Kaya Malay Bistro

Yesterday night, Mamallama and Baby-Paca came to UBC to hear me perform songs from around the world at UBC’s choir concert. We were hungry after the performance, so I pulled up Zomato and searched up restaurants that were relatively close by. After scrolling through a few pages, I came across Kaya Malay Bistro which had a pretty high rating, so we decided to give them a try.

The bistro was quaint and a little dark. There were only another party besides us when we arrived at 8:30 on a Wednesday night (they close at 10). After we perused the menu for awhile, we decided on the softshell crab, roti canai, satay skewers, calamari and Singapore laksa. Shortly after our waitress put order in, I remembered that Mamallama doesn’t eat rice vermicelli, so instead of having 4 appetizers and 1 entree, I decided to swap out the calamari for pad Thai. Our waitress informed us that the kitchen was already making it, but she kindly told me that it wouldn’t be a problem.

The crispy softshell crab ($11) was sauteed with fresh onions, garlic and shallot, chili and Indian black peppercorn. It was absolutely delicious. It had such a fragrant salty peppery taste, yet the crab flavour was not lost, it was actually quite bold even. It was only mildly spicy so Mamallama was able to enjoy it without a problem.

The roti canai ($7) was alright. It had a crispy exterior and it wasn’t greasy, but it could’ve been a little more flaky. The curry sauce it was served with didn’t compliment the roti canai very well, it was watered down and a little too sweet for our preference. Baby-Paca and I thought the roti canai tasted better with the peanut dip that came with the satay skewers.

The satay skewers were $1.75 per skewer with a minimum order of 6. We decided to get 2 each of the beef, chicken and lamb. They were all tender and had a wonderful charred flavour. If I had to rank them, lamb would come first, then chicken, and beef. I highly recommend the lamb. It was perfectly seasoned and the flavours went impeccably with that of the peanut sauce. And while the menu advertised that the peanut dip was spicy, the heat was missing, but we didn’t mind at all.

The Singapore laksa ($12) came topped with shrimp, fish cake, chicken, half an egg and bean sprouts. The coconut broth could’ve been creamier and it tasted overwhelmingly of dried shrimp, which made the entire bowl of rice vermicelli a little too fishy for me and Baby-Paca’s taste. It wasn’t awful, but I don’t like the flavour of dried shrimp, so it was literally all I could taste. I finished my small bowl, but I wouldn’t order it again.

The pad Thai ($12) was great. The rice noodles were stir fried with an ample amount of shrimp, firm tofu, bell peppers, bean sprouts and egg. A lime wedge and crushed peanuts were served on the side of the plate. It was neither too wet, nor too dry, it was stir fried with the perfect amount of sauce, which had a good balance of tamarind, fish sauce, and tomato-y goodness.

What we ordered was enough to pack for lunch the next day, granted that we just had noodles left. The soft shell crab and lamb skewers were just exquisite. It’s nice to have found a nice Malaysian bistro as my family rarely ever goes for Malaysian food.

KAYA MALAY BISTRO
+1 604 730 9963
Fairview
1063 West Broadway, Vancouver

Earnest Ice Cream

The first time I tasted the magic that is Earnest was actually during Dine Out at Edible Canada. The whiskey hazelnut ice cream was served alongside some dessert (I forget), I instantly fell in love. I don’t actually like whiskey as it reminds me of my first experience with alcohol. I have to admit that poor judgements were made that day and I’m still reluctant about picking up a glass, but Earnest had managed to reinvent whiskey into something appealing to me. They turned me into a believer. The ice cream was incredibly rich, creamy and smooth, not the least bit icy or frothy. Besides having a delicious flavour that had just the right amount of alcohol, it was chocked full of whole hazelnuts to munch on. They definitely don’t skimp out on ingredients. Whiskey hazelnut remains one of my favourite flavours.

On this particular visit, Mamallama, Baby-Paca and I had just finished dinner nearby, our meal wasn’t particularly satisfying so we wanted dessert to compensate. Paying tribute to my Canadian roots, I got the maple walnut along with another one of my favourites, london fog ($5 for a single, $7 for a double). The maple walnut had a strong maple flavour and had chunks of walnut in it. It was good, but not as good and got a little sweet at around the halfway point. The london fog captures the lovely flavour of earl grey and you can see flecks of what appears to be tea leaves in the ice cream. It tasted strong yet not too sweet.

Baby-Paca and I had a short phase where we were obsessed with all things salted caramel, and during this phase we tasted the salted caramel ice cream at Earnest. The salted caramel flavour was too sweet and overwhelming for my liking. It was yummy in very small doses, but a whole scoop of it was just too intense. These were just my thoughts though, I think Baby-Paca enjoyed it.

Earnest uses fine quality ingredients, and they churn out ice cream that’s consistently delicious, though I think because they make their ice cream in batches, Baby-Paca and I have noticed that consistency fluctuates a tiny bit. Sometimes flavours are just a taaaaaad stronger or weaker than on other days, but the difference is very minimal. They’re on the pricier side, but their ice cream really is “seriously good.”

*Side note. I do have to mention that the staff that served us that day didn’t seem the friendliest or most approachable. I could feel myself being silently or maybe not so silently judged by the staff as I took photos of my ice cream for my blog. I don’t know. They just kept looking my way and leaning in quietly to chatter among themselves. Yes, I know how ridiculous I look. Lol

EARNEST ICE CRAM
+1 778 379 0697
Mount Pleasant
1829 Quebec Street, Vancouver

Fondway Cafe

This past week, I was fortunate enough to have been invited to Fondway Cafe’s exclusive media and industry launch event. It was an exciting night of wonderful food and amazing service.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary event, I did not receive any monetary compensation or bribes to write. All content is purely based on my own thoughts and personal experience.

Fondway Cafe is conveniently located just a few steps away from the Metrotown Skytrain, making it easily accessible. The interior was thoughtfully designed. It’s a meeting of the vintage and modern. I love the bright, open, spaciousness, along with the artistic, hipster vibe. I also have to mention that I’m quite fond of the cafe’s name. Shall we go away and create some fond memories at Fondway?

Once I entered the cafe, I was greeted by the friendly and helpful staff, the whimsical chatter of my foodie friends, and plethora of delicious looking food (over 20 signature items) spread across the table.

I was immediately drawn to the Belgium liege waffle. The waffle wasn’t crisp on the surface, but it was nicely dense and chewy. The flavour was great, and I love the bits of pearl sugar that adorned the waffle.

Besides the liege waffle, they also offer a waffle pork sandwich. I love the substitution of waffle for bread, it adds a touch of indulgence to the otherwise light tasting sandwich. The ingredients inside included, lettuce, cucumber and shredded pork.

Going along with the waffles, they also had this cute little bite sized appetizer on the table. It was a mini waffle with a light Taiwanese tuna salad scooped on top. It was a cute and yummy snack.

Fondway offered us a variety of crustless sandwiches. I tried the Taiwanese pumpkin crab. I thought it sounded like an odd combo, but it worked. The imitation crab meat was mixed in a light mayo, and the flavours went well with the creamy sweetness of pumpkin.

Halfway through the event, the staff began taking out desserts. They looked so delicious, but I was already getting full. The portions were big and I did not want to take a bite and waste the rest. Nevertheless, I wanted to taste everything.  Luckily for me, I met some like minded foodies that were more than willing to share. There was chocolate cake, caramel earl grey, red bean matcha, fruit cake, and cheesecake to choose from.

We had our eyes on the caramel earl grey cake. The cake was airy and spongy. It reminded me of those cake rolls I’d find at typical Chinese bakeries. The caramel flavour was most prominent at the top of the cake where the caramel drizzle was. It was a light treat, not too sweet, but I would’ve preferred if it had a stronger earl grey taste.

Next, we tried the concentrated chocolate cake. The chocolate cake had the same spongy roll cake texture to it. The chocolate cake was more true to its flavour than the one preceding it.

The cheesecake had a layer of caramelized sugar torched on the surface. The texture was between dense and fluffy. It wasn’t too sweet or heavy.

The apple crumble pie was tasty. The sweet crumble graced the bed of fragrant apples that sit on top of the thin pie crust.

The caramel nut tart was also good. It had a variety of nuts in it, and it tasted a lot like nut brittle on a pie crust.

There were little jars of creme caramel that we got to take home with our full stomaches. The syrup at the bottom was runny, but the custard pudding was smooth and full of eggy flavour.

Towards the end of the night, we were given takeout boxes to take home whatever we wanted. I took home the multi-grain croissant chicken along with another sandwich I hadn’t tried as well as a liege waffle. Some people had packed 3 boxes. Honestly, I wanted to pack home everything, but I didn’t want to appear to be the fatass that I am… *ahem. Lol. I had put the croissant in the oven the following day so it was nice and crisp on the surface. There were lots of good things in the sandwich; lettuce, chicken, egg, tomato, mushroom etc. with a thin layer of savoury pesto. I gave Baby-Paca the rest of the items I packed home so I can’t comment on the sandwich, but she liked it.

I also got to try a variety of their drinks. My favourites included their grass jelly milk tea, which had a nice, strong, concentrated tea flavour, milky and smooth  and their organic grapefruit tea, which was refreshing and appetizing. Neither were too sweet. Another drink that stood out for me was the nitrogen coffee which was infused with soda fruit juice, The soda fruit juice adds a bit of sourness to the coffee and makes it more light and refreshing, but it’s definitely an acquired taste that I’m certain not everyone will enjoy.

I was so preoccupied with tasting the variety of offerings in front of me that I neglected my photography. I totally regret not getting more shots. Fondway had soups and salads for tasting as well, but I did not get around to trying everything as I was already full to the brim, but from what I hear, the clam chowder was pretty good for a Taiwanese inspired cafe. I guess that just means I have to give them another visit sometime!

In short, Fondway really spoiled us that night.The food I was fortunate enough to try tasted simple, fresh, light and considerably healthy. After indulging myself all night, I actually didn’t feel all that guilty!

Today was Fondway’s official grand opening, so go and give them a visit if you haven’t already!

 

FONDWAY CAFE
+1 604 283 6997
Central Burnaby
4462 Beresford Street, Burnaby, Metro Vancouver

Thomas Haas

Thomas Haas has been on my list of dessert places to visit ever since  I’ve tasted the crispy chocolate raspberry cake at a wedding, I instantly fell in love. Mamallama, Baby-Paca and I were supposed to go on my birthday 2 years ago, but to my dismay, due to their short hours of operation and far off location, we never ended up going. After all this time, I finally gave them a visit, except it wasn’t to celebrate my birthday, but Baby-Paca’s instead.

My eyes practically gleamed at the sight of the beautiful cakes glistening in the display. Mamallama and I arrived about an hour before closing, so there weren’t very many whole cakes left for us to choose from. Nevertheless, I still had a tough time deciding on a cake for Baby-Paca.

I ended up picking out the 10-12 serving almond mascarpone ($44). Needless to say, Baby-Paca loved it. The cake was topped with an entire thin sheet of high quality dark chocolate. The cake consisted of layers of light mascarpone cream, soft almond cake with amaretto and espresso. The almond flavour was very prominent, but it did not mask the flavours of the amaretto or expresso. The flavours were well balanced, with just a touch of sweetness. My only issue is that there seems to be finely grinded up pieces of nuts mixed into the cake, which makes for a slightly gritty texture. I would’ve preferred it smooth.

Besides the almond mascarpone, we also bought 4 cakes by the slice. I mean, how can I possibly pass up on this opportunity?! The individual cakes are $5.90 each.

Hazelnut praline: The hazelnut mousseline comprised of layers of vanilla cake, crispy wafers, hazelnut dacquoise, thin dark chocolate ganache and a hint of rum. The coating on top has a nice gooey texture, like caramel. The mousse was smooth and moist, the wafer provided a fun crunch, and the vanilla cake was firm and dry, but not in an unpleasant way. In fact, all the textural components and flavours came together to create the masterpiece that it is.

Crispy chocolate raspberry: This cake encompasses dark Manjari chocolate-raspberry mousse, light vanilla Bavarian, chocolate sacher cake and crispy hazelnut wafer. The flavours of raspberry and chocolate were a perfect marriage. Neither outshined the other. The fresh tartness of the raspberry complimented the bittersweetness of the dark chocolate. I just wish that the individual cake was coated in ganache like their whole cake instead of dusted in cocoa powder. It really makes difference.

Exotic cheesecake: This light cheesecake combines flavours of fresh passion fruit, mango and orange zest. The cheesecake was super smooth and creamy and had a classic graham base. The invigorating taste of passion fruit and juicy tropical taste of mango really compliments this piece of art. However, I didn’t like the coconut finishing. It does add a more exotic touch to the cake, but I’m just not big on dried coconut flakes.

Passion fruit milk chocolate: Light milk chocolate mousse, refreshing passion fruit cream, crispy hazelnut wafer & soft almond cake. This cake looks more modest than the others, but it definitely delivers in flavour. The components of this cake is similar to crispy chocolate raspberry, except this one is slightly sweeter. And again, the crispy wafer just provides a nice contrast to the smooth textures of the mousse. The passion fruit was delectable, neither overpowering or artificial. Flavour wise, I think I actually prefer the passion fruit over raspberry, but I may just be biased because I love passion fruit flavour desserts.

All the cakes I’ve tried from Thomas Haas were delicious. They’re balanced, delicate, and intricately crafted. Nothing is heavy nor too sweet. This may actually be a problem for me because it’s so easy to over indulge on these fine, scrumptious treats. They’re just that good.

THOMAS HAAS
+1 604 736 1848
Kitsilano
2539 West Broadway, Vancouver

Wu Fung Dessert

Wu Fung Dessert is a Canton style, food stall in Aberdeen Centre. I don’t know why it’s called Wu Fung Dessert when they don’t specialize in desserts, they sell an assortment of Hong Kong style street food. The girls and I wanted to grab something quick to eat before our drunk costume Karaoke party at Millennium K on Halloween (Honestly, we just threw together a costume last minute for the free shots), Aberdeen was just a few blocks away, so we decided to eat at the food court. Whenever it’s cold, I just want to slurp down something hot and soupy that’ll give me that warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy. I wandered around the food court, checked out every stall and decided on noodles at Wu Fung. Their most popular items are actually their chicken wings and deep fried squid. Mamallama, Baby-Paca and I usually get them whenever we visit Aberdeen, but we haven’t had them in the recent year after their price increase, decrease in portion size and decline in quality. They’re not the same anymore, but now that I’m talking about it, I kind of miss them. Maybe I’m just hungry right now. Their fried full wings were fall off the bone, crispy, plump and juicy. They’re battered just right, and not too oily. Their fried squid’s done just as good, but I’m biased toward wings. They’re not as delicious as they used to be, but they’re still pretty good.

This is my first time trying their a-la-cart noodles (車仔麵). You get to pick the type of noodle you want and which toppings you’d like from their assortment. For 2 items it’s $5.75, for 3 it’s $6.75 and for 4 it’s $7.75. I got the thick rice noodle(?) (瀨粉) with 3 toppings; curry fishballs, beef brisket and honey comb tripe. It was difficult choosing my toppings as there were a variety of enticing items I could’ve picked. The noodles were al dente. The broth was tasty and didn’t scream MSG, it wasn’t overly salty nor underwhelming. They were pretty generous with the toppings as well. The fish balls were bouncy and had a lovely curry flavour, though I had to eat them first before all the curry bled into my soup. The honey comb tripe was not too chewy, well cooked and well braised. The beef brisket was cooked just right, super tender without any chewiness and had a nice fattiness to them. These were well braised as well and had a great meaty flavour. They also threw in a few stems of gai lan in there so I didn’t feel guilty about not having any veggies, which was totally a bonus in my books.

I don’t usually gravitate towards Canton food, but this time, I’m glad I did. Their noodles were yummy and affordable. I will probably be visiting Wu Fung a lot more often now that I’ve found a new love. Maybe my love for their wings and fried squid will rekindle as well.

WU FUNG DESSERT
+1 778 233 0167
Central Richmond
Aberdeen Centre, 3220-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond

Cheesecake, Etc.

No dinner is complete without dessert, and no birthday is complete without cake, so naturally, after the girls and I finished up dinner at Suika, we set foot into the pouring rain and marched forth to Cheesecake, Etc.

Cheesecake, Etc. has a very romantic and antique-y atmosphere. It’s dimly lit and accented with red candle light. Occasionally, the owner can be found serenading the guests on the piano. On the other hand, service here is quite atrocious, it’s difficult to get anyone’s attention. Sometimes the staff take forever to even come by your table to take your order and forever to get the cake to you considering everything is premade. Their menu selection is small, but I usually always order the original with strawberry sauce anyway. I’ve tried other flavours, but none of them compared to the original.

A plain slice of cake is $5 plus but can range to $7 depending on the sauce. Their cheesecakes here do not have a crust, so don’t be expecting that graham goodness that most cheesecakes are constituted of. My original was light, soft, creamy, smooth and full of cheesecake flavour. Think more mousse and less New York cheesecake. If you like your cheesecakes dense, Cheesecake, Etc. is not for you. Both the whip and the strawberry sauce is homemade. It’s fresh and not too sweet. I love the chunks of strawberries in the sauce. Though it’s good, I must say that it’s undeniably overpriced.

We were all stuffed to the brim and were in a state of food coma after clearing our plates. KitKat, being the kind soul that she is, offered to drive us home. Needless to say, it was a heavy load and it probably took a lot more gas than usual to get us all to our destinations.

CHEESECAKE, ETC.
+1 604 734 7704
Fairview
Granville Street, Vancouver

Suika

It was Maweiner’s birthday, and I was invited to dinner with the girls at Suika. Maweiner had made reservations at 7. It was a Wednesday that day, so I had the entire day to spare before dinner. I went to see my optometrist as I’ve been dealing with deteriorating vision due to some scratches on the surface of my eyeballs. Things appear blurry to me at times and I’m not to be wearing contacts. This has had an impact on my self esteem as I don’t especially like the way I look in glasses. As a result, I have mostly been going makeup free and dressing scrubbed for almost as long as since the beginning of the semester, because hey, if I can’t look nice anyway, I’m gonna go all out in comfort. Lol. Luckily, this should only be temporary. I’ve been prescribed steroid eye drops to speed the healing process. My bae KitKat had offered to drive me to the restaurant so I made my way to her after my appointment. KitKat and I were the first to arrive, we were greeted and seated immediately. It was just a few days before Halloween so they had creepy decor up. I couldn’t stop staring at the massive spider and web on the otherwise beautiful ceiling decor lights made of alcohol(?) bottles.

Maweiner and the girls decided to give the honor of ordering up to KitKat and I since we’re notorious for being huge piggies, *ahem, I mean foodies. They trust our judgement. KitKat pulled out her iphone 6s and typed out a list of items as we went through the menu. Our huge list included tuna tataki, yellowtail carpaccio, mapo rice cakes, negitoro tartar, 2 aburi toro battera, 2 beef tatakis, tako karaage, chicken karaage, oxtail ramen, 2 asari yaki udons, uni sashimi and kakuni bibimbap (which I will not talk about because I couldn’t get a photo of it before KitKat gave our server the go ahead to mix it, but I assure you it was delicious). But first things first, we ordered drinks. Most of us got the suika mojito. It was refreshingly minty and tasted of real watermelon. Jan tried a sip of Maweiner’s mojito and said it tasted kind of like toothpaste. Then I began to taste the toothpaste. Must be the fresh mint. Nevertheless, it was still good. Our dinner items arrived shortly after our drinks.

Lightly smoked tuna tataki ($6.80): There were 5 pieces of tuna tataki which all had a nice and even sear. Unfortunately, there were 6 of us, so 2 generous souls had to share their already small yet delicious morsel of tataki. It was served with a homemade chili oil and topped with some scallions, onions and sprouts. While it looks like a lot of chili oil, I didn’t think it was spicy at all.

Aburi yellowtail carpaccio ($9.20): This is the dish that I dream about when I think of Suika. It was also my favourite plate of the night. This thinly sliced flame torched yellowtail has hints of parmesan cheese. Sounds like a weird combo, but it’s scrumptious. it was served with a sesame soy dressing, lightly drizzled with mayonnaise, and topped with onions and sprouts. It was fresh, flavourful and rich tasting. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the combined flavours creates this smoky taste that’s just tantalizing. I thought this plate tasted smokier than the lightly smoked tuna tataki. I also love how their onions didn’t have that potent overbearing raw onion taste. They probably soaked them in water to make them less overwhelming, I didn’t even taste it on my breath afterwards, definitely a plus. Sadly enough, this only had 5 pieces as well, but obviously, I wasn’t the one who shared her piece. Hahahh

Negitoro tartar ($6.20): The marinated tuna and green onion was mixed in a light tasting kimchi sauce and was served with 4 little slices of garlic butter toast. The tartar wasn’t spicy, it was slightly tangy, but mostly savoury. The baguette toasties provided a nice crunch in contrast to the tuna and the buttery garlic flavours blended harmoniously with that of the tartar.

Uni sashimi: Pieces of seaweed was served on the side for us to wrap the uni in. I don’t like uni so we intentionally ordered 5 pieces. Judging by the faces of my friends, I think it was pretty good. KitKat said it was fresh and sweet without any hints of fishiness.

Aburi toro battera ($12.80): Finally a dish that came in 6 pieces. Funny thing is, Maweiner thought the last piece was a leftover because it’s been sitting at the table for some time. I took my time taking pictures and I’m a naturally slow eater, so I don’t blame her. It was an honest mistake. I noticed literally a second after she had finished chewing. We laughed and ordered another plate for our second round since the girls liked the sushi and wanted more anyway. I just made sure I took my piece first the second time around. This lightly flame seared fatty tuna sushi was pressed with avocado and shiso and was topped with homemade soy dressing and seaweed sauce. There was a nice fish to rice ratio. Texture-wise, I thought it was a tad too mushy. I thought the sushi tasted predominately of the seaweed sauce, which I wasn’t a fan of. Or maybe I just paid extra attention to it because it didn’t float my boat. I probably would’ve liked this more if it had a charred flavour from the sear.

Mapo rice cake ($4.80): The fried rice cakes had a light and crispy exterior and a soft and chewy interior. The mapo sauce had little bits of ground meat and a fragrant chili oil scent without any spiciness.

Asari yaki udon ($9.80): This was the dish that Jan said she was craving and that we must order when she sat down. The udon was pan fried with manila clams and citron pepper and topped with shredded nori. The noodles were bouncy and pleasantly chewy and were thinly coated with just enough savoury, buttery sauce.

Tako karaage ($8.80): This was probably my least favourite dish of the night. The menu description says that the octopus was marinated in plum and perilla, fried with a coating of egg white then topped with scallions and sesame oil, however, I didn’t really taste any of that. It was fried well and the tako wasn’t chewy, but I felt like it was a little bland and dry.

Beef tataki: The thin slices of lightly seared beef were tender and the tang of the ponzu sauce was appetizing. While it was good, it didn’t leave a very lasting impression as we had forgotten what it tasted like and ended up ordering a second dish to remind ourselves.

Chicken karaage ($8.80): These deep fried pieces of chicken were big, plump and juicy with a crispy exterior. It was served with a plate of Japanese salt and pepper on the side. The palate was simple and well executed.

Tokyo oxtail ramen ($9.80): The noodles were served in a soy based broth and topped with dried fish powder and scallions. There was only like one piece of their slowly braised oxtail and no one bothered to break it apart, granted that it was a big piece, so KitKat had it to herself. I had salvaged a tiny sliver of free floating meat, it was so small that I couldn’t really taste it, but it was tender nevertheless. The ramen had a nice QQ texture and the broth was neither underwhelming nor too salty.

Overall, Suika is on the pricier side for such small portions, but I think the quality and taste is worth it. On the bright side though, small dishes mean we get to sample a variety. Our bill came down to around $33 per person before tips, which actually isn’t all that bad. Suika also offered us frozen grapes at the end of the meal to cleanse the palate before we happlly skipped off to dessert with our full bellies.

SUIKA
+1 604 730 1678
Fairview
1626 West Broadway, Vancouver

Cafe D’Lite Express

Cafe D’Lite is another popular food stand at the Aberdeen food court. Their most popular items are the Hainanese chicken rice and their laksa. Baby-Paca, Mamallama and I usually get the Hainanese chicken rice, but it was a cold, blustery day and we were in need of some soupy comfort that would warm us up from the inside out. We decided on the Hainanese chicken laksa ($8.25). I was not a fan of laksa previously, but it may largely be due to the fact that I’ve never had good laksa. So I got adventurous and decided to test if my taste has changed.

I’m slightly appalled and reluctant about eating anything that has a film of oil floating on top, but I’m glad I tried it because the coconut curry broth was creamy, fragrant and flavourful. I was expecting it to be spicy, considering the amount of chili oil floating around, but it was barely spicy at all. There were plenty of Hainanese chicken, a bunch of bean sprouts and a few tofu puffs. Their chicken were plump, juicy, tender morsels. The best part is that it’s boneless. But there’s been agreement that their Hainanese chicken used to be better, I find that they’ve recently lost some of its flavour. I was surprised to find rice vermicelli noodles at the bottom. Completely random, but it was a pleasant surprise because I didn’t really like the thick dense yellow noodles. They were kind of bland as the soup just kind of slipped off the strand of noodles. The flavour of the soup clung onto the rice vermicelli better.

The final verdict? This bowl of laksa was pretty decent, not amazing, but I think it sparked my interest. Now I’ll be off on the hunt for that perfect bowl of laksa.

CAFE D’LITE EXPRESS
+1 604 295 6603
Central Richmond
Aberdeen Centre, 3210-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond

Teppan Kitchen

Baby-Paca had put a pair of Nikes on hold at Richmond Centre. We decided to eat lunch at the Aberdeen after we picked up her pair of runners since we were in the area (Aberdeen food court beats RC food court big time). We always gravitate towards the same few stalls at the Aberdeen food court. Teppan Kitchen is one of them.

Our go-to order is the daily special ‘A’ grade beef teppan rice ($8.95 +$0.85 for cheese). The daily special comes with a complimentary miso soup and drink, but Mamallama wanted the 7up Ribena, which I think costed us an extra dollar. I picked up the teppan plate, sizzling hot. I had a few times where the plate wasn’t hot enough. I love the char on my meat, and the slightly burnt crispiness on the rice. If the plate isn’t hot enough, those elements disappear. Baby-Paca and I enjoyed this plate doused in their garlic butter soy sauce. The flavour was buttery and savoury. A little greasy, but we don’t mind it too much. There were plenty of thin beef slices, which were shear and tender. The rice was was topped with scallions and corn nibblets. I love how the corn were like little pockets of juiciness that pop when you bite into them. The cheese was a yummy addition, nicely melted and stringy. The miso soup was pretty standard, I liked that it wasn’t too salty. As for the drink, the Ribena concentrated black currant juice was mixed with 7up with a few slices of lemon. We poked at the lemons to achieve the desired level of sourness. It wasn’t too watered down or sweet.

The prices at Teppan Kichen are decent and so are the portions. The wait time is usually not too long, and I love how they have various sauces put out on the side for customers to abuse. Teppan Kitchen is a pretty good option if you are ever undecided on what to eat at Aberdeen.

TEPPAN KITCHEN
+1 604 295 6656
Central Richmond
Aberdeen Centre, 3250-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond