2011-12-24 Lunch @ Pacific Plaza 太古廣場

Grrr...this month, one of my two vegetarian days landed right on Christmas Day!!! Since I had to pick up some veggie food for next day, Buddha Boy and I visited the food court at Pacific Plaza for lunch.

GEE! TASTE GOOD 舔舔利

604-728-7326

With limited vendor selections, Buddha Boy went with this little South Asian stall once again...mainly because of the skewers...hehehehe!

Buddha Boy ordered a dozen mix of Satay 美味沙爹串燒, three chicken and three pork.  The chicken was very tender and was well-marinated.  The pork, on the other hand, was a bit tough to chew.  The satay sauce was very peanuty, I tasted a mix of roasted peanuts, peanut butter and coconut milk.

On top of the skewers, Buddha Boy also had an order of Potato Beef Cake 印尼牛肉薯仔餅.  Not as much beef as Buddha Boy hoped to see, overall...meh.

GRACE FOOD COMPANY LTD 恩惠美食一元店

000-000-0000

Every time I visit this food court, I have always wanted to give this stall a try, mainly because it offers both Shanghai and northern Chinese dishes...something I'm quite exposed to.

Similar to Shanghai Ting 上海亭美食 at Empire Centre or Shanghai Goodies 上海坊 in Parker Place, this place offers both cooked food for dine-in (at the food court, of course) or frozen to-go's.  Unfortunately, their menus are only listed in Chinese, simplified Chinese.

The first thing we ordered was their Xiaolongbao 小籠包.  Not good, but not the worst.  The skin was done properly, tight and Q, however, the closing at the top was too thick that we had to bite off that part first before we could comfortably eat the rest.  The pork filling had too much seasoning, and only had about half a plastic spoon full of juice, MSG juice.

I wanted pot-stickers, but the owner suggested Japanese Gyozas 日式鍋貼...um ok...these were more like pan-fried dumplings 煎餃子 than pot-stickers 鍋貼.  I had a choice of pork/bok-choy (napa cabbage) or pork/chive, I went the the latter.  Honestly, the filling was not bad.  Strong tastes of chive with lightly-salted meat filling, this was not bad for $4.50.

Being a northern-Chinese descendent, I'm always excited whenever (or wherever) I see pork belly with sour napa cabbage, in this case, it was the Sour Napa Cabbage, Pork Belly and Seafood Pot 酸菜白肉海鮮鍋.  Unfortunately, this was a huge mistake.  First, there was absolutely no sour napa cabbage in this bowl (yes, it was a bowl, not a pot), just simple normal napa cabbage.  Secondly, the "sour" part was only by adding white vinegar...WTF?!?!?!?  Next, this bowl was full of green bean threads 粉絲 with only five small pieces of pork belly.  Lastly, those low-quality shrimps practically ruined the rich pork broth (which was the only acceptable part).  F**K...if you cannot make this properly, don't sell it!!!

Not exactly sure why we were showered with a complimentary Green Onion Twist Bun 蔥花卷, but unfortunately, this was sad.  Not only it has very limited amount of green onions, this was microwaved then served to us...so yup, I took a bite then threw the rest

2011-12-23 Festive Lunch Buffet @ EBO Restaurant

4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby, BC

604-453-0788

After trying the Sunday Brunch buffet at EBO twice in a month (see post 2011-11-06 Brunch Buffet @ EBO Restaurant and 2011-11-20 Brunch Buffet @ EBO Restaurant), we decided to try their Festive Lunch Buffet.  Mr. and Mrs. Crispy Lechon joined us for the meal.  With $26 per person, we felt that the price was very reasonable, that's until we realized that the offerings were limited and beverages were not included as it is with their Sunday Brunch.

For the cold stations, the selection mirrored that of their Sunday Brunch with the exception that their seafood offerings, which was more limited, such as not offering poached prawns.

Generally, the food quality at EBO is quite good, and everything was quite good, with only minor misses.  I've noticed that they've recently switched from prime rib at the carving station to roast beef, even for their Sunday Brunch (must be cost control).

One thing that Buddha Girl and I very much enjoyed was the turkey, with stuffing and gravy.  Nicely sliced and separated in groups of white and dark meat.  All meats were tender and moist.

The dessert station was, again, beautifully presented.  Overall, considering that the Sunday Brunch was only $30.95 per person (before tax and gratuity), the Festive Lunch Buffet (offered on weekdays at $26 per person, before tax and gratuity), was not worth the money.  That extra $4.95 difference gave us drinks, poached prawns and an omelet station.  While the selections were just at par, the quality, again, maintained it's above par level.  Buddha Girl and I may give this another chance next season, but then again, why go for something less?

2011-12-22 Dinner @ Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar

601 West Cordova, Vancouver, BC

604-678-8000

I left Buddha Girl at home and joined my colleagues for a b*#!h and whine session.  Surprisingly, considering I was one of the only two guys at the table with five ladies, I was doing most of the b*#!hing.

I ordered The 9.2oz Rogue Burger, simply house ground sirloin cooked to medium rare.  The burger came with pickles, lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon on a brioche bun.  I upgraded to yam fries.

The base price of this burger before the yam fries was $13.99, good price for what you guy, especially considering that a similar burger at Earls would probably cost me a few bucks more.

Sure enough, the burger came to medium rare, with a nice beefy char taste.  I absolutely loved this burger.  It's greasy, it's big, it's good all around, everything worked.  I took out the tomato, lettuce and pickles, it tasted better without.  If you want a quality rustic burger with paying the fancy price, and if you don't mind the grease, give this burger a try.

Located Downtown, at the Waterfront Skytrain station, the prices were quite reasonable.  Good enough that I want to take Buddha Girl here.

2011-12-21 Lunch @ Mucho Burrito

#20 - 601 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC

604-569-3002

After a few slices of pizza at work I had to run a quick errand.  The office sponsored pizzas were pretty skimpy on the meat.  Albeit, probably authentic Italian pizza, just not suitable for a guy like me...I'm so unrefined.

We spotted this new franchise that opened on the ground floor of the building I was at.  Buddha Girl and I were too lazy and too hungry to walk elsewhere for food, so this had to do.

I ordered a 10" Pollo Quesadilla (left) while Buddha Girl ordered a 10" Chorizo Quesadilla (right).  We opted for roasted vegetables, no beans, no cheese.  Prices were not cheap, but this was a healthier choice for fast food.

 

A container of Salsa and a container of Sour Cream came with each of the quesidilla.  The sour cream was standard, but the salsa was surprisingly refreshing.

We added an order of Nacho Chips and Guacamole.  The chips were quite light, so you could eat more before you feel like you're getting heavy.  The guacamole was simple but good, and most importantly, very fresh.

2011-12-19 Dim Sum @ Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家

350 Gifford Street, New Westminster, BC

604-528-8833

MomM's students and I met up for a seasonal get-together.  To make things easier for everyone, we agreed to meet at mid-point (well, almost), in this case, Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家 at Starlight Casino had the best location.

Whether it's Chicken feet, goose feet or pork hocks...I love them all!  So when I spotted Boneless Duck Web in Spicy Sauce 麻辣鮮掌, or simply, duck feet, I knew I had to get it.  Light hints of spiciness with springy but chewable texture, simple but satisfying.

The Deep Fried Crispy Tofu 脆皮金沙豆腐 had a very crispy outer texture, but that was pretty much it.

The Rice Noodle Stir Fried with Celery, Bean Sprout and Shredded Chinese Mushroom in XO Spicy Sauce XO醬炒米粉 was a small dish for the price but it had very good wok-hei 鑊氣 (or 火候 in Mandarin).  The XO sauce was incomparable to TG J&C.

Yes, I love eating feet, except for the dish of Steamed Chicken Feet and Gluten in Black Bean Sauce 豆豉生根風爪.  I prefer chewing on something Q or springy...when steamed, the feet tend to get all soggy and sometimes, too salty...and that's exactly what happened here.

The Prawn and Pineapple Spring Roll 風梨鮮蝦春卷 was not too impressive.  Chopped canned pineapple with poor quality shrimps...you get the picture.

The Steamed Dried Shrimp, Green Onion and Chinese Donut Rice Roll 蔥花蝦米炸兩腸粉 was HORRIBLE!!!  The donut was stale and hard to chew.  The rice skin looked thin, but it wasn't.  The green onion had a weird taste...like it's starting to change...yuck!

Don't be fooled by the look of these Steamed Crab Meat, Prawn and Preserved Vegetable Dumpling 雪菜蟹肉水晶包...this was just another way of cheat your money by wrapping har-gow in a fancier method.  Honestly, I couldn't see nor taste any crab meat.  Yes, the preserved vegetable was visible, but tasteless.  Shrimp was not the greatest quality.  Don't even get me started with the skin.

Nothing special about the Sparerib Steamed with Chopped Garlic 金蒜蒸排骨, just a simple dish that satisfied a simple craving.

Another disappointment was the Deep Fried Squid in Spicy Peppery Salt 椒鹽脆鮮魷.  First, the squid was so "chewy" that I had to pull it with my fingers to break it off.  Next, what "peppery"?  I only tasted salt.  And finally, bad oil.

AuntF's in-laws recently return from a trip to HK/Taiwan and they brought back a box of pineapple cakes (pineapple pastries) for her.  AuntF shared a couple individual packs with me.  While I appreciate the gesture, these pastries were a disgrace to be a called "pineapple cakes (pineapple pastries) from Taiwan"...very little pineapple filling with thick pastry crusts...a major fail.