Ddoo Gau Bee

website
#203 - 4501 North Road
Burnaby
604.422.0500

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$

Entree
Jam Ja Bok: Jajang Mein, Jam Pong, and Fried Rice

The Low-Down
Deal

Review
I've been to Ddoo Gau Bee several times. I must say that it is nothing to rave about and it isn't necessarily spectacular. However, they do have some pretty good deals. This is one of them. The combo includes Jajang Mein, Jam Pong, and Fried Rice. It will definitely fill you up with minimal hit to the wallet!

Side Dishes

Jajang Mein and Jam Pong

Fried Rice

Memphis Blues

website
1629 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver
604.929.3699
Mon-Thurs: 11:00am-10:00pm
Fri: 11:00am-11:00pm
Sat: 12:00pm-11:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm-10:00pm

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$

Entree
Combo Plate: BBQ Chicken + Ribs

The Low-Down
Disappointing

Review
I've been to Memphis Blues one other time and I had remembered it as being one large awesome plate of BBQ meat. I haven't been back for a few years and had been craving it as I saw it along Lonsdale taking the bus. I finally got some time to hit it up and was super excited. Unfortunately, this visit fell pretty flat on its face. The BBQ Chicken was pretty dry and tasteless. The ribs were also not fall-off-the-bone good. They were actually pretty tough. Without the extra BBQ sauce, I don't think I would have made it through the dinner. I'm not sure if I'll be back.

Combo Plate: BBQ Chicken + Ribs

Boston Pizza

website
88 Chesterfield Ave
North Vancouver
778.340.1514
Mon-Sun: 11:00am-1:00am

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$

Entree
Oven-roasted Quesadilla
Boston's Smokey Mountain Spaghetti and Meatballs

The Low-Down
Deal

Review
The Oven-roasted Quesadilla was nothing to rave about. It was fairly average as expected. However, the Spaghetti and Meatballs were pretty tasty. It happened to be their special that day, so it was definitely a good deal. It was a fairly large portion, but the best part was the taste of home-made! I also really liked the garlic bread, which was toasted just right. For the price, this was a no-brainer.

Oven-roasted Quesadilla

 Boston's Smokey Mountain Spaghetti and Meatballs

Aqua Riva

website 
200 Granville Street
Vancouver
604.683.5599

Meal
Lunch

Cost
$$

Entree
Penne with Smoked Chicken Breast

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
This was definitely a pleasant surprise. I haven't heard the best of things about this place, but I'll have to disagree with what I've heard now! Everything on the menu sounded mouth-watering, but I finally settled on the pasta. The sauce was delicious and the pasta was cooked very well. The chicken had just the right amount of seasoning, but most importantly, it was juicy. The asparagus was a tad salty though.

Penne with Smoked Chicken Breast

V-Nam

175 East 3rd Street
North Vancouver
604.985.5477

Meal
Lunch

Cost
$

Entree
Rare Beef Slice and Beef Ball Pho

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
This place was near by and I've been wanting to try it for a while. It did not disappoint. The soup was delicious and virtually oil free. There was a decent amount of meat and quite a lot of noodles. Nothing like a hot, steaming bowl of pho on a cold day! I'll definitely be coming back soon.

Pho Accessories

Rare Beef Slice and Beef Ball Pho

Bravo Cucina

1209 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver
604.985.3006

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$

Appetizer
Bread with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil (Free)

Entree
Spaghetti Arrabiata (replaced Penne)
Wild BC Salmon Linguine in a Cream Sauce

Drink
Peach Iced Tea

Dessert
Peach Tart with a Honey Glaze topped with Jack Daniel's Ice-cream

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
I love having the mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil together. I think it's one of the best starters you can have. The bread was also warm, which adds to the deliciousness of it all.

The Spaghetti Arrabiata was very nice. The sauce was done right and the portion was fairly large. It was spicy, but not overwhelming.

The Wild BC Salmon Linguine was a surprise. I tried the salmon first and loved the taste. It was cooked perfectly - not well done so that there was still some juice. It also had a very nice hint of smoke that made it even better! The cream sauce was also delicious. This portion was also fairly large.

We ordered an iced tea and they told us it was a peach iced tea. It was amazing. There was a lot of peach taste and it was not too sweet.

We had finished both our dishes, which was amazing since they were large. But we couldn't help it as it was delicious. The waiter offered a peach tart on special and we couldn't resist as everything else was so good. I'm sure the peach tart was made well, but it didn't jive with our taste buds. We should have known since neither of us were big fans of peach tarts! The honey glaze was nice though, but we didn't like the Jack Daniel's ice-cream that much. Not that it was bad, but I guess we just don't like Jack Daniel's.

Warm Bread

Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Spaghetti Arrabiata

Wild BC Salmon Linguine in a Cream Sauce

Peach Tart  with a Honey Glaze topped with Jack Daniel's Ice-cream

Monk McQueen's

website
601 Stamps Landing
Vancouver
604.877.1351

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$$

Appetizer
Effingham & Fanny Bay Oysters with Ponzu sauce

Entree
Grilled Wild Salmon & Jambalaya
10oz Roasted Prime Rib

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
The oysters here are simply delicious. Great quality and amazing taste.

The Grilled Wild Salmon & Jambalaya was interesting. The salmon was done quite well and was not too dry. However, I was not too fond of the taste of the jambalaya.

The Prime Rib was great. Nothing like a big slab of meat that was cooked perfectly to medium-rare and a wonderful sauce.

Effingham & Fanny Bay (smaller one) Oysters with Ponzu Sauce

 

Grilled Wild Salmon & Jambalaya

 

10oz Roasted Prime Rib

Pho 99

302-403 North Road
Coquitlam
604.939.2288

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$

Entree
#18 Dac Biet (Large)

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
I'm always up for Pho, and this place is pretty good. They've nailed the taste of the soup, which is very important for Pho. You also get quite a lot of meat and noodles for the price.

Bean Sprouts, Lime, and Jalapenos

Dac Biet

Dae Bak Bon Ga

website
201-1323 Robson Street
Vancouver
604.683.9298

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$

Entree
Samguepsal (must order at least 2 portions)

The Low-Down
Delicious

Review
I've been here before for their samguepsal, so it's a repeat performance. This time, the meat was a little more fatty, but the quality could still be considered good. We got the normal order rather than the all-you-can-eat, as you get enough meat in the normal order to really fill you up (plus it's cheaper!). We got more side dishes than the last time when we came for shabu shabu. Also, they don't make a fuss when you ask for more lettuce!

Side dishes

Samguepsal and Mushrooms

The rest of the Samguepsal

Cooked Samguepsal and Mushrooms

JJ's Fine Dining

250 W. Pender (VCC)
Vancouver
604.433.8479

Meal:
Dinner

Cost:
$$$

Food:
Caramelized Vidalia Onion Soup / Braised Oxtail / Madeira / Gruyere Melt
Roast Prime Rib / Yorkshire Pudding / Roasted Potatoes / Glazed Carrots
Sabayon Lemon Tart / Almond Crumble / Blueberry Compote

The Low-Down:
Deal

Review:
Three course meal for $24. That's a deal, even if it is done by students. The onion soup was a little too thick and salty, but it had a lot of content and was tasty. The prime rib was a little bit dry, but otherwise cooked to a nice medium-rare. The lemon tart was delicious, except for the fact that I couldn't get the taste of birthday candle wax out of my mouth. Apparently though, it was only me. Either way, this was a great deal. I heard the cocktails and alcohol in general is a steal here.

Onion Soup

Prime Rib

Lemon Tart

Cactus Club

Cactus Club
4653 Kingsway
Burnaby
604.431.8448

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$

Entree
Jack Daniel's Ribs
Prawns and Scallops Spaghettini

The Low-Down
Disappointing

Review
I had anticipated the Jack Daniel's Ribs for a very long time and finally found time to give it a try. I had heard many good things about it, but it eventually disappointed. The flavour wasn't delicious and the meat wasn't fall-off-the-bone good. It was rather dense and a little bit salty. The esparagus was overly salted too.

We were also expecting the spaghettini to be superb as well, since it was a Rob Feenie recipe. However, this was lacking in every department. The prawns and scallops were overcooked and the flavour was downright unamazing. His mini burgers may be the best I've ever had, but this for sure was no where close to being good.

Jack Daniel's Ribs

Prawns and Scallops Spaghettini

Dae Bak Bon Ga

website
201-1323 Robson Street
Vancouver
604.683.9298

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$$

Entree
Shabu Shabu Dinner (must order at least 2 portions)

The Low-Down
Disappointing

Review
I was quite disappointed with this meal as I was looking forward to trying shabu shabu. I felt that this was a little overpriced. However, I noticed that most of the price was going to the seafood. The quality was not bad, but the crab was small enough that there was no meat to be eaten in the legs. This was a fairly "clean" meal, so it wasn't super tasty. It came with a peanut sauce and a soy sauce-type dip. The side dishes were alright, but the green seaweed was too salty. Note that this meal does not come with rice, so if you want rice, it will be extra. All-in-all, I'd much rather have their samgyeopsal at a much lower price.

Side dishes

Seafood

Beef and Mushrooms

Vegetables and Noodles

Kimbob E Ramyun

423 Seymour Street
Vancouver
604.685.2877

Meal
Dinner

Cost
$

Entree
Kimbob and Ramyun Combo (comes with kimchi side dish)

The Low-Down
Average

Review
This place is one of the few places that serves kimbob, and they do it well. The ramyun is decent. The food comes pretty quickly as well. The kimchi, however, is lacking.

Kimbob and Ramyun Combo

Ramyun

Kimbob