An Nam Vietnamese restaurant.

Although we had planned to go to pho lan, we ended up here as pho as pho lan was closed. The restaurant was clean and spacious

We ordered the special mixed beef noodle and the spice beef and pork with thick vermicelli. We also added a skewer of the shrimp paste on bamboo. For dessert it was the three color ice.

We ordered the large for the beef noodle. For starters, the large was smaller than the one at pho lan. The soup was also very heavy on msg. Imo the soup is the highlight of the noodle, so use of MSG only means they are skimping on the soup stock.

The spicy beef with thick vermicelli was a better experience. Firstly, You can taste less msg in the soup. The piece of pork knuckle in the soup is also perfectly tender. I like that they give you a lot of the ham and thick slices of brisket. The thick vermicelli also holds up well in the soup. The only thing is that despite its name, it is not spicy at all.

The shrimp paste on sugar cane was fairly disappointing. It was drenched in oil, meaning it had been reheated in oil that was not boiling. All I could taste was the oil. The 3 color ice is a better experience.

What I liked:

• clean and open restaurant
• reasonable prices and lots of parking spots
  

What I did not like:

• The food was no comparable to Pho Lan across the street
• Portions smaller than Pho Lan
  
• Too much MSG in the soup base for the pho
  

Gyoza King - Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I love going to gyoza king, which is why there is a part 2. A little later in the night I went back to gyoza king for round 2. Although I went mostly for the drinks, I did still taste all the food ordered.


Shoyu ramen : At 7.50 this is a mid price ramen, with lots of sprouts and a nice and chewy noodle. Good flavor for a mid price ramen, and not overly salty.


Pork and shrimp chive gyoza. Need I say more? They are famous for their gyoza and this is by far my favorite. The addition of the shrimp makes this a lighter gyoza. Perfect to gobble down along with the g-beer sold here.


Small Oden. In the oden, the daikon (radish) is the centerpiece. When made well it soaks up all the flavors in the soup. The mustard is mixed into the soup to enhance the flavor. The assortment of fishcakes and tofu cakes gives this dish a variety of textures that is always delightful to eat.


Ebi Mayo. Fried shrimp drenched in their Japanese mayo. A combination that can never be wrong. The shrimp is crispy, and absorbs all the mayo... Yum.

I love Gyoya King, and always like to come back for a late night fix. With all the new additions to the menu, it will take me a while to go through all the dishes.

Gyoza King - Part 1

Gyoza King on Robson street.


Gyoza king has long been one of my favorite Izakayas downtown. The food selection is similar to Guu Garlic, but at a lower price point. Having not been here for over 6 months I was looking forward to another wonderful experience.

I noticed there was a lot more variety on the menu, 5 or 6 udons and rice bowls and raw sushi.


Grilled beef tongue. Their staple dish, and is always grilled to perfection. I always love ordering this here.


Clam udon. The menu says this should be stir fried, but this looks more soupy to me. Not what I expected. I was looking for their normal style of stir fried udon in a hot pan with lots of sake. This one was luke warm and not very flavorful. A miss for me.


Seared raw scallops. The scallops were fresh. A simple and clean dish.



Salmon Chazuke. Basically rice in a light broth with salmon flakes. They are very generous with the rice portions. I always enjoy the flavors better when the wasabi is added to the soup. A filling dish perfect for a hungry diner or a cold day.


Tuna Yukke : Chopped tuna with sauce and a quail egg on top. I remember this use to be more spicy. Maybe I ordered the non spicy version by mistake. You are suppose to mix the egg into the chopped tuna, and then wrap it in seaweed. I prefer the spicy version of this, as the tuna was almost too mild to eat as is. The quail egg is used as a binding agent so that the chop tuna holds together better. Fresh ingredients and a clean presentation.

What I liked:

• The still carry their staples.
• Good food and a reasonable price point

What I did not like:

• Addition of too many items.
  
• Quality has been sacrificed for variety
  

Thierry Cafe

Thierry located at 1059 Alberni Street. The newest creation by Chef Thierry, the patisserie of the Cin Cin and West restaurant group. The place to showcase his chocolate and dessert creations.





We chose to try the assorted macarons. At over $11 for 7, these are some expensive macarons. In comparison to some that we have tried at other bakeries and restaurants, I have to say these are very exquisite. For the fruit flavored ones, there is a little preserve sandwiched inside the macaron.

I enjoy the fruit flavors over the chocolate as the chocolate caramel that I tried was still on the sweet side, although not nearly as sweet as some I have tried before. The macaron itself was light, airy and delicate to the touch.



I tried the mocha offered and realized that they did not use liquid chocolate as Farbourg does, so it was not a very satisfying mocha give its size and price.

As we were only here briefly we did not have time to try the other desserts offered here. I have to say that visually the desserts looked better than the pastries, but I will have to come back and try both of them before I can make judgement.

What I like, the cozy atmosphere and the dessert display

What I did not like, the specialty coffees are expensive compared to all the other coffee shops in the area. Based just on the mocha I tried, I did not find the coffee strength or flavor to match its price point.

Nu Greek food cart

Nu Greek opened a few weeks ago on Granville and Georgia Street. When I arrived at lunch time there was a line of about 5 people in front of me.

Thanks to a coupon deal I was able to try this newest street cart addition. The service was slow for a food cart, the line of 5 people in front of me made this a close to 20 minute wait.

The souvlaki wrap choices include chicken or lamb. Your choices are simple as toppings only included tomatoes or onions with the tzaziki sauce. For my version I chose only tomatoes. The Greek style pita is thick and fluffy. IMO the lamb souvlaki was over seasoned and way too salty. Even when combined with the pita, the saltiness overpowers all the other favors. They were very generous on the tzaziki sauce. The sauce had a little too much garlic for my tastes, but the sauce does help to offset the saltiness of the meat.

At 6.50, the lack of vegetables and lettuce in the wrap make this seem overpriced. La Brassiere operates across the street and offers their burger at the same price point. lthough they have a really good location, close to the granville skytrain station, I have to say I probably would not come back here. With so many food carts downtown, competition is fierce. Although at a reasonable price point, I do not think their flavors are distinct enough for me to revisit.

I liked the location. Lamb is a hard to find street vendor ingredient.

I did not like the over salted meat and the lack of lettuce in the wrap.

Milestones on west 4th

I do not normally choose to review a chain, but there is always a first time.

Milestones is part of the scene program, so you can also earn scene points when you eat here.

Our selection tonight included
Artichoke dip, kobe beef sliders, tomato soup, watermelon and beet salad.

The Place Restaurant

Address: 6028 Granville St
Tel: 604 261 3948

Located at a central location, diagonally across from Safeway, this unassuming Chinese restaurant has been my favorite for a few years now. Selling good value and large portions, this small restaurant offers both Szechuan food as well as northern China dim sum dishes.

I have yet to try everything on the extensive menu, but here are some of the things that I like from this place.

Beef Roll. Although a popular dish at many Taiwanese restaurants, this version tastes a lot lighter. They balance the marinated beef with some Hoisin sauce and print onions. I do not normally like to eat spring onions, but the onions are a perfect addition in this case



Ji-Cai Dumpling soup. This is my favorite dumpling. I come back here time and time again. The dumpling is filled with mostly vegetable, with a little meat. The skin of the dumpling is ever so slightly chewy when you bite into it, which gives it the perfect consistency. I have no idea what type of leafy vegetable Ji-Cai is, but I love this dumpling! The simple egg floss, seaweed and parsley soup makes sure the dumpling is center stage. Lightly salted and the perfect vegetable to meat ratio. I always have to buy some frozen dumplings when I come for dinner so that I can enjoy it at home as well.





Braised beef and tomato noodle soup. The soup has a nice tartness from the tomatoes that balances out the flavor of the noodles. This dish has evolved from when the restaurant first opened to now. The tomato flavor has been enhanced and the beef is now always tender. I love the homely feel when you eat this.

What I like:

• Homely feeling of the restaurant.
  
• Good food and large portions.

What I did not like:

• presentation is non existent. Don't expect fancy plates, just lots of good food

Trader Joe's mango red quinoa and chicken salad.

We decided to try another salad from Trader Joe's while deciding what to eat for dinner.

We chose the quinoa salad as this was harder to find at regular grocery stores.

I love the quinoa and mango as the contrasting textures makes this a delightful salad. The curry chicken pieces also go perfectly with the whole salad. The description in the cover is misleading as the vinaigrette was more of a curry sauce than a chilli dressing.

Imo the sweet curry vinigrette could do with less sugar and more ground pepper. I used less than one third of the sauce and still found the salad to be very flavorful

Another winner from my favorite TJs!