Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse: Dineout #2!

Dineout season is just getting into full swing! Our stop this evening was Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse, which offered a $20 3-course menu and an optional $20 wine pairing.

I opted for their Bacon and Potato Soup, which had applewood smoked bacon, yukon gold potato, spiced crouton topped with a chive creme fraiche.

It was creamy and rich, bacon was fragrant and prominent in the soup. For an appie this was rather large and filling! I didn't like the croutons as they were a bit harder than I liked.

Adorables got the Braised Lamb Burger Slider which was a red wine braised lamb, gruyere, coleslaw, carrot, tomato, arugula, crispy onion, dijon mustard with a side of truffle scented fries topped with parmesan.

Surprisingly complex amount of ingredients for an appetizer slider, the plating was quite appealing. Lamb was seasoned well and moist, crispy onion added more texture to the whole slider. The fries were my favorite, loaded with flavor, crispy, and slightly cheesy-- yum!

For my entree, I got the Portobello Mushroom which was stuffed with sundried tomato crusted cream cheese and artichoke on a bed of house-made linguine, hand-picked seasonal vegetables, walnut, and black truffle oil. I forgot I'm mildly allergic to mushrooms before ordering this because the stuffing sounded so good! Either way, the mushroom was a decent size and the cream cheese was delicious and light! I was disappointed with the linguine, it was rather bland and just super oily. Originally not a fan of truffle oil, this was not the best choice I've made for an entree.

Adorables ordered the New York Steak with roasted garlic, yukon gold mashed potato, hand-picked seasonal vegetables, and red wine jus. They make it medium-rare by default, and it came just right. Waifuu also ordered this but wanted it medium, but it came rather well-done and was quite tough and dry! Mashed potato was smooth and yummy.

PokeMaster was the only one who ordered the Poached Steelhead and boy was it a huge portion of fish! Placed on top a bed of clam and tomato infused rice pilaf, hand-picked seasonal vegetables and pernod sabayon. The steelhead was well-cooked and the rice pilaf was full of flavor.

For dessert, they had three options (one which was not posted on the DOV website). I got the Black and White consisting of callebaut dark and white chocolate mousse, ginger cookie, caramelized banana, toasted almond, and strawberry coulis. The mousse was light, chocolately, and smooth. It paired well with the ginger cookie and tart strawberry coulis. The banana looked pretty and the texture was great with the crunchy caramelized sugar coating!

Adorables had the Apple Confection: apple compote, raisin, honey and almond granola, honeycomb candy, and vanilla gelato. Three people got this and the presentation was different for them, Adorables' didn't have honeycomb candy on top (we took photos of our friends' cuz it was prettier haha).

This ended up being rather filling, since the oats in the granola combined with the moist apple compote and became oatmeal. Not enough vanilla gelato to last the whole dessert!

Waifuu ordered the Belgian Waffle with french vanilla ice cream and strawberry compote. This was crunchy, creamy, tart, hot and cold at the same time in your mouth! Quite the taste adventure!

Service was great, albeit a bit slow, but friendly waitresses who were very patient with us. They were fully booked and were able to accommodate an extra person for our table! Ambiance was comforting and delightful, I had a wonderful evening. The decor outside reminded me of old Victorian times, so romantic! Not to mention they had ample free parking outside. Aside from it being hard to find the entrance to the location at night, it was pretty straight forward.

Broken Rice: Seriously broken rice!

Super keen today with GirlNextDoor, we rewarded ourselves to a fancy dinner after our hot yoga session post-long-work-day. Having passed by here many times, I finally get a chance to try! Super excited!!

Restaurant: Broken Rice (visit their website here)

Location: 4088 E. Hastings Street, Burnaby
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Price range: $20+ per person




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

Walking in, we knew this was not your typical Vietnamese restaurant, it felt very modern and westernized. So we concluded we should order special items over your typical Phở. xD We chose Uncle Hing's Chicken Wings ($6.95) with Garlic Butter as our first appie. This was fresh: crispy outside and juicy inside. the butter went well and enhanced the flavors of the wings. Even GirlNextDoor had the chicken skin (she normally doesn't eat it!).

Next we enjoyed their Duck Confit Sliders ($6.95). They reminded me of peking duck, equally delicious. The duck was tender, moist, and flavorful, which went well with the texture of the crunchy cucumber and carrot. The bun was steamed, chewy, moist. Beautiful creation!

Then we had their Phnom Penh Roll ($6.50). This was a bit disappointing after the two superb appies. It contained Chinese sausage that made the flavors odd and I just didn't like the overall texture. Also contained egg, carrot, jicama, basil, lettuce and peanuts with a peanut dip. 

We actually started with a light Green Papaya Salad ($8.95) with Beef Jerky as jerky was the most popular option. This was packed full of crunch and flavor. I enjoyed the lightness and tartiness of the salad, but the basil was too big that it became overwhelming in flavor. I wish they julienned it so the flavors could mingle more.

For our actual main, we got their Coconut Braised Pork Belly ($13.95). The display was tidy. There was broken rice, salad, and the dish. They bundled the pork belly with green onion, very cute! This was where it got interesting. We studied their rice, none were full pieces, hence their name! We all had a good laugh with it. The flavors of the broth was soaked into the pork, which was tender and melted in my mouth. It wasn't too fatty but enough that it added flavor to the meat. Wonderful!

Overall our experience was quite positive. Can't believe we ordered so much! The service was great and I like the modern look. Mostly the food was enjoyable and delicious! I still wonder if they have to break the rice, or do they buy rice leftovers from rice farms....? xD

Sushimoto: Cheap and great lunch!

Met up with GirlNextDoor for lunch near Holdom Skytrain station, been wanting to try this place out for a while, finally did it!

Restaurant: Sushimoto

Location: 102-2201 Holdom Avenue, Burnaby
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
Price range: $10-15 for lunch






Date of visit: August 20, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

One of their lunch specials was Chirashi ($9.00). I had never had a chirashi before (shame, I know), but my friends have often ordered them. I felt it was too much rice for a small eater like me. However, for this price, I was willing to try for the first time. Super glad I did. It was topped with 3 salmon, 3 tuna, 2 tamago, 2 tai, 1 ebi, 2 hokigai, and masago. I was surprised there was so much sashimi! I had just enough rice to go well with it (also can't believe I ate so much). Sashimi was fresh and everything was delicious.

I also ordered a Chopped Scallop Nigiri ($2.00) because I couldn't resist. Such a glutton. The scallop was fresh and the rice well done. Yum!

This is a great location for a cheap japanese lunch to fill bellies for under $10! Also, a convenient location, right underneath Holdom Station.

Look at the cool figurines they have at the bar ;D

No. 1 Beef Noodle House: It's so spicy!! But oh-so-good I can't stop!!

*Late post* Last stretch of finals!! Before my fun sleepover at SW's (closer to campus for my crazy early final), we stopped here for dinner! Right beside Sushi S, I was almost tempted to go for sushi instead! But super cold night, needed something to warm our bellies!

Restaurant: No. 1 Beef Noodle House (visit their website here)

Location: 4741 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby
Cuisine: Taiwanese, Noodle Shop, Smoothies, Dessert
Price range: $10-20





Date of visit: December 11, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

We ordered some appies to start our meal, with the 3 item combo ($9.50) we got seaweed, pig intestines, and beef honeycomb tripe. The random garlic sauce was quite strong and the sweet seafood sauce smothered over everything made everything taste... the same. However the texture was great and flavors weren't that bad :)

SW ordered a Beef Brisket Noodles ($7.75), and the brisket, like my last visit here, was delicious. She liked the noodles and flavors, and the amount of food was plentiful =)

On the side we also ordered Shanghai Dumplings ($6.50) because I've been craving them since I saw them last time =P They were very juicy and the wrapping was nice and chewy. I felt it was a bit too sweet for my liking, I prefer a saltier version of these little suckers.

For myself, I tried their Seafood Laksa ($9.25), which turned out to be quite a big bowl! The flavors were all there, so deliciously crafted with a milky curry base and spiciness added such a great kick. Ingredients were plentiful as well, I couldn't finish this giant bowl! Felt very satisfied though :)

Even though we were both super full, decided we needed dessert to end our meal, so a Tofu Pudding with Black Sesame Sweet Soup ($4.45) was ordered. This was a bit disappointing because the black sesame sweet soup was just your generic powdered stuff, clumpy, and way too thick. The portion wasn't bad and the tofu was decent. I wouldn't order it again.

Such an amazing evening catching up with this lovely lady! And good food! One could say I was a happy camper ;)

Sushi California: Sushi-comfort-food

Been feeling a bit mopey and stressed lately, glad Little Teemo and Eggtart pulled me out to dinner =) Great company and sushi therapy? Golden.

Restaurant: Sushi California

Location: 501 North Road, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
Price range: $10-15





Date of visit: March 9, 2014
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

I forgot how LARGE their nigiris were so I went ahead and ordered a Salmon ($1.20), Ika ($1.25),  Hamachi ($2.00), and Chopped Scallop ($1.35) nigiri =/ Way too much food. Fish was fresh, the ika was meh though, too gummy and not enough crunch to it. Seafood to rice ratio was too low-- there was too much rice!

I also ordered a Crunch House Roll ($4.50), which was basically a deep-fried house roll! It was nice and crispy, didn't feel oily at all! The salmon and tuna became rather cooked after sitting for a while (residual head I presume), but otherwise it was delish!

Little Teemo ordered a Hot N Roll ($3.95). I didn't get a chance to try the Hot N Roll, but it looked really pretty and fancy for a roll of that price!

She also had a Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll ($3.95) and an Alaska Roll ($3.95), of which I tried the spicy tuna tempura roll. I felt it was a nice texture, not too oily but could use a bit more kick to it ^-^

Eggtart ordered a Crunch Cali ($3.95) aka a deep fried california roll, and a Bills Roll ($3.95), which contained yam tempura. So much rice he almost had a carb coma xD

I tried Eggtart's Sweet Mango roll ($6.95), it was light and fresh, but I wish it were sweeter with more mango flavor to it (he felt it wasn't sweet enough either).

I found their rice to be a bit tasteless, but the texture was good. It was actually quite full for such a late hour (for Coquitlam this is a BIG thing-- most places are closed early haha). I guess for the price paid, it's a great deal =)

Photo credits to Little Teemo

I was in the presence of amazing company. Always nice to know you have people around you supporting you regardless =) *forever grateful*

Munchie Adventure: Sushi S Japanese Restaurant, Burnaby

Last exam, couldn't resist so I came back for more after exams as a treat for myself :D

Restaurant: Sushi S Japanese Restaurant (visit their website here)
Location: 4739 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi, Tapas
Price range: $10+




Date of visit: May 8, 2013
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 2.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

I've gotta say, their service was worse this time. Don't get me wrong, it's not the way staff treat us, it's the TIMELINESS of their service. Lunch took us around 2 hrs when the actual eating was less than half of that. Anyways.

KS ordered their Tako Sunomono ($4.00) and it looked quite pretty. She said it was decent.

Also got some very orderly Sake (salmon) maki ($2.50). Very fresh and not too much rice, just as we like it :) This is one of the few places I've been to that have actual salmon pieces (not the chopped up salmon!!)-- so that's a plus for me!

AL got an Asparagus roll ($2.00) which she said was to die for. Definitely worth trying next time! On the same plate is a Spicy Salmon roll ($4.00). Lots of fresh salmon but the sauce wasn't very spicy.

As for myself, I tried their S combo ($9.50) which included salmon, ebi, and tuna nigiri with 1/2 order of S roll. I swapped the ebi nigiri into chopped scallop nigiri =P

The display was beautiful as usual, and the ingredients were very fresh. I'm not much of a fan of tempura shrimp in rolls, but this was done nicely, the tempura batter wasn't too thick so the roll was alright. The light crispy tempura bits on top weren't oily at all and complimented the roll nicely.

Being the pig I am, I also ordered an Oji roll ($7.00), which I regretted afterwards. I thought I could stand the ikura (salmon roe), but nope. Did not like the fishy taste at all =( The roll itself was nicely done, fresh and very palatable (perfect mouth size), but I felt the ikura ruined my experience. Perhaps for those who enjoy ikura, this would be a good choice for them!

No regrets coming here though! My wallet usually takes a good beating from this place, but it shall recover =) Until next time!