Dineout 2015- Romer's Burger Bar

Hey Everyone,

Had lunch with my coworkers yesterday at Romer's in River District, the one on Kerr by Marine. We had no idea this restaurant was part of the Dine Out program as well, so this was a pleasant surprise! Normally the burgers don't come with any fries, but with the Dine Out menu, you get fries included, along with an appetizer and their mini donuts for dessert!

Here's the Dine Out menu:

It might be a little hard to read, but there are actually two options here, the $18 menu or the $25 menu. This is the second time I've been to this location, and the third time I've dined at a Romer's. After each of those two visits, I came out pondering why Romer's was considered as such a good burger joint by many of my friends. While the first two times weren't very impressive, I was hoping this third visit would change my opinion of Romer's. 

I decided to start off with a Thomas Kemper Craft Brewed Rootbeer $4; no alcohol today!

This rootbeer was very delicious! The fizz isn't too strong, right on point, and the flavour is just so smooth! Definitely a must try for all you rootbeer lovers out there!

I ordered from the $18 menu, so for starters, I had the Tomato Basil Soup (normally $6.95).

Mui Garden Restaurant

 Hello everyone!

Last week I decided to join Phil and his co-workers for lunch at Mui Garden. Apparently they come here pretty often during their lunch hours. When we got there I was browsing through the menu but none of them took a glance at it. I questioned why and they told me based on their previous experiences they already know what's the best dish here. Since I've never been here before, obviously I trust their opinion. So we all ended up ordering the Curry Beef Brisket with Rice.

Now before I jump right in to my opinion on the actual dish, let me talk a bit about the restaurant. Mui Garden has been around for quite some time and I remember long time ago my parents LOVED Mui Garden, but due to other competitions within Vancouver , the quality and performance of this place was just not meeting to everyone's expectation anymore.

Despite the interiors horrid appearance, I expected much out of the food and service provided. In terms of service, according to Phil and his co-workers, the service is based towards their mood on that particular day. Sometimes they are very nice and sometimes they are horribly rude.

According to Phil's opinion, he ordered other dishes from this place before and was highly disappointed so he only orders Curry beef brisket with rice.

Tacofino Commissary

Hey Everyone,

Had a work lunch a few days ago at Tacofino and it was the first time that any of us had been here, aside from the one who brought us here!

Dineout 2015- Chambar Restaurant

Hello everyone!

This month was our 4th year anniversary, so we decided to treat ourselves to some amazing food! We heard many great things about Chambar and since they were also doing Dineout, might as well take this opportunity to try it!

Dineout is still on until February 1st, so if you want to check out the Chambar dineout menu check out the link: http://www.dineoutvancouver.com/listings/Chambar-Restaurant/19526/0/#dineoutdinnermenu

They serve the $38.00 menu, which comes with appetizer, main course & dessert (just like all other dineout options). 

So for appetizer, I ordered the  Soupe De Canard: Cauliflower soup, barbequed duck, cilantro pistou,  & toasted almonds.
The soup is a thick cream consistency and has some amazing flavor. I really like the addition of the cilantro pistou which gives the soup an extra kick of flavor. The duck was cooked very well and the amount given was surprisingly filling. 

Phil ordered the Coquilles St. Jacques A La "Bob": Pan seared scallops, mint pea puree, tandoori papadum & pickled grapes. He thought everything paired very well with the scallops but thought the portion was too minimal. But overall an amazing appetizer. 

Sugarholic Cafe

Hey Everyone,

We were thinking of where to eat for dinner before heading to a movie, and we thought of this restaurant that was recommended to us by a friend who had dined here recently. Since I had to go NCIX at Aberdeen anyways, dining here made perfect sense!

JC Kitchen

Hello everyone!

My family loves to eat Chiu Chow Cuisine and we find it very difficult to locate an authentic Chiu Chow restaurant that makes on-point dishes. I'm partially Chiu Chow, therefore ever since I was young, my grandpa would cook up the BEST Chiu Chow dishes ever. 

We were given a small dish of pickled mustard greens. They were absolutely delicious! This place makes it sweeter than Top Chiu Chow Cuisine. I really like Top Chiu Chow, but I've heard they switched management and the level has gone down a little.

The location of this restaurant is extremely hidden and you'll only find this place if you know where you are headed. My uncle told us about this restaurant and it's surrounded by commercial properties. For dinner, they open up at 5:30, so when I got there, we were the first customers. At first I was kind of skeptical about this place because there was nobody there. After 30 mins of opening, this placed was packed full of party tables. 

So all the dishes we ordered are the ones we LOVE to eat. 
We are major duck fans, therefore we ordered the Chiu Chow Style Soy Duck (Half) $16.80.
The duck was perfectly cooked and I like how the soy sauce didn't overlap the taste of the duck. It was the perfect amount of soy to go along with it.

Ramen Koika

Hi everyone!

After talking to a travel agent on Davie, me and Phil decided to go grab some food within that block. We came across to this Ramen place across the street and thought might as well give it a try. At first Phil was going to check out the rating on Urbanspoon, but I thought we should just give them a chance without being influenced by a rating shown on Urbanspoon. With no expectations in mind, we were very pleased by the quality and the amount of variety they have. Within the menu, there was a page highlighting their restaurant challenge. They have 3 different levels of spicy noodles: Level 1-SpiceFever, Level 2-Caboom, Level 3-Burning in hell.
If you manage to down all that noodle within 15 minutes, you get the Ramen for free, your picture will be shown on the wall of fame & you'll receive a certificate for completion. I thought this is such a fun and interesting feature they have, but I'll never try it, I'll just watch :)
We just went there for lunch and I was not planning to down spicy noodles that day, so no, me and Phil did not take on the challenge. :P

Shishinori

Hello everyone!

On Saturday, after our workout, my friend and I decided to go to Shishinori. It was my first time trying Japanese brunch so I was more than excited! Shishinori is located on Cambie, between 7th and 8th ave. It's a very small restaurant and I think can only seat approx. 14 people. We were lucky enough to find two seats along the window. So when we first stepped in, there were a few other people following behind us. This place functions by ordering first and then seating yourself after with your number. Because there were people behind us, I was rushed to order my dish. Since it was my first time, I wasn't sure what to get, so I asked the cashier what she recommends. But her answer did not help me one bit because she was saying everything is popular. Which it may be true, but I expected her to suggest something to speed up the process. Therefore, in the spur of the moment I decided to go for a rice bowl.

Venice Garden

Hey Everyone,

For my family's Christmas dinner, it was somehow decided to go to Venice Garden, a Chinese seafood restaurant at the plaza on Renfrew and East 1st Ave in Vancouver. This is definitely not a place I would voluntarily choose to go to, but it was an uncle's choice, so we ended up going there. 

Upon first impression, the look of the restaurant is pretty typical with most restaurants of this type. However, one thing about the design of the restaurant really bothered me. The first thing I looked for when I went in the restaurant was the washroom location, because I had to use it! I looked around and only saw the sign for the women's washroom, but no sign indicating where the men's washroom was. The women's washroom was located at the inside right corner when you enter the restaurant, as indicated by an illuminated sign. The inside left, and outside left corners were just part of the dining area, the other only other corner remaining was the outside right corner, which is right by the entrance of the restaurant. I looked down the short hall that was the outside right corner, and it lead to a dead end, only having a supply of extra chairs. This made no sense to me, as why would a restaurant only have a women's washroom but no men's washroom? I mean, yes this is a cheap looking Chinese restaurant, but come on! A functional washroom for both genders is a requirement of any restaurant, no matter how cheap they are! I decided to check out the inside right corner where the women's washroom was located to see what's up, and my suspicion was correct. The men's washroom was indeed located in that hallway as well, but for some idiotic reason, they choose not to have a sign indicating that it's also located in that corner of the restaurant as well! This might not be such a big deal for some people, but it REALLY bothered me that they did not care to put a sign up saying that the men's washroom was located there as well. I mean if you put up a general sign that says "WASHROOM", then it would be clear that both washrooms are located in the same area, but if you have a sign for the women's washroom in that corner only, then no one is going to assume the men's washroom is there as well, and they would assume it would be in the opposite corner of the restaurant, as this is something other restaurants have done. This set the tone for the rest of the dining experience already so they had better come up with some amazing food to save this review.

Dine Out Vancouver!

Good afternoon to my food family,

Incase you guys did not know yet, Dine Out Vancouver Festival is coming upon us super quick! Starting from Jan 16- Feb 1, 2015! Its the best time to try out those expensive restaurants that you were not willing to go all out for during the year! 

If you never heard of Dine out before it's basically the time of year where a lot of known restaurants participate with set menus. The prices ranges from, $18, $28 & $38. There is a wide selection from different cuisines & located in different neighbourhoods. A lot have gluten-free or vegetarian option. So incase you are vegetarian or on a budget, don't despair because there is plenty of options to go for. 

Me & Phils anni is coming up so we already booked a table at Chambar. I've personally never been there before so I'm extremely excited. 

If you want to check out their dine out menu, heres the link: Chambar Restaurant

Hope you find this info helpful and definitely check it out!
-Jess

Guu Garlic

Hello everyone!

The other day me & Phil were strolling around downtown looking for a place to eat. We were initially looking for a Ramen restaurant but all the ones we wanted to try out had extremely long line ups. So we ended up in Guu Garlic located at the corner of Robson & Bidwell. We were pretty shocked that there were no line ups because all the other Japanese restaurants around that area were filled up! 

We were seated at the bar, which gave us a perfect vision of the kitchen area. When it came to ordering, Phil wanted the Katsu-Curry, but was told they ran out of the pork cutlet, therefore "Tonkatsu"& "Katsudon", were also unavailable. Phil was pretty disappointed and wished they have mentioned that before hand. We browsed through the menu for quite some time to decide on what to get, so when we finally did decide, Phil was pretty unhappy when he was unable to order what he initially wanted. By all means, he ended up ordering the Chicken Nanban ($9.80) which was the daily special. I ordered the Assorted Deep-Fried ($9.20) which came with chicken, pork and corn croquette.

REVISIT-Cactus Club Richmond

Hey Everyone,

Jess and I recently went to dine at Cactus Club in Richmond for dinner for Xmas/New Years/Holidays. This location has its own sizable parking lot and it situated on Number 3 Road adjacent to Lansdowne Centre. Being a Saturday night, I was expecting it to be busy so I called ahead of time and booked a table, even though it was only for a table of 2. Turns out I was right and there were several others waiting to be seated already when we arrived. 

We ended up being seated in their solarium at a nice large table for 4! Even though it was a cold night, their solarium had plenty of hanging gas heaters to keep it nice and warm at each table. If you haven't been to their solarium, it's a pretty nice place to eat at with comfy cushioned chairs and large tables, several fireplaces, and a fountain in the middle. 

For drinks, normally I'd start with a mojito, but even though the drink you see below looks like one, it's actually a Brazilian! This is my new favourite drink at Cactus Club! It's got a mix of kiwi and lime for its main flavour so it's a pretty sweet drink. There's no mint leaves in here, so that's where it differs from the mojito, but the kiwi is a nice substitution here. The taste is sweet and is very refreshing! If you like mojitos, you will likely like this too. If you don't like mojitos because of the mint, then you will like this too!

We started with a Tuna Tataki, which is amazing here! We were so hungry we devoured it in a couple minutes. The tuna tataki is served on top of chopped avocado, cantaloupe, and sliced oranges, with a carrot and what looks to be radish base. The tuna tataki is cooked perfectly with a thin layer on the outside seared. Highly recommend this appy!

Hello 2015!

Hello everyone!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY FOODIE FAMILY! :)

I am still in shock that 2015 has officially entered into our lives! My break from school is soon to be over and my life as a student is going to be officially flicked on again. Despite the busy term that is coming up, me & Phil will still consistently post blogs from time to time. Thank you again for the full support & I wish everyone the best in 2015!

I hope everyone had an amazing new years eve! Lets start the new year off with some foodie photos from me & Phil's new years eve party!