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

Maxim's Bakery (Whalley)

Maxim's Bakery Entrance

        Maxim's Bakery is a chain of bakeries that are scattered throughout the Lower Mainland. Actually, the Chinatown location there is the bakery with a restaurant above. Most of them just have the baked goods and you just buy them and leave. At the Whalley location, you just take a tray, a pair of tongs and go to get your pastries. I go there quite a bit, and the goodies are often very fresh and replenished often. They actually do a thing where there is no tax should you buy 6 pieces of anything, and do cakes for parties and whatnot. Not only do they do whole cakes, but also sell refrigerated small slices of cake. However, we only got the a few of the baked goods even though I will add a few pictures of the cakes I got a while ago.

Sausage Bun with Cheese

         We start with the Sausage Bun with Cheese for $1.75, which had just come out into the baked goods section. When we got home 10 minutes after the purchase, the bun was still warm. The sausage was just your generic sausage, which tasted like the kind of boiled sausage you could make at home. However, the cheese was topped with some green onlion which didn't do too much, but the cheese was melty. Under the cheese, there was some sauce that was a bit sour. It was slightly odd tasting, but it did in fact go pretty well for the bun. The bun was nice and warm. The bun was actually quite airy and really nice, but the one problem was that it was greasy.  However, this bun is still a 3.5/5. IT was acceptable for $1.75 too, even though it was nothing special.

Mini Coconut Bun $1.50

Pineapple Bun $0.60 for 1, $1.50 for 3.

           The next item we got was the Mini Coconut Buns, which looked pretty fresh while one of the employees showed us one of the fresh ones. My mom actually got his one, but she let me try a bit. At $1.50, this was a decent portion with some coconut shredding inside and sesame seeds on top. This was my first one, so I can;t really rate this bun, but it was light and airy like the Sausage Bun. The other item we got is the Pineapple Bun, which cost 60 cents for 1 or 3 for $1.50. This one was a bit disapointing, as it wasn't fresh even though it was around 3 hours after the opening time. This bun was a little chewy

with the outside as it was not very fresh. Probably sat there for quite a few hours after it was baked. Going along with the suspiction that the bun was a bit older, the pineapple thing on top was like eating a pineapple chip. Nor did it help that the bun wa pretty cold. Overall, this bun wasn't too great, probably because it was not fresh. However, on a few other times I have tried this bun, it is actually good when hot. I would give this bun a 2/5. 

8"Black Forest Cake $24?

      As a bonus, I'll show you people some birthday cakes. Whenever we ever get a cake, Maxim is our go to spot. #NotSponsored! Anyways, we like there cakes because the leftovers taste just as good as when we get them. However, stay away from the ridiciously sweet white chocolate. I thought that I liked sweet things, but this was really not good. So yeah, cakes are always affordable. Oh, and the picture on the bottom is their section of cold mini slices of cake. I wouldn't recommend them unless you wanted a treat, but you could probably get better.

Maxim's Cake Case

Bottom Line: Only If Fresh

Tip: Heat+Water=Fresh

Overall: 3.5/5

  Maxim's Bakery
 10153 King George Hwy, Surrey

Cactus Club Cafe Bentall 5

       Before I started this blog, my mom had a not so great experience at Cactus Club. They sent her a gift card after they heard about it. So she took my sister and I to the Cactus Club Cafe Burrard St to give them another try. The building is really nice and very clean, along with everything else. Some back story on Cactus Club: Cactus Club is a chain restaurant limited to B.C and originated in North Vancouver B.C. Personally, I feel they are a casual restaurant with the prices to portions.

Calamari $13.50

       We started our meal with the calamari for $13.50. This was a ridiculously huge portion for the prices, and came with some tartar sauce and spicy Mayo. The squid itself was very good and chewable, and it was nice and crunchy. This is coming from a person who doesn't like squid. The calamari came with some vegetables and jalapeños that were deep fried. The sauces were quite good, and benefited it for the calamari didn't have too much flavour. However, the spicy Mayo didn't have too much spicy flavour  but the tartar sauce definitely went well. Finally, this photo doesn't really do the portions justice, but we rated this massive appetizer a 4/5. 

        

Rocket Salad $17

        My mom loves salads, and she always gets salads at practically any restaurant. So we got the Rocket Salad for $17, which some nice greens and a piece of chicken breast. They actually split the salad into dishes for us. It was really nice of them, but the salad wasn't so good. It wasn't exactly fresh with the greens but the chicken was what really messed up the dish. THERE WAS A GREASE PUDDLE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE DISH! We couldn't even finish our portions, even though we were really hungry.  Oh, and by the way, the reason we got a gift card was because my mother found a clump of dirt in her first salad. I would rate this salad a  generous 1/5 and would not recommend it at all. 

Chicken Tenders + Yam Fries Subbed $15.50 

      For our other entree, none of us were feeling very adventurous so we went with the Chicken

Tenders. They were described as Panko Breaded Chicken. Sauces on the side were the same tartar sauce as before, which was good and some honey mustard, which tasted very good with the crispy chicken. We replaced the normal fries with Yam Fries because my mother raved about them for $2.  They were great, being very crispy but still having that yam flavor. Including the replacement of the yam fries, this dish was $15.50. Although the Chicken Tenders were a step above the normal stuff, I wouldn't say that they were anything special. We would rate it a 3/5. Solid for what it is, but didn't blow us away. However, the yam fries were very good, and i woudl rate them a 4/5.

All our food.

      Overall, Cactus Club Cafe is a great place to stop in for a casual lunch. Although we didn't try that many things, the dishes were pretty good. They definitely are a bit hit and miss, with the deep frying.The calamari was good, and the portions were very good for the price. Although there were a few problems with the salads, so maybe stay away from those.

Bottom Line: Good, but Hit and Miss

Tip: Salads could use some work...

Overall: 3/5

Cactus Club Cafe Bentall 5

588 Burrard St, Vancouver, B.C