Takarabune

Today was the all-day softball tourney at Gordon Park in Vancouver. We had a break in between games and decided to grab some lunch. We needed something nearby, inexpensive and wouldn't be too heavy. I remembered that I once dined at a Japanese restaurant nearby right next to the Church's chicken on Victoria Drive. I was struggling to remember the name, when suddenly Bear exclaims "Takarabune"! Ah yes, Bear is always dependable, he seems to know every restaurant in town. Not sure why he doesn't blog too! In fact, Bear used to frequent Takarabune with his family quite a lot before they changed owners. Despite the change in ownership, it still remains an authentic Japanese restaurant run by Japanese people. You may wonder what is really the difference especially since some Japanese restaurants run by non-Japanese are still pretty good. Well, when Bear wanted his Yakitori made dry with salt, they were able to grant him his request. A non-Japanese run joint may not even know what the heck he was talking about.

Miss Y was having a really tough time deciding what type of noodle she was going to order. She finally decided on the Zaru Soba over the Udon. Well at least with buckwheat noodles, I declared to her annoyance that, "her bowel movements will be on time unlike herself". In terms of the soba, she seemed to enjoy it. Silent Bob opted for a plate of sushi. He remarked that the rolls were looser than Jenna Jameson... What a delightful visual... Anyways, Bear ordered a couple of small dishes which included Gomae, Yakitori and Gyozas. Everything looked quite tasty, especially the large bowl of Gomae. Unlike Chinese-run Japanese restaurants, there wasn't a big glop of dressing on top. However, much like Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!) remarked, it seemed almost underdressed and there seemed to be too many stem pieces.

The rest of us were a little boring and went for the Bento Boxes. Judes had Box A which consisted of Sushi, Tempura, Sunomono, daily special (Salmon Belly), Rice and Miso Soup. She added a Scallop & Tobiko Roll for good measure. Dr. 911 and Sienna (she hates being mentioned in the blog), shared a Box C which consisted of a California Roll, Tempura, Chicken Teriyaki, Rice, Miso Soup and Fruit. They also added a Negitoro Roll. I went for the largest box they had which was the Box F. It included Sashimi, California Roll, Tempura, Sunomono, Tamagoyaki, Beef Teriyaki, Rice and Miso Soup.

One thing that was pretty much evident in everyone's orders was that the sushi rolls were poorly made. They tasted good; but the rice was so loose, most of the rolls fell apart. Aesthetically, it was not pleasing to look at either. We're not sure if the sushi chef was rushed, since the restaurant was busy or that's just how they made it. However, I really enjoyed the sashimi, it was sliced nicely and tasted fresh. The tempura was crispy, if not a bit oily. At least the batter was light and not too excessive. Although the beef teriyaki was flavoured just right (not too much sauce), the beef itself was a bit overcooked and tough. Furthermore, the sunomono could have used a bit more vinegar.

When we finally finished our meal, we really needed to leave since our next game was coming up. Mr. Blueberry was so anxious to get the bill, he flagged down a customer thinking they were staff. Awkward. Anyways, the food was decent, if not pretty standard at Takarabune. I was a bit disappointed at the loose and messy sushi rolls, especially when the restaurant is Japanese-run. That aside, the prices were fairly reasonable and the portions were good. By the time we left, the restaurant was packed with a lineup. Looks like they're doing something right.

The Good:
- Authentic
- Reasonably-priced and good portions
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Sushi rolls were terrible looking and fell apart
- Parking lot is insufficient for the amount of businesses

La Quercia

This dinner has been a long time coming. We originally wanted to take Polka King out for his birthday more than a month ago; but it always seemed like we had to postpone it. More often than not, it was because Polka King was busy Friday nights due to his "gigs". The reason why he is named as such is because he plays in a German Polka band. Nothing really funny here; other than he's Chinese. Imagine the looks on the elder German folk at the Vancouver Alpen Club when he breaks into song... in German. Yes, he is indeed the Polka King. We deliberated over several places to go and finally I made the choice (it's a dictatorship, they have no say!). The venue of choice was La Quercia, a joint venture by former chefs at Parkside and La Buca, Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg on 4th near Alma.

I originally made my reservation on Opentable for 4 guests; but due to last minute add-ons, I had to call the restaurant on 2 separate occasions to change the reservation. They did so in a professional and cordial manner. I was impressed that they were so flexible with my changes. I picked up Milhouse along the way out to La Quercia. Joining us were Emilicious, Lionel Hutz, Special K and of course Polka King. The restaurant is pretty unassuming from the outside. We almost missed the restaurant altogether. However, upon entering the restaurant, we were impressed at the simple; yet elegant decor complete with a beautiful main lighting fixture and a wall of abstract art. We were greeted warmly at the door and led to our table, right at the window - perfect! Some people from our party were a bit late in arriving due to the fact they were driving a fair distance to the restaurant. But we never felt rushed by the staff. In fact, we were presented with a complimentary appetizer of Melon with Prosciutto. The melon was perfectly ripe and sweet. This classic combination with the salty prosciutto was a great start to our meal.

As a table of 6, we had to dine "alla famiglia" style, which is involves the whole table sharing all the courses. For $40.00 pp, there roughly 5 courses and $59.00 gets you around 11 courses. Both include dessert, however the 11 course meal adds risotto "cooked to order". Believe me, although we had no choice in the matter since we were a table of 6, the alla famiglia dinner was the only thing we had in mind anyways. Our first course was Lattuga al Gorgonzola, which was a beautiful mix of butter lettuce, radish, Gorgonzola dressing, crumbled Gorgonzola and duck fat croutons. Being oh-so rich and crunchy, the croutons were the star of the salad. Rarely do you have people fighting over croutons! The dressing itself was surprisingly not overpowering despite the use of Gorgonzola.

The next course was Zucchini Blossoms stuffed with Scallop Mousse. These crispy treats were a contrast in textures from the crunchy exterior to the soft sweet mousse stuffing. Definitely a pleasure to eat. By now I'm not even really keeping track of the courses; rather I'm busily taking pictures and trying to eat in between. As we were just dusting up the zucchini blossoms, the Sformato di Parmiggiano or Parmesan Souffle arrived. Served on the side was a zucchini salad and the plate was finished off with a balsamic reduction. Fluffy with a strong Parmesan flavour, the souffle was a nice, light treat before the heavier courses.

Speaking of the heavier courses, a trio of pastas arrived next. They included Rotini, Agnolotti and Gnocchi. Dressed in a fresh tomato sauce with pancetta and smoked pork cheeks, the al dente rotini exuded both a lightness and heaviness at the same time. The richness of the meats combined with the light tomato sauce acted in perfect balance. Packed with veal and Swiss chard, the agnolotti exhibited an earthiness. The Parmesan added the necessary saltiness to flavour the dish. My favourite of the trio was the gnocchi. Unlike a majority of the gnocchi I have tried, this one was fluffy and almost melted in my mouth. Due to the chantrelles, the dish was earthy, aromatic and downright tasty. Adding both richness and a texture contrast was an abundance of house-made sausage.

At this point Milhouse had thought our meal was over. He was quite satisfied; but to his surprise, we hadn't received our meat course which was a lovely Veal Scallopini. Presented on a long platter, the veal rested on a bed of cauliflower and topped with a demi-glace (?) with capers. A little on the salty side (probably due to the capers), the veal was tender and the cauliflower was perfectly cooked. At this point, we had already reached the end of our reservation; but rather than being rushed, the service continued as usual. We were presented with 3 different cakes for our dessert. It consisted of a Spiced Cake with Coffee Ice Cream (?), Chocolate Mousse and Frangipane. Of the 3, I personally liked the chocolate mousse cake since it was not too sweet and had a rich chocolate taste. According to Emilicious, the cakes were not particularly memorable.

Regardless what everyone thought of dessert, it was a consensus that the meal overall was wonderful. For $40.00 per person, it is not only a fabulous value, it was well-executed. I believe that La Quercia is now a favourite of mine. I can't wait to try the 11 course meal. Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg have successfully merged rustic and modern elegance into a delightful little restaurant.

The Good:
- Beautifully executed food
- Great value, especially the alla famiglia
- Attentive, unpretentious service

The Bad:
- Restaurant is small, so seating is a bit tight

Kim Bo Ting & U-Grill

We were doing some shopping at Metrotown today and needed to grab lunch. For some inexplicable reason, I dragged the family over to Sui Sha Ya. Yes, let the insults fly, I know this is a very, very bad decision. They have some of the worst "Japanese" food in town and their service ain't good either. I guess I was blinded by the fact that lunch would be only a little over $10.00 a person. When I inquired how much it would cost for my son, they also indicated that my daughter would have to pay as well. Uh... she's like 2 months shy of 2 years old. They're charging kids of that age too??? Well that was the last straw. You want me to eat crappy Japanese food, suffer indifferent service AND pay for a kid that can barely eat a small plain udon? Yes, when you go out of business, blame yourselves.

Undaunted, we merely headed up one level to the food fair. So many choices, it was hard to make a decision. Viv ended up with Korean Mixed Beef Udon from Kim Bo Ting (a Korean joint run by Chinese people...). Honestly, it was a good amount of food for the price. You can't even see the noodles in the picture since the massive amount of beef covers it all. We thought for $7.79, it was a pretty good value. Unfortunately, my choice of food came out to much more money. I went to one of my favourites - U-Grill. I'm not sure why it's name as such since "you" do not grill the food. You do, however, choose your own items. This is probably what they meant. The problem with choosing your own ingredients is that more often than not, you will end up picking too much. It's $2.15 per 100 grams. Included in that price is rice and choice of sauce(s).

It appears I picked too many items because my meal came to over $13.00! Not exactly cheap; but it was satisfying and relatively healthy. Mind you, you can have something quite similar with "controlled" costs at Koya Japanese. Despite the fact that I would've spent less at Sui Sha Ya for more food, I was thankful that I did not dine there. That would have been a bad decision which I'm sure some people would give me heck about.

The Good:
- They're both in a food fair, it's fast
- Relatively healthier eating despite the sodium
- It's freshly made

The Bad:
- With U-Grill, it can get pricey

Food @ the PNE 2009

Where can you get something that slices, dices and a ShamWow to go with it? Wait, how about 2 ShamWows if you are one of the first 30 customers? How about spending $50.00 trying to win a $10.00 prize? What about spending too much money for mediocre food? I know, how about waiting in line to see a home that you will never win? Yes, all of this and more can be found at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) year after year. I've been a regular every year since my dad brought me as a kid. Now, we continue the tradition with our kids. Some people might think the PNE is a waste of time and money; but despite my aforementioned questions, I look forward to it every year. Hey, we bought a $30.00 lint brush. Where else can you be suckered into something like that??? Moreover, the PNE will always have a place in my heart because this is where Viv and I "met". Well, I actually found out she worked at the PNE and decided to get a job there to get to know her.

My plan of attack today was to arrive early and snatch a close parking spot. With parking spot secured, we trekked up to the McD's and had a leisurely breakfast. Did you know they are using a different type of hash brown? It's significantly less greasy; yet it is extremely pale and tastes like cardboard. I see an upcoming revolt. Anyways, we finished up and made it to Playland near opening time. My son was quite enthusiastic about the kiddie rides and I had to go with him on some. Do you know how hard it is to squeeze my 6'1 frame into the helicopter ride? Hey, at least he had a good time. He had such a good time, we almost missed the Superdogs show. On our way to the Coliseum, I stopped by Whales Tails Fry Bread like I always do. Every year, I get what is essentially a fried piece of dough similar to Bannock. I know there are Beaver Tails in Lonsdale Quay and Grouse Mountain; but it always tastes better at the fair. I really do not know why we watch Superdogs every year, it never changes! Hey, we still watch it and we somehow end up on the "Bow Wow" team every time. For some reason or another, I get the craving for a foot long hot dog during the show.

I did just that after the show, a foot long hot dog for $6.00. Really, it's nothing more than a really long hot dog with some grilled onions. But we get it every year (sounds familiar eh?). We picked up a Deluxe Cheeseburger with Fries at Jimmy's Lunch as well. I'm not sure what is the big deal about these burgers anyways. It's a thin burger patty in between some processed cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and bun. I guess it's the onions that make the burger? The fries were not really all that good either. Picked up a slice of Pizza from Guido's for my son and being the picky kid he is, he barely touched it. Wanting something more but a bit different, I went in search for grub. I stumbled upon some Smoked Turkey Drumsticks and Roasted Corn at "Corn and Potatoes". Yup, some of these food joints at the PNE do not have really creative names. I do like Curry in a Hurry though! I first had a smoked turkey leg at Six Flags in California and have been craving it ever since. There is something primal in holding onto a large drumstick and gnawing on it like a barbarian. The roasted corn was ever-so-sweet; but predictably was bit overcooked.

Somewhere in here we need a beverage right? Well, to help quench my thirst from the salty; yet very tasty turkey drumstick, I went in search for lemonade. Despite there being one right around the corner from where I was eating, I walked all the way back to Corn and Potatoes. Right next to them is a lemonade stand which is a bit different than the other ones around the PNE. At this one, they squeeze the lemon right in front of you into the cup. Also, the lemonade is not sweet whatsoever. Refreshing and less calories! Yah, like you can actually watch your calories at the fair! After eating lunch, we settled in for the Bobs & LoLo show for the kiddies. Honestly, what's the deal with this? 2 grown women singing songs, I don't get it. Well, the kiddies liked it at least.

With the show over, we headed over to Those Little Donuts. My former place of employment! Well, a long time ago that is... These donuts are best when eaten fresh from the cute little fryers. Soft, warm and sweet, these are a fair favourite. What goes well with donuts? Soft-serve ice cream of course! Not really; but I got some anyways. Again, it's one of those things I get every year, even though it's only soft-serve. It is really rich soft-serve and it's the same friendly ol' lady who runs it every year. Alright, the eating was going to stop with the ice cream; however, I had second thoughts. I figured that I really should try the Fried Oreos and Fried Jelly Beans at Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cakes. You know what, despite how scary they sound and look, the Oreos were pretty good. It's almost like a donut with an Oreo stuffed inside. Soft and warm, it was sweet treat. The jury is still out on the jelly beans. It is essentially a fritter with Jelly Belly. Biting into it, the crispy fritter gives way to the soft fruity Jelly Bellys. Wasn't exactly my cup of tea; but I'm sure someone will like it. Here I am writing this post shortly after I got back home from the PNE. Since the fair is only 2 weeks long, I decided to fast track this post (so ignore the date of this post). I only wish I had some Pepto right now...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
- You can buy usesless items at the Showmart
- You can watch dogs run around at the Superdogs show
- You can eat food that would make McD's look healthy
- You can lineup for the roller coaster for an hour
- You can spend $100.00 at the Midway and end up with an ugly multi-coloured dinosaur
- You can "win a house, win a car"
- You can walk around with a mop at the PNE that you bought earlier in the day
- You can see farm animals urinate and poop right in front of you
- You can see a lot of crying children
- You can see a lot of crying husbands
- You can get a sno-cone and regret getting it
- You can go play bingo

Tomokazu

I haven't been frequenting "all-you-can-eat" Japanese for quite awhile. In fact, my last foray was to Fish on Rice in Burnaby and that was a disaster. However, we had a couple of friends visiting from Edmonton and they love Japanese food. We visited them last summer in Edmonton and they wouldn't even let us eat any Japanese food there. They kept saying that we would be bitterly disappointed since we are so used to good Japanese food. To get the best bang for the buck, they had already done AYCE Japanese when they first got here. But, knowing how T-Man loves his AYCE Japanese, we set up a dinner at Tomokazu with some other friends. Hey, let the man get his fill of Japanese before he heads back to Edmonton. I've been to the sister restaurant, Ninkazu in Richmond, and came away pretty impressed for an AYCE joint. Trust me, I've been trying to visit Tomokazu for a while now; but my softball team has been hesitant. Apparently, Bear used to frequent it quite a bit for lunch; but after a suspicious "closure", he hasn't been back. Well, it is Sherman's FOOD ADVENTURES. I might as well be quite adventurous. But at least I brought a whole lot of other people with me just in case!

Tomokazu has a policy which states that children over 3 feet must pay. Personally, I have no problem with that since it makes much more sense than using age as a gauge. If the child is bigger, then logically they should eat more. We had a chuckle when some of the kiddies at our table had to go for a "measurement". Much like the Top Gun Group (Top Gun Sushi, Richmond Sushi and Kingsway Sushi), there is a Regular "Lite" menu ($19.99) and a Deluxe menu ($22.99). Add $1.00 on weekends and holidays. The main difference between the menus is a larger selection of sashimi and sushi in the Deluxe menu. Since most of us are into the raw stuff, we chose the Deluxe menu. I decided to take the reins and do the "order"-taking for the table and mark off the checklist. We marked off quite a bit of food; but as others have remarked, we did not get exactly the amount we ordered. Just like the Government, the kitchen "taxed" us about 40% of our order. No matter really, we just ordered more on the 2nd round of food.

Surprisingly, other than the requisite Miso Soup, Gomae, Green Salad and Sunomono, the first items to arrive was the Sashimi. At other places, such as Fish on Rice, the sashimi arrives last or not at all. Not only did it arrive early, the sashimi was quite fresh and decently presented. The Kaki Pon (raw oysters) arrived at the same time and they were okay; but they weren't really a hot item at our table. Well, T-Man helped us finish them all. I guess he really wants to fill up before he heads back to Edmonton! Now coming fast and furious, both the Nigiri and Roll Sushi arrived. In the picture from top left clockwise, we have Tobiko, "Lobster", "Abalone", Scallop, Tamago, Amaebi, Tuna and then Unagi in the middle. I put lobster and abalone in quotations because the lobster was imitation and the abalone was either canned abalone (thanks Winnie!) or conch. The rolls consisted of California, Futomaki, Dynamite, Softshell Crab and Salmon. Overall, they looked quite appetizing, considering this was an AYCE. Large and not over-ladened with rice, the nigiri and roll sushi were enjoyable to eat.

We originally thought they had forgotten our order of Mirugai (Geoduck) Nigiri, but it arrived on another plate with the "Shark's Fin" sushi. We were impressed with the large, fresh slices of mirugai. Marshmallow practically ate it all by herself and probably another 10 pieces later. Like other AYCE places, the shark's fin is actually bean vermicelli mixed with jellyfish. But, for me personally, I enjoyed eating it. Costanza joked that we should order 50 Prawn Tempura and we did. We actually received less than half of that. The prawn itself was decent in size and cooked perfectly. But the batter was a laid on a tad too thick. Other items that we ordered were the Beef Short Ribs, Beef and Chicken Teriyaki, Chicken Karaage, Agedeshi Tofu, Gyoza, Oyster Motoyaki, Beef Tataki, Mango Pudding and Fruit Gelatin. Most of these items were pretty average. The ribs were "short' on meat and a bit salty while the beef teriyaki resembled more like beef jerky. I did like the karaage, the crispy skin encapsulated tender and well-seasoned chicken meat. However, I didn't like the beef tataki. The slices were a bit thick and it was still a bit frozen when served. It's hard to imagine getting brain freeze from beef; but we did. Surprisingly, the mango pudding was pretty flavourful. It looked like a mix of mango pudding mix and lemon Jello. On the other hand, the gelatin was awfully sweet; but the kids loved it. My daughter had a sugar rush for hours.

At the end of the meal, T-Man fought to pay the bill. Firm with his strength, held him back physically while the rest of the table were yelling at him to stop. The table next to us, who were non-Asian, looked on in confusion. Yes, us Chinese people bring fighting over the bill to another level. Despite Firm wrestling T-Man's credit card away from him, T-Man succeeded in paying with his other credit card. Defeated, we were not happy with him paying the entire $300.00 tab. Thus, after Costanza left, he gave me a call and told us that T-Man's car was parked in the front. Firm was able to attain the keys to T-Man's car and on a washroom break, placed our share of the bill in the cup holder. Upon leaving, T-Woman became suspicious and told T-Man to search the car. That's when we all ran to our cars frantically trying to leave. T-Man was able to find the money and threw it into my car. Viv ran and threw it back into his car; but T-Man grabbed it and threw it back into my car once more. I grabbed it and chucked it into his car and hightailed it back into my car and locked the doors. While I was pulling away, much like Robert Patrick from Terminator 2, T-Man tried to pin it to my windshield wiper, but I pulled away fast almost running him over. While all this was going on, several people on the sidewalk were shocked to see this display of insanity. When we got home, we called Marshmallow immediately and found out that after we had almost turned him into roadkill, he had thrown the money into her car. She told her oldest son to return the favour and the little brat that he is, he gave it to T-Man's daughter, who did not want to relinquish the money! That's one smart girl, she's already got it down pat at such a young age!

Anyways, during the meal, Costanza declared that Tomokazu was one of the better AYCE Japanese he's been to. I would agree with that. Much like Ninkazu, the food is actually acceptable. Personally, I'm not much into AYCE anymore; but it does serve a purpose. Especially with a large group of 16, places like Tomokazu work out well. Add into the fact that the service was both efficient and pleasant within a relatively comfortable environment, Tomokazu is a decent choice when you need to visit an AYCE.

The Good:
- The food was on average pretty decent
- Pretty comfortable dining space
- We actually got the good stuff early on in the meal

The Bad:
- They like to short change you with the quantities
- As with any AYCE, there were some misses

Copa Cafe (Vancouver)

Last Monday, we were supposed to have a softball practice. Yes, I was stuffing my face in Portland; but that meant missing eating out with my softball team after practice. Almost like it was meant to be, that particular practice was rained out! I guess there is no eating without me! This Monday, I am back in town and eating with the team after practice. Again, the practice was merely a cover to go eating, I didn't really care if I caught or hit anything. Our choice of restaurants tonight was Copa Cafe out near the new Skytrain station at Cambie and King Edward. In fact, today was the inaugural day for passengers and it was free from 1:00pm - 9:00pm. The lineup at this station was out the door and almost around the block! Boy, that's a lot of people wanting to go to Richmond. At least they are not in their cars, they are safer for it.

Copa Cafe is actually run by former chefs and employees of Cafe Gloucester which is less than 10 blocks North. Therefore, the menu and food are quite similar. The decor, on the other hand, is quite a bit different. It's modern and trendy with warm colours. It could be that it's fairly new; but the restaurant is clean including the washrooms. For me, Copa reminds me of Barry Manilow's corny tune "Copacabana". I jokingly started to sing it and Dr. 911 joined in, "Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl...". Another lady waiting in front began to smile at us; but Milhouse and Lionel Hutz couldn't wait to disassociate with us by heading to our table quickly. We actually messed up on the head count and found that our 2 tables were not sufficient. The staff were more than accommodating and set up a larger table immediately for us. I was impressed at their attitude regarding this inconvenience. Miss Y, as always, made a scene by wheeling in her pink
luggage into the restaurant. No, she's not a stewardess or some psychotic luggage lady. Rather, she had purchased it earlier in the day and did not want to leave it in the car. Of course, the odd behaviour didn't stop there, she decided to order Wonton Noodles... in a Hong Kong-Style Cafe! Uh, it's just like when she ordered a regular hot dog at Japadog or quiche at the Red Onion (which specializes in burgers). What's next? A Sweet and Sour Pork at a Japanese restaurant? Predictably, the wonton noodles were not very good. The soup was quite bland and the noodles were not the typical chewy ones. At least the wontons were not half bad. When you want wonton noodles, you go to some place such as Congee Noodle House or Congee Noodle King.

Almost as if she was practicing cannibalism, Hot Chocolate had... GASP! A hot chocolate! The humanity! Too bad she didn't get her dinner until almost all of us had finished. She, like 6 others, had the set meal. There is an A side and a B side to this menu. You merely mix and match to your liking. You can get A+B ($18.95), B+B ($14.95) or B+B+B ($16.95). All meals included dinner roll, soup, beverage, a choice of side and sauce. I was quite hungry and had the "triple B" meal and selected Ox Tongue (how surprising), Grilled Rib Eye and Prawn Cutlet (which was really 3 fried butterflied prawns). For $1.50, I substituted my soup (Russian Borscht or Cream Soup) with Lobster Bisque. For another $1.50, I up-sized my drink to a Jumbo Cold Horlicks (insert joke here). I blame Milhouse for this because he ordered first and I am really easily swayed by other's decisions. We both agreed that the bisque was better than expected. I chose to have my meal served on a regular plate rather than the sizzling cast iron plate. For me, I just wanted the extra room afforded by a regular plate to eat my food. The breaded prawns were pretty crunchy and the tongue was tender. However, the rib eye was quite tough and had been marinated. I really do not prefer my steaks prepared this way. Milhouse, Lionel Hutz, Bear (guess what? had the short ribs) and Mr. Blueberry all had the set meal as well. They all seemed satisfied at the quantity of food they had received. For whatever reason, Milhouse's dish looked the largest with a fried Sole Fillet that barely fit onto the plate.

Judes ordered the Lemon Chicken with Rice. She remarked that the rice was quite hard and the sauce was alright. The chicken was quite crunchy; but there seemed to be quite a bit of batter on it. I almost didn't get a picture of what Boss Woman had because she was sitting at another table. Also, much like Lionel Hutz, she is quite impatient and does not like waiting for me to take a picture first. I was able to swoop in, block her out and snap a few pics before she laid a fork into her food. Her dish was the Brisket and Vegetable with Fried Rice Noodle. It certainly looked good and she seemed happy with it. Dr. 911 had the Singapore Fried Noodles. Presented on a large plate, there was no shortage of peppers, large shrimp, onions and egg. He remarked that the noodles were firm and that it tasted quite spicy.

This was the first visit to Copa for most of us (excluding Bear and Milhouse) and we left impressed. The service was much better than anticipated, although one dude was not dressed like an employee and we were creeped out when he started to take our plates away. The food was both plentiful and on average, pretty good (as long as you don't order the wrong items). In terms of the parking at the back, Milhouse commented that, "it's as hard as pulling teeth for some people". Dr. 911 (being a dentist), begged to differ.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonable prices
- Clean, comfortable environment

The Bad:
- Like any other HK-style cafe, some food gets lost in translation
- There is parking at the back, but it's tight (do you trust the other drivers?)