Hamburger Mary's

Once again, after Friday night hockey, we were in search of some grub. Seeing how we always go to Asian places, I voiced my preference - Hamburger Mary's. "What's Hamburger Mary's?", is the response I get from a few teammates. Well, if you are a night owl or do the club/bar scene, Hamburger Mary's is a great place to satisfy the munchies late into the night (or early morning). Open until 3:45am and open again 2 hours later, Hamburger Mary's serves up great burgers and shakes 22 hours a day. So with a little convincing, we head over to Hamburger Mary's. In addition to burgers, there are breakfast items, appies, sandwiches, and milkshakes on the menu. The milkshakes are pretty good and are made with low-fat yogurt and 2% milk - less guilt! Be sure to try the Orange Creamsicle, it tastes exactly like the the actual popsicle!

I decided to try their special burger, the 10oz Prime Rib burger with cheddar cheese and horseradish mayo. I must say the burger was absolutely delicious. The patty was extremely tender and juicy. It had a great deal of prime rib taste and the horseradish mayo was a nice compliment to the burger. I was barely able to finish it. However, I really didn't like the fries much. They were crispy and all, but they were small little bits and were more like potato crisps rather than fries. Other plates at the table included a lamb burger, chili burger and salmon burger. They all looked good, and judging by the reaction from my teammates, they were good as well.

Boss Woman wanted to be different and ordered breakfast. She had the Swiss Scramble that consisted of scramble eggs, sausage, tomatoes, green onions and topped with melted swiss cheese. It came with a side of pancakes and hash browns as well. She said the egg was fluffy and the whole scramble itself was not salty. She loved the hash browns which were the fried cube-type. I will say that Hamburger Mary's does not have the best burgers in town. I think Moderne Burger is better; however, if you want a good burger and milkshake at 3am, look no further than Hamburger Mary's.

The Good:
- Good burgers and shakes
- Open 22 hours a day
- Retro dining room

The Bad:
- Cramped retro dining room
- Fries, in my opinion are cut too small
- Good luck finding parking

Hamburger Mary's
1202 Davie Street
Vancouver, B.C.
(604) 687-1293
www.hamburgermarys.ca

Business Hours:
5:45am - 3:45am (7 days a week)

Pho 99

So, we had a kid's birthday and a baby shower to attend this weekend and we needed to pay Toys R Us/Babies R Us a visit. Naturally, when we get out of the house with the kiddies, we need to find a place that they would actually eat the food. We decide on having some Pho (pronounced Pheu, which means nooodles) at Pho 99, which is also incidentally right next to our favourite Korean restaurant, Insadong. We been to Pho 99 quite a few times in the past, ever since we moved to Burnaby 4 years ago. What can you say, it's cheap, tasty and hits the spot, especially on a cold day.

Naturally, I have the Pho and I chose #19 which is categorized in the "Adventurer's Choice" section since it has brisket, flank, tripe, and tendon. The soup for Pho is not a simple beef broth. Rather, it is slowly simmered for a whole day with beef bones, and spices such as star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and garlic. Thus, in the end, you get an incredibly rich broth bursting with flavours. I am happy to say the broth at Pho 99 is indeed rich and flavourful. However, it is on the oilier side and I suspect (much like other places), there is a decent amount of MSG in it. Unlike Pho Hoa, there is a good amount of rice noodle and meat in the broth. One thing I would like to mention is that the brisket was excellent. There were large, meaty strips of soft brisket that maintained it's shape and tasted really good. We actually ordered the roll combo to start and it included 1 fried roll, 1 shrimp salad roll and 1 pork salad roll. All were pretty good, with the vermicelli being soft, but still a bit chewy inside. The fried roll was not oily and was crisp on the outside and packed with filling on the inside. Viv had the Lemon Grass Chicken with Rice and the chicken was flavourful and tender.

With the reasonable prices and good food quality at Pho 99, it is really an excellent value. However, there are some negatives that come with the positives. First and foremost, the washrooms are gross. They seem to deteriorate with every visit. There are these really stupid saloon-type swing doors that lead to the washrooms. Well, let's just say now there is only one swing door. There has been this lonely half swing-door for over a year. I guess they are not too concerned about fixing anything. Secondly, although the service is friendly, it is a bit absent-minded. You could ask for a glass of water and you may never get it. It's not bad service, it's just minimal. With that being said, Pho 99 is still a solid choice for Vietnamese food in the Burquitlam area.

The Good:
- Food is quite good
- Portions are reasonable
- Food comes out quick

The Bad:
- Restaurant cleanliness is a concern
- Service can be a bit better

Pho 99
#62 - 2991 Lougheed Hwy
Coquitlam, B.C.
(604) 472-1299
www.pho99vn.net

Mahek Restaurant

Met up with an old friend, Toolman, I haven't seen for awhile for lunch today. We originally were going to meet at Yummy Wonton House, which is across the street from where he worked. However, we changed the venue because I really wanted to go somewhere different. I asked around for some suggestions, and I'll give credit to JH and JK for recommending Mahek Restaurant in Surrey.

From the outside, Mahek is very non-descript except for the big blue signage. Also, there was a very nice white Porsche GT3 outside, it appears Mr. Mahek is doing well! Anyways, upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted to an upscale and inviting dining room. The seating arrangement is both comfortable and private since most of the tables are booths. Looking over the menu, most dishes are $10 and up, with rice or naan being extra. However, there is a lunch special that is only $8.95. The lunch special is a fantastic value since it includes either Lamb Curry, Butter Chicken or Vegetable Curry with rice, 2 pieces of Tandoori Chicken and 2 pieces of naan. This meal is similar to many of the other Indian restaurants in the area and in fact, it is $1.00 less than most of them.

It was more than enough food and I was struggling to finish my last piece of naan. The naan was on par with the best ones I've had. It was soft, fluffy and hot. The lamb curry was quite mild with big chunks of meat. The meat was not as tender as I would have liked it, but it certainly wasn't tough either. The butter chicken was smooth and the meat was tender; however, it looked a bit runny. The tandoori chicken was mild and had good flavour, with hits of tumeric and chilli powder. However, it was a bit overcooked. We also ordered soft drinks and to our surprise, it was re-fillable. This is unusual in an Asian restaurant. Although the food was good, Mirch Masala, which is across the street, is better. The service was pretty good, with the waitress coming over to ask if we wanted refills. Overall, Mahek is a decent choice for Indian food in a comfortable setting.

The Good:

- Really nice dining room and comfortable seating

- Portions are decent

- Service is attentive

The Bad:
- Regular menu is a bit pricier than other places
- Mirch Masala across the street is better

Mahek Restaurant

9470 120th Street

Surrey, B.C.

(604) 585-3331
www.mahekchaat.com

Morton`s Steakhouse

*UPDATE* Morton's of Vancouver is now permanently closed as of October 3rd.

How many times do I need to celebrate my birthday? Well, if it involves eating, I will celebrate it as many times as people want to go out to eat with me! Many of my friends have told me that their experience at Morton's has been good, so I really had an itching to go. It was one of 3 steakhouses in Vancouver that are on my wishlist, which includes Gotham and Hy's as well. I was telling Costanza (who joined me at Morton's) that it would be very cool to drive up to the valet at any one of these restaurants in my black SUV with dubs. Then Costanza bursts my bubble by saying that it would be cool, until everyone saw the 2 child seats in the back. Ouch! Back to reality!!!

Anyways, I must say that first and foremost, the service is outstanding at Morton's. It was friendly, unpretentious and attentive. The dining room was classy in a New York/Chicago style; yet it was understated and inviting. The prices at Morton's are consistent with an upscale steakhouse, with steaks being around $50 and up and sides being extra. Unknown to many, especially my friend Whipping Girl (who recently ate there), there is a Steak and Seafood dinner for 2 that costs $119. It includes a selection of Morton's most popular dishes in a set meal. Each person has a choice of salad, either a Caesar or Morton's Salad; a choice of seafood, either Broiled Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp Alexander or Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes; a choice of 1 potato and 1 vegetable to share; a single-cut Filet Mignon; and a choice of dessert, either Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake or Key Lime Pie. Whipping Girl ordered almost the exact same dinner at the a la carte prices in the menu!!! Suffice to say, she was choked; however, she doesn't regret it since the food was good.

Before our meal, we ordered some oysters on the half-shell to start. They were extremely fresh and sweet. They were accompanied by tobasco, seafood sauce, horseradish, lemon and saltine crackers. I start the meal for 2 with the Morton's salad which is a variety of lettuce tossed in blue cheese dressing, topped with chopped egg and anchovies. The lettuce was extremely fresh and crisp; however the salad itself was tossed unevenly. I had some pieces that were slathered in dressing and I just had to leave them on the plate. The others had the Caesar and it was pretty average, with the salad being watery. Then came my Filet Mignon accompanied by the Colossal Shrimp Alexander. My filet was perfectly cooked at medium-rare. The meat was very tender and every bite was buttery smooth. The Colossal Shrimp Alexander consists of 3 butterflied giant shrimp which are breaded and fried, resting on a beurre blanc sauce. The shrimp should really be called prawns since they are really large and meaty. They were cooked nicely, being crispy outside and not overcooked on the inside. However, there was just too much beurre blanc sauce for my liking. Viv had the scallops wrapped in bacon, which came with an apricot chutney. The scallops were sweet, but were a bit overcooked. The bacon on the outside was extremely crunchy and a bit burnt; that detracted from the dish. Viv did not like the apricot chutney since it had hints of horseradish. But I personally like horseradish and thought the chutney was good.

We ended up sharing the 4 side dishes amongst ourselves and they included steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, french fries and a jumbo baked Idaho potato. The asparagus and broccoli were steamed just enough, so they still maintained a healthy green colour and some firmness. The vegetables were extremely fresh and sweet. They were accompanied by hollandaise sauce which was okay; but it would have been better with some more lemon juice. That would be the same for the Bearnaise sauce that accompanied the Filet Mignon too. The french fries were surprisingly good, being crisp on the outside, but maintaining a good potato taste and consistency on the inside. The baked potato was the biggest one I have ever seen before in my life. It was so fluffy and soft on the inside, it just melted in my mouth. It was the best baked potato I've even had.

For dessert, we all chose the Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake served with Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream. The chocolate cake was moist and very good. On the inside, there was molten chocolate oozing out. I liked the cake, but with every bite, it became a bit too sweet for my liking. Overall, the meal at Morton's was satisfying, especially at the price we paid. There were some issues with some of the dishes; but nothing major. The steaks, which is their specialty were outstanding and so was their service.

The Good:
- Steaks were excellent
- Service was outstanding and unpretentious
- Ambiance was classy and intimate
- Expediting of the food was spot on

The Bad:
- Some of the food, other than the steaks, has it's issues
- Parking is scarce or expensive (although the valet was reasonable at $7)
- Can be pricey if you don't have the dinner for 2 special

Morton's
750 W Cordova St
Vancouver, B.C.
(604) 915-5105
www.mortons.com

Business Hours:
5:00pm - 10:00pm (Mon - Thu & Sun)
5:00pm - 11:00pm (Fri - Sat)

Vivo! Gelato

*This location is now closed*

After a satisfying meal at Hapa Izakaya, I was messaged by Miss Y on my Blackberry. She was with a few of my softball teammates at The Eatery and wanted me to drop by to say hi. Well, having nothing better to do, I went there and said hi. Not sure why I actually drove there to say hi, when I could've called or just texted. Now being well into the west side of Vancouver, we decided to go visit my favourite gelato place, Vivo! Gelato. I personally think Vivo is better than most of the other gelato places in town (La Casa, Bellagio, Amato); however, I do think that Mondo Gelato is good too.

Just like all the other popular gelato places in town, Vivo makes their gelato fresh in small batches with fresh ingredients. Unbeknownst to many people, gelato is made with milk, not cream. Thus, the milk fat is only around 10%. The reason gelato is so creamy is that air is limited it is being churned in the machine, resulting in a more dense, richer product. I've tried most of the flavours at Vivo and I've liked most of them. However, it's all personal preference, I may like some flavours that some other people may not like and vice versa. The flavours I do like are coconut, tiramisu, pistachio, white chocolate raspberry, blueberry cheesecake and green tea. The sorbetto at Vivo is very good too, it's so creamy you'd think it was made with milk ingredients, which it's not. I like the passionfruit, pineapple, green apple, lemon and lychee. However, some flavours are on rotation and you might not see it all the time.

The thing I look for in a gelato or sorbetto is that you can taste the flavour of the main ingredient and it's not too sweet. Vivo achieves this with strong flavours, balanced tartness (in the tart flavours) and just enough sweetness. Another positive of Vivo is that there are ample and comfortable places to sit (similar to a Bread Garden). I can't really stand places like La Casa and Amato where there are limited places to sit. Unlike some people, I am not a big fan of standing/sitting/squating outside and eating my gelato. Although the Oakridge location of Vivo has limited seating as well, it's in a mall, so you have plenty of other options. If you are in the neighbourhood, I wouldn't hesitate to try it out.

The Good:
- Creamy, good tasting gelato and sorbetto
- Comfortable seating (mostly Kerrisdale location)
- Reasonable prices

The Bad:
- Locations not centrally located for the rest of GVRD (need one East Van/Burnaby)
- Some flavours are not available all the time

Vivo! Gelato
5395 West Boulevard
Vancouver, B.C.
604-266-7637
www.vivogelato.com

Business Hours:
11:00am - 9:30pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 10:30pm (Fri - Sat)
1:00pm - 9:00pm (Sun)

Phnom Penh

What a hidden gem (quoting Snake) Phnom Penh happens to be in the darker regions of Vancouver's Chinatown. If you are a foodie in the GVRD, you must know about Phnom Penh. There used to be another location on Broadway near Oak, but it was shut down more than 5 years ago. Now we are left with their one location which is endlessly busy. Phnom Penh seems to fill a niche in the Vancouver restaurant scene. There are plenty of Vietnamese restaurants around, but what sets Phnom Penh apart is that it is also a Cambodian restaurant too. Therefore, the menu is an eclectic mix of foods not usually found anywhere else.

Rich Guy and Vandelay have frequented Phnom Penh a lot over the years, but not recently. So we make the trek into Chinatown for some grub. The restaurant itself is very non-descriptive on the outside, you can easily miss it driving or even walking by. It's not a very big place, and that makes for long waits if you come during dinner time. The one signature dish at Phnom Penh is their fried chicken wings. We order it every time and it was delicious as usual. It's fried perfectly with a crispy coating over the juicy meat inside. The lemon pepper dipping sauce is an excellent accompaniment to the dish. Somehow with the addition of a bit of acidity to the wings, it comes alive. We also ordered the Butter Beef and although it's one of the more popular dishes, it was a definite miss. The beef is essentially raw and is exposed to high heat only slightly before serving. For raw beef to be good, it must be awfully tender and sliced thin. However, the beef was sliced a bit thick and it wasn't too tender. Also, it could be just me, but there is way too much cilantro on the beef, it kills any other flavour that is supposed to be present. It's the same idea as a beef carpaccio, you wouldn't kill the delicate flavours with loads of herbs and sauce. One more appetizer-type dish we ordered was the Banh Cuon or steamed rice noodles filled with ground pork and wood ear mushrooms. It is served with a side of Cha Lua (Vietnamese ham) and Nuoc Cham, which is sweet fish sauce with a touch of lemon/lime or vinegar. The rolls tasted good, but the rice noodles were a bit stiff compared to other Banh Cuon that I've had.

We ordered the Luc Lac Beef with Egg on Rice, which is cooked tender beef on a bed of rice with a fried egg. The dish is a little different than how I remembered it, since the beef seemed to be in smaller slices and it was swimming in sauce. Don't get me wrong, it still tasted good, but just seemed a bit different. We also had the dry egg noodles which are topped with shrimp, minced pork, dry shrimp, sliced pork, sliced liver, cilantro and green onions. It is served with a side of pork bone soup and that in itself is delicious. The noodles are just the right texture, being the right level of chewiness. The ingredients work well together and it's actually one of my favourite dishes at Phnom Penh. Lastly, the Deep Fried Squid is prepared similarly to the chicken wings served with the same sauce. The squid is tender and fried really crispy.

The service at Phnom Penh is efficient; but just like any other Asian restaurant of this class, it's impersonal. One major problem I have with Phnom Penh is that it really needs to be cleaned up. The dining room itself is pleasant enough, but the hallway to the washrooms and the washrooms themselves are unappealing. I realize that it's quite typical of Asian restaurants to have nasty washrooms, but it is an observation I won't ignore. Overall, it was another satisfying visit to Phnom Penh. I think Phnom Penh is a definite "must-visit" if you are in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- More hits than misses in terms of food
- Unique dishes

The Bad:
- Not the most appealing location; sketchy area at night
- Washrooms and hallway are just bad
- Long waits during peak hours

Phnom Penh
244 East Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C.
(604) 682-5777

Business Hours:
10:00am - 9:00pm (Mon - Thu)
10:00am - 10:00pm (Fri - Sun)

Honolulu Cafe

That's it, 4 losses in a row. This is becoming sad. I guess our once powerhouse of a hockey team has withered away into mediocrity. Time to sign some free agents! Get rid of the goalie... er... Wait, scratch that. Anyways, only 3 of us were wanting to go for eats tonight (or should I say morning). You see, these 10:30pm games are not exactly the ideal situation for eating afterwards. There are still some places we haven't been to that are open; but for some reason or another, we made our way back to Honolulu Cafe. It was either that or Gold Train Express next door. Milhouse shuddered and chimed in his opposition to that idea.

Open until 1:00am on Friday, Honolulu Cafe is a Hong Kong-style cafe, which serves up Chinese food, Hong Kong style-Western food, and other variations of other ethnic foods such as curry. The late night menu is a bit different from the regular menu as it has slightly smaller portions; yet it includes a drink of your choice such as Ovaltine, Horlicks, pop, iced tea etc... There is also a set meal that you can choose either 2 ($11.95) or 3 ($14.95) items which is served sizzling on a hot plate. The meal also includes choice of soup, garlic toast, a side of spaghetti or rice, choice of sauce and a choice of drink. For some reason or another, I love these types of meals. Sure, most of the items only have a passing resemblance to what you would find at a non-Asian restaurant; but I don't mind it (especially if there is beef tongue!) I chose the 2 items meal, settling on the Chicken Steak & 5oz Ribeye Steak. I got my Borscht first and if you ever had this at a HK-style cafe before, you'll know that it is not borscht. Rather, it is tomato soup (no beets) with a bit of tang. This was no different in this case, in fact, it was too tangy. The dish itself included fries and vegetables as well. Usually, when we find "steak" at most Chinese restaurants, it is merely a piece of crappy meat tenderized the heck out of with baking soda. In this case, I was happy that it was not. Rather, the meat had the texture of meat and it was cooked perfectly. The chicken steak (a deboned leg) was tender and juicy. Another shocker came in the form of barely cooked cauliflower and carrots (no mushy veggies!). I asked for black pepper sauce and it wasn't really all that peppery. And considering that I had a side of spaghetti as well, there wasn't enough sauce to go around.

If that wasn't enough, I also had the Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice (this is an acquired taste) . For $6.50, I thought the dish was a good value. There was lots of tender strips of chicken in the rice and I thought it tasted pretty good. Lots of salted fish too. The rice itself had a nice dry and chewy texture. Fried rice should be slightly dry, where you can differentiate each grain of rice while you eat it. This is the result of high wok temperature (wok hay) and the use of day-old rice. But one thing I couldn't let go was the amount of oil used. The rice glistened like the forehead of a pubescent male teenager. Milhouse surprisingly bypassed the salted fish & chicken fried rice (his favourite) and tried out the Malaysian Seafood Fried Rice. I sampled it and there was good flavour, not spicy; but definitely well-seasoned. Lots of shrimp, squid and imitation crab meat nestled within the rice as well. What I said about my fried rice applies to this one too. Good; but too much grease. Apu had the Satay Beef Instant Noodles. Yes, that is not a typo, he really did have instant noodles. Apparently he likes the texture over rice noodles. He liked how flavourful it was (and a bit spicy), as well as the barely cooked noodles.

The food in general at Honolulu, whether it be lunch, dinner or late night, is decent. If you don't expect gourmet food, then you'll be satisfied, especially at the price you pay. Service is efficient and as good as it gets in a restaurant like this. However, I was a bit grossed out by the condition of the restaurant itself. The dining room looks disheveled and the walls really need a cleaning. But other than that, Honolulu Cafe is a decent place to have a quick, inexpensive meal.

The Good:
- Good value
- Food is acceptable for the price
- Efficient, if not sparse service

The Bad:
- Restaurant is in need of cleaning
- Food is greasy
- Parking lot is only good for really narrow cars

Honolulu Cafe
3340 Kingsway
Vancouver, B.C.
(604) 438-8632