leonard hVancouverThe Whole World is FamilySince May 30, 201110 Reviews
(3.2)- Food
(3.3) - Service
(3.2) - Value (3.2)
- Ambiance (2.9)
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(3.2) (3.3) (3.2) (3.2) (2.9)This is actually a very good restaurant, very popular with local Chinese, offering fresh and well-prepared food with typical Chinese quick, efficient and down-home (in the Chinese sense) service. You will not be asked HOW'S THE FAMILY? nor will there be cloying attempts to please and smiles all around, but the people who run this place, and the workers, are very good and sincere people. There was obviously a culture gap between the restaurant people and some of the reviewers on this website. Sometimes your server will not speak much English...give her a break, please. She's a nice person. Sometimes the owner may pitch in and unsmilingly plop your food down at your table then rush off...it's not that he doesn't like you; he's very busy. Don't take it personally, please! As for the food, this is my favourite place in Vancouver for "joke", or congee. It's a simple dish (not simple if you try to make perfect joke at home) which they have nailed. My only complaint about this place is that they sometimes have their "catch of the day" joke specials advertised on the wall in Chinese only, so if you don't read Chinese, you'll miss a real treat. Their Chinese donuts are sublime, a great accompaniment to the joke. The rest of the food is good, but go for the joke with a Chinese donut one morning, and you can thank me later.
There was not one clunker of all the food our party of four ordered, though the pita bread that came with it could have been fresher. The babaganoush was pleasantly smoky, the cheese dish quite good, the fish perfectly cooked, and my friends were happy with their meat and potatoes and veggie kebabs. My only complaint is that the acoustics and the table arrangement aren't great for a relaxing evening. It's a loud place, and we were pretty crowded together. It's a good atmosphere if you're in a festive mood, and I think very good if you're young, which I'm not. I think you'll like it here.
We went there for dim sum. I wanted to like this place more, but the service was juts so poor that by the end of our meal I had a headache, and was out for revenge, that is, offering up my 2 cents on this website. Our order got lost, then our replacement order got lost again...no, it wasn't lost a second time, but took so long to come that I had snacked on passing dim sum that was available there and then, so by the time our order came, it wasn't as enticing. The food was uninspired. Greasy, tasteless spring rolls, tasteless fish broth, and the rest was passable, but no oohs and ahhhs. Maybe it's because these guys are in a great location and have no competitors around, as opposed to Richmond where if a dim sum place disappoints then people have many other places to go nearby, but the place was filled to the brim with customers, and a constant line-up of people eager to get in. Makes me think I just ordered the wrong things and had bad luck with the service. In my opinion, if you want good dim sum head for Richmond or the downtown Kirin.
Gordon Ramsay literally wrote the 21st Century book on how to make customers keep coming back, and the powers that are of Cactus Club have read this book. Cactus Club is posh food without the posh prices and posh service (Vancouver laid-back and genuinely friendly style, which I like) without the posh attitude. The food was perfectly prepared, very clever in combining flavours that work great together, decent quantity, beautiful to look at, and so delicious. Their salads are spectacular, their fish sublime, and the real test was, they pleased me immensely even though I'm vegetarian. The goat cheese flatbread was faaaan-tastic. As well, everyone who works there - women (whom I''m partial to) and men - are just so attractive. Call me shallow, but that made it better. Our server was a combination of great beauty and doting grandma; it was so much fun. You know how to do it right, guys. Thank you.
Especially when I'm hungry, seeing that big, beautiful tempeh burger arrive alongside a heaping salad with good dressing and sesame fries is such a rush, and it does not disappoint. On the other hand, stay away from their veggie steak. Great idea, but guys, you gotta find another recipe. Desserts taste as good as they look, so I just get the same thing every time + dessert, and I'm happy. The place is very easy-going. I think those who are complaining on this site about the service should not expect a hop-to-it mentality here, and just relax.
This is a good place. It's run by Japanese, not Chinese pretending to be Japanese. It's not pretentious at all; you get decent and authentic food in humble yet comfortable surroundings, and you will be treated with genuine friendliness. If you want a Bazooka Kamikaze Volcano roll or a San Francisco Pittsburgh Rainbow roll, go somewhere else, point being that it's not a flashy place with a flashy menu, but there's enough variety to make it fun, and keep it real. If you want to spend $25 for good and authentic tempura, go to Tojo's. If you want to spend a lot less for the real deal, go to Shiro. And have a lot more while you're there; it's all good.
Their durian pastry is one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. Forget any reservations you have about eating durian. Put all durian fears aside, and try these pastries. Heavenly. The other things that we ordered were good, nothing special. I got the feeling that Rain Flower has been persuaded to conserve on salt and other flavor enhancers because so many people are paranoid about what a little too much salt and MSG once in a while can do to their delicate bodies. The place was full, with people waiting for a seating. That should tell you something.
Hooray! A glass of reasonably-priced and delicious red house wine. That, to me, got me in a good mood right off the bat at Italian Kitchen. A generous and friendly server who kept on grating the parmesan into my food until I finally said OH, AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY "WHEN"? Happy and chatty dining neighbours who were obviously enjoying their lovingly-presented food. A pizza that was actually generous in size compared to a CD I had eaten at a posh place. Go there and have a good time, like we did.
I don't trust Vancouver Magazine much anymore, because apparently their judges' opinions about what's the best in Vancouver are a lot different from mine. But, I think they got it right by giving Kirin such high marks. Everything we had there was really good, and FINALLY a downtown restaurant that gives you value for your money without cutting corners, without sacrificing on quality, taste, and quantity. There was a mixture of Western and Asian diners when we were there, and I noticed that most of the Western diners ordered similar "safe" and familiar-to-Western-people things, rather that be adventurous and eat what the Asian people were eating. If you order the specials, guys, or if you look around and see what Asian people are eating, then order the same, you won't be disappointed. It's a good place.
OK, you can get some outstanding food here, but forget about the well-hyped truffle pizza. It was disappointing. I was asked my opinion by the server, and when I gave a lukewarm review her reaction was a polite but slightly condescending and dismissive insinuation that I didn't know what I was talking about. The other pizza that we had was far better. What gets me about this place - and maybe it's because I don't go to high-end restaurants very often - is how chintzy they are with the alcohol. Fifteen dollars plus tax and tip for a glass of wine, and it was a few drops in a big glass, and not that great either. Maybe this is what it's like in Vancouver, where restaurants are taxed to death by the government for liquor, so maybe Bring Your Own Wine should be encouraged by Market because the prices for alcohol are insane, considering what you get. I should point out that the place was packed when we were there, so if you've got at least $150.00 for 2, sure, give it a shot.
