Tojo's - Vancouver, BC

Our first night in Vancouver we made reservations at Tojo's, a very popular Japanese restaurant. They confirmed reservations online and were very pleasant in the Japanese manner over email. In person they were just the same and called me "Goto-san", how novel :-). The restaurant is located in a business building on the second floor. The decor is very understated and simple.

Our dishes in order were:
1) Tuna tartar - 3 types of tuna chopped up. It has a ponzu and lemon sauce it floated in. I thought it was neat that when you finished the dish the sauce was perfectly proportioned that it was gone when you finished. I don't care that much for tuna tartar. I think my taste buds are attuned to poke more and I always expect that when eating raw tuna. However, not to say it wasn't prepared very well. Very tasty and it contained a multitude, if not a plethora of flavors. I tasted shiso, lemon zest and ginger. . . don't know what else was in there.

2) Our next dish was described as "Japanese escargot". I think that wasn't a good description because you think about garlic and buttery flavor. This was Japanese flavored sea snail with hints of bonito broth. It was very tasty and was a mixture of the broth, different mushrooms and snails. It was nicely presented in a shell which was HOT and placed over on bed of sea salt.










3) "KFC". . . is what the waiter said. . .well he actually said "Keee-Effu-SHE". . since he had a Japanese accent. Then he explained it was cod. This dish reminds me of a Chinese dish overall especially the gravy sauce over it. It was topped with mushrooms, mussels and some greens. The fish was deep friend with a corn flake coating. . .not the panko flakes you would have expected.

4) Salmon with miso sauce came out next. By now were thinking. . .are we going to have sushi? Oh well, David liked this fish dish. I though it was a little dry and not too fatty. The miso sauce was some complicated teriyaki-miso mixture. The garnish was fried tofu and fern stems.











5) Ahh, Sushi finally. I can't remember exactly what everything was but it was interesting mixes. Pinapple, mango in one of the rolls, Salmon skin in another. One had lobster the other had crab.

6) The dessert was refreshing. Ice cream floating in yogurt sauce with pieces of mango and pineapple.










Over all it was a neat meal. It's kinda like having a meal prepared by Iron chef except there wasn't a special ingredient. One thing though I noticed I drank a lot of water. The food didn't taste salty when eating it, but it must have been. We had dinner at 7pm and when we left, the place was packed. The service was very good and friendly and it was nice to have the Vancouver city background outside. I don't know if we'd go back or recommend the place. San Francisco probably has some comparable places. However, pretty great food presentations and solid dishes of Japanese influenced food that didn't taste like weird fusion dishes.

We picked a set price for each dinner and they feed you accordingly. There was an option of "no price limit" and wondered what that entailed. Do you keep eating until they have to roll you out the door? Hmm, if I was rich I'd go for it!

Berkeley Thai House

Got up late on a Saturday morning so we looked for a place in Berekely to eat lunch. Dropped in at the Thai House. We sat outside and the weather was perfect. The Thai ice tea is good. Sweet but not too sweet.

We ordered the Roast duck. It was really good. I would eat this again. Served with Rice and over cabbage it’s perfectly cooked. The sweet soy sauce isn’t really needed but it was a nice touch.

Also tried the rice noodles. It was good. I’ve had it before and it’s one of my favorite dishes. We only had two dishes so it’s tough to really judge someplace on two dishes. The roast duck was really good so I’ll up the rating to 4 stars just for that.

They don’t serve a whole lot of food, so there’s no extras and it’s not served family style. But over all was a good experience and I’d go back to try some other things. The desserts looked good.

Pho Ca Dao

Good Pho Restaurant. They have fast service and fairly cheap prices. I had the regular pho with tendon and beef. They didn't skimp on the beef and tendon too. Big pieces and the broth is tasty. The noodles were cooked just right too.. . .aldente. . .but then if you let it sit too long it's too soft. . .so eat fast

Legoland - Apple Fries

Have you ever had deep fried granny smith apples? This is a specialty apparently at Legoland. Pretty good stuff with whip cream on the side and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. My friend said it taste like apple pie. . .so I was thinking about McDonald's apple pie. . .but I think the crust makes apples taste like apple pie. . .it was better than that I think.

Crustacean Restaurant

I am a master crab eater with no shame at all with a bib on my neck and all my finger into it. . .so I enjoyed the Crustacean very much. Went to this restaurant with David's Co-worker's on Sunday night. Sometimes it's just good to sit for a long meal and get ridiculously stuffed. Everyone on the table ordered a whole crab. You could pick which sauce the crab seeped in. I chose the garlic butter and David chose the one with a wine based broth.

I give it five stars because it was finger licking good. Of course we didn't pick up the tab and if we did I might be way more critical, so keep that in mind as you continue to read on. The calamari was nicely fried and not too much coating. The spring rolls and coconut shrimp were good, but the papaya salad with octopus is the best appetizer of the four we ate.

The crab in butter gets cold if you don't eat fast but it was tasty since the salt, pepper and garlic is added on top so you don't have to be dipping anything. Oh and you have to get all of your hands involved in this one, two fingers ain't going to cut it. The one in the wine broth was okay.

The garlic noodles are really really tasty that even after a whole crab you can still eat the noodles. . .it's that tasty.

The desserts weren't anything out of this world, but nicely prepared and decent.

Overall the wait staff was very attentive. I don't think any of the crab shells pilled to any rim before it was replaced with a clean bowl. One thing to note is that you can't be wearing a regular t-shirt if you go in. David had to borrow a collar shirt from the restaurant to meet dress code. The host however was very pleasant when he told us the dress code so it didn't ruin the evening at all, and it gave us something to point and laugh at. . . David of course. Hehe....

Angelfish Japanese Restaurant

Went last week and it was a good Japanese restaurant. The wait staff is friendly and service is good. Of course we came on Saturday around 5pm when they open up, since we were starving.

Ordered the monk fish liver, sashimi for two and pot stickers. The monk fish liver was okay but I was expecting a different consistency. It was served cold with a sho-yu type sauce, and had the consistency of pate and compacted.

The sashimi for two is a good deal $25 for 25 pieces of the chef's choice of 5 fish. Ordered bowls of rice to eat with it. The rice is perfectly cooked too. Also had an order of Toro since it seems to be a popular thing.

Should have stopped eating there but since the stomach is slow to react to tell you it's full, we ordered shrimp pot stickers.

Every dish was meticulously arranged with nice touches like shiso leaves and daikon shreds. So decorative and thoughtful. The only thing I thought was lacking was an extensive menu of selection. But I think that's because they choose to do the simple things great instead of many things okay

Tandor Kitchen - Again

We like it when you want a cheap and tasty rice and gravy meal. The spinach and cheese is good, although this time it tasted less spicy. We ate some beef curry which was a block of beef in a gravy sauce. The gravy was a bit gummy so we'll stick to the lamb I think.

Tribu Grill

Okay new rule for August. . .If it cost less than $30 it doesn’t count as eating out and our bill from Tribu Grill was $22.00.

Just came back from dinner at Tribu Grill. It was pretty crowded for 7pm on a Thursday night. Good sign. Although there was a party there which probably is why we had to wait 10 minutes for a table. However the hostess was polite to let us know that a table would be ready soon. The décor is quite modern and clean and the wood floors kinda gives it a homely feeling. Nice. The kitchen is open though which I really wish it wasn’t because it adds to the noise in the restaurant and they put in nice speakers too. I think they’ve read some previous reviews because they have covered that spot in the corner with a nice decorative screen so you don’t see exposed kitchen things anymore.

Actually I should have read the previous review over what to try because I’m semi new to Filipino food (my only exposure was because I grew up in Hawaii and there’s a Filipino population there). My boyfriend went there for lunch and said is was good which is why we went there for dinner. So anyway, I had no idea what anything was on the menu, so as we walked to our table I took a look what other people were eating and asked the waiter “what’s that ?” and settled with what sounded good.

I deduced our order to the Laing and the daing na bangus. The laing was sooooo good. I asked for it not spicy though. It reminds me of a Hawaii dish called squid luau, only there’s squid in it instead of pork. Their version was really tasty and so melt in your mouth, a tad bit oily for me which would make me feel guilty if I picked up the bowl and poured it down my mouth. The “milkfish” daing na bangus was excellent also. It was topped with crispy garlic. We also ordered rice with our meal. For dessert we had the puto bumbong which is like unsweetened Mochi with coconut and sugar.

This place has got good food and could be a 5 star if they were a little bit more service organized and a menu with pictures and translations for us non-filipino’s. . . but that’s about it because the food’s great and the price is right.

Tokyo Fish Market

Why I love Berkeley, CA: The other day I stopped by Tokyo Fish Market to see what it was about since I've been driving by all this time. I just thought it was a fish market and that's it. However, when I went in it was actually a Japanese goods store and a fish market. Very clean and not fishy smelly at all, what you would expect a "fish" market to be. But ahh. . . Hand it to the Japanese to be clean and orderly. The place is not cheap though but what do I find in the freezer but Laualau from Hawaii and POG drink (that's Passion orange guava). The got the gambit of Japanese dry goods, but I have seen that before at 99 Ranch Asian market and slightly cheaper too. Seems like they have some Hawaii ties because when I visited the gift shop there was a handful of Hawaii brand things I recognized and also Hawaii cook books.

Okay so I'm too cheap to buy any fish over 10 bucks a pound so I passed on the selection that day, and besides it was Tuesday so I don't know if that was a good selection in the first place. I'm used to fresh Ahi for 7 bucks a pound and I just can't bring myself to paying more than double the price for it. I will wait until I go back to Hawaii to gorge on that stuff. But Laulau. . . Oh well I'll pay the dam 40% mark up because I can give up a few bucks now to eat it now.

Since we're going to Vancouver at the end of the month and will be eating out all the time there, I have decided that we aren't going out to eat in the Month of August . Although that yummy food at Tandor Kitchen will be calling out and that slide down your taste buds spinach dish. . .so tasty. . . might not be counted since afterall you order and pay at the counter.

Trip Tych

We had a nice dinner on Saturday night at TripTych. It was early night (6pm) so we were the only ones in the restaurant at this time. They had a DJ come in so I assume the place gets more filled later in the night, however we went there after a show (which sucked like a high school play - in fact, we suspect it *was* a high school pretending to be all grown-up. Pah!).

Our server was really friendly but not over obtrusive. For drinks we shared a big bottle of Belgian beer, at whichpoint I could have stopped dinner and drunk it with with some nice salty fries. . .But oh well. The beer was very good, a medium ale. The bread on the table was a nice rosemary ciabatta. It was warm and soft on the inside and toasty on the outside served with a Parmesan tasting creamy dip.

We tried the tuna tartar which the server recommended. He said it was prepared "poke" style. Now, being from Hawaii I know what Poke is so I was very skeptical over the taste. But it was actually a very good rendition. They made it with ginger and lemon zest which is a twist, but they didn't have the ogo (seaweed) which makes it taste like the sea. . But I don't think that's what they were going for. Okay right then I could have been satisfied with a bowl of tuna tartar, a pile of salty fat fries and my nice cold Belgian beer. . .But oh well, like I said. . .Oh well.

Dinner was okay, not great, but good. I didn't think the entrees sounded interesting as it was the regular American fair of steak, salmon, pasta, so we ordered paella for two. It tasted a little acidic like the base of the broth was lime and tomato juice. I was expecting more savory and spicy. The andouille sausage was rubbery like it wasn't seared but the seafood mix was pretty good.

Our chocolate molten cake. . .Warm, gooey. . . Yummy! It wasn't too sweet and it stuck to the top of your mouth. A Decent finish to the meal.

Over the restaurant was a pleasant time. Of course that's because we were the only patrons in the restaurant until almost the end of our meal where two other groups walked in. Seems like past reviews reflect bad service when it is crowded. The food was good, although it doesn't seem like the entrees are that great.

Tandor Kitchen

I wanted to try Tandor kitchen for the Indian food. We went for Dinner on Sunday night. It’s a no-service sit yourself kind of place and you go up to a counter and order right to the cook.

We ordered Samosa, Saag Paneer (Spinach and Cheese) , Aloo Gosht (Goat and Potatoes), Basmati rice, and a Mango Lassi. All solid dishes. My favorite was the spinach and cheese dish. . .Tasty. . .the cheese was fresh and not rubbery. The Samosas were big stuffed triangles served with chick peas and very good. The goat dish had a good sauce which was good over the rice. The sweet mango Lassi was a nice drink to wash it down.

La Note - Back for Brunch

Disappointing food but over all good experience. I had read the reviews raving about La Note's brunch so we go there the same weekend to check it out. I had expected the wait for the table. We came at 10:30am so I figure that would be before the real rush, however, we still had to wait 20 minutes to get in. Oh well, we were not hungry so we didn't mind the wait.

The nice hostess remembered that we preferred to sit outside even though we told her it wouldn’t matter. David said she was staring at his “imported” British shirt for a bit. The outside patio is a cute area, but by the time we needed to leave, I was ready because the sun was getting me warm.

Food was just blah okay. I had the pancakes. I don’t love pancakes but someone outside while we were waiting said they were good. I had gingerbread pancakes with pear and David had an omelet with marmalade (sounded better than tasted), grapefruit and a huge croissant. I think I would have preferred my eggs benedict breakfast over my cake-like pancakes.

I prefer the interesting Venus restaurant for brunch because they had a better selection of interesting stuff. La Note is a French restaurant. . .better for dinner.

La Note

We went to La note last night. It was a Friday night and the place was full but not packed so we were seated promptly. I felt bad for the family group of 6 that had to wait for a bit because there were not any tables available for that large party. We sat by the window which was cozy, but a bit cramped.

The restaurant was bustling loud, but not that loud where you could hear your dinner partner. You can see the kitchen tucked away in the back corner which is cute and not over bearing like those restaurants where you can see the whole kitchen in the background and thus the noise too.

I had the seafood bouillabaisse which was pretty good and decently priced at 19.95. It was a nice serving of seafood, shrimp, scallops, fish, mussels, clams and two legs of crab. The broth was tasty with salt added and it was served with these little toast topped with a tasty mustard aioli. The broth was HOT, and it was a while before it fully cooled down.

David had ravioli with gorgonzola and walnut. It was a bit thick and rich and the ravioli was undercooked. Luckily the dessert made up for it. We had a delicious dessert with lady fingers soaked in rum, layered with a chocolate moose and served with raspberry sauce and whip cream. It was yummy and not too sweet.

I will try this place for brunch since it seems to be a good place for that too.

Humongous Artichoke

I found these huge artichokes at the supermarket. They were called “European artichokes”, for whatever reason (I don’t know if that’s a variety). I’m going to steam them up plain whole and not cut them and take out the choke like I usually do, so I can get the full experience of eating the large things.

I don’t expect them to taste any different than a normal artichoke and maybe perhaps they’ll taste like an old shoe, but they are just the largest artichokes I’ve seen in the store. . .and for $2.50 each, I thought “why not”?. They are bigger than Beenie’s head. He was a little pensive when posing for the photos so I had to bribe him with a Greenie.

I like artichokes just steamed. I don’t like them with butter that much. I like a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup although only for occasional dipping I don’t drench my leaves in sauce. I guess I’m just too cheap and too lazy to make them into a recipe, like stuffing them, or cooking them and putting them in a recipe.






Gobble, gobble. . . the heart. . . yummy!

Pesce

We went on a Sunday at noon when they opened up. David had some breakfast special polenta and sausage. The polenta was very tasteless/bland and the sausage was average. It was served with some tomato side. I had an octopus salad. I was going to order something else but nothing seemed that interesting. The salad was small since it was a tapas place really. It was Okay, prepared with potatoes and celery in a vinaigrette.

Why would we go to a tapas restaurant for breakfast/brunch?. . .well it was suggested by some woman who was with us. . .she obviously didn't think of us having a satisfying meal. This place would have been more of an after work cocktail place and she went there because she knew the wait staff. Although they didn’t seem like best buds and they weren’t even cute.

I'm not keen on these small plate restaurants anyway. I understand the idea of variety but then you have to coordinate your dishes so you don't have some weird combination. I always end up wanting MORE food.

I had a nice granite-like cocktail. I can’t remember what it was called but I thought it was decent. The coffee is good as they brew it fresh for each cup.

The desserts were good but the bread pudding, which was recommended by the waiter was too dry for me. It was served with a nice scoop of ice cream which was partially melted with a whip cream like consistency. I think the ice cream was better. David had a chocolate torte. Nothing special. Think chocolate flourless torte that sticks to your teeth.

Aki Sushi & Grill

After a Soak in the hot tubs at Piedmont springs (Highly Recommend www.piedmontsprings.com ) we stopped in at this restaurant located near by along Piedmont Ave. The service was prompt and friendly. Although we walked in at 9 pm and there weren't many other patrons in the restaurant.

For appetizer you get a plate of soybeans. Nice! Most places charge you for this appetizer and to me it's better than a plate of picked veggies (which is a little more traditional).

We had an "Eric's special" roll for appetizer. It was great. For dinner I had a grilled saba which was a tad salty but a nice piece of fish never the less. My boyfriend had the Beef Udon. Not the best Udon in the world but pretty good compared to other places I've been. The broth was tasty.

All this food and plus miso soup and salad come with the meal with an ice tea and a beer came to $35. . . .Now that's pretty good deal.

Cha-Am Thai Restaurant

We had a nice dinner at Cha-Am. After going next door to Dara ( the restaurant next door) and being snubbed by the waiter for a seat we went next door and were seated immediately even though the kitchen closed in half and hour.

We ate one of the specials which was a read curry with mahi-mahi, shrimp and veggies. I like the way they cut the pineapple slices so decoratively. The dish was very good. Very good with the perfectly cooked rice.

The appetizer was very nice too. Deep fried thai version of samosa's. The fried banana dessert with coconut ice cream topped it all off. I was stuffed - in a good way and not the way you get when you eat greesy chinese food.

The prices were a little higher than the normal Thai place, but they don't throw in cheap ingredients like potatoes. The service was nice and friendly and food was quick. We sat by the window which was a nice nook to sit in with the christmas lights hanging around

Dinner with Ingredients from Monterey Foods

I went to the Monterey Food market the other day. Yup, now that's my new hot spot for fruits and vegetables for a good price. Papaya and Mango for 1/2 the usual price and I bought Rainbow Chard and cooked that up simply with some garlic oil and onions. I also finally found a place I can buy artichokes for a good price. Whoo-hoo! Lots of variety and the fruits are ripe, so I wouldn’t stock up all at once. Better parking and nicer people than Berkeley Bowl. The only disadvantage is that they don’t have much else than produce so you gotta make multiple stops if you're out shopping. Lots of Japanese product I noticed there, too.

The bowl lentil curry has some heat and is served in a pouch, but it's really good and I can't cook Indian spices with a limited pantry and limited know-how.

Eunice Gourmet

Good sandwich shop. I had roast beef and provolone on a baguette. My baguette was a bit on the dryer/tough side though, but the sandwich was prepared as nicely as possible. I also had a coconut gelato. . .yummy lunch to eat outside on a sunny day.

Venus Restaurant

We decided to drive along Shattuck and find a place for breakfast/brunch. We pulled outside Venus because we found a parking spot right outside. Must be our lucky day. I peaked inside and the place looked nicely full/ but not packed so I figure it looked like a good place to try.

I saw some drinks as I passed the other patrons so I thought I'd try what they were having. It turned out to be a blueberry lemonade. . .so refreshing in the morning . My boyfriend had the "cloud nice" which is a double espresso topped with a pile of whip cream. A nice morning treat topped with chocolate shavings.

I had the special which was french toast stuffed with lemon ricotta topped with peach,blueberries and almonds with sausage. David had eggs Benedict. Nice touch was the biscuit rather than the traditional English muffin.

Service was quick. Although our waitress was a little lack luster. Never the less, the food was good enough to overcome that slight blimp. I have no idea what dinner is like, but if the brunch is an indication, I'd go back to try it out.