2011-09-30 Happy Birthday Dinner @ Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館

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

604-231-8006

It was MomJ's birthday!!!  And where else would we be?  TG, of course.  Since we're at TG so much, there's really no point of us going into details of all the dishes...we've pretty much done so in our previous posts.  Other than the steamed fish...I've pretty much captured all the food.  Unfortunately, both Buddha Boy and I were not full at the end of the night...and we're pretty sure some others on our table had the same problem.  Well, eleven people (with five big eaters) sharing eight dishes (not including the almond milk dessert, the birthday buns and the cake)...not wise.  MomJ, next year, please consult the fat couple for menu selections...wahahahahaha!!!  Anyhow, here are the pictures...enjoy!!!

We've requested to set up the largest round tables they had.  The dimension usually seats fourteen to sixteen people, but we only had eleven people per table...LOL!  Well, the fat couple needed more room to eat...wahahahahaha!!!

Last year, a group of MomJ's friends pitched in and got her a big cake that tasted horrible (from La Patisserie 金磨坊西點).  So, this year, we specifically told MomJ to tell all her friends NOT to get her a birthday cake...instead, we've ordered our own from our favorite bakery, Michele Cake Shop 君悅餅廊.

2011-09-29 Late Night @ Wong's Little Kitchen 王家菜館

5880 Marine Drive, Burnaby, BC

604-434-8822

While MomM, Buddha Boy and I were not too hungry, MukMuk-D suggested to grab a quick bite at this little hole-in-the-wall on Marine Drive (at Gilley Avenue).  Well...the restaurant was very unorganized and messy.  It was dusty and filthy...Charlotte has really shown her presence by building webs around the restaurant.  Grrr...MukMuk-D...

The Mixed Juegenfen 涼拌蕨根粉 caught my attention.  The noodles were made from fern roots...so properly speaking, 蕨根粉 means "fern root noodles".  The texture was extremely Q and chewy, almost identical to konjac 蒟蒻 (also known as 魔芋), but lacked that crunch texture.  This was served cold with simple seasonings such as soy sauce and black vinegar.  This was my favorite dish of the visit...very refreshing.
 
Honestly, this Green Onion Pan Cake 蔥油餅 tasted fine...but the texture was sad...very sad.  We were all quite speechless...

I have previously tried the Baking Cake 武大郎燒餅 in Taiwan and while it was doughy, it was not dense.  This one was extremely dense and was so hard to chew.  Horrible.

Dough Drop with Tomato Soup 西紅柿疙瘩湯 was recommended by MukMuk-D.  It's simply a tomato-based egg drop soup with northern-Chinese style 麵疙瘩 (similar to spaetzle or gnocchi).  The soup was simple, but tasty.  The unusual small chunks of 麵疙瘩 were al dente.

Last to arrive was the first thing ordered by Buddha Boy...Chicken w/Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce 豉椒雞球飯.  This was horrible.  The rice was dry.  The chicken has been sitting around for quite some time after being deep-fried in bad oil.  The sauce used was extremely salty.  Overall, the experience was...meh.

2011-09-29 Snacks @ Bobby's Hawaiian

1011 Hewitt Avenue, Everett, WA

425-259-1338

Head back towards Vancouver, we stopped by Bobby's Hawaiian Restaurant.  Yup, we were stopping for food every chance we got.  We woke MomM up from her nap, only to her horror, it was another place to eat.

We found a spot right in front of the restaurant.  Gee, I never realized that the restaurant had a funky look out front.

Similar to our last visit (see post 2010-12-17 Dinner @ Bobby's Hawaiian), we ordered the Hawaiian Plate.  Surprisingly, we enjoyed it more this time around .  The Lomi (salmon) and the Poke (tuna) were much more flavorful and less salty.  The Kalua Pork was just okay, it was on the saltier side and it was a bit one dimensional.  All of us enjoyed the LauLau (pork wrapped in taro leaves).  The pork was a bit salty, but it had a nice flavor.  The taro leaves added a soft texture and a hint of fragrance in flavor.  None of us liked the Poi (taro pudding).

Since MukMuk-D was with us (and he does eat beef), I ordered the Loco Moco to share.  The order came with two hamburger patties with eggs smothered in gravy, served with rice and macaroni salad.  The beef patties were pretty bland and lacked any crusting or flavor from the cooking process.  It looked a bit charred, but lacked the flavour.  The eggs were over hard.  The gravy was pretty bland.  Overall, this dish was a fail.

We also ordered a side of Mochi Chicken.   Battered in mochi, the chicken was a bit on sweeter side.  These were not crispy, but these were pretty tasty.  We'd order this again.

Being the spam sucker, I ordered the Spam Musubi again.  Similar to our previous visit (see post 2010-12-17 Dinner @ Bobby's Hawaiian), I wish the meat was thicker, but hey, this was way better than what I had at the Powell Street Festival (see post 2011-07-30 Quick Visit @ Powell Street Festival).
 

Overall, this meal was merely okay, something was lacking.  It wasn't until later on at night when I realized what was missing...the teriyaki sauce.  Bobby's Hawaiian has a homemade teriyaki sauce that really gives a lot of the food additional depth and flavor.  Bobby's wife brought us the sauce when we visited last time, and apparently, according to her, most of the customers love the sauce.  This time around, we forgot about it and our server never offered.

2011-09-29 Quick Visit @ Pike Place Market

Since MomM's in town, it's another trip down south to pick up all the vitamins from Costco...so much cheaper and so much more selections!!!  Oh, not to mention all the Crabtree & Evelyn stuff...MomM's friends and relatives go crazy with those creams and lotions and potions...okay...not potions...hehehehehehe!  Anyhow, Buddha Boy also helped me with part of this post...specifically for the section "The Crumpet Shop" and "Mee Sum Pastry 美心餅家"...3Q3Q hun!!!

PIKE PLACE CHOWDER

206-267-2537

 

MukMuk-D tagged along and we headed to the outlets first.  The four of us finished all our shopping in less than one and a half hours!!!  The mall was so dead!!!  Since it was still early, we all decided to drive to Pike Place for some chowder...mmm...clam chowder!!!

At first, MomM only wanted to share a large bowl of New England Clam Chowder (top left) with me...but after she tried it...she hogged it!!!  Lucky me, just for fun...I made Buddha Boy bought me one in a Sourdough Bread Bowl (top right).  Buddha Boy had a Seafood Bisque (bottom left) and shared a Curried Chicken Roll (bottom right) with MukMuk-D (who also had a large bowl of clam chowder).  The sandwich was nothing spectacular.  The grilled chicken was a bit dry and the bread was too dense.  Not something we'd order again.

CHICKEN VALLEY FARM STORE

206-624-2774

Yup, the crazy Buddha Girl visited her favorite chicken store at the market again!!!  I couldn't help it!  I love eating Deep-Fried Chicken Hearts!!!

I also picked up a couple of those Spicy Hot Chicken Sticks to share while we munched down the chowders...yum!!!

THE CRUMPET SHOP

206-682-1598

We've read a lot of good things about The Crumpet Shop, we decided to stop by for a quick dessert.  It was only steps away from Pike Place Chowder.

A crumpet looked pretty much like an English muffin, just not done crispy.  To start, we ordered the most basic, Crumpet with Butter, with honey. 

The crumpet was quite soft, light and very simple tasting.  It was good, but I probably would have liked it more if the bottom was crispy.

Just for fun, we also tried a Crumpet with Walnuts, Honey, Ricotta Cheese.  This was good, but I still would have preferred some contrasting crispness.

MEE SUM PASTRY 美心餅家

206-682-6780

Previously, someone suggested that we should really try the Hom Bow.  I really wasn't expecting much, after all, Vancouver is quite well-known for Chinese food in North America, the standards are set pretty high.

At first glance, the buns was quite large, however, something looked off.  The bun had no glisten of the sweet egg wash and it did not have that tad stickiness on top.  Biting into the bun, I was shocked with how light and airy the dough was, however, it lacked that small hint of sweetness.

Now, the BBQ pork filling, well, after two bites, I ended up tossing the whole bun.  While ample in stuffing, it was so salty that I was willing to give up the meat.  In comparison with the buns in Vancouver, this was comparable with the bottom tier.  Most dim sum places offer acceptable BBQ buns.  One of my go-to bakery is Michele Cake Shop 君悅餅廊.

Guess what?  I saw Michael Jordan!!!  Yes...Michael Jordan...in a lingerie store...at the Seattle Premium Outlets!!! 

Yup, Buddha Girl the idiot.  :p  Hahahaha!  Ok...why would Michael Jordan be the "face" of ladies socks & underwear?!?!?  Hey, according to the banner...you get the fourth pack free with a purchase of any three packs!!!  LOL!!!

And to our beloved KimHo of I'm Only Here for the Food...