Pho Maxima

Pho this, Pho that... There is Pho everywhere! Yah, everywhere you turn in the GVRD, you're bound to find some Pho. In fact, when I drive home, I pass by at least 5 Vietnamese restaurants. One of which (if I choose to drive that route) is Pho Maxima. Yet another one of those restaurants that I drive past and ignore. It's probably due to the "I will get to it" sentiment. You know, the places that are so accessible, that you end up not eating at ever. Rather, we tend to drive far and wide to eat at places that are either a b*tch to get to or there is no parking (such in the case of Downtown restaurants). It's like taking things for granted. Like Tiger Woods straying all over the place and around North American rather than... Wait, that's a bad example.

Anyways, I finally stopped in at Pho Maxima for a late lunch on my way home. Located in a small strip mall, there appears to be sufficient parking. I know it's a pet peeve of mine. Honestly, I'd rather go to a place that has easy parking than one that does not. I decided to start with the Cold Cut Banh Mi to start. While not being exactly light and airy, the bread was not as dense as some of the other ones I've had lately. The exterior wasn't as crunchy as I would've hoped though. I liked that there was plenty of meat in the sandwich; however, it appeared to be mostly one type only. One thing that I would've liked to see would be more pickled daikon and carrots. There wasn't enough to give the crunch and tartness I'm used to.

Of course I also got an order of House Special Pho (the one with everything in it that is!). After a couple sips of the broth, I noticed that it was very flavourful, more towards the sweet end. I cannot confirm or deny that there was a large amount of MSG in the broth; but I certainly felt the flavour was enhanced by something. The noodles were prefectly al dente while the amount of meat was adequate. A pretty solid bowl of Pho. Much like always, I got a dish for Viv to go as well. This time being Combo C, which included a skewer of beef, skewer of shrimp, salad roll and spring roll. Once again, I got it plated before I packed it up. Presentation for pictures matter you know!

I snuck a few nibbles of her food before I packed it up (shhh...). Both skewers were tasty and cooked properly. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the spring rolls. First, they used a wheat wrapper and second, the filling had too much veggies and vermicelli with very little meat. The salad roll was pretty standard though. I dunno. Although the food was alright, it was quite average to me. Pho Maxima can fit the bill if you were in the neighbourhood and wanted decent eats. For me, with so many of these places around, I wouldn't put it high on my list.

The Good:
- Decent prices
- Okay food
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Nothing particularly makes this place stand out
- For me, something was a bit off with each and every dish

Matsuyama

After a few pricier endeavors after softball for the past few weeks, it was about time we settled on something a little more reasonable. Considering we were playing at Shannon Field in South Granville, the first thought was Asian food in Richmond. The decision was all-but-made when the clock struck 9:00pm. You see, Matsuyama has a late night menu that starts at that time. Normally, there would be some rumblings for AYCE late night sushi; but not this time (thankfully). At first, not many people knew what I was talking about. Matsu-what? Where is this place? I tried explaining that it is in the same plaza as Pho Hoa. Then I used Michigan Noodle Shop as a point of reference since we had just visited it the week prior. Finally, I used the cross street to provide the directions. That didn't seem to help because no one knew where Alexandra Gate was. Yes, everyone knew about Alexandra Road; but it seems like no one is ever sure of that little street intersecting Alexandra Road on the East end. Whatever, people seemed to get there fine, even Miss Y.

Is it just me or is there only enough parking spots for one restaurant in an entire plaza? I mean, for each of the plazas on Alexandra, there are at least 5 business present. Where do they think we can park our cars??? Seriously... Did they intentionally want to create parking conflict? I mean, it's already bad enough that road manners in Richmond are marginal at best. Honestly, in the President's Plaza parking lot, I've seen 2 people fight for a spot while I went for Dim Sum. They were still out there after I finished! Well, fortunately for me tonight, I got a space easily.

From the late night menu, I decided on the 5 piece Salmon & Toro Sashimi, as well as 5 individual pieces of Nigiri for 89 cents each (crab salad, spicy scallop & tobiko, inari, spicy salmon & spicy tako). I found the sashimi acceptable, especially for the price ($4.25). One bite into the nigiri and immediately I noticed something different about the sushi rice. It actually had flavour! It's amazing how many places do not flavour their rice properly. With that being said, although the rice had a nice chewy consistency while being flavoured, it was probably a bit too vinegary. Once again, the nigiri were decent, if not pretty standard. For good measure, I also got the Unagi Don. The reason I picked it was that both the Oyako Don and Beef Teri-don were taken. Yes, I try not to order duplicates! I have to say the unagi don was a fabulous deal at $7.95 It was a very big piece of unagi, which had just enough sauce for itself and the rice. The rice was pretty good too with a nice "bite". I also noticed that Judes ordered a Wakame Salad and boy was it gigantic! The portion was easily 3 times the amount I normally see. Upon seeing that, I immediately ordered one for myself. For the price, I would be happy with just the portion size; but fortunately it was good as well. The chewy, crunchy texture was present and there was no lack of flavour either. Judes thought that it may have been too vinegary. I thought so too; but I like vinegar, so it was really not an issue for me. She also had a Dynamite Roll and a Scallop Tobiko Roll. The scallop roll was a bit bland and probably needed more mayo. The dynamite roll was pretty standard. She thought that the rice was a bit too vinegary as well.

Miss Y went for Oyako Don. Yes, she did not order something strange like a burger or something. That's because she couldn't. It was a great size for the price. Just a tad bit on the bland side. She's had Oyako Don that has way too much sauce in the past. They could've perhaps used just a touch more sauce and eggs/onion/potato noodle for flavour. Boss woman also had this and basically felt the same. She thought that the sauce was rather tasteless. Miss Y also added an order of the Oyster Motoyaki. Baked and served in a small ceramic dish, it was a decent size. There was an overwhelming amount of mayo sauce due to the serving vessel. Other than that, she thought it was tasty.

Milhouse ended up ordering a whole lot more food than he could handle. He is afflicted with what is known as "eyes were bigger than his stomach" syndrome. He started with the Beef Teri-Don and much like the other don, it was a good size for the money. Lots of beef, cooked correctly and tastes right. He remarked that it is difficult to mess this up. However, I beg to differ, I've had some pretty horrid teriyaki before and I must give them kudos here for at least making a decent version. Continuing on the food odyssey aka Milhouses' stomach, he also had the Tuna Sashimi, BC Roll and Unagi Roll. Sure, I ate almost as much as he did; but my gut is way smaller. LOL... Anyways, with his rolls, it was much of the same where the rice was quite vinegary. In another example of personal preference, he liked the strong vinegar taste, just like me. He also thought the tuna was decent, neither being too mushy or too cold (like frozen from the freezer). Nothing spectacular; but solid nonetheless, especially for the price. And that much sums up Matsuyama. Nothing particularly memorable or offensive. Middle-of-the-road Japanese food on the cheap. Good for times of hunger where you don't need to spend a lot.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent food
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Food is decent; but won't set the world on fire
- Service is sparse
- Parking lot sucks

Mr. Mikes (Coquitlam)

I gotta admit that I was a bit hesitant to write this post. You see, Mr. Mikes had sent me a media package with gift cards, information and an apron over a month ago. Nice apron by the way... The purpose behind this was to help promote the their Mikeburger Madness. For every Mikeburger sold at all of their locations until August 29th, 2010, $1.00 will be given to local charities. For me, I'm a sucker for anything that involves a good cause. That's why I posted White Spot's Pirate Pak Day immediately without hesitation. However, I was torn with Mr. Mikes because the food did not necessarily impress me the last time I visited the Surrey location. Unlike my undying attachment to White Spot burgers (despite not really being close to the best), the Mikeburger is a bit forgotten. I do remember eating it as a kid at the ol' skool Mr. Mikes complete with salad bar. There is no mistaking it due to its large patty sandwiched between a garlic loaf.

A follow-up email (indicating that the promotion was ending soon) got me off my rear end and I headed off to the Coquitlam location. You see, it really did make a lot of sense to me. If I can promote White Spot's charitable cause, I really should do the same for Mr. Mikes. Consistency is golden. So I grabbed the family and went in with an open mind. My son went in with a closed mind because, well... that's just the way he rolls. Located in the former digs of Moxie's, Mr. Mikes has gone upscale and larger. Gone is the salad bar and dingy decor. In with the "Cactus Club" ambiance. Surprisingly, the place is kid-friendly, complete with a kid's menu and crayons. My son, with his closed mind, went for his standby being the Mac 'n Cheese. My daughter, for some reason, chose the Chicken Strips. I don't think she even ate any. Last time we let her choose! Each meal comes with a choice of beverage for $5.99.

Of course, being that it is Mikeburger Madness, I decided on the Mushroom Mikeburger. Honestly, it wasn't too bad. The darn thing was massive and lots of mushrooms to boot. I'm not a big fan of "cutlet"-type burger patties; so I'm biased. But it was did the job. Since Mr. Mike's is a steakhouse, Viv went for the Grilled Ribeye. She started with a bowl of Clam Chowder (included in her combo). Very thick and chunky, the chowder was decent. Seemed to have a strange tang to it though. Unlike the last time at the Surrey location, the steak was cooked perfectly medium-rare closer to rare (which is the perfect way in my opinion). Yet, just like the last time, it was not that tender. They need to look into that. The combo also added a tonne of mushrooms on top. Onion rings and baked potato served on the side.

Once again, I have mixed feelings about the rebooted Mr. Mikes. Price-wise, other than the steaks, Mr. Mikes is less expensive than most of the other chain restaurants (of the same type). The Mikeburger is decent for the price, as with the kid's menu. However, I'm confused with their steaks. Am I unlucky twice? A $20.00 steak should not be chewy. I realize that Mr. Mikes comped me for this meal and I appreciate it. Yet, I have to report what I experience. I hope this can be taken as constructive criticism on their part. But to get back to the main reason for the post. If you want to have a Mikeburger and donate to charity, then head over before the end of August 29th, 2010.

The Good:
- Decent pricing (excluding the steaks)
- Comfortable digs
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Not-so-tender steak (like last time)

Dessert Kitchen

Prior to our dinner at Michigan Noodle, we noticed a dessert place on the second floor of the same complex. With that in our subconsciousness, it was only a given we'd pay it a visit after wonton noodles. At first, we were tempted to try Twinkle, which is a few stores down from Michigan; however, it was completely empty. Call it the mob mentality effect, an empty restaurant doesn't instill much confidence. We quickly bypassed it and headed up the elevator to Dessert Kitchen. Despite the fact it looks quite spacious from the ground floor, it is actually a small place. Turns out there is another restaurant behind it. We were quickly seated and presented with menus. At first glance, it appeared that there was a wide selection of sweets ranging from Asian to Western. Ah, how looks are deceiving...

You see, Bear, Judes and Boss Woman all tried to order some items to share. Tofu Pudding? Nope, don't have it. Cheesecake? Try again. Chocolate Volcano??? No dice... WTF? While they were scratching their heads and trying to figure out a backup plan to their original backup plan, Milhouse went ahead and ordered the Banana Split. Yah, go figure, order that in a Chinese dessert shop. Well, it was a split with a twist. In addition to the banana, ice cream, whipped cream and fudge topping (dunno where the other 2 types of toppings went), the whole thing was sprinkled with Alpha Bits and Lucky Charms. Weird? Yes. Decent? Actually yes. Personally, I still prefer a traditional banana split though. I originally decided on the Almond Tofu Pudding. 10 minutes pass and the server informs me that they didn't have any! Do they have any desserts here??? They should call this place "Try Your Luck Dessert Kitchen" instead. Thus, I went for my backup, Grass Jelly with fresh fruit. I rolled the dice and held my breath... When it arrived, I felt I had actually won. What I got was a bowl of grass jelly with conjac, fresh watermelon, pineapple, strawberry, kiwi, dragon fruit, cantaloupe and canned lychees. This was a decent, if not unremarkable dessert. I liked that it wasn't too sweet though.

Finally, the other 3 got at least one dessert to start being the Tofu Pudding with black sesame. Well, not trying to be non-descriptive; but it was tofu pudding with black sesame... Now, they also ordered a second item being the Custard Thick Toast. It took quite a long time for it to arrive and it appeared that they gave it to the wrong table. Yup, they did give it to the wrong table and a simple toast became a 30-minute disaster. I must admit the server was very apologetic; but 30 minutes for toast is unacceptable. Furthermore, the toast was meh. It was bland. Might as well just eat plain toast. It's really too bad. If they could've scripted more screw-ups, there wouldn't be any room for it. I'm sure on a good day, Dessert Kitchen would be better. We just happen to hit them on the worst day possible.

The Good:
- Uh... I got my second choice? That's better than the 4th choice for the others
- You were expecting more?

The Bad:
- What's with the unavailable desserts?
- Maybe they should've considered taking the toast off the bill, it did take 30 minutes
- Very average

Michigan Noodle Shop

Alright. This is beginning to worry us. We have won every softball game since the start of the season. Sure, that is something we can be proud of; but that would get us bumped up to the Open Division. We are good; yet not that good! And we can't just start to throw games, that would be poor sportsmanship. Mind you, if they stick me at shortstop for the remainder of the year, I'm sure that would solve the problem (we'd probably lose every game). So, after another win, it was time for food. My favourite part of softball! Actually, it's my favourite part of hockey and golf too! Since we were in the Oakridge area, we took the short jaunt into Richmond. For once, I was not forced to follow someone going at 30km/h, get cut off, have my parking space taken away from me or see a full-faced visor. Ah, a relaxing visit to Richmond. I was really at peace with myself. Unlike last time at Cafeteria, where not everyone was full from their meal, I decided that the good ol' wonton noodles would be a cheap alternative. Thus, in my ongoing quest to find the best wontons, we headed over to Michigan Noodle.

Since I was the only person who could speak Cantonese at the table, everyone looked to me when we needed to order. That usually isn't much of a problem; but I often have issues "changing channels". You see, when I'm in English mode, I can't readily change to Cantonese without sounding like Chinglish. I did my best and everyone got what they wanted, so there must've been "subtitles" for the waitress I suppose... Seeing how this place is known for their Wonton Noodles, I got a bowl. Strange that I was the only one to order this. Maybe everyone is catching on to not double-up on items when we order food. The noodles were indeed very good. They were thin while being chewy. I liked the soup, it was very flavourful with a strong shrimp taste and a tad gingery. The wontons themselves were not very big, although the all-shrimp filling was crunchy and had hints of sesame oil.

Boss Woman had her go-to item in the Egg Swirl with Shrimp on Flat Rice Noodles. When it arrived, it drew some reaction since it was quite large. Topped with plenty of large, properly-cooked shrimp, the dish was a winner. We also ended up sharing a plate of the Brisket and Tendons. The dish was a flop. We felt the brisket was not all that tender, bordering on stringy while the tendons were woefully overcooked. They were practically melting on the plate. Flavourwise, it was too salty with very little distinguishing flavours such as star anise or ginger. If that wasn't enough, I also shared a Preserved Duck Egg & Salted Pork Congee and a Salty Donut with Milhouse. I must say that the congee was pretty darn good. With a perfect thickness, the congee was a nice balance of sweet & salty. The salted pork had a nice "bounce" texture while not being too salty. We only wished that they didn't cheap out on the preserved duck egg, we could barely find any. Now, as for the salty donut, it was excellent. Freshly fried, it was both airy inside and crisp on the outside. It held up real well when dipped into the congee. If they had tried draining or soaking up the oil from the donut, it would've made it perfect.

Milhouse then ended up sharing a plate of the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice with Bear. Yes, it was an accounting nightmare when it came time to pay... Anyways, the plate of rice was solid. There were no clumps of rice and the texture itself was chewy. There was a nice balance of flavours too despite the presence of salted fish. It was just salty enough with a touch of sweetness and ginger. For himself, Bear had the Brisket Lo Mein while Judes had the Wonton Lo-Mein. Lo Mein is essentially dry wonton noodles tossed with sesame oil (sometimes oyster sauce as well). It can be served as is or come with a topping of some kind. Bear and Judes liked the texture of the noodles, they were chewy with a nice "bite". Bear didn't complain about the brisket, so maybe his was more tender. Judes like the wontons, much like I did. She did agree that they were on the smaller side.

For the items that we ordered, they would be considered to be smaller "quick" dishes. However, Michigan serves up full set Chinese meals as well with full-size entrees. I noticed that many of the tables were having that over the items we ordered. That would indicate those set meals are pretty popular. We were curious about that and it is probably a reason for a return visit. In the meantime, we were pretty satisfied with the wonton noodles, congee, fried rice and fried noodles. If I needed to make a comparison, Michigan is similar to McNoodle (makes sense since the owners used to be partners with them) in terms of noodles and wontons, albeit bigger portions.

The Good:
- Excellent all-shrimp wontons
- Wonton noodles have great texture
- Other than the brisket, all the other dishes were pretty solid as well

The Bad:
- Extremely indifferent service
- As with all the restaurants on Alexandra, parking is at a premium

Kimura

Awhile back, Kim had suggested that we try Kimura, which is a small Japanese restaurant located across from Golden Oscar. Time had passed and we never got around to it. Believe it or not, we have real jobs in addition to our obsessive blogs! Besides, there are so many places we want to try out, things get pushed to the back burner. Now, when Vandelay and Donna Chang suggested we meet up there for dinner, I decided to give Kim a shout. Hey, I don't want him all upset that I ate behind his back! LOL... It's like food cheating! Now, the interesting thing about this place is the owner-chef Itsuroku Kimura. He has spanned the globe with his cuisine from Shanghai to Mexico. Thus, the food may have a few twists here and there that you would not see in a run-of-the-mill Japanese restaurant. In addition, there is a touch of jazz to feed your soul as you satisfy your palate. Be sure you don't have a big group or at least make a reservation because the place is small. Also, there doesn't appear to be A/C, so if you can't take the heat...

As per usual, Kim arrived first and I decided to take the parking spot in front of him. I backed up so close, he was beginning to show fear in his eyes. Little did he know my car has a backup cam! LOL. So after taking what seemed forever to order, we decided on a wide range of items to sample starting with the Sashimi Platter. Consisting of red tuna, salmon, snapper, oyster, hamachi, tuna tataki, and something that I thought was flounder, everything appeared and tasted fresh. Nothing amiss here and in fact, the platter was very well plated and expertly prepared. On a separate sheet, there was this special combo which include 11 pcs of nigiri, 4 pcs of maki, a mini udon and a side of groovy jazz sounds. We decided to get 2 of these combos to share. It then occurred to me that we double-ordered the groovy jazz sounds as well. Vandelay exclaimed we would be getting the jazz in stereo as a result. Cheeky... Now, according to the menu, the Nigiri consists of 1 piece each ebi, hamachi, salmon, tako, squid, hokkigai, mackerel, red tuna, albacore tuna, unagi and "something". Yes, it actually stated something on the menu. Well, there was a piece of fish we couldn't identify, maybe it was the something species of fish (I thought it maybe skipjack). Strange, but as you can clearly see, there was no tako present. As for the nigiri in general, the fish was quite good and tasted good on its own due to being brushed with sauce. The much talked about Haenuki rice used here was pretty good. However, for me, it seemed to lack some flavour. The 4 pcs of maki turned out to be the standard California Roll. I really liked the toasted sesame seeds on the outside. Nice nutty flavour. For some reason or another, the rice did not fare as well here compared to the nigiri. No idea, but it seemed almost gummy. Maybe too much rice to filling ratio?

As for the Mini-Udon, guess who ate it? Yes, my son loved it and practically finished it all. I liked how there was a nice plump clam nestled within the broth. I didn't like the soggy tempura bits though. That has never been really appealing to me. As for the udon noodles, they were still chewy (which is good). The broth was quite tasty having depth. To get a sense of the menu, we went for non-sushi items starting with the Fried Pork Cutlet. The large and meaty cutlet was fried perfectly crisp without being oily. However, the meat was a little on the drier side. I wasn't sure what the accompanying sauce consisted of; but it was sweeter than the standard tonkatsu sauce. Strangely enough, my favourite part of this dish had to be the mashed potato salad.

Moving on to another classic Japanese fusion dish was the Beef Curry Rice. Typically, Japanese curry is very sweet and very yellow. The version here was neither. First, it looked a lot closer to actual Indian curry than Japanese curry. Second, it was actually spicy, which gave the sauce a whole lot of depth and body. I personally liked this curry quite a bit. We then moved onto a very standard dish - Assorted Tempura. We mainly ordered this for the kiddies. My daughter loves the prawn tempura and usually eats the thing whole (good girl!). But my son only eats the tempura batter (WTF?). Well, too bad for him, because the batter was not all that crispy. This resulted in a soggy tempura which was not to my liking and especially to my son's disappointment.

Last dish was the Zaru Soba, which was ordered for Vandelay's son. Accompanied by a cute quail's egg were the usual condiments (grated daikon, ginger, scallions, wasabi & tsuyu). The soba nooodles had a nice al dente texture, otherwise, it was a pretty typical zaru soba. It's nice that they served it in a basket since that is the "zaru" in zaru soba. Most other places serve it on plates, so they really should call it "Ceramic Soba". I digress. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to think of this meal. It was typical and non-typical, all at the same time. Some of the twists were very subtle, so at first glance, it just seems like any other Japanese restaurant. But it's not. The food was pleasant enough and the prices were quite reasonable for what we got. It's different enough to separate itself from the multitude of generic Japanese restaurants that plague our city.

The Good:
- Carefully made food
- High quality ingredients
- Interesting and different

The Bad:
- May confuse those used to generic, "Japanese" restaurants
- No A/C and small dining room

Rangoli

Awhile back, in January, I promised to treat Anita to a meal. Due to mitigating circumstances, it never came to fruition (ooo... I'm using big words! That University education really paid off...). As such, I've been trying to get her out for the last half year. Our schedules just never seem to coincide for this to happen. Although, it could be that she is just trying to avoid me... Fortunately, that was not the case and finally, we settled on a time and place. For the longest time, I've been wanting to give Rangoli a go. You see, I'm am very fortunate to be near some of the best (and cheapest) Indian food in the GVRD. Thus, I am very curious how Rangoli stacks up. We must keep in mind that Vij puts his own spin on Indian food. Those looking for the usual items, may not find it.

I arrived a bit early and was forced to wait because our whole party wasn't present. Yes, when a restaurant is so successful, not only do they not take reservations, they won't seat you unless everyone is there. I guess that is fair. That is the exact policy at Vij's as well. You can't imagine how excruciating it is to watch all the tables fill up right in front of your eyes? LOL... When Anita arrived with R, we only had a brief wait. You see, Rangoli is not exactly a place to linger since the seating arrangements are not exactly posh. The minimalistic "Ikea-like" decor is functional, if not, uncomfortable. Well, that is the concept since it also doubles as a take-out store which offers prepackaged food.

We stated the meal sharing the Lamb, Beef & Lentil Kebabs. As the name implies, it consisted of 4 "sausages" comprised of ground lamb and beef with lentils. Date-tamarind chutney was served on the side. I really enjoyed this appetizer. There was no absence of flavour when I bit into the moist, meaty kebabs with definite hits of fennel and garlic. The chutney acted as a nice sweet counterpoint to the savory and slightly spicy kebabs. For my main, I went for the Lamb in Cumin and Light Cream Curry. Hidden beneath peppers and onions lay a decent amount of tender lamb. Naturally, there was a good amount of cumin; but it was not overwhelming. I found the flavours to be subtle and not too heavy. As with Vij's, I'm not a huge fan of the naan. I find it a bit dense and doughy. Anita ended up with the Tamarind and Yogurt Marinated Grilled Natural Chicken. This was another mild-tasting dish. I thought the chicken was quite tender with only a hint of tamarind. I found the sprout salad to be quite good, if not for being something different. We thought the best of the dishes we ordered was the Beef in Puréed Onion and Cinnamon Curry. It was bold tasting with a definite onion and ginger flavour. I only got a hint of the cinnamon which elevated some sweetness. Although the serving bowl was small, it was packed with tender chunks of beef that had soaked up all sauce.

Since we weren't completely stuffed from dinner, we went ahead and ordered dessert. Much like Vij's, Rangoli is not known for their desserts; so there are only 3 options. Well, we all had a different one and covered them all. Anita decided on the Meeti Roti which reminded me of fry bread with hits of gooey sugar throughout. Nothing particularly exciting about the dessert itself; yet it was pleasant enough to eat and good for sharing. For myself, I had the Rice Pudding with some slivered almonds on top. Only semi-sweet with discernible grains of rice, the pudding was slightly watery. Once again, nothing mind-blowing. It was alright. I liked the crunchy almonds, it provided a nice textural contrast. Lastly, R had the Coconut Pudding. When it arrived, the pink colour confused us a bit. I guess we were expecting white. Topped with fruit, this dessert was very refreshing, if not a bit boring. I didn't notice a strong coconut flavour personally.

Although the food wasn't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, we were pleased with our meal. Sure, the prices were on the higher side; however, it is not unreasonable considering the location and compared to other Indian restaurants in the area. In terms of the portion size, it is indeed modest. Once again, that is not unusual for an Indian restaurant. Usually a little sauce is enough for the amount of rice and naan provided (think pasta sauce). If push came to shove, I probably would eat at any one of the Surrey Indian restaurants instead for half the price. But, if you are specifically in the Granville area and don't mind spending the money, Rangoli serves up some tasty food.

The Good:
- Food is actually quite flavourful and well-executed
- Service is efficient
- Nice location

The Bad:
- Pricey (ok given its location)
- Not exactly comfortable seating
- Portion sizes are on the smaller side