Food Reviews Moved!

So I don’t bore people who want to read about food with my random rants.  Go here:  http://30secondfoodreviews.blogspot.com/

If anyone knows how I can chang the widths of the Blogger layout, let me know… Haha.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » January 2009

30-Second Food Review: Serendipity 3 (NYC)

225 E 60th St, New York City (map)

Disappointed with Mesa Grill, I opted not to get dessert there and instead headed to Serendipity 3 which was mentioned to me by a friend, and also reviewed by Eat, Snap, & Repeat.

Food: We tried the Big Apple Pie and Frrozen Hot Chocolate. The apple pie came at room temperature which wasn’t ideal, but it was still pretty good, and not too heavy. Not the best apple pie though. As for the frozen hot chocolate, I enjoyed it a lot. I wish I could’ve finished the entire thing! I’d compare the texture of it to a Slurpee, Tim Horton’s Ice Cap, or bubble tea-styled milkshake, except a bit more creamier. I want to try to make one myself at home!
Service: Average for New York I would assume. No smiles, just service.
Ambiance Dimly-lit, filled with Tiffany lampshades, mirrors and similar-styled furniture. Kinda fun.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » September 2008

30-Second Food Review: Mesa Grill (NYC)

102 5th Avenue, New York City (map)

My food quest started with a booking at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant two months ago, and later I decided to also do my own “Iron Chef tour.”  First on the list was Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill.

Food:  Pretty? Yes. Worth it? No.  Starter bread and corn muffin were average. We skipped appetizers and went straight for the entrees. Both the boyfriend and I opted for the spice-rubbed New York strip.   For $35 I expected a lot more.  The steak was overcooked (I had asked for medium-rare, it arrived closer to medium-well) and I didn’t taste much, if any, spice.  I could’ve cooked a better steak myself for a quarter of the price.  For sides, we had the carrots, which were in a sweet and spicy sort of sauce, not too bad, and mashed potatoes, probably the best of the dishes ordered, but still nothing special.

Service:  I’d booked the reservation through Open Table that morning, and when we arrived, we still had to wait 5-10 minutes for the table.  The main waitress was quite friendly.  Food came quickly.  Surprised they don’t offer fresh ground pepper.

Ambiance:  Rather nice, darkly-lit.  Reminds me of Cactus Club, but I suppose a tad classier.

Overall:  I would not return or recommend.  It’s possible maybe their other dishes stand out a lot more, but for an American-styled restaurant, I was disappointed with the poorly cooked steak.  Maybe if the steak were $20 instead, then I’d say that quality would’ve been expected. I later received an e-mail from a co-worker saying that’s what you get for a chef whose first restaurant was in Vegas, has a career based on TV shows, and hasn’t lifted a pan in years, lol.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » September 2008

30-Second Food Review: Emmett O’Lunney’s Irish Pub (NYC)

210 W 50th St, New York City (Map)

On our first day in New York, for lunch we decided to just wander down E 51st Street (which was where our hotel was located) and pick a random place to eat. Unfortunately, the place we ended up at (I don’t even remember the name) was part of a hotel (which we didn’t know) and ridiculously overpriced for the food (a glass of orange juice was $7!). So for dinner, I did a quick search online instead to find a place that was a bit more down to earth.

Food: Value and quality of food was pretty good. My boyfriend had the pot roast which he thought was excellent, and I had the lamb shepherd’s pie which I would say was average. I think it could’ve used a little more gravy. Portion was fairly large. My goal was to eat at least 50% of it, I think I got maybe up to 60%.
Service: Waitress was quite friendly, service was quick.
Ambiance: Pub ambiance, so large space, it wasn’t too busy when we had arrived.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » September 2008

30-Second Food Reviews: New York City

My vacation this year took me to New York City, mainly Manhattan, for a week.  Two of my goals were to get on the Conan O’Brien show (success!) and eat, eat, eat. I just wish I had a bigger appetite!

A couple things I noticed with the restaurants there was that they always seem to have an over-abundance of staff so you’re never served by just one person, but rather up to five at times.  I find it a tad awkward when they stand around watching you like a hawk to take your plate away, or when they walk by to check on you but don’t actually say anything to you.  But I guess they’re just there to serve you.

I’ll put up some quick reviews of the places we checked out over the next little while.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » September 2008

Food Review: Pho Hong Vietnamese Restaurant

5975 Kingsway, Burnaby [map]

Food:  Tasty.  At least the noodles that I’ve had.  I’m not a fan of the meat balls though.  Good place for a quick lunch.

Service:  Usually quick but not usually personable.  The second you step in the front door, someone will ask you how many people and then point you to a table.  Your order will be taken minutes later followed by your food quite quickly.  Drinks at times may arrive much late though.  Don’t expect the waitresses to check up on you, but don’t be afraid to flag one down if you need to.  The bleached-blonde woman is always angry looking.  I think every day is the worst day of her life.

Ambiance:  I think there used to be a Greek restaurant there.  Cleanliness?  Let’s not go there. 

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews 4 Comments » June 2008

30-second Food Reviews!

I’m horrible at writing, always have been since elementary school.  So I will leave the more elaborate reviews to those who have talent!  Any restaurant I review from now on will remain short and sweet.  Anything that stands out from my experience will then go into detail. 

Hmm, my blogroll seems to have disappeared with this new layout… I’ll need to sort that out…

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews No Comments » June 2008

Japadogs!

Ahh, Vancouver, where east meets west so deliciously! On Saturday I was wandering around downtown and met up briefly with a co-worker at the Art Gallery to witness the annual pillow fight. I was pretty hungry by that time and my co-worker informed me of a hotdog vendor at Burrard and Smithe that sells “Japadogs.” What the heck is a Japadog? Well, it’s basically a hotdog with a Japanese twist! So I hurried myself over there and found the vendor, a kitty corner across the Scotiabank Theatre.

At the moment they have three different specialty dogs, but I think you can pretty much mix and match what you want. I tried out the Terimayo dog and was pleasantly surprised that the seaweed worked so well. I also have to recommend trying some of their wasabi mayo (it’s not that strong, so don’t worry about putting too much on), it definitely gives a nice kick to it. I found this place to be a nice change to the tasty smokie and totally worth a try. They even have a website!

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews 7 Comments » March 2008

Red Bean Around Vancouver #1

So my boyfriend and one of my friends have this obsession regarding finding the best red bean dessert in Vancouver.  Specifically red bean topped with shaved ice, milk (hopefully condensed), and maybe a scoop of ice cream.  If you ask me though, it’s pretty tough to find something really authentic.  Your best bet for finding red bean here in town is at a Chinese café or a Vietnamese restaurant.

Years ago we used to frequent Gold Train Express for a quick bite and there we would often get the red bean drink and orange milk shake (this was the best I’d had).  However, the place has gone downhill.  We’ve been to a number of places since then, but my boyfriend and friend have yet to actually blog about any of this, lol.  Not that it’s a very big or popular topic to blog about.  But I will include this in my food section anyway. 

Tonight we went to Tropika in Richmond for a late snack.  I went there a few months ago with my family and would definitely recommend the coconutty drink they have.  But our goal was red bean.

First up was the simplified Cendol which comprised of red bean, green pandan noodles, condensed milk and shaved ice.  I thought it was quite tasty, though not as good as the first time I had it at this restaurant.  The beans were soft enough, the noodles were good, and it was definitely sweet.  My biggest complaint about this was that there weren’t enough beans or noodles.  I would however like to add that home-made cendol is always tastier. 

The second red bean treat was the red bean with coconut milk, shaved ice and ice cream.  I didn’t have too much of a taste since it was my boyfriend’s order and I’m a little sick at the moment.  The bites that I did have though were very coconutty, again the red bean was also of a good softness.  But could’ve used more beans.  I believe my boyfriend rated this to be one of the better red bean drinks he’s had.

There was a third red bean item on Tropika’s menu, the Ice Kachang, but none of us gave it a shot. Overall, I would say Tropika’s take on the red bean desserts was quite decent and slightly better than what you would find in a café.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews 5 Comments » February 2008

Fish On Rice Sushi: The Worst Maybe.

Back during my college days, a group of us would often go out for all-you-can-eat sushi as it provided a lot of food for a set price.  Plus the group was mostly guys with big appetites.  It was fun times.

Over the last few years though I’ve grown more weary of going to AYCE restaurants.  Vancouver is filled with these places, and even though we are all aware that the quality of the food is usually on the lower end, we still go for a getogether once in a while.  Last night, nine of us decided to return to Fish On Rice in Burnaby.  I was fairly reluctant, as its quality and service has greatly diminished since its opening, but it’s close-by and could accomodate that many of us.

It was quite the dinner…  Four of us got there first so we put in an order.  It took probably 15 minutes though to find a server to pass the order to though.  No one had come to check on us after we were seated.  As the rest of our party arrived, it probably took about 30 minutes to start getting our food.  We didn’t even get our drinks first, those came much later.  Trying to get extra order forms also took a while, and the second round of drinks was also slow.  In the past they’d give us pitchers of pop, but for some reason this time they didn’t.  I also never got my oyster motoyaki.

However, the worst part was soon to come.  A round of miso soups arrived and the first bowl the server placed on the table, he spilled some onto one of the girls’ knees.  Apparently it was quite hot, but she didn’t make a fuss about it.  But right after that, a round of pop came and as the server placed the tray down by the seats, he spilled one of the glasses all over the seat and got one of the guys’ pants wet.  Not good.  Our friend left to get cleaned up (his shoe was also filled with pop, and phased by it, when he poured out the pop from his shoe, he poured it right into two other friends’ shoes, lol) while the employees came to wipe up the mess.

It seems to be a running thing within Vancouver regarding Asian restaurants…  None of the servers are properly trained in good customer service.  They don’t greet you that warmly, they don’t often check on you…  They just get you your food.  I guess maybe that’s how we are just like, haha.  But it probably shouldn’t be an excuse for shoddy service.

When our bill came, we noticed that they left the 10% gratuity charge on, and no discount or any form of compensation was given to us our even our two friends who were mostly affected.  We had to get them to remove the gratuity, but didn’t demand that our friends’ meals be paid for or anything.  We’re pretty passive that way.  Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be going back there again anymore.

Posted by tastethehappy Posted in: 30-Second Food Reviews 3 Comments » February 2008

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