Nuba (Seymour)

Taking advantage of the fact that Viv was picking up some things at the Downtown Sears, I dropped her off and went in search of food. The mission - to eat something a bit different and also get something for takeout. Hey, Viv needs to eat too! Heck, I'm not going to try something right in the downtown core, parking would be a nightmare. So looking for something a bit more on the fringe, I targeted Nuba on Seymour. Just as I thought! Plenty of parking available around Seymour and Drake.

Looking over the menu board, I was debating what to order. I hate choices. I can never decide what to eat! I can have one thing in mind and when it's time to take my order, I change it at the last minute. That would be probably the explanation for me standing there for at least 5 minutes with a confused look on my face. I finally settled on the Chicken Tawook Platter for myself and the Crispy Cauliflower Pita for Viv. I originally got one of the very few tables near the inside of the restaurant. However, I was scoping out this dude who was just finishing up right at the window. Before a blink of an eye, I swooped over to snap up that window seat when he left. Anything for better lighting!

I got my order shortly after and despite what others have complained about, I found that the portion size to be acceptable. After all, it wasn't that expensive, what do you expect? Resting on a bed of brown rice was a grilled flavourful chicken breast. A salad and pita bread with humus completed the combo. I gotta say that was one delicious humus. Smooth with a touch of lemon and olive oil, I couldn't get enough of it on each slice of pita. The chicken was a bit on the dry side; but it certainly wasn't tough. I really liked the slightly spicy sauce with cool yogurt. The salad filled space on the plate being quite ordinary except for the pickled cabbage.

The signature dish here is the crispy cauliflower and I got it in a pita for Viv. We didn't know how cauliflower could be so good. Just barely cooked retaining a nice crunch, these little morsels had a nice lemon flavour. Gonna have these bad boys without the wrap next time! I gotta say it was pretty good food at Nuba, especially the cauliflower. I'd probably skip the chicken next time to try something else though.

The Good:
- Something a little bit different
- Who would have thought cauliflower can be so good?
- Unique flavours

The Bad:
- Portion size could stand to be a bit bigger
- Not really a lot of seats at this location

ABC Country Restaurant

*This location is now closed*

ABC??? Has hell frozen over? Has Kawawa suddenly transformed into the second coming of Tojo's? Is it now safe to drive in Richmond??? Hang on, this is not a misprint, typo or cruel practical joke. I did indeed eat at ABC Country Restaurant today. My opinions about the place are pretty much biased. From the countless times I've been to ABC in the past, it has failed to impress me one bit. Could it be that I'm not that enamored with food that can be generally replicated at home? Could it be that most people can do better? I'm not implying that I expect gourmet food here, I just want food that doesn't like look like somebody's leftovers.

I really wasn't intending on dining at ABC; but I said something to Pomegranate that made me feel guilty. I basically said that ABC sucked *ss. Well, he went on to say that his late father loved the place, especially the dinner menu. *Sigh* What was I supposed to do? Go for breakfast at ABC I guess... At least I didn't have to suffer though lunch nor dinner. You'll find that I seem to order Eggs Benny quite often for breakfast. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of it; rather, I find that it is a dish that can demonstrate kitchen execution. This time around, the eggs were perfectly cooked despite the obvious mold they were made in. The Hollandaise was a good consistency; yet I didn't seem to taste anything. For some reason, it wasn't buttery or lemony. I was disappointed that they used smoked ham in place of Canadian back bacon.

Blondie had the French Toast with eggs & bacon. A pretty standard version where the eggs were nicely over-easy. Bacon was crisp and toast soft, not much to complain about here. Ma had the Bacon and Eggs. The eggs were a perfect sunny side up and the bacon crisp once again. The country potatoes were alright. I'd prefer if they were a bit more on the crispy side, much like the ones at Denny's.

Yah, I'll admit it. The breakfast here at ABC was decent and inexpensive. However, I must say that I've been to ABC countless times in the past and their lunch/dinner items lean more towards home cooking. And when I mean home cooking, it's home cooking from the 80's. I know there is a market for this type of restaurant, especially with families and older customers; yet, it's not something I would frequent when there are so many other choices around.

The Good:
- Service is friendly
- It's reasonably priced
- Breakfast is decent

The Bad:
- Lunch/Dinner meals were good... in the 80's
- Not much in the way of creativity when it comes to the food

X-Site Grill & Bistro

What's up with X-Site Grill & Bistro? Everytime I drive by the place, I see their specials proudly advertised with a large banner across the front. So what's the big deal you might ask? How about daily specials that are around $6.00? WTH? Yeah, that's what I was thinking. That's pretty darn cheap. You know when a deal seems too good to be true... Tonight, Viv and I decided to finally try this place and figure out if they were for real. One things for sure, for a Thursday night, they're pretty busy. Inside, there was definitely the strangest mix of patrons you'll ever see. Young University students mixed in with older Asian folk, all in one restaurant.

Looking over the menu, I was a bit taken aback by the prices. Either everything was missing a "1" in front of it or they really were serious about charging what is essentially McDonald's prices for a real sit-down restaurant. Again, can this be too good to be true? To find out, we first started with a Calamari to share. At $6.00, this was a formidable portion of large squid rings. They were tender and the batter was crisp while not being oily. Only criticism is that since they were so large, it's a bit hard to eat. By virtue ofordering a beverage, Viv was able to order the daily special which happen to be the Grilled Salmon for $6.00 (it's Sirloin Steak on Mondays!). Not the most aesthetically pleasing piece of salmon, it was still cooked right being moist and tender. To fill out the plate, there was a massive salad, rice, garlic toast and boiled potatoes with sour cream. Nothing to write home about; but this was a complete meal for the price of a Japadog!

For me, I went for the Mushroom Burger. Also for $6.00, I got a homemade patty topped with mushrooms with salad and boiled potatoes on the side. Nothing extraordinary with the burger; yet again, it was solid. I particularly liked the soft bun, it makes the whole thing easy to eat. I found that the use of boiled potatoes with sour cream an interesting departure from the usual French fries. I actually liked them. So including Viv's drink, our meal came out to $20.00 plus tip and tax. Okay, the food wasn't outstanding; yet for the price, what do you expect?

The Good:
- Incredibly cheap
- Food is decent, if not boring
- Service is friendly, when you can get their attention

The Bad:
- It's pub food, don't expect any more, any less
- The open seating plan is a bit strange
- Service is slightly sparse

Salt Tasting Room

It's really taken me a long time to finally pay Salt a visit. I keep thinking of it and I never get a chance to do it. Why? First of all, it is not exactly a place you would take your kids. Second, it's not a part of town I frequent all the time, especially the alleyways. Third, it's not exactly meant to fill you up. Aha! But today was the nearly perfect day! I was in between meals and I only had one kid with me. Better yet, I had the kid who would actually eat the stuff. Guess who that was? Yes, it was my daughter, she is game for any food. We were able to snag a spot on Cordova and made the short trek into Blood Alley in the pouring rain. With booster seat in one hand and daughter in the other, I was thinking this better be worth it! As I was attempting to take a picture of the front of the restaurant, a few individuals made some comments. As the flash went off, a voice from the shadows remarked, "was that lightning???" Another blurted out, "I hope you didn't get me in that picture!" Uh... Okay... Now why do I avoid the alleyways again?

Since it was 3:00pm in the afternoon, it was not busy at all. In fact, we were only the 2nd table there. This is good, we could eat in peace and quiet and my daughter could chuck food if she had to. But she's smarter than that, she'd eat it! Viv and I both each went for the $15.00 tasting platter. For each platter, we had a combination of 3 meats/cheeses and 3 condiments. I selected Mike's Corned Beef, Pork Cheek Headcheese, and Manchego Cheese. My 3 condiments included Guinness Mustard, Quince and Apricot Chutney. Included with our order was a nice selection of bread and crackers. The mustard was a natural fit with the melt-in-your mouth corned beef. My daughter ate quite a bit of it. My son doesn't know what he's missing! Honestly, I really couldn't tell the difference that they had used pork cheek for the headcheese other than a slight textural difference (it was less chewy). I'm not sure if I made the right decision to get quince as a condiment though, all I tasted was sweet. Surprisingly, the chutney brought sweetness to the sharp Manchego. Made from sheep's milk, Viv really didn't prefer the gaminess (but I do!).

Viv selected the Ash Camembert, Avaonlea Cheddar and Capicollo. Her condiments included Cipollini Onions, Piccalilli Relish and Piparres Peppers. Predictably, the Camembert was soft enough to spread and it was buttery smooth. The aged cheddar was quite flavourful with strong hints of nuttiness. The fatty capicollo was a bit spicy and went well with all the condiments. It brings up an interesting observation though. For Viv's condiment choices, it seemed that all of them went well with anything. Paired with some red wine, the "snack" was tasty, interactive and fun. We felt the $15.00 is a reasonable price for the tasting plate despite the fact it doesn't look like much. In this case, it is the sum of the parts that is more important that each individual item. Definitely something different in an interesting location.

The Good:
- A multitude of combinations to be had
- Interactive food which is high in quality
- It's unique

The Bad:
- Don't come here if you're hungry
- Interesting location

Kawawa Ramen

*Restaurant is closed*

Talk about not learning from my own mistakes. If you recall my post on Kawawa Japanese Restaurant, I wasn't exactly thrilled with my meal. And that's putting it lightly. I'm often quite fair and almost too courteous to rip into a restaurant; but there was no way I could hold it in after the AYCE debacle. You'd think that in the eyes of Pavlov, I'd never return to anything remotely related to Kawawa. Well, you're wrong. I'm either a glutton for punishment or I really have a short memory because here I was at Kawawa Ramen. Right next door to the scene of one of the worst meals I've ever had. Kim had blogged about Kawawa Ramen and it seemed passable. Well, it couldn't get any worse, could it?

We were in the vicinity of Metrotown and we needed to eat. It was raining and parking underground seemed like a good idea. Everything seemed to point in the direction of Kawawa Ramen. As the elevator doors opened, I caught a glimpse of Kawawa Japanese and all the bad memories came flooding back. My first instinct was to run. Run really far away. Like all the way to Richmond. Wait, that's probably too extreme. I held onto my daughter tightly and briskly walked past Kawawa Japanese, trying not to look up. Breathing heavily and beading with sweat, I made it over to Kawawa Ramen. Dr. Phil would be impressed, I faced my fears and survived.

Alright, now it was time for me to see if they could somewhat redeem themselves. Viv ordered the Kimchi Ramen and a side of Gyoza. To absolutely no surprise, the gyozas sucked. If they had called them Chinese Potstickers, there may have been a chance that it would be believable. Again, another example of misinterpreting Japanese food. The gyoza skin was thicker than mochi. If that wasn't bad enough, it was soaked in enough grease that it would make a pubescent teenage boy's face look good. Epic fail! Oh no, is this what we were in for??? Noooooo!!! It's happening again! Nightmare on Kingsway, Part II! Instead of Freddy Krueger, I was just waiting for the "Ton-Can't-Chew" to come put me out of my misery.

Interrupting my panic attack, all 3 bowls of ramen arrived. Okay, I'll serve my kids the food first. They can be my official taste testers. We got them a bowl of Miso Ramen to share. Hmm... My daughter was a bit indifferent towards it, while my son didn't seem all that enthused. Wait, he hates everything. Oh alright, I need to try this for myself! With hands shaking and more beads of sweat running down the side of my face, I put chopstick to ramen and dove in. Getting ready to hork, I started to chew and... it wasn't too bad! At least in my bowl, the noodles were al dente. I actually ended up getting the Tongue Ramen. I know, I know, I love tongue, what can you say? Can never get enough tongue you know? Once again, I asked Viv if she wanted any tongue and she gave me another one of her famous dirty looks.

Although the ramen and tongue were good, the tonkotsu broth was not. It was quite weak and not overly hot. Kintaro Ramen need not worry. There is no comparison. Viv's Kimchi Ramen was quite average. She noted that it did not taste like kimchi; rather some lame attempt at pickled cabbage. She didn't like it. As for the pork, it was decent. Despite being quite bland, it was tender and had a good amount of fat. I also got the Golden Egg and it was actually quite good. However, the entire meal was a bit uneven. There were some really low points mixed in with a few decent parts. Not remotely close to being as bad as the restaurant next door, Kawawa Ramen is still the perfect example of mediocre Japanese food.

The Good:
- Prices are reasonable (for the venue and location)
- Food didn't suck (compared to next door)
- I survived

The Bad:
- Portions are a bit small
- Broth is a bit weak
- Gyozas should not be called as such

Pho Hoa Hong

Last time I visited Pho Tam out in Whalley, I noticed that there was another Pho restaurant a couple of stores down. I found it a bit strange since Pho Tam is probably one of the most solid Pho restaurants I've been to. Wouldn't it be hard to compete? It's like trying to open up a clothing store right next to Walmart. How can you compete with bigger, cheaper and better (well, that might be contentious; but you get the point)? For me, I just had to try it out. This time around, I just made sure I didn't circle too many times around the block. Apparently, the cops mistaken me for something else since I drive a black SUV.

Joining me for lunch today is Sexi Mexi. Yes, she is Mexican and she loves Pho! I wonder what would happen if we combined the 2 cuisines? How about refried bean pho??? Uh, maybe not. Well, I did order the Shrimp Salad Roll and it does resemble a burrito. Alright, I'm grasping at straws here. Although it was fresh and crisp, the salad roll would have benefited from more shrimp as you could see in the picture. As per usual, I got the Pho Tai, Nam, Gan, Sach, which is essentially the everything but the kitchen sink pho. Topped by a reasonable amount of tripe, flank, tendon and rare steak, the noodles were still a bit chewy (which is a good thing). However, I thought the broth was a tad on the weaker side. I did detect beef flavour with some spice; yet overall, it did not stand out. It wasn't bad; but Pho Tam is better.

One of the rare times, I got to see someone eating Chicken Pho. Sexi Mexi went for the chicken meatball pho and it did seem quite a bit lighter than my meat ladened bowl. I don't know about you; but I associate Pho with beef and this chicken thing seems a bit wrong to me. Noodles looked good though. And this brings up a good point. Everything was decent, if not pretty good. Yet, is that good enough when 2 stores down is Pho Tam, where you can get bigger and better value. Well, they both co-exist in the same strip mall, so I guess it's all good.

The Good:
- Inexpensive (like most Pho places)
- Decent bowl of pho

The Bad:
- Soup was a bit weak
- Lemon wedge instead of lime (I know, I'm being picky)

The Teahouse

To me, it was a bit perplexing to see the iconic Teahouse in Stanley Park renamed Sequoia a few years back. After all, there are many people who have fond memories of the Teahouse and a name change just didn't seem right. Fortunately, the decision was to revert back to the name we are familiar with. Of course, change can be good as well. Recently, Francois Gagnon, formerly of Blue Water and Cin Cin, has taken the reigns as Executive Chef at the Teahouse. Tonight, I was invited to give the Teahouse a try. I've been here when it was known by it's original name and while it was the Sequoia. This will be my first time back since reverting back to the Teahouse.

I arrived a little early and took a seat while waiting for my table to be setup. During that time, I sipped on a Candy Apple Martini. I was shown to my table and ironically, it was the same table I sat at last time I was here. Although, that time, I was dining with Viv. No Viv this time, it was just me, in a corner, snapping photos of my food. Thank goodness the staff knew exactly what I was doing. I don't know about you; but if I were a third party, I would be a bit disturbed at a guy sitting in the corner snapping photos of his carpaccio from many different angles. "He seems a bit lonely with his pounded raw meat..."

Before the carpaccio arrived, I was brought a amuse bouche in the form of a Dungeness Crab Tortellini with lobster reduction. The tortellini itself was al dente filled with fluffy crab meat. It appears this was a study in aromatics and natural sweetness since it was very lightly seasoned. The lobster reduction was rich while successfully taking a backseat to the crab. I enjoyed this very much and could have ate a whole plate of them. Appearing next was the plate of Beef Carpaccio, which in fact, I did take multiple pictures of... If you look at the picture, it seems to be a lot of things going on in one plate. You have the beautiful beef underneath truffle mayo, fried onions, pecorino romano, quail eggs and microgreens with a splash of olive oil. Combining all of the ingredients into one bite yields buttery soft beef combined with the saltiness of the cheese, smoothness of the mayo and crunchiness of the onions. A wide range of textures, flavours and aromatics are encompassed into every bite. Although I've had quail eggs with my carpaccio before, it seems a bit unnecessary since it doesn't add anything that isn't already present on the plate. It's quite possibly I much prefer the Japanese version of Yuke where it comprises of a raw quail egg atop raw beef. Chalk this up to personal preference.

For my main, I selected the AAA Ribeye with wild mushrooms and fingerling potatoes (added 2 prawns as well). Nicely charred on the outside, the ribeye was perfectly medium-rare. I particularly liked demi-glace with the wild mushrooms. It was rich; yet understated so that the natural meat flavour remained the star of the show. The fingerling potatoes were firm while being fork tender at the same time - perfect execution. The only thing I would change are the prawns. Despite being cooked perfectly, there was a bit too much salt.

Finally, for dessert, I had the Molten Chocolate Cake. If you've ever tried the one at Morton's, this one is better. Piercing through the crisp exterior into the soft interior revealed a sinful gush of Grand Marnier chocolate ganache. I thought to myself, "I'll only take a bite". Guess what happened? One bite became the whole darn thing. Bad Sherman! I decided to call it a reverse chocolate souffle since that's what came to mind when I bit into it. I liked how the sweetest item on the plate was the vanilla ice cream since the chocolate was rich without being sugary. This was an very enjoyable meal. Of course when one doesn't have to pay for a meal, it's a bonus. However, I'll hold true to my belief that good food is good food, despite the fact they knew I was going to write an article about it or not. A bad restaurant doesn't suddenly become a good one overnight. Besides, I've been to the Teahouse before (albeit with a different executive chef) and I liked it. This visit has not changed my opinion.

The Good:
- Prices are quite reasonable considering the venue
- Portions are good (no Filet-O-Fish required afterwards)
- Service is excellent (based on previous visits, since this time doesn't count!)

The Bad:
- Serious lack of parking if the place gets full
- A bit hard to get to without a vehicle