Hapa Izakaya

Finally, my last set of pictures from Vancouver. This is a late night meal at Hapa Izakaya, a Japanese place on Robson.


ebi mayo - deep fried shrimp ebi mayo - deep fried shrimp


aburi shime saba - fresh mackerel seared at your table aburi shime saba - fresh mackerel seared at your table


negitoro with garlic toast negitoro with garlic toast


kakuni - slow simmered chinese pork with steamed buns kakuni - slow simmered chinese pork with steamed buns


ishi-yaki - rice, pork, garlic, egg, tomato, and miso cooked at the table in a korean hot stone bowl ishi-yaki - rice, pork, garlic, egg, tomato, and miso cooked at the table in a korean hot stone bowl This was sort of my second dinner, so I wasn't that hungry, but this stuff was good. The shrimp was a little standard... nothing special. I'm not usually a big fan of saba but Geoff likes it and he said this was good. It was cool watching them sear it, and it tasted good too. Still raw for the most part but smoky on the outside and less of the fishiness that usually comes with saba. The negitoro was more like a tuna tartare type of thing than a traditional negitoro, but good anyway. We ordered the kakuni out of curiousity, half expecting cha siu bao. This turned out to be really delicious, but the piece of pork was probably the fattiest/oiliest/greasiest thing I've eaten in a long time. Weak eaters be warned. The ishi-yaki was really good too - the egg is raw when they bring it to you and everything cooks in the stone pot, basically like a bibimbap (the picture is taken after everything's been mixed up). By then we were too full and could only finish half of it. The restaurant looks really cool and hip inside. Izakaya apparently translates roughly to "bistro" and serves a bunch of shared smallish dishes as well as lots of drinks. Great deal too... each dish was only about $7 Canadian.
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Fortune Garden

Almost done with Vancouver now. Here are some photos from Fortune Garden (aka Yi Woh Yuen).


peking duck peking duck


peking duck pancakes peking duck pancakes We go here every time I'm in Vancouver with the whole family. The peking duck rules, and I love peking duck. Mmmmm.
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Cioppino's Enoteca

Went to an Italian place in Yaletown called Cioppino's Enoteca. It's a side part of a parent restaurant called Cioppino's which is only open for dinner apparently.


seared scallops with potatoes seared scallops with potatoes


tuscan style bread salad tuscan style bread salad "panzanella" with warm smoked mozzarella


fettuccine with 4 hour braised veal cheek ragout fettuccine with 4 hour braised veal cheek ragout This meal was excellent. Starters were good. The tomatoes in my panzanella were really good - I guess it's the season now. The mozzarella was great too. The pasta was REALLY REALLY GOOD. Perfect texture and flavor. The veal was delicious. Geoff had a variation on carbonara using duck which was also very very good. The place is pretty expensive though.
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Miko

We tried a new Japanese place in Vancouver... Miko on Robson. Pictures didn't turn out so good but I've got the sushi.


bbq black cod bbq black cod

anago, negitoro temaki, uni, BC roll, tamago, hamachi, tako, toro anago, negitoro temaki, uni, BC roll, tamago, hamachi, tako, toro Pretty good. Sushi was not as good as at Ajisai. The hot food was pretty good though. The BBQ black cod was great. They have a lot of photos on the walls with celebrity autographs, with lots of Canucks in particular.
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Hy's Steakhouse

We had a nice meal in Whistler when we went up to SSRC at Hy's Steakhouse.


caesar salad caesar salad


local oysters on the half shell local oysters on the half shell


the the "only" new york strip Alberta beef again. Great meal. They give you free garlic bread which is really good. The caesar salad was good - they always are at steakhouses. Don't remember the names of the oysters; I'm not much of an oyster person though. The "Only" steak is their new york strip with Hy's steak sauce. The sauce wasn't anything very special, but it was definitely a good steak. Fries were good too... other people chose baked potato, mashed, and rice, but all agreed the fries were the best. :)
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Furry Creek Country Club

On the way up to SSRC, we stopped by Furry Creek where they have a golf course, country club, etc. Had lunch in their clubhouse (which you can eat at even if you're not a member... I guess).


fish and chips I was tempted by other golf club staples such as a steak sandwich or breakfast, but I stuck with the fish and chips. It was halibut, and turned out really good.
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Caledonia Grill

The only noteworthy meal I had on my trip to Banff was at the Caledonia Grill, a place along the main street in Jasper. After having one of the worst meals of my life the night before, going to a real restaurant was a welcome change...


steak sandwich steak sandwich They use Alberta beef everywhere in Canada I think. The sandwich was really good, especially after the "steak" I ate the night before. Fries were great too.
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La Amigo

Still got quite a few meals to post from Vancouver. Here is a quick lunch at La Amigo, an oddly named Chinese Western-style restaurant in Richmond.


pan fried pork loin pan fried pork loin Was actually really good. Everyone else got a steak which kinda sucked. Mine was tasty, and of course anything breaded rules. And I remember being very hungry when I ate it...
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Feenie's

David treated us to lunch the day after his wedding. We went to Feenie's, a "Canadian bistro" of Rob Feenie's who is a Food Network Canada celebrity. Sorry about the weird lighting of the pictures; it was weird in our spot somehow and I wasn't careful when I took them.


wild spring salmon tartare, with black & white sesame seeds, cilantro, and tamarind glaze wild spring salmon tartare, with black & white sesame seeds, cilantro, and tamarind glaze


duck confit, with butter lettuce, radicchio, poached pears, blue cheese and a warm hazelnut & bacon vinaigrette duck confit, with butter lettuce, radicchio, poached pears, blue cheese and a warm hazelnut & bacon vinaigrette


scallop & prawn spaghettini, tossed with fresh herbs, tomatoes, Thai chilies, and white wine scallop & prawn spaghettini, tossed with fresh herbs, tomatoes, Thai chilies, and white wine


pan-roasted halibut, with soya beans, bok choy, oyster mushroom and a herbal tea infused fumet pan-roasted halibut, with soya beans, bok choy, oyster mushroom and a herbal tea infused fumet It was pretty good. The salmon tartare was alright, but they put pieces of tomato in it which we strongly suspected as salmon replacement filler. Spaghettini was good - sauce was a bit too strong for me, but the seafood tasted great.
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Floata Seafood Restaurant

Sorry for the long delay everyone; I've been away from civilization for a bit. Anyway, here is what we had at my cousin David's wedding banquet at Floata Seafood Restaurant. Watch out - their site has a pretty funny looking flash intro. The banquet section of the site has the "Silver Phoenix Wedding Menu" that we had. Pretty much hit all the bases of Chinese banquet food - if you're not used to it, get ready...


roasted suckling pig roasted suckling pig


deep fried stuffed crab claw with shrimp paste deep fried stuffed crab claw with shrimp paste


stuffed melon with scallop and stuffed melon with scallop and "hair vegetable" in oyster sauce


shark's fin soup with crab meat shark's fin soup with crab meat


live lobster in superior broth live lobster in superior broth


abalone and sea cucumber with vegetables abalone and sea cucumber with vegetables


steamed live rock cod steamed live rock cod I particularly like the fish picture for scaring non-Chinese friends. :) The biggest omission is the squab, which I forgot to take before everyone grabbed their piece. A lot of the stuff is separated onto individual plates, so I didn't get a chance to take the pictures of stuff as it was presented on big plates. I also didn't get the fried rice, noodles, and dessert, but nothing too special. They really pulled everything out - suckling pig, shark's fin, abalone, lobster, squab, fish... Tons of food. Good stuff. Congrats David!
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Sea to Sky

Just got back to Vancouver, and now I'm going to Sea to Sky (a retreat center in the mountains) for the weekend. I'll be back on Monday again...
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Rockies

I'm currently on a bus trip through the Canadian Rockies, without internet access. Posting this update from a video rental store that has internet by the 15 minutes. I still have some photos from the past week to post when I get back to Vancouver. And don't worry about this trip; you guys aren't missing anything. I managed to taste both the worst piece of steak and the worst piece of salmon I can remember tasting for the past few years at dinner last night. Back in Vancouver on Friday.
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Butterfly

I was only in SF for one night, and got in this one meal with my mom. Went to a newish fusion-y place called Butterfly near our new apartment.


ahi brothers tempura roll, tobiko caviar with thai black rice, cucumber salad and wasabi sauce ahi brothers tempura roll, tobiko caviar with thai black rice, cucumber salad and wasabi sauce


bowl of gnocchi and spring pea stir fry, chilled hearts of palm and asparagus salad with grated parmesan and white truffle oil bowl of gnocchi and spring pea stir fry, chilled hearts of palm and asparagus salad with grated parmesan and white truffle oil


ponzu grilled niman ranch hanger steak, portobello mushroom and sweet pea stir fry with cabernet jus de veau and a potato gratin ponzu grilled niman ranch hanger steak, portobello mushroom and sweet pea stir fry with cabernet jus de veau and a potato gratin Good food. The ahi roll was nice, but nothing too different from the crazy rolls you get at sushi places nowadays. The gnocchi was nice... good texture, but the dish as a whole was a bit bland. Hanger steak was good. Overall it was a nice meal. Place was a bit loud; there was a DJ and a lot of talking. Great view of the waterfront though.
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Carlo's Cucina Italiana

Pretty much my last meal in Boston... went to Carlo's.


fried calamari fried calamari


chicken marsala chicken marsala


tortellini with pesto tortellini with pesto The calamari was really good this time. Even better than usual... Perfect crunch and texture. Chicken marsala was good as always. The tortellini was also delicious. High on the list of Carlo's meals...
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Sunset Grill & Tap

I'm back in SF for one day. Leaving for Vancouver this afternoon. My cousin David's wedding is tomorrow. I still have a couple of meals left from Boston... Here's Sunset Grill & Tap from the other night.


garlic fried calamari garlic fried calamari


green chili philly steak melt green chili philly steak melt


akaboura burger - mushrooms, onions, swiss (no peppers) akaboura burger - mushrooms, onions, swiss (no peppers) Not bad. The calamari was pretty standard; you get better in real Italian places. The steak melt and the burger were both huge. Burger was big but of course not as good as Mo's. Decent though...
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Rangoli

Another neighborhood place I go sometimes but haven't posted about is Rangoli. Usually I go for the $7 lunch buffet, so the stuff isn't as nice to photograph, but this time I went for dinner.


rangoli platter - samosas, bhajias, batata wada, & pakora rangoli platter - samosas, bhajias, batata wada, & pakora


chicken tikka masal chicken tikka masala


naan naan


lamb dosa lamb dosa This place is good and reliable. Naan is always awesome. Supposedly they specialize in dosas; this is the first one I've tried here. Kinda like an Indian burritto or something - hard to describe. The wrap/crepe is made of lentils and rice flour. Not bad, but I think I still prefer straight up naan.
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Aneka Rasa

I'm leaving for San Francisco tomorrow afternoon, then going to Vancouver for my cousin's wedding this weekend. Gonna be there for 2 weeks or so. Here's a a meal from Aneka Rasa:


hokkien char mee hokkien char mee


clay pot noodles clay pot noodles Decided to try some of the noodle dishes. The hokkien char mee were basically udon noodles with a dark soy sauce. Pretty good. The clay pot noodles were a bit on the bland side. Will try more stuff next semester.
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Tokyo City again

Went back to Tokyo City to try a few more things, including some hot stuff.


hotate kaiyaki hotate kaiyaki


gyoza gyoza


spicy salmon maki, crazy maki, hamachi, salmon, unagi, tamago, maguro spicy salmon maki, crazy maki, hamachi, salmon, unagi, tamago, maguro


shoyu chashu ramen shoyu chashu ramen


ten-don ten-don Rare for me to have hotate kaiyaki twice in such a short period of time. It was really good here though. They serve it on that little rack, and there's a small candle underneath that keeps hit heated and sizzling. The gyoza was so-so... it was deep fried instead of panfried. Don't get me wrong, deep frying is a gift from the gods, but with gyoza I think the normal ones are better. Sushi was good as well. The salmon nigiri is an absolute steal at $1 per piece. The unagi not so much. The ramen was quite dissappointing, but I guess my bar for ramen is higher than most. Soup wasn't that good, noodles were unremarkable... Pork was a bit dry too. The ten-don was alright. I'm probably gonna try a teriyaki some time - they serve them on a sizzling platter.
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Pho Pasteur

Went to Pho Pasteur and actually ordered something new...


banh hoi with grilled pork banh hoi with grilled pork I've always wanted to order the banh hoi but never have for some reason. What they do is they give you the plate of stuff above, and some rice paper wrap things on the side (which I don't have a pic of). You dip the rice paper in warm water and they become soft. It's just like the wrapper you get on the fresh rolls. Then you just roll stuff up yourself. It's delicious.
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Fugakyu

Sorry about the slow updating. I have a big presentation for my SMG class this week; been doing team meetings nonstop. Anyway, we went to Fugakyu a while ago for dinner.


lobster sashimi lobster sashimi


hotate kaiyaki hotate kaiyaki


beef tataki beef tataki


crazy maki, negitoro maki, spicy salmon maki, caterpillar maki crazy maki, negitoro maki, spicy salmon maki, caterpillar maki


assorted sashimi assorted sashimi Definitely better than the time I went for lunch, but I still think Oishii is better. The lobster sashimi was cool - lobster was still moving. You don't really get much though. Scallop kaiyaki was very creamy and nice. Beef tataki was good. The rolls were quite tasty - I really liked the caterpillar and the spicy salmon. Negitoro wasn't as good as I expected. The sashimi was good, but not great. Place isn't cheap - I'll go to Tokyo City more.
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