food & drink Archives - Page 46 of 115

Sonoya Japanese Restaurant

July 11, 2019

The boyfriend and I first saw Sonoya Japanese Restaurant when we were passing by the library, and did not think much of it. When looking on Yelp for a place to try with Takoyaki, I saw that this place had pretty good reviews so off we went!

Unfortunately, our expectations fell short and we found it to be meh….

Sushi Sonoya is located inside the downtown library on the second floor. There are a few small food places and coffee shops here. They have recently renovated and opened under their current name a few months ago.

The restaurant is small but seating was still comfortable, although it wasn’t busy so I can’t comment on peak times. I am not sure if there’s a washroom here, but the library has one a few steps away.

Chirashi don: The chirashi don was smaller than I expected. The salmon sashimi portion was quite small. For reference, the tuna slices beside are the typical size you’d get.

In addition, the sashimi did not taste fresh at all. The octopus was so chewy and bland that I ended up not finishing it. Meanwhile, the shrimp had a bitter taste so I just stopped eating it in fear that I would be greeted with food poisoning later….

The rice itself also wasn’t that filling either, so needless to say it was disappointing and I was still hungry.

Gyoza: The gyoza came piping hot and had a delicious garlic aroma. However, Takoyaki mentioned that there was not much filling inside. There was a lot of air once you bit into the gyoza so that was disappointing.

Magic salmon roll: The magic salmon roll came with crab, avocado, prawn tempura and cucumber inside. The outside was topped with smoked salmon, spicy mayo (sub. regular mayo), unagi sauce, fish flakes, and green onion.

It was quite a filling roll so I was helped Takoyaki finish the last couple! I’m glad I did because I was still hungry after my disappointing chirashi don. The roll was quite delicious. I enjoyed the mix of unagi and mayo sauce.

The smoked salmon and bonito flakes also made the roll more fun. I’m a huge fan of smoked/grilled fish flavours so it was delicious.

The sashimi needs some work because it did not taste fresh. I wouldn’t come back unless I was desperately hungry in this area and had no other options. Usually Yelp is pretty reliable but it disappointed me this time!

Nay!

Myst Asian Fusion – Multiple Revisits

July 8, 2019

Myst has been one of my go-to restaurants if I am craving Taiwanese food for the past year. The boyfriend and I come here often, I would say at least once every 1-2 months? Since my first post, we have tried many other dishes and brought my mom here, so I thought I would do a revisit post for other dishes we have tried.

The menu at Myst is pretty big, spanning many pages! If you’re a fan of Taiwanese/Chinese/Hong Kong style food, there is definitely something for your appetite.

Sesame Pork Sauce With Noodle: After looking at their sprawling menu, my mom narrowed it down to this dish with thick noodle. It was not a soup based noodle, but rather a saucy sesame noodle dish. It isn’t something that we would normally order, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

The sesame sauce was quite delicious, as was the minced pork. The portion was very filling too.
Plain laksa noodle with Taiwanese peppery chicken: Although the boyfriend ordered the fried chicken during our first visit, he liked it so much that he ordered it again! This time, he tried the laksa noodle soup, which he enjoyed.

It was a rich broth bursting with flavour. I had a sip of it and I could definitely taste hints of garlic in there. There wasn’t much meat in it which is probably why they called it the ‘plain’ laksa noodle. But the big portion of delicious, fresh, crunchy Taiwanese chicken nuggets made up for it.

The price point of these noodles was about the same as my mom’s, making this one the better value!
Beef roll: We were all curious as to how the beef roll tasted here, but unfortunately we were disappointed with it. The dough was a bit too thick for our liking.

Also, there wasn’t enough sauce so it was quite dry. There could have been more beef inside too. The only good thing about this was the fresh green onion.

Chicken nuggets with red curry: Another dish we tried was the curry. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we were actually pleasantly surprised with the taste. The curry was fragrant and creamy. The combination of curry and chicken nuggets was something we haven’t had before, but both tasted well.

Sesame pork sauce noodles with chicken nuggets: The boyfriend went with a combo where you pick your noodles and side dish. Since the noodles were covered with sesame sauce, it was quite filling! There was a very generous portion of piping hot, juicy Taiwanese chicken nuggets.

Wonton soup with noodles: I wasn’t feeling like my usual Taiwanese beef noodles that day, but still wanted some sort of noodle soup. The broth was quite clear and tasteless, which was disappointing. It was also very oily… so I was not that impressed with their soup.

However, the wontons were delicious. They had that homemade feel and taste to it. There was a lot of pork and chopped veggies inside. I found them quite comforting and I wouldn’t mind getting them again even though the soup was not good.

Green onion sauce noodles with deep fried nuggets: On our most recent visit, the boyfriend decided to try the green onion sauce. It came with a generous amount of pan fried green onions, which were very fragrant. The sauce was similar to soya sauce which you stir with the noodles, as opposed to noodle soup. He found it alright, not his first choice.

Yay!

Red Robin – Downtown

July 5, 2019

I have not been to the downtown Red Robin location for years! I used to come here all the time many years ago. It felt like a blast to the past being back here, nothing has changed! Anyway, the boyfriend and I weren’t sure what to have for dinner so he suggested the downtown location so that we could walk around the seawall after.

It was no surprise that the restaurant was full on a Friday night! We got the last spot at the bar so we did not have to wait. I found the seating to be a bit uncomfortable because we were staring at a pole, which also took up space. But at least we didn’t have to wait!

Strawberry lemonade: A must when going to Red Robin’s! Their strawberry lemonade is a sugary delight.

Simply grilled chicken burger: Compared to the Lougheed location, I found the chicken breast to be on the dry side. It wasn’t juicy which was disappointing. There was still a nice grilled flavour to it though.

Popcorn shrimp and chicken strip basket: This was not something that we’ve seen on the menu when we used to go to Red Robins frequently 4-5 years ago. It is a combination of two of my favourite foods ever, too bad my digestive issues are so bad right now that I can’t eat it without feeling sick. But c’est la vie, need to focus on the positives in my life.

Anyways, the chicken strips were juicy and piping hot. We were surprised it only came with 2 chicken strips, thought there would be at least 3. The popcorn shrimp was fresh and crunchy as well.

Overall, I wouldn’t mind coming back to this location. Service was friendly although it was hard to get our waitress because it was so busy.

Yes, there are plenty of other restaurants in downtown which are fancier and bougie, but we love a classic Red Robin meal!

Kook Korean BBQ

July 2, 2019

No, I did not spell cook wrong! Kook Korean BBQ is a relatively new restaurant that opened up earlier this year in First Avenue Marketplace. I have been eyeing this place for awhile but have yet to come until now!

We enjoyed this place so much that we came back a few nights after for dinner! Since it was only the two of us, we ordered non-BBQ dishes which were still great. It would be nice to come back with some friends to share the BBQ platters.

Kook is a nice addition to the other restaurants in First Avenue Marketplace, and the only Korean restaurant in this area (apart from Yook which is about a 5 minute drive away).

Seafood pancake: We always like to order a seafood pancake when trying a new Korean restaurant, although we always get too full and end up packing most of it home (such was the case this time)!

Anyways, the outside of the seafood pancake could have been more crispy. Only the outer edges were crispy. Other than that, it was a delicious pancake with a good amount of ingredients inside.

Banchan: Our meal started off with 5 different types of banchan. If you order a BBQ platter, you get a whopping 15 different types of banchan!

My favourite was the potato marinated in a sweet sesame oil sauce. We ended up getting a refill of the potato and the sliced fish cakes. My least favourite was the picked cucumbers. I personally thought it was a bit too sour to eat it plain.

Bibimbap: The boyfried decided to try the stone bowl bibimbap. It was a generous portion and very filling. The first thing you should do when ordering a stone bowl is to spread the rice thinly all over the bowl, so that you can have delicious crunchy rice!

The bibimbap didn’t come with sauce, but the beef was seasoned enough to give the bowl lots of flavour. I usually order noodle soups when having Korean food, but I wouldn’t mind ordering this myself next time we come here because it was pretty good.

Korean oxtail soup (Ggori Gomtang): Typically, Korean noodle soups don’t come seasoned with any salt. It took a few disappointing visits at a few different restaurants before I figured this out. Instead, your bland soup comes with a side of salt to which you season to your own taste.

After adding enough salt to my liking, I really enjoyed the soup. The slow simmered bone made the soup milky. Meanwhile, the meat was incredibly tender and melted in my mouth… soooo good. The soup also came with some Korean crystal noodle and a bowl of plain rice.

Soon tofu jigae: One of the most popular and comforting Korean dishes. You can pick between seafood or beef, the boyfriend went with beef. There was a nice, spicy kick to the soup but he would have liked it to be even more spicy!

The bowl looked a bit small, but there was a lot of tofu and beef in there to make it a filling meal. It also came with a side of rice.

Sul lang tang: Since I tried the oxtail soup (Ggori gomtang) last time, I wanted to see how the ox bone soup tasted. They seemed to be the same broth, the only difference was the meat.

The beef slices were nowhere as tender and flavourful, probably because it was a different cut. For $4, I’d probably get the ggori gomtang instead because I love my tender beef.

All in all, we left satisfied and happy with our two visits. We will definitely be back, seeing how close and convenient this location is for us as well!

Famoso Neapolitan Pizza

June 30, 2019

It was Friday, the start of the weekend and time to treat ourselves to a delicious meal! The boyfriend and I bounced around many different restaurant ideas before deciding on Famoso because it was close by and it has been awhile since we went! I have also written posts on Famoso last year and back in 2014.

Surprisingly enough, I remember that I never used to like Neapolitan pizza. But taste buds and preferences change over the years and I love Neapolitan pizza now! I am not sure what happened but am not complaining 😉

Famoso is known for their Neapolitan style pizza, prepared in a wood fire oven. You can watch your pizza being made in the assembly line. They also have other entrees such as pasta and sandwiches but I would stick with the pizzas. We came with a few friends last year (I didn’t write a review) and the boyfriend ordered a meatball sub… it was a mistake and very disappointing!

Anyways, moving on to our visit. The restaurant was still quiet, around 5:30pm when we came in, but service was still very slow and took 10 minutes to be acknowledged.

We weren’t impressed but the service ended up drastically improving after our server finally acknowledged us.

Meat lovers pizza with vegan cheese: It’s been awhile since I have had pizza! I had to go all out and order the meat lovers, which came with ham, Italian sausage, prosciutto, and capicola.

There was a very generous amount of meat. The Italian sausage had a hint of spice which added a spicy kick to the pizza.

The Daiya vegan cheese was better than I expected. It was melted and a bit stringy, but not as stringy as regular cheese.

I liked that they had a non-dairy cheese option at no charge and would recommend trying it if you can’t have dairy.

Custom pizza: The boyfriend went with the 4 topping custom pizza. He chose caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, mozarella and meatballs.

The combination was delicious and he gobbled it up happily.

We left very satisfied and enough for leftovers the next day! Pizza leftovers are so good for some reason.

I’ve been here many times now and wouldn’t mind coming back again when a craving for Neapolitan pizza hits!

Yay!