There was a lot of hype about The BBT Shop located under Superstore in Richmond. The photos online of their bubble waffles looked good but there's room for improvement.

I ordered the matcha red bean waffle and took the photo from the nicer side. The bubbles on the other side of the waffle were dented and exposed red bean pieces due to lack of batter. There was only a slight matcha taste and uneven distribution of the small amount of red bean. It would have been nice if there was more red bean so that it doesn't taste like a plain bubble waffle.

Matcha red bean bubble waffle

The drink is a lavender hot chocolate and I couldn't finish it. It didn't have any chocolate taste and was much too sweet from the heavy dose of lavender syrup. We requested hot water to add to the beverage to water down the sweetness but it was still much too sweet to consume. They did offer to add more milk to the drink though, so if you're unsatisfied with your drink it seems that they are accommodating to fix it.

Lavender hot chocolate

Overall, I think there is potential for The BBT Shop as it was able to generate hype but they have to improve on the quality of their products.

I was craving for xiao long bao so I suggested to go eat at Dinesty. The restaurant was full on a weekday at lunch hour but the service was so speedy that we were seated within 10 minutes. This is a restaurant where you will feel ushered and rushed so don't expect to be able to relax and slowly enjoy your food. However, it is great if you prefer quick service and to get your food fast.

Beef tendon - This is an appetizer and most pieces were thoroughly marinated to the softness that tendons need to be. A few of the bigger pieces were a bit chewier and could use about half an hour more cooking. This savoury dish has a hint of sweetness and can be quite oily. Since tendons take awhile to make at home, it is probably easier to just eat out.

Beef tendon

"Small Yellow Fish" - I am translating this name directly from Chinese. The fish is deep fried and sits in a pool of Chinese cooking liquor, probably rice wine. Despite being deep fried, this is a cold dish and I did not like it much. It was hard to chew and not especially tasty.

"Small Yellow Fish"

Dan Dan Noodles - One of my favourite things to order at Shanghai food places is Dan Dan Noodles. The soup base I've tried before are seriously peanuty with sesame oil and slight spiciness. This bowl was a bit diluted in the peanut department and lacked any spice (if that's what you're looking for). I would've appreciated chopped up pieces of peanuts to add more texture, though the cucumber did add some freshness to an otherwise oily dish.

Dan Dan Noodles

Xiao Long Bao - Finally, these small steamed soup dumplings are what we came here for and they did not disappoint. The abundance of folds with its thin wrapper contained pork and juicy soup. They were hot but did not burn the tongue. It's personal preference but more soup inside the dumplings would have been even more ideal.

Xiao Long Bao

Cheesecake

Tahitian Tuna Salad

Memory Corner is situated across the street from the Richmond City Hall which should be a good location but it offers few parking spots. On a weekday afternoon there were spots in the parking lot behind the restaurant but several restaurants share the complex so the small lot will probably fill up quickly.

We were just looking for a snack and not a full meal so we ordered two appetizers. 

Chocolate thick toast: A generous coating of Nutella and chopped hazelnuts covered the thick toast. I liked the softness of the bread with the creaminess of the Nutella. This is great for sharing but a fair warning that it can get a little messy with the nuts falling everywhere!

Chocolate thick toast

Basil egg roll: Egg rolls were one of my favourite breakfast items when I was in Taiwan. I tried egg rolls at other Taiwanese restaurants in Vancouver but they disappointed. This one at Memory Corner came pretty close to the taste I was looking for! It's similar to green onion pancakes but with basil instead of green onion. It is then wrapped around a thin layer of fried egg, rolled up, cut and served. I wish they served a version with pork floss!

Basil egg roll

Memory Corner interior

Overall, I'd want to try actual meals and the bubble tea at Memory Corner but the two appetizers I tried were both good.

**UPDATE Nov 1, 2014**

I went back to Memory Corner to try the toast box. I called a day ahead of time to order it like they mentioned the first time I was at the restaurant. Turns out it made no difference because it still took a long time for them to prepare the toast box. Although the wait time was long, it was delicious!

There was an abundance of fruits, chocolate and ice cream. Inside the toast box, each strip of bread was coated in Nutella and chopped hazelnut. A lot of work was involved, that's why it took so long. Although I like Nutella, there was just a bit too much inside this toast box. It's still worth a try though!

Fruit Toast Box

Interior of toast box

Sometimes I don't want to eat at Taiwanese restaurants because I know that I will want to order the fried chicken (which is temptingly delicious). I did just that when we went to Pearl Castle at Richmond Centre the other day. The fried chicken thigh was battered and flavoured with simple spices then deep fried to a crunchy goodness without losing the juiciness of the meat.

Fried chicken thigh (approx. $5)

Instead of traditional milk tea bubble tea I ordered the green lattea which I love. It is called different things in different restaurants but essentially it is tea with a layer of frothy cream on top. I added pearls to my drink which was green tea based. It is so delicious! You can drink it separately with a sip of tea and a sip of cream or mix it all together.

Green lattea ($4.95 excluding pearls)

All in all, Pearl Castle at Richmond Centre is often crowded and isn't a great place if you want to sit and talk for a while but it is definitely convenient.

Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant stands where Hon's Richmond used to be before it closed down. It is now a Chinese restaurant with higher menu prices and fusion interior design.

Deep fried fish flakes and radish ball: The presentation of this dish reminded me of takoyaki balls with the fish flakes on top. The balls are made of shrimp paste and shredded radish so you get the texture of soft radish between the chewy shrimp paste. I quite liked this and wish there was a dipping sauce to go with it.

Deep fried fish flakes and radish ball

Almond sticks: I don't remember the English name on the menu but direct translation from the Chinese name is Almond Sticks. It was oval balls of pork meat covered in almond slices and fried. The almond created a nice crunch and the pork retained its juiciness inside. This is a unique dish that I've never seen at other dim sum restaurants.

Almond sticks

Shrimp and matsutake dumpling: They say that you can evaluate if a dim sum restaurant is good by its shrimp dumplings. Although the previous two dishes were good, this shrimp dumpling was nothing special. The wrapper broke easily and the shrimp didn't have the bouncy texture of fresh shrimp. 

Shrimp and matsutake dumpling

Bitter gourd and chicken shreds rice noodles: This was another dish that fell flat. The rice noodle roll is made with bitter gourd juice so it tastes slightly bitter. It was over-cooked in the steaming process and broke easily. A well-made rice noodle roll would not break when holding it up with chopsticks and retain a smooth texture when you eat it due to the oil used in the steaming process. The dish seems to be creative but not well executed.

Bitter gourd and chicken shreds rice noodles

Baked egg white and cream buns: These buns are really good if you ignore the filling. The outside with the sugar and egg white coating is baked to crunchiness coating a soft layer of bun underneath. The filling of the bun is this white blob-looking custard that is bland. The coating outside offers the only taste for this bun which is slight sweetness and it was not even sweet enough.

Baked egg white and cream buns

Chilled osmanthus jelly pudding: This dessert looked the most different from its menu photo. The photo featured alternating layers of clear beige osmanthus jelly and opaque white jelly. As you can see in the photo below, it arrived as a much brighter yellow and there weren't any opaque white layers. Osmanthus (a flower) is fragrant and tastes excellent in jelly. However, this jelly offered only a mild osmanthus taste and slight sweetness at best. If it was more sweet it would taste more like a dessert.

Chilled osmanthus jelly pudding

Overall there are some unique dim sum dishes that you can try out at Chef Tony but at a similar price point to Kirin I would go to the latter for consistency in quality.

Hakata Ramen is located diagonally across the street from the Richmond Public Market which is generally a pretty busy area. But the restaurant space itself has turned over many times over the years and its most recent tenant is Hakata Ramen.

There was a promotion for a free takoyaki if you spend at least $25. The most expensive ramen cost $10.95 so to claim the deal you'd need a few people. The takoyaki itself is only $4.95 though so you can always purchase it as a side.

The curry ramen tasted like instant ramen broth. I was expecting it to taste more like Japanese curry but this broth was closer to the kind of curry broth you'd get from Indomie instant noodles. There were pieces of bamboo shoot and a good amount of pork slices. However the pork wasn't fresh and had a defrosted aftertaste.

Curry ramen ($9.95)

There are combos to choose from where you pick a ramen and add a few dollars for a don (rice bowl). We got the Pork Rib Ramen with Ikura Don. The ramen broth wasn't rich or aromatic enough. There was one large piece of pork rib that was marinated thoroughly.

Pork Rib Ramen ($10.95)

The Ikura Don consisted of Japanese mayo, egg slices and fish eggs on top of a bowl of white rice. It was bland tasting and honestly not very attractive.

Ikura Don (with combo $3)

We ordered an agedashi tofu to reach the $25 mark. There were four pieces and it was mediocre. It didn't have that great agedashi tofu quality where when you eat it you're amazed by the crunchiness of the outside, the softness of the tofu inside and the good balance of sauce. This tofu didn't taste bad but it didn't amaze.

Agedashi tofu ($2.95)

Lastly, the takoyaki came with six pieces and each ball had at least one piece of octopus. It tasted similar to night market ones. There was adequate mayo but I would've preferred if there was more takoyaki sauce because otherwise the batter itself is quite bland.

Takoyaki ($4.95)

Overall there are so many great ramen locations in Vancouver like Marutama Ramen that I won't be visiting Hakata Ramen again. 

Uncle Lu is famous for their pork trotter but I ordered the three cup chicken meal instead. I did try a piece of my friend's pork trotter and it had a jelly-like texture with a soy sauce-like marinade.

There was a lot of chicken in my meal and I liked that they were cut into small enough pieces for easy eating. The chicken was flavourful and cooked on very high heat because some pieces were crispy.

Not pictured was my milk green tea with pearls that I really enjoyed. The milk was frothy with a hint of matcha flavour and the pearls were chewy.

Overall I may want to return for more bubble tea and this Taiwanese joint seems less catered to youth than some other ones because there were more adults eating here when I went for dinner. Though that it just a guess.

When I saw the sign for Strike I always thought it was a pool joint but apparently it served Taiwanese food. There were photos of scenes in Taiwan on the walls but otherwise the interior is simple with rows of tables and chairs.

I got the teppanyaki beef steak with mushroom sauce and rice. These hot plate dishes usually overcook the beef but it wasn't here although the meat was marinated so thoroughly that it lost any beef taste. The mushroom sauce was flavourful and mixed nicely with the egg.

Overall it is a good location for a large group and their service is quick but it is similar to many other Taiwanese restaurants.

Flying Beaver was always one of those restaurants that I've heard of but never tried due to the location. It is near the airport but only if you drive. You cannot take public transit there and it is not close to anything else.

There was a family with children that weren't allowed in because they had minors. I suppose the entire restaurant is treated like a bar and those under 19 couldn't dine here. On a weekend evening most of the tables were full and especially the outdoor patio ones where you can look over the river.

I ordered a bison beef burger which came with a side salad. The salad had assorted greens, cheese and dried cranberry pieces which made it suitable for summer. The burger patty was pretty juicy and the cheese and vinegar on top made it flavourful. Romer's Burger still makes my favourite burger.

Overall Flying Beaver is a good spot for casual dining and getting together with friends. The view is pretty nice on a summer evening before the sun sets and there is adequate parking in the lot across the street.

The last time I wrote about Torarenbo was in 2012 about their lobster sashimi, which by the way is still on their menu. This time we sat at the sushi bar which was a different experience than sitting at the table. The busy chefs and the busy restaurant worked well together to produce the food with efficiency.

The rainbow roll is a california roll made with thin egg sheets instead of seaweed and topped with salmon, tuna, or shrimp. I found it interesting that they used egg sheets instead of seaweed but the egg is so thin that you can't even taste it. It takes more skill to make the delicate egg than to just use the seaweed sheets though.

Rainbow roll

The grilled black cod is slightly sweet like teriyaki sauce and is dipped into the creamy mayonnaise. The fish meat was firm and there is more bone than meat. It makes a good appetizer.

Grilled black cod

The kimchi hot pot was a mixture of kimchi, vegetables, tofu and pork slices. The soup was slightly spicy and it is not a must order dish. If you're looking to include more vegetables in your meal then perhaps this is a possible choice.

Kimchi hot pot

Overall it was another good meal at Torarenbo. They don't serve the best Japanese food in Vancouver but they're affordable, the service is quick and it will satisfy your Japanese food craving.

First blog post in 4 months! I was in Southeast Asia and food was delicious there, of course, but it's good to be trying different delicacies in the Vancouver area again.

While away I went to Vietnam and got to try the cuisine beyond pho. My favourite new food that I tried there is called banh xeo and I will be on the lookout for it here.

In the meantime to fix my Vietnamese food craving I tried a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond. Pho Ho Vietnamese Noodle Soup is located in Continental Plaza on the side facing Cambie Road and not inward facing where the Pearl Castle is. There is generally less business for restaurants on this side of the plaza which is unfortunate because I had a great experience at Pho Ho!

They opened at the end of 2013, taking over a previous hot pot restaurant. The owners were very friendly and kept the place clean. Prices were affordable and portions quite large.

We ordered:
1) A large beef pho (about $9) which came with a free iced lemon tea
2) A chicken banh mi combo (about $12) which came with fresh spring roll, fried spring roll and a red bean drink (not pictured)

The beef pho was very large and flavourful. I enjoyed a mix of beef briskets and tendons. Comparable to beef pho I tried in South Vietnam (North Vietnam pho broth is different!)

L to R: Fresh spring roll, fried spring roll, beef pho, lemon tea, bean sprouts

I had really really delicious banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City for USD$1.5 that was the size of a footlong. I don't think I can ever find anything comparable in Vancouver because of the ingredients but this banh mi still tasted good to me. The chicken was slightly sweet and juicy and I love the crunch of the vegetables in banh mi.

Chicken banh mi

Special mention for the fried spring roll because it was hot and crispy. I believe there was some pork type stuffing inside. To be honest I didn't pay attention to the stuffing much because I was focused on the crispy wrapping!

Closer look at the banh mi combo side dishes

Overall I enjoyed my meal here and will return whenever I want Vietnamese food again. Food and service were both great.

Inside of Pho Ho