Maenam (Dine Out Vancouver) - So. Impressed.

Throughout the years I've always passed by Maenam and heard great things about their Thai food. However, for whatever reason, I never made the conscious effort to really give it a try.

This year during Dine Out Vancouver, I finally got to try it and I'm SOOO glad I did.

Their menu is $28 and is truly a tasting menu for people who love variety. It's a little complicated because for every pair, you choose one starter, one salad, one curry, and one stir fry to share. For dessert, each person gets their own. This process made it difficult for our table of 7 to order so the hostess recommended that we just trust the chef to give us a variety of dishes fit for 7 people. We were apprehensive about our decision at first, but it was actually the best decision EVER.

 Green Papaya Salad had a bit of a spicy kick but overall quite refreshing.

This one was probably the least favourite dish of the bunch. The Hot and Sour soup of Halibut and Thai Basil was too sour for our palate but the abundance of mushrooms and fish made up for it.

OH OH OH. I can drink a gallon of this stuff. If you go to Maenam, make sure you get the Creamy Hot and Sour Soup of Chicken Thighs. The creamy, slightly spicy broth is incredibly flavourful and boosts the right amount of coconut, chicken, and mushroom.

The Lemongrass and Thai Basil Mussels were also a hit with the crowd. Plump, fresh, juicy. Yum.

I forgot the name of the drink but it's essentially a Passionfruit Ginger Beer concoction. The left one is alcoholic and the right is non-alcoholic. I really enjoyed the non-alcoholic version way more and definitely recommend it.

Thai Iced Tea with Rum was also surprisingly good. Who can already see a great night with a couple of these eh? ;)

3 Flavour Pork Ribs is a vague name so I don't know exactly what it is. But I think these pork ribs are flash fried, coated in an indulgent sticky coating, and tossed with thai basil, fresh baby corn (I've only ever had the canned ones so this was a treat!), parsley, and deep fried onion.

A few of my friends thought this Aromatic Curry of Braised Duck Leg was the best dish of the night. I don't like it when curries are just 'sauce'. I like it hearty, meaty, and bountiful. This curry was exactly that so it was a big thumbs up for me.

The Southern Style Tumeric Curry of Seafood had black cod, clams, and mussels. Highly recommended.

I also loved the Grilled Tuna Salad with Green Mango. This was so refreshing to eat in between bites of curry and the mint/tuna combo was just fab.

Unlimited rice!

Oh that Caramelized Pork Belly doe. Think of the most indulgent thing you can think of, and times it by two. This will beat that in one bite. It took the sweet and savoury combo to a whole nother level.

This is essentially a Deconstructed Passion Fruit Tart. With some torched meringue on the side, fresh raspberries, passionfruit sorbet, and tart shell crumbles on the bottom, this was an amazing finish to the dinner. Nothing was too sour, too sweet, or too cold. Everything was where it needed to be.

Rice Doughnut with Pandan Custard was freshly fried and delightfully light despite it being a fried item.

Maenam completely surprised and impressed us from beginning to end. From the aromatic curries to the well balanced broths, everything was spot on and I can't wait to come back again. What we thought would be an underwhelming DOV experience ended up being one of the best DOV experiences we've ever had!

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $$$

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!


    my reaction when I accidentally eat a hot pepper X.X

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The Buffet at TI (Las Vegas) - Fantastic Selection

Recently my family and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate my parent's 30th anniversary. We stayed at Treasure Island and had a great time watching shows, shopping at outlets, and eating at my favourite place, BUFFETS!!

Since we stayed at the hotel, they gave us two free buffet tickets as well as one 2-for-1 ticket deal for their TI buffet. I'm not sure if it's because we came during low season, but it was a great deal. The buffet for us costed only around $6 each! What a steal!

The Buffet at TI is known for their variety of classic dishes that Americans love. From barbeque to pasta to pizza, they have it all. I had absolutely no expectations going into this buffet so I think that was one of the reasons why I was so impressed. Normally its about $21 for lunch.

Their selection of pizza.

Their salad bar is different than other buffets in that someone behind the counter makes it for you. You either choose one of the combinations they have on display or get the chef to create a custom salad for you.

Coutnry fried steak, stuffing, cornbread, mash potatoes.

My spinach salad with extra avocado was absolutely delicious!! It had balsamic vinaigrette, almonds, bacon bits, red onion, and spinach.

My brother's plate of barbecue pork ribs, chicken breast, pulled pork, beans, and mexican rice.

They even serve Vietnamese pho, wonton soup, and seafood soup. The pho was surprisingly delicious, though nowhere as good as the ones from Vancouver.

In addition to their selection of international dishes, they also actually have a lot of desserts that look really tasty. I don't know about you but I love mini donuts. Especially soft fluffy ones, so I was excited when I saw all these little tiny donuts up for grabs. :)

Red velvet cookies, chocolate dipped macaroons, apple pie, cherry pie...

They even have a little cereal bar!

Fruit tarts, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate cake, lemon meringue.

All in all, the buffet at TI exceeded my expectations. The desserts weren't overly sweet, which is the case 80% of the time for my tastes. Plus they had Asian food, Mexican food, Italian food, and more so you really can't go wrong with any choice.

Service Rating: N/A
Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!


              hmm...so many choices

Click here to check out my other Vegas post:
- BurGR by Chef Ramsay
-The Cheesecake Factory (Caesar's Palace)
- The Buffet at TI

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BurGR (Las Vegas) - Best Burgr I've Ever Tasted

So... I found out that Gordon Ramsay is the real deal. How? I went to his relatively new burger joint in Las Vegas called "BurGR" and had the best burger I've ever tasted in my life. Bold statement, I know. 

This American style burger restaurant is located inside Miracle Mile Shops which is the mall connected to Planet Hollywood. Super central location, very easy to get to when walking around the strip.

The restaurant felt like a classy pub and sports bar, with cute waitresses in short shorts and toned men in muscle tees.

They specialize in burgers (obviously) and everything is served a la carte (without sides). The prices are reasonable and the offerings are strikingly similar to Romer's Burger Bar here in Vancouver. They cater to both carnivores and vegetarians surprisingly.

These Jalapeno Poppers ($12) were heavily promoted by our server and wow was I glad I listened! Talk about swanky presentation. Each full size jalapeno popper comes with its own shot glass of cheddar ranch and the popper itself was bursting with bubbling cheddar bacon. Oh such sinfulness!

Another MUST GET item: Truffle Parmesan Fries ($11). You can easily share this with 3-4 people and it's not to be missed if you like anything with truffle or parmesan. The fries could have been crispier overall but the toppings were out of this world. And when you dunk the fries in the extremely fragrant truffle aioli? Jackpot. No need to gamble in Vegas, I just won the whole lot.

The Farm Burger ($15) consists of duck bacon, beef patty cooked medium, english sharp cheddar, and an over-easy egg. 

This burger is honestly one of the best burgers I've ever had. Why? Two words. Runny egg. Why do any of us eat burgers without a runny egg anyways? It should be a necessity! Anyways, the patty was perfectly seasoned, cooked a perfect medium, and the fluffy sesame seed brioche bun soaked up the juices/yolk lava like a sponge. All is good with life.

My mom got the Chanterelle Burger ($16) which is essentially a mushroom burger. It came with chanterelle mushrooms, figgy-onion jam, and arugula.

For the vegetarians, there is the Earth Burger ($15) which contains absolutely no meat. Instead, the meat is the portobello mushroom and it comes with arugula, fontina cheese and roasted tomato. This can never replace a solid juice dripping meat burger, but it comes pretty darn close to it.

BurGR is a restaurant worth checking out when in Vegas. Expect long lines during peak times, short skirts, delicious juicy burgers, and a whole lotta Chef Ramsay's face everywhere.

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!



Click here to check out my other Vegas post:
 - The Buffet at TI (Treasure Island)
- The Cheesecake Factory at Caesar's Palace

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Sekai Udon Bar - Fresh Handmade Udon

I never did like the Sui Sha Ya location in Metrotown. Even though my mom says their lunch combos are good, their mediocre sushi and noodles always left me wishing I went elsewhere. Luckily, another restaurant has now taken its place. It's called Sekai Udon Bar.

All of their udon noodles are fresh and made on-site. They even have white or whole wheat to choose from which is great for people who want to bit a little bit healthier.

It's located right next to Pet Habitat and The Bay within Metropolis at Metrotown.

They have other menus as well but I took a picture of their udon specific menu. Since they're an Udon bar, I always go for their udons over their sushi rolls. Why mess with their signature product?

The Curry Udon ($10) consisted of a thick curry broth with beef, carrots, and green onions. Meta Knight liked this udon but thought the broth was a little thick to drink with the noodles. The Japanese curry was true to taste with just a hint of spice.

My favourite is the Kitsune Udon ($7). Generally for udon, I like clearer broths so this was totally up my alley. You can tell the broth was made with kombu, soy, bonito, maybe a bit of sake. Clear, light, delicious!

A soft poached egg for good luck and yolky goodness.

The Tonkotsu ($11) is on the pricier side because of the richer broth and cha siu. My friend Calee had nothing bad to say about it.

Niku Udon ($8) comes with sukiyaki beef, onions, green onions, and bok choy.

Another Kitsune Udon ($6) I had on another occasion. I think all in all I've had the Kitsune Udon about 5 times.

Sekai Udon Bar is relatively inexpensive and is a comfortable restaurant to sit and slurp back a bowl of hot noodles. I would definitely recommend them to shoppers wanting a break from the mall madness.

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

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!


                 dat egg yolk... i heart eggs.

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Cafe Joie - Waffles Waffles Waffles!

A block away from Metrotown is a quaint little Korean run cafe called Cafe Joie which, just by word of mouth, is spreading throughout Vancouver like wild fire. 

Every few weeks I see pictures of their amazing looking waffles, bear shaped macarons, and tasty looking latte art. It was hard not to check out this place to see what all the fuss is about.

Their display houses a beautiful collection of pastel coloured macarons.

When Meta Knight and I went, it was crowded and filled with students, Korean people, and girlfriends chatting over macarons.

I had to get a Bear Macaron ($2) just because it was too adorable to resist! It tasted alright and the shell was done well. However, the mango artificial flavours were just too fake for me.

We also shared their Strawberry Waffle (~$10) which comes with a fluffy waffle, cut up strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, whipped cream, strawberry ice-cream, and macaron.

We thoroughly enjoyed it and gobbled it up in seconds! The waffle could have been crisper on the outside, especially since it got soggy quite quickly with the ice-cream and whipped cream on top. But all in all, it was a good waffle for an afternoon snack.

If you are catching a movie at the Metropolis Silvercity Cinplex and need a quick snack, walk a block down and have some waffles! It's much better than any food court food you can get. :)

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

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!


                    my happy waffle dance

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