$6.95 for a Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box?! (Ro Sushi Broadway Review)

I think I just found myself a place for cheap sushi. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and I was in the VGH area volunteering for a film. I haven't had lunch yet and was craving for sushi. The first one I saw immediately at that instant that I was craving sushi was Ro Sushi. Seeing their menu on the outside, I noticed the $6.95 Bento Box special and the $5.95 sushi special.
   Walking into the restaurant, there was a small flight of stairs to climb as the inside of the restaurant is a bit higher. The restaurant wasn't too busy, and my mom and I were greeted by the staff. We were seated down immediately. Looking around, the decor wasn't anything to write about. However, I noticed that they had a small elevator for those who are disabled. I really appreciate that because a lot of restaurants don't have this and I'd imagine this shows that the business actually care about customers.
    When the waitress brought over the menu, I didn't hesitate to order the chicken teriyaki bento box. At the same time, my mom got the sushi combo. After a few minutes, our order arrived. First came the miso soup, then the bento and sushi. The bento box looked pretty decent. The portions were not too big nor too small. There was about four pieces of tempura, 6 pieces of California roll, a small salad, and teriyaki with rice.
     My mom also gave me 3 pieces of her sushi combo (which came with 18 pieces of sushi: a yam tempera roll, a California roll and a tuna roll).
     I was afraid that the combo might be too small so I ordered a separate roll of dynamite roll as well.
    In short, the food portions were decent. The chicken teriyaki box was pretty filling. The chicken is a bit smaller than what I'm used to and there could have been more rice (or maybe I was just hungry at the time and my brain was playing with me), but it was still a decent price to pay for the portions. With regards to the taste, everything tasted pretty fresh. The tempura was a bit on the greasy side, but otherwise it wasn't too bad.
   $6.95 for a bento box like this is actually pretty good and I would definitely come back again,

Half Mexican Half Contemporary Tacos and Burritos (Chronic Tacos Broadway City Hall Station)

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I last posted (sorry I've been travelling and got caught with work), but I am back!
When it comes to Mexican food, there are quite a bit of selection around town. However, not being Mexican, I can't really comment on how authentic one Mexican restaurant is compared to another. That said, Chronic Tacos feel a bit more Western and contemporary compared to many of the other Mexican food places.
Conveniently located within a few meters to the Broadway-City Hall Skytrain station, this location is a fair place to grab your Taco needs. The moment you walk into the restaurant, you will see that the lighting is dim and the place is quite spacious. On the right hand side there is a bar and the ordering counter is at the back of the restaurant.
 This place is meant to be more of a fast food location, and by looking at the menu, this is even more evident. There aren't too many items on there. There are two main items that they offer, which are burritos and tacos. Beside these two, they do have a small sides menu and a kids menu. Compared to many of the other Mexican food outlets I've been to, I would say the menu from Chronic Tacos has less options.

When it was my turn to order, I saw on the counter if you text the word "TACO" to this number (4242658226) you would get a free taco coupon (I found out later on that it wasn't a free Taco, it was a "BOGO" thing). I decided to only get a Taco and a side of rice. The tacos were at least $3.99, so I figured if I got a side of rice with the Tacos it would be cheaper.
 I decided to get a chicken taco with corn flour (I think corn is more nutritious than refined flour). This location is sort of like Subway in the sense that they ask you what kind of toppings you would like. I find what was interesting is that they give you a double layer of the taco shell, and then they put so much toppings on the taco shell (relatively speaking, like the toppings compared to the shell) that you cannot fully wrap the taco shell around the toppings. At the end I ended up getting a fork and eating the toppings by itself and the taco shell separately.
The materials used for the toppings were fresh. What I liked about the chicken was that it wasn't greasy at all. In addition, even though I didn't add any sauce to the topping (the sauces add so much more calories...) it was still relatively good. The side of rice I got was good too. There was a hint of tomato in there, and it was flavourful that you can just eat the rice right off the bat.
 In summary, I would say the price is on the higher end, especially for the portion (the portions were not that big). The quality was fair, so I would probably come back (to use that BOGO coupon...) if I was in the area.

Vancouver Sun Run Guide 10km (Tips / Review)

This might be a bit of a deviation from what I would normally post, but I guess if you are in Vancouver, the Sun Run is a must do. Not only is the Sun Run the largest 10k race in the world (and this year (2014) because it's the 30th anniversary, the record is definitely going to be broken again).  Personally, I've been running in the Vancouver Sun Run for about 7 years now. This is going to be my 8th year at the run and there are things I discovered over the years that I wished someone would have told me, that I would like to share with you. I've organized it into sub-sections, if you are just looking for tips on race day, please skip "Registration" and "Preparing for the Run" Section

Registration
Everything starts with registration. If you have more than 10 people that you would like to run with, you can choose to sign up as a team. That said, each person will still have to pay the individual fees. What I recommend is signing up early because there is an early bird rate that you can get.
  After you finish registration, about 3 days prior to the Sun Run. An event called the "Sun Run Fair" will be held. Where if you have signed up as individuals, you must go to pick up your race package/t-shirt. The Sun Run fair is usually held at BC Place (if you signed up for the Youth/School or teams, you must pick up your package from the team captain).
  At the Sun Run fair, the sponsors are usually there with freebies that you can grab and also some information about their products.

Preparing for the Run
   If this is the first time you are running in a 10km race, I would like to say welcome. If this isn't your first time, still, welcome :D. First and foremost, before starting a new exercise routine, check with your doctor if you are suitable for running. Specific conditions to be aware of is if you have a history of heart problems, fainting spells, I would recommend checking up with you doctor before hand. Running is a very heart healthy, but heart stressing activity, so it's a good idea to always do a health check before hand (better safe than sorry right?). That said, when it comes to training, there are usually really good training manuals online, and I would say one of the best is found here on the Sun Run site: http://www.vancouversun.com/2012sunrun/pdf/InTrainingGuide2012.pdf
   For locations to run, please visit my sub blog "Journey to a Marathon" (Please note this section is still undergoing construction)

Day of the Run
   Even though 10km is not very long (compared to things like a marathon which is 42.2km), it is still considerably difficult, depending on your fitness level. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you have a good night's sleep before the run.
   Because the Sun Run is such a big event, the streets are usually jam packed with people. If you are with a group of people, be prepared to lose sight of your group. What is a good idea is to define a point, like maybe a location at the finish line where you can all meet. It is a better idea to meet at the finish line as everyone's pace is different, and also the finish line is a location that everyone must cross, so it's likely not to be missed.
   Everyone will meet at the start line, which spans West Georgia Street. The racers are divided into waves depending on your estimated finish time during registration. They have to do this to avoid having too many people running across the start line at the same time (with 66,000 people wanting to cross the start like all at once can be a scary sight).
  Personally, I don't think there is a difference about getting to the starting line/start section earlier because there are so many people and it's so packed that often, it's difficult to find a spot. The real thing that matters that the timer starts once you cross the start line and stops once you cross the finish line. So really, there is no point in trying to push your way across walls of people in the start section to just get a head start. The start will be the same for everyone and it's relative to when you cross the start line.
  Make sure you pack light or not bring too much stuff with you. Running with alot of things can be uncomfortable. One year, I brought my entire backpack with stuff from school and while I was running with it, I literally felt like a camel in the desert. They do have a $5 bag check service for people that would like their things transported to the finish line. But... I would still recommend saving that $5 and just brings less things (also with less things you are less likely to lose stuff).
  Before the run begins, there will usually be music and people leading stretches on stages. Stretching maybe a good idea before starting the race, but it depends on personal preference. Personally, I find that when I stretch before a work out, my muscles aren't warm enough so the stretching doesn't really have much impact versus stretching after the work out.

During the Run

From the Vancouver Sun Run's website

   One of the biggest mistakes that I find people doing is usually at the beginning, once they cross the start line, they will run as fast as they can and then burn out at the 2-3km mark. They hit the point where lactic acid builds up in their legs, and then the rest of the 10km feels like a drag. What I recommend is to pace yourself at the beginning.
    Somethings that you can also do is run in intervals (if you aren't accustomed to running the full 10km distance), where you run for something like 2 minutes, and walk for one. The course will start off with a down hill from the start until you reach the turn on Denman street. It's very easy to run too fast here because you are going down hill and you feel invincible with the wind in your hair.
   The route will turn and continue on the boundary of Stanley Park. Once you turn onto Beach Avenue, the scenery is very nice as to one side you have trees and the other side you have English Bay. The route down Beach Avenue may feel abit long because you will see over a kilometer ahead of you with no turns.
    The most difficult part about the Sun Run is the 20 meter climb from the Beach Ave to beginning of the Burrard Street Bridge. When running this part, you might feel like you are not moving anywhere (but you are). The sweet thing is that this part is very short, and once you are up the bridge, you've made it past the steepest climb of the route.
    One the bridge, you will be able to get a stunning bird's eye view of everyone running on Beach Avenue. I would say this is a picture worthy moment! The rest of the route will navigate through the West Broadway area, and passing by Granville Island on the way. There will be lots of people cheering you on. You will continue all the way until you reach the Cambie street bridge. The end is near, and you can see the finish line at BC Place. Here, if you still have the energy, many people will speed up for the finish line. Last year when I ran, I kept a steady pace (because the Cambie Street Bridge will still have a climb (to get on the bridge)), until the ramp down from the bridge. Then I sprinted across the finish line. It is your own preference as how you would like to run, but besides being safe, it's also a matter of not feeling bad after the run because you pulled a muscle or cracked something.


Hydration
    Throughout the route, there will be many water stations too. The thing about water stations is that you won't need to bring your own water bottle (you can if you want because everyone's need for water is the different, and you may need more). One thing I have to caution about is over drinking water and causing an imbalance of electrolytes in your body. This is a very serious problem that is often over looked. Many people think "I'm running alot, so I should be drinking tons of water to compensate". It's very hard to tell if your body has too much water or not enough, but usually when you are thirsty, it's a sign that you need water. Hence if you are not thirsty, don't go chugging gallons of water. Also, know the signs of hyponatremia (symptoms include (but not limited to): feeling dizzy, confusion, fatigue and etc... for more info, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia
    That said, many sport drinks are offered at the run too. These sport drinks have alot of sugar content and not to mention artificial colouring and calorie count. I would recommend being conservative when drinking these sport drinks. They do contain electrolytes that you need when you run, but you obtain electrolytes from food or even just adding pinches of salt to water.
 
After the Run
   When the run is finished, give yourself a pat on the back. You've accomplished something that is not easy to do. That said, be aware too. Make sure you don't just stop at the finish line and you have let yourself time to cool off (it's better for your heart). This is also a good time to stretch as stretching will help reduce muscle fatigue on the next day.
   Here, there will be food and things to eat inside BC Place. I would caution about eating too much because many people, after running, will think "Because I have burned all these calories, I can eat as much as I like". In fact, depending on your speed and finish time, you may burn as little as 400 to 700 calories during the run. They will give you food like protein bars, bagels, and fruits at the finish line. But things like bagels usually contain a large amount of carbohydrates (which you need but not in excess). It's important to eat, but becareful about overeating. I think I read in a book that this is called "compensation eating", and you will gain weight as a result.

Most Important thing of all of these tips is to have fun, and enjoy yourself!
   Anyway, it's back to studying for my exams for me. I am not a professional runner, but I've done the Sun Run a few times and is training for a Marathon so I hope my insights can help you have a better Sun Run experience.

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant Review

This is probably one of the better Japanese All You Can Eat (AYCE) places around town that I've been to. Originally, my friends and I were downtown planning to eat at another restuarant. When we found out the wait was about an hour and a half we decided to go some where else.
It was about 9:15PM when we arrived at Tomokazu. We paid for our parking before we entered the restaurant. Even though the time was late in the evening, I was surprised how busy the place was. There was a short wait of about 5 minutes before we were seated.

I think the reason why the place is so busy is because they have a late night AYCE menu for almost half price of the regular. However, when we compared the regular to the late night menu, a few things were missing from the late night. At the end we decided to go with the light menu.
The restaurant itself is pretty big, and I would say the servers are all dressed in uniform and this shows that their company actually cares about the presentation of their brand.
hen we were seated, we we so hungry we started ordering stuff right away. My friends ordered Miso soup first (personally I don't recommend ordering anything liquid because it fills you up quicker... I know the mentality of people when they go to AYCE is to eat all they can eat, but drinking liquid decreased the amount one can eat). Then we also ordered a few rolls, sashimi, salads and other small sides.
One thing that make their menu stand out compared to all the other AYCE menus that I've seen around town is that they have an option of having prawn tempura. There doesn't seem to be a limit on how many prawn tempura one can have as well!
 The wait for the food to come was pretty short and when it arrived, I was pretty impressed with some of the stuff. The miso soup was just average (can't really mess up miso soup) but the other stuff was pretty special. The chopped scallop roll was wrapped in the fashion where it looked more like nigiri (like the meat was on top, and rice at the bottom rather having the scallop wrapped inside the rice in a roll).
In addition to having regular sashimi, they also have slices of carrots that come with their sashimi. There are also different kinds of sashimi as well, like the korean style salmon sashimi and a few other kinds of fish.

What I was impressed with most of all is that the spring rolls and samosas did not taste like microwaved ones. I've been to other sushi and AYCE Japanese places where it's clear that the food wasn't freshly prepared, but at Tomokazu, I didn't get that feel.
 Some of the foods I would avoid though, if I was here again would probably be the unagi fried rice and jello. The unagi fried rice didn't taste bad, but it was just too ricey for me. It was mostly rice and almost no unagi, so stuff like that can fill one up really fast. The other thing that I would avoid is the jello. I think the food colouring on the jello is abit too much. After the jello was finished, I could see the colours of the jello stuck at the bottom of the plate. The sight was abit unnerving...
In general, I would say that the price for AYCE here is abit on the high end and the location is not that convenient because only busses can get you here (or you can walk a while from the Canada Line Vancouver City Hall station). In addition, parking is not free. When we were there, my friend only paid for an hour of parking because it was late at night. When we left, he had a ticket for parking because we were there for an hour and 20 mins. I swear someone must be sitting at that tiny parking lot and waiting for someone's parking ticket to expire.

Overall:
Location: Not too convenient, but it's not too bad either
Price: abit on the high end/ but better quality

Safeway (Broadway station)

I was on my way to school this morning when I had the urge to go the the bathroom. I was searching around frantically for a free washroom when I realized there wasn't one. I mean there is McDonalds, Blenz or A and W I could go to, but I felt bad using their restrooms without buying anything.
 I suddenly looked across the street and I saw Safeway and I remembered that there's a washroom there. I headed there and the first thing I smelled when I entered Safeway was the smell of butter and pastry. Personally, the smell of butter and pastry is really attractive (sexy almost but in a non-erotic sense), the smell always makes me feel like eating. I have to hand it to Safeway because out of all of the Supermarkets around, I like their bakery counter the best. Not only are the quality of food good, but the value is even more impressive.
After going to the washroom, I dashed straight towards the bakery section to see what was out. Everything was fully stocked and I can tell they just came out of the oven. Looking around, I wanted to find something whole grain, low in fat but slightly richer in carbohydrates, that I can eat after my workout in the afternoon (Currently training for the Vancouver Marathon).
 The first thing I saw was their pizza bun. This bun is one of my favourite because the cheese on it just melts in your mouth. Not only that, the price is only 90 cents for one, or 75 cents for 4. The downside is that the flour used is enriched wheat flour (which is not as good as whole wheat). So I decided to not get this today. Trust me, I stared at the freshly baked, almost crunchy looking cheese bread for a good few minutes before my health conscious side told me to go for something else.
Immediately after, I did a quick glimpse of the cookies and all of them were stacked neatly on top of each other. Man did they ever smell good! I can almost taste the butter by looking at them. These little buggers taste good, but the downside is that the calorie count of each of them is relatively high compared to their size. After looking at them for a while, I went to the buns section.
These buns are only 25 cents each or 2 dollars for 8! The price is really good, 8 buns can easily fill up a person and I'd say 2 dollars for a meal is great value. That said, I wasn't looking for a meal, but a snack, so I ended up getting 2. The buns in my opinion is much better in nutrition because they appear to be whole wheat, non-greasy. They make a good choice of carbohydrates.
When I finished with the buns, I passed by the donut section. I won't mention too much about them... The layer of chocolate on top... Mmmmm...
I headed straight to the self checkout, passing by the Safeway Starbucks on the way. This Starbucks is abit different than the conventional Starbucks where you have coffee tables you can sit at. It was just one of those buy and go kind of places.
At the self checkout, there was barely anyone in line, so in total, I spent about 50 cents and no more than 10 minutes in the store. But I was pretty satisfied with my purchase and I will definately come back again.

Blenz Coffee (VGH/Broadway)

After I left the Vancouver General Hospital, I decided I needed a caffine boost. I never tried Blenz coffee (I know, I live in Vancouver but never had Blenz...), there is one just across the street on Broadway. It is very nice and cozy. The coffee shop itself is very small, but it is cozy. There are a few couch seats, and a few seats that are elevated (I am not sure what they are called...). then a line of couch and chairs in front of the coffee counter.
   I ordered a regular Americano and had them put it in a large cup. The taste is pretty average and the price was fair too (in comparison with Starbucks). The washroom at this coffee shop is pretty interesting, they have 2 door handles on the washroom door. I am not sure why they would need two because only the top one works, and the bottom one I guess used to work... Thinking of it, it would be cheaper to leave the old handle there and confuse the daylights out of people than to fill it up and put in a new handle in the location of the old one...

Wendy's Kid's Meal

I was on my way back from Walmart when a friend and I were hungry. It was 10:00PM at night, so I didn't want anything too heavy because food at this point -at least what it seems like... goes to the butt-. I wanted an order of fries and a drink. They were each $1.89, then I realized something, the Kids meal is only $2.99, and it includes nuggets, as well as a small fries and drink, also a toy.
The soft drink is about the same size as the one at Mcdonalds, so there is nothing special here. Their french fries though, have a more potato taste and is made with sea salt, which gives it abit more flavor than Mcdonald's Fries. The nuggets themselves, I found to be very crispy, so it was more crisp rather than full of chicken. There was chicken in there, but they could have put more. The toy can't be compared, compared to Mcdonald's adaptation of popular tv shows and movies for their toys, Wendy's toy seem like they are a knock off of Mcdonalds. That said, for kids, the toys can be a joy, but for an adult, or a collector of these kid meal toys, Wendy's toys arn't as appealing as Mickey d's. In general, if you are at Wendys to get a snack, and if you would like both fries and a drink, getting a kids meal would be cheaper. 

SUPER GREAT PIZZA (Joyce Station)

I'll have to admit, the name of this place isn't so creative. Everyday on my way home from school, I would always see this place on the skytrain. Before a friend that lived near Joyce Station pointed out to be that I should try their pizza, I would have never went.
   From the outside, they look like any old pizza place, they have all the pizza they are selling in slices near the window, and 2 rows of seats. Because of how long this place's been running, it seems like the painting is due for a new coat. In general, the outside does not look attractive. However, as soon as you look past the outside, you will see that there's always people inside.
    There are not many seats here so I would recommend anybody who would like to sit and enjoy their pizza to take it for to go. The prices of the pizza are pretty good,

$10 for 6 slices, or $4.50 for 2 slices and a pop or $2.00 per slice. (or $13.99 for a whole pizza)

Compared it to other pizza shops like Freshslice (who sells them for $1.75 on normal days and $1.00 on Tuesdays), Super Great's Pizza seem to be of higher quality. Unlike Freshslice, Super Great's does not seem to have as thick of a crust, though it is just enough to produce a crunch texture. Usually, I find their toppings to be pretty generous, the cheese, meatballs, all seem to be ample. In addition, the pizza slices is big (I would say atleast 1.5 times that of Freshslice's, and there is a big variety as well. It is also not too salty, however, I find their pizza to be slightly greasy (maybe because there is alot of cheeze on it). For $2.00 a slice, it would be a good snack to have, once in a while ;).