Vancouver Bakers Market - Review for Say See Bon Macaroons

Event: Vancouver Bakers Market - Review for Say See Bon Patisserie Macaroons
Last visited: October 3, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC
118-408 East Kent Ave South
Price Range: $1.50 cupcakes $3-5 pastries

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

**Recommendation: Matcha Macaroons

It's about time we've had a market dedicated to bakers and pastry chefs! This is Vancouver's first Bakers Market and I made it a point to attend the grand opening day. I need to be honest - I do personally know the people organizing the event, so I'm going to try my best and stay non-biased.

To my surprise the set up for this market is relatively small. I was expecting to see something to the degree of the Portobello fashion market, so I actually dedicated a couple hours to explore it. It took me about an hour to complete it and that's because I took my time revisiting each vendor, taking pictures and talking to people etc. It would take most people probably 20-30min tops to finish the whole thing so there's no need to make a day out of it. The style in which it was ran was more of a baker's fair, and baked goods ranged from professional macaroons to home baked cupcakes.

On the whole it is a great concept and I can't wait until the word spreads so it can grow faster. It's a great event to support local bakers and talent. It's on every Saturday for the month of October so if you have a couple hours on Saturday I recommend you to check it out. Heads up though, they sold out of baked goods by 2pm on the first Saturday it opened - so try to go earlier.

This blog is dedicated to my personal favourite at the market: Say See Bon Patisserie - Parisian Macaroons!!! I'd go again just for these!

On the table:

• **Matcha Macaroons 6/6
• It really depends on what you like - I prefer the Matcha macaroons over the chocolate ones...just because it's something different and new.
• This is so freaking good! It's a hand made Parisian macaroon. It's not the American coconut macaroon that you may have tried before. These ones are different, and I'd chose these over coconut ones.
• The Matcha macaroons have this creamy, matcha, white chocolate, caramel-like filling sandwiched between this almond/matcha flavoured meringue cookie. That was a mouthful and so are these! The meringue is made with quality ingredients so it doesn't taste like pure sugar or have a gritty texture as it dissolves. It's not a hard macaroon, but one that is lightly baked to perfection.
  
• 
• Just look at that texture! This macaroon/cookie is really light - it has a very thin and delicate crispy outer shell and then the inside is all chewy and delicious. There's no preservatives and it's made with organic egg whites and no flour so these macaroons are really airy and tender. When you take a bite your teeth sinks right into it and then it just melts away in your mouth. The middle is nice and soft and also chewy! Very cookie like. It has this nutty taste from the ground almonds/extract and yet it is still quite sweet from the white chocolate and sugar. It all balances out with the strong matcha flavour. The combination is just to die for! Truly amazing.
  
• 
• Chocolate Macaroons 5.5/6
• This is just as good as the matcha ones, but I appreciate the creativity of those ones more, so that's why I gave this one a 5.5 instead of a 6.
  
• It's made with a good quality 70% cocoa/chocolate, which is the perfect percent for this macaroon. It's not too sweet or rich and it's not bitter either. It's a gourmet chocolaty treat!
  

• Price
  
• 2 for $4
• 6 for $11
• 12 for $22 (which doesn't make sense to me...?)
  

Pho Thai Hoa

Restaurant: Pho Thai Hoa
Cuisine: Vietnamese/Asian
Last visited: September 25, 09

Area: Richmond, BC
Unit 1101 - 8328 Capstan Way
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Extensive menu, more than just Vietnamese dishes
• Always wins/voted as "Top 3 Vietnamese places"
• Known for good pho and great beef broth
• Good broth, but cheap pieces of fatty meat
• Overrated
• Casual atmosphere
• For me it's like the Hon's of Vietnamese food
• Popular, pretty cheap
• Great weekday/weekend combos and specials $6.95-10.95
  
• Food is decent, but not the best, slightly above good
  
• Wide selection of Vietnamese subs "Banh mi" - buy 10 get 1 free offer
  
• Soup is flavorful, still has msg, but not excessive
• Large rice combination plates $10.50
• Menu includes other Asian dishes such as: Chow Mien,
  
• Korean bbq beef noodles etc.
• Photos of everything on menu
  

**Recommendation: House Special beef noodle soup, Papaya Salad with sliced pork and prawns, Vietnamese subs (Banh Mi)

Curious to try: Cambodian style noodle soup, Tapioca noodle soup with pork and seafood, curry with bread

I've heard a lot about Pho Thai Hoa...mostly all good stuff. I always see it winning awards and the restaurant prides itself as "The Bronze winner for Best Vietnamese Restaurant" compliments of Vancouver Magazine. Maybe my expectations were set too high? Don't get me wrong - the food was better than good, but it wasn't THAT good either.

Some stuff was better than others. I tried quite a selection of their menu to get a general idea of their flavours and style. The flavours are there - but the quality is lacking in some areas therefore sacrificing the overall dish. They can't fool me - I know exactly where they sacrificed to meet profit margins. It is low maintenance Vietnamese food - nothing gourmet - better beef broth than most but also not the best. I've had better and I'll be sure to report back where in future posts. Out of all the Vietnamese Restaurants it does offer the widest selection in terms of menu items though. So you can get all your tradition Vietnamese dishes as well as some Korean, Chinese and Cambodian dishes here as well.

On the table:

• **House Special Beef noodle soup 4/6
• Beef balls, beef tendons, beef tripe, beef brisket & rare beef slices with beef broth and noodles.

• The beef broth is flavourful and quite rich in flavour (not just in msg), but also luke warm. That really bothered me because the beef broth should be piping hot. It's also a tad on the salty side, and it's not too oily which is great.
• The beef was not bad, not quality pieces and the rare beef slices were a bit overcooked for me which is weird because the soup was not that hot. I took the rare beef out form the bottom as soon as I got it to prevent it from overcooking as well. The size of the meats were kind of small too. The broth made up for it though.
• **Papaya Salad with Sliced Pork and Prawn 4.5/6
• Shredded green papaya, shredded carrots, slices of pork & shrimp, topped with crispy deep fried garlic and toasted ground peanuts. Served with nuoc cham dressing (that clear slightly orange coloured dressing that comes with spring rolls).

• I really enjoyed this! Eat it for lunch or share it as an appetizer. It's hard to find this salad at Vietnamese restaurant, so don't miss out because it doesn't come up often. They make it pretty good here too. It's a great combination - the green papaya doesn't taste like papaya at all. Green papaya is crunchy and it has a very light and refreshing taste. I hate papaya and loved this salad because it tastes nothing like papaya. The texture and combinations are perfect!
• 
  
• It's crunchy, savoury, tangy, nutty, slightly sweet and ends off with a slight kick from the dressing. It's awesome.
• I would have enjoyed it even more if they didn't sacrifice the quality of ingredients. One complain is that the pork slices were so fatty! That was really gross. You could see it and some of it was slightly pink, which through me off. It was fully cooked though. Definitely cheap pieces of meat, which explains why they're really generous with it. You get a lot!
• Also the "prawns" were the pre-packaged kind - and they half them! So it's the illusion that you are getting 10 shrimp when you're actually getting 5 shrimp cut in half! That was a bit upsetting.If they gave me decent shrimp and good quality pork this salad would be a 5.5/6 for me.
• Salad Roll 1/6
• This was one of the weakest salad rolls I've seen. It was SO small. We ordered from the combo specials menu so that could be why, but still. It was half the size of a regular one and there was hardly any vermicelli noodles in it.
• Chicken Pho 2.5/6
• Chicken meatballs, chicken on the bone and a quail's egg with chicken broth and noodles.

• Not many places offer a chicken option and I had a non-beefeater with me so it was perfect opportunity to try it. To be honest the chicken stock tasted like it was from a can. I think they put it on their menu just to have it as an option, but they don't expect people to order it so they don't put any effort into it.
• It came with kind of pathetic pieces of on the bone chicken (about 1 white and the rest dark meat). The chicken is a really small chicken and the quality isn't there. You can tell just by the picture. I think it was almost greasier/oilier than the beef pho because the chicken pieces were so fatty and still had the skin on. However, it was a nice surprise to find a hard boiled quails egg as in ingredient. I appreciated that.
• Banh Mi - Shredded Chicken Sub 4.5/6
• I ordered the shredded chicken Vietnamese sub. It had shredded chicken, pickled carrots & daikon, cucumber & cilantro on a toasted baguette.

• I actually really enjoyed this. The best part for me was the shredded chicken and the toasted baguette. I also love cilantro and they gave you a lot of it - so I liked that.

  

• The shredded chicken was very lean and they're pretty generous with it. A nice bed of it. AND FINALLY a meat that was lean and still flavourful with their own marinade. It had this dry texture and almost tasted like pulled pork or jerky. I loved it.
• They needed to add more daikon though there wasn't enough. I would mind a stronger pickled taste as well. When I say pickled it's not just sour, when Vietnamese pickle their veggies - it's actually sweet and sour. so I wouldn't have minded a stronger pickled flavour, maybe let the carrots and daikon sit in the liquid a couple days longer.
• The bread is wonderful. It's soft, chewy and a crispy baked exterior. It's nice to bite into and then you get the crunch of the veggies.
• I'd go back just for the sandwiches. They have so many options which is kind of rare too. Most restaurant will have a selection of 6. Pho Thai Hoa had 9-10 sub options!

Boulangerie Cho Pain

Restaurant: Boulangerie Cho Pain

Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Breads/French
Last visited: Sept. 25, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Downtown/West end)
1165 Davie Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 5
Ambiance: 2

Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Authentic Parisian bakery - operated by French people with cute accents!
• French baker/pastry chefs
• Offers 125+ classic European breads and rolls
• Fresh breads and pastries prepared daily
• Small selection of savoury snacks available: quiche/sandwiches
• Espresso/lattes available
• Few tables and chairs for sit down
• Casual atmosphere
• Closed Monday
  

** Recommendation: Gateau Basque, Paris Brest Hazelnut Choux, Almond Croissant

This is perhaps my favorite bakery in Vancouver - well it's my favourite FRENCH bakery - but I haven't tried enough in Vancouver to compare. These are your traditional French pastries, so don't expect anything like "Matcha whatever" or "Coconut whatever" or "Tropical blah blah blah". The selections are very authentic and very French. As soon as I walk in I feel like I'm in Paris again, especially since all the staff have these cute French accents. I feel like ordering in French too - but I can't so I just do it in English. Je veux un croissant aux almondes sil vous plait? Not bad huh?

The pastries here are amazing! You can't help but to ohhh and ahhh at them while exploring their display cases. Quality ingredients and French techniques. It's comparable to many French bakeries in France - it's not comparable to the BEST French bakeries in France though. They have some really good ones there. I would know because I researched the heck out of them and made it a priority to visit them all! =) This is in between a good one and a gourmet one. Vancouver is lucky to have one of this standard.

They serve all the typical pastries and breads, and some fancier ones, but the ones that take longer to make aren't there. The only thing is walking by I should be able to smell the aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries - but I don't. They claim to be "made fresh daily" and I believe that most their stuff is because I can see the bakers in the kitchen, but they don't have the volume to make it fresh DAILY so I doubt everything is. The popular items probably are though, like their croissants and baguettes. I haven't experienced a stale pastry yet and it's hard to determine which ones were from yesterday especially if you don't walk by it everyday.

On the table:

• **Almond Croissant 6/6
• I may be biased because these are my favourite! I LOVE these and had one every single morning for breakfast...along side with my 5 other pastries...and omelette or croque monsieur/madame. Need to start my morning with a healthy start right?

• Seriously these are delicious and these are comparable to the ones I had in Paris. They're sweet and nutty and flaky and just all around delicious! There's a sweet almond paste in the middle that makes it all so much more decadent! The top is covered with almonds which is so important. They could have held back on the icing sugar though - slightly too much for my liking because the almond paste in the middle is already sweet enough.

• These are not really your light and airy croissants, they are denser and flakier. A must try! They aren't especially good here or anything, but you can't find more authentic almond croissants in Vancouver...at least I can't find them....if you can please send me a message!
• **Gateux Basque 6/6
• Oh my....this is another must try. Again I may be biased because I LOVE almond flavoured desserts. I will bring someone here just to try this dessert. I like to think of it as a bread of cake more than a dessert so there's no need to feel guilty for eating it. It's not that sweet, which means not as many calories!!! ;)

• There are many versions of this tart/cake. They make it more like a cake here. It's a very fragrant cake that originates from the Basque region of France.
• This is a dense but also a soft kind of cake. This one in particular is not too sweet, but still satisfies a sweet tooth. Almost like the almond croissant would. It tastes like there's some alcohol, I think Rum, but I asked and apparently there isn't...? I question that though because it just kind of lingers a little Rum/licorice aftertaste, a really subtle one...it could be the almond extract?
• It has this almond/nutty flavour that makes it very aromatic. I think they used almond oil in it which is why the flavour is so rich and prominent. The flour could be almond flour or some flour with ground up almonds. It's more than just almond extract. It's a beautiful flavour.
• It's moist with a soft middle and harder edges because of the baking. Some bakers will fill the middle with fruit preserves or pastry cream, but not this one. The dough/batter is great just as is. It's not indulgent but you want to indulge in many slices...if that makes any sense? It kind of has a crumbly texture...it's amazing. You NEED to try this. It's only $2.75 too.
• **Paris - Brest Hazelnut Choux 4.5/6
• Isn't it pretty?! This is hazelnut mousse sandwiched between a freshly baked puff pastry. Underneath the hazelnut mousse is a layer of fresh raspberries. The top of the puff pastry is dipped in chocolate!

• Ok so you think it's super decadent, and it is but it's not as sweet as it looks. Yes it's rich, but it's also made well with fresh quality ingredients, so you don't feel like you're eating fake sweeteners or fillers. It's also not soggy and hold really well.
• It would be a bit much for me to eat alone, because it is quite big, but it is very enjoyable. The mousse tastes like a Ferraro Rocher in mousse form. Smooth and creamy texture. No cheap waxy taste. The raspberries are really fresh and a great compliment. It's sweet and tangy and chocolaty and nutty!
• It is hard to eat though because the mousse squishes out the sides when you try to eat it altogether. The puff pastry is a traditional Parisian puff pastry recipe - not the dry type they serve at Beard Papa's or the buttery American type.
• Napolean Josephine 3.5/6
• Layers of really flaky and crisp puff pastry and creamy custard with some fresh strawberries and raspberries topped with a dusting of icing sugar.
• The puff pastry is really crisp and sturdy, there's a ton of layers. It's not really buttery tasting either.
• The custard is really creamy and not eggy. However I wish the flavoured it with vanilla beans - I think they just used vanilla extract. They should add some almond extract in there as well to give it an extra dimension of flavour.
• It's not too sweet, definitely fresh, and very light in flavour - not necessarily in texture. It's hard to eat again because the puff pastry is hard and the custard is soft, so you can't bite into it or break away at it with your fork. The custard just squishes out the sides.
• I suggest letting this Napoleon comes to room temperature before eating it...the custard flavour comes out so much more. It's served from a chilled display case so it's much better when you take the chill off.
• They will really recommend this, I think it kind of tastes better than it looks...but I would order it again - just not my Frost choice. It could be a little richer in flavour - not in sweeteners, but just in flavour t o balance out the tart strawberries and raspberries. They cheap out on the fruit though, the fruit gets added last minute after the layers have been built. So there's only visible fruit around the edge, but there's barely any within the custard. They also use more strawberries and like 2 raspberries. It's really obvious that they add those in last and blend it in with some custard to make it look like there's fruit throughout.
  

  

• Raspberry Fruit Tart 3/6
  
• Loaded with fresh raspberries, when in season...otherwise they do a mix of strawberries and raspberries. It is a very good fruit tart. The tart is made in house and it's made with some slivered almonds, which is a gourmet touch. It's almost a cookie tart rather. It has a great tasting custard cream filling that goes perfectly with the fruit. Nothing too sweet, but just really fresh ingredients.
• Banana Bread 4/6
• It's dense, rich in banana flavour and made fresh.
• It's your "really good banana bread recipe" - so if you've had one of these recipes this is what it tastes like. Nice and moist. Just a good and solid banana bread. I've had better and can make a better though.
• Latte 4/6
• Very frothy foam, strong but smooth. The actually use the blend from 49th Parallel.
  

The Dish

Restaurant: The Dish
Cuisine: American/Breakfast/Lunch/Healthy

Last visited: September 25, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC

1068 Davie Street

Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5 (I need to try more items though)

Service: 3

Ambiance: 2

Overall: 3.5

Additional comments:

• Healthy fast food
• Breakfast/Soups/Salads/Sandwiches/Wraps/Mains
• Extensive menu; some culturally inspired wraps & mains
  
• Fresh juices/Healthy smoothies
• Self-service, pay upon order
• Made upon order wraps
• Big wraps
  
• Daily specials available
• Vegetarian options
• Homemade soups
• Store bought sauces
  
• Short line-ups during lunch hours, quick service
  
• Serves breakfast until 11am and 2pm on weekends

**Recommendation: The Eggs Sophia Wrap, Indonesian Wrap (Soups are supposed to be great, but I haven't tried)

I've been here a couple times and the food is not outstanding or anything, but it is still enjoyable. If you're looking for healthy fast food options, then try this place out. Even though it's healthy the menu still offers a lot of traditional sandwiches and comfort food mains. It's nothing gourmet, but everything is quite fresh and made upon order. Some of the ingredients like cooked/grilled veggies are pre-cooked though and then the wraps are quickly assembled. They are popular for their wraps, mainly because they're substantial in size - they don't hold out on the stuffing at all. They're wraps that you could more or less make at home, they're very simple recipes, store bought sauces. They're healthy wraps - it's good, but also expected.

I was however impressed with their menu selection because I was expecting standard wraps like chicken salad, chicken Caesar, BLT, etc. so it was nice to see something like the "Indonesian wrap" to switch things up a bit. They also offer mains like "Teriyaki Chicken" and "Curry Chicken" but they're probably far from authentic. Overall, if you're looking for affordable, healthy fast food downtown, The Dish is a solid option.

On the table:

• **Indonesian Chicken Wrap 3.5/6
  
• White chicken breast, red and green cabbage, romaine lettuce, brown rice & peanut sauce. $6.10

• This is good, but nothing out of the ordinary when you think of a Southeast Asian style wrap. You have your peanut sauce and you're there. I'm pretty sure the peanut sauce isn't made in house though. It's just your standard peanut sauce, not spicy or anything. Maybe even a bit on the runny side. No peanut texture. However, I am pleased to say that the wrap wasn't big because of the rice - they don't cheap out on the ingredients and actually load it up with chicken and veggies. Lots of chicken!
• The veggies were really fresh and crunchy, but the brown rice was a bit hard and dry. There wasn't a lot of rice though so it didn't bother me. It tasted exactly like the description so if you like those ingredients you'll like this wrap. It's served cold - warm may be better.
  

  

• Pesto Parmesan Chicken Wrap 1.5/6
  
• White chicken breast, romaine lettuce, sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, Parmesan and Pesto sauce. $6.10

• Sounds better than it tastes. Oh boy they really sacrificed on the quality of ingredients and the whole thing was pretty bland. If you're going to put Parmesan in the name of the sandwich I expect actual Parmesan cheese. Unfortunately this was the powdered Parmesan cheese! As disappointed as you are in reading that imagine how disappointed I was in eating it. I wouldn't have minded paying $1 extra if they used the real deal. The powdered Parm gave the wrap a really dry quality and I felt like I was eating a cheap Caesar salad. Even a Caesar Salad at a grocery store gives shredded Parm.
• The pesto sauce is also not made in house. I bet anything it's the pesto sauce supplied by Sysco Food Services - it's this standard pesto that restaurants will order to save time and money from making it themselves. This isn't a bad thing - but the Pesto is just not good. There's better brands out there for sure. This pesto isn't made with pine nuts, it's nut free which also means it lacks a lot of flavour! It's really runny and tastes like blended up spinach and parsley - no/little basil. Needless to say, I was really disappointed.
• I also didn't get many sauteed mushrooms or veggies. I got one mushroom (really just one, which may have gotten in there by accident) and maybe 2 tomatoes and 4 zucchini cubes? I think all the veggies are sauteed, but they taste steamed. I don't think they add any salt or pepper when they sautee it - so they're very healthy tasting. I didn't mind, but some might. It's also served warm.
  
• **The Eggs Sophia Wrap 3.5/6
  
• Eggs, sundried tomato basil spread, jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms.

• This was my favourite one of the 3. I don't have a picture because I tried it on a previous visit. For me, a breakfast wrap is more standard because you can't really change up breakfast ingredients as much as you can with lunch/dinner ingredients. You know what breakfast items taste like and what to expect - so all in all this is a hearty great tasting vegetarian wrap.
  

Nature's Path Organic Cereal

www.naturespath.com/coupon

Toko Foods

Restaurant: Toko Foods

Cuisine: Chinese/Asian

Last visited: September 24, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC

223 W7th Ave

Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: Ok 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres excellent!!

Food: 3

Service: 2

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 3

Additional comments:

• Vancouver based noodle factory since 1995
• Distributor for Asian foods/ingredients
• Majority Chinese dishes
• Some Shanghai/Szechuan/Curry/Laksa dishes
• A few Korean/Japanese dishes/appetizers
• Known for really fresh homemade noodles (made daily)
• Traditional dishes, that are not fusion, but also not really authentic
  
• Closed 6pm Monday Tuesday
• Open for lunch everyday except Sunday
• Dinner service Wed-Sat.
• Closed Sunday

**Recommendations: A noodle dish...my noodle dishes were just ok. I haven't tried everything but next time I would probably go for a noodle dish that comes with a light or clear broth Eg: Ramen and noodles

I've heard of this restaurant through word of mouth, but that's about it. Even Chinese people don't really know about this restaurant. Actually you wouldn't even know it was a restaurant unless you were looking for it or someone told you about it. From the outside this place looks like a giant factory - which it is. The back end of the restaurant is dedicated to the noodle factory and the front end serves as a restaurant.

Walking in I was actually quite surprised and impressed with the restaurant set-up. Knowing it was a noodle factory I thought the restaurant was going to be a couple wooden stools and a couple counter tops, but to my surprise it was an actual restaurant set-up with comfy dark brown leather chairs and contemporary decor. The decor and food actually comes across as "Chinese food for white folk", but nonetheless it's still fresh, high in quality and pretty good. I expected the prices to be cheaper since the noodle factory is operated right in the back of the restaurant - but it isn't. It's average priced or even a bit more expensive (for average, or even a tad smaller portions) and Chinese standards.

On the table:

• House Special - Crispy Pan-fried Chow Mien Noodle 3.5/6
• Just the noodles 5/6
• A bed of fresh chow mien noodles with chicken, pork, a few shrimp, some squid, carrots, and bok choy.

• The noodles are really really fresh and you can definitely tell. When you lift up the ingredients you can see how soft and fresh the noodles really are. They almost came across as overcooked because they were so fresh. I imagine the cooking time would be less when you're dealing with homemade noodles that are made daily.
• The meat was a bit fatty for me, so I didn't really like that. The shrimp, on the other hand, was crunchy and perfectly cooked.
• 

• Tan Tan Noodles 2/6 (on the whole)
• 5/6 for the noodles
• Tan tan noodles is a popular Chinese/Szechuan/Shanghai soup and noodle bowl. It's spicy. The soup base is made of chili oil and Szechuan peppers. It's also served with minced pork meat on top.

• I know it doesn't look that great. Looking at the picture you're thinking: "Is it creamy?" "Is it supposed to be creamy?" "Is it made poorly? "Do you mix it?" "Has it gone bad?" etc. The reason it looks this way is because Toko made it the "unauthentic" way. They added sesame sauce or peanut butter (I think in this case sesame sauce) to the soup base and that's why it's not mixing in. Some restaurants will do this to add more flavour or to make it more mild tasting. It's quite common to do this. It would be like adding peanut butter to a hot soup base...I know sound weird, but it's actually pretty good. It's just that the oil in the sesame sauce won't mix with the water soup base.
• The noodles are really the star of the show here. The were really fresh tasting - except because they were so fresh the starch from the noodles were cooked in the soup base and the whole thing tasted starchy. On top of that the added sesame sauce didn't help the starchy situation. The soup and noodles came off a bit powdery tasting and thick and it lacked flavour too. Sesame sauce by itself has a very dull taste - it's like eating unsalted peanut butter...so it didn't do much when it was in this dish.

• Tan tan noodles also should come with green onions on top...and this one didn't have any. They did however add ground peanuts on the top - not the authentic way it's served, but still really good when they put it on. It's aromatic and I like the texture with noodles and ground pork.I love tan tan noodles, but just not here.

• This was in a way tan tan noodles for white folk...

Japadog

Restaurant: Japadog

Cuisine: Japanese/Fusion

Last visited: September 30, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC

Northwest corner of Burrard & Smithe, in front of Sutton Place hotel
Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6

Service: 3

Ambiance: n/a...it's a hot dog stand

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Japanese hot dogs
• Pork, beef, turkey, veggie options
• Special for Kurobuta sausage: 100% pure all-natural Berkshire pork
• Most popular for Terimayo hot dog
• New Terimayo hot dog menu: ft different versions of most popular hot dog
• Hot, fresh w/exotic Japanese ingredients
• Japanese operated
• Japanese condiments: wasabi mayo etc.
• New condiment - special plum sauce from Japan
• Long lines, busy at peak hours
• Attracts locals, tourists and famous people
• Second location at W Pender & Burrard
• $4.75-6.25

**Recommendation: Terimayo, Okonomi

Japadog is Vancouver's latest trend in hot dogs. It's the Japanese version of an American favourite - a hot dog. Really popular to locals and tourists, this place also attracts celebrities that happen to be in town too. Definitely better than a normal hot dog, you can expect long lines during lunch or dinner hours. Help yourself to their unique Japanese condiments (free of charge) such as: Japanese mayo, spicy 7-spice seasoning (usually comes with Udon), and the new plum sauce etc.

On the table:

• Terimayo 6/6
• 100% all beef, Teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, fried onion, seaweed/nori $4.75
• This is the most popular hot dog and everyone's favourite. It's also my favourite. What a brilliant idea and combination of flavours. It's basically your favourite and most popular Japanese ingredients and fried onions thrown into a hot dog. Now how can you go wrong with that? The sausage is really plump, juicy, and coated with a standard Teriyaki sauce. It's sweet from the Teriyaki sauce and savoury from the meat and fried onions. It has great texture too because of the fried onions. Shredded seaweed is sprinkled on top before serving. The seaweed kind of melts as you eat it due to the steam from the hot dog. They put the Japanese mayo underneath the seaweed so the seaweed doesn't get soggy and chewy.
• This is a rather rich and hearty hot dog that is SO satisfying! You have to eat it with lots of wasabi mayo and it's even better. I stand by the wasabi mayo bottle when I eat this so I can reapply and load up with every bite :)



• Oroshi 3/6
• Bratwurst, grated radish, special soy, green onion $4.75

• This was good, but compared to the other two it was ok - that's why I gave it a 3/6 because if I didn't have the other two to compare this would have been good.
• The bratwurst they used is the white bratwurst. It's a thick sausage that doesn't taste that meaty and I don't recall them frying it. It's served warm and I feel like they boiled it instead of frying or grilling it. But correct me if I'm wrong. The meat is kind of milky and bland - it kind of tastes like a really soft hot dog - almost like a chicken or turkey meatloaf. The meat is really tender but it tastes kind of boring after eating a beef hot dog. Not as juicy or savoury, but now that I think about it I think it was made of turkey.
• They load the Oroshi with grated radish - the radish they use is daikon so it's not spicy at all. It tastes like nothing - like air. The texture is like eating very finely minced soft raw onions without the taste or crunchiness of onions. They squirt a sweet and slightly savoury Japanese soy on top of the mound of grated radish - that's basically the only flavour in this hot dog. Then they top it off with fresh green onions, and I topped it off with wasabi mayo - a must. You need it to give the hot dog another dimension or it's too plain...and wasabi mayo is just good too.
• I found this hot dog to be a little bland probably because it's turkey. It lacked flavour because there's probably not as much fat in the meat. and nothing fried on it and only one sauce. The only thing giving it flavour was basically the sweet soy sauce...and that doesn't even shine through too much. They don't pour too much of the sauce on it because it's a thin sauce. Adding more would have added more falvour but it would have also made the bun soggy and everything would fall apart. It's probably the "lightest" hot dog they serve. The bratwurst is juicy, but just not that flavourful - it tastes like a boiled sausage, so how much flavour can you get from that? Of course if they used a higher quality bratwurst it would have been more flavourful - but I don't really expect them to because it is just a hot dog stand.




• Okonomi 4.5/6
• Kurobuta sausage, okonomi sauce, Japanese mayo, fried cabbage, dried bonito $6.25
• Japadog prides itself for their Kurobuta sausage, a 100% pure all-natural Berkshire pork. It's the most highly prized pork in Japan and comparable to the standards of Kobe beef.
• I still liked the Terimayo better though, and most people would agree. I mean the sausage is good and it's not as heavy as the 100% beef hot dog. It carries a more gentle flavour than a beef hot dog. The Kurobuta sausage is very soft and tender and it tastes like a big version of those mini cocktail sausages they serve as hors d'oeuvres at parties.
• The okonomi sauce is like a tangy soy sauce with a slight kick at the end. It's a little sour, quite savoury, and then there's a kick - but not really a spicy kick...almost like how raw garlic has a kick.
• The fried cabbage is yummy - taste like stir-fried cabbage you get when you order Teriyaki plates from the food court. It's all shredded and they give you quite a bit. It's sauteed in a little Teriyaki sauce I think. It's kind of sweet and savoury. Then they top it off with dried bonito - which is dried flakes of squid. this almost tastes like fishy rice paper - it has a fishy taste, but not a very strong one. It just kind of melts away as you eat it, it melts away faster than seaweed does. It's not as crunchy or salty as dried seaweed though. Again, I topped this hot dog off with wasabi mayo! The perfect condiment for these Japadogs.