The One Restaurant- Fried Chicken Nuggets. Check. GINORMOUS Bubble Tea Slush. Check.

I honestly don’t know how many “The One” Restaurants there are in the lower mainland but my guess is at least four.  This particular “The One” restaurant is located on Kingsway and is famous for their popular mega tall bubble tea slush.

Yoshi ordered the Chicken Nuggets with Rice ($9.75) and it came with four side dishes. The side dishes were super tiny and I recall him only liking a few out of the four varieties.

He really enjoyed the chicken nuggets as they were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. He didn’t like the fried basil so I ate all of his :P I loveeee fried basil!

For his drink, he chose the Fresh Taro Green Milk Tea ($4.50) and this was surprisingly incredibly good! There was no doubt that they used fresh taro, and in my opinion, it tasted a billion times better than the powdered kind.

If I’m not mistaken, Meta Knight ordered the Deep Fried Fish with Vegetable and Rice ($11.95) which he thought was quite pricey for a bubble tea restaurant. However, when he saw the ginormous portion of fish, he no longer criticized the price. :P

The black pepper sauce that he chose was extremely peppery (a bit too peppery for his liking) but provided a nice sauce for the otherwise dry fish and rice.

As you know, I am such a noodle person... so I opted for the Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets with Noodle Soup ($10.50). I should have shared this with someone because the portion was HUGEEE!!! The bowl of plain noodles itself was already more than enough to satisfy me...

But with the chicken nuggets, I fell into a food coma.

Since it was Meta Knight and my first time here, we decided to go for one of those huge slushes that people always rave about.

We shared the Japanese Green Tea Smoothie ($6.25) and boy was it huge. The slush was more than double the average size of bubble tea slush and if you let it sit for too long, it will start melting all over the place. Thus, we had to instantly cup another glass over it, and break it off to prevent any spill-age. It was a cool experience but the green tea flavour was not very prominent and I remember it being too icy and bland.

Lil Sis went for the Beef Curry with Rice ($9.75) and it also came with rice and four side dishes.

When I asked how it was, she only said, ‘it’s good’ and shrugged her shoulders so I think the curry sauce was just o-kay.

Based on these reasons:

• mega tall slushes 
• quite pricey for a bubble tea restaurant
• food and drinks are decent

Service Rating: 2.5/5

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$ ($10-$20)

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://www.wordans.com/custom-t-shirt-design-details/food-drink-design-i-love-bubble-tea-142927

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Moncton Cafe- More Than Meets The Eye *in Transformers' voice*

My oh-so-lovely yogi friend Misu told me about this new restaurant that came about in Steveston, Richmond. It’s called Moncton Cafe, and let me tell you, you will NEVER guess what cuisine they serve based on the exterior.  

It is located next door to “Storybrooke Pet Shelter”... hehehe. SQUEE!! ‘Once Upon A Time’ fans rejoice!

Upon walking in, you will be greeted by some friendly Japanese ladies who will seat you and give you a Yoshoku inspired menu.

Still don’t know what they serve? Moncton Cafe specializes in Western style Japanese cuisine called Yoshoku which was popular in the 1970’s in Tokyo, Japan. They have everything from curry rice, salads, Tokyo style spaghetti, to hamburg rice.

Their dessert menu is pretty unique and quite a few items caught my eye. Unfortunately, I was too full from lunch to order any.

All of their lunch menu items come with soup and salad. I adore clear soup and this veggie filled broth provided exactly what I needed before a meal. Something light to wet the palate in preparation for the main course... Muahahaha.

Misu ordered the Shrimp Creamy Gratin ($12.00) which is a ‘shrimp, mushroom, and shell macaroni covered with creamy white soy bean sauce’. It comes with bread, a side salad and a small potato salad.

There was ample cheese for her to indulge in but the soy bean in the so-called ‘white soy bean sauce’ was undetectable. Misu said that overall, it tasted just like something from Milestones. Not that it was a bad thing. Just not... super special.

Having done a bit of research before coming, I heard their hamburg patties were an absolute hit so I went for the House Hamburg ($13.00). Hamburg is a popular dish in Japan similar to the westernized, Salisbury steak.  It’s made from ground meat and a variety of ingredients, and then made into a flat circular shape. It was incredibly popular in the 60’s and 70’s as a more affordable way of eating meat.

The hamburger steak had a kickass mushroom and onion demi-glace sauce on top and it really did live up to my expectations. They also did not skimp on the meat too and I received a very large patty the size of my whole hand.

The lettuce in the side salad was fresh and I enjoyed the potato salad. Everything I ate gave me a sense of home cooking, like I was in a Japanese kitchen or on the set of “Cooking With Dog” (anybody watch them too? :D)

Overall, Misu and I both found the prices here to be quite expensive (~$16 for lunch) considering the ambiance and location. However, the portion sizes are large and you can tell each dish was made with love and care. 

Service Rating: 4/5

Food Rating: 4/5

Price: $$-$$$ ($10-30)

Overall Rating: 4/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hamburg_steak.jpg

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Wonderful Buffet (Bellingham)- Great Value For Your Money

Wonderful Buffet is located in Bellingham (near Walmart) and it is a Chinese style buffet.

Many people I know have told about me about how great and affordable this place is but I was skeptical to try it out since I was expecting it to be a poor version of westernized Asian food.

Here are some of their meat dishes that include stir fried broccoli, egg pancake, and clams.

Here is a closer look at the clams, stir fried shrimp, and roasted potatoes.

They have a sushi bar and it is frequently replenished by the ‘sushi chef’ behind the counter. The sushi was not bad and exceeded my expectations.

They have a variety of Asian pastries like fried donut, sesame balls...etc.

They also have Western pastries like cream puffs, and Swiss rolls. I didn’t try any of them though so I can’t vouch for how it tasted.

They have a variety of fresh and canned fruit. Oh,  and some Jello.

My first plate consisted of some sushi, a stuffed mushroom, a stuffed shrimp ball thing, and egg drop soup.

I ended up liking this buffet a lot because the quality of the food was pretty good actually considering how cheap the price is. I didn’t expect them to offer clams and shrimp but they did and it was super tasty too.

My favourite item in the buffet were the clams! It was probably everyone else’s favourite too because  many people rush to the clam section immediately when the chef brings out a new batch. I didn’t want to seem overly eager, so I waited until the line died down. :P

Overall, the food exceeded my expectations and I’d choose this over Old Country buffet considering the variety of food and the price. At Wonderful Buffet, their lunch price is only ~$7.00 US so it is definitely a steal!

Service Rating: N/A

Food Rating: 2.5/5

Price: $ (under $10)

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/all-you-can-eat-food-buffet-worth-money/

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Spicy Szechuan Restaurant- Failed Noodle in Soup, Salty Soy Milk, and Fried Noodles

Once in a while, my family and I like to go for Shanghai food. Kirma (my mama) suggested Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen (post here) again but I protested since we go there every time we want Shanghai food. I made the wrong decision to suggest Spicy Szechuan Restaurant (as you will see later) and now, I realize I should have never fixed anything that is not broken. If the restaurant we always go to consistently serves us the best Shanghai food in Richmond, we should never gone anywhere elsewhere. Lesson learned, Kirby...lesson learned.

So anyways, we ended up at Spicy Szechuan Restaurant located on Anderson Road across from Richmond Center.

I always like to judge how good the Shanghai restaurant is based on how delicious their salty soy milk is. In this case, their Salty Soy Milk ($1.95) was not to any of my family’s liking. The soy milk was too thick and the flavour lacked depth. Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen’s salty soy milk is still my favourite and is a world of difference from this soy milk. We left most of this untouched. :(

The Sliced Spiced Beef Noodle in Soup ($7.95) was uninteresting and average at best.

This was my biggest disappointment because it was a featured dish on their wall and cost nearly double the price of any other dishes. It was called Stir Fried Noodle with Shredded Pork and Chives ($12.50) and as you can see, there are barely any toppings. It consisted of mainly bland noodles that I could have cooked myself. Fail.

I enjoyed the Pancake Wrapped Beef ($6.95) as the skin was flaky yet doughy at the same time. The beef wasn’t overly tough which was great as it is usually what I encounter when order this item.

This dish I enjoyed but no one else in my family did. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for deep fried tofu. This one was called Deep Fried Tofu with Pepper Salt ($7.50) and it provided a nice spicy crunch on the outside while maintaining a soft interior. Kirma thought they over fried it but I guess it is up to your own personal preference. I thought it was fried perfectly. :P

Last but not least, the Steamed Xiao Long Baos (Mini Pork Bun) ($6.75).

It’s a little pricier than other xlbs but it is one of the better ones I’ve tasted. The skin was quite thin but still held in the meat when we picked it up. 

All in all, this place just doesn't cut it. I would still hands down choose Chen's Shanghai Kitchen over Spicy Szechuan Restaurant any day. 

Service Rating: 2.5/5

Food Rating: 1.5/5

Price: $$-$$$

Overall Rating: 2/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://memegenerator.net/instance/20716249

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[Guest Post] Seoul Garden (Netherlands): Little Bit of Korea in the Netherlands!

[Kirby: Hey guys! I have something very exciting to share with you! This is the first guest post featured on Eating With Kirby and it is written by my lovely friend, Peter. He is from the Netherlands and he has decided to share some of his food adventures with us all the way from Holland! Thanks for reading! :D]

After reading all the awesome posts that have been written by Kirby, I got inspired to write a post myself.  I have always been wanting to start my own blog, but I was too lazy to write posts on a regular basis. I asked Kirby whether I could write a post as a guest blogger and she got excited! First, let me introduce myself: my name is Peter and I am from the Netherlands. I met Kirby during the ISC program in Korea, and since then we kept in touch with each other and exchanged many pictures of our different 'food cultures'!

Before I went to Korea, I only ate western food like bread, pasta and potato-made dishes.  However, during my stay in Korea, I really learned to appreciate the Asian cuisine. Kirby encouraged me to try all kinds of (exotic) Asian food and a whole new world opened to me! One of her most amazing posts was on eating live octopus in Seoul and after reading that post I wanted to try the octopus myself! Sadly, all restaurants in Seoul were sold out at that time and I couldn't get my live octopus! However,  next time when visiting Korea, I will definitely try the live octopus!

'Seoul Garden'

Since I came back to the Netherlands, I have been struggling a bit to find proper Asian food. I tried to make noodles and rice myself, but I failed horribly. There are quite some good Chinese-Indonesian restaurants located in the Netherlands, but last week I was really craving for some authentic Korean food! After a long search I found an authentic Korean restaurant called 'Seoul Garden' in The Hague, the city where my sister lives and where our government is located.

The restaurant was difficult to find, because it was located in a small alley.  When my sister and I entered the restaurant, we noticed the strong smell of Kimchi and Korean bbq.  At that moment I got flashbacks to my stay in Korea and I felt like I was standing in Seoul again! Wow, such an amazing experience without showing your passport and paying an expensive air ticket!

The restaurant was very small and cosy and had a few Asian decorations. The  Korean owner greeted us and allocated us a table near the window. The restaurant was filled with Koreans, most of them probably working for the Korean embassy. The pictures below give an impression of the restaurant.
The menu of Seoul Garden consists of a wide variety of Korean dishes, such as Bulgogi , Bibimbap, Kimchi chigge and many more. My sister and I decided to go for the 'Samgyeopsal ', which is the Korean barbecue consisting of  pork. My sister had never tried this before and I was really curious whether she would like it.

As a starter we got a Korean pancake and a soup containing tofu. The pancake was really delicious and tasted a bit like traditional Dutch pancakes. The tofu soup was ok, but nothing special.
After the starter, the waitress brought us the 'pan chan' (side dishes). We got some Kimchi and lettuce and a bowl of rice. The Kimchi was really fresh and spicy and luckily  they didn't create a mild version for the Westerners.

I noticed that there wasn't a grill built into the table, so I was wondering how we would be able to barbecue.  After ordering, the waitress brought us a portable bbq (which is actually not typical Korean). Several other tables were having bbq too but none of these bbq's had a fan above the table. After a while there was a layer of fog in the restaurant and when we left the restaurant our clothes smelled badly. The pictures below show the samgyeopsal and the various side dishes at our table. The quality of the pictures is not that good, because it was quite dark in the restaurant.

The trick with eating samgyeopsal is to take a lettuce leaf and put some meat on top of it. Then, you add some side dishes on it and then you wrap it together! It tasted so delicious and sharing your food with others really enhances the social interaction at the table!  My sister also enjoyed the samgyeopsal and she really wants to return.

The staff were native Koreans, and  they were friendly and helpful. They offered us a fork and knife, because most Dutch people cannot handle chopsticks very well. The staff didn't speak much Dutch, but this wasn't a big problem, because they could speak English. I even managed to say a few words in Korean to the waitress!

Verdict

The price for having samgyeopsal at Seoul Garden is €14 (~18 CAD) per person, which is relatively cheap to Dutch standards. The portions were quite big and we could also get a scoop of ice cream as dessert, but we were both too full to order that. The overall service was quite good and there was a cosy atmosphere. However, the restaurant should install some fans above the tables, because our clothes smelled badly afterwards. It was very exciting to experience Korea again and I will definitely go back!

Price category: €€

Happy Eating! 



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