Archive for March, 2008
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Since we were flying to China via Japan Airlines, we had a half day stop over in Japan near Narita Airport. Since we didn’t get to our hotel until late in the afternoon, we only had enough time to shop at a nearby Narita mall. I would have loved to zip into Tokyo but it just wasn’t practical. But I suppose that just means I will need to go back to Japan someday. 
We found out about Aeon Mall from my aunt, who brought us maps and mall directories from her last trip to Tokyo. Since we were hungry after our long flight, our first stop in the mall was to Beard Papa’s. I’m sure most people in Vancouver have been to the Beard Papa’s in Aberdeen Centre by now but how can you resist Beard Papa’s when you are in the country where it was invented? The selection was much larger (obviously!) and the line-ups were not as long.
The cream puff shells were piled high on the counter and looked so delicious. There was someone constantly pumping these with one of the several flavoured creams available.
The cream puff of the month was strawberry, so we decided to give that a try. There was also a new product on the market called the “Paris Brest”. It was a doughnut-shaped cream puff shell pumped with fresh vanilla cream.
Yum…just looking at these pictures makes me want to eat some more cream puffs! We gobbled these up in no time.
My favourite of the two was the strawberry cream puff. The outside was crispy and light and the strawberry cream was rich with strawberry goodness. I found these to taste better than the ones in Vancouver…perhaps because they are more fresh? To be fair, the Vancouver ones that I ate were a day old.
Grick and Jenkins liked the Brest more. I guess because the doughnut shape had more surface area than the regular cream puff, it was much crispier. If I was in Japan for more than just half a day, I would definitely try all the other flavours. :) Each brest or cream puff cost approximately $1.50Cdn.
Details:
24, Wing Tsuchiya, Narita, Chiba, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)476-23-8282
Summary:
Food: 
Service: n/a
Price: $
Posted in Narita, Other Cities, Dessert, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 24th, 2008
To kick-start Jenkins and my China/Hong Kong adventures, what better place to start than to go over the airplane food we ate on our way there? We flew on Japan Airlines and our travel agent scored us seats on the upper deck. It’s not first class but we were in a smaller area so it was quieter and seemed more roomy. Let me say that the service on Japan Airlines is excellent and the food was also better than I expected!
We had our choice of a couple of entrees for our lunch: chicken or fish. Jenkins got the last chicken dish so I had the fish. Jenkins felt that the chicken actually wasn’t as filling as mine even though the rice for the fish was a bit overcooked.
My lunch also came with a couple of sides: some Inari sushi and a pasta salad. I wasn’t too impressed with the pasta salad but my inari was actually quite tasty. The bean curd wasn’t overly sweet or watery and the rice had the right amount of vinegar.
For dessert, I had a coffee cream cake. I wasn’t too crazy about this but my brother really liked it. You can also see my tomato juice in the picture below. I always like to order it on the airplane because it seems more filling.
Japan Airlines also has a “Sky Oasis”, which is a tray full of goodies that you can help yourself to during the flight. I assume this is for long distance flights only and it has both drinks and food available. I grabbed a bunch of different cookies and crackers for Jenkins, my brother, and me to try. I really liked this self-serve option because you didn’t feel like you were bugging the attendants for food all the time.
Our next meal consisted of tuna sandwiches with some fruit/veggies and a cookie. The sandwich actually tasted ok although I wished that there was more fruit and veggies included.
Overall, I was very pleased with both the food and service on Japan Airlines and would definitely consider flying with them again. I forgot to take a picture but at the beginning of each flight, they also provide you with fresh towels to freshen yourself up.
Summary:
Food: 
Service:
Posted in Airplane Food, Reviews | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Note: this is my last post before I tackle my China trip series!
I was in the mood for some bubble tea one evening after dinner so Jenkins and I made a quick stop at Dragonball Tea House. As mentioned before, it is one of my favourite bubble tea places in Vancouver.
I opted for the guilinggao milk tea this time around. For those of you who don’t know, guilinggao is a Chinese herbal jelly made with turtle shells. At only $3.50 for this drink, I’m not sure how much guilinggao is actually in the drink. The taste is actually very refreshing and tastes very similar to grass jelly. My mom used to make guilinggao for me all the time when I was younger because it was supposed to be good for my skin.
The guilinggao milk tea seems to be just regular milk tea with guilinggao jelly chunks at the bottom. It was a good thing I didn’t add coconut jelly nor pearls to my drink since the jelly chunks were filling enough.
Yet another good pick at Dragonball…although I must admit that I have rarely made a poor choice when picking drinks here. I think I may order the guilinggao again the next time I’m at Dragonball.
Details:
1007 W King Edward, Vancouver
Tel: 604-738-3198
Summary:
Food:
Service: n/a
Price: $
Posted in Drinks, Reviews | 5 Comments »
Monday, March 17th, 2008
Jenkins and I are back from our China/Hong Kong trip. During that time, we ate a bunch of different varieties of Chinese food…some good and some not so great. :) I’m just getting settled back in but am looking forward to writing about all the places we went to eat!
A HUGE thank you to Keith and Corbi for helping me keep my blog active while I was away. :) Thanks guys! I owe you one if you ever need a sub for your blogs.
Posted in Updates | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
Jenkins and I were looking for a cheap place to go for dinner one day. Even though it’s not the cheapest place around (although the prices are reasonable), I had a coupon for Prima Taste so decided that it would do. It had also been a while since we were last here so it was time for a re-visit.
The dish sizes at Prima Taste are not terribly large, but we usually just order two dishes for us to share. If we are feeling hungry, we may also add an appetizer but this time around, we weren’t too hungry.
The first dish to come was the chicken platter, which came with Prima Taste’s crispy chicken (pictured right) and Hainanese chicken (pictured left). Hainanese chicken is a specialty in southeast Asian countries and is one of my and Jenkins’ favourite chicken dishes. I’m not sure how traditional the crispy chicken is, but it is also very tasty.
The platter cost about $15 and also came with a variety of dips, sauces, Hainanese rice and some chicken soup.
Part of the reason why I wanted to go to Prima Taste that day was because I had a craving for Nasi Goreng. We chose the chicken version (you can also get vegetarian or seafood), which also came with green onions, bean sprouts, carrots, and peas. The fried rice is also slightly spicy, which may be why I like it since it’s something different.
Jenkins tells me that Prima Taste is actually a chain in Singapore and that there are quite a few of the restaurants there. I’ve never been to Singpore so I wouldn’t know for sure myself. But they do have pretty good food and at quite reasonable prices. If you have an Entertainment Book, you can also print out a coupon for 50% off your second dish.
Details:
570 Robson St, Vancouver
Tel: 604-685-7881
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$
Posted in Singaporean, Asian, Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
(Hey all, it’s corbi here subbing in while gigi is away. Here’s my first post, hope you all like it!)
A couple of us from work headed off to one of our usual haunts the other day, located in the 2nd floor food court of H-Mart on the corner of Robson and Seymour. It always took a bit of navigation: go up the escalators, turn a sharp left, walk by the row of cashiers, make another right, then walk all the way down again to the back of the wall. The stand there is called Matoi Sushi and they have some of the best Japanese good I’ve eaten for a fast food stand.
In the past, I’ve tried quite a few dishes there but for the purpose of this article, I’ll review the particular ones that we often order –the katsu curry rice and the Nabeyaki udon.
The Katsu curry rice has always been one of the favourites among our coworkers, though many like to order as take-out, to ensure that the sauce is separated from the rice and breaded pork, so that the sauce doesn’t make everything too soggy too quickly. The pork is lightly breaded and very crispy, while the curry sauce, I’m told by two different people, is just the right flavour.
One of the dishes I favour is the Nabeyaki udon, a perfect bowl of hot soup and udon for a rainy day. Quite the comfort food. There were alot of different ingredients in mine, including the tempura prawn, mushrooms, veggies, chicken and the traditional fish-ball-slice-thingy that all real Japanese udon has. All served in a piping hot pot. In fact, I think there might be too much stuff and not enough actual udon.
Overall, the quality of the good is quite high considering it being a small fast-food like stand. The lady working the cash register there is always friendly and the guys cook hard at the back. It being an open sushi bar and kitchen, gives you a sense of security and amusement at watching your food being made/cooked on the spot. It may be a little more expensive than your average food court lunch, (I usually end up spending about 10-13 bucks there) but it is at the heart of down town, the food is fresh and they do take cash, debit and credit. However, I would caution going right at noon for a meal as it is a popular place among all the Asian business folks. Even take out might take a while.
Details:
H-Mart Food Court 2F, 590 Robson St, Vancouver
Tel: 604-608-2887
Summary:
Food:
Service:
Price: $$$
Posted in Fast Food, Japanese, Asian, Reviews | 3 Comments »
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