Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

I was really excited to learn that Gee! Tastes Good had otak-otak and kue lapis (layer egg cake) so I resolved to go. Before going I tried to pre-order the kue lapis but was told the person who normally made it wasn't making it at the moment. I tried to ask when it might be available but the person on the phone wouldn't let me have a word in edgewise and just kept repeating that it wasn't available. Huh. Once I got there I noticed they also had roti canai, and being a sucker for rotis I just had to try it. So I ordered one otak-otak and one roti canai. Roti canai ($2.75) Flaky on the inside and not bad, but not fluffy. Curry weak and not very flavourful. Best part of this is that it's cheap at $2.75. Otak-Otak ($3) Pretty large portion for $3. Taste was OK. What was personally disappointing was that I had hoped for the grilled Singaporean style and hadn't expected it to be the steamed style of otak-otak , and this probably biased my enjoyment of it....

The roti paratha in Snack King Eatery's handy picture menu looked really good -- nice and flaky and light. The real thing was nothing like it. They gave me chopsticks (!) and a plastic spoon. I asked where's the curry? (That's what the spoon is for, right?) The woman at the counter said, "Sorry, no curry." HUH? Who sells roti paratha with no curry?!

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. ...

I'm a big believer in the idea that every restaurant does something good and something bad. And if you happen to order a dud, you shouldn't necessarily condemn the whole restaurant.Angie's Malaysian Eatery really exemplifies this. We went tonight and fortunately I had researched online on Yelp and knew to order the K.K. Buttermilk Tiger Prawns. The other stuff my friends ordered were duds. Cheap duds at around $8.95, but still duds. Roti Canai ($2.50 for 1 piece, $4.50 for 2 pieces) I thought this was a really, really, decent roti canai. Very tender and light on the inside, nicely flaky on the outside, and definitely made fresh to order as it can come out piping hot. The curry, unfortunately, wasn't as flavourful as some other places. It looks like very little curry, but for dipping, it's enough. Their "two pieces" isn't quite as large as other places like Banana Leaf or Kaya Malay Bistro , but they charge $7 and here it's only $4.50. ...

Kaya Malay Bistro has a 3-course $28 menu that looks like a Dine Out Vancouver offering, but it's not. Not exactly. tons of options for the main, and they are thinking of putting some of this prix fixe menu's items on their a la carte. Thanks to Ronald Lee of Eat Marketing , I got to try a house selection of this three-course for free, along with Vanfoodies and Nancyland . DISCLAIMER: Part of our meal was free (I will indicate which items in my review)! This included selections from the three-course prix fixe, plus a single order of roti canai we all shared. I did insist on paying for my own drink and soup selection separate from the three-course. Since Ronald only invited bloggers, I'm going to try to limit my observations to what they can't really influence by schmoozing. (This said, the owner Scott Kwan has received Vancouver Tourism Awards "for exhibiting service excellence" -- which you can see among the other awards lining the wall opposite the...