Category Archives: All You Can Eat

Escape! at Elements Casino

Escape - Elements Casino Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoDisclaimer: *This was a complimentary meal. This post was not edited or written for monetary compensation, and are solely my opinions and observations.

Hours of Operation: Monday to Sunday 24 Hours
Address: 17755 60th Avenue Surrey B.C. V3S 1V3
Phone: 604.576.9141

idearabbit_elements-casino18I was kindly invited to the newly renovated Casino Elements for their exclusive dinner; a seven course dinner with all-you-can-eat dessert! I was pretty stoked!

It was hosted on a Friday evening, so trying to get from downtown to the location in Surrey took us 2 hours! However, it was totally worth the drive!!

idearabbit_elements-casino19idearabbit_elements-casino1 idearabbit_elements-casino3 idearabbit_elements-casino2Dinner was held at Escape! on the second floor. It was an open space, easily seating over 100 diners. One side is all glass, letting in natural light to brighten the room. There is a stage on one side where there are free live entertainment from bands, local acts, stand-up comics every Friday and Saturday night. Check their website to see who’s performing.

idearabbit_elements-casino4I started off with a Shirley Temple which was tropical and beautifully presented, getting me into a ‘summer’ like mood. It tasted good too! It’s been a while since I last had one :P

idearabbit_elements-casino20The executive chef Raymond Mah, nicknamed ‘Chef Ray’ cooked up a seven course meal for the event. Keep in mind that these items are served on various days.

idearabbit_elements-casino61. Tomato & Bocconcini, Sundried Tomato Pesto, Balsamic Glaze (Rating: 5/5)

MMMMmmmmmmm! Just loved it! The tomatoes were fresh and firm. The small mozzarella cheeses were semi-soft and the mix of herbs and balsamic glaze were just perfect! I could have just stuffed myself completely with this one dish!

idearabbit_elements-casino52. Antipasto Salad, Grilled veggies, Salami, Basil (Rating: 3/5)

Selection of cooked carrots, onions, red and green peppers, mushrooms and salami. Sheepie and I thought the onions were squid! LOL. This is just me, but I usually cook my veggies quite raw since I like the hardness or crunchiness (even if that means not getting the most nutrients from them, like  cooking mushrooms brings out more potassium), but I like them raw (or close to it). Something about gooey veggies that I don’t find as appetizing. I would still eat it of course. Since most of the items were plain (except the saltiness of the salami), it would have been nice to have some additions of olives.

idearabbit_elements-casino7Pork Loin, Grainy Mustard Apple Sauce (Rating: 4/5)

Beautifully presented with the colours and layout. The meat was super soft and juicy. It was very impressive!idearabbit_elements-casino8Baby Back Pork Ribs, Whiskey Smoked BBQ (Rating: 5/5)

I’ve rarely had ribs in my life (can I call myself a foodie then? lol). In fact, I don’t really remember ever having one in a good restaurant. I think I’ve avoided wings and ribs because they tend to be greasy and have rarely any meat to chew on. However, these ribs were huge and presented on a wooden board. These ribs were amazing! Wow! Glazed with rich, smokey BBQ sauce, the meat was plentiful and moist.  A big thumbs up!

idearabbit_elements-casino9Portuguese Paella (chorizo, shrimp, peppers, tomatoes, saffron) (Rating: 5/5)

Sheepie wasn’t overly thrilled, but that’s because he’s not a big fan of rice to begin with. My friend also commented that it wasn’t the dish she cared for, but I loved this dish! It was dryer than most paellas I have had, which I actually like better than some which are stickier and mushy. As a person who loves fried rice, this was a delight for me, lol.

idearabbit_elements-casino10Clam & Mussels in a Cioppino Broth

It turned out that the shells I picked up were all empty…so no comments on the contents of the shells, and it wasn’t much of a stew but the tomato was enriched by the herbs, wine and seafood umami.

idearabbit_elements-casino12Lemongrass Chicken w/ Mango Chutney (Rating: 4/5)

Sheepie LOVED this dish the most. He fell in love with it. The meat was juicy, with the right amount of burnt charcoal flavour on the edges. The pineapples gave it a sweet touch while at the same time giving it a cheerful and energizing visual appeal.

idearabbit_elements-casino21 idearabbit_elements-casino13Smoked Beef Brisket, Natural Jus

Nicely roasted on the outside, but kept super juicy and moist inside. It was 1/3 fat, so Sheepie and I ended up cutting those parts off, but otherwise, the natural jus covered brisket was delicious!

idearabbit_elements-casino11Salmon, Bacon Carbonara Jus (Rating: 4/5)

The salmon were soft and savoury.  The lightly flavoured cream went really well with the fish. I love salmon, so I had several pieces, hehehe. idearabbit_elements-casino14King Crab Legs, Garlic Steamed w/ Green onions (Rating: 3/5)

Sheepie and I found it to be a bit too salty. On top of that, the legs were topped with a lot of garlic. Like A LOT. Sheepie, who has a deficiency of tasting garlic, didn’t notice, but I found it very garlicky. Don’t get me wrong, I do love garlic, but it was a tad bit too much, so I had to scrap off a spoonful from some. The meat otherwise was superb quality.

idearabbit_elements-casino15Crab Claws, Butter Poached (3.5/5)

With most of us full, no one was from our table was attempting to go through the hassle of carving out the meat from the claws…which was unfortunate. Such good meat, rare to get and expensive to order! I did take some home, and had some there. It was loaded with a lot of meat, though slightly a bit fatty from the butter. But as a person who no longer have butter in her fridge (for about 5 years now), I become sensitive to when butter is used.

idearabbit_elements-casino22idearabbit_elements-casino16 idearabbit_elements-casino17idearabbit_escape_elementscasino_26Afterwards, there were unlimited desserts at the Diamond Buffet downstairs. I tried the vanilla and chocolate mix soft ice cream in a cone.

idearabbit_elements-casino24I also had the chocolate mousse pudding. Light and not overly sweet. Sheepie who has quite a bit of sweet tooth was in heaven!

WOW! All I can say is, what a paradise dinner! The staff were very professional and friendly. The food was amazing – just wished we had more time to eat them all!

Afterwards, we were given a tour of the casino, and the Encore Rewards card to play at the slot machines. I think I’m a bit addicted now! LOL.

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: N/A

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot

Kawawa Japanese Restaurant

Click to add a blog post for Kawawa Japanese Restaurant on ZomatoI’ve started avoiding low-quality sushi restaurants since having several bad food-ingestion experiences at these kind of venues. I also have a sensitive stomach…but I took a risk. I’ve been to the Kawawa once before, but thought of giving it a second chance.

It was a Saturday around 6pm and it was fairly busy. We were seated after only having to wait a minute or two. They also offer All-You-Can-Eat, but we decided to do a la carte instead.

I was already deterred a bit from the cheap plastic cups, plates and the bowls which the surface looked like it had gone through the dishwasher way too many times. While waiting, I saw one of the chefs with blue gloves shove some food into his mouth while working with the food. Egh…

idearabbit-kawawasushi2I ordered Combo A $7.95 with California roll, Salmon roll, Tuna roll and Kappa roll. It was a good deal with the portions it came with, but the tuna roll looked a bit suspicious.

idearabbit-kawawasushi3Sheepie had Combo D (Spicy Combo) $11.95 with Spicy Tuna roll, Spicy Salmon roll, Spicy Chopped Scallop roll. I was jealous of the size of his dish, though presentation wise, the rolls seems to be falling apart. I took a small bite from one of his spicy tuna and gave the rest of the piece back. Blah!! It tasted off. Gross!

They were good with returning to refill our teacups…a bit too many actually. With our large smoothie, I rarely drank any of my tea.

idearabbit-kawawasushi1 idearabbit-kawawasushi4The only good thing was the Watermelon Strawberry Smoother $4.95. After driving around in the summer hot day, it was nice to have something to really cool you down. Tasted good as well.

However, there are better Japanese restaurants (unfortunately not in Metrotown mall that I know of)…and so I would not return.

Note! There is a minimum $10 charge per person at this place.

Taste: carrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

All India Sweets & Restaurant

Click to add a blog post for All India Sweets & Restaurant on ZomatoThe restaurant was fairly large and the tables nicely spaced apart. The booth benches were torn on some, and the lighting was poor, making it look like you didn’t really want to dine there. As you enter, you saw a huge counter with hundreds of sweets. I dunno if they were kept cool, but I wondered about the food safety just sitting out there in the hot summer heat, especially since I didn’t really feel much of the AC on.

idearabbit-allindia1 idearabbit-allindia2Our friend had wanted to try out this place, so we decided to go for the All-you-can-eat. It’s $10.95 for the vegetarian selection. More $ on top if you want some meat, but we were happy in just trying out the veggie menu featuring 6 dishes, naan, rice, papadum, 4 desserts, and salads. The buffet was small, but since it was AYCE, there weren’t any shortages of food to eat.

idearabbit-allindia3 idearabbit-allindia4idearabbit-allindia5The plates were metal trays with 3 small sections and 1 large main. I have not been to prison, but it reminded me of what prisoners eat from in jail (from movies that is), or when you eat from tins when you go camping. This was the second time eating out of these trays, but I guess I’m still not quite used to them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this, as some other reviewers have commented on feeling like eating out of ‘prison trays’.

The rice seemed a bit overcooked, and the curries were kind of bland. It didn’t have the rich flavours that higher end Indian restaurants served. The curry were almost watery in that near the end of the dish, the rice would be soggy and sitting in watered down curry.

Service was satisfactory, though it was really hard to understand their accent.

After everyone had 2 rounds, we were really stuffed. We didn’t even try any of the sweets, not that I was particularly interested in them (yes, I’m not into sweets…)

All in all, I would not return. For about the same price, you can enjoy a better meal and setting at India Bistro on Davie (for lunch only though).

 Taste: carrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot