5.24.2015

Hachibei

Hello everyone!

The other day my friends & I decided to try out a Japanese restaurant located on West 16th near Cambie. We went on a Thursday so it wasn't that busy, which was great! We didn't have to wait long for our table & also we were able to find tons of parking space along West 16th & on the side streets.  The interior is very small but not compact to the point where its unbearable. Its a very cute Japanese themed restaurant. They have numerous Japanese décor around the space and it made the atmosphere feel very comfortable.

This restaurant is owned by Japanese people, unlike the Japanese restaurants we have around Vancouver right now which is mostly owned by either Koreans or Chinese people. Don't get me wrong, those ones are great too! But once in a while I love to eat from an authentic Japanese restaurant.

5.20.2015

Tap n Barrel - Revisit

Hey Everyone,

On a Friday night after a tough week at work, what better way to get the weekend started than by going to Tap n Barrel for some good food and craft beer? My buddies and I decided to do just that at the Olympic Village location. 


We got there during the height of the dinner time rush, so we ended up having to wait for an hour and a half! The weather was beautiful and so was the location, so it wasn't the worst of waits. 




Saw the A&W manager filming a new commercial while we were waiting as well!



When we finally got seated, we were seated in the first floor near the back of the restaurant just past the bar.



5.14.2015

Sushi Hachi


Hello everyone!

Back again with another blog on a Japanese place that is 100% authentic, located in a very small location in Richmond on Odlin Crescent. It was my first time trying this place out and there were little things I was surprised about. They are only open on Tuesday-Saturday from 6pm-9pm. They only take reservations so don't even bother doing walk ins, because majority of the time there will be no room. They don't have a kitchen so they only serve sashimi, sushi & maybe a few things that are pan fried.

We ordered a bunch of random types of sashimi and food so I don't quite remember the exact name of each and every item but I hope this post is still helpful in terms of what I think of the place and the food.


We ordered several types of sashimi to try. All of the sashimi was extremely fresh and tasted great!

5.12.2015

Chicken's Favourite Breading

Hey Everyone,

So the night market behind Home Depot in Richmond is open now, so we decided to check it out! Normally I never go to this night market anymore, because the one by RiverRock Casino has much more variety, but since that one hasn't opened yet, might as well check this one out!

Admission to this night market is free, as opposed to $1.50 or whatever the RiverRock one is charging nowadays. The only thing is that parking is not free unless you find street parking, which we were lucky to find. 

This night market is a lot smaller with only a few rows of shops and food/drink vendors. While walking through, one particular stall caught my attention: Chicken's Breading Fav, or whatever their name may be (couldn't find them on Google).



5.10.2015

Suika

 Hello everyone!

The other day it was my friends birthday so we decided to go to Suika on Broadway. I've never been to this place before but my friend told me it is absolutely amazing. I had really high expectations for this place and was super stoked to finally get to try this place out.

Since it's located on Broadway, majority of the parking spots are meter parking. We were able to find a spot on one of the closer side streets and paid approx. $3-$4 in parking for two hours.

The exterior of the building was rather simple and didn't really stand out much. The interior on the other hand was pretty unique. It definitely gave a Japanese vibe once you walk in. When you walk in you see a traditional wooden cabinet which acts as a reception desk. They also had a very cool light fixture in the centre of the dining area. It was made out of Japanese looking bottles. I thought it was a very cool idea and definitely gave the place character.

When I sat down, I noticed that their logo was a watermelon. That moment I knew Suika was to represent watermelon. I thought it was such a cute logo and I loved how our napkins, cups & cup coasters had a watermelon on it.





They have a crazy list of cocktails on their menu. The one that stood out to me was their Suika Mojito (aka. watermelon mojito) $8.50. I will definitely bring Phil back here because he LOVES watermelon and he LOVES mojitos. So the two combined would be the ideal combination for him.
Two of my friends ordered the Boston Mojito (aka. fresh ginger mojito) $8.00. Ginger is freshly made in house and the flavor was definitely unique. My friends really liked the freshness of the ginger taste. My other friend ordered the Fresh Lychee Gray (soho, fresh grapefruit & sugar rim) $7.50. I tried it after taking a sip of my watermelon mojito and I think that's why I think her drink was rather sour because my drink is extremely sweet. Everybody thought her drink tasted great and would highly recommend it as well.
Overall all the drinks we ordered were fantastic and would highly recommend just trying whichever one fits your taste! They have a wide range of different flavours in cocktails and that's what I love about this place!

5.03.2015

The Flying Pig at the Village

Hi everyone!

So if you read my food blog on a regular basis, you should know I just blogged about a Flying Pig location in Gastown a few weeks ago. Today I will be talking about the Flying Pig at the Village. I didn't even know that there was a Flying Pig location around there until Phil mentioned it to me when he drove by that area a few weeks ago.

This restaurant is located at the Olympic Village on West 2nd. With tons of brand new apartment buildings, it definitely draws a lot more attention within that area when there is so many great food options.

We went there on a Saturday for my bros birthday. They don't take dinner reservations so I expected a wait. When we got there, there were many people standing around the entrance, so I was prepared to wait for at least 20 mins or more for a table, especially when there was a Canucks game on that night. When I told the host that we were a table of 3, we were seated right away. So I'm assuming those people waiting had large parties.

I was celebrating both my bros birthday because they both have birthdays during April. One of my bros ordered a Mojito & I ordered my usual white wine, Riesling $9.00. My bro thought the Mojito was okay, tried better elsewhere.



 

5.02.2015

Strike - Aberdeen

Hey Everyone,

So the ever-changing food court stall by the washroom at Aberdeen's food court has now changed to Strike! This is the same Strike that is also at Garden City and Alderbridge where the self-carwash is and K-Mix, except this Strike specializes in sandwiches and wraps. 

Personally I love sandwiches, so I was very interested to see just how good their sandwiches were, since that's all they sell here basically. 



The look of the stall is very modern, with all menu boards being digital on 3 vertical screens. There's a large chalkboard-like display beneath it, showing the structure of their sandwiches. With such a display, one would think they would be experts at sandwiches, and that they should be uber delicious! They really hyped it up for me!