Soup - Vancouver Restaurants

 

H-Mart – Korean food fair downtown

H-Mart (wikipedia, website, map, 200 – 550 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada) is a Korean-American grocery store chain with many locations throughout North America. In Vancouver they are on the second floor at the corner of Robson and Seymour – a prime spot in the downtown shopping district.

From a recent press release by H-Mart Online:

As you enter the store, your eyes are greeted with a foyer full of small electrics, including rice steamers and griddles. From there, you enter a world of household necessities including ‘Joy Gloves.’ Which brings up a point. Some product names just don’t come through translation to have the same impact in English as they did in their native country’s language.

[…] The prepared foods are tasty as well. The kim-chee from the refrigerator case is top notch, as are the fried beef and sesame chicken. In the freezers are everything from squid and octopus to red bean ice cream. Try some of the gyoza or steamed dumplings for a treat. There are also frozen ducks in the case labeled ‘duck, parts missing.’ It’s best to not think too hard about which parts are absent.

I really like their gyoza and kim-chee, as well as their prepackaged sushi which becomes discounted near the end of the day.

But a little-known feature of this grocery store is the food court that is at the north side facing Robson street. Here you can get a variety of popular Korean dishes such as the spicy tofu soup, spicy beef broth, seafood pancake, and many more (menu shown below).

I tried the Item #5 which is described as “Mixed Vegetables and Rice in a Stone Hot Pot” ($8.50, pictured below) – it is called Bibimbap in Korean.

The ingredients are arranged artfully on rice in a super-hot stone bowl, and it’s up to you to mix them up and wait a couple minutes for everything to cook.

In the photos below I’ve shown what the dish looks like before and after mixing the ingredients. It tasted fabulous – the combination of rice, egg, vegetables, and meat was quite filling and satisfying but also was non-greasy and seemed healthy.

The stone bowl remains piping hot for a long time; after resting my chopsticks on it for a minute the wood became almost too hot to touch. The dish is served with some kim-chee (spicy Korean pickled cabbage) and a warm soup broth with green onions.

After enjoying Item #5 for a second time, I’ve decided to make the H-Mart Korean Supermarket one of my regular dining spots. Visiting the food fair is like taking a mini vacation to Korea – most of the other patrons seem to be talking in Korean, and many of the signs are in both Korean and English.

Bibimbap Korean food ($8.50) from H-Mart Market in Vancouver BC Canada - before mixing the ingredients.

Bibimbap Korean food ($8.50) from H-Mart Market in Vancouver BC Canada - before mixing the ingredients.

Korean Bibimbap dish after mixing the ingredients in the hot stone bowl.

Korean Bibimbap dish after mixing the ingredients in the hot stone bowl.

H-Mart Korean Food Fair Menu, located on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver.

H-Mart Korean Food Fair Menu, located on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver.

Beyond Robson has a review of the H-Mart food court from 2007.

36,910 views - Posted Monday, June 22nd, 2009

 

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (Video)

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (map, 201-1128 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-677-0426) is one of my favorite restaurants in Vancouver for “all you can eat” sushi. A couple of weeks ago I went there with my family (after running in the UBC triathlon) and we enjoyed a big feast. Price was around $22 per person. I made a video of the dishes which you can view at blip.tv, Youtube, or by using the player below.

For more photos please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.

“all you can eat”
sushi buffet

Here are the dishes and items featured in the video:

wasabi (Japanese horseradish)
green tea
chopsticks
ebi sunomono (shrimp and vermicelli salad)
tuna tataki (cooked on outside)
spinach gomae (with sesame paste)
miso soup
raw oysters (kaki pon)
assorted sashimi (raw fish)
tuna and salmon
spicy salmon sashimi
salmon teriyaki
agedashi tofu
oyster motoyaki (baked)
prawn tempura
nigiri sushi
maki sushi (rolls)
Alaska roll
California roll (very popular)
BC Roll (salmon + skin)
futomaki + seafood cones
yam tempura roll
chopped scallop cones
Abalone sushi (rare)

Click above to view Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (Video) from Vancouver, BC, Canada

Click above to view Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (Video) from Vancouver, BC, Canada

12,607 views - Posted Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

 

Cassis Bistro (Downtown, French)

I made a visit to Cassis Bistro (map, web site, visitor reviews, 420 West Pender St. Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-605-0420) and was really impressed. Cassis Bistro is a French tapas bistro hidden away in a somewhat seedier area of downtown Vancouver on the edge of Gastown (about two blocks from the Granville Skytrain station).

Ron Brill of Martiniboys (click here to read review) writes of “…elegantly simple, modern tapas fare…alluring French flavours…” and I concur. Cassis Bistro is definitely deserving of the positive buzz it has been getting recently.

Pictured below are some of the items we ordered. First was the complimentary amuse bouche, which was olives and antipasto served with French bread. The olives and antipasto were served in an interesting narrow tray and whetted the appetite perfectly. For an appetizer, we ordered a crepe with Brie cheese (around $10), which tasted great. Looking at the photo brings back fond memories! For the main course I ordered the Duck a l’Orange ($17.50). The menu describes this item as:

Duck and oranges: a combination popular in many countries. This dish consists of Muscovy duck braised with oranges.

Let me say, the Duck a l’Orange was fantastic (or should I say merveilleux “en Francais”). I am a huge fan of orange juice and oranges in general, and duck is always a special treat for me since I don’t cook it at home. So this was a match made in heaven.

We also ordered a side dish of some vegetables: beets and zucchini (also pictured below, around $5). This went very well with a side of bechamel sauce.

Amuse bouche (olives and antipasto) with French bread at Cassis Bistro in downtown Vancouver.

Amuse bouche (olives and antipasto) with French bread at Cassis Bistro in downtown Vancouver.

Crepe with Brie Cheese from Cassis French Bistro restaurant in Downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Crepe with Brie Cheese from Cassis French Bistro restaurant in Downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Duck a lorange (Duck and Oranges), $17.50 from Cassis Bistro, a French restaurant in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Duck a l'orange (Duck and Oranges), $17.50 from Cassis Bistro, a French restaurant in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Side order of market fresh vegetables from Cassis Bistro in Vancouver (beets and zucchini) - around $5.00.

Side order of market fresh vegetables from Cassis Bistro in Vancouver (beets and zucchini) - around $5.00.

Cassis on Urbanspoon

14,282 views - Posted Thursday, March 19th, 2009