Munchie Adventure: Kingyo Izakaya 金魚居酒屋, Vancouver

So I happen to be in downtown again, and my friend acted as my tour guide again :) And this time, there was a surprise waiting for me! Kingyo Izakaya!! Annnd he reserved the Makunouchi (Deluxe bento box where they only serve 10 per day!!) I felt so special =D And it was amazing. Aside from our spot being in the corner and it being right beside the wood wall separating us from the sun (so it got really warm), it was really nice there. The decor was a woody theme, and looked good together. I didn't really have a chance to look at other menu items, since my meal was already pre-planned, with many thanks to my wonderful friend.

Restaurant: Kingyo Izakaya 金魚居酒屋 (visit their website here)
Location: 871 Denman Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Izakaya, Tapas
Price range: $10-20 per entree




Date of visit: September 12, 2012
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

Let's take a look at the overall presentation first! Looks like a lot to eat (for $16)! =D The waiter explained what every dish was to us, but I couldn't hear everything, so left it to myself to discover :3

We got two, and when put together, looks like one continuous table of yummy-ness =P

I didn't know where to start, so like most Japanese meals, I decided on the miso soup. It looked a bit oily, which wasn't normal, but it tasted so good! Who knew you could improve miso soup? There wasn't tofu in it-- there was daikon! =O Very yummy though :)

Then I don't remember what order I ate things in, so I'll go by whatever order I took pictures in =P This was a little piece of fried fish, there seemed to be more batter than fish, but it was crispy and good. A bit on the oily side, after the first half, I got sick of it (finished it though! don't waste food!)

 This was quite a special dish, it was lotus root with salmon stuffed in the middle.

Crunchy lotus, smooth salmon in the middle-- it was good. And a smart idea. I shall try this at home =P

Then there was this odd tofu. It might've been teriyaki tofu at some time, but when I got to it, I just remember the delicious sauce, and not-so-good gooey coating on the tofu. It was a clear batter which seemed to serve no purpose in helping the dish besides make it shiny. The scallops and mushrooms were really good though! Went great with the rice!

Traditional rolled egg slice. I'm not sure how it usually is, but this was cold and flavourless. Nothing much else to say xD

Tofu salad? There was some thinly sliced crunchy beancurd, some oily sauce, and some tofu. It was tasty, but got a bit salty near the end. Fresh salad ingredients though! Too oily IMO.

THE BEST THING OF MY MEAL!! (Besides the fact that I got to eat this meal =P) This was a little piece of pork belly, might seem simple, but it just melted in my mouth and the fat wasn't disgusting either. It was sooo sooo soooo amazing with the rice! And then we asked the server afterwards what the sauce was, and it turned out to be partly special sauce and mashed potatoes! So special, I wish I knew it was potato earlier, I guessed it was mayo so didn't eat it all =(

I remember this dish was chicken karaage, it was really juicy and tasty. The lime was a good touch, made it easier to down (since I was pretty full at this point). There were three big pieces of chicken, and was nice and crispy-- until I sogged it up with the minced raddish xD

Now this tuna tataki. It wasn't bad, but I've had better. The tuna was rather fishy, but the sauce was good with it cuz it covered up the fishiness =P

Cucumber and pumpkin mush. There's probably a better name, but that's what it basically was. The cucumber was pickled, and the pumpkin was mushed. End of story. It wasn't bad beside the looks of it =P

Last but not least, the pickled dish. Didn't finish it cuz it was a bit strong on the pickled side (really sour). It helped throughout the meal though, refreshed my appetite =)

Oh! Forgot to mention the rice. It was good at the top, then became mush at the bottom, maybe they had them in those bowls for a while then reheated? =S

Heres a look at the bill ;) Weird how they charged for normal green tea, but it was only $1.80 for two people, so it was ok.

Mini Munchie: Burgoo, Vancouver

So, after dinner with my friend, we decided to get some dessert! And this was located right down the street of where we just had dinner! Perfect! :) As we entered the restaurant, it felt really cozy, and homey. Although some people might say it's cramped, but it didn't feel dirty at all, it was just comfortable-- exactly their theme I think!

Restaurant: Burgoo (visit their website here)
Location: 4434 W. 10th Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: Western, Canadian
Price range: $5-20, depending what you get




Date of visit: September 10, 2012
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 3.5/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

I ordered their Sticky Toffee Pudding ($5.00), and it was AMAZING. Ok, a bit on the sweet side, but it definitely cured my sweet tooth! I just wish there was more ice cream to go with it. The spices really enhanced the flavors, and the warm, moist cakey bottom was just so soft and melted in my mouth. I thought it was a bit much for me though, but it's a good size.

My friend got the Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding ($5.00), it was good, but I thought the chunks were baked a bit dry on the top, so they turned out a bit hard. It looked a bit soggy near the bottom too-- not that it was bad, but I don't like soggy banana bread haha!

Will come back to try their other menu items if I happen to be around the neighborhood again! Their fondue looks good, and pasta smelled so good! The receipt came in such a cute dim sum container! Loved it =D

Munchie Adventure: Cattle Cafe 牛仔餐廳 (Edmonds location), Burnaby

I made my brother bring me for food after work, and we knew Cattle Cafe was open late, so decided to drop by-- but this time, we tried the Edmonds location, which was just down the street from the Metrotown location. It was newer, but the parking lot was HARD to get into, but you can't really miss the place, there's a huge purple sign with a cow on it =P The restaurant itself is tucked away though...

Restaurant: Cattle Cafe 牛仔餐廳 (visit their website here)
Location: 7348 Kingsway, Burnaby
Cuisine: Chinese, Cafe
Price range: $10-15

Date of visit: September 3, 2012
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: VARIES-- my food was really good, my brother's.. not so good ><"
Buck worthy? 3/5

I ordered an item from the Mini Cattle Meal section, Prawns in Cream Corn Bacon Demi-Glaze on spaghetti ($7.75). It was really good. The spaghetti was chewy (I guess I could use Al dente, but it's a little different than Al dente feel), and the sauce was good. Well, most things with bacon are good. Good proportions, couldn't finish it though xD

This came with a drink, and its +$1 for cold drinks, so I decided to try a Calpis (don't know what it is haha), since it's normally $4.75! I got green apple flavor, and it was ok. It was ice cubes and not crushed ice.Weird drink though, don't think I'll order it again =/

My brother got the Sliced Beef and Hand Squeezed Fish Noodles in Satay Soup ($6.95) from the Happy Snacks menu. Unlike the Metrotown location, their noodles were thinner, so they weren't as chewy, and ended up to be very short noodles (kinda hard to eat). Taste was the same, except for the noodles, since they were thinner, they weren't bursting with as much flavor as the Metrotown location.

All in all, this was good, I guess each location has a different thing they're good at? The waitress took forever to flag down though, even though the store was pretty empty (since I went after work, so it was around 11pm). This store is larger and newer than Metrotown though, and bigger private parking lot!

Mini Munchie: Mucho Burrito, Downtown Vancouver

Just got off volunteering, and my friend said he knew where there were cheap eats to fill my tummy before work =D I don't know why, no matter how many times I go downtown, I still manage to get lost and have no sense of direction there. Everything just looks the same! Luckily, this place was close, and my friend escorted me there =P It was a fine fine sunny day, so we sat outside to enjoy our $5 burritos (special pricing for Monday) =D

Restaurant: Mucho Burrito (visit their website here)
Location: 988 Davie Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Mexican
Price range: $5-10




Date of visit: September 3, 2012
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 2.5/5
Food quality: 3/5
Buck worthy? 4/5 (cuz it was only $5.00!!)

Our order actually got mixed up, since you kind of "build" your own burrito, and my friend and I chose different things, and they messed up on the last thing: the MEAT *sadface* Oh well, it wasn't that bad. I ordered the pulled pork, and it was really tender and flavorful. The fillings weren't positioned nicely, and I get a bit OCD about it, cuz I had a while where I only had beans, rice, and salsa-- NO PORK ='(

These were really big though, and for only $5.00+tax, I think it's a great deal and it fills you up! Might not come here again, cuz downtown has so many more choices, but if I'm desperate for something close by, you might just see me wandering there again =)

Munchie Adventure: Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot 小肥牛火鍋專門店, Vancouver

I was starving after a hard day at work so this was time to pig out! Decided on AYCE at Fatty Cow, cuz I've been there before and I know they close late =) I like their food, but their portion sizes are really unpredictable, even though they say on the sheet how much is to be expected (they obviously don't take that seriously enough). I know a few places that don't charge for soup bases, but I guess this is the new norm, to charge about $8 for soup base. Our night ended to be $110 (with tips and tax) for four people. Too bad it's cash only, luckily I had enough tips that night to pay for the meal haha!

Restaurant: Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot 小肥牛火鍋專門店 (visit their website here)
Location: 5108 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
Cuisine: Chinese, Hot Pot, All-you-can-eat
Price range: $15-25




Date of visit: September 1, 2012
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Staff/service: 3/5
Food variety: 3.75/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

We tried a lot of the items on the menu, and all of it was pretty fresh. I don't like how they messed up some of the orders: ie. we order 2 items, but 4 come. It's quite inconsistent. Soup base is $7.00, we got the Cilantro and Preserved Egg soup base.

I'm going to talk about some things, but really, its a matter of personal preference and how you cook it, so I can't say much about some items. I'll just put pics :) This was the Fish Dace Paste (left), Shrimp/Pork/Beef/Squid Balls (right). We ordered two of eat of the balls and ONE of the Fish Dace Paste, but I don't know how the Fish Dace Paste ended up so BIG!!

We ordered lots of lamb, cuz lamb is just soo good!! <3 Also tried the various kinds of beef, fatty beef slices were the best!








Heres the other pics~

They also served dessert for us, but I was so full I really didn't want to eat it. I did anyways, can't waste food! It was this clear jelly thing that tasted like lemon but also had a hint of mango =/ WEIRD.