Mr. Zhang Karaoke and Restaurant

The plan tonight was actually to go to Xu's Wonton House but it turned out they were closed for renovations! I had heard about Mr. Zhang Karaoke and Restaurant also having decent xiao long bao, so we went there instead, the place being just downstairs and still in the Crystal Mall complex.

On a Monday night it was pretty quiet, but there were still 2-3 tables occupied at any one time.

Deep Fried Spicy Prawns ($16.98) two types: spicy, or salt-and-pepper; on bill: "prawn w/ chili"

We got the salt-and-pepper version, which wasn't spicy at all. Not too peppery either.
Very fried! Not oily at all. So crispy you can eat the entire prawn. The head was crispy and crunchy.
BIG prawns, and lots.

Lamb or Beef with Green Onion ($15.98) on bill: "Sliced Lamb w Green"

We got the lamb. Not gamey. Could have mistaken it for beef, actually. Pretty tasty otherwise.
Lots of onion and green peppers. And oil.

Pan Fried Sliced Beef in Pancake ($6.98) on bill: "Pan Fried Sliced Bf"

Served cold.
Sliced beef rolled in fun-chewy pancake.
Two fairly large rolls, so price was OK and you could possibly get away with this as a light meal.

Duck and Potato with Teriyaki Sauce ($14.98) on bill: "Diced Duck"

Maybe a quarter or half duck, but a lot of bone. If you are not lucky, you won't get any meat on the bone you pick up.
Bone is crispy enough that it's generally safe if you start chewing it up.
Coated in so much sauce you might be tempted to ask for more duck with your sauce.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Bun ($3.98) on bill: "Steamed Dumpling"

Ping-pong ball sized.
Thick skin.
First two steamers of 5 had only one bao with any soup in it. We pointed it out and we asked for one more steamer (which they gave to us free, without our asking to take it off the bill). This time it was okay, but there were grumbles about the thickness of the skin.
Go to Xu's upstairs in the food court (when they finish renovating, anyway). They are huge so it's a lot more fun with a lot more soup inside.

House Special Hot Pot with Sour Soup ($15.98) on bill: "Hot Pot w Sour Soup"

Boring. You taste the sourness of some kind of preserved vegetable (Szechuan pickled mustard?) Has some sliced meat in it.

Steamed Rice ($3)

Overall food is okay with some standouts like the deep fried spicy prawns but could be hit or miss. Dishes felt like they were on the salty side. Price for portion OK -- we were 7 and our bill came under $13 per person.

Bonus - Waitress who can speak fluent English.

Karaoke after 5pm is $200 (!), "all you can sing"!

2015-Jan-4 Mr. Zhang - salt and pepper prawn, lamb with greens, pan fried sliced beef

2015-Jan-4 Mr. Zhang - diced duck in teriyaki sauce

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 3

A picture from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. I can't remember why I had this couple in the picture, but I do vaguely remember this to be in London, on the first official day of the tour group getting together. Their insistence on my helping them take a picture caused the three of us to be late getting back to the bus. The local tour guide had a "rule" about lateness, that we had to buy chocolate to share with everyone. As it turned out, later in the trip, on at least two occasions, we were stuck on the highway on either a long commute or a traffic jam, and I had chocolate and chocolate-covered marzipan to share. About the chocolate-covered marzipan -- Apparently we were in Austria just as they were celebrating Mozart's birthday with special marzipans wrapped in foil with the famous composer's picture. I'm pretty sure it was Mirabell Mozartkugeln . Anyway, there were enough to go around the en

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 10

The last of my pictures (at least the ones that survived the cheesy disposable cameras) from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. Below is the obligatory group photo. Not sure everyone's in it, actually. I'm pretty sure this one was taken by the tour director, Mike Scrimshire as I'm in the back row, on the right side.

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 9

More assorted couples on my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. An American couple who joked about being from "the land of the giants" -- and with good reason, because both of them were really tall! A cute Jewish mother-daughter pair who ducked out part-way to divert to Israel. I vaguely remember the issue of the daughter being an orthodox Jew was highlighted in France when, to make things easy, she just declared herself vegetarian for the wait staff. I also remember there was some logistics error in France because our party size was way underestimated or simply relayed incorrectly, and there was a shortage of food at dinner. Dessert came as an unopened can of yogurt. It did not seem like they tried to make it up to us later, either. Plus there was smoking every which way in France, and I had a helluva time with that. We were also in a hotel that seemed tucked away in the burbs, and not walking distance from anythin

Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

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