Yoon's Kitchen: New Korean Fusion in the neighborhood!

Seeing Sushi & Roll close down was disheartening to me, since I did enjoy their food, but seeing a new Korean restaurant in this area was equally exciting (I think it just opened this month, not even Yelp/Zomato official yet!). There aren't many Korean joints around this location, so it's a wonderful addition (I hope they can continue and stay!).



Restaurant:  Yoon's Kitchen

Location: 3017 St. John's Street
Cuisine: Korean, Japanese, Asian fusion
Price range: $20+ per person




Date of visit: November 29, 2017
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

The place was pretty empty when we got there around 6pm, 3 tables of people. We were greeted warmly and seated promptly. The place looked clean and neat. I guess the fusion part is that they still offer some Japanese sushi.

First to arrive was the Bossam ($18.99) which is a boiled pork belly dish with sauce and wrapped in greens. The pork was nicely marbled and seasoned well. The napa cabbage it came with was crisp and contrasted well with the soft, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly. I'm not sure what the spicy dish was but it tasted like radish, and added crunch and flavor to the bite. Side dishes weren't remarkable, there was kimchi, bean sprouts, zucchini slices, and a ball of sweet mashed potato.

I couldn't resist getting a sushi roll and I love scallops so I got Under the Sea ($6.95). This is a torched spicy chopped scallop roll with surprise cream cheese. I say surprise because it wasn't a listed item on the menu. Overall the taste was average, fresh scallops were overwhelmed by the cream cheese and sauce. I wish they had went easy on the spicy sauce, otherwise a well made roll.

Can't forget the Korean style rolls so we settled on the original Gyori Kimbab ($5.25) with fried egg, spinach, crabmeat, fishcake, pickled radish, burdock, and carrot. This was the only dish that was good bang for its buck. The roll was quite large in comparison the the previous and although simple, the flavors went well together and in good proportion. I enjoyed this quite a bit!

Onto hot foods! We got their Soon Dubu Jjigae ($11.99)--otherwise known as soft tofu stew. We chose the mix, which included seafood and beef. Considering how much I'm paying for it, I was disappointed with the quality of this. It wasn't as rich as I'd had at other places and a little on the salty side. No egg went with it either.

The rice that accompanied the dish was really well made though, and they pour cold water (which the waitress leaked all over my jacket and didn't notice, but we'll let that slide) over the hot stone bowl with the remaining rice to make a soft rice stew thing. The pot was so hot it boiled out of the pot!

Silly us, we got another rice dish, the Hot Stone Bibimbab ($12.99) had mixed veggies, beef, and an egg atop rice. Bowl was big but the ingredients only filled half the bowl, which kinda makes it look bad. It tasted good though! The hot stone kept the rice warm for the duration of our meal and we got crispy rice at the end, one of my dad's favorite parts of the meal!

Before we got our bill, the waitress brought us a sweet rice drink (on the house). I hear that rice water brightens and whitens the skin, so maybe this is the secret to how Koreans maintain their beautiful complexions! Anyways, it was a light sweet drink and quite nice to end the meal. My mom thought it was a little too sweet for her liking.

Overall, I enjoyed the meal. The food was above average and flavors were great. Service was friendly and almost the right amount (sometimes it was hard to find anyone since there's only two people running the front). Not that great quantity-to-price-wise because this isn't Vancouver, people will expect more food for the same price since there's a lot of competition around with equal quality and price but more quantity-- people want good food for a good price. Alas, they're still pretty new, I don't even know when they officially opened (or maybe they're not), a good location for them though and I see a lot of potential!

Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot: Inaccurate orders and salty but fresh meats!

With so many new restaurants popping up around Coquitlam, it's hard to keep track of which one is opened yet! I drove by Henderson Place and saw a lineup and open sign on Little Sheep, so I excitedly made plans to visit! We came around 5pm, hoping to avoid the crowds, and luckily we did!

Restaurant: Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot (visit their website here)

Location: 1001-1163 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Hot Pot, Chinese
Price range: $21.98 per adult; $15.98 for 8-11 year old child; $10.98 for 4-7 year old child + $9.99 soup base


Date of visit: April 8, 2017
Atmosphere: 2/5
Staff/service: 2/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

So for starters, we had two choices for soup bases ($9.99): House Special Original and House Special Spicy (or a half x half of the two), we opted for the original. It was a milky broth that comes with many herbs and loads of garlic.

Sadly they got in the way of food and never got a chance to be fully cooked to get their flavors into the soup =( The broth is kind of like the soul of hot pot to me, and it was intensely salty. I asked for water to dilute the broth after a little bit of boiling (and further condensing the salt).

Their order sheet allows for two rounds, clearly laid out with categories for food. The meats are maximum 2 orders per round (not sure if it's per person) with each plate being 10pcs. Also, there is a section for extra add-on items, such as meat skewers, oysters, extra condiment items, and drinks/desserts. [Note the numbers I had on the order sheet because the items DO NOT come in the amount listed, it's quite sporadic]

There is a sauce station with: Satay (super watery and just oil), chili oil (not very spicy), peanut sauce, and soy sauce. To its left are the appetizer dishes you can find on the order menu but self-serve. Looked kinda sketchy, so we decided to skip those.

I've been to many hot pot AYCE establishments with a much larger selection of sauces and condiments which are included in the price at better quality-- even the Burnaby location of Little Sheep does a better job.

First to arrive was luncheon meat (2 pieces ordered) and garlic beef (5 slices ordered). Clearly there was far more than 2 pieces on the plate. They were average and salty. I couldn't eat more than two pieces so I left the rest on the plate. When they cleared the table I saw them bring that dish back to the kitchen while the rest of the other dishes were placed into a dirty dishes trolley... suspicious.

The garlic beef was fresh and tender, however there was a giant piece plus two small ones... almost as if they missed cutting it.

Veggies came next, we got watercress (1 order), enoki mushroom (1 order), and tong ho (1 order). These looked fresh and clean.

Then it was an assorted dish of items we ordered: crab meat stick (4 pieces ordered, 6 came), cuttlefish (4 pieces ordered, 8 came), fresh aorta (6 pieces ordered, 10+ arrived), beef tendon (4 ordered, 4 came), beef omasum (4 pieces ordered, a huge clump came), beef tripe (4 pieces ordered, frozen clump came), quail eggs (4 ordered, 4 came), cod fillet (4 pieces ordered, 7 came), dried pork rind (4 pieces ordered, 8 came), mutton dumpling (4 pieces ordered, 4 came). They ended up missing our order for mussels, but we were too full and didn't feel like asking for them. The mutton dumplings were highlights for sure, they were tasty and flavorful but very filling. Everything else was fresh. The cod fillets were super salty, and after cooking in the salty broth-- inedible, so we had to leave them.

Look at the beak still in my cuttlefish!

Another plate arrived with tofu puff (4 pieces ordered, 6 came), fresh bean curd stick (4 pieces ordered, 4 came), winter melon slices (2 pieces ordered, 4 came), fish tofu (2 pieces ordered, 2 came), kelp knot (1 order), gluten (4 pieces ordered, 6 came), potato slices (2 pieces ordered, 4 came), pork blood curd (4 pieces ordered, 5 came), and pork liver (4 pieces ordered, 6 came). I liked the tofu puffs and gluten, these could be cooked nice and soft with some bite to them, indicating good quality. HungryPanda was pretty choked about having to eat 4 instead of 2 potato slices at the end since she was so full already. Elephant had to take many for the team and was definitely overfilled. The pork liver was nice and fresh, marinated well and had good bite to them.

Oh did I mention we got our soup at this time after all that food had arrived to taunt us?

I didn't even realize the meatballs dish was inaccurate, but they're hand-made and decent. Good bite and flavors. We ordered 6 of each but only got 4 of each. There was cuttlefish ball, mutton ball, and beef ball.

Yay! Our first order of supposedly 30 pieces of lamb shoulder slices finally arrives! Their meats are super thinly sliced, about 1 mm thick. So they cook very quick and barely feel like eating anything almost! Not fatty and fresh, this was good quality meat.

Next were "5 slices" of loin of beef, clearly way more pieces-- like 20. They were fattier but melted in my mouth and so full of beef flavor. A nice shade of red too.

Then were our fatty beef slices (30 pieces ordered, 20 came), these were fresh and yummy too! No complaints here besides it disappearing too fast!

To be safe we only ordered 5 pieces of their kurobuta pork belly and... at least 30 slices arrived. These were nicely marbled and not too fatty. You could see the beautiful layers of meat and fat, super fresh and tasty!

Needless to say, the portion amounts were totally random and inaccurate, so it was very hard to gauge how much to order. I mean, if it's off by 1 or 2 it's within reason, but double or more of the order? That's a bit much.

On my second round I just wanted a little bit more lamb and beef, so I ordered 1 order of each (should be 10 pieces) but at least 30 slices of lamb and over 10 slices of the beef showed up.

Two orders of watercress looked exactly like the one order. I was pretty annoyed by this time and didn't want to waste time reasoning with them.

HungryPanda and Elephant both ordered plum juice ($2 with free refills) and they said it was good, not a diluted version.

Might give them another chance in six months when they've settled in more and get running more smoothly. The lineups because of the hype is definitely overrated and not worth the wait. Food was very fresh though!

Grand River: Improved dim sum!

Honestly, for a while I refused to come here for dim sum since the quality was so poor. All the food was too oily and overfried that it was almost disgusting to ingest. However, my mom convinced me otherwise, so here I am!

Restaurant: Grand River Seafood Restaurant (visit their website here)

Location: #112- 100 Schoolhouse Street, Coquitlam
Cuisine: Chinese, Dim Sum, Seafood
Price range: $10-15 per person



Date of visit: October 28, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

One of the staples that I like to order is Steamed Pork Dumpling ($4.50). These were actually decent, not too much lard, nice size, and had some shrimp and mushroom in it. Good texture.

Steamed Bean Curd Wrap in Oyster Sauce ($4.50) is Sunflower's favorites, they pack lots of pork inside the beancurd, which is steamed to be soft and moist.

My granny's must-have: Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce ($4.95). They used to only have 4 per dish (sometimes they still only have 4 if they're big), but there were five today, which feels like a better deal. All the flavors of the sauce are soaked into the feet and the skin falls right off the bone.

Deep Fried Squid ($6.95) is not the same as Deep Fried Squid with Spicy Salt, so be careful! We enjoy the squid tentacles over the body of the squid, and these are so tasty! Crispy and fresh all the time, not overly salty either!

Steamed Spareribs on Rice ($2.99 if you order 3 dim sum) is something my uncle ALWAYS orders. Though I prefer plain steamed spareribs, how can you argue with a dish that's under $3? It's basically steamed rice with pork spareribs on top, with a side of sweet soy sauce. Hits the spot and the carb go-to.

Steamed Meat Dumpling ($4.50) is sometimes ordered at our table, I felt the skin was nicely made-- a bit thick but chewy, soft, and moist. There were SO MANY PEANUTS inside, I didn't like it that much, but Sunflower did! The meat rissoles inside were tasty and just the way I remember them as a child though!

Can't ever have a day without fish for OldBean, so a Halibut with Supreme Soy Sauce and Scallions ($7.95) was in order. The halibut was overcooked and a bit dry, flavors were good though.

Another fishy favorite is their (boneless) Yellow Croaker with Supreme Soy Sauce and Scallions ($8.95). There's only about 9 pieces of fish, but oh so melt-in-your-mouth good. Crispy on the outside the fish is moist and flakey inside.

Deep Fried Milk (special item, forgot the price) was a special monthly item, and quite disappointing. The outside was crispy but hard and the "milk" inside was solid and overcooked.

Fried Prawn Dumpling ($5.50) is packed with shrimp and garlic wrapped together in a golden layer of crispy wonton skin. Juicy inside and crunchy outside-- yum!

Steamed Tripe with Ginger and Green Onions ($4.95) is becoming rare in the dim sum scene nowadays because of the inflating price and complexity of preparation. However they do a good job here, no extra cornstarch coating on them, just plain steamed and delicious.

Mayo Pork Chops (special item, forgot the price) was definitely the wrong choice we made that day. The mayo was overwhelmingly sickening paired with the deep fried pork chop-- it was all too much. My piece had a lot of fat in it as well, which was disappointing.

Deep Fried Sweetened Glutinous Rice Ball ($4.50) took a good 35 minutes before it showed up at our table, since they make it fresh-- so remember to order it early! I'm glad they do this though, since it was super crispy, with the glutinous rice being soft and chewy. I didn't like the seasme paste filling though, it was not smooth and had lots of grit to it.

Finishing off with more dessert, Tapioca Cake with Red Bean Paste and Custard Paste ($4.50) was a beautiful presentation. Usually its harder to use small tapioca balls, but they did it!

It doesn't stick onto our hands and the tapioca balls are all cooked perfectly so that they are nice and chewy.

Service has much improved and their food has definitely turned for the better. I hope they keep it up and continue offering various different dishes each month!

Dragon Group: Amazing tea, sub-par dim sum

Family was in Richmond visiting the temple, so we thought to have lunch in the area before leaving! Saw this new place have their "Grand Opening" sign up, so we decided to give it a try, it used to be the location of South Ocean.

Restaurant: Dragon Group Seafood Restaurant

Location: 150-4751 Garden City Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Chinese, Seafood, Dim Sum
Price range: $15-$25/person



Date of visit: October 10, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 2/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

There wasn't a long wait in line for tables although it looked crowded, we were seated after about 15 minutes of waiting. The inside is quite nicely furnished now, but still the same small space. There is a $1/person charge, and the tea quality justifies this surcharge, it was very nice tea-- fragrant and light.

I was looking through the menu while we waited, so we could place the order right as we sat down (hungry peeps). First to arrive was the Halibut with Scallions and Ginger in Premium Soy Sauce ($8.25). The halibut was cooked perfectly, juicy and flakey inside with a crispy exterior that was evenly coated with the soy sauce. Not overly seasoned, I quite enjoyed the piping hot fish. Wish there were more pieces considering the price we paid.

My mom really loves Rice Roll Wrapped with Donut ($5.25), but this was an utter disappointment. The rice roll itself was mediocre, chewy but not quite "smooth". The Chinese donut was hard as a rock and over-fried. Normally it should be crispy on the outside with a bread-like interior. At least they put the soy sauce on the side.

When I first went for dim sum in Hong Kong, one thing I really enjoyed were their "combo" dishes-- basically dishes with more than one item in it, so you could have dim sum alone AND still have variety. I saw the Beef Ball, Spare rib, Chicken Feet combo ($4.75) and was sold immediately. Sadly, this wasn't quite up to standard. The chicken foot was nice, and the beef ball was a good size and average texture/taste. The spareribs were actually seasoned nicely but more than half of it was tiny bits of meat with chunks of fat. There was ONE piece with bone in it (I like the ones with bone). So basically this was one super oily dish.

Annnnd for my Elephant, Deep Fried Sesame Ball with Seasame paste ($4.75). This wasn't freshly made to order, but was still relatively warm. Crispy outside but the dough inside wasn't chewy enough. The sesame paste was too gritty and sweet that it didn't flow nicely.

Being a lover of anything Tom Yum, I ordered Beef Omasum in Tom Yum Sauce ($5.50). It was like any other omasum dish, but I like their concept of putting in Tom Yum. I'd say it's a rather personal taste, since I enjoyed this dish, but my mom said it was weird.

Didn't settle for regular shrimp dumplings, so we got Meat Rissoles with Crab ($5.75). Fancy sounding enough (it has this even fancier sounding name in Chinese). Probably the most disappointing dish of the whole meal, possibly my whole dim sum eating life. The wrapping was soft and soggy, fell apart when touched, not chewy at all. The filling did indeed contain real crab, but it also did not hold and so... the dish just all fell apart before it reached any bowl. Similar to any good sushi, your dumpling is not meant to break apart before it reaches your bowl, the wrapping should be strong enough to hold it, yet still be soft, smooth, and chewy.

Another combo dish, Steamed Tri-Buns ($4.75) should contain a custard bun, a BBQ pork bun, and a chicken bun. I say "should" because I got double of the BBQ pork bun *sadface* I asked a waiter to confirm I wasn't being stupid and not able to differentiate the two remaining buns (custard is round and easily distinguishable from the other two). These were good, the custard bun had flowy filling, as advertised and tasted pretty legit. The buns themselves were good texture and taste. I just wish I had a taste of that chicken bun now.

Something with a fusion twist to it, since I don't think truffle is commonly in Chinese dishes, the Pork Shiu-Mai with Truffle ($5.50) arrived. These looked normal, with some truffle sauce on top. I did not like the taste of the truffle, it was slimey and tasted like concentrated Chinese mushrooms. The shiu mai itself was made with ground pork and had good bite to it. Average size.

Lamb isn't commonly in dim sum, and I'm a sucker for lamb so...Pan Fried Lamb Pastry with Leeks ($6.25) was ordered. These buns were not worthy of the price we paid. Pan fried to a golden exterior with the bun being soft and moist, and the filling being all lamb, I liked the flavors. However, there were only three small buns. THREE.

Still hungry, we ordered a Wonton Noodle Soup ($7.80/bowl) expecting the usual wontons, but were surprised when they showed up more like pork and chive dumplings with no shrimp. The meat wasn't very fresh inside the dumplings, the wrapping was chewy and smooth though. Noodles weren't anything special, but I like the added touch of greens.

I saw the Pan Fried Tofu with Shrimp Paste ($5.25) come out of the kitchen a few times and they were huge! Must order. The tofu was a big chunk with shrimp paste on top. Nicely fried, it was crispy and I like how they placed the sauce on the side. Shrimp paste met the average standards.

Normally we don't eat a lot, but boy was I surprised when I saw our bill was $124.74!! Then I looked to see that they had charged us 55 people's worth of tea-- no wonder! Luckily I caught it, and they changed it.

But still, paying more than $10/person for dim sum is a rarity for my family, so this was a surprise, but hey, being adventurous means you have to suffer the consequences too! =P Overall, good service, high quality tea, hit or mostly miss dim sum.