Toko

*Restaurant is closed*

When we used to live in Yaletown, there were so many places to eat. You could either walk out into downtown or a short drive would yield a plethora of restaurants. One place we frequented nearby was Toko. It is definitely off the beaten path, right amongst warehouses, collision repair shops and offices. In fact, Toko itself is mainly a noodle manufacturing plant. They use the narrow storefront as the dining room for the restaurant. It is hard to categorize Toko because you can't really say it's Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Malay or Thai. Rather, it's a combination of all of them (then it could be an Asian restaurant I suppose). It's really strange that we went there so often before since in retrospect, it wasn't authentic in any of the aforementioned cuisines. The problem with having a menu that is so diverse is that nothing will be spot on. Instead, you'll have versions of ethnic dishes that are close, but somehow are either missing something or may not taste like it should. Now, this may not be necessarily a negative since variations of traditional dishes can be good.

So we paid Toko a visit today on our way back from Science World. It has been awhile and we noticed that the menu had changed. One of our favourite dishes, the Moo Shu Chicken Wrap had disappeared. It is now replaced by a similar dish that is a lettuce wrap instead of using steamed flour wraps. If they still made it like they did before, this dish was pretty good. Today, we ordered the Tan Tan (Dan Dan) Noodles, Beef Udon and Chicken Green Curry. The Tan Tan noodles came swimming in peanut sauce with a chili oil slick on top. Either I am used to the traditional version or the version at Toko was terrible. The traditional version does not actually have peanut sauce, the one at Toko was mainly peanut sauce with a bit of pork and lots of chili oil. That wasn't the only problem, the noodles were very mushy and glutinous. I really didn't like this version of Tan Tan noodles. The udon was a bit strange too. The soup base was nothing like the mild Japanese version (dashi, soy and mirin); rather, it was very robust and flavourful. Actually, I didn't mind this, it tasted quite good. In addition, the beef was very tender and flavourful as well. Not being authentic didn't hurt this dish. The same cannot be said about the green curry. Although the chicken and various veggies were cooked perfectly, the eggplant was a horror show. A quick way to cook eggplant in stirfries, hot pots and curries is to deep fry it first. That's not a problem because many restaurants use this with a lot of different vegetables. However, the eggplant in this case was heavily battered in something that resembled tempura. Imagine this fried eggplant soaked in a curry. Yes, the batter became gummy, not the best texture if you are eating curry. The curry itself was quite mild and creamy due to the coconut milk. It was pleasant to eat, but the eggplant destroyed it.

So, was my meal at Toko not good? Well, based on my previous visits, I don't think I've ever had a "terrible" meal here; but in hindsight, the food is not very authentic. However, I don't think Toko makes excuses for not being authentic. They seem to do their take on many different ethnic dishes with varying degrees of success. The service and ambiance is pretty good, so that probably put me in a good mood already before I actually ate the food. With that being said, the food isn't cheap here, so I guess if you're looking for authentic, this would not be your choice.

The Good:
- Fresh noodles, they make em in the back
- Extensive menu
- Service is good

The Bad:
- Nothing seems to be authentic here
- Dining room is a bit tight
- Prices are a bit high for this type of food

Toko
223 West 7th Avenue
Vancouver B.C.
604-879-0701
www.tokofoods.com

Business Hours:
11:00am - 6:00pm (Mon - Wed)
11:00am - 9:30pm (Thu & Fri)
5:00pm - 9:30pm (Sat)

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit

*Restaurant is closed*

Well, after a very filling meal at Gyoza King, I needed something refreshing and light. Nearby was a place I've been meaning to try out. Located at the old Cupcakes storefront is Qoola Yogurt + Fruit, which serves up fresh, all natural frozen yogurt. In addition, there is a wide selection of toppings such as fresh fruit, various nuts, cereal and even mochi. Looking around the store, I noticed it was very clean and the decor was pleasing to the senses. I think the operators of Qoola really capture the spirit of freshness and "green-ness" as their motto suggests. The staff at the front counter were very pleasant and took time to explain the product and the available toppings. I was impressed at the attitude of the staff because there are far too many establishments that exhibit an indifference towards their customers.

At this point, even if the yogurt was not good, I would have still been a happy customer. However, the yogurt was very good and that made the experience complete. Now you might be asking, "It's frozen yogurt, how excited can one be with that?" Well, I mean it didn't blow me away; but it was definitely pleasing to eat. I had the chocolate frozen yogurt with pistachios and fresh strawberries. The yogurt itself was not icy; rather it was quite smooth. I didn't find it too sweet either, which is good since the toppings can be sweet as well. The pistachios were crunchy and not stale. The strawberries were very fresh and of good quality. Vandelay had the green tea yogurt with mango. I was quite impressed with the mango pieces, they were very fresh and sweet. The yogurt itself was also very light, and there was just enough green tea flavour.

Other than the frozen yogurt, there are many other interesting items at Qoola. There are waffles, crepes, smoothies, Qrush (slush mixed with frozen yogurt) and Quoi - açaí, which is a dietary supplement (marketers claim to have a multitude of health benefits). I really enjoyed my frozen yogurt at Qoola and I'm definitely going to return to try some of the other items. However, I want to temper that enthusiasm since anything that is over-hyped will only lead to unrealistic expectations from others.

The Good:
- Everything is fresh
- Friendly staff
- Yogurt tastes good

The Bad:
- If you add a lot of toppings, it can get up there in price

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit
1116 Denman Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-801-6338
www.qoola.com

Business Hours:
1:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Thu)
1:00pm - 12:00am (Fri)
11:00am - 12:00am (Sat)
11:00am - 10:30pm (Sun)

No. 1 Shanghai

*Restaurant is closed*

We met up with Ben and Suanne from Chow Times today at No. 1 Shanghai restaurant in Richmond. It was the first time meeting up with them and I really have to say I enjoyed the company. It's nice to have another blogger with a family that we can meet up with! Despite the fact I have been eating non-stop for the last little while, I was quite hungry. I woke up pretty late today and had not eaten since I slept at 3:00am after Congee Noodle House. With the pleasantries out of the way, we got down to ordering.

I guess we kind of ordered randomly and ended up with a whole lot of food. Well, no problem, just more to take pictures of and more to blog about! Although... I did have camera envy, Ben has a very nice Canon DSLR. I really must go out and get one soon! We ordered so much, I actually had to take notes. I was getting confused as to what we ordered and what some of the items were! So here is the list of what we ordered: Xiao Long Bao (2), Szchewan Beef Noodle, Tan Tan Noodles, Shanghai Thick Noodles in Soup, Fried Pork Chop with Rice Cake (Neen Goh), 8 Treasures Spicy Noodle Soup, Pickled Vegetable and Pork with Rice, and Sticky Rice with Flavours (the flavour was most sweet red bean).

The Xiao Long Bao were quite juicy and had lots of meat flavour. However, the skin was ever-so-slightly thicker than the ones from Shanghai River and Shanghai Wonderful. The Szchewan noodles were okay, but the soup was curiously sweet and a bit thin. The broth was not as rich and full of meat flavour such as the one at #1 Beef Noodle House. However, the beef and the tendon were quite soft and flavourful. The Tan Tan noodles were quite good. It was a good balance of chili oil, peanut sauce, vinegar, sweet and salty. The noodles themselves were not overcooked and had some elasticity to them. The Shanghai noodles in soup were very good. The soup base had depth and the noodles were not mushy. The cabbage was still firm and the meat was not too fatty.

However, the pork chop with neen goh (rice cake) was not so good. It sure looked impressive, with big slices of neen goh buried beneath large pieces of fried pork chop. But, since the neen goh was in such large pieces, it was very chewy and hard to eat. In addition, it was difficult for the flavours to penetrate the large pieces of neen goh. The pork chop itself had way too much batter. There was more batter than pork chop. The 8 treasures noodle soup was a curious one. It arrived with the 8 treasures on a separate plate from the noodles. We spent some time figuring out what that dish was until we noticed that one of the bowl of noodles was quite lonely without any toppings whatsoever. I thought the 8 treasures were very good and supplied plenty of flavour to the plain noodles.

The pickled vegetables and pork with rice didn't do much for me. I guess it was a bit bland for my tastes. It wasn't bad, but it really lacked flavour. The sticky rice was an interesting dish. It arrived with a sweet glaze on top and was filled with sweet red bean, lotus root and gay jee (it's a red seed). The rice was very soft and slightly sweet. It was a pleasant dish to eat, but it was really a bundle of mush, so there was not much in the way of texture.

The meal as a whole was enjoyable. Nothing was really terrible, but nothing was all that memorable either. However, the prices were very reasonable. Moreover, the dining room itself is nicely decorated and modern. Even the washrooms were very clean and modern (think a la Cactus Club). The service was pretty good and efficient (despite what I read from other reviews). No. 1 Shanghai is not my first choice for Shanghainese Dim Sum, but it is a decent place to eat nonetheless.












The Good:
- Decent food at reasonable prices
- Comfortable dining room
- Good service

The Bad:
- Lack of parking
- Some other places have better food

No. 1 Shanghai
#120 - 4200 No. 3 Road
Richmond, B.C.
604-279-1728

Business Hours:
11:00am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm (7 days a week)

Hi Genki

*Restaurant is closed*

Vandelay has been bugging me to try this place called Hi Genki for awhile now. I've been pretty skeptical - a Japanese restaurant in an old folks home?!?!? Just the image of that conjures up thoughts of hospital food. Bleck! But I finally relented and decided to give it a go. Hi Genki is located in the Nekkei Home on Southoaks Crescent in Burnaby. When I say it's in the home, it is right smack-dab at the front entrance. I wasn't even sure if I was in the right place; but alas, Vandelay and Donna Chang were there waiting for a table.

The restaurant was bustling with activity, it appears that a lot of people like to eat here. Right at the front near the cash register was a small table with all the specials of the day. That's right, the actual dishes (not some plastic interpretation) were displayed. This is one of the few times you get to see the food before ordering it. My initial impressions were that the portions of each dish were very generous. Furthermore, after looking over the menu, I was impressed that those portions were at reasonable prices. However, this shouldn't have been a revelation since Hi Genki is run by Fujiya, which is synonymous with value.

I continued to look at the menu and the Gindara Misoyaki caught my eye. For $8.95, you get miso-flavoured grilled black cod. I thought that was a fabulous deal since black cod is really expensive. When the dish arrived, I figured out why it was only $8.95. The pieces of black cod were actually the collar and fin bones. But, that was actually no problem to me because the most succulent part of the fish is near the bones in my opinion. However, for some others, this may be a total turn off. Rice, spring salad, konnyaku jelly, and a taro ball (that's what it tasted like, please correct me if I'm wrong) acommpanied the fish. Curiously, the salad dressing on top of the spring mix was Italian. First time I've ever had both spring mix and Italian dressing in a Japanese restaurant.

Vandelay ordered the Nabeyaki Udon, which came with a side of fried rice. I tried the udon and it was well... udon. It was no better or no worse than any other udons I've had everywhere else. Donna Chang (not her real name) ordered up some Japanese curry, specifically the Chicken Katsu Curry. Essentially, it's a breaded chicken cutlet over rice smothered with curry. Japanese curry is nothing like traditional Indian Curry, it's much sweeter and it's thickened with a roux. I tried some of it and it was indeed very mild and sweet. If you like that kind of curry, then it was pretty good.

We also got an order of Agedeshi Tofu and Korokke Teishoku (potato croquettes). The tofu were 2 big pieces topped with the usual grated daikon, green onion and bonito flakes. I liked the tofu, it was soft and not over-fried. The croquettes were coated with panko and it was fried perfectly. Nice colour and crispy on the outside, fluffy potato on the inside. We were also provided with a squeeze bottle of tonkatsu sauce for the croquettes. So what did I think of Hi Genki? Well, much like Fujiya, the food is not bad, but not great. Although I do think it is a very good value, since it has a good combination of decent food, good prices and generous portions.

The Good:
- Low prices
- Generous portions
- Free underground parking

The Bad:
- All the positive reviews create unrealistic expectations for the food

Hi Genki
6680 Southoaks Crescent
Burnaby, B.C.
604-777-0533
www.fujiya.ca

Business Hours:
11:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 8:30pm (Mon - Sun)

The Cannery

*The Cannery is now permanently closed*

The restaurant scene in Vancouver has come a long way since the 70's when there were very few fine dining establishments to choose from. Some that come to mind are: The Salmon House, Cloud 9, The Fish House (formerly the Beach House), and The Cannery. How times have changed. Since Expo 86, Vancouver has truly become an international city with a diverse culinary heartbeat. Newer fine dining restaurants such as West, Chambar and Blue Water have breathed new life into what was a stagnant culinary scene. However, places like The Cannery still have their appeal, even though much of the restaurant has not changed in the last 20 years.

I wasn't even born when it first opened in 1971, but I have frequented The Cannery on many occasions from my youth until now. Sadly, The Cannery is moving from its current location in late 2010. The lease is up with the Port Authority and due to security concerns, the location will not exist as a restaurant anymore. Making sure I don't miss out on the quaint location that the Cannery currently occupies, I paid a visit tonight with Viv. Again, I was lucky to have a prime seat upstairs right by the window. In addition to very nice views of Burrard Inlet, I had good lighting for my pictures. We were greeted iimmediately by the assistant waiter who filled our glasses. Our server arrived shortly after and took our drink order. I had an Apple Martini and it was so yummy (not too sweet, and not too sour)!

She came back and explained the featured dishes of the day. She gave us plenty of time to decide on what to order. Although I was tempted to order their very popular Salmon Wellington, I choose not to. I've had that dish too many times and after Moderne Burger for lunch, I wasn't in the mood for anything heavy. We decided to have the Seafood Platter appetizer for 2 to start. Viv chose to have the special, which was a Wild Atlantic Salmon Fillet with Prawns in a Roasted Tomato and Cumin sauce. I decided on the Red Snapper from the fresh sheet. After we placed our order, the famous lobster oil with balsamic vinegar and basket of bread arrived. The lobster oil at The Cannery is very aromatic and is a nice complement to the balsamic vinegar. My only complaint is that the bread always comes out stone-cold and hard. I really wish they would serve warm, softer bread with the lobster oil. That would be perfect!

As we were munching on our bread, the seafood platter arrived. The platter was full of plump mussels (10), crab claws (6), oysters (2), shrimp (10), tiger prawns (4), scallops (2) and candied salmon (2). There were 2 dipping sauces, one was a sherry vinaigrette and the other was sun dried tomato. The sherry vinaigrette was quite tart and it didn't seem to go with any of the delicate seafood. However, the sun dried tomato was light and we used that primarily as our dipping sauce. The seafood was cooked perfectly. We could taste the natural sweetness of each and every piece. After we finished our appetizer, there was very little wait time before our entrees arrived. The salmon had really good natural flavour; however, the roasted tomato and cumin sauce didn't have any bite. A request for some lemon wedges did the trick, suddenly the flavours came alive with the acidity. It cut through the creaminess of the sauce. The red snapper was cooked perfectly, it was flaky and very fresh. I chose the lemon butter sauce and it was good; but again, it lacked lemon flavour. I guess it's a personal preference, but we like a bit of acidity with our fish. A quick squeeze of a lemon wedge did the trick, affording the butter sauce a kick.

After finishing our entrees, the server asked if she needed to twist our arms in terms of dessert. I replied. "no arm twisting needed". Come on, it's me, I ate a large burger and a mountain of fries only 5 hours ago, I can eat dessert! Viv chose something light and had the Sorbet Selection and I had the Classic Pavlova. The sorbet was excellent, the natural flavours of the fruit (lemon, raspberry and mango) were prominent. The flavours were not overwhelmed by an excessive use of sugar. In the case of the mango and raspberry sorbets, they were so smooth, you'd think it was gelato. My Pavlova (essentially a baked meringue) was crunchy, light and sweet. It was complimented by the fresh cream and fruit. However, the presentation was a bit odd, when I first looked at it, it resembled a strange looking animal. Luckily it didn't taste like one. Once again, Viv and I had a good meal at The Cannery. This is pretty much what we get each time we visit and that's what makes it a solid choice for a nice dinner. The menu hasn't changed much in the last 20 years and it really shouldn't. The Cannery has been around for a long time and it has been successful - why fix something that isn't broken?

The Good:
- Consistent food and service
- Nice view (for now, before they move)
- Cozy, quaint dining room

The Bad:
- Not much in the way of innovation with their menu
- It's nit-picking, but the bread needs to improve

The Cannery
2205 Commissioner Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-254-9606
www.canneryseafood.com

Uncle Fatih`s Pizza

I have to give credit to Kevin, who writes 604Foodtography, for my visit to Uncle Fatih's. I never even knew the place existed, despite the fact I drive by it quite often. I guess I'm either really focused as to where I am going or I don't really pay attention to small pizza slice shops. Well, from the outside, Uncle Fatih's does seem quite unassuming. Anyways, I was off to play late night ice hockey tonight at Britannia and I thought that it wouldn't be too much of a detour to visit Uncle Fatih's. So after the game, I quickly got out of my gear and showered. I arrived at Uncle Fatih's at around 1:20am.

Luckily for me, they were just bringing out a pizza hot out of the oven. That particular pizza was the Ground Beef and Blue Cheese Pizza and it was awesome! The crust was crisp on the bottom and not oily. Yet, it was soft and fluffy underneath the cheese. I would say it's similar to the crust at Me n Ed's; but the crust is not crunchy throughout. There was only an adequate amount of cheese on the pizza. However, it really didn't need anymore since there was lots of ground beef on top. The blue cheese was applied to the pizza after it has been taken out of the oven. I would've actually liked even more blue cheese dressing on my pizza, I love blue cheese! The second slice was Mushroom and Bacon Pizza and I didn't like this one as much. It was not as flavourful and the crust was not as crispy. I think the reason for the discrepancy between the pizza slices was that the 2nd slice had been sitting around for awhile. I guess if you want a really good slice of pizza, you have to wait for a fresh one.

The 2 slices with a can of pop came out to $4 including tax, not bad for the quality of pizza. I chatted up the older gentleman behind the counter and asked him exactly how "Fatih" is pronounced. He said that it's difficult for English speakers to pronounce it because the sound comes from deep in the throat. So it's not "Fatty's", "Fatea's", or "Fateef's"; rather, it's "Faa- te" (with the "te" being real short, almost halting). Not only did I not know how to pronounce it, at first glance, I thought it was Uncle Faith's. Well, I guess I had "faith" in Uncle Fatih's pizza, because I went at 1:20am on a Thursday morning to try the pizza!

The Good:
- Crust is very light and not oily
- Decent amount of toppings
- Good value

The Bad:
- Pizzas could use a bit more cheese
- Very small shop - you pay, get pizza, leave

Uncle Fatih's Pizza
1685 East Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
604-707-0744
www.unclefatihspizza.com

Business Hours:
10:30am - 2:30am (Mon - Thur)
10:30am - 3:00am (Fri & Sat)
10:30am - 1:00am (Sun)

Joeys

I know, I know, Joey's is a chain restaurant. But when you've just finished a late hockey game and you're looking for eats at midnight, you don't have many choices. It's even more difficult when you are trying to avoid late-night Asian joints in the GVRD. When I was in NYC, I never had this problem; everything was open! You're probably wondering what is so special about Joey's. Well, personally, I think Joey's is a pretty decent chain restaurant. I've been going to Joey's since it was known as Joey Tomato's (in fact, the name Joey Tomato's was in use for awhile after they totally changed their decor and menu).

For those who never went to Joey Tomato's, it was nothing like the modern, trendy, club-like place it is today. Back in the 90's, it resembled something like East Side Mario's, where you would find jars of olives, pickles, pasta and checkered tiles on the wall. Yes, think family restaurant. How times have changed. But one thing has remained constant, their baked whole mini-apple pie. It is by far the best apple pie dessert, at least from a chain restaurant. It comes with a scoop of maple ice cream as well. Other than that, the menu has completely changed from what it was before. Like East Side Mario's, the original Joey Tomato's menu was dominated by pasta. Now, the menu is definitely more international, with influences from Asia and the Mediterranean.

I've been to Joey's quite a lot in the past and I've tried almost everything. I can honestly say most of it is good; but stay away from the Rotisserie Chicken, it's dry and a bit flavourless. Also, the Ahi Tuna Club can be good, as long as you instruct them to not overcook it. If you don't tell them, the fish will resemble canned tuna on a bun. Moreover, do not have their Miso Ramen Bowls, it's not that they're not good; but for $15, you can get a better one at a Japanese restaurant for half that price. The burgers are decent at Joey's; however, they don't can't compete with other burger joints and The Burger at Cactus Club is better. I do like their skinny fries though, they're quite crispy and they do give you lots. The pastas at Joey's are pretty good too, but just like Earl's and Milestone's, they are overpriced for the amount you get. You'd be better off going to a real Italian pasta bar. For some strange reason, I actually like the lettuce wraps at Joey's, the portion is decent for $10 and it tastes pretty good. As we are running out of places to go for late-nite in the GVRD, I think Joey's isn't a bad choice. You get a good selection of food and it tastes pretty decent too.

The Good:
- Comfy, upscale decor
- Food is generally pretty good
- Open late (well, at least this location)

The Bad:
- Being a chain restaurant, things might be a bit generic
- Some items are overpriced (ie. Ramen, Pasta)
- Parking is an issue at all of their locations

Joey's
1424 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
604-732-5639
www.joeysmedgrill.com

Business Hours:
11:00am - 12:00am (Sun - Wed)
11:00am - 2:00am (Thu - Sat)