Vancouver Eats - Kintaro Ramen

Here is another delicious place to try out from my short trip to Vancouver. Since Dan needed to beef up on the carbs before his marathon the next day, Kintaro Ramen fit the bill perfectly. Their portions are positively huge! Typically, the wait for Kintaro is often long but we got there right before the rush around 6pm. The only thing about Kintaro is that they don't seat your party until everyone is present. Luckily all my dinnermates arrived promptly and we didn't lose out on the only big table available in the restaurant.  

Open kitchen with bar seating around. 

Miso Ramen - bean sprouts, onion, menma, corn & bbq pork ($7.95)
notes: Very filling! The entire bowl was filled to the brim with noodles and soup stock.

Ramen - blend of soybean paste, 12 spices from 4 different regions.
note: on the spicy side. Again, super filling and filled to the brim.

Shoyu Ramen a - bean sprouts, menma, nori and BBQ pork ($7.25)

Miso Ramen again - but with green onions

Gyoza - $3.75 for 5 pieces

Overall, the food at Kintaro Ramen was great. The noodles were fresh and had a nice firmness to it as you bit into the noodles (not soggy, or undercooked). Clearly, a great way to fill up on carbs. Just remember to go early before the rush, or you'll be stuck outside staring hungrily at the patrons downing their gigantic bowls of ramen. 

 Kintaro Ramen

788 Denman St.

Vancouver, BC

(604) 682-7568

Go Fish Ocean Emporium in Vancouver

At my last trip out to Vancouver, my friends and I went to the much talked about Go Fish - located by the docks a short walk from Granville Island. The day was beautiful, sunny, and perfect for outside eating. Unfortunately, since it was such a beautiful day and a saturday, the wait for our order was rather lengthy. Go Fish is known for their fish tacones, scallop burgers, fish & chips and everything is very fresh. Here's what we got after a considerably long wait. 

Much talked about scallop burgers. Super fresh & yummy. 
Can't tell you much about the texture of the scallops since I 
was so hungry from the waiting, that I didn't notice. 
Coleslaw, had a sesame-asian flair to it.  

Fish Tacones. Moist, juicy goodness. Lemons on the side for extra flavour.

Fish chowder. 

So, I must say that though the food was incredibly tasty and the view while eating was amazing, the wait for the food was somewhat too long. However, if you're a tourist like I was that day I'm certain that you will want to check out Go Fish at least once! Just try to go at odd hours of the day, call in your order or go when the day isn't sunny and warm so the lineups will be less.


Go Fish
1501 1 Ave. West
Vancouver, BC
(604) 730-5040

Burgoo Bistro - Comfort food in Vancouver

Ah, it's been a while! I apologize for the lack of updates as other things have been keeping me quite busy in Toronto. However, a big chunk of my time for planning some personal things are now completed and I now have plenty of time on my hands! Soon, I will post up some photos of Toronto eats. Meanwhile, here are more pictures from my trip back in May to Vancouver.


Comfort Food
It was a rainy day (of course!) in Vancouver and we were very hungry! We had originally wanted to go to a Anton's Pasta Bar  but the line up was almost down the block with a wait time of almost 2 hours! Even take-out was no better at 45 minutes. So, with no luck at the pasta bar we checked our extensive list of restaurants (kindly provided by a friend) and ended up at Burgoo. It was raining fairly steadily by the time we reached the bistro, but we managed to squeeze our way into the small waiting area and prop ourselves on a small bench. At first we were told that the wait would be 20-30 minutes as all their tables were full. We agreed, partly because it was too wet to go outside anymore, and mostly because we lacked energy to travel elsewhere. As luck would have it, within 5 minutes, staff offered us bar seating as three spots were open. The bar also served everything on the menu.  

The menu that night included a prix fixe for $18 (+tax). There were four choices for appetizers (two soups, two salads), 'mainstays' (ratatouille provencale, chicken dijonnaise and beef bourguignon) and two choices of dessert (chocolate banana bread pudding & baby banana sundae). We ended up choosing three of their soups and a salad, everyone got the beef bourguignon (partly due to the wet and cold weather), and we all finished dinner with warm banana bread pudding accompanied with vanilla icecream. 

By the time we reached dessert, my companions and I were certain that Burgoo lives up to its claim. It truly is comfort food at its best! The carrot soup was noted to have the taste of carrots with a hint of cream, while the caesar was fresh and crunchy and Dan found his tomato soup tart and refreshing (almost as if there were 30 tomatoes in his soup!). So, perhaps not for those that aren't a fan of tomatoes! Continuing with the trend of enjoyable comfort food, the beef bourguignon was soft and was accompanied with enough sauce to eat with the mashed potatoes. Perhaps it was the weather outside that allowed the food combined with the atmosphere to make a memorable tasting experience for all involved. I'm certain we will come back again! 


Oh and when we go next, we will have to try the Mac 'n Cheese as we saw two versions of it leave the kitchen during our meal. It looked visually appealing, filled to the brim and topped with aged white Cheddar and oven baked. 
Burgoo Bistro
4434 West 10 Avenue.
Vancouver, British Columbia
(604) 221-7839
limited reservations
11am-10pm
http://www.burgoo.ca/                         

Street food in Van - Japa dogs!

If you're ever in Vancouver, the one thing that every good food connoisseur should advise you to try is the acclaimed Japa Dog. Now, this is not just any hot dog, but a beef, bratwurst, pork, turkey or vegetable hotdog filled with a variety of toppings - such as bonito flakes (very good!), delicate pieces of seasoned, dried seaweed (also very appetizing), fried cabbage, Japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce etc... To make it easier for Japa Dog visitors, there is a series of menu options in visual form to make your decision a smooth one. Here's a sample of what you can expect if you're ordering a Japa Dog.

Part of the Terimayo Series - my choice: the Beef Terimayo, an all beef hot dog topped with tasty Japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce, fried onions and shredded seaweed for $4.75. 

Dan's pick, the Okonomi with Kurobuta (pork) sausage, topped in layers with Japanese mayo, fried cabbage, okonomi sauce, shredded seaweed and dried bonito flakes for $6.75.

The price of Dan's Okonomi seems a bit on the pricier end, which I'm thinking is attributed to the Kurobuta sausage. Nevertheless, the combination of the all the toppings is truly delicious! I've also wondered, due to the price of the Kurobuta, if you could substitute for a cheaper hotdog such as the bratwurst or beef and still get the same toppings(?). Since, the toppings themselves add to a large portion of the taste factor. 



Of course, you can get the 'regular hotdog' at any of their carts, but what's the fun in that? Next time you're in Vancouver, be sure to try a Japa Dog. Certainly a taste towards umami. Be warned, though, that the line can get quite long nearing lunch or dinner hour. As well, according to their website since May 28, Japa Dog has now opened a physical location at 530 Robson St. Vancouver! From what Japa Dog lovers have said, the line is still long. For those wanting the cart version, visit them at the following address:


Downtown Vancouver, BC
corner of Burrard & Smithe
near the Sutton Place Hotel
Monday to Thursday: 12:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m
Friday and Saturday: 12:00 p.m - 9:00 p.m
Sunday: 12:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m
www.japadog.com   


Ordering notes: When you arrive at the cart, you will see two lines. This sound self-explanatory, but one line is for ordering and one line is for picking up your order. The line directly in front of the cart is where you order your food. After you've ordered, they will give you a plastic card with your order number and you will be asked to wait in the line beside the cart. 

Vancouver Marathon of food!

First weekend of May was definitely a marathon eating of food in Vancouver! Dan ran the BMO marathon that weekend, but together we ate our way through a lot of great food places in Van! Pictures and reviews to come shortly. Meanwhile, here is what we brought back as our snack! 

 These huge cream puffs are from Beard Papa's located in Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, British Columbia. We bought one of their regular flavours - vanilla, and their special of the day - mango. 

Upon ordering the different flavours, each pastry shell was injected with the filling. The "cream" inside the puffs were more of a custard consistency. The mango puff leaned more towards 'mango pudding' in custard form, while there wasn't anything too special about the vanilla one. I believe the one in Aberdeen features different flavours for each day (e.g. strawberry, chocolate, coffee, green tea) - there is even a handy calendar to help customers remember.

Given their size, it would be safe to say that it's probably not recommended to eat an entire one by yourself. Two cream puffs were split three ways, and that was more than enough for the three of us! Plus, the alarming fact is that there are approximately 220 calories in one cream puff! There's even a sign at the cash register reminding patrons of this - as if this is a healthy fact.

Either way, despite the alarming calories, it's definitely worth a try. So, if you're ever near a Beard Papa's try one out. In Japan it's all the rage, as well as all over the globe. Remember, it's best to eat them fresh. Each cream puff at Beard Papa's costs $1.75. But if you get more than 6 then it's slightly cheaper, but one wonders about the calories. 

Beard Papa's

4151 Hazelbridge Way
Aberdeen Centre
Richmond, BC V6X3R8

Tel: (604) 270-1234

http://beardpapascanada.com/