Tasting Journey #30 - Felicos

Felicos
8140 Leslie Road
Richmond, BC
604.276.8282
www.felicos.com


I have driven by this restaurant countless times, but never really even thought about ever trying out.  The restaurant is located in Richmond, a city full of authentic Asian cuisine.  Why would anyone thought of trying Greek food?

Hummous + Pita bread

This opportunity came when I was searching for a place to meet up with Judy.  Given that she has a 1.5yr old child with her, I thought it would only be convenient for her if we were to meet in Richmond. With her visiting from Taiwan, Asian cuisines was pretty much out of the equation.  It was either Greek, western or Korean, AND had to be child-friendly.

I googled. Felico came up with great reviews.  This is the place then.

Greek Salad

Judy had Luca with us.  He was a handful.  Actually, twenty handful was more like it, haha.  She was busy keeping him busy, so for ease' sake, we went with the Platter for 2 where we were able to try out almost everything Greek.

There's the very basic hummous + pita bread.   Then there's the Greek salad.  Then came a shared platter of things which I don't know what they are.  But here's some of what was on the plate:

Satziki // Kalamaria - Deep fried squid // Chicken Souvlaki  // Lamb Souvlakia  // Dolmades - Ground sirloin and rice wrapped in grape vine leaves with avgolemono sauce  // Spanakopita - Spinach, feta cheese, onions, baked in filo pastry  // Keftedes - Ground sirloin meatballs, onion

Then, for some tummy fillers to ensure we will be full, if not already, there's our individual plate of: Rice  // Roast Potatoes  // Seasonal Vegetables

 

The Platter

Individual Plate

Portions were huge. I could not finish it. Judy could not finish it.  One observation that both Judy and I had was that Greek food is not aesthetically appealing. They all had a very dark, tonal colour to it. The entire platter was either brown or black. This is not to say that the food wasn't tasty.  Just that you're always surprised by the aromatic taste despite the "low key"presentation.

Felicos serve decent food, but I really have to say that the service was extremely good.  The ambient was very welcoming, and warm.  I could enjoyed myself just as much if I were to just sit on their open patio on a warm sunny afternoon, with a pint of beer in my hand.  I would go back.

Tasting Journey #29 - Section 3

Section 3
1039 Mainland Street
Vancouver, BC
604.684.2777
http://www.sectionthree.com/


Located in Yaletown, this is where we had our team outing dinner.  The resturant is very contemporary and sheek. Service was friendly, but the food was just OK.

As this is a team-outing event consisting of 30+ people, we did not order from their regular menu.  Rather, everyone had to order one out of the 3 available set menu.  

 

Amuse Bouche: fried tofu

Starter: Cocktail shrimp

Appetizer was creatively set on a skewer.  Fried tofu on lettuce with balsamic vinegar. This was then followed by a bowl of cocktail shrimp.  The cocktail sauce had a zest of wasabi that really complimented the seafood.  Entree for me was the roasted chicken breast with cherry tomotao and fettucini.  The chicken was extremely salty, yet the fettucini was surprisingly blend.  I had to carefully proportion my chicken so that I would have one bite of chicken with one bite of noodle to neutralize the taste.

Entree: Chicken Breast + Fettucini

Dessert: Vanilla ice-cream on brownie

Food could be better, but the atmosphere was welcoming.  Would I come again? Sure, why not.

Tasting Journey #28 - Lam Hoa Quan

Lam Hoa Quan
5703 Victoria Drive
604.326.5880
website


I've always been a fan of PHO. I can eat pho everyday, every meal. I enjoy it alot because it is light (perfect for people who are on diet), and healthy (a well-balanced portion with carbs, meat and vegetable).

Whenever I try ethnic food, my conclusion have always been that Vancouver's is still the best.  I think this is a biased opinion because I am, at the end of the day, a Vancouverite, and no doubtedly have grown used to the Vancouverized flavouring, and hence, a preference for ethnic food in Vancouver. This is true for Japanese, for Dim Sum, for Korean...etc.  Pho, is an exception. Regardless of how wonderfully tasting the Pho is in Vancouver, I have to say, the best pho I've ever tried is indeed in Vietnam, recommended by a friend who was, at that time, an expat there.  The funny thing is, Pho is very regional; there's pho from Northern Vietnam, that is made of something sour or tomato-based (I forgot), and then there's the very common pho that I believe is from the southern region of Vietnam.  I prefer the version from the south because it is the most similar to what is offered here in Vancouver.

Lam Hoa Quan is a pho place highly recommended by my co-worker.  According to her, this place is where the real Vietnamese go (OK, so I guess it's like the Richmond of Vietnam where "real Asians" go).  Like all other pho places located on Kingsway, this place looks like any other pho place: minimal decoration, white wall, white floor, square table, tv in the corner, and an old 70's style cashier counter.  Like all other pho menu, there's the special pho, rare beef, cooked beef...etc. I don't see what's so special.

In terms of crowds, I do have to say that it does seem to be busy. Not packed, but there was a constant stream of customers, with a consistent fill rate of 65%, which I would consider good on a Wed night, in the midst of all these other pho restaurants.

I ordered the #1 (special pho).  The food arrived quickly.  Service was friendly. I took a sip at the soup. Nothing mind blowing. The portion was huge, and I was stuffed (if I were to compare this to ramen, this would be the Kintaro size).  They also had lots of other interesting toppings (not sure what they are..probably some sort of tripe, or tendon or what have you's...).  Aside from the quantitative side of the dish, I would say that typically, the deciding factor for a good pho is probably the broth.  Lam Hoa Quan adds ginger to the soup base.  OK I guess, if you're a fan of ginger (unfortunately I wasn't).  The broth is also not as "sweet tasting" as the broth, however, I believe that it is because no MSG was used in the creation of the broth.  Though less "sweet", I would say that the broth is made of true ingredients.  For something that is made fresh, it is probably quite good in quality.

Huge, and satisfying dish for $8? Totally worth it.