Oliver Twist Pub - All Menu Items $4.95!

If you are looking for a vintage bar and pub with relatively cheap food in Burnaby, this is the place to be. Everything on the menu is $4.95 and they aren't kidding. That business model is very similar to those in the Warehouse in Vancouver, however the dining environment is very different. Oliver Twist Pub is a sports pub and the facilities itself is decently big. The building itself is very vintage, sort of built in an Irish/ German manner. We came here on Canada day as my friends and I were in the area for Canada Day festivities.

When we arrived, it was cool to see the insides of the pub. It is very spacious with a first floor and second floor area. The first floor has very high ceilings and the second floor is built so that you can see all of the first floor. There are four giant screens that play sports above the bar area. The only thing worth mentioning is that when we arrived, the scent of alcohol was strong. I can tell that they try their best to maintain the facilities, but it is a bit on the vintage side.
We decided to grab a corner on the second floor, and the waitress came to get our drinks and orders.
    I remember it was a bit warm on the second floor, so she tried to open the windows, but they were jammed because it seemed like they haven't been opened in a while. After her failed attempt at opening the windows, she brought us the menu. It was interesting because the menu was a piece of paper that they photocopied and they only had one copy of... so our entire table had to share (which I didn't really mind).
    Taking a quick look at the menu, there are quite a bit of things to order, which is great. There is a wide selection of wings, and some other things like wraps and burgers. I wanted something that was a bit more filling so I decided to grab a wrap while my friends decided to grab the wings.The wraps and burgers also came with fries, which is great.
   Since there were only two servers, it did take a while for the food to be delivered.  When the food came, I was starving. The taste of the wrap itself is pretty average, although the fries were good. It was freshly made. The only thing I do have to comment on is the fact that the portions weren't really that big... but what can you expect for $4.95? That said, it is higher quality than fast food, but the portions itself were not big.
   Overall, I would come here again for the food because of its price.

http://www.olivertwistpub.ca/menu/

I finally understood the meaning of "blackened" and interesting washroom design concept (Tap and Barrel Jack Poole Plaza Review)

If you are looking for a patio to sit on and eat, Tap and Barrel is a pretty decent place to be. It's a warm sunny day, and my friend and I were looking for a place to eat near Canada Place when we noticed the entire section at the Jack Poole Plaza that was fenced off. It is a bit strange to walk right into a restaurant when the entire restaurant is outside. Usually I am used to walking into a restaurant and then going to their patio through the restaurant, but in this case it's all outside!
   After the server took us to our seats, she handed us the menu and we started looking. There isn't really anything too special about their menu. Their price is relatively fair, but a bit on the upper side of things (an entree or burger is about $16). We took a while to look and both of us were craving a burger, so my friend decided to grab a beer and the both of us grabbed the "Blackened Cajun Chicken Burger".
    To be honest, I had no idea what "blackened" means... I thought it was a type of flavouring or something. When the burger came, I was decently surprised... I finally learned what blackened means... and it means that the burger is literally cooked until burnt. I've never been a fan of burnt food because the inner health nut tells me burnt food causes cancer... My guilty confession is that I would take the pieces of burnt food off before I eat it... But in this case, the entire patty of the chicken was all burnt.
     Not wanting to look weird, I ate the thing anyway while half praying that it's not actually burnt but just the colouring of the sauce on the chicken patty. Overall, the burger was pretty good.
     What was really cool about this place was that their washrooms are very spacious. I like the design concept of them because instead of dividing up a washroom by gender (where there is a male and female washroom), the had an open concept that would tell you what each stall was for. The urnals all had their own stalls with sinks and water in them. I thought that was pretty cool that I haven't seen else where. 

Famous with a splash of vintage, decent food, prices and stunning views ( Molly's Reach Gibsons Review)

From the outside, this place seems very vintage. The background story was that the restaurant was part of "The Beachcombers" and it was famous because of it.. (Honestly though, I never watched The Beachcombers before so I wasn't too sure why it was famous). However, I did see a trailer for a Zac Efron movie that took place here and that was pretty cool.
   For the actual location of the restaurant itself, the background is very scenic with the views of the marina down below and the mountains to the back. It does have a Mediterranean feel to it where the buildings are all on a slope while facing the marina to the outside. The back drop and feelings of the building make it a great place for a family lunch and or dinner. The restaurant has its menu on the outside as well as a patio.
    For prices of the items at the restaurant, they all seem to be fair. Their fish and chips were said to be famous, and at $13 for 2 pieces of COD or $16 for 2 pieces of Salmon, and it comes with fries and coleslaw, it is pretty decent. Since we were visiting as a group, we all decided to give this place a try after one we were convinced that it must be good because it's famous.
   We were greeted by the hostess and then took inside. The scenery outside the window was just stunning. Overlooking the marina and with the window slightly propped open as the breeze blew inside was just pure bliss. It was one of the places that you can sit there for hours and read a book or something calm and relaxing. The speed of the restaurant itself is not as fast as it is in the city, but it seems like the overall feeling in Gibsons and small towns feel slower than in the city.
   Everyone ordered fish and chips and it took a few moments to arrive. It came in metal buckets (or trays.. however you would to call them). The food itself was served on a piece of paper (this is oil absorbing paper so it's different than newspaper even though it is printed to look like newspaper). The fish itself was pretty fresh tasting, and the portions of them were relatively big and satisfying. The fries at the bottom were also pretty good but a tad bit on the greasy side as it is served with the fish on top (so the oil drips to the bottom and collects together). I wouldn't say that the fish and chips here is extra-ordinary (or maybe I just lack a palate that can taste what extra-ordinary tastes like) but it is pretty decent.     Overall, I would definitely come back to this place to eat again because of it's scenery and decently good price and good food.

"Exotic Foot Flush" (The Cactus Club Kingsway / Metrotown Review)

The Cactus Club is known to have good food, good service and good atmosphere but the pricing has also been known to be a bit on the higher end of things. That is also the main reason why I don't visit too often (I like to be frugal). However, today my friend treated me to lunch to celebrate graduation (thank you!! You know who you are ;)).
    The Kingsway location seems to be a bit on the smaller side versus many other Cactus Club locations in and around Vancouver. We arrived around 11AM when the restaurant was not too busy. The outside patio already had a few guests sitting around (I am not going to lie, the scenery of the outside patio is not necessarily the most flattering). Once we got into the entrance, the hostess quickly greeted us and sat us down.
    She began by offering us the specials and drinks menu (which is typical). It was funny how they assumed that people just assume that they have non-alcoholic beverages because on the drinks menu, it was all alcoholic. It wasn't until I asked our waitress later on that there were other things like iced tea and coffee. I decided to get iced tea... which was not typical of me to do but I decided to try something new and grab an iced tea.
    After, she came back with our drinks and asked us what appetizers we would like. They have a good selection of appetizers, and most of the prices were almost the same as an entree. I had my eye on the truffle fries (as a marathon runner.. I have a thing for carbs.. good or bad...). However, my friend told me that the truffle fries can also be obtained by ordering an entree and then doing the add on option for $2 more. So you can pretty much save money by ordering the up-sized fries on the side. After debating for a while, we decided to get the potato skins.
    The potato skins were very good, they weren't greasy, but they had just the right amount of sauces and toppings and the layer of bacon was just right. The sauce that it came with was also very good. I would highly recommend this dish if you are looking for an appetizer when you are here.
   I decided to order the Ocean Wise Tuna Sandwich while my fried ordered the chicken strips and fries. I also decided to upgrade my fries to truffle fries (go figure eh?). The Ocean Wise tuna sandwich was amazing. The tuna was pretty fresh (and to be honest, didn't really taste much like Tuna but rather it tastes more like chicken but with the lighter and fluffier side. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
    Overall, this Cactus Club is definitely a decent place to go for lunch. It is not too expensive yet it is not cheap feeling. One thing to add about this location that I find quite special was that the washroom tends to be a bit on the cramped side. I am 5'7 and it was a bit edgy trying to get in and out... however.. they have this really cool toilet flushing mechanism called the "Exotic Foot Flush". I am not sure why the call it exotic... it's really just a button on the floor that flushes the toilet... It's not like pineapples and bananas grow out of it once the "exotic" button is pushed...

Lunch special in a dark dungeon like Japanese/Korean fusion (Yakiniku ya Downtown Vancouver)

I've been here a few years ago, and did a previous blog post on this place. I was in the area, so I decided to stop by. I noticed that they have a new menu and one of the things that were featured was the lunch specials. That got me interested as there was the $10.95 lunch menu. So I decided to go in and visit with my mother.

   The interesting thing about this place is that it's a fusion of Korean and Japanese cuisine. I have a hard time trying to figure out if they are Korean or Japanese owned because the waitress seemed to speak both. That said, the place seemed understaffed as they only had one waitress when I was there with my mother for lunch.
   We took a look at the menu and decided to get an avocado roll, a seafood cake (Korean style) and a Chicken Teriyaki Lunchbox special. Then we waited for our meal.. I noticed that this place is very fancy on decoration and setting. They spent a lot of time getting the decor of the inside. I am not exactly sure what the theme is.. but the insides do remind me of a cave (because it's dark on the inside and the walls and floors were stone (or what appears to be...)).
   Since there was only one waitress, it does seem like she was a bit rushed. The miso soup came first and then came the fish cake and the bento box. The table space was a bit awkward as it has a section for BBQ. When the miso soup came, I had to move it but instead the miso soup became me so wet when I spilled it everywhere...
   The next thing to come was the bento.  The portions were not as impressive as it seems in the pictures. For $10.95, it came with 2 pieces of tempura, a slice of orange 1 tofu, a bite of cold noodles, a few bites of chicken teriyaki, salad, rice and miso soup. The quality is on the higher end of things, but not super high end.
   The seafood pancake and the avocado roll was next. The avocado roll was nothing much to write about. However, the seafood pancake was pretty good. It had a good balance of seafood in it and the pan frying wasn't too greasy.
   What was the most interesting part of this visit was that just before I left, I saw a man (who looks like the owner) coming in and he cleaned the table next to ours. He then stacked all of the cups and poured the contents on his potted plants outside... That was definitely interesting watching that...
   Overall, the price of this place is decent. However, the portions are not the best. I won't go out of my way to come here but if I am around this area, I will visit. 

Everything for $4.95... and they weren't kidding! (Warehouse Group / Restaurant Review)

I've walked by this place many times, and have always took a second look at the sign that says (Everything $4.95). Knowing that it's in Downtown Vancouver, and that just Vancouver in general is not exactly the cheapest... I've always stared at the sign and moved on. That said, the place is usually very busy so that's also another reason why I never came. However, I was feeling adventurous today and the place wasn't that busy (as it was early on) so I came.
   The restaurant itself has a couple of heated outside/ patio seats and when you walk in, there is a sign that prompts you to wait at the entrance for your hostess. The menu is also outside and after taking a close look, there is a wide variety of food options. From appetizers to burgers to even Asian noodles, they have it all. The variety is actually pretty big and they have a decent selection of appetizers too. The one thing I noticed with their menu is that for every item, there seems to be the option to upgrade (like upgrade to add fries to a combo or upgrade fries to soup.. or add an avocado to your meal). It's pretty cool. The prices for upgrades did not seem too expensive either (around $1-$2 for upgrades.
     Once I lined up, the hostess came and took me inside. I can tell that they are very busy and they seem to be a bit on the understaffed side. It took a good few minutes for the waitress to come around with water and drinks. While I waited, I had a look at the menu and took in the vibe of the place. It's setup like a pub, so the insides are darker and the waitress and waiters were also younger. They have very vintage decorations like an old juke box and signs that they collected from different places. It also reminds me of a ski-shack for some odd reason.
     The waitress came and took my order. Since I was here with my mother and I wasn't too sure how big the portions were (I thought to myself "$4.95... how much can that get you?"), so I decided to get 3 items between the 2 of us. My mother being the health nut that she is decided to get the Asian noodles while I decided to get their chicken wrap. We decided to get the fish tacos to split in case the food we got were not enough.
     I noticed that the waitress, when she came around to ask us for our order, she would ask us if we wanted an upgrade for extra. For my mom's noodles, she offered to add avocados to it for only $2 more, so we said yes. For my wrap, she told me that fries were included (at this point... I thought... "oh man... $4.95 with a fries.. I hope the quality is alright").
     After she took our orders, it took the orders around 20 minutes or so to arrive (given that they seem to be understaffed, it was understandable). When the orders came.. I was decently amazed. The portions were NOT SMALL AT ALL! The noodles were a big bowl and so was the wrap and fries. Even if you go to the supermarket, the prices would be higher (for example... I once bought a chicken wrap from a supermarket... for $6 and it didn't even come with fries).
    My mom gave me some of her noodles for me to try, and to my surprise, the quality was decent too. It reminded me of the noodles I once had in Taiwan (except with a Vancouver twist to it). Who knew avocados tasted so good with the noodles.
    The next thing I tried was my own wrap. The wrap itself was not exactly massive or fancy but it was good. It had all of the essentials of a chicken wrap (the chicken, the sauce, lettuce and mildly grilled tortilla). The fries were also good (it wasn't too greasy but slightly on the dry side). For $4.95, the portion was very good.
    The next thing I tried was the fish tacos. The fish itself in the tacos were a bit on the smaller side and it wasn't as fresh as some other places... however, the other contents of the taco was really good. Also for $4.95.. it was definitely a bargain.
    Once we finished, the bill came and for 3 plates of food, in Downtown Vancouver, it was only around $17 for everything! That is an incredibly good deal! I would definitely come back again because of that. I would recommend this place if you were taking your date to out for lunch... but the place is pretty loud. It would be hard to have a good conversation... that said... when things are cheap and good.. who needs conversation anyway right? :p

Starting to lose its flare? (Uncle Willy's Metrotown)

Uncle Willy's have been here for a while, I remember that it's been here ever since I was a child (not to date myself or anything). There have not been much change since I was a child. The tables, arrangements, even equipment and utensils have not changed. From the outside, it is obvious that minor repairs have been done (such as the addition of the "buffet" sign) outside. Once you enter, the signs look exactly the same as it has years ago.
   I decided to come here for lunch just to see what it is like years after (and if there was any change). The facilities appear to be a bit on the vintage side of things, but the prices were fair. The lunchtime price was around $13 per person. When you arrive, you would pay for your entry first, then you will be given your receipt. I then proceeded to look for food. The plates, utensils and even bowls seems like they haven't changed for 20 years (then again.. is it customary for restaurants to change plates within 20 years?). The utensils do look worn, but then again it is still usable.
    After grabbing utensils, the food options begin with soup. There were two types of soup (one is the tomato and the other was the chicken soup). I tried the chicken soup, which had rice in it as well, and I liked it. The salad bar came after the soups and it had things like salad (potato salad, coleslaw, caesar and more). The food and salad from the salad bar is typical in the sense that all of these things can be found in the deli at the supermarket, so it's not anything too special.
    The next section of food contains a miscellaneous selection of meats. During the hour that I was there, they had a few dishes that changed. One dish I liked was the casserole (I think) that was wrapped in cabbage. It had some rice in it and meat as well. They also had things like perogies, gravy and pasta, fried chicken, curry potatoes (these are good) and a variety of meatballs. The taste of these are relatively fair.
    On the far hand side, there were also three dishes of fried noodles, asparagus with vegetables and meat. The asparagus seemed a bit dehydrated... otherwise the other dishes were pretty fair.
     What was the most interesting was the drinks section. It seemed like the coffee machines haven't been maintained for a while.. and what was coming out of it was just hot water. The soda machine seems to have been there for a long time as well.
     The dessert section was pretty sweet. I've always liked their dessert section. They have a good selection of desert and reduced sugar desserts (which is great for someone like myself who does not have much of a sweet tooth).
   Overall, I would come here again, but I would not come here too often. The quality of the food is alright, however, the facilities are starting to become a bit run down. 

Vintage with a bit of an Abercrombie and Fitch feel (The Local Downtown Victoria)

After walking along the edge of the harbour, I noticed there was a pub with a patio that looked pretty cool. It had it's servers all dressed in beach flashy coloured (but not swimming suit) clothes so I decided to go in for lunch.
At first, the insides reminded me of an antique shop and the big moose coupled with the dark lighting sort of gave it an Abercrombie and Fitch sort of feel. When the waitress took me to my seat, she also brought the water and the menu.
In terms of the menu options, there were not much to choose from as compared to other pubs but they did have a decent (maybe around 20 of each type) selection of burgers, misc (like steak and fish and chips) and starters. They also had 2 selection of soup. All of the options for the burgers were around $15.
 I decided to get the most simple option that I can see and that was the grilled chicken burger (they call it something fancy but it literally was just a grilled burger). I also decided to choose fries (I know, not healthy. It is however a good way to compare with other pubs on whether or not the food is good.) To compensate for the fat on the fries, I also decided to ask for no mayo in my burger.

When the food came, the presentation was pretty interesting. The burger and fries was served on a piece of wood with the name of the pub engraved on it. I thought that was pretty cool (though hard to wash).
 The fries tasted like they were freshly cut and fried while the burger tasted fresh. The cheese in the burger wasn't the processed cheese that many burger places use either. The quality was pretty good and for the location,15 dollars was not too bad. Overall I like this place and would definitely come back again!

Amsterdam Red Light district modelled Pub / Cafe (Amsterdam Cafe Pub)

Whistler's got some pretty sick bars and pubs, and so quite a bit of pizza and higher-end restaurants I've noticed. My friends and I were in the neighbourhood to look around and wanted something that was a bit more special than pizza yet not as expensive as a restaurant.
   After walking around for a while, we noticed a deli place, and connected to the porch/ patio is this pub. Looking at their menu, the price for a burger was around $11, which was pretty acceptable. All of the burgers include an order of either fries, salad or a soup.
   Walking into the pub/  cafe, you will feel like you've walked into a place that have popped out of a movie scene. The pub itself was not very big, there were probably about only 30 seats in there in total. On the one side it was the bar, while opposite it is an elevated platform that had benches. It was about a collection of 5 benches that can fit 4 people each. There were also a few collections of seats near the windows closer to the exits too. The location is a bit small, but the decorations of this place make it feel so cool.
   Our server was British and after we seated ourselves, she came around to check our ID's and asked if we would like anything to drink. All of us were on a budget so we decided to all just ask for water. When the waitress brought the menu over, I was very entertained at what the menu had and the things that it described.
   Many of the items on the menu weren't very special sounding. It seemed to be burgers and things you would find at many pubs. I decided to go with the Chicken burger (because it sounds the simplest and was the cheapest as well (at $10.50, at the end it was $13, including tips and tax).
   The burger didn't take too long to come. The burger itself was slightly larger than the McDonald's burger, but it wasn't bigger by too much. I had a taste of the burger and it tasted very average. The only major difference was that the chicken itself tasted slightly dry and salty. Otherwise, the fries and the burger was very average. The price was average.
   What I found very interesting was the decoration and environment of this cafe/ pub. It was very daring in the sense of not having much censorship. I was just looking at the ceiling above our table when I realized there were a bunch of pictures of breasts of people... I am not sure if it's from here or from somewhere else but it was a very interesting choice of decoration...

Fresh Sashimi and a funny owner (Yakinikuya Review)

Yakinikuya In a sea of Japanese restaurants in Vancouver, many of which aren't exactly "authentic", Yakinikuya is one of the few authentic Japanese restaurants around.
There are so many places that just squish rice and seaweed with a bit of overly fried shrimp together and called it sushi, but Yakinikuya stood out. It was around lunch time and I met with my friend to celebrate her birthday, and we were on Robson when their advertisement for the $8.95 lunch grabbed our attention.
Upon entering, the restaurant had a very authentic feel to it. The decor was all black and you can tell they've put a lot of thought into creating an atomosphere for their customers. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly waitress and seated. Looking around, we were surprisingly the only customer in the restaurant. She quickly brought us the menu and asked if we would like water or tea. The tea was the traditional Japanese matcha, which was pretty good.
 My friend and I decided to take selfies... So we took a bit longer than normal to order. I think because the restaurant was empty, the waitress came back at least 5 times before we made our order. It was hard to settle for what to order. There were so many things beside Japanese food such as Korean BBQ. My friend and I decided to get something we can share, so we decided to order two lunch boats. Our first boat is the sashimi boat while our other one was the Korean BBQ boat.
 While we were waiting, I noticed the owner (or what appears to be the owner, walking in and out of the restaurant as if he was patrolling. He seemed a bit bored and I see him rushing outside to remove a leaf that's fallen on to a table and cleaning up the leaves of the sidewalk. There was a moment when a couple walked in to the restaurant and he greeted them with joy. However they left after looking at the menu and the owner jokingly said "too expensive?'' This was definately the first time I've ever heard a restaurant owner saying something like this. After getting our order in, the waitress immediately brought us our miso soup and salad. The miso soup was very good and the flavour was just right. The salad was special too.
There was siracha sauce added to the salad, as well as a few pieces of sashimi (salmon and tuna). I must say, the Sashimi was very fresh and I was impressed. Right after the salads came, the boats came right after. My first impression of the boats was that they were very well presented. In many other Japanese restaurants, I noticed that they would just place their food on to the dishes without putting much thought into it. However, at Yakinikuya, there was thought put into the placement of food. Starting with the Korean BBQ boat, besides being very nicely presented, it tasted really good too. The pork had a texture where it was slightly harder on the outside but the center was full of juice and it was soft. The sashimi boat was very good too. The sashimi was fresh as mentioned before. Also, for both of the boats, asparagus bacon skewers were included. Besides being on the greasy side, the skewers were good too. The only downside to the two boats is that for $18.00 per boat, the amount of food that was included was not as much as I expected. I guess the trade off is that the quality of food was good. Overall, the service is good, the food is good, the price is on the higher end and I would definitely come back again (once my wallet stops crying).