flowbee

i bought some hard brick-like shrimp paste from Cheong Le market on Victoria Dr near 49th. It was at least a couple years or so ago....it's lasted me that long. It's in a yellow foil-ish package.

There's always stuff happening at the Alpen Club (Victoria Drive and 33rd): http://www.vancouveralpenclub.ca/activities-october.html i love spatzle! also something happening in Port Alberni: Oktoberfest, Port Alberni 2006

last time i ate at dona cata, i noticed that they have an al pastor spit! never thought i'd see one in my lifetime

tonight we did dona cata again...to my surprise they had lengua (tongue) as "today's special"! we tasted, we loved! just as good as chilo's lengua i noticed a lot more diverse patrons as well, so i guess the word is getting out! some of their salsas have quite a kick! they've added a sign on the salsa counter that says "caution! our salsas are hot!" (or something to that effect) lol! i'm so glad they aren't toning their food down.

Chilo's does. I've had beers there many times. Dona Cata doesn't appear to be licensed, although there's "sangria" on the menu....perhaps a non-alcoholic sangria? i didn't see any beers there. edit: yes, it's a non-alcoholic sangria.

you can put away 5 of their tacos?! i think my ability to eat large amounts is diminishing with age...

dangit! looks like vancouver doesn't have this dish...

OMFG! i went to dona cata today. the place was full when i got there around 1pm. mind you, there's only 4 tables in the whole place. i was greeted by this sight: i don't even remember seeing this many salsas in mexico! dr0000l! so i ordered an al pastor and a carnitas: i tried avocado salsa on the carnitas and mexicana salsa on the al pastor. there was a lot of meat in the carnitas i was so satisfied, i did something out-of-character for me...i stopped at 2 tacos. the al pastor tasted good too, but then i'm not an expert on the varieties of taco fillings, so i don't know if it was a good al pastor or an average al pastor...all i know is that it all tasted pretty damn good for my first meal of the day! the place was sparkling clean and very comfortable (sometimes i feel slightly icky at chilos). all tacos were $1.25. it seems to be run by these 2 young people, a guy and a girl. they were very nice. here's pics of the menu to whet your appetite! ...and just so there's no confusion a la chilos: happy eating!

after seeing an awesome comedyfest show downtown, we had a gorgeous meal at guu (thurlow & robson). on the way home, we had 2 mexican resto sightings! Taco Time Cantina? first i've ever heard of it...i think we were walking down granville when we saw this. here's the menu board outside: then on our drive home, we saw this new mexican place just 2 BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET from chilo's: sorry, i couldn't get a better photo of the posted hours of operation. but the words "authentic", "real" and "family" makes me intensely curious. i feel so naughty, considering going to another mexican place that's SOOOO close of chilo's. i wonder if he knows about this place? if you're wondering, it's right beside the fire station on victoria drive, near 38th st., across from the park. google maps link who will be the first to test the waters?

i had no idea mooncakes were made with lard! /me scratches off mooncakes from diet list

ok, i guess they're not quite babies...maybe toddlers i guess? the one i had was about 9 inches long. we bought it from the fish market (along with some awesome crab, snails, fish roe and shrimp the size of your hand) down on the ground floor, then brought them upstairs to one of the restaurants where they cook up your bounty for a nominal fee. i took a vid where they're actually moving and squirming...and as you can tell from my stupid grin, i LOVED them: it's comparable to eating raw squid, but different taste...actually, i'm still not sure i tasted anything--it was more textural. quite chewy, and you never actually chewed it up that much...it was kinda like gum. but together with the sesame oil/salt dipping sauce, i found it to be a heavenly experience. it also tasted great with kochujang (korean spicy red pepper paste). i read somewhere that you have to chew quickly, lest the suckers grab onto something. i had no problem chewing, savouring and swallowing the tentacles calm down after a while, but even half an hour later, i could give the remaining tentacles on the plate a stir with my chopsticks and they'd start squirming again. THAT'S freshness! (ironically tonight i steamed some cod that was still twitching when i bought it from the market) i found out about this octopus dish from this fatman seoul post. i also saw anthony bourdain do it on a recent episode of "no reservations" where he goes to korea with his assistant nari. i've also seen videos on the net where koreans eat the real baby octupi (about the size of your hand), and they wrap it around a pair of chopsticks and eat it whole. apparently choking accidents do happen with this dish. i love sushi and raw oysters, so i consider this in the same realm of foodstuffs.

just got back from a whirlwind tour of seoul, singapore and tokyo. tried so many amazing dishes...will maybe post about it all after recovering from jet lag. anyways, i tried "san nakji" (live raw baby octopus) for the first time at the noryangjin fish market in seoul and absolutely loved it! are there any restaurants in town that serve it?? or maybe some market that sells live baby octopus?

ummm, isn't that the place that serves stuff in those chinese take-out boxes (that real chinese restaurants don't even use anymore)?

thanks for taking one for the team!

i love the biltong (south african jerky) from serengeti trading store in north van (http://www.sasausages.com/) great if you like the taste of meat without too much seasoning!

Main & Broadway is south Main??

thanks for the clarification Gerald... i realized later that spritzing oil on a grill wouldn't really make the sizzling sound that i remember hearing.

after a nice couple hours at kits beach, we pigged out at the taco shack. reaction from our first visit was very positive! we tried the steak, fish and chicken tacos. my wife loved the fresh-made tortillas. i liked them...they're different than the pre-made chilo's ones that i'm used to. not that the taco shack ones are better or worse...they're just different. the big guy there warms up the tortillas on the grill, and gives them a spritz of oil [CORRECTION: mostly water] with a spray bottle. very nice fillings were plentiful, and lots of topping options: onions, cabbage, guacamole, cilantro, lime, pico de gallo, salsa roja, salsa verde...and for the texmex crowd, cheddar and sour cream. i loved the steak. flavourful and tender...didn't need any salt. will definitely visit again if we're in the area! is this the beginning of vancouver's own westside vs eastside taco rivalry? edit: spelling, oil/water

new malaysian restaurant opened this week in new west: tamarind hill. my wife suprised me with takeout from there for dinner eggplant. despite the pool of oil in the corner, the dish was actually less oily than i've had elsewhere. very nice dried shrimp flavour! this beef rendang kicked ass! very rich and flavourful. sometimes i find rendang too coconutty, but the coconut in this one was nice and subtle. big pounded stalk of lemongrass is a good sign. in case you were wondering where this place is... peek at the takeout menu for a taste of their selection and prices. they can prepare seafood in a lot of different ways. looks promising, and worth a follow-up sit-down visit. i hope new west can sustain an "exotic" asian restaurant like this!

Solution: don't order the rolls. I get their nigiri. I love it!

i find that salting to taste can be a saviour. ← Wow, thanks for the tip. Who woulda thunk...all the things I learn on EG... ← heh, in my less-than-voluminous experience with mexican tacos, i've always noticed that salt shakers are within reach--even at the taco stands i've been to in mexico. i've noticed that the meats and fillings are way less salty than maybe we're used to, being perhaps conditioned to Taco Bell et al... heck, i've seen the locals salt their tacos so it must be acceptable, no?

i find that salting to taste can be a saviour. Gerald: The Great Taco Hunt is a great yardstick to go by.

ummmm, don't forget about Chilo's Taqueria...

i've enjoyed a few japanese tv shows related to cooking -- not on tv, but downloaded from some japanese multimedia newsgroups. luckily, they all had english subtitles. i believe they were captured off of hawaiian television. they were: - amakara avenue (food/restaurant program, has instructional cooking bits near the end of each episode) - next stop (basically a tour of japan by hopping off at different train stations and seeing what there is to offer) - three minute cooking (going by memory on the title...it was a series of little 3-minute quickie cooking videos...very nice and simple recipes) - sushi! donburi! ramen! (a yearly show that features the best of those 3 dishes from around japan) there was one more, which i can't recall the name of...i'll have to check when i get home it featured an older male host with a younger lady. a lot of the shows focused food, and i got a lot of cooking ideas from it (eg. ramen broth). unfortunately most of the shows were really old (from the fashions, looked like they were produced in the late 80s to mid 90s), and their availability depends on the kindness of people digitizing the episodes and posting them (frankly illegal, but very much appreciated!). edit: that other show i was thinking of is "soko ga shiritai"

breakfast: starve lunch: starve dinner: pig out on $44 worth of sushi at Ajisai or Toshi's