Hokkaido Ramen Santouka 山頭火

Back in the summer when I wasn't such a big foodie, I had no idea how famous Ramen Santouka is world wide. My first experience here was literally because I was attracted by the huge line ups and the window displays of the noodle bowls, and luckily a friend that was with me had been and she told me that it's worth the line up. So Ta-da, my ramen adventure had begun.

This review will be based on 2 visits!

First Experience:

Since I love creamy broths, I decided to order the Ikura combo with Shio Ramen,  Ikura Gohan (fish roe on rice) and half a boiled egg. (Since Santouka is always so busy, I never got the chance to remember the price, but it's in the range of $15-$16 4/5) I recommend getting a combo, it's a nice portion for guys that eat alot or for 2 girls to share.

However, the ramen was quite disappointing. I hated the broth, It was EXTREMELY salty, thus it overpowered all the good flavours that was suppose to come out. The noodle was mediocre, the 2 pieces of cha shu was the only good part, tender and well marinated. Thankfully, the rice bowl saved me, the fish roe was SO fresh and juicy, they mixed very well with the rice and the tamago strips. The boiled egg was just a soy marinated egg, I still prefer the oilier ones. 

Overall Experience (1):

I was honestly a little upset that day because I lined up for more than 45 minutes and it was not what I expected, not even close.  But I would still come back (which i did) to try out 1 or 2 more broths. They are famous for a reason, and I wanted to find out. 

I came back once again for 2 reasons, One to give Santouka another chance and Two, to bring a friend since he really wanted to try it. 

They just reopened recently so they are currently offering HALF PRICED GYOZAS ($2.98/5 pcs 4.5/5) till March.9th!  I had to order them, 5 pieces for under $3 is an amazing deal.  Their gyozas are always on point, skin is pan fried perfectly, and meat is juicy and flavourful! I would think they are a little too expensive if they weren't half priced, but nonetheless, try one if you've never ordered gyoza at Santouka before. 

Due to my love and obsession with milky and creamy broths, I still wanted to order Shio, but this time I learned my lesson. I asked for Shio Cha Shu Ramen and requested less salt. ($12.?5 4.5/5) 

I ordered cha shu because I remembered how good their cha shu slices were so naturally I wanted more! The broth is SO much better with less salt, I can actually drink the broth and enjoy its real flavours.  The noodles were cooked much better as well, chewy and al dente. 

Overall Experience (2):

I was so happy that I finally got to discover the magic of Santouka, and I'm eager to try more ramen joints for comparisons! The service was so much better as well, maybe it was just bad luck the first time I came! Since they just re opened less than a month ago, hurry up before the long line ups and full priced gyozas come back again!

Pho Capital

It was a lazy Friday and I was at school thinking about what to eat for lunch. But seriously, who wants to eat over priced cafeteria food (not to mention how awful they taste) every day? Since W and I both have a spare after lunch, we decided to drive out to north road and find a good place to eat. After many indecisive thoughts, my friend W suggested Pho Capital,  and I suddenly realized that I have been craving a Banh Mi for the longest time. Plus I normally don't go to pho places other than Pho Hong so I wanted to try something new. 

It's a nice family owned restaurant with quite a few booths and tables. The seatings were not crowded. However, it's located in a small court across from the large Korean North Road court, so it will be very hard to catch people's attention unless you live in the area. The people there were mostly office men and ladies near by. 

W and I decided to share a large pho and a Banh Mi (Viet Sub) and we were served by the owner's little daughter! (not child labour, she just helped to deliver food, cutest thing ever!)

We got their signature bowl, #15 eye round steak, well done brisket,fatty brisket/soft tendon/beef tripe ($8.40 3/5). 
I normally don't like beef briskets, tripes and tendons but since we were sharing and W likes them, I would just eat the slices of beef. The slices were served raw in boiling soup broth to ensure their tenderness. Which they were, but the broth and noodle portion could be more balanced. The noodles were cooked right, but the broth could have been more flavourful. It can be a good thing for some people since they add less amount of MSG, but I still think the broth is the heart of Pho, if we have to consume MSG anyway, why not make it a good experience? The large bowl was more expensive than Pho Hong's and their portion is a lot smaller too. Even though Pho Hong is going down hill, It will still be my #1 go to pho place.

Since I only came here for their Viet Subs, we ordered the grilled pork Banh Mi ($4.75 4.5/5) 

The baguette was toasted perfectly, and the pork was grilled and seasoned very well. Good portion, pepper could have been diced so the spicy flavours would even out, but unfortunately they were julienned (cut into stripes), and I ate a huge strip full of seeds (you can imagine how spicy it was...) But nonetheless, Craving Satisfied! I would definitely come back on school days to get a Banh Mi to go. 

Overall Experience:

Better than Pho 99 across the street, smaller but a lot quieter, Pho could obviously improve, but it's not a bad place to have a quick meal if you are in the area. Although the Banh mi could have had more ingredients added, but I didn't mind tasting the grilled pork alone since it was well seasoned. Overall, a decent lunch to have on a school day! 

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. 

Milk and Sugar Cafe

Found this little place near Joyce-Collingwood that serves all day breakfast, thick toasts, waffles, ice cream and a huge selection of bubble teas for CHEAP!  They even have $2 special bubble teas every week! And of course, Milk and Sugar is always packed with long lineups, so expect a (usually long) wait. If you want to quickly grab some bubble tea to go, try some where else!

I was first attracted by their waffles with fruits and Ice cream. ($4.00 + $0.50 for a scoop of ice cream 4.5/5) The portion is unbelievable with only $4.50! Waffles are handmade, served with fruits, condensed milk, classic maple syrup and a huge scoop of Ice cream of your choice.  Waffles were thick and chewy, the pieces were actually quite large due to their thickness, I couldn't finish it by myself, and I eat ALOT.  Waffles pair up well with almost any sweet or savoury ingredients, so as long as the waffles are on point, the whole thing would be mouth watering!

I then bumped in to my best friend again! (#meanttobe), we chatted for a while and decided to get a bubble tea to share. We got the Small Blueberry Cheesecake with pearls. ($4.00+$0.50 4.5/5) They use real ice cream to blend the drink, so it's basically a milk shake but with pearls! (double win!) Probably one of the best pure bubble tea I have ever had, I was going to order the $2 special but I didn't like the flavours this week (Mango Green Tea Vanilla?!...)


Overall Experience:

A renovation would be nice, this cafe is not like your typical western/hipster cafe, but more like a Chinese bubble tea joint. The seats are tightly arranged thus it's not super comfortable. But the value of their food beats every flaws. I highly recommend this place, and personally I would come back for their thick toasts and other ice cream bubble teas. Got my eye on sesame and Strawberry Cheesecake flavours already!

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. 

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

My parents asked me to to choose a fine dining restaurant prior to their 20th anniversary, and I really didn't know where to go. I know ... one of those foodie fail moments, but it was an important event so I didn't want to mess things up. Thankfully, my foodie friend Michael suggested us to go to Joe Fortes! and apparently if you live in Vancouver, you have to go to JF at least once since it's such a classic restaurant in town.

With high hopes, we arrived at Joe Fortes, and were instantly amazed by the restaurant vibe. A fine dining restaurant/cafe can't just make good food, if the atmosphere feels weird, then it's a major fail for them! In terms of Joe Fortes, the environment is still busy and lively, some what like Chambar's, but with an elegant feel to it. Loved the live piano by the way!

We were seated at a classy and some what isolated area with nice vintage decors and wine filled wall! (too cute!) It was the perfect area to celebrate an anniversary! and guess what appeared when we opened our menu?

When I made my reservation online, I told them that it's for my parents' anniversary, so they printed out our special menu! Such a simple yet sweet thing they did to enhance our dining experience!! (and good marketing strategy too!)

First off, We decided to order some appetizers to share!
*Forgot to take a photo of our complimentary bread, it was typical. The lobster oil + balsamic vinegar tasted quite unique though.

Fresh Oysters,  Left we had Gem from Read Island, ($2.60/each 3.5/5) and right, Kusshi from Baynes Sound ($3.60 3.5/5)  *Not a big fan of seafood, especially raw seafood, so they all tasted okay to me! My judgement here probably doesn't apply to most people! But thankfully, Joe Fortes offers Happy Hour with $1 oysters from 4-6pm EVERYDAY! If you are a big fan of oysters, I strongly encourage you to try the variety of oysters they offer!

Then we shared the daily trio of fresh fish. ($41.95 4.5/5)
The portion looked minimal, but it was actually quite filling. Since each of our entree was so huge, we could't even finish the mashed potato. Each fish/prawn was cooked perfectly, and paired up well with their sauces. I strongly recommend this dish! but it's prepared with different seafood daily, so I hope their other fishes are consistent!

I ordered the 10oz Flat Iron Steak with chimichurri, truffle parmesan fries and market vegetables. ($36.95 3.5/5) 

The veggies were undercooked in a good way, they were seasoned very well, and the truffle fries were amazing. (Must Order!) The steak was not as good as I expected. Prepared Medium Rare, the steak itself was juicy and flavourful, but most pieces had gristles and tendons attached and they were extremely hard to chew on. I had a hard time chewing and swallowing. My jaw was hurting... 

* Sorry for the blurry photos! We were starving so I couldn't take steady pictures of other people's food. 

My dad had the Manhattan Steak (8 oz.) bacon horseradish mashed potatoes, market vegetables ($37.95 4/5)

I had a piece of this steak, it was more tender than mine. But once again, hard to chew on due to the gristles and stuff. 

My aunt ordered the Fish & Chips pacific cod, classic tartar sauce, coleslaw. ($19.95 4/5)

Decent cod with huge pieces. But Pajo still make the best fish&chips in Vancouver! 

*My mom had the Arctic char (Chef's creation of the day, Market Price) and I couldn't take a photo since she was sitting across from me! (round tables make it harder to take pictures of food across from you.)

According to her, the fish was too dry and she didn't really like it.

*Sister had the $38 special, didn't sample any of her food!

DESSERT TIME! 

Our server brought us lava cake with a cute candle to celebrate my parents' anniversary! Common thing to do for restaurants, but it never gets old! plus who doesn't like free desserts?

Love the combination of vanilla ice cream and chocolate lava cake, but the inside of the cake was not gooey at all, there was no lava!! (Even I can make lava cake with lava!)
*Joey make the best ones out of all the lava cakes I've had!
-Not worth it unless it's free!

Pavlova ($9.50 4.5/5) crisp meringue, fresh fruit, lemon curd, cream 

Really liked this one! Sweet and Sour Sensation! (Alliteration eh?) I don't think guys will like it? Cause you know it's a girly dessert when there are pink marshmallow, pink meringue and pink berries... but you never know!

Oh, Actually I lied earlier, I did have some of my sister's $38 dinner set. But only a bite of her tiramisu and I gave up. It was too bitter and stiff... the plating was nice but that's pretty much it..

Lastly! Lets talk about this Bailey infused coffee...

Damnit.. It's not listed on the online menu, but I believe it was around $7?

One word Bitter! Two words add sugar! Not bad, but it was too ordinary...and for $7 I could get better ones at corner cafes.

Overall Experience:

-The food could obviously improve, they don't match the price listed (at least the ones that we ordered).
-Saw a lot of people ordering sea food tower on ice and platters, so I'm guessing these are their better dishes. Seafood>Steak
-Was still a pleasant experience with lots of sweet surprises.
-The atmosphere was so nice that we just didn't want to leave.
-The pavlova was simply amazing and I got my girly sweets fix!
-Equal pros and cons! I will be back during happy hour to visit their patio!

Chambar Restaurant (DOVF Stop #3)

Looks like my life only consists of school and food these days, I'm either at school, out eating, or studying at cafes.... Since Dine out is over, I'm sort of on a mini diet, so I won't be visiting a lot of restaurants, only occasionally with my parents or healthy ones. Meanwhile, I can start writing all those reviews that I haven't had time to work on.

On the second last day (Saturday too .__.) of this year's dine out fest, my friend and I called at least 10 restaurants but we failed to make any reservations... damn, It's true that every story starts with a reservation! or else you would have a hard time getting a table during dine out season... I've learned my lesson.. Fortunately, We eventually got a spot at Chambar, but tables are only available after 9:00pm. Oh well, better than nothing! We studied untill 8:40pm and headed straight to Chambar.

When we arrived, my friend and I immediately regretted not going home and change to a some what formal attire. I think people were giving us the awkward look since we were carrying heavy backpacks with textbooks...We both felt out of place.. Haha, this should give you an idea of the restaurant vibe. The atmosphere was lively and busy. Not the elegant type of fine dining, but more of a pub-like environment.

Since it was past 9pm when we seated. we decided to share one menu. ($38)

This Year's Dine Out Menu

I started off with a Lavendar Fizz (Mocktail $5.00 4.5/5)
Very refreshing from the sweet and sour taste with a hint of lavender flavour. Although the serving was kind of small, it was still a nice drink to start off with.

For appetizer, we got the COQUILLES ST. JACQUES A LA ‘BOB’ (5/5)
-Pan seared scallops, mint pea puree, tandoori papadum, pickled grapes.

Completely shocked by how tender the scallops were (not rubbery at all), perfectly cooked and paired nicely with the side ingredients, I could alone eat at least 10 of them.

For entree, we went for the CURRY D’OMBLE DE L’ARCTIQUE (4.5/5)
-Roasted arctic char, parsnip & miso curry, kale, sorrel, fresh pomegranate, pine nuts.

If you follow my blogposts or Instagram, you would know that I'm not a big fan of seafood, I was originally going to order the trio de porc, but my friend really wanted to try this dish, so I agreed.
The surface was crispy. and the Arctic char was once again, prepared and cooked perfectly. The miso curry was light but unique, combined well with the char. The nuts and pomegranates added an interesting taste to it, however I didn't like the veggies.

Lastly, dessert!

We were actually sick of cheesecake, and the other selection was cheese and crackers, so LA BARRE DE CHOCOLATE (3.5/5) was our only choice.

-Hazelnut praline chocolate mousse bar, sherry vinegar, burnt cinnamon milk foam. 

The chocolate was not overly sweet, but it didn't taste special to me. It was just a normal chocolate bar stuffed with some sourly fruity mousse and sided with whip cream. Good, but not good enough for a $38 menu dessert. 

Overall Experience:

My favourite type of fine dining, I don't need to be overly cautious with what I do. Very Satisfied, although the portions were minimal, but their appetizers and entrees blew my mind. Even if they are famous for mussels, their other dishes are still phenomenal. Everyone that visited also got a $10 coupon to use before 3pm everyday. I'm definitely going back to get some eggs benny and waffles. Sunday Brunch anyone?

The Old Spaghetti Factory Gastown (DOVF Stop #2)

TGIF! Sorry for being fashionably late! As I mentioned on my Instagram, it's midterm season and grade 12s are extremely sensitive during this period of the time with countless exams and university applications to complete. But thank goodness for these occasional food therapies to destress the pain!(by the way, the dates that I scheduled here are the actual dates of me visiting the restaurants not the dates that my reviews are posted!)

Well Well Well, The Old Spag; A classic, "home style" Italian chain restaurant in Canada. Known for it's pasta of course. When I first visited around 6 years ago, I was honestly not impressed by the quality of their food, and after that I didn't revisit until this new years eve. Since it was the second dinner of the night for my family and I, we didn't order a lot, but I enjoyed every dish. Not to mention the price of their food!  >>> Fast forward to Dine out 2015, I know that the Old Spag participates in DOVF every year, but I normally don't go to restaurants that carry $18 menus, but after Nando's I was quite satisfied! Always have faith in $18 menus, sometimes they even top $38 menus.

On a Thursday night studying at Starbucks, I bumped into my best friend and one of her peers, we instantly agreed to get dinner together. (I seriously love random food trips)  We all needed fuel so we can stress more! (lmao, uni students are probably thinking why high schoolers are so stressed) Anyways, long story short! we all wanted (more like needed) to pig out and the Old Spag was in the the area and it was dine out season so BINGO. We went to hunt down some good pastas!
(and we got to sit in the train! How cute!!! damn, girls are easily amused...)

We ordered 2 sets to share among 3 girls , and we were planning to order a flatbread as an addition, but little did we know, we were too full to even finish the desserts...

This year's Dine Out Menu

Yay for complimentary bread! I'm not a big fan of sourdough, but their garlic butter never disappoints!

For Appetizers we shared the good old caesar salad (4/5) and sweet potato (Yam) fries with chipotle mayo sauce (3.5/5). First of all! round of applause for the size of their portion! The caesar salad was really creamy and cheesy, if you like strong flavoured salads then you'd like this one! but again, there's nothing much to say about caesar, it's just a basic S (get it? it's like basic B but with S? okay I know It's 3 am in the morning, I'm not making sense...) Yam fries were nice and crispy,  I prefer thick yam fries, but for $18, It was good enough.

Okay, now on to dee pastas!

Pesto Linguine (3.5/5)
- homemade pesto sauce with fresh basil and pine nuts is mixed with a touch of cream and served over linguine noodles.

This one was too starchy, instead of smooth and creamy. I thought the noodle was going to be soaked in pesto sauce, but it was rather dry. However my bff really liked this one. Opinions do differ!

Penne with Chicken (5/5)
Tender pieces of chicken breast, penne noodles, mushrooms, peppers and fresh tomatoes tossed in a rich basil cream sauce.

Oh my, I don't even know where to start! The fact that I can still remember its flavours from a week ago as I'm writing this definitely means that this one's a keeper! The basil sauce was so rich and creamy, spices were strong but they hit my tastebuds in a very tender way. (did I just create a paradox?) My friend said this dish reminded her of bacon, and the chicken pieces apparently tasted like bacon as well?! haha, I guess they kinda did! Smoky, smooth, rich, creamy, tender,pasta cooked al dante, etc etc!! Too many good things were going on under its simple name!

Finally, every girl's favourite part of the meal! Dessert timeeee!

We were actually SO full when the dessert came,  and had to pack half of each slices home!

Ultimate Cheesecake (4/5)
 - New York Style Cheesecake, subtle vanilla flavours.

A very basic New York cheesecake, but it was still a cheesecake, so it had to be good!

Choca-block Torte (5/5) (LOL my friend had a hard time pronouncing the name, it was hilarious)
- A moist chocolate cake layer cradles milk chocolate ganache covered with a dense dark chocolate mousse.

This one was more unique than the cheesecake, It had a layer of sponge cake, a layer of mousse and a layer of brownie/ganache. I loved the difference of the densities, It was also very rich, but not too sweet. Some may argue that It is but I thought it was just right.

Overall Experience:

Very satisfied! I repeat! We shared 2 dine out menus among 3 people, so it was around $15 per person and we were stuffed!!! Their menu was SO worth, and it's still relatively cheap if you visit during the rest of the year. The service was great, the restaurant vibe was calm and warm. A great come back for a girl who used to dislike the restaurant!