suhang: lots of jewels in this duck

my brother visited home recently and he really missed chinese foods so we thought it would be nice to try something special at suhang and also, we can only order so much food when he's here to help eat it! 

xiao long bao ($7.50) -  the flavour of the meat and juice is delicious with a skin that is a tad thicker than normal. i would recommend trying it despite its high price tag. 

4/5

egg white with seafood ($19.80) - a must order for us at most shanghainese restaurants since it is usually a bit lighter. the egg whites are nice and fluffy but the seafood was only small pieces of shrimp and scallops. unfortunately, this rendition left an oilier taste in my mouth than i wanted. 

3.5/5

meatball hot pot ($19.80) - did not get a chance to try, so i cannot comment. 

stuffed crispy duck ($52.80) - this duck has to be preordered and is a specialty here at suhang. the duck is hollowed out and filled with "jewels" including lots of sticky rice, egg yolk, some beans, chestnuts, mushrooms and some duck meat. although visually appealing and with quite a tasty filling, it lacks duck meat and has way too much rice. 

the only meat the meat from the outside which was a really thin layer and not enough for me and the rice is also very heavy so you can only eat so many carbs before feeling stuffed. good to try once because you dont see it often, but i wouldn't get it again. 

3.5/5

enoki and conpoy noodle ($16.80) - perfectly al dente noodles with a thick sauce filled with enoki. again, quite expensive for noodles that lack any protein but tasted good.

3.75/5

overall, this meal was not bad but very carb heavy (might be our ordering mistakes). i feel they skimp on the toppings and amount of meat and charge way too much for what you get. 

mt.fuji: only sushi in killarney area

wanting to have lunch close to home, my friends and i stopped by mt.fuji japanese restaurant at killarney market. 

the quality and portions are nothing special but good enough to satisfy any sushi cravings that you may have and being the only sushi place in a mostly industrial area, its not bad. 

salmon nigiri ($1.50 each) - good, nothing special but quite a bit of rice

from back to front:

dynamite roll ($4.50) 

salmon avocado roll ($4.75) 

spicy salmon roll ($3.95) 

all 3 rolls were standard but had a bit too much rice on them. 

3/5

green jade roll - salmon, avocado, crab meat, tamago, tobiko, mayo rolled in cucumber ($8.50) - very refreshing but quite pricy for what you get. 

3/5

overall: i would only come because it is nearby but everything is very average and a bit overpriced. 

joe's grill: the best kind of breakfast

one friday afternoon after classes, my friend came all the way to ubc for one thing, to get breakfast food afterwards. we googled lots of places in the kits area that had all day breakfast and settled on joe's grill. 

the basic ($6.95) - choice of sausages, ham or bacon with 2 eggs any style, hashbrowns and toast. SUCH A GOOD VALUE. look at all that food for only 7 bucks. 

 i got my eggs over easy and they were great. cutting into the middle, it OOZED with yolk. i had also read online that their sausages were a specialty so i went with that (as did my friend after hearing my suggestion) and they were delicious. they had a crisp exterior and when you bit into it, the pork juices came squirting out. my favourte part of the whole dish though was the hashbrowns. they were simply cut up potatoes but they were delicious. and my other friend's favourite combo is dipping hashbrowns in maple syrup and ketchup. IT IS AMAZING. 

only problem: toast was a bit burnt but my friend's was fine...just a case of inconsistency

look at that egg...

4.5/5 (losing marks for burnt toast

overall: this meal was delicious and a great value too. i could only finish half of the plate and packed the rest to go. definitely recommended to satisfy that breakfast craving and their menu is pretty big for a diner type restaurant. i will be back to try those one day! 

potter's garden korean bbq: korean food for a happy tummy

 having to go to work at metrotown in about an hour, my mom and i looked for a quick lunch place and stumbled upon potter's garden.

i hadn't tried much korean fare before this so we werent sure what to order but was pleasantly surprised by the delicious food and reasonable lunch prices at potter's garden! 

complimentary banchan: sweet potatoes, kimchi and bean sprouts: all quite good! 

paejon: seafood pancake ($9.95) - the best thing about this was the fact that we could get it in a medium size as opposed to the HUGE one at other korean places. this was pretty good, not too oily or thick with dough but mostly comprised of imitation crabmeat.

3.95/5

pork bulgolgi: panfried spicy pork with mixed vegetables with rice ($12.95) - my mom and i really enjoyed this, it was flavourful and had a lot of pork in it! not too spicy but enough to give the entire dish a lot of flavour. 

4.5/5

tofu soup (came with pork bulgolgi) - SO GOOD...perfect amount of spice and lots of tofu bits. you could also taste some seafood which was not overpowered by the spicy. the best bowl for a cold day.

4.5/5

overall, potters garden today is still one of my favourite korean restaurants and tastes very homemade and simple. their lunch deals are a GREAT value and delicious :)  

bubble queen: fresh mango and mochi bubble waffle

bubble queen is an extremely well known bubble tea place in richmond that specializes in huge, thick, milkshake like bubble teas. they have many flavours that derive from chocolate bars like bueno and ferrero rocher but also fresh mango slushes that can have mango mochi added to them. 

yes just talking about it makes me feel full but it is indeed delicious! 

fresh mango cube slush with coconut jelly ($5.95) - when you get one of the "special" bubble teas, coconut jelly/pearls are included so its not as expensive as it seems, but still a bit pricey. 

this is legit delicious x100000 and a MUST TRY if you like anything mango. the thick fresh mango blended with milk is cool and refreshing going down your throat and the half a mango sitting on top is perfectly ripe and amazing. 

5/5

green tea mochi bubble waffle (~$4-5) - these are not your typically bubble waffle. firstly, they have a slight matcha flavour (not too much, wish there was a bit more) and the texture is also completely different. bubble waffle are usually crisp and light but the added mochi makes it more of a chewy snack. these were very interesting (in a good way), delicious if you like moch but i dont think i'd order it again as it was just too much carb in each bite. a note, the wait time for the bubble waffle is very long but at least you know it's fresh made! 

4.5/5

as delicious as bubble queen is, the portions are really big and EXTREMELY filling. i shared both of these things with my mom (yes, after having lunch but still...) and we had to save half of both the bubble tea and the bubble waffle for dessert after dinner and the next day... (they were pretty good after being baked in the oven!) 

the prices may seem high but honestly, compared to other slush bubble tea places, it is only about $1 more and it is DELICIOUS and enough for 2...or more...

sushi cafe kitchen: definition of fast food sushi

being in a rush to get from downtown to school, i gave up on trying to find a good sushi restaurant (even though there are millions downtown...) i settled on sushi cafe kitchen which is located in sinclair centre aka the walkway with some shops between the skytrain and canada line.

the food is not very good being bland and slimy, but it was fast.

spicy salmon roll (top): ($3.50) - this was not very good. the rice was quite hard and flavourless. also, the fish was very slimy and did not taste at all like salmon.

1/5

salmon-cali roll (bottom): ($3.50) - this was a bit better tasting with the addition of avocado but the rice was just as bad. the crab meat section was also extremely bland and did not taste like anything. at least the salmon was a bit better?

1.5/5

overall: i would not return here unless it had no other choice.