Downtown Vancouver
Dolpan Seoul BBQ has good customer service. The ingredients look fresh and beautiful when they are raw. I like how I can enjoy the company of my friends without having to cook my own Korean BBQ. For $50 per person, it is very expensive. I hope they can pay more attention on the cooking because over-cooking these beautiful ingredients is such a waste.
The first bubble waffle cafe I tried was the one in Landsdowne Mall. I considered it a high-school kids operated food station at the time. Their bubble waffle are too awful to call themselves the "Bubble Waffle Cafe". Obviously, their business model took off with all the people whose only consideration for food is the price. Bubble Waffle Cafe can now be found in most malls in the lower mainland. Bubble Waffle Cafe calls themselves "Hong Kong and Taiwanese Cuisine". I can tell you right now that Bubble Waffle Cafe may give their food Taiwanese names, but their food are not Taiwanese cuisine. Their food has lots of carbs. It is similar to Cantonese Style Cafe food, so I guess it is Hong Kong Cuisine.
Hokkaido Butter is really not in the leagues of other famous pre-packaged frozen desserts. The $9.99 package contain 4 ice cream cones inside, so they are $2.50 each. That is pretty expensive. I believe the careless temperature control during transportation ruined my first bite and the waffle texture. I cannot recommend something that is expensive and has low quality.
For $9.99, you get quite a bit of Xiao Long Bao in the plastic box. You can clearly see that these buns are made by machines. I agree these are not authentic Xiao Long Bao. I see them as tasty emergency rations when I feel lazy to go out. I cannot recommend this to everyone because they fail as Xiao Long Bao. If you add on the convenience factor, but they are not bad.
For $21 per person, Boston Pizza is an expensive restaurant that serves mediocre food. However, if you look at it as a sports bar, then things become justifiable. The drinks are also on the expensive side for $7 a pint. But remember, you are not paying for just the drinks, but also the environment. Boston Pizza is not really a restaurant. It's more like a gathering place for friends.
The medium pizza at Uncle Fatih's is $17 each. With tax, tips, and delivery fee it is approximately $24 per pizza. This price is more expensive than authentic pizzeria. This is when I realize delivery pizza are not cheap eats. Looking at delivery pizza alone, Uncle Fatih's Pizza's price is at mid-range. The pizza quality is at above average. This makes them worth our recommendation. We ordered the thin crust pizza. It is soft and fluffy. The bottom and the outside crust was crunchy. It is not bouncy, and is easy on the jaw. This is like factory made bread, not artisan. However, this is New York style pizza. We should not compare the style with Neapolitan pizza. Comparing to other similar delivery pizza. Uncle Fatih's pizza crust is not as oily as Pizza Hut. It is also not as dry as Domino. It's more airy than Papa John's. Overall, Uncle Fatih's Pizza crust is quite superior overall.
Kikyouya Shingen Mochi Popsicle is a little on the expensive side for its size. I think it is completely worth it because I literally have not enjoyed a popsicle from opening to finish like this one. I indulged this popsicle on all my senses. From the aroma right out of the packaging to 4 types of textures in my mouth. With a small size like this, I can see the interior scenery change with every bite I take. There are also quite an interesting taste variation depends on which part of the popsicle you are eating. This little popsicle provided me with surprises in every bite.
The Basil Shrimp Fried Rice was very well done. Each grain of rice is separate. It has a lot of wok taste that even some of the full-on restaurants are not able to create. The eggs were from a squirt bottle but it did not affect the texture. There are also lots of shrimp. The saltiness is at a good level. If you don't think it is spicy enough, there is a bottle of sriracha hot sauce that pairs perfectly with the fried rice.
Even before I saw my food, I could smell the fragrance of truffle oil. The Gold Digga is poutines made with duck fat fried herb potatoes and Saint Cyrille cheese curd. It is served with Berkshire roast pork and topped with two poached eggs. On top, we have black truffles and brown butter hollandaise. The bowl looks very colorful. There are some greens and eatable flowers as garnishing. Yellow hollandaise and red seasonings with orange pork and brown wedge fries just makes me want to dig in. The hand-cut wedge fries are perfectly fried. The exterior is very crunchy before it gets soaked by the yolk. The interior can get a little dry though. It is quite poetic how this is named Gold Digga. When my yolk runs down the routine, I'm literally digging for it. It's probably just a coincident, but I find it utterly enjoyable.
