A Collection of Bento for Someone

I couldn't buy you a birthday cake so I decided to collect some special lunch boxes for you :)  Happy birthday, Mishy-chan!

Food Market

First, I have to apologize for the blur and crappy picture because I couldn't wait to dig in!   Second, I think it's called the Food Market.  Anyway, it's a cafeteria opposite The Bay downtown Vancouver at the ground level near the Skytrain.

Fruits Tart! Fresh fruits! The crust wasn't crunchy enough to my liking though :(

Mango Cheesecake -- I think I bought it too late.  I would like it more if it's fresher and tasted more like mango

Lastly! I am so sorry for not posting for so long... Real life can really get in the way!

Minami Restaurant

Minami Restaurant is a sister restaurant to the famous Miku Restaurant that I like a lot too.  My friend was very nice to pick this restaurant for her birthday dinner since I wanted to try this restaurant for the longest time.  My personal preference is Minami for a girls' night out while Miku for a date night ;)

Deep fried goodness!
Ebi Fritter -- I love the mayo! And of course, the cruncy shrimp!

Love the freshness and the charcoal
Aburi Sashimi - Three types of sashimi: Tuna, Salmon and Hamachi.

More charcoal!
Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi -- Balanced portion of rice and fish. Rice are gently pressed too.

Crunchy Scallop Roll -- It's scallop roll sprinkled with tempura bits.
I felt a little tricked by the name but now I know!

A different kind of roll.
Yasai Maki Chicken -- Roasted chicken breast with vegetables rolled underneath it. 
I like to think of it as stuffed chicken!

Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish and Shrimp Crab Dumpling -- The miso took away the attention to the softness of the fish.
It's still good but I prefer the one from Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar across the street :D

Happy Birthday Suli!
Coconut Blueberry Cream -- The coconut taste was not strong.
I don't usually like coconut so yes, I enjoyed it. 

Sweetness <3
Passion Fruit Verrine -- I have to love that almond pudding!
The passion fruit ice cream was a little sour to my liking though

A Journey to Iran

This is from a while ago when there was a coupon deal that brought us to Darchin Restaurant -- an Iranian restaurant near downtown Vancouver.  My friend, who happens to be an Iranian, thought the food was very authentic and she went back there two weeks later!

In general, if you like flavourful dishes, give Iranian food a try! It's very different from Indian food.  The food is on the sweeter side.

PS: The restaurant is a little dark and to avoid annoying other customers with camera flashes, the pictures are not as clear as they should be :(

Lunch at Guu

Lunch special at Guu!  I was at Guu with Garlic  Yes this is just about the lunch special for now.  I know a lot of crazy Guu fans out there.  Thoughts about the regular menu will come when I have time later on.  (I have tried all the Guu in Vancouver so it's taking a while for me to compile everything.) They just started the lunch menu so it might not be as well thought of in comparison to the dinner menu.  My recommendation is: If you do not mind the wait, go to Guu for dinner.

Sushi Elephants

I have always been tempted to walk in there because of the attractive signboard but when most reviews talk about how good the rolls are, I was afraid that I will never be able to finish all the rolls I want to try.  So, when we needed a reasonable restaurant for a farewell dinner, off we go to Sushi Elephants!  Overall, the rolls are unconventional but tasty; ingredients are not unique but certainly fresh.  One of the sushi restaurants that I will go back to!

Falling for Korean Deep Fried Chicken

I was skeptical with Dasarang when the focus of the advertisement was deep fried chicken but when someone wanted to go there, I went.  Of course, half of the menu is about deep fried chicken, such as spicy deep fried chicken, non-spicy deep fried chicken, spicy boneless deep fried chicken, non-spicy boneless deep fried chicken etc etc etc..... And the result was, I made my friend bring her sister there last December and I went there again last week!  The service was a little slow but it was worth the wait. 

Hapa Izakaya

Hapa Izakaya -- another Japanese tapa style restaurant, but unique!  I was there almost a year ago for my housemate's farewell dinner and all of us had a good time.  Strongly recommended for those who like fusion food!

Rainforest Cafe

It was 5 minutes from the hotel.  It was packed with people.  It sounded famous.  We ended up in there sitting next to the gorillas at the Rainforest Cafe near Niagara Falls.  We were told that the gorillas and elephants move every 15 minutes while there will be thunderstorm every 30 minutes.  It was fun at the beginning but it gets annoying when we could not hear each other every 15 minutes!  Anyway, we didn't order much food because we were not very hungry. 

Oliver and Bonacini Cafe Grill

This is the second time I have been to the same Oliver and Bonacini chain restaurant. We went the day their Summer Fixe menu was introduced.  It was too tempting to try this three course menu that I gave up on ordering the calamari that was amazingly good when I tried it last Christmas.

For the love of chocolate

Chocolate is the answer... whatever the question.

Xoxolat an excellent chocolate store if you are looking for gift for anyone who has any opinion about chocolates.  They carry high quality chocolates that makes chocolate not just a dessert but food that people need to take time to enjoy it.

I attended the chocolate tasting class offered by Xoxolat a year back and the experience makes me enjoy chocolate more.  So, as I am about to visit some friends who have different preferences for chocolates, I took a 1.5 hour bus ride there and picked up everything I needed.

Le 100% -- 100% dark. Organic!
Theo Spicy Chile -- 70% dark. Organic fair trade!
By Xoxolat:
Sea salt & Nibs -- 75% dark. Lavendar -- 75% dark.
Westcoast Breakfast -- Bacon, espresso in deep rich milk chocolate!

My list of favourite stuff in the store goes like this (roughly):
1) Lavendar chocolate bar (shown in the picture)
2) Spicy hot chocolate -- must have for the winter!
3) Chocolate nibs -- They have plenty of selections for this. 
4) TBA after i go back there a few more times!

The first time the chocolate shoes caught my eyes in the mall, I thought they were too fancy as chocolate.  But now, I am planning to get them as presents for some of the ladies ;)
 

Miko Sushi Restaurant

Everytime I passed by Miko Sushi Restaurant, I have an excuse to go to the restaurant down the street for something non-sushi.  This time, I couldn't come up with any good ideas as of why I shouldn't go in.  After a long day at Stanley Park, we were too tired to walk any further for whatever food is there.  So, we went in!  There were a lot of pictures and signatures of ice hockey players on the wall.  The atmosphere is friendly and warm.  It gets crowded as time goes by and we were glad that we made it there before the huge crowd.  All the typical rolls, nigiri, sashimi and cones are on the menu.

Glad to be Home

Woo Ree Jip means "My home" in Korean and true to its name, the restaurant serves a wide variety of home cooked Korean soups and other dishes.  They are well known for their variety of soup.  Their menu has at least 20 types of soups.  Some of them are complete strangers to me but all my friends are team players that each of us order something different to try.  I was sitting at the very end of the table so some, I have not tried BUT since it's 5 minutes away from my house... please anticipate the little foodie's thoughts of the remaining dishes.

Under the Banana Tree

The Banana Leaf Restaurant opens up a new location along Denman Street.  I haven't been there for a long while since the last time it didn't taste home-ly to me.  Anyway, I went because a friend suggested it.  Picky me when it comes to Malaysian food!

Hawksworth

The Hawksworth Restaurant won a few awards in the Golden Plate 2011, which hints me to pay the restaurant a visit with a few friends.  The restaurant has a very nice atmosphere - simple and sleek design -- fitting for downtown Vancouver.

Zakkushi

Zakkushi is one of the few special izakaya around.  They specialize in Japanese skewers.  There are wide variety of those and some other dishes like oden, okonomiyaki, sashimi, salads etc.  But, I still like their skewers best.  It was probably a hit-or-miss because the skewers were extremely salty when I went there to celebrate my birthday a few years ago. It didn't stop me from going back though.  And this time, I am very proud of myself to go back there!

The Boathouse

It was a few friends' farewell party that we decided to pay The Boathouse at English Bay a visit.  I have been there before and my favourite is their Miso Crusted Wild Halibut that I had a few years back.  It was so good but I didn't get it because it is the restaurant's 30th Anniversary and... ... they offered a very reasonably priced 3 course meal for $30.  Of course, I went for it!  Keeping the comments as short as I can ...

Tojo's Take 2

There is really nothing much to say about the goodness of Tojo's so, I will post some pictures of the Omakase that I tried for the second time.  Some are dishes I do not quite remember what they were although the memory of the taste still lingers in my mind.  

More words about Tojo's can be found in my previous post.

Regular posting

oooopsie~~ As you see, I have been posting pretty irregularly these days.  That's because life is getting in the way and eating out is quite out of the question at the moment.  I promise some new posts in a few days I promise!

Where is this?

I will be honest... I don't remember what name was this restaurant when I found this stack of pictures in my picture folders.  I do however remember who I went with and where it was located.  So I attempted to visit the restaurant to check out its name but I can't find the restaurant! Uh oh!  So, I guess here is some pictures of some nice Japanese dishes, sushi rolls especially, for the eyes!

Hart House

I haven't been posting regularly, I know...  Life has been in the way but nothing is in the way for a good afternoon lunch at Hart House.  It is near Deer Lake, a beautiful lake.  They have an afternoon lunch special and guess what I ordered? The Express Lunch.  The lunch special is a 2 course meal with an appetizer and entree.  There are two appetizers and three entrees to choose from.  

Ma Dang Goul

I sort of came across Ma Dang Goul as I went to Simba a while back.  It's not a fancy restaurant.  In fact, it's extremely small.  I would think the maximum amount of customers they can have at a time is 15.  The dishes they serve is a little different from other big Korean restaurant as they are more like simple dishes you would make at home.  The price is reasonable considering its location at Denman/Robson.

Thierry Chocolateria Patisserie Cafe

Instead of buying birthday cakes, we have been bringing our birthday friends to Thierry for a treat while we have a taste of different desserts.  It's a wonderful to chill and chat with friends while satisfying our sweet tooth.

Sweet Sweet Revenge

My friend introduced this place to me as one of the regular places for dessert before she found out more sweet goodness in downtown.  This is definitely not a place I would have come if I wasn't across the street at Hawker's Delight.   You wonder how much I can eat after so much food across the street.  But, living well is a Sweet Revenge.

Hawker's Delight

I debated about how harsh I should be but in the end, I will be at least honest to my tongue.   I grew up with these types of food in the most well-known food paradise in Malaysia, so my opinions can be very different from others.

Hawker's Delight has gained a lot of good ratings from a lot of people which brought me there to give it a try.  There were not many dishes to choose so I ordered the typical dishes that differentiate the authenticity of it.  

The 100 Days

I will be honest and admit that this visit is from three years ago at 100 Days Restaurant.   So, I don't quite remember the names of dishes BUT I still remember the taste of the food.  Oh! And the cool and funky paintings on the wall!  They were very very cool!  We went for the three course menus and tried the different dishes for the appetizer and entrees. 

Leonidas

Another coupon deal! This time it's not a restaurant; it's a dessert cafe - Leonidas.  The special deal includes a cup of hot chocolate.  I think the hot chocolate was made without adding water, i.e. only milk was used.  Since it was during Valentine's day that we went, we get a special <3 on top of the hot chocolate!

In love with Brix

Yep! Enter through the curtain!  The atmosphere at Brix is definitely a WOW as I walk through the curtain.  There were candles along the side of the walls are definitely a warm up for a romantic dinner.  No wonder my friend said, "Hopefully your date is going well." when I sent him a picture of the food.  Usually, my friend will check all the reviews for the restaurants before going to a restaurant.  This was a different story because we went late and the special menu was not available for the hours we were there.  So , I had to try my luck with the dishes.

Afternoon Tea @ Fairmont

I have been to the Vancouver International Airport numerous time but this is the first time I went to the Fairmont Hotel right next to it for afternoon tea.  My friend found a good deal on one of those sites that offer special discount.  So we wander there on a nice Saturday afternoon pretending we were rich for once.  We didn't get to sit near the window because it was full.  Oh well :(

Too Much Pasta

 

Anton's Pasta Bar is one of the famous store for pasta mainly because of the large portion they served.  When I say large, it is LARGE!  I can make 5 meals out of one plate. The restaurant does not allow you to share an entree.  So, everyone has to order an entree and ended up asking for an empty container for take home.  Actually, the servers will bring an empty container for everyone on the table the moment everyone put down their utensils.

Other than the notorious portion they serve, the variety of pasta amazes me as well.  I particularly like the white sauce options but sometimes, they overcook the pasta.  The more consistent options are the pasta dishes that require baking.  

Since it has been a while that I have visited the restaurant, I cannot remember exactly the name and details of each dishes I have ordered.  So, I will leave it here until I find another chance to visit the restaurant again to take better pictures and take more notes.

iWR II - Santouka Ramen

A friend said, "Whenever I ordered ramen at other ramen store, I would add some spicy pepper flakes in them. But, I don't do that here."

I went there with a Japanese friend and commented, "It is sort of chewy... you know what I mean?" 

He nodded and said, "I know what you meant.  I like it too and I don't know how to describe that texture ."

Do you C?

I have a thing for the C Restaurant ever since we came here for the Groupon deal back in April 2010.  I came back a few times with different deals they offered and if there was another deal, I would go back again. Why? The restaurant is has nice view if you were seated at the right place.  The service and food are simply amazing.  This is one restaurant that I will definitely miss when I leave Vancouver.

Like any restaurant, they always start us off with some bread and butter.  The bread they served on the table differed everytime I had been there.  Usually, they will give us several types of bread to try.  The first time I was there, they served us four types of bread!  I am going to write about the dishes they served during my third visit mainly because I have lost the photos from my first visit and forgot to take photos during my second visit. Boooo me :(

Ok.  The Groupon deal we had was a four course meal.  The first course is a very flavourful soup -- Wild & cultivated mushroom veloute with confit garlic and brioche croutons.  The soup was creamy but it didn't irritate me nor make me feeling too full for my next course.  The soft texture of the garlic and the crunchy croutons did not take away the sweetness from the mushrooms.

I was not really looking forward to the risotto because it was usually very filling for me.   However, this corn risotto with green onion relish came as a shock to me.  Every bite of risotto has a little bit of sweetness from the corn.  With the help of the relish, the sweetness stands out a lot.  This dish is very unique to my taste bud and the reasonable portion saved me enough space for the next dish!

The third course is BC albacore tuna with some fantastic potatoes and zucchini.  Based on my few experiences here, this is the most filling course and it usually has the longest name --
BC albacore tuna, lyonaise potatoes, zucchini ribbons, parmesan soubise.   Even though the tuna was nicely done, I still prefer the potatoes and zucchini better.  Strong flavoured tuna with simple vegetables as side dishes... yum~~

Chocolate brownie as dessert this time!  I have always had bad experience with burnt brownies but this time it was soft in the inside and outside.  It is not as if the brownie was melting away.  They used dark chocolate and hence there was a tiny bit of bitterness to it but I like that bitterness.  They used a sweet (berry chantilly) and sour (lemon curd) combination of sauce to complement the bitterness for those who do not like dark chocolates.  I love the lemon curd because the sourness did not make me made funny faces.



The macaroon was not a part of the course but they served it as we asked for our bill.  It was not as amazing as the other courses but hey, it's a change from the chocolates!