Kedah House

I'm honestly not sure if people actually save money with Groupon or any of the other online coupon sites. I mean, sure there are some really good deals. However, some services do not have an actual pre-coupon value we can refer to. Take a massage for instance. Is the discounted price really 75% off of the regular value? Like do you get 75% less massage too??? One time, I didn't actually purchase the Groupon and vendor (to remain unnamed and no, it wasn't a massage parlour!) still offered me the deal. They admitted it was a way to get people in and the deal was not necessarily a one-time thing (ie. they could have gotten the deal by just negotiating). I realize this is not always the case, but it does make you wonder. Another issue is the expiry date. Although the time limit to use the coupon is generally quite good, most people forget about it and it sits there unused. That was the case of a night of bowling (at Town & Country Bowl) that Costanza had purchased a while back. So with less than a month left to use it, we decided to go on a Saturday night. Bad idea. When we walked into the place, it reminded us of a lone cowboy strolling into an inhospitable saloon. Just cue the Clint Eastwood music... Yes, it was league night and no, we didn't look like league material. We turned around and made a dash for early eats at Kedah House nearby.

On weekends, the draw at Kedah House is their buffet that rings a cent under $10.00 (before taxes of course). It isn't a large buffet by any stretch of the imagination, but for the price, we can't expect too much. When we arrived at a little past 5:00pm, the place was already half-full. There was only 2 main items available - Beef Rendang and Chicken Lemak. We really liked the beef rendang. The meat was moist and tender while the flavour was full of depth. It was quite mild though as with the Chicken Lemak. Similarly to the rendang, the chicken was very tender and juicy, which was probably aided by the use of drumsticks. Salad, fried noodles and Sambal Eggs rounded out the buffet. Costanza wasn't satisfied with plain rice, so he put in an order of Roti Canai. Although the dipping sauce was flavourful with a touch of spice, the roti was rather doughy. It looked as if it needed a bit more time on the flattop or pan or whatever they use. Hence it was dense and didn't have a textural contrast on any surface area. Despite this and the limited selection with the buffet, we felt it was a good value.

The Good:
- Inexpensive buffet
- For what we had, the flavours were pretty good
- Friendly, if sparse service

The Bad:
- The roti we had was not that great
- Limited selection with the buffet

Vietnamese Restaurant

"Hello my friend" is the catch phrase that always greeted us when we used to dine at Vietnamese Restaurant when they were located on Cambie at King Edward. They eventually moved one major street to the East to their current digs on Main and "hello my friend" moved with it. In fact, subsequent visits has yielded "hello my brother" and from the female staff, "hello my sister". With such salutations, would it be impolite to ask if the food is on the house? After all, we're all family right? Well, apparently not, since there have been various complaints about their Entertainment coupon not being accepted with open arms. To be fair, I've never had this problem, so either it is luck or they like me? No idea.

Well, the reason we were here was exactly that - the Entertainment coupon. It was set to expire in one day, so we figured we should use it. Good thing too since the prices here are quite high for a Vietnamese restaurant. So with kids in tow, we chose a couple of items that they could eat. We started with the Vietnamese Steamed Crepes (Banh Cuon). Although the filling was pretty good, the rice flour noodles were thick and hence made the rolls dense. Not a huge problem, but I've had better. When our next dish arrived, we were a bit shocked as to the serving size. The Hot Pot Chicken Rice Pilaf was amazingly meager in size considering it was $11.00. To illustrate my point, think of it as no bigger than a chicken rice at Dim Sum. Usually, those only go for around $5.00 at the most. At the very least, this was a pretty great tasting chicken rice. The combination of chicken, ginger, onion and wood ear mushrooms afforded several layers of flavour and texture. Too bad there wasn't enough rice underneath to soak it all up.

To think that was a small portion, the Pho was even worse. Don't let the picture fool you. There was the equivalent of a small rice bowl of noodles in the broth. In fact, the noodles you see in the picture is all we got. Furthermore, the meat was barely there and the soup was salty. Not a good Pho at all. At this point, we were still hungry and decided to try something different in the Chicken Grand-Mere Farcie. Despite the fancy name, it was merely a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, onions and ground pork. I wanted to like this, but it was woefully overcooked, dry and bland. It took effort to finish it. The only good thing was nice crisp exterior. So really... Did I end up saving any money with the Entertainment coupon? Nope. I had to order more food just to get full. The portion-to-price ratio was quite poor. Furthermore, the food in general for this particular meal was not that appetizing other than the rice. And with that, there wasn't enough of it! Personality and schtick can only get you that far in restaurant-land. Good food and decent value are important too.

The Good:
- Entertaining manager
- Some interesting items on the menu

The Bad:
- Poor value
- Food is hit and miss

Yaletown L'antipasto

Recently, I got an invite to try out a new spot in Yaletown named simply Yaletown L'antipasto. Well, that pretty much says it all. The location and the type of food are all in the name. As part of the invite, I got to bring a guest and naturally I would choose "prolific Vancouver blogger and contestant from Food Network Canada's Recipe to Riches, Mijune Pak". Yes, that is how I addressed her in my reply email to Yaletown L'antipasto. LOL... Hey, she's famous! Well, I think her high heels are pretty famous too thanks to Food Network Canada and their producers... Anyways, we met up there to sample their wares. We were greeted by the proprietors, Matti and Sachi, who we entrusted in creating a menu that would give us an idea about their food.

We started off with the Yaletown L'antipasto Platter consisting of sundried tomatoes, olives, roasted red pepper, ciopollini onions, artichoke heart, Ricotta Dura, Piave Stravecchio, Cabrales, Provolone Picante, Hand Cut Bone-in Prosciutto San Daniele, Culatello, Salame Milano and Salame Tipo Felino. This was a pretty straight-forward platter with the usual items combined with some more "exclusive" selections such as the hand-cut bone-in prosciutto proudly displayed at the front counter. Call it psychological (due to its prominent display), but I did enjoy the prosciutto since it had a nice meat texture while not being overly salty. It had a smooth fatty flavour. The one cheese that stood out must've been the Cabrales. Something about blue cheese, the sharpness and the full flavour. However, it did overwhelm everything, so it was best to eat it alone. We were served 2 wines (Tolle Colle Secco Montepulciano and Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc) which went well with the platter.

Although Yaletown L'antipasto is more in the form of a Salt (which is a wine bar), they do have pasta specials everyday. We got to sample 2 of them beginning with the Rigatoni with Pork Cheek. Seeing how the only cooking apparatus' they have behind the counter were some induction burners, I was pretty amazed at how this pasta turned out. The rigatoni was a firm al dente while the sauce was pretty mild. I got some of the salted pork cheek flavour, but would've preferred even more. I actually quite liked this pasta. The same could not be said about the Gorgonzola & Walnut Ravioli in four cheese sauce. I found the filling far too dense and doughy with not enough walnuts. I think only 2 of the raviolis I had contained any walnuts. I didn't get the nice sharpness associated with Gorgonzola either. On the positive side, the four cheese sauce was decent with a thick consistency and definitely cheesy.

After the pastas, we were presented with the Bresaola with arugula, button mushrooms, shaved Parmigiana and a drizzle of EVOO. This was a pleasant dish consisting of good ingredients. Not much to complain about due to the large mound of everything on top of the bresaola. Yes, there is only that much I can talk about air-dried beef. Now, something out of left field. Something as simple as Tuscan Beans should not elicit any excitement. Yet, this was my favourite dish of the night. With some EVOO and sage, this was rich and tasty. I could've used more sage other than the garnish, but that wasn't a huge issue. Next, we had the Vitello Tonnato which is sliced veal topped by a tuna-flavoured mayonnaise. The veal here was fork tender, yet slightly dry. The plethora of sauce on top helped alleviate this problem. I found the sauce to be tart from the capers and not too heavy. Not a bad version, however, I prefer the one from Cafe Regalade more since they prepared the veal medium-rare which made it more moist. Granted, Cafe Regalade is a French restaurant, so it is like comparing apples to oranges.

After all this, we still had room for dessert. I guess with Mijune around, it wouldn't matter anyways. We could've eaten a 12-course meal and she'd still have several desserts. First up was the Panna Cotta with raspberry coulis. One scoop into the panna cotta and the texture seemed strange to me. It was too soft and in fact, it was later confirmed that it hadn't set properly. I found it on the sweeter side while Mijune thought it was fine (remember, she has the sweet tooth!). However, when I combined the panna cotta with the coulis, it seemed to balance out and then I found the flavours to be fine.

For our second dessert, we had the Tiramisu. Okay, I won't mince words here, I wasn't a huge fan of this. Once beyond the top creamy layers, the bottom was quite watery. In turn, the flavours were diluted and I couldn't get much in the way of anything, let alone any espresso or even sweetness. It started off fine, yet fizzled at the end. In a way, this sums up the meal. The beginning was quite good with a quality antipasto platter followed by a really good rigatoni. The ravioli brought things down a bit, only to be raised again by the bresaola, wonderful Tuscan beans and decent Vitello Tonnato. Then came the desserts and it kind of fell flat. Hit and miss pretty much sums up it. In order to have a good experience at Yaletown L'antipasto, you would need to strategically order your items (unless they can tweak some of the weaker dishes).

The Good:
- Quaint spot
- Quality ingredients
- Owners seem genuine

The Bad:
- Typical Yaletown prices (hey, operating expenses are high here)
- Tight seating
- Hit and miss food

Kobe Japanese Steak & Seafood House

With Rich Guy turning the big 4-0, it was time we got the gang together to celebrate. Due to our busy lives and children, it has become increasingly difficult to just hang out with the guys. However, for the first time in 8 years, we had Costanza, Snake, Vandelay, Rich Guy, Toolman and myself out for a meal. I think the last time, it was Costanza's stag... Ah, the memories... So for such a milestone birthday, it was a bit surprising that Rich Guy would choose Kobe as our eating destination. Kobe??? Isn't that a tourist trap? And furthermore, teppanyaki??? Are we lost in the 70's or something? Maybe he thought we were in Hawaii? Why didn't he suggest Trader Vic's? Oh right, it closed down, much like all the other things that were popular in the 70's. Okay fine, we were going in with an open mind and Entertainment cards in hand. Hey, the place is pricey! We need all the help we could get with the cost.

When I walked into the place, Vandelay and Toolman were already enjoying some drinks in the lounge as we waited for everyone else to arrive. The "scenery" was very nice and we really were in no rush to head upstairs. Besides, we weren't allowed to head upstairs until everyone was present since they would begin the meal and "show" immediately. We did eventually make our way up to the teppanyaki stations once Costanza and Snake arrived fashionably-late. Originally, our plan was to each order a different meal. However, when Rich Guy was talked into selection the "Ultimate", everyone else seemed to follow suit. Fine, why not. This way, we could try almost everything that was available on the menu.

We started with a Shabu Shabu Soup which was not really all that memorable. Didn't taste like much, but there were big slices of mushrooms though. Our first item from the flattop was the Teppan Shrimp, which already had their tails removed except for 5. These were prepared tableside as part of the "show". With a pat of butter and sprinkle of seasoning, these looked succulent as they sizzled away. And in the end, it appears the sizzling was a bit too much. They were quite nice flavourwise due to the high heat caramelization which accentuated their natural sweetness. However, the texture was missing that "snap".

While the shrimp were being prepared, a mix of Veggies including zucchini, mushrooms and onions (from the volcano) were cooked on the side. Since each item had different cooking times, the veggies were placed on the flattop prior to the shrimp. As we were eating the shrimp, the veggies were ready. No complaints here. These were cooked perfectly in high heat so that there was a nice colour. The zucchini retained some texture while the mushrooms were not squishy. Shortly there after, the Scallops were up. Again, the high heat of the cooking surface immediately added nice colour and caramelization. With the same pat of butter and seasoning as the shrimp, there was a similar natural sweet flavour. Unlike the shrimp, the scallops were less cooked, hence they were better in that respect.

Then, the really good stuff arrived starting with the Lobster tails. Once again, the lobster was prepared much like the shrimp and the scallops with a squeeze of fresh lemon. And similarly like the shrimp, the lobster was cooked a bit too long for our tastes. I'm not saying it wasn't delightful to eat, but it was a bit tougher than what we would've liked. Such a shame considering this was lobster. Moving along to our first non-seafood meat was the NY Striploin. We each got a strip to ourselves and was cooked to order (well, of course it was...). We all had it medium-rare and the chef did a good job in that respect. Unfortunately, due to the need to cut everything up (so that we didn't need to cut anything ourselves), it kind of ruined the perfectly cooked strip. In terms of texture, the steak was pretty tender and flavourful. I've had better, but it was fine for what it was.

If this wasn't enough food already, there was still the Teriyaki Chicken. Prepared with cubed breast meat and doused with teriyaki sauce as it was cooking, this was a strange item to end the meal with. I guess the climax of the dinner was somewhere between the scallops and lobster. We felt the chicken was slightly overcooked, yet it was okay despite the abundance of sauce. And to "clean" the grill of the residue, we had one more item in the Bean Sprouts. As you can see, the sprouts took on the charred colour of the grill. Don't worry, it didn't taste bad, in fact, there was a nice smokiness to it. Lastly, we had a large slice of honeydew for dessert. All-in-all, the meal was a whole lot better than I had expected. We were extremely full and considering the items we had, the price seemed okay. However, with certain items being overcooked, it did lessen the appeal. With all this being said, it is not cheap to eat at Kobe. Therefore, it really comes down to personal choice as to whether it is worth it or not.

The Good:
- Novelty factor
- If you order the large combos, there is a lot of food (if you don't, then not so much)
- The service we got was very attentive

The Bad:
- Expensive (even with the Entertainment discount)
- Food execution can vary
- The "show" could be greatly improved

Black + Blue

"Black and Blue. Colours of love - pain that we live for. Black and Blue. I keep thinking of you. And the things that we went through". If you recognize these lyrics as a one hit wonder from Canadian band Haywire, then I guess you either know your music very well or you're were an 80's kid. For me, black and blue could also be the colour of my toe right now after a slash from the ball hockey tourney I was in 2 weeks ago. It could also referred to "Pittsburgh" rare, which is a steak that is rare in the middle while completely charred on the outside (black and blue). This is the premise behind the Glowbal Group's latest venture in Vancouver. Located in the former Town Hall and literally steps away from Coast and Italian Kitchen, it almost seems like a sinister plan to take over the 1000 block of Alberni.

Viv and I were chomping at the bit to visit the place (since we had some Glowbal gift cards kicking around), but we had to wait a month after it opened (to celebrate her birthday). As we entered through the large glass doors, it was quite apparent that they spent top dollar on the decor. But then again, this is not uncommon for the Glowbal Group as they do want to project an image. And proudly displayed on the back wall, in all its glory, was a display case with all their cuts of meat. Naturally, our intentions were to try their specialty. After all, it is a steakhouse... However, we got a couple of appies which were of the non-red meat variety. As recommended by our server, Viv had the Prawns Saute prepared with Remy VSOP brandy, lemon, tarragon and chive butter. The prawns were absolutely massive and cooked perfectly. With a crunch and a snap, these naturally sweet prawns were devoured quickly. As much as we enjoyed the smooth subtle sauce, the dish would've benefited from just a touch more acidity to liven up the flavours.

For myself, I was eying the Crab Cake Fondue. It was essentially a large crab cake topped with crunchy bread crumbs resting on a lobster cream reduction accompanied by toast points. Normally, crab cakes are a mix of crab and a filler such as mayonnaise and bread crumbs. Well, this was not really the case here. In fact, all I could see was fluffy crab meat. The lobster cream was very flavourful and rich, much like a lobster bisque. Viv thought the cream was too salty, but for myself, I liked this appetizer a lot. Now for the meat... Viv opted for the 10oz Prime Rib served with mashed potatoes, asparagus, golden beet, Yorkshire pudding, red wine jus and horseradish. Although I was a bit surprised with the seared prime rib (I'm more used to the "cut from the roast" version), it was a perfect medium-rare as Viv requested. The meat was moist and tender which required very little effort to chew. Mashed potatoes were airy and buttery, while the asparagus was still crunchy while cooked all the way through. Viv loved the flavourful red wine jus which exhibited plenty of depth while I liked the horseradish that packed quite a punch.

As for myself, I had the PEI Blue Ribbon 12oz New York Strip. By referencing the picture, it is pretty obvious the steak was cooked slightly beyond medium-rare (as I requested). Despite this, the meat was cooked uniformly on both sides and was still tender. Served on the side was 4 different sauces consisting of Chimichurri, Cabernet Jus, Peppercorn and Bearnaise. The best of the bunch was the chimichurri hands down. This particular version was pretty thick where the oil was not even visible (looked pretty emulsified or they used mayo). For me, that was a plus since each piece of meat I dunked in the sauce came out completely covered. It was pretty mild yet did add some brightness which did not overwhelm the meat. The cabernet jus and bearnaise were pretty good while the peppercorn was too thin and lacking in punch.

For my sides, I went for Brussel Sprouts and Steak Fries. You may recognize the brussel sprouts from Sanafir. Despite my love for this dish, I'm not sure if it is a good strategy for Glowbal to include items from their other restaurants considering that Black & Blue competes with the likes of Gotham (it loses exclusivity). Anyways, fried and the tossed with lemon, capers and Parmesan, these would make most people forget what they are. I'm not a huge fan of brussel sprouts, but I do like these. Viv thought that they were even better than the one we had at Sanifir because there was more acidity and flavour. When the steak fries arrived, they reminded us of Red Robin. Before you laugh, that was not an insult. We like the fries at Red Robin! On the other hand, these were more crispy and uniformly fried with lots of potatoey goodness inside. By now, we were pretty stuffed. Yet, we couldn't leave without trying at least one dessert. The most interesting from the menu was the Chocolate Souffle with vanilla sauce. Although not visible in the picture, the depth of the ramekin was substantial. Therefore, this was not a small souffle and it was quite impressive that it did not collapse. Inside, it was fluffy, chocolatey and only semi-sweet (even with the sauce). We really liked the crunchy bits on top which added great texture.

Okay, I'm gonna say it - Black & Blue was pretty good. Sure, I know those Glowbal-haters are now going to litter the comments section with condescending rhetoric. C'mon, take a look at B+B's rating on Urbanspoon! But seriously. We can't possibly dislike a restaurant just because it belongs to a supposed restaurant group or chain. We need to judge each individual restaurant on its own merits. I do admit some of the Glowbal restaurants are not to my liking (see Society). On the other hand, despite my steak being slightly overcooked, the rest of the meal was pretty good. Although, food expedition was on the slower side. Service was both attentive and professional (and that was before I did my tweet). We realize that Black + Blue is expensive (a la Gotham prices), but if you got the cash...

The Good:
- Beautiful decor
- For us, the food was pretty good
- Lots of staff and attentive service

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Although it didn't ruin the meal, a steak should never be prepared incorrectly at a steakhouse
- Food expedition could be more efficient

Vancouver Sun Children's Fund

Normally, I'm not for one to post random stories or promotions. This is a restaurant blog and I generally like to keep it consistent. However, there are times when I feel the need to help. Often, in our daily lives, we forget that there are many people less fortunate than us. We get to enjoy the luxuries in life while many do not even have the basic necessities. It is even more troubling when many of these suffering individuals are kids. From first-hand experience, I have seen students who have come to school hungry on a daily basis. Can you imagine them doing well in school when they don't even know when their next meal is? The Adopt a School project by The Vancouver Sun Children's Fund aims squarely at helping the neediest kids. Every dollar raised in the campaign will be matched by The Children’s Fund.
In addition, if you "like" the Vancouver Sun Children's Fund on Facebook, $4.00 will be donated to B.C. needy kids. If you are able to, please support the Adopt a School project.

Hearty Boy

It is no secret I love diners. Something about them. Is it the simplicity of the food? Or maybe the friendly staff who usually make you feel at home? Could it be the value or the ripped booth seating? Possibly the attractive plastic plants? The layer of dust on the banisters? Or maybe I watch triple-D's too often? Yah, that could be it. I suppose Guy Fieri has influenced me to a degree. I gotta admit it, despite some suspect-looking food on the show, the places he visits do have character. Of course a restaurant cannot get by on character alone (or least it shouldn't, but then again, look at The Elbow Room...). So my love for diners and dives led me to Hearty Boy Restaurant out in Newton. Tucked in an expansive strip mall with far too much parking (which is completely opposite of what you'd find in Richmond), it is actually located right next to Akashi-Ya, where I've eaten before and didn't even notice Hearty Boy!

Well, to tell you the truth, there is nothing much to look at. The place is a typical dive/diner. It is run by a nice Asian couple who are extremely friendly. We put in an order of various items which they busily prepared for us while we soaked up the ambiance (LOL). Mrs. Spray Bottle decided to have the 2 Eggs and Bacon. Breakfast is such as simple thing to prepare, yet it is amazing how it can be butchered by some people. Not here though, it was done with care. The eggs were perfectly easy-over while the bacon was uniform and crisp. Home fries were aesthetically-pleasing and were crisp while soft inside. For myself, I couldn't merely have a breakfast and call it a day... So I went for their Works Burger which included a beef patty, cheese, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions, tomato and lettuce. The burger was not bad, if not pretty generic. Basically, it was WYSIWYG. I eye-balled all of the components and the burger essentially tasted like what I visualized. The patty was a touch dry though while the fries were fried up crispy. Good price at $6.95!

Not sure what possessed us to order the Eggs Benedict here, but we did it anyways. Predictably, it was mediocre. The eggs were fine though as you can clearly see. However, the Hollandaise was kinda gross. It had a weird texture and didn't taste like anything (I'm thinking this was powdered mix). If I were you, I'd stay away from this. The last thing we had was the BLT, which was well, a BLT. Toast was browned nicely, bacon was crisp, tomato and lettuce fresh. As you can see, nothing amazing here and really, we weren't expecting as much. What we did get was cheap eats which was more than edible (except for the Eggs Benny). Coupled with a hard-working couple who treated us like real customers (unlike some other more expensive places), then we could overlook some of its shortcomings.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Super friendly owners
- Lots of choice

The Bad:
- Food is hit and miss
- Ambiance? Well, did u expect any?