Merlion in Vancouver Makan Time

Blackberry Bistro in Richmond

2008-09-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Blackberry Bistro

Address: 6011 Dyke Road, Richmond, BC

Tel: 604-272-5755

Open: Tues-Sat 11:00 AM-9:00 PM

Closed Sunday, Monday

website: http://blackberrybistro.soojerky.com/

Aha...something new and interesting........

There is a new and trendy Pan-Asian restaurant at the South Richmond Dyke - South end of No. 2 Road, by the new London Landing development. Restaurant is open all day serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and evening snacks (featuring coffee, bubble tea and gelato).

Why "Blackberry?"...well the area previously was overgrown wih blackberry bushes that sprouted everywhere and hence the name.

This bistro has great Singapore food like Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore Curry Laksa, Fishball noodles soup and Bakuteh amongst others. The owners are from Taiping Malaysia and they own the Singapore Soo Jerky store next door.This is really great "Singapore/Malaysia-style" hawker food but with a modern look and ambience.

The atmosphere is really pleasant and you are always made to feel welcome upon entry.

Service with a smile:

During the morning and the day, they offer a quick-serve (or self-serve) style, where you place your order at the counter and they bring your meal to you at your seat. For dinner, they offer full service, where one of the hosts will seat you and wait on you at your table.

Ambience:

The restaurant features a main floor seating area with 10 tables and about 40 seats. They also have a mezzanine with 4 tables, and a small lounge area with leather lounge chairs and coffee tables arranged infront of a fireplace and an LCD high-definition TV. Dine here on your own, with a date, or together with friends and family to the backdrop of smooth jazz.

Menu:

You can find a listing of their menu at http://blackberrybistro.soojerky.com/menu.htm

A definite "must try" for all Singapore or Malaysian food fans.

And don't forget their gelato!!!

2008-07-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

House Of Dosas
1391 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC V5V 3E3, Canada
(604) 875-1283‎
Directions

House of Dosas (Knights Street and Kingsway), is another restaurant we frequent regularly. The ambiance is nothing to scream about and the service is often slow...but each time we go, it has been well worth the wait. The chicken and mixed vegetable dosa is delicious and so is the roti with gravy.
This restaurant specializes in Dosas (hence the name), a South Indian and Sri Lankan dish that is essentially an enormous thin pancake (like a crepe), made with ground rice and a type of bean that has been allowed to ferment.

House of Dosas has a wide variety of fillings to choose from.We enjoyed the dosas on our first visit.The chutneys are fantastic too and oh sooo authentic. I love the crispness of the dosas and the spicy fillings (masala dosas) makes it a very hearty meal. Go hungry. Try the rava dosa (made with cream of wheat and rice flour instead of dal and rice), which has an even crispier texture, that comes out bubbly and lacy. They are all served with a dense coconut chutney (white without chili, red with) and sambar, a thin soup for dipping and drinking. Don't forget to try out their fish curries too, its really great.

We were never rushed and sat right by the window so enjoyed looking out at the passersby. As an added treat, if you a Cricket fan, then they have matches contstantly going on the TV in the dining room. All of the other patrons were enjoying themselves and people didn't mind waiting for the food to arrive (as it was piping hot when it came so this meant the food was fresh).

Overall, a very nice place for a Sunday Brunch.

Cheap, cheerful and close . That's what you want in your local restaurant. And that's what you find in House of Dosas. It isn't exactly fancy, but the food hits the spot.

And it's baby friendly!

Check it out if your are looking for inexpensive, tasty South Indian food in East Van.

Check out Spicy Steve!!

2008-07-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hey I know of this website from this really great person, Spicy Steve. Check out his website...He has great recipes and excellent comments.

http://spicysteve.com/

Kedah house on Marine Drive SE, Vancouver

2008-07-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

Kedah House
1652 Marine Drive SE,
Vancouver
Tel: (604) 325-9771
Directions:

Great value for rare cuisine!!

Don't bank on the cool fine decore. It's basic and that's all you get. What matters most is you get what you paid for!You can spend under 30$ for a good taste of Malaysia, for 2.

Again nothing fancy from the environment to the silverware but the food was excellent.

Had the gado gado, nasi goreng and satay, mee siam. kang kong with belachan and their curry puffs are awesome. Interestingly enough, their lunch time buffet is excellent with Adult pricing at $9.95. The food served at the buffet is ample and there is actually good portions of meat in the dishes.

Good portions and no entree is over 10$ really.

Overall great home made malaysian cuisine in the middle of nowhere.

We'll be back.

P.S. I have noticed a lot of negative reviews written up on this restaurant...interestingly enough by those who REALLY have no idea what Malaysian food is all about. These people seem to think that what they have gotten here all this while is the authentic stuff. Well in all fairness, if you are a local, you should understand that this is how authentic Malaysian food really tastes like.

Cheers

Saravanaa Bhavan on Broadway

2008-07-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Saravanaa Bhavan is an Chennai-based international chain of vegetarian South Indian restaurants.

Saravana Bhavan (sometimes spelled Saravanaa Bhavan) opened in Vancouver on 19 January, 2008. Restaurant hours are subject to change.

Saravanaa Bhavan's South Indian menu offers something every diner craves -- a diversion from the expected.

India is a country as populated as Europe with more than a billion people who speak 15 major languages and practise at least five major faiths, so it shouldn't be surprising that Indian food is extremely diverse.

But anyone who's eaten in Indian restaurants in Canada might think that the nation's cuisine is all about tandoori, korma and samosas.

There's a reason for that, and it's not, as you might suspect, that Indian restaurateurs have simplified and adapted their native dishes to appeal to Western tastes.

According to The Oxford Companion to Food, most Indians who run restaurants in their home country and abroad are from Punjab. Until Partition, there was almost no restaurant tradition in India because of religious and caste differences. After 1947, displaced Punjabis, who were eager to work and relatively free of inhibitions, set up restaurants and, later, catering colleges. As such, they put their culinary stamp on the food business.

But Punjabi cuisine is not ubiquitous in Toronto -- this city is too diverse. There are tens of thousands of Tamils from the south of India and Sri Lanka here. And, so, if you look around, it's not hard to find delicately spiced, vegetarian offerings from this part of the world.

Saravanaa Bhavan serves up myriad flavourful stews and curries in a variety of forms. There's so much going on here taste-wise, you can't imagine needing -- or wanting-- meat on your plate.

The dosas are thin, crisp rice and lentil crepes that wrap around savoury mixtures, like mixed vegetable and cheese and onion. The dosas, like many items on the menu, come with three delightful chutneys on the side -- coconut, mint and tomato-- and sambar, a lentil soup.

The utthappam might crudely be called Indian pizzas. Here, the spiced toppings are placed directly on top of a round pancake-like dough and baked. The result is a soft and flavour-laden flatbread.

But the real showcase item is the Saravanaa Special Meals, a thali platter. A colourful array of thick stews, thinner soup-like offerings and accompaniments in small tins encircle a bowl of steamed rice. Two types of flat bread are also provided for dipping and scooping.

There are three Saravanaa Bhavans in Toronto and many others around the globe. The chain began in Chennai, in Southern India. Clearly, Punjabis don't have a stranglehold on the restaurant business.

Website: http://www.saravanaabhavan.ca/