Bo Laksa King's

*Location is now closed*

Yah I know. I'm a little late to the party. So many bloggers have already had a taste of Bo Laksa King's already. I guess a lil' late is better than never. It's not like I don't drive past the place. In fact, I drive by it all the time. However, it's usually on my way to eating at another destination or it's late at night. And don't even think of me stopping while my son is in the car. He won't eat this stuff! Normally, he'd be annoyed at a speck of pepper in his soup. Let alone all the ingredients in a bowl of laksa! Although I was not hungry at all since I only finished up lunch less than 3 hours prior, I stopped in at the Joyce-Way Food Market for some grub. Wait a minute... What the heck? A food market? Yah, if you haven't heard already, Bo Laksa is located in a small grocery store. It is indeed a small operation that really doesn't look too impressive. For some, this may look way too sketchy; but for me and a whole lot of other people, it doesn't matter. Food comes in all forms, from fine-dining to grocery store dining.

Viv hadn't eaten lunch yet, so I promised to pick her up a few items. I went overboard with the "few items". Looking over the menu, I think I almost covered the spread. I got 2 Roti Canai, 1 Laksa, 3 Chicken Satay, a Lahpet Thoke (Fermented Tea Leaf Salad) and Curry Chicken. While I was waiting, I got a complimentary Burmese Tea. So, other than the wraps, I think that's about it with the menu (excluding delivery items). I took a seat at the only 4 seats that are available. Yah, not a good idea to bring a large group in here. You'd probably end up eating in the aisles right next to some canned meat. The steaming hot tea was quite sweet while at the tail end, there is a litte bit of tea flavour (aromatic and a bit herbal). With my order ready, I got into my car and high-tailed it home (trying not to spill anything). I got home pretty quickly and decided to plate everything. Somehow it just doesn't look as nice in the takeout containers.

As for the Chicken Satay, they were not bad considering the cooking method (an electric griddle). There was nice caramelization in terms of appearance and taste. I wasn't a big fan of the peanut sauce, it was too peanut-buttery for me. The Roti Canai was okay, with flaky layers abound. Viv thought they were a bit too chewy and quite oily. She much prefers the one from Banana Leaf. We both didn't like the curry chicken dipping sauce. It was watery and bland. One dish I was curious about is their Fermented Tea Leaf Salad. Apparently, it is so potent (the amount of tea leaves), that you should not eat it all by yourself. And if you did, eat it with plain rice. Otherwise, you'll make Shaggy look calm. A combination of pickled tea leaves, garlic, broad beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and dried shrimp produced a flavour which is quite unique. It's not in your face strong; but you can taste the tea. Depending on what is on your fork, you can get dried shrimp flavour or just merely tea. But the one thing you'll definitely get is a buzz, which Viv found out a bit later. I found this salad interesting; but nothing I'd rush to eat again personally.

Now for the main event, the Laksa! Unlike other places, I could only get vermicelli or yellow noodles, not a mix. No matter, I picked vermicelli. Despite the fact I'm not expert in Laksa, I found this alright; but nothing incredible. By judging the reaction of many other people, it would imply this was the best Laksa ever. However, I think it has something to do with the type of food, venue and different-ness of it all. Don't get me wrong, I thought the Laksa was decent with a good amount of decent ingredients (egg was woefully overcooked though) and a fragrant broth. I would've liked spicier; but again, I'm sure it's to appeal to the masses. Remember that I mentioned that the curry dipping sauce was bland and watery? Imagine a whole order of it... Well, as you can imagine, the Curry Chicken was not good. Sorely lacking flavour and body, this was merely yellow coloured water. Trust me, I really wanted to like Bo Laksa. After all, the dude is a really nice guy and is making an honest living. How can you not want to support that? However, there was nothing that blew me away here. The food was generally okay except for the curry chicken. I guess I was expecting more. For their larger dishes, it is $2.00+ more than Hawker's Delight. Add to the fact that they don't even have proper kitchen equipment and any seating, it can be seen as a bit expensive. Don't flame me here, I didn't dislike the food, I still think people should try it out and see for themselves. Because we all have our personal preferences.

The Good:
- Owner/Operator is a really engaging fellow who cares about his business
- Weird location and interesting food phenomena
- Some unique items

The Bad:
- Too much hype?
- Not as cheap as you might think

Motomachi Shokudo

With so many Japanese ramen shops opening up as of late, it's quite a chore to keep up with them. After all, there are practically none close to where I live; therefore I need to make an effort to try them. Case in point, I had to tag along with Kim when he visited Hokkaido Ramen Santouka a while back. Fortunately, I've already been able to make it out to Kintaro, Benkei, Menya, G-Men, Shoryumen and Kawawa. There are a few more that are on my list and probably the most important is Motomachi Shokudo. Located in the hub of ramen on the lower portion of Robson, Kim highly recommended that I give it a try. Being that I was in West Vancouver already, I made the short jaunt over to Downtown.

Joining me for lunch today was my son. Yah, that's right, just him, the pickiest eater on Earth. Well, at least noodles are one of the food items that he eats. I got the Shio Ramen with extra pork for myself and a Shoyu Ramen for him. As expected, I ended up eating practically both of them. Luckily I was hungry (no breakfast) and the portions were modest. Unlike the Shio Ramen at Santouka, the broth is more standard being a bit clear and a tad salty. I'm still not sure why the one at Santouka is even called Shio since it more resembles a Tonkotsu broth to me. I digress. As mentioned, the Shio broth was light while still being plenty flavourful. It's probably due to the use of chicken rather than pork for its soup base. I liked this way more than G-Men where it was greasy. I really enjoyed the thin al dente noodles, probably one of the best I've had. As for the pork, I got 2 kinds with one being fatty and the other lean. Both were tender and "porky". Of course the fatty one was more delicious!

As expected, the Shoyu Ramen broth had a soy sauce flavour to it; yet it wasn't too salty. It's not really my preferred broth choice, so I'm a bit biased. So it was alright. The thicker noodles were good; but I still prefer the thinner ones in the Shio Ramen. Overall, I really liked the 2 bowls of noodles here (yah, imagine that, 2 bowls...). Guess which drive-thru we visited for grilled cheese afterwards? A decent value considering the quality, quantity and price. I still like the unique Shio broth at Santouka; but Motomachi Shokudo is more than acceptable in my books.

The Good:
- Good tasting broth that is not greasy
- Really good noodles
- Great service

The Bad:
- Broth is a tad light for those who like heavy (go over to Kintaro if you do)

Sushi Line

Once again, I was faced with visiting a restaurant reluctantly. It's not because I had read bad things about it. In fact, I haven't seen much information about it at all. Is it my responsibility to break new ground? I'm not sure. Last time when we ate at Brewster's (which was quite random as well), we considered Sushi Line. Located in the same plaza, it was an option. However, from the outside, it looked like any other generic Sushi joint. In fact, I thought it wasn't really a place I would eat at. Look at it, there are not indications it is even a Japanese restaurant. If "sushi" wasn't in its name, I would swear it looks more like a donair shop.

Nervously walking in, I quickly realize that it is indeed a legit sushi joint. In fact, the older couple running the place looked quite competent. Listening in on their conversations, I'm guessing they are Korean. Once again, it's not important who is making the food, as long as it is good. I was actually quite hungry and ordered 3 items. I started with the Wakame. I absolutely love this stuff, I could probably eat 10 of these easily. This particular one was tossed in toasted sesame and plenty of sesame oil. I personally liked that and of course, the nice "jellyfish"-type crunch. Since I was in the mood for sashimi (and more than 3 pieces), I went for the Assorted Sashimi. Fresh looking and in big slices, I was quite pleased with this offering. The tako was slightly chewy, a nice rebound with the tai with both salmon and tuna exhibiting a meaty texture.

Of course a plate of raw fish ain't enough for me, so I added a Dragon Roll. Unlike some other versions which use a California roll on the inside, this one was more like a dynamite roll with ebi tempura and cucumber. On the outside lay the requisite avocado and unagi topped with tobiko, sweet mayo and unagi sauce. Served slightly warm, I thought the rice was alright. A tad on the mushier side; yet not terribly so. Predictably, the ebi tempura lacked crunch. I could've guessed this since the restaurant is quite small and specializes in takeout; thus the ebi tempura (for rolls at least) was not immediately fried. Despite this, the roll was decent and inexpensive. And really, for a place like this, I didn't expect much. Yet, it ultimately surpassed my expectations and it was a decent experience after all.

The Good:
- Very friendly owners
- Reasonably-priced
- Sashimi is surprisingly good

The Bad:
- It's mostly a takeout operation, don't expect too much eating in
- With only 2 people operating the place, it'll take awhile

St. James's Well

How about that, I ate lunch at Brewster's Pub yesterday and now here I am at another pub today. It seems like I get on these tangents such as ramen 2 days in a row recently at Santouka. Now, unlike yesterday, I was off work and could enjoy a cool one. I had been wanting to visit St. James's Well (what's with the spelling?) for some time now; but something always gets in the way. In fact, we were suppose to go about 3 weeks ago. Strangely enough, I got an email from RBC (yes, he works there and those are his initials...) on that same day suggesting I try the place. Well that was a sign. So Pomegranate and I went straight for the well right after work. Since RBC loves the place, he joined us as well.

Due to a scheduling boo boo, which I am the only one to blame, RBC had rushed over early to meet us, only to find out we were not there. I got tied up at work and didn't leave on time. He had left and finding out that we were still at the pub, he came back. He's a good guy for not getting mad at me. Well, he does read my blog everyday, I guess he just wanted to be mentioned? Anyways, while we were waiting for him to return, Pomegranate and I shared the Stuffed Baby Yorkies. These are essentially Yorkshire pudding stuffed with roast beef and topped off with horseradish cream. This to me is a very unique; yet ultimately logical dish. Think of it, everything you see in a traditional English roast beef dinner in one package. I though these were pretty good, although Pomegranate has had them before when they were hot outta the oven. Thus, he thought these were not as good as the last time. For me at least, I enjoyed the nice bite of Yorkshire pudding with beef and horseradish cream, the perfect combination. Dipped into the au jus made it even tastier.

If that wasn't enough for an appetizer, both of us got a cup of Guinness, Crab, Corn and Cheese Soup. My goodness, this was a very rich and creamy soup. If this is a cup, then I don't want to think how big a bowl is. This was more than enough since it was really so rich. The flavours in this soup was actually quite mild and I really didn't get a sense of the Guinness. Rather, it was mostly sweet due to the corn and crab (which I also didn't see much of). Since we had 2 very filling appetizers (and beers), we weren't really in the mood in eating much more. Thus, we decided to share Sablefish & Chips. We substituted Poutine for the chips. It's not often you find sablefish (aka black cod) as a choice for fish 'n chips. When we got our order, it was quite obvious why halibut is the most popular fish. Being that sablefish is quite fatty, frying it in batter just didn't seem to work. Although the fish itself was cooked perfectly being moist and flaky, the entire thing was very greasy. To me, that didn't work, especially when dipped into more fatty goodness - the tartar sauce. However, the tartar sauce was quite good. It was very flavourful with lots of dill. We also liked the side of mushy peas. It still retained some texture and with the addition of mint, it made for some nice flavour.

I'm not sure why we ordered a dish of French-Canadian origin in an English Pub. Serves us right though because it wasn't so good. The fries were not crisp, in fact, they seemed very generic. Best to use double-fried fries in this particular dish. Despite the generous portion of cheese curds, they were way too small and completely melted into a blob-like mess. I like it melted, but not in this way. However, the gravy was quite nice, having depth without the saltiness. RBC settled on the Steak & Guinness Pie. Visually, it was quite appealing with a crisp, flaky crust and a good amount of meat. He really enjoyed the pie stating that it tasted really good and rich. However, on his last bite, he put something into his mouth that he thought was the last piece of steak. Wrong. It was a blob consisting of undissolved roux. If you can imagine the concentrated flavour in that, He didn't enjoy it and almost horked. Thus, he told our server such. To the restaurant's credit, they offered a replacement (even though it was all finished) or a dessert. Since we were leaving, both were not
options. Consequently, they paid for his beer. It's a small token; but hey, we thought the restaurant handled it with class and appropriateness.

As with any pub, generally, the expectation is that the food will be generic, fried and unimaginative. Yet, the food here at St. James's Well definitely bucks the trend. Sure, there are the pub classics like fish 'n chips, meat pies, burgers and such. However, there are many English favourites such as Bangers and Mash mixed in with some dishes you won't find anywhere else. Although my visit didn't yield any gastronomical revelations, I found the food decent and interesting enough to warrant future visits. The great service we received didn't hurt either.

The Good:
- Some interesting items not found anywhere else
- Pretty decent food for a pub
- Great service

The Bad:
- Possibly some things sounded better than they turned out to be

Brewster's Pub

Sometimes it seems like the good ol' pub never gets the respect it deserves. Well, think of it. Most people associate a pub as a place to grab a few drinks and possibly order some (mostly fried) items to keep it company. At times, most people don't even give a rat's ass about the food since they are inebriated. In that state of mind, practically anything tastes good, especially food that is in a shade of brown. That probably explains the draw of Denny's in the early morning hours. I have to admit it, I don't give pubs much respect when it comes to my gastronomical decisions. In fact, I'll probably go out of the way to avoid them since many serve prepared food supplied from Sysco.

All of the aforementioned reasons most likely led to my hesitation in trying Brewster's Pub even though I've passed by it countless times. I even avoided it to eat at Lucky Horse nearby. Today, Ma and Bubble Girl joined me for lunch. We were searching for a Japanese restaurant in the Newton area that I had not tried yet. We ended up at Tokyo Sushi Express and seeing how I just ate at the Scott Road location the day before, I was not that interested. However, there was Brewster's Pub nearby and Ma thought it would be a great idea. Fine, I'll try it. Even though I could not have any alcohol since we had to return to work afterwards. That's just plain wrong! It's like going to burger joint and ordering quiche. Wait, Miss Y did that...

I don't know about you; but if I'm at a pub, I'm ordering wings, sans alcohol or not! We decided to share an order of their Salt & Pepper Dry Wings. We were quite happy with the amount of well-seasoned wings for $9.95. Slightly on the dry side (I guess that's fine given they are dry wings), these were quite good. Bubble Girl and Ma both decided to get the Beef Dip. Nuts, I was hoping that they'd get different items. Well, at least Bubble Girl substituted a French Onion Soup for her fries and Ma got onion rings. Nothing mind-blowing about the soup; but as you can see in the picture, it certainly has all of the components such as the crouton and copious amounts of cheese. Bubble Girl said it was pretty good. Now if you check out the picture of the beef dip, you'll notice that it's real roast beef. Not only that, it's a bit on the rarer side too. Now that's what I call a beef dip! Combined with caramelized onions and cheese, this was a satisfying sandwich. Kudos for a well-made beef dip.

For myself, I ordered one of their specials - the Cajun Ribeye Steak with mash potatoes and Caesar Salad for $10.99. A strange choice since I already had steak the night before... Okay, I'm not really sure why there was a big BBQ sauce slick atop the steak since it's a Cajun steak. Whatever, the steak was cooked a perfect medium-rare and was quite tender. I thought the BBQ sauce detracted from the steak itself. The mash potatoes seemed like they were freshly made and were a tad on the dry side, the generic gravy helped in that respect. As for the Caesar Salad, it did the job more or less. Romaine was crisp and not overdressed.

Well, it looks like a random pub adventure turned out to be pretty good. At least for the dishes we tried, they all turned out pretty well and at a reasonable price. Unlike some other pubs, Brewster's is well-maintained and clean. Furthermore, the service we got was efficient and friendly. The only issue was that the table of men beside us were a bit curious as to why I was taking pictures of the food with my massive flash (it's dark inside). Think of it, it's not a usual sight to have someone snapping photos inside a pub...

The Good:
- Good portions
- Decent food
- Reasonably priced

The Bad:
- Don't expect gourmet food
- It's still a pub, so the ambiance is not for everyone

Tokyo Sushi Express (Scott Road)

For lunch today, I wasn't really sure where to eat. After all, there are not many restaurants nearby that I haven't tried already. While driving down Scott Road, I noticed that the new Japanese restaurant residing at the old location of Pico Bello had opened for business. I quickly pulled into the parking lot to give it a shot. Yah I know, Japanese food for the second straight day. Honestly, I can eat Japanese food every day if I had to. Thank goodness there are a lot of them. Of course, there are a lot of Japanese restaurants; yet not necessarily Japanese-run. Well, I can confidently say that Tokyo Sushi Express is Chinese-operated. With that being said, I will say what I've been preaching all along: it doesn't matter who makes it, as long as it tastes good.

So other than the addition of a sushi bar and Asian-theme lighting, the restaurant looks almost as it did before. I was the first to arrive for lunch and was greeted warmly by the staff. I think that one of the servers is actually Japanese since she didn't understand a word of what the other staff were talking about in Cantonese. I did and it's interesting to eavestrop on their conversations. Apparently, they are still working out their kinks being so new. I was tempted to order a combination lunch; but I decided to do a-la-carte to try more of their sushi. For me, cooked food like Teriyakis and Yakisobas are not necessarily the best indication of good Japanese food.

I started with Salmon & Tuna Sashimi and they came in really large slices. It's not the best sashimi I've ever had; but honestly, it wasn't too bad. Fish was not mushy and it tasted alright. Next up was 4 pieces of Nigiri which included Unagi, Inari, Toro and Chopped Scallop & Tobiko. Interesting that these looked a bit small since there was very little rice. Not really an issue for me because I don't like too much rice with my nigiri anyways. It was more or less decent for its location. The sushi rice itself exhibited an acceptable texture where it was slightly chewy and a bit sweet. Not much in the way of vinegar and it was a tad on the dry side. I also decided to try out the Phoenix Roll which consisted of imitation crab, scallop, tamago and cucumber encased in a soy wrap. The roll looked nice and was pleasant enough to eat; however, it could've been rolled a bit more tightly. I had to gingerly dip each piece into the soy/wasabi mixture so it wouldn't fall apart.

As if this wasn't enough, I decided to try out the Takoyaki as well. While I was waiting for it, I heard them yelling (and they were doing their best Cantonese "yelling") about where the takoyaki was. That made me a bit nervous because that would indicate premade takoyaki which would ultimately be deep-fried, not pan grilled in a mold. When it arrived, it looked the part, maybe a bit more bonito would've helped with the presentation. They weren't bad per se; but the inside was not as fluffy as I would've liked being a tad doughy. But it did taste alright. And that probably sums up my meal, it was acceptable. Nothing great while nothing bad. It's okay given that there are not many Japanese dining options nearby. Pricewise, I thought it was pretty reasonable and the service (for me at least) was extremely attentive.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Attentive service
- Food is alright

The Bad:
- Lacks a bit of authenticity (if that matters to you)

Akashi-Ya

For me, the corner of King George Highway and 72nd is a bit frustrating. You see, there are medians on all 4 approaches to the intersection. Essentially, if you are driving in the opposite side as to your location, you're pretty much screwed. Think of it similar to Richmond, especially #3 Road, except the traffic moves here. Sure, there are "secret" ways around it as mentioned by Drew (in the comments of the Kyoto post). However, I always seem to get stuck going the wrong way. One time, I thought I'd be creative and pull into a side street. Well, I ended up in one of the many strip malls along KGH. Although it was not my ultimate destination, there were a few restaurants there and I filed it away for future food adventures. One was Lido Chinese buffet and I filed it away in my "if I'm desperate or drunk" category. A couple of stores down is a plain looking Japanese restaurant named Akashi-Ya. I would've actually tried it that day; but it was not open yet.

Honestly, it's a bit difficult to find really good Japanese food out in the burbs. In fact, since I've never gone to Japan personally, I'm sure I don't even know what the "best" Japanese food is like. However, I base my thoughts on the very best I've had in Vancouver. Thus, as we move away from the those places (such as Ajisai), our expectations must be tempered. So, as a disclaimer, if I say the food is "good", it may mean "good for (insert city) ". On a side note, I really have a problem with people who complain that the food here is never as good as it is in (insert country) . Duh. Of course it won't be; but how many people are going to get on a plane to have an "authentic" dinner in the originating country of that cuisine???

So the first thing that caught my eye was a lunch combo which included most of the items I wanted to try (sashimi, tempura, California roll - hey it's a roll and choice of karaage, croquette or gyoza). However, I wanted to give the Spinach Gomaae a try first. Not the most appealing looking gomaae, it was a miss. I wasn't that happy with the toughness of the spinach itself. The dressing wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but at the very least, it was not too overpowering. I was happy to receive some pretty decent-looking Sashimi, especially the wild salmon. And it was good being fresh-tasting and not mushy. When I first laid eyes on the Tempura, I was a bit worried. Looks like they used old oil; thus the darker appearance. Not to worry, it was crispy and the veggies were not overcooked.

I know, I know, a California Roll ain't exactly the best way to try roll sushi; but... I wasn't going to order more food, especially for lunch. Anyways, the sushi rice was acceptable. Still exhibiting a decent bite, while not being too dry, the rice encased fresh avocado. I had a choice for my last item between the Chicken Karaage, Gyoza or Pumpkin Croquette. Since I eat the other 2 items regularly, I went for the Croquette. Quite crispy on the outside with a fluffy and sweet pumpkin filling, I enjoyed it. So once again, I must repeat... "For Surrey", I found that the food at Akashi-Ya to be decent, especially at a reasonable price too. Furthermore, the staff were friendly and kept my tea refilled. It's not going to provide any serious competition to the big boys in Vancouver; but for someone who is in the neighbourhood, it certainly doesn't offend.

The Good:
- Okay prices
- I found the fish fresh (well as fresh as flash-frozen fish can get)
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Gomaae was not very good
- Some other Japanese restaurants in the area are a bit better