Rikka Japanese Kitchen – New Westminster, BC

Rikka Japanese Kitchen
28 – 8th Street
New Westminster, BC
(604) 521-3391

Oozing simplicity from its pores, beginning with the subdued decor and partitioned dining space, Rikka Japanese Kitchen is situated not far from the entrance to the New Westminster SkyTrain station.   As a result, the characters outside the restaurant are on the doggy side, and its clear some of those scraggly folks are trying to treat the nearby businesses are their own personal washrooms (signage in place telling them its just for customers) and kitchens (e.g. while I was waiting for my meal to be brought to my table, a strung out woman came bursting in and started aggressively shuffling around the sushi bar counter and then loudly demanded “where’s your plastic forks!?”).

With the lunchtime business seemingly one of their major draws, given the dozen or so price friendly ($8~$9) options, I had made my way there for a sit down meal.  Parking is a bit iffy, so if you drive, I suggest you try to find one on the road a block or two along 8th where they have yet to install parking meters.  A sandwich board outside on the sidewalk is their main promotional tool for these lunch deals, so don’t be surprised if you’re not the only one drawn in.

Joe’s Atlantic Grill – Port Moody, BC

Joe’s Atlantic Grill
2410 St. John’s Street
Port Moody, BC
(604) 931-8765

Unfamiliar town.  No map.  One main street.

Sounds like a perfect recipe for either a wonderful random discovery or a tremendous let down.  “Wonder what it will be this time” I thought, after we parked the car and did a quick walk along St. John’s Street.  Passing by the Caribbean-flavoured Rehanah’s Roti, spotting the Filipino Rosario and seeing a ubiquitous Japanese restaurant during our stroll, we quickly nixed the ethnic options for something a little more closer to home.

As we came to Joe’s Atlantic Grill that resides in an older building in this part of Port Moody, on what seems to be the major thoroughfare that cuts through this community, we scanned inside as well as the posted menu by their door and figured it couldn’t hurt.  Some late-morning grub/early lunch was what we wanted and it seemed safe enough.

Paradise Vegetarian Noodle House – Burnaby, BC

Paradise Vegetarian Noodle House
8681 10th Ave
Burnaby, BC
(604) 527-8138

Branching out and exploring new cuisines and ingredients I believe is part of the appeal of doing what we do, as I’m sure other regular food bloggers will attest.  Vegetarian cooking is one that I’m not wildly enthusiastic about, because let’s face it, carnivorous dining is where it’s at.

So you can imagine the hesitation or perhaps curiosity that was swirling around in my mind, when I decided to drop into a visibly named vegetarian establishment that served up Vietnamese food.  Would it be a new found paradise for me, as their namesake showed, I just had to find out for myself.

With blinds obstructing the view inside, as well as the sun’s glare off the front windows, I wasn’t sure what waited for me inside the Paradise Vegetarian Noodle House.  Upon entering, I found several tables already occupied.  By what looked like a middle aged man and his elderly father, another had a trio of big young gents dressed in utilities worker overalls, and then a group of four office workers.  And everyone was being attended to by this petite smiling woman, who was hustling back and forth from the kitchen.

Midam Rice Cake House – Burnaby, BC

Midam Rice Cake House
#110 – 4501 North Road
Burnaby, BC
(604) 568-5357

Not a dessert man, am I.  But after a hearty meal of Korean-style barbecue, we took a short walk down the stairs from the second level of this commercial complex to close out our dinner with some sweets at another establishment.

I only had a faint recollection of this place from a previous walk around and approaching 9:30pm, I wasn’t sure I’d get my chance as I reckoned that the closing hour was near.  Luckily, there was still thirty minutes on the clock and the employees inside were welcoming and gave no sense they were in a hurry to wrap up.

Ramen Santouka – Vancouver, BC

Ramen Santouka
1690 Robson St
Vancouver, BC
(604) 681-8121

I had to dig deep into my computer hard drive to make this an almost all-cellphone picture post.

The Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan) outlet of Santouka was the site of my first taste of this delicious tonkotsu-shio base ramen originating out of the northern island of Hokkaido.  The distinct mini-ume that sits in the middle of the bowl will always remain in my mind, as the signature topping at Santouka.

As I’d already touched on the history and background of this popular Japanese ramen chain when I visited one of their non-Japan based outlets in Hong Kong, I’ll skip that here.  Instead, I’ll mention that for this newly opened Vancouver location, I saw clear indications on the job posting boards in Vancouver for Japanese ex-pats mentioning Santouka coming here as far back as last summer.  So I knew that they would eventually be here and I anxiously awaited where they might end up setting up shop.