Calgary Restaurant Review: Moxie's Downtown

Since we stayed at the Sandman Hotel, we thought we would drop in early for dinner before 6 when there are less people around dinner time.  We ordered 2 sirloin steaks and 2 cheese burgers (if my memories are correct).

The order took more than 45 minutes after ordering to come, partly because we were told that there was "no fries" in the restaurant.  (and later on, fries did come out.  Maybe someone went shopping.)

During the 45 minutes, I realized the chefs and kitchen staff were very very busy because they were preparing for Uber or take out foods, which in this era is an important source of income.

After 45 minutes, the dishes finally came.

However, probably because they were too busy, our 2 steaks were black, overcooked with surface charcoal of 2mm. They were so hard to chew that we cut the surface off to eat, which defeats the entire purpose of paying money for Alberta beef.

My wife was really emotionally upset because this shouldn't be this way, paying money for blackened food which is barely edible.  (I can provide photos if needed.)

These are the hardest steaks I have ever eaten.

My kids' burgers were also blackened and hard and did not taste good.

I mean, the server girl did a wonderful job of cheering us up by providing a "sorry" dessert.  However, we left with an empty feeling because we wanted good Alberta steak, not "dessert".

BC Flood, Panic Buy and Food Shortage 2021 (Part 2)

 Today is November 25th, 2021, and it is already quite a few days after BC flood.  There is still nothing in Walmart in my area:

They say there is no supply shortage...not so sure..

There is still absolutely no meat:

There is no yogurt:

There is no milk and cheese:

There is no fries...but you see...lots of toilet paper in the reflections:

No meat still:

No chips....some chips I guess:

My favorite sauces are gone:

Even drano and cleaning supplies are out....

How long is it gonna take to restock these shelves?

Restaurant Review: Ryu Japanese Kitchen - Richmond Outlet

 I went to the outlet mall in Richmond the other weekend, and I wanted to eat ramen, so I dropped by Ryu Japanese Kitchen to try it.

I ordered "Tonkotsu Ramen", and it looks like below.  I will provide details at the bottom:

Ramen Ryu Japanese Kitchen Richmond

Overall taste:  4/10 - edible but not great.  (If you are a ramen fan...)

Soup - They say it is Tonkotsu, but it does not taste like it.  The taste is very faint, and I don't even know what it tastes like.  Perhaps, it tastes like some Chinese noodles?  It is not tonkotsu soup or pork broth.

Menma (bamboo shoot) - It does not taste good.  It is not a Japanese one.  I can tell that it is a Chinese one.  Not authentic.

Wood Ear (Black Fungus) - Who puts that in Ramen?  Not authentic.

Chashu (Pork) - It is okay.

Ramen - noodle itself kind of taste like other asian noodle, but okay.  Maybe 5/10.

I will probably not go back again.

Restaurant Review: Miku (Downtown Vancouver)

During Canada Day weekend, I decided to bring my wife out for a good outing for an awesome meal.

We decided to try the high end restaurant, "Miku".

The presentations are absolutely beautiful, and the foods are amazing.
Even the ice creams taste so good with decorations!

2021 Update:  The prices has gone up significantly just like other Canadian restaurant.

Before, I felt it is overpriced.  Now, it is even more overpriced.

Japanese food is best in Japan.  (Too bad we are in a pandemic era in 2021)

Wedding Anniversary: Restaurant: The French Table in Vancouver

We decided to have our anniversary meal this year when the kids are in school.
Therefore, I took a Monday off in September in order to enjoy our meal together quietly.

The restaurant I picked this year is The French Table on Main Street in Vancouver.
The owner was a chef for the King of Belgium before he moved to Vancouver and opened his own restaurant.  He moved his restaurant from downtown to Main Street a couple of years ago.

The French Table Restaurant in Vancouver

The location is at an odd place beside a bunch of small shops and a famous Chinese restaurant.
Nearby, there is no beautiful parks or attractions or businesses.
However, inside, it has the subtle atmosphere of a French restaurant, with little things decorated like retro maps, wine on the wall, etc.  The restaurant is small but very quiet on a week day.

Croque Monsieur

We ordered Croque Monsieur, Mushroom soup, Moules Frites, Lemon Tart and Chocolate Profiterole.
The Croque Monsieur was so good that it blew us away.  The cheese was just perfectly merged on the toast.  Absolutely delicious.

Murshroom soup french table

The mushroom soup was thick and not like other generic mushroom soup.
It taste like they really had a lot of grind-up mushroom in the soup with olive oil.

moules frites french table

Moules Frites was nice as expected with lots of fries.  We could not finish all the fries and had to pack it home.

Lemon Tart and Chocolate Profiterole

The Lemon Tart was absolutely amazing, too.  I was so surprised that it was not sour as I expected.  Lemon tarts that I had usually are so sour that I don't find them tasty at all.
This one, it had the lemon smell and faint flavor, but with the cranberry cream sauce, it was delicious and balanced.

The Chocolate Profiterole was very interesting, too.  It had many layers.
Fresh cream, almond, Puff, ice cream, etc for 3 or four layers, and it was tasty.
Since you can't buy the taste like this in Safeway or other super market, this is worth the money.
Plus, it was not sweet like supermarket ones...

The location is a little odd but for the food, I would return to this restaurant if I had the chance.

Restaurant: Yan's Garden in Burnaby, BC

A day before New Year's Eve, I went to Yan's Garden and ordered some Chinese food take out.

I have never tried this restaurant and thought year end is a good time to do it.

Yan's garden burnaby fried rice beef soup

They food looked very good and there were no tax for take out (and no tip either)!

All the food were really good.
The Yanjou Chaufan was amazing.  The beef gelatin soup was really good, too.
It is way better than all the food court food or T&T take out.
Of course, it has to be.

The price was not all unaffordable either.
I only paid 27 dollars for all items above and I would go back anytime....

Restaurant: Shiro Sushi Vancouver

Shiro Sushi is one of the real Japanese restaurant on Cambie.
We went there this spring before we had to Oakridge Mall  in Vancouver.

Shiro Sushi Vancouver

The sushi and Nigiri both taste very nice and authentic, not the North American taste.
Lunch set also offers good value and came with a huge "Pocky" chocolate stick.

The staff were friendly on the phone and in person, and I will go there again.

FatBurger: Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Fatburger is a popular burger chain restaurant that sells high end burgers.

They have several restaurants in Vancouver area and recently opened one near my place.
We haven't been there for a while and we went to try this location out.

As usual, the burgers are so fresh and the service is superb!!

You line up to make your orders, but they take the food to your seats.
Also, there is no obligation to give tips compared to other restaurants.
(because your serve your own drinks.)
awesome!

The food was impressive as usual.  Many would argue burger is a burger, but theirs is better than others.
(Even better than other restaurants like White Spot or Red Robbins.)

I give them a two thumbs up!

New India Buffet & Restaurant in Vancouver, BC

We went to New India Buffet Restaurant to try Indian Buffet for the first time in the middle of October.

Naturally, that means various kinds of Indian curry are available and we were looking forward to it.

New India Buffet and Restaurant, Vancouver, BC

The restaurant is located in the broadway corridor and normally is filled with hospital workers and office workers.  However, in the weekend, it is quiet, as oppose to the other restaurants in other areas.
They have raised their prices.  Their weekend buffet is more expensive (does not make sense).

Their take out lunch was super cheap: 5 dollars..now they raised it to 5.95.
Again, does not make sense because next year, the taxes will go down. They would have potentially more customers.

The seatings are nice and they do have around 10 kinds of curry and other meats and milk ball to choose from.

New India buffet Vancouver 2

They have butter chicken, beef curry, yogurt curry, chick pea curry, vegetable curry, etc.

If you try many kinds of curry, it would certainly make you full.

I also tried the saffron rice, but it did not suit my taste.  My wife liked it though.
Both of us liked the dessert, "milk ball". (gulab jamun in India)

3 kinds of curry and milk ball

Above is a picture of milk ball.  It is the small brown ball at the top.

Tandoori chicken, saffron rice, naam and curry

I am a picky eater, but I do like most of the curry in the restaurant.
I did not try vegetable and chick pea curry because I am picky.

I would recommend to go to this place not during weekends because they over charge when there is no customers.

Restaurant: Sushi California in Coquitlam, BC

Sushi California is a popular restaurant next to Lougheed mall at a very busy intersection.
(North Road and Austin Road)

We went there to buy some take out food to see what they can offer.
First the price is cheap, and the proportion seems big for the party tray for 4 people...see below.

Sushi California Party Tray

Well, this is called North American size, big but with limited content inside the sushi.
Mostly, they are cucumber inside the huge rolls.
And as always, when I apply the chopsticks to pick up the sushi, they crumble.

sushi with mostly cucumber

Again, cheap huge sushi here, does not guarantee artistry or quality.
The taste is not too bad and the sashimi was fresh.

For a take out restaurant with low price (35 dollars for 4 people), I would give it a B+ for price.
However, the outside look of sushi would be C-.  Taste would be B- overall.
In Canadian standard, not in Japanese standard....haha

McDonald's Canada: New Caramel Baked Pie

McDonald's release the new Caramel Baked Pie.

I would say it is one of the better tasting pie.
(chocolate banana is still my favorite!)

McDonald's Caramel baked pie

This one has a simple taste but it is a safe bet: Caramel.

I would give it a 8.5 out of 10...not bad for a McDonald's dessert.

I would sure buy this again because we love it and the kids love it.

Restaurant: Sang Thai & Vietnamese Restaurant (Port Coquitlam)

We went to this place because I got a deal from Living Social.

This restaurant locates in a Port Coquitlam strip mall beside a major road intersection.
However, this restaurant could be hard to find because it is at the outside corner.
(maybe that is why they need to promote it because people don't notice it.)

It is a quiet restaurant with nice Thai style decorations.
The food they sell actually is Chinese, Thai plus Vietnamese.
(I should find the interior photos...)

Here is the fried rice we ordered:

Fried rice sang thai port coquitlam

The fried rice was very nice. 
They actually hired a girl playing traditional chinese instrument.
It was wonderful but I felt bad because no one was there on a friday night.

pad thai sang thai port coquitlam

Next, the Pad Thai.  It was not hot.
It was lacking some kind of taste and wasn't the best pad thai I have tried...
I would not recommend their pad thai.

The spring roll was pretty good I gotta say.
Because I paid regular price, I have to say, while not cheap, the portion is reasonable.

I would recommend this place if you live near Port Coquitlam, BC if you just want some simple things to enjoy.

Jack in the Box Washington State's 5 Dollar Set

As a Canadian, I found another cool deal from US fast food chains.
Jack in the Box is having a 5 dollar hamburger set.
You get a burger, fries, chicken nuggets and drink!!!!

Jack in the Box Washington State 5 dollar set

I know this is normal for Americans but it is a big deal for Canadians.
We would have to pay 10 dollars plus tax for something like this!
Again, double price.....and we don't make more money either...

Me and my family always enjoy the deals we get while travelling down in the states.

Izumitei in Richmond, BC, Canada

Izumiya Japanese Supermarket in Richmond, BC has expanded to include a new buffet restaurant.

The name is "Izumitei".  For 12 dollars plus tax, you enjoy a great selection of home style Japanese food!

Izumitei in Izumiya in Richmond BC

Now, it does not have much sashimi and nigiri.  However, it has lots of home dishes such as sukiyaki, oden, korokke and takoyaki.

It also has a selection of cooked pork, fish, clams....
They hire Japanese chef, and the food taste great!

Izumitei buffet

We ate till we were soooooo full!
I still wish they had sashimi....but I guess the price is okay...

Bellingham, Washington State: Super Buffet

We went to "Super Buffet", a Chinese owned buffet restaurant in Bellingham, Washington last month.

It does has some variety of sushi and sashimi although the quality and freshness is not consistent.
It is not particularly cheap either.  We pay 15 dollars each person plus drink extra, taxes and tips.

I am not sure if it is worth the 15 dollars since you pay the same in Canada with better quality of food.

If you set up a shop in Bellingham, you have to make it cheap...

oyster, Inari sushi, salmon, tuna sashimi

It has the basic sushi but nothing out of ordinary.
It has fresh oysters but some were going bad.  Besides that, they had tuna, salmon, Ika and Inari sushi.
They also had some rolls.

They claim that they have "Alaskan Crab".  However, it only come out once an hour and only for the first 3 or 4 people who can get to it.

They also have quite a few Chinese dishes.  If you like Chinese food, then these should be for you.

We did not try the Chinese food. 
However, there is a Teriyaki section that you can pick your meat and vegetables and they will cook for you.

You have a choice of beef, chicken and pork and several teriyaki type vegetables.

They also barbecue the shrimps in front of you, so this part is kind of neat.

I think they should at least make some drink self serve instead of charging people.

I will not recommend this place because of the high price and inconsistent level of food.
I think this one is to trap the cross border shopping Vancouver visitors....

New York Fries (Canada): New Spicy Pulled Pork Poutine

New York Fries has another new flavor for its famous poutine!

It is called "Spicy Pulled Pork Poutine".
We tried it this weekend and it was great!

It has a little bit of smokey taste and is only a little bit spicy.
Therefore, it should cater to most of the population.

They are also giving out drink coupons during the promotional period!

Now, it has three great special poutines besides the regular one:
Spicy Pulled Pork, Braised Beef and Butter Chicken!

Not all the malls offer the new tastes (I guess it depends on the store size.)...too bad.

I wonder what comes next?

McDonald's USA (Portland, Oregon): Chicken McBites

I will slowly blog about my trip to Portland, Oregon.
We found this new product in McDonald's that we have not seen in Canada or Seattle.

It is Chicken McBites.  Basically, they have developed it to compete with KFC.
(Or, they have taken the idea from KFC.)

Chicken McBites McDonald Oregon Portland

Shopping and eating is tax free in Oregon, so McDonald's seemed cheaper, too.
(A big box was about 3.7 if I remembered.)

The taste is not bad even though I still prefers the KFC popcorn chicken.

inside McDonald's chicken Mcbites

Restaurant: Richmond Aberdeen Centre: Saboten

Two weeks ago, we went to the newly opened Japanese chain restaurant (in food court in Aberdeen centre in Richmond, BC)

Its name is Shinjuku Saboten, a specialty restaurant specialized in "Tokatsu", fried pork cutlet.
When we arrived there at Friday afternoon at 1:30pm, there was a long line up to order.
However, the order line moved quickly, so I thought, "that is good!".

So, we ordered two tonkatsu set and began waiting.

Richmond Aberdeen Centre's Saboten Tokatsu Restaurant food court

waiting, wating and waiting...
50 minutes later! We finally got our numbers called and got our items.

Then, guess what?  The lady got my order wrong!!  It became two "katsudon set."
That is a different kind of dish all together!

Saboten katsudon set

 The katsudon set is not bad in Canadian standard.
However, for people who lived in Japan, this is just a normal dish.

The Canadians might go crazy about it because it is new to them.
It is not worth an hour wait!! and I don't think it is worth the 8.50 dollars spent either.

For people who planned to visit, I would suggest to go during off peak period in weekdays.

Restaurant Review: Go Thai Restaurant

We went to a restaurant, Go Thai, (or Don't Go! Thai) in New Westminster to order take out for Thai food.

We have heard mixed reviews, some good, some bad about this place and decided to try it out.
I wanted to know how good the food is here, so I ordered two basic dish to test it out:
Thai Curry and Pad Thai.

If you screw those two basic dishes up, then it is not good enough.
For the curry, I decided on the 14 dollar Seafood Curry because I think green or yellow curry were too common.  I wanted to test the size of portion and food quality.

Thai seafood Curry and Pad Thai

The Pad Thai is too spicy (nothing wrong with that).
However, it tastes just normal.  Nothing outstanding.

The seafood curry were dry...maybe it is supposed to be.
However, the portion is really really small as I can demonstrate on the next picture:

The portion is only half of the portion of pad thai.
The pad thai is 11 dollars!! less than the curry!
All dishes are between 10 to 15 dollars for dinner but the portions are small.
(soups and appetizers are cheaper.)

The seafood curry has two mussels and two shrimps!!!!and that is 15 dollars (tax included)
Outrageous.  The restaurants in BC really over charges...

Anyways, the food is mediocre, so I would try something else cheaper next time.

Restaurant Review: New India

New India is a popular restaurant on Broadway, Vancouver for providing buffet for a good price.
Their lunch box is actually reasonable and popular and tasty (In my standard anyways.)
Each box is actually only 5 dollars plus taxes.

New India lunch box broadway vancouver

Even though I am not an Indian food expert, I can say that this taste not bad.
It is way better than food court food and way cheaper, too.

Last week, when we tried the Indian food in the Metropolis food court, I was shocked at the price!
It was 5 dollar without any rice, any meat, very little sauce!
We did not even get full. It was ridiculous!!

I want to try New India's buffet in the future!