alpaca

My friends and I were spending a weekend on Whistler last week.  We had a great dinner at Caramba.  The wood oven pizza and pasta are excellent.  The chicken salad was so great that we doubled it up.  Last but not least, it was quite reasonably priced as well.  I will definitely go back again.

My gf and I visited this place recently and were really impressed by the quality of the food and service.  We tried the 4-courses + desserts Omakase menu (Tasting menu).  They were all excellent.  I really recommend this restaurant to everybody that loves Japanese food.

Damn the cost for once.  It's worthwhile!

This is a new Izakaya on Broadway.  I just passed another day and decided to give it a try.  It was not bad.  They have a pretty long menu.  The food and service were quite good, although the portion was too small.  It's a nice place for a quiet dinner if you can get a sit at the balcony (indoor).

I recently went to this restaurant again with my friends.  It was my second time.  The quality of food is still very good but the service was pretty bad.  We almost had to ask them to bring us each utensil individually when we wanted a new setting.  I didn't have to pay this time but it was more than $40 per person the first time I went.  I'm not sure if it was really worthwhile.

My gf & I checked this place out on a weekend night.  It was almost 7pm, but we were the only customers.  We ordered two dishes to share and a bottle of wine.  The food was just average.  Based on the quietness of that night, we were disappointed by the lack of attention.  The bartender/server of the night was just sitting at his corner reading newspaper or mixing drinks for himself most of time.  I don't think I will come back again.  

I just went there over the weekend with my gf.  The atmosphere, live jazz band, and the food were all very good and reasonably price.  I really enjoyed the Mussels & Fries and Tenderloin I had.  I will definitely go back again.

(Don't forget to use your coupon if you have an Entertainment book).

This Japanese restaurant is really close to where I live but I have never tried it until recently.  Great price & food quality.  Also it is very clean.  It has become one of my favorites Japanese restaurant in Burnaby.

My friends and I went to this restaurant during the dineout event.  The food was great as expected.  The Lobster Bisque was just thick and salty at the right level.  Both the Sablefish & Veal were great.  Also the personal chocolate fondue was just nicely presented at the right portion. 

I was very impressed by the food, but I won't recommend going there during the dine-out event if you don't mind paying a little bit for the atmosphere as well.  It was a very nice and classy dining room, but it was way too busy/noisy on the night I went there.  It would be great we could sink into ambiance and enjoy the dinner quietly.

I just went to Green Element.  We tried there x'mas special menu that night.  The food was not bad, especially the lobster bisque and duck breast.  The only problem was my veal rack, it was a bit too cooked.  I usually like it rare.

I also find it strange that they don't serve alcohol as well.  I heard that it was a drinking place before and now they are no more licensed.  It would be a lot better if we had the meal with some wine or something.

I have finally tried this restaurant after I have heard/seen so many good reviews of this restaurant.  It was a great experience.  The food was great and the atmosphere was very casual.

We had Baked Escargot, Crab Wrap, Chicken Kiev, Lamb Shashlick, Russian Cake, and Tiramisu.  I have to say all of the above were great and the portion was pretty good too!! I really have no compliants on any of the dishes.  The whole meal only costs us around $50 + tax (excluding the wine we ordered).  It was a pretty good deal.  I will definitely go back again!

My gf and I went to Rodney for our first Taste of Yaletown dinner of the year.  We both really liked the food and the experience.

We order the $35 and $45 menus to share (Steamed mussels, garlic shrimp, tossed organic green salad, a lot of pan fried oysters from both menus, 2lb boiled Dungeness crab, and desserts).  The mussels were pretty fresh, the pan fried oysters were excellent and in pretty huge portion (even for two people), and the 2 lb Dungeness crab was GREAT!

Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to try their banana creme brule because it was sold out! .    Instead, we tried their Chocolate Mousse cake and Cheese cake.  They were pretty good too!

The service at the bar was pretty good! The bartenders were super friendly!  I will definitely go back and try their raw oysters next time!

I just went there for lunch with my coworkers today.  We ordered some burgers and beef dip.  The burgers were not bad, but the beef dip that my colleague had was pretty bad.  The beef was not chewy and overcooked.

The thing that I am not happy about was the service.  Not only the server was very cold, it also took me multiple attempts to order a refill of my drink and around 10 mins to get it.  Thank god, there are plenty of choices in downtown for pub food.

I went to Sea Harbour Restaurant for dim sum during the weekend.  I find their dim sum is still one the best in Richmond, especially their Shrimp Dumplings and Shark Fin Shrimp Dumplings (yes, I LOVE shrimp dumplings). 

Although their food is great, I have complain about reservation "system", if there is a system at all.  I made a reservation for 11:30 and I got to there at 11:30.  I had to wait, wait, and wait until 12:20 to be seated.  I was wondering, what's the point of making reservation since I have to wait for almost an hour to get a table!?  They can't just take a reservation when they have no clue when that table will be available.  Anyways, another nice to know and share with all the hungry fellow - Reservation and Arrive Early is Recommended!!!!

I went there for lunch with my coworkers a few days ago.   The Samurai Power, Delicious Roll, and Spicy Tuna/Chopped Scallop/Tuna Family Roll were the 3 that were pretty good, especially the sauce that came with the trio roll.  It tastes a bit like peanut butter with some other spices.  That was a really good replacement of washabi for sushi!

The bill was not very big but it was not very cheap either (around $20 per person).  I may go back again someday.

I recently visited this little Japanese restaurant on Davie.  I know about this place through a newspaper ad.  I was a bit skeptical about it at first, but it really surprised me!

I tried some of their special rolls: Canucks Roll, Rainbow Roll, Spider Roll, and Sakura Roll.  They are all pretty tasty and well presented.  The portion is bigger than most trendy izakaya.  If it's a dinner of 2, 3 rolls should be good enough, unless you are a big eater!

I haven't tried anything else (i.e. sashimi, tataki, etc).  I will give them a shot next time.

By the way, it's a very economic place to go for dinner as well.  It's about $8~10 + tax per person.

I went there for dinner a few days ago.  It was very busy and I didn't know it was self-service after like 10 mins or something.  Anyways, the sashimi & sushi were great and fresh.  It only cost about $30-ish for two of us.  The price is pretty reasonable.

The only downside is that there was not obvious sign that it's a self-service place.

Pretty wide selection of chocolate drinks.  They also have very nice looking chocolate cakes & truffles, but I was too full from dinner and didn't have the capacity to try their desserts.  You can order strawberry or banana with chocolate from the chocolate fountain for about $1.50 each.  It would be better if they serve chocolate fondue/fountain.  I hope that will be on their menu very soon.

Another adventurous weekend, I tried this place with my gf after finding out about this place the week before.  After one whole week of waiting, we were a bit disappointed.

First of all, the menu was a bit misleading/unclear.  The specials menu says $5.99 per person for all-you-can-eat Chocolate Fondue (with purchase of drinks) and regular price is $9.99 in smaller font.  In the main menu, it says $14.99 for Chocolate Fondue.  My gf and I were like "huh!? Confused!".  After asking the server, they actually meant $9.99 per person for all-you-can eat Chocolate Fondue regularly, it's $5.99 per person it's a promotion.  "Ah.... oic!"

Okay, we didn't order all-you-can-eat Chocolate Fondue b/c we didn't have dinner yet, we ordered the Dinner Set, which includes Chocolate & Cheese Fondue for around $20 (none of them are all-you-can-eat).  They were not bad except the items for the Cheese Fondue was a bit less than what was shown in the picture, but the Chocolate Fondue was pretty good even though it's not all-you-can-eat.  Because both of them are pretty heavy, we got pretty full after finishing both.

If you just want to eat Chocolate Fondue, the all-you-can-eat one is the way to go because their fruits are pretty fresh.  It's not a bad place to have desserts after a casual dinner.

Boneless Hai Nam Chicken & Currey Beef! Yummy!!! 

I also tried the Shiru-bay 10 course meal last week.  OMG! It was REALLY REALLY good as everybody said.  For $35 per person, they serve really good portion of 10 courses.  Every dish was really tasty on that night.  I can't recall every single dish as angeleyes did, but they are quite similar to what angeleyes did.  They were all really good and I got really really stuffed.  It's such a nice place to go for a nice Izakaya dinner.

oh... DON'T forget to make reservation in advance.  They are SUPER packed all the time.

I went there with a coworker to watch a pay-per-view hockey game last week.  The atmosphere & the crowd were great!  Our server was very sweet and friendly as well.  Although we were sitting in a pretty dark & deep corner, she still came by quite often  I am actually quite impressed b/c it was SUPER busy that nite.

I have heard of about this place for a long time.  I finally went there on last Sunday with my gf.  It's a very casual inexpensive restaurant in a residential area.  It's owned and operated by Japanese.  It was not too busy since we went there around 2pm (They serve lunch between 11am to 3pm).

We tried their Potato Croquette & their Karage dishes.  They are both pretty good.  It's a nice restaurant to go on a casual Sunday.

I went to this place with my gf yesterday for afternoon tea.  It's a pretty artsy chinese tea house with paintings and collections.  They have quite a wide variety of chinese green and black tea.  It's kind of cool to sit in a chinese tea house in the heart of downtown to watch sunset on a relaxing Sunday.

I didn't try their dim sum.  They look a bit expensive.  I guess they may be very gourment chinese dim sum.

I had a great experience at this restaurant on last Sat nite.  My friend & I didn't order from the dine out menu b/c it was not as interesting as their Set Menu #2 on their regular menu.  We love their Italian cured meats & the pasta so much.  The pasta included Penne (red sauce), Gnocchi (white sauce), and Linguine (white sauce with Pesto).  The Gnocchi & Linguine were the best.  We were very full after the 3rd course (salad) already, but somehow we managed to finish the yummy Free Range Chicken & Veal.  They were pretty good as well.   Our waitor was nice enough to give us free desserts (Tiramisu & Chocolate Mousse Cake).  They were just SO yummy!!!!  We were SUPER full after the desserts, we headed to the dance floor & danced with the live swing music!  That was great!

The food & service were very good.  We took our time to enjoy our dinner, a bottle of wine that was recommended by our waitor, and the live music.  I will definitely go back again!  

I am SO surprised about the number of people in the restaurant on a Thursday.  I am also surprised by the quality of food & portion.  I am again surprised by the price when I see the bill.  It was such a GOOD DEAL!!!  I am so glad that I live SO close to this restaurant.  I will go again for sure!!!

Another rising coffee chain in downtown.  It's opened by Caffe de Medici. I love their panini, eggnog latte, and the very tasty tiramisu. It's a great place for lunch in downtown.

I went back to this restaurant again after 2 years.  It is still one of the best Tapas restaurant in Vancouver.  I tried some new items on their menu.  Turkey thigh, Fried portobello mushroom, sable fish, and their dark chocolate desserts (VERY similar to the Chocolate Lava Cake @ La Terraza).  They are ALL GOOD, especially the Sable Fish.  I was THAT close to get a second dish. 

By the way, the music was VERY good tonight!! :-) 

I have only been there for drinks many times.  I keep going back when I can't decide where to go.  It's trendy and laidback.  I have tried the Yam Fries.  It's pretty nice! I heard that their tenderloin is pretty good too, but I havne't tried it myself.  Also, their patio is a must try in the summer! 

It's an excellent cozy French restaurant! I was there 2 months ago.  My friend and I had their 4-course set menu.  It was gorgious!  For the price we paid for, I really think it's more worthwhile than Le Crocodile.

By the way, this restaurant is NOT easy to find.  It's down pretty far on the west on Marine Drv.  It is behind a little gas station.  That's the only landmark over there.  You won't miss it!

It's a relatively traditional Japanese restaurant, but it's the first Japanese restaurant in Vancouver serves papaya sushi and mango sushi. My favorite dishes over there are including the two I mentioned above, Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza), Soft-Shell Crab rolls, and Oyster Hot Pot (not sure if they still have it). It's a small and cozy Japanese restaurant to try.