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!

A couple of years ago, Sangria and I tried Lao Shan Dong, and I wrote a review about our visit. The boyfriend and I were around the Metrotown area one evening and didn’t know what to eat for dinner, so I suggested we come here.

Lao Shan Dong is located across from Metrotown. There is a parking lot but it is quite cramped and can be hard to find a spot! They share a parking lot with the other restaurants in this building – Cattle Cafe, Dae Ji Cutlet House, and Morak. Luckily, we got the last spot that evening!

The service was quick and friendly throughout the meal. In this photo, the restaurant looks a bit dead but there were some parties that were seated before and after this was taken.

Beef flank noodle soup: I love spicy foods, but my stomach is unpredictable these days so I played it safe and asked for no spice =( .

I’m not sure if most of the soup broth flavour comes from the spice, but unfortunately, I found the broth to be very bland.

I added some vinegar which gave it a bit more depth, but it still was tasteless. It would have been nice to have more preserved veggies to give it more flavour.

On the plus side, there was TONS of beef, as you can tell in the photo! The beef was flavourful and soft, although some pieces were a bit overcooked and dry.

Sesame paste noodles: The boyfriend enjoyed his sesame paste noodles! I had a bite, they had a nice, smooth sesame flavour and was a bit grainy. He checked out the menu prior and knew it didn’t come with meat already, so he wasn’t disappointed in that sense.

Pork dumplings: Since the boyfriend already knew the sesame paste noodles were meatless, he went with a side of pork dumplings!

They were good and had that homemade comfort feeling to it. The skin was thick and chewy. Nothing special, but comforting on a cold day. There was a lot of fresh ginger in it which was overpowering at first, but after a couple of dumplings, you get used to it.

Overall, Lao Shan Dong is a decent choice if you’re in the area. It isn’t a restaurant I would purposely make the trip for though. The broth is a bit bland but portions are pretty big, filling and reasonably priced, which is probably the biggest selling point.

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!