Strawberry Cones-Japanese Pizzaaas

Strawberry Cones
#3180–4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond BC
(in Aberdeen Centre's food court)

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: n/a (I've only tried one of their pizzas)
Price: 4
Servces: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a

• Japanese fast food
• Offer Pan Type Pizzas and Italian Crispy Pizzas
• Mon-Wed 11am-7pm Thur-Sat 11am-9pm Sun 11am-7pm
• Combos available
• Pasta and appetizer available
• Popular in Japan; "Has over 200 locations in Japan"
• Most pizzas offer S, M, L sizes
• You can mix & match 2 flavours
• Pizzas are made fresh in store
• Because it's located in Aberdeen Centre, parking is chaotic!

• Like Pizza Hut or other typical pizza stores, the pizza comes in a box. You can ask them for some plates and forks.
• If it's busy, you have to wait for a long time
• Parking at Aberdeen Center is always a problem

Teriyaki Mochi Chicken (Combo)-4/6

• (S) $8.57 (M) $11.67 (L) $16.90
• Mochi, onion, chicken, teriyaki sauce
• 8" pizza for combo for two
• Includes two cans of drinks
• Compare to other pizzas, this one does not taste anything special
• Enough for 2-3 people
• They do give a generous amount of toppings. I remember there are chicken pieces in every bite and you can taste the mochi as well.

• The crust is thin and crunchy, but definitely not as thin and crunchy as the one in Kakurenbou
• Cheese is not as heavy as normal Western pizza

Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd-Mung Bean Journey #3

Tofu has always been one of my favourite food :) No matter it is the tofu skin, hard tofu, or soft tofu, as long as it's tofu, I'm ok with it.

Saturday night, after having dinner with EU, we decided to grab a dessert. But since I am not craving for any mung bean dessert (from Bubble Fruity or Dessert Kitchen), and for some reason, EU wanted to have some tofu that night. With a doubt, we end up in Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd for a quick tofu dessert.

Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd
#160-4231 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5 (for their desserts only)
Price: 6
Services: 5.5
Ambiance: 2.5
Overall: 4.5

• As you can see from its name, they are popular for their home-made tofu products
• Drinks (soy bean milk), desserts, and snacks available
• Large variety of desserts (actually the difference is the toppings you choose; the base is still tofu pudding)
• Healthier dessert choices
• Offer hot and cold desserts
• Popular to Chinese
• Tofu puddings are made fresh everyday
• Late nights on Friday and Saturday
• Limited parking spaces (or you can park in Aberdeen Centre)
• Ginger syrup and plain syrup available
• Dine in/Take out

Mung Beans & Tofu Pudding-4.5/6

• $3.25
• They microwaved the mung beans and put them on top of the tofu pudding
• It is too watery for me
• I chose mung beans (as always) because the picture on the menu looks so good! But when it looked different when it came. I wish they can give me more topping
• The tofu pudding is not hot enough. I am sure it will be taste better if everything comes (smoking) hot
• It is 100% pure-no preservative or sugar added (I'm not sure about the mung beans though)
• You can choose to add either ginger syrup or plain syrup; you can find both bottles on the table so you can add as much as want
• I'm not sure about this but EU told me that the ginger syrup is also a home-made product by Excellent Tofu & Snack Ltd

Taro & Tofu Pudding-4/6

• $3.25
• Again the dessert appears to be really watery
• I'm not a fan of taro but EU seemed to enjoy this dessert a lot, so I guess it must be pretty good

The also offer other snacks, including Chinese pastries and Cold Tofu Topped With Preserved Egg. I will like to come back and check out their snacks and drinks! :)

Twinkle 2-A Little Star...Jelly

Twinkle 2
#125-8291 Alexandra Rd, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 3.5 (haven't tried their snacks)
Price: 5
Servces: 4.5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5

• Used to be a division of Twinkle 1 (also in Richmond Alexandra Rd), but I think they have separated now
• Large variety of drinks
• Popular and suitable for teenagers
• Suitable for a large crowd
• Group-games and magazines (mainly Chinese) available
• Suitable for all ages
• Taiwanese restaurant
• Have different special drinks
• Twinkle's special star-shaped jelly
• Snacks available
• Late night

Passion Fruit Green Tea Slush w/ Star Jelly and Oreo Cookie Slush w/ Star Jelly-5/6 (for Passion Fruit Slush), n/a (for Oreo Cookie Slush)

• I forgot the price but I remember Twinkle 2's drinks are more expensive than other regular bubble tea places
• Passion Fruit Green Tea Slush is so good! Its sweetness is suitable for me
• The star jellies are really chewy. They have several flavours for you to choose on the menu, such as grape, apple, peach, etc.
• I didn't try the Oreo Cookie Slush
• The cups are bigger than I thought. Are they bigger than other regular bubble teas?

Chicken Teppanyaki With Rice-n/a

• I didn't try this and sorry for not-so-appealing photo
• I don't remember the exact price but I think it's about $7-8
• It comes with some side veggies

Three Spice Chicken With Rice-3.5/6

• It is also about $7-8
• Their three spice chicken are acceptable but I have had better ones
• The dish was served warm; I wish it could come hotter
• Talking about presentation, to be honest, I don't like restaurants putting all sides, mains and rice/noodles together on a plate (maybe that's just me)

I know Twinkle 2 has snacks too. But I hope they can expand their food menu a bit. On the other hand, I was walking pass Twinkle 1 the other day and saw their food menu is richer than Twinkle 2! They actually have some Japanese style hotdogs as well! (Don't know what I mean? Think the famous Japadog in Vancouver downtown. AHA!)

I will sure come back for their drinks...but I will rather go to the nearby Well Tea for a quick Taiwanese snack/meal.

Kakurenbou Japanese Dining-Open Sesame!

I was flipping through some magazines few weeks ago and saw there was a new izakaya opened in downtown. Curious enough, I decided to give it a try. Also, given the fact that it is during the Winter Olympics, I would love to visit downtown and experience the "GO! CANADA! GO!"

What is the best way to go to downtown? Bring your buddy with you! (or you can bring your map too if you want) So, I brought my foodie buddy, EU, with me to experience the enthusiasm of the people, with a taste of this new izakaya :)

As we were walking along Robson Street, people were cheering and some even stood outside the stores and watched TV. I love this atmosphere.

When we arrived Jervis Street, my one-and-only guide EU immediately reminded me to make a right turn. At first, I stood outside their door and could not see any lights in the restaurant. I then gave them a call and asked them whether they're opened or not. Suddenly, a Japanese girl came out and opened the door for us. I was really pleased by her services.

There was a big, old, heavy, wooden door when I entered. Kakurenbou is even larger than I expected!

Kakurenbou Japanese Dining
#793 Jervis St., Vancouver BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 4
Price: 4
Services: 5
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 4.5

• Authentic Japanese restaurant
• Chefs, waitress, bar tender are all Japanese
• Suitable for hang-outs
• Large variety of cocktails available
  
  
• Interesting interior design
• Menu is not large in variety. To be honest, EU and I had a hard time deciding what to order
• I could only see one waitress (who is the girl), so services were a bit slow
• Mon-Sun 5:30pm-midnight

Strawberry Pineapple Cocktail-4.5/6

• I don't remember its actual name and price
• Strawberry flavour is stronger than the pineapple, but overall both flavours blend well together
• Yes, it's a cocktail but I don't think they put much alcohol in it

Orange and Ginger Cocktail-3/6

• again I don't remember its actual name and price
• Hmmm...this cocktail's flavour is not as appealing as the first one. I could taste a little bit orange flavour and some ginger flavour. I wish they could add more ginger to this cocktail.
• Same as the first cocktail, they didn't put much alcohol in it

Tuna Tataki-4/6

• I don't remember the price
• It came smaller than I expected
• I like the onions they served on the side; it tastes good with the tuna tataki
• I didn't try the sauce they gave us but I think it's a ginger mix soy sauce
• Tuna is soft and fresh
• This is a really common dish so it doesn't really require any skills

Pan fried Mochi Pizza-4.5/6

• Sorry no price again!
• This came as a surprise to me. I thought their pizza was going to be the mini version of Pizza Hut/Domino's. However, the crust of this pizza is thin and crispy! It's like eating biscuits!
• There are mochi on top but I think it will be better if they add more
• It is served with Tobasco sauce on the side, so you can choose whether to add it or not (I didn't add)
• Looks like it got too much cheese on top? No worry! The mozzarella cheese in this pizza is not that heavy
• It is not those heavy, super-filling pizzas you have in the typical Western restaurants. EU and I finished the whole pizza and we were still able to have desserts afterwards. Haha

Grilled Cod Fish-4.5/6

• No price again
• The cod fish is actually pretty big. Oh, or I should use the word "long" instead of "big".
• The fish tastes good but it's a bit salty for me. Thus, I squeezed some lemon juice on top-yummy! problem solved! ;)
• I remember there are quite a number of tiny, thin bones in cod fish. So be careful when you eat this.

Dessert Kitchen-Mung Bean Journey #2

In my last Mung Bean Journey, I went to Bubble Fruity to satisfy my craving. This time, I just wanted to find a place for dessert after dinner, so I chose the nearest-Dessert Kitchen.

This is my second visit. I remember I didn't order something fancy last time I visited Dessert Kitchen. Since I favour Chinese desserts more than the Western ones, I decide to give their "Green Bean Sweet Soup" (aka Mung Bean Dessert) a try ;)

Dessert Kitchen
#8580 Alexandra Rd, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5
Price: 6
Services: 5
Ambiance: 3 (it drops because the movie they were playing was too loud)

• Run by Chinese
• Chinese and Western desserts available
• Suitable for teenagers to hang out with friends
• Snacks (noodles) available
• Not sure whether the chef is a Pro (?)
• Magazines (mainly Chinese) available
• Have two TVs on the wall. They can be entertaining AND irritating.

Green Bean Sweet Soup-6/6

• $4
• Not too sweet
• You can tell it's freshly made; it doesn't look/feel/taste like it's microwaved
• Price is acceptable. The photo above may not show, but actually the bowl is pretty big, AND...(see below)
  
  
• It is LOADED with mung beans and seaweed!
• Highly recommend for Mung Bean Dessert lovers
• Mung beans are chewy and not overly soft
• Seaweed is soft but that's normal since it has been boiled and been cooked for awhile

Chinese Herbal Tea With Egg-n/a

• $4.25
• I didn't try this
• It may look weird to some people but it's basically a Chinese herbal soup with a whole egg
• According to EU, she did enjoy this dessert
• Same as the Green Bean Sweet Soup, it is not too sweet as well
• However, compare to the Green Bean Sweet Soup, $4.25 is a bit expensive for such a plain dessert
• The egg is cooked well; the skin is not too hard or too soft

Guu Garden-OH MY GUUDNESS!

I've always wanted to try Guu Garden because it's a division of Guu, and its interior design looks really fancy to me. After discussing with EU, we decided to take the Skytrain to downtown and give this new Guu a shot!

Guu Garden
M101-888 Nelson Street, Vancouver BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5.5
Price: 4.5
Services: 5.5
Ambiance: 6
Overall: 5.5

• New Guu branch
• Authentic Japanese restaurant
• All chefs and waitresses are Japanese
• Mon-Sun 5:30pm-12am
• Everyone will greet you warmly when you enter the restaurant
• Focus on oden
• Odd location; it is pretty hard to find...
• Get busier at night
• For large group, they recommend customers to pre-order their prefer Oden menu when making reservation.

• You can choose either to try their cocktails or tea

Kanto-daki

• Each ingredient has a different price, from $1.5-7.8
• Soy sauce based oden with light soup
• They have Today's Oden on Today's Special sheet
• See that muddy yellowish paste on the side of the pot? It's wasabi and it goes well with the balls. You should try it ;)

• Mochi Tofu Bag-5.5/6
• $2
• Everything is edible, including the white thing that is used to tie the bag
• Eu and I were totally surpised by this little bag! At first, we didn't expect anything from it by its outlook; we thought it's just an ordinary fluffy tofu ball. However, when I bit open the bag, it was filled with mochi inside!
• The mochi is really chewy and sofy, it's like a half-melted marshmellow (without the sweetness)
• The white thing that is used to tie the bag (uhh I don't know what it is called) is chewy as well
• Highly recommend for mochi lovers! EU, who is one of them, loves this so much!

• Ganmo Tofu Ball-4/6
• $1.5
• Nothing special about this ball; it's like those ordinary tofu balls you have in hot-pot
• It is a bit more chewy though

• Fluffy Fish Cake-3.5/6
• $2
• It is quite fluffy compare to other ordinary fish balls/fish cakes
• If you order this, I suggest you eat it first because it gets really soft after staying in the broth for a while
• Maybe because it already got so soft when I tried it, I didn't really like it's texture. It's too soft for me.

• Ginkyo Nuts-5/6
• $1.5
• They gave me more than I expected. I thought they gave me two orders but when I asked them, they told me this is one order :)
• I am a ginkyo nuts fan! Even though they do not have much taste, Guu Garden is able to cook them in the right texture. Chewy and crunchy enough for me!

Miso Oden-5.5/6 (for fried egg), n/a (for taro jelly)

• $1.5 each
• EU ordered the taro jelly so I didn't try it
• EU said the taro jelly is chewy and she likes it
• The fried egg is better than I expected. It is soft and fluffy. And it does not taste oily.
• The miso sauce is not salty, which is good; instead, it has a hint of sweetness. I like it ;)

Salmon Ruibe-5/6

• $7.8
• Salmon is fresh and it still has that chewiness
• The dressing is not too overwhelming, it matches the salmon and the green onions
• I don't know if it is a special feature or not, the salmon is semi-frost (?). I mean it's still hard/icy in some parts. I take that as something special while EU says it's a mistake.

Grilled Saba Shima Sushi-6/6

• $7.8
• HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!
• I couldn't stop thinking of it after having this dish! The taste is so unforgettable!
• The saba (mackerel) is cooked in the right time. It is served softly with some rice in the middle.
• $7.8 for 6pcs may seem a bit expensive but this is definitely worth it! I'm sure you will love this roll as much as I do!

Chopped Tuna, Green Onion, and Herb Hand Roll-6/6

• Forgot the price
• It is a special on that night
• Neatly presented :)

• They gave us a generous amount of filling! (which is rare nowadays) The hand rolls are stuffed with tuna and have the right amount of rice
• The herb goes very well with the tuna and the green onions. It also gives the hand rolls a very nice smell
• Tuna is soft and fresh
• Nori (seaweed) is not bland and is still crunchy

Healthee-Go Green Go Healthy! #2

I woke up in a warm saturday morning and was craving for edamame for no reason. Since EU wants to start her day with a light lunch, we opted for Healthee in Kerrisdale.

This is my second visit to Healthee. To read my first review, click here.

Healthee

#2277 West 41st Avenue (Kerrisdale), Vancouver BC

Ratings

1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 6 (based on the custom made wraps we had)

Price: 5

Services: 6
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 5.5

• Salads, wraps, soups, chilis, and bagels available
• Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm Sat-Sun 9:30am-6pm
• Breakfast available
• Healthy sweet treats (cookies, chocolate covered frozen bananas) available
• Salads, wraps, and bagels can be custom made
• Owner Joe and the staffs are very friendly
• Kids-friendly, comfy atmosphere
• XOXOLAT choclates available
• Dine in/Take out
• Joe makes sure the customers enjoy and satisfy with their food
• Despite their small location, I saw many families this time
• Smoothies, coffee, other regular drinks available
• Large variety of ingredients available
• There are other proteins available for customers who need meat (e.g. salmon, chicken)

Custom Made Wrap and Smoothie-6/6 (for wrap), 5.5/6 (for smoothie)

• Again I forgot the prices but the wrap is about $7
• The steps to make a salad/wrap is in my first review
• Choose 3 fruits from: raspberry, banana, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple for the smoothie
• They only add the three fruits you've chosen with 2%/skimmed milk for the smoothies; they do not blend in any ice cubes. You can see how they make it on the side near the cashier.
• I chose raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry. It was really smooth and creamy. You can actually taste every fruit you've chosen.

• Spinach, edamame, banana peppers, red onions, mandarins with ginger & sesame dressing
• I like the strong flavour of the red onions and the banana peppers!
• The mandarins go well with the dressing
• They gave me the equal amount of all ingredients
• The wrap was tightly wrapped this time
• The sesame flavour in the dressing is stronger than the ginger flavour, but overall it's still good
• All ingredients (except the mandarins which are the canned ones) are fresh
• Served with two slices of freshly cut apples on the side
• Even though the wrap is wrapped tightly, the dressing is still managed to come out

Custom Made Wrap-n/a

• About $7
• Romaine, tomatoes, green onions, mandarins, black beans with ginger & sesame dressing
• I can't rate this because it is EU's wrap and I didn't taste it
• Unlike last time, Eu's wrap was wrapped perfectly tight this time
• Despite Eu had a hard time eating the wrap due to the dressing problem, she did enjoy her wrap
• As you can see, there are two slices of apples on the tray

Even though they are just veggie wraps, they are surprisingly filling. Eu and I were again satisfied with Healthee's services and offers. I'm sure we will come back for their salads! :)

Dessert Kitchen

I used to have dessert every saturday night after having dinner. Since I just finished dinner in Richmond Alexandra Road, I went to Dessert Kitchen and had a look.


Dessert Kitchen
#8580 Alexandra Rd, Richmond BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: n/a (I only tried one of their desserts)
Price: 5
Services: 5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5

• Run by Chinese
• Chinese and Western desserts available
• Suitable for teenagers to hang out with friends
• Snacks (noodles) available
• The owner is always wearing a chef-apron, so I wonder whether he is a Pro chef or not
• Chinese magazines available
• Have two TVs on the wall. It may be good if the movies they're playing suit you, but if they don't, you will find the really uncomfortable sitting there.

Mixed Fruits Grass Jelly-4/6

• $5.25
• They do give you a generous amount of fruits and grass jelly
• Not too sweet
• I'm not sure why but maybe they have put the fruits in some condensed milk before mixing them with grass jelly
• This dessert does not require any skills, I mean it's not something complicated or hard to make, so $5.25 is not really worth it

Healthee-Go Green Go Healthy! #1

The day I visited Healthee was a sunny saturday, so EU and I decided to go to Kerrisdale to enjoy the welcome of spring ;)

Speaking of Kerrisdale, EU is definitely more familiar than I do because she passes by every day on her way to and from school. My impression to Kerrisdale? It is such a lovely place! I always enjoy spending time there.

Ok, let's move back to the food!

Healthee

2277 West 41st Avenue (Kerrisdale), Vancouver BC

Ratings

1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5: Very Good 6:Heavenly

Food: 5.5

Price: 5

Services: 6

Ambiance: 5.5

Overall: 5.5

• salads, wraps, soups, chilis, and bagels available
• Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm Sat-Sun 9:30am-6pm
• breakfast available
• healthy sweet treats (cookies, chocolate covered frozen bananas) available
• salads, wraps, and bagels can be custom made
• owner Joe and the staffs are very friendly
• kids-friendly, comfy atmosphere
• XOXOLAT choclates available
• Dine in/Take out

The interior is simple, designed with mainly green and white colours. Despite its small location, you will sure feel comfortable having a simple and delicious brunch/lunch/snack here.

I normally order their custom chopped salad/wrap. You first choose a bowl/whole wheat wrap, then choose the greens (spinach/romaine/mixed greens) you want. After that, you can choose 4 regular toppings (0.75 per additional toppings). Healthee has a large variety of toppings: veggies, fruits, nuts, proteins (e.g. beans, eggs). If you want to add some cheese for extra flavour, you can +$1 for each cheese topping.

Too much veggie? You can add a premium protein topping; the price depends on which topping you want. Last but not least, to give your salad a moist flavour, you need to pick a Healthee-Made dressing from their menu.

Too complicated? You can opt for thier feature salads and wraps.

Custom Made Wrap-n/a

• I don't really remember the price but I think it's about $7
• romaine, beets, black beans, tomatoes, red peppers with raspberry vinaigrette
• sorry for the blurry photo, I hope you can see how the wrap looks inside
• I can't rate this wrap because I didn't try it
• it was not wrapped tightly, so EU had a hard time eating it
• since it wasn't wrapped well, the dressing kept dripping from the wrap
• each wrap comes with two slices of apples

Custom Made Wrap-6/6

• same as the above wrap, it is about $7
• spinach, beets, craisins, edamame, banana peppers with yoghurt & dill dressing
• luckily, mine was wrapped tightly so I enjoyed it a lot!
• every ingredient is fresh and they gave me an equal amount of everything
• this was my first time trying craisins. The texture is like dry cranberries+dry raisins. But it's a bit hard for me, not really chewy.
• yoghurt & dill dressing is not really strong
• I like how Healthee serves the wrap to us with two slices of apples on the tray. Neat!