Zakkushi Charcoal Grill (on Main): For those who are Adventurous or Drinkers

Zakkushi is one of my favourite non-sushi Japanese restaurants. They are known as tapas - snacks, appetizers, finger foods usually to accompany drinks. At Zakkushi, they are known to use a special type of Japanese charcoal grill, Binchotan. This flameless type of grilling has a high component of carbon (~95%) so the food is able to retain its own flavour without impurities.

They currently have 2 locations in Vancouver: Denman street and Main street. We visited the one on Main street and it may be easily missed as it's kinda in the dark corner of a square. Even though we were only a party of 2, we had to wait over 30 minutes to be seated, so we actually went to have dessert at Sweet Revenge first.

I think the seats at this location is quite cute and cozy. Perfect for couples, not so much for groups. Here we have the zakkushi set for $9.20. I recommend getting this one for the first-time visitors as it's like sample taster as it includes 5 different skewers: mono, umeshiso yaki, me maki, p-toro, and oropon beef. My favourite is the p-toro (pork belly) as it tasted unique, tender, and fatty!

Zakkushi set - momo, umeshiso yaki, me maki, p-toro, oropon beef $9.20

As you probably already know, I love chewy things and I fall for anything mochi, hence, I had to get the mochi maki.

mochi maki (sticky rice wrapped with pork) $2

I love trying new things and this was definitely different and you probably won't find it at a typical restaurant. Mochi (sticky rice) wrapped with pork?! Tasty!

Now on to one of my Zakkushi favourites: yakitori don $7.50. I loved this Japanese-style soft boil egg with teriyaki chicken sprinkled with seaweed. Break the egg and mix it up! Another one of my favourite dons (rice bowls) with the soft boiled egg and eel is from Deer Garden Restaurant.

Yakitori don - teriyaki chicken, half boiled egg, mayo, green onion, seaweed on rice $7.50

To finish off, I got the salmon onigiri (rice ball). What's so special about onigiris? I'm not sure, but I wanted to try one. I didn't find anything special, it was just like eating rice mixed with bits of salmon but in the same of a triangle.

Salmon onigiri

This restaurant is quite for those who are adventurous as the menu has a variety of unique items that one can order a bit of this and that to try. It's also great for those who like a drink or two with some light snacks. 

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Soho Tea Room: Salmon Wellington & Fire on Ice

A few years ago, I'd always go to Richmond for bubble tea and Chinese food, but it seems like there are more and more bubble tea cafes here in Vancouver now. Soho Tea Room opened not too long, and they're owned by the same owners as Flo Tea Room (which ironically closed their former Vancouver location on Granville).

Upon entering the restaurant, the environment and atmosphere seemed more modern than typical bubble tea cafes.

Salmon Wellington

Salmon wellington with prawns & spinach cream in puff pastry $19: I don't know about you, but when I first hear the word, wellington, I think of Gordon Ramsay. Then when I take a bit of this, I could hear Gordon Ramsay say "what a shame". Where's the layer of spinach and prawns? It looks completely different than their picture in the menu which had a thick reddish piece of salmon and then a layer of spinach and prawns. Some parts of the pastry was soggy and the salmon was a bit dried. I didn't expect much though, as this is like a western dish and most of the time western dishes aren't perfected in an Asian restaurant.

Thankfully, the set came with soup of the day and a choice of fries, salad, or spaghetti.

fries

Pan fried thick noodles with pork cheek

Braised pork cheek with black bean sauce pan fried thick noodles $9: I knew I wanted this the second I finished reading its name. Pork cheeks are my favourite parts because it's not fatty and is chewy, yet tender. Thick noodles are also my favourite type of noodles. This dish was not disappointing at all and exactly what I expected. I thought they would give a very small amount of pork cheeks, but I was wrong. I also thought the portion was large, so it's great for sharing.

Fire on Ice

The look of this drink corresponds with its name - fire on ice. On the menu, it says "approx. 30 minutes" and when we asked the waitress, she said this drink takes 30 minutes to serve if they're busy. Really? I don't know why a drink would take that long to make. I think it took just about 10 minutes this time even though the restaurant was neither full nor empty. I don't know why they would write that beside the drink, which will probably in turn make customers unwanting to order it. This slushy consisted of lychee, peach, mango and strawberry - fruity, sweet, with a twist of tanginess. 

There are actually other quite a handful of other bubble tea cafes close by such as Corner 23, Copa Cafe, and Gloucester Cafe. I think their wide variety of drinks (and the names for them) and their extensive menu are things that make Soho Tea Room stand out. 

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Asma & Farrukh: My First Time Attending a Pakistini Wedding

Congratulations Asma & Farrukh!

Five Things I Learned at a Pakistani Wedding

1. Do not arrive on time.

I'm a person who gets nervous and anxious when I'm running late, so I always try to arrive on time. Especially growing up in a family where being late is not only rude, but disrespectful, I always paid attention to the time when it came to big events. Though I didn't know what to expect, I was quite relieved to see a "programme" on the invitations as it had everything that was going to take place, nicely scheduled. It read, "7pm reception of the Barat, 8pm Nikkah, dinner 8:30pm." I arrived 10 to 7pm and noticed that the parking lot of the Royal Place Banquet Hall was basically empty. I triple-checked the address, doubled-checked the time, and looked around to see if cars were coming in. Nothing. I got out of the car, went into the building, and saw wedding decorations (phew), and no more than 5 people. 

It turns out that even arriving an hour late, is considered early. The Barat reception is where the groom arrives, and he is expected to be late, and I mean 1 - 2 hours late, not 10 minutes. Apparently, it is the norm in their culture to arrive much later than the time stated. 

2. Cover your skin. Wear bold colours.

Good thing I did a bit of research on this before deciding on what I was going to wear. Here are my suggestions and opinions from what I observed. Do not show your shoulders, bare back, or cleavage, so do not wear a dress that's strapless, backless, short, or low-cut. In other words, nothing revealing please, as it is a formal religious event. I'd suggest wearing a dress that goes below your knees, at least. I noticed that the dresses and gowns worn were all very long. Wear nice, bright, and bold colours. Sparkles, shimmers, and shiny accessories are great. 

3. The appetizer dishes are endless! Remember to save space for the entree. 

Oh my goodness. Expect a lot of food. In Chinese cultures, we usually have 1 or 2 dishes as the appetizer and the rest are part of the main course dishes. Here, there were like 5 dishes that were brought to the table for us and we could call for seconds, thirds..etc. (see pictures below). In this banquet, the main course consisted of getting up and filling your plates as it was buffet style. So, you definitely want to save space for that (and for dessert)! 

kebabs

Fried fish

Chicken

4. Do not expect to see the bride come out... until nearly the end of the night. 

Wow, this is very different from western weddings and Chinese weddings where the bride eats at the head table with everyone else and maybe even play some games. At this wedding, the bride had to sit in a room and she was not allowed to come out. Thankfully, guests (including males) were allowed to go visit her though. Asma, the bride, didn't even know when she'd be coming out. At first, she was told she could come out after the legal marriage papers were signed, but nope, she was still in the room when I was trying out desserts. 

5. Expect to see the bride cry.

It is a very emotional time for the bride, when she does come out. I loved her grand entrance and how everyone had their attention on her as we had been waiting all night. The groom was on stage waiting for her as she walked towards him. This is the day where she official joins the groom's family and will be spending her first night living together, without her family. The entire time that she was entering, she had her head down. Even when she made it to the seat beside the groom and photographers were taking pictures, she still looked sad. Now, even if the bride is happy, it is still the norm to look sad and possibly even cry.

There are a few other notable events that night which I haven't mentioned. In western weddings, the bride and the groom would do the paper work together, but this was done separately as the bride was in the room. As religion plays a huge part in this ceremony, a pastor was invited to say prayers. This lasted for ~10 min. It's just so interesting learning about different cultures.

Dishes from the self-serve buffet:

Cold dishes

Salad

What are those peachy-looking fruits(?) with the black seeds? I had no idea, if you do, please let me know.

basmati rice

basmati rice

THREE different types of rice to try from! Wow!

One of the many types of curry

spinach and cheese

This picture does not do justice to how great it tastes. This made me get another spoonful of rice!

naan

And when I saw all these naan, I literally had to resist myself from jumping up and down. This.....was my plate of heaven.

My first plate

I was already quite full from the appetizer dishes. But seeing all the yummy food, I couldn't resist another two plates, especially when there was naan!

Desserts: By this time, I was stuffed with a very satisfied tummy. There were two types of desserts offered along with plates of fruits. The desserts looked so unique, apparently they're sweet flour balls in syrup (?) and the other one is in sweet milk. 

I did try a bit of this and it was VERY sweet! 

Desserts in this culture is definitely too sweet for me! 

Not knowing anyone else there besides the bride and groom, I thought I would be such an outcast. After all, I was the only east Asian there (besides one of the photographers). But I felt so at ease because all of their family and friends were so nice and friendly to me. They had such patience describing the food and traditions to me and I learned quite a bit that night. 

I met Asma back in 2009 at school. She gets my weirdest sense of humour, the ones even I get confused over. We share a unique friendship in that we're able to genuinely make fun of each other. She is easy to talk to because she speaks her mind which allows me to speak mine not only without hesitation, but knowing that she won't judge or be offended. The nickname she gave me is Muffin because everyday in class, I'd always have a muffin, and I call her Chilly. I don't remember why though.

In a very short amount of time, she planned this wonderful and memorable event. I like her confidence, "I don't need a year to plan a day" haha! I'm glad to be a small part of it - working out at Steve Nash together. 

Add caption

My dear Asma, thank you for having me here on your special day. I wish you a happily ever after with Farrukh.

I leave you with a short conversation we had on MSN that still makes me smile.

Asma: can i ask u a question?

me: yes
*asma is typing*
me: type faster.... or are fingers are too fat to move any faster?
asma: ...........

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Corner 23 萬巒豬腳: Pig Feet and Pork Hocks

Corner 23 is located, as the name implies, right at the corner of 23rd Ave. and Cambie Street. It's a Taiwanese bubble tea place and can be super packed at night, as it is conveniently across from the King Edward Canada Line station. No worries if they're full, guess who's beside them? Hong Kong style cafe - Copa Cafe!

So what's the Chinese name for Corner 23? It actually has nothing to do with a corner or the number 23. The Chinese name directly translates to "Wan Luan pig feet" - Wan Luan is a rural place in Taiwan. Apparently, there are "Corner 23's" in Taiwan too, featuring their signature dish, Wan Luan pork hock. Though I've been to Corner 23 many times, but I've never gotten their signature dish as the thought of eating pork hock or pig feet did not seem very appealing to me. But after seeing people from other tables eating it, I decided to give it a try. You can order just pork hock, or with noodles/rice set. 

Wan Luan Pork Hock rice set

The sauce is the magic in this dish. So, I'd recommend getting the rice set so you can thoroughly enjoy the sauce (since you can really mix sauce in noodle soup).  I've never been a fan of eating skin - I don't eat fish skin, chicken skin, and definitely not a great fan of pig feet skin. However, the meat was tender, but tasteless without the sauce, so remember to dip it into the sauce.

On another visit, I got the seafood milk hot pot set. When I think of hot pot, I think about all the raw fatty beef that people gather around a pot to cook in a tasty soup base. However, this is not that at all. It's only for one person and everything in the pot is cooked, even though there is fire beneath keeping it warm. This was very tasty but the milk seemed water down and not the fresh smell of warm milk. Though still lots of yummy variety of seafood in the pot.

Seafood milk hotpot

My friend got the five-spice chicken set which came with a bowl of rice, and some veggies. The chicken definitely had a lot of flavour and was cooked nicely. However, I don't think everyone will like unique flavour that it creates with the 5 spices.

And of course, what is going to a bubble tea place without having some bubble tea? Their bubble tea is OK, neither the best nor the worst. Ok, their bubbles are good and have a consistent chewiness. However, it is their addition of powder flavour that I dislike. So, I'd suggest sticking with tea or milk tea and not to get any exotic fruit flavours - the mango one is an exception - very good.

Mango Milk Tea Bubble Tea - to go!

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Ken's Chinese Restaurant 南軒中西美食: Chinese-Style Afternoon Tea

Sometimes, I just want to go to a Hong Kong style cafe because they're fast, affordable, yummy, and satisfying. Well, not as fast as the ones in Hong Kong....except there might be a line up for seats in Hong Kong since there's always so many people, everywhere, all the time.

Here, afternoons are usually pretty quiet for restaurants. That's why Ken's Chinese Restaurant has a special offer of 10% off starting at 2:30pm to 5pm. I ordered from their Special Set menu which comes with soup of the day and a drink. I got one of my favourites of all time... 

Baked seafood rice

Yes, that's right - baked seafood rice! Just looked at how nicely it's baked. Now let's dissect it a bit.

baked seafood rice

What's in it? Big shrimps (or are those prawns? I can't tell),  slices of fish and squid, scallops, mushrooms - all covered in melted cheese and creamy sauce. Wow, I think I just made it sound better than it tasted. But you can never go wrong with the baked seafood rice, it's like the complete package for a seafood fan.  

As a lover of thick noodles, I also chose the Shanghai Stir fried noodles. Now this was mostly noodles - it could have definitely use more meat/cabbage. 

Shanghai stir-fried noodles 上海粗炒面

Getting a set meal makes me feel complete. For soup of the day, I got to choose vegetable or creamy soup and I chose the creamy soup. Now it does not look very good and it wasn't. It was kind of watered-down. Optimistically, at least it didn't fill me up before the main dishes came.

Soup of the day - creamy soup

As for drinks, you can choose from the typical list of drinks at a Hong Kong style cafe in cold/hot:  

- Hong Kong style milk tea 港式奶茶

- Hong Kong style coffee

- Hong Kong style half coffee half tea 鴛鴦

- Hong Kong style lemon tea

- Lemon and honey 

- Almond 杏仁霜

- Ovaltine 阿華田

- Horlicks 好立克

... and the list goes on....

Hong Kong style milk tea 

Almond drink 杏仁霜

 I believed the entire bill came to less than $20. I've also heard of their late night dinner with all you can eat congee. In Cantonese, that's probably called "siu yeh" Hahaha. They're opened until 1am - perfect for those night owls! I'd loved to come by here on a late night for "siu yeh" :)

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U & I Thai: Modern & Fine Dining

Looking for a place that's modern place with good service, yet reasonably priced? U&I Thai is a perfect place for an affordable meal with a unique ambience. It seems like a western fine dining restaurant, but it is actually a Thai restaurant. Located on Cambie Street, it used to be the location of another Thai restaurant (Sala Thai, I believe).

Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed the western modern style fused with Thai decorations. Simple, modern, yet nicely designed...giving off a "fine dining" vibe. There was only one other table and so we did not have to wait for seats. It was a pretty quiet day for them, so I wondered about their food.

I ordered from the lunch menu special, where most items were $10, and came with soup of the day.

Thai soup

I'm not sure what exactly was the soup, I think hot and sour soup, but perhaps tung yam kung? I have no idea but it was probably made from frozen veggies and lots of spices. Because it was a little sour, it was appetizing! But in my opinion, the spices were too strong and the soup was too oily for my liking. Still better than the "gym locker" tung yam kung I had at Tropika!

Pad Thai $10

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I'm a Compass Beta Tester!

In July, when I heard Translink was looking for volunteers to test their new Compass Card, I registered.  At that time, they were looking for 5,000 active translink users, but they were more popular than they thought because they ended up with 10,000 volunteers testing for them. Yes, volunteers. Because we get basically nothing in return. Not even a free trip! But yup, I signed up.

So if you haven't heard yet, the Compass card is going to replace all the paper tickets that Translink currently uses. In early September, I received a Compass card in the mail. 

Compass card

What else did I get? 10 informational handouts and a Beta Tester Guide Book.

Beta Tester Guide Book & informational handouts

The testing officially started on September 9th. We were told to tap in and out when taking transit, but also paying for our fares or showing our pass like normal. Even though the cards came charged with a monthly pass or money, they were "fake" as it was just used to test the system. 

Informational handouts are for those who are curious and want to learn more about the new Compass card. Here it is: 

Some Compass Quick Facts:

- Compass will replace over 150 different tickets and passes used today.

- Compass will be easy to use. You'll simply tap in to enter and tap out to exit, and the system will automatically determine the correct amount to charge (at tap out). 

- Card registration will offer features like AutoLoad and Balance Protection, which protects the value of a card in the event it's lost or stolen.

- As fare gates go up, fare evasion will go down - and transit riders will enjoy a safer, more secure transit experience. 

On buses, you tap in near the bus driver and tap out right at the doors. I'm sure you've all seen this around:

And for sky train and Canada Line stations, there will be gates that open and close. 

Q & A

Why did I sign up when there's no perks/free rides?

The big reason is that I am a curious individual, but wait, there is a perk - being the first to try out the new transit system in Vancouver! But I agree, TransLink should definitely involve some free rides or load up our cards for real for us volunteers. The small reason (as cheesy as it may sound) is that I do want to be helpful to TransLink as they have been really helpful to me for the past 10 years. Taking me to and from school, to and from some of the most special events in my life thus far, and providing me quite a comfortable place to nap...etc.

Why is it important to tap out? 

So that we're charged for the appropriate zones we travel. I believe the default is 3 zones if we don't tap out - what a killer. So, remember to tap out! Also, this apparently gives them data to know where people are travelling in order to manage the schedules, etc. 

Do I have any concerns? If only the 99 B-line back doors and the compass card readers could swap sensitivities... 

My concerns are with the speed of the tapping system. I don't find them being very responsive as it doesn't detect my card right away. Apparently, people go in/out the same way - so I can't imagine rush hour and how chaotic it'll be. Having to tap out will also slow down traffic? Hopefully it's better than the picture in my head.

Generally, I'm supportive of the new system - way less waste and litter on the ground and much more environmentally-friendly. It's about time.

Compass cards are for a refundable deposit of $6. Then start loading up your card with money because it's cheaper than paying with cash!

More info on TransLink's website

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