Category Archives: Location

Tasting TASTE Resto-Lounge at FIVESIXTY

October 16, 2012 – 15:07

I was invited out to the grand opening of TASTE Restaurant and Lounge, located beside FIVESIXTY, a club that resides in the former downtown flagship location of A&B Sound on September 19th, 2012. While I am invited out to grand openings and media events a lot now, I am declining to put up actual posts on this blog, in the interest of offering factual information and experience instead of generally positive comments that come from grand openings.

I understand it’s beneficial for both me, the restaurant and the PR firm that invited me out for exposure, but it’s simply not how I want to run this blog. I’m more than willing to upload my pictures to Flickr for all to view and make their own judgement and call it a night.

Knowing this, I was offered to come taste TASTE (I know, punny) the menu and see what they’re about. I was allowed to pick any 3 items from the menu and a cocktail, and although I kind of had an idea of how I wanted my meal to go in terms of balance and flow, I entertained the thoughts of the staff and went with what they thought would taste best and showcase what TASTE is about. Luckily, it basically coincided with what I had in mind!

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British Columbia Canada Location Vancouver

Triple O’s Peanut Butter Bacon and Jalapeño Burger

September 17, 2012 – 11:00

Triple O’s asked / dared me to try out their new burger creation, and I happily obliged. I remembered that I had a free burger combo voucher from the launch of their Triple O’s On The Go mobile food truck, and so ordered it to share with Val before heading off to dodgeball.

PEANUT BUTTER BACON & JALAPEÑO BURGER - Our 4 oz. 100% fresh Canadian beef burger with crunchy peanut butter, two bacon slices, jalapeño peppers, mayo, shredded lettuce, and tomato.

On the surface, it looks the same. It’s also very hefty, and taking the top off reveals an abundance of jalapeños, crispy (!) bacon, a 4oz burger patty and the regular toppings. Taste wise, it’s not too bad, sometimes you’ll just taste only peanut butter, sometimes you’ll taste only spicy. Overall, it’s a flavour combination that isn’t too crazy nor too mild, but definitely has a niche market. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Chinese Complimentary Cuisine Location Media Seafood Vancouver

ChineseBites and Western Lake 西湖海鮮酒家

September 12, 2012 – 06:00

On August 15 the restaurant of the ChineseBites tour was Western Lake Seafood Located on Victoria and 33rd of Vancouver. I was joined by Raymond, Sherman, Rick, Grace, Melody, Diane, and Alvin in tasting Western Lake’s seafood menu.

We started out our dinner with Winter Melon Soup served in this very sophisticated golden egg bowl. It created quite a bit of attention with other tables as it was definitely a big center piece of the group.Inside this golden bowl was half a hallowed out winter melon with various pieces of pork, chicken, and crab. The soup was very clear and delicious, not to salty too. The serving was very generous as it was able to fill about 16 full bowls of soup. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Chinese Complimentary Cuisine Hong Kong Location Media

Chinesebites and Ken’s Chinese Restaurant 南軒中西美食

September 10, 2012 – 13:15

With KiBo Restaurant & Lounge sandwiched in between Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot and this visit to Ken’s Chinese Restaurant, it was 3 weeks in a row that our little group went out to eat with ChineseBites.

Let me take you back in time, back to when this location used to be something completely different. Spot that Korean underneath? It’s a hint. This place used to be E-Hak Japanese, and it served up Japanese/Korean food, buffet style. I have faint memories of eating here with my family, but it’s obviously long gone. Now, it’s occupied by Ken Leung, who opened this location up in 2007.

We were here to try some of his award winning dishes, such as this lobster with konnyaku in clay pot. Konnyaku (糸蒟蒻) if you’re infamiliar, is made from konjac, a type of tuber vegetable comprised mainly of water and fibre, and formed into bundled noodles. The lobster, cooked with plenty of ginger and green onion, was sweet and traditional. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Complimentary Cuisine Japanese Location Media Vancouver

ChineseBites and KiBo Restaurant & Lounge

September 7, 2012 – 14:31

Thanks to Raymond from ChineseBites, I’ve been invited out to biweekly dinners at various Chinese restaurants, and on the most recent one, Raymond mentioned that KiBo had invited our small group to try them out. While not Chinese, it’s still Asian and hey, it’s free food…

Located on Hamilton Street near the end of the block close to Rodney’s, this section of Yaletown is notoriously difficult for restaurants, it just can’t sustain enough foot traffic and retain customers to the other better established venues down the block. Here’s to hoping that KiBo can do a better job then the previous tenant. Billed as a fusion restaurant and lounge, the menu is seemingly a mash up of concepts from Hapa and Minami. read more »

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British Columbia Canada Events Location Media Vancouver

2012 Vancouver Diner en Blanc

August 31, 2012 – 00:50

About Dîner en Blanc:

Launched with just a handful of friends by François Pasquier nearly 25 years ago, Paris’ Dîner en Blanc now assembles nearly 15,000 white-clad guests each year in a dozen cities throughout Europe and North America. People simply place their names on an online waiting list and those who attend a Dîner en Blanc can become members, are invited back the following year, and in turn, can invite their friends.

Dîner en Blanc is about building a pyramid of friends and a network that links memories. The French capital’s most recognizable sites have played host to it: the Pont des Arts, the Eiffel Tower site, the Louvre Pyramid, the Champs-Élysées, and last year: The Plaza of Notre Dame basilica. In Canada, 4 cities will play host to Dîner en Blanc, including Toronto (Aug 9 : 1st edition) Montreal (Aug 16 : 4th edition), Quebec City (Aug 16 : 2nd edition), and Vancouver (Aug 30 first edition). www.dinerenblanc.info

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Asian British Columbia Canada Cuisine Japanese Location Vancouver

Ajisai Sushi Bar, Kerrisdale

August 22, 2012 – 07:00

After a long day at work and hungry, Val called me up to see if I wanted dinner, but I wasn’t really in the mood (studying?)…until she said she’d treat me to Ajisai in Kerrisdale. Winner winner chicken dinner! Okay well there was no chicken to be had at this dinner, just straight up sashimi and sushi, as it really is a sushi bar. No hot or cooked food here folks. Well, I guess the seared or broiled stuff would count.

Arriving just past 630pm in the midst of dinner hour, it was busy and we had to wait about 20minutes, roughly 4 parties ahead of us. It’s surprising, given its off the track location and the sub 40 seats they have inside. Once we were seated, seeing as it’s one of Val’s favourite restaurants, she did most of the ordering.

Seafood Salad, plenty of fresh greens, chunks of tuna, salmon, squid and shrimp with a slightly salty salad dressing topped off with corn flakes.

Special Assorted Sashimi: tuna, hamachi, red tuna, scallop, salmon roe, tako, amaebi, salmon and the one in front of the lemon I can’t remember. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Chinese Cuisine Events Location Media Vancouver

Chevrolet’s Year of the Dragon Tasting Event at Wild Rice

August 17, 2012 – 08:00

“Year of the Dragon Tasting Event” on Saturday, August 11th, 2012 ft. Chevrolet Canada + Wild Rice + TD Vancouver Chinatown Festival

Chevrolet’s Year of the Dragon Tasting Event at Wild Rice

We started off with a short walk through the Vancouver Chinatown Market and tried some cha siew bao (pork buns), sui mai (open face dumplings), potstickers, spring rolls and green onion pancakes. Some of the items were decent, but it’s obvious they’ve been sitting there in the warmers for a while.

While we munched away, Executive Chef Todd Bright from Wild Rice would take the time to explain and talk about the traditional ways of preparation and the ingredients used.

Just a little further East, we stopped at a few grocery stores where Todd reveled in and expressed delight at the variety of produce available, all of which are mostly local. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Cuisine Fast Food Food Court Japanese Location Richmond Type

Teppan Kitchen in Aberdeen Centre Food Court

August 15, 2012 – 00:00

After an exhausting first day of playing dodgeball, photographing and helping out at the the First Annual JDRF Dodgeball Open a couple weekends ago, I was starving for a relatively quick dinner and decided that Aberdeen Centre would do the trick. At first I was set on ordering the famous Wo Fung chicken wings, but then decided it wasn’t enough and I wasn’t down for fried food. My second choice of Hainan Chicken from Cafe D’Lite Express 椰樹林 was nixed as Val laid claim to it, and she suggested I try Teppan Kitchen instead.

The menu is available online, which I greatly appreciate. For my first visit, I just went with the daily special, ‘A’ Grade Rib Eye Beef Teppan Rice w/ Miso Soup + Drink for $7.50. I’m a fan of teppanyaki, I absolutely adore this style of cooking and it’s been a childhood favourite of mine, with my memories reaching as far back as random food courts in Taipei.

Now this is still a food court, basically glorified fast food with maximal preparation done beforehand, but my meal still required some time to be finished, namely the heating up of the cast iron plate. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Complimentary Cuisine Hot Pot Location Media Type Vancouver

Chinese Bites and Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot 小肥牛火鍋專門店

August 9, 2012 – 16:37

Just a short two weeks after the ChineseBites inaugural dinner at Golden Swan, we moved a few blocks north on Victoria Drive for all-you-can-eat hot pot at Fatty Cow.

Normally, I’m not a fan of AYCE hotpot at restaurants because it’s always cheaper to do it at home, but if someone’s gonna feed me, I’m there. I’ve never been to Fatty Cow before, but from second hand reports, I hear it’s one of the best for AYCE hotpot. It’s very clean inside, the burners are induction and built into the tables with fans right above. Fatty Cow also offers a regular menu and a late night menu until 1 am.