Vancouver

Great so I've got 2 worthless dining tricks up my sleeve, the Opentable VIP and my decoder ring. How I wish Idine would penetrate the Vancouver market more successfully so at least I could get some frequent flyer miles. Cheers!

How do the folks at Taco Loco at 2651 Commercial Drive feel about your choice of names?

Thanks for the explanation of what grants that status. Do any restaurants in Vancouver actually do something special when they see that note? Cheers!

Ok, so I logged onto Opentable today and noticed that it now says, "An Opentable VIP member." So I take it that that status and a farepass card will get me on a skytrain and that it doesn't do much else, right? Or do some Vancouver restaurants actually do something special for "Opentable VIP" members. My first impression is that it is a bit of a joke, but I'm curious if I'm wrong? Cheers!

Seems that our drink prices may go up though: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories Cheers!

Did Nyala open a 2nd location on Main street? Or did it just move there? I passed by Nyala on main just a bit south of King Edward today. It was the first time I noticed it there. Anyone been? Cheers!

Yes, across the street of Young Brothers grocers. Cheers!

From above: "He also gave me a sample of the Mom's Special, which is filled with his mother-in-law's tuna salad recipe and wrapped with a bit of nori. A nice lunchtime snack!" The one with the banana is just called "Banana pan" as I recall. Enjoy and let us know what you try! Cheers!

I went there today and tried the Cream-pan #2 (they have two options with #2 being the more creative type that I had not seen before), An-pan, and Kinako-ball. There were all very similar to the ones I have had in Japan. The kinako-ball was particularly creative. It was filled with some type of bean paste (not red bean though as far as I can tell) as well as a mochi. The top is then dipped in kinako. It makes for a very pleasant taste and texture combination. I spoke briefly with the owner, who has been in Canada for 6 years. He is originally from Yokohama. He also gave me a sample of the Mom's Special, which is filled with his mother-in-law's tuna salad recipe and wrapped with a bit of nori. A nice lunchtime snack! I definitely will be returning. Cheers!

I must revoke my recommendation of Kadoya. For more details see this thread. Cheers!

I must revoke my previous recommendation of Kadoya on Davie. Details in this sushi thread. Cheers!

I must revoke my previous recommendation of Kadoya. Just got back from a dinner there. It has gone downhill. The worst part of the dinner was the tuna roll. The tuna was simply not fresh and was well past the fishy odour stage. It was also quite warm. Ironically we had also had some tuna sashimi and it was pretty fresh and the proper temperature. At the end of the meal we left the tuna roll and quietly told the server, "The tuna was a bit old." She nodded and took it away. Then another more senior server came over and quite loudly proclaimed, "You think the tuna isn't fresh??!?!?!?!" (As several people in the restaurant turned around and looked to see what was going on.) To which we replied, "The tuna sashimi was, but the tuna roll was not." She said, "We cut it from the same fish." and then rudely picked up our dishes (making a big production of it) and stormed off. Problems with service items can happen, and normally if you quietly let the server know they apologize, make some gesture, etc. But this was seriously over the top. That same senior server had a bit earlier taken an order from a nearby table and then after the order was finished she said loudly, "That's all?!?!?!" and then they ordered an additional order of miso soup to round it off. She then started laughing and said, "Miso soup?" She clearly was having an off night (which matched the tuna in the tuna roll). I've crossed them off my list now. It really is too bad they went downhill. They were previously one of the best discount sushi places downtown. Ugh..... Cheers!

That picture shows an-pan (red-bean bun). I love those! Ok, I'm there..... Cheers!

Hm....Those look pretty similar to the ones you find in Japan! Thanks for the photo find! I'm looking forward to trying it soon (or hearing from anyone that does)! Cheers!

Has anyone tried Kei's Bakery on Burrard just a little bit north of Broadway? I noticed it today on the way to Orchid Delight (which was just as good as their previous location in Burnaby across from BCIT). Kei's appears to be a rather authentic Japanese pastry bakery. Cheers!

She has lost any credibility she had left (I admit it was not very much to start) by highly recommending Fiddlehead Joe's. I think the best way to consume her reviews is to read them, and then do the opposite. (Ok, I'll grant her one point for slamming Tojo's - it is over-rated.) But highly recommending Fiddlehead Joe's? Please.

I'm so happy to hear that the quality has remained the same! I'm looking forward to regularly visiting once again! Cheers!

I am going to agree with this entirely. I just had the "Railspur Burger" for lunch there. It was by far one of the best burgers I have had in Vancouver. My apologies to Vera's and Modern Burger. Railspur may just have you beat! I agree entirely - the meat was extremely flavourful - perhaps a garlic kick to it? But the juiciness was really the highlight. It is how I remember burgers used to taste and a taste I have been craving for a long time. It is not $11 though - it was $9.50. Cheers!

Confirmation. I passed by today and in fact there was an open sign in the window. Didn't have a chance to try it out. But will soon! (There is free parking in the back as well by the way.) Cheers!

Tony Roma's at the corner of Howe and Pacific has closed. (Thankfully.) Should be interesting to see what happens with that space and the space next door which apparently is opening sometime soon as "Intuition." Good location with all of the residential towers. Perhaps something good will come in the place of Tony Roma's. Cheers!

Per a posting in the Kedah house thread, Orchid Delight (formerly of Burnaby near BCIT) is opening up at 2445 Burrard on June 1 with their Singaporean cuisine. Looking forward to their re-opening with the Hainanese chicken rice and oyster omelets!

Thanks for clarifying that Ling. I really like Traditional Taiwanese as well. The "stupid noodles" are delicious as well! I haven't tried their dan dan. But probably should. I also really enjoy their "pork sandwich" which comes on that steamed chinese bread and their red bean buns for dessert are superb - not overly sweet on the filling like some. Definitely need to try Ellie next door with Keith's ringing endorsement. Thank you also for the update on Orchid Delight! I'm happy to hear they will be close to downtown! The drive out to Burnaby was always a bit far. I'm glad they are re-opening! Cheers!

Orchid Delight has been closed for quite a while now. That is good news to hear that it is reopening someplace. Details please! Keith, is Ellie the one in the same shoping centre as Vogue and Traditional Taiwanese? Is it the one that advertises Singaporean, Malaysian and Taiwanese cuisine? I've always been curious about that combination.... Cheers!

Take the aquabus across to downtown and walk up to Davie street. The belgian fry shop between Granville and Howe on the south side of Davie has quebec style poutine. Cheers!

I finally got around to trying Railspur as well. I had the spicy merguez panini and I must say I really enjoyed it. It had the right amount of heat. The sweet red peppers they added balanced out the spice from the lamb sausage. The fries appeared handcut, of the large chunky variety and were hot and crispy. Overall it was an excellent lunch for the $8. Much better than what is available in the market itself. I look forward to returning and trying some more. It appears that the slow service issues raised earlier have been worked out. The place was packed (every table taken) but the service was extremely friendly, efficient, and overall left me with a very positive impression. I noticed they have an upstairs seating section too, which I don't recall Karma having had. But maybe I just never noticed. I'll definitely be returning, and hoping that the mixed experiences reported above get worked out. I was happy to see they were crowded. Here is a link to their website: Railspur Alley Cafe and Bistro website It appears on the website that they are now open until 9pm some nights. (Perhaps that needs updating? Or maybe they really are?) They also seem to have live jazz on Thursday nights from 7 to 9. Cheers!