La Brasserie Street

Was headed to Richmond in the morning to meet up with some friends. On my way, I travel by Vancouver City Centre Canada Line Station; I remembered seeing an interesting street vendor a few days ago, so I wanted to try them today. I got there around 11, and had to wait a few minutes for them to be ready for customers.

It was easy picking what to eat at this food stall, they only serve one item of food, the Brass Chicken Sandwich $6.25 (Beer brined rotisserie chicken in gravy, on a buttermilk bun, topped with crispy onions) 3/5. The sandwich came wrapped in a foil wrap and was ready quickly after ordering. 

This was definitely something new for me, the flavor was really unique. I think it was the beer brined chicken and gravy that made that taste. I didn't really especially like or dislike it, but it was alright, something new. I liked the crispy onions that topped the sandwich, they were actually crispy; I also liked how the onion taste was overridden because I don't like onions that much. The rotisserie chicken was decent, but I found the texture a little rough; however, there was a piece of chicken that tasted extremely delicious because there was some fat on it. The chicken was very moist because of the gravy, this is pretty yummy, but again, I did not really like the texture. The sandwich bun was decent, it wasn't overly toasted or overly soft. One of my gripes is that I wish the sandwich would come much hotter. It was only slightly warm, I felt it would have been much more delicious if it came hot.

Overall: I do not think I'll try this specific sandwich again, but I like their ideas of food, so when they have something new, I'll definitely try it!

Motomachi Shokudo

Having just finished a beautiful and sunny morning shift near Stanley Park, decided to go with some coworkers to get some lunch. I wanted some place close by, so I suggested we head to Motomachi Shokudo for some ramen, since one of my buddies also wanted ramen. I had been here once before, and had the Dark Ramen, which was pretty good, I wondered if this time would be equally as good.

As it was pretty late in the afternoon, I was starving, so decided to also get a Gyoza 3.5/5. Unfortunately, my coworkers did not want any so I had to eat all four gyozas myself. My first impression was, why were there so many black burnt bits on the gyozas; I think this is pretty unhealthy and a little overcooked. Otherwise, the fried part of the gyoza wrap was crispy, this is a good sign. The contents inside was pretty good and had a mix of meat and vegetable. I would have liked if the gyoza came a little hotter.

As I already tried the Dark ramen last time, I decided to try the Shio Ramen $8.95 3.5/5. On first impression, it looked pretty good. I was disappointed that there was only half an egg, I sort of expected a full egg (egg is my favourite :) ). My favourite part about the ramen was the soup. It wasn't too fat and thick, I sort of preferred this type of soup compared to those ones served in Kintaro Ramen next door. Besides the soup, I also really enjoyed the one piece of BBQ pork, it was a perfect mix of fat and leanness. After tasting the pork, I regretted not going for the Extra BBQ Pork version for another 2 dollars. For the ramen noodles themselves, that was the part I did not really enjoy, I felt the noodles were a little too thin, I prefer thicker noodles like those at Kintaro, Benkei, or Ramen Sanpachi. But it was still alright nonetheless, and the quantity of noodles was good. I just wish there was at least one more slice of BBQ pork though.

Overall: It's pretty similar to other ramen places, but I prefer this one over Kintaro because I can actually eat in a relaxing way. I prefer Ramen Sanpachi over this one.

Ramen Sanpachi

Saw an ad in the Klip Magazine about the August special that Ramen Sanpachi on Broadway was having. Either a Tan Tan Men or Cold Ramen for the bargain price of $5.95! Regular price is $8.95. I've never been to Ramen Sanpachi before and I've never had Tan Tan Men before; I believe it is the Japanese version of Dan Dan Noodles, a Sichuan specialty from China. I was the first customer for their lunch hour. Entering the restaurant, I was greeted warmly by two friendly waitresses, and I was seated beside the window in a huge table which was very comfortable. From what I saw, the restaurant looks quite new and is also quite spacious, good job on the construction. I already knew what I was going to order. The food came quickly thankfully as I was sort of in a rush.

The kitchen is partially seen, as with other Ramen shops

The Tan Tan Men $5.95 4/5 is Ramen in a reddish, spicy chilli and sesame soup, containing minced pork, garnished with chopped scallion and chili and topped with the likes of spinach or Chinese cabbage (chingensai). The soup base was excellent, unfortunately, I am not a big spicy eater, but I could taste that it was good, I just did not have that much because it was a little too spicy for me. My favourite part was the egg, the yolk was sort of half solid, and I loved it. The minced pork were fresh and properly minced, ie. not too big pieces. The ramen noodles themselves were again excellent, very nice to slurp them into the mouth because of their smoothness and the easiness to chew them apart.

I was impressed with the portions given for this special offer. I thought that they'd make the portions smaller because of the special, but the portion was huge and all in all, this is a great deal for great food.

Overall: I'm glad I found a new place that I can go to for a quick and delicious meal.

Corner 23

Located near the King Edward Canada Line Station, Corner 23 is at a convenient location for public transit users such as myself. I have always wanted to try it since it opened because I always notice that it is very busy with people throughout the day. Furthermore, I've always had an interest in Taiwanese food. Today, I came with two friends who were new to Asian cuisines, especially something like Taiwanese food, so I hoped the food would be good because I was the one that recommended we go here.

Entering the restaurant, we were promptly greeted by the waitress and sat at a spacious table. It was around 5pm, but the restaurant was already busy. The interior was quite nicely decorated and the restaurant environment was comfortable overall. I was just recovering from a bad cough so I didn't go for any drinks, just stayed with the complementary tea. The menu was quite vast and there were many options; there is bound to be something that you like.

Since we had a party of 3, we each got a meal and I was feeling a bit ambitious, so I also opted for an appetizer to share with the others. I ordered the Taiwanese Style Pork Sausage with Rice $7.75 4/5 because I could not get any of the deep-fried or spicy dishes, I decided to go with something I've had before at other Taiwanese restaurants.

I was not disappointed. The set also came with three side dishes: cucumbers, some vegetable that I don't know what it is called, and corn. These side dishes were served warm, and not cold, as I first expected. They went well with the huge bowl of rice. The Taiwanese sausages were also excellent, they were not too salty or too hard. The portion was also, in my opinion, great for the price.

The appetizer we got was the Marinated Ground Pork Sauce on Rice $4.75 4/5, I wanted to try something that was new for me. I really didn't know what to expect. I only thought that it'd be a very small bowl of rice because it is an appetizer. Boy was I surprised!

This to me was more like a meal than a appetizer. The bowl was huge and there was lots of pork. My friends who have never had a marinated egg before remarked that it was quite delicious. The sauce that accompanied the rice made the rice a joy, the sauce was very delicious. The pork itself also tasted fresh. Excellent dish.


My friends opted for the Curry Chicken on rice $7.75 and the Egg Plant & Shredded Pork in Hot Garlic Sauce with Rice $7.50. Friend who had the Curry Chicken has never had Curry Chicken other than Traditional Indian Curry Chicken before, he said that the Taiwanese Curry Chicken was different, but still very good. Although he could not handle the spicy even though it wasn't very spicy, just his taste buds were weak.

My other friend who had the Egg Plant dish remarked that "the food I had was good. I liked the flavours but I thought that the eggplant sauce was a little on the oily side." 

Overall: I'll be back since it is so close to UBC and also convenient with the Canada Line. The food is good.