East is East (Main)- Night Of The 1 1/2 Hr Wait and Vacuum Packed Seating

Yoshi is a major foodie and he often raved about how great the restaurant ‘East is East’ is (wow, tongue twister!). I had no clue what this restaurant was about so I was eager to try it out.  We went with a bunch of other friends and had a total of about 7 people. BAD IDEA.

East is East is located on Main Street and this is one of two locations. The other location is in Kitsilano and from what I hear, the other location is bigger.

When we arrived, the place was packed and there was already a line up to the door. We were told that it would be an hour wait since we had a large party and we reluctantly agreed. After an hour of walking down the streets and chatting with each other, we went back and we were told that it would be an additional hour wait!! WHAT?! We were all visibly frustrated and pretty fed up. We wanted to go somewhere else along Main Street but the other restaurants were full as well. We had no choice but to continue waiting... besides, if we left, I would have felt like we wasted all that time waiting.

To be fair, the hostesses did try and make us feel better by offering some samples of their famous chai and stuffed naan.  We all appreciated that. After an hour and a half wait, we finally got a table. A very small, squishy 4 person table... All 7 of us were basically shoulder to shoulder and I can honestly say it was the most uncomfortable dining experience I have ever had in my life.

Now that I have finished ranting about the wait and uncomfortable seating, I’ll move on to the food. The majority of us opted for the Silk Route Feast ($21 per person) because you get the most bang for your buck. The feast includes a dhal soup, organic salad, boulani, roti, garlic pickles, afghan and basmati rice, as well as two dishes of your choice (from the list). When you are done your first round, you can continue getting more of anything you want and choosing other dishes to try from the list, so it’s pretty much like all-you-can-eat.

You HAVE to try their yogurt lassies!! It’s divine!

Trixie and I shared a large Kashmiri Sunset ($7.00) which was pretty much a Mango Lassie. But it was no ordinary lassie, it was by far the best mango lassie we have ever tasted!!! I want to go back just to order this again. This drink had so many dimensions of flavour. The mango, the rosewater, the cardamom... honestly, it was the bomb.

This was my Silk Route Feast and I chose the Mango Butternut Squash and the Chicken Masala as my two dishes. (Side note: I don't know if you can see but the tray is half off the table because there was no room =.=)

The mango butternut squash was really delicious and definitely very interesting. That was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

The Dhal Soup was quite good and hearty. It fills you up quick though. 

I really enjoyed the Afgan and basmati rice because it tasted so different from the regular Chinese short grain rice I’m used to eating. The Afgan rice had carrots, cinnamon, raisins, and a bunch of different spices. It was great to eat on its own!

The chicken masala was only alright because I found the chicken to be a bit tough. 

I didn’t enjoy the garlic pickles but that is just my personal preference. The yogurt-mint sauce on the right was very tasty.

Rae was the only person who did not order the Silk Route Feast. She instead got The Gypsy (~$11.50) which came with a roti wrap of baked eggplant, mango butternut squash, with brown lentil rice. It was served with a side salad and dhal soup. She enjoyed the wrap but disliked how it was put together. She said all the butternut squash and eggplant was on the top of the wrap, and all the rice was on the bottom. Thus, when she finished the top part of the wrap, all that was left was the plain rice. 

Honestly, if it weren't for the service (they forgot Rae's order too), the incredibly long wait, and being seated at a tiny table with absolutely no space to move my hands, I would have really enjoyed this restaurant because the food was actually pretty good. However, based on this one time experience, it was a complete doozy. 

Based on these reasons:

• food is unique and interesting, Mango Lassie is a must get item!
• don't ever come to this location with a large group without reservations (we were dumb and didn't make any =.=)
• service is alright
• they sometimes have a live band playing so it is pretty cool

Service Rating: 2/5

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$-$$$$

Overall Rating: 2/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://noms.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/04/23/funny-food-photos-the-real-secret-ingredient-of-kfc-extra-tasty-crispy/