Toshi - Sushi at it's best in Vancouver, Canada

Toshi may be one of the smaller restaurants, but it's small size certainly doesn't stop it from being one of the best Japanese restaurants in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  This is one of the most frequented Japanese restaurants in Vancouver, and I would surmise it to be one of the best of British Columbia, even in comparison to restaurants of a higher caliber in costs, such as Tojo's.  Although the dishes may not be as extravagantly pictured in a menu as the higher priced Tojo's, the menu still give a variety of fresh dishes prepared and served the right way.

One of the first things that people will notice when they eat the sushi here, is that the rice is not of the cheaper Chinese or Vietnamese variety, but instead, is made of Japanese style short grain rice.  I may say it's imported from Japan, but it may still be of the Californian imported grains, but nonetheless, the higher quality of the short grain rice stops it from becoming hard and unpalatable when cooled, unlike it's other longer larger Asian counterparts.

Another thing that a person will notice is that shiso (a Japanese Perilla leave) is used to separate the nigiri topping from the rice bottom.  The separation of the two will keep the two flavors apart, so that only when you eat the nigiri, you get the tantalizing taste of the fresh sushi in your mouth.

Decor
One of the smallest restaurants of its caliber, is also still one of the more comfortable restaurants in Vancouver.  The reason making it a great environment is that it is clean, and well lit.  The tables are given a generous amount of space apart, and there is still plenty of tables for the recommended parties of less than four.  It is definitely not someplace you would go for a large party, but more for a group of four or less, as the size is more similar to an Izakaya than one of the other Chinese ran imitation Japanese restaurants.

As the size of the restaurant is small, be prepared for long line ups, as Toshi doesn't take reservations.  Line ups are determined by a sheet of paper in the restaurant, where you sign up for a table, and wait until your name is called.  Be wary though, as sometimes there are line ups of up to an hour to two hours long, as it is a very popular restaurant, and you may have to give seats to other parties first if your group is not complete.  When arriving at the restaurant, remember to walk in quickly and sign up or you may find your self waiting a bit longer; although the wait may seem long and tedious, every time I got a seat, I found the wait more than worth it.

Menu
The menu, although lacking in number of choices in comparison to some of the other restaurants, is definitely not lacking in quality.  One of the main reasons why I continue to return to Toshi is to try the Soft Shell Crab, which is one of the more flavorful delicacies.  The very thought of the crunchy texture on the outside, and the soft inner crab meat inside, dipped in it's own special tempura sauce incites drool every time.

Other choices include more common and usual North American dishes such as the California inside out roll, Salmon rolls, Tuna rolls, nigiri equivalent of the latter two, and additional dishes often found at other Japanese restaurants.  Another thing that differentiates Toshi from other Japanese restaurants in Vancouver, is it's freshness.  Everything from the specialty red tuna (two types), the ikura (salmon roe) topped with quail egg, to the uni (sea urchin), everything is served cool and extremely fresh.

Although not on the menu, be sure to order the Toshi Box Sushi Roll, as it's uniqueness is definitely a treat for your taste buds.

Drinks
Toshi has all your traditional Japanese beers, and a wide selection of cold sake, as well as the house hot sake.  If you want, the usual soft drinks are also available, or you can just stick with the free hot green tea.

Location
181 16th Avenue East
Vancouver, BC V5T 4R2, Canada
(604) 874-5173


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Hon Wo Korean Restaurant: a BBQ buffet with great prices and great selection of dishes

Hon Wo Korean Restaurant, situated above Watsons on Jardine's Crescent in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, is one of the many great Korean restaurants around the area.  The one thing that differentiates this from other Korean restaurant is it's great price and abundant choices of meat.

Decor

The decor is neither the most bright nor the most clean, but it is definitely what I consider more than clean enough in comparison to most restaurants.  The interior is well air-conditioned, and the tables all have the built in grill, with a lever on the side of the table to easily adjust the heat for the BBQ grill, if the BBQ buffet is what you are in here for.

The way the buffet table is set up is also quite convenient, with several tables angled around each other, and a table by the wall, it makes it easy to access for more than a few people at a time.  Although it may seem a bit messy compared to your traditional straight lined buffet tables, it also lets a limited amount of space to provide the extra few choices of dishes that win the Korean BBQ buffet over some others.

Menu

There is a menu for the a la carte, but as we were here for the BBQ buffet, we only had a chance to try the available dishes at the Buffet table (although the dishes in the a la carte menu do look appetizing).  Personally, me and my girlfriend were really into the meat, as this is definitely one of the specialties of the restaurant, as they had several choices including: raw sliced beef, marinated beef (very delicious), pork chop, faux crab meat, sausages, curry chicken, chicken wings, beef short ribs, squid, cuttle-fish, spam and more.

Some of the already cooked dishes include: Korean style sushi, gyozas (very good), fried rice, french fries, salad, fruit salad and more.

As usual with Korean restaurants, the beloved dishes are also available around the buffet table: salted tiny dried anchovies, preserved daikon, kimchi, spinach, bean sprouts, spicy cucumbers and more.

Once you are done eating, and want to find something to sweeten your taste buds for closure, there is also a custard (unfortunately not egg custard), hot sweet tofu pudding (with two choices of sauces and sweet seasoning sprinkle), and fruits.

Drinks
We didn't take a look at any drink menu, and assume that the only drinks included with the buffet would be the tea and the two self serve drink machines by the buffet table that included: sweet soya milk and sweet plum juice.  The sweet soya milk more than quenched my thirst, and actually left me wanting more.

Note: This is a self serve buffet, so please excuse the fact our presentation may not be that great~ :P

An assortment of some of the many choices of meat all on one dish

A pair of gyoza situated next to some steamed cabbage

A Korean style sushi (one left of the 6 that I already ate)

Some popular Korean side dishes: spinach, preserved daikon, kimchi, bean sprouts, spicy cucumber, and dried tiny anchovies

A sweet hot dessert: tofu pudding with sweet seasoning and garlic sauce

A custard (nothing really special about this dish) :P

Location

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Is BC Wine Really From BC?

The following article may be startling to many avid wine drinkers in BC, Canada.

BC wines may not really be BC wine, unless declared as VQA!

For a wine to be designated as a BC wine, it only has to be bottled in BC, and may be imported bulk wine from various locations including Africa and California.  This makes it deceivingly categorized as a "BC" wine in all Canadian liquor stores, including Government operated BC Signature Liquor Stores.

Some of the BC wine products, such as Peller Estates Proprietor's Reserve and Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Selection, that are bottled from cheaper imported bulk shipments are from three of the biggest BC wineries: Mission Hill, Andrew Peller Ltd. and Vincor International Ltd.

For more detail, follow the link to the Vancouver Sun article at the bottom.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Consumers+deceived+cost+imports+being+sold+wines/2009339/story.html

Hang Fa Lau; modern Hong Kong cuisine on Pak Sha Rd.

Hang Fa Lau on Pak Sha Rd is a fusion of old and post modern style Hong Kong style cuisine. Inside the restaurant is a fair amount of space, and carries both rice, noodle, baked dishes, and a variety of tantalizing desserts on it’s menu.

Décor

The air-conditioned interior is very modern, and sparsely decorated with but a few ornaments on a few pillars. The seats are fair in number, and can easily fit for companies of four per table, and the use of pillars help separate and give a sense of privacy between some of the seating. The tables, like most in Hong Kong, are still closed in together, but not beyond the boundaries of comfort.

Menu

The menu consists of a set menu for lunch or dinner, depending on which time you go, as well as a list of very tantalizing a la carte dishes available all day long. The a la carte dishes are available on a separate menu (not shown in the pictures) are saucy and abundant in choices, including curry beef, baked seafood rice, lamb chops, and other even more unique dishes.

A popular side dish is a green vegetable rice dish (although we didn’t order this) from the menu can be seen served to tables all around us. It can be clearly seen the rice dish has been cooked with a green leafy vegetable inside the rice.

Another popular dish that is ordered in this restaurant is their unique 18 grain rice, which can be ordered to replace the rice side dish in certain meals, and is flavourful, healthy, and visually appealing. The fragrant of the 18 grain rice is unique, and the crisp textures of it’s different seasonings of nuts and seeds is only complimented by the tender sweetness of the evenly dispersed raisins.

The standard Hong Kong café style drink menu also include a generous choice of sweet dessert bar style mixes, different choices of regular to sweet tea, and more.

18 grain rice: a tantalizing mix of textures from crisp nuts, seeds, grainy rice and sweet tender raisins

the flavourful curry beef; strong seasoned curry, garnished with tomatoes that helps soften the rich flavour of the curry’s milky origin

baked seafood rice: hidden beneath the rich creamy sauce is an abundant mixture of flavourful seafood including clams, faux crab meat, white soft tender fish fillet and more

a hot sweet dessert included with the set menu; a thick malty sweet soup with slightly moist crisp Chinese style nuts

Location

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Traditional Noodle on Pak Sha Rd: Causeway Bay

On Pak Sha Rd., there is a little restaurant named Traditional Noodle, with a Chinese name that is a little bit more colourful than its English counterpart; my girlfriend explained that the direct translation of the Chinese name is “Crossing the Bridge” noodle house, which is a reference to an old Chinese story. The story is that a long time ago, there was a scholar whose wife would bring him noodles to help feed him during his studies. The walk from the kitchen to his study took her over a bridge, and by the time she got to him, the noodles would always get cold. Then the wife came up with an idea: she would pour a layer of oil over the noodles, which kept the noodles warm until she got to him. The name, “Crossing the Bridge”, thereafter has become synonymous with the type of fragant oil traditional style Chinese noodles served here at this restaurant.

Décor
The interior is nicely cooled, and the design is very simple due to space constrictions. The seating of the restaurant is limited, and would fit only about 15-20 customers at a time. In some occasions, the customers will be seated with other customers that they do not know (actually quite common in Hong Kong). There specialization is more in the noodles than in the restaurant itself.  If space is an issue, the take out noodles are just as good as the dine in noodles.

Menu
There is a wide selection of ingredients for the noodles, as well, there is the possibility of adding or changing what goes into the noodles for those who like to customize the flavour to their own palate. There is definitely a large selection of ingredients, which include star shaped fish cakes, beef, beef flank, wonton, dumplings, meat stuffed fish balls, and more.

What makes the noodle meal unique is the broth itself. The thin soft rice noodle is definitely well complimented by the flavourful soup, which can be ordered in 3 levels of spiciness, from small, medium and big spicy (in Cantonese respectively: siu/chong/dai la). It’s easily visible why the soup is so good, when you see a lot of mixed seasonings floating at the bottom of the bowl when the noodles are finished.

a bowl of traditional noodles enjoyed in the restaurant

the soft firm rice noodle is equally complimented by the soup

a stuffed fish ball; the variety of tasty ingredients shown here is just a teaser to what other possible combinations can be made

the noodles are just as equally satiable as take out; the soup is abundant with flavor with seasonings and fresh ingredients such as green onions, bean sprouts and chives

a star shaped fish cake hidden like a treasure in the noodles

the red savoury broth is an indication of the tantalizing tastes waiting ahead; in the soup is a combination of flavourful marinated beef and dumplings.

Location

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Hangzhou Stinky Tofu and Veggie Pancake Vendor

One of the things about travelling in China that I look forward to is always the authentic street vendor food. Although there are always questions about cleanliness or hygiene, it's a well known fact that you can't enjoy life without getting a little bit dirty. In the case of food, just like New York hot dog stands, sometimes being a little more dirty can give it a whole new different flavor.


There is alot more than one type of street side food vendor, but none would carry a more unique smell than stinky tofu.

Near Westlake (Xihu), in Hangzhou, China, is one of the few authentic stinky tofu vendors available in the area. The stinky tofu are one of the most enjoyed snacks of the local native Chinese. It is definitely of a unique aroma, smell, and taste.  The vendor that we enjoyed by Westlake is definitely one of the more authentic, barely visible without being directly beside the alley (behind them in the alley is an even more popular dining area where people enjoy Spicy Noodles). 

Next to the stinky tofu vendor in here, there is also a lady selling vegetarian pancakes, which is also full of aroma. It is cooked directly inside a huge can filled with charcoal. The flavor of the heat and the charcoal help infuse the flavor of the dried vegetables inside the pancake, at the same time give the pancake a crunchy texture on the outside.

Atmosphere
Definitely one of the best places to snack is Westlake in Hangzhou; it's a beautiful place with an almost surreal atmosphere, with it's light fog, mountains across the lake, and pagodas visible in the distant. There is a generous amount of seating around the lake, as well, they serve alcohol along the walkways next to the lake.

It's a perfect place to pick up some snacks from the nearby vendors, and relax with a bottle of Tsing Tao or your favorite alcoholic beverage.

stinky tofu being prepared fresh as it is ordered

a fragrant spicy sauce added to the stinky tofu

a deep fried daikon (an asian carrot) cake

a vegetable pancake bread cooked directly inside a metallic can filled with charcoal

the cruncy vegetable pancake too hot to be held but not too hot to snack

Location


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Clay Pot on Tang Lung St: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

On Tang Lung St, slightly hidden across from Time Square, is a common bus stop for people heading to Stanley Beach from Causeway Bay. Anyone heading here to take the bus will quickly take notice the variety of restaurants on this street, from Vietnamese, Thai, to Hong Kong cafes. Along the street, you'll find near the end, a special little shop that is hidden by the variety of restaurants surrounding it, that specializes in Clay Pot.

The restaurant however, does not serve the clay pot until after 6:00pm, so if that's what you are after, then you'll have to be like me and my girlfriend, and hunger till dinner for the delicious clay pot.

What makes the clay pot rice special in comparison to your regular steamed or fried rice? The rice is cooked in the clay pot itself, which when cooked over the open flame, infuses all the heat into the pot itself.

The texture and pourous nature of the pot also retains the flavor of the rice; at the same time, the pot cooks the rice on the outer edge faster than the inside, producing what is called 'fan jiu' in chinese, which means rice skin. The 'fan jiu' is a layer of rice that cooks faster and becomes stuck together and slightly singes, giving it a 'hern' (fragrant) flavor.

Decor
The restaurant is not one of the most visually appealing restaurants when it comes to cleanliness, but in my opinion, definitely gives it the old Hong Kong atmosphere. I do caution people to go to the washroom someplace else before coming here as you might not be comfortable with the facilities in the restaurant.

With wooden chairs, plastic stools, aged kitchen tiles around the walls, and quickly wiped whitish laminate tables, you quickly get the feeling of being someplace more rugged and more of a real Hong Kong experience.

 

Menu

There is a menu consisting of Hong Kong cafe style cuisine (such as Singapore fried vermicelli) which is served throughout the day, and a separate menu for the clay pot rice dishes. Be warned though, as the menus on the wall and scattered in the restaurant are only available in Chinese; there may be English menus, but we failed to ask that night.

Some of the clay pot dishes available include savory ingredients such as Chinese dried sausage, fatty sausage, ground beef, salty pork, salted fish, chinese beef ribs (served cut up in chunks), and more. In some of the combinations of ingredients in the Clay Pot, a raw egg is cracked into the hot burning clay pot and covered with a lid to cook. If desired, an egg can be added to any of the clay pot dishes for a very small extra fee.  If they forget to do it for you, be sure to pour their special sweet soya sauce while it's still raging hot to make sure the flavor is infused into the rice.

Drinks

There are your standard Hong Kong cafe drinks, such as Horlicks, coffee, iced tea, Ovaltine, almond drinks as well as your usual soft drinks. The restaurant doesn't serve alcohol, but feel free to sneak in your own alcoholic beverage (in our case, a can of Tsing Tao bought at 7-11).

 

The clay pot: away from the flame but still cooking hot and infusing the rice with flavor

ground savory beef, brocolli and steamed clay pot rice

Chinese style beef ribs with traditional fatty sausage on rice

 

the raw yolk egg mixed in with the sauce and rice while the clay pot keeps it singeing hot

 

Location

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The Mon: Japanese Cuisine

The Mon, a trendy Japanese restaurant in Causeway Bay, is justifiably self-claimed as 'the stage'. The menu consist of both authentic Japanese and Japanese inspired modern dishes; the menu is equally complimented by it's Edo period inspired modern decor.

If you are interested in having dinner at 'The Mon', make sure you make reservations, as they are often fully booked with reservations a day in advance.


Decor

One of the first thing's you'll notice is the lightly lit dark atmosphere of the restaurant which gives it a sense of relaxation.  The tables are also placed apart with a generous amount of space, with the dining area decorated with wood accents and Edo period art.

Menu
If you are Asian, the menu they give you may first be in Chinese/Japanese, but don’t be shy in asking for an English menu, as one is readily available.

One of the things that make The Mon a place to dine for Japanese cuisine is it’s wide selection of dishes. There is a variety of both traditional dishes, such as the tofu salads, sashimi sets, marbled beef sashimi, and their deliciously crunchy deep fried soft shell crabs. 

Some of the other dishes that I rarely see include a seafood soup served in what looks like a teapot.  The seafood soup's broth is tentalizing, and a wooden spoon is also included, if you decide to look inside the pot and discover it’s generous amount of seafood.

Drinks
The Mon has a very wide selection of cold sake and Japanese beer, house hot sake, as well as the usual domestic and imported beers.  If you prefer something non-alcoholic, there is also a few choices of traditional Japanese tea, and your standard soft drinks available.

Photos

a light mixed salad with a vinegarette sauce

a self-portioned serving of tuna garnished tofu

a specialty roll in a crepe-like wrapping; avocado, masago are some of the tantalizing ingredients

the marbled beef shashimi served with raw sliced onions, green onions, and sauce 

the unique marbled fat texture gives it a full flavor and makes it tender 

the seafood soup/broth in a teapot

the teapot keeps the broth hot and steamy

the broth served in a single serving

some of the ingredients of the broth

Location

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