Tasting Journey #35 - The Mac Shack

The Mac Shack
5395 West Boulevard St.
Vancouver, BC
604.267.4225
http://www.themacshack.ca/

The Classic

Drove by one day at night and was hungry. It's in the neighbourhood, so I walked in.
The menu was extensive and I didn't know what to order. I ended up going for the Classic (can't go wrong with classic if it's considered a "classic" right?).  I like Kraft's Mac 'n Cheese, thought it's been a million years since I had it, but I'm sure it can't go wrong. I didn't like it.

I do have to give them points for how it is served though.  It is served in a mini metal pan as if it is hot off the stove. A definite twist to how fast food is typically served.

An innovative way to bring comfort food into fast food.
(well, if Mac 'n Cheese is considered comfort food)

Price: <$10
Would I go back? No.

Tasting Journey #34 - Starry Night Restaurant

Starry Night Restaurant
9231 Beckwith Road
Richmond, BC
778.297.5399
http://www.starry-night.ca/


My mom has mentioned this restaurant to me many times because she sees its commercial on TV all the time.  I decided to check out the restaurant online. The photos posted gave an impression of a run-down western pub style restaurant that had been turned into a Chinese restaurant that offers Westernized food.  Then one day, I see a deal on groupon and decided to give it a try.

Bite-sized appetizer

Starry Night Restaurant is located behind Costco in Richmond, in the middle of nowhere.   From the outside, it is a stand alone wooden house that is quite plain looking.  We walked in, and I was surprised by the interior decoration.  Glamorous chandelier and LED sparkling lights spanned across the entire ceiling.  It somehow reminded me of a Disco pub.

Thai Salad

Tables were filling up quickly, and I was surprised that all tables have been reserved so luck if you plan to drop in for a bite.  The menu came in both English and Chinese (perfect for non-English speaking parents).  Food type is probably considered Asian fusion, ranging from salt & pepper chicken to rosemary seasoned lamb.  Service was extremely slow.  Luckily we had an entire night to spare.

Food finally came, and they were very nicely plated.  All tasted amazing.  At 9pm, live music started.  The performance that night was by a Filipino lady with an amazing voice. She sang in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and even Filipino.  Talented.

Breaded Saba Fillet

Tonkatsu

Marinated Lamb

A clip of the live performance at Starry Night Restaurant

Price: Don't quite remember the exact price, but I'd say it's at least a $$ or $$$. Given the atmosphere and live music, it's definitely worth trying out.

Tasting Journey #33 - Nao Sushi

Nao Sushi (魚旨)
7060 Kingsway  Burnaby, BC V5E 1E5
605.521.3131
http://www.naosushi.ca/


Nao Sushi is located in South East Burnaby.  I typically don't travel over there since it's outside my social circle (haha).  I've visited this restaurant a few times, and have enjoyed it every time.
The place is always busy, and the service is friendly.  We haven't had to wait crazy long hours for a table, but I do have to say that there is a bit of a wait every time. Just a bit, but it's totally worth it.

The food is very authentic Japanese.  I would say the unique dish that this place offers is the Kamemshi, hot pot rice with mixed vegetables in a steamer (I don't have a photo of it, but it is definitely worth trying).  The rice is extremely well-flavoured from having been cooked with the vegetables.

Lobster sashimi is definitely a deluxe.  It first comes on a boat (like all other party sashimi trays) with the lobster meat chopped up along with all the other types of sashimi's.  The head and tail is used as decoration for the boat.  If you are scared of live seafood, do not touch/stare at the lobster. Although the meat could already be well into digestion in your stomach, its whiskers could well still be moving while sitting on the boat.  Once we finish enjoying the sashimi dish, the server then takes it back into the kitchen to make the 2nd dish - miso soup noodle.  The head/tail is used to add seafood flavouring into the soup noodle.

Below is a clip of me trying to tape the lobster's moving whisker.

If you are a fan of lobster, this is a must try!


Price: $20/person.
$ spent is well worth the quality!

Tasting Journey #32 - Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant

Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant (二休)

3302 Main Street

Vancouver, BC V5V 3M7, Canada 
604.873.2220

nikkyujapanesevancouver.com‎

Agnes and I were actually planning to try out Toshi, but as usual, we arrived at the wrong hour and the line up outside was crazy. With only 1.5 hour to spare and a craving for Japanese food, we stumbled upon this place.  A total mistake.

I recalled that we had ordered at least five dishes. We thought we had ordered too much, but we were wrong. We ate everything, and we weren't satisfied. I've only taken photos of the three dishes that was nicely displayed.  Taste on the other hand, was disappointing.

Of all the dishes we ordered, the only one that I recommend trying out is the sushi roll that is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber.  It was light and refreshing.

Oyster motoyaki looked appealing from its well saturated colour. However, the taste was again, a disappointment.  Oyster was tiny, and the mayo batter was just not right.  It tasted too rich and felt like I was drinking lard.

Menu selection was extensive, but the quality was plain.  We ordered a bunch of dishes that looked interesting.  It was nicely displayed, but it wasn't appealing to the taste bud.



Price: ~$25/person
Satisfaction level - low
Not recommended

Tasting Journey #31 - Shanghai House Restaurant

Shanghai House Restaurant (上海人家)
6340 #3 Rd
Richmond, BC604.278.0709

steamed dumplings and wonton soup

I've been to Shanghai House Restaurant several times already.  They went through some renovations a while ago. Since then, their menu has changed, not to mention the price also went up.  Food quality is still awesome.

appetizer cold dish

Shanghai cuisine is known for their pastries (麵食), ie noodles, dumplings, pan cakes...etc. They make all their dumplings fresh upon order. Appetizers are good, and price is decent. Not sure why, but their stir-fry pea tip with garlic (炒豆苗) was a dish I really enjoy and seemed to stick in my mind.



Price: ~$20/person
Completely in sync with the food quality.

Epilogue (10 months later)

It's been 10 months since my last post. It doesn't mean that I haven't been trying out new restaurants, but rather, I have just been lazy in logging them.  Partly because I feel quite "fobbish" to be taking photos every time a dish arrives at the table; partly because I oftentimes get too anxious/hungry and forget to take photos; but mostly because I've reached my 25 restaurant goal, and just don't feel like maintaining it.  It is a never-ending task.

I don't think blogging should feel like a chore. It should be something that I enjoy (I am still trying to figure that out)...and to dread having to document it is just not the right mentality.  On one end, I feel like I need to push myself a bit, though this thought disappears rather quickly.  However, at the same time, I am constantly reminded of again by my coworkers who are always on some sort of "30 day challenge".  Maybe blogging is something that I can be persistent on (since I've failed my life long goal to lose weight aka not persistent), or maybe I should just let it be. Maybe. 

So I have all these food photos in my phone, I download them onto my computer into a folder. Then what?  I decided to log into my blog tonight. I looked at the 30 posts I've written last year, and a smile naturally appears on my face.  It is a good feeling. It is a happy feeling. It is an accomplishment.

I think what I really dread is not so much logging the restaurants, but rather, the thought of having to write and comment on it. I've always disliked writing essays,  or even paragraphs.  If you know me personally, you'll know that I'm a very fact-based person.  Maybe it's from having spent most of my highschool/university life documenting test results, and writing lab reports - short, precise, and to the point.

So after many moments of indecisiveness, I've decided.
I want to document the restaurants I've visited. So to make this happen, I am committed to (lulu/landmark lingo) keeping the blog alive.  And to achieve this, I am declaring (another lulu/landmark lingo) that I will upload photos with minimal text.  This will reduce the stress of having to write.  Picture in itself is worth a thousand words.  Good luck, Ganbare, 加油.

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.