Tom Yum Thai - 4010 E Hastings Street @ McDonald St.

In search of something new to tickle our palates, B and I did a trusty map search of restaurants in the area. Among the little red markers on the map, we found this thai place - Tom Yum Thai Restaurant. We saw a review that 'described it as a 'hole in the wall', so we knew we had to try it. Unfortunately we did not meet the hole in the wall prices we expected. Although the dinner was delicious, we felt it was too pricey to be a repeat regular Friday date night locale.

Having nursed our craving for Thai food, our mouths were salivating by the time we arrived at the restaurant. We ordered a Large Tom Yum Soup, Pad Prig Khing with Chicken and Panang Curry with Pork.

Tom Yum Soup (L) ($8.99)

The tom yum soup had a nice tang with a subtle spice that tickled the taste buds. We really liked that it was packed with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and spices; the flavours were subtle, but distinct and refreshing. We ordered the soup with the shrimp option. Although the shrimp didn't add anything to the with respect to flavour, there was a generous amount of shrimp in the soup. The large was probably too large for an appetizer for two, but I'm not complaining.

Panang Curry with Pork ($8.59)

The curry sauce was a combination of coconut, peanut sauce and curry. There was also a strong lemongrass undertone. The sauce was delicious, rich and thick and went really well with the pork. In fact, once the pork was finished, B and I found ourselves drinking the rest of the sauce.

Pad Prig Khing (with chicken) ($7.99)

The pad prig khing consisted of green beans and chicken stir fried in a sweet chili sauce. Again the flavours in this dish went really well together. The sauce was light enough to showcase the vegetables, but flavourful enough that you knew you were eating thai food.

The only complaint we had about the pad prig khing and the panang curry was the level of sweetness. We felt that, although the dishes were delicious, too much sugar was used to ramp up the richness of these dishes. We were also a little disappointed that we had to purchase a separate dish of rice ($4 for both of us).

B and I really enjoyed this restaurant. It seems like they mostly cater to the takeout crowd, so there was only another table being served in the restaurant. The waiter and waitress were pleasant and prompt. We could smell garlic wafting from the kitchen as we sat down, and it was effective enough to make our tummies rumble loudly.

To sum everything up, the restaurant served some good, wholesome thai food. B and I may have been a little disappointed about the price, but probably because we were expecting a hole in the wall. A menu is available on their website if you want to check out the selection and prices for yourselves. The prices we quoted in this blog are from the online menu, however, I think the in-restaurant menu may be $0.50-$1.00 more than stated online.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 7/10
Price: $19 pp

~G

Marulilu Cafe - 451 West Broadway @ Cambie

B gets very hungry if he doesn't have breakfast / brunch. We hurried on over to Marulilu Cafe, a lovely little Japanese breakfast place serving a mix of Western and Japanese fare. Service was good and prompt. I ordered the Japanese Breakfast Special with Natto and G ordered the Oyakodon (Chicken Omelet on Rice).

I especially loved the Natto, though some might find its strong, pungent taste a little unsettling. The breakfast special also came with a chunk of grilled salmon, a lightly fluffed omelet, potatoes with sweet sauce, white shortgrain rice, and miso soup. Not bad for ~ $8.

G's Oyakodon was packed full of flavor but was a tad too sweet and lacking some savory. The green onions were a good touch and she liked the gooey consistency of the omelet. Cost ~$7

Marulilu has friendly staff, prompt service, clean interior decor, and an uberconvenient location (Broadway/Cambie) for drivers and bussers alike. Good place to go if you're looking for a light meal.
 

Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 8/10
Price: $8 pp


- Posted by B

Canteen Mitra - 3034 Main Street @ 15th Ave

It was a nice Spring day so we decided to take a walk down one of our fav haunts, Main Street Vancouver, in  search of lunch. Having taken notes from our last walkabout, we arrived at Canteen Mitra - a serendipitous discovery to satisfy one's Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cravings. The place was cozy, with comfortable seating for approximately 10 ppl. We ordered lamb shank and chicken tajin, both priced at an affordable $10 and $7.50 respectively.

Wait time was under 10 mins. Good.
Serving size was decent. Even Better!

The lamb was delicious and flavorful - rice was fragrant, doing justice to the dish. The raspberry vinaigrette was a nice touch to the otherwise generic salad greens. As for the chicken tajin, G mentioned that it was too monotonous for her liking. I tried some of the chicken: tasty with a hint of cumin and nothing special to be thoroughly honest. The stronger lamb flavors might have outdone the chicken on this one - not quite a fair test you say?

Top: Chicken Tajin

Middle: Lamb Shank

For under $20 and for two people, this was a hearty meal that neither shortchanges you on flavor nor serving size. I'll be back whenever I crave a nice shank of lamb

Quality: 8/10
Portion: 8/10
Affordability: 9/10

Posted by B

Stephos - 1124 Davie Street @ Thurlow

I know Stephos is overblogged and there is a ton of contradicting reviews out there on the internet, but I thought I'd add it for the sentimental value. I've ordered from Stephos several times over the past few years, both takeout and eating in and every time I've had a good experience with the food and service.

The first time I ate in at Stephos was with B on a 'pseudo date'. We first met at a 'wild' house party a couple weeks before he took me there. At this party, I ended up staying pretty late since I had a couple of drinks but wanted to drive home. So I was waiting for the alcohol to wear off. By the time I was ready to leave, everybody else was pretty intoxicated and in no shape to offer B a ride home across town. So I was persuaded to give him a ride home in complete opposite direction that I was headed. In thanks, B offered to take me out to dinner. Whether he felt bad about the ride home, or was capitalizing on an opportunity to see me again, I don't know. But that is how we ended up at Stephos on our first 'pseudo date'.

Back to the review....

Last week B and I went to Stephos for a Friday night date (a real date this time). After a long day, I was really craving some comfort food and B was conveniently downtown for a convention, so Stephos was the perfect choice. We got there early and only had to wait for about 10 min before being seated. We were seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant with the remains of daylight filtering through the window. The atmosphere was comfortable with a constant buzz of activity in the background.

We both ordered the roast lamb and nothing else knowing that the portions would be generous. The dish included the roast lamb, Greek salad, rice, roast potatoes, Greek vegetable stew and a piece of pita bread. The lamb was tender and flavourful as I have had in the past. The portion was so large that both B and I could only finish half our portions and packed the rest home. The surprising bit was their delicious Greek vegetable stew. B swears that they have really improved their recipe and it was definitely a point to comment on. It was flavourful and could have been eaten as a whole dish in itself.

One of my biggest irks eating out is the lack of vegetables that come with an entree, and Stephos managed to appease me. Between their Greek salad and their vegetable stew, I felt that I had gotten an adequate amount of veggies to fulfill my Canadian food guide requirements.

To sum it up: the service was good, the atmosphere cozy, and the food hit the spot. I don't know if I would go there with a big group of friends, because of the background noise and long wait times, but it worked out perfectly for a simple Friday night date.

~G