Yolk's - Vancouver, BC

The first time I had Yolk's was probably one and half years ago when they only had the food truck. Knowing they have expanded to a store front now, we decided to go back again. The restaurant was definitely was easy to spot with the bright yellow and blue colour. We went on a Monday so there wasn't a lot of people. The restaurant is quite big and and fit a lot of people. If you have been to Red Wagon, Yolk's would be twice the size of Red Wagon. 

I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice which was $4 and Calvin ordered the Chocolate Milk with Calleburt Chocolate. That was one expensive orange juice. 

Since their Egg Sandwich was so popular, that was what I ordered while Calvin ordered their daily special which comes with 2 eggs and sausage with hollandaise. Their hollandaise was decent though it wasn't very well-balanced. 

I ordered the sandwich with their truffle oil infused fries which was super delicious with the spring onions. Though as we ate more, it was starting to taste salty. 

This was my egg sandwich. Considering the price, I was expecting a larger portion but it wasn't enough... The portion was quite small compared to Red Wagon. 

Given their name Yolk's, the best part would have to be the yolk and no doubt it is definitely a runny yolk. The yolk was cooked perfectly. The sandwich itself was pretty good though. The muffin was toasted, the ham went well with the egg yolk. 

If I have a choice between Yolk's and Red Wagon, I would pick Red Wagon. One because they have more choices but two because their portions are bigger. Don't get me wrong, Yolk's is really good but I prefer one over the other.

Minami - Vancouver, BC (Dine Out Lunch 2014)

Minami's dine out menu was really good. I enjoyed my brunch at Minami a lot, especially the sushi. We went on a Saturday. We made a reservation thinking that it was going to be packed but to our surprise, it wasn't. We got seated right away and I like that the decor is very clean and simple. 

We had a choice of the regular brunch menu or the Dine out Lunch menu. Because their Dine Out Lunch was so popular, they decided to extend it. Looking at the Dine out Lunch Menu, I decided to try that and Calvin decided to order the Hatcho Miso Pork Belly. The Dine Out Lunch Menu definitely is a great choice for those who want to try their dishes and I do think that it's well worth the price. Here's the $28 Menu:

Miso Soup 

Zen Sampler

aburi bincho

wasabi masatake sauce

chicken tofu salad

baby greens, sous-vide chicken breast, miso marinated tofu, umami soy vinaigrette

ebi fritter

asian slaw, sweet chili mayo, soy-balsamic reduction

sterling silver karubi pork rib

apple-ginger haccho miso sauce, spiced apple-raisin chutney

Sushi

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi

pressed BC wild salmon, jalapeño, miku sauce

Aburi Ebi Oshi

pressed shrimp, lime zest, ume sauce

Minami Roll

aburi short rib, spicy prawn, cucumber, wasabi masatake sauce

Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi

pressed house cured mackerel, miso sauce

Dessert

Miso-Salted-Caramel Ice Cream

Started off with the miso soup. Unlike other miso soups, this did not taste like soup made from powder. I believe the miso soup was made from miso paste.

Starting from the left, pork rib, ebi fritter, tofu salad, and aburi bincho. Minami definitely shines in their aburi compares to their cooked food.  

Tofu salad and aburi bonchi. The aburi is tuna with a very complimenting sauce. The salad wasn't that special but it was quite refreshing and they added a crunch into it which was a plus. 

Pork ribs and ebi fritter

The pork rib was quite ordinary. The ebi fritter on the hand is different than what I had before. The batter was quite thin and I believe they used jumbo prawn. The prawn tasted quite fresh.

These sushi were my favourite. Each sushi is very unique and all the flavours of each sushi go very well together. I would go back again just for the aburi sushi. No wonder they are famous for their aburi sushi because they are really good.

These two sushi weren't as spectacular as the ones below though they are still great tasting sushi. The fish was super fresh and they flamed them just right. 

From Left, minami roll, salmon aburi, ebi aburi

My favourite is the one in the middle, which is the salmon aburi. The fact that only part of the sushi was flamed creates a very complex texture and brings out the salmon flavour. The beef roll on the left was also very spectacular. The beef was also flamed partly but it didn't make the beef too meaty. The meat melted in your mouth and blends in with the flavours in the sushi. I really liked the sauce that went with the ebi aburi. The sourness of the sauce complimented the sweetness of the prawn. 

I was really looking forward to the miso-salted-caramel ice cream. I have heard good things about it. All their ice cream are made in-house. The flavours were good but they weren't as smooth as the ice cream at Ernest. The salted caramel I had at Ernest ice cream gets quite sweet as I had more but I think the miso flavour of this ice cream balances the sweetness and I was able to finish the whole thing without drinking water. 

Calvin had the Miso Pork Belly Bennys. You can see how big the pork belly was. His dish had a lot and he was so full from it. The eggs were cooked perfectly. The most interesting thing was the miso mayonnaise. The miso flavour wasn't very prominent but at the same time we found the mayonnaise was not sour enough, missing a bit of acidity. The pork belly was decent though we liked the one from Red Wagon more. 

Also came with potatoes and crispy brussels sprouts. The potatoes were lightly seasoned with salt and I didn't feel that they were very greasy. The brussels sprouts had slight burnt taste to it which gave it a different taste.

Our server was really friendly the whole time so we really enjoyed their as service as well. All the food came at a reasonable time.

Overall, I recommend everyone to try Minami's sushi. Their aburi sushi is very very good. I would not recommend their cooked food though because I believe there are better choices for that.

Red wagon - Vancouver, B.C.

My mouth is watering while typing this post. Red wagon has become really famous after Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives visited. They are famous for their pulled pork. We went there on Friday morning thinking that there wouldn't be a lineup but we were wrong. We waited probably for 20 mins before we were seated. We were watching people from the outside looking at their yummy food. 

They have all day breakfast as well as other breakfast options. It was just so hard to choose. Since it was lunch time, we could also choose from their lunch menus which include burgers. I decided to get the Trucker because I didn't want to have so much but also wanted to try their buttermilk pancakes. Boyfriend ordered Super Trucker because it came with their famous pulled pork pancake and pork belly. 

I have to say that their food didn't arrive fast. We sat for quite some time before our dishes came but we were so excited when they did.

This is the Trucker with sausage. I have to say I really liked their buttermilk pancakes. They were really fluffy, not dense at all. They were totally different than the ones we made at home. I also really enjoyed their roasted potatoes. They weren't salty at all and we could tell that they were pan fried instead of fried. The seasoning for those were really good with the green onion added. Of course, I didn't expect that much food and had to pack some home.  

We were super excited when boyfriend's dish came. The crispy pork belly looked amazing and it did taste amazing. Who would've thought something salty like pulled pork would go so well with buttermilk pancakes. It was like the perfect combo. I kinda regret not getting that because the pulled pork and pancakes just blended and melted in your mouth. The pork belly had a good distribution of fat and meat and although there was some dryness to it, it made the pork belly more rustic. It was quite delicious.

I would definitely go back again to have the pulled pork, buttermilk pancakes and roasted potatoes. We were so satisfied when we left and it was definitely worth the recognition on Triple Ds. 

Cafe Regalade

We were debating between Cafe Ragalade and Oakwood since they are very close to each other. We ended up choosing Cafe Ragalade because there was a 25 mins wait at Oakwood.

We wanted to look at The brunch menu but we couldn't find it on their website nor at the door. We got seated right away at Cafe Ragalade. The waitress attended to us right away and provided us with a brunch menu, an omelette menu and a regular lunch menu.

Some interesting pig decoration. The place was just quite packed too.

I ordered the Lyon breakfast from the brunch menu ($14) which has 2 soft boiled eggs, pearl onions, mushroom, spinach and bacon bits with red wine sauce along with salad and pan fried potatoes on the sides. 

The red wine sauce was so good. It held everything together. The sauce is very rich and sweet which came from the pearl onions. As a Chinese, I would' e had it with a bowl of rice. Nonetheless, it was still a very delicious dish and I enjoyed it a lot. I couldn't stop eating and finished the whole dish. 

The runny egg yolk

The potatoes is different than the usual pan fried potatoes because it's not greasy or oily. It's also not burnt. The flavour is not very strong with little seasoning of salt and herbs. Because the potatoes flavour wasn't as flavourful, it complimented the red wine sauce very well. 

I was surprise at the salad at first because the vinegrette was quite strong but once I misxed it together, it also complimented the red wine sauce well.

Boyfriend orders the Toulouse breakfast with 2 soft boiled eggs, sausage, bacon, and whit beans and also served with potatoes and salad for $14. Compared the 2 breakfast, I liked the Lyon better all because of the sauce. I liked the bacon of the Toulouse. The bacon is not dry at all. The sausage tasted like ordinary sausage. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this place and the price is reasonable considering its French food. It's simple and honest cooking. There aren't many ingredients and yet you can taste the complex flavours. I would like to come back and try their omelette.