CLOSED - Dinner @ Golden Bauhinia Restaurant 金紫荊小館

APR 2013 UPDATE - Reopened as Hing Fung Restaurant 慶豐餐廳

came when it first opened for lunch and it was not that great. family has been here a few times for dinner and said its not bad. when relatives came to visit, we went together

steamed garlic baby lobster with peral rice

best dish of the night

also comes with scallops and shrimps

strong garlic taste and scent seeped into the rice

as good as the ho yuen kee one

chicken simmered in lo-sui sauce 

tung choi with fermented bean curd

fried garlic chives

love the crunchy stuff

sweet and sour pork

Golden Bauhinia Restaurant 金紫荊小館 

1226-8338 Capstan Way 

Richmond, BC V6X 2H6 

(604) 278-8898 

-there's a limited amount of quail, good to order when booking, we missed it

-dinner food is much better than lunch

-they have glass bottle coke and sprite if interested, rare to see in chinese restaurants

-average pricing, better than being stuck to set menus or a limited of choices

Style: chinese (中式) 

Visited on: August 24, 2012

 

Top Shanghai Cuisine 上海一只鼎

Top Shanghai Cuisine 上海一只鼎

5880 No 3 Rd

Richmond, BC

(604) 278-8790

-one of the more authentic shanghai cuisine in richmond, so most food are saltier and stronger flavour

-always packed, reservation recommended

-food served quickly, table filled with food fast

-lunch and dinner menu the same

Style: shanghai (上海菜)

Visited on: Aug 20, 2012

Afternoon Tea @ Truffles Fine Foods Cafe @ Van Dusen Garden

from word of mouth, heard there was a new cafe in Van Dusen Garden that faces the garden without needing to pay entry fee. was satisfied with the first visit so went again for the second time. to my surprise, it was quite busy.

from 2nd visit, pretty much the same

croissant and scones both quite soft

tea flavour is fixed, has about 6-8 tea cups

own choice of pannini

italian one was too salty

$28 for 2, $50 for 4

inside seating

Truffles Fine Foods Cafe 

5151 Oak St (Van Dusen Garden) 

Vancouver, BC V6H 2L8 

(604) 505-4961

-free parking and does not require entry fee
-self seating, outside seating quite popular, depends on your luck
-pricing fair, big portions, better deal than hotel afternoon teas
-no tips required since you order yourself but would be nice if you leave some
-they carry the tray to you and identify you with the number sign
-an excellent place for relaxing and to enjoy afternoon tea

Style: tea, sandwiches 

Visited on: Aug 19 + Oct 8, 2012 

 

Congee @ Double Double Restaurant 老油條大牌檔

this place has been packed since opening. old location was on kingsway but it seems like all the staff is new since they did posting for all positions before opening.

Lai Wan Style Congee 艇仔粥

came steaming hot but too watery

flavours too light

chinese doughnut 油炸鬼

not as good as expected

still crispy outside although it came cold

deep-fried wonton

big fresh shrimp inside

outside nice and crispy

8 pieces in total

sweet chinese doughnut 牛脷酥

very small portion

centre not soft enough

soy sauce fried noodles

Double Double Restaurant 老油條大牌檔 

128-4600 No. 3 Road Empire Centre 

Richmond, BC V6X 4E8 

(604) 370-3345

-2nd time visiting, and service and seating took a long time.1st time going was at night and everything was much faster, but some food may sell out
-don't like the congee but certain fried stuff are good
-yet to try rice rolls, take way too long
-orders get mess up, you get the fried chinese doughnut from the person you order from but they tend to forget, things are not computerized, ordered before the person beside but they got "our" food instead
-pricing is fair
-a huge variety of food, more than before
-a good place to eat but took too long for the food to come considering they're easy to make, lacking staff
-not open on tuesdays

Style: congee (粥), street food (大牌檔) 

Visited on: Sept 29, 2012 

 

tic tac - strawberry fushion

there's the new flavour in town, strawberry fushion. i'm assuming it's only sold in canada as it says breast society of canada. 100 mints in a large pack. worth a try and it's for a good cause

lighter one tastes like strawberry mentos

darker one tastes like strawberry pez

Lunch @ Bubble Waffle Cafe (Aberdeen Centre)

its been a while since the old restaurant location closed. location was good but there was no parking and they did not have enough air conditioning for the summer. a while ago i already saw the ads in the newspaper that they reopened at aberdeen and the red pocket coupon for buy one get one free. my friend told me the food was indeed cheap for food court but quality was soso. she told me she had to wait for an hour and it was not worth it considering it was just food court and was just noodles. but since i love bubble waffles, i gave it a go

noodles

had satay soup but was very light

moderate amounts of MSG in soup

2-3 pieces of each item

waffle

with condensed milk and peanut butter

fresh and quite chewy

condiments

Bubble Waffle Cafe (Aberdeen Centre)

Unit 3000, 4151 Hazelbridge Way 

Richmond, BC V6X 0A4 

(604) 370-2211

-went at 11:30am then the line started to get huge at noon with around 20+ people in line
-$1 extra with noddles for bubble waffle/waffle, depends what they offer on the day
-$1.50 extra with noddles for hot/cold drink
-max of 3 additional sides
-yet to try to bubble waffle at they only had waffles for the additional $1, but mostly likely the same as before
-most better location than before
-quality of the noodles seemed to have dropped
-ordered cold lemon tea and had 4 thick slices of lemons, much better than other places
-don't like where the condiments are location, no space to put your tray to get the things
-would only go back for the snacks and not noodles

Style: noodles (百搭麵), street food (街邊小食) 

Visited on: Oct 6, 2012

 

Lunch @ Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家

durian mochi

my favourite dessert

strong durian taste and scent

limited amounts

pan-fried carrot cake

not very clean considering a up-scaled place

Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家

350 Gifford St (Starlight Casino) 

New Westminster, BC V3M 7A3 

(604) 528-8833 

-much easier to find tables and parking than other locations
-some servers were quite friendly
-hate how there no receipt to track what you have already eaten

Style: chinese (中式), dim sum (點心), seafood (海鮮)

Visited on: August 20, 2012

 

Snack @ Beaver Tails

at Whistler we saw Beaver Tails but was unfortunately closed. my friend told me its as good as the elephant ears at PNE. its been over 10 years since going to Grouse mountain and my 2nd attempt at Grouse Grind (did not make it through last time 6 yrs ago due to time constraints).  i'm a fan of cinnamon sugar and love churros, cinnamon balls + pretzels. when i saw it off in a distance, i knew i had to grab some especially after a big workout

cinnamon & sugar

-much better than all those other cinnamon sugar food than i've eaten

-nice and soft and chewy

-like how thin it is and freshly made

Beaver Tails (Grouse Mountain) 

6400 Nancy Greene Way 

North Vancouver District, BC V7R 4K9 

(778) 847-4799 

-unfortunately this is also the closet one to vancouver, i was happy when i saw it in Lonsdale Quay but it seems to have closed down recently

Style: snack 

Visited on: September 8, 2012

 

Cake/dessert @ Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe

i'm not a downtown person since it's hard to find parking and it's busy everywhere. but met up with friends who had school and work in downtown and they suggested the place

tiramisu

lemon tart

sourness just right

tart was nice and crunchy

hot chocolate and tea

chocolate was too sweet especially to match with dessert

iced mocha

quite bitter, don't know if there is syrup to add as it was brought it to me

i usually don't drink coffee but mocha has always been fine, but this upset my stomach

Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe 

1059 Alberni St 

Vancouver, BC V6Z 2V6 

(604) 608-6870 

-quite busy in the afternoon

-lots of outdoor seating

-pricey as its located in heart of downtown

Style: cake, dessert, cafe 

Visited on: September 5, 2012