2012-02-04 Lunch @ Max's Burgers

521 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC

604-873-6297

After an afternoon snooze, I woke Buddha Girl up for lunch.  Well, it was a late lunch, at 4pm.  We considered this lunch because we had other plans for dinner.

We were greeted and seated immediately as we walked in the door, by a very enthusiastic server.  Including us, there were only four tables of customers present.

Buddha Girl had a Sweet Orange Pekoe Iced Tea and I had the Fresh Hand Squeezed Lemonade.  Both were refreshing and delicious.

Buddha Girl went with "Anna and the King" Crab Po' Boy.  I though the breading around the crab was a bit heavy.  Portion was quite good for the price, two decent sized deep-fried king crab fillets with curry mayo and coleslaw.  The brioche was made in-house with a texture similar to baked Chinese BBQ pork buns (but without the filling).  The yellow-colored bun with the sweet egg wash on top really reminded me of Chinese baked buns. 

I went with The British Columbia, and asked to have the bacon jam served on the side.  The burger was just okay.  The meat wasn't as moist as I expected or hoped for.  It wasn't a bad burger, but it had no char or griddle crust that would make it a better burger.  So far, my heart still sets with the burger at Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar (see post 2011-12-22 Dinner @ Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar).

The Bacon Marmalade (left) was a bit too sweet.  The balsamic reduction and the caramelized onions overpowered the bacon.  Can't recall what's on the right.

Overfeeds four?  I could probably take it all by myself.  But for $55?  Nah.  I would much rather go for a Triple King Supreme at FatBurger for less than half of that price.

2012-02-04 Breakfast @ Fraser Park Restaurant

4663 Byrne Road, Burnaby, BC

604-433-7605

It's my birthday weekend!!!  And it started off with a breakfast at my favorite diner...well, where else?  Fraser Park Restaurant, of course. 

Buddha Boy and I shared our breakfast...yes, we shared...mainly because we have other food plans later...wahahahaha!  Our visit started with two pieces of French Toasts.

Next came a plate of ham, bacon, HamBurger patty, schnitzel, sausage and roast pork...all made in house by our dearest Anton.  Shall we call this Six Little Piggies?  LOL!!!

Our third plate was nothing but Potato Pancakes, accompanied with sour cream.  Yups, carbs...but at least these were veggies...well...kinda...hahahaha!

I was satisfied...very satisfied!  Other than the schnitzel being dry and chewy, everything else was a hit...especially the BACON!!!

2012-02-02 Lunch @ Ramen Sanpachi

770 Bute Street, Vancouver, BC

604-609-9938

Another lunch date for the fat couple.  Since Ramen Sanpachi is only a couple of blocks away from Buddha Boy's work, I suggested to redeem our voucher from SocialShopper.

See that big red can of hot sauce?  That's the hot sauce used to make their spicy ramen.  It's a product from Taiwan and it's labelled "寧記麻辣火鍋醬" (or Ning Chi Spicy Pot Sauce), simply used to make spicy hot pot broths.  Not sure where they bought it from, but I saw it before at Kuo Hua 國華 and was very tempted to buy it for home...wahahahaha!

My order of Gyoza came first, which was included in my combo.  Nothing special, just pork and vegetables.  Typical store-bought quality.

Next came the Chicken Karaage...over-fried (overcooked).  The batter was thick.  The oil was old.  The meat was dry and bland...should've asked for more mayo...

I ordered a Tonkotsu Ramen.  The pork-bone soup was a bit salty, but it was light yet rich and flavorful.  The cha-shu slices were nothing extraordinary.  I was not too impressed with overcooked noodles.

Buddha Boy had the Cha-Shu Miso Ramen.  The broth was a bit salty with very minimal miso taste, next to none.  Buddha Boy thought the cha-shu was a bit lean and chewy.  Luckily, he had al-dente noodles.

Service was attentive and pleasant.  Despite the chilly weather, the restaurant was very stuffy.  Thank goodness we sat right next to the door so we could get the breeze as customers walked in and out.

2012-02-01 Snacks @ Nine Dishes 九道

960 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

778-282-8699

After an unsatisfying DOV meal, Buddha Boy and I scouted for more food on our way driving home.  We ended up at Nine Dishes, a restaurant that has been on our wishlist for a very long time.

Service was not a priority in this restaurant.  With only a handful tables of customers, we were ignored unless we called out aloud.  After we sat down, we were given a pad to write down our orders.  With no instructions, I just wrote down the item numbers (according to the menu) and the desired quantities.  Honestly, I didn't give a shit whether they had to check the menu just to see what we ordered.  Give me the attitude and I'll return it a thousand times worse.

After we ordered, Buddha Boy and I wondered why we still have not yet served tea.  A server, who was continuously chatting with the table next to us already refilled their teapot, not once, but twice.  I decided, again, to called out aloud to the owner at the counter for tea.  He quickly showed up with just a teapot, then went back for two cups...um...ok...it took him two trips for something that could be done in one?  I guess "efficiency" was not a priority either.

First to arrive was the House Special Spareribs 九道秘制排骨 (C5).  First of all, we didn't know what so "house special" about it?  Other than it's braised in soy sauce, we didn't see or taste anything outstanding.  Yes, the ribs were braised to the point where the meat fell off the bones, very easily, but the meat was also extremely tough and chewy.  Oh yea, almost forgot, there were a number of burnt pieces too!  One word to describe this...hideous.

Next was the Si Chuan Sausage 四川香肠 (L5), another hideous dish.  You see that fat?  Don't get us wrong, fat is good for sausages, but not when the fat chunks were firm and chunky...ewww...simply gross!  Moreover, while the fat part was, well, fat, the meat part was extremely dry.  The overuse of brown peppercorn 花椒 (also known as Szechuan peppercorn) simply made it a disaster.

The two skewers of BBQ Eggplant 烤茄子 (K3) were small but were nicely grilled.  A simple brush of BBQ sauce made these quite enjoyable.

Of course, knowing my husband, he must try the meat skewers.  Buddha Boy ordered two Lamb Meat Kebab with Cumin and Chilli 羊肉串 (K1) and two Chicken Meat Kebab with Cumin and Chilli 鸡肉串 (K2a).  Both were overcooked and dry.  Disappointing.

Buddha Boy wanted to try the Cold Noodle with Chilli Sauce and Shredded Chicken 麻辣鸡丝凉面 (M4) and this was another one of the better dishes.  This had al-dente noodles topped with fresh julienne cuts of cucumber, cold shredded chicken, roasted peanuts, chopped green onions and sesame/peanut sauce.  After mixing it all together, we detected brown peppercorn in the sauce...yup, a slight turn off.

The stupid idiotic Buddha Girl went and ordered Vegetable Pork Wonton Soup 荠菜肉馄饨 (M8) at a place like this.  I detected no Shepherd's Purse 薺菜, not even hints of it.  The soup was salty and tasted like water plus soy sauce.  Sad...very sad.

Last dish to arrive was something that caught Buddha Boy's attention at first, the Crispy Pork Meat on Toothpick 牙签酥肉 (L9).  Now, what's the "toothpick" part of it?  Were we suppose to eat these with toothpicks?  Confused.  Each small piece of meat was coated with a thick layer of batter.  The sprinkled seasoning was, no surprise, strong in brown peppercorn.  At this point, we're speechless.

Rice was complimentary but we had to get it ourselves.  So much for hygiene huh?  Notice the empty pot?  I took the picture at the beginning of our meal when the pork stew was served...yup, you guessed it...no rice for us.  To add insult to injury, the new pot didn't show up until the end of our meal.  WTF???

We've always reluctant to visit restaurants that are owned and operated by people from China.  Simply put, most offers bad service, bad food and bad hygiene.  Look at the plate above, this was just one of the chipped plates used to serve our food.  The word "dreadful" sums up our experience.  Will we return?  Only if we're fools.

2012-02-01 DOV @ Five Sails Restaurant

999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC

604-844-2855

Unlike Black + Blue, the only option available at Five Sails during the DOV was the set menu.  My wife wasn't too impressed, we should have called beforehand to check if they're also offering a-la-carte.

On top of the usual bread and butter, we were also offered an amuse each.  The Ginger & Carrot Soup, served in an espresso cup, had a light hint of ginger with a subtle carrot sweetness.  The soup was smooth, no fibre of any sorts.  MomJ, Buddha Girl and I all enjoyed this.

To start, MomJ had the Lobster bisque "cappuccino" with fresh Atlantic lobster.  This soup was rich in flavor, but not heavy.  Simple yet smooth and flavorful, very nicely done.

I started with a salad...yes, the salad, the only option left after my mom and my wife declared their choices of appetizers.  The salad consisted of vine ripened tomato & grilled vegetable stacked with feta cheese & fresh basil puree, organic watercress, winter greens and extra virgin olive oil dressing.  This salad was simple and fresh, I'd recommend to others, but with me being mainly a carnivore, it's really hard to be enthusiastic.

Buddha Girl had the Creamy wild mushroom risotto, shaved parmigiano reggiano, with added prawns.  The risotto was quite inconsistent, some grains were al-dente while others were overcooked.  We even detected undercooked grains.  The wild mushroom fragrance did not overpower or contrast the dish.  Buddha Girl thought this dish was not bad, not the greatest, but still enjoyable.  Personally, I thought it didn't seem to be moist enough.

For entree, MomJ went with the Grilled "Prime" New York Steak silky Madeira sauce, crisp Walla Walla onion rings and vegetables in season, with added foie gras.  The beef was cooked perfectly as MomJ requested.  The mashed potato was creamy and buttery but the onion rings were cold and limp.  What surprised us was the foie gras, which was a fairly large piece for the price.  The liver was done well and we all enjoyed it. 

I had the Duo of butter poached 1/2 fres Atlantic lobster, orange & tangerine scented butter emulsion,  Crisp Kurobuta Berkshire pork belly, berry gastrique, roasted squash puree & shitake mushrooms.  This wasn't really that big of a dish, especially after having a salad as my appetizer.  The pork belly was small, but it was just the right size for me, any size larger would be too rich for my liking.  The pork was tender and sweet, with no crispy skin.  The lobster was a bit overcooked.  Other than the execution, this dish was just so-so.

Buddha Girl had A napoleon of black truffle infused homemade pasta, sauteed vegetables in season, herb butter emulsion, with added crab meat.  The ravioli came in small square sheets of pasta, sandwiched amongst sauteed mushrooms.  What failed was the "truffle infused" part, we couldn't detect any, either by taste or smell.  My wife was disappointed, and so was I.

For dessert, MomJ and I each had a Crisp phyllo pastry with lemon cream, salted caramel sauce, roasted pear & fig, warm sour cherries (left).  Unfortunately, this was too sweet for us.  Buddha Girl went with the Pavlova with fresh seasonal & exotic fruits, fruit coulis & silky creme Anglaise (right).  Again, way too sweet and no one enjoyed it, we're just simply not fans of meringue.

To end our meal, we were given three squares of dark chocolate truffles.  Overall, our visit was decent but nothing wow'd us.  We wanted some unique food experiences but left unsatisfied.  We understand that the point of DOV is to expose people to the food at reasonable prices, but even with the additions of prawns, crab and foie gras, the food was still "meh".  As we're leaving, we noticed that 80% of the diners were Asians, we felt like we're in a Richmond dim sum joint!