Food Review: Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

I’m currently not working on any fiction, but still want to have fresh content on this site in the meantime. Therefore, I will be posting some items from one of my other sites. The following is a review of Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which I had posted on my blog Let’s Eat Out Once A Week recently:

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I’ve worked in several industries before, and have come across many different co-workers. One whom I’ve always respected is Valerie, someone I worked with several years back when I was her supervisor. Because we’d both moved on from that particular organization, we’d mainly kept in touch just online until recently, when we agreed to meet up once in a while as foodie buddies.

And one Saturday evening recently, Valerie and I checked out Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen on Davie Street in downtown Vancouver. Neither of us had been to Gurkha, which, according to Valerie, has been around for about two years. You can’t actually look into the restaurant when passing by to see what it’s about because it’s not on ground level and you have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to it!

It was just after 5:00 p.m. – Gurkha is open noon to 2:00 and then 5:00 to 10:00 – so it wasn’t busy yet. We were seated right away and provided with a glass of water each. The setting was nice; it was dimly-lit but bright enough to see the menu and each other. There was a candle on our table too, which is standard for restaurants. After going through the menu for a few moments, Valerie and I decided to order four appetizers to share. We chose the Taas (lamb sautéed in peppers, onions, and spices), the Lollypop Chicken, the Piro Shrimp, and Haku Momo (Tibetan-style steamed veggie dumplings). We were asked how spicy we wanted the food, and we went with “medium.”

During the wait, Valerie and I resumed our conversation. Because Gurkha is a small and cozy place, the table in front of us could probably hear what we were saying, but it was all good. It’s always fun talking to her and I was very happy to hear she’s in a wonderful career right now. These are the types of conversations I enjoy the most because we don’t engage in gossip and she talks about interesting topics (unlike certain other co-workers I’ve worked with, who know nothing except gossip and complaining and negativity). She mentioned learning something from me before that she’s applying in her current profession, which made me smile because I thought I’ve learned a lot from her too. She’s just a very upbeat, positive, and talented person that I like hanging out with. (Unfortunately, some that I’ve worked with have negative attitudes and don’t want to listen to your suggestions/feedback. Instead, they think you’re picking on them and they try to get you fired by making crazy stuff up and talking behind your back, rather than trying to communicate like responsible adults – like in a certain advertising/marketing company some time ago. But that’s another story for a different day…) And oh, we talked about how great the Eastern TV channels are and my love for The Young and the Restless. 🙂

The Taas was the first dish that was brought to our table, and it was delicious!

Some pieces of the lamb were chewy, but it was still good. I found some of the lamb being crispy too. Valerie said the rice was puffy like Rice Krispies. Incredibly, this dish was spicy too! And we’d asked for “medium,” so we were curious how spicy it would’ve been had we gone with “hot.” 🙂 Anyway, you could say the Taas was spicy crispy!

The shrimp was next, and Valerie liked it, saying it was sweet. I couldn’t disagree. It wasn’t too spicy, which was different from the lamb.

As for the Haku Momo – which are the veggie dumplings – they were another winner. They came with two authentic sauces and Valerie liked them both. I also found the dumplings to be spicy! There were five apiece for us.

And finally, the Lollypop Chicken, which were marinated with ginger garlic and spices, and then pan-fried over their special house sauce… There were six pieces, so three apiece. This dish was another winner, with Valerie commenting that it was like great finger/street food. We also thought that the spiciness level was unique for each dish, which was fantastic.

With the great food and wonderful conversation, we both agreed Gurkha was a terrific choice. By the end of our meal, the place was packed and there were people waiting to be seated. My, it’s definitely a popular place!

Valerie suggested getting soup if we were to return in the future – certainly something interesting to check out for sure.

When: Saturday, February 28, 2015
What: 4 appetizers – Taas, Piro Shrimp, Lollypop Chicken, Haku Momo
Where: Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, 1141 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 1N2
How Much: C$9.00, C$9.00, C$8.00, C$12.00 (C$24.00 each after taxes and tips)
Final Thoughts: Wonderful place for dinner and conversation. They do take reservations, and on weekends are open 12:00-2:00 p.m. and 5:00-10:00 p.m. From Tuesdays through Fridays, the hours are 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and 5:00-10:00 p.m., and they’re closed on Mondays.

Food Review: Chipotle Mexican Grill (Burnaby, BC, Canada)

I’m currently not working on any fiction, but still want to have fresh content on this site in the meantime. Therefore, I will be posting some items from one of my other sites. The following is a review of Chipotle Mexican Grill in Burnaby, BC, Canada, which I had posted on my blog Let’s Eat Out Once A Week recently:

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The Metrotown location of Chipotle Mexican Grill opened in late January, and since its first day of operations, it’s been very popular judging by the long lineups every time I pass by (as I can see through its glass windows and doors).

I was there about two weeks after it opened, and the lineup was again very long. Since I had just done a transaction at the CIBC bank machine just a couple of doors down prior to entering Chipotle Mexican Grill, I was able to figure out how long the wait was after I compared the receipts. My bank receipt indicated my transaction took place at 6:30 (exactly), and my Chipotle receipt showed 7:00 (exactly), so the wait time was roughly half an hour! (It literally takes 30 seconds to leave the bank machine area and get inside Chipotle.)

Anyway, this Chipotle location (the other one being downtown on Howe Street) offers burritos, tacos, bowls, and salads. You could get chicken, steak, vegetarian, Sofritas, and a few other options. All of them cost C$8.95 plus tax (which comes to C$9.40). They even sell beer, and also offer a kids’ menu.

I ended up getting a Steak Bowl, and in it I had brown rice, black beans, steak, cheese, corn, lettuce, and some other goodies. Guacamole was C$2.20 extra, so I didn’t get that.

As mentioned, it’s really busy most of the time I walk by, and this time was no different. You can tell most of the customers are teenagers and the young crowd, and I suppose it’s a nice place to hang out with your friends – but again, it’s really busy most of the time. This one teenager was bragging to his friend that it was his ninth visit already – and it’d only been open two weeks! Anyway, a good hangout place for sure.

As for my food, I’m not that picky and I thought it was good. I mean, it wasn’t special or anything, but it was good. I thought the first bite of steak was chewy, but after that everything seemed fine. The rest of it was good.

From checking online, I can see that so far, the only reviews of this location are negative. For me, I didn’t have any complaints. The lineup was long but that was to be expected. The service was quick and friendly. It wasn’t a memorable visit or anything like that, but I didn’t have anything negative to say. Would I come back? Not sure, because of the long lineups. After all, it did take about half an hour before I was able to order. The Metrotown location of Chipotle Mexican Grill is THAT popular.

When: February 2015
What: Steak Bowl
Where: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Metrotown location, 2200-4700 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC
How Much: C$8.95 plus tax (or C$9.40 total)

Food Review: Burger King’s Pepperoni Bacon Whopper

I’m currently not working on fiction, but still want to have fresh content on this site in the meantime. Therefore, I will be posting some content from one of my other sites. The following is a review of Burger King’s Pepperoni Bacon Whopper, which I had posted on my blog Let’s Eat Out Once A Week recently:

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A couple of new items, or new deals, prompted me to visit Burger King recently.

First of all, they had recently introduced their Pepperoni Bacon Whopper, which seemed like a good idea because anytime you have pizza toppings…yummy!

Well…but the reality was different from perception. Sure, the burger had pepperoni slices in there (yes, I checked to make sure). However, it was still essentially a fast-food burger. Nothing outstanding about it. The pepperoni slices tasted good. I didn’t really taste any bacon, though, as I didn’t think there was that much in the burger. Personally, after having tried one of these Pepperoni Bacon Whoppers, I would say they were a bit overrated. I wouldn’t say I was a big fan of the Original Whopper to begin with. Probably hadn’t had one in several years.

The other “deal” I had spoken about at the top was Burger King’s lowering their prices for their 10-piece nuggets in mid-January, apparently in an attempt to compete with McDonald’s. In the U.S., the BK 10-piece nuggets went down to US$1.50. In Canada, their 10-piece nuggets were down to C$1.79. (And oh, by the way, I did ask for nuggets that day with the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper, but was told they “ran out.”)

So, on a separate trip and at a different BK location, I ordered the 10-Piece Nugget Meal (ie. with a pop and fries), which cost C$5.00 (C$5.25 with taxes). According to the outdated display menu, the 10-piece nugget meal was normally C$8.69 plus tax. Now, in order to be objective in a blog like this, I think it’s best to see what the service is like normally, so I refrain from asking for “extras.” (ie. I don’t initiate conversation about things that are supposed to be essential – I wait for them to provide those items, because it’s part of their jobs.) I want to see if these fast-food workers or servers or baristas, etc., whatever the case is, do their jobs properly. In BK’s case when I ordered the nuggets, they didn’t. (And so, I shall comment about it here accordingly.) Sure, they gave me ketchup for the fries, but they failed to give me any dipping sauces for the nuggets. They were supposed to give me options of which sauce I wanted, but never did that or even included a random dipping sauce on my tray. Oh well.

As for the actual taste, I thought the BK nuggets were better than the McNuggets from McDonald’s…but it should be also mentioned I hadn’t had nuggets from Mickey Dees in at least 10 (?) years? I just knew that I was never a fan of McNuggets from McDonald’s, so I had not bought that for over a decade. Perhaps the taste had changed since then, but who knows. Never been a fan, so I guess it’s not a fair comparison. The BK nuggets were crunchy. It’s best, though, not to eat these on an empty stomach. Doing so will definitely make one sick (in my case, anyway).

When: Mid-January, 2015 (two separate visits)
What: Pepperoni Bacon Whopper Combo; 10-Piece Nugget Meal
Where: Burger King
How Much: C$8.60; C$5.25 (prices include taxes)
Final Thoughts: Not a fan of the Pepperoni Whopper; thought there weren’t a lot of bacon pieces in there. The nuggets were better than McDonald’s, I thought, but I should say I hadn’t had McDonald’s McNuggets in several years…so it might not be a fair comparison. Best to not eat these BK nuggets when you’re really hungry.

Food Review: The Sixth Street Grill (New Westminster, BC, Canada)

I am currently not working on fiction, but do not want to leave this site unattended. Therefore, I will be posting some content from one of my other sites. The following is a food review of The Sixth Street Grill, an establishment in New Westminster, BC, Canada, which I had posted on my blog Let’s Eat Out Once A Week recently:

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The Sixth Street Grill, established in 2013, is located in uptown New Westminster – and one of the regular hang-out places for C.

She and I went there last Sunday afternoon, wanting to have a chance to sit down and catch up. C. is such a regular at The Sixth Street Grill that the owner and the staff know her name. It wasn’t busy at the time we were there, but C. told me it normally gets really crowded around dinner time.

C. recommended a few items on the menu, things that she’d tried before, but I decided to go with a Chicken Souvlaki, which is served with Greek Salad and rice pilaf, and also includes a soup to start and pudding/Jell-O for dessert. They didn’t have lemonade, so I ordered an Iced Tea and also had their Clam Chowder soup. C., meanwhile, had a Sockeye Salmon Filet and decaf coffee.

While we were waiting for the food, C. told me that the service here was pretty good, which was one of the reasons she was a regular. There were at least three flatscreens in the establishment, including one at the bar/counter area, and they had the Colts-Patriots AFC Championship Game on. (C. was facing the counter while I was facing her, so at times I had to turn around to check out the game when the Patriots had drives going on offense. I also relied on the mirrors to my right, showing the other two monitors. 😛 Another sidebar: With the victory, the Patriots’ Tom Brady was headed for his sixth trip to the Super Bowl; for a guy who was a very low-round draft pick and did not have everything handed to him at the start of his NFL career,… you just have to root for him because he was an underdog and had gone on to have such an accomplished career.)

When the food came, C. commented that her salmon was a bit dry, but still delicious.

I was happy with my souvlaki; I thought the portion was generous. The chicken was very tender and I liked the salad and the tzatziki sauce. The dish also came with garlic bread.

The Sixth Street Grill provided a great chance for C. and I to catch up about what was going on with our lives. It was great. And, oh, before I forget, there was dessert too. I went with a Jell-O, with whipped cream (which, again, was included as part of the meal). C. went with a pudding.

When: Sunday, January 18, 2015
Where: The Sixth Street Grill, 413 6th Street, New Westminster, BC, V3L 3B1
What: Chicken Souvlaki (includes a soup and dessert); Iced Tea
How Much: C$11.95; C$2.00  (C.’s Sockeye Salmon Filet was C$12.95)
Final Thoughts: Good meal, good deal, good service, and a good place to hang out and chat…especially if you are there before the dinner

Food Review: Skyline Chili (Cincinnati, Ohio)

I am currently not working on fiction, but do not want to leave this site unattended. Therefore, I will be posting some content from one of my other sites.

The following is a blog post about Skyline Chili, a famous fast food place in Cincinnati that I had stopped by earlier this month during my trip to Dayton, Ohio. This post was originally published on Let’s Eat Out Once A Week:

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On the Saturday during the week I was in Dayton, I took a one-hour ride to Cincinnati because I originally wanted to catch a Cyclones ECHL hockey game that evening (ticket not yet purchased) and then a Bengals-Steelers NFL game the following afternoon (ticket already purchased).

I’d heard that if I went to Cincinnati, I ought to check out Skyline Chili, which has several locations in the downtown area. I was dropped off at around Vine and 14th in downtown Cincinnati, and I got off and walked around. I knew there was one Skyline Chili location on 4th and Sycamore, which was within walking distance. However, when I got to 7th and Vine, I saw one of their locations right there. Yay!

I’d never been to Skyline Chili before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was asked to sit anywhere I wanted, and then a server/waiter would come and take my order. There’s a menu at the table, so I looked through it. Soon enough, one male server guy came over and I asked for his suggestions. He asked me to look at the top right corner of the menu, going over the Chili Ways, which was their signature dish with chili and shredded cheddar cheese served on top of spaghetti. He was very helpful, even showing me the different sizes of the plates when I asked.

I finally went with a Large 5-Way Chili, which included diced onions and beans, as well as a regular soda. The guy brought over my drink and also a complimentary dish of small biscuits, and suggested I squirt some chili sauce onto them and enjoy as a little snack. Very friendly and nice.

After my chili was prepared, a waitress came over and brought it to me. She was very helpful as well, and offered a bib, which I declined. Sitting there and just observing the staff, they were all helpful and took the time to make sure the diners/guests were satisfied. This was way better service than any restaurant I’d experienced in Vancouver. All servers and waiters/waitresses in Vancouver, you should all seriously be ashamed of yourselves and your sense of entitlement…but I’ll digress.

The waitress later came back to see how my food was, and chatted me up. She asked me if I was from out of town, so I casually said I was from “Dayton.” (haha) She suggested I check out RedsFest, a fan fest held by the Cincinnati Reds! Alright! Since I was trying to be responsible with my budgeting, I decided that checking out RedsFest was better than the ECHL hockey game, and when food is factored into the equation, I would only be able to pick baseball or hockey. (Yeah, I have a credit card with a huge limit, but still…) The waitress also told me how to get to the RedsFest, which was being held at the convention center.

Going back to Skyline Chili, it’s essentially a fast food place but someone takes your order after you’re seated. They bring the food to you, and you pay at the end. Obviously, if you’re eating the chili, it’s best to wear a bib as it could get messy. I know that customer service people in food places don’t make much money, so I gave them a 20% tip at the end when I went up to pay. They gave better service than any place up in Vancouver, and quite frankly, I wonder why those folks (in Vancouver) even deserve tips to begin with. But that would be a topic for another post.

Anyway, after Skyline Chili, it was off to RedsFest! I just walked in the direction that the waitress gave me, and then once I saw a couple of men walking with a bunch of kids who were wearing Reds caps, I knew I was on the right track. I asked the men if they knew where RedsFest was being held, and they said to just follow them, as that was where they were going too!

When: Saturday, December 6, 2014
What: Large 5-Way Chili; regular soft drink
Where: Skyline Chili Seventh & Vine, 643 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
How Much: US$8.19 for the chili
Final Thoughts: Wonderful chili and awesome service. I think they went above and beyond. Simply wonderful!