bill_n_opus

I've been there three times ... only because we have a family membership and not because we went there specifically for the "story of chocolate". If you go when it's slow then it's kinda neat, in a Science World kinda way ... but it's for kids mainly ... you're not going to see something that's going to get a foodie excited. My kids saw it the first time, rolled their eyes, and then ran to the bug section. I do have to say though, if you have kids a family membership is the way to go if you use it a couple of times.

I'll bite. FiV ... what happened at Joey's that gets you hot under the collar?

I'm aware of www.chocodirect.com ... but that's about it apart from the ones already mentioned.

I remember going to Lombardo's back in the day ... i'm talking about the late 80's - probably 1989. My impression was that the guy making the pizzas (Marcello I presume) was a blunt affect kind of guy. Did not seem friendly ... almost like we were intruding on his turf and he wanted us to scram. The food was good, the pizzas were delicious. But he seemed very cold and inhospitable. I can only imagine what it would be like to deal with him and work for him. The vibe comes from the top down. Notice in the advertising for Marcello's you only see Marcello taking a pizza out of the oven. You don't see Marcello smiling and posing a fresh baked pizza for the camera. I wonder if smiles are few and far between with his establishment?

Went last night. I had the Pollo Con Mole and my bro had the Longaniza Alambre (reading off the menu I picked up) and they were both delicious. Definitely coming back.

I also saw this at Gourmet Warehouse a while ago. Can't remember the price. ← Quick question: how is the current Gourmet Warehouse digs compared to the old one? I haven't been there in a looong time. To keep on topic: if anyone decides to go for a road trip to the premium outlets keep in mind that they have discount coupons available from the casino next door. At least that's what I understand as my bro and his friend had some coupons that they applied to their premium outlet purchases. Not sure exactly how they procured them but just a heads up while you're down there.

Quick update: I quite like the stuff from Aberdeen Mall. The beef is fairly meaty, the pork seems a bit more moist. I've pretty much finished off a pound already. This jerky also seems to be thinner than the one from Fraser St. I wonder what the caloric profile of this stuff is anyways? Maybe I don't want to know. I'll try the Fraser St store to do a comparo later on. Thanks for the info sushi boy.

Well, I went to Richmond today and toured around. Steveston was nice, got there early enough so parking wasn't a problem and no tourists yet. Was able to grab some Halibut and chips at Pajo's and a shady seat to eat them under ... not bad. Then went to Aberdeen later on, found some good parking. I was playing the "spot the Caucasian person" (a silly and innocent joke!) but it was difficult because Aberdeen is pretty Chinese - which is an understatement at the very least. I'm Chinese-background if it makes any difference. Went to the jerky store in the grocery section of Aberdeen (Mei Jei or something like that) and bought a 1/2 pound of sweet pork and beef jerky for a pound total ~ 19 bucks. Not cheap but it's pretty good. I'm not sure if it's as good as the Fraser St one is ... I do know that the Fraser jerky is slightly cheaper at ~ 14-16 bucks a pound. Lower lease rates i'm assuming. I'll reserve final judgement on this jerky until after I finish my stock!

Well, I took my youngest son on a road trip figuring that I would hopefully end up on Fraser Street (wasn't going to hit Richmond this early evening to avoid traffic - coming from New West) ... and the traffic was just nuts! Everywhere! Accidents here ... road work here ... diversions here ... I kid you not, I've not seen crazy traffic like that in a long while. Or maybe i'm getting old and not getting out enough anymore. I'll have to hit the jerky-tour tommorrow.

Jimmy's is just familar to me. I'm not aware of Soo's ... it could certainly be better than Jimmy's.

I agree about the delicious 'bak kwa' (SE Asian-style jerky, rectangular in shape, grilled, sweet, moist) sold at the shop on Fraser Street and 26th Avenue. They make it in beef, pork, and spicy varieties. ← Awesome. I'm heading there today! Thanks! Was it ~ 12-14 bucks a pound? Or for one rectangular shape?

I haven't been able to find a box of jimmy's in over a year. It's been a heartbreaking experience. ← You know what? I heard rumors that it's not around anymore ... but I haven't confirmed it because I haven't looked around for it. I'll have to look for it next time I go to TNT. I love this image. Brings back memories of scarfing down Jimmy's beef jerky down to the last little bits and then licking the bag up and down. (I shouldn't have admitted that ...) (image removed by poster due to copyright considerations)

What "type" of jerky? Personally, I don't like the "western" style of jerky found at your commercial places. The ones that taste and resemble shoe leather. Why that's popular is beyond me ... but to each their own. My preferred version of beef jerky is the moist, smoked kind. There are some Chinese butchers that do an outstanding version of beef jerky, some spicy, some sweet, some spicy-sweet. Incredible. The one I tried last was from a butcher on Fraser street and it was amazing. Sorry, I cannot remember the business. For off the shelf jerky, have you tried Jimmy's? Available at chinese/asian retailers (TNT, Chinatown etc ...). Delicious. Comes boxed with two packages or one shrink wrap. Made locally I believe. Good luck.

I'll typically do some research beforehand and not use the Zagat. as for a laptop, wifi and egullet - egullet is still the one. Converged device and EVDO in increasingly taking prominence away from the laptop and wifi.

My friend just went to Krause today and picked ~ 15 lbs ... and he said that he was very happy. I'd go ... but I can't take the 3 kids. They would go crazy.

You damned racist! ← Unless it really does cater to Asian preferences ... then it's just perpetuating the "stereotype" ... ← Perhaps I should clarify a few things before this gets blown out of proportion (not that that happens around here, but you know just in case). Canucklehead is Asian, and he is also one of the most pleasant-mannered (and non-racist) people you could hope to meet in real life. When he's not ogling the high school girls at Cactus Club, that is. Oh yeah and I am being facetious in approximately 98% of my posts. That is all. ← I have no problem with what Canucklehead said anyways because i'm Asian myself. Chinese-background to be exact (or how exact can we really be? ). Anyways, I knew what was being said, in jest or not, and I was just adding fuel to the ... err, I mean, just commenting about that comment. But back to the thread, I had Church's fried chicken last night. 20 piece of 1/2 regular and 1/2 spicy. Spicy wasn't too spicy but the chicken overally is a bit better than KFC actually. Sometimes I do have that mojo goin' on for that KFC "taste" and all ... but the Church's is usually better. Oh, I didn't have all 20 pieces mind you.

You damned racist! ← Unless it really does cater to Asian preferences ... then it's just perpetuating the "stereotype" ...

I wanted to try out Popeye's last week, dropped by after shopping at Coquitlam Center - looks like closed for renos. Or maybe it's closed for good I don't know.

← "Gritty". Is that supposed to be a good thing? Does it mean they won't clean the place very often, or what? ← We ventured to Republic the other night for dinner and drinks with a few friends. First impressions were "wow", great liquor setup behind the bar, plasmas everywhere, cool interior, and a gorgeous wait staff. Lasting impressions were, mediocre to bleh food and overpriced drinks. We had the Chips w. Cheesy Salsa, Yam Fries, Burger, Salmon, Roast Chicken, a "rosemary" infused drink, and a few beers. It was only their 2nd day open so I'm sure kinks are being ironed out like our waitress not knowing what items were on their menu and artwork falling off the walls. Walking by on Saturday night was a bit funny, with a line-up outside at 10:00 PM and the place maybe 40% full. The space was the most impressive though with upstairs and downstairs bars, and a pretty industrial look / feel. Lots of attitude from the un-knowledgeable staff combined with the other negatives above = probably won't be back. ← Hmmmnnn ... fits my understanding of "gritty" Plasmas everywhere? Gorgeous wait staff? Looks like I got to get me some more "gritty" in my life.

I've known The Octopus Garden on Cornwall to hold private parties there. I think they can accomodate 50 people inside .. but i'm not sure if it will be financially feasible for you to do so ... but call Sada anyways. He's a good guy and he'll tell you straight up if it's possible or not. Best chicken Karaage in the city!

Cheescake etc? Wow, went there over 13-14 years ago. Still around huh? When I went there it was very asian ... funny that me being asian too. It felt strange. Desserts were alright.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a place on 96th and Scott ... when you come up the hill and hit 96th it's in the complex on the right hand side. Dang if I can remember the name. If you pass right by Mehfil on the left hand side just look to the right hand side immediately and it's right there. Anyways, it was clean and when the restaurant filled up it was mostly indo-canadian which I suppose follows the old adage that a chinese restaurant populated by chinese people is the clue to a decent restaurant. The butter chicken was good. Same with the Tandoori chicken as well as a bunch of other stuff. The Naan was not bad but i've had better. I'm not an Indian food expert but I like to eat it!

Hmmmmnnn ... sounds like a trip to the Number 5 Orange is in order. - shooters? Check. - beer? Check? - lots of room? Depends on the time and day. - room to mingle? Well, most of the guys will be in rapt attention from the extracurricular entertainment so the women will have lots of room anyways. - good nibbling food? I suppose so. Alright! It's set! See you there.

The only places i've had "dessert" in Richmond was that Gelato place on the corner of ... uhhhh ... No 2(?) and somethingorother ... basically by the London Drugs. They carry Mario's Gelati. Nice stuff. Or, you can go to the Richmond Costco and pick up some dessert from the food bar.

This topic brings up some interesting memories. I went to Persian/Iranian restaurant in NVan quite a few years ago (7-8 years) in upper Lonsdale area. Somewhere near that Portuguese chicken place of which the name totally escapes me at the moment ... anyways, it was near there. The food was alright, not bad. The rice was nicely buttered (is that a typical middle eastern or Iranian way of serving rice?) and i'm a sucker for butter on anything. The rest of the food wasn't as memorable but it was an interesting experience. Maybe it helped that we went with my wife's friend's boyfriend who was Iranian. Once you get talking Farsi with the owners they love you. Can't hurt. The one thing that I did learn and won't forget is that it's not right to say "I-ran-ian" because some will take offense and ask "Where did you run to?" It's more like "Ierrrrr-ranian". I also second the Afghan Horseman for at least one kick at the can. It's exactly like the other poster described as a big kid's Chuck E Cheese in many ways, so to speak. I remembered that I didn't like their eggplant (rancid tasting) but their potato flat-fries were delicious.