Denny’s – Richmond

We were planning to to to IHOP for breakfast along the St Edwards Drive neighborhood where Accent Inn hotel is located but to our surprise, it was closed.  Thus, we trekked next door to Denny’s for the first time to try since there was not a lot of other breakfast restaurants available in the area.

It was not very busy at all for a Friday mid morning.  We were quite surprised to see that this Denny’s location was rather modern looking.  It is also very large too. You won’t notice it if you are seated on the right side of the restaurant.  You’ll see it has a huge section in the back if you walked to the washrooms.  Sorry we had no pics of inside the restaurant.  But here is the food we ordered.

This is a clubhouse on multi grain bread, ordered from the senior’s special menu:

The sandwich was cut very awkwardly if you noticed the shape.  It can’t be that hard to cut 2 triangle shapes is it? Also you’ll notice an out of place piece of turkey on top of one of the breads.  Taste wise, the sandwich was fair as the ingredients inside such as lettuce and tomato were fresh.  The fries were also done perfectly as it was fluffy on the inside and not overly fried on the outside.  It’s the thick cut type of fries too and was a very generous serving.

Next is the Denny’s American Slam breakfast plate which has just about all that you can ask for in a breakfast.

This comes with 3 eggs scrambled with melted cheddar cheese on top.  Furthermore, it also has 4 pieces of toast, 2  sausages, 2 bacon and a big serving of hash browns.  This was a great deal for all the food that you get. Eggs were cooked well and the hash browns were golden brown on the outside.

Lastly, we had the build your own breakfast where you can choose 4 items from an extensive list for around $12.

 

We chose turkey bacon, hash browns, 2 eggs (scrambled) and pancakes.

The build your own breakfast had a few disappointing features.  Firstly, you’ll noticed the scrambled eggs are overcooked from the burned brown colour on top of the eggs.  I was going to let it go but after the first bite, the scrambled eggs were way too dry and burned.  Furthermore, the hash browns on this order are slightly undercooked as you can see there is hardly any golden brown crisp on the top layer of hash browns.

How can they screw up the scrambled eggs and hash browns on this order while making presentable scrambled eggs and hash browns on the American Grand Slam that we ordered at the same time?

Oh well, it took a good 10 minutes before our server came by to ask how we were doing.  At this time I addressed the problem with the eggs.  I let the hash browns go since it was still edible, just not crispy.  The server immediately offered to remake the eggs:

The new scrambled eggs were better.  It was too bad we could not eat it at the same time as the rest of our breakfast as we were already finished.

The pancakes and the turkey bacon were prepared quite well though.

After getting our bill we were hoping our server would bring us the machine to use our credit card but she pointed us to pay at the front counter.  It was rather inconvenient because we had to line up to pay with other customers who were waiting in the same line to be brought to their table.  This setup was rather inefficient.  When the hostess saw we were there to pay, she walked back to where we come from, to our server’s station just to grab the card machine for us to pay… sigh…

The service here was mediocre and the food as we described was inconsistent.  It’s too bad IHOP closed next door, otherwise we wouldn’t have had to come to Denny’s for this subpar experience.

SFDD gives 2.5 out of 5 Delights.

Snowy Village Dessert Cafe - Richmond

During a hot August day, we stopped by a relatively new Korean dessert cafe located in the Alexandra food street.

They specialize in shaved ice desserts with premium toppings.  A bit pricey considering that you are eating ice.

It was already quite busy when we got there late in the afternoon.  We had to wait about 15 minutes before being seated.

We started with the baked toast with a fish imprint. 

Inside was a red bean filling.  It looked nice but upon tasting, it turned out to be just made out of regular bread squished together probably in a fish shaped panini maker.

We ordered their special mango shaved ice.  This is a large size.

It did have a huge amount of mango.  Also, the ice itself is quite creamy.  During our visit, we saw a big delivery of 4 litre jugs of homo milk.  Looks like they do make the ice by using the milk.  This ice dessert is nice to try but not something we would eat regularly like we would with ice cream.

This location is a bit crowded and does not seat very many people. Going back to the milk delivery, they had all the jugs delivered and placed on the dirty floor behind the counter. We didn’t feel this was a very hygienic place to store the milk and hope they will change their practice after witnessing this ourselves.  They were not shy about it either as it was easily visible to all.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights.

Shang Noodle House - Richmond

We were craving noodles so we stopped by Shang Noodle House in Richmond. It’s located near Richmond Centre on Saba road.  We’ve visited the Shang Noodle in the New Westminster Casino months ago so this will be a good chance for us to compare.

This location is a lot smaller than New Westminster's.  It had lots of windows letting in natural light though.  It was not too busy as we arrived Sunday for an early lunch just minutes after they opened.

We got the Groupon deal which comes with an appetizer, noodle, drink and dessert.

For this first appetizer we chose takoyaki.

We got 6 in total. These were good and not too mushy.  It had a generous amount of shredded seaweed on top.

The 2nd appetizer we selected pot stickers.

The skin on these pot stickers were a bit too chewy and rough. Inside had juicy pork and veggies.

For the first noodle we chose spicy beef tendon noodle.

It had a generous serving of beef tendon. The tendon was very tender and tasty.  As well, the noodles were very al dante.  These are Chinese style ramen noodles,

For the 2nd noodle we had the house special spinach noodle. It had quite of bit of meats including bbq pork, some scallops, and shrimp and also chicken.  The noodles were unique in that they were spinach green so it felt healthy.

For the 3rd noodle (not part of groupon) we got the dandan noodles.  This had a huge amount of peanuts on top as it should. 

It also had a deep garlicky peanut sauce.  Dandan noodles are not mean to have too much soup.  I’d say it’s a half dry noodle. The noodles were also very al dante.

At the end we got mango pudding dessert which we took home instead since we were all full.

Service was quick and our server was very friendly and attentive.  Even without the Groupon, the regular prices at Shang Noodle are very reasonable.  The only downside is that parking is limited here.  You’ll have to do pay street parking or find a nearby mall if it’s on the way.

SFDD gives 4 out of 5 Delights.

Pepper Lunch – Richmond Garden City

Pepper Lunch opened it’s 2nd Richmond location in the new Walmart Smart Centre shopping centre at the corner of Garden City and Alderbridge.  One thing going for this location is lots of parking spaces compared to the No3 road location.

It’s the same setting where you order and pay, then they will assign a table for you.

This location feels a lot bigger and brighter too.

We ordered the beef rice on the sizzling hot plate.  This one is the normal sized order:

This one is the extra beef order:

The bigger order didn’t look bigger but it actually is. We found it strange they did not surround the rice with the beef, just like what they did with the normal sized order.  Perhaps this is their way of distinguishing the sizes. 

Both plates arrive sizzling.  You then slowly mix the meat together with the rice and the veggies that come above the rice.  There is extra sauce on the table which you can add for more flavour.  The beef was very tender and was not too fatty.

We also ordered the salmon sizzling plate:

It comes with several pieces of fresh salmon that you would cook the same way.  Cooking salmon or pork would require more time just to be food safe.

Overall the flavours and service were rather consistent with the location on No 3 road.  It was not too busy during our visit on Sunday.  Luckily there is plenty of parking available in this shopping centre.

SFDD gives 4 out of 5 Delights.

Samsoonie Noodle & Rice - Richmond

Samsoonie is a small Korean restaurant located in a strip mall along Westminster Highway just across the street from the Richmond Public Market.  We heard some good reviews about this place from friends and family so we decided to come try it out Sunday morning.  We arrived just past 11am which looked like it just opened as the restaurant was still empty.

The menu had the typical Korean cuisines that you hear about elsewhere, except for Korean BBQ. 

We were pleased to know they didn’t have BBQ since we didn’t want out clothes to get too smelly in the summer heat.

We were served a couple of dishes of the cold side plates. This is kimchi and some potatoes.

We started with some pan fried dumplings.

They were large, plump and flavorful with a nice crisp.  It comes with a vinegar sauce for dipping.

We also ordered a Korean seafood pancake, small size.

This was one of the best Korean pancakes we’ve had.  It is fully loaded with lots of seafood.  It was also not too oily and did not contain too much batter.  It is served on a hot pan, but not too hot that it would burn the pancake.

Next is the beef Bibimbap.  It is served on a hot stone bowl which you can still hear sizzling.

You have to mix this together before it cools down because there is  raw egg cracked in the bowl.  It had lots of flavourful beef and veggies.  Usually we add Korean hot sauce to this rice to give it an extra kick.

Next we ordered a Korean rice cake plate.

This was only so so. We found it was drowned in sauce.  Also the rice cakes were rather doughy and bland.

Lastly we got the pork bone soup.

This comes with 3 big pieces of pork bone. The bone usually has lots of meat on it for you to enjoy. It comes with a small bowl of rice too.

Overall we enjoyed Samsoonie.  The service here was also polite and attentive.The prices were good and selection was vast. However, if you are expecting Korean BBQ, then this place is not for you.

There were only 3 of us and we couldn’t even finish all the food.    The parking lot here is not that great, so come early if you are visiting on a weekend. The restaurant filled up shortly after we got all our food so it seems to be a popular place.

SFDD gives 4 out of 5 Delights.

Gami Sushi – Richmond

We came to Gami Sushi for an early lunch Sunday.  Gami is located in a strip mall at Williams and No 3 road right by Safeway. We arrived a little bit past 11am and the restaurant was almost full.

We were served a pot of green tea.  This is the heaviest tea pot I’ve lifted ever.

To start, we ordered a dynamite roll.  It was presented nicely.  The prawn tempura inside was very fresh, still hot from the fryer.

Next we ordered their bento box lunch special.  For about $10, you get quite a bit in the bento box.  First, it comes with a miso soup.

The soup was hot and not too salty.

The bento box as you can see has vegetable tempura, fried gyoza, salad, teriyaki chicken, a small order of California roll and a bowl of rice.  You can choose other meats instead of chicken.

This was quite a good sized box. we noticed lots of other patrons ordered the bento box too.

Next we ordered a teriyaki chicken sizzling hot plate.

It comes with a bowl of rice too. When the hot plate arrived it was sizzling at full heat.  It sizzled for a long time that the veggies started to burn.  This was a good sized plate.  It had too much bean sprouts.  It would have been a bit better if they had more broccoli or other veggies to balance it out.  The chicken was slightly bland and was too dependant on the sauce for flavour.

The restaurant quickly filled up after 12pm.  Gami also has many specialty sushi rolls. We peeked over other tables and saw these specialty rolls looked quite nice.

SFDD gives 3.5 out of 5 Delights.

Hog Shack Cook House–Steveston

Hog Shack is located in the east side of Steveston Village near the water. They specialize in BBQ plates.  We got there early Monday for dinner and there was plenty of seating available. The inside of the restaurant is bright and clean.

We ordered the fried calamari to start.

It comes with a spicy aioli dip.  The calamari was a good sized serving and is lightly battered and not too oily.  We enjoyed it very much.

For our mains, we ordered a half rack of Louisiana style ribs.  It comes with a choice of 2 sides.

We opted for yam fries and cooked vegetables.  When we saw the size of the order, we thought they made a mistake and gave us a full order.  We confirmed it was indeed a half order and was pleasantly surprised by the size. 

The ribs were a bit chewy and needed extra sauce. Luckily they had a bottle of sauce on the table for us to add.  We would have preferred a bit more sauce on the ribs from the beginning. 

We also had an issue with the yam fries as they tasted burnt from being over fried.  We decided to bring this up to the server.  The server was very happy to bring us a replacement order of yam fries. As you can see it was a big difference. 

We were very happy at the quick response to rectifying the yam fries.

The next item we ordered was a beef brisket sandwich.

The sandwich was stuffed with lots of brisket. The brisket was very tender and tasty.  The fries were also a large order.  It would have been less messy if they served this on a bigger plate.  This was a very tiny plate!

The staff here are very friendly.  The menu also has many interesting food items which we look forward to try.  The prices are also very reasonable for the size that you get.  Despite a few minor hiccups during our first visit today, they were quickly resolved.  We enjoyed the the overall atmosphere and will sure to be back again soon.

SFDD gives 4 out of 5 Delights.

Ichiro Japanese Restaurant - Richmond

Ichiro is on the West side of Steveston Village serving authentic Japanese cuisine.  It seems to be run by Japanese servers and the sushi chefs look Japanese as well.  We haven’t been here for quite a few years since our last experience was just soso.  We brought out of town visitors here to try out so hopefully they have improved since then.

Cover of Ichiro’s menu. 

Their menu changed slightly from a couple of weeks ago when we passed by to look.  We asked the server and was told this is the new “Spring Menu”.  Most of the items and sets were the same.  The only difference was that all the prices shot up higher when compared to 2 weeks ago...

For starters we ordered a few different sushies.  On this plate are California roll, Dynamite roll and chopped scallop roll.

They cost a bit more than the other small takeout places.  Quality and taste wise, they were not bad nor spectacular.  At least the rice was cold which was good for sushi.

We also ordered the assorted sashimi trio.  It has salmon, taro and yellow tail. 

They were nice and thick.  One gripe was that the salmon had bones in it.  This was unacceptable for sashimi.  Even the all you can eat places we’ve been to in the past do not serve sashimi with bones.  We brought this up to the attention of our server and she was apologetic, yet mentioned it happens regularly.  Thus, you should be careful when ordering sashimi from this place.

Next was an assorted sushi plate with more California roll and various nigiri sushi.

Luckily no bones were in the sashimi. Overall it was quite fresh.

Next are the hot foods.

This is deep fried prawns in a spicy mayo sauce. The prawns didn’t seem to be coated with enough breading so it was not very crunchy.  The prawns were large but lacked flavor once you bite into the middle. Furthermore, the prawns just didn’t feel hot enough inside.

Grilled Squid: The taste was good except the squid was not tender enough.

Deep fried squid: This included some spicy mayo dipping sauce.  It was not overly fried and includes the squid tentacles as well.

Chicken Rice Bowl:

The chicken rice was odd because at the bottom there was lots of water.  This made the rice much too moist.  It was not overly flavorful either.

Eel Rice:

Eel rice was a bit pricey because of the eel.  The sauce was a unique sweet eel sauce, similar to teriyaki sauce.

Overall, the food quality was lacking.  Also, the food served here is very pricey and definitely not worth what they charge based on this visit.  We think some improvements need to be made to the food service before they can justify charging these prices.

SFDD gives 3 out of 5 Delights.