Hollywood Cafe

Hollywood Cafe was at the top of our list of breakfast/brunch places to try in San Francisco. The restaurant is located just a couple of blocks south of Fisherman's Wharf by the intersection of North Point St and Taylor St. Many of the reviews that I read on Yelp said that this place was "one of the best breakfast places in San Francisco". Only one way to find out ...

We got here fairly late in the morning that day, but there was still a lineup outside. We were told that there is always a line up outside. 

Luckily for us, we were the only party of two in the lineup and a table for two just so happened to free up inside the restaurant. The inside was very cozy and the walls are decorated with pictures of classic Hollywood stars.

We started with two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice. A bit pricy, but I would highly recommend it.

Although their Breakfast Specials (James Dean, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe) were very tempting, we ordered two plates of their classics to shares: Old Favorite Eggs and Eggs Benedict with Salmon and Shrimp.

Old Favorite Eggs - Two sunny-side up eggs with sauteed mushrooms.

Eggs Benedict with Salmon and Shrimp.

The food was good - nothing amazing, but solid overall. We didn't have any specific complaints, but both agreed that it wasn't worth the lineup. My favourite part of the meal was probably the large capers and fresh cherries that were served on the side of the plate. 

Meet in Gastown

I am so behind on my food posts! That's part of the reason why I will be keeping this one fairly short. Just wanted to put that out there before I get started.

Meet in Gastown - probably best described as a restaurant where casual comfort meets modern hipsterness (I think I made that word up).

I first stumbled across this place by accident when I was wandering around in Gastown trying to find a place to have dinner. Although the address of the restaurant is on Water Street, the actual spot is a bit tucked away inside a corridor. The restaurant's inconspicuous location makes it a good place for a quiet and cozy meal. I am definitely a fan, even though the "patio" only offers glimpses of sunshine.

I came here with Cory (almost 3 weeks ago now) for dinner on a Thursday night. There was a good flow of people going in and out, but it wasn't too busy. I will confess that I didn't know much about the restaurant before coming. Neither Cory or I realized that the restaurant was known for its gluten-free and vegan menu selections. I've actually never been to a completely gluten-free / vegan restaurant. I guess there is a first for everything! 

Knowing my preferences, I (obviously) ordered their Mac N' Cheese .. with the add-on of chili!

Mac N' Cheese with chili.

Their Mac N' Cheese is made with their vegan cashew cheez sauce, scallions and smoked salt. I had a choice of brown rice macaroni or wheat penne. I picked brown rice macaroni. It actually bothers me when mac and cheese is not made with macaroni! How can it be "mac" and cheese ... 

And truth be told, it was actually very tasty! I will refrain from giving it a CAMCR (Cynthia Approved Mac and Cheese Rating) because although it tasted good, it didn't quite resemble your typical mac and cheese. It was more of a chili mac, if anything. I couldn't really make out the cashew cheez very well, so it's hard for me to comment on how it stacks up with real cheese. 

I do plan on coming back and trying their house chili though. I saw several people around me ordering it and it looked like straight comfort in a bowl. 

Miku

If you are a Vancouverite, then chances are you've already heard all about Miku. For my Toronto friends, chances are you've heard about Miku too (seeing that they opened up a location in Toronto relatively recently).

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about ...

First of all, "miku" translates to "beautiful sky" in Japanese.

Miku is an upscale, Japanese restaurant located downtown Vancouver. The location is conveniently situated alongside the waterfront, next to Canada Place and is commonly known as one of the best Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. Miku's location is prime as it offers its diners a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains. The view would be significantly better if it wasn't partially obstructed by some hideous orange cranes on the nearby loading dock ... but, I guess that's not the restaurant's fault!  The restaurant prides itself on its focus on sustainability and its commitment to its corporate philosophy of Ningemni. Ningemni translates to "finding a joy in your life by bringing one to others". This ideology really comes through from their lively ambiance, vibrant artwork, and friendly restaurant staff. Above all, Miku is most well-known for their gourmet Aburi cuisine. Their Aburi-style sushi (aka pressed sushi) is prepared using their famous flame-seared technique and signature sauces.

I have been to Miku twice since I moved to Vancouver - once for lunch and once for dinner. The Sashimi Lunch special I had for lunch was good, but not amazing. I wouldn't  recommend coming to Miku if all you are interested in having is regular sashimi or (nigiri) sushi. There are many other spots in Vancouver that serve high-quality sashimi and nigiri in larger quantities and at a more reasonable prices.

Their Aburi sushi, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. I had a much better dinner experience at Miku. Note: you can also order Aburi sushi at lunch ... I just didn't order it when I went for lunch that time. Sameer and I went to Miku for dinner a couple of Sundays ago. It wasn't planned, so we didn't have reservations. It was about 7 pm at the time and we were told that the wait for a table with be around 45 min to an hour. Luckily, there was only a 5-10 min wait if we wanted to sit at the bar. And ... that's what we decided to do.

Our view from our bar seats.

We asked our waiter to recommend an appetizer and he suggested the Aburi Beef Carpaccio without hesitation. I was sold after he told us that it came with an egg in the middle. From the Aburi Oshi Sushi list, he recommended the Salmon Oshi Sushi and the Ebi Oshi Sushi. He said that although Salmon is always the crowd favourite, he personally liked the Ebi one best. From his descriptions, we went with two orders of the Salmon Oshi Sushi and one order of the Ebi Oshi Suhi. Each order comes with six pieces. 

Aburi Beef Carpaccio.

The Aburi Beef Carpaccio was absolutely delectable. It reminded me of the Butter Beef at Phnom Penh (minus the cilantro) - just as tender and flavourful. The carpaccio was prepared with sterling silver AAA short ribs and topped with a bed of organic baby greens, slivers of Asian pear, and a beautiful 64-degree organic egg. The dark sauce (as you can see in the picture) is jalapeno-garlic ponzu and the green dollops on the corners are pickled wasabi. I liked everything about this dish - from the beef itself ... to the tangy ponzu ... to the kick added by the pickled wasabi. At $19.50 per plate, it is on the pricier side, but totally worth it in my opinion!

Fun fact #1: Ponzu is a citrus-based Japanese sauce. 

Fun fact #2: A 64-degree egg is an egg that's slow-cooked in its shell in 64 degrees Celsius water for about 45 min. Cooking the egg in water at this temperature gives the egg yolk and egg white a certain desired consistency. Once the egg is ready to be served, it must be removed from its shell under a water bath in order to prevent stress and damage to the egg's shape.

 

Salmon Oshi Sushi (top and bottom); Ebi Oshi Sushi (line in the middle).

Melt-in-your-mouth - best description of the sushi that I can think of. The fish and prawns at the top of the sushi was perfectly blow-torched and so sooo tender and juicy. Blow-torching creates this effect, as the heat helps to melt down the fat. The Salmon Oshi Sushi was made with pressed BC Sockeye Salmon, topped with adorable mini slices of jalapeno, and finished with Miku's special sauce. The Ebi Oshi Sushi was topped with lime zest and finished with ume sauce. I loved the pairing of jalapeno with the salmon and lime zest with the prawns. The jalapeno brought out the freshness in the salmon and the tanginess of the lime zest and ume sauce brought out hints of sweetness in the prawns.

Fun fact #3: Ume sauce is a tart Japanese dressing that is concocted using pickled plums.

Fun fact #4: My research tells me that Miku's special sauce is French-inspired and takes the form of a browned, yolky, house-made mayonnaise. 

As I mentioned above, if you're just looking to have some standard sashimi or sushi to satisfy a craving for Japanese food, Miku may not be the best place to go. However, if you're looking to really satisfy your taste buds and try something new ... the Aburi sushi at Miku is a must try!!!

Sal y Limon

Sal y Limon is located in the heart of the Mount Pleasant community, right by Kingsway and Fraser St. I have passed by this restaurant so many times on my way downtown and have heard great things about their tacos from a number of people.

Sal y Limon translates directly to "salt and lime" - how fitting for a Mexican restaurant! The joint is co-owned by two couples - Carolina & Sebastien and Adriana and Pepe. The restaurant is well-known for its authentic Mexican cuisine and exuberant wall decor. As you can tell from the picture below, the interior walls play host to a colourful display of artwork by Mexican artists. They also have a small area towards the back that is designed as a play area for children (so yes, I would categorize the restaurant as being "kid friendly"). I loved the bright colours and openness of the seating area.

I am told that the place has been renovated relatively recently and wasn't always like this.

You order your food up at the front and then wait at your table for them to bring out your food. There is a stack of menus at the front where you place your order. Luckily, it wasn't that busy when we (Sameer and I) were there because I took me quite a while to navigate through the menu. We came here this past Sunday for a late lunch. There was a steady of flow of customers going in and out, but overall, it wasn't too busy.

They had this trophy proudly showcased on their front counter.

In case you are wondering (because I wondered too) ... Taco Wars is a series of episodes from the show Best in Chow from the Cooking Channel. The show features Chris Nannarone, a standup comedian, who travels to different cities and tries different restaurants in search of the best burger, pizza, taco, etc.

Now back to the food ...

We ordered the Shrimp Ceviche (it's a weekend special) and 6 tacos:

- 1 beef tongue
- 1 beef
- 1 pollo pibil (slow roasted chicken breast)
- 1 fish
- 1 cochinita (slow roasted pork)
- 1 chorizo (pork sausage)

Pretty reasonably priced ... me likey!

There was hardly any wait for the food ... which is always a plus for forever-hungry-Cynthia!

Shrimp Ceviche

The Shrimp Ceviche was yummy. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of shrimp that came with it. You can't tell by the picture because they're all buried underneath the surface. The shrimp  was pretty fresh and well-textured. I always enjoy the limey tang of ceviche. My only critcism would be that it could've come with more tortilla chips. We had to finish the remainder of the ceviche with a spoon after we ran out of chip for dipping.

From the top, going clockwise - Beef tongue, pollo pibil, and fish.

From the top, going clockwise - Chorizo, beef, and cochinita.
Note: these tacos were stripped of cilantro because Sameer is not a fan.

The tacos were delicious. The tacos were made from two soft corn tortillas stacked directly on top of each other, with no shortage of meat on top. The meat was very juicy and tender (likely due to the slow roasting). I would give the marination two thumbs up.

I especially liked the variety of salsa there was to choose from: avocado, chunky, arbol, chipotle, peanut, chef, jalapeno, diabla, and sweet diabla. The salsa are all spicy, ranging from 1 to 3 chili peppers. I secretly wanted to try them all, but I didn't want to over do it. We decided to go with avocado, chipotle, and peanut (all of which tasted fantastic). 

We gobbled up everything in a fury, including any over-spillage of meat that might have escaped from the taco. I really like the whole atmosphere of the restaurant, friendliness of the staff, and the authenticity of the food. Needless to say, I will definitely be coming back.

Honourable mention:

This is a random observation that is not food-related. They have beautiful bathroom sinks! Fits in very well with their Mexican artwork decor.

Burgoo

Burgoo. What a cute name??? I've wanted to try this place out ever since I drove by it on Main Street the first time.  I've since learned that there are two other locations in Vancouver - one on West 4th and one on Londsdale Avenue, in North Van. "Burgoo" sounds like a fictional baby-talk term. However, Google and Wikipedia tell me otherwise. Apparently, "burgoo" refers to a type of thick stew, often prepared communally as a social gathering.

The restaurant's slogan is, "food for comfort". Their menu seems to say the same thing. I recently read a Daily Hive article titled, "101 things to eat and drink in Vancouver before you die"...

"82. Mac and Cheese at Burgoo
Beloved for their comfort foods, Burgoo's Mac and Cheese always gets top nods for being among the best in the city."

MAC AND CHEESE??? BEST IN THE CITY??? YES PLEASE. (Yes, the capitalization and punctuation is absolutely necessary to properly convey my level of excitement.)

Sameer and I came here this past Sunday for a late lunch and was lucky enough to score a seat on the patio. It was already 3 pm by the time we still had to wait about 15 min to be seated. As usual, I was famished by the time we were seated. Luckily, I didn't have to waste any time deciding what to order ... because MAC AND CHEESE. I took a sneak peek at their menu anyway, just to see what other yummy selections they had to offer.

I made a mental note of the items I wanted to try on my next visit: Jambalaya, Chicken Pot Pie, Beef Bourguignon, Burgoo Biscuits, and Queso Fundido ... to name a few. And that's obviously subject to me being able to restrain myself from ordering the Mac and Cheese again.

Our waitress told us right off the bat that all of their cheese dishes were very popular. This made me very happy. I proudly ordered the Mac and Cheese and a Caesar (because why not? And because they have $6 Caesar specials on Sundays!). Sameer ordered the El Cubano Sandwich that was stuffed with braised pulled pork, spicy Capicollo ham, mix cheese, grainy mustard, and garlic pickle relish. It also came with a side of kale salad.

El Cubano Sandwich

I took a couple of bites of his sandwich to try it out. The meat was very flavourful and soft and the sandwich was good overall ... but didn't come close to my  Mac and Cheese.

Mac and Cheese - star of the show!

My Mac and Cheese was piping hot and fresh out of the oven ... just the way I like it! I like having Mac and Cheese while it's H-O-T (hot to the point where you could burn your tongue if you're not careful). That way, the cheese is ooey gooey and melted just right. This Mac and Cheese was loaded with aged white Cheddar; simple and classic. A common criticism I have for mac and cheese is that it's dry or it doesn't have enough cheese. The macaroni here was soft and very moist, but not mushy. There was just the right amount of cheese and the taste of cheddar was not too overpowering. I also loved that they had bottles of Sriracha sauce readily available. If you are a fan of mac and cheese, please do yourself a favour and try this one!

Cynthia Approved Mac and Cheese Rating (CAMCR*)

*Percentage weight of each factor in calculating the total CAMCR - Macaroni 20%; Cheese - 30%; Presentation - 5%; and Overall Taste - 45%.

Category: Gourmet**/Classic? - Classic

**Note: Toppings/Ingredients would have been a factor if it was categorized as "Gourmet".

Macaroni - 4/5

Cheese - 5/5

Presentation - 3.5/5

Overall Taste 4.5/5

X(perience) Factor*** - 2/2

***Click here (and scroll down to the bottom) for an explanation.

Burgoo gets a CAMCR of 92.0%

Tableau Bar Bistro

This post is long overdue considering that I came to this restaurant about a month ago. My friend Cory and I decided to try Tableau Bar Bistro for dinner on a rainy Thursday night. The restaurant is located downtown Vancouver, just west of Thurlow Street, on Melville, and is connected to a boutique hotel (Loden Hotel).

Since it was raining fairly hard that day, I didn't take a picture of the entrance to avoid being outside for longer than required.

From doing some quick research on the restaurant, I discovered that Tableau and Homer St. Cafe share the same executive chef - Chef Marc-Andre Choquette. Chef Choquette is well-known for his extensive training in French classical haute cuisine. Seeing that I had a fairly pleasant experience at Homer St. Cafe several months ago, I was excited to see what Tableau had to offer. Unlike Homer St. Cafe's focus on offering upscale comfort food, Tableau's menu features classic French bistro fare prepared from locally sourced and seasonal ingredients.

The interior of the restaurant is decorated with dark tones, wood-framed furniture and black and white square tiles. It gave off a very classic vibe with a hint of French charm (but not so much that it was overbearing). There was an Escargot Special on the day that we went. The dish was only $5, so it was a "must order" for me. I was a little torn on what to order for my entree, so I defaulted to asking our waiter for his favourites on the menu. I find that this always works in my favour. He suggested the Steelhead Trout without any hesitation ... so that's what I went with!

Escargot on special

The escargots were so delicious, to say the least. This was my first time having escargots prepared in a cream sauce ... and I loved it! The sauce was a tomato-based cream sauce that paired very well with the escargots. The dish was served with chopped potatoes, blistered orange tomatoes and BC morel mushrooms (which I thought were sea cucumbers at first) and garnished with a sprig of parsley. The escargots were quite size-able and the texture was soft and chewy. Two thumbs up!

Steelhead Trout

The trout was served over a medley of quinoa, almonds, dill, and capers with lemon yogurt sauce on the side. I'm always reluctant to order fish at restaurants because I've had too many experiences where the fish was overcooked (and we all know that overcooked fish ruins everything). The waiter was not wrong to recommend this one though! The trout was perfectly cooked and the skin was delightfully crispy. The lemon yogurt was probably my favourite part. It gave the fish even more moisture and served as a good "adhesive" for the quinoa mix. I did notice that the trout looked and tasted eerily similar to salmon.

Fun fact (that I discovered afterward): Steelhead Trout actually belong to the same family of fish (Salmonidea) as Salmon. 

Overall, I had a very pleasant dining experience. The service was good - our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu (he was the one who identified the BC morel mushrooms). The ambiance was charming and comfortable. Since I was here last, I've heard a lot of good things about the restaurant's brunch menu. So, it looks like I'll have to pay another visit sometime soon!

Pine State Biscuits

Pine State Biscuits first launched its kitchen in 2006 as an outdoor stand at the Portland Farmers Market. Soon after, its popularity started to grow and the three founders (Walt, Kevin, and Brian) decided to open up a permanent spot to offer breakfast seven days a week to their loyal customers. Pine State now has four different locations in Portland - NE Alberta, SE Division, NE Schuyler, and Farmers Market.

On our trip to Portland, we decided to try out their NE Schuyler location (since it was closest to where we were staying). We stayed at the Quality Inn close to the Moda Center, so the restaurant was only a 10 min walk away.

We went to the restaurant on a Sunday morning. The restaurant had been recommended to us by a friend who had recently visited Portland. This location was situated in a mixed residential/industrial area of the city. As we were walking there, I remember making a comment about how it was an odd place to have a restaurant. However, it seemed to be working for them. As soon as we got there, we noticed several people standing outside the restaurant drinking beer (it was 10 am). We later discovered that it was non-alcoholic ginger-flavoured beer. Their classic red and white Pine State Biscuits sign is anchored above the entrance to their semi-exposed kitchen. Their kitchen is actually set up inside what looks like a refurbished warehouse garage that is connected to their restaurant. The actual sit down area of the restaurant is not very big. However, the high ceiling helps make the space feel bigger than it is. As with their kitchen, the seating area gave off a very industrial and warehouse-y feel. Everyone orders their food at a stand in the front and you can either have your order "for here" or "to go".  I noticed that a lot of people came in to pick up food they had ordered in advance for pick up ... which was very smart since there wasn't a lot of seating. My guess is that they were likely locals. We were lucky enough to find seats right away (although our group did have to split up 2-3). There's no table service, you have to clean up after yourself when you're done. I didn't mind it and actually thought it worked well with their casual, eat-and-go vibe.

I ordered The Moneyball, while everyone else ordered The Reggie Deluxe.

The Moneyball

The Moneyball is their biscuits and gravy dish that is topped with an over-easy egg. I had a choice between sausage gravy or shitake mushroom gravy. I wanted to go more "traditional", so I opted for the sausage gravy. Everything about The Moneyball was deeeeeelicous. Their biscuits were perfectly buttery and flaky. The gravy was creamy, but not too thick; flavourful, but not too salty. YUM. I inhaled the whole thing within 15 minutes.

The Reggie Deluxe

I tried several bites of The Reggie Deluxe ... and it was amazing as well. At first, I was a bit iffy about the idea of fried chicken and bacon sandwiched between a biscuit. However, it turned out to be a great combo. I have never craved fried chicken for breakfast, but I think I will now.

Another highlight of my meal was the coffee - Stumptown Coffee Roasters coffee. They had two choices there: 1) Trapper Creek Decaf and 2) Guatemala Finca el Injerto Bourbon. Stumptown is the coffee of Portland and is well-known for their focus on refining coffee drinker's palates and their use of high-quality coffee beans. Each of their brews feature certain "tasting notes". The tasting notes for Trapper Creek were "caramel, raisin, buttery" and "citrus, milk chocolate, clove" for Guatemala Finca. Being the caffeine lover (addict) that I am, I went with the non-decaf Guatemala blend ... and was not disappointed! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit Stumptown's flagship store in Portland. In hindsight, considering how much I love coffee, the missed opportunity probably saved me a lot of money.

Medina Cafe

I have been wanting to try Medina Cafe since I first moved here last year. If you're a Vancouverite, then you've most likely heard of this famous brunch spot and its infamous wait times. I've tried going to Medina twice before. On both of those occasions, I wasn't determined enough (or prepared) to stick around and wait for 1.5 hours. I tend to think most brunch places are overrated, but I was curious to see what all the fuss was about.

Last Sunday, I finally sucked it up and decided to wait it out. Sameer and I got to the restaurant around noon and was told that the wait was approximately 1.5 hours (as expected). The wait actually wasn't bad at all. Mind you, we had already eaten something beforehand in anticipation of the wait. Like many others, we decided to walk around downtown after we put our name down on the wait list. The hostess assured us that we wouldn't be crossed off the list if we didn't make it back on time. We returned to the restaurant 1 hr and 15 minutes later and there was a table ready for us. 

Now a bit about the restaurant ...

Medina Cafe first opened in 2008 in Crosstown (on Beatty Street), Vancouver. It later moved to its current and more spacious location by Richards and West Georgia Street in August 2014. The cafe offers a unique Mediterranean-inspired cuisine that features locally sourced ingredients. Medina is also well-known for its fine selection of coffee and lattes and its mouth-watering Belgium waffles.

There is not much signage on the outside ... which is fine considering it's hard to miss the entrance of the restaurant; there is always a crowd assembled outside. I am a fan of their coffee sign though! The inside of the restaurant was very charming and cheery. Even though it's actually situated slightly below street level, the interior was very bright - likely due to the high ceiling and large windows at the front. I noticed that the restaurant attracted an interesting mix of people, all of which seemed to be enjoying both the atmosphere and the food.

We always like to try the most popular and classic dishes on the menu at a new restaurant. From reading reviews of the restaurant, the two most popular dishes seemed to be the Fricassée and the Paella (which our waitress confirmed). We ordered those two to share. We also ordered a Salted Caramel Latte, a Lavender Latte, and waffles with a milk chocolate lavender dipping sauce.

The waffles and the lattes came out first. The waffles weren't as warm as I had hoped, but I suspect that they would've been if we were there earlier on in the day. It was almost 1:30 pm by the time we ordered (the restaurant closes at 3 pm). However, that was my one and only semi-criticism of the food. The texture and the the sweetness of the waffles were perfect. The milk chocolate lavender dipping sauce was super smooth; great combination of melted milk chocolate with a hint of lavender. Both of the lattes were superb - the salted caramel and lavender flavour for each one, respectively, was distinct, but not overpowering.

Salted Caramel Latte on the left and Lavender Latte on the right.

We finished the leftover dipping sauce with our spoons :)

As mentioned above, I think a lot of brunch places are overrated. Many times, people focus too much on the presentation of the food, rather than the taste of the food. It actually irritates me when I try a highly talked-about brunch place only to discover that the food is merely a "fancier" version of what I could make at home in my kitchen. In my opinion, in order for a restaurant to be a good brunch restaurant, there must be something special about the food such that it's not something I could easily replicate at home. 

I loved both the Fricassée and the Paella - there was definitely something special about both dishes.

The Fricassée

The Fricassée was a hearty medley of braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, applewood smoke cheddar, and seasonal greens that was topped with a fried egg. It also came with a slice of grilled focaccia on the side. I am not exaggerating when I say that the short ribs were incredibly tender - "fall right off the bone" type of tender (except there were no bones). The roasted potatoes were also very soft. The sauce was what really brought it all together. The sauce was tomato-based, with a bunch of different spices added to it. After mixing everything together, every bite was a savoury bite of goodness.

The Paella

Unlike traditional paella, this Paella was made with orzo pasta instead of rice. The orzo is cooked together with some spicy chorizo, seasonal vegetables, avocado, and grana padano cheese in a spicy tomato salsa. Just like the Fricassée, every bite was full of flavour. The spicy chorizo really stood out to me - the spiciness of it was almost addictive; I just kept wanting more of it. The avocado and the egg was the perfect addition to the dish to give it that "brunch" feel.

So ... I have to say that Medina is worth the wait and I would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already tried it. It's rare to come across a brunch spot that serves non-traditional "brunch food". The restaurant is open Monday to Friday as well, starting at 9 am in the morning. Our waitress said that the wait time is usually 30 min max until closer to noon. However, she did mention that a line usually starts to form outside the restaurant around 8:30 am ... so get there early!

Kenzo Japanese Noodle House

For those of you who might be wondering ... this restaurant is different than the Kenzo Japanese Noodle House in Toronto and is owned by different people. This one is located in Burnaby by Griffiths and Kingsway. For the past several months, I've been making a mental note to try this place every time I drive by it. I finally went to try it out with a co-worker (Joanna) for lunch this past Friday.

The inside of the restaurant is pretty cozy - not too big, not too small; furnished with a lot of wood (very Korean/Japanese style - I'm fairly certain the owners are Korean). We came here around 12:30 pm and it wasn't super busy, but there were 3-4 other tables seated. Our waitress was very friendly and brought us over two cups off tea as soon as we sat down. Below are the pages of their menu that feature ramen:

I had a sore throat that day, so I was actively seeking out some non-spicy and slightly "healthier" options. Otherwise, I probably would've automatically opted for the "King of the Kings Ramen". I decided to go with the Don Ko Chi. Considering I was feeling a bit more health-conscious that day, their added description of: "it has very little oil", was really what sold me on it. Joanna ordered the Miso Ramen with a spicy level of 1.

Miso Ramen

Don Ko Chi

Unfortunately, I didn't try Joanna's (I didn't want to impose because I was feeling under the weather that day), so I can't comment on/rate hers. She said it was okay-good, but not better than Ramengers. 

Joanna and I tried Ramengers together a couple of months ago and we were both fans. Sadly, my food blog did not exist at that time. Click here to read my review of it on Yelp.

My first impression of the Don Ko Chi was that it did not resemble the picture in the menu at all. The broth for the noodles is a tonkotsu broth - soup boiled from pork bone. Tonksotsu broth tends to be milky and creamy (kind of like how it looked in the picture on the menu). The broth wasn't as milky as I was expecting, but it did retain a lot of flavour from the pork bone. The broth wasn't too salty or oily ... I actually enjoyed it a fair bit! I was able to drink a majority of the soup without the usual feeling of needing to follow up with 5 glasses of water. I highly suspect that it's MSG-free, but I didn't get a chance to confirm this with our waitress. The noodles were cooked well; just the right texture. As you can tell from the picture, there weren't a lot of toppings. The green onions complimented the broth very well, but I would've appreciated some other toppings too! The chashu was too rough, in my opinion. They likely chose a less fatty cut of pork to minimize the oil in the bowl, but the chashu was too lean for my liking.

Cynthia Approved Ramen Rating (CARR*)

*Click for the percentage weight breakdown for each factor (scroll down to CARR)

Toppings - 2.5/5
Meat - 2.5/5 
Broth - 4/5
Noodles - 4.5/5 
Presentation - 3/5 
Overall taste - 3/5

X(perience) Factor** - 1/2

**Click for explanation (scroll to the bottom of post)

Kenzo Japanese Noodle House gets a CARR of 72.0%

Chewies Steam & Oyster Bar

Last night I went to Chewies with my friend Cory for dinner. There are two locations in Vancouver - Coal Harbour and Kitsilano. We went to the one at Coal Harbour. I've been here once before for my birthday this past December and I loved it the first time.

I tried an oyster shot for the first time on my birthday! It wasn't the greatest experience, but I'm glad I tried it. The method to properly ingest it does not come naturally to me - the double task of trying not to prolong having the liquor in my mouth while not choking on the oyster proved to be very difficult for me. I believe I had the Jammers Oyster Shot, which is a concoction of chilled Hurradura tequila, fresh shucked oyster, lime juice, sugar, and crystal hot sauce. The hot sauce not only got stuck in my throat, it also made the tequila burn all the way down.

The restaurant embodies a New Orleans theme and features an open kitchen. Their walls are decorated with a lot of vertical wood panels that gives off a very rustic vibe. I was a huge fan of their decorations, especially the saxophone art piece by the front entrance and the Rue Bourbon street sign that's anchored by the centre of the restaurant. Their menu offers signature New Orleans dishes such as: Fried Gator & Hush Puppies, Classic Gumbo, Southern Fried Chicken and Jambalaya. They also offer a wide selection of oysters from both the east and west coast.

We ordered half a dozen oysters to share: two Kusshi oysters (from B.C.), two Effingham oysters (from B.C.), and two Raspberry Point oysters (from PEI). I love oysters and I love trying different types of oysters to experience the different flavours and textures. I wasn't very impressed with the oysters we ordered last night. Maybe it was the type? Maybe they weren't quite in season? I typically prefer creamier oysters with sweet flavours. The Kusshi oysters were described to be creamy and sweet with a smoky finish - not the case in the ones we had. I didn't particularly like the Effingham or Raspberry Point oysters either. They both tasted briny and was similar in texture, even though the Raspberry Point oyster is known to have a "sweet finish". However, oysters are often hit and miss and even great oyster bars sometimes play host to some not-as-flavourful oysters (as I've experienced), so I'm not overly critical as long as they are fresh. I did enjoy their selection of sauces - the spicy habanero one was my favourite.

I like having caesars with oysters. I think it goes really well together ... so yes, I ordered a Chewies' Caesar. The Chewies' Caesar is made with Sobieksi Vodka, homemade hot sauce, fresh horseradish (which is scattered throughout), Worcestershire, Clamato, and garnished with a Cajun prawn (my favourite part!). Instead of regular ice cubes, the drink is chilled with crushed ice. If you like horseradish, then you'll love the Chewies' Caesar - the horseradish really adds a good kick.

Cory's glass of  Poplar Grove Pinot Gris was filled right up to the rim! No complaints there.

For my entree, I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken. I ordered this last time as well and was taken aback at how good it tasted (because who thinks to order fried chicken at an oyster bar?). It was just as awesome this time. I don't usually like fried chicken, mostly because I find the batter tends to be tasteless and too thick. The batter for this fried chicken was finished with a maple-syrupy glaze that gave it a very pleasant sweetness. The sugary flavour went together perfectly with the buttermilk mashed potatoes that it was served with. The chicken was tender and juicy and I cleared the plate, no problem.

Cory ordered the Scallops & Succotash. I was lucky because she let me have a taste :) The lemon butter was a good dressing choice for the succotash, but I thought the scallops were overcooked. The scallops tasted good, but according to the menu, they were supposed to be seared rare. To me, they seemed to be cooked all the way through. Cory also ordered a side of Chive Baby Biscuits, which she graciously offered to share.

The biscuits were phenomenal (not to sound over-dramatic) and they were only $4! The biscuits were drizzled with honey butter and garnished with chives. I would have never thought to order biscuits with dinner, but I'm glad she did. The both of us were marveling at how well they were baked. The outside still retained a bit of a crunch while the inside was soft, but still firm. Every bite was like a bite of buttery goodness.

If you're wondering about the actual size ... each one is about the size of my fist.