Bob Likes Thai Food- Broadway

Hello everyone!

Happy Friday!! I feel like this week felt extra long.. probably because I'm still stuck in holiday mode. Anyways, last week when Phil was off for the whole Christmas/New Years period, he came to find me during my lunch hour. I decided to bring him to Bob Likes Thai Food a long Broadway. He was initially against going to a Thai restaurant because he's not a big fan. But me being, the Thai fan I am, I kinda forced him to go with me. (awesome Fiance I am right?)

On the menu, they have a section for lunch specials (11:30am-3:00pm). All their lunch specials are for $10.00 and it comes with rice, organic greens, fried wonton wrap with housemade plum sauce. 

The restaurant is very narrow and tight. The tables are really close to one another so walking into the inner seats or even sitting at the bar area was not comfortable. 

Tojo's

Hey everyone,

If you guys read my blog on a frequent basis, you will know that I love sushi. I've heard many good things about Tojo's but the one thing that stopped me from going was the price. It's probably the most expensive sushi place I've dined at.  Every year, either my birthday or my bffs birthday, we will always treat each other out for some good food. This year around, I didn't want to bring her to the usual steak houses, therefore i decided to bring her to Tojos. Both of us have never been to Tojos before, so we were really stoked to see how good this place was. The restaurant is located on Broadway & Spruce. Majority is pay parking around the area, so I suggest car pooling to share meter parking.

The interior was very simple and clean. They have really high ceilings and it was very spacious. The seatings were all padded and covered in this nice royal blue exterior and it was very comfortable to sit on. When we got there, the place was pretty busy with most of the tables filled up, but the noise volume of the restaurant maintained on a quieter note. You really feel like your sitting in a high class restaurant. Me, being the only person holding on to a DSLR camera with the shutter constantly making sounds when I click to take a photo, majority of the tables turned around just to see what I'm doing... But that didn't stop me from taking some amazing photos during this dinner. The main chef, Hidekasu Tojo thought I worked for the media or something.. very funny man and he suggested next time around go sit at the bar so he can show us more and talk to us more about the food!

Cool fact: Apparently he's the man who created the California roll!

Jitlada Thai Restaurant

Hey everyone!

I came here for lunch with my colleague because she was raving how good the food was. We searched up online for their menu to order in advance so we were able to eat our food right when we got there. Initially we were going to get it to go but we changed our minds and decided to sit in.

For lunch, they have a lunch special, where every dish is for $11.50 and it comes with homemade salad & spring rolls. You can check out their lunch menu HERE.

For signage, I only noticed the one outside their doorstep which I passed by multiple times not noticing its existence until my colleague told me about this place. The interior was very clean and bright. Its a very casual dining area to just relax and chat with friends.

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!

Congee Noodle House

Hello everyone!

Doing a super short post today because I've been loaded with homework recently. The other day after driving to Surrey with my bro to do some errands, we ended up going to Congee Noodle House for lunch. It was a cold, chilly day in Vancouver and I was really craving for some good and cheap Asian food.

This restaurant is located on Broadway and Main. They have a few parking spots at the back but it's very limited. We went on a weekday, so there were plenty of spots at the back. Everything on the menu is super affordable and my whole family loves coming here for a simple and delicious meal.

I ended up getting a Wonton noodle in soup. (approx. $6.00)
The soup tasted great and the wontons are made out of real shrimp. It's an extremely simple dish but I love it. We ended up getting two dishes & ordered another meal on the side for my other bro. Total came up to approx. $19.00.

$20.00 bucks here can get you three filling meals and I highly recommend coming here if you are on a budget and want some great food to warm up your belly.

Service: 3/5

Food: 3.5/5

Price: $

Overall Rating: 3.25/5

Enjoy!
-Jess

Marulilu Cafe

 Hi everyone!

After working out at the gym, my friend and I decided to go for brunch at a very recent popular Japanese brunch spot on Broadway and Cambie called Marulilu Café. It's a very small and tight restaurant so it's best to go early for a guaranteed spot. I've stopped by there a few times previously with Phil and we had no luck finding a table. Surprisingly when I got there with my friend, we were lucky enough to find an empty table. We went on a cold cold day, and OH MY, I was sweating in the restaurant like crazy. They had no air circulation whatsoever and I feel like I was going to die from suffocation. Anyhow, I survived, BUT I really wish the air flow would be a lot better. It was so stuffy and hot in there, and their fans were no help at all.

I recommend saving your seat before ordering. Their ordering system is at their counter, so you have to go there to order your food.

Benjarong Thai Cuisine

Hello everyone!

I'm always on the lookout for good deals online, such as Groupon, Socialshopper, etc. I love eating so if I can save a few bucks through vouchers, I WILL! I found this voucher for Benjarong on Socialshopper a few months ago and I've finally used it last night. I had tried several attempts to call this place to book a table before but its either they never pick up or they are not open. Thank goodness, I finally got a hold of them a few days ago and was able to book a table for last night. Unfortunately, their vouchers are no longer available on Socialshopper. The voucher was $12.50 for $25.00 bucks worth.

This restaurant is located right next to BC Sushi. I've passed by this place many times whenever I go to BC Sushi but it never appealed to me esthetically. The interior is very old fashioned, yet it gives off a very comforting, charming feel to it. The overall colors definitely screams Thai, with the yellow walls & red ceilings.

For drinks, I ordered the Thai Ice Tea with Milk ($2.50) (on the left) & Phil ordered the Thai Ice Coffee without milk ($2.50) (on the right).

I was kind of skeptical about my drink when it showed up as pink. On my first sip, it was a very familiar taste but I couldn't put my finger on it until Phil tried it and totally brought up the item that it reminded me of. If you are Chinese, you may know during Chinese new year, we receive red pockets and for candies, there is ALWAYS that red packaged candy that is white. The drink literally tastes like that candy. The first few sips were fine, but it got way too sweet for my liking.

As for Phils ice coffee, we both LOVED IT. Even without milk, it already had a hint of sweetness and there was literally no need for milk.

Banana Leaf

HELLO EVERYBODY!! :)

Who loves Malaysian food?! 

If you do, then you most likely had tried Banana Leaf before. One of the well known, popular Malaysian restaurants in Vancouver. Believe it or not, it was my first time trying Banana Leaf and I'm so glad I did. I don't know what was holding me back from trying before. I went to the Broadway location and I am very pleased with the food and service. I skytrained there so no difficulty with finding parking.. none the less, I would expect parking would be a hassle if you are going to be driving there. I went on a weekday with my friends, Spikyhairlicious & Bee, and considering on a weekday, business was very busy. We had to wait for around 5-10 minutes before there was a table available. 

Bee ordered the coconut water and her words about their coconut was 'VERY REFRESHING'.

Marble Slab Creamery

Who doesn't like ICE CREAM?!

I don't have a major sweet tooth but from time to time I'll be craving for some ice-cream. It's right on Broadway near Cambie and it's very convenient to get to by transit. The interior gives off this vibe of a very happy, jolly place and it just makes me very happy and excited when I walk in. They don't have too many options for ice-cream but one thing I like is the mix in. You can choose any mix-in item on the side (ex. coffee crisp, m&m's) to be mixed in with your option of flavored ice-cream. I wouldn't recommend driving down there because it is pay parking along the streets and it's usually packed. Try taking the Canada Line; it'll save you guys some gas money! 

Original Joes

First time ever dining at Original Joe`s! It is an upstairs location on Cambie and Broadway, right across from the Skytrain Broadway Station. Very convenient to get to by skytrain but if you`re driving they have a limited of spots located behind the restaurant which is also pay parking. If it`s not a hassle I recommend skytraining instead.

Interior was nothing fancy but I love how they have a pool table section at the back! It is a great atmosphere to just chill with friends and have a beer.

Joey Restaurant- Broadway

This blog is long overdue but better late than never! My family and I went to Joey's for Mothers Day and it was a late booking so THANK GOD we were able to reserve a table at Joey's since I assumed it'll be super busy! Parking on Broadway is always tough and expensive, I was happy to see that they provided Valet parking at the front of the restaurant. So, we took the easy route and just valeted our car and the price for valet was around 8 dollars. It was a super sunny day and outside the restaurant just made me felt like we were in California or something and it was just such a good feeling because it made me felt as if I was on vacation! Love the outer layout of the restaurant!

Rockford Wok-Bar-Grill

First time I went to Rockford was last year 2011 and I never went back there afterwards. Not because it wasn't delicious or horrible service, but it just never occurred in my mind again. Maybe because it was nothing spectacular and special. I went there with my friend Bee, Jho and a couple of other people and I can say that I still don't find it fascinating.