I am a firm believer that the pho special in a Vietnamese restaurant is the best indicator to see if the restaurant is good. The pho special usually have a bit of everything they offer. I would use this to find out which ingredient is better at this restaurant. The soup was very hot. It is perfect to cook rare meat. After cooked, the meat was quite tender. Other ingredients that are good include beef brisket and tripe.
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.
Martini's is a bar-restaurant. They have been around for a long time. To be honest, this was my first visit. I was a little shocked at their operation. The food is definitely above average bar-restaurant. The drinks selection is not as wide as most craft beer places. However, they are solid on the price, service, and atmosphere. It is no coincident that Martini's is still one of people's go-to bar. Definitely recommended, especially on Wednesdays.
The most important aspect of this bowl of noodle is on the noodle and the sauce. I have to say this dish taste very good. The savory flavour is not very strong. Dried herbs add a lot of appetizing aromas. Hot spicy chili is present but quite subtle. I prefer it to be a bit spicier but overall this is a very good bowl of noodle. The noodles are made to order. This type of noodles is wider than normal because they are hand-stretched from the dough. Once you order the noodle, you will hear the chef stretching the noodle and hitting it against the table. I think the noodle's textures are a little too soft.
The seafood pancake is served in cast iron plate to retain heat. It is topped with lots of seafood like oysters and small octopus. The imitating crab meat strings on the top was very crispy. There was a thin layer of oil at the bottom to make the bottom very crispy. However the middle is a bit soft. The cast iron retained heat, so the seafood pancake was still warm half way through our meal. I enjoyed the ability to get half order so we can enjoy more dishes.
I consider the Lookout Restaurant as fine dining. Therefore I am a little more strict on the performance. Looking at the restaurant closely, everything they do is in unison. From courteous service to delectable food, everything I have experienced have been tastefully designed. Adding the astonishing view to that makes the Lookout Restaurant at Gray Monk one of the best restaurants. Everyone should at least try it once in their life time.
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