All You Can Eat Sushi in Metropolis Mall

Seafood Sushi Plater

My kids decided that we should have Japanese cuisines for dinner yesterday. So, we went to this Japanese Restaurant in Metropolis Mall at Metrotown. By the way, the restaurant's name was Kawawa Japanese Restaurant and they serve a wide range of Japanese entres as well as all you can eat. They have a wide range of Japanese cuisines, everything from noodles to barbecue pork teriyaki.
The service was good, in spite of some delays and misses in our orders but generally we were satisfied. Satisfied with the selections. The Japanese cuisines served there wasn't really that exceptional but was definitely authentic. The diner was packed during the evening hours. I guess, most of the patrons came for the all you can eat deal.

Mixed Sushi Plater

The variety of the Japanese cuisines was really good. We wanted to try a little of every thing but could not do it because there were just too much to eat. Besides that, the restaurant practices the no waste policy. Any food item ordered and leftover will be penalized with a fine for the weight of the food. It is definitely a good policy to make the customers responsible for managing their orders.

Anyway, we ate so much sushi yesterday that some of us felt sick immediately after the heavy meal. And personally, I have never eaten so much sushi in one meal. It was a good Japanese cuisine adventure but we all ate too much.

Teriyaki Beef to Tempura

We have had at least twenty different Japanese cuisines, from seafood sushi to the mixed sushi. And also, we ordered quite a lot of the small little plates of fried stuff, like the tempuras, fried chicken wings, fried mackerel, fried salmon fish head, fried squid and so on. We also tried some of the tofus and the teriyaki beef. And a lot more which I don't actually remember. At one time the food just kept coming, one plate after another, and we had to keep up, so we ate as fast as we can, just to make space on the table for the new plates of Japanese cuisines. This Japanese restaurant is definitely a must dine-in place if you like Japanese cuisines.

The Authentic Malaysian Mamak Curry Fish Head

Mamak Curry Fish Head

Bought a couple of salmon fish head several days ago and kept them frozen in the freezer until I could gather the rest of the components to cook up a really delicious pot of Mamak style curry fish head. I needed okra, tomatoes, egg plant, laksa leaves and raw tamarind, just to name a few of the main items. So, yesterday morning, I included these items into my shopping list when I went to Hen Long in Surrey for grocery.  I like shopping here because I could find many of the ingredients and special items imported from South East Asia.

Curry Fish Head

I only use one brand of curry powder for the curry paste. I like the Babas, which is actually a Malaysian brand. So, in a bowl, I start with six spoons of Babas curry powder (for fish curry). Add some water to the curry powder, then stir and mix until it becomes a paste.
In a large pot (make sure can fit at least two fish heads), add five spoons of cooking oil. Throw in three cloves of sliced garlic, simmer until brown then, add the curry paste. Allow to simmer and keep stirring so that the curry paste do not stick to the bottom of the pot. If the paste starts to dry, add more cooking oil.

Home Cooked Curry Fish Head

Throw in some of the laksa leaves. Then, add four cups of tamarind juice and continue to stir. At this juncture, add in three (cut into quarters) tomatoes and the pieces of the cut egg plant. Wait until the curry gravy boils. Then, add salt for taste and two spoons of tomato ketchup. Once the egg plant is cook, quickly put the fish heads into the curry. make sure that the fish heads are fully submerged in the curry. Lastly, garnish the top of the curry gravy with the okras and then cover the pot with a tight lid. Allow the curry to boil on low heat for about ten minutes. Once the pot's lid is removed the curry fish head should be done. Slowly scoop up the fish heads into a serving bowl first then followed by the other items.

Home Cook Authentic Malaysian Wuntun Noodle

Dried Wuntun Noodle

We cooked up some authentic Malaysian style, non-gravy (dried with soy sauce) wuntun noodle. Or commonly known as Kon Lo Mean in Cantonese. I had earlier prepared some shrimp wuntun and barbecue pork. So, when I bought a pack of wuntun noodle, it was just suitable to prepare them for this wuntun noodle cuisine. The shrimp wuntun, barbecue pork and the raw wuntun noodle were all cooked separately. Only when we have all the right components for the wuntun noodle cuisine ready that we were able to complete this wuntun noodle cuisine.

Home Cook Wuntun Noodle Cuisine

Therefore, from scratch, the preparation time for this cuisine can be really long because the barbecue pork itself takes at least two to three hours to barbecue. Then, preparing the meat stuffings and wrapping the wuntun also require time. Once we have all the components for the wuntun noodle cuisine ready, the noodle too needs to be blenched. Then, there are also many types of noodles that can be used for this kind of cuisine. I like and prefer the egg noodle for wuntun noodle cuisine. The sauce is a mix of cooking oil, sesame seed oil, oyster flavoured sauce, dark soy sauce, pepper and garlic oil.

For Some Authentic Filipino Cuisines

PinPin's Fried Pork Hock

Unintentionally, we dined at a popular Filipino restaurant several days ago. We were actually driving around Fraser Street looking for a place to have dinner but most of the Chinese restaurants in the area were packed. So, we ended up at the Filipino restaurant instead, as the Filipino restaurant was on the opposite side of the Chinese restaurant which we had earlier intended to dine in. And as expected, the wait wasn't long but after we were seated and placed our orders, we had to wait for about twenty five minutes before we were served.

Fish Fillet in Sweet and Sour Sauce

The Filipino restaurant, PinPin Filipino Restaurant as it is known, is a popular dining place for the Filipino community living in Vancouver. I have dined here with my family several times before and each time we dine here, the Crispy Pata cuisine is a must order cuisine. Crispy Pata is a Fried Pork Hock cuisine that is PinPin's signature cuisine. Everyone that comes to PinPin will order this signature cuisine. And my kids, they really loved this fried pork hock cuisine. I like this cuisine too but will not eat too much of the fatty part. I prefer the lean meat.

Shrimp and Vegetables in Sweet Spicy Sauce

In total, we ordered four different Filipino cuisines and a tub of steam rice when we dined there that evening. The Crispy Pata was the first cuisine to be served. After that we had to wait for about fifteen minutes for the second cuisine to follow. But later the rest of the orders just came one after another within ten minutes. Although, there are not many Filipino restaurants of the same size which has the range of cuisines this restaurant have in Vancouver but there are some smaller ones around. Still, most Filipinos prefer PinPin Restaurant over these smaller others. There is not really any other Filipino restaurant around Fraser Street but in Vancouver there are some smaller ones. PinPin also has an outlet in Surrey on Scott Road too.

Pan Fried Squid

I have never been to the PinPin Restaurant in Surrey but have dined in the restaurant on Fraser Street a couple of times. I guess the standard and flavours of the cuisines between the two of their outlets are pretty much the same. The Filipino cuisines served in PinPin has a wide variety of flavours and importantly, authentic. It is a good place to dine but some of the cuisines can be rather pricy. Portions are average but taste, flavours and authenticity out weighs everything else.

Baking Malaysia's Favorite Pineapple Tarts

Home Made Pineapple Tarts

Sometimes when our friends get together we like to cook or bake some of the best Malaysian favorite cuisines or cakes. And one of the most popular of the cakes is undoubtedly the Pineapple Tarts. These mouth watering, flavourful and tasty pastry cakes are most popular during festive seasons in Malaysia. They are not that easy to make but with the right ingredients, portions and a few friends, they are the most delicious pastry to pop into the mouth when baked.

Best Pineapple Tarts in Vancouver

Whenever, we have friends going to Malaysia, we will have them bring back to Canada some of the best pineapple jam when they return. And when we have the opportunity to get together, we will have the ladies bake up some of the finest pineapple tarts money can not buy in Vancouver. We have in fact, during several similar occasion baked hundreds of these mini pineapple tarts in one friend's home. And distributed among our friends after that. These home made pineapple tarts are more flavourful, fresher and tastier than the imported ones.

I am not so much into baking, but the ladies in our group are definitely good at that. Most of us learned from one another or picked up the experience from someone else. And the ladies can really make some of the best Malaysian cakes, pastry and delicacies. These home cooked items are even better and more authentic than those that are found in the Malaysian restaurants in Vancouver.

Dining at the top of the mountain

Ilia's Club House with Fried Chicken Breast

Went up to the mountain to dine with some of my colleagues in Club Ilia at SFU's corner stone which is located in SFU's Burnaby campus. I have been here several occasions before and each time here, I like to try out something different. For a rather small set up, Club Ilia has a pretty good range of cuisines, serving western type cuisines to eastern cuisines, which I have had the chance to try most of them at different occasions. The other day, when I was there, I ordered the Ilia's Club House, which is their signature cuisine. The chicken burger was a mouthful. The cuisine came with alternatives of fries or salad but I asked for half portion of each.

Fried Rice

Among the orders made from among my colleagues were the more familiar eastern cuisine, fried rice which was garnished with spring onions and bean sprouts. Looks really delicious but looks can be deceiving. I have had the Thai Green Curry Chicken with Rice cuisine during my previous occasion here and that was okay. So, I felt this Asian cuisine should be just as tasty and flavourful. This was the only Asian cuisine from the menu ordered that day. The person eating the fried rice, said he liked it.

Beef Steak

There were twelve of us dining at Club Ilia on that day and each of us had ordered a cuisine different from the other. So, I had the chance to take the photos of twelve different cuisines but I have only selected just a few photos of the best cuisines among the samples to showcase in this article because I would like you to see the range of cuisines served at Club Ilia is really wider than one could imaging. The food served here are kind of decently good and flavourful but the choices are also plentiful.

Most Authentic of Malaysian Delights in Vancouver

Sambal Anchovies

I had the opportunity to join two other friends for a real authentic Malaysian cuisine treat at John 316: Malaysian Delight a few days ago. They are located in Richmond but have an outlet newly opened not too long ago. This new place of their's is in North Vancouver on Lonsdale Avenue. Their main restaurant in Richmond is temporary closed for renovations. So, they did not moved but is expanding their business. The Lonsdale Avenue location will be their second. This new location opened less than four months ago and already attracting quite a good crowd, especially on the weekends. John 316 has always been on the top of my favorite Malaysian restaurants list in Vancouver because their cuisines are the most authentic to me and many of my friends.

Beef Rendang

They are a good representation of authentic Malaysian cuisines. And not surprising, the authenticity of their cuisines at the new place has not been compromised at all, in spite of being so crowded at times. Although, there were some minor complains about the waiting time and the below expectation services due to over crowding in their restaurant, they are are still my favorite Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver. Importantly, their cuisines are still authentic and flavourful.

Curry Halibut

On that day, between the three of us, we ordered a cuisine each from the menu. I started with the Sambal Anchovies which was really a flavourful, crunchy and spicy cuisine. A good appetizer to start the lunch. The other two cuisines we ordered were the Beef Rendang and Curry Halibut. The beef in the rendang cuisine was tender and spices used in the cuisine makes it wonderfully flavourful. Unlike the previous two cuisines, the Curry Halibut was the only cuisine among the three that was served with a bowl of curry gravy. We actually polished up all the three cuisines right to the bottom, not leaving even a scrap of meat or vegetable. We enjoyed the authentic cuisines and had a wonderful meal at John 3:16 Malaysian Delight.