makanmakan

yayy!! everything sounds very exciting so far! we are taking our london visitors there for dinner on friday night, after coctails and nibblies at C!! looking very forward to it all!

my "go to" for congee and noodles is the "congee noodle house" on broadway between main and quebec. best thing is that they're open till 3am!! try the cilantro and sea bass congee. to die for!

speaking of bc wines, how about a little visit out to the 'burbs? we have a few wineries out in langley, two top ones are "township 7", and "domaine de chaberton". we just recently went out there and had a fabulous afternoon/evening. topped off with a lovely french dinner at the baccus bistro (at domaine de chaberton), sitting on the patio, next to the vineyard. their 2004 gewurztraminer just gained an award. http://www.domainedechaberton.com btw, i second the suggestion for the templeton for a downtown diner breakfast suggestion. how about a fun izakaya experience at guu with garlic? as for thai, my pick would be simply thai, in yaletown. must order the Cho Muang! little purple dumplings of goodness!

hope it's very soon as we have friends coming into town from london and want to take them there!

May I recommend a close (-enough) replacement called Kedah? It's Malaysian and very much halal/muslim. One of the best and authentic Malaysian restaurants in town. And the prices are *INCREDIBLE*! 5750 Fraser Street: 604 325-9771 ← I went a couple of nights ago and Kedah House is excellent indeed. Very authentic and delicous - also they recreated the tropics by turning off their a/c and leaving me to sweat profusely through my dress shirt - it looked like one of those see through Philipino shirts by the end of dinner. Everything was deeply spiced and you could taste whole spices. The satays tasted wonderful - not overly marinated as at Mui Garden. Meat is generally cooked on the bone - which adds alot of flavor. The Lamb Briyani had whole cumin seeds, aged basmati rice and star anise. The real capper was dessert - Iced Kacang. This is a devisive dessert - as I think only those was a real love of Asian food can like it - and it was fantastic. Soft shaved ice (I mean the ice was like snow flakes) dressed with a pink fruity syrup, condensed milk - and here are the kickers - red beans and bits of agar jelly. It was so good it made my head swim - I was burning up and it was like a cool salvation in a little bowl. The consistency is like when ice cream is prefectly soft. Sweet, cold, and refreshing without being cloying or too filling. AAAAAH - I am not kidding when I say it was the best summer dessert I have had this year. Just thinking about the Ice Kacang makes me smile to myself.... ← hello! my family and i think that kedah house has the most authentic malaysian food in town. we came over in the late 80's and missed the food the most. the banana leaf on broadway was always the choice until kedah house opened. the satay there is served exactly how it is served back home....with the cucumber and pineapple chunks and the rice cakes (ketupat). sigh. now, i have a question for you, how was your service? i've found that the last few times i've been there, with both family and friends, the service from the dad was always great (just like back home, relaxed but casually friendly), but when the son is serving us, we get tremendous attitude. almost like it's a giant burden. leaves me kinda shellshocked, to tell you the truth. we've stopped going there because it makes us extremely uncomfortable. double sigh. we miss the food though..... as for the food, other must tries are the lamb bryani, sambal kangkong (if it's in season...it's a malaysian water spinach), mee goreng, and grilled fish. if you liked the ais kacang, give the cendol a try! it's more like a drink, but oh, so coconut milky and lots of yummy pandan flavored jelly bits! speaking of drinks, the teh tarik is quite good too there....malaysian pulled tea. we have to have our gimmicks too!! last sigh...i promise

This doesn't have to be the case. If you spend upwards of $7mil on a sweet set of digs, and Watermark is a sweet set of digs, then c'mon...make it something amazing. Make it something that will blow the socks off of everyone that walks in the door. From top to bottom, the place should be brimming with excellence. ← i agree. i have to admit, i have no urge to check out watermark since reading all the reviews of it. for me, it can have walls that are falling down, but if the food, service and atmosphere are amazing, then i'll be there with bells on. such is also the case for lift. gorgeous restaurant, gorgeous location but everything else is mediocrity. i only went because a friend was in town and we went for lunch. maybe i was too nitpicky, but when the $$ is apparent in everything around me, i want everything to be perfect....and not just the "perfect looking" people around me, either! anyways, i might check out watermark when the rainy season comes around.....i'm in no hurry to stand in line and bump shoulders with the bikinis my .02

Are you serious? $15??? Sheesh, I was looking forward to it, but now, not so sure. Wanted to see the Super Dog guy for the last time before he retired and have some pakoras and a salmon dog from Johnny's. Free ticket? How? ← Free tickets came as a perk from volunteer work. However, I understand you can get discounted tickets at Safeway and a few other businesses. This info is in the pamphlet in this Saturday's Sun newspaper. Plus, you can use your Safeway air miles to buy these tickets I understand. ← you can get tickets from 7-11 for $10!

i feel so jealous

another vote for simply thai here. love the food and must order the cho muang (Beautiful steamed violet coloured flower dumplings stuffed with minced chicken, onion and special Thai spices) when the chef is in the house. simply heavenly!

we checked out the township 7 and domaine de chaberton vineyards this weekend and had dinner at the bacchus bistro. recap on the winery restaurants thread. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...18entry984718 next up, bravo and mill street cafe!

after a weekend of birthday celebrations (his), i'm here to report on our lovely trip out to the valley. we stopped in at township 7 on our way to domaine de chaberton to check out their facilities. a small store but we were taken care of by a wonderfully friendly lady. we both have had the merlot and the merlot/cab blends so it was great to taste the other wines that they produce. ended up leaving with 2 bottles of their lovely rose. we arrived at domaine de chaberton too late for the last tour but had fun tasting in the store, nevertheless. we had a little time before our dinner reservation so we took a glass each of the gerwurztraminer and meritage and sat out on a picnic table enjoying the sun and the quietness of being out of the city. the glasses of wines at the wine store were a good deal at $4 a glass for the house wines and $6 a glass for the varietals, and were a generous pour as well. we still had a half of glass of our wines left and brought it to our table. luckily, we got a table on the patio, beautiful, with the vineyard right beside us. we had a fabulous server named katie. i had forgotten about butter's warning about the huge portions and we both ordered starters and mains! and we also noted, as stephen mentioned, that the wines in the restaurant was marked up considerably. quite the difference from the wine shop prices! here's my partner's write up about our dinner... "French onion soup, generous portion, broth slightly sweet(onions?) Large amount of gruyere cheese baked to perfection. caesar salad very capery lots of citrus. Mix of red and green romaine. Topped w/ a slice of toasted baguette with oka cheese melted on top. Wines: pinot gris, scented much like the Bachus with tones of lychee and muscat, coloured the same, but still finished w/crisp green taste typical of pinot gris Gamay noir, lighter bodied, spicy, so much that you expect it to break out in bubbles. Very earthy, perfect match with the lamb. Mains: Veal medalions, served in a light cream mixed wild mushroom ragout. Earthy, delicately spiced, on a bed of wilted spinach. Side dish of roasted new potatoes baked with butter, broth, fresh thyme, chives, exquisite Braised lamb shank w/ a light tomato and garlic sauce with the lighted hint of a perfectly spiced curry. Cooked to perfection, meat fell right off the bone and melted in our mouths. Topped with perfectly braised tomato concasse, garlic chunks, mini pearl onions and summer squash. Accompianed with a mango chutney All portions very generous, to the point where I wished they were smaller so I could enoy more than one shared desert. Dessert was a soft meringue topped with caramel and almond resting on a sea of creme anglais. We joked that it was much like a sabayon just before folding. Katie our server rocked. She was exceptionally efficient with a fantastic sense of humour. Even started joking with me when we ordered the lamb and started quoting the simpsons episode with the lamb saying: doooon't eat me lisa." we left with a bottle of the gewurztraminer and the wine maker's special box of four wines - gamay noir, cabernet sauvignon, barrel reserve syrah, and barrel reserve merlot. we definitely will be back to bacchus and will also check out the other vineyards in the area, glenugie, lotusland and fort wine co.

at the risk of shocking everyone around here, i've never had this famed hanger. i think i need to get my butt down there in the next week. see you soon!

there's also chutney villa on broadway between main and quebec....next to congee noodle house. i quite like the food and the homemade chutneys that they offer. doesn't delhi darbar also offer south indian food? i could be wrong about this...

another cursed location, it seems. good to see indian in the neighborhood though, definitely a lack of representation in it. good to also see that it's not another greek restaurant!

deep breath....my first post on this thread! we were in mt vernon for the weekend for a wedding. on the way back on sunday, we stopped at calico cupboard for a snack. this is a quaint little cafe just off the i-5, with a little book store attached to it. old brick, old wood floors, mismatched furniture, great food and drinks, just slow on the service. he had a spinach salad with blue cheese, bacon, and a raspberry vinagrette, and i had the clam chowder. both came with a huge chunk of grainy bread that's made onsite. both were tasty, and as we were in the states, the portions were quite big! yummy homemade lemonade and fresh brewed ice teas went with our meals. left with a couple of giant sticky cinnamon buns for later. came back into town and had an early dinner/snack at a little hole in the wall mexican spot on east broadway and rupert (i think) called vallarta's. it was a quaint little place, loud mexican tv in the corner, felt like i was back in a small town in mexico. the chicken fajita was huge and tasty and the flautas were awesome. a huge pint of jamaica and tamarindo juices were perfect and thirst quenching. will definitely be back to try out the rest of the small menu! later on, we made our way to the richmond night market. followed the crowd in like a herd of cows. walked through the food section feasting on dumplings, pork and shrimp, roti canai, korean lamb kebobs, chicken on a stick, beef on a stick, tried curried periwinkle (didn't like it so much), lumpias, scallop tako yakis, leek pie and green onion pancake, washed down with a mango bubble tea for him and a watermelon juice for me. dessert was warm sweet tofu pudding for me and i can't remember what he had. we rolled out of there finally, with a couple of huge bellies, groaning about how much we had eaten! oh, and the cinnamon buns were yummy this morning, with our coffees, warmed up in the nuker!

new solly's opening soon on 7th and yukon. i'm sure this is old news by now, but i'm just excited that cinnamon buns are now just over the bridge!! as for lolita's, revasser, they were opened on the weekend just serving drinks and tacos to introduce themselves to the locals. yes, i was told there is a bar now, and the wall to the kitchen has now been torn down for an open kitchen concept. that is all i can remember from what i was told....after a few too many drinks

i know! we noticed that a couple of weeks ago and were so sad because we still hadn't eaten there yet

random, in the west end, has closed it's doors. the windows are now papered up and there's new color on the walls (from what i could see above the paper line). i got word last night that an ex-bin staff is opening a mexican fusion spot called lolita's. apparently they will open their doors to serve tacos and beer this weekend to meet the locals and grand opening is slated for august 14. looking forward to checking this out as it's around the corner from me!

how about marta pan from pan-o-pan? i had a wonderful experience at her house when 16 of us did a birthday celebration there. the food was delicious and she was a lovely host.

thank you, jamie and butter! i did take a look at the menu and it looks very intriguing. i think that we will stick to the regular menu instead of asking for a special menu, as there is so much to choose from! thanks for the tip, butter, i shall make sure that we don't over order, although, we do like to be gluttons at times! we are also planning on going to township 7 and glenugie to check out their vineyards, so we will be working up a healthy appetite!

adding raincity grill to the list. they have a great little patio with a wonderful view of engish bay, and oh yea, the food's not so bad either!

another vote for parkside here. it's one of my top 3 restaurants, although i haven't been to l'emotion yet. parkside has wonderful service, the food's always amazing, not to mention the great wine and eau de vie list! chris and crew have always been gracious hosts. also, depending on how many people you have in your party, they have a great round booth in the front, or a private one in the back too! hmmm, i think it's time to visit that great patio again!!

quick question.... so the bistro at domaine de chaberton is definitely a go? i'm thinking of doing a quite birthday dinner there for my partner. thanks!

one of my "must do's" is when i am on my way to tofino. i always have to stop in at coombs and stock up on goodies at the old country market. yes, the one with the goats on the roof!! they have great produce, yummy cheeses , deli goodies, and a great bakery too.

Bit of a drive for you I think ... it's Papagallo's, and it's in North Burnaby at the corner of Sperling & Hastings. A. ← i'll just have to add that to my "visit the parents" trek! thanks!