MISS VANCOUVER PIGGY
Having no sense of food direction in Coquitlam, Burnaby and New Westminster and coming up blank for a restaurant to try, Browns Socialhouse did not seem like a bad option. When Browns Socialhouse first came to Vancouver, my thoughts were very meh. Cactus Club and Joey are still on the top of my list for preferred chains and Browns, Milestones and Moxies are the ones I told myself that I am not in a rush to try. So finally after a few years, why not Browns?
Located at the Brewery District in New Westminster with floor to ceiling wall windows and two patios with a fire, I am already interested in atmosphere. Most of the time the atmosphere is not really all that important to me, but it was really nice having the whole patio to ourselves and sitting right in front of the fire where it kept us warm. We had the best seat at the restaurant and lots of privacy! Or I guess I mean lots of peace because diners have a really clear view of the patio from the inside.
Angie's Malaysian Eatery is a small family run restaurant where the
husband is the chef, the wife handles the front of the house and their
children help out whenever needed. The restaurant is small with less
than ten tables available and has a homey atmosphere, as if you are having dinner at a
friend's. From the fabric table cloths to how place mats are placed
underneath every plate, the little things add to the homey vibe.
A chalkboard menu is posted at the back of the restaurant with photographs attached and the owners also came by to show us pictures of each dish that the restaurant has to offer. On top of that, the owners provided a thorough description and were helpful in explaining what each dish was like, which we found helpful for those who are not familiar with Bruneian cuisine.
Vancouver may have a decent amount of African restaurants, but primarily Ethiopian and East African cuisine. I guess we do have South African restaurants if Nando's counts. Furthermore, there are even noticeably more Ethiopian than East African restaurants too, which I find surprising because I believe the former would be more popular to the locals. The reason is because Ethiopian cuisine is definitely an acquired taste in my opinion and it is not because of the stews, but due to the injera.
Lalibela is a family operated restaurant, where the owners are very humble and inviting. The restaurant is located in New Westminster right beside Hon's Wun Tun House and the interior is fairly spacious. Despite that there are only around ten tables however, I appreciate how the restaurant passed on squeezing in more seats. The atmosphere is very homey too and it truly feels as if you are stepping into someone's home. Even the restroom was squeaky clean! Cleaner than some of my friends' washrooms too.
Sometimes trying new restaurants and ending up with mediocre food can get discouraging, especially if it happens for more than a couple of consecutive days within the week! Having said that, there are quite a few Chinese restaurants in South Burnaby as well as New Westminster, but not many good ones that serve live seafood. Au Wing Kee is not the cleanest restaurant (similar to the Sing Kee level), Lui's Chinese as well as New Lakeview are average at best, and Lee Garden is great. But there is only one good restaurant?
Walking in, I was skeptical and assumed that Chong Lum Hin serves North Americanized Chinese food. There was a large table occupied by a Chinese family, and two tables with non-Asians. Plus, considering the area. As for the interior, there is nothing special and the restaurant looks old. I even remember a decade ago, the former restaurant was a Chinese buffet? We were given the option to seat anywhere by our friendly waitress and of course, went straight for a four person table.
Bubble World is a Canadian franchise restaurant with ten locations in B.C, but only five of the restaurants serve food while the rest sell drinks. As for the Bubble World in New Westminster, the restaurant is located within seconds from Douglas College and I remember making a visit years ago, but the food was not very good. At that time, I concluded this location caters to students and declared the restaurant as probably being the worst out of the whole franchise.
So why the revisit? A friend of mine moved in to her new condo in New West and it was based on convenience. Plus, perhaps the food has improved and she could also find out if the restaurant could be her go-to for late night snacks.
The interior looks modern as well as clean, and nice for any Asian fast food restaurant. Also, there is a good amount of booth seats and comfortable as well as spacious seating arrangements. When we walked in, the staff was friendly and there was Taiwanese pop music playing in the background. If anything, because the restaurant has two sides, it may be hard to get service for those seated on the side without the counter (like us, which we thought was fine).
A few years ago, there was a Chinese dim sum restaurant called Dragon Palace. I remember the dim sum was not that bad and enjoyed their steamed barbecue pork buns. However, I guess the owners decided to close up the Chinese restaurant and expanded their Japanese restaurant which was next door to Dragon Palace, Ki Sushi.
There are quite a few Japanese restaurants in New Westminster but when looking through some photos online, not many seem above average. In addition, when looking for dinner after 9:00pm and without many choices asides from pubs or Boston Pizza, Ki Sushi it was. At first, I was kicking as well as screaming and tried my hardest to avoid come here because from what I remember, the food is pricey and not that great. But like I mentioned, there were not many options. 
The interior is spacious and clean, with plenty of seating arrangements. When we walked in, a waiter seated us and brought over the menus. After a while, he came back to grab us drinks. Furthermore shortly after five minutes, another waiter asked if we needed drinks. So far, I thought the service was good. The staff was polite and more than one waiter came by to make sure we had drinks on the table.
After settling down, the sushi chefs were cleaning up the bar and we frantically looked for someone to take our order. I hate the idea of ordering sushi when the chefs are cleaning up because I do not want my food to taste soapy or have dirty water (based on experiences!). Fortunately though, a small section at the sushi bar had not been cleaned yet and our food was prepared from there.
Fifteen years ago, I was obsessed with Donair Star and always asked my parents to take me here. The shop served one of the best donairs before and I was only in Elementary school back then! Fresh sautéed mushrooms were always an option, the tzatziki sauce tasted rich, the housemade hot sauce was not very spicy but provided a nice buzz in the mouth, and the meat was always sliced fresh off the rotisserie to order. Furthermore, there was always a generous portion of meat!
However, after a year of my discovery, the owners sold the shop to a married couple. The donairs were still pretty good because the couple kept everything the same; from the menu as well as the ingredients, to the quality. The second owners operated exactly like the former ones, and the donairs continued to be my favourite.
But again, after more years passed, the third ownership was taken over by two brothers and they changed a few items as well as ingredients. Since then, the donairs have never been that great. However, the brothers were always humble as well as welcoming. Well, fast forward to more years later, Donair Star is now under the fourth (or perhaps fifth) owner and management, which made me curious to see how the donairs are. 
After being rejected at Tamarind Hill because the restaurant was booked for the night, we headed to the next restaurant which was across the street, Hi, Dozo Sushi. In general, every Korean restaurant, to be exact, Korean owned Japanese cuisine restaurant, is always friendly and welcoming. Some great examples are SushiUOmo, Tokyo Hon, Kaya Japanese and even Sushi California.
But… walking into Hi, Dozo Sushi, the vibe felt like Congee Noodle King or even worse, Rose Garden. There were no greetings from the sushi chefs or a word from the waitress when we walked up. The restaurant seemed cold for a Saturday evening.
Hi, Dozo Sushi is located in New Westminster and the restaurant is fairly spacious. There are wooden booth seating arrangements as well as seats by the sushi bar, and a large waiting area at the front.
Tre Galli Gelato Caffe is located at the River Market in New Westminster Quay, and after an unpleasant meal at Re-Up, we headed across to the shop. I believe this is the only gelato shop in New West too. The prices include tax and are $3.50/child, $4.10/single, $5.15/double and $6.50/triple. Furthermore, there are take home containers available as well. Some of the flavours include amaretto, passion fruit, chocolate chip mint, blood orange, stracciatella, lemon, french vanilla, pear, kiwi lime, greek yogurt, blueberry, banana chocolate chip, pineapple, black sesame, panna cotta and tiramisu.
Before grabbing some gelato, we came here for a frappe while having a meal at Re-Up. Surprisingly, despite sitting right in front of the caffe with no line up (at the moment), the male cashier dropped our drink to the other side (presumably where the drink pick up area is) without mentioning it to us. Comparing the customer service to Re-Up, it was pretty… not welcoming or friendly. 
I have been wanting to try Re-Up for quite some time, pretty much ever since the hype from their food trucks and of course, I love barbecue meats. But, the thing is I never knew where the food trucks were! LOL. So when I heard Re-Up opened up their own restaurant at New Westminster Quay, I was pretty excited and complained every week of how I wanted to come down here, for months. And finally made the visit.
With a colourful, organized and easy to read chalkboard menu, Re-up's menu is pretty much like any other barbecue joint. Platters are available with one type of meat along with two sides, or a larger platter with all the fixins to sample every type of meat. The restaurant offers breakfast, chilli, chicken wings and of course, barbecue meats and sandwiches. In addition, apparently the fried chicken is supposed to be pretty good here! Customers pay at the front and when the food is ready, head to the pick up area when the number written on the receipt is called out.
So... I am guilty of occasionally visiting a wrong restaurant due to being careless and just… never bother looking at the restaurant's exterior. This was the case when I wanted to visit Royal Tandoori a couple of weeks ago but ended up at Indian Star (I did not even know I was at Indian Star and geotagged the restaurant as Royal Tandoori on Instagram LOL). My interest in visiting Royal Tandoori is because most of the comments on Urbanspoon emphasizes the restaurant's use of spiciness, and I love spicy food. I guess to me, spiciness can equal to great food especially for Indian cuisine! 
Coming on a Sunday evening, the restaurant was… not very busy and when we requested for a booth seat prior to a couple of hours before closing, the waitress declined as those seats are reserved for last minute diners of groups of four. Fortunately though after ordering, the waitress asked if we wanted to move as the secret to getting a booth seat is to order for four. The interior has comfortable seating arrangements and the only issue may be there are less than ten tables available, despite having more take out orders than diners. Plus, another table as well as us were the only ones in the restaurant for the entire time.
LOL wow. This is my second time going to the wrong restaurant. According to some reviews, the restaurant's "medium spicy" is quite spicy and overly. However, after visiting the restaurant, I wondered why nothing had a hint of spiciness. After going on Urbanspoon to confirm what some reviewers had said, it turns out I went to Indian Star? Whoops, I meant to visit Royal Tandoori! Despite taking a photo of the restaurant's exterior and uploading it, it was not until I noticed on Urbanspoon that I visited Indian Star! Quite sad actually, considering that both restaurants are located on the same street and I constantly kept saying "hmmm Royal Tandoori, where's that?". Obviously I assumed the first Indian restaurant that I saw was the right one LOL… the careless things that happen when one is too hungry. Indian Star has comfortable seating arrangements and the restaurant is pretty well ventilated! I am not sure if it was because the restaurant was empty or not, but I am leaning towards it really is well ventilated. 
Surprisingly, I have only been to Cockney Kings Fish & Chips three times! I would have expected at least ten visits. Cockney Kings = All you can eat fish n' chips. Yup, that is one of the two things that I remember of the restaurant. The other is, their tartar sauce tastes weak. 
Coming for a late lunch around 5:30pm (or to most, an early dinner), Cockney's was pretty busy on a Tuesday. Walking in, the restaurant has two lines; one for take out and the other to be seated. Both line ups were quite long but fortunately, we only waited fifteen minutes. Every Monday to Wednesday, Cockney's offers all you can eat fish n' chips for $9.50 which includes unlimited foundation pop! Good value much? Yup.
Ah… Hon's Wun Tun House, a childhood memory of mine; fighting over pot stickers with my sister and as a family of four, ordering three dozen LOL. Around half a year ago, I tried re-living my memory of Hon's at the Coquitlam location. However, neither the pot stickers were not very good or the other dishes. 
So, I decided to visit the location in New Westminster because I remember coming here a couple of years ago and the food was definitely a lot better than Coquitlam's. The restaurant's interior is fairly simple, tables and chairs set up like a fast food joint.
When I found out about Spud Shack, a little joint located at New Westminster skytrain station, I was pretty excited to introduce my friend to what may possibly be one of the best places for poutines. She loves her poutines and always orders them. So, after claiming that she will love me even more for where I am about to take her for a late night snack, she says "poutines? I don't even like them". LOL what? Yeah, apparently when she orders a poutine at the food court or movie theatre, it is because there is nothing else that she wants. Oh well, already paid for parking so too bad for her. I even raved about this "surprise" place to her for days too!
Best burgers in town? Possibly, in new New West. Burger Heaven is a bit small and has a very slight stinky smell. I thought the restaurant would smell like burgers LOL and be bright with cheerful employees. I took these photos as we were leaving around 9:00pm tonight and when we came around 7:00pm, the restaurant was packed! The restaurant seemed under staffed with uncleared tables, a long line up and nothing but busyness. 
