Ho Yummy

Review: Belgian Fries

Jenkins and I were shopping on Commercial Drive the other day and since it was mid-afternoon, I was hankering for a snack. Since Jenkins was hungry as well, I figured it would be a good opportunity for us to split something at Belgian Fries since I find a full order of fries to be a bit indulgent for just one person.

After a bit of deliberating between ordering regular fries versus poutine, Jenkins and I settled on the poutine because I had heard that it was quite good. We ordered a medium classic poutine for $5.69. For the price we paid, I felt like we got a really large order of fries. I found that the fries themselves were quite tasty but the gravy was a bit tasteless and had a grainy texture to it. The cheese curds were ok but I prefer my curds to squeak between my teeth and these curds were lacking in that respect. In retrospect, I probably would have preferred ordering just an order of plain fries with a sauce to dip them in instead.

I have to admit that I was not super impressed with the poutine at Belgian Fries and I’ve had better versions at places like Chambar and Boneta. However, I wouldn’t mind going back to try their plain fries with a flavoured mayo the next time I’m in the neighbourhood.

Details:
1885 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Tel: 604-253-4220

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

Posted in Fast Food, Lower Mainland Cities, Reviews, Vancouver | 4 Comments »

Review: Work Day Lunch at Shimmer’s

In an effort to curtail my spending habits, I have been trying to bring a lunch to work for the past few months. However, that does not mean I do not enjoy an occasional lunch “out”. As a result of poor lunch planning the night before, I found myself without a brown bag lunch one day so I decided to buy lunch from Shimmer’s, a modest looking food court stall in Vancouver Centre. I had heard about Shimmer’s quite a while back from Christina and Gene, who told me that they had some of the best Montreal smoked meat to be found in Vancouver. With such a lofty claim, it’s surprising that it took me so long to finally make it here. I blame it on the fact that the food court in Vancouver Centre is only open during the week day.

Shimmer’s has a great sandwich deal where you can add a soup or salad and your sandwich comes out to about $6 depending on what you pick. Evidently, a lot of people agree this is a great deal because line-ups at Shimmer’s start forming right at 12 and don’t end until well into the lunch hour.

There is quite a variety of meats, toppings, and bread for you to choose from but I decided to try the Montreal smoked meat on multigrain bread. I know purists would probably balk at my creation but they did not have any rye bread available so I decided to add some lettuce, tomatoes, and sprouts to my sandwich as well.

My sandwich was quite tasty and the smoked meat was also done quite well. Its saltiness went well with all the veggies I added and the sandwich itself was a great size for lunch. My only complaint is that the smoked beef was a bit wet and made my bread quite mushy. I’m not sure if this option is available but if I could get my bread toasted the next time around, I think that would alleviate the soggy bread problem.

The soup of the day was mushroom, which is one of my favourites so I decided to go with soup rather than salad. It tasted like Campbell’s soup, which was fine by me but I found the soup itself to be too salty for my taste. Next time, I think I will try a salad as they had quite a few that were available to choose from.

For a quick and cheap lunch, Shimmer’s is definitely a great option. I really like fresh sandwiches made to order so this was definitely up my alley. I was also told that their chicken breast sandwich is quite tasty as well so I’m going to give that a try the next time I’m in search for lunch downtown.

Details:
Basement Food Court, Vancouver Centre
650 West Georgia, Vancouver
Tel: 604-669-2924

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

Posted in Fast Food, Lower Mainland Cities, Reviews, Vancouver | 2 Comments »

Review: Matoi Sushi

(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 2^nd 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 Asian, Fast Food, Japanese, Reviews | 3 Comments »

Edmonton: Chicken for Lunch

Edmonton is pretty neat in that in most major buildings downtown, there are food courts set up for people to quickly order lunch from. I suppose because it is so cold there in the winter, it is way easier to grab lunch downstairs as opposed to braving the elements. Mabel, Dallas, and some others had been telling me about Chicken For Lunch, a Chinese fast food eatery in the Scotiabank food court. This place seemed to be famous for its good food, a lady who remembered everyone’s orders and names, and a huge lineup that circles around the food court at lunch. Mabel and I got there just after 12pm and there was already a long line formed.

Both Mabel and I ordered the medium size lunch for $6.50. For this price, you get rice, noodles, veggies, two types of chicken, and a spring roll. The price was more than reasonable and the portion sizes are pretty huge.

I settled on the lemon chicken and the hot and dry. Hot and dry is a bit spicy but is also the one that came most recommended when I was trying to decide on what to order. The lemon chicken was pretty tasty and had a nice lemony flavour. There was also quite a bit of sauce so it went nicely with my rice. As for the hot and dry, it was pretty good but I’m not much of a fried chicken lover so I wasn’t completely sold on it. It was very crispy though and was spicy without being overwhelmingly so.

Chicken for Lunch was not bad although I have to say I am surprised that people are willing to lineup so long to eat it…sometimes every day! I suppose I am probably spoiled by the great food in Vancouver so it takes a bit more to really wow me. The food was a great deal though and there was a lot of variety in the types of items you could order.

Details:
10060 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, Alberta
Tel: 780-425-9614

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

Posted in Asian, Chinese, Edmonton, Fast Food, Other Cities, Reviews | 4 Comments »

Review: MacDonald’s Breakfast

Jenkins and I were searching for a breakfast place one day and realized that it has been a while since we went to MacDonald’s. I think I like the breakfast at MacDonald’s even more than their regular menu. Actually, I think I just like breakfast in general. We decided to go to the MacDonald’s on No. 3 Road and Granville in Richmond.

Usually, I just order one of the extra value meals since I love the hash browns at MacDonald’s. Jenkins and I weren’t feeling too hungry that day so opted out of the hash browns. We both had the Sausage and Egg McMuffin…my favourite breakfast sandwich there.

There’s just something about the egg and the sausage all packaged in the English muffin that is so tasty. While we ate, we perused through the nutrition guide supplied on our tray and were horrified to see that it had 26g of fat! Yikes!

We also had drinks to go with our artery clogging meal. I had a tea and Jenkins had apple juice.

This is probably not the meal to have if you are watching your weight. However, it is a tasty way to start your morning and definitely keeps you full and enough energy until lunch rolls around.

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

Posted in Fast Food, Reviews | 2 Comments »