Yaletown Brew Pub

My co-workers and I decided to go to the Yaletown Brew Pub for lunch this week since it was close by and also because our manager raved about how the feature burger he ate there was the best burger he ever had. In his words, "This is so f[beep]ing good!". He said that if we were ever going to try it, we must try it with the bacon and egg.

We all headed downstairs to the restaurant and were seated right away. We all knew what we were going to order, the Brewer's Burger with the bacon and egg. I had fries with my burger while my co-workers had onion rings. I must say that this is one pricey burger! $15.99 for the burger and an additional $3 for the bacon and egg and another $3 for onion rings.

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Mr. Kumpir

Mr. Kumpir is a chain restaurant that started in Turkey.  From what I remember reading awhile ago, 'Kumpir' means potato in Turkish, and this is the first North American location.  Mr. Kumpir specializes in stuffed baked potatoes, although they also serve hot dogs, fries, and poutine.  You may think that a baked potato is not enough for a meal, but these potatoes are incredibly filling!  First they scoop out the insides and mix them with cheese and butter.  Then they add the toppings.  Being that it's a Turkish chain, I went for the Turkish baked potato which has beef sausage (really sliced beef hot dog), kisir, russian salad (which seems to contain sliced pickles, peas, and more sliced hot dog), turkish salad (which looks like potato salad) and black olives.

This thing is huge!

I snapped these pics quickly with my iPhone 4, and then began to eat.  The combination of all those ingredients might seem strange, but the end result is actually pretty tasty with the kisir giving it some heat.  I would liken eating this to eating a brick, as I was getting pretty full by the time I was half way through.  In the end, I couldn't finish it, which was rare for me.

Overall Impressions:  If you're really hungry, I'd definitely suggest Mr. Kumpir.  For $6.25, you can get a tasty stuffed baked potato that will leave you feeling extremely full.

Mr. Kumpir

1162 Denman Street

Vancouver, BC

Phone: 604.568.8655

http://www.mrkumpir.com/ 

Tropika

The girlfriend has long preferred Tropika to Vancouver's other predominant Malaysian restaurant, Banana Leaf, and as I had only tried the latter, we'd been looking for an opportunity to correct that.  We visited the location on Robson, and after climbing the stairs, were greeted and seated immediately.  

We decided to start with some Roti Canai.  The bread was soft and chewy, yet slightly flaky, and the curry dipping sauce was very delicious, having just the right amount of spice.  This was a great start to the night. This was at least as good as Banana Leaf's version.

Roti Canai (Malay Bread)

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Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe

I've always walked by this little blue bistro sitting on the corner of Thurlow and Haro and wondered how the food is there. I've heard mixed reviews about this restaurant and was curious to try it myself. On a Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I decided to try the brunch there. When we got to the restaurant, we saw it was quite empty. We hesitated for a bit before deciding to enter into the restaurant. We saw that there were only 1 other table at the restaurant. I found that a bit strange as most brunch places I've been to on a Saturday morning/afternoon have quite a bit of people.

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Flying Tiger

I won a $75 gift card to Flying Tiger through a Tourism Vancouver Dine Out Vancouver Facebook contest.   They serve pan-Asian street food, and the menu looked enticing so we decided to try it out.

The restaurant is very modern looking, with dark finishes and an open kitchen.  We were greeted and seated immediately upon arriving.

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Romer's Burger Bar

I had a friend who was back in Vancouver for a visit and he really really wanted a burger because he hasn't had a good burger since he left for China. I've seen Romer's Burger Bar on West 4th and was curious to try it. The steak house, Pinky's, used to be at the location that Romer's is at currently. I've never gotten a chance to try Pinky's before they closed all their locations =( I'm guessing it wasn't that good if both their locations closed.

At Romer's Burger, they serve all natural Angus beef, Fraser Valley pork, turkey, free-range chicken or wild salmon all grilled on a flat-top, served on a brioche bun with pepperoncinis and olives on the side. When ordering at Romer's, the price you see is just the price of the burger. You will need to order your sides separately. They have a variety of sides and salads that you can choose from. One side of fries is enough for 2 people to share if you also order a side salad.

Magic Mushroom Burger with Organic Roasted Baby Beets Salad

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Beefy Beef Noodle

With a name Beefy Beef Noodle and giant letters advertising salty peppery chicken, it is one bubble tea place that was calling my name. A few of my friends and I decided to go there for dinner one night. Not knowing what to eat (which is always our dilemma), we just decided to try Beefy Beef Noodle.

Beefy Beef Noodle is owned by the same people who run No. 1 Beef Noodle House in Burnaby. I often went to No. 1 Beef Noodle House for lunch when I worked out in Burnaby and really liked the food there. I was curious about their sister restaurant.

Strawberry Slush & Peach Calpis

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Trattoria

After trying the Spaghetti and Meatballs at Italian Kitchen, we decided to go to the other Italian restaurant owned by the Glowbal group, Trattoria, to compare.  We went on a Tuesday, as all of their pastas are $10 on Tuesday with the exception of the lobster one.  Like all Glowbal groups, the noise level is fairly excessive, but the open kitchen makes up for it.

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Meat & Bread

Newly opened, Meat & Bread is a sandwich shop located in Gastown (right by Cambie and Hastings area) that serves exactly what their name says! Meat and bread. Mmm tasty combination. On their menu, they have a selection of hot sandwiches and also soups.

I've been hearing about their porchetta sandwich and how it is a must try when going there. Porchetta is Italian of origin and is a boneless roasted pork loin usually stuffed/rolled in a mixture of herbs.

Sitting at my desk at work with lunch hour looming around the corner and not knowing what to eat... I thought about Meat & Bread and decided to venture out there with a co-worker. We arrived around 12:30pm and the restaurant was packed full of people. We got in line and looked at the menu. I knew exactly what I wanted, a Porchetta Sandwich. My co-worker ordered the Meatball Sandwich. While standing in line, I saw the pork loin, the crispy skin and the perfectly rectangular cibatta bread... I couldn't wait to try the sandwich.

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ShuRaku Sake Bar & Bistro

ShuRaku = "enjoyment of sake".

ShuRaku is a sushi izakaya with an extensive list of sake located on Granville street. What makes this izakaya different from others is that they offer a wide selection of sushi along with the tapas. When we arrived, we were greeted and got a choice of either sitting at the sushi bar or at a table. We opted to sit at the table. Even though sitting at the sushi bar would have been nice too as you can see all the chefs work. Horray for open kitchens =)

We ordered some Genmaicha tea (roasted brown rice & green tea) and took a look at the menu. It took us a while to decide what we wanted to eat as we are indecisive most of the time. There is only so much food 2 people can eat! And it's tough to decide what to try at a restaurant we've haven't been to before. We decided to order 2 hot dishes, 2 signature rolls and some nigiri sushi.

Genmaicha Tea

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