Benjarong Thai: Mini portions, all too sweet

Been craving pad thai for a while now, so why not use my Groupon deal?

Restaurant: Benjarong Thai Cuisine (visit their website here)

Location: 2120 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cuisine: Thai
Price range: $25+ per person



Date of visit: September 9, 2015
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 2/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

The Groupon was $25 for a Three-Course Thai Dinner for Two (one shared appetizer, two entrees, and one shared dessert). Felt like a pretty good deal, and we also ordered a bit more on the side. Our first appie was Crispy Calamari ($6.00). There were four pieces on the plate, the batter was soggy and oily-- and the mayo sauce made it more sickeningly unappetizing. Honestly expected a crispier experience with more pieces.

Our other appie was the New Zealand Mussel with Thai Herb ($6.50). This was less disappointing, but again, tiny portion with 6 mussels in the pot. The broth the mussels were cooked in was overwhelmingly herby to the point the mussels didn't taste like mussels. Neither were the mussels fresh... they were just frozen mussels. The house special spicy seafood dipping sauce was good though, with a hint of mint in it!

Onto the mains, I ordered a Pad Thai with Chicken ($12.00) to curb my cravings. I think they have an abundance of sugar in the kitchen, as this was super sweet. I felt like I was having dessert for a main. Aside from that, the noodles were nice and chewy and the beansprouts added a refreshing texture to the dish. Might I also mention is was very oily?

Our second main was a Choo Chee Prawn and Scallop Curry ($15.00). This had 4 large prawns, 4 scallops, and some veggies. It came with a bowl of rice and again, the curry itself was too sweet. The scallops were cooked well and the shrimp were fresh. Didn't quite care for this curry but it was one of the better things of the meal.

I ordered a Guava Juice ($2.50) to go with my meal and this was definitely from a can and well, nothing special. Adorables had an equally underwhelming Thai Iced Coffee ($3.00).

The Mango Sticky Rice 1P ($5.95) was by far the highest ranked item on the list of things I'd like to send back to the kitchen. Aside it from being tiny, the rice was hard. Yes, it had undercooked bits mixed with overcooked bits. They got the flavor down, but how can you mess up opening up a can of coconut milk to pour over dessert? The mango was sweet and perfectly ripe though, quite the MVP of this meal.

I don't know if portion sizes are different if we're using a Groupon, but if they weren't... Their prices aren't a good reflection of the quality and quantity delivered. Service was mediocre, they were friendly but it did take some effort to flag anyone down for anything. And as much as I love sweets, I won't be back.

Le Pizzo Bella: A large for $10? YES PLEASE

Super hungry from work and craving pasta, I found this place that was open late and kind of on the way home to meet Adorables!

Restaurant: Le Pizzo Bella Cafe (visit their website here)

Location: 465 East Columbia Street, New Westminster
Cuisine: Italian, Pizza, Pasta
Price range: $10-$15 per pizza



Date of visit: September 1, 2015
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

I actually wanted to get their seafood pizza, but unfortunately it's no longer on the menu (the guy working told me it's not good anyways). So I got the special for that day, which was a large pizza for $9.95 with 3 toppings! Sounds legit.

I got salmon, chicken, and bacon. This was topped with cheese on a bed of their house sauce. I liked the thickness of the crust, very chewy and the cheese melty. I found the salmon a bit dry though (Adorables thought it was chicken breast). The amount of toppings was generous and I quite enjoyed the pizza.

Since well, I came here with a pasta craving too, I ordered a lasagna ($8.95). This was a bit disappointing because the tomato sauce was rather runny and the pasta too soft. I felt the ingredients were fresh and "real" though (like.. not canned tomatoes in there). Kinda satisfied my pasta craving I suppose.

Adorables got another pizza to go, with Italian sausage, capicollo, and bacon. It was a lot more flavorful than what I chose.. and pretty darned good xD Overall, it was a good experience since the person taking orders was super patient and easy-going, plus for the price, it's a great deal! (I could get two and a half of these pizzas with the price I usually pay for at Panago xD)

Hearthstone Pizza: Wonderful service, pizza needs work.

Having been invited to try their pizzas since opening, I finally got around to dropping by for a visit!

Restaurant: Hearthstone Pizza (visit their website here)

Location: 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam
Cuisine: Pizza
Price range: $10-$15 per pizza



Date of visit: July 31, 2015
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 2/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

I came here excitedly with Elephant for our dinner run, this was located really close to Michaels in the Poco Mall. Inside, it was quite busy for 8pm and we actually had to wait in line.

They had a large selection of toppings to go with your pizza and you get to choose sizes. We got a regular 11" pizza ($8.95, small is 9" for $6.95). I forgot exactly which toppings I got, but definitely not all of them! I got white sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, bacon, Italian sausage, pepperoni (on half), anchovies (on half), olives, artichoke, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. Overall the pizza was too burnt on the sides, and the ingredients too salty-- especially the Italian sausage, sauce, along with the anchovies. I liked the presentation of the pizza and service was wonderful at the store-- though my combination of ingredients and baking of the pizza was underwhelming.

Their stone oven was visible and I liked the clean, simple layout they had, but ingredients need a bit of work. Looking forward to improvements, considering they're only one month old (happy one month!!).

Boullion Bilk: Fancy dining!

Our last dinner in Montreal for this trip, Adorables and I decided to pick a fancy place to end our wonderful trip! I put in extra photos this time because it was just such a beautiful experience!

Restaurant: Boullion Bilk (visit their website here)

Location: 1595 Blvd St-Laurent, Montreal
Cuisine: Canadian
Price range: $50+ per person



Date of visit: June 14, 2015
Atmosphere: 5/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4.75/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

We started with their Amuse-bouche ($6.25... I think, kinda forgot) but it was a slice of albacore tuna sashimi topped with a piece of seaweed, slice of peach, edamame and almonds with a special sauce. 

Tuna was very fresh and melted in my mouth!

...Just wished for more, but my mouth was truly amused =D This is the half we each got after sharing haha!

Next was an appetizer that made me want to come here, their Linguine ($16.00). It had sea urchin, bacon, parsley, pepper, and fennel pollen in a creamy sea urchin-based sauce. The dish was a bit small, but it WAS an appie. I loved how fresh and light the sea urchin on top was, and the linguine was al dente. The dish overall was very flavorful but a tad salty for my liking. We wanted to lick the plate clean nonetheless.

The second appie we got was their Lobster ($19.00). It had lobster tail and claw, satay peanut sauce, kaki, daikon, coriander, and wild rice. The lobster was fresh and simple. I was expecting rice under it, but it turned out to be deep fried wild rice bits. Interesting dish, quite enjoyable as the peanut sauce, coriander, and daikon tasted great with the lobster! 

We only got one main, which was their Halibut ($32.00). It is made two ways, which was quite exciting for me. First, the pan-seared halibut was topped with grapes, shiitake mushroom, onion, grapes, and a chopped nut/sesame mix.The fish was fluffy, moist, and melted in my mouth. The shiitake mushrooms were cooked in butter and just soaked up the buttery goodness along with the tender onions. AMAZING.

Cooked perfectly delicious. There were around 4 little potatoes on the side that I quite enjoyed too!

Onto the deep fried portion, this was about 1/4 the size of the other piece and again, beautifully executed. The tartar sauce was light as well as the batter around the fish. The fish itself was flakey, moist, and scrumptious. I found the odd broccoli stalk slices a bit... odd (didn't taste that great). Broccoli itself was tender and tasty.

Finally, dessert! It was super hard to decide, but we finally decided on the Chocolate Mousse ($10.00). It had coffee cream, cherry, cashews, elderberry sauce, and ricotta ice cream (and chocolate mousse too of course). The mousse was so rich and smooth, I loved it. The nuts added extra texture to the mix and worked well. Adorables wasn't a fan of the ricotta ice cream, said the salty flavor wasn't his thing.

I even had fun after inspiration struck me as we scraped this plate clean! Overall it was a memorable experience. They knew we were sharing the dishes and prepared us sharing plates for every single thing we ordered! I felt kind of environmentally unfriendly for using so many dishes for one meal! Food was delectable and although the linguine was a bit salty, the decor was simple and clean, service was exemplar, and the atmosphere was beautiful. Though we were probably the youngest ones there, and the most under-dressed, I still felt very welcomed and comfortable. Adorables' wallet cried though.

Kaiju: Underground Gem!

Having just got off the plane after a 4 hour flight, I was kind of tired and HUNGRY! Adorables picked me up and away we transited (for 2 hours QQ) to food!

Restaurant: Kaiju (visit their website here)

Location: #51-384 Yonge Street, Toronto
Cuisine: Japanese, Curry
Price range: $10-$15



Date of visit: June 6, 2015
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

I was surprised that this was located in such a seemingly deserted food court in downtown Toronto. Nonetheless, the owner was very friendly-- he offered us tofu cheesecake to try! Decided on a Kaiju Poutine ($6.00), which was a curry-based poutine. Very unique, the fries were very crispy outside and moist+fluffy inside. Cheese melted nicely inside the Styrofoam box and was delicious. Only thing that I was impartial to was the curry. I found the curry too sweet and a little bit grainy, just not my cup of tea.

We also got the Pork Katsu Curry ($8.00). This was amazing! Pork katsu was tender, juicy, and super crispy outside. Paired with the rice and curry-- heaven on earth after a 4 hour flight! I was impressed and wished I had more tummy room for it all.

Overall this was definitely one of the more memorable meals of the trip, being pleasantly surprised with delicious food in an underground hole in the wall curry joint. Also times when I still had MooStachio with me *cries*.

Legend House: It's like they dropped a salt bomb!

Annnd I'm back! Wasn't very busy today, but I guess it's because there's no lunch special and less people working around here on a Saturday =P

Restaurant: Legend House (visit their website here)

Location: 140-1169 Pacific Street, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Chinese, Northern Chinese, Sichuan
Price range: <$10 for lunch special



Date of visit: May 30, 2015
Atmosphere: 2/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 1/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

They were very nice in seating us, one waitress brought us some water because she saw my grandma had some medication to take (without us asking for it), so thoughtful =) Went straight in to order my usual Shanghai "XiaoLongBao" Soup Dumplings ($7.50 for 8 pieces). But to our surprise today... it was super salty! I'm not kidding, it was as if they had added two to three times the normal amount that it stung our throats going down! Flagged someone down but all she could do was give us sympathetic looks =/

Hoping for better, I tried something new today, Xi'an Cold Steamed Noodles ($6.95) less spicy. It looked really good when it arrived, but oh gosh. This was super salty AND super spicy. Shaking my head, I couldn't feel my mouth anymore. Super disappointed that less spicy turned into extra spicy. At least the noodles were very chewy!

Again, we ordered Shanghai Wontons ($6.95) for my grandma. Lo and behold these were salty as well. Super salty. We told a waitress that everything was far too salty, and she asked me if I'd had them before. Wow. Really? Why yes, I was just here two times this past week, ordering the same two dishes. No solution to our salty problem, we poured all the soup into our bowls and asked them for cups of hot water to hopefully rinse out the salt. But when the meat is overseasoned-- it's hard to take out of wontons. Either way, eventually ate these with many rinses of water.

The only decent dish was the Mu-Shu Stir Fried Noodles ($11.95) with dragging noodles. It had pork, wood ear, onions and celery. This was on the salty side, but not as disastrous as the other dishes. Noodles were chewy and al dente.

Definitely going to be a little while before I come back here again. One of the waitresses eventually remembered how often we were here and apologized that our meal had a super dose of salt and that they'll work on it and how sorry she was. Also gave us 10% off for all our troubles of rinsing our food with water =/ Usually I just let it go, but my grandma really can't handle too much salt in her diet for obvious reasons. *sigh* Another good place down the hatch. I just wish they could've stayed amazing, but all things come to an end...

Legend House: Juicy and Delicious XLB!!

Getting bored of going to the same dim sum place lately, so we came here for some variety! Super busy at lunch time, looking good!

Restaurant: Legend House (visit their website here)

Location: 140-1169 Pacific Street, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Chinese, Northern Chinese, Sichuan
Price range: <$10 for lunch special



Date of visit: May 27, 2015
Atmosphere: 2/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

Came here with family, so we were able to order a bit more variety! We like ordering their Prawns and Tofu with Dragging Noodles ($7.50) from the lunch special menu (Mon-Fri). It comes with soup of the day. Today the portion was a lot smaller than usual, but the flavors were great, fresh shrimp and the noodles were al dente. There's also tofu, snow peas, and carrots!

Next, my favorite here, their Shanghai "XiaoLongBao" Soup Dumplings ($7.50 for 8 pieces). They came piping hot, wrapping was thin, meat was fresh and there was a lot of juice in there! I like it because it's not too oily nor salty.

We also enjoy getting their Shanghai Wontons ($6.95) because it's easy for my grandma to eat. The soup is extraordinary because they put in little shrimps, veggies, and tastes amazing! The flavors compliment the dumplings well, as the wrapping is smooth and chewy with the meat inside being just the right amount.

This time, we thought we'd try their Pan-Fried Pork Buns ($6.95) as well. These were less spectacular and rather disappointing. Juice was spilling out of them, although perfectly golden at the bottom. The bun itself was too soggy but the meat tasted good.

Finally, we got an order of Legend Beef Rolls ($6.95). These guys are so photogenic! The pancake part was very crispy and chewy, nice and moist! However I found there to be too much hoisin sauce that overwhelmed the flavors of the beef.

Overall it was a good meal, but the restaurant was pretty smokey inside and made the air quality poor. I could see the smoke just hang around, but otherwise the service is great, they're really nice and attentive.

Neverland: I never wanna grow up!

What better location for a girly date than a classy high tea with a buy one get one free coupon? =P

Restaurant: Neverland Tea Salon (visit their website here)

Location: 3066 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cuisine: Cafe, Teas
Price range: $15-30 per person




Date of visit: May 22, 2015
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 5/5 (lots of teas to choose from!)
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

I booked online for two with JCXXX, and we were seated at a cute couch in the corner of the store. The store was bright and comfortable, I really liked the lights, tea sets, and overall decor! Eventually it got a bit loud inside as it got busier, guess all the hard surfaces don't absorb sound well ^^"

We ordered their High Tea ($30.00) with came with 5 sandwiches, 4 pastries, scone with cream and jam, and never-ending tea. We didn't know what they meant by "never-ending tea", but were pleasantly surprised that we were allowed to switch teas as many times as we wanted! So if we could drink that much, we could've sampled every tea from their list! (Which was quite a lot)

I forgot to take a picture of the tea list, but they had a nice comprehensive list of many tea blends of white, green, black, herbal, and rooibos teas! I got a green tea one (something about Peter Pan) which was light and fragrant.

We started on the sandwich layer first!

The first one was an open-faced breakfast sandwich, with egg, bacon, and I think it was hollandaise sauce. The bun was really crispy, almost a bit hard. Flavors of the egg and bacon were great with the bun!

Next was a sandwich with arugula and cream cheese. The flavors were kind of bland and neither of us liked this one.

This was an interesting one with tuna/chicken, mayo, onions, and herbs. It was moist and I liked the flavors. Just really couldn't figure out what the protein was ^^" (and I forgot what I was told when introduced to the items)

Then was a croissant sandwich with cheese, apple, and a sweet sauce. I liked the mixture of flavors of the cheese and apple mingling together. JCXXX isn't a fan of cheese though, so all the cheesy ones just weren't her forte =P

Last sandwich was another open-faced sandwich on focaccia bread. There were tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and spinach drizzled with olive oil. The flavors of the tomato overwhelmed the rest of the sandwich with the cheese part being quite tasteless and rubbery. The flavors balanced each other out but alone were quite unappetizing.

With not enough room for much more, we went onto the dessert layer.

Only got to try the chocolate mousse. This was amazing! I really liked the smooth and rich chocolate layers with the crunchy base. Not overly sweet either, the crunchy base and velvety chocolate made for great texture in my mouth!

There were other sweets that I packed home, my parents quite enjoyed their coconut lemon meringue tart but found the raspberry cheesecake a bit too sweet. Banana bread was average.

Scones were also quite fluffy and buttery, too bad I didn't have a chance to try their devonshire cream and jam =(

Second set of teas, we got something with the name of Tinkerbell in it, and it was quite delicious! The flavors were tart and bright, definitely a highlight out of the four teas we chose!

The bill came in a beautiful container!

Overall it was an enjoyable visit aside from our server being far too attentive when we wanted some girl talk time (he kept coming by to ask if we needed anything every 15 minutes). He was MIA when we wanted to pay and leave though ^^"