tokyogurumegal

What is the shelf life of spices? I was going to make my own mix of garam masala and was thinking of keeping the rest I don't use in a tight jar.

My favourite tea is Williamson Magor's Assam tea. Unfortunately I can't seem to find it sold in stores in Canada. Does anyone know where it is sold in North America (preferebly in Canada...). My next favourite is Fortnum & Mason's Royal Blend, next fave is Fauchon's Apple Tea.

You might enjoy the thin sliced tounge at Yuji's Japanese Tapas on 4th. It isn't Korean style - but grilled perfectly with salt and pepper, and I'm sure you can add a bit of lemon. Very tasty! Thank you all for the tips out in Burnaby. Seems like a Burnaby BBQ adventure is in order! Cheers! ← Yes! I've had it there before:) I don't go to Korean BBQ here much but whenever I have tongue it's at a Japanese restaurant. That restaurant manager/server at Yuji is always so nice... was shocked to see him leave Wabi Sabi. I've had really good tongue at Moderne Club too, it was one of their daily specials. So no recommended Korean restaurant in downtown area? I thought maybe with all those ESL students here there might be better restaurants around Robson.

I would buy that! I've never seen that in New York. Is it available in Japan? I guess it would be expensive there. Also, how much does maple syrup sell for in Japan and what are some popular toppings for sweet pancakes? ← I don't recall ever seeing a maple pretz here in Japan. Maple sryup is quite expensive here, 250ml (one cup) bottles sell for about $7 to $8, I buy a massive jug at Costco in the US and make it last for a year.... Pancakes are pretty popular here, they are called hottokekki (hotcake) and theya re eaten more as a snack than breakfast. Even McDonald's sells them. (look at teh 105 yen menu near the bottom) they are mini versions with cream and a fruit sauce, they sell regular American style ones for breakfast. A popular topping is chocolate sryup and whip cream, this is how they are often sold in restaurants as a child's meal (anytime of day). ← I guess I wasn't good at explaining myself. This Pretz is a limited edition only available in Canada. You know how Japanese like to make things "gentei" just like that Matcha Kit Kat, it says "kigen gentei" meaning limited edition for a limited time. I brought up the maple pretz because I thought maybe Glico made something like that in other areas of the world. Kristin, your kids are ADORABLE! I think you should rent kimonos and take them to a photo studio... they'd look cute, maybe during 7-5-3 in November.

Isn't Bishop's big on organic and GMO-free ingredients?

This thread has made me crave for yukke bi bim bup (sp?)! Oh and really good quality tongue with salt and pepper with a bit of lemon juice...mmmmmmm:) Has anyone been to that restaurant on Thurlow near Davie (forgot the name) wher Haru use to be? Is it any good? Speaking of Haru, I miss that restaurant.

It's not Pocky but in Canada there is a "gentei-hin" (limited edition) of Pretz in maple flavour! I bet Glico makes these limited edition flavours in other regions as well. They are made for tourists and sold in duty free shops frequented by Japanese tourists. You know those big Pretz/Pocky on steroids that come in massive boxes? I have many Canadian friends ask me "what is the deal with this Men's Pocky thing?!" I hate answering that question...

Interesting topic... Often snotty Tokyo people call Saitama "Dasaitama". But I think Saitama gets a bad rap. It's a little out of the way but Kawagoe is a wonderful little town worth visiting. They're known for satsumaimo (sweet potato but the purple kind) and their okura (massive storage building) style architecture. It's a great place to take friends visiting from overseas, you won't find architecture like that in Tokyo most of these types of buildings were destroyed during the war. A little off the main drag, there's a small street with rows of stores that sells dagashi. Dagashi is something that your parents would have had when they were kids, now are considered cute, kitchy, retro junk food. I need to figure out how to post pictures on my forum response... I have great pictures of Kawagoe from my last visit there.

Oooops, I meant Artigiano on Hornby near Robson... my apologies. Vin must be shaking his head right about now.

Cafe Artigiano coffee... mmmmmmmmmm is all I can say! I am too scared to think how much money I've spent there (one or two lattes a day for 3 years working near that place!). But back to the original question. When I first moved to this city 10 years ago, I was excited that Vancouver was a coffee loving city. The only thing was, people were referring to more of a "pick up and go" type cafes like Starbucks, Blenz etc... But at the time I was fresh out of university so I wanted to hang out in coffee houses you would commonly find in college towns with comfy couches where there are writers scribbling their inspirations, a girl reading Philip Roth, hipsters dressed in Harajuku fashion (long before this Gwen Stefani insanity) etc... Like the one where Mike Myers character on I Married an Axe Murderer hung out or even like Central Perk Cafe on Friends!!! My suggestions would depend on what time of the day you're going and what your noise tolerence is. Personally, I don't mind trip hop tunes in the background and banging noises made by baristas. It's the solitude you get amongst people that's fun! So with that in mind, I would suggest Benny's Bagels for late night reading and post lunch hour reading would be great at Cafe Artigiano on Robson - those banquette seats are comfy but the patio is nice too. Also, Higher Grounds Cafe (I think that's the proper name) on Broadway and Vine St. is great for reading. Happy reading!

I love going to Chinese restaurants with my Chinese friends, they can introduce interesting dishes and teach you their custom like the finger tapping and history behind that. When I go out for dim sum, I try to order in Cantonese but I learned that you have to be 100% sure you have the proper pronunciation and intonation. We all know har gau, siu mai, char siu bau... well I was getting quite good, ordering non obvious dishes and servers actually understaning me. One day I was getting rather over confident and ordered a particular type of dumpling and the server had this shocked look on his face, then my friend almost spewed his food as soon as he heard me say the word. Apparently, the way I said it meant thick *^%$#@. To my Japanese ears, it still sounds the same but apparently my intonation was all wrong. Now I make a point of ordering that particular dumpling in English. It must be frustrating not being able to order exactly what you want in English in a local restaurant, but then isn't it wonderful you can experience what one might overseas without spending hundreds of dollars on a flight ticket?! I love Vancouver for those moments.

I was so happy to see a post on Tucson restaurants! Unfortunately, my husband and I drove out to La Pianola and discovered the restaurant shutdown!!!!!! This was after driving around trying to look for Cafe Poca Rosa which everyone seemed to rave about... as soon as E. Broadway turned one way we got lost. We should have mapquest before we left! Since it's really tough to find good Mexican food in Canada, I am determined to go while I'm down here. Maybe if I can't in Tucon, I will go somewhere in Phoenix on my last night in AZ. Any good suggestion for good Mex in Paradise Valley area? Last night however, we did have a very delightful dinner at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Their service was incredibly well synchronized and their wine list was impressive (didn't expect this in Tucson!).

Mr. O'Neil! Thank you so much for your suggestions. I'm not a skilled espresso maker and knowing my lifestyle and personality I think I will shop for one of those Solis machines. Now I'll have to find where in Canada I can find one! My husband and I spend at least $10 per day on store bought lattes (sometimes Starbucks ugh...) so I think we can justify buying a decent machine if we can make one to go in the morning! Thanks again for your advice:)

Clubhouse is a fun place to go with a big group. It's a little bit like the Eatery in Kits, okonomiyaki is not as authentic. I would say it's not the best place for sushi (more emphasis on rolls which says a lot... with spicy this and that) but definitely inexpensive.

There is usually at least one ice cream or gelato place in any depa-chika (basement level of department stores where they sell food). I'm completely not familiar with Kansai foodie scene but based on how it's like in Tokyo, I presume department stores are very similar! Of all places, I had really good yuzu softocreemu at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo! I'm sure you've heard of Midori Sushi in Umegaoka. There are few other locations (Nikotama, Shibuya Mark City etc...). So you can enjoy fantastic sushi then finish off with refreshing soft ice cream (kyoho grape flavour was good too).

Someone made a good point most good value restaurants are Asian... all mine are Asian! I'm really bad with remembering the cost of some of my favourite dishes but these restaurants are really great value. Au Petit Cafe - really good Vietnamese subs (bahn mi?!) they toast the baguette! located on Main St around 33rd Shaolin Noodles - handmade noodles have fantastic texture, pan fried pork dumplings are yummy too. Located on Broadway near Cambie (across from McD) Modern Club - They serve Osaka style okokonomi-yaki and modern-yaki (savoury pancakes sort of....) and various teppan yaki dishes are great. Located on Dunbar & 18th across from liquor store Now I'm hungry...

I jotted down Owen's suggestions for good espresso makers! Does anyone have any recommendation on automatic espresso makers with busy little Italian men inside that makes excellent espresso by just lifting a finger?! Or are those just space hogging machines not worth investing in? I'm just worried making espresso won't fit into my morning schedule and won't get used much, eventually collecting dust. My budget is around $1000.

I think in general in Canada people tip around 15%. I travel to US cities on business often and was advised by the bean counting department head it is "okay" to tip 20% in the US because that is what is expected. My question is, when you calculate tip do you base it on the tax inclusive or exclusive figure? I usually put 20% on the final total just to be safe. I've lived in outside of Japan for a long time now but I still don't get this part of the culture! My last trip home, I was blown away how much cheaper it is to dine in Tokyo because of the no tipping thing.

I love getting my chicken from that chicken place at Granville Island. On Sunday around 1pm I went to buy some chicken livers for my turkey stuffing and found out they were all sold out!!! Shock and horror! Best value and freshest chicken:) I also love to stop by at "Daddy's Donut Shop" (what's the real name?!) and walk around munching on a few of those grease fried delights! My husband and I promised each other not to be too indulgent on cheeses and pates this year, but Ohhhhh Oyama!! why do you have to have such wonderful pates and sausages and and and.... I guess more visits to the gym this year with all this donut, cheese and pate eating!

Moderne Burger and Dan is temporarily closed due to fire damages. Anyone know when they will re-open? I miss those juicy burgers, crispy fries and cherry coke at Moderne, and I miss their cubed steak and delicate Kyoto style specials the chef makes at Dan!

Maybe the type of agedashi dofu you expect is not the traditional kind... agedashi dofu shouldn't seem like it has batter around it. It should be lightly dusted in katakuri-ko (type of starch) then deep fried instead of tempura batter which is flour based which creates a thicker koromo. The broth is traditionally not served piping hot and enoki added to it is more of a "creative" approach. Usually daikon oroshi (grated daikon radish) and negi (chopped spring onions) is topped on the tofu. It's all a matter of preference of course but there are certain things in Japanese food that should not steer away from fundamental methods. Agedashi dofu is one of them.... even though this cooking method was a Portugese import! ha ha

It's interesting whenever there's a disussion about Japanese restaurants Tojo is always brought up. There are so many different levels of sushi places in this small city but I wouldn't really compare Tojo's to any other Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Maybe the closest is Wabi Sabi, and even then they have a different concept and twist. It's like comparing Gotham or Chartwell (now a high end steakhouse) to the Keg in terms of quality and refinement. Japanese food has such a huge range. I'm glad Vancouver has a lot more range in Japanese restaurants than 10 years ago, with izakaya style places like Guu, Hapa and Gyoza King to Tojo's to Ezogiku Ramen etc..... If there's a yakitori bar opening anytime soon, I'll be the first one in the line up!

They are two rather different restaurants (although French) but if I was to choose I would definitely go with Le Croc. Service is fantastic, the servers are "career servers" who really know their stuff. I find there's always enough buzz in the restaurant that gives a nice ambiance and the specials are very diverse. The little crocodile chocolate at the end is always a nice touch.

Helenjp, thanks for your baking tip. To be honest I don't bake at home much and when I've tried the home baked scones, it didn't work the way it did with Australian self-raising flour. Japanese "hakuriki-ko" is much lighter in gluten so it does indeed work well but not the stuff we get here. I even took scones to school when I was in chugakko! I'm still in search of a cute tea shop or somewhere that does fluffy light scones, not the kind where you can taste the baking soda that makes the inside of your mouth feel gross. It's funny... most scones I've had here look and feel like hockey pucks!

I grew up in Australia, and the scones I had there was completely different to what I've had here in Canada. There, scones were lighter, fluffier... like pillows of love! With devonshire cream and strawberry jam it was the perfect thing to have for afternoon tea after a long day of shopping (mind you I was very young and tagged along with my mother's shopping). Any kind of scone I've had here has been hard as a rock and crumbly. I heard the flour sold here is quite different from what is available in Australia and the UK, but surely there must be a place that serves fluffy scones! Any suggestions?