Raymond "Roll me over, I'm done" O.'s Profile

Great hidden gem along Bute St and just off Davie St. One of the many locations that should have the recognition of places along Davie, but aren't so they are what I call  - "Off Davie".

Friendly people with great food and great service. The main attraction which of course are the varieties of empanadas some filled with organic ingredients such as corn or the more expensive ones such as wild salmon.

If I need something more fulfilling than a samosa, but not as big as a calzone, I reach for an empanadas. For $3.95, it's a meal replacement in itself.

Talk to the guys behind the counter and they will gladly help you out with any questions you may have and even provide a sample to try.

They offer it in ready-to-eat hot and toasted or if you plan on getting a couple for the next day or a party, they also have the cold ones so you can heat them up yourself and they will be as fresh-tasting as the toasted ones like you just got them straight from the store.

Kudos to the owner. I don't mind it being Off-Davie. It keeps the prices low and the quality ingredients high. This place has potential. I can't wait to see what other filling he can concoct next.

Woke up early and decided to have breakfast over here this morning. For $14.95 I thought it was a steal. No line up. Yay. None much selection. Boo.

Just your basic breakfast items you find elsewhere - bread (white, wheat, multi), eggs benedict / eggs florentine (underneath stale English muffins),  pork bacon / turkey bacon, pork sausage / turkey sausage, hash browns (crispy!), 4" pancakes, french toast, waffle (soggy!), blueberry yogurt, cheese (swiss, cheddar), cereals, and fruits with some soaked in brine to make them last longer and taste sweeter (melon, honeydew, watermelon, grapes).

That's it. Oh and your drinks (coffee, tea, juice). Okay, now I covered everything. Half of these I didn't mind tasting. The other half not worth coming back for more. I could have just walked over to Twisted Fork and get a more decent breakfast for the same amount.

The quality and taste you'd understand when you see hotel guests walking in with vouchers. Not really worth for paying customers. This is the breakfast buffet selection I'd expect in a 2 star place like Day's Inn or Comfort Inn or any Inn for that matter.

No apologies for my unenthusiastic review. You are a casino that rakes in millions and you don't just call your restaurant an eatery, but "The Buffet", right? In fact you don't stop there at imitating Vegas places because now you're building an offshoot place called "The Hotel" just like Mandalay Bay's concept.

So the comparison is an attention called to itself. And besides, why make excuses of not comparing to world-class spots. Do you want to  increase your standards or just remain low and forever make excuses for your sub-standard quality because you're in Richmond and not Las Vegas? Exactly.

2 STARS + BONUS 1 STAR FOR NOSTALGIA

New branch in Vancouver with a 20% off for their grand opening promo. I grew up patronizing this chain on our family road trips. How can I pass this offer when I can eat and reminisce at the same time.

Now I'm a family man myself I look back at the cheap thrill and how little it takes to satisfy me. The restaurant staff are busy. The assigned waitress already apologizes for the wait time of the order even before we begin ordering. Uh oh.

They haven't gotten their act together for this branch. Hopefully in time. In the meantime, you can hear people complaining if their long wait. While they have rear parking to the tune of $4.00 an hour. Because of the extreme long wait, I had to buy another hour. They reimburse for parking.

The place decor still hasn't changed. The patrons look the same. And the staff their cheery self.

The food is lined up by the glass window and someone on the mic had to alert the staff to go get them. When ours arrived, the pancaked was overcooked (what happened to fluffy?) and the the waffle was not crispy. The saving grace is the steak omelette and the side of onion rings were perfectly cooked.

It was worth a shot to relieve my road trip dining experience. Don't think I'll be back unless I feel a sense of nostalgia years from now.

Great service. Great food. Great ambiance. What can I say, it was great.

The facade doesn't do justice to how the restaurant looks and feels inside. From the outside with fading paint I had the impression of an old, unkept bistro that wants to command a high price. How dare they!

But that changes when you step inside, the interior is welcoming. You are greeted with a bright interior and tables adorned with white table cloths and napkins.

Even for Brunch, you can easily run a bill of at least $40 per head and get carried away with appetizer selections such as the soup of the day $7.50 (which was Prawn Brisque that day), Duck Liver Terrine $12.00 or even Sauteed Escargots $11.50.

Salad selections can range from $7.50 to $19.50.

For the main course, I recommend the Provimi Veal Liver $22.50 or some Grilled Wild Salmon $19.50 (you don't have to tell them not to overcook it).

But for God's sake whatever you do leave room for dessert. I recommend the Half-Baked Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Ice Cream, Cherry Compote $9.50. I'm on a mission to find who makes their White Chocolate Ice Cream. I was told it wasn't made in-house, but definitely hand-made for them. Who is it? Who are you? Aargh!

May I have the bill please. Double Aargh!

I love this concept store of 7 Season Fish Company and I believe this is the future on how they can move forward that they need to revamp their Kits location as well.

Apart from their usual, clean seafood counter, this specific location houses an on-site grill and a few tables and chairs to cater to eating their fresh seafood on the spot.

Tried the following:

1. Clam Chowder. Delicious. Very tasty. I would have loved a thicker soup base, but at least you know their soup wasn't thickened with fillers. Now if only they served this on a sourdough bowl...perfect.

2. Fried Oysters. Best I've tried in Vancouver. Beats Rodney's Oyster House by a hundred miles. Sold for a $1 each and boy are these huge. I don't know how I manage to finish 6 of these, but I did. So there.

3. Spot Prawns. This was not on their menu, but they happily concocted a butter and garlic creation for me to devour along with the other orders.

4. Cod Fish and Chips. Look no further. Skip Go Fish and Pajo's and head straight to 7 Seas for the best experience. Evar!

5. Lobster Poutine. At first I was disjointed as I was expecting a gravy base. This was served on a curry sauce base. After a few mouthful I began to appreciate the taste.

Also to commend is the very friendly cashier + server who was more than happy to help us out as we took our time in the store. Traveling all the way to Langley to have this kind of service made is worth the distance.

So with this rocking experience, why only 4 stars? A few nitpicks:

- They need to perfect their french fries to make it more crispy than soggy. I hope they have time to double fry these babies.

- They need a better location facing the water than a strip mall. But if that means higher prices, I'll settle for the current location.

- There is only one cash register so if you happen to go same time as everyone else, there can be a wait.

Like I earlier mentioned, it's a concept store. If they can learn from this and expand these kinds of stores they will definitely attract a following and give those other fish and chips stores a run for their money.

I like this place and quite happy to have found an authentic tasting Korean restaurant in Downtown Vancouver.

The flavours of their dishes remind me of the Korean restaurants I used to frequent in LA and especially around K-Town with Korean colleagues. The pricing is definitely Vancouver standards, but once you get numb, err, used to the high pricing you will find that a few Korean restaurants in the area like these make it worth going.

If you can't enjoy as a group. I would recommend the tofu soup which is very tasty as well as the Seafood Pancake.

The layout and the black colour scheme of the restaurant is a bit odd. It looks like it was a former bar and the interior was kept as is without renovation.

Service is pleasant. One of the few restaurants that happily accommodate having a baby. Of course, we do always go off hours as courtesy to other patrons.

In any case, there are only three Korean restaurants I find most authentic in Vancouver and this is one of them.

Was able to try Sir Modern Barbershop from a Groupon promo offering $16 for their $40 haircut package and an additional 20% discount on products purchased that day- which I'm always a sucker for trying out products especially when it's the signature scent of Aveda.

After reading reviews here about the place I just kept on delaying using the Groupon for fear of getting a bad haircut or service. Luckily I ended up Justin - a cool dude with cutting skills and a good conversation.

There are quite a number of staff so understand that there will be horror stories as well as great experiences depending on who you are paired with. That's why we need to hear feedback from other people so we can cut to the chase and ask for a person they may recommend.

At this present questionable economic situation of rising prices, a $40 haircut is no joke anymore. You'll end up $50 with tip and hope your hair doesn't grow as fast.

The location is what makes it pricey. The ambience is laid back and the alt/indie music playing in the background is definitely a match to the wood, leather and mirror composition.

How can they survive? Their obvious bulk of clients is from folks working at the financial district.

There are other services that I think I'll just do myself at the comfort of my home. But on days that I feel lazy, it's good to know us men can also pamper ourselves in a modern-day barbershop of all places that is Sir.

After Dragon Ball Tea House withdrawal, I've hadn't had pearl tea drinks for quite some time.

Passing by Surrey area I spotted a branch of Pear Fever and decided to stop by.

I always enjoyed their fresh taro and wanted to know if they were consistent, which they proved they were yet again.

Pear Fever Tea House's always had good service and great interior. This branch didn't disappoint as well.\

My only complaint is that the taro balls had no sweet taste. Dragon Ball still wins this hands down. If they can perfect the bubbles, they will earn their 5 stars.

I've been here a couple of times already and still have a couple of more times to go due to my recent online coupon purchase.

I really love the idea of this environmentally touch-free car wash system. I like the promotions that they run once in a while if you join their membership program.

However, the car wash itself doesn't do much of a good job versus the typical automatic car wash.

Yes, this is good for people who are particular with anyone else touching their car and damaging any siding or moulding. But the execution doesn't do a good job.

The process of washing the car is slow. You have three car bays that can get backed up from the lengthy car wash process. If the car came out shiny, I wouldn't mind. Mine came out like someone just sprayed a high pressure washer on it. Each and everytime I saw spots on the lower portion of the doors which is typical when no scrubbing is involved.

Same goes for the vacuum system and automatic mat wash. My mats came out wet still and the attendant still had to dry them by hand.

I do appreciate the Rain X option on the glass which does work. But the pricing is too much to handle and the washing results don't encourage me to try out their membership.

If they lower the prices and I'm in the area, I wouldn't mind dropping by for a wash. As it stands for now, I'd have to look for another promo to patronise Easywash yet again. Show owner comment »

This is a Filipino restaurant that recently just opened around two weeks ago. It offers basic Filipino cuisine in small portions as a trade-off for slightly better ambiance than the others.

Actually reminded me of Rekado that practically did the same - a better-looking restaurant with smaller portions. Guess what? They closed.

My thoughts:

- There was a pretty limited selection of items down to the desserts
- They don't have the typical "Fresh Lumpia" (fresh spring rolls) on the menu. - - The "Crispy Pata" (deep fried pork leg) was unavailable.
- How did "Pad Thai" sneak up on the menu???

When you think of Filipino cuisine, you think of eating with friends and family. You think of generous portions for family-style eating. You order a big bowl of rice and selections of meat, fish and vegetable dishes that everyone can partake in.

In Kumare's case, the portions are ridiculously small especially the "Lechon Kawali" (deep fried pork belly). The side sauce comes in small portions as well that you're bound to ask for more.

The Kare-Kare (peanut-based oxtail stew) is known to have a thick soup base due to the abundant use of pureed peanuts and generous vegetables and oxtail. Again, their soup base was watery thin and you had to fight for ingredients.

I would understand if they wanted single-serve portions. If they do offer it as a combo meal like the other Filipino restaurants provide. Otherwise, if you were to offer the typical dishes then don't scrimp on portions or ingredients.

The desserts are made in-house. We tried the Sans Rival (cashew nut based cake which is crunchy and creamy) and weren't surprised to find yet again a very small portion. It was good though. I can only wish it was double in servings. Actually, everything should have been doubled for the price they charge.

They have a person directing the flow of the orders which looks impressive until we experienced messed up timing of orders. Our fried rice came out in now time. In fact it arrived 20 minutes ahead of the main dish. Which meant the bowl of rice was just sitting there by our table almost forever. Our friendly waitress took notice and apologised a couple of times whenever she happens to pass by our table and see we still didn't have any other food.

Finally one of the dishes arrived and we could start eating with the not too warm rice. And then it took another 20 minutes before our next dish was served. We asked in case they forgot and they were just pretty much backed up. But if portion sizes were small, what is there to be backed up? Too many tables ordering more than one of the same dish to satisfy the whole family?

Honestly you don't need someone directing the flow of food to the tables if you're just sending them out without proper timing on what table came first and what food items they have or don't have. And if they don't, then how long will it still take?

The only good thing I can appreciate is the amount of rice bowl we ordered and the very friendly service we experienced with our server.

Other than that, it's something I'm willing to experience once. After that I'd rather go back to Pin Pin (along Main) and LIttle Ongpin (in Richmond) which offers the same pricing structure for way more portions. I'll deal with a not too chic ambiance if only to have the exact kind of dishes in more generous portions for the same price.