Taste of Aberdeen - Media Tasting Event at Aberdeen Food Court

I'm so happy to be writing this post because I was recently invited to a ChineseBites media event at one of my favourite places to eat! The Aberdeen food court! It may seem strange to most people but in my opinion, Aberdeen food court serves up some of the most delicious and authentic Asian fusion cuisine you can get in the lower mainland.

The event was great and brought together roughly 60 foodies and tons of delicious noms (and I mean.. TONS) and great conversation. I brought Meta Knight with me as my +1 and he had a great time meeting other bloggers and eating ALL DA FOOD.

Out of the 22 food items and 6 drinks between the six of us (I KNOW!! Crazy!), I've compiled my Top 5 favourite items so it's easier to read and decipher between the good, the meh, and the excellent. :)

1) The Drunken Chicken Hot Pot from the Tofu Hotpot stall was honestly my favorite dish of the night. If you know the 'drunken chicken' appetizer from Shanghainese restaurants, it's kind of like that, except in hot pot form with lots of wood ear mushroom, napa cabbage, crystal Korean noodles, and scrumptious broth. I've never tasted something like this before so it was truly a feast for the palate!

2) Before Pepper Lunch, there was Teppan Kitchen with it's sizzling hot plates! This is the 'A' Grade Ribeye Teppan with Corn and Egg and it has always been one of my favourite items to get at this food court. :) Feel free to check out my previous post here.

 Once everything is all mixed and the sizzling pan crisps up the bottom of the rice, it's time to DIG IN!

3) Bubble Waffle and Curry Fish Balls from the Bubble Waffle Stall make a really great snack. The fish balls give a slight spicy kick without making you reach for the milk. Here is my previous post on this place.

A good sign of a perfectly done bubble waffle is a crisp exterior and a light buoyant eggy interior. This one checks all the boxes and is my favourite bubble waffle in Richmond. :)

4)  Wu Fung Dessert's Deep Fried Chicken Wings are also a must get item when you visit the Aberdeen food court! This was a 50/50 dish between the chicken wings and fried squid tentacles and both were super solid. Here is my previous post on Wu Fung!

5) Saboten is one of the largest tonkatsu (Japanese style deep fried pork) chains in Japan. The first one in North America is right here in Aberdeen and this place is legit. This Saboten Set consists of deep fried shrimp tempura, tenderloin, and loin. My favourite part of their tonkatsu is the ground up black sesame powder. To see my previous post on Saboten, click here.

Honorable Mentions:

Sakura Roll from Aji Hana

(left to right): House Special from 8 Juice (really delicious and fruity btw), Iced Lemon Ribena from Bubble Waffle, Iced Honey Matcha Tea from Teppan Kitchen

(left to right): Iced Genmaicha from Saboten, Matcha Soy Bean Milk from Strike, Milk Tea from Estea Express

Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings from Chef of Dumplings. This was actually very delicious as well. Didn't make it in the top 5 but was super close.

For those that like the authentic Szechuan taste, you have to try the Hot Sour Noodles from Szechuan House. This was Sherman's favourite and even though it numbed my tongue, it didn't for him and he loved it.

I love my wontons so these Prawn Wontons from Lung Kee were great. Also just barely missed top 5.

Skip the Clubhouse Sandwich from Strike.

Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken from Leung Kee. Both types were actually super flavorful.

Chicken Bulgogi and Pork Belly from Kitchen Korea.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice from Mambo Cafe.

Taiwanese style Popcorn Chicken from Yougo Chicken.

Sticky Rice from Leung Kee.

Tuna and Corn Egg Roll from Strike.

For some odd reason, I actually ended up really enjoying this dish. It is clearly maid with canned ingredients like the corn and tuna. However, mixed with mayo, egg, and LOTS of black pepper, this actually ended up being addicting!

Hainanese Chicken from Cafe D'Lite Express.

Banana Chocolate Crepe (sample size) from Cafe Mazazu

Mini Cream Puffs and Chesecake Sticks from Beard Papa's. Always solid no matter which location.

A Dream in Eden Shaved Ice from Frappe Bliss.

Matcha Delight from Frappe Bliss.

Happy Eating!


                the food kept on coming so we ate like...

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Starbucks - La Boulange Flourless Chocolate Cookie

Ever since Starbucks introduced their new cafe and bakery line called La Boulange, I've been dying to try out their pastries. I wanted to know whether they were really better than their previous pastry offerings.

I tried their Chocolate Croissant and it was pretty much the same. It didn't blow me away but it was solid.

Their Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cookie is a completely new product exclusive to the La Boulange line. It's even wrapped and sealed to avoid wheat contamination inside the display cases.

Since I am wheat intolerant, I decided to give it a try. It's not cheap. One bag has two cookies and it was $3.95. The cookie is primarily made with egg whites so it tasted quite like a meringue.

Despite it being a tad crunchy on the sides, the center was quite moist and fudgy! I don't usually see a lot of gluten free cookie options around the mall (ex. Timmy Ho's, McDonald's, Cupcakes, Mrs.Fields ...etc) so I will definitely repurchase whenever I want a sweet treat.

Service Rating: N/A
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

     
when I see something I can't eat because it has wheat :(

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IKEA Restaurant- Dat IKEA Meatball Doe

You know you've been to too many restaurants when you can't think of a new place to go eat, and finally suggest 'IKEA' for lunch. 

Meta Knight and I were craving dem Swedish meatballs so we took the opportunity to scope out some furniture for our future home. Plus, it was raining outside so naturally we gravitated towards any option that allowed us to be indoors for a couple hours.

 We noticed instantly that IKEA's food prices have increased pretty dramatically over the past couple of years.. I remember the meatballs and mash use to cost $2.99!!! I miss those days. :(

 The IKEA restaurant is pretty much the same system as a cafeteria. You grab a tray, look through all your options, slide on down, and pay at the end.

To be honest, looking at this picture I'm not sure what prompted me to eat at IKEA. It doesn't look particularly appetizing and it's not longer ridiculously cheap.

One bite though....and I'm sold again. Dem meatballs. And that gravy. It's like heaven in your mouth.

This $5.99 combo gives you 10 Swedish meatballs smothered in gravy, fries (or mash potatoes), and lingonberry sauce. For whatever reason, this was so satisfying.

 The Fish and Chips ($6.99) were not bad but considering it's almost the cost of Pajo's, it's overpriced. Next time I'll stick with the meatballs and gravy.

 Am I the only one who buys a whole bag of frozen Swedish meatballs after eating and being addicted to these at the restaurant?

Their soup of the day was Thai Curry Chicken ($1.99). Surprisingly it was pretty good!! Not too spicy but just enough for a little kick at the end. I was also greedy and took a lot of veggie/chicken chunks so it was really hearty. :P

All in all, IKEA remains a solid choice for those craving horse meatballs (harhar), gravy, carbs, and dessert. The walk around the huge showroom is also very nice when you're slowly slipping into a food coma.

Service Rating: N/A
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

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New Menu at Rogers Arena (Canucks Games)

I don't know about you, but previously when I watch the Canucks game, I would always eat dinner first with Meta Knight before heading there because nothing in Rogers Arena looked appetizing (or worth it).

Yes they have beer, coolers, White Spot, and generic hot dogs and popcorn... but who wants to pay $20-30 to eat that when you can pay the same price for an amazing dish at a restaurant downtown?

This season, not only did we get a new president (Yay Trevor!), but Rogers Arena completely revamped their food and beverage line up to cater to the food-centric Vancouver population that is looking for more than just hot dogs and warm pretzels.

Example of their new 'gourmet' items include: Hot Smoked West Coast Salmon Roll, Prime Rib Sandwich, Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese, and Lobster roll.

Melt is located inside Rogers Arena and sells gourmet grilled cheese.

The line-up to the cashier was huge and one in every 10 people I saw was eating this so people clearly love their grilled cheese.

As you can see, the prices are actually really affordable. I was so impressed by this because they absolutely could have made these 11-14 bucks just because they can. The regular grilled cheese starts at $7.50 and goes up to about $9.

Look at dem grilled cheese. *drool*...

They now also serve AAA Prime Rib Sandwiches and they even amped up the 'gourmet' experience by creating a hot carving station and having chefs carve you that delicious prime rib.

They now also serve Steamers gourmet hot dogs and they honestly all caught my attention. It was hard choosing just one! From the Bartley's Signature (bacon wrapped hot dog.. what?!) to the Croque Dog with Gruyere and strawberry jam, all of their menu items clearly play to the foodie's senses.

Chef cooking mini perogies, bacon wrapped hot dogs, and regular dogs. I kind of want his job.

Since Meta Knight and I ate a good amount of appies at The Keg before coming, all we had was a Glendon Dog ($7.50) during the game. It was topped with sauerkraut, onions, potato and cheese mini perogies, sour cream, and chives. It was a little messy to eat but boy was it good. Definitely much better than a generic hot dog with ketchup and mustard.

Overall, I'm really impressed by these changes and I will actually look forward to eating at Rogers Arena from now on!

Happy Eating!

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