Sushi Loku - Mount Pleasant

Well I am behind in my writing an I apologize for that but I have been quite busy with other things going on that I have kinda put the blog on the back burner for a bit. Anywho, I am back at it writing today's review on Sushi Loku. Where Sushi Loku is now used to be a restaurant called Seb's which I wanted to try but I didn't get a chance to before it closed down. Oh well.... the must have closed down for a reason. This area on Broadway in Vancouver close to Fraser has always kinda seemed gloomy to me. It has a mix of a few restaurants along with other businesses and office buildings but it never seems to be bustling with people. I have wanted to try Pizzeria Barbarella but never get around to going because there's nothing really to do in the area afterward.

Anyways, onto what I am here to do which is talk about Sushi Loku. When you first walk in, you realize that this wasn't a sushi restaurant originally. It seems to have kept a the decor from the previously mentioned Seb's. It seems more like a coffee shop/bar feel more than a sushi restaurant. It was kinda dark inside as it didn't have many lights above the tables and PIC had to move closer to the window to have enough light to see the menu. After some time with the menu as it was both our first times at this establishment. We decided on 2 things each.

The first thing that came was PIC's Magma Roll, which had crab meat, avocado, topped with chopped scallops and served with spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce.

Magma Roll

This had a really good mix of flavours, it had a kick with the spicy mayo, sweetness of the teriyaki sauce, but most surprising was that it had kind of a charred taste to it, not in a bad way but it's kind of hard for me to describe. It's kind like the taste that it has been bbq'd or smoked or something. I can't really explain but it was really really good and surprising to both of us.

The second dish that arrived was my Super Crispy Roll, it contained 2 pieces of prawn tempura, yam tempura, crunchy yam flakes, and bits of crispy tempura batter. 

Super Crispy Roll

This for someone who loves deep fried stuff was pretty good. Decent amount of sauce on it and had a lot of the crunchy yam flakes and bits of tempura batter on top. I would order this again but I want to try their simpler stuff next time.

Next was the Takoyaki, I really like Takoyaki and try to order it when it is reasonably priced. This was under $5 for 6 pieces so it was automatic for me to order.

Takoyaki

The takoyaki was crispy on the outside but kinda soft on the inside like it was lacking some structure. I kinda like a doughier bite when I bit into my takoyaki but some other may like it like this so it's probably personal preference. Still not bad at $5 but not my most favorite.

Okonomiyaki

Last item of the evening was the Okonomiyaki, decent sized portion arrived at our table and it was pretty good, had lots of contents, not much filler batter. Good amount of shrimp and squid. Can't complain about this one, I would rather have this over the Takoyaki.

All in all good experience, kinda weird ambiance but it may be to your taste. But I will return as the food was good and it's on the way home from work. 

Score: 7.5/10

Mi Mexico - Bellingham

Me and PIC went down to Bellingham to do some shopping, well I didn't intend on doing more than grocery shopping but as many of you know that changes quickly when you see the deals across the line. We were hungry as we left around 1pm and didn't have lunch yet and were trying to keep from eating at the mall again. So we looked up urbanspoon and settled on Mi Mexico. The restaurant is very colourful and the decor is quite festive. The menu for this place is HUGE! Lots of things we didn't quite know what they were since it's not your regular Tex-Mex options. We settled on a chicken Quesadilla and a dish called Pollo Con Crema but unfortunately we just missed the lunch specials by 30 minutes. Turns out they end at 3pm BOOOO!! Anywho, we figured what they hey lets just get the same in the regular portion. While the food was being prepared, they gave us warm tortilla chips and salsa. Sorry no picture of the salsa, but it was not too spicy, but it had some heat, especially if you got one of the seeds from a hot pepper on your chip. The food took a little longer than we thought and we sorta finished the chips before the main course came.

Onto the actual dishes, first off we have Pollo Con Crema ($13.99). This was a dish that consisted of Chicken, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Avocado, Onions, Cheese, and Rice. Served with tortillas on the side.

Pollo Con Crema

As you can see in the picture that it was really, really creamy and it was a really big serving. How I ate it was I scooped the contents of the dish into the tortilla and ate it like a soft taco. It was really rich and add the avocado and it pushes you to another level of richness. It took me a bit to realize there was actually rice in the middle, but at that point I pretty much tapped out and put down my cutlery in defeat. It was really good but maybe the next time I have this, it will be the lunch size portion as it was way to big for one person, thank goodness for take home containers.

PIC wanted the Quesadilla ($8.49) with chicken as the filling. It was served with Guacamole, Sour Cream, and Onions. It also comes with tomatoes, but PIC doesn't like raw tomatoes so we omitted that from our order.

Quesadilla with Chicken

It had alot of cheese and a decent amount of chicken. The outer edge had a nice crispy texture to it and the guacamole and sour cream were good but nothing really special. I wish they had put them on the side instead of serving it on top of the dish. We couldn't finish this either so we took it home, the problem is with having the condiments on top of the dish, when we got home it kinda got hard and wasn't really easy to spread anymore.

Mi Mexico will be a be a restaurant that I will return to try other things, they have such a big menu that I will have to go back a few more times to decide on a staple dish, especially if I make it before the 3pm cutoff for their lunch specials.

Score: 8/10

Mi Mexico

Red Wagon Cafe

Well at my work, we like to eat. So we decided to hit up Red Wagon Cafe after work on a friday, the special of the day was the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich. The word buttermilk in the name struck me as meaning DEEP FRIED!!! So obviously I ordered it. It didn't seem like it was a regular menu item so why not???

Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich

The sandwich had a thick slab of fried chicken with a buttermilk coating which was really crispy and not dry. They used gravy as a sauce which helped keep the sandwich from being dry and had a combination of coleslaw and crispy bacon as toppings. The bacon was thin and very crispy. It was really really GOOD. As you can see in the photo it came with a side of fries which were crispy as well. What you don't see is the side of Spicy Ketchup, I wasn't sure how spicy the ketchup was going to be and I'm not a fan of very saucy spicy things.

Red Wagon is very consistent on the quality of food they dish out and coming on a Friday afterwork meant no line up. If you try to get in on a weekend morning, GOOD LUCK! The place is quite small and you'll be waiting a bit for a table. For $13 it was quite filling and very yummy especially if you like deep fried items. The only things I could nitpick about is the sandwich was quite thick and hard to take a good bite out of and it was quite warm inside and the front door was already open.

Score: 8.5/10
Red Wagon

 

Faubourg Paris - Downtown Vancouver

Me and my PIC (Partner in Crime) were walking back to our car after visiting the mall and the new Victoria Secret store downtown. I must say the store is very grand and I can't believe that used to be the old Virgin/HMV store. Anyway, we walked by a bus shelter and it had a sign for this place that had french macaroons. The sign said across the art gallery so I assumed it was the place inside the Hotel Georgia. Then upon further reading the sign it said open August 2013 and it was on Hornby. We were already at Hornby and Robson and had not had any dessert so we decided to try this place. It was a bright cafe, with a patio, but since it was rainy we opted to sit inside. There was only one other group seated which we thought it was odd because everytime we go to Theirry's there's always a crowd. We browsed what was still available and the selection was not as a big as a place like Thierry's, but they looked really good. We were torn between a Mille Feuilles or a Lemon Tart.

Lemon Tart

As you can see, we settled on the Lemon Tart and we were very glad we did. I really found it refreshing and had a balance between sweet and sour. There was some rock sugar that went around the rim of the Lemon Curd top and underneath was a layer of what they call a Vanilla Milk Foam. The shell was quite buttery and yummy and broke apart when you used a fork. I've had tarts where I had to fight to get the fork through it just to get a bite.

The tart costs $5.60 with tax which may be a little steep for a pastry but we shared and it satisfied our dessert course for the evening. Faubourg also has an afternoon tea menu which doesn't seem too bad at $28.55/person. I think we have found our new dessert place! I just hope it doesn't get too crowded that we can't find a table.

Score: 9.5/10

Faubourg

Chiffon Patisserie - Lunch Special

I was looking for something easy, something quick, something that wouldn't break the bank and most of all, something not FRIED! Why you may ask...? As a personal challenge from time to time, I take a break from eating fried stuff and burgers for a week and try to eat other items. I LOVE FRIED FOOD! That's for sure but its good to go out and eat other things.

On today's menu is a Lemongrass Pork Sandwich from Chiffon. Chiffon is known at work as the go to place for yummy stuff. It also met all my criteria especially the on not breaking the bank. I had a gift certificate that covered most of the cost. As a lunch special, you get the sandwich and your choice with a soup or a salad.

Lunch Special

The sandwich comes with the lemongrass pork, carrots, lettuce, and some yummy sauce. on your choice of White, Brown, or Multigrain bread. I opted for no cilantro as I do not like it. Maybe one day I will share the story but anyways. The sandwich was good, the meat wasn't dry, and the carrots and lettuce added a good crunch. Something was a little wet in the sandwich, maybe too much sauce or something but it kinda dripped out the other side. No problem for me, but some may not like this.

Lemon Grass Pork Sandwich

For a soup, I had the choice between Cream of Mushroom and French Onion. I hear the french onion is really good, but I LOVE CREAM OF MUSHROOM! Chiffon's take on it is great. It is not too thick and not too runny. Just right.... I add crackers to it and no need for seasoning for me.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Chiffon has been a popular spot since they opened among those around work. They have really good sweets too. 

Score: 9/10

Hyoga Japanese Cuisine 氷雅

We stumbled upon this desperately trying to find a place to eat, we were so desperate we were going to eat at Kishu next door. As I parked the car right in front of Kishu, we noticed this little restaurant with no sign out front, they had painted over their sign above the place. We looked at the menu placed outside and even though we had never heard of this place nor knew what to expect, we thought it would be a better option then Kishu. We were quite pleased with our experience and the staff were very friendly and accommodating, especially when we arrived close to closing time. Food was great and we are excited to go back and try other things on the menu.

 Gyoza

 The Gyoza was our appetizer, and for $6 is a bit pricey, but I felt that it was better than most places I have tried. The wrapper was thin, and the filling had alot of flavour with a good mix of meat and veggies.
 

 Pork Okonomi Yaki

They have 2 Okonomi Yaki on the menu, one made with Ebi and one made with Pork. We went with the pork option as my partner in crime is allergic to Ebi. It was quite thick and full of flavour, not so doughy compared to other places. It was quite yummy.

 Chicken Teriyaki

The Teriyaki sauce they used was really good, not too sweet and not too salty, a good balance. I don't really like it when the sauce is too thick and glazes over the meat. The consistency of the sauce was good and the two gobs of mayo really went well with the chicken. The meat wasn't crispy and had some skin on it which was different to what I've experienced before but it was tender and really yummy. 

Hyoga is a place where we will return again and again, and I hope they stick around. Really friendly staff and they don't try to rush you out the door. I just hope it doesn't get too crowded as the place is a tad small.

Score: 9/10
 Urbanspoon