Thai Express at Lougheed Mall #JensFoodCourtEats

Welcome to #JensFoodCourtEats! Being a foodie means you need to explore as many eats as you can! Food court meals could still taste as good (sometimes even better!) as fine dining restaurants minus the tips, beautiful venues and plating.  Need to grab some food but in a hurry? Don't worry, Jens got you covered! my food court eats series will be relatively short compare to my other reviews so you can quickly decide what to get!


My first location will be Thai Express at Lougheed mall, I usually get either Manchu Wok or U-grill if I wanted asian food, but ever since my friend got pad thai once at Thai Express, I've wanted to try it myself!

I ordered the Mild Spicy Beef PadThai ($9.01 4.5/5)
First of all, their to go boxes are SO cute! I was afraid that it was going to break but still!

Anyways, the beef slices were mostly tender, noodles were nice and thin, combined well with the veggies and the sauce. The sauce was like a sweet teriyaki sauce, it might be a little too sweet for others but I naturally like sweets.  However, the noodle wasn't spicy at all even though I ordered mild spicy, but I was fine with it. I think it tasted better without.

Overall Experience:

-Would recommend
-Would order again
-A little pricy, but the portions were decent
-You can get a discount if you order a combo with a SPC card

Cattle Cafe (Across from Metrotown)

Cattle Cafe has 4 locations including 3 stores on Kingsway. It's a typical Hong Kong style cafe with huge selections of dishes. (If you are indecisive like me, you would be sitting there for an hour trying to figure out what to order) This location is quite clean and seats are not tightly arranged. They actually moved a store down, so the capacity is a lot bigger.

First, we ordered the popular french toast, deep fried and served with a slab of butter and syrup. ($4.95 4/5)  I've always thought the toast is just one big crispy chunk of bread when I saw pictures of it on Instagram. I wasn't going to order this dish, but my mom wanted it to try it so I decided to sample a piece. The texture was actually really soft and the pieces consisted of 2 smaller pieces. Such a diet killer though .___. (wait, i'm a foodie... what diet?)

For drinks, since My sister and I both ordered combos, we only had to add $2.00 for specialty drinks. I got the Peach Calpis with coconut jelly (3/5 Original price $4.25+$0.50). My sister chose the Mango Slush with pearls (Orginial price $4.55+$0.50) I didn't sample my sister's drink, but she said It tasted bland and the pearls were too hard. And for my drink, I thought it was kind of bland as well, I couldn't really taste the Calpis.

I ordered the Noodle Combo at Your Choice ($8.50 3/5) with Malay Laksa,  Ramen noodles (+$0.50), Fish balls and fish puffs.

The portion was decent, I liked my fish balls and puffs. However the laksa broth was WAY too spicy! I actually had to ask the server for some original fish broth to dilute it down. I know some may prefer spicier laksas, but I've had authentic ones in Singapore, their broth was creamy and medium spicy. This broth also lacked creaminess, which was disappointing because I only chose this broth to satisfy my laksa craving. Noodle was okay, but I was expecting a thicker type of ramen.

My sister had the Mango Coconut Curry with pork chops and rice ($9.?? 4.5/5)

HK Style Cafes do make decent curry dishes, and this one was good as well. The pork chops were fried just right, I love curry with strong coconut flavours, and this one blends well with mangoes.

Overall Experience:

Many more returns to come, mainly because of the wild variety of food they offer. The service was okay, but then again, I don't really care about the quality of service for Asian restaurants unless the servers are extremely rude. Original Fish Soup and Curry will probably be my next choice. 

Sushi Garden (Brentwood Store)

One of my family favourite. We have been to both locations more than 50 times, it's definitely a go to sushi place for us. I was actually quite shocked when I saw so many negative reviews and comments about them on Urbanspoon. I agree that it's nothing fancy, and always busy. But the quality fits its category. If you want a convenient place to get sushi, sushi garden is worth a try.

We ordered a lot this time since my dad's university friend came to visit.

First, We had the regular salmon sashimi 9 pcs ($8.95 4.5/5) and spicy salmon sashimi ($8.95 5/5)

Loved their sashimi here with fresh and huge pieces. I especially like the spicy ones, I have never had this kind of spicy sauce before.

We ordered 5 rolls this time.

The ones that we always order is the Tropical Dynamite Roll ($4.95 4/5) 

What differs from a Regular Dynamite Roll is that they added pineapple, cream cheese and coated with pan fried egg) A very unique creation though. 

Next, We had the simple California Roll ($3.95 3.5/5) and Chopped Scallop Roll ($3.75 4/5)

Not a big fan of California so I only had one piece. 
Chopped Scallop roll was not bad, but the pieces got smaller over the years.

 Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Roll ($3.95 4.5/5) and the Hawaiian Beef Roll ($3.95 3.5/5)

I like anything cream cheese so I really liked this roll. Others might not, in fact, I've read so many reviews that dislike this roll. But I thought the cream cheese pieces were huge, and it fits well with the pepper and the smoked salmon. 

The Hawaiian Beef Roll was uncreative though, It was basically a teriyaki beef roll with pineapples, the beef was slightly over cooked. 

Yaki Udon ($6.95 4.5/5)

-Udon noodle stir fried with beef and veggies)

The udon noodles were cooked al dente, love the texture. The sauce paired up well with everything. An impressive dish overall. 

We also had the Takoyaki 6 pieces ($3.75 4/5), they were all gone before I could take a picture.

I'm not a big fan of octopus, so I was glad that they only had a small portion of it in each one. I mainly liked the surroundings and the sauce. 

Overall Experience:

A convenient place to get some quick sushi. Don't expect great service since both locations are always busy, servers really don't have the time to do anything else other than taking your order. They do occasionally add tea though. I categorize Sushi Garden and Sushi California as "Asian Fast Food Restaurants". So the quality is quite decent. If you want fancy Japanese food, Hit up Miku and Minami. 

Shanghai Elan Restaurant

As a Shanghainese Vancouverite, I'm very excited to write my first review on a Shanghainese restaurant. I compare the food to my grandparents' homemade dishes and some of my favourite authentic restaurants in Shanghai. I think my opinions represent most Shanghainese people's taste, but like I always say! Everyone has different tastebuds. I'm happy to share my personal thoughts and experiences with you, but don't solely take my opinions! Read more reviews and a variety of perspectives before you order ! :)

Shanghai Elan, like many other SH restaurants, it specializes in traditional Shanghainese dishes and is located at crystal mall. I have been to this place about five times, their food has been generally consistent. At one point, Jin Jiang topped Shanghai Elan when it first opened, but since Jin Jiang is going down hill with the quality of their food, Shanghai Elan is now my favourite SH restaurant in the area. The room is very limited, but I'm very used to the style of Chinese dining so it wasn't a big problem for me. (However, it'd be nice to get a renovation.)

*Just in case you didn't know, The photos on the wall are athletes Liu Xiang and Yao Ming. Why are they up there? They are both Shanghainese, and are two of the most famous olympic champions in China and worldwide. (ayyyyy Shanghainese pride! )

Okay I'm talking too much, Lets get to the main reason why I'm writing this, THEIR FOOD!

Pork pot stickers 锅贴  $5.50 4/5 (Price and name unsure since my dad ordered everything and I couldn't find this on the online menu. If you really want to try this dish, show them the picture!)

The meatballs were soft and juicy. The skin was decent, but could have been crisper. Overall, a simple yet decent dim sum.

Sliced beef and Pork Lungs in Chilli Sauce with crushed peanuts and Cilantro 夫妻肺片 $8.50 4/5

I usually don't eat organs but this one is an exception! I really like the combination of cilantro, crushed peanuts and sliced meats, mixed with mild spicy chilli sauce. I have had better ones in Shanghai, but this one was good enough. 

Wok-Fried Cauliflowers with mushroom and Shepherd's purse 荠菜群菇花菜 $12.50 2.5/5

Broccolis and cauliflowers look very similar, but personally I like soft cauliflowers rather than chewy ones. The mushrooms were good, but the cauliflowers were under cooked which basically ruined the dish.

Salted Pork In Hot Pot 腌笃鲜 $16.50 3/5 

Possibly one of the most famous Shanghainese soup. According to my dad, there was a chance that the soup base was made out of powder instead of the real ingredients which ruins the whole concept of this soup. Meat was over cooked but the tofu knots were great. 

Smoked Duck 樟茶鸭 $18.50 5/5

I used to hate this dish because my parent's always order it at Jin Jiang and their smoked duck was salty and over seasoned, I thought they just naturally taste weird due to the smoking effect? I didn't understand why my mom would order it again this time, but one bite and I was so amazed by how good it was, It was at least ten times better than the ones at Jin Jiang, and every detail was on point. I strongly recommend this dish. (Let's hope this one's consistent since it was the first time that we ordered.)

XLB 小笼包 $5.50 4.5/5

By being Shanghainese, I think I have consumed over 10000 of these things during my 17 years of existence. LOL

Fun fact! Xiao Long Baos are actually not suppose to be juicy! Because if they are, why don't we just call them soup buns instead? But even restaurants in Shanghai make XLBs full of juice,  oh well! they do taste better!  

Steamed Rice with Salted Meat and Vegetables 咸肉菜饭 $12.50 4.5/5

A Shanghainese classic and my childhood fave! My grandmas make the best ones! This one was decent as well. But it would have been better if it was less oily, and had more vegetables. 

Overall Experience:

Not bad! It's a bit pricy but is in the range of most Chinese restaurants. The order of the dishes was badly mixed up. How awkward is it to get a cold appetizer in between soup and hot dishes? Nonetheless, Elan is approved by my family, with lots of possible improvements though! But If you are craving Shanghainese Cuisine in South Burnaby, give Elan a try!

Sekai Udon Bar at Metrotown

Umm Hi guys... So this is my first post of being a food blogger, I started a food instagram during summer but I never thought about blogging until recently! Being a food blogger requires more skills than just being a food instagrammer (aka a good photographer for food), and I suck a describing food, but I will try my best to develop this blog! :)
Anyways, lets get to today's restaurant! ---> Sekai Udon Bar at Metrotown

(restaurant pictures found on http://sekaiudonbar.com/ and Urbanspoon)

This place used to be an all you can eat sushi restaurant, I didn't know it changed till yesterday! According to my mom's friends, it is decent so we decided to try it out after our mini black friday shopping!

Japoutine+Chicken Katsu $8 4/5

The first thing that caught my attention was the word "Japoutine" , I know Japadog is extremely famous here in Vancouver, but I've never heard of Japoutine, so of course I had to try it out!
Basically it's tempera fries topped with cheese, gravy and some seaweed flakes. You can also add chicken katsu for $1.50.  I like the tempera fries, but other than that it's just a normal poutine with a hint of eastern flavours?  If you have never had Japoutine, I think it's worth trying, but i don't know if i would order it again, maybe at a different restaurant. The aroma of this dish is enticing though, well for most poutines it is haha.



Tonkatsu Udon $11 4/5

Since it's an UDON BAR, you can't leave this place without a taste of its handmade udon.. I tried the Tonkatsu Udon, Tonkatsu (According to my aunt, who speaks fluent Japanese) is a broth made out of chicken bones. I expected it to be rich and creamy, and I was 100% right, I like how this soup base isn't overly salty, and the two slices of chashu are solid 5/5, tender, juicy, and full of flavours. But it's udon didn't surprise me, it wasn't chewy enough, I didn't like the texture.


Philadelphia Roll $6.8 4/5

I'm sure everyone knows what philly rolls taste like. (hint: cream cheese) It's like an above average sushi roll but for its price I think it should be better and more gourmet?


Mochi Ice Cream (mango,green tea & black sesame) $5.20 4.5/5

I love love love mochi, so if you like sticky rice, sticky pastries, Ice cream or well, mochi then you will definitely like this dessert. However, I don't know if this is handmade, according to some other foodies, you can get these from T&T, therefore I thought it was kind of a ripoff. But other than that, the mochi ice cream balls taste amazing.


Overall Experience:
I thought the servers were kind of rude when we first came in, but they turned super nice at the end, (weird...).  I heard that some of their soup bases don't taste good, so maybe I will just stick to it's rich and creamy soup bases next time. (wait for my revisit post!)
P.S: Their plating was super nice, I didn't need to try really hard to take nice pictures.