Bella Gelateria

              Bella Gelateria is a gelato store based in Vancouver, with one location in Coal Harbour and another in Yaletown. They have won awards all over the world, so we decided to try their award winning flavour. I've been here before, but I have not blogged around the place.

               This is their Award Winning Flavour Toasted Pecans with Sea Salt. Their other flavours aren't as good as this one, as it is sweet, but not too sweet, and has just enough saltiness with the crisp bits of pecan in there. 5/5 for sure albeit a bit spicy.

Bottom Line: Great Pricey Gelato
Overall: 5/5.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese (Seattle)

                    Beecher's Handmade Cheese is a pretty famous Cheese store, and the make their cheese in store. However, their prices reflect this, but the food isn't too expensive. They are located around the Pike Market, a popular tourist attraction.

           This is the grilled cheese, and it wasn't too great. While it was ok, it could have been better, as it was plain. 3/5.

                 This is the World's Best Mac and Cheese, and it was very good,   but had the same problem, and while it was creamy and cheesy, it could have been better with a little something more. A 4/5.

                   I forgot the name of this Mac And Cheese, but I felt that it was oddly better than the one they considered the World's Best. It had a bit of a kick with some veggies that just made it better, with the same al dente pasta and creamy cheese. I would rate it a 4.5/5.

Bottom Line: Overhyped but Good Cheese
Tips: Try the Spicy One
Overall: 4/5

Royal Seafood Restaurant

           One day, we met up with some relatives for dim sum at Royal Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. This is a newer restaurant located in a strip mall. You can't miss the large sign. The location is in a residential area if I recall correctly, but don't quote me on that. The mall has plenty of parking, although the restaurant is on the second floor. You can either go up a grand stairway which looks as it it would be used for wedding pictures, or take a shady looking elevator up the side. Your choice. The dining space itself is not large, but you have a fantastic view of the parking lot and some (albeit not a lot) elbow room. The prices are normal, in line with most other places, and the portion sizes are average though. However, it may be a pain to order as most of the menu is in Chinese. 

           The first steamer we got after placing our order was the Haw Gow at what I think was $5.50. These were above average, with a bit of sesame oil with the shrimp which tasted fresh. The only downside was that the wrapper was a bit think and that made it hard to remove from the steamer. However, it still ends up with a 3.5/5 rating. The next steamer were these things, which I don't remember very much about. My mom said it has something to do with beans, and some kind of mushrooms but these were not memorable and I wouldn't order these again if I

had the choice. Mostly because I didn't enjoy the mushy texture and the odd taste. I would give it a 2/5. 

           The next dish was some offal, more specifically, the Beef Offal. I enjoyed these, as they had a bit of crunch to it, and had enough flavour to make it self sufficient. It was salty, crunchy, moist, and there was a surprising amount on the plate. However, one thing that I did not enjoy very much was the puddle of grease at the bottom, and while the offal on the top had no issue with it, the stuff on the bottom was coated in grease. Still a 4/5 though. This was followed up with the shrimp spring rolls, which did not have a grease problem. They were very crispy, and the shrimp inside was moist and juicy too. This made for a good bite when combined with the gingery sauce that is served with the plate on the side. The sauce wasn't needed though, as the shrimp had a nice flavor by itself. However, it these sat around too long, they would soften, although that is a problem with everything. In the end, it still gets a 4/5.

          Next up was the Plain Rice Noodle Rolls, with their sauce poured on top of them. They were decent as well, and while not good enough to blow me away, there was nothing wrong, which is why they get a 3/5. Their description was very accurate: plain, and the sauce was the only flavoring agent. We also had the beef balls, but I didn't try them but still took the picture, which is why there is a picture but I have no idea what they were like. Everyone else at the table seemed to like it though. One of the last few dishes

we had were the Eggplants Stuffed with Fish Paste. These had a good salty flavor with a nice texture. I think these had a nice texture, being soft but not mushy, while the fish paste was firm, although the flavors did have an MSG taste.They get a 3/5 as well.

          Moving onto the final dish of the day, which were the Sticky Rice in Lotus Wrap, or Lo Mai Gai, which was a filler item. These were decent where the rice was cooked properly, and everything inside was cooked well too. They were not overly large or little and there was enough filling. Nothing was amazing, but it was acceptable. I would give it the average 3/5.

Bottom Line: Average Dim Sum
Overall: 3/5

Sansei Seafood and Sushi (Waikiki)

Same Entrance as D.K Steakhouse

                     One evening, we were chilling at the hotel when we decided to go for a nice meal at the Waikiki location of the Sansei Seafood and Sushi. We also found out that they had a 25% discount for Happy Hour between 5:30 p.m and 6 p.m, so that was a nice bonus. Too bad it wasn't Saturday of Sunday for they have a 50% discount on everything. The Sansei was located in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa in practically the same restaurant as the DK Steakhouse which was operated by the same Japanese chef by the name of D.K Kodoma, who is quite well known in the Hawaiian Islands. We got the option to sit out on the patio or inside the restaurant. Of course we went for the patio overlooking Waikiki Beach with a nice view of the sunset on the third floor. There were some torches outside to provide some heat, and the Hawaii weather wasn't cold at all. D.K Komoda has won some awards for his dishes, so as always, we went for the award winning dishes on the menu. Before I start, Sansei Seafood and Sushi is a more modern take on sushi, and may offend people who like quality fish and just traditional sushi. It is like the Miku of Hawaii, except a bit more modern and club-like. This is because they have Karaoke from 10 p.m to 1 a.m. That is enough rambling, so time to get on to the food. 

Sansei Special Roll $10.25

Crab Ramen 

                       The order of the items that came out was very odd. Normally you would have the appetizer, the entree and then the dessert. At least the dessert came out last, which was good, but the order of everything else was freaking out. Thus, this blog post will be written in the order the items came out. I have no idea how this would happen, because if everything made fresh, the items are made in the order they should come out, but should they be premade, they could be brought out in the order they should be too. The first item that came out was the Sansei Special Sushi Roll for $10.25. This was a mediocre roll that came with Spicy Crab, cilantro, avocado and furitake, which is a Japanese seasoning. The sauce was the kind of Spicy Thai Sauce that you can get at the supermarket. This really ruined the roll, as the spicy crab was delicious, and wasn’t so spicy so you could actually taste the crab. The furitake didn't have too much taste which was good, and I would give it a 3/5. The next item to come out was the Crab Ramen in Truffle Broth for $17.25.  The best thing about this restaurant is that it goes family style so you can try a bit of everything and share some dishes. The dishes are pretty sharable too. Truffle ingredients are one of those things that can add a nice touch or completely overpower whatever flavours or ingredients are in the dish.  At the very least, this broth was very good with a hint of truffle and went well. If it was a little bit hotter, it would have been even better with the perfectly al dente ramen noodles, cilantro, and slightly spicy Jalapenos rings. The crab was very fresh, but was cooked very well. Easily a 4/5, as it was really good with nothing amiss, but just didn’t have the “blew me away factor.” Also, it was very expensive for the price, even at 25% off. 

Panko-Crusted Ahi Sashimi $13.25

Tempura Shrimp Dynamite $12.25

Japanese Calamari Salad

                      After an entree came out, the server brought us the signature Panko-Encrusted Ahi Sashimi, for $13. This is another one of their signature items (we ordered most of them), and had some butter like sauce on the bottom. That's the yellow like liquid in the picture. The first thing I noticed was that it was a bit greasy with the butter, panko and the combination was very greasy. This made the dish rather heavy with all of the butter. The tuna was not as fresh as the tuna in the poke I had prior for lunch. However, it was still fresher than the tuna we have here in Vancouver. The vegetables were fresh, and helped alleviate some of the heaviness. I would consider it filler, really.Next up was the Tempura Shrimp Dynamite for $12.25. There were 6 huge shrimp. Cooked perfectly, they were plump and juicy, with some extra crunch coming from the batter. Some mayo was added, which added a little more flavour. The batter was very thin, which allowed the shrimp to come through with the crunch and flavour. To add a lot more crunch, there was a deep fried wonton wrapper which had no flavour other than from the mayo. This was one of my favourite dishes, and I would rate it a 4/5. Another appetizer came out next, which was the Japanese Calamari Salad for $11.25, and had the same wonton wrapper which contained the calamari. The salad component was the little bit of greens on the bottom of the dish. They were soaked with some sweetish sauce which didn't exactly go well with the calamari, but added a little bit of flavour to the wrapper. The calamari itself was not very good. The batter was very thin, crunchy, and was a lot easier to eat than the calamari.The squid was very hard to eat, and overcooked to no end. I could barely eat this dish. Thus, I would give this a 1.5/5 due to the hard to eat squid.  Finally, we capped off 

Tempura Ice Cream $10

a meal at Sansei with a dessert that would qualify as a meal in itself, the famed Tempura Ice Cream for $10. This was a large tube of ice cream with a tempura batter. The batter wasn't very crispy, but was rather more cake-like, and there was a bunch of syrup on the bottom, chocolate and caramel flavoured. There was also a strawberry and whipped cream. Of course, this was a very heavy plate of dessert, as you would think. The sauces were sweet, and added some flavour to the Vanilla Ice Cream and the pound cake dressing. I(t tasted good though, even though it was very sweet. The tempura pound cake was still warm, but the ioce cream melted very slowly  even though it was warm. In the end, this was a novelty item that actually tasted pretty good, although it was a bit heavy. This was a good 4/5 dessert, since it did taste good.However, there was one thing that made everyone not like this restaurant: they charge a minimum 17% tip, and even though our server was friendly, that rule is not so great. 

Bottom Line: Good Food, Service, Atmosphere. 
Tip: Tempura Ice Cream
Overall: 3.5/5

Miku

View of Waterfront and Lonsdale Quay 

     Before I started this whole food blogging thing, I still loved food. However, I hadn't gotten into the whole aspect of taking pictures before everything (still don't). Hopefully you will forgive me for not taking a picture of Miku's entrance. However, I did have a visit a few months ago, and got a table with a nice view. So to compensate, I have a nice view from our table. If you've heard of Miku, in Downtown Vancouver, it probably is for their Aburi Sushi and seafood. At the price point, it better be good. That is what we hoped to get when we made a visit because my mother loved it. While this comes off as an expensive restaurant, it really isn't if you compare it to Cactus Club, White Spot or any of the other chain restaurants.

Jidori Chicken Nanban $13

        Inside the restaurant, it was very open, bright, modern and nicely decorated. Service was great too, coming around often and explaining everything to us. Our water was refilled often too.  On his recommendations, we started with the Jidori Chicken Nanban for $13. There were about 6 small pieces of chicken. The chicken had a very thin layer of batter surrounding it. The dish also came with some fresh, light tartar sauce and some lettuce slaw. The tartar sauce was so light that it went so well with the chicken. And the chicken batter really let the flavors come through, the chicken was SO JUICY. This was no doubt the best pieces of battered chicken I have ever had. With the crispy slaw and juicy chicken and tartar sauce, I will consider this one of the best things I have ever eaten. A 5/5 no doubt.

Soba Peperoncino $18

           My mom, who had been here before had raved about the Soba Peperoncino for $18, which had hints of spice and lots of seafood. It included squid rings, shrimp, sweet pepper, shiitake mushrooms and tempura flakes. The Soba noodles were cooked perfectly, soft but still chewy and the tempura flakes helped add some crunch. As expected, the squid rings and shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the shiitake mushrooms really helped. The portion size looked small, but was filling being a lot of noodles. Was it worth the price? Probably not, but it was cooked properly and cooked well at that. Overall, I would rate this a 4/5, as it was good but didn't blow anyone away.

          For our sushi, we got two different orders of sushi. The first roll we ordered was the Red Wave Roll, which cost $17. the Red Wave Roll was practically an improved California roll. It came beautifully plated with crab and avocado on the inside, wrapped in some red tuna and topped with a

Red Wave Roll $17

Salmon Oshi Sushi $16.50

sauce made of tiny pieces of onion and what tasted dominately like sesame oil. However, the ingredients were fresh, which made for a good tasting roll. I would rate it a 4/5. Saving the best for last, we had to try some of their Signature Aburi Oshi, so we got the Salmon Oshi Sushi for $16.50. The sushi was pressed into a box shape, seared, they put some of their sweet-ish Miku sauce on top and added an jalapeno slice on top. It absolutely melted in my mouth, and had some spiciness, which made it really good.  The fish was buttery, there was flavor, the sushi rice was fantastic and I could go on and on and on about how fantastic this actually was. This is no doubt a must try at Miku. I give this a 6/5. This was a great way to cap off a meal at Miku. To me, I would consider this one of the best Japanese restaurants in Greater Vancouver.

Bottom Line: Worth the price.
Tip: Ask the servers for their picks.
Overall: 5/5

Miku
200 Grandview St, Vancouver, B.C