Simon "Press Continue" K.'s Profile

I really didn't know where to put you... a 3.. a 4... but I'm going to say 3.5 compared to all the other Joey restaurants I have been to in the city. The former Shark Club, with the multilevel seating area, I was wondering what was here, and in this area you have all the big chains, from Earl's, Cactus, and Milestone's nearby, it's like 'chain alley' around this part of town, so why not a Joey's.

The one thing compared to all the other restaurants this place has going for itself is parking. If you've eaten at the competitors, this is by far one of the most important things. If there ain't parking, I'm thinking twice about going. They share the same building as the Save-On-Foods..... so rest assured your know that your car will have a space, and what I noticed is that they have a valet parking person here?

So, onto the restaurant, was sat on the main floor, this place is very good for groups, tons of big tables, and booths, and also a parking that everyone can drive here yourself and find parking, unlike the other nightmarish lots for restaurants along here! The washrooms are near the entrance on the bottom, which can be weird, depending on where your located, could be a good walk.

The menu is your standard Joey's, you been to one, you been to them all. On this night I had the Tuna sashimi salad, and a side of crispy mashed potato. The service was quick, with my water being filled every so often. Even shared part of the apple pie I ordered for dessert. Wasn't asked if I wanted another drink, kind of found that odd, as isn't this where you money is made? With big parties, they are good at splitting up the bill, even the apple pie I was sharing, I have to give them credit for that.

I think their website says 'premium' casual dining, well I must say that the premium is in the price. Depending on what you order, it can get heavy on the wallet, especially for one who use to work in this industry, if it wasn't for my former co-workers, I'd think twice, but it is obvious that the local economy supports this. For me, I just find it a tad on the expensive side for what it is.

I still remember coming here the very first time, and being asked how the heck did you find this place, all by luck, as always using the eyes on the side of my head to spot new restaurants, and to always try to figure out the next place to go and throw my money at, and hopefully have an experience where I can jot some notes in my head and type up some colorful worthwhile review, and Penang definitely deserves my 500th 'write up'. Where to begin, you wouldn't think of finding a fine dining restaurant experience in this neck of the woods, surrounded by Oscar's, Little Caesars, a 7-11, this is 'East-Side' Vancouver! (oh yeah!) There I was, driving home along Rupert, and this restaurant on the corner of 23rd just caught my eye... probably because of the words "Malaysian" in their banner, and from the sight of things, this place didn't look like a 'hole-in-the-wall'. Take down name, check up the 'Yelp' app on the phone, tread cautiously. There was not many reviews of this place near the beginning of this year, and I'm "all-in" when it comes to new experiences!

Along with my partner, and another friend, the 3 of us on a cold winter's night went to this restaurant in the 'East-side' to see if "this was good??" When we got here at night, the place was packed, the place is tiny, but it has a very 'homey' like feel, a mish-mash of things, like a little wooden sign out front, pictures of Malaysia hanging all over the place, a private eating room in the back that could seat 6-8 (I doubt you could fit more, but this place is tight!), one washroom (yes... only one.. labled mens; womens; handicapped!), and a full on kitchen. The place, at max could probably fit about 40, and that maybe pushing it. Close confines, but it didn't feel crammed. The place on a nightly basis, is busy, but you will get enough elbow room to sit confortable and eat, what we hoped this night, was a good meal. When we entered, you could smell the coconut and spices used in the kitchen engulfing the same air everyone was breathing in here. That silent look, when you look at the other people in your party, and just know that when things smell right, your in for a good meal came out of the faces of the people I was with.

3 people on this night, the order, an order of their house made roti, a big bowl of lamb soup, there house made laksa, a big plate of Kari beef brisket, and finally their Hainanese chicken, with two bowls of rice. The portions were a fair size, and if anyone who has met me knows that I don't eat too much, and neither to the two people that were with me that night. Each dish came steaming hot, fresh, right out of the kitchen in the back up to our table. I don't think we were starving, but the plates, each of them, made us salivate with delight. The amazing thing about this experience was learning about each dish afterwards, there is a man named Jack that works here, who can look at your bill and tell you exactly who made each dish, and true to form from Malaysian cuisine, explain to you why it was done in the way it was. There are a number of chefs that prepare different dishes here, it's not a one person show. The care and quality to each dish shows, even to the most simple of things, the dipping sauce for the Hainanese chicken, which was not out of a bottle, but made in house.

When you want commercialized, you go to Tropika, when you want it real good, you come right here, you can compare dish by dish, and you will know what I am talking about. The service is top notch, which doesn't make this just a place where you sit your butt, order, and exit, but an experience into the culture of this food. Jack, the person who served us was able to disect each dish, and would be able to tell you which cook in the back had their hands in preparing and making the finished product. One last thing I will always remember is Jack upselling us on dessert called the "Kuih Talam" where we were stuffed, there was nothing to take home, all the sauces, rices, meats, soups, everything was devoured by the three of us, where we couldn't touch any more food, and even though he knew this, he said that if we couldn't finish this dish, consider it on the house. Can't say no to potentially free food, and when it came out, the four pieces were slowly eaten, and somehow there was room for this. Jack came back later and explained the dish, and how it is not overpowering so you can still savour your dinner. This place is passionate to what they serve, and during the last time we were there, gave us a coupon for $10 off our next visit.

We came back again just recently, and it was still as I remembered it. Even though the coupon was expired, they still allowed us to use it. I would come back again and again to try more of their food, it's just that good!

How do businesses survive, you wonder that, and you really wonder that when you enter a place, and leave feeling just cheated upon in terms of ethnicity and price, and we have another one, courtesy of my wallet, luckily for me and my partner we didn't spend that much, but you would think that being where this place is located in that the standard of food would be elevated a notch, well as the star ratings system goes "Eek! Methinks not"!

A promise of good Thai food goes to waste if you go in here, not that the service was bad, but when your questions aren't being answered, and your only response to what good Thai authentic cuisine is, when they ask if you'd like to order the 'Pad Thai' is just wrong, like going into a Chinese restaurant asking for 'beef fried lice (I mean rice' was to come out from the server), and that is what we got, just on their end.

The place looks like's it's been here a good while, from what my partner says, as she used to work here. You'd think, it's survived this long, it should be alright (it's Kerrisdale for freakin sake's) well the smokescreen was on, and once we sat and looked at the menu, the first thing that came to mind was, this better be good, as the prices were on the high-side, and when you saw what was being served the thought from our brains was a "really", like food court style food landing on the table.

The dish we ordered today was the 'Moo Nam Prig Poaw' (your like.. what the heck did you order....??) Some pork mixed up with some green and red peppers, some onions and some Thai chili paste for close to $11. Let down, let alone with a bit of steam from the let down that became anger was probably the feeling at this point. Something that was just thrown together, called some authentic name, premium price chucked on, and having to stomach this knowing that you could probably get this at some other 'hole-in-the-wall' restaurant for almost half the price, and also probably being better is the final feeling of making this one memorable.

Well, as I said before, I came, I ate, and I shall not come and eat here again.

It was by chance that me and Wendy Y. even discovered this place, no reviews prior to, no advertisements, no word of mouth, just a quick drive into Steveston Village for me, and my passenger was able to see a place with a 'cute' name. It looked very new, very bright, very pretty, on a nice sunny day, and the presentation of chocolates lined their counters, we were welcomed by the friendly staff, and before anything else, were preseneted an array of chocolates that they make, to sample. A sample usually half a piece, a full one if your lucky, but they let you try almost all of what they make in house here before you buy. Before you even take a bite out of each chocolate, they tell you what is the ingredient and even some story of some client behind the piece (if they bought a whole bunch for a wedding party, etc.). There is some very high quality chocolate made here, and hiding from the rest of you who don't venture this far! I'm telling you now, if your in this part of town, stop your car, and get in this place.

When we first came here, they were on the verge of expanding their shop, and planning to offer classes in pairing up chocolates with wine. That was then, and we returned for my partners small gathering (aka birthday get together!), armed with friends and some Yelper's at hand, we entered this place again, and were treated to their newly renovated expansion side, which is also a part kitchen for their production of their sweets they sell to everyone (and also supply chocolate to the RiverRock... if my memory serves me). A center counter where all 9 of us stood around, while Kathy (the passionate owner) stood to tell us all about cocoa, and the realities and myths that surround this passion of hers. Also we had her husband Lawrence, who was the one to tell us about the wines we were about to have with each piece of chocolate. You could feel the enthusiasm from each into what they love, and how they shared it. Herman asked some great questions into wine, where Lawrence was quick to answer. Kathy brought her take into the matter with what nodes of flavours came out of the chocolates after being paired with the wines. Each to their own, and to that their tastebuds as well, I will still remember the eye opener with the coffee like deep red, and the chai chocolate and the reaction Herman made.

Even with Larry L.'s dietary restrictions, they were able to give him his very own sugar-free chocolate to enjoy with the rest of us, and a piece that many of us asked for more that was originally on his own plate (salted chocolate!). It was an enjoyable education of discovery for all who were there to spend that afternoon, and know that chocolate can also be paired with wine, but to understand the passion of the people here. Kathy also sends her full time employees to Montreal to learn about cocoa, so each has a good understanding. We were even offered there expresso to pair with the chocolate pieces we had left, and I can say that on this day, the people who were here, who never have been here learned about a great hidden chocolate place to add to their own list when they think of that simple thing named chocolate.

I was amazed the first time coming in, and as I said near the end of our afternoon here, when we first came in, we would be coming back, knowing that they did wine pairings. If you haven't tried this, and always only thought of cheese and meats, chocolates will definitely open your palate differently. If that is not for you, try their other classes, where they even bring in one of the chefs from the RiverRock. Not into classes, come for the product, you will find a chocolate that is you, from white to dark, fruits to interesting mixtures, even one with a vile of alcohol stuck into it like an arrow just stabbed it's victim, this place is 'sinful' but just oh so good.

I needed some good chicken, fried evil juicy goodness, was I going to be satisfied, especially reading all the reviews on this site as I drove all the way to Portland to see the scene of the ever popular food cart revolution, well my heightened expectation was met, and this little shack be serving some kick-ass comfort food delight! There is no size when ordering, it is just one size when ordering the fried bird, practically looked like half a chicken in this box to go!

Me and my partner stood in front of this cart, and seeing her reach for money just to pay for the feast that was upon us was quite a treat. This was before even breaking open the box that was presented upon us. The order was simple, fried chicken, a biscuit, and some pickled cucumber on the side. The woman working here was 'smiley' and happy on this sunny day, and warned us of the sourness of the cucumber. The box, after the money was sucked up by this cart, came in a flash, in all it's cardboard goodness.

The box was big, not massive, big, wondering, it's only fried chicken, how big can it be. As I said in the beginning, the size looked like half a small bird, with a nice dark seasoned breading wrapping/engulfing the bird, this thing was picture perfect, not over battered, the terms just right come out of our mouthwatering 'eating holes' looking at his soon to be devoured dish! This is gourmet fried chicken, and not your KFC, Popeye's or Church's (which is the extent of my finger licking good knowledge on this treat!) fast food, run in and pick it up (even though it is kind of the same, just from one cart!) non-consistent chicken, this is Flogene's! As my significant other combed through the bird, looking at the fried crust carefully like someone out of CSI to scope for prints, a smile came from her face, satisfaction, not just yet, not until this sucker was chewed up. I've never seen fried chicken this juicy, I can only explain what I saw in our eating adventures with this box, eating the fried batter with the meat, eating the fried batter alone, noticing the glistening meat, ripping the pieces apart, more juice flowing out like someone was basting the bird from the inside when we got to the center. Not a hint of dryness, this was damn satisfying.

Next came the biscuit, this was another amazing addition, not just a side, but also a star to the whole meal. This thing was plump, buttery, and you could hear the nodding shake from your own internal arteries after already having the fried juicy goodness of the chicken. When we opened the box, we were advised to put some hot honey on the biscuit, we were puzzled, we followed orders, and they were not wrong on this issue, do as they say, they are the makers of the product! Biscuit's with honey, now that is something new, the buttery thing just melded so well, that it is hard to explain. We did not finish the biscuit, and it was saved for our day trip to the wineries the next day (too good to throw out!).

We last had the side of pickled cucumbers, and these suckers had such a zing, where you mouth almost wanted to pucker, but it's one of those foods where you just keep popping in your mouth for the zing, and the change to your face. We also didn't finish this, and it came with us the next day to our winery tour!

Also, because of you (Flogene's) I can't stomach another piece of commercialized 'run-of-the-mill' mass produced mystery fried chicken!! Grrrr...

I can be a sucker for marketing, hence I walked in here! It's like how people are fooled on packaging, this place looks great, sitting on Denman, looking like an old Chinese restaurant that would be portrayed in a Hollywood movie stereotyping the Chinese, this place would be a great set piece! Something out of a 'Rush Hour' movie with Chris Tucker saying something totally incorrect, trying to mimick a Chinese person would be the correct feel. I had parking around the area, I had my partner with me, and we needed some place new to try, and into the dragon's lair we went.

We sat all the way in the back of this place, the old Chinese smorgasboard look caught our eye, and the open kitchen where they were cooking the noodles was laid out on the right side of the back. The people in the kitchen spoke Mandarin, a good sign I wan't going to get cheated on in a town where faux pas Chinese food would not be accepted unless your name was Man Chu Wok! We were sat, and presented two nicely laid out menus. In our little two person booth there was a spice rack, with a nice stained bottle of soy sauce (a bottle I have seen back in the days my mom worked in Chinese Restaurants!), a big bottle of salt, a big bottle of white pepper, and a nice bottle of chili oil. We both decided to take a sniff of this chili oil, from the fine ground peppers that were all built up on the bottom, to the thick oily goodness of this sauce, we had to wait for our dishes to come before being able to try this.

Our lunch consisted of two items, one of them was the pork dumplings served in peanut sauce, and the other was there hand made noodles served with pickled vegetables and meat. Let's do this in order, when the dumplings came, it was a small bowl, with some dumplings in a thin brown broth. OK, shall not judge from just the look, tasted the sauce, and it was pretty much what you would serve in a bowl of 'tan tan' noodles, the dumplings themselves were nothing special, adding the chili oil I said above assisted in making everything better, oh chili oil you are a savour!

The noodle dish didn't come far too long after our dumplings, and the presentation wasn't bad, a huge bowl, broth that looked like soy sauce mixed with water, meat chunks that were definitely unevenly cut, and pickled vegetables thrown everywhere, under a bed of homemade noodles. When I saw my partner take the first slurp of broth, I knew it was not what she was expecting. I quickly followed suit to try to see what she just tasted, and didn't I say, soy sauce mixed with water is practically what was drank down my throat. I tried many variations of trying to mix this up, drink with some noodles in the spoon, drink with some meat, veggies and noodles in the spoon, etc. etc, thank goodness again for the chili oil which probably was the star of this show. Wherever they are getting this chili oil, I would love to have a bottle for my kitchen!

The noodles, you can tell were handmade, but lacked consistency. You would see thick ones, skinny ones, they were dense, there wasn't much bounce. There is no look of amazement, or childish smile that came from the both of us after putting the first bite in our mouths. We even tried to mix the noodles with the dumpling peanut sauce, which made things better. It became just another meal, hurry up, eat due to neccesity and then get the bill, then get out.

Maybe because I am Chinese, and maybe because I have had some real good fresh home made noodles that my standards are higher, or maybe I'm just speaking the truth as to my experience here. I know you make your noodles here, and they are fresh, there is just a whole bunch of things lacking in the finished product. I came, I ate, I left.... but I still remember the chili oil!

You know when you just walk around, and are not really looking for anything, and somehow stumble on something, well that is what happened and that is how me and my partner found this place! We were not even hungry, as we ate breakfast/lunch while being in Steveston Village, and walking around noticed a sign for a bakery, and my 'meat-addicted' mind wanted to come into this place! They are the new kids to the block, but when you enter you know quality when you see it. All types of meat, some even 'dangerous' looking (the all albino white one, see that and you be the judge!') to your arteries, but you know it's going to be so damn good in your mouth.

The people working here were very informative as to their product, knowledgable and friendly. Explaining the whole process of the meats, as to where they are processed, what is in all their versions of sausage, the ingredients, the taste, and even the storage, and knowing that there is no preservatives, so you shouldn't just buy, and keep them laying around in the fridge, as they will discolor, but don't you worry, they are still edible, just not as attractive as when you bought them, and that is why you should come in here, buy, go home, cook and enjoy!

I ended up buying two sausages from them for our late dinner breakfast, yes it sounds weird, I know, having buttermilk pancakes for dinner, and I needed a meat side, and I was amazed at the flavor of these links! My partner was iffy about the feta cheese that was in these things, but the hint of spice, there was fruit in them, and meat, a mixture that just made us wish we had more, but now we know, this is the place to hit up for your specialty quality meats if your in Richmond.

Already thinking of the next 'breakfast' time, and making the trek to try their other assortment of sausages, and maybe tempt that maple bacon I saw out of the corner of my eye!

I haven't been back in awhile, say 2.5 years, at least, but I always remember places that serve me good hearty food, and this was one of them. Back before my Yelp writing days, I somehow stumbled along to this place with two friends, and had some curries, and a good time. Not knowing if they were still around, as they have a real nice spot overlooking the water, I came with my significant other, not thinking of eating here, but walking along, and ending up here, I looked at the menu, and enticed her, due to the fact we have not eaten breakfast, and knowing she would tempt any place with the item of "Laksa" to go on and eat the item!

Off we were, into this place, and it's a good size, two sides of the restaurant with seating. One side could host bigger parties, and we were sat on the side facing the water. Tacky wallpaper showing a real picture of water, beach and palm trees aside, it's comfortable. I've had their curries before, and this was just a mission for the bowl of Laksa, and so we ordered, there were two varities, and the one picked was the Singaporean. While we waited for our food, my significant other was scared of the microwave beep we heard, and I had to enforce the stir fried food flying noise that was heard in the background and that our food was not being 'nuked'.

When our bowl came out, steam was rising from this bowl, so you knew it was hot, or they put this in the microwave long!!!! (doubt that!) Looking at the dish, you could see the creamy coconut soup, the red globs of spice that was mixed into this soup to form the perfect blend of soupy goodness. There was a string of green beans (first I've ever seen) on this dish. A few big squares of tofu, some fish cake, two nice pieces of shrimp half peeled, some bean sprout, and two kinds of noodles. One was the vermicelli, and the other was this thicker yellow colored noodle (think Shanghai thick noodle, but not that thick.....) The bowl was quite big, and for our two small stomachs, this hit the spot. The soup had a good kick of sweating spice, not overly spicy but just enough where you keep on shoving it down your throat. The blend of all the ingredients worked, and was very hearty. It wasn't a cheap bowl, coming out to $9.40 (I may be off a few cents), but if your looking in Richmond for a bowl of Laksa, you know it is not easy to find, and if you are in Steveston Village looking for this type of food, just come here.

I look forward to coming again, as I said before when I first came, they didn't let me down then, and they didn't let me down this time either. There were many other things on the item I would be tempted to try!

A Chinese supermarket in Park Royal, who would have thunk it? Then when I saw the advertisement at the T&T location near my hood (1st and Renfrew) I was like, ok, that would be a cool idea, where they going to put this? Well it is on the South side of the mall (this odd two sectioned Park Royal, who designed this thing???) and it takes up the old Winners space. Coming here I already had comparisons (as I shop at all the other T&T locations within the city) and I was pleasantly surprised from my shopping experience.

The place is really brightly lit, I'll let a few years tack on, and see if the lighting will start to have that nasty yellow tinge, but for now, this place is very bright, and the isles of food are wide and well placed. Like going down a wide street, no need to play 'chicken' with your shopping cart in the isle and get your mean streak going on who the baddest person in the supermarket is, there is plenty of room for everyone.

The one standout of this store, compared to the others, is that they have a pretty big 'organic' section, yes, you read it, now go check it out. So for the health concious of mind, who prefer some of their goods to be organic, they have stuff here, and not a small section either. I also found many other products, or brands, that I wouldn't see at my own T&T, and the prices here (if we are talking about store sales) are real good. The hunter shall be rewarded with value priced groceries. Gone are the days (if you are living here) of crossing the Lions Gate to get to Chinatown cause you wanted to cook an authentic Chinese meal, yet your supermarkets don't carry the right ingredients for your dish, now you can come here.

It is more of an upscale T&T, clean, the staff very friendly, everything is orderly, and never too packed, even on a weekend afternoon, when they were handing out samples (like all their stores on the weekend's) the place was not a zoo! Parking is not too difficult either, just come through the Futureshop side. If you weren't so much out of the way, I would come to you more than my own T&T!

An odd name, but original, yeah sure, cause when someone says it, you know where the heck you are going. Needed something around the neighborhood of the mid Main street area, and something that is open late at night. My partner was having a hunger attack, and need something Asian on this night, so off we went, and the choice, this place. I remember coming here when it first opened, and nothing really has changed of this place, except the menu has grown, and there is quite a selection of items, if not in the menu, on the chalkboard stating the "Top 10".

Here's the disclaimer, Cash Only, like most highly established cheap Asian joints in this city that serve bubble tea, if you just got plastic, your outta luck, but don't fret, you can still get your Beefy Beef on, as the bank is right next door! Parking isn't too bad either, as this is located in a plaza, good luck parking here in the daylight hours though, but the street parking is all free as well! The place is quite big, they can accomodate your party of 6 - 8, and they do have a limited selection of alcohol for your liver drinkiing needs.

It's not cramped in here, as there is a handful of tables, the noise level can get up there, but we were here late at night, and in the background they are playing old favorites of Jay Chou, and all the Mandarin hits you'd here at a Karoake being screamed by musically inclined drunk (Chinese idol) singers (as I said, normal staple to anywhere Chinese that serves bubble tea - have Chinese Music playing!).

On this night, the order of the day was a bowl of their Beef noodle, and a dish of their fried tofu. The two dishes came out, magically, fast, unless I was tired, and I dozed off, but it was there not too long after ordering. I will start with the noodles first, very generous on the beef in this dish, as there was a good portion, so the equation of meat to noodle ratio was pretty good. The noodles themselves didn't have enough bite, as they seemed over cooked. The soup was flavourful, and not too powerful on the msg, hence no headache from this late night eater. Throw in some shreadded pickled cabbage, some baby bok choy to make things pretty, and give an excuse to say that this dish has your serving of greens. Pletiful and a big dish, a good order, and pretty solid. The next dish was the tofu, to me the star of the night, a good 8 cube blocks with a good handful of picked vegetables. The tofu was nicely deep fried, but very soft, and hot in the middle, not overly battered, but just right. That was the first dish to be devoured fully by the both of us.

Around this area, this is the only one your going to find without going too much outta the way for the competitor. It's been around for a few years, and is still alive and kicking, so the food is not bad, and you can piss your time here using the free wifi which is stated, and have your friends come along and drink the bubble tea if food is not there thing.