Tasty Sweets & Restaurant

*Restaurant moved to Scott Road and expanded*

Alright, I was thinking about what I would eat for lunch today. I considered going to Mehfil for their Indian buffet. I decided to throw that thought up on Facebook and almost instantaneously, Nikita makes a comment that I should avoid at all costs. Well, I have heard conflicting stories about Mehfil. Some say it's good and some suggest to avoid it like a full-face-visor-wearing Corolla driver in Richmond. As I was just finishing responding to Nikita's comment, I got another comment from someone else suggesting Tasty Sweets and Restaurant. Well, that idea sounded good since Tasty Sweets is less than 5 minutes away.

Having never been to Tasty Sweets before, I really didn't know what to expect. From what people had told me, I expected it to be some fast food joint. However, it sure didn't look like one. In fact, it was quite nice inside. But, it was quite dark inside since all the blinds were drawn. Moreover, all the furnishings and decor were dark coloured as well. Why does it seem like every Indian restaurant I go to is dark? It makes for difficult photo-taking! Anyways, I looked over the menu and it's the usual assortment of items. Since I was eating alone (gasp!), I decided to get the lunch special for $9.95. It included a choice of Butter Chicken or Goat Curry, Palak Paneer, Tandoori Chicken (2 pcs), rice, naan and Gulab Jaman. There is a vegetarian lunch special for $8.95 which includes 3 vegetable curries, rice, naan and dessert. You'll find similar lunch specials at many of the Indian restaurants in the area. These specials are an excellent way of sampling an array of items from each restaurant. Similar to Mahek, the pop that I ordered was bottomless.

While I was waiting, I picked up a takeout menu. I was told that the prices on the menu were out-of-date. So for reference purposes, add about a dollar to each of the major items and 50 cents to the smaller items. My food arrived on a platter similar to Desi Junction. However, the one at Desi Junction was more aesthetically pleasing. There was ample amount of food for $9.95. There were 2 full pieces of naan that had been cut into halves. However, the naan itself was far from fluffy. It was doughy despite not being very thick. The Butter Chicken was full of large pieces of chicken; but it was super salty. All I could taste was salt and tomato; rather than the smooth delicate flavours that it is synonymous with. On the other hand, the Palak Paneer was quite good. It was a bit spicy, with nice fluffy chunks of paneer (cheese) nestled in creamy-textured spinach. The Tandoori Chicken was quite average. Compared to the flavours at Mirch Masala, it was a bit bland and overcooked. Yet, it was still better than the Tandoori Chicken at Mahek. Lastly, the Gulab Jaman was sweet, but not unbearably sweet. I'm not really a big fan of this dessert; but this one wasn't too bad.

Tasty Sweets was okay, I didn't hate the meal, but it definitely lags behind the other Indian restaurants in the area. Yet, I was intrigued by the good selection of sweets available for takeout. I will return to get a box of those one day.

The Good:
- Good value
- Comfortable surroundings
- Good service

The Bad:
- Food is inferior to other places (at least the things I tried)

Tasty Sweets & Restaurant
12047 80th Avenue
Surrey, B.C.
604-543-9113

Business Hours:
9:30am - 10:00pm (7 days a week)

Dragon Ball Tea House

Heading home from Bo Kong, I decided to take the scenic route home and drop by Dragon Ball. It's on King Edward near Oak, you won't miss the dragon sipping on bubble tea. I seem to be in the mood for bubble tea lately; mind you I've been in the mood for lots of things (gelato, Chinese pastries, izakaya's...). From my many previous visits, I do agree with most people that Dragon Ball is one of the better bubble tea joints in the GVRD. Dragon Ball has the usual choices of powdered bubble teas and fresh fruit as well. Green Leaf used to one of the few that served fresh fruit; but it seems that most places have fresh fruit now.

Although Dragon Ball is good, I'm not convinced that it is incredibly better than a lot of other bubble tea places. I think what sets Dragon Ball apart is its consistency. I've never had a bad experience with Dragon Ball. With that being said, I still think Bubble World (some people may disagree with this) is a good choice for bubble tea as well. When I get bubble tea, I usually go for my favourites: lychee slush, green apple slush (powdered), pineapple slush and strawberry slush. Today, I decided to have something a bit different. I wanted to try the fresh Bartlett pear slush. Of course, with my luck, it was unavailable. So I decided to go for fresh green apple slush. Well, I have to say it was fresh, I actually felt like I was eating an apple. It wasn't sweet, which made the slush quite refreshing. Viv thought it was bland, but I thought it was just right. Some complain that bubble teas are too sweet; however, I find that Dragon Ball is not crazy sweet. I think Dragon Ball is a solid choice when you want bubble tea. It's definitely one of the better ones in the GVRD.

The Good:
- Consistent
- Sweet, but not too sweet
- Fairly clean compared to some other joints

The Bad:
- Cramped store, you may want to just order, pay and then leave
- There is no parking in front, you'll have to park a block away sometimes (not that a block is really that far)

Dragon Ball Tea House
1007 West King Edward Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-738-3198

Business Hours:
2:00pm - 12:00am (7 days a week)

Bo Kong Vegetarian

*Restaurant is now closed*

How I love the Easter long weekend. It gives me some time to relax a bit from my hectic schedule. Moreover, I get a bit more time to go find some tasty treats! It was M & M's (both of their names start with M) son's 1st birthday today and we made the trip out to Tsawwassen in the pouring rain. Why does it seem to rain every Easter long weekend? Luckily, there was a covered promenade outside of the heritage house where the party was held. The kiddies seem to have lots of fun looking for Easter eggs. We took advantage of our location to have dinner in Richmond on our way back home. Vandelay, Donna Chang, Costanza, and Elaine all joined us at Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant. Vegetarian?!?!? Has Sherman lost his mind again? Well, we decided to eat something a bit different this time, especially since all of us eat a lot of meat to begin with.

We arrived at Bo Kong in Richmond and got a really choice spot right in front of the restaurant without incident. You're wondering why I am mentioning this... Well, finding a parking spot anywhere in Richmond without an adventure is extremely rare. Either someone will:

a) try to steal it;
b) back up into it even if they passed it;
c) reserved it for someone with either their body or double-park their car;
d) park their car in such a crooked fashion, you can't park in the spot next to it
e) or play chicken with you for that last spot

Costanza and Elaine got a choice spot right next to me and Vandelay parked nearby without any troubles as well. Hell must be freezing over...

Anyways, we were looking over the menu and noticed a dinner for 6 which costs $89.95. We were very interested in this meal; however, none of us other than Viv knew how to read Chinese. Unfortunately, Viv couldn't decipher some of the dishes, so we actually had to get the server to explain it to us. She was very nice and took time to go over every dish and even offered to change the Chinese vegetables to broccoli. Uh... sure we're bananas (yellow on the outside and white on the inside); but we're still somewhat Chinese... We had a good laugh about that. So we actually ended up ordering the set meal and it consisted of: a Cold Appetizer Platter, "Fish" Maw Soup, Fresh Bean Curd Skin with Lemon Sauce, Fried Tofu with "Meat" Sauce, Deep Fried Tofu Rolls and Crispy Seaweed & Soft Curd Roll, Spicy Stir-Fried Green Beans, Yau Choy with Enoki Mushrooms and Assorted Vegetable and Tofu Fried Rice.

The appetizer platter consisted of mock ham, beef and goose. The ham was very close to the real thing, mind you it's more close to canned ham than anything else. The beef was not close at all, but it was still good, being a bit chewy and flavourful. The mock goose, which is essentially bean curd sheets wrapped around shiitake mushrooms, was just as good as larger Chinese restaurants. The soup was very good, it had good depth of flavour without being salty. It had lots of enoki mushrooms, mock ham and bamboo pith. The bean curd sheet in lemon sauce was a vegetarian attempt at Lemon Chicken, and it wasn't bad. The lemon sauce was a bit weak, it probably needed a bit more lemon. However, the fried bean curd had a good contrast of crispy, chewy and soft. The fried tofu with mock meat sauce was very tasty. The bits of "meat" could've passed for ground pork and the tofu was fried perfectly. It was ever-so-soft in the middle while being crispy on the outside.

The fried taro rolls were fabulous. Lightly crispy on the outside, but fluffy soft on the inside. However, the taro was a bit flavourless; mind you there was sweet and sour sauce on the table. It went quite well with the taro rolls. The seaweed curd roll was good; but I think we were suffering from bean curd fatigue by then and no one really said anything about it. I thought the sauce was quite good, it gave the bland bean curd some needed flavour. The spicy green beans were awesome, they were bursting with flavour (spicy, salty & a bit sweet) and they were not overcooked. The yau choy was not overcooked either, they were still a bit crunchy. I also really liked the generous amount of enoki on top. Lastly, the fried rice was excellent. The rice was seasoned correctly and it was dry like it's supposed to be. The addition of roasted pine nuts on top really added to the dish. It provided both aromatic flavour and texture.

Honestly, I really didn't miss the fact there was no meat in any of the dishes. When food is executed this well, you will forget that you are essentially eating a lot of vegetables and bean curd. Mind you, some of the mock meat may not be everyone's cup of tea; yet, if you take it for what it is, the food is good. I will never give up my meat; however, I don't mind the occasional vegetarian meal. The experience was enhanced by the great service we received. It was efficient, attentive and extremely friendly.

The Good:
- Creative dishes that made you forget about meat
- Good use of textures and flavour
- Really good service

The Bad:
- You really can get bean curd/tofu overload here
- Some people may not get the mock meat concept

Bo Kong Vegetarian
#80 - 8100 Ackroyd Road
Richmond, B.C.
604-278-1992

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

Cafe Gloucester

Having driven by Kintaro Ramen and witnessing the really long lineup, we tried to decide on an alternate place to eat. One place that came to mind was Cafe Gloucester, which is a Hong Kong-style cafe on Cambie near 18th. This place has been here for quite awhile and had closed briefly in 2007 because of the dreaded Canada-Line construction of the Skytrain. It's now apparently under new management and I wanted to check it out (I actually visited it last year, but I wasn't blogging yet). For those who are not familiar with Hong Kong-style cafes, it's basically a restaurant (western-like decor), that serves up Hong Kong versions of other ethnic foods. However, they do still serve up stir-fried Chinese noodles and rice dishes. I've been to Cafe Gloucester many times in the past and I do consider it one of the better Hong Kong-style cafes. It's in a nice location (lack of parking withstanding), the food is consistent, service is decent and it's clean/modern.

Upon our arrival, there was only a short wait for our table. However, I must give credit to the hostess, because some waitress was going to give our table up to a group that had arrived after us. The hostess immediately stopped the waitress and pointed out that we were first. That is refreshing, a Chinese restaurant that not only keeps to the list; but also is not afraid to correct a mistake.

The menu at Cafe Gloucester is a bit classier than other Hong Kong-style cafes in the GVRD. They even have a prime rib carving station at the front of the restaurant. However... the person carving the prime rib was butchering the poor thing. Looking over the menu, I chose the set meal, as I always do. Even though the set meals at these places are usually well over $10 (except for Alleluia), you do get good value. Similar to most other places, the set meals at Cafe Gloucester include soup (Russian borscht, cream soup, fish chowder or clam chowder), bread, 2 or 3 meats, one carb (rice, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, fries or baked potato), vegetables, sauce (black peppercorn, garlic, demi-glace, onion, mushroom or curry), coffee/tea and dessert. There is no one set price here at Cafe Gloucester; rather, it depends on which combination of meats you choose. I chose S7, which included Ox Tongue (yes, my favourite, you can never get enough tongue!), Rib Eye Steak and Fried Pork Chop. This particular combination cost $15.88. Viv wasn't that hungry so she was going to eat whatever else we ordered. Since my son likes noodles, we got the BBQ Duck Lai Fun. I got one more dish for good measure and decided on the Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice.

I chose the "Russian Borscht" for my soup and it was balanced; being tart but not too tart. I put Russian Borscht in quotations because an authentic borscht would be more red because of the beet content. This one had beets, but just like other Hong Kong-style borschts, it's closer to vegetable soup. My meal came on a sizzling hot plate and it kept everything hot, including the lemon wedge that I picked up without thinking... HOT! The tongue was tender and seared perfectly. The pork chop was very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I still laugh at the mayo that's served with any fried items in a Hong Kong-style cafe. But I guess Viv ended up doing the laughing... I used it for my pork chop. The rib eye steak was quite large; but was cooked all the way through. I did find it odd that the waitress never asked me how I wanted my steak done. However, the steak still retained its meatiness since they did not marinate it in baking soda. I liked the peppercorn sauce that came with my meal, it was loaded with peppercorns and was very flavourful.

The BBQ Duck Lai Fun was actually pretty good, considering the fact we were not at a noodle joint. The soup was light, the noodles were not overcooked (still had elasticity) and they gave us the duck leg (it was tender and not too salty). The fried rice was not bad, the rice was dry (which is good) and there was plenty of salted fish flavour. However, I wish they would put some lettuce in it, the rice was very plain without it. I prefer the one from The Boss. Lastly, my dessert was a piece of coffee pudding. Don't judge it by how it looks because it was quite good. Velvety texture and lots of real coffee taste. Although the service was hurried, it was always polite and attentive. So there it is, Cafe Gloucester is still a good place to get your Hong Kong Cafe fix, even after the whole Canada-Line mess.

The Good:
- Clean, modern dining room
- Food is consistent
- Service is good

The Bad:
- A bit pricier than other Hong Kong-style cafes
- Parking is hard to find
- Seating can be a bit tight

Cafe Gloucester
3338 Cambie Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-873-3338

Cupcakes

*Location is closed*

Okay, I'll admit it, I really don't like cupcakes that much. No, I don't mean the store, but the actual cupcake itself. I'm not much of a dessert/sweets kinda guy. However, that doesn't mean I don't eat desserts or sweets. I do get into some grooves where I really like desserts; usually around Christmas time. Then you're probably asking, "Why are you writing about cupcakes then???" Well, we went to cupcakes because we promised my son some cupcakes (well, actually he wanted ice cream, but this was before dinner).

I was originally planning to go to Kintaro Ramen, that's why we were down on Denman in the first place. However, I noticed the "Anton-esque" lineup in front and decided to hightail it out of there. Not only did I not want to wait over 30 minutes for some ramen; I really don't think my son would appreciate being shoehorned into the small restaurant. So, before we choose a different dinner destination, we paid Cupcakes a visit first. The original Cupcakes store is now Qoola Yogurt+Fruit. The new Cupcakes store is a block west of the old location. I have to admit that the marketing of the product is impressive. The store itself is very inviting with the full glass front window and entrance. The displays are nice and pretty with the colourful cupcakes arranged on round cake stands. They've got a nice selection of regular-sized cupcakes and really cute mini-cupcakes.

To me, they look a lot better than they taste. However, I've had cupcakes before and to tell you the truth, I didn't mind them. Even for a non-sweets guy, I think the cupcake itself is quite moist and not too sweet. Even with the massive amount of icing on top doesn't really overwhelm me with sweetness. Don't get me wrong, it is sweet, but not as sweet as it looks. Of course my son likes them, he's a sweets guy. He could live on chocolate alone if he had a choice.

So what makes Cupcakes so special? Well, admittedly, they are pretty good. Are they $2.95 + tax good? That depends. If you really like your sweets or you love cupcakes, then it is worth it. But if you are a casual cupcake eater such as I, then it's probably not.

The Good:
- Very good looking cupcakes
- It's a novelty, great for gifts
- Interesting creations

The Bad:
- One dozen cupcakes = $29 (You can do a lot with $29)
- They look better than they taste (to me at least)

Cupcakes
1168 Denman Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-974-1300
www.cupcakesonline.com

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

Jellie D`s

*Restaurant is closed*

After a filling meal at Mirch Masala, we headed next door to Jellie D's. I've driven by it on my way to and from work for the last 4 years. I was totally intrigued by this place since the "Jellie D's" sign is so appealing. Yes, I was attracted by the sign, it's kind of pathetic.

Anyways, upon entering, I was quite confused as to what this place was actually about. To the right, there is an eating area, which is not really all that confusing. But directly in front of me was a counter reminiscent of an old soda shop, complete with stools surrounding it. Okay... To my left, there was ice cream, directly behind that were the donuts. Looking at the menu board, I found everything from Fish n Chips to Fish Pakora. Then I found drinks that ranged from specialty coffees to bubble tea?!?!? Uh... Was I in a donut shop or an international food fair? This must be one of the strangest places I've been to. I still really do not know what to think.

Well, I came to try the donuts since the place is called Jellie D's. I really didn't want to be that adventurous and actually try the bubble tea... I didn't have any cash on me and had to use a credit card, I needed to spend $10 or more. So I got 1.5 dozen donuts (in the end, that would be 1.5 dozen donuts too much!) We just got a mix of everything. The donuts looked good; but in reality, they're not really that good. I mean they weren't terrible because they tasted fine, but the yeast donuts were quite heavy and dense. There was nothing fluffy about these donuts. Krispy Kreme, they're not. I often consider Tim Horton's donuts as being a bit heavy. Well, these ones make Tim's seem light. I think the next time I see pretty signage, I should just pass on by...

The Good:
- The lady helping us was very friendly
- It's got a nice sign outside
- I like the name Jellie D's

The Bad:
- A donut shop that serves fish n chips and bubble tea
- Donuts are quite dense
- Ice cream didn't look that appealing

Jellie D's
9535 120th Street
Delta, B.C.
604-583-3196

Business Hours:
8:00am - 8:00pm (Mon, Wed - Fri)
8:00am - 7:00pm (Tue)
8:00am - 5:00pm (Sat)
9:00am - 1:00pm (Sun)

Mirch Masala

In my quest to find the best Indian restaurant in North Delta, it brought me to Mirch Masala. It was recommended by MD who is Indian and has been to most of the Indian restaurants in North Delta. MD, along with Tash joined me in grabbing some lunch at Mirch Masala today. There are several Indian restaurants nearby, they include Mahek, Mehfil and Desi Junction. I've been to Mahek and Desi Junction and both are quite decent; however, neither of which has wowed me. I might try Mehfil one day, but it's a buffet and I'm not sure about the quality (you know I will try it anyways).

Looking over the menu at Mirch Masala, I was thinking about having their lunch specials (which are similar to those at Mahek and Desi Junction), but MD suggested we just order off the menu. She's been here before and I'm not about to question her. So we decided to get the Butter Chicken, Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Tikka, Chili Paneer, Butter Naan and Garlic Basil Naan. I can honestly say the Butter Chicken here is better than Mahek, Desi Junction and Bombay Palki. Why? Well, unlike the others, I could differentiate the tomato flavour from the cream. I'm not saying the others were not good; in fact, they were. It's just that the butter chicken at Mirch Masala had more prominent flavours. It was also very smooth and not too runny. One thing I didn't like about the butter chicken was that there were very few pieces of chicken. The Lamb Vindaloo was a bit spicier than others I've had in the past. Moreover, since it was spicier, I could not differentiate the other spices as much (cumin, tamarind, ginger and vinegar). However, the pieces of lamb were very tender and delicious. The Chili Paneer was very good. The cheese cubes had a very nice texture, they were fluffy and soft. MD said that it was cooked perfectly. Sometimes when you overcook it, it becomes hard. It was a bit spicy too, but it was balanced.

The Chicken Tikka, which is essentially boneless Tandoori Chicken, was served sizzling on a hot plate. The smell was so intoxicating, I could've been happy without eating it. But you know me, I'm going to eat it! The chicken was so tender, despite the fact it looked really well done on the outside. I added some yogurt/cilantro sauce and it really made it taste even better. The naan was fabulous. It was actually a bit thicker than I'm used to, but at the same time, it was soft and fluffy. However, I like the garlic basil naan at Desi Junction more because it had much more garlic flavour. You could see big chunks of garlic on that one, but the one at Mirch Masala didn't seem to have any.

The dining room at Mirch Masala certainly doesn't look like an Indian restaurant because this location has changed a few times. It looks like it was a European restaurant before. But, no matter what it was before, it's nice and clean; complete with a fireplace. Moreover, the staff were friendly and attentive. I enjoyed my visit to Mirch Masala and I can confidently say it's better than Mahek, Desi Junction and Bombay Palki.

The Good:
- Food tastes great
- Decent portions
- Clean and comfortable surroundings

The Bad:
- Lack of meat in their curries
- A bit pricier than some other places

Mirch Masala
9545 120th Street
Delta, B.C.
604-588-7795

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