Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

My friend introduced me to Ramen GAOH today in Burnaby near Hastings and Willingdon. Really impressed by the deliciousness and filling portion for a decent price! Some noodle orders come with an optional extra order of noodles, included in the price. Some vegan options. My friend got the Scorpion Ramen (slide 1 -- $17.50) which was a slightly lighter bowl of noodles but still a fair portion. Based on his previous visits, he suggested the Tsukemen, and we tried the fried rice, which comes with instructions at the table for what to do. Spicy Tsukemen (slides 2-3 -- $18.95) Tsukemen is house-made thick noodles in special dipping soup with pork chunks. Comes with karaage (deep fried chicken) or chashu. Noodles can be hot or cold. Spicy Tsukemen is tossed in house-made spicy sauce that contains ground pork. I didn't find the spicy sauce particularly spicy. It doesn't come pre-tossed so if you find it too spicy you could spoon it aside. Or if you already mixed it into your noodles...

Siam Le Bien Thai Cuisine  has really decent food as well as several levels of "spicy" heat. If you like spicy food to actually be spicy, and find "hot" to mostly be feeble, then give their "Thai Hot" or even "Thai Super Hot" a try. Price is more or less on par with everyone else, and combined with either a bowl of rice or noodle, each plate works out to quite a filling meal. 35. Pad Ka Pao Moo Grob ($18.50) Stir-fried spicy crispy pork belly, bell peppers, green beans, fresh chili, garlic, Thai basil The pork belly looked like it should have good crunch but of course the crispiness of the skin won't last in the generous amount of sauce. I opted for "Thai Hot" and the dish on its own would have been really quite spicy, but this was dulled considerably when I started mixing in the noodle. So overall, it was just what I was looking for: Actually spicy hot but also not relentlessly spicy and I could just pick at the dish without the n...

My budget-conscious friend decided to try Chez Mémé Baguette Bistro  despite usually ending up at Red Robin for one of their two-for-one burger specials . Chez Mémé has an extraordinary near-perfect score on Zomato, which usually scores tougher than Yelp. Overall items were not very salty, so if you're used to that you might even think they are not salty enough. Baguettes / come with your choice of fries, salad, or daily soup. Daily soup can come warm or piping hot and no matter the weather I suggest you get it hot because as you work through your meal it's going to get cold. If you've read some reviews from several years ago, be aware that the prices have gone up. Their lamb sandwich used to be $10 around 2010, but is now $13.25. (Menu at the bottom of this post). Jarret ($13.25) lamb shanks, roasted garlic jam, grainy dijon; comes with choice of salad, fries, or daily soup As previously mentioned, this might come across a bit bland if you're expecting what...

Had a great-value-deal last year at Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse for Dine Out Vancouver 2016 so I wanted to repeat this year. Same as before, price for portion is ace. Depending on what you order for Dine Out Vancouver at Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse (and your personal preferences) it's 2- to 4-star food. At just $20 (plus $1 GST total $21 before tip) it's got to be one of the best bang-for-your-buck Dine Outs available. Appetizer Choices Bacon & Potato Soup; applewood smoked bacon, yukon gold potato, spiced croutons, chive crème fraiche I didn't get to try much of this but it's a very thick "soup" that's got good smoky bacon flavour. Yup, it's tasty! Golden & Red Beet Salad; mesclun artisan greens, mandarin orange, goat cheese, pistachio, garden herb vinaigrette Fresh and refreshing and also tasty. If you ask for vinaigrette on the side they apparently give you a very generous amount of it. Braised Lamb Burger Sl...

Jane's at the Heights is in a neighbourhood I very rarely go to. Wouldn't have gone today except Zomato sent me a voucher for one free main, so when I was catching up with a friend I suggested we try it. It's a smallish diner with a very interesting and rather extensive east-and-west something-for-everyone menu. TIP: The lunch menu is not the same as the dinner menu! Some items like laksa are composed differently when you get it at lunch and when you get it at dinner (according to the menu, if you look at it carefully). The new owners are Thai, so there's a goodly amount of Thai items. DISCLAIMER: As mentioned, I went to Jane's at the Heights with Zomato voucher. I didn't tell them at first , only after we ate and went to the counter to pay. Only one item (my friend's burger) was removed from the bill. Everything else we paid for. Goong Hom Pha ($5.95) Crispy prawns with sweet chili dipping sauce Looked interesting but turned out not so much. ...

After so many lousy experiences at Cactus Club , why did I go to another one? Simple -- it was someone else's pick. This time, instead of gambling on a main, I decided to go with Rob Feenie menu items (marked "RF" on the menu), and to put together my late-night dinner with two appys and dessert. Kobe Style Meatball Trio ($12.25) roasted tomato sauce, freshly grated parmesan There is a similar item on the mains, but with pasta. Get this instead to skip the pasta. The meatballs were huge! Almost like tennis balls! If you finish this appetizer yourself, it probably counts as a light to medium main all on its own because of the sheer quantity of meat. The meatballs themselves were tender and OK tasting. Could use more spicing to jazz up the flavour, but I can see why they wouldn't waste doing that because of the sauce. The sauce kills this dish. It is crazy salty! I recommend you try it on its own, then scrape most of it off your meatballs. Ravioli + Prawn ...

Despite having been recognized as having the best $18 menu in the 2015 Dine Out Vancouver, this place has remained under the radar, possibly because it's out of the way and not very transit friendly. I can confirm it has a really excellent $20 menu for Dine Out Vancouver 2016. Not only tasty food but excellent value at the price. It's a small place, so it can get booked up fully. Last seating is 8pm and for larger groups, I recommend it. Dine Out Vancouver 2016 Menu : Appetizer DIGGING IN THE GARDEN {V} freshly picked vegetables, cashew, mushroom crust, hummus aioli or CALAMARI & TOMATO SALAD {GF} sautéed calamari, roasted cherry tomato, arugula, spinach, red pepper, red onion, grilled lime, lemongrass & peanut vinaigrette or LAMB & ONION SOUP lamb shoulder, caramelized onion, irish guinness cheddar crouton Entree FLAT IRON STEAK {can be GF} charbroiled AAA steak, roasted garlic yukon gold mashed potato, hand-picked seasonal vegetables, crispy...