Choo Choo's

*Restaurant is closed*

At least to me, it seems like there are not many "family-themed" restaurants in Vancouver. For the amount of families that eat out, it seems like we're stuck with the chain restaurants such as Red Robin, White Spot, Ricky's, IHOP and ABC (bleck!). I actually like most of the aforementioned restaurants other than ABC; but honestly, there are not many independent family restaurants around. Maybe I had to head further out to the burbs to find one? Well, I had an opportunity to try a family restaurant out in Langley. Why Langley? First of all, my good friend from school was visiting from Australia. "Aussie" had moved down there with the love of his life who he had met during his worldly travels (aw, how romantic). He was staying out in Langley with his parents, so I decided we'd meet where he was. Second, I personally feel that the burbs have been largely ignored as viable options for dining. Yes, there are many good restaurants in Metro Vancouver; yet there are some really good eats in Greater Vancouver as well. Besides, most people live outside of Metro Vancouver itself. Alright, enough with my ranting.

I had actually arrived in Langley on time, but one wrong turn and it took me forever to get back to where I was going. The traffic out here is horrendous! I finally made it to my destination - Choo Choo's. Choo what? Well, Choo Choo's is a family restaurant which employs a predominantly locomotive theme. In fact, as the kiddies enter the restaurant, they are welcomed to grab a toy train to play with for the duration of their meal. Furthermore, a model locomotive travels along a track throughout the restaurant above the diners. All the kiddies were mesmerized by the train coming and going, coming and going. Ah, how simple life is as a child...

For some strange reason, all 4 of us ordered burgers (or sandwiches), including the kiddies. Well, I guess Choo Choo's is a family restaurant and most people would order things like that. There are things like steaks, ribs and schnitzel on the menu as well. On the topic of schnitzel, I went for the Schnitzel Sandwich. When it arrived, it wasn't exactly how I envisioned it. Rather than one piece of schnitzel, there were several small pieces of schnitzel resting on the bun. A little bit apprehensive, I slapped the top half of the bun on to the schnitzel and gave it a go. Surprisingly, it was fluffy and light. Moreover, the bun itself was soft and moist. This was a pretty good schnitzel sandwich! The fries were decent as well. Nothing to write home about; but they were crispy and looked fresh cut (?). Aussie went for the biggest burger on the menu - the Choo Choo Burger. It was 2 patties large with mushrooms, cheese and bacon. Although it costs over $14.00, it really didn't look that large. He did say however that it was good, I'm not sure if that satisfied his appetite. When we were in University, he was heavily into bodybuilding and he could eat a whole prime rib roast all by himself. I had to get TWO large prime rib roasts at my parties just to account for him and another guy who was hitting the gym. Pure gluttony! Viv ended up with the Southwest Burger and Aussie's brother had the California Chicken Burger. Not much to comment here but much of the same.

My son went for his ol' standby - the Grilled Cheese with Curly Fries. There was a decent amount of food on the plate for $5.50 and he seemed to enjoy his sandwich. Mind you, he was too interested in staring at the train that was passing over us every few minutes of so. The food itself maybe a bit standard here at Choo Choo's; but the whole premise here is about the concept. It's a family friendly restaurant which offers up something a bit different. Unless you order the really expensive items, most meals are modestly-priced. The service we received was friendly and honest which helped enhance the overall experience. If you are ever in Langely (or live near there) with your family, give Choo Choo's a ride, the kids will love it.

The Good:
- Very family friendly
- Food is pretty predictable, no surprises here
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Some items on the menu seem a bit expensive for this type of restaurant
- Everyone getting kinks in their necks staring at the train above them

Wok Box

*Restaurant is closed*

To tell you the truth, up until recently I've never heard of the Wok Box. Apparently they have locations all over Western Canada and some in Washington state. Probably the main reason is that I rarely pay attention to establishments like these. After all, with all the authentic Asian restaurants around, why would I care? Well, here is the thing. It seems like that the word "fusion" is fast becoming a dirty word. It essentially advertises the fact that "food served here is not authentic". With Wok Box, they serve everything Asian. You name it, they have it. Chinese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Mongolian cuisine are all served here. At this point, I'm sure there are some of you who are reaching for the mouse and heading for the "close window X". Hang on, bear with me on this one. The reason I tried Wok Box today was not because I was in search of authentic food. If I wanted authentic Asian cuisine; trust me, I know where to find it. Instead, I was on my way home and wanted to grab a bite and also pick up some take out for Viv. Now, I could have visited McD's, Wendy's and the sort; but I was not in the mood for that type of food.

So, I headed over to the Wok Box with a perfectly open mind and no prejudices. When I walked into the place, I was rather taken aback because it was quite nicely decorated. Manchu Wok this is not. A bit confused, I walked over to take a look at the menu. I was handed a take home menu which helped explain the dishes a bit better. At first, I was quite overwhelmed by the many choices that were available. I decided to get quite a few dishes for both tasting and pictures. The Coconut Shrimp caught my fancy because it reminded me of the ones I had at Bubba Gump. They turned out to be pretty good. The perfectly cooked shrimp were coated by sweet and crunchy coconut. Served on the side was a curry coconut dip. The dip was quite bold and flavourful, don't use too much, it overwhelms the shrimp.

I had originally also ordered the Vietnamese Salad Roll; but they didn't get their delivery of rice wrappers yet. Therefore, they offered me any other appetizer, even ones that were more expensive. I appreciated their professional and generous handling of this inconvenience. I ended up substituting the salad roll with the Ginger Beef. Now, for most Chinese people, ginger beef isn't exactly what they make at home or even order at a restaurant. With that being said, I'm not much of a stickler when it comes to what a Chinese person should or shouldn't order. I'm happy with anything that ultimately tastes good. Unlike most variations of ginger beef I've had, this one at the Wok Box was not the chewy, over fried and unidentifiable strips you'd find everywhere else. Rather, they were large strips of beef that were only slightly fried and bathed in a light ginger glaze. The glaze itself was a bit bland. I would have preferred a richer and more ginger tasting sauce; but knowing that all the sauces are pre-made, I should not expect much.

For my main, I got a regular-sized Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowl. There are 3 sizes for everything main entree - Lunch ($6.49), Regular ($10.99) and Sumo ($19.99). Presented in a large bowl, there was quite a bit of beef over a huge mound of rice. I really didn't mind this dish, it was full of well-seasoned beef and crisp carrots. A quick call to Viv and she decided on the Szechwan Pepper Chicken on Rice. Now, for Szechwan aficionados, the sauce in this dish might offend. But again, it was pleasant to eat with lots of fresh crispy veggies and chicken. However, the sauce was more sweet than spicy; thus not really being Szechwan. Furthermore, it was too bad the chicken was already pre-cooked.

Alright, the meal at the Wok Box was decent. Please don't give me heck for it. I liked it in a perverse manner that would make many of my Asian friends cringe and insult me. But let me ask you this - if the food you eat is decent, do you really care who is making it and where you are eating it? Sure, the Wok Box has this "Panda-Express" thing going on; yet all their food is cooked to order, so it's not sitting there under a heat lamp. It ain't authentic, but it never claims to be. Although you won't find me seeking out Wok Box locations; I don't mind eating it either.

The Good:
- Diverse selection of Asian dishes
- Clean and inviting dining space
- Really quick meal for dine-in and take-out

The Bad:
- Not "authentic" for those who care about that
- A bit pricey compared to an actual Asian restaurant

The Keg (Yaletown)

So how was I able to score an invite to the pre-launch of the new Yaletown Keg? Well, it's a bit of a long story. You can read about it in my post about the Burnaby Keg. To recap, we were in downtown a couple of months ago for our Nexus pass interviews. The interview was quite a bit shorter than we had anticipated and when we returned to our car, there was a good 3+ hours left on the ticket. Thus, we decided to give it away to the next person who happen to park in that particular lot. Turns out the person we gave the ticket to was the BC Operations Director for the Keg. He graciously presented us with a $50 gift card to the Keg as a token of his appreciation. Viv and I enjoyed a nice dinner at the Burnaby Keg and naturally I blogged about it. The parking ticket that resulted in a $50 Keg gift card became the gift that kept on giving because I was invited to the pre-launch of The Keg Yaletown. Talk about karma! So to set things straight, as part of this pre-launch, we would be donating $5.oo each to Junior Achievement BC. In addition, we were on the hook for gratuities, taxes and any beverages we consumed, albeit at 50% off the regular price. Otherwise, there was no actual "payment" for the meal.

The Yaletown Keg looks pretty unassuming from the outside with its darkened windows and brick facade. However, once inside it is a totally different story. Walls adorned with textured materials are illuminated by modern light fixtures and a raging wall of fireplaces over 2 stories high. They sacrificed quite a bit of dining space to create a high ceiling which stretches from the main floor all the way up to the top of the 3rd floor. There is a basement level reserved for some wine and a private room with a large LCD TV. There is an open rooftop dining area directly above the 3nd floor complete with its own bar. I really liked how they were able to isolate certain dining spaces in all parts of the restaurant. Therefore, it felt much more intimate than the size of the restaurant would suggest. One part of the restaurant that I felt was a bit bare was the floor to ceiling wall right behind the ground floor bar. I'm not an interior decorator, but it looked almost incomplete. The washrooms were nice; but not as impressive as the rest of the restaurant. This could be partially attributed to the limits of space afforded for the washrooms.

As part of the trial run of the restaurant, we did not have a choice of what we ate. There were pre-assigned random meals for everyone. The menu that we received included Tempura Snap Peas and Asparagus for an appetizer, Sirloin Oscar and Mushroom Balsamic Chicken as our mains and a Billy Miner Pie as our dessert. I added a Peach Mojito as a beverage and Viv had the Key Lime Martini. We had actually ordered our drinks at the bar area as we were waiting for our table. The hostess who took us to our table actually had to carry both drinks and our menus up a long flight of stairs. To make things worse, she was wearing some pretty high heels, a tight dress and once up the stairs, she had to further navigate through a narrow walkway across the whole restaurant to our table. We were amazed she didn't dropped everything because she was teetering on collapse several times. Why didn't we take the elevator? Since this was a trial run to work out all the kinks, errors were to be expected. Our entrees arrived before our appetizer and my Sirloin Oscar was missing the Bearnaise sauce. All can be forgiven because this was the FIRST time they opened up this location to customers, albeit test subjects. Everyone was trying their best to make things work and were really trying to make a good impression. Hopefully they'll iron out all the wrinkles by the grand opening date of August 10th.

So I'll talk about my Sirloin Oscar first. As you can see in the picture, there was an abundance of large scallops and shrimp adorning the top of the perfectly medium-rare sirloin. The Bearnaise was served on the side. The scallops and shrimp were cooked perfectly, thus exhibiting the desired texture. The steak was prepared as per my request of medium-rare and was quite tender. When I first laid eyes on my baked potato, I was quite taken aback. There was so much butter and cheese, I didn't want to eat it. But once I dug into the soft and fluffy potato, I was hooked. Butter can really make everything better! Viv's Mushroom Balsamic Chicken was outstanding. Smothered in a rich mushroom, garlic and balsamic sauce was a large tender chicken breast on mound of smooth mashed potatoes. This was a really rich concoction and Viv couldn't finish it. The presentation of this dish left a lot to be desired; but there was lots of food and it filled the entire plate. A good value at $16.99 considering the venue and the location.

We were a bit less enthused with the appetizer (Tempura Snap Peas & Asparagus). The positive was that there were lots of it - another good value at $6.99. However, we didn't finish it because it was too much fried goodness and the dip was extremely salty. The whole dish would have a been a bit lighter and easier to eat if they had used an authentic Japanese tempura batter. The appetizer was probably the only blip in the food because the Billy Miner Pie was delicious. It was essentially mocha ice cream on an oreo crust. It was light, flavourful and not too sweet. The roasted almond slivers added the necessary texture contrast for the dessert.

Well, what can I say? I've always liked the Keg and the Yaletown location has made me like it even more. I think they did a commendable job with the decor in creating a trendy and upscale environment. Considering the location and the venue, I believe the prices are more than reasonable if you take into account that you will have enough to eat. Like any other restaurant, the Keg isn't perfect. Some items on the menu may need to be re-evaluated, especially the appetizers. However, if you want a good steak at a reasonable price, I have no problem dining at the Keg.

The Good:
- Really nice venue
- You won't starve here, good portions
- Reasonable prices
- Great steaks for the price

The Bad:
- Some of the appetizers need some work (ie. Tempura Snap Peas, Spinach Dip)
- Due to the limitations of the existing building, some areas are tight
- Finding parking is not fun in Yaletown unless you want to pay for valet

Chen's Shanghai

*Restaurant is closed*

Last Monday was an extremely sad day for me. No, the Canucks didn't lose, the season hasn't even started yet. No, Miss Y didn't get out of that cal-de-sac. And no, I'm not moving to Richmond. The sadness emanated from the conclusion of the regular softball season. That meant... GASP! No more Monday night food adventures with the team! The agony, the horror, the pain! But with some quick thinking, I "organized" a practice for the team in anticipation of the softball tournament this month. Yes, I used the "practice" as a cover for more eating out!!! Suffice to say, I was not that into the "practice". Rather, I had dumplings dancing in my mind.

Still thinking about dumplings, when Bear mentioned that we should head to Chen's Shanghai in Richmond, he had me at "Xiao Long Bao". Not really knowing the exact location of the place, we all sort of wandered in different directions on the Richmond roads, driving aimlessly and a bit confused. Excellent, we blended right in! Finally heading down Cooney and just barely spotting Park, I took a hasty right turn which mad Boss Woman yelp. Hey, once again, when in Rome, do what the Romans do. I explained that being in Richmond, I had carte blanche to drive terribly. When we arrived at the parking lot, it was almost completely full; but I was able to snag a space right in front of Chen's. To my horror, the restaurant was completely packed and it was already nearing 9:00! There were suggestions about leaving and heading to a different restaurant; yet we decided to wait for the only table that could fit all eleven of us.

The people already occupying the large table were not really rushing to leave; but we really had a chuckle when the lady manager yelled out real loud, "Just sit at this smaller table for now, and you can take the large table when they leave!" Bear whispered to us that she was merely telling the other diners to leave indirectly. Hey, good for us because we got the table shortly afterwards. By then we were very hungry and that would probably explain our haste in ordering a bit too much food. The lady manager was nice enough to point out that we would never finish the food and told us to remove some items.

The first item to arrive was the Chicken in Wine Sauce. Exhibiting distinct wine flavour, the chicken had excellent texture and a good bit of yummy gelatin underneath the skin. I just wish they had put more wine sauce on the plate, I can practically drink that stuff. We got 4 orders of the Xiao Long Bao because they let Barry and I order. It turns out we were a bit too greedy and ordered too much. I'm going to let someone order next time because I suffer from the "eyes too big, pants too tight" syndrome. The Xiao Long Bao were filled to the max with tasty juice. Despite being quite soft, I found the outer wrapper a bit too thick. I still prefer the ones from Shanghai River the best.

When the Beef Roll arrived, we couldn't even recognize what it was! The pancake was so soaked in grease, it was either pan-fried with too much oil or heaven-forbid deep-fried! We were all scared to try it; but fortunately it tasted a lot better than it looked. There were nice slices of beef layered between scallions and hoisin sauce.
The next dish was a quite the topic of discussion. Okay, on the surface, there shouldn't be much to talk about Spicy Wontons; yet they were a bit too spicy for Boss Woman and Judes. I personally like spicy, so I really enjoyed them since there was a hit of saltiness, sweetness, tartness and then a real wallop at the end of spice. However, I can understand their point of view because my tongue was still stinging throughout much of the meal.

Continuing on spicy, the Dan Dan Noodles had its own level of zing as well. Bear, Milhouse and I found it to be a perfect balance of spiciness, savory and smooth peanut flavour. But Dan Dan noodles vary with each restaurant and in this case, it was a bit spicy. The first real flop of the meal was the Stir-Fried Shanghai-Style Rice Cake. The sauce was a bit wet and was not really flavourful. Furthermore, the sliced rice cakes were not chewy; rather they were soft and mushy. Again, Shanghai River makes a better version of this dish. One dish I was really looking forward to was the Ja Jeun Mein or Noodles with Bean Paste Meat Sauce. In fact, I was eyeing a table eating these noodles while we were waiting. Not sure if the people at that table saw me salivating. They probably thought I was psychotic. Anyways, the sauce itself was excellent. It was rich and flavourful without being salty. The freshly julienned cucumbers added a nice refreshing crunch to the dish. Only thing is that I would've preferred thinner noodles such as the ones in the Dan Dan Noodles. It's just a personal preference since I know most places use this type of noodle for this dish.

We originally had ordered the "small" dish of Fried Pork Chops; but the lady manager pointed out that the regular order was only $8.99 and it was much larger. It was indeed quite large with big juicy pork chops perfectly fried. They were wok-tossed in a very tasty salt, garlic and chili mixture. This dish was quite popular with my teammates. One dish that was curiously not that popular was the Szechwan Beef Noodle. It looked good, with big chunks of beef on top of a good portion of noodles. Once I tried it, I figured out why - it was spicy. Again, I like spicy; but not everyone else is in that boat. One problem I had with the noodles was that it was more spicy than flavourful. I much prefer a more rich tasting broth. Once again on the spicy theme, the Spicy Green Beans were really good. They were perfectly fried being cooked all the way through; yet still maintaining a fresh crunch. I thought that there was a good balance of sweetness, salty and spiciness.

Okay, if you were thinking that there was too much food for 11 people (2 were kids!), you are right! However, there was much more food to come. We had mistakenly ordered Potstickers instead of Pan-Fried Shanghai Buns. It was our fault though because we couldn't read the Chinese (where's Viv when I need her???) and there was something lost in translation with the English menu. No matter, the Potstickers were fried up nice and crispy. Another nice and crispy dish was the Fried Tofu tossed in salt, pepper, scallions and garlic. The tofu was fried a bit too much resulting in a very dry interior. Yet, it was still very tasty and would've went well with a beer.

While we were ordering, Siena suggested we order the Deep Fried Buns with Condensed Milk. Turns out that they didn't have the ones we had in mind. Rather, they had fried mini-buns. Didn't matter to anyone at the table because they were demanding it like a pack of hungry wolves. Being fried a nice golden brown, the mini-buns were pretty good, especially with the condensed milk. However, we still prefer the large fried loaf, the soft inside of the larger loaf gives a better texture contrast. Alright, we didn't finish all the food; but we almost did it. Yes, we were that hungry! Overall, the food was pretty good at Chen's. Compared to a place like Shanghai River, Chen's is definitely less refined. Consider it a home cooking version of Shanghainese food. With that being said, Chen's is also considerably less expensive than Shanghai River as well. With all this food (we had duplicates of 6 of the dishes!), it only cost each person $16. Thus, it is like comparing apples to oranges. Each has their niche and that's a good thing, because I like both in their own way.

The Good:
- Inexpensive, a good value
- Generally good food
- Honest service (if not absent-minded, took 4 tries to get water)

The Bad:
- Small restaurant, gets full quickly
- Food lacks a bit of refinement (more home-style cooking)

Dutch Wooden Shoe

We woke up today with the munchies and without food in the fridge. Originally, we were going to take Whipping Girl's advice and try Fantastic Restaurant. Apparently they have all-you-can-eat Dim Sum. If this makes some of you cringe, I hear ya because we have been to Fantastic before. It was a long time ago and we were not overly impressed. Maybe it's better now? I'm not even sure if AYCE Dim Sum is a good concept since there are quite a few inexpensive Dim Sum places. Well, it was a moot point because we ended up going to the Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe instead. When I had asked Donna Chang where she wanted to eat, the Dutch Wooden Shoe was near the top of her list. Apparently, Whipping Girl had wanted to try this place as well; but she had already turned down the offer for some morning eats. She was choked that we went without her. She learned her lesson - never turn down a dining opportunity!

The Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe resides at an old De Dutch Pannekoek House location. The menu and concept of the restaurant remains quite similar to De Dutch; but with a few different twists. In addition to some fusion Pannekoeks influenced by Mexican and Italian cuisine, there is a certain Indonesian flair as well. I can only surmise that the Dutch colonization of the East Indies has some influence. Consequently, you see things like Nasi Goreng and Bahnmi Goreng on the menu. I went along with this and ordered the Nasi Goreng which was a Pannekoek filled with Indonesian fried rice and ham topped with a fried egg. Spicy Peanut Sauce, Hot Sauce and salad were served on the side. First off, let me say I've had Nasi Goreng and this was no Nasi Goreng. With that being said, if I just accepted it for what it was, the Pannekoek with the side sauces was pretty darn good. Definitely something a bit different. On a side note, they actually messed up my order and made a Vegetarian Pannekoek instead. The HORROR! Well, not only did they quickly fix my order, they gave me the vegetarian one for free. I poked at it and gave some to my daughter; but I really didn't eat it. Viv had the Boeren or Farmer's Pannekoek. Piled on top of the Pannekoek were 2 Eggs, Ham, Bacon, Smoked Sausage, Hash browns and a side of Hollandaise. Almost exactly the same as De Dutch, this particular breakfast is a good amount of food. However, it is $3 cheaper here and practically the same.

Vandelay opted for the Windmill Waffle which was topped with Smoked Sausage, Spinach, Tomato, Fried Egg, Hollandaise and Edam Cheese. He generously gave me a sample so I could try it. The waffle was a perfect balance of crispiness and softness. Combined with all the ingredients on the plate, this was one delicious breakfast. Donna Chang went for "THE" French Toast with Apples. Presented beautifully on the plate, with a side of baked apples, the french toast was delicate. The nicely baked apples were slightly sweet and a bit tart, an excellent compliment to the buttery egg toast. I normally do not make a big fuss about my son's food because it is either quite standard or he doesn't really even eat it. He's a really picky eater. Today, he chose the Dutch Wooden Shoe Shaped Pannekoek with Chocolate Sprinkles. Nothing really exciting you say? Well, he finished the whole darn thing! This is significant because he NEVER finishes his food. Suffice to say, it was a major event, at least for us. Well, if even the pickiest of eaters ate all of his food, albeit not a lot, it bodes well for the restaurant. The adults of the table concurred because the food was indeed good. With slightly lower prices than De Dutch and serving essentially the same things with a few twists, how could you not be happy? We sure were!

The Good:
- Something different from the usual breakfast fare
- Reasonable prices compared to the De Dutch
- Good Portions

The Bad:
- Seating arrangements are a bit cramped

Iki Japanese

What a beautiful day for a wedding! Yes, the endless days of sunshine for the GVRD have been a blessing for all those who are getting hitched. Fortunately for us, today's wedding was indoors at the Vancouver Museum. However, much like all weddings, we had to wait around for photos, while my stomach was growling. When it was over and done, we headed back to the car and I did my best "Superman" routine and changed into casual wear. Not fun being in a black suit on a warm summer day! Since we were in Kits, we headed out to Iki Japanese Bistro for some lunch. I've tried to visit Iki for a while now; but nobody on my softball team seemed too interested. Every time I mentioned about going to Iki, I get the usual, "It sounds like icky!".

When we arrived, it actually took a little while to find a parking spot. There were actually quite a few spaces available; but most of them were under trees. You might be wondering why that is significant. Well, I have this thing about parking my car under trees where it subsequently gets "sapped". So, I would rather circle around for treeless parking spot than park closer. I was lucky to spot one nearby and all was well. It's good that I didn't take too long, because not long after we got seated, the restaurant began to really fill up. Since Iki is a relatively small restaurant, it doesn't take a lot of customers to fill the place. On that note, I think there ought to be more staff because the servers seemed overworked. Despite this, they provided friendly service and attended to everyone the best that they could. What sets Iki apart is their brown rice sushi. Yes, there are other places that serve brown rice sushi; but Iki supposedly was one of the first and one of the best.

One dish that they are known for are their Yam Fries. I noticed almost everyone in the place ordering the fries. It's much like Phnom Penh where everyone orders the fried chicken wings, you can't go there without eating it. Well, there is a reason why everyone orders the yam fries because they are in one word - awesome. For $4.oo, you get a mound of these delicately battered fries that are kissed with a balsamic reduction. I really liked how crispy they were; yet the yam was still a bit firm. Served on the side was a Hollandaise sauce, which really tasted more like honey mustard. We much preferred the spicy mayo on the bottom of the dish as a dipping sauce. One item that caught my eye and I really wanted to try was the Lobster Miso Bisque. When it arrived, it wasn't really what I was expecting; but it did have a nice fragrance to it. Essentially, it was miso soup infused with lobster (possibly using the shells). At first, I was a bit disappointed since it just tasted like miso soup. Viv was having the regular miso soup and told me to compare. After I did that, I began to appreciate the taste of my lobster miso a bit more. However, I still enjoy a traditional lobster bisque much more.

Still on the lobster theme, we decided to try the Lobster Roll. For $9.00, it was a pretty good value. Wrapped in a crispy tempura coating, the roll consisted of lobster meat, asparagus and avocado with lobster miso sauce on the side. The roll itself was a bit bland and even the lobster miso couldn't bring it to life. However, with a touch of soy, the roll tasted much better. Seeing how an 8-piece sashimi order would cost $10.00 already, we went for the Bento Box F ($11.50) which included 6 pieces of Tuna and Salmon Sashimi, Chicken Teriyaki with Brown Rice, Edamame, Tempura, California Roll and Salad. This seemed like a much better deal and offered a good selection of items to sample. The brown rice California Roll was really large with a plethora of imitation crab nestled inside. The texture of brown rice isn't for everyone; but we didn't mind it. With perfectly cooked white meat and only modestly dressed with sauce, the teriyaki was solid. Much like the yam fries, the tempura was crispy without being oily. Although being only modest in size, the slices of sashimi were fresh and sweet. As you can ascertain, the meal at Iki was solid all around. The prices seemed reasonable for the quality and quantity of food. I most certainly do a return visit. Now only if I could convince my softball team to try it...

The Good:
- Food made with care
- Available choice of brown rice
- Reasonable prices

The Bad:
- They need more staff
- Not really good for big groups