YEW: Last dineout-- datenight!

To end our Dine Out adventures this year, we decided on YEW, located at the Fairmont beside Pacific Center. They offered a $40 3-course menu with optional wine pairings for each course (various prices). The inside decor is classy but felt comforting. Our server was very friendly and started us with some hot water. Adorables said that he looked familiar, almost like a person he had met during a volunteering mission many years ago!

We were provided with bread to start, Adorables and I gorged on their bread with herb butter.

I ended up dipping my bread in their Yew Lobster Bisque with crispy leek and croutons. I enjoyed this dish the first time I came, but it had been so long I didn't really remember the taste, only "it was good". This was a very creamy but thin bisque. Rich lobster shell flavor. Although it was a small bowl, it soon proved to be a little much all for myself (of course I shared the rest with Adorables).

I talked Adorables into getting the Albacore Tuna with green lentil salad and winter vegetables. Plated as a tower of fish on top of a green lentil salad and garnished with winter vegetables, it was a beautifully colorful arrangement.

Tuna was nice and fresh, lentil added texture to the mushy tuna. Gotta say their plating was simple yet elegant.

I knew it was a silly idea but we both chose more fish for our meal, with Adorables getting the Roasted Salmon with Greek style vegetables and coriander. The fish was cooked perfectly, flakey and not overdone. A golden sheen on the outside on a bed of veggies and soup. Adorables enjoyed the pairing of soup to his fish. I was impartial to this.

I had the Pan Fried Sablefish with vegetables spaghetti, coconut and bouillabaisse. This was a magnificent dish. The sablefish was flakey, moist, and melted in my mouth. Paired with the delicious bouillabaisse-- the dish was well enhanced. I liked this "soup" base more than the one Adorables had since it was more fragrant and full-bodied. The vegetable spaghetti was fine and nicely twirled on my fork.

Onto the dessert round! Their Green Mountain was made with green tea, chestnut, and vanilla yuzu creme. It was a smooth, creamy explosion of green tea flavor in my mouth. The chestnut was very sweet but in small amounts was fine with the rest of the dessert. I loved the shape of it, so cute!

Couldn't decide on the other dessert, our server recommended the Jitters Gateau made with coffee and brown butter Pain de Gênes, coffee cream, and coffee hazelnut streusel. It was amazing! I don't know what made the crunchy bits, but along with the cream and cake-- this was a wonderful dessert experience with a variety of sweet and bitter and textures too!

By the end of the night, we had fully enjoyed our meal and spent some time looking through old photos trying to remember the name of the guide who led the volunteer mission in Morocco-- it turns out our server was indeed the same person! He was still building the school, and it had expanded to become a community center with healthcare included. What an amazing end to our evening, and what a small world it is to reunite with old faces halfway across the world!

Cactus Club: A Good Staple to Canada Place

Located conveniently near where we were shooting for Anime Revolution Summer and offering seating with reasonably-priced food for downtown, we found ourselves seated shortly in the outdoor patio area, ready to satisfy our growling tummies.

Restaurant: Cactus Club Cafe (visit their website here)

Location: 1085 Canada Place, Vancouver
Cuisine: Gastropub, Canadian
Price range: $25+ per person



Date of visit: August 7, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

Since we were seated outside and it was a pretty chilly day, we grabbed a couple blankets draped over the chairs to keep warm. Unfortunately we were never supplied with one more blanket after I had asked for it, so I just froze :c Nevertheless, food was on the way, so I survived!

One of the staples I always try to order here is their Ceviche ($15.25). Composed of Louis Lake Steelhead, prawns, red onions, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, nuoc cham and limes on the side. I love the tart sauce intermingling with the salmon and prawns on a crispy tortilla shell. It's very appetizing and refreshing.

For my main I ordered a Short Rib Pappardelle ($22.50) because I had pasta cravings since forever for pappardelle (don't know why but I do). This totally hit the spot. Made with slow-braised short rib with porchini mushroom cream sauce topped with grana padano-- delish! The rib was moist and flavorful, it melted in my mouth. Pasta was cooked al dente and soaked up the sauce well. Began being delicious but does get a bit heavy after a couple more bites.

Thought I'd need to order more food for Adorables since I thought I could finish all that pasta by myself . . . so I got something "smaller" which was their Baja Fish Tacos ($14.50). Ocean wise lingcod was beer battered and topped with shredded cabbage, chipotle aioli, fire roasted tomato salsa, pickled red onions and guacamole wrapped in a soft tortilla shell. The cod was fresh and moist inside with a crispy exterior but the batter was too oily and dense. Guacamole didn't wow me either, rather bland and tasteless.

Overall it satisfied my starving tummy, and waitresses were friendly in general. I really wish I got that blanket though. Otherwise they were quite accommodating for us cosplayers and photographers with all our gear!

Steveston Seafood House: Everyone's here with a coupon!

Had a coupon to this place and was super stoked to try with my partner in crime!

Restaurant: Steveston Seafood House (visit their website here)

Location: 3951 Moncton Street, Richmond
Cuisine: Seafood
Price range: $30+ per person




Date of visit: March 10, 2015
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

We were seated in a little corner alcove, which I liked since we could see the rest of the restaurant and sit on a curved bench (as opposed to chairs). Stared at the menu for a while, then realized we were getting a prix fixe menu (LivingSocial coupon $69), so no need to think! We were started with Coconut Prawn and Scallops. There were four of them on spoons, quite a nice presentation. I couldn't physically see the scallops nor taste them, but they must be in there, right? The prawns were nicely cooked and the coconut sauce was fragrant and creamy. A little on the sweet side, but nice to start with.

The second starter was their Beef Carpaccio. A surprisingly large plate, the beef was thinly sliced and covered with balsamic reduction, some sort of hard cheese (aged cheddar?!), sweet onions, and capers. The beef fell apart and stuck to the plate, but after being scraped off and placed on the toasted bread-- delicious! Meaty flavors went well with the tart flavors of the balsamic and capers then the cheese made it creamy and a bit salty. Wonderful party in my mouth. The arugula salad was overwhelmingly saucy though =(

We were then both served a Salad of Mixed Greens. I love lemons, so when I saw lemon on the plate, I automatically squeezed all the juices onto the salad. Bad move. It became far too tart. Anyhow, there was sauce already mixed in, with a slice of tomato and some onions on top. Not a bad size to get some veggies into the meal! Some parts weren't that fresh (the tips were oxidized) but aside from my own mistake, the salad was decent.

Onto our mains, we both were served a Cedar Plank Salmon. The wood was warm and the plating was beautiful. Although all night it felt like every dish had balsamic reduction in it-- as if there is no other seasoning. Or maybe it's the theme of their courses? The salmon was perfectly cooked, juicy and melted in my mouth. I believe its sockeye salmon. Regretfully they over-seasoned the fish with too much salt on top, but after scraping it off, we continued enjoying the wonderful main. Veggies were a little overcooked, so they were too soft and the asparagus was not tender. The rice was scrumptious. It was creamy and al dente, reminded me of Hainan chicken rice-- yummy!

Finally we were served dessert :  Tiramisu. I saw another table be served dessert and was worried it would be disappointing, since theirs looked like a tiny triangle of tiramisu about to fall over. Luckily ours turned out to be quite nice. The cream part was rich and smooth-- I could taste the mascarpone distinctly. The cake however, was really moist and bland (as you can see from the water leaking out on the plate). Otherwise, a decent tiramisu =)

First time in my life seeing a tip of 100%, and first time for Adorables to tip that too! Their service was lovely and attentive, I enjoyed our meal. Almost everyone around us had a coupon for their meal too, wonder if they are able to profit at all?! (picture is of original price)

Milestones @ High Street: High level of disappointment

All the way in Abbotsford for ChelleShocks' birthday festivities! After some fun times at Castle Fun Park, we arrived at this relatively new Milestones location for dinner! Seemed to bode well considering we couldn't get a booking until 7:30pm!

Restaurant: Milestones Grill and Bar (visit their website here)

Location: 3122 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford
Cuisine: American, Western
Price range: $20-50 per person





Date of visit: November 8, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 1/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

We were seated cozily (and by that I mean quite squished) into a 7-person booth. There were 9 of us. At least we didn't have to wait in line for a table! Sadly, it seems they don't honor reservations at all. Shame. Anyways, the layout is beautiful here and the atmosphere is quite nice. For my appetizer (I had a coupon), I ordered their Sicilian Mussels ($14.00). I shared this with ChelleShocks and there were quite a lot on the plate. The sauce was delicious and the mussels were very fresh. However, many of them were undercooked and not edible (I ate a super undercooked one but survived, hence why I concluded they were very fresh haha). It was a wine cream sauce and I could taste a hint of the wine, which enhanced the mussel flavors.

For my entree, I ordered their Cajun Seafood Fettuccine ($19.00). It sounded delicious with prawns, mussels, salmon, and calamari in a Cajun cream sauce. Irony is when it arrived differently than advertised. It had no prawns and the pasta was dry and salty. Super strong Cajun flavor and no cream whatsoever. Pasta was al dente and the only thing right about this dish. I couldn't eat more than 1/3 of it because it was so salty and strong. Considered returning it, but considering the slow service and my irrational fear of them adding "extras" to my dish, I just packed it home. Sad I never got to see those prawns. I think this is the first Milestones that I've had this dish with missing ingredients and overseasoned. Utterly disappointed. Did I mention the calamari felt like fishcake and tasted more like octopus? It was like eating softened rubber. I imagined calamari to be rings... =/

Lastly, after asking to split a birthday dessert between three people's bills and having much confusion around that, our waitress got the idea and ended up making it on the house for ChelleShocks' birthday. Many thanks to her, but the confusion was quite... unnecessary. Either way, we ordered her The Cookie ($7.99) and she quite enjoyed it. The warm soft double chocolate cookie with vanilla gelato to cool it off was a beautiful combination.

Overall, it wasn't a great experience, but the waitress was helpful when she was available. I guess there were some expectations around service at restaurants like these, but it was definitely lacking here. I felt she tried to be attentive but wasn't around most of the time when I wanted to ask her a question. Anyways, after everything was sorted out, she was lovely and we enjoyed our dinner. Probably won't ever be back until they improve... don't want to risk dying from undercooked food or incorrect orders. They sure have an abundant amount of room for improvement.

Charthouse Restaurant at Steveston Harbour, Richmond: Where's my view??

Ok, definitely should have checked online for reviews before hiking up the stairs here! There were flies I had to battle going up the stairs, maybe they were an omen, or telling me I shouldn't eat here haha =P

Restaurant: Charthouse Restaurant (visit their website here)

Location: 3866 Bayview Street, Richmond
Cuisine: Steakhouse, Seafood, Western
Price range: $15-25




Date of visit: July 3, 2013
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

Well, I thought I'd splurge on my parents for their anniversary, and the other places were all jam packed (should've figured why this was empty-ish), so we decided upon here. It seems to have been around for a long time, so there must be a reason? Sadly, all the spots by the window with a view were TAKEN. So we sat with no view =(

Since we were at a harbour, must order seafood! Parents ordered a 2-piece Cod Fish and Chips ($13.95) to share, and portion-wise was pretty good. The batter wasn't very crispy or fresh though, very oily D= Fries were average, not very fresh. Coleslaw was nothing special either.

Then came our Pan Fried Oysters ($8.95), which were... kinda tiny. Very fresh and tasted good, but at around $2 each, I felt it was overpriced.

Last was the Seafood Pasta- Fettuccine ($14.95) that I ordered. It was a tiny dish for that price. The plate was 8 inches in diameter =.= What am I eating, a kid's meal?? Anyways, taste was well done, but seafood was very minimal. There were two mussels, a handful of tiny shrimps, and a few scallops. Disappointing.

Either way, will not be back. I feel I got tricked into sitting in a booth with no view too. That LIAR D=

On the side, there was this cool wheel by the door =D

Munchie Adventure: Professor Mugs (BCIT), Burnaby

Having a long lunch break today, decided to pop in here to try their lunch =) Also brought my shadow student, PK, along, hopefully she enjoyed the tour of BCIT =D

Restaurant: Professor Mugs Pub (visit their website here)
Location: 3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby (in the Grand Hall building of BCIT)
Cuisine: Pub food, burgers, salads, pasta
Price range: $15+

Date of visit: March 28, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 2/5

Not being a bread person, I veered away from the burgers and ordered a Mediterranean Linguini ($10.75). This is what PK ordered too ^^ The linguini itself was al dente, and the sauce was nicely seasoned, a good portion size to boot =) Too many olives for my liking, but they're good for me, so I finished them off. However, that chicken WAS SO DRY. I felt like I was eating cardboard, literally. Thankfully there was so much sauce I dipped the chicken to help moisten it a bit. Chicken was definitely disappointing, too charred as well =(
Garlic bread was very good, not too buttery/oily =D

AL got a half order of Caesar Salad ($4.50) with the dressing on the side, and it was big! Wonder what the size of the normal is =O Looked fresh and had the right ingredients, good choice to have the dressing on the side, so it's not overwhelming and to your personal taste!

She also ordered a 1/2 lbs of sweet chili wings ($5.00). These looked like a decent size, but sadly I was too full to stuff any in me to try =(

Overall my experience was good, but I'm not quite satisfied with their quality of food. Or perhaps its just not to my tastes. I'd come here for games of pool, but no more of that dry chicken please xD

Munchie Adventure: St. James' Well, Port Moody

After an early morning shift at the hospital with my lovely clinical mates, we decided to go out for a fannncy nice lunch =) When we got there it was around 2, not many people inside...

Restaurant: St. James' Well (visit their website here)
Location: 248 Newport Drive, Port Moody
Cuisine: Pub, Western
Price range: $10+




Date of visit: March 26, 2013
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 4.5/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

I was  excited to try their ginormous platter of food that AL and KS mentioned  about sharing during their last visit! Glad I split this with DM and ADi, cuz I was really stuffed after =)

It was called the St. James' Well Platter ($28.00). Although it looks small in the picture, the diameter of that platter was around 16 inches! Just gonna break down this platter into smaller bits (except for the carrot and celery sticks, those were just cut up and put on the platter):

Chicken wings (1 lbs): We got the sweet chili, and it was quite chili! But delicious =) Although I must say, these wings are quite average, they've just met the standard.

Lamb sliders (x3): Quite good, sauces were too overwhelming, ruined the texture. Otherwise good bun-to-patty ratio. Props for the nice assembly, I was happy =)

Chicken strips (x3): These were pretty good, very fresh for sure. Tender, but average juiciness levels. Accompanied by honey mustard sauce (which had some curry in it) and a ranch sauce I think? (I don't like sauces, so I just skipped out on them)

Stuffed potato skins (x4): Not bad, 5mm of potato on the skin, so it wasn't all skin, which I like. Topped with bacon and cheese, they were a bit cold and dry though.

Yorkshire pudding (x4) with dipping sauce: I've never had yorkshire pudding before, so nothing to compare it to. Just gotta say, don't like it that much. It was topped with this mustardy sauce, beef slices inside didn't seem to go well with the whole pastry, which in itself was sickening after the first few bites. But me being me, of course I finished it. The dipping sauce didn't help much either =(

KS ordered their St. James' Wells burger ($13.00) which came with yam fries. He said the burger was average, nothing special. The yam fries weren't bad, I had a few, again, just average.

Actually AL and KS ordered the platter and Poutine ($7.00), which ADe also ordered. The fries were soggy and the cheese was too melted, which isn't how we liked it. We like the cheese curds to be slightly melted with the gravy, not re-baked, which made the fries too overcooked and dry =(

Overall, the prices are decent, considering many pubs charge much more for their food. I didn't expect too much from them, so I wasn't that disappointed. I paid $13 for lunch-- and since it's a pub, that's not too bad. On the bright side, at least the food didn't taste too greasy (although I know it's just fat-loaded). I was full for the rest of the day! Probably won't see me back here again. Until next time!