Sensus Bistro: Pork Cartilage Ramen

As I said before the next dish I wanted to try at Sensus Bistro was the Pork Cartilage Ramen.  I finally got the chance to try it.

This was $7.95 and it’s quite a large portion size.  The soup looks flavorful and it was, it didn’t really taste like MSG.

There’s also quite a few pieces of the pork cartilage.  They were perfectly marinated and were fall-off-the-cartilage tender.  Even though they were soaked in the broth they didn’t lose any flavor.

Menya Japanese Noodle

Again Boyfriend and I may be late to the bandwagon but we finally visited Menya one day for lunch/brunch.  But boy-oh-boy I never expected traffic to be so congested on a Tuesday noon hour on Broadway.  Parking was hard to find!

We made it anyways, and was glad that there were plenty of seats available.  It also good that they take debit as payment.  I could tell by the number of Caucasians that were eating here also.

We also liked the tree stump stools, but we were glad we got the regular seats too.

They have a simple menu, but it’s nice that they have more than 3 choices of ramen.  I chose the normal Nagahama Ramen with a boiled egg while Boyfriend chose the Tonkotsu Miso Ramen, also with an egg.

Tapioca Express

I’ve been going to Tapioco Express since I was in high school.  I haven’t been there very often since but I know for a fact that some of the guys I knew in high school that haven’t seem to have gone forward with their lives (harsh words I know…but it’s the truth) are still going there, dressed the same way they did in high school.

Anyways, the reason why I don’t go there often is that their BBTs are pricey.  I mean, for the same price as everywhere else, you only get a small cup.  You’ll see later.

Their redeeming quality is that they make a mean Salt & Pepper Chicken, and they are the only BBT place that has Thai Tea, which is AWESOME.

Guu Aberdeen

Dinner at Guu!  Woohoo!  However, it’s only the one at Aberdeen, and I think that one has a reputation for not being up to par with the Downtown ones.  However, this was back at the time before the Canada Line was finished, we didn’t want to go drive all the way there, we settled for the Richmond location.

Maybe due to the fact I didn’t have high expectations, things were actually not bad.

First up, ordered a few things we always order at “original” Guu (I consider the Thurlow location the original, and this location has the same menu as that one).

The Beef Sashimi was good as always.  The meat was tender and not chewy.  The vinagrette was tangy and tasty.  A good start.

The Pumpkin Croquette is a must-order of mine.  It’s really nothing special but I really like it, it’s simple and always done well.

The pumpkin mash was slightly sweet and goes well with the mayonnaise sauce that tastes like thousand island dressing.

ShuRaku Sake Bar and Bistro

For F’s birthday dinner, I chose for us to head to Downtown via the Canada Line.  It’s convenient and since F and O haven’t been on it before, I thought it’ll be fun.

My restaurant choice that night was ShuRaku Japanese Bistro.

Just get off at Vancouver City Centre Station and walk 1.5 blocks and you’re there.  Directly across from Urban Outfitters.

The restaurant is basically one long corridor.  It’s not too dark so it’s great for taking pictures.  I love this kind of ambiant lighting.  Although it was a Wednesday night, it didn’t take long for this place to fill up.

Chapinlandia Guatemalan Restaurant & Bakery

Wendy and I really enjoy coming to Washington States many times a year.  One is to get away from the city, and more importantly, we love the deals that can be found at the malls and outlets!  We also get to try things that are not available back home as well.  This time, we went out of our well to visit Chapinlandia Guatemalan.  It is located in downtown Renton which seems to be under development as there are some new buildings that have been erected quite recently.  Let’s hope this development continues to spawn new places for us to try.

Right in the corner of the street.  Pretty easy to find (even easier with a GPS).

We had to park in the street behind the restaurant.   It was early evening, the store was quiet and we didn’t have a problem finding a spot.  The area was peaceful and the houses seem quite new.  A safe place to park.  Again, this is the heart of Downtown Renton.

Gyo-O 魚王

Wendy likes to check out the Klip magazine where they feature local restaurants and other interesting items.  The front cover to a recent issue had Gyo-O as one of the featured places (it sure pays to be on the front cover)!  Gyo-O is at a good location inside the usually busy Continental Centre in Richmond.  It is basically facing the ever-popular Pearl Castle, so it will be an easy find.

A nice night view from the outside.  I particularly enjoy the attempt for an authentic Japanese feel with the board signs, etc.

That wall just memorizes me.  I have no diea what it says, but it is pretty darn cool.  Unfortunately, they were playing an ancient Japanese show from possibly the early 80s and being a techie, the VCD quality of the show doesn’t do the TV justice (sorry, just a pet peeve).

Wendy thinks this place is more of a Sashimi Bar/Cafe than an izakaya.  They don’t really have tapas, but more sashimi rice bowls and noodle bowls.

This is their specials menu for the day.  The item that I ordered was the “Spicy Tuna & Salmon Bukkake Udon”.  I nearly bursted out in laughter after reading that (and took a pick and sent it to my male friends for a good laugh).  It was interesting that I could not not order it.