THIS IS A RESTAURANT BLOG

Got way too behind to even think of catching up with all the places I've been, which got discouraging. So, fresh start now that I'm freshly married and back in Vancouver. I have a couple of places from our honeymoon I'd like to review, but I'll get back into things with a Vancouver review.

THIS IS A REVIEW:
Bo Laksa King is a great place to have laksa, said the internet! Hmm, ok, thought I, but what the heck is laksa? Oh well, it's near to where we're going to be anyway, let's try it!

They serve it to you in two bowls, as shown above. You squeeze the lime and pour the soup over the whole thing. That was the helpful instructions of the one-woman team running everything.

If you don't know what laksa is either, it's a Chinese-Malaysian specialty. Bo Laksa King's version is a rich, curry and coconut milk soup over shrimp, fish balls, tofu puffs, chicken, a hard-boiled egg, and your choice of rice vermicelli or yellow wheat noodles. We chose yellow wheat at the nice lady's recommendation. ($7.50)

Bo Laksa King has a nice combo deal where you can get a wrap with your laksa $2 off, so we got an Asian Beef Wrap:


Bo Laksa King does most of their business takeout, which they have to, because it's just a counter within a tiny grocery, and there's only three tiny tables outside. But I have to say that eating there, or at least nearby, might be worth it. The contrast between the hot beef and sauce, and the cool crisp vegetables, was lovely, and that's the kind of thing that just doesn't survive a trip home. ($4.50)

Our favorite part of the meal, however, was the Roti Canai ($5.99 for a large).

Once again, I would hate to have to take this very far before digging in. Hot, hot, hot and so stretchy and crispy and fresh and OMG, I want another order now. *salivates* Just by itself it would be worth the price, so to have that bowl of curry chicken dipping sauce is just... gah. Hungry now.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Bo Laksa King
Location: 4910 Joyce St Vancouver BC
Prices: <$10 per person. No drinks, but it's in a grocery so you can buy a cold drink.
Service: Very, very friendly, but there was only one person there and she was doing EVERYTHING (taking orders, cooking, cleaning up, bringing you your order etc), so you must be patient!
Food: Amazing Chinese-Malaysian food at great prices. With a smile!
Recommended?: Yes, and please send me an order of roti canai while you're there?

THIS IS A REVIEW:


This place just opened this month, so I decided to check it out for take-out with The Boyfriend. We went in on the second or third day after it opened, and I'll be honest: they didn't really have their crap together yet. This was most clearly shown in the woman working the cash register. She had to ask one of the chefs for help with ringing up practically everything.

I've misplaced the take-out menu, but we ordered a sushi sampler and a sashimi sampler; each was around $9. They also gave us two free bowls of miso soup, which was nice of them; it's probably because of them just opening, or maybe as apology for the cash register tie up, lol.

I was disappointed. Yes, the price was kinda low, but as you may be able to see in the picture, the maki weren't fully closed. The fish tasted fresh but not particularly high quality, if that makes sense? Like, there wasn't a rotten or old taste, but there wasn't the good taste of the fish that I want either.

I actually ended up eating those rice cakes you see there to fill my tummy, lol, and later I sauteed some of the sashimi fish for dinner.

The quantity and price were right, but I dunno, for me, with sushi, it's go big or go cooked. The miso soup was actually the best part of the meal. I finished all of that.

However I'm not going to label this one "not recommended" either because they were clearly getting their bearings.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Sushi E
Location: 2328 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V5Z (604) 873-2000
Prices: $5-15/person, I would say.
Service: Friendly but not yet well-organized.
Food: In a word, bland. The miso was pretty nice though.
Recommended?: Based on my one experience, no, but it's early days yet.

THIS IS A REVIEW:
After the disappointing experience we had at Migz, The Boyfriend and I were definitely excited to return to Memphis Blues for REAL barbecue on the 4th of July holiday. On our previous trip we had sampled their BBQ poutine (so WRONG yet so RIGHT) as well as their brisket and ribs.

As a cartoon by Canadian Kate Beaton has it, being an American is all about fighting for freedom, eating some barbecues, and bayoneting British men. One out of three isn't bad, I guess? But, only one out of three of us were American, because my roommate joined us. I attribute the failure to wreak revolution and murder Englishmen to them.

Memphis Blues has room to sit down, but you order at the front. We ordered a pitcher of beer ($12.95) and the Memphis Feast ($39.95) for all three of us. The Memphis Feast contains portions of every kind of meat plus all the "fixins": ribs, rib ends, half a chicken, brisket, pulled pork, sausage, baked beans, coleslaw, fries, and potato salad.



Meat meat meat. Meat? Meat. Meat meat, meat meat meat meat. MEAT.

:D

I'll rank the meats in order of how much I liked them, with the understanding that the "least" was still miles ahead of Migz. I'll DQ the sausage because I liked it but it's not my favorite kind of sausage so I don't really know how to judge it--it was kind of like summer sausage style, a little sweet. Least was the ribs. They were basically BBQ sauce delivery mechanisms. Which is fine, because their BBQ sauce is awesome, but still. The chicken next, okay on its own, and very tender, but still primarily a BBQ sauce delivery system. When we get to the pulled pork, we're talking heaven. As good as anything I ever had in the states. The best of all is the brisket. Practically melt in your mouth tender, and with a light seasoning that suited it so well I actually ate it without the sauce.

As far as the other sides go, I'm very picky about my potato salad, and I don't like coleslaw, so I skipped those, but the other two gave them a thumbs up, and I liked the beans very much.



We also decided to get some collard greens because I hadn't had them for a while and while, yes, MEAT MEAT MEAT is happy times, some greens are nice too; plus, my roommate and The Boyfriend had never tried them. I give the greens a "meh". I felt they were kind of small for what we paid ($3.95) and spiced much too heavily. Collard greens are not a prissy kind of plant, they have a very assertive flavor, and the answer is not to smother them with pepper. In other words, they didn't make them like my mommy does. ;) She's from Maryland, not Tennessee, so maybe they're following a different style of collard recipe, but to me it just felt wrong. The Boyfriend actually ate most of it.

Here's what the table looked like about the time we all decided we were full:



Yep. Even with three of us, there were still leftovers. If you want to bring a larger group, Memphis Blues also has an Elvis Platter and a Priscilla Platter with even more meat. We were planning on packing this up and heading out, until I idly commented that I wondered if their pecan pie was any good, and The Boyfriend said he'd never had it. This had to change, natch.



Pecan pie is my mother's favorite pie, and I have high standards for it, and this slice fit it perfectly. Even with how full we were, we finished it. The caramel bourbon sauce was a great match, and tasted like it would be amazing poured warm over ice cream.

And when we were done, we shed a tear for liberty.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Memphis Blues
Location: has several locations; we were at the one at 1465 West Broadway Ave Vancouver, B.C. V6H 1H6 (604) 738.6806
Prices: Prices are not cheap (considering it's really more a take-out place with seats than a sit-down restaurant) but worth it. $7-$10 for appetizers, ~$8 for sandwiches, $11-20 for individual meals. Bring a huge gang and attack one of their larger platters, or order their picnic pack to take out--these will all average about $13/person or so.
Service: Order at the front, and if you are dining in they will bring it to the table.
Food: Mouth-watering slow-cooked Southern BBQ and sides.
Recommended?: I absolutely adored it. If you are not a vegetarian, try this place.

THIS IS A REVIEW:
Vancouver is 17% Chinese. Its nearby suburb of Richmond is something like 40% Chinese (59% immigrant, and the source says that the majority are from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China). So you can get Chinese food in pretty much the same variety and quality that you would in Chinese-speaking countries.

Connie's Cook House (好味店) pretty much rocks it old school. Though Connie herself is Cantonese, the menu offers a staggering variety of dishes, from Sichuan Bean Curd (四川薑汁豆腐) to Shanghai Thick Noodles (上海粗麵). Everything you would expect at a North American Chinese restaurant is there too: hot and sour soup, wonton soup, General Tso's chicken, but alas, not my favorite inauthentic "Chinese" dish, crab rangoon. Crab rangoon cured me of my snobbery when I was a young Sinophile. When I was about 16, 17, I was very bratty about "OMG authentic Chinese food ONLY and if you don't eat it with chopsticks then GO HOME." Then I realized that deep fried wontons filled with cream cheese and fake crab meat is too delicious to give up. So I became a lot more relaxed, which was good for me.

I digress! Back to Connie's! I have been here twice, both times for lunch. Connie's has a very reasonably priced lunch menu. $6.50 for one of a variety of main courses, served with rice, a cup of wonton or hot and sour soup, and a hot pot of tea. Can't beat that with a stick.



I really like Chinese-style chicken broth so I always finish all of my wonton soup. Connie's is very good, not salty. The hot and sour soup has a nice amount of bean curd.



On the trip where I took pictures, I had vegetable fried rice (什蔡炒飯). A sizeable portion, done competently. Not greasy at all. The vegetables included were carrots, corn, peas, broccoli and mushrooms. Tasty, but nothing to write and tell mother about. It actually tasted a lot like the fried rice I make myself.



Gordon had Sichuan Chicken with Green Beans (四川豆仔雞), and his was a lot more special. The sauce had a kicky hot mustard and vinegar flavor, the green beans had just the right texture, and the chicken was tender.

On our previous trip I had that Cantonese staple, beef chow fun (乾炒牛河). I can never make shahe noodles myself (they stick to the wok or break or burn!), so I like getting it when I go out. Connie's does it well. Gordon had the House Special Chicken and liked it a lot. I'm afraid I can't remember what was in it though. XD I remember it was spicy.

We've had the same waitress both times and she's very friendly and attentive. She actually recommended me some Taiwanese restaurants when I mentioned that that I loved Taiwanese food. Because of her, we discovered No 1 Beef Noodle House in Burnaby, which sells my favorite Taiwanese desserts! A place that recommends their competitors??? That's rare these days!

Connie herself makes frequent appearances, and asks how everything is.

Connie's Cook House is licensed. Delivery is free after 5pm ($20 minimum), but there is a 10% discount on pick-up orders. Connie's does not use MSG. Lunch specials are served from 11:30 until 4pm.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Connie's Cook House
Location: 2135 W 4th Ave Vancouver, BC V6K (604) 484-6289
Prices: lunch for $6.50; dinner prices from $10-15
Service: Very concerned that every guest is having a good time.
Food: Large portions of tasty and ungreasy North American Chinese food. There are options for the fans of more or less authentic Chinese food.
Recommended?: This is a great kind of every day place, especially for lunch. On those terms, I recommend it. :)