Modern City Chinese Restaurant

Located in the heart of Kerrisdale, and a block away from another 2 Chinese restaurants, the modern city Chinese restaurant opened to some tough competition. Unlike its predecessor, they have adjusted pricing to become more competitive, in an area that is overflowing with restaurant choices.

At first glance, there has been little change in the decor. They took over another Chinese restaurant that had lasted less than a year, so most furnishings were still new.

We chose some simple dishes in order to test the skills of the chef.


Soymilk (salty). The soymilk has a nice creamy consistency. Imo a stronger soybean taste would be nice, but the thickness of the soymilk was perfect as a soup like breakfast item.



Sliced beef with tripe in chili sauce. Allergy alert.... lots of peanuts, which really accents the marinated beef. I like that they make it less saltier than many other restaurants.


Steam dumplings. Juicy and holds its shape, this dumpling has a medium thickness skin that holds up to being picked up by chopsticks. Juicy and slightly chewy skin. Although not the thinnest that I have tried, it was still above average.


Ji Cai dumpling soup. A little on the oily side, but not too salty. The dumpling is a little denser than some that I have tried but I prefer the one at The Place restaurant on Granville & 64th because they add seaweed and egg floss to the soup.


Shanghai style pressed meat with noodle. Generous portion for the noodle. The pressed meat is standard for most shanghai restaurants.

What I liked:

• Good and attentive service - they refilled our tea regularly
• Spacious and clean - still relatively new restaurant
• Competitive price point and good quality good

What I did not like:

• Stereotypical food pictures outside the restaurant made it less appealing
• Very large space that is hard to fill with patrons

I think they have everything done right, good service, higher quality food at a competitive price point. I will definitely revisit this place to check out the consistency of its food.

3 1/2 out of 5 ( reserving the other 1/2 for consistency the next time I come here)

Dragon I - One Utama

Dragon I is a chain store in Kuala Lumpur specializing in fresh noodles and dumplings. We came to the restaurant at one utama on a Friday afternoon and found it to be pretty full. There are two chefs making dumplings in the front window.

We ordered the braised fish la mien (fresh hand pulled noodles), the seafood sweet and sour la mien, mapo tofu rice, pork rice, the dumplings, fried tofu, and onion pancake.

braised fish la mien

seafood sweet and sour la mien

Pan fried onion pancake.

Fried tofu

Seafood crispy noodle

For lunch, the noodles ranged from rm14-28 which is mid pricing for lunch here.

The dumpling skin is thin, but the dipping had too much msg. The noodle dishes had fresh noodle, but the noodle was a little too thin, so it did not have much bite to it. I liked the deep fried tofu as the skin was thin and crispy and not oily.

In general food came quickly and was consistent. Service was not as efficient as we had to flag down people to refill our drinks. This is however, a general trend at most local restaurants.

Singapore Hawker Delights

A variety of foods that I had while visiting Singapore. There was so much food and so little time.


Roast Chicken Wings, Singapore style. Unlike regular chicken wings, this is flavored with the same spices as the dried pork jerky that is so popular in Singapore. First time I have tasted chicken wings that was so unique. Loved every bite.


Singapore style Ba Kut Teh. Pork ribs in herbal soup. Unlike the Malaysian variety, this is a clear broth, with a mild herbal taste.


Stir Fried Prawn Mee. Thick vermicelli with fresh shrimp cooked in shrimp paste. The Shrimp Paste infuses the whole dish. The banana leaf used to take out the noodles actually adds additional flavor too!


Curried Stingray with stir fried lady fingers (okra) and rice wrapped in banana leaf. This stingray was fantastic.


Chicken Ume R Burger with Lemongrass Ice Tea. A Japanese burger joint that opened in the heart of Singapore's shopping district. The bun is made with marine collagen. The bun is soft and moist. Shiso leaf layered with a slice of radish (daikon) and a chicken patty with plum sauce. This is a perfect Japanese burger, light and perfectly flavored. This was a fantastic find.

Malaysian Food Part 2

Curry Laksa. This is the authentic Laksa that is available at pretty much every marketplace. The thick broth is spicy more than creamy. Served with some fresh basil, the highlight is the clams and the fried bean curd. The bean curd absorbs the spicy soup and is delicious. The standard Laksa is made with a combination of two types of noodles, vermicelli and a yellow noodle. Other ingredients include curry chicken and bean sprouts.


Tom Yam Pan Mee : Flat noodles cooked in tom yam soup with imitation crab meat, fish balls and fish cakes. Tom yam is a more recent introduction into Malaysia. There is even tom yam ramen available in Japanese restaurants. Given that Malaysia is so close to Thailand, it is no wonder that it has become a more common staple. The flavor is spicy and sour, but the broth is light and not overpowering. The noodles are freshly made, and cooked just right, with a slight chewiness to the noodle.


Kam Heong Crab: Crab stir fried with salted egg yoke. Nothing taste better than fresh crab cooked with just ginger and spring onions... UNLESS it is made with salted egg yoke! I cringed at the first thought of this dish because salted egg yoke was NOT one of my favorites. However, this dish was absolutely fantastic. The salty egg yoke coats the crab in a light layer, and is a perfect complement to the natural sweetness of the crab.

Warning: you should NOT be worrying about you cholesterol while eating this dish.