Irashai Grill

*Restaurant is now closed*

Okay, let's get this out of the way first. I was invited, along with other food bloggers and writers for a tasting at Irashai tonight. Yes, this could potentially pose a problem in terms of bias. That's why up until now, I haven't actually accepted any invites for tastings. To tell you the truth, I accepted this time because I really like Japanese Tapas. I know, I sold my soul. Kim Ho who writes I'm Only Here for the Food will give me heck. I totally respect his belief that his blog posts are on his terms, so there would be no biases or tainting of the views expressed. Well, I'm seeing him on Saturday, hopefully I can convince him otherwise (it'll be tough!). So I am going to do my best to give an honest opinion about Irashai. However, anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt because it is in a controlled manner and environment.

Our host Danielle made arrangements for bloggers and writers to attend a tasting at lunch or dinner. I was only able to make it out for dinner. Rebecca (Miss604), John, Joyce (Foodie Adventures in Vancouver) Heather from BlackBook and Dan & Ed (Eat, Snap, Repeat) were also present at the tasting. We started off with Grilled Asparagus with a creamy butter egg sauce. The asparagus was cooked perfectly; tender exterior with a firm interior. The sauce benefited from lemon juice and fresh cracked pepper. Consequently, there was a good balance of salt, pepper, sweet and tart. Up next was the Beef Tataki which was accompanied by ponzu and ponzu jelly. The beef was of very high quality, practically melting in my mouth. There was just the right amount of ponzu to lightly flavour the dish. We were then presented with a plate full of sliced Red Snapper. This was served with a side of ponzu where we could add the hot red radish and/or wasabi. The red snapper was buttery smooth and I only needed a little of the ponzu, so it wouldn't mask the sweetness of the fish.

The theme of raw food continued with Sliced Hamachi over a bed of daikon. There was a light mustard seed vinaigrette drizzled over the fish. This was a very refreshing dish with delicate flavours. I thought that there was a bit too much daikon underneath. When I grabbed a bunch with the hamachi and placed it in my mouth, it turned out a bit bland. There were some really beautiful Yam Fries next. They arrived with a unagi spicy mayo sauce. The tempura batter was extremely light and crispy, while the yams were fluffy inside. However, I wasn't that big a fan of the sauce, not because I didn't like it; but it was too sweet and it masked the natural sweetness of the yam. The next dish was a real treat. We got Spot Prawn sashimi since it is in season right now. They were served with the head on and they were fabulous. The sweet flesh of the prawn was all the flavour needed for this dish (with a light squeeze of lemon too). After we had finished the meat, the heads were returned to the kitchen for frying.

While we waited for the prawn heads to be prepared, we were served a dish of Albacore Tuna with Ice and Red Wine. The tuna was fantastic. This was a simple, yet very effective use of flavours. When I first took a bite into the tuna, I got a rush of wine flavour. As I continued chewing the tuna, it finished off with a delicate sweet flavour. I'm not sure if this was the intended flavour profile of the dish; but it worked well. As we finished up with the tuna, the fried prawn heads arrived. The server helped explained how to eat the head, removing the legs and innards from the shell. She made sure we didn't eat the dark sac which contains the nasty stuff from the prawn. Being Chinese, I have had experience eating spot prawns in the shell and trust me, you don't want to eat that sac, it's quite bitter. The fried head was very lightly battered and seasoned. Eating it reminded me of the Amazing Race, where Victor ate the scorpions - crunch, crunch, crunch!

After the crunchy prawn heads, we finally got some sushi rolls. There were 2 rolls: the Summer Roll and the White Slope. On the inside of the Summer Roll was a tempura prawn with avocado, cucumber and masago. On the outside resided tuna mixed with crunchy tempura bits topped with sliced avocado and sirracha hot sauce. This roll was a crowd pleaser. Everyone enjoyed it including me. There were so many flavours and textures at work in this roll: crunchy, smooth, chewy, sweet, salty and spicy. If this roll was the ying, the White Slope was the yang. It consisted of real crab meat and avocado in the middle and scallops on the top. This was a sweet and mild roll which perfectly contrasted the spiciness of the Summer Roll.

Where these 2 rolls were refined and delicate in taste, the Spicy Volcano Roll was not. This bold and brash roll consisted of asparagus, Angus beef, cream cheese and cucumber. It was finished off with cheddar cheese baked on top drizzled with a spicy sauce. Heather remarked that it tasted like "cheeseburger sushi". I have to concur with her about that. It was rich, flavourful and greasy like a cheeseburger. Personally, I thought the combination of cream cheese and melted cheddar was a bit much. It became a bit of a mushy, greasy mess with little in the way of textures. Fortunately, the next roll put the trains back on the track. The Alaskan Crab Leg roll was a delight to eat. It was simply whole crab leg meat with mango and masago deep fried with tempura batter. It was served with a lemon mayo dressing. The flavours woked really well in this roll. The crab meat (sweet with a hint of saltiness) was accentuated by the sweetness and slight tartness of the mango. Moreover, the lemon mayo was the perfect accompaniment to the delicate tasting roll.

If you think there was the end of the food, you are wrong, it kept coming! The Pearl Chicken Karaage was a bit different than I am used to. The chicken were coated in rice cracker pearls and then deep fried. This resulted in a unique crunch and lightness to the chicken. Dipped into the yuzu sauce, it was a winner. I think kiddies would like this dish. Not sure about my son, he doesn't like anything but chocolate. From crunchy, we went to buttery smooth in the form of the Aigamo. The teriyaki duck breast was executed properly where the meat was tender and moist. There was just enough flavouring that it didn't mask the natural duck taste. In comparison, the duck at Guu was chewy. Okay, the last dish was one of the best - Sablefish aka Black Cod. It was grilled perfectly where each flake of the meat was discernable while being moist. The buttery flesh of the fish went well with the fruity yuzu sauce. Actually, this wasn't really the last dish, we also had Tiramisu and Green Tea Creme Brulee for dessert. Both were really good, especially the brulee. It was smooth and not too sweet. Moreover, there wasn't too much green tea flavour to overpower the dessert.

Despite this being a meal on the house, I feel that I can be objective. I must stress that the food was indeed fantastic. It is true that they must've put care into producing the dishes and of course the service would be good. Yet, when it comes down to it, if a restaurant's food sucks, then no matter how much effort they put into it, it will continue to suck. In addition, I looked around at the food of other patrons and it looked every bit as good as the dishes we were served. So if the food is so good, what are the issues that keep it from being rated higher on Urbanspoon or Dinehere? Well, it is mostly one issue - the price. Yes, at Irashai, they use high quality ingredients and the decor is really nice; however, the prices are indeed higher than most of it's competition. Mind you, I'm not even sure exactly who they are competing with. Irashai seems half Japanese restaurant, half Japanese Izakaya. However, in comparison with other Izakayas, I think that the food at Irashai is probably better in ingredient quality and execution. With that being said, if you enjoy good quality food, you have to be prepared to pay for it.

The Good:
- High quality food
- Food is made with care
- A few unique items

The Bad:
- It's good, but it'll cost you
- Identity problem: Izakaya or not?

Irashai Grill
1368 West Pender
Vancouver, B.C.
604-688-8697
www.irashaigrill.com

E's Up Dining

*Restaurant is closed*

Last week, after eating some really good pasta at Pico Bello, I went over to Kennedy Heights to get some money from CIBC. As I was there, I noticed a tiny restaurant around the corner from Desi Junction. I noticed it for a few reasons. First, there was a blinking "open" sign in the front. Yes, I'm a sucker for shiny things. Second, it looked so odd, I was intrigued by it. I thought to myself, "Should I go try it???" Well, a few days ago, a fellow Foodbuzz member left a message for me to try E's Up. Okay, fine, I will try it today! I had to go to the CIBC to get some cash before I went to eat. Just as I was leaving, one of the bank's employees tried to sign me up for a Visa Infinite card. I told him I already had one; but that didn't really seem like a good enough answer to him. What do I have to do? Whip it out and show you? I really can't stand pushy people.

A bit flustered, I walked into E's Up Dining and was welcomed by a very friendly lady. Apparently, the restaurant is named after her. Yes, her name is "E". Her parents named the kids alphabetically. I would've hated it if I was named "P" for obvious reasons... Anyways, the special of the day was a Homemade Beef Dip with choice of pan fries, salad or vegetable soup for $5.00. Yes, it was $5.00! I chose the salad instead of the fries because I knew we were going to Red Robin tonight for my son's birthday. If you've ever looked at the Red Robin menu, everything is brown in colour (the deep fryer is their best friend). The salad was fresh and E drizzled some sun dried tomato dressing on top. It was pleasant to eat. The beef dip was very good, despite not impressing visually. There was real roast beef bathed in garlic butter nestled in a soft bun. Moreover, the au jus was made from scratch and it was fabulous. No powdered crap here.

E's Up Dining also does catering and in fact, they were catering for the mayor of Surrey. That was the reason why they had fresh roast beef. E explained that she normally doesn't make beef dip because the meat wouldn't sell fast enough (which would compromise freshness). I was impressed that everything they make at the restaurant is from scratch. It's definitely a pleasant surprise for a little non-descript place. If you are in the area, do not hesitate to try them out.

The Good:
- Good food made from scratch
- Very friendly owner and staff
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- The outside hides what it looks like inside
- Limited menu (but I guess it's to keep things fresh)

E's Up Dining
11967 88th Avenue
Delta, B.C.
604-597-6616
www.allyourneedscatering.com

Business Hours:
8:00am - 4:00pm (Mon - Wed)
11:30am - 8:00pm (Thu & Fri)
10:30am - 3:00pm (Sat)

Original Tandoori Kitchen

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

My last Indian meal was a buffet (Mehfil) and we all know that buffets are not the best place to look for quality. However, I do realize that it cost me under $10 to get a filling and passable meal. Well, today, I was looking for quality. The Original Tandoori Kitchen has been around for awhile (especially the Vancouver location) and I figured it would be some good eats. Mind you, the Surrey location is in the same plaza as Bombay Se, which happens to be a great Indian restaurant in its own right. I've been meaning to try OTK for awhile now; but I always seem to get sidetracked. It's like my never-ending quest to try Splitz Grill to no avail. Today, I made an effort and finally visited OTK. Since my lunch hour is not really an hour long, I quickly parked the car and zipped into the restaurant. One good thing about going to lunch before noon is that the restaurant is usually empty. This is good for pictures and the food comes out quicker.

I really didn't feel like eating a big meal for lunch; but the dinner combination caught my eye. It included Butter Chicken, Lamb Curry, Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer, Dal, Raita, Rice, Naan and Galub Jamun. Yes, it turns out that I was going to eat a big meal for lunch. Great, I was going to be way too full and have bad breath too. Luckily I didn't have to wait long for my meal because there was lots of it and I had to scarf it down quick. The first item I tried was the Butter Chicken and it was pretty good. It was thick and there was not shortage of flavour. It was very similar to the one at Tasty Sweets, except it wasn't as salty. It did have a predominant tomato flavour though. The chicken was both plentiful and very tender. The Lamb Curry was rich in flavour. There was a pronounced ginger flavour with coriander and cloves. This was a nice contrast to the smooth butter chicken. The lamb was tender and delicious. The Palak Paneer was outstanding. There was a generous amount of paneer which were fluffy and soft. The spinach was flavoured generously with garlic, ginger with hints of coriander and cumin.

The Dal was pretty good. The lentils were soft and there was plenty of garlic flavour. But, I'm not much of a lentil fan, so I wasn't too enthused about it. One thing that disappointed me was the Tandoori Chicken. It look and smelled really good; yet it was a bit dry. The fact it was so dry, I really didn't enjoy the flavours as much as if it was tender. It's too bad, since the restaurant is called the Original Tandoori Kitchen! Moreover, the naan was a bit average in my opinion. It was soft, yet a bit doughy. The naan at Desi Junction and Mirch Masala are better.

Regardless of the fact I ate like a madman, as the clock was ticking, I still had time to enjoy the flavours and spices. I think OTK had some really discernable flavours going on in their food. It's just too bad the Tandoori Chicken didn't live up to my expectations. No matter, it's still good Indian food.

The Good:
- Good flavours
- Meats were tender except for the Tandoori Chicken
- Restaurant was clean and spotless

The Bad:
- Tandoori Chicken was dry
- No lunch special = expensive dinner combination

Original Tandoori Kitchen
#2 - 7548 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-592-8900
www.originaltandoori.ca

IHOP

We are taught from a very early age that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I totally agree with that; yet somehow, I'm never really all that hungry when I wake up. Yes, there are times I do not want to eat (gasp!). I'm also too lazy to actually spend time to cook something. Normally, it'll just be a granola bar in the car. If there are any leftovers from the night before, breakfast would be an improvisation. If you can name it, I've had it for breakfast: ribs, pizza, lobster, steak and pork chops to name a few. It's rare that I actually eat a real breakfast, let alone a complete one at that. There are not too many "unique" places to go for breakfast in North Delta. The last time I went for a unique breakfast was a Filipino one at Aquarius Cafe. But I almost got "arrested" for taking photos. Maybe they didn't want me to steal their secret recipes! Today, I decided to go for an ol' standby - IHOP (International House of Pancakes).

As their name implies, the pancakes are their signature item. I've had IHOP many times and in many different locations in North America. One thing I can say is that they're pretty consistent. Mind you, the reason for that are the pre-made recipes. That can be a criticism for a place like IHOP. But, you can say what you want about them, but they are a known quantity. Also, they are good for big groups of people. They do serve a purpose. Also, if you can overlook the fact they are a chain, some of them do have good food. It's too bad some of them are charging a bit too much and moving dangerously close to fine dining prices (ie. Milestone's, Earl's). Okay, enough of my ranting. Today, I was going to order the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity; but the server informed me of their Strawberry Specials. Apparently it was cheaper to order that and I got more meat too.

The eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns were what they were supposed to be. Mind you, I do appreciate that they don't burn the sausages and they actually have more meat than fat. I'm not a big fan of shredded hash browns, I wish they had the same option as Denny's where you can choose between shredded or cubed. My pancakes had a good amount of strawberry and whipped cream topping. I like IHOP's pancakes. They are soft and fluffy. However, they are not any better than the ones I have at Denny's or Whitespot. I know there maybe some people who will disagree with me and that's fine. It's all personal preference anyways. I've had better pancakes at some "finer" dining establishments; but you would be paying $10+ for a few pancakes. Not sure about you, but paying $15 for flour, baking soda, egg and milk is a bit much for me. Yes, it would be even cheaper just making them at home. My point is, if you do go out for pancakes, you don't have to spend a lot for good ones. IHOP does have good pancakes; but so do other places.

The Good:
- Good pancakes
- Fairly good ingredients
- You know what you are getting

The Bad:
- It's generic, nothing special here
- Pancakes are good at other places as well (for cheaper too)

IHOP
8170 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-596-4994
www.ihop.com

Teawork

After any Dim Sum, I like to get something refreshing. It is usually in the form of some gelato, Slurpee, fruit smoothie or bubble tea. Today, it was going to be bubble tea. We were thinking of Bubble World; but I really wanted to try Teawork at the corner of Victoria & 41st. Every time I have driven by the place, I have wondered about it. Well, I finally made it out to try it. Teawork is actually a restaurant and bubble tea joint. I didn't come for the food, so I didn't try any. However, I looked at some of the food people were eating and a first glance, it didn't look all that good. Maybe it tastes better than it looks? Maybe I'll try it someday.

Anyways, I was here for the bubble tea and I decided on a Pink Guava Slush with coconut jelly. Yes, I don't usually get tapioca pearls with my bubble tea because I don't particularly like them. To some people, it seems like a big contradiction since I like bubble tea; but don't like the pearls. Oh well, each to their own? Even before I got my drink, I noticed that there were no fresh fruit bubble teas available. However, they did have fresh fruit juice on the menu. So I was bracing for the worst since I'm not a huge fan of powdered slushes. It turns out I needed more than a brace; rather a full-fledged parachute. The drink was horrible. First, it tasted like candy. Second, it was very icy. Either they didn't blend it long enough or the blender wasn't capable of blending it smooth. Viv said the drink reminded her of those slushies you find in the Showmart during the PNE.

Once again, I was attracted to a place due to it's nice exterior and attractive name. This happened to me at Jellie D's a month ago. I should have listened to Vandelay when he told me that Teaworks was nothing special. I usually listen to him because he is quite knowledgeable. Serves me right for ignoring his advice. Speaking of which, it was eery to see Vandelay turning left onto 41st as I was leaving Teaworks. Coincidence?

The Good:
- It looks pretty on the outside
- I like the name Teaworks (or is it Tea Work?)

The Bad:
- Bubble tea was a disaster
- Food didn't look all that good

Teawork
5695 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, B.C.
778-371-9831

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

Burger Burger

*Restaurant is closed*

Although Vancouver is not known for its great burger joints, I have had some decent ones lately. But it seems that good burgers come at a price. It appears that gourmet burgers will set you back $10 or more these days. However, I heard about this place in New Westminster that serves up pretty decent burgers at bargain prices. This place is Burger Burger. Yes, the name is not very original. It's like calling a Japanese restaurant "Sushi Sushi" or a Chinese restaurant "MSG MSG". Let's get this out of the way first. Burger Burger is a dive. Yes, it's got no ambiance and the only decor you'll find here is a lonely white framed print on the wall. Yet, there must be some compromises when you can get a 2-topping burger, home-cut fries and a soda for $5.69. Yes, this is not a typo, it's a complete meal for under $6. You would be hard pressed to even get that price at McDonald's.

I went for the Mushroom Cheeseburger (4 oz.) and picked out a Coke Zero. Yes, that is my futile attempt to make this meal a bit more calorie and fat friendly. After I put in my order and paid at the front counter, I took a seat to soak in the ambiance. Thank goodness my food showed up quickly, because the ambiance was probably soaking me in. When the burger and fries arrived, something felt familiar with it. Large irregular thin patty? Special sauce looks like Thousand Islands? Soft fluffy bun? Place run by a Korean couple? Wait a minute! This seems a lot like a Wally Burger! Yes, the same Wally's that used to be a Kingsway institution. Sadly, it closed down a while ago. Could it be? Wally's reincarnated here in New West? (*edit* it's not Wally's, they have actually reopened at Cates Park).

One bite into the burger and I was pleasantly surprised. Although the meat was thin, it was moist. The bun was soft and so easy to eat. There were plenty of freshly sauteed mushrooms smothered by a slice of processed cheese. Even though the burger would not compare with Moderne Burger, Vera's, Fatburger or Burger Heaven, it still held it's own. For the price I paid, it was a really good burger. Moreover, the fries were fantastic. The fresh cut fries (I saw the bucket of them) are very similar to those you find at Moderne Burger. Probably not as good; yet again, for the price, I'm not complaining. If you are ever out in New West, I'm seriously encouraging you to try Burger Burger. It's not Burger Heaven, but for more than half the price, it's definitely a very good value.

The Good:
- Burgers and fries are surprisingly good
- Very friendly couple that runs the place
- Excellent value

The Bad:
- It's a dive, but what do you expect when you pay so little?
- Have an option for real cheese as a surcharge

Burger Burger
340 6th Street
New Westminster
604-525-4229

Tasty Village

*Restaurant is now closed*

Once again, I was destined to miss the Canucks game. Viv's car was all fixed and ready for pickup at 4:30, a mere half-hour before game time. Well, as mentioned before, I'm superstitious and I thought if I missed the game again, the Canucks would win. So after we picked up Viv's car, we were on our way to Crystal Mall to get some eats. However, we decided to go somewhere else. The reason? Well, it's hard enough parking ONE car at the crazy Crystal Mall parking lot, imagine TWO cars! It took us all of 2 seconds to decide on a different venue. I remembered when we went to #1 Beef Noodle House there was another Chinese restaurant in the same plaza.

The parking lot is insufficient for the plaza, since there are 3 restaurants. Lucky for us, there was parking since we were the first ones there for dinner. Tasty Village has a regular menu with various Chinese dishes and a dim sum menu. We love Shanghainese Dim Sum, so we ordered off that menu. We started off with the Seafood Hot & Sour Soup. The colour of the soup seemed a bit odd to us. Rather than being a dark, rich colour, we got a bright orange-red. No matter, its the taste that counts right? Well, it tasted more salty than hot and sour. However, the seafood in the soup was fabulous. The seafood consisted of perfectly cooked cold-water shrimp, real scallops and squid. Viv surmised that maybe if the broth was too rich, it would overwhelm the seafood. I suppose that could be the case here. But, it still didn't taste like hot and sour soup; it was more like salty and a bit spicy soup.

We also ordered the Beef Roll. It's essentially sliced beef shank, cucumber and hoisin sauce wrapped in an onion pancake. The roll itself tasted pretty good. The meat had a hint of 5-spice powder and cucumber provided some crunch. Viv suggested that the cucumber was cut too big and it overwhelmed the dish. I agree, if the cucumbers were julienned rather than large sticks, it would've been a better compliment. With that being said, the roll was still pleasant to eat, especially since the pancake was crispy and thin.

Of course, since we were having Shanghainese Dim Sum, we couldn't do without the mandatory Xiao Long Bao! When they arrived, I already had my preliminary thoughts. You can see that the skin is thicker than the ones at No. 1 Shanghai, Shanghai River, Shanghai Wonderful and Lin. Fortunately, when I bit into it, the thickness of the skin did not hinder the experience because it was quite soft. I thought the meat tasted pretty good; but Viv begged to differ and didn't like it as much as I did. The Xiao Long Bao were not that juicy either. Thus, the Xiao Long Bao would be considered average compared to other places. We also tried the Szchewan Beef Noodle. The soup was rich without being salty and the beef shank was tender. But, the noodles were terrible. They were undercooked making them a bit difficult to chew. I'm pretty sure this is not a regular occurrence, otherwise no one would eat it, especially since they are next door to #1 Beef Noodle House.

The food was acceptable for the price, I thought it was a decent meal. However, you can definitely dine on much better Shanghainese food at the aforementioned restaurants. But, if you don't want to head all the way to Richmond, Tasty Village can still satisfy your Shanghainese Dim Sum cravings. Oh, and about that Canucks game; they were winning until I got home to watch them lose.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Clean restaurant

The Bad:
- Average food
- Lack of parking

Tasty Village
4735 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, B.C.
604-437-8813

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