Diurnal Pabulum: Famous Hakka

Family dinner tonight and we decided to try the Hakka restaurant just next to Aberdeen Centre. Going back to our roots :)

We ordered 2 chicken dishes - one cold (appetizer), the other warm (main). They were good, especially the warm one.




Under the recommendation of the owner, we also ordered the clay pot fish. The mix of tofu and veggies in the flavourful broth is delicious!


And a certain someone favourite food - Yang Zhou Fried Rice :)


On the healthy side - Gai Lan. The sauce was perfect, and veggies perfectly cooked to the right softness.


More carbo next - Fried Kwe Tiao


This dish was really good, with each strand of rice noodle evenly coated with soy sauce and seasonings.

Mentioning that it's our first time here, the owner also gave us all a bowl of dessert...white fungus with date in sweet soup. A really sweet ending!


Definitely worth another visit!

Famous Hakka
190-4200 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC V6X 2C2
(604) 278-3555

Bai Yu Lan

Where shall we eat tonight...that's been the theme all along during this wonderful Xmas season. What really matters is family time right ;)

Tonight, we ended up at a Shanghainese restaurant, famous for their Xiao Long Bao - juicy little steam pork dumplings. These dumplings are either super good or "you are eating the last one...", and according to my bro, this restaurant serves the best he had tried so far in his fledgling culinary journey.

So here's what we ordered for the five of us, including 2 of my bro's friends...

Fried pork wraps/biscuits...



Taste so so, much like those sold in fast food place, but a bit tastier on the skin...almost flaky like pastry, but felt like tortilla to the tongue.

And the famous XLB...



As promised, they were really really good :) Not that I've tried many outlets for these little buns, but these were the best I've had. Skin was perfect, thin enough that you only need to pressure it slightly with the lips to burst it, yet thick enough for the chopsticks to not pop it. The flavour and intensity of the filling and juice oozing out as you munch at it...goodness.

An of course a certain someone must have the Yang Chow Fried Rice :)...



For the love for carbs, traditional stir fried rice cakes noodles....



This brings back good memories of Chinese New Year back home...and how I miss them...

Just to top it up, Chinese pot stickers...



These are so much better than gyozas with their crunchy skins, juicy filling, and fragrant chives.

Definitely a good place for night time snacks!

Bai Yu Lan
8095 Park Road,
Richmond, BC, V6Y 1S8
Phone:604-304-8288

Alleluia Cafe

Continuing on our daily feast, we went to Alleluea Cafe tonight. Bro and his friends visit this place quite often, while it's the 1st for me.

The place is set up like any other HK coffee house, and with similar menu. The only difference, this place seems a bit dim, not sure if it's the design or they're just being skimpy on the lighting o_0.

Bro had his "usual" grilled steak and fried pork chops. He just loved pork chops...


I guess the same thing can be said to me for my love of noodles. There just ain't any decent chinese noodle place in GP...how I wish we can teleport...here's the beef brisket with thin noodles



Had a few pieces of the pork chops and I can taste why bro always order those here...they are so tender and juicy! Lots of meat, and less on the batter, how pork chop should be. My noodles, they are ok, but it did satisfy my craving for now.

Alleluia Cafe
8131 Westminster Hwy. #188
Richmond, BC
Tel: 604-271-8266

Golden Star Restaurant

A colleague of ours, Mr S had decided to leave us come February '09, and work down in the head office. Had only been here 6 months and quite a few departures already...but this time it's for good as Mr S will be reunited with his family :)

For his farewell lunch, we decided to go with chinese, and off to Golder Star we went.

Since there were a bunch of us, we decided to go with 6 dishes to share, instead of individual orders.

First off is the soup...I had the sour and spicy soup.


Not much ingredients, except for threads of veggies (carrots, mushrooms and parsnips) and chunks of tofu. Tasted like Tom Yum soup, except milder.

2.5/5

Next is the honey garlic pork


The pork was juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, nicely done. But they had use to much batter I find, and the sauce was not well mixed in.

3.25/5

The next one is the old time favourite sweet and sour pork


Nothing much to say here, taste and texture is average.

3/5

Next up is the Fried Chicken with noodles in soy sauce.



This dish is ok imo, but everyone else seems to fancy it a lot (that's the last piece shown there in the pix, and I was lucky I was able to grab it :)). The sauce is just plain soy sauce, mixed with corn starch (likely) which gave it the sticky texture. Noodles are again soggy, and the chicken...tasteless.

2.5/5

Next up is the Noodles with prawns in cream sauce...



This dish didn't taste as good as last time when we had it, and the prawns were much smaller this time (winter season = smaller prawns?). Also, they weren't as cripsy. I was looking forward to this dish, but was very disappointed...

2.5/5

Finally, a veggie dish for the health...Stir fried veggie with beef



Maybe it's because the rest of the dishes weren't as good, but I sure voted this one for dish of the day. The veggies were fresh (esp. the Snow peas), and the beef were tender (as it should be).

3.5/5

Not a very satisfying experience this time round, guess it's time to try another chinese restaurant for comparison. In any case, we wish Mr S. all the best!

Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5


Golden Star Restaurant
10112 101 Avenue
Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0Y2
(780) 532-7546

Don's Dining

Our beloved Mr. S decided to take us to lunch today - 3 of us altogether - to a nearby Chinese restaurant. Don's Dining...simple name, plain layout, familiar menu (one that is common in many Chinese restaurant here in GP).

Mr. S ordered Combo A - sweet and sour pork with a bowl of rice.

It sure looks good...

Another colleague ordered Combo B - lemon chicken with fried rice.

The lemon chicken looked very generic...chicken pieces fried in batter, drizzled with lemon-tasting sauce.

As for me...the Singaporean style vermicelli.

As good as it looks and sounds, it was one of those experience I'd rather forget. The vermicelli was dry, and there were chunks of it that were completely tasteless. There was barely any meat, with plenty of veggies. The curry taste just wasn't there...it was like vermicelli sprinkled with curry powder.

1/5

Service: 2.5/5

Ambience: 2.5/5

Don's Dining
106-9840 97 Avenue

Grande Prairie, AB T8V 7K2

Telephone : 780-513-2888

Golden Star Restaurant

All-day meeting at the office today, and food to be served for lunch. To my surprise, it wasn't pizzas or subs this time, it's chinese food! This will be my 1st time in GP having chinese food from outside.

There were a total of 4 trays - fried noodles in cream sauce with prawns, stir fry veggie with beef, , fried rice, and of course the ever popular sweet and sour pork.

So here's what I had...



The sweet and sour pork, and stir fry veggie were ok, nothing special. Fried rice...is just fried rice, lacking lots of ingredients. And the dish of the day goes to...noodles and prawns!
The cream sauce is quite rich, and the prawns are crystal crisp, and big...the way prawn should be! The only downside is the noodles, which were meant to be crispy (since they were fried), but turned out soggy. It would probably work better if they had kept it separate and mix it when meal is ready.



Really filling meal, which keeps me going all through the meeting (contrary to what my other colleagues had to say :))

I was told after the meal that Golden Star is one of the top chinese restaurant in GP, definitely give it another try in the future.

3.5/5


Service: N/A
Ambience: N/A

Golden Star Restaurant
10112 101 Avenue
Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0Y2
(780) 532-7546

Landmark BBQ

Instead of going with the regular place to get our soy chicken, bro decided to go for the one in Landmark BBQ. It's usually more expensive, but on special today.



Taste wise, it's sweeter than the usual (which I prefer), and the meat is really silky and tender. Definitely worth the $!

Landmark BBQ
1171-3779 Sexsmith Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3Z9
(604) 207-2238

HK BBQ Master

Had always wanted to try the BBQ house down by Superstore, but never had because of the price (compared to Parker). However, with only the 2 of us to feed...hehe...we broke the golden rule!

The roast pork...

And Char Siew...

O me god! We sure didn't regret...:) I am salivating as I type...

Please, BBQ lovers out there, this is a must eat before knocking on heaven's door!

HK BBQ Master
4651 #3 Rd Richmond, BC V6X
(604) 272-6568

Diurnal Pabulum: Drunken Chicken

Went for a farewell lunch with friends today at Cute Pearl down in Kerrisdale...mainly going for the bubble tea; sadly, I am not quite the fan.

Here's what Mr. W and Mr. L ordered...

Noodles in Satay Sauce


Noodles w/ broth (looks like instant noodles to me...haha)


But the fried chicken side dish...it was good~~


For me, the Drunken Chicken set...


The side dishes were all cold dishes - sauteed celery, pickled veggies, and spicy tofu - but they were really tasty. Somehow, I have this growing fondness for side dishes (Korean influence?). The main dish itself...poor...very little meat (the bony ribs were served), too salty, and no taste of the wine at all.

Cute Pearl House
2130 40th Avenue West Vancouver, BC
V6M 1W5
(604) 269-9678

Hai Jun

Want delicious, cheap, authentic Chinese food, this place has got it all! This has become one of favourite joints.

The cold appetizer - cured and marinated duck

Dan-dan noodles...

Crispy spicy ginger beef...

A wonderful twist to a classic dish. Instant hit!

Sauteed kidney with veggies in black bean sauce...


This place never disappoints!

Hai Jun
Unit 1028-8888 Odlin Crescent
Richmond, BC
Tel: 778-219-0222

Diurnal Pabulum: Empire Seafood Feast

Our family got invited to the employee annual dinner at the Empire Seafood. The restaurant is rather small compared to other high class Chinese restaurants, but the food sure comes out BIG!

Here are pictures of what were served.

First, the cold platter dish...


The roasted pork was godly! And the cold, chewy, and seasoned jellyfish complements it really perfectly.

Next is the deep fried crab claws...


Another wonderful dish. Plenty of crab meat in the filling, and nicely fried (not greasy at all).

Followed by a veggie dish, accompanied by cured oyster.


The highlight of this dish for me is the smoked oyster and "Fa Choi". Somehow, I liked the slimy texture, and of course the rich taste.

To warm the digestive system in preparation for the main dishes came a claypot of shark fin's soup...


Never really been a big fan of shark fin. Nevertheless, the soup was really tasty, not too salty but yet enriching.

Another pricey dish was served...braised abalone.


I really liked the chewiness of abalone (similar to a Shitake mushroom), on top of a rich "sea" flavour. The blanched spinach goes really well with the sauce :)

Another seafood dish (lovely!!). Mr Lobster this time.


2 words - Marvellously Done! I loved the gravy.

Next is the chinese cured ham, with boiled chicken...


The ham were really delicious...saltiness goes well with the bland chicken.

What's a chinese dinner without live steamed fish?


Being a polite young man, I let the rest of table get their hands on the fish, thus left with the tail. The meat was tender as it can be (tofu like), and the soy sauce (a bit on the sweet side) makes this such a wonderful dish.

Here's the carbo for the day...seafood fried rice.


Again, another tasty dish. Every grain of rice was coated with butter/egg, giving every bite a smooth texture. Shrimps were crisp as crystal!

Finally, the star of the meal - Sago Pudding


OMG...it was so good, I forgot to take a picture! It has instantly climbed up to my Top 3 Favourite Dessert list. Don't believe how good it is? Try it for yourself :)

Empire Seafood
200-7997 Westminster Highway
Richmond, BC V6X 1A4
(604) 249-0080