Zawa Restaurant Bar

Zawa Restaurant Bar
920 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
(604)255-0470

Tasty or Not Tasty?
Ok Tasty.

We had breakfast at Zawa and it was good, but not great or fantastic. Did not have to wait in line. We got seated within the first 20 seconds of walking through the door.

Here's what we ordered:

• Chorizo Breakfast (Chorizo Sausages, 2 Eggs any style, Hashbrowns and Toast ) ~$7.99
  
• Lumberjack Breakfast (3 Eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 1 pancake, hashbrowns & toast ~$9.99
  

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service is great. Coffee was refilled without asking. Hot Sauce & Bill was brought right after we asked for it.

Interior:
I remember red booths. I also remember it being comfortable and quiet.

Price:
Average. $27 for 2 people, two breakfast entrees, two coffees tax & tip.

Ever Going Back?
Yeah! This is a great place to go, if you feel like some casual breakfast minus the line ups. I live in East Vancouver nearby the Drive so I don't need to go far for a good breakfast.

Cafe Zen (Kits)

Cafe Zen
1631 Yew St
Vancouver, BC

Tasty or Not Tasty?
Very Tasty! I think Cafe Zen is better than Sophie's and just as good if not better than Cafe Barney's.

Good prices, lots of food and tastes great.

Everything is fresh and hot.

Here's what we ordered:

• Farmer's Breakfast (I chose French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon and it comes with "fries")
  
• California Eggs Benny (Tomatoe & Avocado)
  

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service is good, considering how busy they get.

Interior:
Cozy.

Price:
Average. $27 for 2 people, two breakfast entrees, two coffees tax & tip.

Ever Going Back?
Hell Yeah!
I really enjoy their food.

Legendary Noodle House (Denman)

Legendary Noodle House
1074 Denman Street,
Vancouver, BC

Tasty or Not Tasty?
NOT Tasty at all!
AWFUL! NEVER GOING BACK and here is why:

• too salty
• too oily (food drenched in oil)
  
• too much MSG
• trying to cater to non-Chinese, by cooking with lots of oil and adding things like broccoli and making things way too salty! Non-Chinese people do not appreciate that!!!
• staff were screaming at each other in front of clients, which gave everyone an uneasy feeling. You didn't need to understand Mandarin to understand that they were yelling at each other...their body movements and facial expressions said it all.
• waitress asked if we wanted tea or water...we said tea...she gave us a special tea (which was the best thing there btw) and charged us $2 without letting us know. Chinese restaurants usually provide complimentary tea (unless you are having Dim-Sum) so they cheated us a total of $4
  

Here's what we ordered:

• Beef Noodle in Soup
• Minced Pork with Sauce On Noodle
  

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service Okay...other than the screaming and bickering amongst the staff

Interior:
The Denman Location tried very hard to "Exoticize" their restaurant.
I believe they did this to lure in the Non-Chinese people and not for authenticity reasons.
The restaurant uses predominantly dark brown and dark red colours, which is not usually used by Chinese people. They also hung some beaded curtains at the entrance of the door....I don't know any Chinese people who use such devices. If you check out their Main street location, it's nothing like the Denman location. This place was just trying too hard to succeed on Denman in all the wrong ways....Just cook good food and provide a comfortable warm place to eat and people will come.

Price:
Expensive for what they offer. I believe my noodle in soup cost $7.25. You can get noodles in soup usually for less than $6 anywhere else. The other dish was about $9 and it was really small...not worth the price

Ever Going Back?
Hell NO!
I don't recommend it at all.

New Town Bakery & Restaurant

New Town Bakery Restaurant
158 East Pender Street
Vancouver, BC.
Chinatown

Tasty or Not Tasty?
Tasty!
I quite enjoyed my food here at New Town. New Town is best known for their fresh steamed buns and their quick, hot and tasty food. If you are coming to this restaurant for the atmosphere or for high class seating...this is not your restaurant.

Here's what we ordered:

• BBQ Duck with Vermicelli Noodles in Soup~ $6.75
  This noodle in soup also came with a choice of coffee or tea (hk style)
  
• Beef & Tomatoe on Rice ~ $7
  Just like how I remembered it when my dad used to order it
  

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service is not the best. But like I said, you don't come here for service or for atmosphere...you come here for quick, hot and tasty food.

Interior:
yucky...but this is how it was like back then...i think of this place as having heritage.

Price:
Cheap!

Ever Going Back?
Hell Yah!
This restaurant brings back memories for me as a child. My father used to bring me to Chinatown and now that he's gone, it's places like New Town that brings me feelings of nostalgia.
I'm saddened to say that once the DTES becomes more gentrified and as older chinese canadians die off, that places like New Town will no longer exist, as this type of restaurant caters to those who lived life in the old fashioned way. Who will take over New Town? I hope that owners Susan & David Ng have children that will pass on their legacy. The old chinatown as I remember it will be missed.

Chambar Belgian Restaurant

Chambar Belgian Restaurant
562 Beatty Street Crosstown
Vancouver, BC. V6B 2L3
Tel: (604) 879-7119

Tasty or Not Tasty?
Soooo TASTY! WOW! I've been to Chambar twice and both times I was very impressed.
Below are the items that I've had:

• Le confit de canard ~ $13
  Phyllo wrapped duck leg cofit, cardamom apple amulsion. Baked crab apples.
• Coquette ~ $20
  Mussels cooked in a white wine cream. Smoked bacon lardons, spring onions.
• Carpaccio de Boeuf ~ $14
  Beef carpaccio, roasted garlic horseradish puree. Sundried tomato & olive tapenade. Fried golden Yukon crisps.
• Le canard de casablanca ~ $26
  Ginger & sumac rubbed duck breast. Moroccan rice pilaf. Apple tea & pistachio gastrique.
• Tajine d’aziz a l’agneau ~ $25
  Braised lamb shank with honey, figs, cinnamon & cilantro, served with cous cous and zalouk.

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service is awesome. No complaints only compliments to their staff!

Interior:
Exposed brick...well it is a loft.
Very nice and classy. Lots of deep red and other dark but warm colours. Gives the place a very unique feeling. Restaurant is quite long.

Price:
I've only gone twice cuz I can't afford to eat here...enough said

Ever Going Back?
Hell Yah! I always recommend this restaurant when someone asks me "where's a nice place to take my date".

Brioche Urban Baking & Catering

Brioche Urban Baking & Catering
401 W. Cordova
Vancouver, BC.
Tel: (604) 682-4037

Tasty or Not Tasty?
This cafe is off the hook. Very Very Tasty! None like it in Vancouver that I've been to. Authentic Italian cooking fused with West Coast style! Best panini I've ever had.
Here are a few of my favourites:

• Ham, Portobello and Brie Panini ~ $6.75
• Tomatoe, Boccincini, Prisciutto Panini ~ $6.75
• Omelette with Brie, Portobello & Ham ~8.95

I hear the french toast is awesome! I didn't have it myself, but my friend said it was the best french toast he'd ever had.

I've always been too full to have dessert, but it looks really good!
Coffee is good. Chai latte needs some work.


Service Good or Service Bad?
Service is awesome. You have to go up to the counter to order, but the staff will bring you your food. Always friendly and kind.

Interior:
Exposed brick. Small and cozy. There's actually two sides to Brioche...but most people only know about the W.Cordova side. They have seating on Water Street as well...shhhhhh.

Price:
Coffee and a Panini costs me $10.

Ever Going Back?
Hell Yah! My favourite cafe! I've only been for lunch and breakfast. I must make my way down for dinner. They also cater too! I'll be seen at Brioche all the time once my place is done, half a block away!

Jules Casual French Bistro

Jules Casual French Bistro
216 Abbott Street (Near Cordova)
Vancouver, BC.
Tel: (604) 669-0633

Tasty or Not Tasty?
This restaurant only rates a simple "Tasty" compared to some of my other delightful picks, which are "Very Very Very Tasty". All meals come with complimentary bread and butter (good stuff)

Here is what we ordered:
Moules Frites - $12
Steamed Mussels in White Wine with Garlic and Parsley Served with French Fries * Best French Fries I have ever had...not over salted or greasy! Great for dipping in the white whine mussel sauce. Mussels were average in size and tasted typical, nothing special.

Fletan Roti, Salad de Lentilles Vertes Dupuy et Echalottes Safranees - $19
Roasted Halibut with Dupuy Lentils Salad and Saffron Shallots
Meh....the halibut was good, but I didn't particularly fancy the lentil Salad and couldn't taste the saffron shallots at all :( This dish was disappointing. I was hoping for more flavour. Although the dish tasted alright, it did not taste that good. Sorry...I really wanted it to taste good, but it didn't.

Poitrine de Poulet Fermier Rotie, Jus au Porto et Pommes Puree - $17
Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast, Port Jus and Potato Puree. In other words Chicken n' mashed potatoes.

Coffee....hmmmm....good strong coffee! Just like Europe!
Kronenberg Beer 1664 - $4.50

Service Good or Service Bad?
Service...was good. The waitress didn't bother us too much and pretty much left us alone and checked up on us every once in a while. She kept our water glasses filled up as needed. No complaints! Good Job!

Interior:
We had dinner in the evening, so the lighting was dim. There wasn't anything particular that stood out in this restaurant in terms of the interior.

Price:
Appetizers $6 - $14
Main courses start at $12 - $22

Ever Going Back?
Nah...I really wanted this restaurant to be a big hit, but I was disappointed and I don't actually have the urge to want to go back. We went on a Thursday evening and it was very busy...quite packed actually. We didn't have reservations and almost got turned away, so the restaurant must be good? Right? We must have just ordered the wrong items on the menu :(
Please leave me a comment, if you found that this restaurant met your expectations. I'd love to get a second opinion.