Kingyo

With the great experience I had at Hapa in Vancouver, next on the list is Kingyo.

First impression was not great.

The phone reservation left me feeling very unwelcome, as if I was given a giant favor for my table reservation when I was the one bringing in business?

In a nutshell, Kingyo has a 2-hour dining policy; instead of sharing that nicely over the phone, the staff was rude.

Needless to say, felt like the food really needed to be very good for me to return.

First up, salmon carpaccio.

Fresh, nicely textured Sockeye salmon, with fried garlic chips and crunchy sprouts; similar to sister restaurant Suika, there was too much sauce (actually a tasty pesto soy dressing) which covered the great quality ingredient. Continue reading →

Hapa Izakaya

Vancouver is the land of good-tasting Asian food.

There are so many more options, and quality are far more superior than Seattle.

Hapa Izakaya is one of the prime examples.

We used to go to Guu, but finding its quality came down with expansion — time to venture out.

I made a reservation at 6pm for Hapa, and got quite worry when we were one of the very few tables that was occupied.

@6pm, very empty

full — midway through our meal!

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Basho Cafe

Basho Cafe was the best find in my last trip to Vancouver!

Away from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver downtown, Basho is located in east Vancouver.

The wood decor gave an old style, rustic comfort, reminiscent of Kyoto’s sweets shop, and homeliness of a family run business.

Basho roasts their own coffee, and definitely serves one of the best coffee around.

We had mocha and it was absolutely smooth, roasty and delicious.

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Suhang Shanghainese

My Vancouver grandma knows that both my dad and I love Shanghainese food, and she was excited to share her new find in Richmond.

We had gone to Ningbo, and used to go to Shanghai River; and this time we checked out Suhang.

The restaurant space was not big, but it was certainly busy.

The menu looked great and authentic, we were eager.

We had three appetizers to share.

The cold meat was flavored well, tender and tasty, salted just right — the closest way to describe it was a tenderer, very thick cut prosciutto.

A dish called “Ma Lan Tou”, 馬蘭頭 , a mix of this vegetables that tasted like a cross of celery and spinach, with shredded tofu.

Top: ma lan tou — L: kor-fu — R: cold pork

The dish was delicious enough, but I wish for higher vegetables to tofu ratio.

Another quintessential Shanghainese appetizer was, “kor-fu” in Shanghainese, a soy sauce braised gluten.

The gluten were spongy, and soaked up sauce of sweet soy sauce and black Chinese mushrooms that they were cooked in, the way it ought to be.

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Vancouver dessert vs.

It is a known fact that Vancouver B.C. is a foodie’s paradise; from its amazing Asian food to fresh seafood, even desserts cannot be overlooked.

The top choices has to be Thomas Haas and Thierry.

Thomas Haas has two locations in Metropolitan Vancouver, one in Kitsilano, and one in North Vancouver.

Thierry, on the other hand, has one shop right in downtown.

Thierry’s dessert selection

Thierry store is fairly large, with limited indoor seating, but plenty outdoor seating; reminiscent of sidewalk cafes in Europe.

Thomas Haas’ Kitsilano store is beautiful and spacious, with indoor and outdoor seating; on the contrary, the North Vancouver store is tiny, very packed with few seats in and outside the store.

Thomas Haas’ Kitsilano store

chocolate sculpture in Thomas Haas’ North Vancouver store

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