Munchie Adventure: House of Tofu Soup, Burnaby

I'm back! As promised =) I'm so excited that I tried something different this time, and was very happy with it. Place wasn't as busy, so we got better service this time, and there were two people working! =)

Restaurant: House of Tofu Soup
Location: 4563 North Road, Burnaby
Cuisine: Korean
Price range: $15-25

Date of visit: September 27, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 2.5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4.25/5

I think I made the owner lady sad though, because when she brought us the side dishes, I told her we didn't want the kimchi, with the mindset that we didn't want to waste food, since no one really ate kimchi. I forgot it was offensive. ><" Anyways, same side dishes as usual, but after the first round, she brought us another, for some odd reason =P

Ordered Soup and Bulgogi Combo ($14.99) again, seems like the best deal with the most variety. Trying the Chicken Bulgogi this time! It was tender chicken, and she told us to put teriyaki sauce over it while the plate was still hot. This helped make the sauce thicker and seep in the chicken better =)

Got mild dumpling soup, but the dumplings were mushy *disappointed*.

Second combo was with Beef Bulgogi, pieces seemed bigger this time, same good taste though! Yummy with rice ^^ Although the content itself seemed lacking (few pieces), or maybe it was like that last time too but I was too excited to notice).

Decided on the mild seafood soup, which was full of shrimp and clams. There was so much tofu in it! Not much soup, but no one complained, so I guess it was all good. I didn't like having to peel the shrimps, but having the shells kept them from losing their "sweetness". (Haha notice how my dad dropped the eggshell in there =P)

As usual, she helped us split the stone pot rice into two bowls, but this also helped us put tea in the stone pot to loosen the rice. Which I think is the proper way of eating it, but I prefer the soup way, cuz it's tastier =P

Onto the new thing! We finally decided to get the expensive Seafood Pancake ($14.99), and it was worth every penny. Of course you can make it at home too, but probably not as good, since we probably wouldn't put in as much oil. It was lightly crispy on the outside, and so soft and moist on the inside. It was chewy too! There was shrimp, chives, and squid. Maybe there were other ingredients, but I only got around to eating two pieces, since they were gone so fast! (Not that it was small)


I was really pleased with my visit, although it took a while to flag them down if you needed anything. I guess the best time to come is when they're not as busy, then you'll have better service =) Food is kept at a constant quality, so no worries about that!

Munchie Adventure: Sushi Oyama, Coquitlam

It's finally open!!! I was looking forward to trying this restaurant because it had pretty good reviews for their other branch in Burnaby, and I saw their ad in the newspaper mentioning the opening of this one! I was so excited!! They just opened September 19, 2012, so the place is still pretty new. Coming back here, brings back some childhood memories of when this used to be a Dim Sum restaurant that I went to so often. It looks totally different now though! The inside looked really clean, so that's a good sign.

Restaurant: Sushi Oyama (visit their website here)
Location: 3055 Anson Avenue, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
Price range: $10-20 per entree for lunch




Date of visit: September 26, 2012
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 4.5/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

First thing I saw was the "wall of water" though, it was pretty and I wanted to sit beside it. Luck would have it (or she saw how I eyed the water LOL), we sat right next to it! ^-^ *Happy girl*

We took a while deciding what to order, since they had a large selection of items for lunch, and I wanted to try everything (there were only 3 of us though ><). The waitress who took our order was new, so there was another waitress teaching her how to take orders and stuff, so it took longer than usual. But gotta give new ppl a chance! So I didn't mind.

We ordered the Party Tray B ($26.90), which came with sushi and rolls, so we could try both kinds of food. Sushi came first, and they were BIG (not as big as Samurai Sushi House's, but still big). Sushi rice wasn't sticky enough though. Texture was good, taste was good too-- except for the falling apart after soy sauce. I liked the chopped scallop nigiri, it was kinda ice cold, but tasted fresh =) My brother said the masago was still a bit frozen though =/ There was also Ebi, Tuna, and Salmon Sushi =)

The rolls were good too, couldn't finish it all xD There was BC Roll, Dynamite Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, and California Roll. BC Roll had really chewy salmon skin, and it was GOOD. Dynamite Roll... wasn't as good. The shrimp was over-fried which made it really oily and gave me this bad after-taste. I liked the California Roll though, nothing on it-- I'm weird that way haha. Ordered alone, its only $2.99!! A good deal if you ask me. Lastly, the Spicy Tuna Roll, it was really spicy, so I didn't have any, mom said it was seasoned well though!

After all that food, we also got a House Roll ($4.90). I thought the fish in it (tuna and salmon) were a bit too chopped up-- normally its in a full piece and not mushy small bits. It wasn't that spectacular.

Almost forgot to order this, cuz we ordered a lot of food already, but we decided to get it anyways: TAKOYAKI ($3.90)!!!!! And it was not expensive either ^^ It was so fresh, and yummy, I really liked it. (I'd say this is unbiased, since I've tried a lot of takoyaki in my lifetime, and know what I like haha) So crispy on the outside, piping hot and moist on the inside with the little piece of octopus in it-- I was in Heavennnn~~

Back to the last item we ordered (yeah, feels like I pigged out quite a bit today *luckyy*), which was the Awesome Roll ($6.90). They also have a Crispy Awesome Roll ($8.10), which substitutes the bonito with fried yam... but I like bonito more =P This was pretty good, sauce was made right, not too spicy, and presentation was pretty. The salmon on top is a bit thinner than the one at Sushi Town though, but it was fully cooked instead of half-cooked like at Sushi Town.

Since they just opened, there's perks!! 15% off all eat-ins until October 8, 2012!! Some of their prices are a bit pricey, so this justifies it if you wanna try something you don't normally get =P Wish their rolls were a bit more "solid" (some of them were too loose and so the roll fell apart too easily). Will come back again to try their other foods, hopefully before their discount ends =P

Munchie Adventure: Cattle Cafe 牛仔餐廳, Richmond

So... I've visited three Cattle Cafes! Haha doesn't seem like such an amazing feat, but I feel good about it, soon I shall hit up the last one! There was adequate parking space at this location, and size is about the same as the Metrotown one. So maybe you're thinking, "Same name, same menu items, so things shouldn't be too different, right?" Not exactly... After visiting all three, I'd have to say each have their strong points. This location has good drinks, Metrotown has good fish noodles, and Edmonds has good "Western" (ie. spaghetti) dishes.

Restaurant: Cattle Cafe 牛仔餐廳 (visit their website here)
Location: 1020-8580 Alexandra Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Chinese, Hong Kong-style cafe
Price range: Under $10 per entree




Date of visit: September 23, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

Since I got my friend liking Ribena, we ordered Ribena for all three of us, and it was worth the buck =) The Lemon Ribena ($2.95) was made with crushed ice, and it was really good. There were more slices of lemon than the other locations =P

I was kinda full, so one of my friends and I decided to just ordered snacks and share them: Sliced Beef and Hand Squeezed Fish Noodles in Satay Soup ($6.95) and Satay Baby Cuttlefish and Beef Tripe ($5.95). The noodles were similar to the ones I had at the Edmonds location. Not good. The noodles were too thin, squished together, and in tiny chunks (not noodle-y at all). Taste was a bit saltier than the other locations.

Cuttlefish and beef tripe tasted good though! Cuttlefish were a good size and fresh. a bit too much sauce-- might've been good with some rice =) Funny thing is, we didn't notice that both things were satay haha

My friend got the Noodles Combo ($8.50), with Parsley and Century Eggs Fish soup, Sliced Beef Briskets, and Pork Intestines plus Rice Noodles (since they didn't have ramen). It looked good, they didn't cheap out on the ingredients at all =)

The store filled up pretty quickly after we sat down, and I understand why. It's a good deal here for some good food. On a side note, they have a cool washroom with mirrors surrounding the sides (noted to me by my friend haha).

Mini Munchie: Capstone Tea and Fondue, Downtown Vancouver

After lunch, movie, and some shopping around, the crew decided they were hungry again! We had just walked by Capstone, and my friend had recommended before that their fondue is pretty good, so we decided to drop by. They open only during certain times, so we got there a bit early, had to wait until 3:00pm ><" No biggie. We waited. But lately, I've been rather disappointed at the places I've been to, I'm feeling bad for being so negative D= I'm not doing it on purpose, just not my luck lately ><

Restaurant: Capstone Tea and Fondue (visit their website here)
Location: 1429 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Desserts, Fondue, Tea, Drinks
Price range: $10-25, depending what you get (They have an AYCE fondue for $14.95)

Date of visit: September 22, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 1.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

So, first thing we got asked was if we made reservations, and we didn't. Felt like we *needed* reservations to get a spot in the empty shop... Which still wasn't full after we were done >.> Anyways, we decided to go for the Chocolate Fondue for Two ($24.94) to try things out first, and the table we were at only had two settings, so we asked for two extra sets along with our order, and some water. The waitress took forever to get us two sets, so we just asked another waiter to get it for us. Disappointment right there.

Oh, did I mention she questioned my allergy to pineapples? I told her I was allergic to pineapples and asked if they were part of the fruits provided in our order. She said yes, and asked if it was ok if it was on the same plate. RIGHT AFTER I TOLD HER I WAS ALLERGIC AND CAN'T EAT IT. Maybe she didn't get my idea, so I told her we didn't want it. She asked again, so even the other people don't want it? Everyone nodded in agreement, and she commented that I was so lucky no one minded. Apparently friends can't be nice or smth? xD (They probably had all of this set up way before, so I noticed they probably just scrapped the pineapple off our plate)

Onto the food. Gotta make a note not to complain so much =P We got our food, but had to wait another 10 mins to finally get a waiter to get us the two settings we were missing since we first placed our order 20 mins ago... We got to pick two dips, so we chose the caramel and almonds. Caramel was definitely better than the almonds, they were crunchy and stickable onto the chocolate--whereas the almonds were a bit big to stick easily.

The ice cream was yummy! Kinda hard to get at, but good! Fruits were fresh, but the cookies didn't work so well-- it was really hard to jab and dip xD The chocolate was good as well; smooth and rich dark chocolate that wasn't too sweet--best part of it all. Guess that was the idea? xD

Overall, I felt this wasn't worth the money I paid, and probably won't visit again. I can make my own fondue, or search for a better place.

Munchie Adventure: Santouka Ramen, Downtown Vancouver

My friend recommended this restaurant, so we decided to go and give it a try! And it was a cold day, so it was PERFECT for something hot and soupy =) We got there a bit early, and luckily we did, after we sat down, the little store filled up with people almost immediately! It was pretty warm inside though, which I don't know how people can stand it on a warm sunny day. . .

Restaurant: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (visit their website here)
Location: 1690 Robson Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Ramen
Price range: $10-15 per entree

Date of visit: September 22, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 3.75/5
Food quality: 2.5/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

So everyone except me upsized their ramen (add $1 to the price), which is an option they have. You can also downsize (minus $1 off the price), which I wish I did, but when everyone else is upsizing, I really don't wanna be that health nut down sizing HAHA They gave us a sauce platter, which looks pretty with the flash when I took it-- just a random picture =P

I got the Shio Ramen ($9.95) and Goro-Niku gyoza ($5.50). The ramen was ok, a bit big for me, and I forgot to tell them to go light on the lard, cuz I got a bit sick just staring at the oil in my bowl. The portion was pretty good, pork was tender and not too fat. The bamboo shoot was tasteless, but good with the broth. There was this odd oval thing in the middle of the bowl I couldn't figure out though...

The gyoza were disappointing. Yeah, the bottoms were crunchy and fresh, but SO SALTY =(

My friends got the following items:

Karamiso Ramen ($10.45+ $1)-- this was spicy, looked good, but maybe a bit too mild, since I saw my friend add more chili powder =P

Chasu Shio Ramen ($11.80+ $1)-- this one looked almost exactly like what I ordered LOL

Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen ($14.50+ $1)-- limited quantity dish! Looked nice =)

Here's the (blurry) bill =P I ended up paying $20 in total, not that bad, but a bit pricey for lunch IMO

Munchie Adventure: Gingeri Chinese Cuisine 金如意粵菜精華, Richmond

It's my mom's birthday! =) So we decided to dine out and treat her to something nice =) We heard about this place from many people and saw the ads for shark fin, so here we are!

Restaurant: Gingeri Chinese Cuisine 金如意粵菜精華
Location: 323- 5300 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Chinese
Price range: $15+ for dinner




Date of visit: September 19, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

To start off the meal, of course it's the Braised Shark Fin ($28.80) we came here for! The shark fin itself was pretty big, so we were happy with that. Broth was really well done too, it wasn't too gooey like other places. Worth the money. And if you ask me on my opinion about consuming shark fin, I'll elaborate at the bottom for interested peoples.

Craving egg all of a sudden, we got the Pan Fried Egg with Three Kinds of Egg ($17.80). I liked the taste and texture of it. Couldn't differentiate between the salty egg and normal egg though =/ Had to order some rice to go with it, it was a bit on the salty side.

I love sea cucumber clam, so my parents ordered a Sauteed Sea Cucumber Clam ($26.80), and it was decent. Some of the clam pieces were so chopped up and tiny, they don't even count as pieces. And there wasn't a lot either *sad*. Too expensive for this amount.

This next dish is not often seen, Goose Webs with Veggies ($23.80), since we rarely eat goose in Canada. Usually it's duck. The goose webs were good, well cooked, but bland. Not enough sauce to put on it, but the parts that had sauce on it were amazing. Tasted really good, not oily, not salty-- seemed like a healthy dish!

Last was a Fried Rice with Two kinds of Sauce ($15.80) aka "Yin Yang Fried Rice". I really enjoyed this, although there was an abundance of sauce. The fried rice was nicely done, there weren't clumps of rice stuck together, and it was kind of chewy ^-^ Tomato side was too sweet though, but mixed with the white sauce side, it was perfect. Filled with toppings, it was the best dish we ordered (besides the shark fin =P)

We also got dessert on the house, I don't like the cookies, but my dad said they were made well.

The sweet soup was one of my favorites, and not often served at restaurants. It tastes like soy milk, but made with crushed bean curd.

Overall, this was a good experience. Will I be back? Maybe. Richmond is a bit far, and for the price and quality... not quite worth it. Unless we wanted shark fin. =P

My opinion:
I really think that the shark finning process is brutal, and should be either be improved, or banned completely. However, the sale of pre-existing stock should be allowed, since these animals already died, and just throwing away the thing they died for seems like they died in vain. Maybe they should set up operations in Africa or smth, so they can use the meat as well, and not waste it? Shark finning isn't something new, and has been going on for so long, that we might have altered the ecosystem and food chain already. Perhaps it's adapted to having us take out these top predators, but of course that's just humans trying to find an excuse for our mistakes. Of course, this is just my opinion, and not meant to offend anyone!

Munchie Adventure: King Ludwig's, Leavenworth, WA

Trip to the States!! We decided to revisit some places we went to when I was a kid, and this was one of them, although sad to say, I couldn't find the same candy I had when I was a kid =P It was this long unicorn candy which was colorful and 2 feet long haha. Couldn't quite remember the restaurant we went to, but I think this was the one! Maybe everything tastes better when you're a kid, or their quality has really declined.

Restaurant: King Ludwig's (visit their website here)
Location: 921 Front Street, Leavenworth, WA
Cuisine: German
Price range: $15-25 per entree for lunch




Date of visit: September 18,  2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 2/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

I regret not choosing something from their lunch menu, since we couldn't finish our platter of food. We ordered King Ludwig's Platter- Family Style (for four) ($67.99). There was a lot of food. But for that price... not really worth it, regardless of how much food there was.

It had their famous Schweinshax'n (rotisseried broiled pork hock) which was so tough. The meat was ok, but the skin was so HARD. Tasteless and dry meat ><" I would prefer something juicier.

There was also Chicken Munich Style (half a rotisseried chicken). This was a bit better than the pork, but Costco does a better job of rotisseried chicken. Again, this was dry, but at least it tasted good.

Then in the middle, there were two Schweine Schnitzel (breaded pan fried pork cutlet). This was tasteless, but probably one of the best things on the platter. It was crispy and not as dry.

The two sausages in the very middle were probably the best things on the platter. One was spicy, but taste and texture was good. Kinda reminded me of normal pork sausages you can get at the supermarket, but oh well.

Accompanying everything else was Bavarian Potato Salad, Winekraut, Rotkraut (red cabbage) and Spätzle. Potato salad felt a bit oily-- is it even supposed to be oily? =S Not used to cold potatoes. Winekraut was a bit strong, so I didn't have much of that. Rotkraut was a bit better, but seemed like a lot of coloring x.x Spätzle was tasteless, but I guess if you mixed it with everything else, it was ok.

I just gotta say, it looked nothing like the picture on the menu, and I think ordering from the lunch menu would've been a much wiser choice. The restaurant had a nice homey feel to it though, sadly the food isn't that worthy.

I kinda regret coming here, it ruined the wonderful memories I made here when I was a kid =(