604 Just Eat: Japanese Cuisine @ Raisu

April 9th, 2017

Raisu @ Kitsilano

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $60 person

Upon arrival to the door entrance, to my surprise, there was actually line up already waiting to open at 5:30pm!  This was a good sign to the food quality 😏?  I was very excited because it took me long to come finally after we have heard all the buzz about this place and the pictures allover on IG and other social media.  We went to Raisu with our good friends who also are foodies!  Now I understand why our friend booked our table at 530pm,  there are several specials that are in limited serving so we ordered them right away after being seated.  Aside the signature dishes, other dishes on the menu look comparatively less interesting, more like regular items.  Highly recommended to have reservation in advance and GO EARLIER!  Still drooling when looking the food pictures again!

We were seated the nice outdoor seating area, love it!

604 Just Eat: Mexican Cuisine @ Tacofino Commissary

Sept 18th, 2016

Tacofino Commissary @ Grandview

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4.5/5   Price:  Avg. $18/person

CRAVING CRAZY FOR TACOS!!!  I used to go Tacofino Food Truck a lot when we lived in DT before, their tacos were so fresh and delicious.  We decided to go Tacofino Commissary for Sunday lunch.  It was very busy in the Sunday afternoon so I think it's good to get here early to beat the rush!  LOL.

604 Just Eat: Desserts @ Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionery

Aug 6th, 2016

Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionery @ North Burnaby

Food:  4.5/5   Service:  4.5/5   Atmosphere: 4.5/5   Price:  Avg. $ 6/person

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by Eat With Sida!  Glenburn is an amazing ice cream place with retro diner vibe!  I fall in love this retro and old school feel and decoration in this fun shop.  They have a good selection of old fashioned banana split, sundaes, floats, milkshakes and ice cream sodas!  Amazing ice cream made in house in wide variety flavors with avalon milk, absolutely high quality ice cream and delicious!  Generous portion at very reasonable price and friendly service, my ultimate dessert place in N. Burnaby!

Look the old style milkshake mixer!

604 Just Eat: Korean Cuisine @ Midam Cafe & Bistro

July 19th, 2016

Midam Cafe & Bistro @ East Burnaby

Food:  4/5   Service:  2.5/5   Atmosphere:  3.5/5   Price:  Avg. $  22/person

If you are a big fan of Korean rice cake, this restaurant will definitely fascinate you by their full menu of both savory and sweet rice cake.  Other than the rice cake desserts, they also have incredible selections of shaved ice desserts, parfaits and waffles.  However, I do agree with other reviews that they really need to work harder on the services.  They were nice and polite but definitely lack of servers.  The waiting time to order was way longer than expected and the dishes came slow too.
Must Eat:  Rice Cake Soup & Sesame Shaved Ice

604 Just Eat: Desserts @ Fratelli Bakery

June 14th, 2016

Fratelli Bakery@ Grandview 

Food:  4/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere: 3.5/5   Price:  Avg. $6.5 person

Fratelli, a famous Italian Bakery on Commercial Drive.  We came here to buy some sweets to go before heading to our friend's home for barbecue.  I was melted when I walked inside the shop, because the sweet scent of puff pastry cake and tarts smell so good!
 And my eyes cannot leave the display shelves, with great selections of cakes and pastries.  It was very difficult to make decision there.  Indeed, they were so fresh and delicious!  The sweetness was quite mild.  Price range was fair and great attentive service.  MUST EAT!

604 Just Eat: Italian/French Cuisine @ Siena

June 4th, 2016

Siena @ Fairview

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $65 person

FANTASTIC SPOT!  Excellent food and ambiance, perfect experience at Siena on Granville Street.  Strongly recommended to come for a causal dinner at this cozy restaurant. AND, make plan to go on MONDAY night with friends or colleagues for the half price bottled wine deal!
 Everyone was very friendly there.  Our server was very attentive, professional and friendly.  She told us about the Happy Hour from 8-10pm with food and drink specials.  Cannot wait to go back again!  The lighting and decor make the environment so comfortable, cozy but not crowded.  Price is very reasonable and food is incredibly delicious.

604 Just Eat: Bakery/Desserts @ The Sweet Spot Bakery

May 13th, 2016

The Sweet Spot Barkery @ Steveston

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  3.5/5   Price:  Avg. $15 for 2 people

This is one of my TOP 10 bakeries in Richmond and you cannot miss it!
Sweet Tooth at "The Sweet Spot".
Love their lemon tart and the french baking are to die for.  Other than the beautiful presentation and tasty of the baked goods, the shop smells so good!  The pleasant smell of the baked goods being made there.  You can see the ovens and bakers next to the counter.  If you have lunch or dinner plans in the Steveston neighborhood, highly recommended to drop by to buy few pieces of baked goods to go!
MUST EAT:  Lemon Tart, Eclairs

Lemon Tart - Right hand side
My ALL TIME FAVORITE EVER.  The lemon tart filling was perfect in texture, classic lemon curd filling, rich, creamy and just about right sweet and sour flavors.  A little swirl meringue on top as decoration, love it!

Chocolate Caramel Cake - Left hand side
(I cannot recall the name lol)
I am not a very big fan of chocolate desserts but this one was pretty amazing.  The flavors of chocolate mousse and caramel were rich and not too sweet.  Outstanding!  

BTW, they also have very delicious eclairs, salted caramel is my choice.  Try to come earlier, usually run low on products in the late afternoon.

110-12000 First Avenue, Richmond BC

604 Just Eat: Japanese Cuisine @ Kinome

April 23rd, 2016

Kinome @ Kitsilano

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $70 person

Kinome is a very authentic Japanese restaurant in Kitsilano area.  We went to Kinome with our good friends who also love to eat a lot!  When I looked at the food pictures again, it was like we ordered pretty much everything from the menu!  All the izakaya dishes were perfect to go with sake.  Dishes were absolutely delicious and the taste was exactly the same what I had in Japan!  They are very fresh and high quality seafood imported from Japan and fresh ingredients sourced locally.  
Good food and wine with GREAT friends made us a wonderful expereince at Kinome.

604 Just Eat: Canadian/Pacific Northwest Cuisine @ AnnaLena

April 16th, 2016

AnnaLena @ Kitsilano

Food:  4.5/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $80 person

Great time @ AnnaLena! We came to AnnaLena for our 2nd wedding anniversary dinner.  We have heard all the buzz about this place and the pictures allover on IG and other social media.  

Food were amazing!  Beautifully plated dishes that taste absolutely outstanding and impressively delicious.  Very innovative and interesting Canadian cuisine with lots of Asian elements into the dishes and wonderfully creative flavors and textures.
** Be sure to make reservations at least a week in advance**

604 Just Eat: Vietnamese Cuisine @ Pho 37

April 10th, 2016

Pho 37 @ Richmond

Food:  4/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere:  3./5   Price:  Avg. $11/person

Pho 37 is a small pho joint located at Ironwood mall.  We came here for lunch on Sunday and it was packed with people already.  We wait for 15 minutes so it was not bad.
The broth here is MSG free, I was really looking forward to taste the real richness of the beef soup!  We came here mainly for their signature Pho tuan that we have heard lots of raving reviews.  And I agree that Pho Tuan is a MUST EAT at Pho 37!

604 Just Eat: Vietnamese Cuisine @ Hoi An Cafe

March 19th , 2016

Hoi An Cafe @ Kensington

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  3.5/5   Price:  Avg. $15/person

I have heard a lot of good reviews about Hoi An so we finally decided to come on a  Saturday night.  Hoi An Café is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant located on Victoria Street, across from Tengs grocery market.  It is a small causal cafe, very clean and tidy with great services.  The dishes did not disappointed us, amazingly good!

604 Just Eat: French Cuisine @ Absinthe Bistro

March 26th , 2016

Absinthe Bistro @ Grandview

Food:  4.5/5   Service:  4.5/5   Atmosphere:  4.5/5   Price:  Avg. $50/person

Great time at Absinthe Bistro!!!  This little Bistro totally worth the hype.  Absinthe Bistro is a lovely little Bistro on Commercial drive, specialized in blends of classic and French cuisine.  I love this little place,  just like a small cafe we were in Europe.  I love die the interior décor with the casual atmosphere.   We had the window seat which was perfect for the evening.  The price is very reasonable at this excellent food quality, wonderful and attentive service.  Dishes were well prepared and presented.  I fall in love with this little authentic Parisian Bistro.

604 Just Eat: French X Asian Cuisine @ PiDGin

Jan 16th, 2016

PiDGin @ Gastown

Food:  4/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. 70$/person

Tastiest time of Vancouver - Dine Out Vancouver!  We picked a few places for Dine out Vancouver and PiDGin was my favorite among all.  No wonder why the high rating of this restaurant and the Dine out menu did not disappoint us.  PiDgin is a cozy restaurant located at Gastown, French dishes with lots influences of Asian tastes.  I fall in love their craft cocktails, unique and amazingly delicious.  The Dine out menu was very interesting, it was served family style for sharing to try a selection of starters, main and desserts.  Portions were generous and perfect for a small group dinner.  Their dishes were very creative and outstanding.
Must Eat:  Grilled bread with Ramen Egg/  Vavette Steak/ Craft Cocktails

Dine Out Vancouver 2016 Menu
no substitutions/ 40 per person

604 Just Eat: Chinese Cuisine - Hot Pot @ Taiwan Taipei Original Pot

Nov 8th, 2015

Taiwan Taipei Original Pot @ Central Richmond

Food:  4/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $30/person

It was my very first visit and I was very excited to try the Taiwanese Hua Diao Chicken pot.  Taiwan Taipei Original Pot is located in Venezia Place on Alexandra Road so beware it could be bloody hard to find a parking spot during weekend.  I heard a lot of raving comments about Taiwan Taipei Original Pot and the interesting steps to enjoy the hot pot.

Unlike the typical Chinese hot pot places, the staff cooks for us and the toppings are cooked in a pot of sauce, not a full pot of soup base.  In general there are three steps.  First, eat the stirred-fry chicken in the pot. Second, add different toppings into the left over sauce and braise them. The toppings are such as beef slices, meat balls, noodles and etc. Lastly, add vegetables cook in soup. 

604 Just Eat: Japanese Ramen @ Kintaro

Oct 29th, 2015

Kintaro Ramen @ West End

Food:  4.5/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $12/person

Kintaro Ramen, one of the original ramen joints for authentic Japanese noodles on Deman Street at West End area.  Kintaro is my all time favorite!  Their quality standard has remained very stable all these years.  After trying all the new ramen joints arrival to Vancouver,   I still have to say Kintaro is still the best overall.  We came here around 8ish and so lucky that we got to sit down after only 5 minutes wait. 

  Must Eat:  Miso Ramen

604 Just Eat: Indian, Middle East Cuisine @ East is East

Oct 17th, 2015

East is East @ Main Street

Food:  4/5   Service:  3.5/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $35/person

East is East, a famous Indian & Middle East restaurant located on Main Street.  It is one of the smoking HOT and BUSY restaurants in town.  We have not been to East is East a year already.  We came again because our good friend was in town for a very sudden short trip.  Luckily we were able to make a reservation on a Friday night.  We came here a group of 5.  They are well known for wide selections of dishes from Middle East with lots of vegan options so it was a great choice for our friend who is a vegetarian.  We chose to bring her here to enjoy the vegan dishes as well as the interesting décor and the live music performance.  Yahh!  Always get excited when good friends back to town and meet with us @ 604!   Our silk road started!

Must Eat:  Mediterranean Platter, Eastern Roti Rolls

604 Just Eat: Japanese Cuisine @ Suika

Sept 11th, 2015 

Suika @ Fairview

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $30 person

Suika is one of the popular Izakaya restaurants located on West Broadway across Earl's.

 We went there for dinner with a group of 5 to celebrate a friend's birthday on Friday night.  Suika is also one of our top favorite Izakaya places in town and I was so excited to see their updated  menu.  We have not been here like ages so at least it was new to me.  The decor, wooden furniture and atmosphere are very "izakaya" and the greeting is always very welcoming when you enter to the restaurant.  It is a great pleasure to enjoy the cocktails and tapa dishes here.  We had a great night too; however, the only drawback was the noises, too LOUD.  The staff were too excited to sing (shout) Happy Birthday song few times a night.  LOL.  Each one of us had to speak loud and listen to others very carefully.

  MUST EAT:  AAA Beef Garlic Steak & Aburi "Shime-Saba" Sushi

604 Just Eat: Vietnamese Cuisine @ Phnom Penh

Aug 20th, 2015 

Phnom Penh @ Chinatown

Food:  4/5   Service:  3/5   Atmosphere:  3/5   Price:  Avg. $20 person

Phnom Penh, a super popular Vietnamese/Cambodian cuisine restaurant on East Georgia Street in Chinatown.  Phnom Penh is one of the smoking HOT and BUSY restaurants in town.  It is a "must go" place if you are a Vietnamese food lover!  You have to go Phnom Penh because you cannot go wrong.  The menu has wide selections of Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes which you cannot find in other Vietnamese joints.  We would not mind facing line up for delicious dishes so my friends went there first around 6pm.  Hubby and I rushed to Chinatown after pick up Hubby from work.  They did not let us to have the table until all 6 of us arrived to the restaurant.  At last the waiting time was around 45 minutes but we were told we only got 40 minutes to eat.    We placed our order while waiting so the food came really fast after seated.
MUST EAT:  Butter Beef & Beef Luc Lac

604 Just Eat: Japanese Style Italian Cuisine @ Kinemi's Kitchen

Aug 7th/26th/28th & Sept 11th, 2015 

Kinemi's Kitchen @ South Burnaby

Food:  4.5/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  3.5/5   Price:  Avg. $15 person

Kinemi's Kitchen is definitely a hidden gem located in a small arcade near the Champlain residential area.  It is a home-cooked style Japanese café operated by a Japanese couple.  Kinemi runs by like a typical small restaurant in Japan that the chef is doing for all the preparing and cooking in the kitchen and the lady is doing everything else like taking orders and serving.  Kinemi's Kitchen specializes in Japanese-style Western Cuisine; absolutely delicious especially their signature pasta.  I really like the neighborhood environment too; so quiet and peaceful.  It is a very hidden spot; not easy to find or even notice it at all if my colleagues did not bring me there!  Their quality is absolutely outstanding and impressive among the Japanese-style Western Cuisine restaurants in Vancouver.  It has become one of my all time favorite restaurants now and I just realize I have visited Kinemi 4 times for lunch already since August.  Here were the dishes that I had during the visits: 
 MUST EAT:  Seafood Pasta, Pizza

604 Just Eat: Japanese Cuisine @ Guu Garden

Jul 25th, 2015 

Guu Garden @ Downtown

Food:  4/5   Service:  4/5   Atmosphere:  4/5   Price:  Avg. $24 person

Guu Garden is one of my favorite restaurants especially summer time.  The patio is so lovely to sit out on a warm summer and you definitely cannot miss out the Kirin frozen beer here!  The environment/table is less crowd compared with other Izakaya places.
 MUST EAT:  Saba Shima Sushi