Be The Lunch Time Office Hero

The gang over at Food.ee have been busy adding more great restaurants to their effortless online restaurant ordering service and now have taken it to the next level with the ability to order from work and for the who office so if your that guy or gal who’s been tasked with feeding the office this service could just make you the office hero and you could win your office a iPod touch, lunch and a iPad 2 in the process!

Food.ee knows how difficult it can be to order food for everyone in the office. Tired of pizza? Want tastier, fresher options? Food.ee, the latest innovation from Invoke, ends the difficult and routine task of ordering food for groups at a time.

Food.ee allows you to effortlessly place a meal order for large groups. Submit the order, specify the time and location of delivery, and enjoy.

Some of the great restaurant partners include Rasoee, Bonchaz, and Notturno Paninoteca. An upcoming feature will allow users to send individual menus to employees to input their order and Food.ee will aggregate the information into a single order for the office.

There celebrating the launch of corporate ordering by giving away an iPod touch, lunch for your entire office courtesy of Rasoee, and an iPad 2. Each order made through Food.ee Corporate in March counts as an entry for the draw. The more you order, the more chances you have to win!

I’ve used the service before to get food delivered to my house and it was effortless and simply a matter of a few clicks of the touch pad and dinner was at my door so I totally recommend this service if you’re looking for a one stop shop with many different restaurant choices with no extra delivery charges.

Legendary Noodle House 飛天拉麵

The Legendary Noodle House is bringing old school hand pulled noodles and dumplings to the masses in the West End. I first saw one of the owners here on Bob Blumers Food Network Canada show Glutton For Punishment where Brock Li~the gentleman I mentioned was charged with teaching Bob with becoming an expert noodle puller in a week, it was a great episode and I was pleased to know he opened up shop on Denman street bringing a change of noodle dishes that are different from all the Ramen, Udon and Pho places in the neighborhood.

The space is filled by an antique wooden waterwheel and bobbing Chinese lanterns. Past a beaded curtain, the compact space is furnished with dark wood tables and benches imported from China. Red silk cushions accent the seats. Other ancient’s include wooden tools and garlands of firecrackers decorate the walls. By the open kitchen where the Master Chef stretch’s noodles you feel like your sitting in a noodle house far away in China.

I’ve had a couple great meals here before I started doing photography and blogging, the place is memorable for me for a couple personal reasons with awesome experiences and dinners that I thought I’d show you what my favorite dishes here are.

This is there House Chrysanthemum Flower Tea, it’s $3 a glass and is pretty interesting, it’s a very floral green tea with goji berries and other interesting things that I’m not familiar with!

These are the pan fried pork and chive dumplings, yo have the option of just steamed or pan fried if you want. The filling is nice and juicy and seasoned beautifully, the dumpling wrapper is crispy on the pan fried side and tender with just the right amount of give on the steamed side. I really enjoy these and they’re a nice change from all the gyoza I eat.

You get the traditional soy dipping sauce that come with dumplings but every table has a condiment set to jazz up your dipping sauce.

This is a dish that I had the first time I came here~Gan Ban Mien, it’s minced pork with black bean sauce and diced mushrooms, you get your choice of thin,thick or flat noodles, I prefer thin noodles but have had it with the thick ones~it was really hard to eat with the larger size ones but it’s just a personal thing. The sauce is kind of loose~on the thin side but it’s enough sauce for all the noodles, the mushrooms are diced a big larger than a small dice so you know when your eating one and they don’t get lost in the minced fried pork. There is also some Asian greens in the dish and some broccoli.  It’s one of those dishes where you have to mix the sauce and the noodles together, the noodles are softer than Italian pasta and the meat sauce is the real star of the plate.

The scallion pancakes with peanut dipping sauce weren’t as much of a hit~the peanut sauce had the consistency and tasted just like melted smooth peanut butter and that’s it, the pancakes were crisp and definitely tasted like green onions, for $4 it was an inexpensive lesson in what I like here.

Finally they have Xiao Long Bao or XLB pork soup filled dumplings and they are damn good here!, they were $9 I think for 6 and when you order them your warned that they take 15 minutes to make, I order them right away and by the time I’m done with some of my other meal they have become the perfect temperature to eat~if you eat them right when they come to your table you will get a major burn in your mouth.  When your break the dumpling skin in your mouth you get a  flood of warm broth and a nice nugget of pork, I noticed a star anise flavor slightly, they’re a classic delicious dish that everyone should try at least once in your life.

Legendary Noodle House 飛天拉麵 on Urbanspoon

Rasoee Indian Kitchen on Robson

One of the new franchises to open this year has been Rasoee, serving up Indian food in a modern environment with a few twists on some of the classic Indian dishes is what sets them apart from what else is on the market.

I was lucky enough to have won a free regular size curry bowl and a free “small bite” or in other words~appetizer from there weekly twitter contest so I headed off to the location I’m near the most~Robson Street and chow on some curry!

I went with a bowl of beef curry on basmati rice it usually goes for  $7.49 on the menu.

The curry bowl was a decent size and the chunks of beef were on the large size, the curry itself was OK, the flavor of it was kind of one note and the meat was lacking the flavor of being stewed and cooked in the curry like I’ve had at other Indian places and one thing that I didn’t like was the sounds of a microwave being set when my meal was being prepared evident by this

the meat was lukewarm in the middle and kind of tough~in a nuked kind of way.  I think next time I’ll stick to chicken or totally vegetarian.

This is the small bite I chose, they call these Potato Tikkis, again they go for $2.99 for 2 pieces and they comes with a side of Rasoee Indian ketchup.

They are vegetarian and filled with ground chickpeas, spices and potato and the outside is light and crispy.  I really enjoyed these on their own but I didn’t like the Indian ketchup~it had the taste of strawberry jam for some reason and it was too spicy for my tastes.

At the end of the day my meal was OK from Rasoee and I’ll still keep them on my list of quick eats when I’m in the area.

Rasoee Indian Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Incendio in Gastown

Incendio has been a favorite of mine for good pizza and traditional Italian favorites before Gastown was blessed with having so many great choices for eating and then to see it destroyed by fire in the space above the restaurant in 2009 it wasn’t clear if the restaurant could rebuild in the great space they has before but I’m happy to say that there back with the same charm inside as before and the great food that made them famous.

I was with MaryInVancity and @billyforce having some drinks in Gastown at Chill Winston-you can see Mary’s post about out libations here, needless to say after drinking the whole cocktail menu we needed some good solid food and Incendio was just a block away and had a table open for us right away.

Drink wise I wanted some beer and they had Kronnenburg Blanc and I knew that would hit the spot

it’s a cloudy beer that is on the light side taste wise, it’s got a floral taste to it similar to Lavender.

When we were seated we were served a piece each of house made Focaccia, as I ate mine I noticed 2 things,1-it was cold and 2-it was really tough at the end.  As we ate our other appy we asked for some more bread and were informed that it would be $1 per slice and guests are only provided with one piece each for a meal-no big deal at the end of the day.

Baked Meatballs in Tomato Sauce $7 for 3.  Served piping hot from their brick oven this appy was pretty good, the sauce they make is nice and not on the sweet side and the cheese was piled on, one thing that was odd was the sauce to meatball ratio-there could have been a couple more meatballs and the balls were kinda tough-Nook and the Judas Goat have meatballs that will melt in your mouth.

The Margherita $14.99.  The Incendio version of the margherita isn’t what I’m used to.  This was more of a cheese pizza with some basil, there was a good amount of cheese and the crust was chewy but on the thick side, this was out least favorite pie of the night.

The Carnivore $14.99.  Pepperoni, ham, prosciutto and chorizo sausage make up this bad boy, I like to think of it as the Italian version of the meat lovers pizza.  All the toppings were great and the chorizo added a nice bite to the pizza.

The Capricciossa $14.99.  Ham, pepperoni, artichoke and olives.  This pizza was the clear winner of the night, the addition of the olives added that great salty touch to the other big flavors on the pizza.

At the end of the night we had a good meal and lots of left overs to take home, I know personally I like the thinner Neapolitan pizzas that are available a couple blocks away seeing there the same price as Incendio but the food here is still a solid choice and dining option in the busy Gastown dining scene.  If your not looking to make the trip to Incendio on our cold rainy nights you can use the Food.ee online ordering and delivery service to have dinner on the table in under a hour, click the link above.

Incendio on Urbanspoon

Introducing Food.ee-A New Way To Order Delivery and Take Out Food

A couple of months ago I was approached by the folks at Invoke to beta test a new online food ordering service for delivery and pick up that is completely different from anything on the market right now and I’m happy to say that the site is live this evening and will be ready to take your dinner order!.

press release from Invoke~the people behind Food.ee:

“Food.ee is the easiest way to order take out and delivery food online.
We believe hungry people want a few suggestions that matter, not a list of a 1000 options. Food.ee is unique to each customer and makes predictive suggestions to suit customers “taste graph” based on preferences, order history, and popular items”~Jon Cartwright, Food.ee CEO.

“We knew we weren’t the only ones tired of using multiple services to find a new restaurant to go to,” said David Tedman, Co-CEO of Invoke, the digital agency that built Food.ee. “Reviews are great, but we wanted to improve suggestions by creating them based on a customer’s personal taste graph using patterns and similarities in the food they typically eat, and the types of restaurants they or their friends go to.”

Food.ee is the latest product from Invoke, an award-winning, full-service interactive agency, specializing in Web, mobile, and social app development for major brands and agencies. Invoke’s suite of award-winning products, include HootSuite, memelabs, Vidrollr and Hitt.it, have been used by leading brands such as Wells Fargo, ESPN, and HISTORY. Invoke has offices in Vancouver and New York.”

The site is innovative in the way it can suggest restaurants that suit your taste and what kind of food you have ordered in the past. You fill out a basic profile and answer some multiple choice questions and you’re on your way to getting great food.

When you’re choosing your restaurant you’re presented with the full menu that is plug and play enabled, there is a visual display on a google map of the delivery radius of the restaurant so you can easily tell if you’re in the delivery area

and you also get a running total of how much your order s going to be including taxes, when your done choosing your food you hit enter and now the interesting part begins, your presented with a three-step visual process of whats going on with your order from it being confirmed by the food.ee site, you then get a confirmation of the restaurant getting your order and then you get a text message from said restaurant telling you just how long your food is going to be

it’s just that simple and you don’t even need to pick up the phone and make a call. I tried out the site during the beta period and my food was delivered promptly and it was nice and hot still like it should be.

With so many delicious dining options at your fingertips get on www.food.ee and sign up and order yourself some great food quickly and easily. Credit for screen images and some pics above besides the food ordered go to Invoke.

For immediate access to the food.ee site scan the QR code below with your smartphone or camera equipped tablet:
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Ramen Sanpachi Robson Street

In my ramen tours downtown Ramen Sanpachi just off Robson st on Bute is a place that I’ve walked past many times, it’s a place that always has customers in it or it pretty much full but I figured that it must just be “just another ramen joint”, I was wrong I think because I was introduced to something that I’ll eat for the rest of my life!.

They offer a few different types of ramen that I’ll be talking about in future posts but for now this is what I’ve had so far:

Pork Gyoza $3.75, standard gyoza with a well-balanced pork filling, if you like gyoza’s you’ll like these.

Miso Cha~Shu $8.95, I think they use MSG in the ramen because I was full before then end of my bowl of noodles, the broth was not salty yet not bland and the pork was nicely marbled as you can see, one thing I didn’t like to much was the fact my noodles were chewy, I thought they were just under cooked but I think it’s just the way they do noodles here~not a deal breaker but just a pet peeve.

Mini Cha~Shu Bowl $3.95, I really like this bowl, the mayo used has an added a great creaminess to the rice and pork, the meat was diced up and really tender, It’s actually a large bowl~there’s alot of rice and is great value for $, I cleaned my bowl.

Tan Tan Men $9.95, this was the stand out dish that I will try if I see it on other menu’s, the sauce is spicy peanut and sesame~like a thinned out satay sauce, ground fried pork, spinach and leeks with ramen noodles, it was freaking amazing!!, the sauce had that addictive “it’s damn hot and I should stop eating but I can’t” quality.

At the end of the day I’m coming back here for the Tan Tan Men and the Cha-Shu bowl and I’m going to have my miso ramen where I know there’s no MSG.

Ramen Sanpachi (Robson) on Urbanspoon

Volcano Sushi and Grill

In the Hastings Sunrise area diverse types of  great food and restaurants are everywhere and Volcano Sushi and Grill has become a favorite with the residents in the area who love great Japanese sushi classics and the chef’s special rolls that Vancouver has become famous for.

I’ve timed my visits well avoiding the lunch rush with all the businesses in the area it’s quite the popular place.  They have a diverse menu with all the things you would expect from a sushi place and also grilled items like yakatori and short ribs.  The prices are really good and you get a good-sized portion for you buck, I’ve had the lunch special for $6.50~for that you get to choose 2 different items and choice of soup~wonton or miso, I’ve also tried a couple other items from the menu.

Miso soup $1.25, the miso here is really good compared to others I’ve had and you get a good amount of tofu.

Wonton Soup $2.25, this is a side I got with one of my lunch specials, the price quoted if from the menu and I’d expect a bigger size. The broth here is nice and rich but not on the fishy side like with other wonton soup I’ve had, it almost had a meaty tone to it while being light.  The wontons filling is nice and tender without being over cooked.

Chicken Yakitori $3.95 for 2 skewers, this is one of the daily specials I tried, the chicken was nice and juicy and in between the pieces of chicken were spring onions that added a nice flavor to the chicken, the skewers were glazed with a teriyaki  type sauce I think.  I’d definitely order these again when there on the daily specials board.

Pork Gyoza (also available with vegetable filling) $4.50 for 6 nice big dumplings, the gyoza wrapper was nice and tender and the browning was really nice.

There was a nice amount of meat to veg ratio with these gyoza and the filling had texture and a nice porky taste while the vegetable was still toothsome.

Dynamite Roll $3.95, again this is one of the sides I chose with my lunch combo, the shrimp tempura was nice and crunchy without the shrimp being like rubber.  One thing I wasn’t sure of is if there was soy already on top or if it was another sauce but it made the roll unnecessarily wet.

Spicy Tuna Maki $3.75, really good spicy tuna here, the sauce on top added a nice bite and the filling wasn’t overly dressed so it ended up being nice and light.  The rice on this roll was also nicely cooked and wasn’t wet because of the sauce on top.

Beef Teriyaki with Rice, standard beef teriyaki, the sauce is nice and not overly sweet, the veggies were nice and fresh.

Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, again another standard Japanese classic, the chicken was nice and crispy on top and juicy in the middle and not doused in overly sweet sauce.

I’m enjoying eating my way through the menu here and it’s nice treat when I’m in the area, I’ll update my blog with the other menu offerings I try from this solid sushi joint.

Volcano Sushi and Grill on Urbanspoon

Panago Pizza~New Lite pizza and some Indian flavors!

Going thru the mail today something caught my eye amongst the usual flyers, Panago pizzas new menu featuring a chicken korma pizza and a butter chicken pizza and there were discounted if you ordered any large pizza. Cruising the new menu I noticed something else new~a veggi lite pizza~their traditional vegetarian pizza but 40% less fat than the original so I figured I’d give it a try to see if it was missing 40% of the flavor and if the butter chicken pizza would be a pizza disaster!.

I went with a large veggi lite for $14

and a small butter chicken pizza for $5

Within 30 mins I had dinner at my door and let the tasting begin!

First up lets start with the Veggi Lite pizza

With 40% less fat I was expecting there to be a lack of taste but not the case here!, it tastes just like their regular vegetarian pizza~still the right amount of cheese and toppings to make it a satisfying meal without all the guilt, I was really pleased at the amount and quality if the toppings on my pizza

the roasted tomatoes and big slices of mushrooms were a great touch!

next up is the Butter Chicken pizza

this came with caramelized onions, red peppers, grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese on a bed of butter chicken sauce on a multi grain hand tossed crust in this case.  This was actually good and didn’t leave me disappointed.  The butter chicken sauce wasn’t too over powering so it will be great for the mass market but one thing I found with the pizza was it was a bit too sweet and I’m not sure if it was the red peppers are right~diced tomatoes would be a better more traditional choice and might cut the sweetness of the pizza.

There was  a great amount of sauce on my pizza so when I got to the crust it was a nice treat seeing I used up all my blue cheese dip~kind of like naan used to soak up sauce.

I’m really happy with the new additions to the menu and it will be curious to see if they keep these new creations on the menu.

Panago Pizza on Urbanspoon