a bite of brownie

Yesterday was the day that we used my Master card for the first time at Siam. The ambiance that the Thai restaurant offered was a refreshing mix of modern civilization and authentic Thailand, truly something that you wouldn't expect in today's restaurants. We picked a seat by the back entrance that offers a tranquil view of a green garden while we ate on one of the soft cushioned booths.

Anyway,we had scrumptious fried tofu paired with sweet mango sauce and sour-spicy seafood Tom Yang Goong for starters. For the main course, we had a hearty helping of crab fried rice and a serving of beef simmered in mild green curry. But wait, who wouldn't order another signature Thailand dish, the Pad Thai, in a Thai Restaurant? Not us, that's for sure. So we had a large plate of that too.

The meal started with with arrival of jasmine tea for both myself and my mother and a fruity glass watermelon juice for my sister. Next, The Tom Yum Goong, Fried tofu and the Pad Thai arrived. The Tom Yum Goong came with semi trapezoidal bowls and typical Thai soup spoons that looked like porridge spoons for babies :P. Nonetheless, it was delicious. It had just the right amount of coconut milk, tamarind soup base, special fish sauce and spice from the ginger. The kaffir leaves did a great job too. The tofu was good, it had a nice crunchy exterior but with a soft gooey interior. Pairing it with the sweet mango chutney is a great idea. The Pad Thai when it came, caught me in surprise. It had sprouts, crushed nuts, tofu, and shrimps in it. Sprouts I can understand. But nuts? As I sampled it, it had a typical pancit palabok taste for me. And it wasn't in the least spicy. Disappointment. The fragrant jasmine fried rice with hints of crab meat in it was okay. It wasn't that exceptional, but it was in the least flavorful. Finally, the beef curry came. The meat was just right and soft, and the spice from the curry was addictively delicious.

In the end, Siam Thai Restaurant is definitely worth giving a second try.

I'll give it a 3.5/5.

Verdict:
A: 3.5/5.0
N: 4.0/5.0 [Tom Yum was great, Pad Thai was so so, but it has free WIFI! and that makes me happy =)]

Siam Thai Cuisine
Terraces Ayala Center Cebu

This is my favorite fried chicken joint so I was really disappointed when they closed in Greenbelt in favor of Jollibee. I was happy for a while when I saw one on Yonge street near Eaton Centre in Toronto. We used to go there every weekend when we were exploring downtown. Unfortunately, the only Popeye's in Vancouver is a hardware store, so I had to settle with either Church's or KFC.

Imagine my excitement when I saw this fast food chain when I was on a connecting flight in Hong Kong. It's even beside my favorite ice cream place: Ben&Jerry's. Talk about double whammie calories.

I ordered the two-piece chicken combo with biscuit, fries and drinks. I finished the fries but was only able to finish one chicken and a pinch of the biscuit. Airplane food was too filling. I think I gained five pounds on that 13-hour flight. I didn't have any more room for ice cream. Boo!

I hope there's still a Popeye's at Greenhills, where I'll be staying for two nights so I can enjoy it before I leave for my roadtrip.

Verdict
N: 4.0/5.0

Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits
Hong Kong International Airport

For quick and cheap Chinese eats, T&T Supermarket offers a wide selection of hot and cold dishes for people on the go. I was craving for dim sum so I went ahead and ordered the shrimp dumplings and the pork siomai. The dumpling wrapper was too thick, I never eat those stuff so I removed them and went ahead to eat what's inside. I don't think it tasted anything like shrimp but then again if it's less than a dollar per piece, I guess I got what I paid for. The pork siomai tasted the same, the only difference was the color and the shape.

Not satisfied with the dim sum, I also ordered the roasted duck and bbq pork combo. After watching Food Inc. the night before, I guess I'm not that appreciative of meat anymore. I think I'm gonna go ahead and change my entire diet to seafood and veggies. That documentary made me sick.

Verdict:
N: 1.0/5.0

T&T Supermarket - Metrotown
4800 Kingsway Burnaby, BC

Back when I used to work at Boundary and Kingsway, we used to just cross the street from the office and head over to this sushi place for a quick lunch. It was our comfort sushi, with fast service and ok food.

My usual order is the salmon sushi, salmon head shioyaki, kimchi, beef teriyaki and chicken teriyaki. My workmates are a big fan of their mango pudding, one of them can even finish five plates of that stuff. As for me, I don't really like mango, I guess I literally got fed up with it coz I grew up in a place surrounded by mango trees.

Today my friend was craving for deep fried stuff to drown her sorrows in oil and cholesterol, and since this place also serves karaage and all those fried goodies, she invited me to join her here.

The place was packed as usual, and the food was still the same, it's not bad, and not exemplary either. Just enough to get you to your next meal. For a little over 10 bucks, this is a convenient ayce sushi restaurant in the area. Three years ago, we used to walk 15 blocks to go to Fish On Rice near Metrotown just to have ayce sushi, now Japanese food is just 15 steps away.

Verdict
N: 3.0/5.0 [-2 because the guy who takes orders isn't attentive enough]


Kingsway Sushi
110-3665 KingswayVancouver, BC

If you are ever up for a large plate of pasta and around an hour lineup, the you ought to visit this place. Anton's Pasta Bar is famous for the queues that form on its doorsteps starting 7pm. The only other place I tried here in Vancouver that has this long wait time is Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna at Davie.

The great thing about this place is their big servings, I think they even hand out a prize for people who actually finish a whole plate by themselves. Seriously, the food is massive, it could feed 3 people.

On my first visit, I think I tried an oil based pasta sauce, and on the second visit I ordered the seafood risotto. This time I tried one of their specialty dishes, the Fusilli New Orleans, which was not as spicy as the pasta I cook, but it was ok, I finished maybe 1/5 of the plate. I also tried a bite of lasagna, and that was way better, I'm gonna order that next time. It just takes 30 minutes to prepare.

Our orders:

Meat Lasagna

Fusilli New Orleans: scallops, sausages, prawns, chicken, red & green peppers in a spicy Cajun sauce

Herb Penne Genovese: sun dried tomatoes & mushrooms in a tomato pesto sauce

Verdict:
N: 4.0/5.0 [-1 because of the lineup]

Anton's Pasta Bar
4260 Hastings Street Burnaby, BC

I never really knew why it was called triple o's until a friend explained the history behind the name. This White Sport burger joint reminds me of California's In and Out. Well, what can I say, a burger is a burger is a burger, not a very big fan.

We ordered the burger meal that comes with fries and drinks. I learned a new drink mix: rootbeer and orange crush, yep it's really good! The fries on this restaurant leaves a lot to be desired, they were steak cut but the quality is that bad that even if you dunk it in vinegar or whatever condiment, it still tasted like blech. Made me miss fries and hot fudge at McDonalds or the great steak cut fries of Red Robin. Probably the only redeeming thing about our order was the burger, which was really huge, I managed to finish three bites before I gave up.

White Spot Triple O's is an ok choice for people who wants to grab meals on the go, but then if it were me, I probably would have gone to Wendy's and bought a big classic.

Verdict:
N: 1.0/5.0 [-4 because I've had way better burgers elsewhere]

White Spot Triple O's
3505 Grandview Hwy Vancouver, BC

Still not done with my fill of Korean food, so I visited this quaint little place just across NCIX, right after I checked out the D10. I remember eating here once with a friend and I ordered the same dish I ordered before. What else would I want from a Korean restaurant? Galbi of course.

The neat thing about this restaurant, or probably it's a standard in any Korean food place, are the side dishes. I got five - soup, kimchi, bean sprouts, broccoli and sweet potato. While I did like all of them, I would have traded the bean sprouts and sweet potato for radish kimchi or other vegetable side dish.

I would definitely come back to this place and try something else from their menu, everything looks good!

Verdict
N: 4.0/5.0 [-1 because I think the Cho Sun sweet potato is better than this version]

Happy Day Metro House
5021 Kingsway in Burnaby, BC

I've been complaining for a while about the lack of authentic sushi places here in Vancouver, but I finally found one that is owned and operated by Nihon-jins. Tokachi is the name of the place and it's in faraway Surrey.

When we first saw the place from the outside, we hesitated on going in because it looked like the place was deserted. It turned out that people were in separate dining rooms. The lady who served us was very attentive and generous with the tea. I also liked the wasabi, which was really strong.

Our dinner meal was composed of agedashi tofu, veggie tempura and avocado roll, ikura (salmon roe), kaki (oyster) and toro (tuna belly) sushi. Too bad uni (sea urchin) sushi wasn't available, I've been wanting to try that for the past five years. I've only tried it once at Rai Rai Ken in Cebu. I would come back here if uni is available but it's too far from civilization.

Verdict:
N: 4.0/5.0 [-1 because there was no uni]

Tokachi
10767 King George HWY, Surrey, BC

Part of the going away is attending the going away lunches and dinners, so the past few days have been filled with dining out. Le Crocodile was my first choice when my friend and I were deciding for a good dinner place before watching "A Wonderful Life". But since this place wasn't open at that time, we promised to visit it some other day before I go.

The place is really classy and I felt underdressed wearing my hoodie and capris but then again, it's winter so I am underdressed any other way. The lady who served us was like the female counterpart of that guy at Joe Fortes, very gracious, attentive and accommodating. These people really elevated the name hospitality.

The appie sampler was great, it was some sort of baked pastry that I forgot the name of. For appetizers, I got the Dungeness Crab Cake, something I've been craving for way back. I really liked the presentation of this dish, the basil sauce looked so nice that I thought it was plate decoration =). For entree I picked the rack of lamb, which was part of the daily specials. I skipped dessert this time, only because I've already gained five pounds in five days. Now how am I gonna fit on my swimsuit?

Verdict:
N: 4.5/5.0 [-.5 because the crab cake was a bit salty]

Le Crocodile
909 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC