Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Unfortunately this will be another "what not to order" type review -- which of course comes with the caveat that every restaurant will probably have a flop and you should not consider it indicative of the rest of the menu. Just be wary of ordering this particular thing. Sriracha Lime Chicken Wrap ($10 on lunch specials menu; comes with simple salad or fries, or salad upgrade) First of all sriracha to me means spicy. The "spiciness" here is a very faint buzz in the mouth. Where's my lime? Didn't really detect anything lime-flavoured. Maybe it was in the sauce (?) which was suspiciously like some kind of creamy salad dressing you can get in the supermarket. Ranch maybe? Chopped up chicken -- not technically bad, but it does make it hard to estimate just how much chicken you are getting. I did open up one half the wrap so you can look at the picture and decide for yourself. We specifically asked that the fries be crispy, and they delivered. Really, really, ...

It's been a long time since I went to Tenen  and surprisingly the pricing hasn't changed much. They have shown up frequently on Groupon , however, and with their clever pricing, the $20-towards-lunch adds up to either a cheap yet huge-portioned lunch for one person, or approximately a half-priced lunch for two persons. They do have nearly-$20 main dishes so going solo with the groupon is fine (and it's one groupon per table) but most items are $16.95. Overall the food is comfort homestyle food. Actually on the mediocre side except the portion per plate is probably good enough for up to two persons depending on what you get and your appetite. Tenen does feed you well and isn't skimpy on portions. Even though they have the usual fillers of bread and potatoes, they aren't stingy with the meat. Gourmet Burger ($16.95) 10 oz. patty with bacon and cheese mixed in Looks like the bread used is a pita sliced in half and pan fried in drippings from the burger. ...

After dinner at Morak nearby, we wandered over to try Noble Cafe in search of bubble tea or good desserts. Strangely enough, the business cards said they were Kick S Good, which were basically in the same location. Could just be a cosmetic name change. Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Slush ($4.25) Yup, tastes like ground up Ferrero Rocher. Tasted a bit thin, but at just $4.25, that's sort of to be expected since Ferrero Rocher isn't exactly a cheap ingredient. Still, give this one a pass and try something else on the menu likely to have stronger and better chocolaty flavour.

Morak is a cosy little place just off Kingsway. Shortly after 6pm it will probably be pretty busy, a situation which was made worse by their having just one server scrambling about. However, turnaround time for their food felt pretty fast. A2. Corn Cheese ($4.95) Shallow but wide sizzling hot plate keeps cheese melted and sears it where it contacts the plate. Sweet corn and lighty salty cheese. Interesting and quite tasty. A13. Seafood Pancake ($15.95) Pretty pricey but presumably it's because of the seafood. Kind of bland, so use the provided soy sauce I guess. Or just pass on this and try it elsewhere. H11. Gamjatang ($25.95) Pork Bone Soup with two bowls of rice Each extra bowl of rice is $2 (!) for a small bowl (i.e., not a lot). Big pot which you simply heat up to boiling. For basically $26 it's not a lot of meat or content, (probably because you are also paying for the gas can that fuels the portable stove). Overall, not that great a deal. Meat comes ...

I've passed by this place so many times but never bothered to go in (because I get better Chinese food at home, that's why!) But tonight it was my friend's pick and also in part because we were curious about how just how many types of wontons there could be in a wonton house, we wandered in. Curious mix of both Chinese and non-Chinese persons. Hmm... At least for sure it would be easy for non-Chinese persons to order, which was great for the two of us. The older gentleman at the front desk was very friendly. The older female server too, but a bit rushed -- just dropped off the menus and whipped around to be on her way. Subsequent behavior, however, convinced me that she was just busy and not meaning to be rude. Combined with the friendly front desk who even send you off with a friendly goodbye when you are leaving, I'm leaning toward not taking points off. The many booth seats reminds me of Denny's or Red Robin, but they do have a section with round tables ...

I saw  an article in Klip magazine Feb-2015 on [Audrey's] Moment  and decided to give Audrey's Moment High Tea a try after a long hiatus on "high teas" / afternoon teas. At $28, the "Luxury [Hightea] set" weighs in price-wise on par with their Vancouver counterparts like  The Secret Garden . I had heard that gluten-free versions were available, but when I called I was told that too much of the menu was bread-based so that option was out. Honestly I didn't know what to really expect from a high tea / afternoon tea place in Burnaby. I mean, it's Burnaby, and near Metrotown. It just feels so out of place there -- but I guess that's also why the location is brilliant. It's about time we got a nice high tea place. They've only been open since October, so it's too soon to tell how the menu and operations will stabilize, but at the moment, they are trying to keep costs down by limiting unnecessary waste. Which is why if you want to do a...

I was previously at Anatolia's Gate over two years ago , and still remembered it had good eats for a good price. Dropped in with a friend last Friday and decided to try something different from the menu. She was in the mood for curry (in a Turkish place?) and I went for one of the wraps. Beef Curry ($12.95) About two cups's worth of curry, plus rice and token salad. This is a sort of drier bitter-spicy curry. If you're hoping for a South Asian curry, don't order this. I think this will end up being more of an acquired taste. Veggie Dürüm ($7.55) Roasted veggies Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini Mushroom wrapped in a freshly baked lavash bread with yogurt sauce Basically a donair or wrap using a thicker bread similar to naan. Price for portion is pretty good, considering you're getting about 2 burger's worth of filling. Roasted veggies were of course hot, but it was mixed with cool yogurt sauce and "salad" shredded veggies (mostly lettuce),...

Between Metrotown and Hi Genki are a mix of chain restaurants, Korean restaurants, and dead real estate waiting for tenants. It's a walk through a sadly dilapidated part of Burnaby. After Hi Genki, things pick up with new condos and a neighbourhood revitalized by newer construction. In a way Hi Genki is like one of the last holdouts of a generation on its way out, sandwiched between old and new. Hi Genki is also "not" a restaurant. That is, it was probably never meant to be one. The size of the place makes it look more like an old folks home -- ahem -- seniors' residence -- cafeteria re-purposed into a fundraising arm for the Nikkei Place Foundation , a non-profit established by the two centres at the location: The National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre and the Nikkei Seniors and Health Care Society. Hi Genki is basically the cafeteria at the ground floor of the Nikkei Seniors centre, separated from the sliver of a lobby by a wall. There is no ambiance to s...