Restaurant review: Estrella’s Montreal Deli

So during a rare trip out to the Fraser Valley, we decided to stop for a quick bite in Langley, at Estrella’s Montreal Deli. Estrella’s is a small place just on 200th Street, just off the Fraser Highway. It’s a Montreal style deli serving sandwiches, soup and salads, but they make their own Montreal style…

Restaurant review: Corner 29

Stemming from the prompting of a relative, we visited a new-ish chinese restaurant, Corner 29, on the corner of East 29th Avenue and Main street in Vancouver. This is not to be confused with Corner 23, which is a Taiwanese restaurant on Cambie Street. The restaurant is occupying the space that we previously home to…

Restaurant review: Tre Viet

Upon the prompting of my lunch companion, we went to a new Vietnamese restaurant on Denman Street in downtown Vancouver. She’d heard good things about Tre Viet, and since we were passing through the area, we decided to try it. Tre Viet is a small restaurant (probably only seats 25 or so, at half a…

Restaurant review: Aloha Hawaiian Grill

A Hawaiian themed restaurant opened in the Steveston village and we went to visit during it’s official opening (they soft-opened several weeks before). We arrived just before opening, and the restaurant was still setting up and prepping. The menu is compact, and reflects many of the popular dishes found in little hole-in-the-wall places throughout the…

Restaurant review: Steveston Harbor Cafe

Steveston Harbor Authority marina yards. The signage is a bit confusing since the outside awning identifies the establishment as the The Riverside Café, but on the map, on the website and on the menu, its the Harbor Café. A note about the location, the marina yards have parking restrictions, and it’s not clear when the…

Restaurant review: Happy Valley Food City

We visited Happy Valley Food City, on Lougheed Highway in Burnaby, now residing in the space formerly home to Swiss Chalet. They’ve combined the restaurant concepts of the old Happy Valley Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant (on the Vancouver side of Lougheed Highway, closed in 2021), and the Gold Stone Bakery (from Chinatown, closed in 2020)…

Restaurant review: Cantonese BBQ Seafood Restaurant (on Kingsway)

So one the numerous “Peaceful” restaurant locations turned over, this one on Kingsway and Harold Street (same plaza as the London Drugs). It was replaced with Cantonese BBQ Seafood Restaurant. This is a sister establishment to the restaurant of the same name in Richmond on Capstan Way. While running some errands at Metrotown shopping center,…

Restaurant review: 海洋城 Seaport City Restaurant

The family got together for yumcha at a new restaurant on Cambie street and West Eighth Avenue, above the Whole Foods Market, called Seaport City. This restaurant occupies the space that was previously home to Milestones Grill & Bar The dim menu is quite expansive, covering not only the popular dim sum favourites, but also…

Restaurant review: Di Beppe Restaurant & Cafe

There was some good buzz about Di Beppe in Gastown at the corner of West Cordova and Carral Street. So on a wet Sunday, we went to check it out. Di Beppe is part of the Kitchen Table group of restaurants that includes Ask for Luigi, Carlino, and Bacaro. The business is split in two…

Restaurant review: H2 Kitchen & Bar

We felt like a brunch outing, something we hadn’t done in a while. H2 Kitchen & Bar is in the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Coal Harbour, not to be confused with the H Tasting Lounge, which is also in the Bayshore Hotel. I’d heard that H2 had recently changed the restaurant format to “American Southern”,…

Restaurant review: Jingle Bao

For a family dinner, we went to Jingle Bao, a Chinese restaurant on Denman Street (between Robson street and Alberni street). Jingle Bao is best known for their soup dumplings. We had reservations and were seated shortly after we arrived. They have a partially open kitchen where the kitchen staff will prep the dumplings before…

Restaurant review: MILA

As a family outing, we visited an upscale vegan restaurant on Keefer Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown called MILA. It’s on Keefer street, just west of Main, and across the street from Juke fried chicken. I admit I came with low expectations. I’d experienced too many tasteless quinoa bowls, and fibrous kale salads that are better…