2328 Cambie Street, Vancouver
I have to give props to Shishinori for bringing a fresh new twist on Japanese food. Sitting at the intersection of Cambie and West 7th, Shishinori is a quaint little restaurant that has minimalistic furniture and extra festive Christmas decorations. Shishinori boasts "healthy eating", and all their dishes are chock filled with vegetables and uses brown rice and whole wheat bread. I have to say that I did feel pretty clean after lunch! The other thing that Shishinori is known for is matcha, matcha everywhere: their matcha soft serve parfaits are super popular with patrons, and it is something that I will try the next time I go! The two kinds of entrees you can get are their subs, which are all under $5, or their bowls (which are actually served on plates), which range from $9-$12. You can add $2.50 to the bowls and make it a meal, and that gets you a drink and side soup or dessert of the day. Eleanor and I opted to go drink (midnight in Paris, aka lavender tea) and dessert (matcha pudding) with our real crab meat California bowl, and a cream cheese and beef teriyaki sub. The food was incredible, filled with veggies and actual real crab meat! Everything tasted really fresh and was seasoned great. Even the odd things that I thought wouldn't go (apples in rice? beets? grapes in the salad?!) all fit together in harmony (so cliche) and was really delicious. The matcha pudding was also a hit, not too sweet and not too strong. I will definitely go back to Shishinori to try out their other dishes, and also their brunch items that they serve until the late afternoon. Because it is a small place, you may have to wait for a table, especially during peak hours. In the end though, I think it's worth it!
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219 Union Street, Vancouver
As I was walking to The Union with my friend Marinelle, we figured that outside of the obvious reason as to why it was named what it is (The Union is on... Union Street, ironically enough), it could also be named The Union because of the fact that it was a union of many different Southeast Asian dishes. Upon entry into the little restaurant right on the corner of Union and Main, the familiar smells of spices and the minimalist furniture took me in, making me quite excited to try this new restaurant. After ordering (non-alcoholic) drinks, our dishes - Singaporean fried noodles (the daily special) for Marinelle, Indonesian Peanut noodles for me - came quickly after, which was quite impressive. Having never tried Indonesian food before, I had nothing to go by in terms of authenticity. However, the portion was huge - enough for lunch the day after - and quite delicious. I must say that the Singaporean fried noodles were nowhere near what they should be in terms of taste, but it was still a tasty and valiant effort. With quick and friendly service, The Union is definitely great choice for anyone who loves Southeast Asian cuisine and wants to try something new. 810 Quayside Drive, New Westminster
Wild Rice was something that I stumbled upon one afternoon while walking along the Quay with my sister, After a bit of research, I found that Wild Rice has Asian fusion with many options including gluten free, vegetarian and vegan. For that reason, I decided to go with my friend Andrea who is vegan. Walking in we were greeted with phenomenal waitresses who quickly told us about the specials as we walked in. the atmosphere was very fun and intimate: spices sitting on a rack and woks hang on the walls. An open kitchen greeted us with the familiar smells of Asian cuisine. Sitting in the open patio facing the Fraser River, we had virgin Lotuses (Lychee nectar and ginger ale), Kung Po Chicken Poutine, Vegetable spring rolls and Vegan "Butter Chicken" as an entree. The appetizers were a great way to start off our meal - I have never tried polenta fries, so that was a new experience for me. But the familiarity of poutine in Kung Po chicken gravy was delicious. The classic vegetable spring roll was also a great choice, crunchy and filled with vegetables. The vegan "Butter Chicken" was the biggest thing that stood out for me on the menu. As vegan people can't consume any kind of meat products, butter and chicken seemed to be out of the question. Instead, we were served a curry with tofu and red beets over Jasmine rice. Despite it being a vegan option, the dish was incredibly fragrant and had just the right amount of spice. To finish, we ordered the Callebaut chocolate pudding which was topped with wine poached pears. Our waitress accidentally brought us a gluten free chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, but we still got it - on the house - because of the mix up. Things taste pretty good when they're free, especially dessert! Asian fusion is a really tricky thing to do, but Wild Rice exceeded all my expectations. Definitely worth trying out! |
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