mangez

We prefer the regular curry beef instead of the brisket at Mui's. A little less heavy as the pieces are less fatty. The sweet and sour pork at Mui's is also first class, if you haven't tried it..

Been there twice since it changed name from PM a few months ago. Once for lunch and once for dinner. Both times we were the only table! Food was good, somehow the deco didn't do it.

I believe owner of Tama sushi is actively looking for a new place, landlord jacked up rent too much so he decided to bail.

I suppose most of you folks have tried out Parkside but it was the first time for us 3 days ago. Two words: Absolutely amazing. Pros: - nice decor, reminded us of an unpretentious east coast restaurant. - tried the lamb, chicken, pate and sweet bread. all very tasty and well presented. - as many of you have mentioned, excellent wine list. probably the best wine list in town if you factor in the value? even their high-end bottles are reasonably priced. Cons: - tables could use linen. - dessert did not wow us as much as the starters and main courses. - impossible to find parking, must valet car. Conclusion: We have been put off by the location for the longest time, but finally realize what we have been missing. Definitely one of the best restaurants in town. In fact, we're heading back tonight.

Kyung Bok Palace - Korean 143 3rd Street West, North Vancouver BC, 604-987-3112 wang kalbi (BBQ yourself short ribs)

Gentlemen, do remember to add extra ketchup yourself on the dish to balance the heaviness. And sorry, it's purely cholesterol-centric no frozen peas. And Amigo in Richmond, I do recall having their African chicken steak (with a creamy tomato sauce) which was quite interesting. Lots of MSG but very tasty. By the way, tried out the dumplings at Shanghai River, prefer the dumplings at the Aberdeen food court more. The meat tastes less porky, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I remember Alexis was one of the posh places, although we always forget about the surroundings and only focus on the laksa and their black and white cakes. Really miss the BBQ pork from those couple of hawker stalls, too many years ago completely forgot about their names!

Mangez, you are absolutely right. If/when I try the food, I will post my impressions of it. My reaction was to the restaurant's name itself. Their yin/yang fried rice - is it not the regular tomato-based chicken side, cream-based shrimp side concoction? I ask because you mention adventurousness, and thought that maybe they did something different. And if it's even better than the original, that would draw me into the joint (despite the name ). ← Hey BCinBC, do try it out (disclaimer, no connection with Gloucester Cafe)! Yes, the Yin/Yang rice is the same as you described. I wasn't sure if you're familiar with such a unique tomato meets cream dish therefore the warning. The tomato chicken side has a good sour bite to it, and the creamy side is also relatively rich and tasty. However, I wish they would have marinated the prawns more as while they're firm in texture (and also of a good size), you need to mix the prawns with the tomato/chicken side as the prawns are tasteless by themselves. Mind you, must try to finish the yin/yang rice in one go as the dish does not taste half as good once you have taken it home. The cream sauce somehow disintegrates when you reheat it. If you like heavily marinated prime rib with a good gravy, they also serve interesting prime ribs on Fridays and Saturdays. You won't believe they have long lineups and their meat will be sold out by 8pm!

We have tried a few in town and our favourite Korean BBQ restaurant is: Kyung Bok Palace 143 3rd Street West, North Vancouver BC, 604-987-3112 • recommended dishes: wang kalbi (BBQ yourself short ribs) • chap chai (stir-fry rice noodles) • marinated raw beef (if you're up for it) • fairly expensive (and your clothes will smell afterwards), but worth a try, one of the best Korean restaurants in town • unlimited side dishes/kimchi Not the closest but very tasty food, nicely marinated.

I agree that eating is a very personal thing and the danger of generalizing in this thread is potentially messy (and telling). However, I would like to add that we can't ignore how our desires and choices are greatly influenced by culture, class, ethnicity and gender. The rooms we enter and the places we patronize say much about us. As does what we order, how we share and prepare food, and how we talk about it later. I think these are personal decisions that are also under the influence so-to-speak. As one example: Doesn't the concept of the 'food adventurer' who is willing to try the stuff deemed strange and adventurous eminate from a cultural perspective which is presumed the norm/centre? And Jamie, What do you mean when you say we dine with someone "who looks like us"? Do you mean the person we arrive with or the people we can reasonablyexpect to see in the room? If it's the former, can you say more cuz it doesn't make sense to me and my experience. 3WC edited to death ← I believe the key to make this all fun is to be open minded. I always find it fascinating to try out different things, yet it does not mean we cannot learn and find joy from those who prefer to stick to their favourites who are far less adventurous. Jamie raised a very good point about people wanting to dine with someone "who looks like us". May I suggest that some may like to dine at places with folks whom some may want to become, or be associated or be seen with. Absolutely nothing wrong but clearly there has to be a reason why people hang out at these clubs or hip places with unimpressive food yet at rocket prices? It's all very personal.

Putting food into one's mouth is a very personal thing, it's very hard to generalize based on age, income, ethnic and cultural background.

Wonton King? Total gang hangout. I just found out that Mooshmouse was in a Asian girl gang in high school. Just ask her. Testify! ← I am not a fan of HK style western food. For example, I mock the name "Cafe Glouchester" all the time even though I never eat there (once I stopped out of curiousity, but just ordered mango ice cream). It seems so weirdly HK, like (again a 90s reference) those jackets people used to wear that said weird shit like "High Rollers Club" on the back. ← I think those jackets with interesting messages actually came from Japan back in the 80s and became rather popular in Taiwan and HK. The humour is not unlike Chinese characters on Kung-Fu/Bruce Lee era T-shirts back in the 70s. HK style western food is definitely an acquired taste. You have to at least try before criticizing! The rice from the "baked pork-chop rice" at Gloucester is perfectly al dente, if you add a touch of extra ketchup, the dish is hard to beat. In fact, Gloucester serves one of the best rice in town, slightly chewy to the bite with elegant texture and aroma. Gloucester's "deep fried prawns" are also very good and if you're adventurous, try out their "yin/yang fried rice". The "minced beef with sunny side egg on rice" is another classic at iCafe (W8th & Cambie). Perhaps too heavy for some, but again, if you add a dash of ketchup to break the grease, the dish is quite good before or after serious drinking/partying. Lots of reasons to go for HK style western food if you can look beyond the decor, service and often language barrier. Excellent value, long hours, they also have these fancy strong iced tea with generous portion of lemon slices. In fact, there are lots of these interesting casual Asian/western 'fusion' restaurants in Vancouver. Another good one to try out is Yoshoku Ya on Denman (across from Cafe de Paris). Their Japanese style curry and Om rice (omelette rice) are truly first class.

For a more masculine high tea experience, we frequent Casablanca at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia, and we second Michelle's, the mango cake there is pretty good. Now Pao, would you pick the new Beetle, Mini, or the Smart car?

Your picture of the Sarawak Laksa reminded me of a great Sarawak Laksa we had a few years ago when living in KL, in a cafe called Alexis in the Bangsar area. We miss it dearly!!

Mr. Ford must be a regular at Vij's, saw him a couple of weeks ago, also had a female companion almost breaking her back trying to check him out. Lamb popsicles are heavenly.

Another good Xiaolong Bao source is the food court at the new Aberdeen Centre, on the top level on your right hand side. We troed it a month ago amd it was A+. Returned last weekend it was still B+ with a slight 'porky' taste if you know what I mean. The drunken chicken at the Shanghainese restaurant, Northern Delicacy one floor below was also first class, A in my books. They also serving B+ "Dam Dam" noodles. One final interesting find at the Aberdeen Centre Mall was the shaved ice dessert outlet also at the food court! Talking about finely shaved ice, absolutely impressive.

Thank you Canucklehead, we'll try out the lamb next time. Don't think we'll go back to Tojo's, it's not that we dislike new style Japanese restaurants such as Nobu NYC, like you said, the over handled, style over substance food just doesn't do it for us. Leaving the thread back to you guys.

Thanks for the reply Jamie! So what's your recommended dishes at Cioppino and Tojo's? I'm always fascinated by the popularity of the two yet fail to find a truly impressive plate. TIA!

I absolutely agree with you on your points, Canucklehead. To many who are familiar with Asian cuisine, voting Hon’s as the Best Chinese Restaurant is almost similar to voting Domino Pizza as the Best Italian Restaurant. For those who look for large portions at good prices, and a relatively stress-free ordering environment, it may work. For those who are looking for something a little more authentic and are willing to be more adventurous, there are far better choices. The challenge with most good Chinese restaurants in Vancouver is the culture and language barrier. It really helps to know both Cantonese and Mandarin to get the best deals. Perhaps that's our next school project, getting some of our international students to carry out an extensive menu translation project, and to act as food ambassadors! How about a Best Dish contest? While I respect the experience and opinions from the professional food critics, I find the "best restaurant approach" often oversimplifying the meaning behind food appreciation killing all the fun. I know, we live in a world surrounded by easy to understand rating systems, 5-star hotels, Michelin 3-star, Zagat ratings, Penguin music guide scores, Wine Spectator or Parker ratings, Relais & Chateaux stars, and of course, the Vancouver Magazine Best Lists. However, is it not time we focus more on the dishes for a change? Instead of going to Vij’s because they’re voted the best Indian Restaurant 3 years in a row, I want to go because Jamie whom we share similar tastes recommends the lamb feugreek cream curry, and also the beef short ribs in red wine curry and honey paranta. While it may be fun to go to a hip Indian restaurant like Vij’s, seeing folks pairing up their red wine with their curry(!), shaking hands with the friendly owner who wears those fancy slippers, it is also refreshing to have the traditional dishes such as shahi paneer, malai or butter chicken, and the lamb saag gosht every now and then at Indian Oven as recommended by Jason McRobbie? Ok, Barbara-jo McIntosh may recommend West’s risotto but since she generally likes her food on the salty side, I may think twice before ordering it. As we read more personal dish-reviews from various critics, we learn to discover more about ourselves, what we like, and which critics do we side. And that is the fun, in my opinion. Having a Best Restaurants issue may push the magazine sales, but for "good food addicts," we rather have a more practical tool! Instead of blindly walking into a so-called rated best restaurant naively thinking that every dish will suit everybody’s taste, I want to hear what favourite dishes the different critics recommend. I want to go beyond the wine labels and learn to discover my favourite vintages; I want to go beyond composers and learn my favourite pieces and recordings; I want to go beyond designer labels and learn what actually suits me; I want to go beyond restaurants and focus on my dishes!

Double Dog at Red Onion gets our vote as well!

We second Au Petit Cafe, their spring rolls are also pretty good. Do note they close at 7pm.

Kiyo will be our recommended Japanese restaurant although service is just average.

Feenie's weenie?

Steak au poivre didn't do it for us at Le Crocodile either. Always prefer their lamb. Last time we tried (a few months ago), the blackened creo steak at Cactus Club on Broadway (close to Cambie) was first class. Also like the Porterhouse at Ey's Encore.

If the Japanese visitors need translation on any of the French/Italian menus, we can have our Japanese students do the translation ahead of time for them! Just ask.