vickichowder: CHICKEN

BAR

Remember back then when there was this huge cupcake trend, and then not so back then when there was this huge cake pop trend (and also this mille crepe trend which didn't last just as long as the former two)?

Well now among Korean bars, the trend is kimchi fries and Korean meat tacos.

As with all my late night food outings, I never know which spot we'll be arriving at so this time I was smart and brought my camera hoping that we'll go somewhere new (which we did, hence this post).

We sat at a booth right where the entrance was and got the more-frequent-than-we-hoped blasts of cold air. But the alcohols kept us warm.

They have so much on tap. The list is endless. But we tried something I've never had that the guys thought were okay:

Stiegl

Had to also refrain from ordering soju/sake because that is a friend's Achilles's heel.

The kimchi fries (significantly better than Han Ba Tang, but we did order the bulgogi poutine or kimchi poutine, which sounds more impressive but really wasn't). They used sweet potato fries, enough kimchi so your weren't left with just fries when you finished all the kimchi on top. Enough spicy mayo, enough sweet teriyaki sauce. Good

There were only three of us, and the tacos come in 3, so we wanted to mix the combo and do 1 lettuce wrap (ssam) + 2 soft taco, but they didn't let us mix it. So we got 2 orders. Which was not that great because they are huge:

Soft taco was not warm (left-out-the-fridge-for-a-few-minutes temperature), the teriyaki chicken was also not that hot. Teriyaki sauce was the usual. The slaw was like any other slaw. Would've insisted on the spicy pork instead but was in the washroom during the ordering process. Bad

Lots of beef, lots of slaw. 2 layers of lettuce because this was a hefty serving. Would've eaten 2 if we didn't have the soft taco and wings as well. Will definity remake this at home. Very good

Liked how they have specific cups for each beer so you know which one you're reaching for when you drink. Good

Already too much food at this point...

Wings and fries. I think we ordered spicy honey or something else that was spicy and sweet. Was so full that I only had one wing part before they ate all the other wing parts and left the drumsticks (which I'm not too fond of). No comment

These fries were such a let down after the kimchi ones so I asked for spicy mayo. And look! She gave us three spicy mayos, for the each of us.

We never get cocktails but I wanted a non-beer, so sake+lime was the final pick. Good

2+ pints of beers and a couple of cocktails later, I was very satisfied and didn't feel that cold draft any more.

And then we left and started heading to round 2 (next post!)

P/S

I like eating very clean and "healthy" (that's all relative right?) during the weekdays so I can eat without worries on weekends:

Oh, and Chinese grocery shopping tip!

Always getting free roe from the fish monger *yay*

Befriend your fish monger/meat butcher and they will give you little things for free!

Dear readers, what is the new thing you've discovered this week?

, by vickichowder

BEEF

BOSTON PIZZA, TORONTO

Are you ever so concentrated on something that all your surroundings are muted and all bodily needs (actually I'm just referring to the need to eat and the need to take a break) are shut off?

The other day I ended up coding for 6 hours straight for an assignment and feelings of being tired and hungry did not register at all during that time (if only I could be this hard working all the time).

It's time to eat. After I took all the pictures, boys were getting impatient, sitting restlessly, and only passive aggressively rushed my photo-taking ritual

Another day, we were enjoying the auto show so much that feeling hungry and tired did not cross our minds at all.

Charge your Porsche, change your phone!

But when we finally saw sofas (and a phone charging station!) our legs gave out, and the hunger kicked in.

I don't even like pizza, but I had a three slices (one of each), and even a half of a fourth!

Actually, we ordered two pizzas and a flatbread:

And some beer

Canadian was ordered. Cause we're Canadian.

Chicken ranch flatbread

Buffalo chicken, purple onions/shallots, ranch on some, no ranch on some. Was not very flatbread-like, but more like a thinner crust pizza. The four edge/corner pieces had 1/3 toppings 2/3 crust. Was so hungry I didn't even care though. Bad

Thin crust szechuan chicken

Very appealing to the asians in our table (4/4 of us were asian) cause of the familiar sriracha and sesame taste. But green onions were cut too large, there was too much of it, and made your breath smell too green onion-y. Chicken was bland cause it was breast that tasted like it wasn't marinated prior. Bad

Steak, onion rings, fries

Heavy, rich pizza because of the thick crust (okay, not thick but regular thickness), steak, curly fries, onion rings, several cheeses, sauce. Maybe better on a thinner crust so its less of a mouthful. Okay

Waitresses were attentive, but that was maybe because the place wasn't that full (Thursday night)

Would I go to Boston Pizza again? Probably not.

"Maybe another location?" Nope, not even another location. Was never a pizza fan, and although I did eat more than I thought I would, that would have had to be due to my neglected hunger.

P/S

It's rare I stay in Waterloo on weekends because there's one important reason I go back home on the weekends:
To do a closet rotation.

What, there's new another bubble tea place in Mississauga?

Perhaps this is unknown to some people (my roommate(s) thought it was absurd), but how else will I be able to go through a season's of clothes without having to move my entire wardrobe?

And so the best way I decided was to periodically (weekly, biweekly) bring back all my clothes from Waterloo and bring in a set of clothes that I haven't brought in to Waterloo.

There it is - my random P/S of the post.
Continuing on with the bubble tea place:

That gives you menus disguised as magazines?

I ordered a warm Hokkaido milk tea. Apparently it comes with no sugar added (you're supposed to add it yourself). Which was weird because when I drank it, friend and I both thought it was sweet.

Yes, it is very much so a magazine

Proof that the menu is more magazine than menu.

Dear readers, what is your favourite menu to flip through?

, by vickichowder

BEAN SPROUT

IPOH, MALAYSIA

If there is only one dish you can eat during your first visit to Ipoh, it is undoubtedly their bean sprout chicken (served with their hor fun noodles).

At one of the four corners of a very busy intersection filled with people cars and other means of transport, the restaurant Lou Wong stands out from the rest as tables and people occupy a good portion of the street to eat, or wait to eat here.

We ate here instead of Lou Wong

I came with a large group of people (more than 15 if I remember correctly), and it would have been a very slim chance that there would have been a table (or two side by side ones) that could accommodate us without having to wait a ridiculous wait time. So instead of standing there hopelessly waiting for seats, we walked a bit down the street and found an air-conditioned restaurant that just had their largest table vacant.

My first thoughts on bean sprout chicken was that it was poultry cooked with bean sprouts in some way (I mean why else is it called bean sprout chicken?). So when the dish of bean sprouts arrived on the table, I was terribly surprised to find that it was just a mound of bean sprouts, and beside it, a plate of chicken. Though it was not what I had imagined, it did not disappoint me at all:

Much shorter and fatter, these bean sprouts taste nothing like any I've ever had. They are much sweeter, juicier, and have this bean sprout taste (what every bean sprout should have but unfortunately don't).

The chicken, on the other hand, is much like the chicken you eat at a better Chinese restaurant. Final verdict on this dish? Chicken is not that special but the bean sprouts are a must have.

Unlike your typical Chinese restaurant, we are in Malaysia after all, no rice is served here, but fresh-made hor fun. It's in a chicken broth that is very flavourful, but not to be consumed alone by the spoonful - instead, taken with a spoonful of noodles or bean sprout.

The chicken feet is deboned and topped with a sour and spicy dressing. Sadly, the chicken feet is very bland and tasted like nothing. I ended up just eating the onion and ginger topping.

Before you leave this restaurant though, do take a deep breath of their freshly baked batches of kaya puffs (kaya is pronounced gai yang): a flaky triangular pastry filled with a creamy coconut curd: made on-site.

The kaya puff maker let me taste a thumb-ful of their original kaya (there was also the pandan flavour) while he was making them.

Diving further into the night, we arrive at a food court:

A variety of fresh fish balls in broth

Barley beancurd ginko nut dessert soup

Variety fruit ice: jackfruit, toddy palm, dragon fruit, lychee, longan, jellies, ice, ice cream, syrup...

Pork innards congee

You pick, they grill, and you dredge them in whatever sauce(s) you fancy

Charcoal grilled chicken wings: so much better than any wings I've had in those wings restaurants and a great way to end the night

**

Like Penang, you will need comfort food for the morning meal:

This is RM 3.50 ~ CDN 1.17

This is called "lui char", where char is the character for tea, a very misleading name for this dish. It is actually a dish of two parts. The green concoction (many local herbs, mint leaves, small dried shrimp, garlics, blended and cooked to a beautiful green hue), and the bowl of diced toppings (dried tofu, beans, seaweed, fresh vegetables, preserved vegetables, peanuts), on a bed of rice.

You are to mix the two and it is like a congee that tastes just 100x better

"Chee cheong fun" toppings include: fried shallots, chilli, many sauce

You may have seen rice noodle rolls filled with various meats or shrimp during dimsums, but in Malaysia, they don't have anything inside, and are just thin rolls of slippery smooth goodness topped with different things wherever you go. In Hong Kong I've had many of the rice noodle rolls that have fillings inside, but none of them compare to the extremely fresh rice noodle rolls I've had in Malaysia in terms of their texture, thinness, and flavour.

Lo Mee topped with pork, crispy fried shallots, and yes a side of mint!

Lo mee is a thicker noodle with a thick sweetened sauce that you have to "lo" (mix) with the toppings. Need I say that this is also very delicious?

And I end the breakfast with traditional Malaysian kueh which are steamed puddings heavily made with coconut milk and coconut sugar. They vary according to the different ingredients put in such as: pumpkin puree, cassava, sago, pandan juice, glutinous rice...

In Malaysia, it's only acceptable to end even breakfasts with a sweet dessert

MUAH MUAH MUAH

VICKI CHOW

P/S

Remember the Sake Bar that I wrote a post on a while back? If not that's fine (I wasn't really intending that you did anyway) because I just wanted to bring up that the waitress that my friends and I all go there for (for she is an extremely adorable waitress) is moving to another bar across the street! *sad face*

And now that August is nearing its last days, I must make the most of the rest of my summer vacation by hopefully trying out the new Fin Izakaya that opened up in Oakville *yay*

What are your last destinations before the start of school?

, by vickichowder

Pages

K-POCHA, MISSISSAUGA

KOREAN COWBOY, TORONTO

BOSTON PIZZA, TORONTO

IPOH, MALAYSIA

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K-POCHA, MISSISSAUGA

KOREAN COWBOY, TORONTO

BOSTON PIZZA, TORONTO

IPOH, MALAYSIA

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