food & drink Archives - Page 65 of 115

Happy Tree House BBQ

August 22, 2018

One evening, Maki suggested that we go and try a place that she’s been hearing good things about, Happy Tree House BBQ. When I first heard of the name, it reminded me of Happy Tree Friends and the whole night, I kept calling it Happy Tree Friends. FYI, I would not recommending watching that show.

Anyways, Happy Tree House BBQ is located on Kingsway Street in Vancouver. It is relatively new and specializes in Northern Chinese BBQ, which is something I haven’t had before. Nigiri mentioned that he felt like he was in China because a lot of restaurants there are similar to Happy Tree House.

The restaurant was clean, spacious, and really big! It was comfortable and suitable for large groups. There was also K-pop/C-pop blasting and music videos playing. It’s a good place to go with friends on the weekend.

Most of their items come spicy, which I wish I knew before we ordered. I love spicy foods but my stomach can’t handle it much these days, so I avoid eating it. The server said that if we put in a non-spicy request, they could have accommodated but it was too late.

The meats that they offered were a lot different than what I was used to at a BBQ. They serve organs, tendons and cartilage which could be off putting to people used to Western culture… but in Chinese culture, eating organs and tendons is quite popular and encouraged because they contain a tremendous amount of nutrients such as iron.

We weren’t sure what to order, so Maki just ordered a bunch of things and we hoped for the best! All the BBQ sticks came at once and it was really hard for us to differentiate what meat was what. So the dinner became a game of guessing what meat we were eating =P.
Assorted meat: As mentioned above, we weren’t able to distinguish which type of meat it was before eating it. We ordered a combination of lamb kebab, Angus beef, pork, chicken gristle and chicken gizzards. There is usually a minimum of 3-5 skewers per meat type, which is how I’m assuming they keep their business afloat.

Most of the meats were spicy so I couldn’t eat it 🙁 but I did try a few pieces. The meat was fresh and juicy and bursting with flavour. They used a lot of cumin seasoning which I personally loved! Of course, there was a good amount of spicy kick in it. If I was to come back and order non-spicy, it still would have been delicious because of the variety of spices they use.

Bull backtraps: None of us had an idea of what bull backtraps were… but decided to order anyways. I didn’t have any because it was spicy, but the general consensus was that the bull backtraps were extremely chewy and dry. It did not sound appetizing. The boyfriend had so much trouble trying to bite this that he gave up.

Scallops: The scallops were dusted with a combination of seasoning which was delicious. The most dominant seasoning was white pepper which I love. White pepper is such a comforting spice to me because it reminds me of Chinese soup.

Squid tentacles: I was eager to try this but didn’t know it was spicy, so I didn’t end up having any. There weren’t any complaints about this dish but others mentioned that it was very spicy.

Veggies: We wanted to balance the meat ratio, so we ordered a simple plate of veggies. All the veggies were fresh and we had no complaints about it.

Mung bean pasta: Maki said that this was one of their most popular dishes, so we gave it a try! It was served chilled and had a jelly like consistency to it. It was very flavourful with a hint of spice.

Hand made noodle in bone broth: UGH, I forgot to take a photo of my noodles! =( Since most of the dishes were spicy and I didn’t want to upset my stomach again, I decided to order a soup noodle. I love hand made noodles so I wanted to see how they were here. The hand made noodles were chewy and slightly dense. I believe they were seasoned with white pepper before being cooked, because I could taste it in every bite. However, the bone broth was disappointing and flat. It tasted like boiled water. On the plus side, you know that it is healthy and ‘ching’. I’m glad that the noodles had flavour!

Despite not being able to eat most of the food due to spice, I would still recommend coming to Happy Tree House BBQ if you can/like spicy food and meats. The meat is juicy, fresh and well seasoned. They have a lot of servers working so it’s easy to waive someone down. I would recommend making a reservation because it was packed at peak dinner time, around 7-8pm.

Yay!

My Frosty Dessert Cafe

August 20, 2018

A new Korean dessert cafe opened up in First Avenue Marketplace, which is a pretty convenient location for me so I added it to my list! In true fashion, it took many months before I actually came to try this place. I wish I tried it sooner because it was delicious!

There is plenty of free parking in the marketplace and also on the street. My Frosty is a bit small so I would predict that it gets cramped during peak hours.

Choco bingsoo, sharing size: If you’re a huge chocolate lover, I would recommend giving this one a try! The shaved ice is fluffy and slightly creamy. Although chocolate is a pretty standard flavour for bingsoo, each cafe varies on the toppings.

At My Frosty, they had moist chocolatey brownies, Kinder surprise chocolate bar, ice cream, and a fudge bar on top. It sounds very fattening but the shaved ice is very light.

An unique addition at My Frosty is the use is Frosted Flakes cereal! Texture wise, it kept the bingsoo interesting and was a nice, simple touch.

Mango bing soo, single size: The single size is served in an extra large mug. The shaved ice is very light and does not have much flavour, so you have to rely on the fresh fruit (or which other toppings you have) for the flavour.

There was a very generous amount of mango on top, and it was also very ripe and sweet! With the condensed milk, it was even sweeter which balanced the shaved ice. On the bottom, there was another layer of mango syrup.

I enjoyed My Frosty, and would definitely come back when I’m craving some bingsoo. Compared to Passion8, I like both places and think they rank quite closely with each other!

Yay!

Marutama Ramen

August 19, 2018

Every summer for the past 5 years, the boyfriend and I have been doing this thing where we bike from East Vancouver to downtown, along the seawall, and then have ramen. We usually go to Santouka or Kintaro, but this time, we decided to try out Marutama Ramen since we’ve been hearing and seeing it a lot on social media. We are also huge fans of chicken broth and Marutama Ramen makes all their ramen with chicken broth!

When we got there around 3pm ish, we waited about 10-15 minutes outside. Walking in to Marutama, it was so nice to find that they had the AC blasting! It made the meal much more comfortable because it was really hot that day. The servers also came by often to refill ice water, and kindly refilled my water bottle too.

Tamago ramen, $11.25: I requested for my broth to be leaner since my stomach does not handle rich foods well. Despite it being ‘lean’, I still found it to be deliciously creamy. It was the first time having a chicken broth ramen and it did not disappoint.

The pieces of chashu was not too dry either. The noodles were bouncy and cooked perfectly too. The seaweed was a nice addition as well.

They’re pretty well known for their Ajitama egg, and I must say it was delicious! It was perfectly seasoned and the egg yolk oozed out.

Zenbu ramen, $18.75: This is the largest size ramen that you can get here and it also has the most meat. It came with cha-shu pork, seasoned pork belly, and an Ajitama egg.

The boyfriend had no complaints about his bowl. He said it was very satisfying and the pork belly was delicious.

I’m glad that we finally tried Marutama Ramen. It definitely did not disappoint!

Yay!

Tap & Barrel Olympic Village (Re-visit)

August 18, 2018

I’ve written about Tap & Barrel in the past, and thought it was finally time for an updated post four years later! The Olympic Village location is one of my top places to go in the summertime because the view is great and it is located in my favourite Vancouver neighbourhood. After eating here, I love taking a walk down the seawall and around the area. If you’re a tourist or showing people around the city, I would recommend this place for their view and vibe.

It can get quite busy here in the summer, especially on the patio. Latte and I came on a weekday evening a bit before 6pm, and there was already a line up for the patio. If you don’t want to wait as long, you can get a spot inside. A month later, I came back here with the boyfriend and we sat inside because it was super hot that evening.

Pineapple and pulled bacon flatbread pizza, $16.95: This came with a good amount of pulled bacon and pineapple, as you can see from the picture! It was delicious, the sweetness of the pineapple balanced out the pulled bacon. I would describe the pulled bacon more like a pulled pork though. I liked how the pizza was not greasy or oily.

Spicy tuna burger, $17.95: This isn’t something I would normally order but it sounded pretty good, so we split this as well. The tuna burger came with seared ahi tuna, sesame lemongrass panko crust, avocado, cucumber, crispy onion, pickled shallots, spicy miso mayo. The burger was not that spicy. Everything in this burger went well together and I’m glad that we got this! Tap and Barrel also has good fries so we enjoyed this immensely too.

While the view and food was great, the service was lacking which is what I find the only bad thing about Tap and Barrel. It was hard to flag down our waiter and we didn’t get much service during our dinner. It was a struggle to get our drinks filled and to get the bill. The patio was completely full so I understand the lack of service, but I think they could benefit more by adding a couple more waiters. I would still come back for the atmosphere and food though. Compared to CRAFT which is across the street, Tap and Barrel has better prices and also a water view.

Yay!

The Union

August 17, 2018

While looking up a new place for Cola and I to try, I came across The Union. I am a fan of fusion restaurants and the menu sounded delicious, so I suggested that we meet here! The Union is located in Chinatown on Union Street. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to Chinatown and it’s crazy to see how much has changed in this area. Every time I come here, there’s a new store, restaurant, or building that wasn’t here before.

It was a happy surprise when we got here and found out it was wings Wednesday! Her friend also joined us last minute upon hearing that it was wings Wednesday and seeing the unique flavours they offered.

Matahari, $5.00: This was a non-alcoholic cocktail made out of guava juice, apple juice, lime, and ginger. After seeing guava, I knew I had to give it a try! It was delicious and I would recommend if it if you like guava flavour. Guava was the main taste but you could taste hints of the lime and ginger, which made it taste less sweet.

Jeow som, $10.00 (Wednesday special, originally $15): The chicken wings were marinated in a very unique blend of spices… cilantro, lime, garlic, fish sauce and bird’s eye chilies. It was a bit spicy but enjoyable. I’ve never had fish sauce marinated chicken wings but surprisingly it went well with everything else. This is why I love fusion restaurants!

Roja grande $10.00 (Wednesday special, originally $15): Spanish paprika, vinegar, cumin, and syrup glaze. Out of the 3 flavours of wings that we ordered, we all found this one to be the most underwhelming. We could mostly only taste the cumin.

Korean gochujang $10.00 (Wednesday special, originally $15): Korean spicy chili glaze, sesame seeds. I can’t recall if this was super spicy or not, sorry! This is why I need to write the reviews right after my visit. -_-

Tom Kha Mu, $16.00: This was a bowl of fusion noodles, when I first saw it on the menu my mind was set! It came with lemongrass pork meatballs, coconut chicken broth, egg noodles, and chili oil. I really enjoyed this bowl of noodles and it was very unique. The lemongrass pork meatballs were juicy and had strong lemongrass flavour in it. The coconut chicken broth was very creamy and there was a hint of spice from the chili oil. The next day, I tried to re-create the coconut chicken broth myself because I couldn’t stop thinking about how delicious it was (Incase you’re wondering, it was a success although I might have added a bit too much lemongrass)!

I found the chicken wings to be meh… while it sounds cool and unique on the menu, they weren’t amazingly delicious. I also found them not to taste super fresh. However, I would come back to have the Tom Kha Mu. I would be interested in trying the other fusion noodles. The prices are a bit higher at $16-18 for a bowl of noodles, but judging on the quality of the Tom Kha Mu, it would be worth a try!

Yay!