Simba`s Grill

Viv and I needed to go run some errands at Metrotown, so we dropped the kiddies with the grandparents. But I was starving after playing floor hockey. I was originally thinking of going for some Vietnamese pho or wonton noodles. However, I'm not sure if that would've satisfy my hunger pains. I started flipping through the Entertainment book for some ideas. At first we were going to go for some Greek food; but I then noticed a lonely coupon sitting in a drawer Viv just cleaned out. Simba's Grill! I've been looking for that coupon for months. I originally ripped it out planning to use it; but we never ended up going. This was the perfect opportunity to go, since the kiddies probably wouldn't be too keen on African food. Hey, I'm up for African food! Well, I'm up for any kind of food actually...

So we head over to Edmonds at 4:00pm for dinner. Yes, we were the only ones there at 4:00pm. Well, less people to stare at me when I'm busily snapping away with my camera! We were greeted by the server and she informed us of the daily special, which was a Fish Red Curry on Saffron Rice. Viv thought that sounded good and decided to go with it. One look of the menu and it's quite simple. You essentially have grilled meat on the first page and then curries on the second. Since Viv was having curry already, I went for the Grilled Beef Skewers. We also went for the Grilled Chicken Livers to start.

Arriving the same time as our chicken livers was a plate of condiments. There was sour cream, coconut slivers, hot sauce and tamarind sauce. You can experiment with different combinations with your food. I found that the hot sauce with sour cream worked really well together on meat. The chicken livers had really good colour and charring. However, they were not overcooked. They were still moist on the inside. This was supposed to be our appetizer, but it was really large and all livers! We were kind of full after this.

The fish curry was quite the dish. There was massive amount of long grain saffron rice accompanying the 2 large fish fillets (we think it was Tilapia). Viv asked for the curry to medium and it was indeed very mild. One good thing about it being so mild was that it didn't overpower the delicate flavours of the fish. I found that using the coconut and tamarind on the fish worked the best.

The grilled beef skewers came on an equally large plate of rice. Viv and I agreed that it would be hard for one person to eat all that rice. It was equivalent to around 3 large bowls. Moreover, there 5 skewers of beef; also more than enough for one person. The beef was quite charred; but I didn't mind it, it added a lot of flavour. However, you might want to eat some broccoli after this, since it's carcinogen-heaven. Again, sour cream and hot sauce were good compliments to the charred beef. Viv also had the naan to go with her curry. Too bad the curry was not served separately from the rice because she couldn't dip the naan into the curry very much. Mind you, the naan was pretty good. It was very light and the generous amount of butter made it taste good on its own.

We enjoyed our visit to Simba's. Although it is considered a fusion restaurant (not everything is really African), it still felt like an African experience. The decor was unique and the African music playing in the background really adds to the overall experience. One particular song had the phrase "Hakuna Matata", made famous by the movie The Lion King. I guess it's appropriate since the restaurant is named Simba! And we really didn't have any worries (that's what hakuna matata means), good service, good food, big portions and reasonable prices!

The Good:
- Something a little bit different
- Big portions
- Cool decor

The Bad:
- Limited menu items
- Really small restaurant

Simba's Grill
7413 Edmonds Street
Burnaby, B.C.
604-525-8904
www.simbasgrill.com

Business Hours:
11:30am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm (Tue - Fri)
1:00pm - 9:30pm (Sat & Sun)