You are not wrong about T&T's BBQ stuff -- it is horrid, and it is horrid at every single T&T that I have looked at / tried. And as I was saying, the Richmond Price Smart's BBQ dept is also not very good. The meat usually end up being too dry, or they charred it too much.

But the Burnaby Station Square Price Smart is actually pretty decent. Not HK BBQ Master level, but it is perfectly acceptable.

Just had some of the Station Square Price Smart BBQ pork and it was much better than I expected - pretty good stuff.

I'm sure Badhobz already knows about this one, but I have only just recently found out about it, and their Xiaolongbao is DEVINE.

Long's Noodle
https://maps.app.goo.gl/eRH9NdsUSQMib5iS6

https://scontent.fyvr3-1.fna.fbcdn.n...jQ&oe=65985767

The skins of their Xiaolongbao is very thin, but are somehow more durable than they look. That is not to say you won't break the skins and spill all of the juicy soup inside -- you're still gonna need to be careful.

The Xiaolongbao are very juicy, but they don't feel oily or fatty at all -- at least not when you're eating them LOL~ I'm sure I can easily burn through 3 baskets myself.

The hot & sour soup shown here is also very good, although I find it to be a bit small for the price ($7? $8?). They also did not use bamboo shoots as an ingredient, but they did pack it with lots of other stuff.

I've also had their pan-fried (pork) bun, and would say that their pan-frying skill is fantastic -- the bun is just browned to a slight crisp, and the inside is still juicy -- as in, with a bit of meat juice / soup inside the bun.

Their nan-wrapped beef roll is only so-so though. The portion is too small for the price, and the taste was rather typical.

10/10 for the Xiaolongbao
9/10 for the hot & sour soup
8.5/10 for the pan-fried pork bun
7/10 for the nan-wrapped beef roll

Word on the street is that since moving to the food stall, their quality has gone down. Their google rating went from 4.2 on Main to 3.6 here at McKim.

Shanghai dumpling in Crystal Mall is where it's at. Or, the new Dinesty on Gilbert rocks out. Or, try the new one at Yaohan, really good and always a bit of a line up.

I know about Shanghai Dumpling in Crystal Mall, but have been hesitant to try it because Xiaolongbao is only good when it is eaten fresh -- ie. piping hot. And the idea of staying and eating there at the Crystal Mall food court just isn't very appealing at all because the whole area often smells like an un-ventilated kitchen LOL~

Didn't know about the new place at Yaohan, so I will definitely try that out. And I'm sure I'll eventually cave in and get the Xiaolongbao at Crystal Mall too lol~

Will report back once I've tried those.

Is it the same owners and staff from the original Long's? The lady that worked at the Main Street location had a phenomenal memory!

Trattoria Kingsway yesterday for brunch. The $19 Chicken and waffles had okay waffles but the chicken bits were tiny. They should call it an appetizer, I was finished in less than 3 minutes. Very poor compared to Joe Fortes version. I would not get this again.

The $16 Trattoria breakfast saved the meal, eggs, bacon, sausage, potato with tomato and parmesan.

NYE dinner at Kozak:

https://i.imgur.com/QHXIUzE.jpg

Pirogies, Lardo, Sausage, Latkes, and variety of pickles

Wasn't exactly enough for 4 of us so we had some extra bread and 3 cakes at the end. Oh and lots and lots of vodka which I now regret today.

I really enjoyed Kozak when I went there.

Yeah it's not a bad little place. The urinals have pictures of Putin with his mouth open at the trough LOL. 2nd time at the Gastown location which is a very nice space - formerly Bauhaus which was great too, the location on Victoria Dr is more of a bakery with some food on the side.

Oh and badhobz, if you're looking for Ukrainian bait the waitress here are what you're looking for.

lol the Putin urinal was a great touch. I've got a pic of my 3 beer stream going straight into his mouth.

Lee by Sur Sur lee
10/10

Not local but the next time you’re in Vegas check out Shang Artisan Noodle. Off the strip amazing hand made, affordable noodle dishes etc.

Contemplating grabbing leftovers out of the fridge here at 655AM lol

Post it.

DM sent.

Better have been from the hondaracer approved 5 feet back

Ate at Gordon Ramsey burger tonight

It’s not as bad as people say, it’s not as good as Vegas or really many other burger places. Prices are in line if not cheaper than some places. Appies were not bad wings and the corn dip and everyone had a burger, all super fresh ingredients and buns etc. fries were totally meh burger was not bad had the farmhand or sonthing with bacon cheese and an egg

A good red robin burger is far superior, 6.5/10

If I had a choice I’d go to many other places in the area but it’s fine, the inside decor itself is like nothing.. plainer than an earls

I had the same thought too after trying out Gordon Ramsay Burger.
I would rather have a burger at Red Robins instead.

Savio Volpe - 9/10 just because I don’t know if anywhere deserves a 10

Not sure who runs this group of Savio Volpe, Peppinos, Cafe Latanna, and their new place but they seem to know what they are doing. Hadnt been back to Savio Volpe since they opened and exceeded all expectations

Service is a 10/10 though, it’s not ultra high end fine dining but the woman that served us was amazing and I had noted we were celebrating my wife graduating and they actually
Comped us a bunch of Prosecco efc. Which they did not have to do but it was such a nice touch. The waitress even waited till she had come back from the washroom to congratulate her etc. I think it probably helped that I ordered a very nice bottle of wine right off the bat so they knew I wasn’t playing lol

Food was fantastic and their Kale salad may have been the best salad I’ve ever had lol

Peppinos and Savio are 2 of my favorite restys in Van, have been amazing every single time.

I've had a couple beers with one of the owners on a few occasions. He's a good dude, and knows everything about the details. Used to be an owner at L'abattoir, then sold his share off to start savio. Cant wait to try the new place. Peppinos is one of my favourite places to go, because it can get me excited about it, and also get my grandpa excited about it, although he doesn't give much of a shit about food. It's such a good blend of approachable, but still great quality.

Just got back from a few nights in Chicago, what a great city. The bar scene is fantastic and lived up to the hype if you're into the neighbourhood pub vibe that Vancouver is getting less and less of (think Moose's Down Under vibe).

Chicago deep dish, although super touristy, I am a fan. Italian beef also suuuper good. Chicago dog however was a let-down. Alinea was a once-in-a-lifetime mind-blowing experience that I am super lucky and grateful to have tried.

Highly recommended to visit.

Full photo dump of food & drink here: https://imgur.com/a/6bicvpy

Highlights below (spoiler for big pics):

Wouldn’t have thought that was an actual place (the beef)

Yeah it's an actual restaurant but the sign in the pic was from the show.

This is the actual sign and restaurant (on the left side). Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try their beef

https://i.imgur.com/OLQ7qLF.jpeg

holy crap, i googled some youtube video for alinea.. that's crazyyy
were you there yourself ot got a change to experienced with another?

This trip was just myself. Unfortunately my wife did not have vacation days available I had some to use up otherwise I would lose it.