A Kettle of Fish

I went to this place for a friend's birthday dinner and was looking pretty forward to checking this place out for its seafood. Parking for the restaurant is pretty much along any of the side hill streets and it's free which makes it awesome.

Dirty stuff out of the way, here's the washroom for those who based restaurant quality on the kitchen... err.. I meant washroom. Plain, standard, ugly... definitely not top-tier. You walk down a staircase through a fancy stairway and then it goes downhill (literally). If you ever became disoriented, you'd think you were at Knight and Day if you ever came to in here. But I can't complain, you are able to do your business in here just fine and everything seems to work.

So this is the lounge where you can either wait or go for some drinks here. I really like the decor and the chairs are super comfortable. From what I saw, the bar is next to it and it consisted of about five bar stools and a small TV with no sound so I'd definitely skip the bar if possible.
So I had been hearing about how this place was of this great infusion between upscale dining room plus nature garden, and lo and behold, we have a tree in the middle of the whole area. The restaurant was actually quite packed but I was able to snag this picture when we were the last table left. I think it's a nice touch and it looks pretty nice. Service was a little lacking as we told them that we had two more guests to arrive so we weren't ready to order but that doesn't mean we wouldn't still appreciate some water or some follow-up. For a place like this, I shouldn't really need to expect to flag for water or extra menus when guests arrive. (Okay, once everyone had arrived, service was good).

Sea Prawn Cocktail ~ $11 - I think you get about 8 okay-sized prawns with 3 sauces (curried mayo, ginger orange ketchup and caramelized tomato rouille - my fave). It was pretty good and a good starting appetizer.
Calamari ~ $10 - you can't just not go to a seafood restaurant and not try their calamari, and for what it's worth, I liked it; very good but not the best - that I've yet to find.
Fish n Chips ~ $18 - as you can see, a lot of fries which comes with the same dipping sauces at the prawn cocktail and what looks like two pieces of fish. i don't know what kind cause it's based on the daily catch. The guy said it sucked and wasn't worth it. I didn't get to validate his opinion since that would involve swapping morsels in exchange and his dish didn't look appealing. I was pondering the fish n chips - thanks goodness I didn't get it.

Sablefish Pappardelle alla Carbonara ~ $25. 25 - it looked good and tasted great. but as you can see, it's pretty eye-popping small for a whopping $25. For what it's worth, it did come with a little bit of baby squash and zucchini.

Local Paella ~ $28.50 - the menu listed a lot of things like sablefish, coho salmon, albacore tuna, spot prawns, saltspring island mussels, qualicum baby scallop, chorizo sausage and carnaroli rice. So what you get is a small bit of everything. In the end, I guess you get like 3 bites of a seafood delicacy for $4 each plus the carnaroli rice which must mean super salty.

Albacore tuna ~$24 - I checked their menu and don't see this item anymore so I guess it's no longer in season... I really enjoyed this dish which just so happened to be mine. You get a few baby vegetables, the super salty rice and 3 pretty fair pieces of seared albacore tuna which was also topped off with some sort of chocolate glaze which actually complemented each other very well.

Cheesecake with spiced pears and almond oat crumble ~ $6.50 - very good since I like pears. As for the size, hmm... think about the opening of a standard size mug. However, I really wanted to try the rocky road but was too full. This just so happened to be someone else's dish that I mooched off of.

Overall rating ~ 7.5 - I'm willing to go back for a celebration or a suggested dinner but this wouldn't necessarily be my first choice. Given that I'm not a fan of crustaceans and mollusks, that doesn't leave me with my variety which is no fault of their restaurant's but the other items just don't seem appealing. When I picking my dish, it wasn't a matter of "oh, I don't know what to get, they all look so good!", but "oh, I don't know what to get - which one offers the biggest portions for the cheapest price?" Well... now that I think about it, bang for your buck is a reasonable way to make food decisions.



A Kettle of Fish

900 Pacific Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E3

Tel: 604-682-6661

The Naam

Located on the outskirts of the posh areas of Kitsilano lies this little hole in the wall known as the Naam. Personally, this place looks like it belongs on Hastings & Main. Anyway, it's open 24 hours, usually has lineups and is all vegetarian all the time. I'm for all eating healthy so I was a little intrigued by what this place had to offer. As with most other Kits restaurants, parking is on the streets but since it's not as commercialized, parking is free. After waiting 45 minutes, we finally got in and there isn't much room to stand in line inside the place so make sure you assign a designated spot holder. From the outside, the place looks a little sketchy and it's not much better inside. It was packed and busy so I didn't want to take any pics but picture yourself sitting inside a rustic European house in the countryside with strange pictures and fabrics hanging on the wall... kinda like the gypsies. Alternatively, I also thought I was in a hippie's house. So the waitress took our order and 45 minutes later......

Gold Dragon bowl ~ $9.95 - Naam fries, cheese, miso gravy, steamed vegetables, sprouts, carrots and deep fried tofu. The fries and tofu were on the very bottom and were soggy and gross by the time I got to them. The miso gravy is good in moderation but when your whole bowl is drenched in it, it's not that good. I felt like a sheep while I was munching on my alfalfa sprouts and raw vegetables. Except that for a sheep, it's free to eat grass. I can't believe I waited 45 minutes for raw vegetables and soggy potatoes.
Cashew & Avocado Enchilada ~ $10.95 - grilled veggies, cashews and avocado wrapped in an organic corn tortilla with salsa, yogurt and cheese. When I saw this dish, I wish I had ordered it cause it reminded me of lasagna and sure looked more appetizing than my dish. To the right of it is the Naam salad, a cornucopia of raw vegetables which is $6 on the menu....

Maui-Maui Burger ~ $8.95 - comes with mushrooms, water chestnuts and pineapple with teriyaki sauce and Naam fries. I didn't get to actually try this but my friend said it was good. This was my second choice and I wish I got it too... only because I didn't like my dish. Also, when dry, the Naam fries are alright. Well... I guess they taste like any other unsalted potato wedge.

Thai noodles ~ $11.50 - green & red peppers, onion, tofu, sprouts, red cabbage, garlic, ginger, peanuts and stir-fried noodles. This was an okay dish but I personally wouldn't order Asian food from a non-Asian place (unless it's the tuna tataki from Cactus Club). Also, since this is a vegetarian place, it's not as tasty or flavorful compared to if you ordered it elsewhere.

So overall, it was quite the experience but I can't say that I'm itching to go back. The service was up (they constantly filled our water glasses) and down (too few servers for such a busy establishment). My friend also ordered a fruit smoothie and specifically asked for the fruit contents. Once she got it, she had a sip and said she tasted kiwi and asked the waitress cause she was allergic to kiwi. The waitress said she forgot and acted nonchalant about it and took it away. At least she didn't charge her for it but not cool. The food? Well, the portions were quite large but yet, you probably wouldn't feel satisfied. Upon finishing our meal, we usually have dessert but this time, all I really wanted was some meat.

Rating - 5. It's probably because I couldn't fathom the idea of being a vegan so I am extremely bias but I won't be returning anytime soon. I feel like I'm in a barn being fed like a farm animal except I am paying for it.

The Naam

2724 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K1R1

Tel: 604-738-7151
The Naam

Refuel

As you approach Refuel, the first thing you'll probably notice is the chef working in the window facing the street. I thought it was pretty interesting but it'd be weird if I took a picture of him. Refuel is located in Kits so you just have to look for street parking although just on the same block, there is a parking lot for the Salvation Army and yes, you have to pay, but it's $1 for the whole night, score!


As you walk down the bar, you'll note the open environment and how the chefs are easily accessible to the patrons but I guess that's if you sit at the bar. It's quite welcoming and cozy with enough seating at the tables for maybe 40 people. The waitress that we had was very nice even though I couldn't use the Visa perks coupon cause it was listed under "Fuel" even though it's the same owners. Just a heads-up if that's the sole reason you are going there. Some of the food I'm gonna show isn't even on the menu on Refuel's website so I guess a lot has changed in 2 months or perhaps it was just their Olympics menu.


Creamy onion soup - no longer appears on the menu and seems to have been replaced with the creamy broccoli which I think I'd like more. This dish was very salty... probably why I liked it.


Lemon risotto - no longer a staple on their menu either. Not really much to say about this dish. It was lemon-y... not bad but not great.


The cure's salami ~ $17 - This is their salami dish where you can pick 3 different types of meat with some dips. I can't really what the meats we picked were but it's a nice sharing dish. It came with 3 dips and some really hard bread.


Buttermilk fried polderside chicken ~ $18 - my buddy kept raving about how this was the best fried chicken in all of Vancouver and seeing other people in the restaurant enjoying it probably made the dish taste better than it would have. The dish comes with coleslaw (eww), a jalapeno biscuit (awesome) and three pieces of chicken bigger than your average KFC so it is filling. The fried skin was great but to my horror, right underneath the fried goodness was the rubbery white skin that you get with Hainan chicken. I dislike that slippery, rubbery texture so that kinda ruined the chicken for me. Other than that, the meat was very tasty.


Dry aged beef burger ~ $14.50 - I didn't get to try this but my friend seemed to like my chicken more than his burger. It just doesn't seem any different from other (and cheaper) burgers that you could get elsewhere. He totally regretted it, I know.


A special on the night was the massive 18oz. ribeye steak. I can't recall the price exactly but it was close to $50. All I can tell you is that it was great!

As for my rating... would I go back?

Rating: 7.5 - I'd go back. I enjoyed my time and the meal. The waitress was nice as was the atmosphere and decor. I only wish that the dishes weren't all so darn salty. Ironically, I'd also get the fried chicken again despite what I said above. I need to give it another chance before I agree that it has dethroned Church's as the best chicken in town.

Refuel neighbourhood restaurant & bar

1944 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J1M5

Tel: (604) 288-7905
http://www.refuelrestaurant.com/

P.S. So I'm back to writing blogs and yes, I was kinda lazy on this one, but it's hard to remember things from 2 months back.

Sun Tung Kee Hot Pot Restaurant

So I'm back and what better way to kick-start then with a review of one of least favorite cuisines! One of my friends wanted to do a hotpot dinner so I decided to join cause I figured what better way to be more Chinese than to eat hotpot in Richmond. She decided on Sun Tung Kee which should not be confused for Sabo which apparently goes by the same name also. The main difference being Sabo is AYCE while this place is a la carte. It's especially important that this issue be cleared up immediately because for some people, a la carte isn't their thing. The parking lot itself is crappy when busy (which aren't?) but otherwise, check for ample street parking.

This is the inside and it looks pretty clean. You've got the steam fans in the middle of the table and the boss lady greeting customers and making sure all the servers are doing their jobs diligently. I pretty much agreed to whatever everyone ordered and asked that they not tell me so that I would try everything and not worry about what it was. They have a variety of soup bases starting around $7 and we decided on the satay duo soup which was clear soup on one side and satay soup on the other. I can say right now that I didn't taste any differences but that's because i probably doused out any tastes by using the sesame sauce.

So I can't recall everything that was ordered since this was a while ago but here goes: Inside the white icing bag are the fish paste noodles ($10) which you squeeze out like cake icing which was surprisingly good since i hate fish balls. From the waiter, we learned the proper method for squeezing is to imitate the upward stroke actions of your arms as if you were running.... Anyway, in the background, I think you have beef slices ($10), in front are the golden mushrooms ($6.50), the lamb slices ($9) and the fish slices ($14) in the background. I liked the meat but not so much the fish slices or mushrooms.

Here are the assorted meatballs C ($15) and what I think is another view of the beef slices. As for the meatballs, I only ate the shrimp and beef but can't recall the others. I just didn't try the fishballs cause I already know they are gross.

I can't really recall what these dishes were other than the shrimp dumplings ($8) up at the top and the chicken wings ($9). I must say right now that steamed and boiled chicken wings is extremely nasty and I hate the elasticity of the skin. Chicken should only be fried, roasted or baked - otherwise, it's just gross.

Here we have what I think is beef again, fresh oysters ($12) and ostrich meat ($16). The ostrich meat was actually quite tasty and more tender than I though it would be.

So overall, I was pretty stuffed but I did find it quite pricey at$27/person. The dishes themselves didn't seem that expensive but I guess everything just adds up. I must say that the portions appear quite generous but then again, I have no other places to compare it to. As for the restaurant itself, I didn't hate it but I can't say that I'd be aching to return... not just to this restaurant but to any hotpot restaurant in general. I think the appeal of cooking your own raw food and mixing it altogether in a broth with a whole bunch of other raw stuff is gross and still is.

One thing though is that the service was extremely good! You know you're getting great service when the girls are cooking the food for you and placing it on your plate so I can't complain about that. By the way, in order for that to happen, you'd have to go with a really nice girls.

Rating: 6/10 - my first hotpot restaurant experience could have been worse and I honestly wasn't expecting much. The fact that I didn't get food poisoning also helps too. Oh yeah, if the food is cooked thoroughly and served to you by girls, well... that helps too =)


Sun Tung Kee Hot Pot Restaurant
1060-8580 Alexandra Road
Richmond BC V6X 4B3
604-207-0386

hello all. in the midst of the Olympics and studying for my final exam, I'll have to take a break (I probably should've written this a month ago), but check back this Sat March 13 for a new update :)

Places that you'll never see me review

Hey all. You probably forgot who I am since it always seems to be take forever for me to update so I thought I'd change it up a bit. This isn't an actual review but more of a rundown of places that you'll never see me review because either:

1) I went to it during my pre-review days, and something about it sucked and I'll never go back,
2) A bad experience from someone else is enough for me to never give the place another chance, or
3) it's too expensive and not worth it.

Some say there's no such thing as bad publicity, so without further ado:

1) Grand Honour Hot Pot Restaurant on Granville. I've never been here myself but my mom recently went here and came back with a severe case of food poisoning. She's well on the way to recovery but ended up having to go to the hospital for meds and IV fluids. Her fellow patrons also fell ill but not to the extent that she did. I'm not a fan of hot pot to begin with (ironically, I will post about another hot pot place in the near future), so this doesn't do much to change my mind.

Rating: -10/10 cause I wouldn't come even if you drove me here and paid for me.

2) Lombardo's Ristorante and Pizzeria on Commercial

- It looks like an outdoor cafe but it's inside a mall with no shops. With all the outdoor cafes available on Commercial, go figure.
- bitch waitress that wouldn't let us order since 1/18 guests had not yet arrived. That one person said it was okay and we weren't rude to her.
- someone ordered wine, and their glass had water drips inside. Classy.
- once we got food, she disappeared (it is a small restaurant too!) and water re-fills didn't come
- pricey for mediocre food, and pizza had minimal toppings.
- automatic 18% gratuity despite lack of service
- she asked that before we left, if she could count the money in front of us. Seriously!?

Rating: 0/10 cause with all the other restaurants around, you have no excuse to come for this garbage. I MAY give it a second chance if you pay though. It might even be upgraded to "1".

3) Lux on Granville

It's been a while since I went here and it'll be another while before I come back...

+ people watching for clubbers waiting to go into Caprice
- just because you dine at their restaurant doesn't mean they'll let you in without waiting in line... lame.
- food took a long time to be served
- food was quite overcooked and salty, I remember it specifically for the halibut cheeks. Perhaps they used the sweat and fumes from the previous night's clubbers to steam their food?

Rating: 2/10 cause it's not at all luxurious at they claim it to be. You might as well go club first and then go to Denny's later a 2AM cause it'll taste the same once you're drunk. Actually, that's an insult. Denny's is much better eve when sober.

4) Cocolo on West 4th

- Went here twice for work lunches and I want to like it, but I can't.
- Miso soup is different from normal types you get. Lots of veggies. No, I don't like it.
- They have lunch box combos that are pricier than most although I don't think they are filling
- Their chicken teriyaki tastes like cold chicken with soy sauce
- Desserts are small for the price so don't think about sharing.
- $4 for their Cocolo sushi. You get 2 razor-thin fish "loonies" for this.
+ Umm... their service is quite good and attentive. They greeted and also thanked me when leaving.
+ Nice ambiance and really like the Japanese decor
+ free backlot parking in a tight concrete area
- If you care, operated by Chinese.

Rating: 4/10 cause I want to like it but until they improve their food and portion quality, it can't be helped. It was only for lunch but perhaps they are different during dinner.

5) Kakurenbou Japanese Dining on Jervis

+ this place looks very cool from the inside, like a temple
+ pretty good variety of izakaya and sake
+ good desserts
+ service was good
+ my boss paid for me to eat and be merry
- do not get their stone-grilled kobe beef unless you can cook 6 small slabs perfectly yourself cause that's what you do for $20.
- it's like double the price of Guu or Hapa Izakaya but you don't get as much food and their quality isn't any better.
- depending on your mood, it's not party-like or rambunctious like the above two places
- Guu and Hapa are nearby
- did i mention that it is extremely expensive, notwithstanding the fact that it's not really worth it even if money weren't an issue?

Rating: 6/10 cause I'd probably never go here again unless my boss pays for me cause I think it came out to about $75/person and I wasn't even full. It's not a bad place at all but that price is already a meal each at Guu and Hapa already.

I'm hesitant to put "West" on here cause I'd definitely like to go back although the one time I went (back in the high school days), the waiter was obnoxious, arrogant and definitely looked down at our party, probably because we came during dineout. I hope he was hauled off to work at Grand Honor or Lombardo's where he belongs.

Anyway, So this was a nice change and it'd be interesting to hear about other peoples' places to avoid. Till then, I'll keep scrounging up bad memories of food and wait to compile a list then.

Salathai on Burrard

My friend was feeling southeast Asian and suggested we go to Salathai. For Thai, I've only ever been to Thai House (gross) and Green Basil (good) so wasn't sure what to expect. We came here on a Saturday evening and as to be expected, it was busy but we had a reservation. One of my friend's boyfriend also happen to know the owner very well so obviously, expectations are a bit higher than usual. I think that's why we went here in the end.



This is the view facing the entrance although it totally doesn't even look like a restaurant (ok, the other side was filled with tables and the bar), but really, I think the decor is more to appease the people from out of town or who have never been to Thailand. Nonetheless, clean, tidy, no problems.


A free drink on the house courtesy of the owner. I believe it was some kind of Thai iced coffee but it was quite good and very refreshing. We ordered a variety of items to share and the first thing I noticed was that there were no items over $20. I thought to myself "wow, is this place one of those cheap, hidden gems that taste awesome that I'd never known about?" I was about to be unpleasantly surprised...

Salathai Satay ~ $8.25 - We had chicken but they also had beef and pork. With 4 skewers, a little over $2 for a piece of meat the size of your index figure. It was good (Personally, I think it's pretty hard to screw up skewers) but for the price, I didn't think it was worth it and was disappointed.

Tom Yum Soup with prawns ~ $9. Honestly, I was biased against this dish from the get-go cause I don't like hot and sour soup so I wasn't looking for seconds. Even though the bowl looks small, we were able to scoop out 6 standard rice bowls with a prawn for each person. Of course, I only took about half cause I didn't want to waste it.

Golden Angel Wings ~$9 - boneless chicken wings stuffed with meat, shrimp, veggies and vermicelli.. Apparently, this is one of their signature dishes and for what it's worth. It was pretty good. If I were to go back, I'd get this dish.

Pad Thai ~ $11 - Can you really go to a Thai restaurant and not order pad thai? It was alright but for the price you pay and the portion you receive, it is totally not worth it.

Gaeng Dang ~ $11 - chicken, bell peppers, bamboo shoots in red curry with coconut milk. Like most other places, you have to pay for rice separately (I forgot how much), there was enough to share for everyone but I found the curry to be too liquid for my liking.


Dessert platter on the house - we have coconut gelatinous cubes, vanilla ice cream with red bean paste and deep fried banana. Cubes = not very flavorful (then again, I think that's normal), ice cream = good, red bean = I don't like red bean and banana = good. I can't really say anything about its worth cause we received it for free.

While it was great that our buddy had a hookup with the owners and gave us free drinks and dessert, I was overall disappointed with the experience. I understand that it gets busy but the service was very lacking. It took a long time to get water or we'd have to re-request it. Also, I found it rude how when our waitress, in the middle of taking our orders, suddenly said she would be right back, left us to do whatever, and then came back 5 minutes later. I didn't think that was very professional but tips are included.

I also now realize that by making the menu items seem less expensive, it makes you feel like you can order more! Unfortunately, portion-wise, it's not worth it. For what it's worth, I did leave feeling full, but not satisfied. Most of the dishes are also designed for sharing so you can't really get your own things. There's a Salathai on Cambie but don't think I'll be coming back here or the other one anytime soon.

Due to popular (one anonymous person ^^ ), I will start rating places once again with a comment.

rating: 5/10 - Even though the golden angel wings were good, I'd come back only with that guy to get the free hook-ups but I wouldn't come myself. I'd also avoid busy times cause the service leaves much to be desired.


Salathai on Burrard
102-888 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V6 1X9
Tel: 604-683-7999
www.Salathai.ca