Lunch Specials - Vancouver Restaurants

 

glowbal grill steaks & satay (Yaletown)

glowbal grill steaks & satay (formerly known as glowbal grill and satay bar, website, map, 1079 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-602-0835) doesn’t need much of an introduction. Glowbal made international headlines in 2009 when teen-heartthrob Twilight stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner were spotted dining at glowbal and other restaurants around Vancouver. But apart from being a favorite of celebrities, glowbal is one of the trendiest, hippest places for the high-class citizen to enjoy superb – dare I say world-class dishes.

Our group of incredibly intelligent, geeky, and immensely wealthy software developers from a nearby office were probably some of the most casually dressed patrons at Glowbal today. I’m not sure where all these fancy people come from, but walking through Glowbal at noon on a weekday is like stepping into a movie set from perhaps the opening scene of a Bond spy thriller. The place exudes class and style, and they’ve got everything down from the subtle electro-jazz that pulsates, to the affable and dynamic serving staff who are up to date on the latest social nuances.

The food is some of the best I have tasted in this price range (which can be perused on their menu) and is incredibly flavorful, making use of the full palate and leaves me smacking my lips for every last morsel. Well, maybe this time I toned down the smacking, but beware upon the future occasion!

Today I ordered the Linguini off their lunch menu (pictured below), which came with jumbo tiger prawns, tomato, oregano, capers, stewed tomatoes, and of course olives. I’m sure that if you don’t like olives, or only want to eat olives and nothing more, executive chef Erik Heck and his staff will be able to accommodate your special dietary needs.

Vegetarians will note that this restaurant doesn’t advertise many vegetarian or vegan-friendly items on their menu. However if you end up at Glowbal I think you’ll do fine if you explain your needs to your server and they will be most amenable to providing tasty substitutions and a dish that you’ll likely enjoy.

Delicious Prawn Linguine from Glowbal restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver BC Canada.

Delicious Prawn Linguine from Glowbal restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver BC Canada.

Yummy Seafood Linguine pasta from Glowbal Grill in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Yummy Seafood Linguine pasta from Glowbal Grill in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Tasty Prawn Linguine from glowbal grill steaks and satay restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.

Tasty Prawn Linguine from glowbal grill steaks and satay restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.

Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar on Urbanspoon

11,056 views - Posted Friday, February 25th, 2011

 

Posh Japanese Sukiyaki (Broadway)

Posh Japanese Sukiyaki Restaurant (map, website, blog, 101 – 1788 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-737-7674)

I think that every successful restaurant needs a “concept”, a unique identity, something that differentiates itself in such an incredibly fierce competitive market that supports the dining industry in Vancouver.

It’s an industry which demands continuous hard work from employees and owners with little respite, where margins are typically low and consumer opinion (or a lack thereof) can make or break a business.

But the rewards from running a restaurant are high: an idea, creative vision, a passion for food and culture – all these can be transformed into a physical space that is temporarily occupied by visitors who seek to experience new tastes, sensations, socialize, be merry, and above all, satisfy their appetites with delicious, healthy food.

I tend to think about restaurants as “experience engines”. As a software developer I like to look at things in terms of the input, output, and transformations that occur during a process. For a restaurant, there are the physical ingredients and energy needed to prepare food – these are the obvious inputs. But there are also the less tangible things, like the moods and attitudes of the serving staff, the restaurant decor, the background music, and then of course the restaurant guests themselves.

But I digress, I really should be talking about the food at Posh.

Posh is an example of an expanding, successful home-grown restaurant chain with an excellent concept: Japanese Sukiyaki (wikipedia).

So what is Sukiyaki you may ask? Well, it’s a form of Hot Pot, where you have a gas burner at your table with a large cast-iron pot filled with a bubbling broth. The broth is made with a combination of Sukiyaki Sauce (soya sauce, sugar, and mirin) and cabbage. You add thinly sliced raw beef into the pot along with assorted vegetables, tofu, noodles and seafood, and everything cooks right in front of you.

The nice thing is that you decide exactly what you want to eat, and if you particularly like a certain item, such as the fish cakes (yum!), just order more of it! Or if you’re vegetarian, there are plenty of options such as tofu, spinach, and several types of mushrooms to make a soup that fits your diet.

Amazingly, Posh provides an “all you can eat” experience for $11.88 per person for lunch, or $15.88 per person for dinner. The restaurant always seems packed at peak times, so it’s a good idea to try making a reservation and coming early to put your name in the queue just in case.

Posh’s other locations include Richmond (map, 1123 – 3779 Sexsmith Road, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-303-7674), Burnaby (map, 105 – 6462 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC, Canada, phone: 604-434-7674), and Victoria (map, 102 – 1063 Fort Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, phone: 250-382-7674).

Below are some photos from our dinner at Posh on West Broadway. Hope you enjoy!

Everything cooking away at Posh Japanese Hot Pot restaurant in Vancouver.

Everything cooking away at Posh Japanese Hot Pot restaurant in Vancouver.

Guava yogurt mixed drink - nice and refreshing! From Posh restaurant in Vancouver.

Guava yogurt mixed drink - nice and refreshing! From Posh restaurant in Vancouver.

More hotpot cooking at Posh in Vancouver.

More hotpot cooking at Posh in Vancouver.

Vegetarian hot pot ingredients from Posh in Vancouver. Mushrooms, spinach, tofu.

Vegetarian hot pot ingredients from Posh in Vancouver. Mushrooms, spinach, tofu.

Posh on Broadway Photo Gallery by Geoff Peters.

Restaurant review of Posh by Angela Murrills from the Georgia Straight.

Blog from owner of the Posh restaurant chain.

Posh restaurant on Twitter.

Posh (Kitsilano) on Urbanspoon

93,920 views - Posted Friday, January 22nd, 2010

 

Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (Burnaby and Vancouver)

Fish On Rice Japanese Cuisine (website) is a popular Japanese “all you can eat” restaurant chain with two locations in the Vancouver area.

Their location in Burnaby (map, #201-4361 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC, phone: 604-439-8882) is about a 5 minute walk from the Patterson Skytrain station.

Fish on Rice’s Vancouver restaurant (map, 1414 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC, phone: 604-732-0112) is located at Broadway and Hemlock (one block from Granville), and has a patio.

“All you can eat” sushi is a very popular phenomenon in Vancouver, and Fish on Rice does it well. The Japanese buffet at Fish and Rice costs $11.95 for lunch (served from 11am to 2:30pm) or $20.95 for dinner (served between 4:30pm and 10:30pm). Their happy hour ($13.95) is between 4:30pm and 6pm.

At Fish on Rice, similar to other All You Can Eat places in town, you make your order by writing desired quantities next to items on a little piece of paper. Pass the paper to your server, and the food will start arriving as it’s ready. Take care: if you write an order that’s too large, the food will just keep coming! Or if you didn’t order enough, you can request more forms when you need them.

At the Burnaby location, there are many large private tatami booths with inset tables (where you take your shoes off to dine while sitting on cushions) – these are great for large groups or families. There are also a bunch of regular booths and tables for couples or smaller parties.

Below are some pictures of the delicious sushi and other Japanese items we ordered. Note that the restaurant serves all the popular kinds of sushi such as California Roll and BC Roll, but being sushi aficionados we ordered a bunch of less common items to explore the large and varied menu.

Nigiri Sushi pieces from Fish On Rice Japanese Cuisine Restaurant

Nigiri Sushi pieces from Fish On Rice Japanese Cuisine Restaurant

Assorted Tuna and Salmon Sashimi from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (all you can eat) in Burnaby BC Canada.

Assorted Tuna and Salmon Sashimi from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (all you can eat) in Burnaby BC Canada.

Teriyaki Vegetables from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (AYCE sushi) in Burnaby BC Canada

Teriyaki Vegetables from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (AYCE sushi) in Burnaby BC Canada

Vegetarian Udon Noodles from Fish on Rice Japanese Restaurant in Burnaby BC Canada (All You Can Eat).

Vegetarian Udon Noodles from Fish on Rice Japanese Restaurant in Burnaby BC Canada (All You Can Eat).

Inari (sweet bean curd wrapper) nigiri sushi (from Fish on Rice All You Can Japanese Cuisine in Burnaby)

Inari (sweet bean curd wrapper) nigiri sushi (from Fish on Rice All You Can Japanese Cuisine in Burnaby)

Vegetable Tempura (pictured in front) plus other assorted Japanese dishes (from Fish on Rice Japanese All you can eat buffet restaurant).

Vegetable Tempura (pictured in front) plus other assorted Japanese dishes (from Fish on Rice Japanese All you can eat buffet restaurant).

Fish on Rice (Burnaby) on Urbanspoon

25,938 views - Posted Monday, November 9th, 2009