Posts Tagged ‘review’

Kingspark Cafe Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 20th, 2009

Richmond is home to many Hong Kong style cafes such as Kingspark. They are known for good cheap eats under $10. I frequent Kingspark since the menu selection, quality and value are excellent. Most menu items include a hot/cold drink as well at no extra charge! Most Hong Kong style cafes charge $1 extra for cold drinks. The parking may be a problem on the weekends but once you go in, it’s all good from there on. Most of the time you are seated and given hot tea right away. You will need a general idea of what you’d want to eat so that you can look for those options on the menu. Servers will then check back quickly to take your order so you can get your food quickly. Service can be prompt but also can be a little slow at times. I ordered preserved salted fish fried rice, my mom ordered thai style fried rice which is my top pick to share with my grandma, and my brother ordered a taiwanese style beef noodle. If you order baked stuff, be prepared to wait a little longer.

The fried rice is excellent value. It is enough to feed 2 people and it’s only $6.45! Don’t forget, that price includes a drink too! The fried rice was tasty and not greasy at all. My brother’s beef was tender and had good flavour. I would give this restaurant 8/10 stars. Quality and value is definitely there. As for service, like all HK style cafes, you’d have to demand it sometimes.

Excellent Tofu & Snacks Ltd. Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 20th, 2009

Surprisingly Vancouver is extremely limited when it comes to going out for dessert. Something that I’m hoping will change quickly. Who can say no to desserts? I was given the difficult task of choosing a place for dessert. After some lengthy thinking, I was unsuccessful. I spent too much time pondering on cakes and ice cream. I totally forgot about chinese dessert! We went for one of my most favourite food items: TOFU!

Now if you haven’t tried it before, you may think it’s a pretty gross idea to have tofu for dessert but it’s completely not. We went to Excellent Tofu & Snacks Ltd. in Richmond. The moment you walk in, you will see that decor is not a priority but it’s not ugly enough to make you run. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, this place sort of has a Hong Kong feel. Their point is to not serve you decor but yummy treats.  They have many choices of toppings that you can have on the tofu plus you can choose to have it hot or cold. I prefer the plain one hot then load it with brown sugar and ginger syrup which is exactly what I ordered. When you think of tofu, you might think of eating a huge block of tofu but that’s not how it is. They have a huge pot of velvety soft smooth tofu and when you order, they use their specially designed scoop to “slice” thin layers of tofu into a bowl for you. On the days where you have a little extra room for dessert after dinner, definitely think of this as an option. Each generously sized bowl is only $2.75! That’s cheaper than going for cake or ice cream if you’re on a budget! I give this place 7/10 stars. Service is prompt but not over the top, and the quality and value is excellent.

Trattoria Italian Kitchen Review – Vancouver

July 19th, 2009

Under the Glowbal Group, Trattoria and Italian Kitchen offer the same type of cuisine(Italian) in a hip and trendy setting but Trattoria is much more affordable. It has the open kitchen concept where we can see exactly what the chefs are doing and see our food as it is being prepared. We were greeted and seated promptly and within 10 minutes after ordering we got our food which was extremely fast for a restaurant like this. I was very hungry so I can’t complain I got my food too soon but it is a fine dining restaurant. I thought the food is supposed to come slowly so we have time to chat and enjoy the comfortable ambiance of the restaurant? I ordered a spaghetti with Kobe meatballs and my friend ordered a linguine with jumbo tiger prawns. The food was brought to our table by a very young individual. He forgot to offer us freshly grated Parmesan cheese. After we started enjoying our pasta, our server came over and asked if we wanted freshly grated Parmesan. A little too late, isn’t it? But at least he knew and he apologized for offering it a little late. » More: Trattoria Italian Kitchen Review – Vancouver

Lam Chu Kee Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 19th, 2009

Lam Chu Kee is similar to the cuisine offered at Spicy Szechuan Restaurant which is family style Cantonese food. The decor isn’t the best but it’s not horrid either. I don’t have much memory of the first time I ate at this restaurant but I’m about to refresh my memory. We were running a little late so my brother and his wife took charge of ordering. We had sweet & sour pork, ginger & green onion chicken, fish & tofu claypot, mini plate of veggies(豆苗), mini plate of squid & veggie stir-fry, and dessert was on the house again. The sweet & sour pork tasted average to me. The chicken was tender but had a weird boiled aftertaste and they used too much starch for the sauce which coagulated quickly. I only ate two pieces of chicken due to the aftertaste. The fish & tofu claypot was good though. The fish was very smooth and tender. It had a good amount of fish, tofu, veggies, bbq pork. The squid was tender as well. I expected it to be rubbery. I think my favourite of the night was the mini plate of veggies. I didn’t really liked the dessert. It was some sort of chinese dessert soup which had tapioca and egg swirls in there. I love tapiocaand eggs but I didn’t enjoy the flavour of it too much. It was the yolk flavour to be exact. I may be wrong but most of the time when I have them, it’s just the egg white and not the yolk in there.

The bill came to approximately $70. The food was just okay, service was prompt and they even added more tea leaves to our teapot of weakened tea. Although we had 5 dishes, 2 of them were mini sized so I didn’t think $70 was a good value for the dinner. I would give this restaurant 5/10 stars.

Spicy Szechuan Restaurant 川味館 Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 19th, 2009

This restaurant in Richmond is one of the usual dinner spots when my family visits. Although they say they specialize in Cantonese, Szechuan and Shanghai cuisine, by the menu offerings, it seems that it’s mainly Cantonese. They have a specials sheet which we usually order from then share the plates of food. We ordered one plate of stir-fried veggies, sweet & sour fish, deep-fried spiced chicken, shrimp & cashew stir-fry, and chinese meatballs in a claypot. Other than the plate of veggie, the portions seemed a little less than usual. The shrimp & cashew stir-fry was tasty and had a lot of crunchy texture. The crunchiness from the celery, cashews, baby corn, and shrimp created a well-rounded crunchy texture. The chicken looked dry but was actually tender and not dried out. I do not know the exact English name for the veggies but it is one of my most favourite kinds. Although the sweet & sour sauce for the fish was good, it wasn’t anything special. The fish was still smooth and perfectly deep-fried. At the end of the meal, we were served chinese dessert(red bean soup) which was on the house. It was bland, watered down, and thin in consistency. I finished it anyway. When I was eating, I noticed the food cooled down fairly fast shortly after it was brought to our table. It was not even really lukewarm. » More: Spicy Szechuan Restaurant 川味館 Review – Vancouver, Richmond

Dragon View Restaurant Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 16th, 2009

Recently renovated and renamed, this restaurant is a popular dim sum destination in Richmond. On Saturdays and Sundays, if you don’t have a reservation, you will most likely not get a table unless you are willing to wait crazy lengths of time. This is one of my top picks for dim sum if that is what you are looking for. Although busy, the service is reasonably good, the dim sum selection is plenty, the quality of the food is excellent, and the prices are very affordable. On the weekdays, if you’re an early riser, there’s discount too! If you finish dining and leave before 12 noon, a 10% discount applies. How great is that? Two people average to about $18 with the discount already applied and you leave extremely full. With the quality, value and service this restaurant provides, it deserves a rating of 8/10 stars.

Stage – Fernwood, Victoria

July 12th, 2009

I went to this restaurant for dinner the other night, after hearing some very good things I needed to check it out. Stage is a smaller restaurant in the quaint Fernwood neighbourhood and they specialize in small plates, wines, cocktails, and martinis. Stage does not accept reservations for parties less than 8 people, but we were we were a party of 5 and we arrived there around 7:30 on a Thursday night and there was no problem getting a table right away, however, later on at night the restaurant was full and a line-up formed at the door of this popular restaurant. This restaurant has a modern simple interior made cozy by the old brick walls creating an uptown feel to this otherwise casual restaurant.

» More: Stage – Fernwood, Victoria

The Tapa Bar – Downtown Victoria (Trounce Alley)

July 11th, 2009

The Tapa Bar is a well known restaurant in the heart of downtown Victoria that specializes in well you guessed it… Tapas!

Tapas are a Spanish appetizer sized meals that can be eaten as a main meal or shared with others. The idea is you order a number of different tapas at a table so all can share and enjoy the variety. The Tapa Bar is always busy, it is popular amongst the locals as well as tourists. I’ve always been a fan of Tapas and after a friend recommend we try The Tapa Bar for her birthday dinner I was excited and curious as to what this place was all about.

First off, great atmosphere and as usual it was quite busy and the constant loud chit chat created a great buzz in the restaurant. » More: The Tapa Bar – Downtown Victoria (Trounce Alley)

Sockeye Sushi – Downtown Victoria

July 10th, 2009

When Ahn Sushi near Broughton and Blanshard closed down a few years ago…  no joke, a little piece of me died.  Actually, despair.  Despair was what I felt – and for a very good reason as well; this potentially meant the end for quality fusion Japanese food.  I’ve had many fond memories of the quaint little shop tucked around the corner there, but sadly it’s been so long that I can’t remember what the menu was like.  I just knew that every time I went, it was guaranteed good times.

Enter Sockeye Sushi.  On Johnson.  Across from the ghetto sketch bus stop. » More: Sockeye Sushi – Downtown Victoria

Yume Japanese Cuisine – Downtown Vancouver

July 9th, 2009


Deciding on lunch at work is always a challenge especially when my choices are extremely limited. There’s Subway, Taco del Mar, Tim Horton’s, A&W, or the nearby mall food court. What do all these have in common? Fast food and not so healthy. Unfortunately I find myself at A&W the most of out all those mentioned. Mostly due to the fact that my break is only 30 minutes. Yume Japanese Cuisine located on the corner of Dunsmuir and Seymour was nearby so I gave it a go. As soon as I entered, I was greeted and seated promptly. Tea was also given promptly. I couldn’t help but to notice the interior hasn’t been renovated to suit the type of cuisine. It looked like a small pub but a lot a lot brighter. Due to my time limitation, I quickly ordered bento box A($9.95). It came with miso soup, teriyaki chicken on a bed of rice, green salad, 8 pieces of california roll, prawn, yam and squash tempura. » More: Yume Japanese Cuisine – Downtown Vancouver