Twisted Fork

My day started at 8:00am and didn't end until 5:30pm with a meeting in Ladner. Yes, call me a wimp, I'm not used to this type of schedule! I had made arrangements to meet up with Whipping Girl and TS from [eating_club Vancouver] for dinner after my meeting. Now, if you ever tried driving in from Ladner into downtown during rush hour, you'll understand my utter frustration. When 5 lanes of highway traffic must merge into 1 lane, mass chaos and congestion erupts. After I got through the tunnel, I had to navigate Vancouver traffic to get to downtown. Most people want to escape downtown during this time. Of course I was doing the complete opposite and got stuck on the Burrard street bridge. What was I doing on the Burrard street bridge when our destination was on Granville??? You see, Whipping Girl did not want to walk to the restaurant. Thus, I had to fight through Burrard all the way to Dunsmuir to pick her up. Upon picking her up, I had to navigate through traffic back to Granville and Helmcken. That detour took over 30 minutes. When we arrived, we tried to get the only window seat; but it was taken by a large group. Now if we were on time...

Well, I hold no ill feelings towards Whipping Girl because she is a good dining partner and those are not easy to find! Together with TS, we decided to share 2 pounds of the mussels to start. On Tuesdays, 1 pound of mussels is only $8. Another special was their 3 course meal for $25.00. TS and I were all over that. TS ordered the Prawns and the Pan-Seared BC Halibut. I went for the Snails and the Beef Bourguignon. Whipping girl decided on the Cured BC Duck Breast. We actually all decided to share everything so we could get a taste of every dish.

The Mussels arrived with frites on top and that probably contributed to them being soggy. They tasted fine, especially dipped into the tomato herb cream; yet they lacked crispiness. The mussels themselves were sweet and not a single one was unopened (although they weren't that plump). Luckily we got complimentary rolls since we used them to mop up any remaining cream at the bottom. One note about the dinner rolls, they are quite dense, one is more than enough. Up next were the Grilled Prawns with chipotle, thyme, garlic & fresh melon salsa. The prawns were cooked nicely retaining it's crunch when bitten into. Eaten with the melon, the sweetness of the melon and prawn was quite refreshing. I would have have liked a bit of acidity like lime juice to further enhance the flavours.

The Garlic Snails were prepared with leek, mushrooms, caramelized shallots, tomato basil sauce, fresh arugula. There was an impressive quantity of snails on the plate. As we kept eating them, there always seemed to be more. Personally, I'm not a big fan of snails and tomato sauce. I prefer them in a simple butter and garlic sauce. That way I can enjoy their flavour and texture without anything overpowering. I find the acidity in tomato sauce a poor compliment to the tender snails. It's also the same with frog legs, I really don't like them with tomato sauce, only butter and garlic. With that being said, the dish wasn't horrible, in fact, I enjoyed eating them despite the fact I don't prefer them.

While we were waiting for our mains to show up, we realized that the big group ended up moving to a table in the back. I was so choked that the one window seat was never used! Argh! Anyways, the Beef Bourguignon was very rich in red wine flavour. It was prepared very well since it had the richness of the red wine and shallots; but did not have much in the way of bitterness. Although the beef had been cooked for a long time in the sauce, it was curiously dry. We hypothesized that the cut of meat might have been too lean. Regardless of that, the dish itself was quite good.

The Cured BC Duck with ratatouille, potato puree and cherry chutney was impressively presented on the plate. The duck itself was quite salty due to the curing. However, if combined with the chutney and ratatouille, it helped cut the saltiness and became more balanced. With that being said, we probably would have all preferred the duck confit instead. TS' Halibut came with ratatouille, artichoke puree, baby carrots and corn relish. The halibut itself was ever-so slightly overcooked; yet was still quite good. Combined with the relish and ratatouille, the sweetness from the corn and peppers really complimented the halibut. One nit-picking observation was that the asparagus was overcooked, although the green beans and carrots were excellent.

Rounding out the 3 course meal were the desserts. I went with the Lavender Creme Brulee and TS opted for the Profiteroles with Hazelnut Ice Cream. We peer pressured Whipping Girl into getting the Chocolate Terrine so we could try it. She folded like a deck of cards or maybe she just felt guilty in getting me to pick her up. Again, we shared the desserts. We thought that the creme brulee was a little on the light side and could have stood to be a bit more luxurious. Yet, it was still very good and TS enjoyed cracking the burnt sugar on top. The profiteroles were a bit hard to eat since the choux pastry was a bit stiff, possibly from the cold hazelnut ice cream (which was divine). The terrine was quite large and beautifully presented. The chocolate was decadent and the layer of coulis running through it gave a nice fruity contrast to the dish. The sorbet added some much needed lightness to the rich chocolate.

After we finished our meal, we were stuffed and I wasn't even remotely thinking of having a Filet-o-Fish. Overall, the food was pretty good and at these prices, it was downright excellent. The Twisted Fork is a little gem hidden among XXX shops along Granville. It is an area in transition; but with restaurants like the Twisted Fork, it definitely helps change the landscape.

The Good:
- Outstanding value
- Food is both plentiful and delicious
- Service was friendly and casual

The Bad:
- Small restaurant, it can fill up fast
- The location is still in a seedy area, but it's changing

Cactus Club Cafe

I originally thought a bunch of us were going to eat lunch at the one20 today, so a couple of us made our way down there to find out nobody was there. Due to a lack of communication, there was no lunch planned. Despite the fact I like one20, we decided to head over to Cactus Club instead. To tell you the truth, I really do like Cactus Club. Yes, some people will point out that Cactus Club is expensive and a chain restaurant. That's is pretty much true; however, there are some good eats here. I still remember back in University, we would frequent 2 of the first few locations near Metrotown and on Robson. Their first location (North Van) opened in 1988. Much like it's competitors, Cactus Club has gone through come changes and has gone a bit more upscale.

Since the addition of Rob Feenie as a food designer, there have been some changes to the menu. Today, all 3 of us chose a Rob Feenie creation and in doing so, paid accordingly. Blondie had the Spinach Salad with Italian prosciutto, goat cheese, balsamic figs, candied pecans and sherry vinaigrette. She really enjoyed the salad; but did remark that the prosciutto's saltiness overwhelmed some flavours. My esteemed colleague, L-Pete, had The Burger which consisted of aged cheddar cheese, cured bacon, sautéed mushrooms and red pepper relish. This is a very large burger and he really liked it. I've had the opportunity to try The Burger as well and it is indeed very good. It's juicy, has more than enough toppings and the relish is pretty tasty. For my meal, I ordered the Prawn & Scallop Spaghettini. It wasn't a particularly large portion of pasta; yet it was enough. The roasted tomato sauce was light and fresh tasting. The seafood was cooked just right and the pasta was al dente.

Honestly, no complaints here about the food, it was consistently good. Only real concern was probably the price because it wasn't cheap. However, if you can get past the "chain restaurant" stigma, the food is actually quite decent. With that being said, yes it is true you can practically eat anywhere for those prices. I guess it would be a personal choice as to where you want to spend your money.

The Good:
- No surprises
- Fun atmosphere
- Good place for varied tastes or big groups

The Bad:
- Pricey (along the same lines as Milestone's, Earl's and Joey's)

Fish on Rice

Alright, I normally do not re-write an entire post; but I am going to do it in this case. I originally posted Fish on Rice back in November 2008. I used to enjoy going to Fish on Rice; in fact, I went there 3 times in 2 weeks once! However, either I'm getting my picky or possibly I was just plain wrong in my first assessment of Fish on Rice. Whatever the case, this visit proved to me once and for all that all-you-can-eat Japanese food is typically not a good choice unless you are very hungry. Well, today I was very hungry since at Greek Day, all I had to eat were desserts. We actually arrived at Fish on Rice during their happy hour ($13.95); but I really wanted more selection and went with the full dinner menu ($21.95). One positive thing I can say about Fish on Rice is that their dinner menu does have a good selection and it is less expensive than most of it's competition (for the same selection of food). Of course, we parked at the Old Orchard parking lot beside Fish on Rice. I'm sure one of these days they'll starting towing people who park there for Earl's and Fish on Rice.

Unluckily for us, we got a true table for 2 and it is not really that sufficient for AYCE. After a few dishes, our table was really full. I went ahead and ordered a bunch of food from the checklist and waited anxiously. I was super hungry! Played hockey in the morning and practically no food all day! That is probably what possessed me to return to Fish on Rice for the first time in 6 months. I'm not sure if the workers are disgruntled or they have been trained to be zombies because the service was robotic and expressionless. Even after I said out loud "thank you" to many of the servers, none of them acknowledged it. Would they have preferred plain rudeness instead??? You'd think that after all the negative reviews of the bad service at Fish on Rice, they would actually care to do something about it? Anyways, the first couple of things we got were Miso Soup, Ebi Sunomono and Green Salad. Really nothing special about these dishes, although they were pretty small. I know it's AYCE, but I ate the Sunomono in one bite. The Beef Tataki was decent enough, meat was sliced thin, sauce was decent and it was not chewy. Tuna Tataki was alright, a bit bland since the dressing was barely there. We only decided to get Salmon Sashimi and some Surf Clam. Again, both were alright, but the salmon was sliced poorly with the belly still attached and presented on the dish all curled up. Oyster Motoyaki was actually quite decent. It was hot and there was a large oyster nestled in the baked mayo. The Beef Short Ribs, Beef Teriyaki and Tonkatsu (we didn't even order it) were pretty standard. They didn't offend; but didn't stand out either. We only ordered 3 rolls: Spider, Spicy Scallop and Spicy Salmon. The spider roll was alright; but the other 2 were awful. They tasted okay, but the rolls were messy and loose. The worst dish of all was the Prawn Tempura. First, the tempura batter was thicker than paper mache, it was truly disgusting. Second, the dipping sauce was luke warm and tasteless. Third and most importantly, the shrimp were NOT deveined. In fact, these shrimp must've been constipated because they had the largest, blackest, most disgusting veins I've ever seen. Lastly, the Black Cod was a bit bland and unevenly cooked; yet it was edible and at least I got it.

Ah yes, the black cod controversy. Before this visit, every other time (at least 15), we have either not received our order of black cod or have received it last and with half the pieces we requested. Imagine my surprise when the black cod arrived in the middle of our meal this time! However, sadly it was only half of what I ordered again. On my second round, I accidentally marked off Tuna Tataki rather than Beef Tataki. When it arrived, I told the waitress that I didn't order Tuna Tataki. The female manager comes up to me, shows me the original checklist and showed me arrogantly that I had made a mistake. Okay yes, that's true and it's my bad. However, did she need to do that? Besides, someone else for sure would order tuna tataki, give it to them. Whatever, I didn't want to argue, I just took the tataki and ate it. As I was eating it, 3 separate orders of food arrived at our table that we never ordered. So should I in turn go up to the same female manager and show her the checklist and point to the fact I didn't order those 3 dishes??? Not to mention, we got a tonkatsu that I never ordered either!

So on this most recent visit, I have to sadly say that I was horribly mistakened to even say I actually liked this place. With the combination of awful service, mediocre food and questionable business practices, I will not be coming back. With that being said, Fish on Rice is still better than some of the other AYCE Japanese joints out there. That statement alone is an indication of how sad some of these AYCE places really are. If you must go to an AYCE place, then I think Ninkazu is probably the best of the bunch. Of course AYCE has a place and time, especially for big groups of big eaters; but really, if you want good Japanese food (assuming you are not starving), go to a non-AYCE place. You will probably end up spending the same amount or even less for much higher quality food.

The Good:
- Good selection
- A bit cheaper than most the competition for the same selection
- There's sashimi on the lunch menu (albeit limited to 6pcs per person)

The Bad:
- Service is god awful, they don't seem to care that you are spending $22.00 for this
- Some of the food is not very good
- Restaurant needs a cleaning

Greek Day

I had originally tweaked my ankle during floor hockey on Saturday, so Sunday morning ice hockey seemed in doubt. However, finding a sub was going to be difficult since Sunday was Father's Day. I decided to tough it out with some Advil and pain tolerance. It turned out to be a really good game and afterwords, I was famished. We decided yesterday on attending Greek Day along West Broadway on Father's Day. So we loaded up the kids and headed down there with my parents. Finding parking was a challenge since most of the streets were for resident parking only. Fortunately we didn't take too long to find one and it was only 4 blocks away. Bad planning on our part, we didn't have any cash, so I had to go find an ATM. I spotted Great Western Bank and upon getting to the front door, it stated they didn't have an ATM yet. Seriously, what bank doesn't have an ATM??? I trekked a bit further past Blenheim almost to the Eatery, to the TD Canada Trust.

Money in hand, I was ready to acquire some tasty Greek food. However, there were massive lineups 20 people deep at practically every food stand. I hate lineups. I decided to pick the shortest lineup; but this particular food stand mostly sold desserts. Whatever, I was hungry, I really could care less. I ended up getting Spanakopita, Baklava and 2 slices of the Galaktobouriko. I passed the Spanakopita to Viv and ended up eating most of the sweets myself. I did give one of the 2 Galaktobouriko to my mom. I really enjoyed eating the Galaktobouriko. The combination of fluffy egg and lemon zest made the dessert light tasting. I really liked the crunchy filo as a contrast to the egg. Viv didn't really want anything to do with the Baklava since it is typically very sweet. I ended up forcing her to eat a bit of it. I didn't get anything else because the lineups were so long. Although I really wanted to get some Loukoumades for my kids; but then it started to rain. Not wanting to be drenched, we high-tailed it back to the car. Although Greek Day was a short visit, it was good to get out and walk around. It's nice to see that Vancouver isn't totally devoid of special events (there really should be more though).

Me-n-Ed's Pizza Parlor (Burnaby)

Deciding on a restaurant to eat at is usually a relatively simple exercise. There are so many choices in the GVRD. However, trying to find a suitable restaurant for 4 adults with 4 screaming kids is another story. Costanza and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where we could go. Finally we settled on an ol' standby, Me-n-Ed's. To those who are not familiar with Me-n-Ed's, it's a family pizza joint with 5 locations in the GVRD. Today, we went to the location in Burnaby on Kingsway near Edmonds. Much to our surprise, it was retro-pricing due to Me-n-Ed's 40th birthday; thus we put away our Entertainment coupons. We were seated at the back of the restaurant and that was a good thing, by the time we left, we were the only ones there and the kids could run around free-range.

Normally, without a coupon or retro-pricing, Me-n-Ed's is not a cheap place to eat. The large specialty pizzas are $27.00 each. Today, they were only $22.00 each. Rather than going with the specialty pizzas, we made our own large pizza with as many toppings as we wanted for $22.00. We ended getting 2 large pizzas, one small for the kids, nachos and Caesar salad. We were seated at a large table in the middle of the dining area which was devoid of any real good lighting. Therefore, the chances of taking some really good pictures was compromised. That's when I decided to take all the dishes over to a table near the window, snap a shot and then bring it back. So when the Caesar salad arrived, I swiped it and took it to the table near the window. The server came back and was thoroughly confused as to what happened to the salad. After an explanation from Viv, he was on-board with my antics. The remaining table in our section was quite intrigued as to what I was up to. Again, the things I do for his blog...

The pizza at Me-n-Ed's is a bit different than most of the other pizza chains out there. The crust is very thin and light, bordering on resembling a crunchy cracker. Consequently, the crust is not oily and in fact, the whole pizza is not really all that oily either. Since the pizza is relatively light and easy to eat, you will find that most people will eat more slices than regular pizzas. This actually makes the pizzas here even more expensive because you will need more of it to make you full. The pizzas, salad, nachos and 4 soft drinks pushed the total to nearly $100.00 (including tax & tip). Remember, this is with retro-pricing too. Me-n-Ed's is indeed great for families; however it's not cheap.

The Good:
- Great for kids
- Light, easy-to-eat pizza
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Pizzas are not cheap

Booster Juice

You couldn't imagine how much discomfort I was in after an extremely salty Dim Sum at Pelican. I was dying for a large cool beverage. Initially, a Slurpee or Super Big Gulp came into mind; but I just had a Slurpee a couple of days ago. I dropped Viv and the kids at my in-laws and headed out in search for an oasis of refreshment. That certain oasis would be located below the Skytrain station at Broadway and Commercial. No not Blenz, the last thing I needed was a hot caffeinated beverage. The place I speak of was Booster Juice. Ah yes, one of the many copycats of Jamba Juice, only found in the States. I am truly beginning to believe that the only reason I prefer Jamba Juice is because it was the first one I tried. Jugo Juice has been quite a decent substitute so far, maybe Booster Juice can do the same or better.

To be honest, I really didn't care because I was really thirsty. Scanning the menu quickly, I decided on the Mango Hurricane which is a tropical mix of strawberries, mangos, peaches, guava, passion fruit and sorbet. While I was waiting for my drink, a transit guy was looking at me funny while I was taking photos. I explained to him what I was doing and that made him feel better. He thought I was weird or something. The drink itself was pretty good, a bit on the tart side; but I didn't want anything sweet anyways. I really like how Booster Juice uses the insulated cups like Jamba Juice as opposed to Jugo Juice. It keeps the drink cold and thick longer. Moreover, it doesn't feel like a block of ice in you hand either.

Feeling quite refreshed and having exorcised the MSG demon, I was feeling a lot better. I really didn't get to drink the whole thing because my daughter kept grabbing the cup away from me. She just loves smoothies. Too bad she can't hold a cup without spilling it. Booster Juice does cost more than most other beverages, but seeing how it's full of fruit, I think it's reasonable.

The Good:
- You get 5 servings of fruit in a cup
- Insulated cup
- Healthier choice than a Slurpee

The Bad:
- Costs more than your regular drink (worth it in my opinion though)

Dim Sum @ Pelican

Alright, I really wasn't planning on eating Dim Sum today. In fact, I really wasn't in the mood for Chinese food period; however, we were taking my father-in-law out for Father's Day and he's not into other types of cuisine. I considered Dai Tung and Western Lake; but those places are crazy busy and you know how I love lineups. Thus it was between 2 other places on Hastings: Pelican or International. My father-in-law choose Pelican because he knows some of the people who work there. We arrived pretty early at 10:50ish, but the place was already packed including the parking lot. I dropped my father-in-law off so he could get a table. As I was backing up out of the parking lot, people just walked behind me like I wasn't there. I really can't understand these people. If you play chicken with an SUV, who do you think will win? Better yet, I re-entered the parking lot to drop off Viv and this lady beside me was so concerned I was going to take her spot. She was so worried that she almost ended up blocking the person coming out. Relax! It's just a parking space! Incidentally, someone else was leaving and I ended up getting a better spot than her. Karma. As mentioned, there was a lineup at the front door; however since my father-in-law had some friends who worked at Pelican, we got a table right away. Ahhh... such a Chinese-type of maneuver! Normally, I'd be at the other end, cursing at the fact people had skipped the line. Call me a hypocrite.

Just recently, I had read the post by Danny & Jeremy (Five Loaves) on Urbanspoon indicating their disappointment over their meal at Pelican. That got me a little worried because I was going to play hockey after this and the last thing I needed was grease and msg overload. I guess I totally forgot that since we ordered 14 dishes between the 3 adults and 2 children. We started with the Beef Rice Noodle Roll. Nestled in the soft rice noodle was plenty of tender beef and only a smidgen of cilantro. Hmmm... A decent start to the meal. Not sure why we got the Egg Tarts as our second dish (this happens a lot at Chinese restaurants); but they were pretty good. Crust was flaky and filling was soft and light tasting. The next dish, Stir-Fried Green Beans with Conch, was both really good and really bad at the same time. Texture-wise, the green beans were perfectly crunchy; yet cooked (fried) all the way through. However, the sauce was incredibly salty and sweet. I like flavour in my food; but this was too much.

The Steamed Shrimp Dumplings were big and looked pretty good; however, the skin was overcooked and too thick. I got a mouthful of dumpling wrapper before I even got to the shrimp which incidentally was quite salty. I concur with how Danny & Jeremy described the Shrimp Balls with Fish Maw; it was terrible. The fish maw was cooked until it was a melted mess and the shrimp had barely any texture to it. At least this one wasn't too salty. The same could not be said for the Honeycomb Tripe & Tendon. I know there is very little flavour to tripe; but did they really need to put so much salt, msg and sugar into the sauce? Eating it made me want an entire Super Big Gulp to myself. Texture-wise, the tripe was soft; but the tendon was too soft, resulting into an inedible mush. At least the Black Bean Spareribs had texture. The chewy texture was perfect; however, it suffered from over- seasoning once again.

Suffice to say, I could go on a bit further regarding the remaining dishes; but to me, it's
pointless. I'll merely sound like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller repeating "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller"; but in my case it would be "MSG, MSG, MSG". It's really too bad because there were some really decent dishes which were ruined by over-seasoning. What made it worse was that our teapot was never refilled, compounding the problem because we couldn't quench our thirst. I do understand that the Dim Sum at Pelican is reasonably-priced and the portions are good; but if practically everything is super salty, it becomes pretty inedible. I really wanted to like the Dim Sum, partly because my father-in-law knew the people; however I cannot be biased. I guess if they read this post, we'll not be skipping the line anymore...

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- Excellent selection

The Bad:
- Too much salt and MSG!
- Slow service
- Crowded

Business Hours:
9:30am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 2:00am (7 days a week)