Kasuga

I only have myself to blame for trying Japanese food at Chrystal Mall Food court.  I was at the Hilton for a workshop that day and I felt like doing a review on some place local.  I remember there being a tempura shop at Chrystal Mall years and years ago, and it was pretty good at the time.  I couldn't find it but the seed was already planted in my mind and I wanted something Japanese.......I should have stuck with Chinese food.

Beef teryiaki don........loads of sauce...maybe a bit too much, too much veg.  I sudddenly had nightmarish flashbacks of Little Japan, but this place was cheaper and tastier.

When I went to check out the menu, they didn't have any sort of chirashi don and just out of curiosity, I asked and the cashier had no idea what a chirashi don was.  I decided to spend as little as possible at that point and ordered a spicy tuna roll which was okay, but a lot smaller than what I've had at other places.  Not to mention that most places don't wrap theirs with seaweed (rice on the outside).  The dynamite roll was bigger than your average dynamite roll. 

The sushi tasted okay, but not great.  The prices were reasonable, but damn was the service slow.  They had one person working the hot food, another person working the sushi (probably the mom and pop that owned the place) and a cashier that just stood there and watched the other two work.  I will probably not go here again.

Romer's Burger revisited.

Foie Gras is off their menu.........%&*$#@!  I loved having that little patty of foie in the Kobe Classic and now, because of some bunny-hugging, tree loving hippie protesters, I can't get my foei.  Ok, enough venting.  My buddy Eric's in town and he was the one who introduced me to Romer's Burger Bar sometime last year.  Usually a patron of fine dining, he couldn't resist the urger to get in touch with the savage inside and get a couple of really good burgers down our necks.

Our server was pretty cool.  Although she did recommend some beer that turned out a bit rancid, she kept us smiling and happy to be there.

Eric before drinking the stewy stuff.

Can't go wrong with Chivas Regal

The Prime Rib Burger - burger of the gods.

Just look at this mountain of meat!

I ordered the daily special.  I forgot what it was called, but it was a mix of ground beef and brisket.....oh man, how can you go wrong with brisket in your burger patty???  It was served with saurkraut and some other stuff and the end result was pure food sex.

We got some yam fries for good measure......yam fries, haha, I even saw these in Regina.  They're everywhere now.... 

As if we weren't stuffed enough.....we ordered 4 trays of chicken wings which I forgot the picture for, but here are the Drunken Donuts to ensure we were uncomfortable by the end of the night.

My pals Eric and Jay thinking it was funny to order too much food.

Me, contemplating how I'm going to eat all the donuts wiithout sharing with my friends.

I have to say that Romer's Burger is by far my favourite burger joint.  Although they took Foie Gras off the menu.....yes, they took it off the menu and that well and truly pissed me off to no end.  I'll still go back though, because the burgers are still the definition of awesome and everthing we've had on the menu (except for the beer, haha!).  Our service was great, the food was great and the prices are more than reasonable.

White Spot - Richmond Centre

I've been to the White Spot in Richmond Centre only a few times, but one thing I have to say is that I get consistent good service there.  I don't usually go to White Spot, but once in a while, I get a craving for their legendary burger with the Special-O sauce, and it's always good.  I guess you could say, how can you screw up a hamburger, but actually, it can be done.

As you can tell, I took a lot of pictures of  my burger (which actually isn't the legendary), and a shot of my friends whatever-sandwich.  The fries are bottomless, but I never, ever find that I need a refill, the coleslaw is there for I don't know what.  It has no nutritional value what so ever, doesn't taste particularly good......yet I still eat it, haha!  Anyway, decent service, good food, ok prices.  The prices at White Spot have been steadily on the rise the last few years, and in part because they're trying go all high-end and trendy.  Gone are the days of the truck-stop diner prices...eventually I will stop going, but for now, it's still reasonable.

Seasons In the Park

Well, it's that time of year when my buddy Eric is in town, and whenever he comes back here, I always find myself in a place of fine dining.  He first introduced me to places like The Teahouse, and Le Crocodile when I was just out of highschool.  After all the years we've known each other, I look at him like the big brother I never had, and the other night was probably the first time I had a chance to pay him back for all the times he took me out.  I wanted to go to Le Crocodile, but it was closed for some reason....disturbing.....

Anyway, Seasons in The Park is a pretty nice place, and though I've walked past it so many times, I never thought about what it would be like to eat there.

When I stepped into this place, I was blown away by the view.  You can see the entire Vancouver skyline from there.  I had no idea there was that kind of vew from Q.E. Park.  If you want to take your lady someplace breathtaking, this place does it. 

The special of the night was Prime Rib....I was happier than a pig in $*#! but the menu was as far as I got.  By the time we ordered, it was sold out.  It was only 7pm and it was sold out already.  I was a little perturbed.

I even got my Chivas Regal to go with the prime rib that would never materialize.

The comp bread was good, freshly heated, but it came with some cheap pats of butter, unlike the whipped variety seen at some other places. 

I ordered the Truffle Mushroom soup ($7).  It was a bit bland, and I would have preferred a creamier soup.  This one was essentially a mushroom puree, which didn't even appear to have been run through a strainer.  The carrot soup at Le Crocodile is way better, even though it's two completely different soups.

The Carrot Ginger Soup ($7) was pretty much in the same boat as my Truffle Mushroom.  The ginger was a little overwhelimg and to me, not a good combo with carrots in a soup.  And again, it could have used a touch of cream....tasted like liquified carrots and ginger.

I also tried the Stuffed Mushrooms ($12).  These were rich and creamy, but a bit saltier than the ones at The Teahouse,  I was racing for a glass of water when I was done these.

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The Seafood Linguine Carbonara ($20) tasted good for a few bites, but got really salty after a while as well.  I only sampled a little bit and I found myself thirsty afterwards.

Since the prime rib was sold out, I ordered the 12 Oz Rib Eye that isn't on their current online menu (and the the Filet Mignon Netpune is no longer an option).  I ordered it the usual way I like it - fat and bloody which in my mind translates to Blue Rare to Rare.  Here's where my disappointment really set in.  It came medium to medium well.  And it was overseasoned. 

The tomato caps were ok, but the string beans barely saw any heat and were pretty raw.

Eric ordered his steak medium but it was practically well-done. 

I don't know why, but we ordered the Little Brownie Mountain ($8).  I thought the brownie would have been heated up and cold ice cream dumped on top, but it was all cold, and remineded me of Uncle Willy's.  The brownie was way too sweet, so ordering a cup of tea really helped.

I've heard a lot of good things about Seasons in the Park, and the view is fantastic.  The service was okay, but anything the servers said seemed very canned and prepared.  The food was definitely a miss this night, and made the experience a little dissappointing.  Food and service-wise, I think I'd rather go to The Teahouse....but the view.....Seasons has that one hands down. 

Beijing Cuisine

Back in Vancouver, yay!  I had a great time in Regina the last two weeks, more fun than I deserved, but I'm glad to be back to food blogging in Vancouver.  In just two weeks, I rose to stardom on Urban Spoon Regina, and am currently ranked #1 in Regina, and #2 in Saskatchewan, haha!

I went out with my parents the first night back and my mom wanted to try someplace she read about.  We were a little skeptical at first because the place was empty. 

....empty.....

We got some lamb stuffed in sao bing...we were not off to a good start.  The lamb was very gamey, and tough.....like it'd been cooked too long.  The sao bing was also a bit tough....really, really chewy.  They look tasty, but unfortunately not.

The shao long bao was where Beijing Cuisine redeemed itself.  These little suckers were packed with soup, really tasty pork broth/fat and the skins were thin enough, but didn't break when picking them up.  My parents said thew were close to perfect.

The green onion pancake (cong you bing,......I know how to say it, have no clue how to spell it) was awesome here.  They were nice and flaky on the outside, just the right about of seasoning....love these.  In fact, partly why I agreed to go here was because I was craving these.

Hot and sour soup.....this was okay for me, but my mom wasn't a big fan.  It's true, I've tasted better, but it wasn't bad.

Some sort of meat pie.  My dad makes these at home, so it was a taste of home for me.....with my dad sitting right there, I would rather have had them at home.

Xie ke huang, a nice little pastry stuffed with sugar and lard, how can you go wrong?  These are another snack that my parents used to often prepare (haha the frozen variety in the toaster oven).

The service was friendly enough, and the food came pretty quick.  Prices were reasonable and to my surprise, I was quite full by the time we left.  I'd probably go back....