My partner and I discovered this place way back when it first opened. We didn't know there was a restaurant inside until we were curious and peeked through a tiny glass window.
Our first experience was memorable because it was our first time having Jap Tapas. The owner and their staffs were very good looking and the atmosphere was unique. For the past few yrs, I order pretty much the same thing such as Saba fish where the server torch the fresh fish in front of you. I also enjoyed their stone bowl rice.
But lately, I realize that experience has changed. After they have expanded, they've changed their menu and the place became too packed for comfort. Their food is good but that's because it's salty. And their sushi rolls are small and tasteless. I think this place works well with groups of people who love to drink. Because after you drink, anything tastes good! And their food is salty so it goes well with beer. I want to comment on the service. I think the server have too much on their hands. My server had to take care of 5 tables, 2 large group and 3 couple. She was busy running around that she barely gave us any attention.

I moved to Coquitlam not long ago and I'm always craving for sushi. The problem is, there are sooo many sushi places to choose from. I hate eating bad sushi so I always end up going to the ones inside the mall. One day, I decided to be a lil adventurous and starting searching for some good ones on dinehere. I narrowed it down to this one, Osamu. It was a lil tricky to find but it was worth it. This restaurant had a bar atmosphere to it because of the tv, stools and booths. I didn't mind; I thought it was unique.
When I looked at the menu, boy, it was super expensive! But the taste and freshness made up for it. Their nigiri's are $2.50+. I don't normally pay more than $1.50-1.75 at other places. Their specialty rolls are to die for.
I tried the trio taster (the one w/ volcano roll, etc) which was a real treat. Super yummy!

This is the place to be if you want great and fresh sushi. There is no where else.

I normally go to Top Cantonese or Prince Restaurant so I never know what's better or worse out there.
I was at Golden Phoenix awhile ago and it was a good experience. We got our table and tea almost immediately. After that, the food kept on rolling in. Some ppl might find the servers (the ones holding the dimsum on the tray) abit pushy but they're just doing their job. All of them were friendly. If you go no or no thank you, they'll just walk away. Surprisingly, I find most of them polite! If you need something, simply ask and they'll grab it for you. If you order something and the dimsum takes too long, they'll go, "the chef is making it fresh, just few more mins." I found that a nice touch.
The dimsum tasted above average and they were huge which I like. Between the 4 of us, we ate a bunch of stuff and it was less than $15 inc/ tips! It's a clean restaurant too.

I had coupons for this place so I got to check it out twice. I don't normally hang around in downtown but I wanted to give this place a try. I love waffles so it's a good opportunity to see what they have to offer.

I've tried their veggie, tiramisu, strawberry flavored milk & blueberry yoggy milk. Their veggie was yummy but abit expensive @ $7. I love their tiramisu especially if you like dessert. The strawberry was ok. And their blueberry was yummy and not too tangy like the actual yogurt cup.

Overall, this is a cute place. Yes, it feels abit foggy or stuffy but after 5 mins, you don't even notice it.

I bought a coupon online awhile ago and I think it was time to use it. I had to go out of my way to go to Yaletown. I don't normally hang in Yaletown but I wanted to give this sandwich shop a try.
First thing first, the menu was very hard to understand. You have to know what you want or you'll be standing there dumbfounded for hours. The menu on their website was easier to read but it's my fault for being unprepared. I was standing outside looking the menu and a friendly guy greeted me. I stepped in and looked at the menu inside, I still had trouble understanding what's going on. I remember reading "triple decker" on the sidewalk menu so I decided on that and a small hot chocolate to go. In my head, triple decker has 3 slices of bread, tons of ham, tomatoes, lettuce and bacon. I was looking forward eating it at home. When the sandwich was done, I took a quick peek inside the take-out box. OMG, I kinda laughed a lil inside, it was as flat as a pancake! It looked like grilled cheese with bacon. WTH, it had no meat! I was in total shock that I walked away without saying a word. I can't believe it. If it wasn't for the coupon, I would've paid more than $12! I've never had such expensive sandwich in my life! The sandwich was so ridiculously small that I finished it before I head home. Ok, the sandwich was GOOD because it had cheese and bacon but c'mon, I feel so ripped off. On my last bite, I found out that the sandwich had 3 slices of bread! Ooooohhhh.
So anyways, I went on their website again and found out that their triple decker is actually 3 slices of bread, 2 types of cheese & bacon. Sigh, don't call it a decker when there's practically NOTHING inside.

I'm never going there again.

I was really excited when I saw a new cafe being opened. I wonder what they serve? They must sell lots of varieties or else they wouldn't call it Everything, right? Um...
On their grand opening week, I walked by this place a few times and peeked at their board menu. Wow, so Typical. Just coffee, some sandwiches and soup. They should call it Typical Cafe.
So finally, one day I gave in. I should try this place before making any negative judgements. After work, I decided to grab a snack. I wanted some fresh and yummy sandwich cuz I'm sick of the other coffee shop's weeks-old panini. I was craving for something cheesy that day so I ordered Grilled Cheese. Nothing could go wrong w/ cheese. The guy that was working that day was very friendly. He greeted me immediately when I stepped in. I made my order, paid and sat down w/ a newspaper. The food took a long time. I heard that they don't have a kitchen cuz they don't have a vent. So strange.
When the food arrived, I almost laughed. I paid $8 for a dinky size sandwich. It barely had any fillings inside. I wanted lots of cheese and I wanted it grilled w/ butter. But it was toasted! I may be wrong but it looked like it. I felt so ripped off. The taste was ok; they used Carlsberg cheese. I don't know what that is but it taste like regular white cheese to me. I personally prefer cheddar cheese. The thing is, even if the sandwich is their own creation and it's ok to use different ingredients, but it didn't satisfy my craving.
I might go again to try their soups. I think they deserve a second chance.

I'm a big Shao Long Bao fan. I saw Bob Blumer in the Food Network learning how to make them from the chef @ Lin's. I thought to myself, I gotta try this place! I've read their reviews and I heard that they've won a few awards. Mmm can't wait!
I decided to take my lovely family to try this place out. Parking here was kind of awkward because they're located in such a busy street. The meter parking nearby was obviously full. We had to park several blocks away. Knowing Vancouver, it rains all the time so it wasn't very convenient for us.
I made reservations at least 3hrs ahead for the 6 of us. When we got there, they didn't have our name in their book! The restaurant was practically packed! Good thing that there was this one table left for us to take.
We love to eat so we ordered a bunch of stuff such as shao long bao (obviously), green onion pancake wrapped w/ beef, Shanghai noodles, tan tan noodles, dow meew veggies, etc. Ok, the shao long bao was a disappointment. Yes, the skin is thin, I don't care. I care about the insides. Yes, it was juicy but not delicious. Overall, it was average. My fave is the one at Great Wall.
Within minutes, the restaurant was packed to the max. The restaurant didn't provide a comfortable setting. Everybody is crammed together. I couldn't walk to the washroom without tipping someone's chair. I think they had too many ppl in the restaurant; it is definitely a fire hazard.
As for service, there wasn't much cuz they were so busy! It's obviously that they are understaffed. It seemed like they just opened not long ago and don't know how many staffs are needed for one night. This place definitely can afford an extra staff.
Overall, an ok place. I wouldn't go here again though. It's so crammed and the food was average.

This is the sister location of the one on Willingdon/Moscrop. I used to go there a lot cuz my partner love their food. Eg- eggplant w/ rice, taiwanese sausage w/ rice & spicy beef noodle.
When I found out about this new place on Main, I decided to give them a try. Boy, was it a disappointment.
I ordered green milk tea and it was tasteless. I like the taste of rich green tea flavor. It felt like I was just drinking diluted coffee mate. I also had the spicy wonton; it wasn't tasty at all. I didn't enjoy my time there.
Will not go again.

I was just shopping at Kin's Market when I noticed this cute cupcake shop next door. Even though I'm not too fond of extremely sweet icing, I decided to give this place a try. I like to support the smaller, non-corporate guys. What caught my eye was that they claim that they use all natural ingredients.
I bought the double chocolate cupcake for $2. It's chocolate cupcake w/ chocolate icing. Surprisingly, when I took the first bite, I was impressed! It was not as sweet as a thought. It was probably 50% less sweet! The cupcake top was abit crispy/chewy, mmm I love that! The icing was not grainy (like white sugar), it was actually creamy!
Mmmm! I'll definitely buy some more for my love ones!

Well...what do you expect? Sushi should never be dirt cheap or else they'll taste like dirt. That's what happened. Their sashimi was small and not fresh. Their sushi was nasty. I don't expect 5 star food but at least make it edible. After my visit, I'm scared of this place. I will never come here again.