GOODBOWL

My gym membership is located in Richmond and I dread looking for a post work out meal (especially when dining alone!) because the city offers a vast selection of Chinese, Shanghainese, Szechuan and Korean restaurants, AKA delicious food but not the best option health conscious/sodium wise. Most of the time after an early work out I feel like eating on the healthier side too and how much food can one order at an Asian restaurant? Although at the same time, I don't want something as healthy as Japanese food since I usually crave for beef and chicken rather than seafood after a work out. The life of a high maintenance diner is complicated isn't it?

So when Goodbowl reached out to me, I was excited to give them a try once I found out their eatery is all about fresh and high quality produce. We are talking about AAA Angus beef, free run and hormone free chicken, and Sukura pork!

Goodbowl is located in Richmond on Alderbridge Way and Garden City Road, in the same plaza with Walmart Supercentre. Their concept is you build your own bowl (Kid's $6.95, Regular $9.95 and Large $12.95) with your choice of rice (jasmine, harvest or wild rice) or noodles, select your vegetables, pick your protein, choose your sauce, and watch your food cook in front of you. It's very similar to Mongolian style cooking, but a ton healthier considering the quality, amount of vegetables, and their specialty sauces (which are actually healthy).

What I love about Goodbowl is that you get an UNLIMITED amount of vegetables, whatever fits in the bowl is yours. I love my vegetables and when I hear the word unlimited, I go crazy.

Their selection of protein includes AAA Certified Angus beef, free run/grain fed/ hormone free chicken, Sakura pork, and tofu. Adding a free run egg will cost $1.95, prawns $3.95, or extra meat $2.95 (regular bowl) and $3.95 (large bowl). The prices here are very reasonable.

Asides from fresh and high quality produce, Goodbowl stands out because their sauces are created by Chuck Currie. He is known for his work with Cactus Club, Earl's, Joeys and Whitespot.

La Belle Patate

A while back, I had mad cravings for a poutine and decided to try La Belle Patate after a run on the seawall. The idea of having a poutine afterwards actually motivated me and I finished about ten minutes earlier too! Le Belle Patate is known for their poutines and offers 26 choices, which is great for the adventurous along with the indecisive. As for myself, my hair stylist calls me "vanilla" along with Plain Jane so of course I stuck with a traditional poutine.

Other than poutines, the restaurant offers "authentic Quebecois cuisine" which includes smoked meat sandwiches and steamies. So obviously I had to order the smoked meat sandwich! As for the seating arrangements, there are half booth seats along the wall, stools by the window for those who like to people watch, and around five tables in the whole restaurant.

The poutines are served in an aluminum container however, so eating on the go is fairly comfortable and not bad because the food stays warm.

Dallas Pizza & Souvlaki

Saying there is a lack of Greek cuisine restaurants on my blog is an understatement because by "lack of", there is currently only one. In addition, the only "one" happens to be Dallas Pizza & Souvlaki! Throughout my SFU years, I spent quite a fair time trying to find the best donair joints along with Greek restaurants serving up roast lamb. This was harder than it sounds and I soon discovered that the higher the price, the heavier the fall.

Formerly known as "Dallas 2 For 1 Pizza & Souvlaki", the family run business moved a couple of units down to a larger retail space. The interior is nicely renovated and looks less like a typical fast food joint. But more importantly, the interior is very clean too.

Tacofino White Lightning

My friend's first food truck choice was Mogu but after waiting thirty minutes, the truck never showed! We found out a few days later that Mogu stopped their services around the middle of November which explains why. So, our second choice was based on convenience when we headed to Tacofino's White Lightning Truck. Actually Tacofino was our third choice because Mr.Shawarma's food truck did not open yet.

The both of us have tried the Albacore Tuna Taco before from Tacofino's Orange Cantina Food Truck and Tacofino Commissary which we really like, but had no idea the White Lightning Truck does not offer them!  As for the selection, the food truck offers a couple of tacos, a variety of burritos, and a chocolate diablo cookie. The prices range from $5.00-$11.00 with the higher items being burritos.

Xu's Wonton House 白玉蘭麵家 (2nd visit)

My favourite place for Shanghainese soup dumplings (xiao long bao) is located in Crystal Mall, at Xu's Wonton House. The food stall is also apparently known for a few other dishes, with one including their rice cake which I have never tried. Actually, the only item I have tried here is the XLB! As for the service, man… the staff ain't friendly. However, I decided to speak in Chinese this time and wow… what a big difference it makes! The owner's wife was super friendly and even asked how many plates I needed. FML even the cashier was friendly when I said "thank you" in Chinese as I returned the steamer.

R&H Chinese Food 正点

Being in Richmond around 4:00pm and hungry is the worst situation for me to be in. The reason is because my only dining destinations would be either the food courts, HK style cafes or Bubble Tea restaurants. And if I decide to have a snack at any of those places, it is hard for me to just have a "snack" because I want to eat everything in sight ASAP and therefore ruin my appetite for dinner.

So after sitting in the car with a friend for thirty minutes and pondering over if we should wait another hour for a restaurant to open, we decided to walk around Lansdowne. The both of us agreed that if we decided to go to the food court (which we knew was going to happen), we would limit ourselves to only smoothies and two dishes.

The only food stall that caught our attention was R&H Chinese Food. The food stall appears to be a family run business with the father handling the cash, mother making the goodies, and the sons running the kitchen. When we approached the counter, my friend wanted to leave and just go to Earl's for an early dinner. She is really big on service like myself, and the owner was very miserable and indifferent. I never understand when business owners are not friendly because it is their own business.

Northern Meixi 山東拉麵

An Instagram friend mentioned that Xu's Wonton House was "gone" and confirmed with "Yeah it's gone now!", but I did not believe her. How could Xu's be out of business? So after finishing an errand in Vancouver and still hungry because we did not eat much of the unappealing dim sum at Red Star, we rushed to Crystal Mall. When we arrived, turns out the food stall was only closed for the day! Geezus, was she trying to give me a heart attack?

Since we still needed a small snack to prevent spoiling our appetite for dinner, we decided to try a food stall that sells dim sum along with freshly made noodles. Well, actually BF wanted to try this place and I was more like… the food will not be good. I swear, some people really have a sixth sense regarding food. As he was ordering, he asked the owner if the xiao long bao tastes juicy and I thought that was a stupid question. Not because XLBs should always taste juicy and he was asking an obvious question, but more on the grounds that I find it rude to ask in case the buns are not juicy. However, the owner responded, "Yes! Of course! Juicy!" and he saw my eyes light up. I even accentually blurted out, "Wow! Good!" because I was shocked and believed him.

The Fish Counter

Located on Main Street in Vancouver is a business that focuses on sustainable seafood, The Fish Counter. The shop has a fish market along with a kitchen that offers fresh and made to order food, and C'est la vie a Maggi and I came for the food. When we walked up to the front doors, we did not know which door to go through and chose the one that leads to the restaurant side. As we entered, there were open cupboards blocking the entrance and a cashier staring at us without saying a word, so I felt guilty because I thought we walked through the wrong door.

Fortunately, Maggi confirmed if we could enter and the cashier responded with a "yes" before walking to close the cupboards, so I did not feel bad. After looking around, we noticed the menu posted on the wall and proceeded to the cashier.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward and not inviting because the cashier was not friendly, but we did not mind since The Fish Counter can be considered a fast food joint. As for the interior, it looks fairly nice and the shop is well ventilated. The fish market side of the shop does not have an overwhelming smell too.

The menu is posted on the unfinished wooden walls and looks very playful. There are cute ocean creatures and an easy to read but playful font. As for the selection of food, The Fish Counter offers fish n' chips, sandwiches, tacos, soup and one kind of salad. We arrived during a slow period so the seating arrangements were not an issue, but the seats are quite limited. There is only one table and a bar, along with a couple of benches.

Yougo Chicken (2nd visit)

Needing a snack and already at Aberdeen Centre, my first and immediate choice was Yougo Chicken. The food stall serves plenty of Taiwanese snacks and I go for my favourites, which are the deep fried goodies.

Chef of Dumplings 四海游龍

Chef of Dumplings is one of the newer additions to the Aberdeen food court. The food stall offers dumplings, imitation shark's fin soup, spicy squid, roti canai and stir fried meats. Chinese puddings are also offered and the prices are fairly reasonable here.

ROTI CANAI COMBO ($7.75)

I ordered the roti canai combo which includes an order of imitation shark's fin soup, dumplings, roti canai and a choice of squid, beef, pork or lamb. The combo is a good value considering the portions are not small and the selection includes a bit of everything the food stall offers.

Tung Hing Bakery 同慶餅家

After a long disgusting sweaty game of basketball, we were already running late for a double date and needed to get home fast. But, I was really hungry so took the opportunity to grab a quick snack. Tung Hing is a popular Vietnamese bakery that sells Asian baked goodies and banh mi.

This is also BFs favourite place for banh mi and he is not even a fan of bread, sandwiches or subs. Something about him having too much when he was a child… to the extent that he even gets full just looking at bread! Weird. Tung Hing's baked goodies range from a variety of buns to sesame balls, Chinese donuts and butter croissants.

As for the Vietnamese subs, it is BFs favourite place because he likes to see the preparation. Tung Hing offers the house special, meatball, vegetarian, honey garlic sausage, shredded garlic chicken and lemon grass chicken banh mi. The prices are pretty average and run from $3.50 to $3.95.

Mega Donair

Mega Donair is located in Port Moody and appears to be a small mom n' pop operation; the husband oversees the kitchen while the wife handles the front of the house. The shop offers donairs, falafels, platters, salads, hummus and samosas.

Something interesting to point out is that Mega Donair makes their own pita bread from scratch, to order! The bread is an important component for donairs, but personally I care more about the meat and sauces.

After selecting our choice of meat, we went for all the toppings and sauces available to see how Mega Donair makes their donairs. The selection of toppings include lettuce, tomato, cucumber and spicy carrot. As for the sauces, hummus, tzatziki, sweet sauce and hot sauce are available.

Kingsway Deli

Kingsway Deli is a Vietnamese shop that offers banh mi, dessert, hot deli and cold drinks such as shakes, milk tea and fresh fruit smoothies. As for the banh mi, I am loyal to Ba Le and have never been to Kingsway Deli before.

There is a large variety of subs which include cold cut meat, meat balls, shredded pork, pork belly, tofu, chicken, grilled pork, Vietnamese ham as well as shredded and deep fried, banana leaf ham and minced pork. In addition, Kingsway Deli offers spring rolls, salad rolls and beef balls. As for the hot deli, the selection included marinated eggs, bitter melon and preserved vegetables.

Qoola Frozen Yogurt Bar : Oakridge location

Qoola is a Canadian frozen yogurt franchise and there are over ten locations in B.C. The frozen yogurt stands are usually located in shopping centres and are completely self serve.

Consumers select their choice(s) of frozen yogurt along with toppings and have control of the portion. This year, Qoola launched an organic selection and the flavours on my visit includes banana split, blood orange passionfruit, green tea, peach lychee, vanilla, lemon, original and blackberry. Asides from frozen yogurt, Qoola offers smoothies, "Q2GO" take home froyo or sorbet, and waffles.

Costco Food Court : Brighton Location

Ever since I was a child, I always look forward to Costco's food court. There is nothing better than having fast food and loading up the cart with boxes and boxes of junk food as well as ice cream and popsicles, what kid would not be happy? Although I guess after growing up, the boxes of junk food become "healthier" crackers as well as cookies and the cart is filled with more fruit. However, the boxes of ice cream and popsicles remain the same!

During busier times it is a struggle finding a seat, but who really needs to sit when grabbing a quick bite? I even remember years ago when Costco never had half the amount of seats they do now!

SELF SERVE STATION.

There is a self serve station where all the napkins, plastic cutlery and garnishes for the hot dogs are. The selection includes mustard, ketchup, relish, onions and pickled jalapeño rings as well as pickles. Although I think Costco no longer carries jalapeño rings and pickles anymore though, since I never saw any a few recent visits.

Papa John's : Burquitlam location

If it was not for Papa John's being one of the few pizza restaurants in the Lougheed Mall area, I would not even know about them! Papa John's is a franchise and their slogan is, "Better Pizza. Better Ingredients". Furthermore, if comparing Papa John's to Domino's and Pizza Hut, I believe the last two are more popular.

My friend and I ordered from Papa John's twice and on both occasions, the delivery drivers were friendly and arrived within the time stated. On the second visit, the pizza actually arrived fifteen minutes before the estimated time of arrival. As for the delivery charge, it is $3.00 which we could have saved, had we walked literally across the street lol!

Donair Star

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. 

When we walked in, the staff was not very inviting and I wanted to take a photo of the rotserrie but felt like this would be a situation where "no photos" would be allowed.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries : South Surrey location

After finishing a meeting in White Rock, I called up a friend to grab lunch at Five Guys. Five Guys? Of all places around White Rock? Do not be surprised that I stuck with something boring because having tried most of the restaurants in White Rock, there is nothing that really "wows" me. The next restaurant on my list in White Rock is probably Giraffe because of the cute name along with the interior, and complimentary chocolates (but is the food good?!).

Coming for a late lunch, the burger joint looked fairly empty and was well ventilated with no aroma of beef patties. Knowing that we would be going for dinner in a couple of hours, we settled on something light and went for the "little" burgers which consists of a single patty, along with an order of "little" fries which is more than enough for two to share in general.

I have only tried this location once and honestly, my experience was not that great. We received cold as well as soggy fries, and a cold burger! So, I was pretty hesitant on revisiting. Although fortunately this time around, the food was a lot better and served hot. The way it should be.

Donair Spot : Robson Street location

While waiting for my bicycle tune up, my friend and I needed to refuel and grabbed a light snack at Donair Spot. The donair joint offers regular wraps which includes a choice of meat along with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, pickles and sauce (garlic, tzatziki and mild hot sauce), as well as more adventurous choices such as the caribbean (spicy), lebanese (tabour and hummus), hawaiian (pineapple and sweet sauce) and mushroom. Furthermore, pizza (vegetarian and meat) and vegetable falafels are available as well.

Donair Spot is quite small and there are less than six seats available, which is probably not an issue since most people grab their food to go. As we walked up to order, the cashier was extremely friendly and when ordering, asked if we wanted to omit any of the usual items before he assembled the donairs. Basically, he grabbed the pitas, slitted a side, added the choice of meat from a warmer, then the selected toppings along with sauce, folded the wrap, and heated them on an electric grill. He was efficient and did not cheap out on the ingredients.

Fatburger : Burnaby location

I have been to Fatburger around only five times and from what I remember, the burgers are nothing special and can get pricey with an additional purchase of a drink as well as a side. So why the revisit? Asides from convenience, the Burnaby location offers "Buffalo's World Famous Wings" and I have always wanted to try them. It also kind of sucks because Fatburger was offering a Groupon or SocialShopper voucher that I could have gotten a few days before! And I was even thinking pshh, I would not be going there LOL.

Walking in, the burger joint is well ventilated and the staff is extremely friendly, especially the manager (gotta love a friendly staff!). Basically customers order at the front, receive a number, pay and take a seat. Then a cashier brings the food out to the table.

Fatburger offers breakfast burgers as well as specials, shakes, beers as well as alcoholic beverages, baby to double king burgers as well as speciality ones, and turkey as well as chicken to vegetarian patties. A pretty extensive menu for a burger joint. In addition, the Burnaby location offers wings, chips, curly fries and dessert!