Vancouver West side
A bag of Stip's chips salted egg potato chips weighing 200g cost $11. This is a lot of money to be spending on a bag of chips. Regardless of what I think, people are still buying these chips because it provides such a unique flavour. It feels like a lot more work has been put into making these chips compared to regular chips, so I can somewhat justify the price. I enjoyed the bag I purchased, and I think the flavour is very addicting.
RedBeef noodle Kitchen serves authentic Taiwanese food, but everyone mention their price whenever this restaurant is talked about. It seems like customers are always willing to eat sub-par food in exchange for a lower price point. In my experience in talking to restaurant owners, I found out that the last little extra mile of quality always requires a disproportionate large amount of effort. I don't think RedBeef is expensive for the quality they provide.
Meat & Bread serve very well crafted sandwiches. They are focused on sandwiches and do this niche very well. This place is perfect to grab a high quality quick bite. The credit card machine defaults to a 15% tips and I think it's worth it because they have a staff going around collecting the plates. I like the simple whole-number price tag. Everything in this store spells out simplicity for me. I enjoy the no-fuss environment.
I guess there are advantages of being an establishment with no similar stores nearby. That must be how Presotea was able to survive thus far. This tea station failed in all aspects of our review except for the service. I have not seen any bubble tea franchise do this bad. Customers paying for $7.04 per cup definitely deserve better. They can improve on either larger-sized drinks, cheaper price, more balanced flavour, or higher quality topping. Even if they only pick 2 items to improve, Presotea's drink would be acceptable. For now, I cannot recommend them.
Sushi Bang is operated by Cantonese. The food served here lack integrity from real Japanese food. Average-grade ingredients created average food. Their relocation caused the increased price, but the increase in food quality is almost non-existent. This type of Cantopanese restaurant is not for me but may cater to some people. I have no problem paying the default 15% tips because the service is not that bad. However, it should've been given, not requested. I don't recommend it because I cannot justify a $15 un-authentic Japanese bento box.
you cannot get the smoky charred beef patty without it being flame-grilled. It is a flavour not many places can duplicate. Their weakness lies in the unclear menu options. I couldn't find a way to create a combo, so I didn't even get a drink. My Vera burger with fries cost $13.07 after-tax. This price is very similar to Fatburger. The burger at Vera's is slightly smaller, but they shine through with the flavour.
Nabebugyo Hot Pot Cuisine focuses on an individual hot pot experience similar to the ones in Japan. Business strategy or not, I admire them for taking an opposite approach to the tips culture. The 4 pieces of meat per meal are a little less, but I am not sure how many pieces of meat are fair to ask for a $14 meal. Ultimately, Nabebugyo Hot Pot serve different styles of hot pot and ramen that taste authentic. This is probably the only place where you can get to have a hot pot meal for less than $15 in Vancouver.
Cantonese Cafe has gained enough traction over the years by putting Cantonese spins on major cuisines like American, French, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Taiwanese, and Japanese food. I personally find it insulting because you simply cannot miso in your noodle and call it Ramen. However, there is definitely a demand for this type of food, so who am I to judge? That being said, I would stick to the Asian cuisines offered in i-Cafe. The ever-increasing food cost has reached $14 for a lunch special with a cold drink. What you have to be a little careful about Cantonese cafe such as i-Cafe is some of the semi-hidden costs. For example, $1 extra for cold drinks, or $1 extra if you want to swap out for Ramen noodle.
We purchased a small chestnut cake because they did not have the sliced versions. Our cake was beautifully layered with fruits and whipped cream. The extravagant chocolate decorations look like abstract art. We cut it open to reveal the layered sponge cake and chestnut filling. The sponge cake has good springy texture, and they are not dry at all. I enjoyed the chestnut filling because they are not too sweet. Most of the sweetness comes from whipped cream. The flavour profile is very balanced.
