Hamilton Street Grill

It's that time of year again for the annual Dineout Vancouver (culinary events, choose from hundreds of sensational restaurants ). This is actually my first year of trying this event, so I was quite excited. My friends decided on trying Hamilton Street Grill in Yaletown because we were all going to $38 restaurants later on and we wanted something with a $28 menu this time. I'm glad they made this choice because I've always wanted to try this restaurant. Our reservation was perfect and our table was ready right at the reservation time. The restaurant started off not that busy as it was early, but as the night went on, it was very lively inside, there were lots of couples, groups of friends, families, all trying the Dineout Vancouver menu.

We were given some bread and little bacon "sandwiches" to start off. 

Both were free but they were actually really good. The bread was very soft. The bacon "sandwich" had a thin piece of bacon squeezed in between, along with what I think is butter. It was warm and very soft, and the bacon was still crispy. Very nice to start the meal.

For the appetizer, I got the Appetizer 1: Roasted Organic Squash Soup, coconut milk, red curry, Thai herb pistou. This was definitely something new for me. By that, I mean the taste of the soup. You could definitely taste the curry, but it wasn't spicy. It reminded me of eating Curry Rice but with just the curry sauce! I liked this one though.

For the entree, I got the Grilled Certified Angus Beef sirloin, horseradish demi, German butter potatoes and seasonal vegetables. I got medium rare as the temperature, and I thought that the meat was still a little stiff, but I liked it. The German butter potatoes (top of the picture) were okay, nothing special in my opinion, I would have preferred mashed potatoes. The seasonal vegetables, I did not really like the beans because they were not soft enough for me. But overall, the beef with the sauce was pretty delicious.

For the dessert, I got the Candy Bar Terrine, Chantilly Cream, burnt demerara sugar toffee. I didn't know what to expect when I ordered it, but I found that I really liked this one. It was like a big mix of taste of a little everything. The toffee was really interesting because it was a hard sweet thing inside the chocolate tasting black toffee. I splattered the cream all over black "thing" and it was a good mix LOL


Overall: I felt my money was well spent for this meal. The service was good and the dishes were delivered at good timely intervals. The food quality matches the price.

Seasons in the Park

Came here as part of a school dinner trip, the price was $30 tax and tips included for a set meal.

Almost everyone chose the sirloin steak as the main course haha, everyone likes steak because we probably don't have it very often. It was mildly disappointing that we did not have the famous Seasons view of the city because we were placed in a back room with no view at all... I tend to think that the view is part of the Seasons experience, so it was a little disappointing to have no view...

Mixed Seasonal Greens (candied almonds, fresh berries, goat cheese, maple vinaigrette

I don't really like salad and cheese in general so I don't have much comment for the this except that it tasted fresh.

Grilled 7oz Sirloin Steak (bourbon green peppercorn demi-glace, market fresh vegetables, local potatoes)

This is what everyone was waiting for :). The steak was prepared medium for everyone. I really liked the potatoes; I basically like any type of mashed potatoes... yum... At first, I ate each piece as I cut it. This tasted good, but not as good as when I just decided to cut all of them into little pieces, then proceed to mix them thoroughly into the demi-glace sauce... it was... so good.

Best way in my opinion to eat it :)

Last but not least, we had the dessert.

Sunburnt Lemon Pie

My favourite part about this pie was the crispy layer on the top of the cake, that was pretty cool, it was a slightly burnt crispy layer.

Overall: It was worth the money and the food was good.

Old Spaghetti Factory (Richmond)

Friends decided to go to Old Spaghetti Factory after a few games of bowling next door, I was pretty hungry after all that exercise. I have been to Old Spaghetti Factory before, but not in a few years. Our large group was seated quickly, and the service was attentive. I noticed they had a antique weight scale at the entrance that actually works, very interesting to have a weight scale in a restaurant haha

The newspaper-style paper menu had many many choices, and it took me a while to pick. Here's what I decided to go with. The entree also came with bread and ice cream.


Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo $13.50     4/5
A creamy creation with shrimp, scallops and mushroom sauteed with fresh spinach and egg fettuccine noodles and Alfredo sauce

+

• Very thick Alfredo sauce and taste
• Fresh seafood
• Not too salty
• Noodles were thick and texture was not too soft or hard

-

• It just didn't taste very exceptional, I don't know how to explain, but it tasted really standard, which is why I gave it only a 4/5
• Not enough seafood

Clam Chowder (Minestrone Soup is free, but I substituted for Clam Chowder) $2.25     4/5

+

• Very very thick
• Lots of fresh clams
• Not too salty, unlike the "famous" clam chowder I had at Pike Place Market in Seattle which I thought was overrated

-

• Could have came a little hotter

Overall: Old Spaghetti Factory delivers good food for the price. I would not mind being back. 

Moodyville Cafe

I heard a lot of good things about this all-day breakfast cafe in North Vancouver. I chose to try Moodyville in the morning with my friends before heading up to Grouse Mountain to hike the Grouse Grind.


How this place works is when you go into the restaurant, you first order the food from the counter. Then the cashier gives you a stand with a number on it, and your food will be brought to your table when it is ready. 


It was around 11am on a Monday morning, the place was pretty busy. The wait for the food was ~15 minutes, which is not really ideal if you are in a rush, but otherwise is okay. 


I decided to go with something simple:

Eggs with Hash + Toast with Sausage 3.5/5

+

• Good quantity and very filling (I wasn't hungry even at the end of my Grouse Grind hike)
• Sausages were delicious, I loved the taste and it was not too salty
• Toast was not hard, easy to chew, they applied the butter already so I did not have to do that

-

• Scrambled eggs were not the best I have had, they were a bit too overcooked for me, I would have preferred smoother egg
• Some of the Hash was burnt

Overall: Moodyville Cafe serves a good breakfast at a good price. It has a very "neighbourhood" feeling to it. I would say the food is not that special compared to other places for breakfast, but it's definitely comparable. I still can not find a place that serves as good scrambled eggs as Hong Kong!

Lumberman's Arch Concession

 Was spending my day at Stanley Park on this gloomy Sunday afternoon. I did not pack a lunch so I expected to be gouged by the food in this tourist area! It was around lunch time, and there were only a few customers at the concession stand beside Lumberman's Arch: a few humans, a raccoon, and some hungry crows anxious to grab food from unsuspecting tourists.


I have had a hot dog at Stanley Park before, and it was actually pretty delicious, so this time, I decided to try something different. I went for a food that I always want to eat, but rarely eat for whatever reason:






Small Fish and Chips $6.95     3.5/5

+

• Fries were delicious, very hot and fresh off the oil fryer; I'd say the fries are better than McDonalds and A&W, but not as good as New York Fries
• Fish frying paste was very crispy
• Food was freshly cooked, I saw them making it in front of my eyes
• Fish had a good texture
• Not too oily

-

• Some of the fries had black over burned bits, not very healthy, but still delicious
• Fish tasted bland; but I guess this is healthy 

Overall: I'm actually really pleasantly surprised at the food I got for the price. I honestly expected really bad fish and chips, but they were definitely passable. My view on Stanley Park Concessions has changed :)

A&W

Needed a quick breakfast in preparation for a long day. Decided to just go to the local A&W for breakfast as we got some coupons in the mail. I actually prefer their plate breakfasts over their breakfast burgers. It was quite early, so the restaurant was almost empty, but the food was prepared quickly, good efficiency.

Now on to the food:

Egg, Bacon, Toast $3 with coupon     3.5/5

+

• The toast was absolutely delicious when combined with the strawberry jam, it was really soft so I did not have to rip it with my mouth, I do not like when I have to do that!
• Egg was done well, the yolk did not leak and it was not too cooked so the yolk was still fluid; I love the feeling of slurping the egg yolk

-

• Would be better if the food was hotter, it got cold really quick, so the bacon was not as good as it should have been

Overall: A&W is a reliable fast food restaurant for breakfast. The  breakfasts it serves is, in my opinion, much better than McDonald's.

Simply Pasta

Another "food court style" restaurant located inside the UBC Student Union Building (SUB). During the regular winter school term, there are constantly lines at Simply Pasta by hungry students wanting some excellent and filling pasta with a piece of garlic bread :) (I'm sure UBC students know what I'm talking about).

In the summer term however, their choice of food is much less than the regular term, and I am anxiously waiting for September when I can have some good food at UBC again. 

Today, I decided to try one of their summer lunch specials.

Beef Stew with Steamed Rice served with Mixed Vegetables and Garlic Bread $6.75     3.5/5

+

• served hot
• meatballs were very good, nice mix of salty taste and soft texture
• mixed vegetables were fresh, did not taste like frozen ones

-

• beef stew was not very special, tastes like something I could make at home with Campbell soup
• garlic bread did not live up to the usual standards at this place: the garlic bread was on the toaster and not ready, but the chef took the garlic bread and just hovered it over the stove for a few seconds, resulting in not so good quality.., not very garlicky taste and not crispy enough
  
  
  

Overall: You should simply (no pun intended) visit Simply Pasta from September to April for the best affordable food at UBC.