Gami Sushi

My long awaited birthday lunch with my sister. We decided to visit Gami Sushi in Richmond. Most sushi restaurants that I really want to try out is closed on Sundays. I check the ratings, reviews online and I decided to check this place out. We shared the following:

 Sunomono vegetarian salad-weird they added oranges...my sister said it wasn't
bad but not sour enough.

Chopped scallop roll-presentation was quite messy but the flavours were good not fishy

 Big Bang Roll: Deep fried with cream cheese, crab meat, cucumber, spicy salmon, 5 kinds of sauce, bonito and massago on top-overall too heavy due to the cream cheese

 Oyster motoyaki: totally different from the AYCE (all you can eat) places. I usually like the oyster motoyaki at AYCE restaurants better just simple baked with mayo. This was baked with cheese and spinach. Tasted like a oyster casserole. Didn't like this very much

 Tempura Udon: soup was on point. the noodles were chewy and everything else added to the delicious soup noodle.

 Spicy salmon sashimi with spicy sauce on the side. The spicy sauce was quite weak and the amount they gave you compared to California sushi or Sushi Garden is very little.

I probably won't ever get this again.

My tempura pieces on the side with my udon. Fried very nicely. Not to oily

I also ordered a 6 piece toro nigiri which I forgot to take a picture of but this was the best dish I had. I will definitely go back for more for $1.50 a piece you can't go wrong with the freshness of the fish.

Overall, I will probably revisit this place again. But order something different to replace the ones that were so so.

Gami Sushi

Address: 10111 Number 3 Rd, Richmond, BC V7A 1W6
Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5

Thai Express

While shopping at the mall I decided to grab a bite to eat at the food court. So I decided to get a Tom Yum Soup with chicken. The soup definitely had lots of flavour, more on the sour side which I didn't mind. There was a lot of tender chicken breast meat in the soup which I loved. The tomatoes were sour but delicious. Loved the bean sprouts and the noodles were cooked just right. I was super stuffed trying to finish my meal. Overall for $10 it was definitely a good choice. I will be back for more.

Thai Express-Metrotown Food Court
Address: 318-, 4820 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 4P1
Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5

Lotus The Place for Pho Lovers

Revisited this place with mom and brother and I chose to have a rice dish instead. I ordered the minced pork with rice and a spring roll. The dish came with regular Chinese rice a little soggy for my liking. I really prefer the broken rice other pho restaurants provided and the minced pork was just the artificial red pork me you get at the Vietnamese grocery store and grilled up. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a home made pork pattie. The spring roll was alright nothing special they use the Chinese wrapper which I don't like unless I'm eating the spring roll from a Chinese restaurant. I prefer the traditional Vietnamese wrapping. The soup had a lot of dept but salty. Overall, my favorite part of my meal was the crunchy side of marinated vegetables in vinegar. I probably won't order the rice dish again.

 Not a very presentable spring roll, all crumbly

Lotus The Place for Pho Lovers
Address: 4131 No 5 Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 2T9
Rating: ☆☆/5

Meet on Main

Decided to hang out with my friends before my friend goes to Vietnam/Japan trip. We went shopping at Artizia before dinner after work. Had some great deals. Afterwards we headed to Meet on Main. We got there about 8:50pm and the place was packed there was 2 groups waiting for a table. We got seated around 9pm. We ordered the artichoke and spinach dip with nachos to share this was delicious loved it! and I got the house made lemonade and the Meet Burger which consisted of a mushrooms, chipotle mayo, and 2 onion rings with a veggie pattie. The bun was very soft but feel apart so it was hard to grasp the whole burger at once. The pieces were falling out ie. crumbs so it was messy to eat. The pattie was very well seasoned with lots of flavors, I like to eat my onion rings on the side so I pulled it out and ate it with my fries. The fries on the side wasn't crispy, more soft. The kale salad on the side was super fresh and delicious with a sour vinaigrette. Overall, a great experience and I will definitely come again at a less busy time. We waited an hour for a food! For a Wednesday night this place was bumping!

Meet on Main
Address: 4288 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3P9
Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5

Golden Ears West Canyon Trail-Alder's Flat

Spent Father's day with bf's family. We decided to go a 6 km hike at Golden Ears. It took about 6 hours. We started the trail around 12pm and got back down around 5pm. We had a lunch break at Alder's Flat. The trail begins in the West Canyon parking lot. There is a bathroom, garbage bins and drinking water before you start. The path starts out quite flat. some rocky areas but the trail will become steeper and rockier as you walk on the exposed tree roots. There is a viewpoint just before you head down a short but steep section and you will see the Gold Creek Lookout sight. You will also see a very large boulder in the forest. There are many man made steps and metal bridges that you will be crossing. During this time you most definitely need hiking shoes because there is a lot of mini streams, water and mud in your path. The rocks are slippery when wet and when your shoes are wet and muddy the bridges become slippery to walk pass. Make sure you have plenty of water before heading out and keep hydrated at all times. Overall, a great hike. My second time up here and I hope to accomplish the full Golden Ears experience one day.

Specs:

Location: Maple Ridge, BC, Canada

Roundtrip: 11.0km

Elevation gain: 280m

High point: 480m

Time needed: 4 hours

White Caps

Went to my very first soccer game at BC Place: White Caps vs. New England. Interesting fact: white caps represents the snow caps on our mountains and New England team is from Boston. I never knew. We started off with finding parking which is very difficult in downtown vancouver but we eventually found parking. Afterwards we grabbed some snack and drinks before the game started. We had great seats complimentary from bf's cousin's season passes. The game started off with the anthem for the USA and Canada. I got a little bit emotional because the little girl who sang did a very good job. There was so much passion and love when she sang each anthem. Afterwards there was a moment of silence for the Orlando shooting that happened 2 weeks ago. That was also very emotional for me. Maybe I was just having an emotional day. Who knows. After that the game started. Interesting chants when the goalie from either ends kicks the ball. Overall, the game was quite slow not much action and New England won 2:1. The audience on our end was very quiet while the opposite end was quite rowdy. Overall, a great experience for those who's never experienced the soccer culture. I would definitely go again to support our team. Go Whiiiiitteee Caps!

Yah Yah Ya Ramen

Me and bf often go to our favourite ramen shop in richmond. Yah yah ya is always consistent with their soup base, meat and flavor. We love it here. We went last Friday for dinner. The wait was about 10 mins. Overall the broth wasn't overly salty or oily and the noodles had a bite to it. The meat was tender and a regular sized bowl did it for me. Not to much not to little just right.

 Black Garlic Ramen

Shoyu Ramen

Yah Yah Ya
Address: 8388 Capstan Way, Richmond, BC V6X 4B6
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆/5

House of Canton

As a family we decided to celebrate Father's Day earlier this year due to the busyness of our schedules. So we had dinner at House of Canton yesterday. Mom hasn't been here before so she wanted to try it out. I have been here but only for late night eats. We ordered the set menu of 6 dishes which includes a complimentary soup and a tub of rice and dessert. We had the basic pork broth soup with veggies to start and we ordered an additional crab soup on the side. Afterwards we had the sizzling eggplant hot pot with pork, tofu and fish hot pot, gai lan (choy, chinese vegetable) with chicken and shrimp, snow peas, celery and chicken, deep fried pork chops, egg with shrimp, a side of chicken feet with fungi, crab in cream sauce with yee mein (noodles), and egg and bean curd soup for dessert. Overall, the food was alright, nothing special. Just a typical good priced Chinese restaurant close by. Would I ever come back here again probably not maybe just for late night eats. For 6 ppl the price came up to be $150.00 with tip. So per person it was $25.00.

 Chinese soup made with pork bones, carrots and radish

 Appetizer: Chicken feet with fungi

 Fish maw crab soup

 Creamy crab on a bed of yee mein

 Deep fried pork chops with spicy seasoning

 Fish with carrots and gai lan

 Fish hotpot with mushrooms, pork, tofu and cabbage

 Eggplant hot pot with pork slices

 Pan fried eggs with shrimp

 Stir Fry snow peas with celery, shrimp, carrots and chicken

Dessert soup made out of bean curd and egg whites

House of Canton
Address: 4298 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3P9
Rating: ☆☆/5

Cineplex Marine Gateway

We both started to enjoy the VIP experience at the theaters so with my generous gift from my client we decided to use my free 2 movie passes for the X-Men Apocalypse movie. While we waited for the movie to start we ordered nachos to share and I ordered a vanilla bean root beer float. Bf had the Manhatten. The nachos were soggy and not very tasty. Felt old tasting. I prefer the ones you get at the front counter at the regular theatre service area. The root beer float was extremely sweet. My heart rate was on fire. Overall, the food is overpriced. I wouldn't go back for the food just the large, comfortable seating area.

Cineplex Marine Gateway
Address: 447-, 497 SW Marine Dr, Vancouver, BC V5X
Rating: ☆☆☆/5

Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna

Bf was craving for greek food so he suggested that we head over to Stepho's on Robson. The wait wasn't very long 20 min wait inside and no wait outside so we sat outside. It was a bit chilly but it wasn't too bad. We started with the garlic sauce with pita. It is our favourite dish at Stepho's. This time the garlic dip was a little chunky and the flavours were subdued. Not sure what happened but it was still good but not the best we had there. Next, bf had the mousakka which is our favourite there as well. Nicely presented on the plate and huge portions. I ordered the lamb souvlakia small size. There was plenty of rice and instead of the sour roasted potatoes I'm not a fan of we decided to replace it with fries instead. The fries were soggy and not crispy the way we like it. Overall, we were stuffed. For the price of 2 the bill came up to be approx $45 with tax and tip. Good value for the big portions.

Stephos
Address: 1359 Robson Street Vancouver BC
Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5

Japadog

Me and bf had a hair appointment at Alpha D on Saturday so after our apt we decided to grab some hot dogs and Japadog was just around the corner so we decided to stop there for a late lunch. I had the Okonomi which consisted of a Kurobuta sausage (pork) with bonito flakes and cabbage. Bf had the Love Meat which consisted of a pork sausage with "homemade meat" and melted cheese. Overall, super flavorful hot dogs and filling enough for both of us.

Japadog
Address: 530 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2B7
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆/5

Green Leaf Sushi

This past weekend we decided to revisit Green Leaf Sushi. We had wanted to try out the pasta place in Kitsilano, La Quercia but it was fully booked on Friday around 7pm. So we headed to Green Leaf because it was around the area. Thank goodness the wait was short. It was about a 5 min wait.We FINALLY ordered the Aburi combo. Which consisted of 6 different special aburi rolls:

• Salmon Oshi Sushi
• Basil Ebi oshi sushi
• Yukke Tuna Oshi Sushi
• Sime Saba Oshi Sushi
• Hotate Oshi Sushi
• Aburi Tobibo roll 

It takes about 30 mins to make this combo so its best to order right away when you get seated. There's about 38 pieces and we shared it among 3 people so each person can try 2 pieces each of each roll. The price was $65 for this combo. I loved it and I really think its comparable to Miku and Minami for there pressed sushi. Overall, I really enjoy this place.

Green Leaf Sushi
Address: 3416 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6R 2B3
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆/5

Sushi Garden

Yay! I won a pair of tickets to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows movie premier screening. So me and bf decided to grab dinner at Sushi Garden before the show. We ordered the Alaska Roll (a little too soggy in my opinion with their special sauce which tastes like apple salad dressing), Negitoro roll (tuna with green onion), Negihama roll (hamachi with green onion), Spicy Salmon sashimi with spicy sauce on the side (I don't like their spicy sauce but bf likes it), House roll with fake crab meat, avocado, tamago (egg), fish roe. And toro nigiri. Overall, the food was satisfying but most of the fish was fishy to our liking. That's the only thing when you go to a cheap, good portion sushi restaurant. Afterwards heading to Metropolis for our movie screening, huge lineup but we made it to the front top roll. Overall the movie was ok. I'm glad I don't have high expectations for the movie. I would say it was entertaining throughout and there was never a slow moment. 2 hrs long movie and it felt just enough.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Rating:  ☆☆☆1/2

Sushi Garden
Address: 4635 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 2B3
Rating: ☆☆☆1/2/5