I Am Back

Blogging about food does not pay the bills.  

I apologize for taking such a long vacation.  Thanks for all the emails and support asking me to start writing again.

Just to let you know, while I was away I did not stop taking pictures and writing.  I've made a lot of notes and am happy to start writing again.  I have scheduled a writing block and picture editing block to make sure that I will be consistently posting again.  

Looking forward to giving some more guy style, guy eats, and some nutrition tips in the upcoming articles.  

Thanks again for your support!

P.S. We were unable to form a dodgeball team.  Despite my efforts, we just did not have enough people that were committed to forming a team.

Dine Out Vancouver 2012 $28 Menu Recommendations

Crispy Ling Cod from Maenam Dine Out 2012

With only 5 days left of Dine Out Vancouver 2012. I want to let you know my top $28 menu recommendations. My selection is based on the menu's presented by the restaurant itself relative to the next best choice.

Other blogger's reviews into consideration and the opinions and my friends' experience.

When people see the pamphlet no one considers the chain restaurants and immediately crosses out the Boathouse Restaurant and The Keg. 

Dine out is an opportunity for restaurants to put their best foot forward to entice you to come back and eat at their restaurant on non-dine out days. There is no point enjoying a dine out menu at a fancy restaurant when they serve you their "low end" food just to get you in the door.

I wouldn't waste my money and time at those places and I don't think you should either.

As there are 120 restaurants in the $28.00 menu my top recommendations in no particular order are the following:

1. Hapa Izakaya - Kitsilano/Robson/Yaletown
Menu: here
Location: 1516 Yew Street / 1479 Robson St / 1193 Hamilton Street
Phone Number: (604) 738-4272 / (604) 689-4272 / (604) 681-4272
Urban Spoon Rating: 85%/82%/82%

Everything looks beautiful and a creative dine out menu, even though they have multiple restaurants, it's a great place to go to.

2. Baru Latino
Menu: here
Location: 2535 Alma St
Phone Number: (604) 222-9171
Urban Spoon Rating: 88%

There's a good variety on their entree's, halibut, slow braised beef short ribs (usually lots of bones), and seafood mix

3. Maenam
Menu: here
Location: 1938 4th Ave West
Phone Number: (604) 730-5579
Urban Spoon Rating: 84%

Pro: Menu is really unique.
Con: Group of 2 only get to choose 1 dish from each category. Disappointing because you want to try other stuff too.

4. Edible Canada at the Market
Menu: here
Location: 1596 Johnston St
Phone Number: (604) 662-3606
Urban Spoon Rating: 87%

Pro: Rabbit Terrine and Elk! What a great chance to try something different.
Warning: Elk is a really tough meat for those that haven't tried it.

5. Xi Shi Lounge
Menu: here
Location: 1128 W. Georgia St
Phone Number: (604) 689-1120
Urban Spoon Rating: 100%

Pro: Dine out at a posh hotel, high standard of quality
Con: No variety on the menu.

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