Archive for the ‘Eastside’ Category

POOR ITALIAN

January 3rd, 2011 admin

3296 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver

Tel: 604-251-1122

Web: http://www.pooritalian.com/

Twitter: n/a

Advice: Reservations suggested, free parking.

My friend Ajay joined me for a delightful dinner recently at this Eastside Italian, within minutes I noticed friends Rick and Kathleen being seated at a nearby table. This was a first time visit for all of us as it turned out, and we were fortunate to be able to meet Executive Chef John Costanzi and to talk to him about his classic Italian cooking.

Roasted Beet and Burrata Salad

Linguine Vongole

Grilled Rack of Lamb

The large and colourful room was bustling with dinners on this Monday evening. To begin I had a glass of Di Lenardo Pinot Grigio IGT 2008 (Italy) and Ajay had a glass of the Piccini Chianti DOC 2008 (Italy). We each had the Roasted Beet and Burrata Salad ($12) Crispy pancetta, shallot and pine nut vinaigrette to start, we then shared the Linguine Vongole ($18) White wine, garlic, fresh clams, and for our entrée we each had the delicious Grilled Rack of Lamb ($32) Balsamic glazed cipollini onion and rosemary jus. We both loved the cipollini onion glaze with the lamb which made for an outstanding dish.

Tortino d‘Olio Warm Olive Oil Cake (L) & Dark Chocolate Terrine (R)

We were both quite full, however dessert was in order. We shared two desserts the Dark Chocolate Terrine ($11) with red wine sorbet, cracked sea salt and the outstanding Tortino d‘Olio Warm Olive Oil Cake ($9), with sweet rosemary gelato.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Eastside Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

PINPIN RESTAURANT

January 1st, 2011 admin

6113 Fraser Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-322-3086

Web: http://www.pinpinrestaurant.com

Twitter: n/a

Advice: No reservations, note that your whole party must be present to be seated.

A group of my friends joined me for dinner where our Filipino friend Jay lead us on a tasting journey. We ordered a selection of dishes for 6 of us to share, at the table was Jay, Minna, Ajay, Jonathan, Emmy and me.

Lumpia Shanghai

Garlic Rice

Steamed Rice

Binaboongan

Inihan Wa Baboy

Chicken Adobo

Sinagong Soup with Milkfish

Bopis

Sitan at Kalabasa Sa Gata

Dish after dish arrived to our table, we started off with the Lumpia Shanghai ($4.95) finger sized spring rolls (Appetizers), then the Binaboongan ($8.50) pork with eggplant simmered in shrimp paste, followed by a couple of rice dishes including a large Garlic Rice ($4.75) and Steamed Rice ($2.50), next was the Inihan Wa Baboy ($8.50) grilled pork, then the Chicken Adobo ($8.95) with rice and soup, next dish was the Sinagong Soup with Milkfish ($11.50) a Tamarind flavoured soup, then the Bopis ($7.95) lungs and heart in brown sauce and the delicious Sitan at Kalabasa Sa Gata ($8.95) squash and string beans in coconut milk. Of all the dishes that we tried my absolute favourite was the Squash and string beans in coconut milk and the Garlic rice.

Leche Flan

Halo-Halo

Sago Gulaman

Dessert was a must to end this tasting meal, I ended up sharing 2 desserts with Ajay and we both loved the Leche Flan ($3.95) caramel custard, the other dessert was the Halo-Halo ($5.95) a somewhat confusing tasty mixture of ice, red beans, purple yam, coconut, ice cream and shaved ice that you had to smoosh to eat. Minna had the Sago Gulaman ($3.25) a dessert drink that was made with tapioca and cassava pearl in sugar syrup which was like a Filipino bubble tea.

Going with a group of friends is a great way to taste a wide variety of dishes!

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Eastside Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment »

DONA CATA

July 16th, 2010 admin

5076 Victoria Drive, Vancouver

Tel: 604-436-2232


Advice: great selection of salsas at the salsa bar.

Mole Chicken

Vegetarian Burrito

I was in for dinner recently with friend Ariane as we were craving some good Mexican food. I love this authentic east side spot with their colourful interior, the night we were there they had a duo in musical performance. I have often done take-out, this time stayed to enjoy the music and the atmosphere. I had the Mole Chicken ($10.50) with pulled chicken, mexican rice, house stewed beans and 3 corn tortillas. Their mole boasts over 25 ingredients and 5 chiles to create a flavourful sauce. Ariane had the Vegetarian Burrito ($7) beans and cheese wrapped around a flour tortilla with a side of pico de gallo. The menu features a large selection of tacos, and taco variations along with breakfast specialties and Enchiladas too.

Review by: Richard Wolak
Photo credit: Ariane Colenbrander
Posted in Eastside, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

SONG HUONG

June 26th, 2010 admin
1613 Nanaimo Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-251-1151

Web: n/a

Advice:  If you are vegetarian this is not the restaurant for you. Cash only.


A group of my friends and I dined together recently, my friend Minna is Vietnamese and she chose the restaurant for us all. Personally I found the green decor to be a bit dated, however the food was as authentic as you would find in a Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver. Some of us shared the dishes and others had their own. Minna guided us all thru the menu and explained how the dishes were prepared.

Lemongrass Chicken

Shrimp Salad Rolls

Bo La Lot in betel leaves

Bo La Lot - Sausages

Raw Beef in Hot Pot

Beef Pho

To begin our meal Alisha and I shared the Lemongrass Chicken ($6.25) with vermicielli, we also shared the tasty Shrimp Salad Rolls ($2.50 each) with peanut sauce. For our main dish Beef prepared 7 Ways ($25.95) I shared this with Alisha and Minna as it was quite a large dish, well it was actually 7 different dishes within the big dish and this was quite the experience. We received a plate of the condiments which included a large bowl of sweet fish sauce, crushed peanuts, dried lemongrass and sriracha with seeds, the plate of veggies included bean sprouts, cucumber, tomato, pickled daikon, carrots, lettuce, and mint leaves. Then we got a plate of Vermicelli and a package of rice wrappers along with a bowl of hot water to soak each of the rice wrappers to soften them for eating. The first course of the 7 was the Raw Beef which you don’t eat raw, it is for cooking in the hot pot of water on the portable burner which happened to be placed in the center of our table. The second course was the Bo La Lot – sausages wrapped in betel leaves which looked like green cigars, the third course were Bo La Lot – sausages wrapped in caul fat. The fourth couse was more Bo La Lot – sausages with an onion flavour. The fifth course was Grilled Beef over a bed of cabbage, onions and basil which is more like a salad. The sixth course was the Beef Congee which and the seventh course was a giant steamed beef Meatball made with mushrooms, vermicelli and onions.

Jay had the large Beef Pho and then Ajay shared some of the other dishes with Jay, and Alexei ate solo as he was eating vegetarian with great difficulty, the restaurant ended up making him a plate of rice topped with an egg. All of us thought the prices were very reasonable for the large amount of food served. Although we all wanted to have some dessert we decided that the limited number of desserts on the menu were not appealing and we went off to another place for dessert.

Review by: Richard Wolak
Posted in Eastside, Latest, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , No Comments »

JAVA-LICIOUS

June 12th, 2010 admin

UPDATED 3/4/12 BUSINESS HAS CLOSED

55 Kingsway, Vancouver

Tel: 604-568-6822

Web: n/a

Advice: free wifi

Large and spacious, café with high ceilings, large windows around the café with lots of wood as part of the décor. From the moment I walked in I was in awe, great to see such a nice café in the area with friendly baristas too! You will find photos for sale that adorn the walls, free wifi, bench seating, pillows, stool seating by the windows.

Espresso Macchiato

Raspberry Cream Cheese Croissant

There are sandwiches, all sorts of baked goods including croissants, muffins and cookies from Calabria bakery. There are smoothies, milkshakes, teas, cold beverages and Lavazza coffees. I had a Raspberry Cream Cheese Croissant ($2.25) and a Espresso Macchiato ($1.85)   Loved the ambience and the great space to work on my laptop writing this review. Coming back soon!

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Bar & Cafe Reviews, Eastside Tags: , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

KEN’S CHINESE RESTAURANT

April 27th, 2010 admin

1097 Kingsway, Vancouver

Tel: 604-873-6338

Web: www.kenschineserestaurant.com

Advice: Have a private room that holds 40, good idea to share some of the dishes.

Yin Yang

Lobster Hotpot

Stuffed Pink Scallop

Beef Tenderloin

This award winning restaurant has been on my list to check out for quite sometime, very happy that I finally trecked across town to visit. The server told me that I had to try the Yin Yang ($2.25) which I did, it was a hot beverage made of black tea and coffee and I suspect this popular HK style hot beverage is loaded with caffeine, with a little bit of sugar for sweetening it was a tasty hot drink. My friend and I began our meal here with award winning signature dish, the Lobster Hotpot ($18.80) in a very tasty sauce with ginger and green onion with taro noodles. The next award winning dish was the Stuffed Pink Scallop ($5) served on the half shell in a curry and cheese sauce. Since they serve both Cantonese style food along with Western Style I had to try one of the popular Western dishes and I enjoyed the huge Beef Tenderloin ($16.95) with black peppercorn sauce, broccoli and other vegetables.

Mung Bean & Sago Dessert Soup

They serve complementary dessert with all of their meals, these desserts change often, tonight we had a bowl of the hot Mung Bean & Sago Dessert Soup. The menu selection is vast, with 3 very different menus they offer a lot of different dishes and apparently all are popular with the varied mix of customers from lunch, thru late night. They were awarded Best Casual restaurant in the 2010 Chinese Restaurant Awards and I see why, come as you are and enjoy the homey atmosphere.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Eastside, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

ALIBI ROOM

March 4th, 2010 admin

157 Alexander Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-623-3383

Web: www.alibi.ca

Advice: Go for the beer and try something that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

Howe Sound 3 Beavers Imperial Ale

This vibrant room is always filled with what seems to be patrons who are well educated on the many beers on offer. Their beer list numbers 100+ different beers, with 25+ beers on tap, others in casks or by the bottle. They have one of the largest beer selections of any restaurant in the city and they aren’t afraid of offering new beers to their devoted customers.

Chinatown Noodle Bowl

I was in for the food, though you couldn’t miss accompanying the food with a beer and I had the Howe Sound 3 Beavers Imperial Ale ($5.75). I ordered Chinatown Noodle Bowl with tofu ($13), Asian greens and peanut dressing. The menu offering is rather simple, you’ve got a selection of small & share plates, salads, sandwiches and larger plates. My go to guy for all things beer is Rick Green who is known as @BCBrews on Twitter, anything that I would ever want to know about beer I would ask Rick, he is a valuable resource for the team at Alibi as well, and he was one of the reasons that I revisited Alibi for dinner. I have always loved the exposed brick walls, shared table seating and the private bar/room downstairs for larger parties.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Eastside, Gastown, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

CAMY’S PIZZA

March 3rd, 2010 admin
5688 Fraser Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-324-2200

Web: www.camyspizza.com

Advice: Call ahead for pick-up or delivery. 2 for 1 Pizza Deals are the way to go.

Butter Chicken Pizza

Places that specialize in Take Out Pizza are a dime a dozen around Vancouver, I heard that Camy’s offers an array of specialty pizzas in addition to the regular selection with a focus on Indian toppings. I had the Butter Chicken Pizza (Small for $12.49) a butter chicken sauce, mushrooms, onions, green pepper, boneless chicken, banana pepper and roasted garlic. I also ordered a Vegetarian Pizza (Small for $12.49) with a creamy white sauce, topped with cheese, mushrooms, pineapple and red pepper which was delicious. There are all sorts of toppings to choose from including tandoori chicken, veggie paneer, shahi paneer, jalapeno and more.

Vegi Pizza (left) & Butter Chicken Pizza (right)

Upon request they can make your pizza on thick, thin, hand tossed or wholewheat crust. In addition to the pizzas, there is also baked pasta and baby back ribs. Ordering their specialty pizzas is the way to go here.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Eastside, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment »
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