Fat Boy Kitchen: Comfort Food

You know, with a name like Fat Boy Kitchen, it evokes a certain style of food… I mean, don’t expect anything too healthy here. Instead, they focus on hearty meals that fill your belly like noodle soups and rice combos that you’d find at most HK or Taiwanese cafes.

Happy Tree House BBQ (Vancouver): Skewers!

Happy Tree House BBQ recently opened up a location in Vancouver (they have another location in Richmond). Known for their BBQ skewers and whole fish dishes, they now occupy the site of the former Star Anise and Samosa Garden in a small mini mall on Kingsway known for their incredulous parking.

Kim Phung: Nondescript Vietnamese Restaurant

Kim Phung is one of the many nondescript Vietnamese restaurants that dot the Vancouver food scene. Located on the busy Victoria Drive strip of Killarney, it’s quite easy to pass by this shop without noticing it.

Jun Yuan: Hot Pot

Hot Pot season is upon us! Okay, who am I kidding? For many people in Vancouver, hot pot season spans the entire year… even during the hottest summer day.

Flamingo House – New Digs on Marine Drive

Back at the end of 2015, Flamingo closed their doors on their popular Cambie Street location. As with so many places on the Cambie corridor, rising land values had proved too tempting and the owner had sold the property. This left us with a few months of withdrawal from Flamingo House until their new location on Marine Drive was ready.

Icy Bar – Mango Ice Cream Mochi Icy

What could be better than shave ice? How about some ice cream on that? Oh wait, why don’t we add some fresh fruit on that? What, you want mochi too? Okay!

Van-Ya Japanese Restaurant

Van-Ya is one of those non-descript Japanese restaurants that you could pass by without even realizing it. Actually, I’m pretty sure that I’ve passed by this restaurant many times without batting an eye. Since it’s located on a side street off of Kingsway, that’s not too surprising.

Bino’s Restaurant – Old, Old School Diner

Bino’s Restaurant is a holdover from the 70’s. I recall there being a few Bino’s around town but I think most of the other locations have closed out by now.

Icepik Shavery – Snow Cream

Having been to Hawaii, where “shave ice” reigns supreme, I have to admit that the Taiwanese “snow cream” version is pretty awesome. Icepik Shavery recently opened up on Kingsway and brings this new treat to Vancouverites.

Li’s China Grill – Hit and Miss with Poor Service

Li’s China Grill is a Chinese BBQ joint that’s known for their signature Grilled Whole Fish (either catfish, lingcod, skatefish, or rockfish) and right next door to Lucky Noodle. Pretty much every table had an order of this… except me.

Ramengers

Vancouver has been going through another phase when ramen shops have been popping up all over town. Ramengers is a newish noodle house that opened up along Kingsway (in the same mini mall as Star Anise) about a year ago.

Aotoya Blue Door Japanese Restaurant – Hit and Miss

What, pray tell, is behind the blue door? Well, we’re in Vancouver so the odds are it’s a Japanese restaurant.