Zipang Sushi

Once again, it was time for my monthly haircut. It's funny how my hairdresser asked if I knew when was the last time I came for a haircut. Of course I know! The last time I came for a haircut, I went to Crave right after, it's right on my blog! Haha, the blog doubles as a personal diary as well. How convenient. Since, I was going to be around the Main Street area, I wanted to eat something nearby. Where to eat? There are many options; but some of them are not open for lunch (Grub and Toshi to name a few). Donna Chang was my dining companion today and she suggested Zipang Sushi. Kevin (604Foodtography) had a post about that a little while back. I was thoroughly impressed with his writeup and positive comments regarding the food. Zipang Sushi it is!

As usual, we went for the best table in the house, the one near the window (light for pictures). Actually since it's a really small restaurant, there was only one table by the window. We really had no rhyme or reason to what we ordered, I think we just randomly blurted out things and ended up with a whack of food. We started out with the Wild Salmon and Tuna Sashimi. Actually, I ate this whole dish myself. No, it's not because I'm a pig! But I am eating lots of swine these days... It's because Donna is pregnant and is trying to avoid certain foods. The sashimi was excellent, fresh and delicious. We also ordered the Zipang Salad, not really knowing what it was. It turned out to be a green salad topped by a massive amount of fried noodles with dressing drizzled all over. The salad was fresh, the dressing had good tartness and the noodles added a crunch. However, we thought it was overkill with the amount of noodles.

We really love Takoyaki and with no hesitation we ordered it. The pan-grilled octopus balls were soft and fluffy with a large piece of tako inside. Bonito flakes, mayo and scallions were served in the middle of the serving plate. Another favourite of mine is Ebimayo, I really like the fried crispiness of crunchy shrimp smothered in chili mayo dressing. However, the one here at Zipang was a bit disappointing. The shrimp were not crispy; in fact, they were a bit overcooked. If you look at the picture of it, if I hadn't adjusted the shrimp, you would have never seen it. It wasn't smothered in mayo, it was drowning in it. One positive is that it tasted pretty good. It should've been renamed Mayoebi. Continuing on the theme of drowning in sauce, the Okonomiyaki was truly over-sauced. Although the pancake was fluffy with plenty of pork, all we could taste was the sauce. Donna had scraped some of the sauce off; but it was still overwhelmed by the residual flavour.

We knew the last dish was not going to be saucy since they were 2 sushi rolls. The first was a Caterpillar roll, which consists of unagi, cucumber and avocado on the outside. This was a pretty standard roll, it was good to eat; but it could've been from any other good Japanese restaurant. However, the Cactus roll was more distinctive. Essentially a California roll with crunchy tempura bits inside and toasted sesame seeds outside, there was plenty of crunch in this roll.

Donna and I left Zipang sushi satisfied and stuffed. The restaurant itself is small; but tastefully decorated inside. The service was good and friendly. Moreover, the food was generally quite good. Food tasted as good as it looked. Only complaint is that they were a bit sauce-happy.

The Good:
- Restaurant has got a good feel to it
- Food is fresh and tasty
- Prices are reasonable for the quality

The Bad:
- It could just be me, but they use too much sauce
- Restaurant seating is a bit tight
- Rolls are not very big

Business Hours:
11:30am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sun)

The Keg (Burnaby)

There's a story behind how I ended up eating at The Keg tonight. A week ago, I went for our interview with NEXUS. For those who do not know what NEXUS is, it's a program for approved travelers who can skip the regular lineup at the border and at the airport. Naturally, parking in downtown is scarce and expensive. I was forced to pay $12 for parking since I really didn't know how long the interview would take. It actually took only 1 hour and I was left with a ticket that wouldn't expire for another 4 hours. Therefore, we decided to pass the ticket off to the next person parking in the same lot. So Viv passes it off to this random guy as we were getting ready to leave. The guy comes back and hands something over to Viv. The guy happened to be the Operations Director of The Keg for BC! He hands Viv a $50 gift card! Talk about karma...

I've always like The Keg. I know there are some who disagree; but that's okay, we all have our preferences. I know The Keg is not Morton's, Hy's or Gotham (all in the same company except for Morton's). Yet, I never view it as such. I look at it as competition to places like Milestone's and Earl's. Moreover, I think their steaks are pretty good for what they charge. Trust me, recently, I've been to Mr Mikes and the steaks there cost almost the same as the Keg; but are inferior. Tonight, we visited the relatively newer Burnaby location at Still Creek. The old location was torn down and Costco resides there now. Viv and I were tempted by the outdoor patio (good for pictures); but the weather was way too warm to sit outside today. Consequently, my photos will suffer the "dark steakhouse" effect.

For our appy, we ordered the Crab & Spinach Dip. The dip itself was quite flavourful from the abundance of Parmesan; but it overpowered any crab that was in the dip. I liked the crispy red tortilla chips, there were freshly fried. However, I wasn't a big fan of the pita chips, they are a bit too thick for my liking. Next time, I'm going to stick with the shrimp cocktail, which is one of my favourites at The Keg. As always, we were started off with the complimentary sourdough bread. I really like this bread, it's a whole round loaf which is served warm. Viv ordered the Ahi Tuna for her main dish (not sure why she ordered fish in a steakhouse). She thought the tuna was perfectly cooked, with just a slight sear on the outside and completely rare on the inside. She did remark that there should have been a bit more pineapple salsa, since the fish itself was not heavily seasoned.

Naturally, I went for the Keg-sized Prime Rib. Mind you, the Baseball Sirloin is pretty darn good as well. My prime rib came out a perfect medium rare. It was moist and flavourful without being salty. I really can't stand places that rub so much salt on the meat, it resembles corned beef once it's cooked. Once again, I got exactly what I expected from The Keg. I think that's the draw here. Of course there are independent restaurants where you can get a good steak (probably cheaper too); however, you take the risk of not knowing what to expect. There are higher end steakhouses which are better than The Keg; however, it's all relative. You'd be paying almost double for steak without any sides at a place like Gotham. Mind you, the dinner for 2 ($119) special at Morton's is an exception. Are the steaks, service, ambiance and sides twice as good as other places such as Morton's and Gotham? Not likely. It's always the case, you pay double for probably 20% better. Unless you have money to burn, The Keg will do me fine when I have an urge for a steak.

The Good:
- Fairly reasonable prices
- Consistency
- No surprises here

The Bad:
- As with any chain restaurant, it suffers from generic food
- Always busy and no reservations = long waits

T & T Supermarket

I have a love hate relationship with T & T, I really do. Of course it's a good one-stop shop for all your Asian products, meats and produce. Moreover, they have bakery items, cooked food, Vietnamese products, Korean banchan, BBQ, Dim Sum and sushi available. This is where I have the love hate relationship. Whenever a place tries to be all things to everyone, it's always going to be a bit mediocre. My experiences with T & T pastries have been quite negative. There is something amiss with their products. It's not like they're not inedible; but there is something about them that does not add up. This can be said about much of the other items too, including their sushi. It's just not authentic. Same with the Vietnamese and Korean items. Again, they're edible, but not my first or even second choice. That brings me to the cooked items. They certainly look the part; yet inevitably, they taste a bit off.

Today, I was really out of options, I decided to get takeout from T & T. I went for the 4-item combo with soup and rice for $6.99. The four items I chose were Fried Shrimp in the Shell, Honey Garlic Spareribs, Fried Bean Curd Roll and Stir-Fried Broccoli and Cauliflower. Honestly, this is a pretty decent deal for so much food. Mind you, I much prefer the food at Kent's Kitchen for roughly the same price. But that is assuming you are near a Kent's Kitchen. What T & T has going for them is convenience. I rushed back to work with my food and if you look at the picture, there is a good amount of food in the Styrofoam container. This is where quantity trumps quality. The fried shrimp were not executed very well. Normally, the shell is fried to the point where I can actually eat it. Not the case here. If I did, I would've probably cut up my mouth. Also, there was practically no flavour. This can be said about the spareribs. Not sweet enough and no real garlic taste. Moreover, the ribs were mostly bone, no meat either. Mind you, the bean curd and veggies were pretty decent. The broccoli and cauliflower were not overcooked or over seasoned.

One item I did not get was the Sweet and Sour Pork because from my many past experiences, it's neither sweet or sour. It's just fried pork with a flavourless red sauce on it. For what it's worth, T & T will never win any awards for their food; but it is a convenient one-stop shop. Despite what I think, there are people who like them because T & T always seems to be busy and full of people.

The Good:
- Convenient
- Lots of choice
- Competitive prices

The Bad:
- It's trying to be good, but never really achieves it
- Actually some items are just terrible (at least in my opinion)

Pittsburg

*Now Closed*

In honour of the Penguins/Red Wings series, I decided to pay Pittsburg a visit today. No, not the city; rather the restaurant in Crystal Mall. Okay, I really am not paying homage to the hockey series, I thought it would just sound cool. What really happened was that I was going to grab some dinner with my parents tonight and they suggested Cafe Gloucester. Been there, done that many times. I just wanted something different; thus, Pittsburg. Much like Cafe Gloucester and the sort, Pittsburg is a Hong Kong style cafe. Yes, that's right, the same type of cafe that substitutes a wiener for a breakfast sausage. Yes, where they use ketchup for pasta sauce (not supposed to taste like it though). Yes, where they use processed cheese in place of real cheese. It all sounds appetizing right? Well, if done right, it can be pretty good. Done wrong and you really wonder who actually eats this stuff...

Most of the items at Pittsburg are available a la carte or in a set meal which includes beverage, soup and bread. We ordered a few items to share. Parents chose Portuguese Chicken with Rice and Ox Tongue Spaghetti. I chose the Pork & Chicken Cutlet and Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice as a set meal. I started with a Russian Borscht (Hong Kong style) and it was alright. It was more tomato soup than anything. Not a single beet to be found. The pork cutlet was more difficult to eat than a leather shoe. Mind you, I've never eaten a leather shoe. It was overcooked and tough. This is one of the few times I really wished they'd use baking soda to make the meat more tender. The chicken cutlet was only marginally better. It was also overcooked, or should I say over fried. Most parts of it resembled KFC chicken that has been sitting in the warmer too long. This dish was a perfect example when Hong Kong style food goes wrong. At least the pepper sauce was half-decent Mercifully, the fried rice was excellent. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the rice was perfect in texture and the flavour of salted fish radiated throughout the dish.

The Portuguese chicken was not bad. There were large pieces of tender chicken and potatoes nestled in a coconut creamy sauce. However, we still prefer the one at Gloucester and the Boss. Similar to the stock market these days, the meal fluctuated towards the bad again when we got to the spaghetti. It looked pretty good, with large pieces of tongue (mmm... I love tongue! Not what you think) and real tomatoes. However, it tasted like a 7-year old made it. It reminded me of a show when I was younger where 3 kids were given raw materials to make a dish for their parents. At the end of the show, the parents had to guess which dish their kid made by tasting all the creations. All I can say is ewww... Well, if you ever watched that show, you know the food always turned out bad. This ox tongue spaghetti tasted like someone squeezed ketchup on the pasta. I know it's supposed to be made with a ketchup base; but they really didn't dilute it enough or add enough sugar.

Food issues aside, one really positive thing is that they remembered our requests for no onions or peppers in our food. My mom is quite sensitive to these vegetables and once they cook them into the food, she really can't eat it. Moreover, the service was actually pretty decent and the servers were quite responsive to our requests. But when I have to use the word "ketchup" and "pasta" in the same sentence while describing flavour, there is a big problem.

The Good:
- Comfortable and spacious
- Service wasn't too bad

The Bad:
- Food on the whole is below average
- Washroom was filthy
- Not good value for the prices

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

Snak Shak

As mentioned, I am literally running out of dining options in North Delta. Yes, it is true there are some restaurants left; but some do not open for lunch and some frankly scare me. The only option is to drive into Surrey in search for food. Problem is, I don't really have that much time. Solution - eat at places that you can order, eat and leave within 15 minutes. No, I'm not talking about McDonald's, I can eat that anywhere. The place I'm talking about is the Snak Shak. Mind you, the place is neither a shack or serves snacks. It actually serves burgers, sandwiches, lemongrass chicken, teriyaki chicken, wonton soup and breakfast.

Wait a minute, isn't that Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese mixed in with diner food??? Yes, this place is indeed interesting. I actually visited it a few days earlier and had the Wor Wonton Soup. Don't laugh, it wasn't bad! Yes, the soup base had hints of bouillon and the wontons would never be confused with real Chinese wontons; but the entire bowl of food was pleasant to eat. If you've ever tried the wonton soup at Cactus Club, this one at the Snak Shak is better and cheaper. If you look at the picture, there is an abundance of noodles, prawns, BBQ pork, carrots, broccoli and wontons. It was a satisfying and relatively healthy meal.

Today, I returned to try their "best in town" burgers. I'm pretty sure that there are better burgers to be had in Surrey; but this one was pretty solid. I had the Combo Burger and fries, which included cheese, bacon, mushrooms, grilled onion, pickle, lettuce and tomato. Despite the burger patty being the premade type, it was juicy and was well seasoned. The toppings were outstanding. The bacon was crispy and the mushrooms were plentiful. Again, the fries were the premade type, but they were fried up perfectly crispy and coated with seasoning salt.

The Snak Shak is indeed an odd place; however, it's a good place to grab some lunch. It may not be gourmet of anything; yet, this is not what you should expect. What is expected are good portions, decent food and low prices. Moreover, the people who run the place are very nice and take time to chat with their customers. It's a shame that not more places are like that.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Good prices
- Great service

The Bad:
- Food is not authentic (but who really cares here?)

Boot and Sombrero

I didn't think it would actually happen; but I am literally running out of places to eat in North Delta. So, I took full advantage of the fact I was in Ladner for a meeting. One restaurant that I've been meaning to try is the Boot and Sombrero. It seems to have a pretty good satisfaction rating on Urbanspoon. It's situated in what used to be Uncle Herbert's Fish & Chips. The building itself is divided like an old house and consequently, the dining space is separated into several rooms. Mind you, on a nice day like today, it creates quite a contrast in light within the restaurant because you have the front 2 rooms with an abundance of sunshine and the back room with no light at all (no windows back there).

The Boot and Sombrero is a Tex-Mex restaurant that serves up BBQ'd items and Mexican favourites such as tacos and fajitas. It's located in the heart of historic Ladner Village. In fact, it's right next to the Delta Museum. If you ever have a chance to make it down here, it's definitely a nice place to take a walking tour.

There were several lunch specials available; but I went for the pulled pork dinner instead. Yes, I am eating pork again. Okay, I promise to stop eating pork for the next week, maybe... I had high hopes heading into this meal and usually that is not a good thing. Arriving on a pretty large plate was the pulled pork, sauteed string beans, a jicama slaw, curly fries and cornbread. The pulled pork was more like crumbled pork. It was tender, but quite dry. Moreover, the BBQ sauce seemed to taste like Kraft mixed with some spices. It was more tangy than smoky (like Bull's Eye). I did like some of the sides though. The beans were cooked all the way through; yet still had some crunch. The fries were crispy and the cornbread had a bit of crunch and spice from cayenne. However, the jicama slaw was a bit bland.

I'm a bit torn in regards to the food. I didn't hate it; but I didn't really like it either. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was quaint and relaxing. I can definitely see why people would like this place. But, I'm really in BBQ food and the sauce is usually what makes or breaks a restaurant. For me personally, I didn't like the sauce. This would be a problem since all their meat products would be smothered in it.

The Good:
- Quaint location
- Excellent service
- Decent value

The Bad:
- BBQ sauce is quite generic tasting
- From what I had (which was only one dish), the food was average

Corner 23

What's with the heat these last few days??? It's only early June! The weather has been kind of wacky this past year, including last December. Let's just hope we don't use up our allotment of good weather too soon. This hot weather is making me quite uncomfortable at work, I'm sweating just sitting at my desk. Also, with all the allergens flying around, I'm in full allergy mode. At the very least, the weather was going to be good for softball tonight. Again, I picked up Milhouse and Boss Woman, trying to be environmentally conscious, driving my SUV (a contradiction?). Miss Y, not being the beneficiary of a ride from Judes, arrived barely on time. She was one traffic light away from being late again! Following the game, I was in full expectation that we were going to eat right way. How wrong I was... The team had an impromptu batting practice that went on for what seemed like forever. Before that, we had settled on heading to Corner 23 (the idea, thanks to Chowtimes and I Love Food Blog). So there I was thinking and drooling about the famous pork hock at Corner 23. Yes, I was fantasizing about pork feet. It's the same affliction I have with ox tongue and beef tripe.

Finally, we were on our way to Corner 23, which is incidentally on the corner of Cambie and 23rd (hence the name). Miss Y was following me to the restaurant and being the nice guy that I am, I decided to switch lanes and lose her (which I did). However, she did make it to the restaurant, so it was all for naught. I got the last parking spot in the small lot behind the restaurant. Mind you, there were actually 3 spots; but only one was usable. Apparently, people do not know what the white lines are for.

In addition to being a restaurant, Corner 23 is also a great place to get bubble tea. All of us ordered one except for Lionel Hutz, he wanted a Coke. Guess what? They don't have Coke. I'm pleased to say that the bubble teas were quite good. I went with a Guava Slush with coconut jelly. Maybe my expectations were too high, but the slush could've been a bit more smooth. Other than that, it wasn't too sweet (which is good). Milhouse, wanting something a little bit different, ordered a chocolate slush.

We decided to each choose a dish each and share. However, some of the dishes we chose weren't really conducive for sharing. Moreover, it didn't help they only gave us small little plates; bowls would've helped. Naturally, I ordered the Wun Luan Pork Hock, much to the chagrin of my fellow diners. It seems they do not share my love of pork fat. Speaking of which, I really should avoid pork fat for awhile. I had some at Kintaro on Thursday, then Yukon bacon at Tomahawk for lunch on Saturday and the Dong Bao Yeuk at Top Shanghai for dinner. Vandelay would be proud. I have to say that the Pork Hock didn't disappoint. The pieces had a gelatinous quality to them and when dipped in the slightly spicy sauce, it was pork fat goodness!

I don't remember who ordered the Five Spice Beef Wrap; but it was good. The pancake wasn't too thick and there was plenty of hosin sauce tossed in with the beef. The next few dishes were not really good for sharing; however, we did our best to share. It got a bit messy doing so. Impressively arriving at our table was the Creamy Seafood Hotpot. Almost unanimously, this dish was a miss. It should have named "Fish Balls in Milk" because that's what it really resembled. If they had added vermicelli and tofu, it would be very similar to a "Sa Woh". Inexplicably, this was served with rice. The hot pot had no flavour; thus the rice served no purpose. Fortunately, the chicken steak was big and cooked perfectly. It was tender and juicy. The pepper sauce was very flavourful and full of black pepper.

To really emphasize that many of the dishes we ordered were not meant for sharing was the Peking Style Shredded Pork. It came on a platter with rice and 3 smaller side dishes (creamed corn, stir fried broccoli and bean sprouts with dry tofu). Although the dish was pleasant to eat, it probably would've been better with steamed flour wraps rather than rice. We also had the Noodles with Spicy Meat Sauce (not pictured). There was plenty of sauce and it was a bit spicy. It went well with the noodles. Milhouse ordered what he usually orders - Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice. I don't blame him, it's one of my favourites as well! We requested them to omit the green onions to no avail. The kitchen messed it up. I'm quite sensitive to these types of mistakes. A really good kitchen would not never make this type of error.

The last dish to arrive were the Potstickers. They arrived last because it apparently takes 20 minutes for them to cook. We accepted this explanation because it is a sign that they were cooked the proper way. Some restaurants cheat and steam the potstickers first before pan frying them. The proper way is to fry and steam them in the same fry pan. As you can see from the picture, they looked really good. For some reason, the elongated shape of the potstickers really worked. There was more fried surface area for us to enjoy.

Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal at Corner 23. Most dishes were very good and the bubble teas were a great compliment. We felt quite comfortable in our spacious seating arrangements and the restaurant is both clean and modern. Despite the hot weather, the air conditioning was on maximum and we were actually feeling quite cold. No matter, I'd personally rather be cold than sweating at my desk.

The Good:
- Pretty good food
- Good bubble teas
- Modern and comfortable dining space

The Bad:
- Small and tight parking lot