Ho Yummy

Right before the Olympics started, Jenkins and I were wandering around downtown one day after lunch. We were just about to head back to our respective offices when I realized that we were very close to Big City Cupcakes’ downtown location. I had been meaning to try Big City Cupcakes for quite some time but due to its slightly out of the way location downtown, it was never convenient for me to go.

Once we were inside, we were greeted with a wide array of cupcakes. I was really glad that I did not eat too much for lunch and I quickly decided that Jenkins and I should each have a cupcake rather than share one selection. Jenkins balked at this a bit but I assured him that if he had trouble eating his cupcake, I would gladly help!

I asked the lady behind the counter what she would recommend. She gave me a few choices but the one that really caught my eye was the strawberry cheesecake. This cupcake was made with a vanilla strawberry batter and had a little chunk of cheesecake in the middle. On top was a demure amount of cheesecake frosting, one of my favourite types of frosting. The cheesecake was not overly sweet and the frosting had a nice, slight tang to it. The cheesecake filling in the middle added a nice creaminess to the cupcake and was a nice little surprise. The strawberry flavour was quite weak and it could have been enhanced some more, but other than that, I had no complaints.

Jenkins had the Chocolate Mounds cupcake, which was a chocolate cupcake with ganache in the centre and was topped with a coconut butter cream with coconut and more ganache. I would say that his choice was more traditional than mine and he enjoyed his selection more than my strawberry cheesecake version. He was generous enough to let me have a bite and the chocolate flavour was very rich without being too sweet. The frosting was also just enough to complement the flavour of the cupcake itself and did not have the cloying sweetness that plagues some cupcakes.

I quite enjoyed the two cupcakes we had from Big City Cupcakes. I am not a fan of the cupcakes made by Cupcakes (the company :p) and I think the ones from Big City  Cupcakes are much better. The flavours at Big City Cupcakes are more original and the amount of frosting they use is not as excessive. That being said, I know Cupcakes has its own dedicated fan base, so if you are into a lot of frosting on your cupcakes, Big City may not be for you. The cupcakes at Big City are quite expensive though, the filled cupcakes are $5 and the non-filled versions are $4. I’m not convinced that this is the best value, but since it will prevent me from coming her too often, it’s probably best for my waistline.

Details:
1015 Howe Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-683-6603

Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $

Jenkins and I used to be frequent visitors to Ogenki Sushi. We really enjoyed their cheap and tasty rolls and we always happened to be in the neighborhood. We noticed that they renovated sometime during the winter and since it had been quite some time since our last visit, we decided to see if anything had changed other than the restaurant interior.

Jenkins and I always resort to ordering the roll combos at Ogenki. Partly because they are great value and partly because we’ve tried most of their other things on their menu but find that rolls really are their forte. The first roll combo we ordered came with tuna sushi, California roll, and a yam roll. The tuna roll was pretty good but Jenkins and I both felt that the California roll had a little too much mayo and the yam tempura was over-fried and over-battered.

The next combo had a half house roll, BBQ salmon roll, and another tuna roll. The house roll was alright and had the usual offering of tamago, salmon, crab meat, and cucumber. I actually liked that it was not as big as some of the house rolls offered at other restaurants but felt that there was a little too much rice. I thought the BBQ salmon roll would be made with raw salmon but it turned out to be something akin to canned salmon and mayo with some BBQ sauce drizzled on top. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this roll at all: there was too much mayo and putting canned salmon (or something like it) in a sushi roll just does not seem right to me.

Jenkins and I were a bit disappointed with our re-visit to Ogenki Sushi. It seemed like the owners and staff had all changed and even though they were friendly, it was not enough to make up for the not-so-good sushi rolls.

Details:
4342 Main Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-875-9975

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $

There are several places that are my go-to lunch or dinner places whenever I’m looking for a stand by or am in a rush and since I go to them so often, it doesn’t even occur to me to blog about it. One such place is Viet Sub, which opened last summer on Robson Street and is very close tow here I work. I was thrilled that I no longer needed to hike over to Chinatown to satisfy my Vietnamese sub craving.

Although Viet Sub also has pho and salad rolls, the subs are definitely the best thing they offer.

I’ve tried all their subs by now and I like them all to varying degrees but my regular standby version is the cold cut sub ($3.25). I think bread plays a huge part in Vietnamese subs and can make or break them; in the case of Viet’ Sub’s bread, it is crispy on the outside and is not too doughy. The types of cold cut used seem to vary from day-to-day but generally have at least Vietnamese bacon and ham. They are quite generous with the amount of meat they put in and it is a good ratio of meat to veggies (i.e. cilantro and pickled radish & carrots). You also have the option of adding Jalapeno peppers but you have to request them when you put in your order.

My only complaint is that the pate seems to be absent from these subs but Viet Sub attempts to compensate for this with a nice drizzle of their special sauce. Other than that small complaint, I am very happy that yet another cheap and tasty lunch option is now available downtown. When I feel like splurging, I also enjoy ordering the special sub ($3.75) or the BBQ sub ($4.25). In terms of sauce and flavouring, they are both quite similar except the special sub has cold cuts whereas the special sub has a combination of pork, beef, chicken, and meatball.

Details:
542 Robson Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-569-3340

Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $

When Jenkins and I found out that Hapa Izakaya was going to open up at Shiru Bay’s old location in Yaletown, we were both quite happy. Finally, another tasty izakaya opening up in Yaletown and filling in the void left when Shiru Bay vacated. Even though it was a Friday night, Jenkins and I arrived relatively early at about 6:30PM so we were seated after a short 10 minute wait. I’m chalking it up to the fact that this location was new and they were probably still ironing out the kinks but it took quite a while before anyone even noticed us waiting at the door.

As per our usual strategy at any izakaya, Jenkins and I started by ordering a couple of dishes. We once made the mistake of ordering everything all at once and our table filled up too quickly! After learning our lesson, we now only order 2-3 dishes at a time when it’s just the two of us.

We first perused the fresh sheet for the day and decided to order the pork belly lettuce wraps. Thin slices of lightly grilled pork belly were accompanied with some fried wonton crisps, tartar sauce, and butter lettuce. We really liked the rich flavour of the pork belly and the way it contrasted with the crispy wonton skin. The tartar sauce was a good complement and seemed to have some mustard in it as well. I only wished that the lettuce pieces were a bit bigger because quite a few of my self-assembled wraps fell apart. However, it could have also been due to user error.

Before Jenkins and I wandered into Hapa, we were actually on our way to have sushi at Yamato Sushi on Davie. However, the lure of Hapa drew us in so we changed our minds on a whim. To compensate for this, we decided to order the assorted sushi platter, which also seemed to be a popular item for many other tables. The sushi platter had quite a few different types of nigiri sushi, including both fresh and salt water eel, chopped scallop, tuna, mackerel, tai (snapper), and two rectangular cubes of tamago (egg). I had actually expected the nigiri to have a unique izakaya spin on it so I was quite surprised to see that they looked like regular nigiri sushi except for some different shapes. I enjoyed the chopped scallop, mackeral, and unagi but found the tuna and tai a bit on the bland side.

Jenkins’ favourite dish at Hapa Izakaya is the Ishi-Yaki, which is rice made Korean-style in a stone bowl along with minced pork, garlic, egg, tomato, lettuce, and spicy miso. Not only is this a filler dish, which Jenkins enjoys, it is also very tasty. The ingredients are all mixed right at your table in the very hot stone bowl and after everything is mixed, you are advised to let it sit there for a bit. As a result, the edges of the rice which are closest to the bowl become crunchy while the other parts are creamy and yummy. The spicy miso complements the rice very well and provides a slight kick.

Our last dish before dessert was the negitoro with garlic toasts. This is another Hapa classic but it seemed to be prepared differently from what I was used to. The green onion and tuna was binded together with a slightly sweet sauce that had a hint of soy sauce and also seemed a bit spicy to me although Jenkins claimed that it was not spicy at all. In any case, I really enjoyed this dish and the toasts provided a nice contrast to the creamy negitoro spread.

For dessert, Jenkins and I shared the matcha creme brulee. The creme brulee was very creamy with just a hint of matcha flavouring. I thought the texture was just right but would have preferred a stronger matcha taste.

In terms of the food, both Jenkins and I enjoyed the dishes we tried at the Hapa Izakaya in Yaletown. We did notice some issues with service, such as when we first arrived and there was a slight mix-up with our dishes but since we went within the first couple of months of its opening, we’ll just chalk it up to the restaurant still trying to work out its kinks. I’m just glad that an izakaya is finally available again in Yaletown.

Details:
1193 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-681-4272

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$

Nuba is another place that has been on my must-eat list for quite a while. The opportunity finally presented itself one day when Louis, Jae, and I had more time than usual for lunch. We took a nice stroll on a sunny day down to what I think is the first Nuba location tucked away in a corner of the historic Dominion building by West Hastings and Cambie.

I had done my research before going so I asked if Louis and Jae were open to sharing an appetizer of Najib’s special, also known as the crispy cauliflower and one of Vancouver Magazine’s 101 things to eat for 2009. I was very impressed with how they managed to make something like cauliflower taste so good! Its florets were crispy brown on the outside and the inside gave way to a creamy roasty centre. We enjoyed eating this on its own, dipped in the accompanying sauces (I think one of them was tahini), and whole wheat pita. Highly recommended and I think it lives up to its 101 things to eat status.

For my main course, I chose the lamb hushwie pita, which was sauteed ground lamb with onions, peppers, special spices, and hummus. The lamb had great flavour to it and melded very well with the onions, hummus, and fresh veggies. I wasn’t expecting the lamb to be ground but found that this was easier to eat than if the pita was stuffed with lamb slices.

I had such a great time at Nuba that I dragged Jenkins there for lunch a couple of weeks later. This time, we shared a pot of Turkish coffee. It was my first time trying it and I quite enjoyed it. The strong coffee was lightly sweetened and brewed right in the little pot that it came in. At $3.25 and enough for the two of us, I think this was a great deal.

Jenkins had the Chicken Tawook plate, which was grilled chicken breast marinated in paprika, thyme, lemon, and garlic confit. The plate also came with taboulleh, hummus, salad, pita, brown rice, and roasted potatoes. Although Jenkins felt that the chicken was marinated quite well, he found the breast piece to be a bit dry. In hindsight, he reasoned that chicken probably was not their specialty, especially when compared to their beef and lamb dishes. I especially enjoyed the roasted potatoes that came with this dish though; they were crispy and flavourful on the outside and creamy and meaty on the inside.

I enjoyed both my visits to Nuba very much. It has a nice and funky interior and is a nice sit-down alternative to have Lebanese food when you don’t feel like standing in front of a shawarma stand. Service is prompt and friendly and the restaurant always has a small list of specials that sound very interesting.

Details:
207 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-688-1655

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $ (for lunch), $$ (for dinner)

I drive past the House of Dosas at the corner of Kingsway and Boundary a lot on my way to work and it always looked pretty busy inside, regardless of the time of day. After hearing from Chris that the dosas were pretty tasty, Keith and I found some time to drive over to the House of Dosas with Chris for a weekday lunch. It seems that Chris goes there quite a bit so he has tried several things on the menu and was able to let us know which dosas were tasty.

First, the three of us decided to share some veggie pakoras. The pakoras were obviously just fried and served hot. I really enjoyed the crunchy exterior and the curry seasoning, which went very well with the accompanying dipping sauce. It was a great meal starter and perfect for three people to share.

Since we went on a Monday, we got to take advantage of the Monday $5.99 dosa special, which applied to all dosas. Although the dosas are regularly priced quite cheaply between $6-10 for most, it was still nice that all the dosas were $5.99 on the day we went.

I decided to have the Lamb Vindaloo dosa. As you can see, it was quite large but only 1/3 of it or so had filling inside.

I wasn’t quite sure where to start but both our server and Chris instructed me to just start ripping the edge of the dosa and dipping it in the meat found in the middle. I decided to cut my dosa in half so I could get to the meat and started ripping away. The dosa itself was actually quite light and almost like a crepe but crunchy. My lamb vindaloo was slightly spicy and had a very strong curry flavour to it. My only complaint was that both the dosa and the lamb vindaloo was quite salty and Keith found the same issue with his dosa. All three of us tried out the accompanying dips that came with our dosas but found that the flavour of our fillings was so strong that the dips really weren’t necessary.

Despite the saltiness, I enjoyed my dosa and liked that it was different from the usual places I go to. Next time around, I think I will ask them to reduce the salt and my dosa will be quite tasty indeed. I definitely liked the veggie pakoras and would order it again the next time I go. Service was prompt and very friendly, which I think was aided by the fact that Chris was a regular customer.

Details:
1391 Kingsway, Vancouver
Tel: 604-875-1283

Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $