Restaurant: The Cone Zone
Cuisine: Desserts/Ice Cream/Gelato
Last visited: August 15, 2011
Location: New Westminster, BC
Address: 595 6th Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5
Service: 1.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• Gelato/Ice Cream/Sorbet/Soft serve
• Gelato from Gelateria Dolce Amore
• Ice cream from Dutchmen Dairy
• Some cookies available
• Ice cream sandwiches
• Flavour burst soft serve ice cream
• No mix-ins/toppings
• Pre made gelato cakes
• Affordable
• Limited seating
• Mon-Sun 11am-10pm

**Recommendations: n/a

Being the ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet and gelato fan that I am, you can only imagine my excitement when I discovered there was a place called “The Cone Zone”. The fact that it was in New Westminster didn’t stop me and I was determined to do some tasty research.

I fell upon it randomly online and looked it up on Urbanspoon. The professional pictures certainly hyped me up and I was looking forward to this magical experience. It’s an understatement to say I have a soft spot for anything in the ice cream and frozen treat department, and as I continue my summer binge of it, my soft spot could be getting softer o.O.

The Cone Zone just opened this summer and I was expecting a more contemporary and trendy concept and ambiance. The inside was definitely not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be an old fashioned ice cream parlour with fresh ice cream being churned in the back and maybe even a Marble Slab Creamery set up at the front, but it was in fact just old fashioned.

I decided to get my facts straight before I jumped to conclusions of standard wholesale ice cream and out sourced gelato, and I ended up being half right. I was told that the ice cream was from Dutchmen Dairy in the Okanagan, and that the gelato was from Gelateria Dolce Amore on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, BC. As for the soft serve ice cream, that was just being dispensed from a machine with pre-made mix, which is not uncommon.

The soft serve ice cream didn’t bother me, but the other aspects kind of did because both companies wholesale so I didn’t have to come to The Cone Zone just to try them. On the other hand it’s convenient for those in the area and brings everything closer to “home”.

I guess the positive was that it’s reasonably priced. It’s the same price for ice cream or gelato which is rare since gelato is usually more expensive. The regular size also gives you two flavours, and for $3.95 that’s usually the price of one flavour.

The Cone Zone is a one stop shop, but that’s as far as it went for me. It had all the frozen treat options including milkshakes, ice cream sandwiches and pre-made frozen ice cream cakes, and the only thing it didn’t have was soft serve frozen yogurt or a toppings bar.

As for the cookies for the ice cream sandwiches, they just looked like regular cookies and I’m surprised you can’t customize it with your own choice of ice cream. It’s only vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream.

The concept is simple, but there wasn’t anything special about it. If the ice cream and gelato was being sourced from amazing brands, then yes, I could see the charm, but the brands were just okay. I am pretty picky when it comes to ice cream and gelato though. There just wasn’t anything exclusive about it and unless you live nearby, you can probably save yourself the trip.

On the table:

Soft Serve Ice Cream (Butter Pecan Burst) - 1.5/6

• $3.25
• I went with the flavour burst soft serve ice cream since it was something a bit more different and not as available.
• I’m not even keen on flavour burst ice cream because I find the syrups really artificial, but I had to try it just to confirm.
• I chose butter pecan and I’m not even a fan of butter pecan unless it’s the real deal, but all the other flavour burst syrups sounded so regular.
• The butter pecan syrup was very salty and as expected artificial tasting. It didn’t have any flavour of pecans and it was just buttery.
• The syrup was pretty much melting and dripping before the ice cream and I found it very salty and too sweet. I almost tried wiping it off, not by licking it either.

Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream – 4/6

• $3.25
• I tried the soft serve vanilla ice cream and I actually did enjoy it.
• The ice cream itself reminded me of McDonald’s soft serve ice cream except perhaps a bit creamier.
• I actually really like McDonald’s soft serve ice cream, and I don’t feel guilty about saying that, so the resemblance didn’t bother me at all.
• But if I was going to order vanilla, I might as well go to McDonald’s or even Costco, which also has soft serve ice cream.

English Toffee Swirl Ice Cream – 2/6

• Regular (up to 2 flavours) $3.25
• I normally don’t order English Toffee, but I don’t mind it.
• The ice cream is hard which I like, but the toffee flavour only came through in the initial bite.
• The aftertaste of the ice cream was greasy and that’s my biggest pet peeve for ice cream.
• I was really surprised that Dutchmen Dairy was once named “best ice cream in BC”, because I really didn’t see it.

Blueberry Ice Cream – 2/6

• Regular (up to 2 flavours) $3.25
• All the ice cream is out sourced from Dutchmen Dairy in the Okanagan.
• The first bite tasted pretty good, but that quickly disappeared after a few more.
• It was hard ice cream, and quite creamy as well, but it had a greasy after taste again.
• There was some fresh, but wrinkly blueberries in the ice cream, but it was more syrupy than it was flavoured with real blueberries.
• Some of it tasted like blueberry jam swirled into the ice cream.
• The best blueberry ice cream I’ve had to date is from Krause Berry Farms in Langley – see here.

Vanilla Ice Cream – 2/6

• I sampled the Dutchmen Dairy plain vanilla just because I always do with ice cream.
• It’s the most basic flavour and I choose to “judge” a brand of ice cream.
• There weren’t any vanilla bean seeds, which does bother me to some degree, however there are brands that don’t have any that I love, like Island Farms or Mountain Dairy in Abbotsford.
• Again it had a greasy after taste and it wasn’t particularly strong with vanilla and some grocery store brands have stronger vanilla flavour.

(geotag)

Restaurant: Kirin Seafood Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese/Dim Sum/Seafood/Fine Dining
Last visited: May 11, 2011
Area: Multiple – New Westminster, BC (Starlight Casino)
Address: 350 Gifford Street
Bus: EB Ewen Av FS Gifford St
Price range: $30-50, $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• 5 locations in Metro Vancouver
• Since 1987
• Executive Chef Allen Liu
• Fine dining Chinese
• Extensive menu
• Famous for fresh local seafood
• Traditional Cantonese cuisine
• Big portions, dine with 4+
• Award winning
• Set menus available
• Private rooms available
• Dim sum/Lunch/Dinner
• Reservations recommended
• Free casino parking
• Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm
• Sat-Sun 10am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm

Recommendation: Almost any seafood will be good here: Lobster, Alaskan King Crab legs if in season, Peking Duck with Crepes, Duck Lettuce Wraps, Black Cod Braised with Squash and Roasted Pork Belly, Sautéed Beef Tenderloin & Scallops, Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Cube & Fillet of Fish with Basil & Black Pepper, Stir Fried Assorted Seafood with Egg White, Chilled Tapioca and Coconut Cream Sweetened Soup and Sesame Rice Ball for dessert… the menu is too big I could give lots more.

Kirin is perhaps one of Vancouver’s most famous and best fine dining Chinese restaurants. With five locations in Metro Vancouver it has quickly become a local and tourist favourite. They specialize in Northern Chinese and traditional Cantonese cuisine with the occasional modern flair and their fresh seafood and dim sum comes most recommended.

It’s consistently named “Best Formal Chinese Restaurant” year after year by Vancouver Magazine, and Zagat has also named it as one of the city’s “Top Food” restaurants. So what do all these accolades and awards mean? Well of course higher price tags and bragging rights! However, to be fair, I do find the food excellent here and the prices are expected for fine dining.

The only issue I have, and I mentioned it in my Kirin (Cambie location) post here, is that each Kirin Restaurant is inconsistent. The quality, execution and service varies at each one and it struggles to keep quality control with their expansion. The menus are also slightly different too. Luckily, this Kirin, the New Westminster location, is rated as one of its best locations. Therefore if I have a choice, I will try and come to this location before the others.

Since it’s the newest location for Kirin, although it’s been a few years already, the dining room is grand with private rooms and even a modern lounge area. I’ve only been to this location for dinner and banquets and have yet to try their dim sum.

On this occasion the purpose was to come for their Alaskan King Crab. However upon arrival we discovered that it was $34/lbs as opposed to the expected $20/lbs. Considering it’s pretty much out of season by now, pricey was expected, but $34/lbs is quite outrageous. Nonetheless we were a group of five and decided to veto the Alaskan King Crab which would have been $340 just for the 10lbs crab. Yikes!

I must say that after that decision the service significantly declined. I never really expect stellar service at Chinese restaurants anyways, but Kirin is known for its better service. Regardless, on this occasion, it was brutal to know that our money was no good there, literally and figuratively. So what was plan B? Well we did the next “best” thing and ordered all their weekly specials! You know… just to ease the tension. (We did also end up ordering a few things off the regular menu though)

On the table:

Kirin’s XO Chili Sauce – I seriously love this stuff and even eat it plain, but the quality isn’t great here. It’s thin and there’s barely any dried scallops (delicacy) and that’s the point. It’s quite salty and it’s quite spicy, but it’s not hot. Red Star Seafood, Top Gun J & C, and Grand Dynasty offer better XO Chili Sauce.

Double Boiled Soup of the Day – 4.5/5

• $14.80
• This was one of their specials. Chinese meals usually start off with soup as opposed to a salad like Western cultures do.
• The soup of the day was a pork and vegetable soup and it was delicious!
• It’s served piping hot and the broth was made with boiled carrots, ginger, Chinese melons, pork and other Chinese herbs.
• It is a mild but flavourful vegetable pork broth and it wasn’t oily or watered down.
• It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be and it isn’t obvious in any particular flavour.
• I did get a background ginger flavour and the taste of the Chinese melons which were used, but it wasn’t seen in the ingredients.

• The ingredients from the soup are served on a separate side plate with some sweetened soy sauce for dipping.
• The pork pieces were falling apart and melt in your mouth tender. I could barely pick them up with my chopsticks.
• The meat was lean and naturally drier from being boiled, but still not dry. Simply irresistible.
• I would have liked to see the Chinese melons on here since they were used in the soup, but they must have ran out early… ?

**Stir Fried Assorted Seafood with Egg White – 4/6

• $21.80
• I love this dish in general, but it can get better than this, although this one was very good. This is a Mandarin/Shanghainese (debatable) dish.
• It’s a somewhat healthy dish and it’s pretty light without a heavy sauce. It’s served with a side of ginger red vinegar as the optional condiment.
• It’s sauteed egg whites, pieces of baby shrimps, diced fresh scallops, dried scallops and fresh crab meat topped with a raw egg yolk and surrounded with steamed broccoli.
• It has a silky smoothness from the egg whites and fresh scallop pieces, feathery lightness from the shredded crab meat and dried scallops, and nice crunch from the shrimps, so it plays with texture well. I would have liked more crab meat and the prawns to be whole rather than diced, but the amount given was okay.
• It’s very mild in flavours and simply savoury from perhaps just salt, a touch of soy, and some minced Chinese leeks and garlic.
• There’s an equal amount of seafood and egg white and the egg yolk gave it a little creamy richness and smooth buttery texture.
• The red vinegar was infused with pickled ginger and it just brightens up the flavours of the seafood, but I liked it better without it.
• There are various styles for this dish and I really like the Taiwanese version at Delicious Cuisine called Stir Fried Crab with Egg and Shrimp. Empire Chinese Cuisine also does a Steamed Broccoli with Crab Meat & Egg Whites and Jade Seafood Restaurant does a Fresh Crab Meat Sauteed with Egg Yolk & Soy Milk.

Baby Bok Choy Braised with Dried Scallop and Dried Prawn – 2/6

• $12.80
• This was very overpriced and very boring. It’s something I could have made at home and I found the flavours much too simple even considering what it was.
• The baby bok choy was fresh and cooked well, but the broth it was cooked in was bland. It was a basic vegetable broth with a shrimp flavour, but even wonton soup has more flavour.
• There was some dried scallops and dried shrimp on top, which are both expensive ingredients, and they were high quality, but the dish just didn’t taste that good.

**Black Cod Braised with Squash and Roasted Pork Belly – 5.5/6 (**Updated 1/5/12 – 4.5/6)

• $17.80
• I love this dish and it’s only available at this Kirin location.
• I love black cod and I love squash, so naturally I would say it’s a must try dish. I also like pork belly, but that’s the only part of this dish I didn’t like because it wasn’t very tender.
• The dish is hearty and perfect for winter, although I could have it at anytime.
• It’s a rich stew of boneless lightly battered and fried black cod fillets, tender creamy melt in your mouth sweet Japanese Kaboocha Squash, and pieces of roasted pork belly with a couple Shiitake mushrooms.
• For pork belly it was really tough and firm though, so I’m glad there was more fish anyways.
• The fillets of black cod were moist, flaky and delicious, but the batter didn’t really seem necessary since it got a bit soggy, but it almost had to be deep fried or it would have fallen apart in the stew.
• The pork belly seemed pre-roasted and then just tossed in last minute because I couldn’t taste any pork renderings in the sauce.
• There are a few cloves of creamy sweet garlic and a bit of ginger sauteed into it.
• There may be a hint of curry for some colour and extra aromatics.
• It’s a thick creamy soy sauce gravy with the starchy texture of melted squash. It’s savoury, not very oily or sweet, and delicious with rice.

Roasted Free Range Chicken – 4/6

• $12.80
• This was a weekly special. This may come across as “spoiled” but I get this way too often at Chinese banquets that I’m quite tired of it. On the other hand, they do a good job with it here.
• It was very tender, moist and well marinated in a savoury salty brine.
• The sauce was a golden yellow and it was made with the natural chicken oils, roasted sea salt that’s melted right into it, and perhaps a little sesame oil. It was quite delicious and well seasoned.
• The skin was crispy without the gelatinous chewy fat and the meat was naturally a bit drier since it’s free range chicken. I do wish it had more of a roasted flavour, but it’s still executed well.
• For something a bit different I’d recommend Jade Seafood’s award winning Grandpa’s Smoked Chicken – see here.

Desserts

Yes, the Chinese, or any Asian cuisine for that matter, are not known for good desserts (at least to the Western palate). I’m speaking generally there, but seriously, it’s not looking to good in the sweet department. I have a very Western palate when it comes to desserts and there’s not many Chinese desserts I like, but once in a while there is something that works.

Kirin will always offer a complimentary dessert and it’s always either Hot Red Bean Soup (ick), or chilled Tapioca and Coconut Cream Sweetened Soup. I hate to burst your bubble if you think you’re getting special treatment, but a free dessert is almost standard now at every Chinese restaurant. If they don’t offer it, just ask. The Chinese would do it… when in Vancouver do as the Chinese… which is a massive part of the population. No one will judge you.

Red Bean Soup – n/a

• Complimentary.
• I never want this dessert even when it’s free. I really dislike red bean.
• This one had tons of beans, but the texture was watery and not creamy.

**Chilled Tapioca and Coconut Cream Sweetened Soup - 4.5/6

• $3.95/person (Complimentary) If you have more than 4 people they just bring you a giant bowl of it and that’s at least 2 bowls per person
• This is one of my favourite Chinese desserts. I love coconut and sago and cold desserts, so this is usually a win.
• This dessert is light and refreshing and not too sweet at all.
• It’s not very creamy and I like it a bit more frothy and thicker, but it had lots of sago and was made with real coconut milk.
• It had little bits of fresh coconut in it too. This is a perfect dessert during the summer.

Mixed Red Bean Soup & Chilled Tapioca & Coconut Cream Soup – Credit to my Aunt for coming up with this one. It looks gross, but it was actually pretty good. Interesting texture and it made the red bean soup more creamy and less starchy and it worked really well. I still would rather just have the Coconut Tapioca alone, but this was better than Red Bean alone.

Candied Banana – 2/6 (Usually a 5/6)

• $11.80
• I love this dessert and it’s a traditional Shanghainese dessert.
• I had to order it because it’s not common to find at restaurants and I haven’t found a place that can do them as well as the ones I’ve had in Hong Kong. Not even close.
• This is one of their “production desserts” and there’s a table side show like making cherries jubilee at a French restaurant… but without the flames. Instead it’s the complete opposite. It’s an ice water bath!
• The bananas are battered and deep fried in the kitchen with a hot caramel sugar syrup drizzled on top. They are quickly brought out to your table where the server will cold shock them in the prepared ice water bath. The sugar hardens and the bananas are then quickly removed from the water bath and plated on a separate dish.

This is the end result or final product for the Candied Banana.

• It’s probably still a 3/6 even if you haven’t tried it before, but if you have had a good one then you know this one wasn’t executed well.
• The times I had them in Hong Kong they don’t even batter or deep fry them. The “batter” ends up being the boiling hot sugar syrup that crystallizes around the banana and they also sprinkle it with sesame seeds so it has a nutty crust. I like that version much better.
• Even though they did the deep fried version here, the batter was savoury! Either the batter was savoury or it was picking up savoury flavours from the old oil, either way it was wrong. Also the batter was much too thick.
• The process also wasn’t done quick enough and the bananas soaked in the ice bath too long so they weren’t hot and it’s supposed to have a hot and cold aspect.
• Overall the bananas were crispy and crunchy, but the golden sugar syrup was oddly not that sweet.
• The banana pieces were huge and should be smaller and they were naturally sweeter than the syrup from just being ripe.
• I love the crunchy exterior and the soft centre of creamy sweet banana, but the dessert is usually so much better than this!

**Sesame Rice Ball - 5/6

• $7.80
• I’m cheating a bit because this was an item I had for dessert at a wedding hosted at this Kirin location last summer. I had to feature it somehow because it was great.
• These are softball sized sesame rice balls and usually they are bite sized. I never really cared for them until I had them here. They were delicious!
• It’s made fresh upon order and they’re hot pastries. It’s almost like a Chinese donut, but not as rich or filling.
• This dessert takes a lot of technique to make too.

It’s an airy light, lightly battered and fried sesame crusted mochi skin. It’s a super thin, crispy, chewy, sticky, nutty, and lightly sweetened mochi skin made from rice flour. It’s just chewy and melts in your mouth.

• The inside is usually filled with either red bean paste, black sesame paste or sometimes a creamy peanut or taro root filling.
• In this case it was filled with a little bit of what seemed like a milky coconut custard. This was even better! I loved it!
• I don’t care for beany starchy pastes, and I do love the peanut filling, but this filling was delicious! It’s not a lot either, so it doesn’t gush out. It just coats the inside.
• It was warm and ooey gooey and added to the creamy sweetness of the unique mochi pastry.
• I’m not even sure if there was coconut milk in it, but with the nutty combination of sesame seeds it mimicked a nutty aromatic flavour.
• It’s one of the best sesame rice balls I’ve had to date.

Selected Fresh Fruit Platter

• $3.50/person
• I’m cheating a bit again because this fruit platter was from the wedding I attended here last summer.
• This is a platter for about ten people and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come like this unless it’s a special occasion and the restaurant has advanced notice.
• I’ve never seem such presentation for a fruit platter at any other wedding I’ve been to at a Chinese restaurant. I was impressed and it was served over a bed of ice. Nothing better than fresh, cold, and crisp fruit.

Restaurant: Kirin Seafood Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese/Sim Sum/Seafood/Fine Dining
Last visited: December 24, 2009
Area: Multiple – New Westminster, BC (Starlight Casino)
Address: 350 Gifford Street
Price range: $30-50, $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• 5 locations in Metro Vancouver
• Since 1987
• Executive Chef Allen Liu
• Fine dining Chinese
• Extensive menu
• Famous for fresh local seafood
• Traditional Cantonese cuisine
• Big portions, dine with 4+
• Award winning
• Set menus available
• Private rooms available
• Dim sum/Lunch/Dinner
• Reservations recommended
• Free casino parking
• Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm
• Sat-Sun 10am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm

Recommendation: Almost any seafood will be good here: Lobster, Alaskan King Crab legs if in season, Peking Duck with Crepes, Duck Lettuce Wraps, Black Cod Braised with Squash and Roasted Pork Belly, Sautéed Beef Tenderloin & Scallops, Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Cube & Filet of Fish with Basil & Black Pepper, Stir Fried Assorted Seafood with Egg White, Chilled Tapioca and Coconut Cream Sweetened Soup and Sesame Rice Ball for dessert… the menu is too big I could give lots more.

This is the fine-dining Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. It’s a common place for dim sum, dinners for large groups and special occasions. I’ve been here on several occasions, but more often than not it’s for weddings, banquets and special occasions. Like most Asian cuisine the portions are huge so going with 4+ people is ideal. They do offer menus for 2 people, but it’s more or less “White people” dishes and the typical banquet food. Chinese food isn’t catered to individual/couple dining, it’s all about sharing… that’s why we have lazy susan’s and communal chopsticks and serving spoons.

Kirin is famous for its fresh and local seafood all prepared in traditional Chinese/Asian methods. It doesn’t matter if you’re going for dim sum or dinner; every location is always busy so I highly recommend reservations. It’s very familiar to locals and the huge Chinese population in Vancouver and the lower mainland. With 5 locations (and growing) in Vancouver, I’d say it has succeeded in building its reputation for elegant dining and exquisite Chinese cuisine. The seafood is excellent, but they do use too much MSG… probably why it’s so delicious though.

I came here for Christmas Eve dinner and it’s also where I had Christmas Eve dinner last year. It’s one of Vancouver’s priciest Chinese restaurants specializing in Cantonese cuisine and they’ve won multiple awards as “Vancouver’s Best Chinese Restaurant”.

On the table:

Crab & Fish Maw in Supreme Clear Broth – 3/6

• Crab, fish maw (gas bladder), scallops and egg white cooked in a clear thick soup base
• $24.80 or $6.80/per person
• It comes in a huge serving bowl and they serve it at the table. It’s basically a seafood soup and the star is the seafood. It’s loaded with crab and fish maw which are both gourmet ingredients. Some places will put shrimp in it, but this actually “cheapens” this dish because the ingredients are far more gourmet than shrimp. The shrimp becomes “cheap seafood”. The one at Kirin has no shrimp.
• It’s a thick base with hearty ingredients. It’s a creamy soup base made with no cream or dairy. It’s silky from the egg whites they stir in and a bit slimy from the fish maw and the combination of egg white and thick soup broth.
• The fish maw is chewy and jelly like and it’s a Chinese delicacy. It also has slightly crunchy parts and very slimy. If you don’t grow up with it, it will probably freak you out a bit. I like it though.

• The condiment to eat it with is red vinegar. I add a lot in mine because I love vinegar, but you should only use a teaspoon because you don’t want to overpower the other flavours. The flavour of the soup is really simple, it’s just a light tasting chicken broth flavoured with dried scallops and thickened with cornstarch. It’s just a simple clear salty broth. The crab and fish maw are what make the dish.
• What I don’t like and began to realize afterward was the MSG they use in the soup. It’s too much. I couldn’t really taste it, but afterward you could definitely feel it in the dry rim in creates around your lips. That was brought to my attention from my friend.

**Peking Duck Skin with Crepes – 6/6

• Served with Hoisin sauce and green onions.
• Peking Duck – Two course: Skin with Crepe and Duck Lettuce Wraps or stir fried shredded duck: $39.80 Half: $24.80
• This is a really typical special occasion dish, that’s not made at home.
• It’s an incredibly well executed Peking Duck.

• It requires great technique and expertise to remove so much of the fat from the skin.
• Traditionally a machine is used to blow air between the skin and fat to separate it, and that could have been used in this case. It’s a very costly method that restaurants rarely use nowadays, but it’s the only explanation I can think of for getting the skin so clean of fat.
• This unique method made the duck skin incredibly crispy. It’s one of the crispiest I’ve had and it’s not that oily either. I only like that fatty part when it melts in my mouth.
• A lot of Chinese people like that part because it’s flavourful, but I hate the jelly texture and flavour fat has. I actually don’t even like skin that much, I’m almost afraid to say that on here… but I’ll eat it in some cases… like this one.
• I have to admit, that I do like when there is still a little duck meat under the skin although it’s not the “proper” or “authentic” method.

• The crepes are really fresh, soft, almost fluffy and chewy and served in a bamboo steamer to keep warm. They’re handmade in house and you can tell because they’re imperfect. I actually think they should be perfectly round, especially for a restaurant of this caliber.

• To eat these you spread a layer of Hoisin sauce to the crepe, add a piece of duck skin, some shredded green onion and a shrimp cracker (which were really fresh too). Then roll it all up and enjoy.

• It’s sweet from the Hoisin sauce, salty from the duck, a bit spicy from the raw green onion and just overall delicious. The texture is soft from the crepe, crispy from the skin, and crunchy from the onion and shrimp cracker. Everyone likes this dish, it’s almost impossible not too unless you’re vegetarian.

Minced Duck Lettuce Wraps – 6/6

• Peking Duck – Two course: Skin witn Crepe and Duck Lettuce Wraps or stir fried shredded duck: $39.80 Half: $24.80
• Marinated pan-fried duck with diced onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Served with fresh iceberg lettuce leaves and Hoisin sauce.
• This is pretty much the “part 2″ dish of the duck. They use the duck skin for the crepes and the duck meat for the lettuce wraps. You can order them separately, but they should be ordered together. I always wonder what they do with the other part if a table only orders 1 of the 2.

  

• This is one of the best lettuce wraps I’ve had. Forget about ground meats or shredded beef etc., these are gourmet lettuce wraps. I think the only way it could get better is if they included some dice pan-fried foie gras in the mix. That would be my recipe, but that’s another topic. (Not that I’m a PETA advocate, but I still feel bad for “promoting” foie gras… I try to keep my intake of it to a minimal).
• The duck is nice and juicy and very lean. It has a lovely flavour to the dish because it’s salty and yet naturally sweet.
• I love how they included all the aromatics like celery carrots and onions. The water chestnuts were the perfect addition and brought this refreshing and crunchy texture and flavour to the overall dish. It almost brightened things up.
• I’m assuming everyone know how to eat these, so I’ll just skip the “how to” part.

Lobster Cream & Butter Sauce – 5/6

• A whole steamed lobster cooked in cream and butter sauce. Market price. (From their in house seafood tanks)
• When you order a whole crab or lobster at Kirin they’ll bring it out to show you in a plastic container before they cook it… that’s weird… that just mad me really sad to write that out… anyways the point is so the customer gets to “approve” it before it hits the steamer. Therefore for you know exactly what you’re getting – the size of it and the weight of it. They charge by pound or kg and they keep all live seafood in tanks in the restaurant so when I say fresh… it’s really fresh!
• Lobster and any sauce will be good here. It just depends on what you like. They have I think 8+ sauce options and they’re all great.

  

• Cream and butter is a very popular option. The cream sauce is an Asian style cream sauce, not like a Western cream sauce where there’s usually cheese in it too. I find the Asian cream sauce is a lot lighter and perhaps “healthier” because it’s not as rich. It’s more like the texture of a cream soup. It’s still really creamy, but it’s light tasting – lighter than a béchamel or Alfredo for sure. It’s not too salty, a tad sweet and buttery, but not to the point of really greasy. The sauce is heavy, but not as flavourful, which is fine because you want the lobster to be the star of the show.

  

• I was not a fan of the noodles. You need to pay extra to have it served on a bed of noodles. They use the flat thin rice flour noodles but I thought they were too soft. They were fresh but because they also cook under the heat of the steamed lobster I found they got overcooked and became mushy.
• Added note: For King crab legs: steamed garlic sauce is the way to go.

We accidentally started eating it before I got the photo, so it was nicer than this and bit more of it too.

Steamed Pea Shoots – 4/6

• You can order this in a couple variations. We ordered it “sheung tong” which is basically “supreme chicken broth” a special broth they stew in house. You can’t really ruin this dish, unless you overcooked the vegetable or it’s really oily. The one here is very good, but again watch the MSG.
• I liked the one atbetter for some reason. The visits to each are quite far apart, but I just remember being more crazy about it at Shanghai River. I need to do a direct comparison between the two. I’ll get them to go next time.

Sautéed Beef Tenderloin & Scallops – 5.5/6

• This was sautéed beef tenderloin with black pepper and basil and your choice of prawns, scallops or squid. It’s served on a bed of freshly chopped lettuce and very lightly sautéed onions.
• I think they also have a fish option, but our server didn’t advertise it. He actually recommended this dish to us and I’m glad he did because we wouldn’t have ordered it. It reminded me of the pan-fried prawns with basil from Rainflower Restaurant which I rated 6/6. I think those are better though.

  

• Everything was perfect and really good except for the beef which is really disappointing. The beef tenderloin was really tough and not tender at all. The flavour it was marinated in was excellent though.
• They actually deep fry the beef before sautéing it in the sauce so it has this crispy coating. It tastes just like honey garlic spare ribs. Ideally, I would order this dish with scallops and prawns, but too bad that’s not an option. They would probably still let you do it, but charge extra of course.

  

• The scallops were fantastic! They were tender and had a crispy exterior from being quickly deep-fried and then pan-fried to finish cooking. They were honey glazed, slightly tangy, and a bit spicy from the freshly cracked pepper it was lightly coated in. They were so flavourful and aromatic and absorbed the basil and garlic used in the sauce. I ate at least 3 of them and that was at the end of the meal…it was painful, but so worth it.
• I found it more of an appetizer or hot salad because there wasn’t much sauce and the portion wasn’t that big. The marinade could have been more reduced because it was more of a sauce than a glaze, even though there wasn’t much of it. It could have also used more fresh basil, although it was still flavourful as is. It just could have been slightly better.

Dessert

**Chilled Tapioca and Coconut Cream Sweetened Soup – 4.5/6

• $3.95/per person. Usually served complimentary.
• They make delicious coconut tapioca ‘pudding’. It’s not a pudding, but that’s a popular name for it. This is one of the few Chinese desserts I actually like.
• They use real coconut in it along with coconut milk. It’s watered down and sweetened so it’s not thick or really creamy at all.
• They bring it up a notch by using finely ground dried coconut too. It’s not too sweet, very light with a strong coconut flavour.
• It’s almost like a refreshing drink. It’s really cooling and a perfect way to end a Chinese meal as opposed to red bean soup… which I’m just not a fan of personally.

Tahi Chicken wrap, Tukey Bacon wrap, Black Bean Baja wrap, Mango Chicken wrap


Restaurant: The Hide Out Cafe
Cuisine: Eclectic/American/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch

Area: New Westminster, BC

Price Range: $10 or less

Service: 3

Overall: 4

• GREAT quality and tasting wraps in Vancouver/lower mainland
• Homemade sauces.dressings and soups, but pre-made wraps
• Baked goods come from bakery (not homemade)
• Lunch combos available
• Hidden location
• Breakfast all day Saturdays
• Relaxed/Casual/Self-service
• Menu changes frequently, call ahead to confirm menu
• Some vegan soups
• Really need to fix their website – links are expired
• Catering available
• Eat in/Take-out
• Closed at 6pm
• Closed Sundays

**Recommendation: Soups (changes daily/weekly), Mango Chicken wrap, Thai Chicken wrap – call ahead to confirm menu.

Talk about local gem in New Westminster! I’m rarely in this area, but if I am – I’m going to The Hide Out Cafe. I may not trek out here just for this wrap, but I do crave it and am very tempted to make the drive out. The wraps are THAT good – fresh and simple ingredients and they’re just made so well. The soups are also really fresh and also made in house. The location is quite hidden and you wouldn’t even notice it unless you were referred to it or are familiar with that area. It’s not even on the main downtown strip – it’s across from the law courts.

It attracta people working nearby and it gets busy at lunch time. It seems like a place suitable for students and it’s self-service – order and pay at cashier type eatery. The baked goods are almost all imported from another bakery – so I wish they did sell some homemade stuff because it looks like a place that should. Freshly baked pies are on their menu – but they NEVER have any and very rarely make them. They’ll admit that too. Everything I’ve ordered has always been good. They also sometimes serve nachos; the menu changes whenever they want so you never know what you’re going to get.

They have an upcoming Thanksgiving wrap so I’m looking forward to trying that.

My only complain about their wraps is the way they stuff them. They don’t mix all the ingredients together so that the veggies stay crunchy; and they are pre-made and put in the display case so they need to ensure they don’t get soggy from the sauce and dressings. You have to eat it from left to right or right to left. The wraps are rectangular and they grill them off before serving them. In order to get a bite of everything you need to take a couple bites until you complete the row, otherwise you’ll get only the chicken, or only the veggies. You need to get a combination of everything. If they weren’t pre-made they could mix all the ingredients together.

On the table:

• **Mango Chicken Wrap 5/6
  • White chicken breast, feta, mango, red and green pepper, spinach, mango dressing and sweet chili sauce.

• • This is awesome! It’s sweet, savoury and very mildly spicy. They use fresh mango but I couldn’t really tell because it was overpowered by the feta. I wish there was a little more mango in the wrap. The mango dressing is almost like a mango chutney mixed with sweet Thai chili sauce. The wraps are served warm so the feta melts and becomes creamy as it mixes into the sweet sauce. Really fresh ingredients. Not too much stuffing so that they fall apart, but they’re the perfect size. They hold really well and they’re not soggy, the tortilla is grilled which adds this perfect nuttiness and soft but also crunchy baked/grilled texture.
• **Thai Chicken Wrap 6/6
  • White chicken breast, purple and green cabbage, green and red bell peppers, cilantro, onions, carrots, rice, sesame oil and peanut sauce.

• • Ok this is one of my favourite wraps…ever. I’ve taken a few people here and this is everyone’s’ favourite. Better than the Mango Chicken wrap. HOWEVER it’s one of their summer features so they have replaced it with the “Lamb Souvlaki Wrap”…they said that they will bring the Thai Chicken wrap back, but they like to switch things up. AND if it’s requested enough they will bring it back earlier.
  • This wrap is so good because of the combination of ingredients as well as the sauce. The peanut sauce is more of a vinaigrette than a peanut satay sauce. It’s a bit thinner and more acidic and the sesame oil really comes through. It’s tangy and savoury at the same time. They balance all the ingredients really well. The cabbage slaw stays crunchy even after it’s grilled. That’s what I love. It’s a warm wrap but the veggies are not overcooked at all.
  • The rice is just plain rice and it’s seasoned with the sauce. The rice is more of that long grain white rice than Chinese style rice. It’s cooked perfectly and gives the wrap another dimension of texture. Try this – you won’t be disappointed.
• **Smoked Tomato with Corn Soup 5/6
  • Homemade, and so creamy and flavourful. For me it was more of a chowder than a soup. It was hearty and filling and quite rich. There was celery, carrots, onions, tomato, corn and potatoes. I wish there was more corn though, they skimped out on that.

• • It had a smokey taste and it tastes like they put cream cheese or sour cream in the soup as well. It was really really good. It had that sour cream/cream cheese taste and texture to it.
• Red Lentil (Vegan) 4/6
  • Homemade again. also quite tasty. It tasted a little Indian – Indian for Westerners if I can say. There were onions, celery, carrots, and lentils and other spices and herbs. The lentils were really cooked so that it was almost a puree and broke down in the soup.

• • This was very good and they really give you the flavour of the ingredients rather than watered down soup. It was very heavily lentil based, which is expected, but I would have appreciated a bit more of the other ingredients.

For your benefit as the menu isn’t on the website, here are some additional wraps they offer but I haven’t tried.

• Turkey Bacon Wrap
  • smoked turkey, bacon, provolone, avocado, roasted red pepper, spinach, and sun-dried tomato pesto aioli
• Black Ban Baja Wrap
  • rice, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, tomato, assorted spices, chipotle sour cream, spinach, red and green peppers, mixed herbs and a four cheese blend