Lunch

The Gray Olive Cafeteria Brunch Pulled Pork Benny

The Gray Olive Cafeteria, Best Brunch Burnaby

July 23, 2019

This plate of beautifully presented pulled pork benny is plate-licking good. Everything on this dish is delightful. The hash brown is the best I have ever had. It's fresh out of the fryer. The crunchy exterior that is not too hard to cut my mouth. The interior is so soft that it almost melts in your mouth. It is also perfectly seasoned. I already said the hashbrowns are the best I've had, but this pulled pork benny is also the best I've had. Seriously, I took a bite and can not stop myself from eating it. The pulled pork, coleslaw, and hollandaise sauce are in perfect harmony. Using cornbread as the base is genius. The cornbread crumbles to the touch, not lingering like English muffins. This takes away the frustrating part of eating benny away for me. The bottom is brown with a slight crisp. The texture variation makes this more enjoyable. The two eggs on top are perfectly poached.

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant Steamed Ribs

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant, Dim Sum

July 22, 2019

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant is considered a mid-level Dimsum place. The cost is $20 per person price point used to be really worth it when they spend the time to take care of their food quality. This is no longer the case. Dim Sum is considered Southern Chinese cuisine, and they should be delicate. Yes, there are cheap and large dim sum places in town, but you don't get to charge a high price and give low quality food. There are even insects flying around my food when I was eating. Not worth it, not recommended.

Li’s China Grill, BBQ Skewers

July 19, 2019

Li's China Grill is not as good as before. The decrease in food quality is very apparent. The price is still pretty high though. Our bill comes to $30 per person and we did not order a lot of food. Taste-wise, this is still an okay BBQ skewer place. Having Happy Tree House BBQ and Kuan Zhai Road Restaurant in close proximity, Li's China Grill has an uphill battle ahead of them. Not recommended, there must be better BBQ skewers place somewhere else.

Ba Le Deli and Bakery, Bahn Mi

July 18, 2019

Ba Le's #5 special sandwich is my favorite sandwich. I guess the memory goes back to the first time I've had it. When it took me by surprise of what a sandwich can be. I'll tell you, "Subway" is nothing compared to this. #5 Special Sandwich is pretty much the same as the #3 Cold Cut Sandwich. Except #5 Special have a lot more meat. You can find Vietnamese sausage, Ham, Pate, Home made mayonnaise, Pickled daikon radish and carrots, Cilantro and Cucumber. The sandwich is cut in the middle for easier consumption. It is not completely cut. Which gave me a satisfying feeling when taking them apart. The exterior of the bread is hard, feels solid. I could hear the bread crumble when pulling on them.

ColorSeeSee Shanghainese Cuisine, Authentic Xiao Long Bao

July 17, 2019

How do we know these Xiao Long Bao are authentic. Here are some key points:
Xiao Long Bao was brought to you with a lid, to reduce heat loss.
Lid was removed and Xiao Long Bao was presented to Patrons. We see Xiao Long Bao in the foggy steam and go "There's my food".
Then you see the Xiao Long Bao stood up strong and tall. Pleasant to look at, with out being floppy at the bottom.
The location and spacing of Xiao Long Bao is also important. They should be uniformly scattered, not touching each other or the steamer.
An authentic Xiao Long Bao should have exactly 18 folds at its crown.

Hokkaido Raman Santouka

January 2, 2019

Mildly spicy, flavorful broth served with bamboo shoot, saffron, sesame, green onion and chashu with the perfectly cooked texture. Perfect for rainy day like this.

Japanese Bistro Hatzu, Home-style cooking served in a minimalist designed restaurant

December 4, 2018

The minimalist decoration makes the restaurant clean and comfortable. Sleek menu design gave me the illusion that I've walked into the latest trendy restaurant everyone has been talking about. The staff is friendly and everything just worked, except for the food...