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!

Hanafubuki Sushi 花吹雪

We had a dinner-for-two voucher for Hanafubuki Sushi, so we picked a night and went to try it out. We were a little surprised when we found the place because the dining area only seats 6. Luckily for us, one of the three tables in the restaurant was empty, so we didn't have to wait.

Takoyaki

Our voucher was good for 2 miso soups, a share plate of takoyaki (equivalent to 2 orders), and a dinner plate for each of us consisting of 2 pieces of aburi toro sushi, a side salad, and a Magma roll (BBQ salmon, cucumber, avocado, imitation crab, and cream cheese topped with baked yam, green onion and specialty sauce).

The food quality was pretty good. The salad and the greens in the Magma roll tasted fresh. The takoyaki was a little soggy but delicious nonetheless. I thought that a single order would have been sufficient as J and I were counting how many we each already had as we got down to the last couple.

Magma Roll Dinner

The aburi toro was fresh tasting and stole the show from the Magma roll which took center place on the dinner plate. The ingredients in the roll didn't go together quite well. There was a little too much rice which took away from the other ingredients and flavours. Also, the specialty sauce was a little bland, which didn't complement the baked yam or the green onion well. The BBQ salmon could have used more seasoning as well. All in all, most of the ingredients were either dry or starchy (naturally, not in a bad way), so it really depended on the sauce to bring it together, which is where it didn't really shine.

The quantity of food was good, even though I was quite hungry when we arrived. Service was good and attentive (although one would hope so when there are only a maximum of 6 people in the restaurant). Parking is typical for Robson Street, so expect to pay a couple of bucks for a parking meter.

Overall, the food wasn't bad but the location and size coupled with the un-extraordinary food aren't screaming for me to make a return visit anytime soon.

Summary
Food: Average. Good quality but the execution was lacking on the Magma roll.

Service: Good.

Setting: Average. Very small restaurant (6 seats total).

Value: Average.

Malay Curry House 馬拉星

Malay Curry House is quickly becoming one of my go-to restaurants for a hot bowl of noodles. They are located on Kingsway a block from Boundary and they specialize in Malaysian style curries. They also have a killer Hainan Chicken that's boneless and comes with your choice of 2 sauces from a pretty lengthy list of options.

My favorite items on their menu are the curry soup noodles. They have a kick and very deep flavours from the various spices that they use. On my last visit, it was a little bit on the salty side, but it was still very delicious. You get your option of a couple of different kinds of noodles, but I usually go with the oil noodles because they are thicker and don't absorb too much of the soup which I like drinking along with the noodles. You can get mixed noodles as well, which is what J usually does. You also get to choose what kind of meat you want in it. I tried the lamb and I have to say that I still prefer the beef brisket. The lamb was mostly bone and fat, so it took away from the dish. The beef on the other hand, is very good. The meat is on the fatty side, but they more than make up for it in the quantity that they give you. Their soup noodles all come with napa, fish cakes, and tofu puffs.

The Hainan Chicken is one of their specialties and they actually run out of it sometimes. When we go with a larger party, we usually order a half or whole chicken in advance to ensure that we have one for the kids. They serve their chicken boneless which is great for the kids, and the chicken oil rice is flavourful while not being too oily. The chicken comes with some pickled carrots, radish, and a couple of chunks of pineapple. Soup is also included but it's very light and a bit salty so it's nutritional value is questionable at best.

The sauces are the highlight of the chicken dish. The standard choices with Chinese oil chicken are present and they make them quite well. I am referring to the ginger and chives sauce, and the sweet chili sauce. I tried the lime sauce one time and while I was impressed, I still fall back on the standard sauces.

J has ordered a variety of their other soup noodles and she hasn't been disappointed yet. She loves variety and doesn't like eating at the same places very often, so it speaks volumes when she wants to revisit a restaurant within a couple of weeks.

Another feature that I like about Malay curry house is that you can add a cold drink to your meal for fifty cents. They only have one flavour available at a time, but so far it's always been something fruity like peach or passion fruit tea. It's quite good and balances the heat from the noodles very well (especially in the summer).

The restaurant is decently decorated and pretty clean with several tables and a bench by the window. It is quite spacious and I think they could probably fit a few more tables in there without much problem (although I can't comment on the legality of cramming more people in there).

Service is where a lot of people get turned off by the restaurant. The servers are not well trained and very inefficient. They are slow to respond to customers and they don't monitor the dining room very often. On one particular visit, our server took orders from 2 people at a time from our table of 8. She took 2 orders and went to the kitchen, came back for 2 more orders and went to the kitchen again, and then returned to take another 2 orders. It was quite bizarre and very inefficient.

We have had orders mixed up before too. I had ordered oil noodles and my friend ordered mixed noodles, but we ended up with each others' noodles in the soups that we each picked. They also forget small requests like additional plates or bowls. We end up just walking to the counter instead of requesting them from the servers.

Finally, and this is the biggest problem and probably a deal breaker for many people, the restaurant (or just the servers) often make mistakes on the bill. I know friends and relatives who have eaten there and been billed for more items than they ordered, or billed more for what they did order. This happened to me on both the last 2 visits I made there. Less than a month ago, we were billed for an extra meal. On my last visit, the prices on the bill were higher than on the menu, and we were billed for an entire Hainan chicken instead of just the meal. The number of mistakes we have experienced and have been reported by friends and family are quite high, but I will leave it at that. Make sure you read your bill carefully!

Summary
Food: Very good. Great noodles and Hainan chicken.

Service: Poor. Service is not great, even by Chinese restaurant standards.

Setting: Average. Parking on nearby streets and the dining room is spacious and clean.

Value: Good. Great food and decent prices.

Po Kong Vegetarian Restaurant 普光素食

Aside from dining with vegetarians, every once in a while we have a craving of the meatless variety and we pick from a short list of restaurants that serve no meat at all (because vegetarian options at regular restaurants often use the same cooking implements or even the same oil as that used for meat dishes). We've been to Po Kong on Kingsway once before and chose to go again this long weekend.

Jai (Gluten) Combination

The restaurant is located at a busy section of Kingsway near Knight Street, so parking can be challenging. We ended up a block away right on Kingsway, so it wasn't so bad. The restaurant has about 3 parking spots out back, unless you feel like double-parking and having to move your car if you box someone in, or get boxed in yourself.

Baked Vegetables in Portugese Sauce

The interior is very... green. They have quite a few tables of various sizes and on the Saturday that we went, it was half full when we arrived. Throughout our meal, more patrons showed up and a small line started to form by the entrance, which is almost always a sign of good business.

As a Chinese restaurant, you get your choice of tea as you sit down and we ended up ordering perhaps a little too much.

Jai (gluten) combination. A combination of different kinds of marinated wheat gluten. Spongy in texture and easy to chew, Bo Kong's wheat gluten is a great appetizer and goes well in the main dishes as well.

Enoki Mushrooms on Fried Tofu and Broccoli

House special chow mein. A myriad of vegetables and thick broth-like sauce over a bed of crispy fried noodles. Meat or no meat, this dish is excellent for the variety of vegetables and textures of the ingredients. There's bok choi, bamboo shoots, marinated wheat gluten, wood ear (a type of fungus), broccoli and carrots. I think there was bean sprouts in there too. There is so much variety in this dish that you forget there's no meat.

Sizzling Steak with Black Pepper Sauce

Baked vegetables in Portugese sauce. If you like Portugese sauce and the chewy, stringy taste and texture of baked cheese, order this one as soon as you sit down. There's a 20-30 minute preparation time for it, but it's well worth it. The dish is comprised of mostly broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and taro, baked with Portugese sauce and covered in cheese. The sauce works very well with the baked vegetables and the portion size is very generous.

Enoki mushrooms on fried tofu and broccoli. The overall taste of this dish is similar to the house special chow mein, except it is a little more subtle. The enoki mushrooms are mixed with carrots and poured over a stack of fried tofu on a bed of broccoli. The tofu and broccoli aren't completely dry, but there wasn't quite enough sauce to spread around the whole dish. This dish was pretty average overall.

Plain Rice Roll 

Sizzling steak with black pepper sauce and broccoli and cauliflower. The steak is imitation meat or sausage (really made of tofu or other bean ingredients) and sliced up and pan fried on the sizzling plate. The black pepper sauce very good and adds a bit of kick to the 'meat' and the vegetables. It might be better with corn or cabbage to soak up the sauce, but it's a good pick regardless.

Plain rice roll with sesames. The rice rolls are pretty standard. The dipping sauce is pretty good with a peanut taste to it which goes well with the sesame seeds.

Sesame sticky rice balls with lotus paste. J had a craving for these so we ordered a small plate of them. The balls were served piping hot and we had to wait a few minutes for them to cool down. The sticky rice balls were thin, soft and not too sticky. My only criticism was that the amount of lotus paste inside was little more than the size of my pinky fingertip.

Service at Po Kong was pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant. The owner/manager (I think) was very active in playing the part of host for new guests and departing customers.

After this good experience, we will definitely be back.

Summary
Food: Very good. The food is made well with quality ingredients and not as greasy as average Chinese restaurants that serve meat.

Service: Good.

Setting: Good. The interior is brightly lit and spacious.

Value: Good. The prices are similar to meat-serving restaurants, but the food quality is on par, if not better, than many.

Green Lettuce 貴賓閣

Indian and Chinese fusion? Yes please!

It's been a few years, so we planned a dinner at Green Lettuce in Vancouver with our friends. We made reservations and showed up for dinner on a Friday night. We were surprised that the restaurant wasn't very busy, as in the past it was always packed for dinner.

Spicy Chili Garlic Wings

We started off with a couple of orders of Spicy Chili Garlic Wings. The wings were quite crispy depite being covered in their chili garlic sauce. They tasted fantastic and had a bit of kick to them. Peeling away the sauce and the skin, the kids had some as well.

On top of the wings, we put in our order for a few share plates.

Chili Beef

Chili Beef - This dish is listed with 3 chili peppers next it (the maximum), and When asked if we could turn down the heat level, the server said that it can't be adjusted for this dish. As it turned out, it was only mildly spicy. The beef was rolled in batter before being fried. As a result, we had a bit of difficulty discerning 'where's the beef'? The texture of the fried batter made it taste very much like fried fish. Upon closer examination, the beef was thinly sliced and likely pre-tenderized so there wasn't much beefiness spring to it.

Sweet & Sour Fish with Pineapple

Sweet & Sour Fish with Pineapple - This fish tasted very similar to the beef in that it was battered and fried as well. The blend of sweet and sour sauce mixing with the batter was quite delicious (even though the result was that it was hard to tell the difference between fish and batter). There could have been more pineapples though.

Vegetable Korma - This dish was quite simply a stir-fry of vegetables with some curry sauce. It wasn't spicy despite the chili rating in the menu. I would have preferred a thicker curry, but the vegetables were a good break from the other (fried) dishes.

Vegetable Korma

Service and setting weren't bad overall. When I spilled some water on H, our server came by quite quickly and gave us extra napkins (racial stereotype about Chinese and Indians purposely omitted). She also recommended a small bowl of rice which would be enough for all of us.

When the restaurant is full, it can be a little crowded. However, that Friday night it wasn't very crowded at all, so it was quite comfortable. Parking is also readily available in the nearby residential streets if you can't find a spot on Kingsway.

Overall, the dining experience was good, but I would definitely order some different dishes the next time so we don't end up with 75% of our dishes being fried.

Summary
Food: Good. The wings were excellent, but the heavy batter on 2 of our dishes was a little too much.

Service: Good.

Setting: Good. Restaurant is clean with many tables, and there is parking nearby.

Value: Good. The prices are moderate, with the popular dishes being a little pricier.

Hamilton Street Grill

The day after our return from our Hawaiian vacation, we didn't (I should clarify that by "we", I mean "I", because J doesn't cook) feel like cooking and we happened to have a Living Social or Social Living or some Groupon-like coupon to use at Hamilton Street Grill, so we decided to eat there.

Thankfully we made reservations because when we arrived it was quite busy. It was a Monday night but just about every table was occupied. We were given the option between a high chair or a booster for H and we chose the former since boosters don't have straps. It was a surprise to us when we were led to a booth that was elevated half a foot off the ground. The host tried to put the high chair under the table but on the ledge which is an accident waiting to happen so we opted for a booster after all.

Aside from H's seating considerations, we sat down, ordered some drinks and showed our server the voucher (which was non-descript about what was included). The voucher was valid for an appetizer, 2 entrees, and a dessert all from the Summer 2013 Price Fixe Menu. We quickly made our selections and our food arrived in timely fashion.

Gorgonzola Fondue

Gorgonzola fondue with sliced garlic bread for dipping. Let me start by saying I love gorgonzola. It is part of the blue cheese family (I didn't know cheeses had family) which is surprising because I don't particularly like blue cheese, and goes great with pasta. We chose the fondue because the other choices were pretty standard as far as appetizers go at restaurants. The garlic bread they served it with was toasted up and pretty crispy. The blend of textures between the bread and the fondue was interesting in a good way. The fondue itself was absolutely fantastic. Although J thought it was a little too strong, I thought it was perfect. The fondue size was quite generous as I ended up completely covering the last few pieces of bread and still had some left over. We used the remaining fondue to accompany the steak that came later. It is a true shame this appetizer is not on the regular menu. I hope they bring it back or give it a permanent spot on the menu.

Certified Angus Beef Sirloin

Certified Angus Beef Sirloin with mushroom red wine sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. J felt like steak, seeing as how we were at a steakhouse, and since we had a whole week of fish. The sirloin was ordered and served medium rare, but already sliced up. I'm not a fan of pre-sliced steak, but J didn't mind. The beef was good and went well with the left over fondue. The sauce was pretty good, but fairly standard. J's only criticism was that there was no garlic taste in her garlic mashed potatoes. I tried a bite and I would have to agree that they could have accentuated the garlic flavour a bit (or a lot) more.

Penna Pasta

Penne pasta with salmon, halibut, prawns and Vancouver Island mussels with tomato cream. After a week of fish, I had grown fond of it and decided to go with a seafood pasta. The seafood was fresh and tasted great along with the penne in the tomato cream sauce. I'm not a fan of shrimp/prawn, but the prawns in the pasta were actually quite good. The sauce was flavorful and not overpowering. Overall, the dish was well put together and I enjoyed it.

Belgian Chocolate Mousse

Belgian Chocolate Mousse. Aside from the whipped cream on top (I'm pretty sure it was compressed canned whip), the mousse was quite delicious. It was sweet enough that it didn't get boring, as mousse often tastes to me. I would have liked a bit more variety in textures, such as a layer of cake, crust, or crushed nuts, but it was still quite good on its own.

Being a restaurant in Yaletown, parking isn't always easy. The interior of the restaurant is pretty nice. It's dimly lit which is great for setting the mood, and the tables are spaced out so you have some sense of privacy.

Summary
Food: Very good. Their Gorgonzola Fondue was very good, as were their entrees.

Service: Good.

Setting: Good. Parking isn't easy but the restaurant interior is pretty nice.

Value: Good. The food was very good and the entire experience was quite satisfying.

Suika

J mentioned wanting to try Suika several times so we finally did go. In fact, we liked it so much that we went twice in 2 weeks.

Aburi Salmon Battera

Suika is located on Broadway with street parking available. It doesn't have a very noticeable storefront so we almost missed it on our way there. They have a small patio but we chose to eat inside (on both trips). The servers there all speak Japanese (as far as I can tell) and they do the typical Japanese greeting and thank-you/farewell when guests enter and leave the restaurant. The decor inside is mostly black with regular tables, some long tables and a lounge area.

Service was pretty good overall. When we went on our second visit, we brought some of my extended family and several from our party wanted to order their special Suika Soda. The server suggested that we get a pitcher instead, which ended up being way more than the individual glasses and saving us some money as well.

Torotoro Cha-shu

The food itself is definitely the highlight of Suika. They serve Japanese tapas like many of the restaurants in downtown. However, their dishes are very well-made, delicious, and different from the typical fare that you get downtown.

Following are some of the items that we've tried there:

Hellz Chicken

Aburi "Shime-Saba" Sushi

• Grilled Sable Fish - Tender, moist, very flavorful and very few bones.
• Hellz Chicken - Spicy boneless fried chicken... what's not to like? This one is a little on the spicy side though.
• Torotoro Cha-shu - Very tender, tasty, and fatty. It almost melts in your mouth. Don't think about the calories.
• Beef Filet Fried Rice - Beef on the fried rice was soft and tender, but it didn't feel like there were enough chunks of beef. If you need to leave a restaurant full and not break the bank, this'll do.
• Asari Yaki Udon - Another very tasty dish. The sauce makes the dish.
• Three Kinds Sashimi - Fresh sashimi. Not much else to say about it.
• Hainanese Style Chicken Salad - An interesting take on a warm salad. I think the salad and the chicken go better on their own, but it's still interesting.
• Aburi "Shime-Saba" Sushi - The different flavors in this one was a little cofusing. None of the flavors stand out on their own, so it ends up just tasting like a generic fusion sushi.
• Aburi Toro Battera - We tried both the toro and the salmon version of this and the toro version was far better. The sauce mixed with the sashimi goes very well with the rice. Everything is soft and melds together well.

Beef Filet Fried Rice

Pricewise, Suika is not cheap. However, it is in-line with most Japanese tapas restaurants. I would definitely recommend Suika, especially if you don't like having to head downtown for a Japanese tapas fix.

Summary
Food: Very Good. Almost all the dishes we tried were very good. The tastes may be a little too rich for some.

Service: Good. Servers are usually quick and they are nice about it.

Setting: Good. Decent parking available and it is usually bustling with activity inside.

Value: Average. Expect to pay $20-30 per person or more if you're a big eater.

Szechuan Chongqing Seafood Restaurant 重慶海鮮大飯店

We bought a Groupon for Chingquing months ago, mistakenly thinking that it was part of the same restaurant group as the Chongqing in Burnaby. We realized our mistake when we read that it was only valid at the Broadway restaurant. We made reservations for a Saturday night for our family and our regular dining buddies.

The restaurant is in a complex that has its own parking lot accessible from the back lane so we parked there. There were plenty of spaces available. When we walked up the stairs to the restaurant, our visit didn't look very promising. The restaurant had its own patio overlooking Broadway, and of the five or so tables two of them were occupied. Not bad. When we walked into the restaurant, it was completely empty.

We were greeted by three different people, of which one I'm sure one was a manager. All three of them greeted us in English, which isn't normal for a Chinese restaurant. Regardless, we were designated a table and I asked for a high chair for H. As the rest of our party arrived and settled in, there was still no high chair. H was walking around having fun, but I was standing the entire time looking at the server I requested the high chair from. He looked at me a few times but never brought a high chair and then disappeared. I asked a second server and he walked out to the patio to check on the diners there and came back in to finish setting up a different table, completely forgetting about my request. Finally, I got his attention again and he ended up bringing a high chair.

High chair shenanigans aside, we all sat down and looked over the menu. I don't normally criticize badly designed and constructed menus, but the menus at this restaurant were very low-grade. I can make vastly better menus with some freeware and my camera phone in under 2 hours.

One other problem that came up was the air conditioning. When we arrived, they had the patio doors open and the restaurant was hot like a sauna. We asked them to turn on the AC so they did. However, they turned it up to the max and a couple of the vents were pointing right at our table. They fixed that a few minutes later which was good. What was not good was that there were swarms of flies in the dining area. Just looking towards the entrance of the restaurant I could see at least 5 of them flying in circles waiting for some food scraps. It wasn't a pleasant sight and no one seemed to care.

Anyway, we ordered several dishes including the lemon chicken and some stir fried dishes. I can't recall exactly what we ordered, but they weren't very memorable. In fact, the lemon chicken was pretty bad. There was too much batter and very little chicken. The chicken was also a little rubbery. The other dishes were mediocre to average at best, and every dish was quite small.

Service was pretty average throughout the meal. The Asian servers all spoke to us in English. Even when we spoke to them in Chinese, they replied in English (with very strong accents). Maybe they were trying to improve their English, or maybe they are instructed to only use English. Who knows? It was very bizarre.

I will not be returning to Szechuan Chongqing Seafood Restaurant again, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone... unless I don't like them.

Summery
Food: Poor. Some dishes were average and some were downright bad. Don't get the lemon chicken.

Service: Average. Dinner service was okay but they have an extremely short-term memory for things like my high chair.

Setting: Poor. I'm sure this could be Average on days when they don't let the flies in, but then again they didn't do anything about them either.

Value: Very Poor. Prices were moderate to high, but the servings were small. Even with a Groupon it wasn't worth it.

Max's Restaurant

It's been a while since I've been back to Max's Restaurant on Kingsway near Boundary. In terms of the location, the restaurant is in a highly visible spot right on a main street. It is very large with capacity of probably 200 or so. The interior set-up, layout, and furniture resembles something like an up-scale fast food restaurant and is brightly lit and clean.

I've been to Max's for lunch before, and it wasn't very busy. However, on this trip for dinner the restaurant was bustling with diners and servers. There was a constant queue of people waiting in the lobby for tables. Luckily we made reservations in advance. We still had to wait a few minutes for them to set-up our table, but it was well worth it because they gave us a table in the corner of the restaurant (perfect for the little ones to run around and play after dinner).

Although they do serve some set meals, we ordered several dishes to share family-style so we could all try a bit of every dish. Despite the restaurant being very busy, the food came out very quickly and all at once (which is rare for an Asian restaurant - they usually serve the dishes as they are ready). I think we waited less than 15 minutes.

The first item on our order list was the Lumpiang Shanghai which are deep fried spring rolls of ground pork and spices with a sweet and sour sauce on the side. The lumpia wrapper was thin and didn't taste greasy at all. The ground pork and spices are finely chopped/ground so they don't fall apart when you take small bites at a time. The sweet and sour sauce was a little too thin/runny for me. I ended up eating them with the Banana Sauce that comes on every table instead. The Banana Sauce is like ketchup. H loved eating the spring rolls, but for some reason she ate all the lumpia wrapper first and then ate the ground pork after. I guess she loves her fried food.

Next on the list was the Spicy Liang Tilapia which is a fried tilapia fillet with spicy taro leaves cooked in a rich coconut cream sauce. This is a favorite of J's and our friends. As J would say, any boneless fish is good fish. The creamy sauce on top really makes the dish. The taro leaves are very similar to chopped spinach and it blends very well with the coconut sauce. Despite the name, the sauce is only mildly spicy. H didn't like the sauce at first, but she ended up gobbling it up because it mixed well with rice, and she really loves her fish. Don't let the small size of the dish fool you. With all that yummy sauce, it ends up being quite heavy in the tummy.

Whenever there is pork belly on the menu, my buddies will order it. At Max's, the belly on the menu was the Lechon Kawali which is crispy deep fried pork belly with liver sauce on the side. The belly was crispy on the outside and edges, and soft and tender on the inside. I didn't really taste any seasoning on it, but it really wasn't necessary. Admittedly I did not try the liver sauce. I ended up mixing the pork belly with some of the other foods all on my plate.

The next dish was the Bangus Sisig Boneless Milkfish which was a sizzling plate of diced boneless milkfish, onions, and some other ingredients I don't remember. The milkfish was very meaty and tasted almost like chicken. The plate came with two slices of lemon wedges, which we squeezed onto the place. However, the milkfish had a lot more tang to it than those two wedges could have provided. It was very tasty and became the talk of the meal. The dish was featured on the menu in an insert and not available in their online menu so it's probably relatively new. This is one dish I would definitely order again.

No meal is complete without at least some form of vegetables, so we ordered the Pinakbet which is a vegetable stew made with vegetables, sauteed ground pork, shrimp, and shrimp paste. The vegetables were soft but not overcooked and included a mix of okra, green beans, onions, eggplant, zucchini, yellow bell peppers, pumpkin (I think), and the shrimp and pork in the dish description. The shrimp paste was light and subtle, wrapping up the dish very well.

The last item on our order was Max's Fried Chicken. Our whole chicken order was served with some yam fries on the side which H just loved. The chicken itself was fried golden brown without batter. It reminded me a lot of fried chicken at Chinese restaurants, except the taste was a little different. It was a little on the greasy side (just the skin) but quite tender on the inside. The chicken was a little bland on its own, but it went very well with the Banana Sauce.

After we finished devouring all the food from our table, we ordered a couple of desserts to top off our meal. First up was the Halo-Halo which is a blend of refreshing tropical fruits, beans, milk, and
sugar in shaved ice, topped with a scoop of
Ube (purple yam) ice cream and rice flakes. The ingredients went well together and the rice flakes were the star of the show. They added a crunchy texture to the desseert without adding to the overall sweetness. I did not try this one myself, but I was told that it was very good.

The dessert that I ordered (along with half the table) was the Buko Pandan which was young coconut mixed with pandan leaf (screwpine)
gelatin and tapioca in a rich fluffy cream sauce, with
macapuno (coconut) ice cream and rice flakes. The dessert was a little overly sweet due to the cream sauce, but once again the rice flakes stood out the most in the dish. The gelatin had a subtle flavour to it that I found hard to distinguish because the cream was overbearing. The coconut ice cream was delicious and I wish there was more of it than the cream sauce. Overall, it was good but too sweet.

Service as a whole was quite good. Our server was quick to respond to all our requests and was very polite and well-mannered. He was always happy to help and quick to serve most of the time. It was a busy night at the restaurant but it didn't feel like it based on the quality of the service we received.

Summary
Food: Very good. Every dish was good and well-made. I especially like their Lumpiang Shanghai spring rolls.

Service: Very good. It's a busy restaurant but the servers are attentive and very polite.

Setting: Good. Plentiful parking and the restaurant is well-lit and clean.

Value: Average. The dishes are pricey but the quality of the food pulls this up from a Poor rating. The good service also helps.

Aussie Pie Guy

I was downtown for some work meetings which ended just after noon so I walked around looking for a place to eat and decided on the Aussie Pie Guy food cart. All the pies were $8 so I picked the one that sounded the best: Shane's Pie. I don't know who Shane is, but his pie is pretty good. It was described on the menu as "tender free range BC beef short rib and vegetables with a red wine au-jus and apricot hoisin sauce over mashed potatoes."

When I got my pie I was a little disappointed with the size. However, after biting into it I was thoroughly satisfied. I love pie crusts and this pie did not disappoint. At first I thought I would make a mess because the crust was thin and soft. However, the crust held up very well and did not break at all. In terms of taste, it was light, thin, flaky, and quite tasty. The pie was filled with mostly short rib and a little bit of everything else. I got quite a few hefty bits of short rib while eating it. I recall there being maybe 3 or 4 pieces of potatoes in the pie that I got. They don't try to pass off cheap filler ingredients which is definitely a plus. I do have to admit though that I am on a self-proclaimed "diet" so the pie size may not be sufficient for those of you with an average to above average appetite. If I weren't on my diet I would have gladly eaten two of these bad boys.

Taste-wise, the pie was quite good. The stuffing wasn't too salty and there was a mild sweet tanginess to the sauce, like traditional barbecue sauce. The mixture of the red wine au-jus and the hoisin sauce was a very good combination. I considered pouring on some hot sauce they had by the cart, but I decided against it for convenience (I ate alone and had to take my work bag everywhere).

Summary
Food: Good. Shane's Pie was very tasty and well-made.

Value: Average. The pies are good but a bit pricey due to the size.

El Camino's

El Camino's is another restaurant that was featured on You Gotta Eat Here.

We went there this past weekend around 12:30pm and found parking right in front of the restaurant. One of the servers took my name and informed me it would be 5-10 minutes for a table. It took a little less than 10 minutes before we were led to our table, at which point I asked for a highchair for H. A few minutes later the server forgot about the highchair as she went back to cleaning tables, so I reminded her. She came back with a booster seat that couldn't be strapped down to a chair, which wasn't very safe for H, so I returned it to her and brought my own from the car.

J and I ordered a Mexican Cola and a Ginger Beer, both of which were served promptly and came by the bottle. We put in our orders and waited for the food to arrive, which took over 20 minutes. The tables around us had similar wait times, and we noticed that a large table nearby of about 6 people waited closer to 30 minutes.

I ordered the Huevos Divorciados, J ordered the Pulled Pork Bennie, and we ordered some Canadian bacon, a scrambled egg, and a fruit cup on the side for H. My dish seemed a little small when it arrived, but because it had beans and came with potato wedge hash browns, it was still quite filling. The tortillas were indeed crispy and the over-easy eggs mixed with the two kinds of salsas quite well. It was an interesting Latin American twist on a toasted open-faced fried egg sandwich.

J's Bennie was really good and felt very heavy because they used a type of cornbread instead of the traditional English muffin. The poached egg went well with the pulled pork and the cornbread was great for soaking up the excess yolk. H ate most of her brekkie too, which was a good sign as well.

Overall service wasn't bad, but it was clear that they can get flustered and overwhelmed at times, forgetting little things.

Summary
Food: Good. Well-made and unique. I may return someday for the dinner menu.

Service: Average. Servers are average to good, but the wait time for food is lengthy.

Setting: Good. Parking isn't bad and the interior of the restaurant is clean. Focus seems to be on the bar.

Value: Average. Good food and average prices, but the quantities are a little small.

Neighbour's Restaurant

I've been to Neighbour's Restaurant 5 or 6 times and I've never been disappointed. It's an Italian restaurant with a mom & pop feel and superb pizzas. It has also been featured on You Gotta Eat Here.

The location is pretty good as there aren't too many restaurants in the area and parking is free and fairly easy to find within a one block walking distance. The restaurant itself has a homey feel to it and they can take a couple of larger parties.

Service isn't bad, although it can be slow at times. Even when the restaurant isn't full, it can still take over 20 minutes for food to arrive due to all the take-out and pick-up orders that they have to process. When the restaurant is full on a hockey night, you can expect to wait 30 minutes as they work to keep up with orders.

The food at Neighbour's is really good. I always order a pizza because they are well made. The crust is crispy on the bottom (think Pizza Hut pan pizzas) but never too greasy and the crust is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They have a good amount of toppings which are fresh and reach close to the edges. My favorite combination of toppings is the Cajun Chicken, Onions, and Banana Peppers.

I've tried their pastas and lasagna which are both good as well. The pasta is never overcooked and the sauces are just the right thickness (if you've had pasta at a Chinese restaurant, you know what I mean by weak and watery sauce). There's a good amount of meat with the sauces and topped with a decent amount of cheese.

Their prices are very reasonable and on par with many chain restaurants. If you have the patience, the quality of the food is definitely worth the wait.

Summary
Food: Very Good. Pizzas are great and everything else is good as well.

Service: Average. Servers are nice, but the long waits can be irritating.

Setting: Good. Parking is easy to find and free. Restaurant interior is average.

Value: Good. Moderate prices but great food.

The Reef (Main St.)

The Reef was featured on You Gotta Eat Here, which is the Canadian equivalent to Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives, so I wanted to give it a try. It was a Saturday so we called ahead and made reservations at the Main Street location. Half of our party was late because the parking situation along Main Street and King Edward is bad, even on the best of days.

Our reserved table was available right away so we sat down and got settled in quickly. Our server came by and took our drink orders soon after we sat down. I ordered a virgin Pina Colada and J ordered a regular one. Both drinks were quite bland. My guess is that they used less than half the suggested serving amount for whatever Pina Colada flavour mix they used.

For our dinners, we ordered a Mo-Ca Burger (jerk beef) with plantain chips, the Trini Roti wrap with chicken curry, and a Fish Dinner for H. The food took about 20 minutes to arrive, but while we waited we were served some complimentary fried bread with butter. This was probably the highlight of the dinner because they were hot, fluffy, and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. The butter added to the flavour, but really wasn't necessary. We tried the bread with the house hot sauce that they have placed on every table and it was spectacular.

Our dinners all arrived at the same time and it didn't feel like any of the dishes had been sitting under a heat lamp (like some other restaurants). I really wish I took some photos, but I didn't have a camera with me and the restaurant was too darkly lit for my phone to take any decent pictures. My Mo-Ca burger was served in an open fashion and presented very well. It came with some soft of aioli dip for the plantain chips that was really delicious. The burger was simply fantastic. The beef was lightly marinated and spiced, but very loose and moist on the inside. The pineapple ring really added to the overall package of the burger, which also had a sweet and mildly spicy relish.

J's Trini Roti was quite large, filling move than half her dinner plate. I found the curry a little salty, but it went well with the roti wrap, which was a little on the thick side but soft enough that it wasn't tiring to eat. The coleslaw was very fresh and lightly seasoned with just the right amount of dressing. It was a little tangy and very light (unlike traditional coleslaw dressing in a bottle).

H's Fish Meal was a good size for a kids' meal. The tilapia covered more than a third of the dinner plate and came with quite a bit of rice and some steamed vegetables. The fish was lightly seasoned and H gobbled it up (which is quite rare). The veggies were a little undercooked for her baby teeth so I ate them for her.

The restaurant atmosphere was nice, although it was a bit too dark for my liking. There wasn't any noticeable trend of demographics for the other patrons. Ambient noise volumes were moderate to high, but the open patio may have contributed to that. There was an empty table with a Reserved sign next to us throughout our visit, which was odd because the rest of the restaurant was busy the entire time. I certainly hope they didn't miss out on potential customers because some idiots made reservations and didn't show up or cancel.

Our server was very nice and she was around most of the time whenever we needed something. Although it was busy, I never felt like I was waiting for her to come around.

The Reef is definitely worthy of a return visit and I would recommend it for diners who want to try urban dining with a Caribbean twist.

Summary

Food: Very Good. The food is tasty, unique, and comparable in price to most urban dining chains. Drinks were weak in taste.

Service: Average. Nothing good or bad to mention.

Setting: Average. Parking is a pain. The restaurant was very dark with moderate to loud background noise/chatter.

Value: Average. Urban dining is urban dining. Main and drink will run you about $20 each.

Paul's Place Omelettery Restaurant

Note: This review was originally posted on Dine Here and reposted to this blog on Sep 16, 2013.

A friend suggested this place for Saturday brunch and we went just this last weekend. There were 4 of us in total and we arrived before 11am so it wasn't too crowded, but it got really busy around noon, so go early or be prepared to wait.

I ordered a pulled pork hash (special) and it was fantastic. It wasn't too greasy and there weren't too many potatoes to weigh it down. The cheese was a little cold when it was served, but I was busy feeding my daughter so the dish melted it just fine after a bit of mixing. The poached eggs on top were really delicious and tied it together well.

It was quite busy, but my coffee remained full almost throughout the meal. The servers were attentive and accommodating (our baby was a little fussy).

The prices are quite reasonable. Most of the breakfast dishes are around $6-10 (compared to breakfast/diner chains that run $8-13 per dish), and as mentioned above, the food was good.

It was busy and there was plenty of hustle and bustle. It's not a quiet romantic place by any means. There was nothing surprising about the ambiance.

I would definitely visit the Omelettery again, and I recommend it to friends.

Summary
Food: Very good. Common selection of breakfast items but they were done well.

Service: Good. Despite being busy, the server was attentive and readily available.

Setting: Average. The tables seemed a bit cramped and parking is just okay.

Value: Good. Cheaper than chain restaurants and better tasting.