Thyme to Indulge Catering

As often happens on weekends, J and I had trouble deciding what to eat for brunch. J loves trying different places so she set out on a mission to find a new place to eat. She stumbled upon an article listing restaurants with "to-die-for breakfasts in Vancouver". That is how we ended up eating at Thyme to Indulge Bistro. (I found the article a little suspect, as a majority of the restaurants listed were on Main Street)

Crab Cake Benedict

Croque Madame

Croque Madame

Kids Scrambled Eggs and Sausage

Various Macaroons

Nestled next to the Dairy Queen on Main and 13th, the restaurant is small and doesn't really stand out with its small storefront. We found street parking nearby and waited over 30 minutes for a table (our fault for arriving during the peak of the brunchtime rush).

Once seated, we put in our orders and admired the interior decor. With bright white walls and plenty of natural light from the windows, the interior was very welcoming. It was also quite busy.

Service was pretty good with attentive servers. Our order took a little longer than we expected (a table that was seated after us and ordered at the same time received their food ahead of us by a bit), but the quality of the food made up for the wait.

Crab Cake Benedict - What is there not to love about crabcakes and eggs benedict? The cakes were deliciously moist and crispy on the outside, and the eggs were cooked to perfection. My personal favourite was the toasted focaccia that the eggs and cakes were served on. Forget English muffins!

Croque Madame - I have had this dish at a few different French restaurants, and I have to admit that Thyme's is the heartiest. The sauteed onions, peppers, and spinach made it stand out amongst its competitors'. My only criticism is that the bechamel sauce made the bread a little soggy. Nonetheless, the dish was superb.

Kids Eggs and Sausage - What you see is what H got. Eggs. Sausage. 'Nuff said.

We also got H a couple of macaroons which she took apart with great amusement.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with our meal. I wouldn't describe it as "to-die-for", but it was good and I would definitely go back. Next time though, I will aim for 12:30pm or much earlier to avoid the crowd.

Summary
Food: Great. The standout feature of Thyme is the food. A definite recommendation.

Service: Good. The staff are friendly and attentive, but the food did take a little longer than expected.

Setting: Good. The location is busy, but the restaurant itself is quite nice.

Value: Good. Prices are reasonable and the food is great!

Kongee Dinesty 金津粥品專門店

After a year long hiatus, I'm back with more reviews, and I'm starting with a newly opened restaurant in Richmond called Kongee Dinesty.

The restaurant is in an easily accessible plaza on Garden city and Capstan Way. The plaza is now filled with restaurants, but even at lunchtime there were plenty of parking spots. 

The interior is quite new and reminds me of Dinesty (same owner maybe?). It's bright, spacious, and plenty of daylight comes through the interestingly dressed up window that makes it near impossible to see into the restaurant from outside. 

We were given the lunch menu so it was quite limited. We ordered just a few dishes to see if it was good and we weren't disappointed.

Sampan Congee - A congee staple at most establishments, it was average to good. J doesn't meat pig's ears, so I don't know why she orders this. H didn't really care for it but she didn't complain either.

Sweet Chinese Donut - A favourite of mine. It was decent here, but tasted a little too doughy. H loved it though. I liked how it wasn't overly fried. 

Pan Fried Turnip Cake with X.O. Sauce - This dish was the main event of my meal. The turnip cake was cut into cubes and pan fried in sauce. The cubes were a little on the thick side, so you get a lot of soft turnip cake in every bite (as opposed to the crispy outside). It could be cut a little thinner to increase the ratio of crispness. The sauce was tasty, but they could have been a bit more generous with it. The one thing I didn't like was the bean sprouts. They were flavorless and seemed to be added to the plate as more of a garnish than part of the dish. 

Chinese Donut Wrapped with Rice Roll - in a nutshell I was disappointed with this dish. Maybe I was getting full and they served this nearly 20 minutes after everything else we ordered. However, I found that the doughnut was too doughy, and the rice wrap was a little below average. They provided a bit of sauce, but it felt a little stingy too. Overall, I probably wouldn't order it again. 

H also got a glass of warm soy milk, which was just okay. 

Service wasn't bad. There were probably 6 staff waiting tables and hosting, but there were also a few times we had to wait to flag someone down. The restaurant only has about 20 tables, so they can probably do with being a little more attentive. 

Overall, I think I will go back because it's new, there's lots of parking, and they have a more extensive dinner menu that I haven't even looked at yet. For now, I do recommend trying it out, but time might change that recommendation. 

Summary
Food: Good. Based purely on lunch, it was close to just being average.

Service: Good. There were plenty of servers, but at times they weren't very attentive.

Setting: Good. It's a new establishment.

Value: Good. Their prices are quite reasonable and the food is pretty good.