Restaurant Review Archives

Animal Bread from Kanadell Japanese Bakery

August 13, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Kanadell Japanese Bakery is a local purveyor of Japanese baked goods mainly selling at Farmer’s Markets around the Lower Mainland. On my recent trip to the West End Farmer’s Market, I decided to try their infamous Animal Breads that are filled with nutella.

Animal Bread from Kanadell Japanese Bakery

Priced at $4.50 for a set of 2, these Animal Breads were a nice snack that I enjoyed while exploring the Farmer’s Market. There wasn’t a great deal of Nutella incorporated so it didn’t make a mess. I enjoyed the breads for their novelty factor. The bread was a bit on the denser and chewier side.

Kanadell posts their markets and events schedule here and you can find their breads at Suzuya Japanese Market, Konbiniya Japan Centre ,and UBC Bookstore.

Kitsilano Thai Restaurant: Unchai Restaurant [Review]

August 1, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I must admit that Thai cuisine is not usually something I would go for as many restaurants that I have tried locally tend to make the dishes too sweet for my liking. So when I had heard excellent reviews about a newish Thai restaurant in Kitsilano, Unchai, where the food is not so much on the sweeter side, I became very interested to try their food.

Vancouver Kitsilano Thai Restaurant: Unchai Restaurant

We went to Unchai Restaurant for a pre-fireworks dinner last week. I had heard that the restaurant is small, seating about 16 people only so I made it a point to arrive there right when they opened for dinner service at 5 pm.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t checked their social pages before going as Unchai announced that they were to open at 5:30 pm that day. I decided to put my name on their waitlist outside the door. Since they don’t seat your group unless all parties are there, we decided to just sit tight and patiently wait until they would open.

It turns out that they had a large catering order and I could see from outside that the staff were working very hard to fulfill it. Their space is small and they even needed to use some of the dining tables as work space to put that order together.

At 5:30 pm, an SUV pulled up to the side of the restaurant and the staff promptly loaded all food into the SUV. All the while, a small group of eager customers awaited patiently outside for the restaurant to start dinner service.

What I Tried

After they were done with the catering order, they started calling out names on the waitlist. We were first on the list and got seated promptly after. The restaurant soon became full for the first round of dinner service.

Fried Chicken Wings

The fried chicken wings were outstanding. The batter on the outside was a bit thicker but nonetheless deliciously crispy while the inside was superbly moist and tender. These are a must-try.

Roti with Curry Sauce

The roti was also excellent being thin and crispy. I enjoyed the fact that they were not very greasy unlike those served at other restaurants. The green curry dip was a nice touch.

Fried Rice with Chicken

This was Thai-style fried rice with chicken, cherry tomato, gai lan, green onion, fried shallots, fried garlic, and egg. It was tasty, not very greasy, loaded and exhibited wok hei.

Boat Noodles Soup

One of their signature dishes made with pork meat, pork balls, pork blood, coriander, green onion, bean sprout, and celery. I was impressed with the number of ingredients in the soup and the flavourful soup.

I went with the rice sheet noodles which had a nice smooth and silky texture.

Unchai Curry Chicken

Another winner in my books. It was a flavourful Red Thai curry based that was loaded with ingredients: gai lan, long beans, Thai eggplant, baby corn, bell pepper, and Thai basil. It was really nice to see that it had so much substance rather than being mostly curry.

Thai Ice Tea

I am usually afraid of Thai Ice Tea because other places simply have made it too sweet but Unchai’s version was on point. Refreshing and with a reasonable amount of sweetness.

Unchai Mango Sticky Rice

Mango ice cream, fresh mango, butterfly pea sticky rice, peanut, and coconut crumble and coconut milk. The butterfly sticky rice was warm. I enjoyed the different textures; it was a nice finish to the meal.

Service

Service was excellent, efficient and friendly. The food came in a timely manner and I found the servers to be knowledgeable.

Overall Impression

I really enjoyed the dishes we tried at Unchai which were bold, flavourful and well-executed. The fried chicken wings are bomb! and I would definitely recommend them. I’d be interested in trying more of their dishes. Rating: 4/5

New Soy Dessert Shop: SoyTalk at Parker Place in Richmond [Review]

July 24, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

This past weekend, I decided to check out the newly opened SoyTalk at Parker Place in Richmond. As their name suggests, SoyTalk’s offerings are soy-based and include soy milk, soy pudding, soy milk bread, and soy ice cream.

SoyTalk Parker Place Richmond Ice Cream Pudding Bread Dessert

I was most excited to try out their soy ice cream as I love ice cream and typically enjoy vegan and non-dairy varieties due to my lactose-intolerance.

Canadian organic, non-GMO Soybeans

SoyTalk takes pride in using Canadian organic-certified soybeans in their products. Their soy milk is prepared using Japanese technology and does not include additives, anti-foaming agents, artificial flavours, emulsifiers, preservatives, and so forth. They also reverse osmosis water in their offerings.

SoyTalk’s soy milk comes in Signature or Lightly Sweetened ($5.99) as well as flavoured options like Black Sesame, Oreo, Rose, Matcha and more ($6.99). The soy milk beverages come in recyclable glass bottles.

They also offer soy milk bread ($5.95) and panini versions ($6.95 – $7.95) like Tofu Pudding Panini, Nutella Boba Panini, Strawberry Boba Cheese Panini and Tuna Cheese Panini.

For soy puddings, they offer Signature or Brown Sugar Varieties ($9.50) with options for toppings ($1 – $1.50) like taro, green bean, red bean, pearl barley and peanuts.

Perfect for the summer, SoyTalk offers soy ice cream ($5.50) in different flavours: original, black sesame, matcha, chocolate, and mango.

What I Tried

I went with two flavours of the soy ice cream that were available that day: Original and Matcha. I opted to have the ice cream to go and they came in really cute containers with lids.

The soy ice creams were lightly sweet and had an icy texture rather than smooth and silky. Both flavours were on point with the soy flavour being nice and prominent. I did think the Matcha ice cream could have used more sweeteners to offset some of the bitterness, but it was OK.

The ice creams come with a vegetarian “meat floss” which is a mix of seaweed and roasted soybeans as well as hot red bean tapioca pearls.

I liked the textural contrast of the vegetarian “meat floss” which also lended to a sweet and salty taste with the ice cream. The red bean tapioca pearls definitely were soft, chewy and tasted most definitely of red bean.

The ice creams are swirled into the cup so don’t be surprised that there is a hole.

The staff gave me the red bean tapioca pearls on the side as these were hot and would melt the ice cream too quickly for an ideal photo. So, they gave them to me in a cup separately. “Soy” nice!

Furthermore, I found that the soy ice creams (without the pearls) did not melt quickly at all. Therefore, it is certainly possible to get them to go and transport them home to your own freezer for later consumption.

I also got two flavoured soy milks: Rose and Black Sesame. The Rose had a nice, light floral flavour and was a bit frothy. The Black Sesame one was quite thick but had a reasonable Black Sesame taste.

According to the staff, their soy milks last five days refrigerated but only an hour at room temperature.

Interior

Soy Talk faces No. 3 Road at Parker Place. It’s a small shop but they have a good number of dining tables for customers.

Overall Impression of SoyTalk

I’d definitely go back and have their soy ice creams again as I really liked the taste as well as both the vegetarian meat floss and red bean pearls toppings. The soy milks didn’t impress me much as the flavours and texture didn’t really standout tome. Furthermore, I regularly make soy milk at home so buying soy milk isn’t that appealing to me in general. Rating: 3.5/5

SoyTalk
1410-4380 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC
www.instagram.com/soytalk/

Prime’s Thai Tea Best Drinks | Recommended Drinks 素匠泰茶

July 12, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Prime’s Thai Tea is a Chinese beverage brand which specializes in Thai-style milk teas. The brand was founded in 2015 and originated from Jianmen, Guangdong. Prime’s Thai Tea is one of the largest beverage brands in China with over 500 stores.

Prime's Thai Tea Best Drinks 素匠泰茶 Vancouver Robson

Prime’s Thai Tea Best Drinks | Recommended Drinks 素匠泰茶

Want to know what to order on your next visit to Prime’s Thai Tea? Here is a list of Prime’s Thai Tea best drinks that were noted on the menu for their Robson Street location in Vancouver.

Cheese Peach Oolong
Signature Thai Coconut Milk
Jasmine Raspberry Hawthorn
Signature Glutinous Rice Milk Tea
Thai Cake Milk Tea
Fresh Thai Milk Hitting Ginger
Peach Gum Tremella Coconut Milk
Rouge Passion Bubble
Lemon Butterfly Star

Prime's Thai Tea Best Drinks 素匠泰茶 Signature Thai Coconut Milk Vancouver Robson — Signature Thai Coconut Milk

Prime's Thai Tea Best Drinks 素匠泰茶 Vancouver Robson Thai Cake Milk Tea — Thai Cake Milk Tea

Prime’s Thai Tea Recommended Toppings

Prime’s Thai Tea also recommends the following toppings:

Pearl
Red Bean
Red Glutinous Rice
Sago

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Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver 素匠泰茶 on Robson Street

July 12, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Newly open on Robson Street is Prime’s Thai Tea, a Chinese brand which specializes in Thai-style milk teas. The brand was founded in 2015 and originated from Jianmen, Guangdong. Prime’s Thai Tea is one of the largest beverage brands in China with over 500 stores.

Prime's Thai Tea Vancouver 素匠泰茶 Robson Street

Prime’s Thai Tea opened up a location in White Rock last year and this new outpost at 1194 Robson Street is their second.

Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver Menu

Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver menu is divided into:

Cheese and Tea (like Cheese Green Tea and Cheese Jade Matcha)
Thai Tea Special Drink (like Mango Milk Foam and Black Sugar Cocoa Pearls)
ZhiZhi Fruit Tea (like ZhiZhi Berry and ZhiZhi Kiwi)
Prime’s Thai Tea (like Peach Gum Tremella Coconut Milk and Red Bean Pudding Milk Tea)
Fresh Fruit Tea (like Strawberry Meets Guava and Queen Passion Fruit Tea)
Fresh Fruit Bubble (like Peach Oolong Bubble and Lemon Butterfly Star)

The drinks are priced around $5- $7.

They also have a few snacks like Original or Chocolate Bubble Waffle (~$5) and Snowflake Crisps.

To see a larger photo of the menu, click here or download below.

Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver Menu Download

Topping choices include Pearl, Red Bean, Red Glutinous Rice, Sago, Milk Cover, and Konjac.

One thing I found was that the menu was not as descriptive as I would like. Some drinks already contain toppings but it’s hard to tell which ones based on the names of the drinks.

Interior

The Vancouver location is small with a few dining tables along the window and some on the outside.

The plaza just outside Prime’s Thai Tea is car-free and has a few picnic tables for the public to enjoy.

What I Tried

I ordered three of their recommended drinks: Signature Thai Cake Milk Tea ($6.80), Signature Thai Coconut Milk Foam ($6.80) and Zhizhi Dragon Fruit ($7).

The Signature Thai Coconut Milk had delicious blend of mango puree, milk foam and konjac. This drink could not be customized for sweetness and ice levels.

The Zhizhi Dragonfruit had dragonfruit juice, dragonfruit puree, sago and a salted cheesecap. The dragonfruit flavour was on point and the sago were very good being soft and chewy. I liked the complex flavour profile of the drink being salty, sweet, cream and also fruity.

The Thai Cake Milk Tea definitely resembled a cake with a layer of whipped cream on top with an Oreo crumb base. It was a very pretty drink from the swirls of Thai tea and whipped cream.

I enjoyed the black tea flavour with the added creaminess from the whipped cream. The cookie bits went well with the drink combination. I ordered the drink without any sugar and ice and it was just right for me.

All the drinks came in a plastic drink jar with a lid that had an open slot for a straw. The store only offers plastic straws, but you can always bring your own reusable straw. I liked that they sealed the top with some plastic.

Customers might be paying a bit of premium for a sturdy drink container. I don’t mind as I have unfortunately dropped bubble teas before and had the container break and contents spilled out. Such flimsy plastic!

Here’s my receipt for reference.

Service

The staff was noticeably in training mode as some of them donned “training” tags on their uniforms. Because the menu was not as descriptive as I would like, I asked the staff a few questions to which they seemed unclear on how to respond. If you have dietary restrictions (like to dairy), it might be an issue.

Overall Impression of Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver

The drinks I tried from Prime’s Thai Tea were really good and we drank unitil the last drop (nothing wasted). They seemed to have a lot of interesting options so I’d love to go back and try more. Hopefully, the staff becomes more capable in describing the menu as the menu itself doesn’t do a really good job to detail what’s in it. Rating: 4/5

Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver
1194 Robson St, Vancouver, BC
www.instagram.com/primethaitea/

Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop: Cheesecakes, Shortbread Cookies, Tarts

June 29, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Newly opened in the Commercial Drive Neighborhood is Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop specializing in cheesecakes, pies, tarts, shortbread cookies, and more.

Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop Vancouver: Cheesecakes, Shortbread Cookies, Tarts

Oh Sweet Day! is owned and operated by Fanny Lam who is a local food blogger and she has been selling her Instagram-worthy treats at Farmer’s Markets across the Lower Mainland for the last two years.

Last holiday season, Fanny published a cookbook, Oh Sweet Day! A Celebration Cookbook, featuring recipes that use simple, familiar ingredients to create delectable desserts that are too lovely to eat but too delicious not to.

I heard about Oh Sweet Day! opening via Instagram and decided to check out the bricks and mortar location.

The bake shop smelled amazing already from the outside and I was excited to see what they had to offer. The interior was minimalistic and had charming, rustic farmhouse style.

The treats are made on-site at the shop and I could even see Fanny and her team at work in the back. One of the staff mentioned to me that they had been just open two weeks and will be rolling out more items to come.

So far, they have a tantalizing array of individual-sized cheesecakes ($6.00) in flavours like Mango Mousse, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Peanut Butter and so forth. There are some vegan and gluten free options available like the vegan, gluten-free lemon cheesecake. There were also a few tarts, cookies, and cakepops available.

I bought an Espresso Cheesecake ($6.00) and a Lemon Lavender Tart ($3.50) to enjoy at the location. Both items had a lovely, homemade sort of feel.

The Espresso Cheesecake was silky, luscious, creamy with the bitterness of the espresso offsetting the richness and tanginess of the cheesecake. It had just the right amount of sweetness and not too coffee-ish. The graham crust was wonderfully crumbly.

The Lemon Lavender Tart had a zesty lemon filling with some subtle lavender notes and topped with blueberries.

I bought some shortbread cookies ($5 per bag) in Classic Vanilla, Earl Grey, Matcha, Dried Cranberry Pistachio, Dark Chocolate and Lemon Lavender.

Fanny also offered my son a lemon cake pop as she thought it was nice that he was having tea time with his mom.

Overall Impression

I had a lovely time at Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop and look forward to seeing what they have to offer in the future.

Oh Sweet Day Bake Shop
1706 E 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC
www.ohsweetday.com/

Vancouver Asian Fusion Restaurant: M8 [Restaurant Review]

June 9, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

M8 restaurant was the dining destination for my recent dinner with fellow food bloggers Sherman (shermansfoodaventures.com), Maggi (vieamaggi.com), Joyce (vanfoodies.com) and David (pickydiner.com). This newish Asian Fusion restaurant is located at 1010 Beach Avenue, right next to the North end of the Burrard Street Bridge.

Asian Tropical Atmosphere

M8’s stylish interior boasts plush velvet banquettes, a large wooden communal table, a sleek marble bar, wicker chairs, and modern art on the walls. Greenery overhanging the bar contributes to an Asian tropical feel to the space. The restaurant also has a lovely outdoor patio where you can enjoy your meals while enjoying the waterfront views.

M8 Menu

M8’s Asian fusion menu features appetizers ($5 – $11) and entrees ($22 – $38). The menu seems very meat-centric so I wouldn’t recommend dining here if you have certain dietary restrictions (ie, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free).

You’ll find chicken (like Crispy Chicken Skin, M8 Fried Chicken), lamb (like Lamb Belly and Spicy Lamb Meat Ball), beef (like Beef Cheeks and “Beef and Broccoli”) dishes and so forth. There are are few pasta mains offered like Tagliatelle Bolognese and Tiger Prawn Bucatini.

A chef at M8 recognized one of the food bloggers and it turns out that the chef was formerly at Moma – an Asian-French fusion restaurant in Richmond that was closed a few years ago.

What We Tried

We tried 9/16 dishes off the menu so I feel that we got a good sense of what they are offering.

Compliments of the chef, we tried the Shimeiji Mushroom Tempura ($8) on a bed of warm kale and wakame. This was one of my favourite dishes of the evening. The mushrooms were lightly battered and fried perfectly such that they were very crispy. The seasoning contributed to the umaminess of the dish.

I very much enjoyed the Crispy Chicken Skin ($9). It was prepared with salty egg yolk (which you could taste) and chili oil, topped with mustard seeds (for textural contrast) and finished with a balsamic glaze. I also quite enjoyed the umami flavours for this dish.

The Beef Cheeks ($11) had some heat behind it due to Sichuan peanuts to which I experienced some mouth numbing. The beef was nicely tender and I enjoyed the crunchy lotus root slices.

The Lamb Belly ($11) had some smokey flavours to it and was accompanied by a mint salsa verde and fennel carrot.

We also had the Crispy Pork Belly ($7) with taro root frites and pork jus. I think we all agreed that the size of the pork belly was generous for the price. The pork belly was nicely tender with a crisp crackling and I liked the presentation of the dish with the taro root frites on top.

For mains, we started off with the Tagliatelle Bolognese ($22) featuring a beef and pork ragu and shiitake mushroom with trio soy sauce. The dish was quite aromatic and had more of a sweeter taste. The pasta was somewhat al dente but I felt the sauce was too overpowering.

The Tiger Prawn Bucatini ($24) with shrimp and garlic chive pesto felt flat. I didn’t like that they used corn which seems like a cheap ingredient (as in frozen corn or canned corn) when they are going for more elevated dishes.

The Duck Breast ($26) was presented on a bed of soybeans, preserved mustard greens and celery root.

We also ordered the most expensive entree, “Beef and Broccoli” ($38) . It was an 8oz ribeye steak with sauteed broccoli, foie gras mousse, fingerling potatoes, and beef jus. We had ordered the dish as medium rare but it came to us as medium. The dish was sent back to the kitchen and we received a replacement dish which was less medium but not quite medium rare.

As the mains left much to be desired, we opted not to order desserts. Furthermore, the dessert options (which I can’t remember exactly what they were) didn’t spark much interest within the group.

My bill came out to $32 pre-tax and tip which I thought was low considering how many dishes we tried. I felt reasonably full but still had room for more if the experience warranted so.

Overall Impression of M8

The starters fared better than the mains at M8 in terms of flavour, presentation, and value; I would gladly order those appetizers again. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to write home about regarding the mains in my opinion. An ideal dining experience at M8 would be to enjoy a glass of wine and a few of their appetizers on their patio and taking in the views overlooking Granville Island. Rating: 3/5

M8
1010 Beach Ave, Vancouver, BC
m8yvr.com

Katsu Burger Lynnwood: Towering, Japanese-Style Multi-Patty Burgers

May 23, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Katsu Burger is a local Seattle chain that is known for their towering, Japanese-style burgers with deep-fried patties. I must admit that I don’t even eat single patty hamburgers on a regular basis. However, Katsu was named an essential Seattle restaurant by Eater so I decided to give it a try.

Katsu Burger Lynwood: Towering, Japanese-Style Multi-Patty Burgers

Interior

In a trip to Seattle last year, we visited the Lynnwood outpost of Katsu Burger (one of their 4 locations) located at the H Mart Plaza. The interior was simple and clean with a mix of dining tables, counter seating by the window and a few tables on the outside.

I also noticed Godzilla imagery as part of their branding; this seems fitting as they have mega-size burgers on their menu for Godzilla-like appetites.

Katsu Burger Menu

Katsu Burger has a few different protein options for their deep-fried patties including grass-fed beef, prime pork, tofu, and natural chicken. Their basic burger is the Toyko Classic which features a grass-fed beef katsu, tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo. Other regular options include the Ninja Deluxe (prime pork katsu, cheddar, bacon, tonkatsu sauce, and Japanese Mayo), Miso Honey Tofu (Miso marinated tofu katsu with miso honey mustard) and so forth.

They offer three Mega Burger options: Tokyo Tower (two grass-fed beef katsu, cheese, tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo), Mt. Fuji (grass-fed beef katsu, prime pork katsu, natural chicken katsu, egg, bacon, cheddar, pepper jack, tonkatsu sauce, wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and Japanese mayo), and Mt. Fuji Eruption (spicier version of Mt.Fuji with jalapenos).

What We Tried

I decided to order the monstrosity of a burger: Mt. Fuji ($20.45) featuring grass-fed beef katsu, natural chicken katsu, pork katsu, egg, bacon, cheddar, American, pepper jack, Wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and Tonkatsu sauce. I had the burger as a meal with a drink (they serve Jones soda) and with Nori fries (+$5.04).

It was a messy burger and we divided it with a knife and fork to share among the 3 of us (2 adults and 1 child). Flavourwise, it was a bit confusing but stil kinda of tasty with the different mayos, meat flavours, and Tonkatsu sauce. The panko-breaded patties were reasonably crispy on the outside.

The Nori fries were skinny fries with a really tasty seaweed plus MSG kind of flavour. I would have them again.

Overall Impression

I’m glad to have checked off Katsu Burger from my list of Seattle restaurants to try. However, deep-fried patties in a burger just isn’t my type of food. I’m not too keen to revisit in the future. Rating: 3/5

Katsu Burger
3333 184th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98037, USA
www.katsuburger.com/

Happy Hour at Glowbal in Vancouver [Review]

May 19, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

My friend recently organized a small get-together at Glowbal, which is one of her favourite places in the city for Happy Hour. I had never tried their Happy Hour menu although my last group dining experience at Glowbal left much to be desired (see post here). Nevertheless, I decided to keep an open mind and joined my friends at Glowbal.

Glowbal’s spacious, bright, and charming patio is a great place for Happy Hour dining. The space is a modern, garden oasis with human-sized “bird-cage” booths, overhanging baskets of plants, and a variety of greenery arrangements.

Glowbal’s Happy Hour (or Cocktail Hour as they call it) happens daily from 2:30 pm to 6 pm. They offer drink specials, buck-a-shuck oysters, and a range of share plates ($4 – $12) with vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options.

I arrived late to the gathering and was only able to order one plate before the firm 6 pm cutoff: the Oceanwise Fish Fritters ($12). The batter was nicely crispy and golden brown while the inside was flaky and hot. I would order this again.

My friends ordered several items and ate most of them before I arrived. I only was able to photograph the buck-a-shuck oysters and the Oceanwise Ahi Tuna Poke ($12). The poke had ahi tuna, avocado, charred pineapple and taro crisps.

Overall Impression

Unfortunately, I don’t have much to add to this review as I only was able to try one dish. However, my friends seem to have enjoyed Glowbal’s Happy Hour on multiple occasions. The Happy Hour menu does offer items that fit my taste. I would be interested in returning in the future. Rating: 4/5

Glowbal
590 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC
www.glowbalgroup.com/glowbal

7 NEW Happy Hours in Vancouver to check out 2019

Shoom Chinese Restaurant Vancouver [Review]

April 22, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Shoom is a popular and busy Cantonese-style Chinese restaurant located at Fraser and 49th. The restaurant is only open for dinner service starting from 5 pm until 2 am.

Shoom Chinese Restaurant Vancouver | Fraser 49th

This past weekend, I visited Shoom for the first time with friends and family for dinner. My friend had made a reservation for Friday night at 6 pm. Here’s a look at our very *interesting* experience.

Online Reviews

Before visiting Shoom, I did my research by looking at a few food blogs and online reviews. The ratings were generally noted to be around average. Shoom seemed to be known for their salted egg yolk seafood dishes and many reviews mentioned the restaurant to be pricey but portions were reasonable.

Catered towards large groups

As soon as I stepped into the restaurant, I immediately noticed many large groups dining together. Most of their tables have lazy susans and there are very few 2 to 4 people dining tables.

The restaurant is has a main dining area as well as a two separate dining spaces which you get to by walking past the kitchen.

CASH ONLY

Shoom is CASH ONLY. I only know this because of online reviews. But seriously, what kind of sit-down Chinese dinner restaurant accepts cash only? It’s not like a mom-and-pop restaurant where you have a bowl of noodles for $10. What if you had to pay for the entire table? I guess you would need to bring a stack of cash to the restaurant.

Shoom Menu [Discrepencies, Shady Pricing]

Since many reviewers mentioned that Shoom was on the pricier side, I wanted to look at the menu to check out how much things cost. Shoom’s website only noted the items they serve but no pricing and photos of the menu from customers seemed to be lacking.

After our party of 5 got seated, I decided to take photos of the menu binder. You can download my photos of the menu in a compiled pdf format here.

The menu seemed a bit sketchy at first look because the prices were handwritten on round labels. I can understand a few price corrections requiring labels but all the menu prices were handwritten. Furthermore, the handwriting was not very clear and I couldn’t make it out the last digit of the price for many items ending in .95, .97 or 99?

We had two copies of the menu and I noticed that there were price discrepancies. Take for example the House Famous Peking Duck which was priced as $53.95 on one menu and $58.99(?) in the other.

The half-portion Truffle Chicken is priced $30.95 on one menu and $33.99(?) in another.

When I asked the server about the price discrepancies, she said that it was the HIGHER PRICE. Of course, it is.

Shark Fin on the Menu

I also found out that they serve Shark Fin on the menu.

What We Tried

To start, we were presented with complimentary seaweed soup served at tableside.

Our next dish was the Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk ($26.95). The prawns were reasonably sized, bouncy and had a good amount of salted egg yolk coating. Buttery and aromatic, this was a very good dish.

Next up, we had the 2-course House Famous Peking Duck ($58.99?). The first course featured duck skin pieces on a bed of shrimp chips. The golden brown duck skin pieces were reasonably crispy. We made wraps with the crepes and condiments (scallions, cucumber, Hoisin sauce).

The second course was the stir-fried meat dish with lettuce wrap. The duck meat was moist, flavourful but perhaps could be more tender.

There was also the House Special Egg Foo-Young ($18.99?). It was a Chinese-style egg omelet filled with small shrimp, purple and green onions, and bean sprouts. It was a saucy dish that was pretty flavourful. The server portioned it out for us at tableside.

We were then served complimentary desserts which were choice of red bean soup or mango pudding.

The Bill

Just like the menu, the bill was also handwritten and barely legible. It was CASH ONLY. We paid around 30 per person and there were 4 adults plus a child.

Service

The service was more-or-less reasonable. Dishes can to our table in a timely manner and we didn’t really need to flag our server down for attention.

Loud Atmosphere

Our tables was located in a room that is past the main dining area. At first, the area wasn’t too busy and we enjoyed a nice ambiance. However, as the evening progressed and our area started filling up, the noise level got pretty high.

Overall Impression of Shoom

The Good:

Prawns with salted egg yolk
Price to portions were reasonable
Complimentary soup and desserts
Generally well-executed dishes

The Bad:

Shady pricing & menu discrepancies
CASH only for a place where you could be spending a lot. It’s not like a $20 pp dinner.
THEY HAVE SHARK FIN ON THE MENU

In general, I wasn’t a big fan of the shady pricing stemming from the poorly handwritten menu prices and receipt and CASH only payment form. Despite presenting the price discrepancy for the Peking Duck to the server, I still had to pay the higher price. All in all, these potentially leave room for the restaurant to “cook their books” so to speak.

While the dishes were fine, I don’t see myself ever returning to dine at Shoom nor would I recommend it.

Rating: 2.5/5

Shoom Chinese Restaurant
6555 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC
www.shoom.ca

What I Tried

Fried Chicken Wings

Roti with Curry Sauce

Fried Rice with Chicken

Boat Noodles Soup

Unchai Curry Chicken

Thai Ice Tea

Unchai Mango Sticky Rice

Service

Overall Impression

Canadian organic, non-GMO Soybeans

What I Tried

Interior

Overall Impression of SoyTalk

Prime’s Thai Tea Best Drinks | Recommended Drinks 素匠泰茶

Prime’s Thai Tea Recommended Toppings

Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver Menu

Interior

What I Tried

Service

Overall Impression of Prime’s Thai Tea Vancouver

Overall Impression

Asian Tropical Atmosphere

M8 Menu

What We Tried

Overall Impression of M8

Interior

Katsu Burger Menu

What We Tried

Overall Impression

Overall Impression

Online Reviews

Catered towards large groups

CASH ONLY

Shoom Menu [Discrepencies, Shady Pricing]

Shark Fin on the Menu

What We Tried

The Bill

Service

Loud Atmosphere

Overall Impression of Shoom

About Me

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