2013-07-11 Lunch @ Tex Wasabi's (Santa Rosa, California)

515 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707-544-8399

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I know, we haven't posted in a while.  Both Buddha Girl and I started new jobs earlier in the year so we've been pretty busy settling in.  If you've followed our facebook page, you'll see that we still dined out quite a bit, but we just didn't have the time to sit and type after work hours.

Getting back on track with some posts (...slowly...), I decided to start with what I thought was interesting.  Since Buddha Girl and I were attending my sister's vineyard wedding in Santa Rosa, we decided to visit Tex Wasabi's, by Guy Fieri. 
 
Tex Wasabi's is a sushi/BBQ/pub joint.  MomJ, Aunt Kelly, Mr. and Mrs. Little Lee joined us for lunch.  Yup, we all came here for lunch before the wedding...we weren't expecting much from the reception/dinner.  (A side note...the wedding food at Kunde Family Estate for cocktail reception and for dinner was surprisingly delicious.)

With six diners, we ordered accordingly...combos, rolls and sandwiches.  We tried to cover everything on the menu.

MomJ and Aunt Kelly's lunch specials each came with a shrimp-less Cobb Salad.  Simple and fresh, but nothing extraordinary.

The Chicken Avocado Eggrolls were depressing.  The multiple layers of wrapper caused a hard and dry texture.  The rolls were drenched in overly salty Thai sweet chili sauce.  The chicken was dry, and I wasn't fond of avocados in a hot dish.  

The Jackass Roll, a feature under "Gringo Sushi", had BBQ Pork, rice paper, sushi rice, avocado, fries and garlic chili mayo.  Notice the use of rice paper instead of seaweed?  An interesting idea, but what ruined it was the rice, dry like day-old rice.  Actually, being the first customers of the day, they could be using day-old rice...who knows?  When eating, it was hard to take a piece of the roll without ripping the skin of another...not a smart idea to place rice paper rolls side by side.  The chili mayo overwhelmed everything, the pork tasted flavorless.  Not recommend.

The Kemosabe Roll had BBQ tri-tip, rice paper, sushi rice, fries, crispy onions and garlic chili mayo.  This tasted similar to Jackass Roll.  Nothing worth noting.

Our server suggested the Big Bird on Fire.  The roll had blackened chicken breast, rice paper, sushi rice and fries.  While this looked different than the previous two rolls, but this was yet  another disappointment.  Was the chicken blackened?  It sure looked fair and tasted bland.  The liberal use of the sweet chili sauce was annoying.

After a series of disappointing rolls, the Hog Tied King was a welcome change.  With salmon, bacon, cream cheese, sriracha, unagi sauce, green onions and crispy onions, the roll was flash-fried then garnishes with, well, what else?  Thai sweet chili sauce, of course.  Was it the crunchy texture or the cream cheese with salmon?  Or was it because of the bacon?  While not great, somehow I enjoyed this roll.

The Hidden Chicken had teriyaki chicken, rice paper, sushi rice, avocado, tangerine, crushed wontons and iceberg lettuce. Served with a teriyaki sauce, this was the most fresh in taste and the most simple in flavor.  While not mind blowing, this was enjoyable.

The signature Red Dragon Roll had "Over 35,000 Sold!!!"  With spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, crunchy tempura bits, maguro and black sesame seeds, this was nothing but a huge disappointment.   The garnish touches of Sriracha and unagi sauce didn't mingle well with the sushi.  The tuna on top was not the greatest in quality, it had a weird and funky texture...which pretty much ruined the whole roll.

Finally, moving away from the sushi, our first BBQ item was Little Lee's order of The Big Dipper.  The sandwich was served on a sourdough with a half pound of smoked tri-tip, pepper jack cheese and roasted garlic horseradish aioli.  Au Jus was served on the side.  While Little Lee would've prefer more smokiness to the meat, I thought it was just right.

Served on a sourdough roll with marinated shrimp (dusted in cornmeal flour), Mrs. Little Lee had the Shrimp Po Boy.  Generous amount of shrimp, all nicely battered and fried.  No complaints.

My Red Rocker Chicken Sandwich was served on a pretzel bun with a grilled chicken breast, jack cheese, red pepper relish and fried jalapenos.  This was the best item on the table.  The chicken was moist.  The fried jalapenos gave it a nice kick, not to mention the light fragrance of jalapeno peppers.  The pretzel bun was warm and light.  Of course, knowing me, I added bacon to the sandwich.

Stay away from the sushi rolls as they were huge disappointments.  I guess I was hoping for too much considering it's sushi in Santa Rosa.  Using leftover rice for the rolls was just inexcusable.  Will we visit again?  Yes, but only for the sandwiches.

Ranked in 2013 as one of the "happiest cities" in United States, Santa Rosa is a city in the Sonoma County, approximately one and a half hours (of driving) north of San Francisco.  There's really not much night life here.  We tried to scout for more food after the wedding but only found three taco trucks on one stretch of road, that was it.

2013-04-15 King Crab 皇帝蟹 @ Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館

#2020 - 8766 McKim Way, Richmond, BC (Excel Centre)

604-231-8006

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Usually, during the king crab season, we would hit the nearest Asian fish monger and steam the beast at home.  With Buddha Girl and I having to juggle new work responsibilities, we've been extremely lazy of late...especially with our blog.  Interestingly, and oddly enough, Seto-san had a craving for this seasonal delicacy.  With Seto-san living the bachelor lifestyle, we were the perfect companions for such feast (simply because we're big eaters).  We recruited MomJ and Octopus to join us for dinner and made Seto-san treat the meal...sounds fair, doesn't it?  Of course not.

We went to our former canteen, Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館 in Richmond.  "Former" because we've noticed the inadequate quality (and, in some cases, quantity) over the past two years.  While it's no longer our regular canteen, we're pretty certain that they wouldn't rip us off too badly with the weight and quantity.

For a table of five, we had a crab that weighed approximately fifteen pounds.  The crab was done in two ways: (1) steamed with garlic and (2) Bei-Fong-Tong style.  The juices from steaming plates were used later with noodles, onions and ginger.

Honestly, we were pleased with how well the crab was cooked.  The crab was fresh (well, it better be) with succulent meat.  However, the quality of garlic was undoubtedly poor.  While MomJ and Buddha Girl thought the garlic might have just been old or soaked too long in water (since Chinese restaurants do chop and soak a large load in water), I suspected that they used jarred garlic (commonly found in Costco).  Either way, for a delicate dish that one would pay top dollars for, using crappy garlic was, and is, simply pathetic.  Think of it this way, (for example) it's like going to Italian Kitchen and ordering spaghetti with Kobe meatballs only to find that the chef uses ketchup in the sauce.  Unforgivable.

Seto-san, MomJ, Octopus, Buddha Girl and I all enjoyed the noodles.  Of course, no crappy garlic here.

On top of the crab-fest and complimentary appetizers from Kenji-san (Japanese chef at the restaurant), we also ordered five other dishes and two desserts.  My spoiled wife would only eat the uni sashimi from here...and yes, no crappy garlic used.

For a limited time, there was a 40%-off special menu.  Knowing us, we took advantage of the discount.  Well, with discounted price, you get discounted size.

Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館 has lost our "canteen" status.  The portions have gotten smaller while the prices haven't.  Quality has dropped significantly over the past two years, for dim sum and for dinner.  Ruining fresh seafood with crappy garlic is just inexcusable.  Unless our attendance is required, we have better choices.  It's time for a new canteen... 

2013-04-13 Dinner @ Aoto-ya Blue Door Japanese Restaurant 青戶家

6543 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC

604-327-1158

 

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A few weeks ago, when Octopus and I visited our Chinese herbal doctor, I noticed that Hin Young Vietnamese Restaurant, located near the clinic, has transformed into a Japanese restaurant.  I wanted to go there for lunch, but unfortunately, we had a tight schedule and had to leave immediately after our appointments.

Then, as Buddha Boy and I flipped through the most recent KLIP (April 2013), the above ad caught our attention..."by Tenhachi 天八"...hmm...interesting.  While Buddha Boy thought it was only okay, I enjoyed our visit to Tenhachi in December 2012 (see post 2012-12-28 Dinner @ Tenhachi Japanese Restaurant 天八和食).  After sharing the news with Octopus (who absolutely adored the food at Tenhachi), she invited herself over and insisted that she must join us for dinner at Aoto-ya Blue Door Japanese Restaurant 青戶家.

 

The order of Gyoza was a bit disappointing.  The filling had too much chopped vegetables and the meat lacked texture.  Not recommended.

Next came the Assorted Tempura.  Just like our previous visit, the batter was light and crispy.  The prawns were acceptable, but were not the greatest quality.  Vegetables include eggplant, broccoli, sweet potato and onion.

Buddha Boy enjoyed his Hamburger Steak.  The texture was moist and was not gritty like a typical hamburger patty.  The sauce was some kind of mix with ketchup.

Buddha Boy's second dish (yes, my husband is a big boy) was Katsu Don.  A decent dish with one glitch, the pork was a bit tough.  The meat was not moist, but it wasn't dry either.  The accompanied miso soup had napa cabbage, tofu and kelp.

Octopus went with a combo of Simmered Mackerel Teishoku.  I thought the meat was a bit tough, but Octopus enjoyed it.  The fish had too many bones!!!

I had the Chiki Pon, or grilled chicken with oroshi ponzu.  The chicken was moist and tender.  The citric ponzu was gingery with a light daikon sweetness.  This was a refreshing dish, but it's not really a dish to accompany plain rice.

As I went up to the counter to pay for the bill, the owner (very adorable old man) greeted and acknowledged that he recalls seeing us at his old location on 12th Ave (c'mon...it's not hard to remember an identical-looking fat Chinese couple who loves taking pictures of food).  The old location (in the apartment building) is undergoing renovations and Tenhachi was forced to move.  

The new location of Tenhachi, or now called Aoto-ya Blue Door Japanese Restaurant 青戶家, has a simplistic diner feel.  The restaurant is a lot smaller than its old location, however, it does have offers better street parking.  The "Early Bird" special still applies between 5pm to 6:30pm.  Oh, by the way, they have this stamp card thingy where you get a stamp for each visit.  Sorry, don't remember the exact details...yup, I'm  getting old...hahahahaha!

2013-04-01 AYCE @ The Humble Hawker

#180 - 4611 No.6 Road, Richmond, BC

604-232-0900

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I know...I know...we've been neglecting our blog.  I recently started a new job and learning new environment requires brain power (not that I have much)...hahaha!  Buddha Boy has been quite swamped with deadlines at work.  Plus he has to deal with his "live-in-his-own-world" boss...let's just say that his boss is not the smartest cookie and how he got the position is still a mystery to all.

Since we're so behind in posts, we've decided to start with the most recent and work our way backwards.  Please don't forget to drop by and LIKE our Facebook page.  We do not blog about everything we eat, but we do try to take photos and post them on Facebook.

 Being the lucky ones with a day off on Easter Monday, Buddha Boy and I took the advantage and visited this little hole-in-the-wall cheap Thai buffet in Richmond.  The restaurant is run by the same family who operated No.6 Road Cafe 新寶華6路快餐店, its predecessor.  Years ago, the same family also ran a BBQ stall in Crystal Mall food court.  To add more to the profile, the family also runs one of the largest food stalls every year at the night market.

In terms of authenticity, we could not comment.  In terms of quality, it's enjoyable.  In terms of value, it's pretty good bang for the buck.  From green curry to lemongrass pork, from tom yum soup to pad Thai, the selections were pretty good for $9.99 (tax and tips not included).

While Buddha Boy's favorite was the Pad Thai (and I really enjoyed it too), my favorite was one of their two dim sum selections, the Pan-Fried Pork Bun 生煎包.  The dough was light and Q.  The meat was, while a bit fatty, delicate and juicy.  Yup, the Chinese inside of me fell in love with this homemade meat bun. 

With the night markets opening soon, the restaurant, for now, is only open for lunch buffet on Mondays to Fridays from 11am to 3pm.  The hours may change after September, but nothing was confirmed.