L.A. Chicken- I'm Converted

So for everyone who lives in Richmond, I'm sure you've heard of this place called L.A. Chicken on Cambie and No.5 Road. Its this hyped up ghetto fried chicken restaurant that everyone talks about but I roll my eyes to. After all, how could their fried chicken, or any fried chicken for that matter be THAT amazing? 

Meta Knight has eaten at L.A. Chicken all his life and he said it was pretty amazing so I followed him here to give it a try.

It is tucked in a little corner and looks super ghetto from the outside. You would never guess from the outside that they serve 'the best fried chicken in town'.

They have raised their prices over the years so it actually wasn't cheap. We ordered their 2 pc Chicken Dinner ($9.99) which comes with two pieces of fried chicken, salad (we chose coleslaw), fries, and gravy. No drink.

I would suggest getting take out because their tables are quite uncomfortable and not a good place for a nice meal. There were a couple of people in front of us and they fry their chicken to order (no heat lamps here) so the wait was quite long.

I gotta hand it to them. This was spectacular fried chicken. The batter was light and flaky, the meat was tender and fall off the bone... I have nothing bad to say about their chicken. No matter what you do though, get the Spicy and not the Regular. The spicy version is incredibly seasoned and honestly not spicy at all!

I'm a big fan of pepper so I absolutely loved their pepper gravy. Their coleslaw was piled high and not overly dressed with mayo.

I hate to say it but L.A. Chicken's hype is legit. Their fried chicken is to die for and I'm craving them right now as I type... Goodbye diet.

Service Rating: N/A (there's not much service to rate)
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Sushi Oyama- My Favourite Place For Specialty Rolls

Sushi Oyama was once Meta Knight's secret Japanese restaurant, and since then, I've written about it (here) and now all my friends and family knows and adores this place as well. 

It has certainly grown in popularity over these past few years as apparent by the longer than usual line ups and slight price increase. Nevertheless, we still love Oyama and will continue coming here for many years to come. :)

I'm a lover of all noodles in soup so Meta Knight and I always tend to get the Tempura Udon ($6.50) to warm ourselves up. Especially during the winter time.

Their Raw Oysters are sometimes on special and when we had them, they were very fresh and cleanly shucked.

If you've read my first post on Oyama, you would know that this is my favourite roll of all time, the Las Vegas Roll ($8.90). It consists of crab meat, cream cheese, and a few other ingredients all wrapped up in rice and deep fried. Then, they top it off with tobiko (fish roe), bonito flakes, and generous coatings of delicious sauces.

This Las Vegas Roll was from another experience and as you can see, the chef had a much lighter hand with the sauces than the previous one.

Nonetheless, the roll always comes out great and seem to turn haters into converts. Trust me, all my friends love this roll now.

This is the full order of Salmon Sashimi (~$8.95).

Chopped Scallop Roll ($3.79). This roll never disappoints.

I urge any adventurous eaters out there to try this if you haven't already. It's called Tako Wasabi ($3.90) and it is such a fantastic way to start the meal (if you don't mind slime). :P

Meta Knight's favourite roll is the Red Roll ($4.90) and it is spicy tuna atop a chopped scallop roll.

You get quite a substantial roll for how cheap it is so I highly recommend this for people looking for quality sushi rolls without breaking their wallet.

Oyama has a few combos and my favourite one is called the Spicy Salmon Combo ($8.95). It comes with spicy salmon sashimi, spicy salmon roll, and a regular cucumber maki roll.

This combo is so worth it and the spicy sauce that coats the sashimi is AH-MAZING. It's so good, you'll want to slather it on to your other rolls too.

Spicy salmon roll and cucumber maki roll. FYI - There is also a Spicy Tuna Combo if tuna is more your thing.

Oyama never fails me whenever I go, and judging by how well their business is doing, I bet a lot of people feel the same way. They are consistent, the prices are fair, the quality is above average, I'd choose this place over Sushi Garden any day.

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 4/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 4/5

Happy Eating!

Read More

MoMa Contemporary Bistro - This Dish.

This dish you see here is probably one of the best pork belly dishes I've tasted to date. Let me tell you where I ate it.

Everyone goes to Richmond for the abundance and variety of Asian food, so I found it interesting that a little bistro popped up out of nowhere and bravely decided to serve up contemporary Western fusion cuisine. 

MoMa is located on Cambie Road and can be hard to spot if you are not purposely looking for it.

The interior was very quaint and romantic, with its mason jars and candlelights. :) They served us some hummus along with our bread... delicious.

The prices are a little steeper than the average restaurant in Richmond, but their menu is quite unique and features many Ocean Wise products!

The little sampler of Seared Toro with Arugula and Grape Tomato was clean and refreshing on the palate.

I asked for a tasting menu so the portions may be a little small in comparison to what you would normally get off the menu. People raved about their Roasted Beet Salad ($9) and I could see why. Their feta foam was incredibly light and the marinated local beets were packed full of flavour.

Their Prawn Fritter ($13) was coated in a sake batter and served with togorashi aioli. Need I say more? I think the seaweed dusting on top really elevated the prawns into more of a Japanese fusion dish. I like, I like.

Truth be told, I am not a fanatic of pork belly just because of the high fat content...but if I denied this Crispy Pork Belly ($22) dish, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. The pork belly was served with a magnificent taro root puree, mostarda, soybeans, mushrooms, and natural jus. Oh god, I think I just drooled on myself while typing this.

I have absolutely no idea how they made this but they managed to crisp up the entire exterior of the pork belly while conserving all of that rich fatty goodness. When the meat is combined with the taro puree (I just call it mashed taro), it is like heaven in your mouth. Seriously. If there is only one dish to get at MoMa, it's this.

While the Smoked and Crispy Cornish Hen ($23) was good, it just could not compare to the amazing pork belly.

For dessert, we had the Maple and Mascarpone Cheesecake ($8) which came with kumquat coulis and compressed fruit. While the concept sounded delicious, I thought the sweet maple was a little overpowering and didn't quite fit with the compressed fruit (I believe ours were pineapple).

I found the macarons to be too dense in the middle, though the outer shell was good and light.

MoMa is a very cute unique contemporary bistro in the Richmond dining scene and is worth a visit if you are looking for food that is a little more elevated without the downtown Vancouver traffic or price. The restaurant is still relatively new so with improvements over time, I can see this little bistro taking off quite well. I wish them the best of luck!

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 4/5
Price: $$$-$$$$

Overall Rating: 4/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Miku - New Location, Same Great Taste

A couple of months ago, the restaurant all Vancouverites know and love moved to a new location in Coal Harbour. The new restaurant is 1.5 times larger than the old location and has a stunning view of the sea.

Meta Knight and I went to dine on their fantastic aburi and to celebrate my new job. Yay!

Miku is only located a few steps from Waterfront station so getting there was easy peasy. We got there early, but all the tables were reserved so we ended up sitting at the bar.

First was their Aburi Ebi Oshi Sushi ($15) which featured pressed cooked prawn, lime zest, and ume sauce. To be honest, the presentation was a little lacking mainly due to the massive rice to shrimp ratio. However, when I put it all in my mouth and didn't look at the appearance, the same umami, smokey, fresh flavour was there. So lesson learned, don't judge a book by its cover. :)

Meta Knight and I were on an Aburi frenzy so we also ordered the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi ($15) which was made of pressed BC wild sockeye salmon, jalapeno, and miku sauce. We both didn't think it 'wow' us as much as before and we didn't know if it was due to new chefs, new location, or just the fact that it was no longer our first time trying aburi sushi (click here for my first visit). Nevertheless, it was still beyond delicious and I highly recommend it.

We took a chance at the Spicy Shrimp and Pork Gyoza ($13) and while it was stunning in presentation, it didn't taste too different from a regular gyoza at any Japanese restaurant.

The fatty, deep fried pork belly was Meta Knight's favourite component of the dish.

Service Rating: 4/5
 Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$$

Overall Rating: 4/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Eat Chicken Wraps - Crispy Crunchy Chinese Pancake

Eat Chicken Wraps is a new food truck that has been generating some buzz and it is owned and operated by husband and wife team Dan and Sammy.

The food truck is located at Robson Square so it is really convenient for Canada Liners like me. They are open 7 days a week 11am-9pm.

Eat Chicken Wraps is a very funky and weird name. Even their logo is super quirky. Love it!

They debone fresh and local chicken every night for the next morning so you know you're getting great quality ingredients. I like how all of their items are below $10 which makes for an inexpensive lunch.

Their most popular wrap seems to be the Hoisin Chicken Roll ($7) which is made with Chinese five-spiced chicken, Asian salad, pickled radish, green onion, and hoisin sauce wrapped in an extremely crispy Chinese pancake.

Meta Knight and I both thought the flaky pancake was the wrap's best attribute, though it cracked and flaked on our clothes everywhere. :( The hoisin sauce kept this wrap traditionally Chinese but the salad added a Western element to it.

This was suppose to be the Kung Pao Chicken (2 for $7) but they substituted it with El Pastor Chicken instead. Basically, the butter lettuce held generous amounts of Mexican roasted chicken, pico de gallo, grilled pineapple, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and onions. The flavours were fresh and bright with a lot of citrus tones. Great to eat on a hot summer day.

Overall, Eat Chicken Wraps is a nice addition to the food truck scene and I like their use of fresh local chicken. My only criticism is that I didn't find the meat particularly amazing and the wrap is quite difficult to eat. Nonetheless, I will most likely go back again for their Hoisin Chicken Roll, along with a few extra napkins.

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

 Happy Eating!

 

Read More