It was a long wait for...

Dim Sum. I'm rather impatient when it comes to waiting to be seated in a restaurant. We, as in, my family went to one of our frequent brunch restaurant. It was extremely busy and if it weren't for their lack of staff to help clean and clear the tables, we wouldn't have had to wait so long.

We started off with some deep fried rolls. The one on the left is a Seafood Fruit Salad Roll and the one on the right is a Bean Curd Shrimp Roll. Both tasted very good and had a nice crispy texture on the outside.

Next up is, Shiu Mai. The texture inside tasted pretty coarse.

We have an assortment here. Top left is Beef Balls and the top right is Beef Tripe. Bottom left is Chicken Feet and the bottom right is Chicken Buns. I don't like the taste and texture of Beef Balls served for dim sum so I never eat them. The Beef Tripe tasted alright, but it was too soft. The Chicken Feet was over cooked and tasted very strong in flavor. I did like the Chicken buns, though. Nice texture and tasted just right in flavors.

The Cha Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Buns) didn't taste like they used to. It was lacking a bit of flavor, but the texture of the buns was good.

This time around the Pai Gwat (Pork Ribs) wasn't too fatty or too over-powering in taste, but it still wasn't great. Right about now, we're starting to think that the chef isn't feeling like himself or it's a different chef.

This is the last picture for today. It's Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumpling). It tasted just dandy. No complaints and no compliments. We also ordered, Cheng Fun (Meat or Shrimp wrapped in Rice Noodle). I didn't bother taking a photo of and it was beef. So, I didn't eat it.



Location:

HKYK Seafood Hot Pot Restaurant
4020 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC
V6X 2C2
1-604-273-3202

Breakfast is served...

Sort of...

I haven't been on a food adventure this past weekend. Thus, the lack of updates. I was having fun at a convention. It was about 4 days in length. This convention is called, Anime Evolution. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it is mine. It was my very first time attending an Anime convention. It was quite interesting and overall, I had fun. There was a masquerade ball and tons of people cosplayed their favorite characters during the convention. It was highly entertaining and I'll be sure to go back next year. I did eat out on Thursday night, but I forgot to take pictures and it was all fried foods, anyway. Basically, I was eating breakfast at home and eating fiber crackers and chocolate Pocky as snacks at the convention with lots of water. Needless to say, I hardly got any sleep or food. Here's a picture I took at the convention of the Mog Squad.

There's tons of pictures and videos floating around the web if anyone is interested and the reason why I won't post more pictures from the convention is because I want to try and keep this a "food only blog ".

Earlier today, I was told to bake off some free canned goods we received. They were croissants and biscuits. Two days ago, I had baked off some various cookies and I forgot to take pictures. Just so you know, while I was sitting on a chair watching the main events at the convention, my camera decided to fall out of my pocket onto the nice, hard and sturdy concrete floor. I don't mind the few scratches, but the cap of the button literally came off and is now loose. It marginally works, but I have to do various things to get it to zoom and turned on. I'm rather sad, but this gives me an excuse to buy another camera. I don't really want to spend the money on a new camera, yet. Maybe next year...

Anyway, after baking these canned goods I started thinking, who actually buys these raw canned goods?! Apparently, a lot of people if they're still selling these. I read the ingredients on everything I eat, cook and bake. I didn't eat them, though. I just baked them and told my mom to give it away to her co-workers. Raw croissant dough in a tube is so wrong. That is all I have to comment about them.

Dinner at BP...

or Boston Pizza. A bunch of us from church decided to have dinner yesterday to welcome Takui, who just came to Canada from Japan a week ago. Obviously, we didn't want to go for something Japanese and we didn't want to go to a place that would involve a long line up. Somehow, we ended up at BP. I think there were 14 of us. I was down at one end of the table and so, I could not take pictures of what they ordered at the other end. All I know is, they ordered two kinds of pizza and poutine. Our end decided to start off with an Appie Starter. It includes six oven-roasted BBQ wings, three cheese toast, cactus cut potatoes and cracked pepper dry ribs with sour cream dip in a small tortilla cup.

Overall, it was just okay. Nothing over the top. The dry ribs still had a bad pork after taste and the bread could have been a bit crispier, but that's just me.

Just a warning though, the descriptions of these meals were taken from the Boston Pizza website, but with a few alterations.

I ordered the Oven Roasted Chicken Quesadilla. It's filled with tender pieces of spicy chicken breast, cheddar, mozzarella, diced tomato and green onions. Served with sour cream and salsa.

I'm starting to think that every single joint out there brings in saline injected chicken breasts. There's just no way you can over cook those, unless you've burnt them. They always stay moist and tender and never rubbery and tough. They're nasty to eat and it's just cheaper to order in those kinds of chicken breasts than buying the non-processed ones. I mainly order chicken dishes and I can taste the difference. In the future, I will avoid ordering chicken from BP again. Yesterday, was my second visit to BP. Besides the chicken, everything else tasted fine. As silly as it may sound, the tortilla cups that had the dips in them were so crunchy. I give them two thumbs up for that. And now, the dishes of others.

The girl on my right ordered, Baked Three Cheese Penne. It's penne tossed in a hearty bolognese sauce, baked with a delicious blend of cheddar and mozzarella. Finished with Parmesan and sliced cajun chicken breast. Served with a slice of garlic toast.

The guy on my left ordered, Chicken Santa Fe Stromboli. It has spicy chicken breast, salsa, green pepper, olives, mozzarella, cheddar, diced tomatoes and fries on the side.

The girl across from the guy on my the left ordered, Chicken Caesar. It's romaine lettuce tossed with their signature creamy garlic dressing, crunchy croutons, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan and topped with a sliced teriyaki chicken breast. Served with a slice of garlic toast.

She also hated the chicken. She said it tasted like a specific cracker (wan wan) they sold in Taiwan. I haven't a clue.

The girl across from me ordered, Homestyle Lasagna. It's tender lasagna noodles layered between ricotta and Parmesan, pomodoro sauce, ground beef, pork, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic and herbs. Finished with bolognese sauce and melted mozzarella. Served with a slice of garlic toast.

Quite a few of us decided to ordered something with chicken in it.



Location:

Boston Pizza
4219 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC
V5C 3Y6
1-604-299-7600
Boston Pizza

Angel Cafe

I should call this my weekly blog more than anything, since I usually post on the weekends. Another Saturday lunch with the family. This time we ordered three dishes to share. It came with either, a Tomato Vegetable Soup or Cream Soup.

As you can see, we went for the Cream Soup. It was below the average cream of corn soup with bits of ham and there were tons of small flour lumps in it. Cream soups aren't usually done well, unless you go to some expensive restaurant.

The first dish that came was, Szechuan Beef Brisket Fried Noodles. At first glance, it looks fine, but there's at least half a cup of oil at the bottom of the dish. I would considered this un-edible and disgusting. The noodles were not only fried, but they were soaking in more oil. I feel a clogged artery coming. There was nothing about the dish that screams, Szechuan. I could be wrong...

The second dish was, Salted Fish Fried Rice. It's a bit moist for fried rice and the salted fish wasn't evenly spread throughout the rice. I've had better Salted Fish Fried Rice, elsewhere. I think the salted fish was either, bad or extremely cheap because it had this weird awful smell to it. Usually, salted fish has a nice and aromatic salt smell.

The last dish was, Malay Stir Fry Noodles. It was the only dish that I like. It was sweet and spicy. Although, it would have been better if it was just a tad more spicier, but that's just my personal opinion. I have no complaints on this one and I'm not sure how authentic it actually is, but it tasted really good.

Tonight, I'll be home alone and I plan on making a sandwich for dinner. It's much more healthier for me, anyway. I'll also be watching "Da Ge Da which is, Fei Ge" on channel 229 (shaw cable). The theme of the show is, guess their talent. Basically, famous people (mostly females because the host is a big pervert =p) are invited to the show to guess around 4 - 5 people's talents. Whoever guesses right, wins the chance to eat a specific dish done by a specific chef. There is a total of 4 - 5 chances and 4 - 5 dishes and it's a one hour show. It's quite comical.



Location:

Angel Cafe
5995 Fraser Street at 44th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V5W 2Z6
1-604-323-8948

All you can eat...

At Richmond Sushi. That's where we went for lunch today. I won't get into an elaborate post today, since I'm dead tired from manual work. However, you'll get a few more photos than normal. The service we had today was absolutely awesome. She was speedy, efficient and never missed anything. The lunch menu for "all you can eat" is very limited. I didn't see any Tempura Prawns, Unagi or Tamago as an individual item, but I'm sure that's available during dinner time. Some items were good and some weren't, but I've had better "all you can eat" elsewhere. I don't know whether to label it as average or just a bit more than average.

To start off, we've got Miso Soup in the red and black bowl. In the back we have Ebi Sunomono, Fried Scallops and Agedashi Tofu. The Miso Soup was so-so, Ebi Sunomono was refreshing, Fried Scallops was good and the Agedashi Tofu was not so good to eat or look at, either.

We have Chicken Karaage in the front, which, was pretty good. It's not greasy and salty at all and it's quite crispy. The Gyoza on the right of the Chicken karaage was pretty disgusting. The Beef Spare Ribs above the Gyoza was so tender and flavorful. As for the Motoyaki (in the tin cup), I don't know what it taste like since I don't like oyster.

This particular Chicken Yakitori tasted quite different from what I've had at other places. It's not bad or good, but at least it had flavor and it was white meat.

Bring on the sushi rolls. In the front row, we have, B.C. Roll. In the middle, it's Dynamite Roll. At the very back, it's Futomaki Roll. They were just so-so.

California Roll on the left and Spider Roll on the right. Again, these were just so-so, but the Spider Roll had a nice texture.

This was called, Curry Croquette. When I was in Culinary Arts, that shape is not what we considered as croquette. However, it was light and fluffy and the taste of curry was really mild and sweet. The outside was really crispy.

Split Salmon head; it was quite tender. We did order more, but they didn't look too pretty to post and I'm lazy. The Yakisoba and Seafood Fried Rice was bland in taste and plain to look at. The Teriyaki Chicken and Beef was literally drenched in sauce.



Location:

Richmond Sushi
8388 Capstan Way #1488
Richmond, BC
1-604-207-7799

Northern Delicacy

If you've noticed, I tend to go out to eat on the weekends the most. It's like a tradition, almost. I would sometimes go out to eat for brunch and then head over to church, but I usually go out to eat dinner. It was just my dad and I today. We left church shortly after 4:30PM and headed in the direction of what I called, the Asian food city. Which is, Richmond, technically speaking. I would suggest those who visit BC, Canada to go to Richmond for food and down town Vancouver for shopping. Then again, it depends what you're in the mood for. Since my dad had an errand to take care off at Aberdeen Center, we decided to have dinner there instead of going for a Japanese place. There's a few restaurants there and a food court with a wide variety to choose from. Since I wanted to eat something light and less salty, it was only obvious to choose Northern Delicacy.

Getting right to it, my dad ordered two side dishes and this Szechuan Beef Noodle in Soup.

The noodles were handmade and knowing from my previous experience, the noodles has a good bite feel to it. Meaning, it's not hard or soft and at the same time it's a got a good chew-ability. It has a slight kick to it, but the soup is filled with rich flavors. It has both beef and the tendon, some vegetables, topped off with a bit of chopped green onions. I decided to order something new, the Tender Chicken Noodle in Soup.

The portion was slightly larger than what my dad had. Again, the noodles are all hand made. Overall, the taste was pretty good and the chicken was indeed, tender. If you're thinking the chicken looks a bit raw, I can assure you that I'm still alive and kicking. It may look like it's raw, but it's just dark meat. However, the noodles were overcooked and the soup was quite salty. Even though, I wanted something that wasn't too salty. It didn't taste that light in flavor, but the chicken taste in the soup made up for it. I really liked the idea of chopped bak choy instead of leaving it whole and any one who has eaten a whole bak choy, knows what I'm talking about. Presentation wise, the chopped bak choy does nothing to help. One of our side dish is, Xiao Long Bao.

You have no idea how much I love eating Xiao Long Bao. Basically, they are steamed pork dumplings and these tiny delicate morsels are packed with flavorful juices. Today, the skin was a bit thick, but only just a slight bit. Never the less, they were still good. Usually, you would eat it with a bit of vinegar. Their vinegar is so aromatic and enticing for the appetite. There's variations of the Xiao Long Bao as well. The best variation I've ever had is with a bit of crab meat stuffed inside the dumplings. Those were just heavenly to consume. The other side dish we ordered was pan fried pork dumplings. They weren't that appealing so i didn't take a picture. They are a different size and shape steamed pork dumpling and pan fried on the bottom. They tasted pretty good, but the skin was really thick. Despite, having such a thick skin, the flavor of the skin was really good.



Locations:

Aberdeen Center
4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, BC
(SW Corner of Hazelbridge Way & Cambie Rd.)
1-604-270-1234
http://www.aberdeencentre.com

Northern Delicacy
Unit 2788, Aberdeen Centre
4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, British Columbia
V6X 4J7
1-604-233-7050
http://www.northern-delicacy.com

Table for five

I had arranged a lunch get together with some of my old class mates and one of our instructors for today and while I was at the restaurant, I forgot to take pictures. I guess it's been awhile since I really got into it and made it a habit to do so. To make up for my forgetfulness, I'll display an old picture I took years ago when I had lunch with my family at a restaurant called Ricky's Restaurant.

Anyway, we were to meet up at the college around 1PM to get a chance to chat with some of our previous instructors and to play the catch up game with each other. After a brief conversation we left the school and went to Moxies, which, was very close by. We were escorted to a table for five. All of us just had a glass of regular water. We didn't bother with the drinks, but their special was Bellini. Their special is always Bellini!

One of my friend and I ordered the Clubhouse Sandwich. Is has thinly sliced turkey, tomatoes, lettuce, swiss and cheddar cheese on either brown or white toast. It also came with, either, fries of salad. The instructor ordered the Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad and the other two ordered Salmon with Naan Bread and Club Salad.

The Salmon with Naan Bread is a pan seared filet of salmon on grilled naan bread with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and garlic caper aioli, served with spring mix with feta and cranberries.

The Club Salad is crisp tempura chicken, crumbled bacon, chopped eggs, sliced cucumber and tomato wedges on fresh mixed greens, tossed in a peppercorn-dijon dressing and served with banana bread.

The banana bread was AWFUL! Dried and tasteless. I have no idea what the others thought about what they ordered, but the clubhouse sandwich was alright. It wasn't awesome, but it wasn't bad. It had really crispy bacon and I could really taste the cheese, but the lettuce was starting to get old and the Caesar salad wasn't that great either. The romaine lettuce tasted quite bitter, but that's normal if the head of lettuce was picked at a much later stage than when it's picked earlier. Too bad I didn't take any pictures, but here's a picture I took a few years back when I was at Ricky's Restaurant.

I had ordered the grilled chicken breast on focaccia bread with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese and onion rings that came with a Caesar salad. The portion of the bread was huge and the sauce that was drizzle over the sandwich was quite salty. It was probably some standard BBQ hickory sauce that came out of a store bought bottle. Overall, the sandwich and the Caesar salad was pretty good. They used grated Parmesan cheese and just the right amount of dressing for the salad instead of masking it up with the over-powering dressing.



Location:

Moxie's Classic Grill
180 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 4P4
1-604-684-8434
http://www.moxies.ca