Pho T & A

Okay, the only reason I wanted to visit this place was its name. With the infamous Pho Bich Nga no longer in business, there has been a void of really good Pho restaurant names. Yes, there is Pho Dat Phu; but how can you argue against Pho T & A? Doesn't it just make you wonder what is really in the soup??? Pho sure! Not really knowing exactly where the place was, I actually ended up at Pho Tan first. Man, that place is busy! I heard good things about this place, I shall return when it's not as packed. So I continued my search of some T & A, err... I mean Pho in the heart of Whalley. It is an area in transition with the new SFU campus and many high rises and condo developments nearby. Parking my car in the lot of Pho T & A was a bit unnerving; but I'm sure it was all in my head.

So sitting there looking over the menu, I noticed the "cash only" sign and looked in my wallet. No cash! Doh! I quickly scrambled to my car looking for loose change. I was able to scrounge $9.00, enough for a bowl of pho; but not anything else. I decided on the large House Special Pho which included every meat. A really good value at $6.50. While waiting for my order, I noticed they were making fresh popcorn in a miniature machine at the front. Wait a minute! WTF? They're selling popcorn? This is not a T & A theatre is it? Nope, just Pho T & A. Strange. Whatever the case, the soup was pretty light and modestly seasoned. I could detect some spices and meat flavour; but it was not very rich. The noodles were a tad on the soft side; yet there was plenty of it. Same can be said about the meats, there was a decent amount of it for price. It was a decent bowl of Pho; but nothing to write home about. However, I could really care less because I satisfied my curiousity over this place!

The Good:
- It's not expensive
- Place is pretty clean
- Pho was decent

The Bad:
- Questionable area
- Popcorn?!?!?

Budgies Burritos

Let's face it, there are not many places to go for a good burrito in the GVRD. Sure, there's Taco Del Mar (which I actually like); but you'll get the usual people pointing out that it's a fast food chain. Okay, whatever the case, at least it is not Taco Bell nor Taco Time. Sure, there is Dona Cata; however, they only have one burrito on their menu (from what I can remember). I can go through a whole bunch of Mexican restaurants in town and the story will all be the same - either it is not very good or it's not worth the price. However, there is one place where you will find a pretty good burrito for a low price. Okay, let me get this out of the way before the "authentic burrito police" come knocking on this post - the burritos at Budgies aren't exactly "authentic'. However, they do not advertise as such and really, if it tastes good, who really cares?

On my way home from a doctors appointment, it was getting late and I needed to grab some dinner for Viv and myself. Since I was nearby, I paid a visit to Budgies Burritos. The first thing you'll notice when you walk into the place is the hipster vibe. From the unique artwork down to the minimalistic decor, it's got a certain grunge, punk, anti establishment, and hippie air to it. There could be something else in the air; but I won't speculate on that... I walked up to the order window and a very mellow dude took my order. He wrote down my choices on a small little whiteboard that he later passed to the "burrito-maker". One thing you need to know before I go on... The food here is vegetarian. Okay cue the dramatic music. Yes, I am eating a vegetarian burrito. No, my doctor didn't suddenly condemn meat in my diet; rather, I really wanted to see if these burritos would be good without meat. Honest!

The JameDog caught my eye with it's garlic roasted potatoes, rice, beans, cheese, chipotle sour cream, lettuce and salsa. There is a choice between refried beans and black beans. I chose the former. Wanting a kick in my burrito, I opted for chipotle salsa. I picked up the Henry for Viv which consisted of tofurkey sausage, rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa and lettuce. To make it easy, I chose the refried beans and chipotle salsa for her as well. There are 2 sizes available, a 10" and a 12" (different of $1.00). Guess which size I got? The 12" of course!!! I've been told that upon leaving, make sure they got your order right and that you got the right amount of change. Apparently, mistakes are common. For me, no mistakes at all and the service was friendly.

So how were the burritos? First off, they are quite large, the thing weighs a tonne! Definitely good value for the $7.50 each. Second, especially with the chipotle salsa, they were not devoid of flavour or spice. Even the tofurkey was pretty darn good. Will never mistaken it for meat; but it had a good bite to it and had a nice texture. The potatoes in my burrito were soft, but not mushy. However, after awhile trying Viv's, I think the Henry was better because of the tofurkey. Definitely not a "wow" eating experience; but it was satisfying, inexpensive and I did not have any meat urges.

The Good:
- Burritos are quite large and heavy
- You really don't miss the meat (at least I didn't)
- Good value

The Bad:
- I guess if you're dead set on eating meat, then move along
- From other people, it looks like that mistakes happen here

Sushi & Main Tea House

I remember trying a bubble tea from Sushi & Main Tea House quite a few years ago. I had dropped off a friend and she went in to get it, so I have never been in the place. From the outside, it's really quaint and soon the curiosity factor sets in. It makes you really want to go inside and try it, even though it says clearly "Sushi & Main Tea House". Yes, the sushi part makes me nervous, partly because it doesn't look like place that should be serving sushi and honestly, is it any good? Well, I wasn't going to find that out today, especially since I was on my way to see my doctor.

So I stroll into the place and notice 2 youngsters waiting for their bubble tea. They looked at my strangely when I started snapping photos. I did the "I'm not a tourist" routine to explain what the heck I was doing. I'm not sure if it worked because they seemed a bit confounded. On the other hand, what confused me was the little girl who came out to take my order. I wasn't expecting that. They start them young these days! I went for a fresh fruit Lychee Slush with Coconut Jelly. As I was waiting for my drink, I soaked in the decor. I gotta say that it's one of the most eclectic combination of things I've ever seen. From the sticker wallpaper to the African art, there was a little of everything in there. I particularly enjoyed looking at the chandelier near the counter. Nice touch. It goes well with the uh... disco ball???

I did like the price of the bubble tea, it only cost me $4.50 for fresh lychees. The drink was quite light and refreshing. The contents were well-blended and the jelly provided all the sweetness I needed. Some might consider the drink a bit bland; but I do not like my bubble tea tasting like liquid candy. The little bits of lychee throughout the drink provided both texture and legitimacy of being a fresh fruit beverage. While I was taking my last photo of the drink at the front window, the little girl asked me what I was doing. I explained that I wrote a food blog. Her reply, "what's a food blog?". Um, it's like a website where I talk about food. She didn't seem to quite comprehend. I ended up giving her a Moo card. She seemed impressed. Look at me, I'm impressing 9 year-olds!

The Good:
- Garage sale decor, it's awesome!
- Pretty good bubble tea, not too sweet
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Although there are a couple of couches, this is not a place to really sit because it's so small
- The name of the place might scare some people off

Green Lettuce (Surrey)

I'm a big fan of Indian Chinese food; however, there are not many places that serve it within the GVRD. I've been to Hakka Masti and Asian Spice out in Surrey/North Delta and they were pretty good. However, I haven't been necessarily ultra impressed so far. In fact, I felt that the 2 aforementioned places over-seasoned their food to the point that it was overpowering. I'll use Italian food as an analogy. If a chef dumps a whole pile of Parmesan on a dish, does that make it right? No, just because certain spices and ingredients are used predominantly in a particular cuisine, it doesn't mean you can use copious amounts of it. At Hakka Masti and Asian Spice, I found that they may have been a bit heavy handed with some of their spices, despite the fact I enjoyed my meals there.

Today, I visited one of the most well known Indo-Chinese restaurants in the GVRD - Green Lettuce. Although I pass by the Vancouver location quite often, I found myself at the Surrey location today. For lunch, they have a few specials which include rice and tea for $8.99. The Szechuan Chicken caught my fancy; but I was a bit hungry and decided to get the Dry Chili Beef for good measure. I was quite impressed with the service and how fast I got my food. Arriving first, the tender slices of perfectly cooked chicken were bathed in a moderately spicy sauce. I could see the chili peppers, green and white onions; but the flavours worked together. This is the balance I was talking about. The special came with a bucket of rice which was more than enough for me.

The Dry Chili Beef was actually a good amount of food since there were no fillers other than the 3 shrimp chips. The tender pieces of beef were only lightly deep-fried and then wok-fried in a spicy chili sauce. Again, I could definitely see the chili and seeds; yet I could still detect sweetness, garlic and a vinegary tartness. Achieving balance in a spicy dish is not a given; but they did here. I really enjoyed my meal here at the Green Lettuce. I most certainly will be returning. And guess what? I have returned, albeit more than a year later. This time around I also had 2 dishes starting with the Peppering Fish. Although this was a lunch special, they did not skimp on the portion size. The plate was overflowing with fish and sauce with very little filler. From what I could gather, it was Basa. It was fried up perfectly being moist and still a bit crisp outside. The sauce was very tasty with a nice combination of chili flakes, garlic and saltiness. Once again, balanced spiciness.

My second dish was the Manchurian Chicken. Again, it was a good amount of food with very little in the way of anything other than meat. However, I found the meat to be stiff and overcooked. The sauce was pretty good with a combination of sweet, tart and spicy. For me, the texture of the chicken didn't do it for me, so this would be the only one of the 4 I've had that was so-so. However, 3 out of 4 is pretty good in my books, especially considering the portion size for the price. Let's see when is the next time I'll return, another year maybe?

The Good:
- Friendly and efficient service
- Spicy food; but not overspiced
- Reasonable prices

The Bad:
- Well, if you don't like spicy food, it ain't for you

McGrath's Fish House

*Restaurant is now closed*

Since we were near Seattle shopping at the Premium Outlets, I made plans to meet up with Goose to celebrate his birthday. I let him choose the venue and he selected McGrath's Fish House in Alderwood Mall. I've passed by this place a few times while dining at Claim Jumper and grabbing some drinks at Jamba Juice. McGrath's is actually a chain of restaurants specializing in seafood, particularly fish (hence the name). Immediately, comparisons to Red Lobster came to mind. Other than the complimentary scones, there is not much to like about Red Lobster (small portions, expensive, food not very good). Again, with an open mind, Viv and I headed 25 minutes south on I-5 from Tulalip to Lynnwood. Goose had to make a reservation a couple hours prior since McGrath's doesn't take reservations the day before. To my dismay, we were seated in a dark area of the restaurant. They didn't have a table for 6 near a window. I am using this excuse for the poor pictures!

Since I was treating, I encouraged Goose and Mother Goose to order lots of food. In actuality, I just wanted to take more photos. Yes, I always have an ulterior motive. Although this time, it cost me! So we started off with 3 appetizers - Crab Cakes, Calamari and 1/2 Pound of Peel n Eat Shrimp. Have you ever looked at a menu and from the description of the food, envision something grand? Well, imagine my reaction when the food arrived. Thinking that I had ordered 3 really large appetizers, it turned out to be 3 really small appetizers. Granted that they weren't too expensive; but the portions were small, especially the calamari. Although the 2 crab cakes looked quite good being nicely browned and all, they were a bit stiff. Furthermore, I didn't get any sweetness of crab. The shrimp were pretty good, they were crisp and accompanied by enough cocktail sauce to drink. However, the calamari was just plain terrible. First, there wasn't much of it (which was probably a good thing). Second, it was glistening with oil. Third, it wasn't fried long enough (or the oil wasn't hot enough) because the squid was chewy and slimmed with uncooked batter. To add insult to injury, the dipping sauce was bland.

At this point I was quite concerned about the rest of our meals. However, the house sour dough bread kept my mind off of it because it was pretty darn good. All entrees come with a garden salad. For a little bit more, you can substitute it with a different salad or soup. I decided to replace my garden salad with the Pear, Candied Walnuts, Fried Yam Strings and Blue Cheese Salad instead. This sounded quite delicious in theory. However, when it arrived, I could barely identify anything underneath the yam strings. There was so much dressing, the greens became soggy. In theory, if they had not overdressed the salad, the crunchy sweet walnuts and crispy yams would've been a great compliment to the pungent blue cheese. Chalk this up to lack of execution. On the other hand, Viv's Seafood Stew (Soup) was pretty good. I guess they called it a stew because there was more ingredients than broth. The tomato broth exhibited nice depth with a touch of "good" fishiness flavour. Goose and Mrs. Goose had the Garden Salad and Coleslaw respectively.

I am normally not a big fan of Tilapia since I find it a bit mushy; but I ordered it because of the lime butter. It's really too bad I didn't taste any lime; I did taste a lot of butter though (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Soft and not too mushy, the fish was actually cooked properly. The same could be said for the green beans and red potatoes. Strangely, there was tartar sauce served on the side. I wasn't sure what the purpose of it was since the fish was already seasoned and not fried. For me, it almost cheapened the dish. Well, then you can give me heck for using it on my potatoes (not sure why I did that). Anyways, I guess the only real complaint for this dish was the absence of lime flavour. Viv chose the Hazelnut Sole with came with a lemon dill sauce. Again, the fish was cooked properly and tasted quite pleasant. I would've like the hazelnut coating to be a bit more crispy; but it was not really a big deal. Furthermore, I did not detect much lemon flavour at all in the sauce, when we squeezed copious amounts of lemon juice on the fish, the flavours seemed to come alive. Not sure if that was the intention; but it sure seems like they shouldn't put "lime" or "lemon" in the description if the flavour is so weak.

Since it was we were celebrating Goose's birthday, I encouraged him to order something good. There was a Live Whole Lobster for $30.00 and King Crab Legs for the same price. In the end, he opted for Sirloin Steak with King Crab Legs. Honestly, it didn't look like a lot of food for $30.00; but Goose seemed to be satisfied with it. He was especially happy with the crab since there was quite a lot of meat packed into the 2 legs. Mother Goose had the Mixed Grill which consisted of a Crab Cake, Prawn Skewers and Wood Fired Salmon. She was really pleased with the perfectly grilled and seasoned salmon. Taking a quick peek, it was indeed flaky and moist.

I really have mixed feelings about McGrath's Fish House. It really has nothing to do with the fact it is a chain restaurant either. The service was predictably friendly and attentive (that's what most people are looking for in a chain restaurant - predictability). On one hand, we had some really average appetizers in terms of size and execution. On the other, we have perfectly cooked fish, albeit lacking in some aspects in terms of flavour. In retrospect, the prices at McGrath's aren't exactly unreasonable for this type of food. However, none of the food made me go "wow" or I really need to eat this again. So, in the end it was difficult to decide whether I liked it or not. When I have this dilemma, I always ask myself whether I return to a restaurant or not. In this case, the answer is not.

The Good:
- Service was very friendly
- Prices were reasonable
- Fish was done properly

The Bad:
- Flavours need a bit of work
- Appetizers were small and not very good
- For the price, you can go to a better independent seafood restaurant

Eagles Buffet (Tulalip Casino)

Believe it or not, I really don't mind shopping. In fact, I am a bit of a deal-hunter. I used to prowl Redflagdeals, Slickdeals and Techbargains quite often until this food blog has taken over my life. Therefore, I am no stranger to shopping at outlets. I regularly visit the Woodburn Outlets just south of Portland and the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip. Having visited Woodburn only 3 weeks ago, it didn't stop us from heading down to Tulalip on the Labour Day weekend. With our Nexus passes, we merrily bypassed the 2-hour lineup at the border and headed south on I-5. Our plan of attack was to snag a choice parking spot at the outlet and wander over to the Tulalip Casino. 

No, we weren't going gambling. Besides, I'm a terrible gambler. My poker face is as subtle as my reaction to good food. We headed over to the land of one-arm bandits and smoke to grab an early lunch (I guess brunch). You might be wondering why we didn't shop a bit first and eat at the food fair. Well, it's already $7.99 for a plate of food at Flaming Wok, the buffet is only $10.99. So if I was intending on eating crappy Chinese food for $7.99, why not pay $10.99 for that and 4 times the amount of food! Besides, you'll be much more comfortable sitting there while stuffing your face. I've been to this buffet quite a few times and I want to share some of my pet peeves about buffets:

- If you do not cut into a lineup at a store, do not cut into line to get that meatball
- Do not take a plate, touch it, inspect it and decide it's dirty and place it back on the plate stack in front of somebody
- Do not pick one-by-one, the best piece of rib in front of everyone
- Do not take all the shrimp when there is a lineup behind you
- Do not eat so much that you have to puke in the washroom for the next person to see
- Do not take a mound of food on 3 different plates, it's a buffet, there will be more food
- Do not secretly place food in your purse, it's against the rules and frankly it's disgusting
- Be polite, don't grunt like a caveman, even though you are gorging like one

Alright, let's get this out of the way first. You will never confuse the buffet at Tulalip Casino with any of the nicer Vegas spreads; but remember, you're only paying $10.99 ($9.99 on weekdays). The buffet makes up with quantity and selection where it may lack in quality. I'm not really into these types of buffets which are devoid of any seafood (except Tuesdays); but for $10.99 and with no immediate competition, I'll eat it. Starting at one end of the buffet is the Chinese food station. I give it to them that there is an actual Asian person wok-frying the food. However, it doesn't taste anything like the dish it is supposed to be. Some of the dishes include Egg Drop Soup, Spring Rolls, Potstickers, Fried Sui Mai, Fried Rice, Noodles, Orange Chicken, Vegetable Stir Fry, and General Tso's Chicken.. 

Whatever the case, I never touch this part of the buffet anyways. Moving along, you'll hit the Italian pasta bar. There are choices of ingredients for a quick pan toss. Honestly, I don't hit this part of the buffet either. I think it's the "Chinese" values instilled in me. I was taught from an early age that things like pasta, mash potatoes, rice and the such should be avoided at buffets since they are only fillers. I guess that's why I also skipped the breakfast items. There is the usual selection of sausage links, sausage patties, bacon, potatoes, scrambled eggs, French toast and pancakes.

Moving over to the next cluster of food, we find chicken fried steak complete with country gravy. I absolutely love this stuff; however, every time I eat it, my stomach doesn't do so well. Therefore, I skipped this as well. Finally, at the next station, I started to put food on my plate. This station consists of onion rings, wings, pot roast, mash potatoes, stuffing and gravy. The items here are pretty standard, however, the pot roast is actually pretty good. Just make sure to go easy on the gravy, it's quite salty. Totally disregarding the "Chinese" buffet strategy, I grabbed some mash potatoes. Hey, I love mash potatoes! Directly next to this station is the hot carving section. It includes fresh rotisserie chicken, a whole ham, salmon fillet and roast beef. I'm not sure what I have against baked ham; but I never seem to get any at a buffet. I also avoided the salmon because it's always overcooked. I did get some roast beef and at least this time, it was cooked perfectly medium rare and quite tender.

Moving on, past the carving station is another pretty decent spread of food. It includes ribs and fried chicken. I particularly like the ribs because they are both tender and sauced-up real well. I usually get a whack load of these. Since I'm there, I take the obligatory piece of fried chicken. Predictably, the fried chicken is overcooked; but I eat it anyways. I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of this section. It could be that I was probably too interested in eating the ribs and forgot to take a picture. Continuing on, the next section includes a couple of pizzas, which I bypassed as well. The following portion of the buffet was actually added a year ago. If you have ever been to the Mongolie Grill, this will look familiar. Behind the spread of veggies, noodles, meat and sauces resides a large round Mongalie grill. You merely pick your items (a la U-Grill) and it is cooked fresh for you.

In the middle of the buffet resides an island where the soups, salads, desserts and ice cream reside. There are the usual mixed spring greens, romaine and lettuce with your choice of various items. There are the requisite pasta salad, potato salad and carrot salad as well. I didn't take a picture of this section partly because it was so busy and also, it's salad. I eat meat! *Grunt* There are 3 soup choices, usually a clear broth, a chowder of some sorts (today it was seafood chowder) and chicken noodle. Lastly, the dessert section is quite extensive and it includes an ice cream bar. There isn't much of a selection, but it's good for the kiddies and also includes all the toppings.

Beverages are also included with the buffet. Choices include juice, pop, coffee and tea. Honestly, the food at Eagles Buffet is quite average. You got some decent stuff mixed in with not-so-good stuff. But for $10.99, it is a good value considering that there are very few dining options around the Seattle Premium Outlets. Add the fact that you will pay at least $8.00 at the food court anyways, the buffet is a no-brainer (assuming you want to take time out of your shopping). If you can go in with reasonable expectations for $10.99, then you will come out thinking you got good value and a bit full.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Pretty good selection for the price
- Includes beverages

The Bad:
- Some of the food is iffy
- Lots of smoke from the Casino side

Tung Hing Bakery

Alright, another one of Holly's suggestions came to fruition today. We needed something quick, tasty and cheap; so I headed over to Tung Hing Bakery for some Banh Mi (Vietnamese subs). It wasn't exactly nearby or convenient to get to; but I really don't let that get in the way of good eats! I was driving on the other side of the street and instead of turning left onto Inverness, I decided to park across the street. Bad move. Try crossing Kingsway at an uncontrolled intersection in the middle of the day. I would have had better luck playing chicken with a large luxury SUV in Richmond. Trust me, I was having second thoughts about risking my life for a couple of sandwiches. I made it across alive to discover a clean and inviting establishment. You see, not all Vietnamese sandwich shops are that inviting.

I really enjoyed the fact that I could see them making my sandwiches right in front of me. Moreover, seeing all the ingredients was both novel and mouth-watering. I ended up getting 3 different Banh Mi - House Special, Honey Garlic Sausage and Meatball. It only cost me $8.50 for all 3! Luckily I arrived when I did, after I left, there was a pretty long lineup. I made it halfway across the street to the median on my way back to the car. Let me tell you, there is nowhere more precarious than hanging out on the median of a busy street.

Alright, about those sandwiches... The first thing you'll notice about them is the freshness of the ingredients. Veggies were crunchy and colourful. The meats were what they should be - moist, chewy and flavourful; but never dry. I particularly liked the sausage sandwich since there was ample amount of meat and it was tasted quite bold. Viv thought it was too sweet and probably it was; but I liked it anyways. The meatball sub was alright; but the one from Au Petit Cafe is both more meaty and flavourful. The house special sub was pretty standard with a variety of meat and plenty of fish sauce flavour. Although they baked their own French rolls fresh; I found that the bread was more dense and not as airy as the ones from Ba Le and Au Petit. By no means were they bad; it's just a personal preference of mine. With that in mind, the subs at Tung Hing are solid and inexpensive.

The Good:
- The place appears clean
- Inexpensive
- Fresh ingredients

The Bad:
- Bread could be a bit lighter