On Yuen

So you have 5 bux in your wallet and you're plenty hungry. What are the options? Nachos with mystery cheese sauce at 7-11? Nope, not that, I'm talking about a real meal. There are the usual fast food joints such as McD's, Wendy's, Burger King and so on. So sure, it is possible to get a full meal for that amount of money. Now if we ignore these places, where else can one go? Pizza slices, sandwich shops and something like Kent's Kitchen could do the job as well. And let's not even mention food carts. I dare anyone to get full from any of the new food carts in Vancouver for less than $6.00. A good bet is Chinese food. Generally inexpensive and plentiful, it is one of the best values out there. Sure, it ain't pretty sometimes and generally greasy; but for quantity, it can't be beat. Yet, even with that being said, for $5.00, that is still a tough thing to find even at a Chinese restaurant.

So imagine my curiosity when I heard that On Yuen in Surrey had lunch specials for $4.95. Normally, when it is advertised that there are lunch specials from $4.95, there are usually a token dish while everything else is much more expensive. Not here though. The majority of the lunch specials were indeed $4.95. With all the choices available, I went for the Brisket in Portuguese Sauce on Rice. Now, this was more of a curry sauce than Portuguese. Even with that, a "Portuguese" sauce is actually a Chinese interpretation, so don't expect anything remotely related to Portugal. This was the result of the Portuguese influence on their colony of Macau. Anyways, the curry was actually very flavourful and had a noticeable amount of heat. There was a considerable amount of sauce for the rice on the plate. The brisket itself was not too fatty while being extremely moist.

Ma had the Yeung Chow Fried Rice, which is better known as the BBQ Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice. I found the rice to be too soft. It was probably either not day-old rice or it was too wet to begin with. Hence, it ended up to be a bit clumpy. It was properly seasoned though; yet the shrimp was very bland. Too much cold-water rinsing? It probably washed away all the flavour and they didn't do anything to season it. At the very least, the cold-water rinsing resulted in a desirable texture. When the Chicken in Cream Sauce on Rice arrived, it looked a bit too saucy. However, it was better than it appeared. The sauce itself wasn't exactly creamy. It was more milky-starchy than anything else. However, it had a good flavour with tender slices of chicken and vibrant veggies. With that being said, I would take a HK-style cream chicken rice over this.

Looking over the menu, it was baffling to some that there was no Chicken Chow Mein. In place of that, there was a Broccoli Beef Chow Mein. I've seen this on rice; but rarely on noodles. In the end, I thought it really didn't work. Possibly it was the wrong choice of noodles though. We got the soft noodles and the whole thing ended up to be wet. Maybe it would've fared better with the fried noodles. If we looked at the broccoli and beef independently, it was okay. The beef was sufficiently tender without losing its texture while the broccoli was still crunchy. I wasn't a big fan of the sauce though, it was a bit heavy on the oyster sauce.

Moving along, we also had the Satay Beef with Rice Noodles. The rice noodles were fried up nicely where there was still texture without being clumpy. However, the entire dish was extremely oily including the sauce. The sauce was decently flavourful without being spicy at all. Once again, the beef was properly tenderized without losing its texture. On the same note, the Beef Fried Rice Noodles were equally greasy. That was not surprising though since the only way to keep the rice noodles from sticking to the wok is the use of oil and high heat. Overall, the food was okay. Hey, what can we expect for $5.00 + tax and tip? While we were there, we noticed a diverse crowd getting takeout. Hey, if you can get a meal for $5.00 that doesn't involve a drive-thru, it's a deal.

The Good:
- Cheap lunch specials
- Friendly if not sparse service (it got really busy)
- Food is alright

The Bad:
- Food is alright (there is definitely better; but probably not nearby)

Pho 99 (Schoolhouse)

Normally, I try to be as creative as possible when looking for eats. This is especially true when I'm all by my lonesome. Think of it, I'm already bored due to the fact I have no one to talk to. Why not eat something interesting to make up for it? Well, call it an epic fail this time around. I was scouring the neighbourhood around Maillardville for lunch options, in particular along Austin Road. One after one idea was squashed due to the absence of available parking. What is this? Richmond? Well, I really didn't have time to circle around and around looking for a space since I had to take the car in for servicing shortly after. Thus, I ended up at the new Pho 99 location attached to Zone Bowling right next to Silvercity.

Creative? Nope. Food that can be eaten quickly? Yup. As I walked into the spacious restaurant, it was only about 1/3rd full. Yet, they tried to stick me in a corner with no light. That won't do right? I asked for a window seat and everything was back on track. Normally, I order far too much food and this time it was no different. I decided to start with the Roll Combo consisting of one spring roll, one shrimp salad roll and one grilled minced pork roll. I have to say all 3 rolls were pretty average. First, the spring roll was made with a wheat wrapper. Not a big deal if it were good; but it was kinda bland. Then the 2 salad rolls did not have enough lettuce and didn't have any sprouts or basil. Hence it was mostly soft without any crunch. On the other hand, the Pork & Vietnamese Ham Banh Mi was pretty good. The bread was crunchy on the outside while airy and soft on the inside. There was a good amount of meat, pickled carrots along with crunchy cucumber.

As always, I went for the Pho Dac Biet. Similarly to all the other times I've been to the other locations of Pho 99, the portion size is acceptable - neither too little or a lot. I found the meats to be tender while the noodles were al dente. As for the broth, it was sweeter than I would've liked and it had this "daikon" flavour to it. Not sure if they used daikon in the broth; but it surely tasted more like Chinese soup than Vietnamese beef broth. With that being said, it was good in its own ways. It just didn't taste typical of Pho. So there is my boring meal. It was okay and pretty typical of what you get at Pho 99. At the very least, it is a better value than
Phố Hoàng Tung nearby.

The Good:
- Predictable
- Conveniently located from the Silvercity and Zone Bowling crowd
- Okay value

The Bad:
- Food is predictable; yet it is missing some things
- Service could be more attentive

Toulouse Petit

Lineups. I can't stand lineups. I've expressed this sentiment over and over again. Hey, I'm all for good food; but if there is an excessive amount of people waiting for it, I tend to shy away. This is especially true when I have the kids with me. Just imagine their patience level waiting in line to be seated. This is what happened the previous day when I drove by Paseo. No can do, I just kept on driving. So you can see my apprehension about visiting another Seattle favourite - Toulouse Petit. They do take reservations; but not for breakfast. So my only choice was to show up early. That involved waking up, loading up the car and heading into Seattle from Bellevue. It was all worth it though. We got seated right away. By the window no less!

Besides being a great place to grab brunch, another reason we ended up here was the kid-friendliness of the place. As such, there was the usual crayons and coloring paper; yet curiously, there was no kid's menu. Hence, we had to order a regular-sized breakfast for my son. No matter, I was hungry anyways. The Classic Eggs Breakfast consisted of 2 eggs, choice of sausage, ham or bacon, hashbrowns and toast. My son decided on the scrambled eggs and sausage, which incidentally would've been my choices as well. Hey, might as well test the skill of the kitchen with scrambled eggs right? Well, the eggs were nearly perfect. They were folded nicely and fluffy. I would've preferred them just a smidgen less cooked; however, that is nit-picking. The house-made sausage patty was meaty and devoid of fatty chunks. It was not overseasoned where we could still taste the meat. The hashbrowns were the cubed fried variety and were seasoned with with cajun spice.

For myself, I had the Cured Pork Cheek Confit Hash which happened to be featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". Although I didn't make the breakfast happy hour price (which was the theme of that episode), it really didn't matter. I really needed to see for myself if it deserved the fanfare. Consisting of tender pork cheek, parsnips, potato, arugula, asparagus and chilies, this was an interesting hash. I mixed in the perfectly poached eggs and this was a very enjoyable plate of food. The best thing I ever ate? Well no. However, I can't deny that it was something a bit different and tasty. I found the pork cheek in this application to have a similar consistency as stewed beef tongue (which is a good thing btw). There were other flavours at work here other than the salty pork cheek. The bitterness of arugula and the kick from the chilies added a few other angles of flavour.

As for Viv, she decided on the Duck Terrine Benedict. Now when they say terrine, they meant it. Sitting atop the muffin was a thick slice of duck liver terrine with pistachios. And on top of that was 2 perfectly poached eggs and a wonderful Hollandaise. The terrine itself didn't exhibit much "duckiness"; yet it was still very good nonetheless. We thought it would be heavy in an eggs benny and it really wasn't. The main thing is that it was different. In fact, that was one of the highlights of this breakfast. We didn't eat the same ol' thing again, like bacon and eggs. Add into the fact that it was tasty while being in an eclectic environment with solid service, well we can see why Toulouse Petit is so popular. I can't wait to return for their dinner service.

The Good:
- Something a bit different
- Food is executed well (for what we tried)
- Service was attentive

The Bad:
- A bit pricey for breakfast (but was worth it IMO)
- There are no reservations taken at breakfast, prepare to lineup

Facing East Taiwanese

When Goose first moved down to Seattle, particularly Redmond, for employment in the high-tech industry, Asian food was only an afterthought. I remember him taking me to Noble Court for Dim Sum in 1999 and it was completely forgettable. To be fair, I was trying to hold up Vancouver standards for Asian food in a completely non-Asian place. Fast forward over 10 years later and the Asian food scene in Seattle, specifically in Bellevue has improved dramatically. With more and more Asians moving into the Emerald City and its suburbs, there are more legit places to go for Asian food. Hey, even the world-renowned Din Tai Fung decided to put a location at Bellevue Square. So after a relatively decent noodle experience at Boom Noodle (honestly, it was not bad with all things considered), I set my sights on Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant. That's right. Not only was I going for Chinese food in Bellevue, I was aiming for a specific type of Chinese cuisine. With all the Taiwanese joints available in the GVRD, you'd think it would be nuts for me to head to Bellevue for such food.

Well, I went in with an open mind and considering all the great reviews it gets, I did have high expectations. First of all, we had to try their drinks. Bubble tea and Taiwanese cuisine seem to go hand-in-hand. Well, just like what others have said, the drinks were very good. Rather than substituting sugar for flavour, the drinks here tasted like its description. For instance, the Mango Slush was like drinking a mango, while the Pineapple Slush was the same. The drinks were blended until smooth; yet there were still desirable chunks of pineapple in our slush. As for the Red Bean drink, I didn't ask Goose about it. Besides, I'm not a huge red bean fan (LOL).  

According to many of the reviews, the "must have" item was the Pork Burger. Reminiscent of many modern takes on an Asian pork belly slider, this was the real deal. Encased within a soft mantou was a large piece of melt-in-your mouth braised pork belly. There was a little of everything in there to tickle the tastebuds including white sugar, ground peanuts, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and a touch of sweet hot sauce. Combined with the inherent flavours of five-spice, soy and ginger from the pork belly, it was a veritable flavour explosion. This is really a must order. The next dish might seem odd to some people - Silky Tofu with Aged Duck Egg and Dried Pork Floss. What? Well, for the uninitiated, the preserved duck egg is indeed the black thing on top. The whole dish is finished with dried pork fluff and a thick sweet sauce. The result is something that is very tasty. The silky tofu acted as a blank canvas for the other flavours. The preserved egg has a unique sweet umaminess to it and when combined with the sweet sauce and saltiness of the pork floss, it created another flavour explosion.

Another suggested dish was the 5 Spice Fried Chicken with Basil. This is somewhat similar to salty peppery chicken except for the obvious addition of 5 spice powder. There was still some salty, peppery and spicy thing going on except with the addition of more flavours and of course basil. In this case, they used breast meat which made for slightly drier chicken and less flavourful in my opinion. This was probably one of the more average items we had at the table. Another appie was the 5 Spice Beef Wrap. In this version, it was really a wrap as the menu description implies. It was almost like a cone with thin slices of beef shank, onions and cilantro. I found that there was an overwhelming amount of cilantro and onion, where that was all I tasted. The pancake itself was very thin and crisp. Again, this was only okay for us. When at a Taiwanese restaurant, I guess the Beef Noodle is mandatory. So yes we got a large order with thick noodles. It arrived it a really large bowl with lots of beef broth. I found it to be pretty decent with some meat flavour, somewhat sweet and a small hint of spice. The noodles were al dente while the beef and tendons were super tender.

While reading up on Yelp, another one of the recommended dishes was the Spiced Pork Stew over Rice. I got the large order and it was a fair-sized portion for $4.95. In fact, most of the items on the menu are priced reasonably. This was a pretty solid dish. In fact, my son ate it, so it must've been good. I found the rice to have a good texture whereby it was soft while not being wet. The stewed pork was super moist and flavourful and when mixed into the rice, there was just the right amount of seasoning. Of course, the familiar taste of soy, 5-spice, rock sugar, ginger and garlic were quite apparent. For some strange reason, I added the Pork Chop on Rice even though we already had a pork and rice dish. We universally agreed that it was unnecessary since there was more than enough food already and the fact it was quite "meh". The pork chop was not really all that moist or tender. Furthermore, it was not really all that flavourful either. It exhibited some of the same spices as the stewed pork; but there was not enough to make the rice tasty. Served on the side was pickled mustard greens, half a tea egg and Shanghai bak choy.

For our requisite veggie dish, we had the Four Seasons Green Beans. Despite the appearance of very little ingredients and lack of colour, the beans were seasoned properly. Lots of garlic, onions, salt, sugar and a touch of spice made up for the lack of flavour from the pork chop. The beans could've stood to be a bit less cooked since they were slightly soft. At least we made use of the plain rice with this. In fact, the 3 Cup Chicken was another dish that went well with the plain rice. These were some of the largest pieces of chicken I've had with this type of dish. Consequently, the chicken was moist and tender. As for the seasoning, there was a good balance of flavours including a good amount of zing from the Shao Xing wine and aromatics provided by the whole cloves of garlic and fresh basil leaves.

As we were finishing up our meal, it was quite obvious there would be plenty of leftovers. I guess I forgot we only had 4 adults eating along with 3 kiddies. However, we kept eying the endless stream of the Fresh Mango with Shaved Ice passing by us to literally every table. Well, when in Rome... So we ended up with a small order, which was still plenty for us. The large is just plain massive. Atop a big pile of shaved ice was big chunks of ripe mangoes topped by mango juice and condensed milk. Despite its appearance, it was not very sweet. Rather, it was a refreshing end to a surprisingly good meal. We went in with high expectations and Facing East mostly lived up to it. Of course it isn't a mind-blowing experience (rarely anything is); but it was solid and considering the location, it is both authentic and a good value.

The Good:
- It can give Vancouver Taiwanese restaurants a run for the money
- Reasonably-priced
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Service is hurried
- Long, long lineups
- If you thinking parking lots in Richmond are insufficient, you haven't seen nothing yet

Lunchbox Laboratory

After a failed attempt at snagging a Cubano at Paseo due to the crazy ass lineup, we were in search for other eats. No fear though, I came prepared. Our backup plan was the Lunchbox Laboratory, which was suggested quite awhile back by Inspector Gadget. It has since moved from its original location and now occupies digs which are more spacious and modern. I never got a chance to visit their old place; but from all indications, the new place is not as divey nor has as much character. That was not a major concern for me since I had my son in tow and we were starving. So what's the deal with the Lunchbox Laboratory that I'd actually use up one of my meals during my brief stay in the Emerald City? Well, it is consistently rated one of the best burgers in Washington and in fact, the country. They only use Kobe Beef and organic kaiser buns from Essential Bakery. With that in mind, it somewhat explains the premium price on their burgers.

With window seat acquired and stomachs growling, we set down to ordering. I paid my respects to Dick's Burgers (even though I'm not a big fan) by going for the Homage to Dick's Deluxe which consisted of American cheese, honey-cured bacon, lunchbox onions and top secret burger sauce. One bite into the burger and that's when the grease started to flow. This was totally expected since Kobe beef ain't diet food. With oil and sauce dripping from the burger down my arm, I took bite-after-bite of seriously moist beef. It was more greasy than juicy per se; but the meat was not dry at all. I really liked the crisp bacon, it was low on the fat and heavy on the flavour. The bun was easy to eat and generally held the burger together until near the end where it disintegrated. 

For my side, I had the Mac 'n Cheese, which I promptly passed to my son. This was one seriously flavourful mac 'n cheese without the reliance on salt. It had a sharp cheddar taste while exhibiting some blue cheese hits. This was seriously cheesy and rich. For my actual side, I had the 3/16th Skinny Fries which were closer to crisps than fries. They were very crunchy and had no potatoness left in them. I did like them though, they were crispy all the way to the last one.

Viv ended up with the Smoker. No, she wasn't standing outside hacking a butt; rather, it was a burger consisting of Havarti cheese, honey-cured bacon, smoked pepper mayo and she substituted balsamic onions in place of the lunchbox onions. I gotta say good call on the balsamic onions. They added an oomph that really cut through the heaviness of the meat. And in the spirit of the sign out front which exclaims "6 pieces of bacon is just normal", there seemed like that much in her burger. For her side, she had a Caesar salad. A salad? Like that would really help cut down the fat of this meal. Anyways, for good measure, I added another side of Tater Tots because the table beside us seemed to be enjoying them. And I can see why, they were fried up perfectly crisp while being soft on the inside. Such simple pleasures in life. Burgers in general can be simple as well; but not here. The meat is rich, the toppings are tasty and plentiful. Health food this is not and cheap it is not as well. For me, I appreciate the quality of the ingredients that go into my food and the meat is indeed good here, as well as everything else. However, I can see how some people could be turned off by the pricing.

The Good:
- Moist Kobe beef
- Lots of quality toppings
- Comfortable digs

The Bad:
- Some people may not see it as good value
- Well, it's greasy (but I like it)

Boom Noodle

*Restaurant is now closed*

Out of nowhere, Viv thought it would be a great idea to head down to the States on the Canada Day long weekend. Well, that is not really a stretch except we were going to head to San Diego a little over 3 weeks anyways. Whatever. I offered up little resistance since we had Nexus and heading to Seattle meant we could do more eating! So, changing up things this time, we decided to head down after dinner. Since we had a relatively early dinner, Viv thought it would not be a good idea to not eat something before bedtime. Hey, I ain't gonna argue with that brilliant idea. Checking up on the late night dining spots in
Bellevue (we were staying at Goose's house), Boom Noodle caught my eye. Now, when one finds out it is a place where you can get Pho, Ramen and Yakisoba, it might send shivers up some peoples' spine. I was curious though and especially with one kid in tow, we needed kid-friendly late night eats.

Located in Bellevue Square, Boom Noodle is right next to its sister restaurant, C Sushi. With a hip decor and attractive non-Asian staff, it appeared I was heading straight down a path of noodle hell. However, we stuck with it and went about our ordering. I decided to go for the Shio Ramen as a comparison to what we have in Vancouver. And you know what? It was actually not bad. I gotta admit that I was expecting something less. It had all of the usual components such as bamboo shoots, corn, shiitake mushrooms and naruto in a chicken-pork broth. I found the broth to be rather salty; but then again, it is shio. It had lots of flavour and depth. The noodles were perfectly al dente and remained chewy throughout. Although there were some moist chunks of chashu, the leaner cuts were a bit stringy. It did have a nice meaty flavour though. I'm not afraid to admit that this was a decent bowl of ramen, even when compared to the ones we have in Vancouver. I also added a Soy Marinated Egg and it was more or less what is offered at most Japanese ramen shops.

For my son, we got him the kid's Chicken Pho. For $4.00, this was a very good value. Equivalent in size to a small pho at most other Vietnamese joints, this was more than enough food for him. I tried the broth and it was actually quite light (it could've used more salt). Despite the lack of initial flavour, it was high on fragrance, this was not a traditional beef pho broth (it is beef-chicken broth); but it was good in its own ways. There was a nice lemongrass note to it and natural sweetness. Add in the usual cilantro, lime, basil and sprouts with al dente noodles and again, I am not afraid to admit this was more than acceptable. Moving away for soup noodles, we also tried the Yaki Udon consisting of marinated chicken, fresh mushrooms, cabbage, red chilies, dancing bonito flakes. We omitted the chilies so my son could actually eat some. Even without the chilies, the udon was flavourful. I thought the udon itself could've been less wet and soft. Otherwise, the cabbage was crisp and the fresh shiitake added much Earthiness. Lastly, we had a side of Kimchi and this was a bit too sour. It had a moderate amount of spice and was crunchy though. Okay, I'm not afraid to put myself out there. It is so easy to pan a place like this since it does not look like or is run like an authentic noodle joint. But let's be honest here, all this talk about authenticity and "who" runs the place is plain silly if we do not focus on the food. For me at least, it was more than acceptable for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- The noodles are surprisingly decent
- Reasonably-priced kid's menu
- Non-typical noodle joint decor (although it is still spartan)

The Bad:
- Prices are on the higher side for noodles; but it is okay considering all factors
- The authenticity police will be sure to make an arrest (even though it was close enough for me)

Makoto

Authentic Japanese-run restaurants. If that sounds more like a joke to you than a statement, then you're probably well-versed with the Japanese food scene in Vancouver. It is true. In such a large city with predominant Asian influences, there are very few Japanese-run Japanese restaurants. And considering the plethora of "Japanese" restaurants, that is really too bad. Now, if you read this blog often, you know my ranting about how Vancouver deserves the restaurants it gets. What I mean is, that most people are not really all that concerned about authenticity, so a restaurant is not necessarily all that interested either if there are customers and they make a profit. I accept this and I am generally not crying foul about authenticity unless the food is not fit to eat. With that being said, I still enjoy a Japanese-owned and operated restaurant. The ones that I have been to are Ajisai, Tojo's, Takarabune, Octopus' Garden, Fuji and Toshi. Another one to add on the list is Makoto stashed away on Rumble in Burnaby South.

It's a small place run by some friendly people. We were greeted warmly and it felt very comfortable right away. As for the food, we started with the Salmon Sashimi, which at first, concerned us. When it arrived, the salmon had very little colour. However, one bite into the flesh, our fears were alleviated. It was fresh and very sweet. How looks can be so deceiving. Well, I should of known this since the pigment in the flesh is a result of what the salmon eats and is not indicative of the flavour per se. Next, we had the Volcano Roll, which looked much different than its description in the menu. What it turned out to be was a fried roll consisting of spicy tuna with scallops and tobiko topped with lots of sweet mayo and black sesame sauce. As a result, the roll was very wet and soft. Texture aside, the combination of flavours was quite good though. I really liked the sweetness of the scallops with the aromatics of the black sesame. We ended up ordering 2 dishes that the kiddies *might* eat starting with the Chicken Yaki Udon. I know a plate of fried noodles is not exactly the most exciting thing to talk about; but this was very good. The udon was perfect. It had a nice chewiness and bite to it while not being overly doused with oil. There was a good amount of moist chicken meat, crunchy snow peas, mushrooms and carrots with a small topping of pickled ginger. It was seasoned just enough so it was neither too salty or sweet. The kids loved it too and I ate the remaining portion of it since it was so good.

As for the "backup" dish, we opted for a rice bowl in the Oyako Don. This was a substantial amount of food with lots of tender chicken and nicely cooked egg on top of chewy rice. Now, it is always a welcome sight when the rice is properly drizzled with mirin and soy. However, there was so much in this bowl, the rice was completely soaked and becoming wet. The flavour was good; but there was just too much of it. Hence, it was very sweet in the end. Lastly, we got the Assorted Tempura for the kiddies. Let me rephrase that. We got the tempura batter for them. They are not so hot on the fried veggies; rather, they feast on the batter only. Maybe I should just ask for tempura bits next time... This was good as well - crisp and not too oily. From what we had, I can say we were happy with our meal. Nothing mind-blowing; but definitely a step above the generic Japanese restaurants that litter the Vancouver landscape.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Friendly owner/staff
- Not dirt cheap; but reasonably-priced considering the food quality

The Bad:
- Again, it's not exactly cheap; but it is fair for the quality of food
- The place is very small, difficult for a large group