The One Restaurant 美味關係

Ambiance: Just like every other "newer" dine in bubble tea restaurant

Seating/Wait time: Pretty busy at night. Expect to wait. Bad service experience story below (experienced by someone else).

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

If you have seen pictures of bubble tea oversized slush's on Facebook or Twitter and wondered where to get them, this is the place that serves them.

Strawberry Slush

$5.50

Disappointing that there was only 1/4 of a strawberry. The way they stack it up, I wonder if it is equal in cc to a takeout cup. They make it look like they're serving you two cups for the price of one.

Lychee Slush + Pearls

$5.50 + $0.50

Pearls were just the same as anywhere else.

Shaved Ice

Mango, Red Bean, Condensed Milk, and Purple Plum (not actual plum, only sauce)

$6.95 + $0.50

The portion size is great. Much more generous than other restaurants I know in the area.

Personal Remarks:

Bad Service Story: While we were waiting to be seated, a group of 3 people was also waiting for a table. I was in a group of 6 and they immediately had a table for us. 10 minutes later, a group of 4 people arrived. So, the group of 3 and group of 4 are obviously waiting for the same table. Another 10 minutes later, the server approached the group of 4 and said their table was ready. Then group of 3 had the expression, WTF! They were very upset about the situation and the server didn't do anything to rectify the situation.

I have no idea how long those 3 were waiting because they arrived before us, but I felt very bad for them.

I felt the manager should have offered them some free drinks or just told the group of 4 to give up their table because the other group was obviously there before them. The manager and servers did nothing about the situation and just let them sit and wait.

They waited another 5 minutes, then group of 3 just got angry and decided to leave.

I know if that happened to me, I would be very upset. But it didn't. I wanted to mention that story because I don't know if their story will be told. I think it's fair for the public to know that this restaurants service can be inconsistent.

The great thing about this place is the portion size. Also, there is good variety on their menu.

The service is quite slow for food, from order time to actually being served.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 3/5

Dine Out Vancouver 2012 $18 Menu Recommendations

With so many choices for Dine Out 2012, it's a bit overwhelming to know which restaurant to go to. There's no "shuffle" button to let you randomly choose a restaurant if you don't know or simply don't want to go back and forth bantering, "you decide", "I don't care, I'm okay with anything", "okay then you just pick one". 

Meanwhile deep in our minds, our opportunity cost is another better restaurant. If you're having trouble deciding, let me give you my top 3 picks in each price range category (Dinner Only).

$18 (52 restaurants available)

1. Dunn's Famous Montreal Smoked Meat Restaurant
Menu: here
Location: 827 Seymour Street
Phone Number: (604) 682-8938
UrbanSpoon Rating: 91%

2. Suika Snackbar
Menu: here
Location: 1626 West Broadway
Phone Number: (604) 730-1678
UrbanSpoon Rating: 88%

3. Bistro 101
Menu: here
Location: 1505 2nd Ave West
Phone Number: (604) 734-0101
UrbanSpoon Rating: 96%

Bonus
For $18 Menu's you can't go wrong with an extra restaurant

Urban Thai Bistro
Menu: here
Location: 1119 Hamilton St
Phone Number: (604) 408-7788
UrbanSpoon Rating: 82%

Remember Dine Out Vancouver Ends February 5, 2012!

True Confections (Broadway)

Ambiance: Romantic-ish, seats too close together for any intimate conversation.

Seating/Wait time: Not that big, available seating varies depending on the time of day you come. When people get a seat they don't leave immediately, there is a long waiting when people settle down because they just sit and chat.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

$8.75

This was actually more sweet than I can handle, I can handle a lot of sweet. I take like 2 splenda's in my coffee and eat a lot of candy, I'm the only Asian that doesn't ask for "less sweet" in my drinks when eating out. Every time my mom see's me she asks if diabetes found me yet. This was so sweet that we couldn't even finish it.

Strawberry Cheesecake

$6.75

The strawberry cheesecake was a lot better. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a breadcrumb crust. The strawberry tasted more like jelly (made from concentrate) than jam (made from real strawberry's). Texture wise, it could have been mixed longer. It wasn't clumpy and it wasn't as smooth as it should be for a cheesecake.

Size wise and quality wise, this is more like a $4.00 cheesecake and I think store bought ones do a better job.

Coffee

$2.45

Compare with Starbucks Tall House Coffee - $1.75.

Personal Remarks:

Granted the size Height x Width is as big as the plates themselves, but the lack of Depth was disappointing. The great thing about True Confections is the display of cakes, everything in there looks so delicious.

I wish it was gelato restaurant style and they gave you a spoon to sample the cakes before choosing one.

This is one of the most expensive desert shops I've been to and they just under delivered in terms of quality. If they increased the volume then this would be a great place to go. Then this place would actually give value even thought their quality is sub-par. However, just because this restaurant is on the west side of Vancouver it doesn't mean their quality is good.

This would not be a good place to bring a date for an after dinner chat. This place does not impress anyone. Their coffee is bad and you're way better off finding a Starbucks.

Value: 2/5 Overall: 3/5

Ding Hao Noodle House 頂好牛肉麵

Ambiance: Clean and simple, looks a lot like the other Taiwanese BBT places around town.

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

A13 Crispy Chicken w/ Noodle Soup

TW popcorn chicken, green & fried onion, clear broth

$7.95

They gave a good amount of noodles for a small. The portion was not obscenely small in size and obviously not as generous as a large. I weigh 135lbs and it was enough for me.

The chicken was not burned and each piece was not small. The oil they used was decent, if the chicken came out too dark that means they overuse their oil too much and are too cheap to use new oil. I didn't get any pieces that was just batter which is a good thing. Overall, the popcorn chicken is a 3/5. Not really bad, not really great.

Personal Remarks:

Initial Expectations: My friends and I were supposed to go to the sushi restaurant in the same complex, but they were very busy and we didn't want to wait for a seat there. They've been here before and this was my first time here.

I appreciate that the bowls are clean, but I prefer not to taste bleach when eating. Before devouring the noodles, I like to take a spoonful of the soup and taste it. The broth wasn't special (water+oil), but the after taste of bleach was bothersome. It's great that this lets the customers know their food is being served in a clean bowl. But no one wants to taste bleach in their food.

The bleach taste could have been on the spoon and not the bowl. Regardless, this is not a big deal, but there are alternatives out there, and restaurants should use them.

Other than the bleach thing, the price and portion size is good enough to keep me coming back.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 3/5

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka 火頭山

Ambiance: Casual, Japanese 

Seating/Wait time: Line up's out the door! Turn over rate for patrons is pretty good.  People rarely sit and linger.  Eat and Go.

Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service! Very Casual
Crowd: Everybody

Meal: 

Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Choice Pork Ramen)
Large $13.45

Soup is very rich in flavour, it is a bit on the oily side and after you finish eating your noodles and drink the soup, it' definitely going to fill you up.  I couldn't finish drinking all the soup.

There wasn't anything special or different about the ramen noodles here compared to any other restaurant.

Tip: Put all the stuff from this plate into the noodle except the Pork (there's green onion, sea weed, bamboo shoot, and a Naruto ninja star).

The menu says "Toroniku Cha-shu is simmered pork cheek (jowl) meat.  Pork cheek meat is very rare and only 200-300 g can be taken from each pig.  It has a very rich flavour and it is tender like fatty tuna.

Did this dish live up to the description? YES! It definitely did!  I recommend this dish to everyone! The pork is very tender, I can't say it was like fatty tuna because in my opinion it wasn't.  

When you put the pork in your mouth, let it sit on your tongue and just let your salivary amylase attack the pork.  The pork is so soft that it just melts into tiny pieces and the flavour or the pork releases into your taste buds.  *Sensation for each individual may vary.

Ikura Gohan $5.45

Okay $5.45 is quite pricey for a bowl of rice, but it's a bowl of rice with bean sprouts and roe! Yeah on paper this thing is very expensive.  So, split it with a friend just to try it out!

This is as fresh and delicious as it looks!

Personal Remarks:  My best friend brought me here because he said the broth is amazing and I must try this place out.  He said that even though this is a chain restaurant, the quality is maintained to a very high standard unlike Ajisen Ramen. 

Deciding on what to order was easy because my friend ordered for me.  I wish there is always someone to order food for me whenever I go to a restaurant I've never been to.  Sometimes, you just want to go straight to eating without looking at the menu and just eat the best tasting item available.

Santouka is "Fine Dining Ramen" in terms of price.  A bowl of ramen is $13.00 compared to some of the other restaurants charging between $7.00 - $9.00.   But is it worth the $13.00 or are they just overcharging?  From the line up outside that never seemed to end, if they are overcharging then you're not the only one falling for the hype.  I find the taste is here but I wouldn't come here everyday because it is very expensive.

Ramen in Vancouver is hyped cross culture trend, just like Pizza in Shanghai.  Pizza Hut in Shanghai is seen as "Fine Dining" where they would eat pizza with a fork and knife and drink wine too.  However, in Vancouver, pizza is seen as fast food and is eaten with our hands and by no stretch of the imagination can we. "locals" regard Pizza Hut as "Fine Dining".
 

I enjoyed the ramen and the pork was amazing!  My friend said it's so popular that they frequently actually sell out of the pork, which is a good thing to hear because it means that it's freshly made when there is a high turnover.  The price won't bring me back often, but I will come back on days that I know I have some room in my budget to "treat" myself to a fine dining bowl of ramen.  

Value: 3/5 Overall: 5/5

Chambar

Ambiance: You know it's upscale, but it's not fine dining.  The decor makes this place feel more like a "steak house" or a "casual chat room".  It's hard to describe, but it definitely is not a fine dining feel.

Seating/Wait time: It looks like a small restaurant in the waiting area, but there's actually a very big seating area in the back.  It's better to have a reservation when you come. Phone number:  (604) 879-7119

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual.  Definitely no suit and tie required.

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: Ordered off the "Set Menu 1 $60.00/Person"

Complementary Bread with Spread

This is a pleasant change from the "ordinary" olive oil or balsamic vinegar.   I should have asked what the spread was, it was really tasty.  It wasn't tangy, it wasn't sweet, it wasn't spicy, it was neutral in taste.  Soft like butter.  I didn't really care what I was eating, I was too busy enjoying it.  

Thon et chorizo
Lightly seared toro, marinated sweet peppers, jalapeno vinaigrette, crispy chorizo, cilantro.

When you get the chance to eat toro, you take it!

It is very easy to over cook toro by searing it for too long because it still cooks while "off the heat", they did a great job because it wasn't cooked to the center, there is some rawness so you enjoy the true flavor of the toro.  The sauce did not overwhelm the toro and was a nice complement. 

Entrecote de Boeuf
9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge, roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

I really liked how they put everything together as opposed to simply doing the mushrooms and tomato like a salad and the bruschetta as a "stand alone" on the side.   It is great to get some veggies in a meat entree.  This is a nice touch.  There wasn't too much tomato to make this sour.  The bread wasn't too hard or too soft so that it soaks in all the juice.  This side was very enjoyable.   By stacking the ingredients on top of the bruschetta, I like how the chef is telling you, "this is how I want you to eat my food"!

9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge

I asked for medium rare and I got medium rare.  It really did not look like 9 oz.  I weigh and package 9 oz of beef patties every month and this looked less than 9 oz.  


Glad that it did come out medium rare, it was tender, happy there weren't any tendons or tough parts.  The sun dried tomato and capers didn't really add to the steak.  It was nice to have, but it wasn't necessary.


This dish as a whole is filling and satisfied my "fair portion size" expectations. 

Le café belge
Espresso cheesecake with belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao gelée & crisp chocolate wafers.

I expected more cheesecake than just a square.  I think all cheesecake should have a crust. This one is pure cheesecake, it is tasty and because there is so little of it, I nibbled at it to make it last longer.  They didn't "skimp" out on the other dishes, and I wish they didn't do so on the cheesecake.


The best part of this was the espresso bean at the top and the chocolate wafers.  


The white stuff is jelly and didn't really taste like anything even though it's said to be "belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao".  It would be better if they just didn't have the jelly and just give a bigger piece of cheesecake.

Personal Remarks:  I've tried a lot of set menus and I often find myself disappointed not by the taste, but by the portion size.  When I eat out, I tend not to care how others at the table may think of me.  I would ask the waiter, what others view as embarrassing questions, because I know that if I don't ask then I'm going to regret it and have a bad mood later.     


If you don't care how others may think of you, then please enjoy the following advice, if you share the same concerns as I do when ordering off a set menu at a restaurant you have never been to.

When restaurants design a set menu, there are items on there that help offset the price of other items.  Which is why you often find a few choices to select from in the appetizers and entrees.  They anticipate that if every other person selects something different this will "balance" the value of creating a set menu.  However, if everyone orders the most expensive items, then the restaurant will loose money.  

In the past, I've always found myself disappointed because I am usually the person who ordered the worst tasting item, or the smallest and under valued item.  After eating at more restaurants and learning from those experiences, I now know what to do and can teach all of you.  

Ask the waiter, "Which is the biggest in portion size of these choices, to get the best bang for your buck? and tastiest?"   

When asking this question, you want to make sure that you are the last person at the table to order or among one of the last orders to be taken.  Because if everyone ordered something different, when the food comes out, you can compare with the rest of your table.  Conversely, if you ordered first, and everyone followed your order, then you'd have no other dishes to compare your order to.  

I was very happy with the food.  Everything tasted great!  Here's some of the other stuff on the menu that the rest of my table ordered.  I've tried them too and left my comments below each item.

Betterave & fenouil
Roasted baby beets, orange vraised fennel, pomegranate, whipped sheeps feta. 

Not tasty at all.  Yes, it is fresh, but nothing special.  Just tasted like regular beets and fennel.

L'omble de l'Artique nicois
Crispy Arctic char, sea asparagus, pea shoots, bacalao, lemon & grana padano concasse, tapanades.

Well made, very soft, not over cooked, nice crisp to the skin.  Overall, nothing special, the only thing unique were the sauces around the fish.  The person that ate this said they were not full after eating it.  I tasted it, and this is a dish that you can easily make at home. 

Tarte aux griottes
Sour cherry tart, vanilla ice cream & lemon crème.

This was tasty, however, even with the ice cream it was still too sour for my taste.  

Before coming to Chambar I had a lot of expectations because of what everyone was say about this restaurant.  My advice to you, don't come here with any expectations.  If you do, your dining experience will not be as enjoyable.  

They use fresh ingredients, the food plated well.  In terms of creativity and being different, as you can see from above there isn't anything they do differently from other top restaurants.  They don't serve anything on the menu that you can't get elsewhere for a cheaper price.  

It would have been great to see things on the menu that you can't get anywhere else to make this a unique dining experience.  Besides the seared toro, there isn't much on the menu that wow's.  Simply, this restaurant makes what a lot of other restaurant makes and charges a bit more.

You do get what you pay for, which is food that is cooked well.  It is better than paying for food that you "expect" to be cooked well, but is not.  Chambar delivers in execution, but the menu lacks in creativity and does not give anything new in terms of a food experience.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Latitude

Ambiance: Hipster, Main Street and Commercial Drive Modern

Seating/Wait time: Not a big restaurant, small bar area and seems like a 30 seat restaurant

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: 

Atun Tiradito
ancho seared albacore tuna, vegetable escabeche, mango mojo, tortilla strip$11.00

This is an appetizer course, it's well made and the flavors are there individually.  This dish is made with very fresh ingredients.  However, the sauce and the tuna just did not pair well.  I wish they put the sauce on the side so that you can have the option to have the tuna with or without the sauce.  Preferably, without is better.

Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)
Grace Bros (Jamaica)
$3.50

This was is what we call "Ginger Ale".  There are places that make this fresh, I was surprised to see that this came from a bottle.  I do appreciate that they gave me the bottle.  This drink tastes like a VERY gingerly tasting soda water.  If you're really interested in trying this, you can find a Jamaican supermarket and try it there first.  For $3.50 this was not mind blowing enough.

Chickpea Fries
with smoked paprika mayo
$7.00

I eyed it as it was placed on the table and when everyone had the chance to eat one, they really looked like they enjoyed it.  After eating one myself.  I now know why.  The chickpea fries on its own was good and with the mayo it was good too.  Either way, I can totally see myself sitting in front of the TV and scarfing these down on a movie night.  It was not too oily and it had a nice crunch as you eat it.  They gave a fair portion for $7.00 worth, I could see more people ordering this if they were more generous on their portions.

Peruvian Causa
chilled aji Amarillo potatoes layered with shrimp salad, spicy tuna, crispy prawns and huancaina
$9.00

This dish is totally NOT WORTH IT!  3 fried shrimp, mashed potatoes, and 1.5 half grape tomatoes.  The shrimp came out looking burned and cooked in days old oil.  For $9.00, this dish is a disappointment.

Arepas
chicken, creamy tomatillo salsa, pickled jalapenos
$5.00

This is another disappointing dish.  For the price of $5.00, I did not expect it to the the size of 2 toonies and a loonie in a cluster together either.  Even though they stuff the insides, and it looks jam packed with goodness, it's really not.  2 Bites and it's gone.  For $5.00, it's nothing more than a loaf of bread with some stuff.  You can buy a bigger and better sandwich elsewhere for $5.00. 

Chicken Leg Confit
creamy humita, sauté of kale and oyster mushrooms
$17.00

Finally, a decent sized meal for an acceptable price.  Seeing the serving size of this dish gave me relief.  Honestly, from the size of all the other things ordered and the fact that it seemed everything else was overpriced.  I was worried they would cheap out on the entree too.  


The meat fell off the bone which was great.  The exterior was not tough or hard which is common when they put this in the oven and over cook it.  The exterior wasn't completely perfect, there were some parts which were tough (8%), which is acceptable to me.  The corn, spinach, and mushrooms were seasoned well and there is a generous portion size.  I recommend this dish over all the other appetizers.  

Personal Remarks:  An invite for a going away party brought me here.  I am so happy I was invited, because if I wasn't, it would have been a while before I would be introduced to this restaurant.  


I came here for dinner and it was pretty dark, but there is enough light to read the menu which is good.   It made taking pictures difficult because I don't prefer using flash as it would bother me if I were sitting at the next table and every 3 seconds or so I'd see a flash of light going off.

This restaurant is very easy to miss with a very subtle store front that blends in with the rest of the block.  The awning or name doesn't tell you that it's a restaurant from the outside, but once the food is served.  You can tell that they do take pride in their food.


I would recommend coming here, but don't bother with the appetizers.  Just come here for the entrees and atmosphere.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 4/5