakery (again, thoughts from the Noshwell team, this time, Case)
• Chinatown: Vancouver’s Chinatown is one of the largest historical Chinatowns. Just east of BC place, it might look run down to some people (not surprising, considering that it is next to the infamous Vancouver Downtown Eastside). If you choose to venture, really good eats can be found in Phnom Penh (go for their chicken wings and butter beef, as per Foodosophy team’s suggestion)

I will have to abruptly stop here because there are still a lot of places to check/visit. For example, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, etc. If I kept on going, I wouldn’t finish writing this until after the Olympics! So, instead, just give these places a try. Or, if you find an interesting one you want to share, let me know!

HK BBQ Master
4651 No 3 Road
Richmond, BC

I know, I know… Those who have read this blog for some time knows about my issues Richmond, specially that of bad drivers and bad parking. However, there are times were we have to just deal with it. In my case, it has to do with Mijune who enthusiastically wrote about Maple Castella, a bakery in Richmond. Being such a dedicated food blogger, I decide to, oh, well, just deal with it. However, as if destiny was not in my side, when I arrived, they mentioned they pumpkin bread so lauded by Mijune wasn’t ready yet and, if I wanted one, I had to come back by around 2:00 p.m. With almost 2 hours to “burn”, the question was… What now? How about lunch? While I could have gone to places nearby, reality is, I wanted something different. OK, in Richmond where about half of the restaurants are Asian, sometimes it is not a matter of different. Instead, it is a matter of finding what puts you above the rest. In the case of HK BBQ Master, I have heard it offers the best Chinese BBQ meats. That was good enough reason…

HK BBQ Master is one of those places that you know it exists because you heard from somebody else or you find it by pure luck. Despite the address is listed as being in No. 3 Road, one of the major arteries in Richmond, you can’t really tell it is there if you were driving on No. 3 Road. Only by going to the parkade of Great Canadian Superstore you would be able to find it. And that is despite of the picture above, which seems to be an exterior sign. Yes, it is, but that sign does not face No. 3 Road but one of the side streets. That begs that odd question: If you are located in a wacky place, how can you sustain your business? The only way would be, of course, because people come back and tell friends/relatives about their goods which would then entice others to go.

And, of course, in this digital age, there are blogs like this and places like DineHere and UrbanSpoon where people provide their feedback. However, when you *brag* about being No. 1, you are either cocky or you are actually the best. Now, while checking DineHere (as they partially suggested), they have a decent rating, but nowhere near #1. So, putting that bragging aside, it was time to put their goodies to the test.

Not sure if this is the Chef Leung as listed but he was doing all the meat chopping.

I wasn’t sure how to proceed when I arrived. There were people seated eating and people queueing up. Are you supposed to queue, make your order and take it to the tables to eat? Or you should sit, wait for service and go from there (as a result, the queue would be for something else). Fortunately, there was a somewhat small sign at the cashier stating that, dine in customers should sit and wait for service. I guess they should place that sign more strategically… Anyway, after seated, I had to wait for a while to provide the menu and take my order. Since I spent some time looking at the menu, I knew what I wanted, but they took their time to check on me. So much for Chinese service – I was expecting them to push me to order right away so I could eat and leave! Heck, because I was seated near the door and there were several open tables, I was asked if I wanted to move there! Oh, how time changes…

For my order, I chose to go all in and that meant three types of meat on rice (and a token piece of green). I was asked if I wanted soup or a side of vegetables. Had I been with somebody else, the vegetable side (in the form of stir fried greens like bok choy) would have been nice. Being by myself… Not necessarily so. OK, I know I need my veggies, can you cut it out! For this order, I chose (top down), BBQ pork, soya chicken and roasted pork.

The BBQ pork was good; however, not necessarily the absolute best I have ever had. It could have used a bit more sweetness and the cuts above were starting to be on the lean side. A bit more of fatty pieces would have worked better. The chicken did not wow me for two reasons: The soy did not really penetrate the meat and I was given mostly white meat. Oh, c’mon, why you didn’t ask me… Oh, wait, there is an additional charge if I want a specific meat cut? Hmmmmmmm…. But, putting that aside, the chicken was mostly texture which was enhanced by the ginger/oil combination on top, otherwise it would have been borderline “chicken”. Finally, the roasted pork… ah, pork…! In this case, it had a nice combination of fat and meat, plus the skin provided a good crunchy tone to the pork. Eaten with some rice and soy sauce, the later which has some flavour from the dripping fat of the meat and we have an almost complete mal.

I was quite satisfied with my meal, despite the meats not being perfect. However, this is one of those meals were, unless it is practically inedible, I find more good points (some not necessarily mentioned but assumed, not to mention you should try it yourself) than issues. Why, because, in a way, this is something I can call comfort food. And, from a Cantonese/HK perspective, what was served is good eats. Now, I just wished they had goose…

G-Men Ramen
1101-3778 Sexsmith Road
Richmond, BC

After the hard drive of my main computer died two weeks ago, I spent some time working off my backup/traveller computer. While it was workable, it simply does not have the apps I need. After going back and forth, I finally got a replacement hard drive (though technically, it is not a replacement at the same time; won’t go into details). The “catch” was that I had to go to Richmond and, after picking up my hard drive, I was looking for a spot for lunch. One place I wanted to go for some time, specially after some raving from some fellow bloggers, was G-Men Ramen. OK, since I was in Richmond, I might as well make the best out of it!

When I arrived, I wasn’t sure what to think. I mean, do they really need to cover everything outside? How can you tell it is busy or empty without poking your head? While there is a board for you to write your name, in the case there are lines, I was by myself so, it was a matter of walking in and hope there is a table open. No need, in this case, there were tables open but was seated on the “bar” instead. That works for me… Looking at the menu, I was partially disappointed the full menu was not available. Instead, they had two ramen and two sans-broth noodle dishes. And then dishes like the nattou dish which Mijune tried. Since I was there for the ramen, that pretty much “solved” the what-to-order dilemma… However, I started with…

A side order of gyoza. Now, here is one small detail: G-Men is from the same people who runs Gyoza King in Downtown Vancouver. If this is the case, that means their gyoza should be pretty good, right? Well, unfortunately no. While it was cooking quite well, the problem was that the filling was tasteless and without any texture. Somehow, I have had better frozen from T&T. To make it even worst, the dipping sauce did not add anything. Had it had some acidity (in the form of rice vinegar) or heat (in the form of chili oil), it might have partially saved it. But, it did not. It is technically possible there was some but I simply couldn’t taste it.

Here is my order: Special ToriGara Shoyu Ramen – “Authentic light “TORIGARA” chicken soup THIN noodle seasoned with housemade SHOYU flavor, topped with BBQ pork, half ajitama, yuzu, seaweed, black wood ear mushroom & green onion”. From an ingredient perspective, it looks quite just that some parts were not as expected. In the case of the slices of pork, they were sliced quite thin. Had I known it, I might have ordered a side of pork. And, on that topic, I did not think the pork was too flavourful. Heck, I think I can do better! The broth was… Disappointing. I thought it was too mild, though I am not sure if it was because it was a chicken based broth rather than pork.

The noodles were a bit too basic to me, not much to comment about. If I had to put it in perspective, I falls way behind Kintaro, Motomachi and even Benkei. Maybe on par to Donburiya but you must keep in mind Donburiya is not mainly a noodle place. One thing that threw me off a little bit was the presence of yuzu (which, originally, I confused myself with yuba – tofu skin). Yuzu is a citrus and, in this case, it is used in the form of the peel. Tastewise, think something similar to a sour orange (though this description is not that accurate). However, in this case, that citrus-y taste was a distraction rather than enhancing the other flavours. To make a comparison, it was quite different to the effect of the lime wedge served with pho; here, it felt as if it was fighting against the savoury taste of the soup.

After I finished my bowl, the waitress was asking me how it was and how it ranks compared to the ones in Downtown. I could have given her my thoughts on the spot but didn’t. For one part, the comparison is a bit unfair because of the broth type. Still, I can’t stop wondering why the pork broth isn’t available at this time of the day. Sure, I have heard of reasons why (they ran out during the opening days and had to close the following ones just to be able to prepare new batches); however, this gives me instead some odd vibes – why you can’t prepare enough for the whole day?

If I had to make my assessment, my answer would be “I don’t like it”, with the caveat the broth was chicken-based. If it had been pork based, most likely it would have fallen in the middle. Of course, that is what I speculate would be my final thoughts. The only way for sure to find out would be a re-visit, specially if I manage to drag somebody along. Until then, it is a pass.

Mambo Cafe
3020-4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, BC

I have mentioned one too many times, I have no love for Richmond (*). Sure, there are some good eats but, darn, those crazy drivers… To add to that list, I must also say those crazy architects. Yes, I must be nuts because I drove to Aberdeen Centre rather than taking the Canada Line. But, in my defence, I also went picture taking that day. Why the architects? Because of the darn parkade! It is among the most poorly laid out parkades I have ever seen (and I have seen one too many). I will spare you with the details other than to say there was such a back-up, to the point it was even getting to the street and, as a result, took me several lights just to enter the parkade plus almost a dozen minutes to find a spot. Of course, those crazy Richmond drivers do not help…

Anyway, because it took me longer than expected to find a parking spot (OK, not really, it just took me time to go to the higher levels because most people did not want to go past the second parking level or far from the mall entrance) and it was noon (originally I wanted to go somewhere else for lunch), I thought I might have lunch there as well. Most people must admit, despite it is a food court, they have hell of good options. Wo Fung Dessert, anybody? Of course, that is just one example and the other stands are not necessarily the best but, c’mon, it beats some fast food chains… (On that note, it is “funny” there is a Triple O’s there…). While I could have gone to those places I knew of, there were two problems: It meant I won’t be writing about it and the most problematic issue… There were really long lines! So, I after a quickly browsing the stands, I settled for Mambo Cafe.

(*) – I guess I should start visiting other places as well. Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam/Pitt Meadows? White Rock? Abbotsford??? (Yes, all the way to Abbotsford for pizza!).

Looking back, I wasn’t sure if Mambo Cafe was the best option that day. Aside from the queues in the other lines, it was the fact the other stands next to it seems to produce good eats as well. But, again, when hungry, your mind is clouded. And to make things even worst? I did not order a dish that would come out “fast”… But, talking about dishes, here is a quick look at their menu. Some of them look “plain” (for example, sandwiches using white bread on the top left); others look, well, falls in the category of “WTF?!”. Specifically, check the one in the middle: Spam and eggs on Macaroni? Yes, I am aware places like Hawaii, Spam is popular and it is used to make other dishes. Just that I wasn’t expecting to see it here… Anyway, after a long, long wait, my number got called. So, what did I order that took so long to come out?

This is a baked Portuguese chicken with a side of rice. Why is a dish with an European country name doing in a Chinese mall food court? Macau, I guess (after all, they were occupied by the Portuguese). How authentic this is? Let’s just say this is a case of “I don’t know; I am not sure if I care!” But, back to the dish: aside from chicken, there was also the option for fish but, let’s face it, how “fresh” can the fish be? So, rather than trying to find that out, I went for the chicken option. The best way to describe the end result would be on the lines of a baked curry casserole. That is…

Pieces of chicken, some bell peppers, potatoes and a wedge or two of tomatoes. The sauce was quite thick, almost a custard consistency. I can’t help to think they might be using cream rather than milk to prepare it! Unlike an Indian curry where the flavours might be on the savoury/intense side, this one was more on the sweet side. And, like most Chinese/Japanese people, when you have curry, rice is the default carb to go along. How about scooping some of it on top?

I will have to admit that I was surprised by the amount of food I got for $7. More surprisingly was the meat/other fillers ratio, there was a lot of chicken pieces! But, the dish was far from perfect – it was a bit uni-dimensional. In a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being sugar overload and 1 being salt overload, this one felt on a 6.5. That is, it was sweet scoops after sweet scoop. I think some savoury components that could “break” that monotony would have been great. Or even some coconut flavour (yeah, that was missing as well)! Overall, it was OK. As mentioned above, there were more interesting options – the stand to their right were making dumplings and the stand to their left had Chinese BBQ. And, then, there is Wo Fung Dessert…

Golden Spring Schezuan Restaurant
160-4200 #3 Road
Richmond, BC

I was debating if I should put this post up or not. First, because, well, this is hard evidence I was in Richmond (No, I won’t admit I was there!). Second, it is because I was with co-workers and… It would be strange to put this. After debating a little bit, I thought, hey, if no faces were shown it ought to be kosher, right? OK, there it goes!

Now, a small side problem. Since I did not do the ordering, I did not take any notes (not even mental) of the name of the dishes. So, for this post, you will have to rely on the pictures only! Now, come to think about it, had I known the name of the dishes, I would have had a really tough time deciding if I should go for the Chinese name and the name of the dish as per the menu. For example, check this picture I took of the menu…

His favorite foof is Dorayaki? Cake with Pum Pkin Filling? I don’t want to know what was lost in translation, hehehehe. As for the food, we were expecting the food to be spicy and, from a personal perspective, just in case, I brought a towel. Hey, I knew what was coming so I had to prepare for this! It was odd, though, some of the fellow dinners that night was asking for more Cantonese style dishes (i.e., not as spicty). Hmmmmmm…. I can’t just help myself wonder…. Anyway, here are the dishes:

This dish had slices of meat “stir-fried” with some greens and, of course, some chillies. Out of all dishes we had that night, this was by far the spiciest; however, it wasn’t the spiciest I have ever tried (by any means). However, it was spicy enough to catch at least one person off guard…

This is duck but, for some reason, I thought they ordered something similar to Peking duck. Well, I guess I was completely wrong. I would say it wasn’t really worth it as it did not have that fatty taste I love from duck nor the skin was crisp.

Not sure how to describe this other than gelatinous-like. It was “hard” enough not to break but past that, it was relatively “soft”. It was also spicy but not to the extent of the first dish.

I guess to comply with some of the diners request, we got something more “tame”. Think of a dish similar to sweet and sour pork.

Seaweed. I guess this was to balance the spicy food we were having that night (ha!). I have a certain fondness to this dish so I won’t say any more.

Chicken (?) with a lot of peppers. Come to think about it, it was similar to a dish we had at Alvin Garden. Now, it wasn’t as spicy as it could have been as I started eating the peppers themselves (several I must mention); however, it was spicy enough for me to take out the towel!

Again to satisfy some diners’ request, we ordered some dumplings, though we asked them for two versions: a spicy and another not so spicy. I tried both and I will have to say they were about the same.

OK, I will admit I don’t remember much about this one… ^_^;;;

Seafood guoba. If you ever had cooked rice in a pot (rather than a rice cooker), think of that rice that sticks at the bottom, made a lot crispier and when some liquid is poured on top, it starts to sizzle. Since we were at a Schezuan restaurant, I guess there was no reason not to order this.

This dish was a mix of tofu with celery. It was mostly to “clean” the palate of some after being “burned” by the spicy dishes.

Although it is comparing apples to oranges, if I had to choose, I will have to say I liked Alvin Garden’s food a bit more. Of course, it is not the same cuisine. But, again, both are spicy. Still, the fact I was with others and that made it more enjoyable. Would I come back? May be but unlikely I would do it by myself. Hey, I should “share” that “pain” with others!

To those who do not live in Metro Vancouver, see you tomorrow, there is not much to see here! ^_^;;; OK, OK, just kidding… Two weeks ago, a new metro line in Vancouver opened: Canada Line. This metro line connects Richmond Centre, Vancouver Airport and Downtown Vancouver. There has been controversies, lawsuits and detractors but this post is not related to any of these. Instead, this is about the end result and my first ride through the system. So, enjoy this photo essay!

Entrance through Waterfront Station. I should mention that it is not physically connect to the Expo Line/Millennium Line. If you are riding one, there is a small walk before you can reach the other.

A “new” feature in the Skytrain system. Compared to the old lines, this one provides more information.

First station after Waterfront: Vancouver City Centre. The name given to this station is a bit of a misnomer, as it is not technically the City Centre. But, had they called it “Granville”, it would have confused with Expo/Millennium Line’s Granville Station… Now that I mentioned Granville Station, yes, there is an underground passageway connecting these two.

Yaletown-Roundhouse. Not sure about the Roundhouse part of the name but, otherwise, yes, it connects to Yaletown.

Olympic Village station, near the 2010 Olympic Winter Games Athelete’s Village.

At this point, I took a break and snapped some pictures of the “features” of the stations. Here, a train arriving to the station.

The ticket vending machines.

The exit signs, though I can’t help to ask why it says “Way Out” instead…

Although the system is currently based on an honour system (which random checks inside the train), don’t tempt yourself on take the train without buying a ticket!

Broadway-City Hall. This is in the intersection of Cambie and Broadway. There are some good eats in the area and I am sure I will be using it rather than driving here.

King Edward station. At this point I am sure you will say that these stations look quite alike. Yes, most underground stations are quite generic. If it wasn’t because of that small blue sign, it is possible you might not even notice that is a station!

Oakridge-41st

Langara-49th

Marine Drive, the first station above ground and the last before Richmond.

Again, the train arriving to the station. The tunnel to the underground section can be seen to the left.

No, my lens/camera weren’t dirty. It was the glass of the train itself. This is the bridge that connects Vancouver and Richmond and was built specifically for the Skytrain, though you can walk it, as there is a pedestrian walkway.

The north arm of the Frasier river

Bridgeport station, where there is a large parking lot. The idea is for drivers from Richmond park their cars here and then take the Skytrain to Vancouver. That is not the “key” feature, though, instead, the last station before the rails “fork” into the airport or Richmond Centre. But, wait!

There is one more thing: River Rock Casino is next to it! So, to those interested in gambling…

I chose to go to YVR (Vancouver Airport) first. Here, this is the first station: Templeton.

In the far right, River Rock Casino & Resort.

Sea Island Centre station. Along with Templeton, I would assume these stations are for people who work in the area…

This is YVR-Airport station, which, as the name suggests, connects to YVR, Vancouver International Airport. Unfortunately, it does not go all the inside the airport and you still have to walk a bit. If it snows or rains, well, I am not sure how people will manage it. After getting here, I went back to Bridgeport station so I could then take the other part of the route, i.e., Richmond-Brighouse.

Aberdeen, on No 3 Road and Cambie Road (not to be confused with Cambie Street in Vancouver). One thing I must say is that I am not particularly impressed with the design (visuals) of the stations. They look too similar. As for the station itself…

To the right, Richmond Centre, to the left, one of the (almost) hundred of strip malls in the area.

Deja Vu? No, not really, this is Landsowne station, with Landsowne Centre right next to it…

Finally, Richmond-Brighouse, the terminal station.

Again, I won’t go into the politcal debate regarding this metro line. Instead, here are my thoughts: it rocks and it sucks. It rocks because it provides a fast alternative to go to some areas (Cambie Street area mainly). However, it sucks as well because, the day I took it, there were some mechanical issues and the trains were way behind schedule (in some cases, I had to wait for over 20 minutes for the next train). Of course, it was a weekend and there is the possibility there is reduced service. And there is the problem on some stations were the doors were not kept open long enough (this happened to me in Richmond-Brighouse), though it is possible it was a one day issue. Regardless, it is good the option exists.