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Deer Garden Signatures – Burnaby

April 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

Deer Garden is a restaurant the boyfriend and I go to sometimes, when we are craving soup noodles. We usually go to the Fraser Street location and actually didn’t even know there was a Deer Garden in this area until we were walking by on the way to Myst one day!

A few months later, we were doing some errands around Metrotown so it was a convenient time to finally try this location.

There is a small parking lot on the side, but it was all full. There’s also free street parking in the area, but you may have to walk 2-3 blocks.

The size of the Burnaby Deer Garden is a bit smaller than the Vancouver one, but the layout is the same.

Unfortunately, we got the worst table in the restaurant that day. It seems like it used to be part of the waiting area, but they decided to add a random table (the other tables were all booth seats). Throughout the meal, waiting customers were standing very close to us and it was a bit hard to get service.

Pork cutlet: The boyfriend felt like adding a pork cutlet to his lunch! I didn’t try any, but he really enjoyed it. The pork cutlet was served piping hot, and with a loud, audible crunch so you know that the batter was fresh.

DIY noodles: I ordered the century egg and fish soup, Korean crystal noodle with fish and sausage. The soup broth taste was consistent with their other location.

I love Deer Garden’s grilled sausage, it has been so long since I ordered it due to my digestive issues. My system wasn’t in a flare-up that day so I was able to spoil myself… it did not disappoint *heart eyes*.

Some of the crystal noodles were not completely cooked, and hard when I bit into… so I soaked them in the hot soup while eating the fish and sausage first. There was a good amount of boiled plain fish and century egg.

DIY noodles: The boyfriend ordered laksa soup, egg noodles with fish balls and sausage. There were only 3 measly fish balls, which was a bit of a disappointment! Otherwise, he enjoyed his noodles and was quite full after, especially with the pork cutlet addition.

The Vancouver location is a bit more convenient, but we wouldn’t mind coming back here if we were in the area!

Legend House Chinese Restaurant

March 31, 2019 Leave a Comment

A couple of months ago, I was on the hunt for restaurants with Lan Zhou beef noodles for myself and dan dan noodles for the boyfriend. I came across Legend House in Coquitlam and we finally checked it out a few months after!

Coquitlam isn’t an area where we normally eat in, but it seems like there are many new restaurants there now that condo developments are popping up like crazy over there. There is both paid and free street parking in this area.

We were expecting the restaurant to be really busy on a Friday night, but surprisingly, it was only half full.

At the entrance of the restaurant, they have a huge window where you can see the noodles and dumplings being freshly made.

Lan Zhou beef noodle: I was really surprised at how HUGE this portion was! Like seriously, for $7 in 2019… this was an absolutely steal.

Despite it being a huge portion, the soup was virtually tasteless… I know on the menu it said ‘clear broth’, but it tasted just like boiled water with a hint of vegetable flavour. I had to ask for some salt to give the broth a tiny bit of flavour.

Tasteless broth aside, the noodles were freshly made in-house and yummy. There was a good amount of seasoned 5 spice beef, wood ear mushroom, spinach, and vermicelli. I would have enjoyed it more if the soup had flavour, but still felt satisfied because the beef was good and so were the noodles.

Dan dan noodles: Omg, I didn’t realize my photo was blurry >=( Ugh!!! Anyways, the boyfriend enjoyed his dan dan noodles. They packed a good amount of spice and had a decent portion of pork.

For those who don’t like preserved veggies, it may seem like their dan dan noodles don’t come with it… but we discovered that they were very finely chopped with the pork. Talk about dedication to the chef who chops that up!

Xiao long bao: The XLB were very juicy and the broth was actually flavourful (unlike my noodle broth). There was a generous filling of pork inside too. The skin to meat ratio was proportionate.

Even though my noodle soup was bland, I wouldn’t mind coming back if I was in the area for their XLB. But I wouldn’t make the drive out here purposely again.

I would also like to highlight the service that day…. it was really good, for Chinese restaurant standards! All of the servers were really friendly. They came to refill our tea every 5 minutes and were attentive.

The XLB and service made up for the super clear and tasteless noodle broth (and the noodle bowl was pretty cheap so I wasn’t upset about it).

JY Noodle – No. 1 Beef Noodle House

January 6, 2019 1 Comment

Almost five years ago, some friends and I had a horrible experience at No. 1 Beef Noodle House. I wrote a pretty scathing review (linked for the lolz) on it and didn’t go back there for about four years.

I reluctantly went back a year ago because my dad wanted to try it… and it was a lot better that time. While catching up with Sangria and Cocoa, we came here on a whim because Sushi S was closed next door.

No. 1 Beef Brisket with sliced noodles: Both Sangria and I ordered the same thing! Compared to my first visit, this bowl of noodles was a LOT better… It was like a completely different restaurant!

The brisket was soft and tender. Meanwhile, the broth was flavourful and had enough depth in it. The noodles were chewy and doughy too!

My only complaint is that we found the portion size to be a bit on the small size. We joked that we would need a second dinner in about 2 hours, haha! I was famished after work, and ended up ordering another side of noodles. The waitress didn’t seem to bat an eye or seem surprised, so we think that it happens often.

Beef brisket with tripe and tendon: Cocoa’s bowl of noodles was similar to ours, but with tripe and tendon. She had no complaints taste wise, but also found the portion to be a bit on the small side.

After two more visits, I can say that No. 1 Beef Noodle House has redeemed itself and I wouldn’t mind going back again. Service was quick and efficient. The parking lot is a bit of a mess during peak hours so you have been warned!

Compared to Myst, No. 1 Beef Noodle has smaller portion sizes so I would recommend Myst because of that. But taste wise, they are both delicious.

Hon’s Wonton House

January 3, 2019 Leave a Comment

Ah, Hon’s. Chances are, if you grew up in Vancouver and also Chinese, you have been to Hon’s. Personally, my family did not go to the restaurant to eat that much, but we always purchased their fresh noodles (hoa fun) at the original Chinatown location. I really enjoyed Hon’s hoa fun noodles but it’s been awhile since I’ve had them!

Latte and I were thinking of a place to catch up, so I suggested Hon’s because Olympic Village is a convenient, midway meeting point for us. It’s been a long time since going to Hon’s. Last time I went was 9 years ago at their Robson location!

The Hon’s in Olympic Village is quite small, but comfortable. There are convenient hooks under the table for your purse. The decor was a mix of modern and old pieces that pay homage to the original Hon’s. I really liked the decor and layout!

It seem that a lot of their business is take out. Many seats were empty but we did see a few people coming for take out.

Beef brisket and wonton noodle soup: I was glad they had this because I wanted a mix of both! The food came out very fast…. Like within 2-3 minutes I would say?! Faster than McDonalds LOL. This proves that they do a lot of take out and probably just premake everything.

I found the bowl to be okay. The beef brisket was very flavourful and yummy, but a bit on the dry side. The wontons weren’t anything special and were quite small. The dried garlic flakes was a nice added touch.

For $12, I have a hard time saying it was worth it although there was a generous portion of beef brisket.

Oyster sauce lo mein with wonton: Latte found her bowl to be just okay as well. Nothing spectacular but nothing bad either.

All in all, we agreed that we would come back to this location if we were in the area and wanted something quick. It’s not a place I would purposely drive to or probably crave. But it’s also nice to finally have a Chinese comfort food option in Olympic Village!

Yay!

Kamamarui Ramen – North Burnaby

November 17, 2018 Leave a Comment

I wasn’t planning on writing about Kamamarui Ramen again, but I haven’t been out to try new places lately! This visit was actually from the summer time. I wrote about Kamamarui four years ago, when they opened their first shop by Metrotown.

I remember back then, it was super popular and constantly had huge line ups because it was one of the only places you could find delicious taken joint outside of downtown! Now, ramen joints are popping up everywhere and there are more options in the suburbs.

The boyfriend and I usually go to their second location in North Burnaby because it is more convenient.
Tonkotsu Ramen: This is my go-to and hits the spot every time. I order the light broth which is still pretty rich and creamy. It is a bit on the saltier side which I don’t mind!

This bowl comes with one piece of lean chashu pork. The lean pork is a bit dry so I like to soak it in the soup and eat it near the end.

If you want more chashu, you can order the chashu ramen. The chashu ramen contains the same broth but with more pieces of chashu.

Dan Dan noodles: On one of our visits, the boyfriend was pleasantly surprised when he saw that they now offered Dan Dan noodles! He traded in his usual chashu ramen (described above) for it.

It was alright, but lacking in the prominent peanut and chili flavour that is associated with Dan Dan noodles. Although he was glad he gave it a try, he would stick with the ramen instead.

Overall, Kamamarui is a great choice if you’re craving some ramen in Burnaby and you don’t want to venture into Ramen Land (aka the West End).

Yay!