wonton mein saga: after-states late night

wonton mein saga is the place to go when you need a quick bite at night. with quick food and reasonable prices, its not a bad choice for chinese food. 

seeing as it was quite late at night, we wanted some real comfort type foods especially after the american meals in well...america. 

we went with a congee, wonton mein (have to get it at wonton mein SAGA) and sweet and sour pork (yes i am one of those americanized chinese food people)

 congee (~$5.00): i THINK this was sliced fish...but honestly i dont remember. the congee itself was a nice consistency, thick and creamy but also tasty. not overly salty and gingery (i hate ginger) but a good night time food to satisfy and warm the stomach.

3.75/5

traditional wonton soup (~$5.00) - again it was late at night so i dont remember EXACTLY what kind of wonton soup it was but it was fine. obviously not good enough to remember but i know the noodles weren't bad with the right texture. 

3.75/5

sweet and sour pork (~$6-7?) - [sorry my prices are so confused, it was late and i was tired so i hardly noticed] but onto the food, this dish was not very good. i would stick to the congee and wonton noodles here as the veggies were quite raw and the pork was covered in batter and pieces were essentially pieces of fat. there was hardly any meat to this dish and hardly brushed against satisfaction. 

1.5/5 

overall, not a horrible choice if you choose the things that they are known for. happy eating! 

umi japanese eatery: decent japanese food court noms

after having a pre-lunch snack at let's roll, my mom and i stopped by richmond center after her hair appointment for a bigger meal. the new dining terrace has a lot of choices but umi looked pretty good! this is the same japanese stand at most food courts except this one has more hot food like udon and appetizers and also separate section for desserts. 

chicken udon (~$8) - this was unexpectedly good! the udon noodles were a good firm texture and they give a pretty big portion of chicken as well. it was quite salty though and the soup didnt have much taste other than salt...but it wasnt bad!

3.5/5

takoyaki ($~5) - this was very normal and a bit room temperature but at least it had lots of bonito flakes! 

3/5

overall: if i was coming back to richmond centre for lunch, i wouldnt mind coming back but i hear good things about bourbon st. grill so i would try that first! 

kinemi's kitchen: hidden italian-japanese gem

Kinemi's is hidden in a tiny strip mall in the champlain area which is actually very close to where i live but didnt notice it until a friend introduced me and it was delicious. good prices and homestyle cooking, this italian place is run by a japanese couple so obviously it tastes a bit different but nonetheless, delicious.

they have a dinner deal with salad, garlic bread, a pasta and a pizza for $24.99. since there were 3 of us, we ordered another pasta and tiramisu for dessert. 

caesar salad (part of combo) - tasted fine, nothing special but i found it a bit wet. 

3/5

garlic bread (part of combo) - very good garlic flavour. bread was nice and lightly toasted with the perfect amount of crunch

4/5

chicken alfredo (part of combo) - a heavier dish but not as tasty as carbonara. there wasn't much chicken for a chicken alfredo, so not my favourite but it was still good.

3.95/5

spaghetti carbonara ($10) - creamy, carbonara goodness with al dente pasta and a good meat to pasta ratio. although very rich, it was worth every bite - delicious! 

4.5/5

chicken pesto pizza (part of combo) - the pesto was very tasty but again, a little lacking in the meats. the crust is also a bit thicker than i like but the flavour was all there. 

3.5/5

tiramisu (~$5-6) - this was probably the most disappointing of the meal. the alcohol was very strong so you could not taste much coffee or chocolate. the syrup soaked through almost the entire cake making it quite mushy - not recommended. 

1.75/5

overall, a delicious meal with a small price tag. the place is very small and quiet so you can have some good conversation here but doesn't feel too date like. it has great homemade food and the flavours are spot on.  

guu richmond (revist): still just as guu'd

what a (non) surprise! guu richmond again! i purchased this big city deals voucher for bubble tea at estea express in the food court which was expiring very soon so i had to go to aberdeen two weeks in a row. well last week we already ate at the food court so the only other place is...guu! 

still just as good (or even better) than last time since my palate is starting to be open to newer flavours. i used to order ONE thing only at japanese restaurants being udon but now i love raw fish and anything deep fried and battered. we decided to try two new appies in addition to our regular box and were very pleased with our lunch meal! 

salmon yukke ($3.80) - chopped salmon sashimi with garlic teriyaki, pine nuts and green onion served with prawn crackers - this was our first time trying this and BOY WAS IT DELICIOUS

they give you a quail egg to mix into the salmon then you scoop it on the prawn crackers and the flavours will just pop all over your mouth. the garlic sauce is amazing and at this price, i would order 100 times again! (ps. if you dont really like slimy, this is not for you!)

4.75/5

takoyaki ($4.50): deep fried octopus ball with tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo - i was a little disappointed to see it deep fried instead of grilled but i was stupid not to read the description. this was delicious although a little lacking on the bonito flakes. they had huge pieces of octopus inside and the mustard added a good contrast to the sweet tonkatsu sauce. 

4.35/5

sushi box: tuna, surf clam and salmon sushi, salmon and scallop sashimi, california roll, egg, grilled mackerel, chicken karaage and rice - just as good as i remembered. they changed the sushi/sashimi without ever mentioning it but i dont think thats a huge deal.

4.5/5

overall: guu is dang guu'd and although their menu isnt the largest, they do have a lot of lunch boxes and choices so if you like rice, fish or deep fried foods, YOU HAVE TO GO HERE.

jumbo sushi: small prices but small tastes

craving sushi in richmond, my mom and i went to jumbo sushi where i had once gone with my friends. it took forever to decide what to get because they have a huge choice of special rolls all with pretty interesting fillings and sauces and its really cheap. in the end we chose two and i must admit i was a bit disappointed...

red roll ($4.95): chopped scallop inside, spicy salmon outside topped with tempura flakes - sounded great but did not wow me. rice is extremely bland and the tempura flakes were stale and chewy. although the fish tasted fine, it was so packed with rice i could hardly taste it. 

2.5/5

bc lion's roll ($6.95): spicy salmon topped with salmon tempura: this tasted better than the other because i liked the contrast between the warm tempura and the raw fish but there was WAY too much rice. the overall flavour of the rice is also very bland leaving me wanting more. 

3/5

overall: i love special rolls but these did not live up to my expectations. the prices are very cheap and unfortunately, it is reflected in the quality (amount of rice) and lack of flavour. i think i might return again when im really craving cheap sushi (since this did temporarily please my sushi cravings). 

also, not that it matters much but the owner (i think) is not rude but is a bit cold. he did give us free miso soup but did not seem to be pleased about it.  

the one: carb-heavy portions

after church one sunday, a huge group of 15 went to the one for some food and drinks. the one is really popular because of their huge portions, especially the slushes, and the food's not bad either.

its not my favourite taiwanese place in the are (pearl house!) but it is bigger and we had some hungry people. 

japanese green milk tea with coconut jelly large size (~$6.00) -  my friend ordered this but she said it was pretty good. she was also able to pack half of it for home but its not as large as their slushes. 

no rating

dry noodle with braised beef flank, spicy ($8.95) - i have a new love for noodles without soup but with a thicker sauce instead to mix together. this was good being quite spicy and flavourful with a HUGE amount of noodles underneath that were actually a nice al dente. main complaint: the amount of meat was really little..each piece was small and there just wasnt much. 

3.85/5

overall: i would come back with a group of friends but a huge portion of just noodles to me, is not worth it. 

froshberg gelato: its gelicious (I'm lame)

there's a super nice guy that works at this froshberg gelato/crepe delicious that remembered me when i walked by about 2 hours ago so when i passed by with my mom after eating lunch, we couldnt help but stop and get some dessert! 

single scoop ($3.95) - UNFORTUNATELY i dont remember the flavour...either tiramisu, cheesecake or salted caramel (we sampled all 3) BUT it was delicious. smooth and creamy but not too sweet either. amazing quality for food court and the price is not bad either!

4.5/5