Beebs

Chen's Shanghai Restaurant 8095 Park Road (604) 304-8288 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Heads up that they're closed on Wednesdays. Happy dining! ← Sweet! I thought they were still on Leslie Road, so yesterday we were driving up and down (and up and down) looking for them to get our fix of xiao long bao. We even drove up and down (and up and down) Alexandra thinking we got the address wrong. Going later this week yippee!

Had a much-beloved wooden spoon once.... My Sig. Other stirred cookie batter too hard and snapped it. Was very sad. So Sig Other bought me a Joyce Chen bamboo spoon to replace it, and I love it!

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Ah Leung! I'm still fairly new to eGullet, but wow -- I am totally hooked on to your blog and am going to browse your other contributions now! Your beautiful pictures certainly bring back lots of memories of when our family use to do the full-on New Year celebration (we've since scaled back as my family is scattered all over the place now). My mom's side of the family is Northern Chinese, so we did the dumpling thing for CNY. Grandma, aunties, and mom would make loads of jiao zi, and would put a spoonful of sugar in just one of the dumplings. Whoever got the sweet jiao zi would be extra lucky that year. Hope you get a chance to come up to Vancouver sometime and sample some our our Chinese eats here -- the Chinese food here is some of the best in N America! (no bias here! ) Beebs

Thanks for the update, Sylphid! Methinks it's time for another trip there!

Whoops! Just saw the link above for the other vegetarian thread which mentions Naam & Foundation!

The Naam on West 4th & Macdonald is a pretty popular vegetarian restaurant. They use cheese & the like, but have vegan options as well. The last time I was there was maybe 3 yrs ago, but I remember the veggie burger & sesame fries were pretty good. Service is next to non-existent. The Foundation on Main & E. Broadway is another hotspot for vegetarian/vegans. I think the restaurant is vegan. Have only been there once, and was thoroughly not impressed despite the popularity. Everything tasted the same -- tahini-peanutty flavoured gloopy mush. I had some kind of overcooked stirfried tahini-peanutty flavoured veg. Haven't been back since, but it's been 5 yrs, maybe things are better now? Lots of veg places on Commercial Drive I've heard, haven't bothered to try most of them as I like my meat. Did buy a couple vegan baked goods from Sweet Cherubim recently. They tasted -- as you would expect baked goods that don't have real cream, butter, or eggs to taste. Habibi's on W Broadway & Oak is a Lebanese vegetarian restaurant. Yummy! It's meze style, so great for sharing. I haven't been there for a year or two, and I've heard they also changed ownership since then -- perhaps someone else might have more details on this?

Tapenade! A soft, runny egg - boiled or fried. Butter & honey. Mmmmmmmm....!

Flats! I also like to nibble the crispy chicken skin around the wing tips when I can get them.

My Chinese parents don't like the taste of cumin, which would explain why they don't like Tex-Mex (they like cheese though). But give them a bowl of Malaysian or Singapore-style curry which has plenty of cumin, and they're all over it. On the other hand, they can't stand Thai curry because they think it's too sweet. And they love Italian food & have travelled extensively in Italy. And they love French food too. When they entertain, they almost never serve Chinese food. I, on the other hand, like Mexican, Malaysian, Thai, Italian, and French. Hmmm....

Neat! I didn't know Fish House in Stanley Park was still doing afternoon tea - must give it a try soon. Prasantrin, your menu sounds lovely! You might also consider serving a green tea (jasmine, gunpowder) and/or an herbal tea as well (chamomile, fruit teas, lemon herb -- peppermint might be too overpowering). Or consider pairing certain types of tea with particular items served. eg, Earl Grey and Darjeeling are great with chocolate, but many green teas not as good; scented teas good with sweet things but some types taste funny with savoury meaty things. English Breakfast, Orange Pekoe, Darjeeling are great all-rounders and appeal to most tastes, so those are always safe bets.

I eat canned sardines as comfort food - favourite brand is Phoenicia (Portuguese brand), packed in oil and chilis, with the innards still in the fish. Served with finely minced white or red onion, dash of soy sauce (or Maggi Sauce!), and freshly cracked pepper. Next to a big bowl of Chinese rice porridge. Heaven!

Yum yum yummmm! Called for a last minute reservation last night for Significant Other's birthday dinner, wasn't expecting to get a seat as I've been told the place is always packed, even on weeknights. Managed to get a late seating (yippee!). I had the duck breast prosciutto for starters, which came with a potato-green bean-arugula salad. Flavourful, salty goodness! Significant Other had tortellini in brodo and the tortellinis were stuffed full of shredded veal. Mains were the Osso Buco (for S.O.) -- meltingly tender with a wonderful lemony-orangey sauce. Love the little marrow bone spoon for scooping out the marrow -- beefy fatty goodness. I had the pumpkin ravioli with sage & toasted hazelnuts. Ohmygosh, those raviolis were some of the most delicious things I've ever put into my mouth! And do I detect a drizzle of truffle oil? When our server set the ravioli in front of me, I inhaled that amazing aroma and practically drooled all over myself (salivating a little as I type...). Finished with panna cotta with rum raisins and tiramisu, which we could barely pack into our already-stuffed gullets. The pasta special yesterday was spaghetti with seafood. Saw a few of these go out -- the plate literally piled high with mussels, shrimp, clams, fish. Looked amazing, and guests were munching it with much enjoyment -- must have it next time it's available. Simple, wonderfully done dishes, great service, terrific value -- planning my next meal at La Buca already!

Cheez Whiz and salsa, melted together and eaten with corn chips -- mmmmm.............!

Having done my fair share of running around NYC for work visits, all those wonderful little deli-cafes (sandwich shops? Lunch shops??) that are on every street corner were my life's blood. If you've only got 30 minutes between appointments and need a quick meal, you can get fresh salads, sandwiches, soups, hot entrees, etc -- a pretty decent fast meal for under $10. I live in a pretty big city with lots of great places to eat, but we certainly don't have these delis conveniently everywhere.

Sea beans if I'm not mistaken right? Although I think there are other names for them. ← Sea beans is right. Also known as sea asparagus, salicorne, slender glasswort, and (I think) samphire. Crunchy salty goodness. Philadelphians: nice potluck there! I work with people from your area but all I can imagine them preparing is grilled chicken Caesar salad. ← How do you prepare sea asparagus? These grow widely where my parents live, I've been interested in eating them (pulled up a sprig & munched it -- bleah too salty-sandy). Do you cook it? Or eat it raw? Can you eat it like a side dish or is it more commonly used for garnish only? Thanks!

That'd be Casa Verde, a casual family-run restaurant located at 3532 Commercial Street (604-876-7647). Note that it's cash only. Among their notable dishes are lulas grelhadas (squid pan fried in olive oil, garlic and lemon juice), frango no churrasco (barbecued piri-piri chicken, available on weekends only) and batatas a rodelas ("dollar-cut" chips, some of the best damn fries in Vancouver). ← All washed down with a couple bottles of vinho verde!

I just came back from a business trip to NYC last week, although most of my dinners were around the Upper East Side. I did go to a place called Les Sans Culotte on 1085 2nd Ave (at 57th) in Midtown. The prix-fixe is around $25, but they have a la carte as well. At the beginning of the meal they will bring out a huge basket of fresh veggies & fruit, a rack of sausages & salami, bread, country pate, and aioli which you can munch away at until you're ready for them to serve the entree (included in price). Fun & social! I had sauteed veal liver, and my companion had pork tenderloin. (no website but check out menupages.com) If you happen to wander up to the UES, check out Sotto Cinque on E 86th (btw 1st & 2nd Ave). What a gem of a find! Italian restaurant featuring really inexpensive pastas and entrees (around $10 for most pastas, $15 for other entrees). Wasn't expecting much given the menu prices, but boy did it exceed my expectations! I had pasta (spaghetti carbonara) and it was done perfectly al dente, good sauce. Also had a warm radicchio & artichoke salad. Great value, kept the business expenses down too! (website is www.sottocinque.com).

Try Kirin on Cambie & 12th for dimsum (or dinner). A bit more higher priced but excellent food & attentive service. Shijo for Japanese on W 4th, near Burrard (it's one or 2 streets west I think). Sit at the sushi bar! Crave on Main St & 26th for Sunday brunch. It's a pretty small space, especially when their patio isn't open for the colder months, and they don't take reservations. Chef is ex Four Seasons. Ohmygosh the crab cake bennies are to die for! Crab cake appetizer at dinner. Yummmmm! For gelato, definately La Casa Gelato on 1033 Venables Street. They make everything in-house, and over 100 flavors to choose from at any one time. Even crazy flavors like curry, garlic, wasabi, pine mushroom..... Enjoy your trip!

I went to Rare yesterday night for DOV with a couple of my work friends. I have to compliment on the fantastic service by the staff and particularly by our server. Our server was attentive and extremely knowledgeable on the menu, he discussed in detail every item on the list, talked a bit about the chef's concepts for the dish, and made spot-on recommendations. He truly made what was already a fine meal an excellent and memorable evening. Kudos to your wonderful team, Tim & Brian!

Is broccoli rabe the same as rapini? If not, how are they different in terms of taste and can you cook them the same way?

Had marmite once on a cracker. Can't say I'll be eating it on toast anytime soon. I thought it tasted a lot like Maggi sauce but thicker. Maggie is awesome on fried or boiled eggs -- maybe Marmite would be good like that too?

Anything that holds more than 2 sips! But seriously, I'm with SuzySushi on this, that material makes more difference to the taste than shape. I can't speak so much for coffee (since most of my coffee comes in a disposable paper cup with plastic travel lid...), but I think it certainly makes a difference for how tea tastes. Any kind of metal vessel (including stainless steel) seems to be the worst kind for tea, it makes it taste -- well, funny -- at least in my experience. Does the same hold true for coffee? I've never had coffee in a metal cup/mug. I'm a fan of glass, because it's non-porous therefore is more resistant to absorbing flavours -- so I can use the same cup for coffee and tea! As long as it's durable, tempered glass. My glass mug holds a whopping 22oz - just right! Unfortunately it doesn't hold the heat as well as ceramic, which I also use pretty regularly. I've got basic ceramic mugs of various shapes & sizes.

I second Apollonia! We go there on a regular basis. Saganaki (fried cheese) is a must have -- hot fried cheese with a crispy crust and a squeeze of lemon -- I can eat this everyday (almost)! Actually, the family, Harry & Thea, that currently runs The Main used to own Appollonia before moving to Main St. They ran both locations for awhile before turning over Apollonia about 2-3 yrs ago, but things haven't changed much and the food is just as good as before. (Story time!) Dad liked eating at Apollonia so much that he asked Harry to cater his 50th birthday and also a corporate party the next year. They did an awesome suckling pig on a spit at one party and a kid goat at the other. Fun times indeed! (end story time). Stephos -- 2 thumbs waaaaay down! I went there once (by force, not by choice!) and it was beyond disappointing. Sure, it's easy on the wallet -- but why bother to pay anything for cheap bad food, and then go back again for more cheap & still bad food???

This is just my second post, so bear with me! I luuuuurv T&T! The bakery is awesome, I always beeline to the delicious baked goods first. If you make it there at the right time (usually around 7pm), they have a lot of these items (made same day!) at a juicy discount. Try: -sandwich breads, especially taro, coconut, and my fave -- red rice bread, with chewy little bits of cooked red rice dispersed throughout -pork fluff bun -curry bun -this bun that has a sushi-looking roll inside, not sure what it's called.... -weiner buns (yeah, ok, it's a little ghetto but oh-so-fun to eat!) -fried sesame crackers (they come in a clear box) At the Richmond Osaka location, I used these little "fish waffles" filled with red bean that they freshly make for you in the window, but haven't seen them lately. Are they only available on certain days/times? If you're feeling extra adventurous, try the marinated pork ears. Spicy, garlicky, and slightly crunchy with the cartilage. They're in the cold deli section. Try the crazy junk food, especially the potato chips that are gyoza or pizza or seaweed or curry flavoured -- they are strangely compelling....... brokentelephone, have you tried the Gold Kili or Owl brand of 3-1 teas? I find them more tea-like and less sweet. But there doesn't seem to be a steady & reliable source of these brands. Used to get them from T&T and Superstore regularly but seems it's now hit and miss. Happy shopping!

Hello! Wow! This is my very first post (I've been a "lurker" till now)! I remember when I was really young my mother bought a big bag of these in Vancouver's Chinatown. I think she called them "elf's foot". She cooked them like boiled peanuts -- five-spice, soy sauce, and some other seasonings which I unfortunately can't remember (after all, I was really young!). I remember she had to simmer them for quite a few hours -- and it let off an incredibly pungent aroma -- sort of mushroomy. When they were ready to eat, we had to crack them open with a nutcracker (they're tough little beasts), and the stuff inside is sort of powdery, like a chestnut. That was the first time I had these, and I haven't had them since. Must see if I can find them here! Cheers! Beebs