Dumpling Time!

Beverly's Dinner Services
Home, Vancouver

In exchange for Beverly coming to my house to cook me dinner, I promised to blog about her meal. I have only had breakfast and it is nearing 11PM with no food at home; I was starving. Needless to say, Beverly delivered her goods and cooked it at my place while I lazily sat at my computer desk doing next to nothing.

I have no idea where she got the dumplings from, but it tasted amazing. Along with the dumplings, I had this interesting sauce that she made; I think it was made with vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Anyways, the sauce tasted awesome, the dumplings were amazing, and the fact that I didn't have to cook was great. Also included with the meal was some bok-choy and some soy sauce; random, but delicious nonetheless. I'm pretty sure you all know what I'm going to rate this on the rice meter, but for the sake of completeness, here it is.

Rice meter: 5

Onion Time!

The Smoking Dog Bistro
1889 W 1st Ave, Vancouver
(604) 732-8811

Looks delicious doesn't it? Well, it was actually very delicious, only problem was it took over forty-five minutes for any food to be placed on our table. Unacceptable. As the name of this restaurant states, it's a bistro, so it is a small cozy little place. The prices were pretty decent and the food was pretty good, but the service was very unsatisfactory. There was no dinner bread to start, so being the hungry beast that I was, I ordered within two minutes of being seated. There were probably around three to four other tables that were occupied out of the fifteen tables or so available, so by no means was the restaurant busy. Forty-five minutes later, right when we were about to die of starvation, this lovely dish arrives at my table.

My dissatisfaction was instantly lifted away as this heavenly dish was placed in front of me. The cheese was stringy yet crunchy, probably torched for that texture, and the soup was pleasant. I should probably mention that I absolutely love french onion soup, my hunger may have had something to do with this, but this was one of the best that I have had. Within moments of arrival, as I was devouring my soup, my steak-frites arrived. I'm not sure about why it took so long for the food, but once it did come, it was absolutely delicious.

I ordered a medium-rare steak and it came at medium-rare. I'm going to rant a little here because whenever I order steak at medium-rare, I always get medium. It's not that medium isn't good, but I specifically requested medium-rare because I want medium-rare, but that almost never happens. Anyways, the steak was very delicious, perfectly cooked to my liking, and looked amazing. To sum things up, the food was delicious, but the service was sub par. I would recommend this restaurant if the food was served faster, but unfortunately forty-five minutes was unacceptable.

Rice meter: 3

Curry Cattle Time!

Cattle Cafe
4885 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC
(604) 276-2800

To keep the theme going, we'll start off with something related to rice. This place is a small restaurant that is located across the street from Metrotown. Nothing too special about the decor or the food; simply put this place is cheap, simple, and delicious. As this place is small, I would recommend not going during their busy hours or be prepared to wait outside as you stare at everyone inside eating their steamy delicious Asian cafe food. Not exactly what I would enjoy doing as my tummy howls for food.

During my visit I had their Curry Beef with Rice mini meal. I should probably mention that Asian cafes have a tendency to set their prices extra high during rush hour by implementing something called the mini meals. These meals are only available during their non-peak hours and are approximately half the price of the regular dishes and are not mini at all. Also included with these meals are a choice of hot drinks from their menu; for an additional $1 you may get a cold drink or $2 for a specialty drink.

The dish was quite delicious with a really nice consistency. The curry though, I must say, was spicier than I would expect compared to other Asian cafes and hit me as quite a surprise. I would highly recommend this place if you were in an Asian mood as I felt that this place was relatively clean for an Asian cafe.

Rice Meter: 3.5