Quick Noms-One Saigon

One of the pho places that I had yet to visit downtown is a little hole in the wall called One Saigon on Hornby St.  I found myself passing by later in the afternoon~if your a Foursquare user you get 30% off your food bill for checking in after 3pm!, you walk in and order at the counter, the menu is small but there is a bit of everything good in Vietnamese cuisine and the daily specials are worth checking out as well.

I placed an order for a couple of standard items I usually get:

A bowl of chicken pho that was around $7.50

And some spring rolls, you get 4 pieces for $5.50 or so and they are served with the usual sweet fish sauce concoction.  I found the wrapper for these to me nice and crisp but a bit greasy, on the plus side they were piping hot.

With my bowl of pho all fixed up with the usual suspects-Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime and some hot sauce, I was really impressed with how light the broth was yet it was comforting and a treat to eat.  They also get major props here for freshness of ingredients, my bean sprouts were milky white and crisp.  The noodles were not over done and there was just the right amount for the size of the bowl.

I had a satisfying meal here and the service was great, the food was fresh and tasty and the 30% off with a Foursquare check-in will have me coming back to eat a ton more from the menu.  I’d easily recommend One Saigon if you’re looking for a solid Vietnamese meal that won’t break the bank.

One Saigon on Urbanspoon

You Win Some, You Lose Some

So down in my area close to my apartment is a pho place that I have walked by too many times to count~I have a place that I really like not far on Robson but I felt like I needed a change and decided to drop into Pho Number One on Denman St.

With a name like this and a pretty good Urbanspoon rating I felt like this would be a pretty good bowl of pho~boy was I wrong.

It’s looked nice and clean but for the whole time I was in eating I was the only one there~something that never happens at my usual place.

I ordered a bowl of rare beef pho with the extra addition of beef balls, at the end of the day my small bowl~the only size they have, was $12 after tax~the most I’ve ever paid~ANYWHERE !

I quickly received my soup and I added my usual condiments but the one thing  did notice was the permanently stained white bowl and spoons was the color of the broth~it just looked kinda murky and not very appealing, it tasted the same as it looked, even with the addition of the Thai basil, lime and chili sauce it still was flat.  The beef on the other hand was thinly sliced and plentiful but the beef ball was cut up into small little bits.  Noodles were plentiful for the size of bowl and were cooked nicely and not bunched together.

I think sometimes it takes a bad bowl of soup to really make you appreciate the others in the area when you live in a foodie friendly city, if you’re looking for a good bowl of pho after a day in the neighborhood head over to 1745 Robson Street and Denman to a place called Pho Express Ankor Noodle House and get your pho on there!~I recommend the #13 if you like beef and the number #26 if you like chicken.

Pho Number One on Urbanspoon

Quick Noms~Viet Sub on Robson Street

Quite often than not I find myself not able to sit down for a leisurely meal so grabbing something quick is in order~but making a choice that is both solid quality wise and somewhat healthy leaves me kinda screwed on the weekend when our street food carts aren’t all open.  I have been meaning to check out Viet Sub on Robson St and have heard great things about it from numerous people but the dining space is literally the size of my bathroom and packed when ever I go by so I was delighted to find them totally empty on a Saturday afternoon~YAY!

I love me some Pho and I am looking forward to giving it a try but on this visit I was after something a bit more hearty and quick to eat~the classic Bánh mì, so I placed an order for what looked most appetizing to me~a B5:

The Special Sub, $4.25~Vietnamese ham, cold cut meats, pate and meat ball and topped with the traditional picked veg topping and cilantro.

It reminded me of a foodie football!, the bread was beautifully crusty of the outside and soft and tender on the inside, inside under the meats there was a savory mayo of some kind that complemented the big flavors of the cilantro and added a nice creamy touch.  The meats were tender but I couldn’t discern the different types but I cold taste the pate but at the end of the day it was delish and totally filled my up.

With my first visit under my belt I’m already looking forward to my next meal and having a some Pho and some spring rolls and actually having a leisurely lunch in the Vietnamese closet also known as Viet Sub.  Job done for under $5!

Viet Sub Vietnamese Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Ramen in Vancouver

Ramen is huge in Vancouver and is one of my favorite dishes, here are a selection of my ramen adventures around Vancouver.

Miso ramen with lean pork from Kintaro

Toroniku Miso Ramen from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, this has been voted as one of the best dishes in Vancouver and is a must try.

Miso ramen from Jinya on Robson street

akioni spicy miso ramen form Benkei Noodle Shop

Standard miso ramen from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Curry ramen from Benkei Noodle Shop

Next Generation Miso Ramen from Motomachi Shokudo

Chicken ramen with wontons from Jinya

Shio Tonkotsu Ramen form Jinya

Tan Tan Mein from Ramen Sanpachi

Miso Cha~shu from Ramen Sanpachi

Oxtail ramen from Suika

Yokohama Miso Ramen with Chicken Katsu from Nikkyu Sushi

I’ve enjoyed all of these ramen’s pretty much but the ramen from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka and the Suika Oxtail ramen is some of the best I have ever had and is a must try of your visiting Vancouver and if you like ramen noodle soup.

 

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

Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar

One restaurant that has really embraced all forms of Social Media and there customers as well is Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar at Waterfront Station. They offer daily specials if you follow them on Twitter, contests via Facebook and free gift certificates for drinks and menu items if you “check in” on your visit on Foursquare and that’s just what they have in the works right now, @MaryInVancity introduced me to this place and informed me of the deals they offer via social media, it’s definitely on her usual dining and drinking spots and her post in it can be found here.

The space is great and with the high ceilings it’s afforded them the opportunity to really split the space up and make intimate dining areas that are great for any sized group.

pardon the green spots on the picture

They really create a nice atmosphere at night with the candlelight and over sized Jetson like chandeliers.

These are the drinks we scored for following them on Twitter, the specials change daily and today it was any drink off the menu, I went with the Central City Raspberry Wheat Ale~Infused with raspberries from the Fraser Valley, this wheat ale is crisp and clean with a subtle fruitiness. The toasted crystal malt from England balances the natural acidity of the raspberries producing a beer that is refreshing and a delightful taste experience, Mary went with a glass of Gewürztraminer, at $11 for the wine and $6 for my beer it’s a no brainer to follow them on Twitter.  They have a HUGE beer list and some killer cocktails and shots so if you’re looking to hit a bar and watch the game Rogue is the place for you.

Asian Potstickers were up next for us, recommended by our server they were a hit, they were nicely fried and filled with seasoned pork and served with a sesame soy and sriracha dipping sauce for $8.99.

The Sushi Bombs 2.0 are a new thing to me but one of the things the Rogue is known for, they are sushi rice rolled in a ball and topped with albacore tuna, tobiko, wasabi flying fish roe, sriracha & sesame seeds and chased with wasabi soy shots~you put the whole thing in you mouth and squeeze the soy wasabi shot in your mouth as you pull it out.  They were OK~I thought the wasabi roe along with the sriracha on top along with the soy mix was a bit hot for me, the tuna was really understated compared to the other ingredients in this dish.  For $9.99 it was a neat thing to try but I wouldn’t order it again.

Mary went with the Coconut Poached Chicken Salad, it had snap peas, red & yellow peppers, mango, mixed greens, cashews, thin Asian noodles and sesame soy dressing, for $14.99 it was a filling meal and a pretty big salad, the coconut poached chicken really added a nice Thai touch to the meal.  Mary said she enjoyed it and from what I tasted I would order it sometime.

With my never ending burger hunt I just had to try the 9.2oz Rogue Burger, it was totally ultra juicy, a two napkin-er, made from house ground sirloin burger cooked to 160 F, placed on a sesame brioche bun and topped with bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet relish & mayo, served with your choice of fries~they have 4 or 5 different varieties or a salad for $12.99 it’s a solid choice, I went with their regular fries on this visit

they use Kennebec Potatoes for all their fry variety’s and were munched on by the both of us.

With the great service we got, the diverse food choice along with all the specials~both via Social Media and regular daily in house specials Rogue Wet bar is going on my go to list for drinks and good eats and would suggest it to anyone~especially if you’re visiting our fine city in the Gastown area.

Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar on Urbanspoon

Urban Sushi Japanese Cuisine

After hearing good things about this place from @DrJennyFever of There is Always Room and her review here I was eager to check this place out seeing I’m in the area a lot and don’t have a solid sushi joint in the neighborhood.

The space is bright and is shared with their sister restaurant the Urban Grill-a Mongolian grill type restaurant and you can sit on either side of the restaurant it seems for sushi service. The staff is attentive, friendly and efficient.

The menu here is pretty big with all the standard items you would expect to find in a sushi place but the presentation is stepped up here from what I’ve seen on the plates coming out. Food wise I went with a deluxe bento box for $10.50 and I must say it was one of the better bento boxes I’ve had in a while.

The salad is the standard salad you get in bento boxes and the dressing is light and refreshing.

Next up in the box is gyoza. This was OK but the wrapper was a bit thick and the sauce took away the crispy texture of the pan-fried side but the filling was good and seasoned properly.

The tempura here is really nice, the batter is light and not to greasy, you get 2 pieces is ebi, a piece of zucchini and a piece of sweet potato.  All were enjoyable but I found the zucchini a bit grease logged~this is usually the case with all deep-fried zucchini.

I chose the chicken teriyaki but you also have the choice of beef.  It was a nicely garnished with white and black sesame seeds.  The chicken was cooked perfectly and had a nice crispy side with a teriyaki sauce that wasn’t too sweet.

Lastly for the roll in the bento box, because I chose the deluxe bento it came with a dynamite roll, this one also had tempura yam and sweet/tangy mayo that gave the roll a great creaminess.  I really enjoyed this and would order it again for sure.

From this visit I would definitely come back to Urban Sushi and am looking forward to trying some of the other items and roll’s on the menu.

Urban Grill & Urban Sushi (Granville) on Urbanspoon

Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂 Revisit

Now that the cold wet weather has set in hot bowls of yummy noodle soup are totally on the menu for me, some day’s it’s pho and on some its laksa but usually its ramen calling my name.

Motomatchi is a place I’ve been to on more than on e occasion since my first post 4 months ago and the dish that I’ve settled on hit’s the spot and fills your belly and the side dishes are a step up from the competition.

The petite pork bowl here is a step up from any other place I’ve been to, the addition of the shaved nori and the Japanese mayo make this one flavorful bowl.  The meat in it is nice and chunky yet super moist, when I eat mine I mix all the items up together resulting in a nice creamy touch from the mayo and for under $4 it’s a great deal.

This is the bowl of ramen that I have whenever I come here, it’s their Spicy Miso Ramen without the spicy chili oil.  I order this because if comes with organic chicken and more vegetables than their regular miso ramen and for some strange reason you can’t order the regular miso ramen with chicken so that’s how I was steered towards this.  The garnish is finely shaved leeks and they provide a nice texture in the soup in addition to the usual bean sprouts.

You also get green cabbage, snow peas, corn and diakon radish in the mix and the noodles here are cooked perfectly.  They do let you add extra chicken when you order for $1.50 ad its a worth addition otherwise you only get 2 medium-sized pieces.

If you’re looking for a great bowl of ramen check out definitely check out Motomatchi Shokudo, it does get busy but the table turn over is pretty quick but be warned the space is small and storage for your bags and stuff is limited.

Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂 on Urbanspoon

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s Winter Special

I eat at Santouka quite a bit and really love the stock they make for their soups.  For the summer they’ve had one special in addition to the menu and it totally didn’t appeal to me but now with the changing season the special has changed to something I like-Tan Tan Men-sesame flavored broth that is like a peanut sauce type flavor and usually involves chili oil on top and ground pork as the protein instead of the sliced pork usually found in ramen noodle soup.
For $10.95 is priced right and is filling bowl of noodles like all there other soups are.
They serve it with a spoon I have never seen before at a ramen place, as you can see it’s full of holes so it’s a great way to get a nice amount pork in a bite but it was really awkward to ave in the bowl with the chopsticks-the tips would get stuck in the holes!
Also to complete the meal I had some of their awesome pork gyoza, for $5 they are some of the pricier gyoza out there but they are delish.
If you find yourself downtown and are looking for a new or solid ramen place check these guy’s out and it’s worth the wait.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka 火頭山 on Urbanspoon

Benkei Noodle Shop Spicy Akaoni Miso Ramen

Finding myself in Kits on a rainy evening I was happy to find Benkei and a solid bowl of MSG free ramen was defiantly in order. One of the noodle bowls I haven’t tried at Benkei Noodle shop is the spicy akaoni miso ramen, it’s got similar flavors to Tan Tan Men that I’ve had at similar ramen places so I was eager to give Benkei’s a try.

I started with there chashu rice bowl, for $2.50 it was the cheapest chashu bowl I’ve had at any ramen place but it was also the worst, the pork tasted OK but the rice portion of the dish just tasted like rice and soy and it was also really cold.  This was a first and a last time ordering this from here and will stick to the shrimp or pork gyoza because they rock.

The main star of my visit was this-the akioni spicy miso ramen for $8.95, on the menu it’s described like this: “Mixed with various kinds of spices, this spicy-miso is a favorite for many. The addition of garlic oil creates a much richer flavor. The burning sensation followed by the soothing delicious taste is going to make you come back for more”.  Like I said above-I was really eager to try this to see how there’s stacks up against Sanpachi’s and Hokkaido Ramen Santouka version of this dish.  I was really impressed with the look and smell of this bowl ramen when it was put down in front of me, you could smell the spice coming from the dish!, the noodles were cooked so they still had some bite to them and the veggies on top were a great touch.  With this bowl of soup and the other versions I’ve had ground pork is used as the protein and not slices of pork and the garlic chili oil on top added a great spicy kick and there is chili flakes in the broth.  The one stand out for this dish is the fact sesame isn’t a predominant flavor and the reason I like the dish is for that flavor so it was kind of a let down.  If you’re looking for a spicy bowl of noodles this dish is for you but if you’re looking for something similar to Tan Tan Men then this dish isn’t for you.

Benkei Ramen (Kitsilano) on Urbanspoon