Tag Archives: food

Kirin Seafood Restaurant at CitySquare

Kirin Seafood Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoKnown for high quality Chinese food, I was excited to try this place for our co-worker’s farewell feast. It was the first time that I had been to a restaurant where they placed seat covers on each chair. Kept the coats on our seats clean and maybe protect it from greasy smells.

Service was excellent. My co-worker told me that when the hot water and tea pot were separate, it meant that they were a Cantonese restaurant. We were all offered individual hot wet towels to clean our hands. Every time our plates became full and ‘used’, it was replaced with a clean one. The interior was decorated nicely and the lively atmosphere created excitement for the food to arrive.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare1 idearabbit_kirin_citysquare5

Covers on seatsidearabbit_kirin_citysquare4

Even the tea pots have nice place mats.idearabbit_kirin_citysquare3 idearabbit_kirin_citysquare2

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare13 The main was the Lobster. It was difficult to eat as the shell was on it… I suppose this is how it is in Asian dishes, but I’m not a fan of using the hands and trying to peck at it like some vulture with the chopsticks in my other hand, especially for a high-end restaurant. I know that Sheepie isn’t fond of this style either, but I guess it’s the culture. For that reason, I picked up parts that had the meat already exposed and very little shell to pick through. It had a creamy sauce which were quite bland. The lobsters came mixed with noodles. Even though I love noodles, this felt almost like having linguine in a really bland alfredo sauce. I am not sure if it’s the clash with the idea that it reminded me of Italian food, that I didn’t really find the flavour captivating, or I’m starting to find that maybe I don’t lean towards noodles in really thick sauce (like Korean’s Jajangmyeon), I didn’t eat much of it. idearabbit_kirin_citysquare15However, the lobster was plumpy, and there were quite a bit of good chunks of meat. The co-worker who was leaving loved it as he was a huge lobster fan.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare10Spring Rolls $5 (2 rols) were crispy and average.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare11The deep fried flaky spring rolls were creamy, yet light in flavour. Despite my comment for creamy sauce above, I did very much like the contrast of the crispy outer case and the creamy inside. Very good! (sorry I don’t know the exact names…I didn’t order them, and I’m still not good with Chinese cuisine names… T_T If anyone knows, please let me know! Thanks!)

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare6Squid Calamari was super crispy, though a bit chewy, and the portion was a bit smaller than other places I’ve been to.

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Green beans had a delicate, but richer flavour. However, I did agree with one staff that it was way too salty. It would go great with plain rice.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare12The Pancakes weren’t rubbery, and it was fresh. Cut up into pieces, which made it easier to eat.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare7Rice Roll $5.38 were smaller in portion compared to other Chinese restaurants, but were quite tasty.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare9Shrimp Dumplings were hot, tasty and delicious.

idearabbit_kirin_citysquare8Fresh greens! I do have a pet peeve of how this dish is severed everywhere. Most often, it’s hard to chew off a bite from these… I wish they’d cut them into 3 sections, allowing for better table manners. Other than the Flaky Spring Rolls, nothing really jumped out at me. One staff told me that it was much better before and that she wasn’t that impressed this time.

With many other pretty good Chinese places that I’ve discovered for much cheaper, I don’t think I’d return with my own wallet.

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Guu Otokomae in Gastown

Guu Otokomae Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoI know Guu is really popular, and their food is good. However, I just can’t stand all the yelling and hustle and bustle of Guu’s atmosphere. It’s just not my thing. Nor is it Sheepie’s. But we were invited to a friend’s birthday dinner being hosted there, so of course we went. It was also the first time that I would go since becoming a food blogger, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to really assess the restaurant.

idearabbit_guu_otokomae1I started off with the Ebi Mayo $8.20. Very crunchy on the outside, and plumpy shrimps inside.

The staff was shouting out orders, and since the place was so noisy, people at our table were talking really loud. I had ringing in my right ear afterwards.

Unlike most ‘Western’ style restaurants where the server remembers what you ordered, dishes were placed randomly where there was space on the table. This made it a bit cumbersome since there were 13 of us at the table, and we had to figure out who ordered what.

idearabbit_guu_otokomae2The Takoyaki $5 had negi (green onions) which I had not seen on this dish before. The sauce was a bit runny, but the flavour was good.

idearabbit_guu_otokomae3Spicy Calamari $6.30 This wasn’t too crunchy, and there were too much guck.

idearabbit_guu_otokomae4Agedashi Tofu $5.50 was unusual in that it was drowning in soup. So the tofu were soggy, not with the crispy outside that I had become accustomed to. It was more like tofu soup. I wouldn’t order it again, though that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t eat it.

Overall assessment? The noise is the number one thing for me. I just don’t like all the shouting, and also having to talk with others at the table by raising my voice, or not really hearing what others were saying. The food was mediocre. Pricey for the quality. It could be because I don’t drink (at all) that I’m not a fan of the izakaya style – though I wouldn’t say that I don’t like izakaya food. For Guu though, despite the popularity, I would personally not return.

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot

The Fair @ the PNE

*this is for summer of 2014 (sorry for the delay…one year that is…)
idearabbit-pne1 idearabbit-pne3This summer two friends and I got the chance to go to the PNE!
Admission to get into the Fair is $16, though you get a $3 discount if you purchase online for $13. This admission does NOT include the Ride pass ($42.75/$39.75).
The reason that we went to PNE was because one friend really wanted to go see his favourite singer perform. Unfortunately, we came too late – as in before showtime, but the arena was completely full by the time we got there, and were cutting off the long lineup. My friend was super disappointed.

idearabbit-pne4 idearabbit-pne5I think one of the biggest attractions was the Game of Thrones exhibition. Since I don’t watch the series, I couldn’t really relate to the many artifacts and costumes on display, but the work that goes into the show can be seen. We lined up for the final part – the 3D Oculus Rift experience where you go up in an elevator and stand on top of a icy cliff. It feels almost real with the headgear, real wind and vibrating ground despite the somewhat pixelated virtual reality. One friend was so wrapped up in it, I could hear him being really shocked and taken in. Lol. It was a really long line-up, but worth the wait for a 1-2 minute experience.

idearabbit-pne2Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of the stand that sells phos, but here, I tried out a chicken pho instead of beef. It was pretty tasty, and good portion. There was a huge slice of lemon in it though. I thought pho came with lime? and not thrown in the soup.

idearabbit-domoAlso, we now a new friend! Introducing Domo-kun!! Yeah, he can be a bit intimidating sometimes, but he means no harm :) We played some games, but we only got really small prizes. I had my eyes on the Domo-kun, so I was pretty excited when I saw a small stand that had an old guy either guess one’s weight, age or birth month. I chose the weight, and he got it really off. I have a gut feeling that he doesn’t guess correctly to give the prize to customers – to lure more customers in. I paid $5 for game, and surely, the prizes are mass produced which costs them almost nothing. However, if I were to buy a Domo-kun from Japan, or a character store, it would have cost more to purchase, so I was happy.

Entertaining: carrotcarrotcarrot    Cost for Admission/Food: carrot

Atmosphere: carrotcarrotcarrot    Location: carrotcarrot carrot