Where's the last place you ate at and rate it ...

[Traum]

Originally Posted by 6793026

Hida Takayama Ramen

1610 Robson St: famous for their white sesame ramen... they will be closing permanently Dec 17 (or 18), so sad to see them go.

Damn that's horrible news... I was there with my family after the Santa Claus parade (so early Dec), and it was still the old owner along with a C9 / auntie type person serving customers. The broth for that day was a touch more oily than usual, but it was still the same tasty stuff.

Had I knew, I would totally have thanked the old chef for all those years of awesome tasting ramen...


Guess it's yet another one of my go-to places off the list...

[CivicBlues]

Yeah I went to Takayama last week as well and had the Sweet & Spicy. It was smaller portioned, less spicy, and $2 more.

Another victim of high rents I suppose?

[Traum]

With the old chef, I actually suspect his biggest problems were:

- him getting older
- not able to find suitable kitchen staff

In regards to item #2, it could also potentially be race / language-related as well. If he insists on hiring someone who can speak Japanese, it really drastically cuts down the number of eligible applicants. From what I remember, all previous staff that I remember seeing there look Japanese.

[iwantaskyline]

Kissa Tanto 10/10

Fantastic food and a gorgeous interior.

[Spoon]

Originally Posted by Traum

With the old chef, I actually suspect his biggest problems were:

- him getting older
- not able to find suitable kitchen staff

In regards to item #2, it could also potentially be race / language-related as well. If he insists on hiring someone who can speak Japanese, it really drastically cuts down the number of eligible applicants. From what I remember, all previous staff that I remember seeing there look Japanese.

Won't be surprised if the original chef sold his business and retired. He's either watching videos or dozing off when he wasn't making noodles.

Could be wrong, but I believe the new operator/owner is Chinese. Saw him scoping out the location in January and I think I heard him speaking Cantonese.

[JesseBlue]

asia restaurant surrey

F#%! / 10

avoid at all cost.

[winson604]

Damn I have no idea why I kept waiting to try the place after all these years, guess I missed it.

[ZN6]

I actually went to Hida Takayama yesterday. It was a one man show. Sad to see. The broth is still what it once was, but the portions definitely went down in size. The noodles don't have the same texture and are thinner noodles. They feel pre-packaged. The extra chashu used to cover the entire top of the bowl and I couldn't even see the noodles underneath. Now with extra chashu, you get a normal portion that is served at almost any other ramen place.

Other than that, I don't even remember having any bamboo shoots in my bowl. it was toasted nori, noodles, pork and green onions.

I don't think it is going to last for very long under a new guy....

Their menu looks like it went down in size significantly too. $11 bucks before tip. Hate to say it, but definitely not worth the trip anymore. This place used to be my go to spot for no frills ramen.

With Ramen danbo closer to work and better flavours, I'm going to have to pass going to the public market for ramen.

[mr_chin]

No. 9.

WTF happened to this place? Haven't been there in months and when I went there today, I ordered my usual favorite soy sauce chicken and BBQ pork on rice.

The fucking chicken looks like it had cancer or some shit. All bones. And the BBQ was thinly sliced except there were at most 10 slices. And I'm talking about thin thin, like 0.2 cm thin.

And then the cold HK milk tea was all water down, not even HK style. It's literally Lipton red/black tea bags, with evaporated milk. Ridiculous.

Worst part of it is, the rice was $16.50 and the milk tea was $4.45... with tax, $22.xx.

TWENTY TWO FUCKING DOLLARS! For not even a quarter chicken and not even a quarter pound of BBQ pork.

No. 9 was already expensive as fuck already before. Now the quantity is just shit. Never going back to this place again, even if I am dying of starvation and stranded in Richmond.

/endrant.

[extracrunchie]

Originally Posted by westopher

Worst meal we had in San Fran was a Michelin star restaurant.
I’m absolutely not exaggerating when I say it sucked.
Service was cold, food was ok, and the fucking dipshit food bloggers next to us with 10k worth of camera equipment their parents bought them that the entire restaurant staff was pandering to was an embarrassment. $300 later I wondered why the fuck I didn’t get tacos.

Im a fan of hole in the wall places, I don't care for décor and or service.

I am a happy man if they serve damn good food with no fuss(Pho places are a good example, I can't find a decent HK café anymore). Unfortunately that's a dying breed in Vancouver.

I am also not sure why ramen places are so popular, IMO it is overpriced for what you get. Maybe its just me but I prefer Pho over ramen.

[Spoon]

Originally Posted by extracrunchie

I am also not sure why ramen places are so popular, IMO it is overpriced for what you get. Maybe its just me but I prefer Pho over ramen.

Finding any kind of food under $10 and tastes good with decent portions is a rare breed in downtown. Hida Takayama just happened to be a place that serves ramen and have all the boxes checked until new ownership came in. At least that's the case for me.

[6793026]

^ i'm just intrigued; he sold it along with the name?

Wouldn't you want to keep the business name to yourself and not someone else ruin your legacy? Now if they they poured ridiculous amount of money to that name... then that's a different story.

[6793026]

Originally Posted by mr_chin

No. 9.

WTF happened to this place? Haven't been there in months and when I went there today, I ordered my usual favorite soy sauce chicken and BBQ pork on rice.

The fucking chicken looks like it had cancer or some shit. All bones. And the BBQ was thinly sliced except there were at most 10 slices. And I'm talking about thin thin, like 0.2 cm thin.

And then the cold HK milk tea was all water down, not even HK style. It's literally Lipton red/black tea bags, with evaporated milk. Ridiculous.

Worst part of it is, the rice was $16.50 and the milk tea was $4.45... with tax, $22.xx.

TWENTY TWO FUCKING DOLLARS! For not even a quarter chicken and not even a quarter pound of BBQ pork.

No. 9 was already expensive as fuck already before. Now the quantity is just shit. Never going back to this place again, even if I am dying of starvation and stranded in Richmond.

/endrant.

sorry but WHYYYY would you still go to #9. ESP for chicken and bbq pork... PLEASE tell me you have heard of HK BBQ Master.

Will give you benefit of the doubt you were high as fuck at odd hours or when BBQ master is closed but still...

[mr_chin]

Originally Posted by 6793026

sorry but WHYYYY would you still go to #9. ESP for chicken and bbq pork... PLEASE tell me you have heard of HK BBQ Master.

Will give you benefit of the doubt you were high as fuck at odd hours or when BBQ master is closed but still...

Yes, it was late. When I used to go, the chick and BBQ pork was awesome, hence why it was my favorite. But thanks for recommendation, I'll try that place out.

[SilverT]

Reading this thread got me wanting to eat some Ramen. This place called Ichiran Shinjuku Chuo Higashiguchi by where I'm staying at in Tokyo is open 24/7 and they constantly have 1 hour plus lineups during normal restaurant hours. I decided to go and check it out at 6 am this morning to avoid the lineup. I paid approximately $18.70 for the below meal and will give it a 9/10. Definitely not something I will lineup for but I'm not a huge ramen conisseur

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by 6793026

^ i'm just intrigued; he sold it along with the name?

Wouldn't you want to keep the business name to yourself and not someone else ruin your legacy? Now if they they poured ridiculous amount of money to that name... then that's a different story.

Places like that have no value other than a name and a phone # really

it's the same with construction companies etc. Once you've made name for yourself unless you have substantial assets, the majority of value is in your name. If he didnt sell the name there's no way business would continue as it had been

[Cr33pUh]

Alright boys and girls, I need your guys' recommendations.

If you could eat at 6 different places within a day and city, where would you go?

Let's make it $20-30 per meal. So nothing fancy haha

[westopher]

Bao bei
Savio Volpe
La mezcaleria
Alibi room
Bestie
Cinara

This is not 6 places in one day however.

I barely eat 6 times a week.

[Obsideon]

Originally Posted by Cr33pUh

Alright boys and girls, I need your guys' recommendations.
If you could eat at 6 different places within a day and city, where would you go?
Let's make it $20-30 per meal. So nothing fancy haha

Sounds like a fun game.
However, just to clarify your question, wait you mean 6 meals to eat within a day, like breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, late night? Or just 6 places I would go, anytime of the day?
Who or how do you eat 6 times in a day lol.
And you mean city, any city in the world or just Greater Vancouver?

Originally Posted by westopher

Bao bei
Savio Volpe
La mezcaleria
Alibi room
Bestie
Cinara

This is not 6 places in one day however.

I barely eat 6 times a week.

Good list, I've still yet to go Bao Bei yet but I hear you mention them quite often. Everytime I want to go my wife would say "I went there with my friends, it sucks don't waste your time" ... hmm I'll maybe have to go with someone else... are there many hot chicks there so she's turning me away? haha

[Obsideon]

Originally Posted by westopher

Bao bei
Savio Volpe
La mezcaleria
Alibi room
Bestie
Cinara

This is not 6 places in one day however.

I barely eat 6 times a week.

Better yet, what would you normally eat at these spots?

[westopher]

Originally Posted by Obsideon

Better yet, what would you normally eat at these spots?

Hard to say.
Alibi room, the burger. Make sure you ask for the chile garlic vinegar for your fries
Bestie, whatever sausage and sauerkraut. Its pretty simple there.
Cinara, have a many things as you can and share them. Make sure to have a pasta.
Bao bei have 5-6 dishes. Make sure to have the pork and shrimp wontons. Maybe its my white guy showing though, so those of you who know great chinese might be put off by the "lack of authenticity" of some of the dishes, but to me its what makes it so authentic. Chinese, vietnamese, and french influence altogether in my opinion sums up an amazing part of vancouver food culture.
Savio volpe have a massive piece of meat, a pasta, and a couple sides.

Savio and cinara's menu evolve so often so its hard to suggest things. Just trust it will be good.

[6793026]

I do this a lot with my clients when they come over here for visit; 6 places in a day is easily do-able.

1)

HK bbq master.
Nothing beats this as one of the hole in the wall meals fitting the budget.

2)

Noodles / pasta

Ramen... any good place (eg// in Japan Ichiran Ramen 一蘭).. but for now in Van Danbo is my go to.


Ask for Luigi

3)


To be honest, deep fried something is a must for me so phnom-penh or good old HK style chicken wings (aberdeen) would do.

4)

Aburi sushi but I insist it to be Salmon Belly.

5)

Basil ice cream, Whiskey Hazelnut, Akbar Mashti, salted caramel etc.. take your pick

OR


Beta 5

6)


A good meaty sandwich: meat and bread OR La Grotta Del Formaggio

Crispy panini (With artichokes+spicy Capocollo+dion mustard) versus roast Porchetta with crispy skin is hard to decide.

[Hondaracer]

Bestie seems hipster to the maxxxx lol.. i do love sausage though

[sonick]

Homer st cafe brunch - 9/10 solid as usual.

Burdock & Co - 7.5/10 pricey for the portions. Dishes we had were not very inspiring (uni custard, braised leeks, beef collar) except the Elk flank steak.

[westopher]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Bestie seems hipster to the maxxxx lol.. i do love sausage though

It totally is, but I don't care how ironic the glasses my server wears or how few gears there are on their bike are when they bring me awesome food.