Castle Korean BBQ & Japanese Restaurant 宮

Castle Korean BBQ & Japanese Restaurant 宮 (Closed! -> Reopened!)
Date: June 28, 2008 (Saturday)
Address: 280 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Leslie)
Phone: (905) 763-0620

it's said to be Authentic Korean BB.. & we found it quite authentic too..
cost for dinner is $12.99.. which included Jap Chae (Korean potatoes vermicelli), side dishes, rice & miso soup..


also included Pork Bone Soup 豬骨湯.. quite authentic..
we asked for more "refills" during the dinner..

with $2 extra, u can have lettuce..
i just learned that, Koreans like to use lettuce to wrap the BBQ meat, together with some special sauce..

meat including L.A. Galbi (Short Ribs) 牛仔骨, Bulgogi (Beef) 牛肉, Pork Galbi (Sweet & Spicy) 豬肉(有甜/辣), Chicken 雞肉, Fish Fillet (Tilapia) 魚柳, Salmon 三文魚, Shrimp 蝦, Squid 魷魚..

i liked the spicy Pork.. not very spicy yet its flavor was good (十分入味) !

the waiters/waitresses r all Korean.. & we believe some of them don't know much English.. coz we tried to order some meat with that same waitress & she still couldn't gave us what we want after coming back & forth for 3 times..

there were also jap food on their menu.. my friend went there once for lunch hoping to try their sushi/sashimi, however, they said they don't have jap food at that time.. so instead my friend tried the Korean food, the Hot Stone Pot with Rice (石頭飯), but she said there weren't much beef in it..

3 days BootCamp @ Vancouver - Day 2 & 3

Date: June 10-11, 2008 (Tuesday, Wednesday)
Place: Vancouver, Canada
Day 2

after a long day of "training", a colleague took us out for drink.. & she ordered the Yam Fries.. which was made of sweet potatoes.. i sort of recall seeing this somewhere in Toronto, but i've never tried it before.. it tasted good!

i then joined my aunt & we stopped by an ice-cream place.. it's called La Casa Gelato.. it's famous for its varieties of ice-cream.. 218 flavors!! photo-taking is not allowed inside the store, so i took some pics from the outside..

the parking is just across the street, & there is an area for customers to enjoy their ice-cream on the left side of the parking..

we had dinner at Kamei Royale Japanese Restaurant.. aunt said many Japanese travellers went there..
Address: #211, 1030 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver
Phone: (604) 687-8588

Kanpachi Sashimi, O-Toro Sashimi, Beni Sashimi

Ika Sashimi & Uni Sushi

Wild Salmon & Amaebi

Mirugai

we sat at the sushi bar & chat with the sushi chef throughout the dinner.. (he is Chinese & can speak cantonese..) he made a sushi roll for other customers & we asked him to put it there for us to take pic..


Chawan Mushi & Ika Yaki

service was good.. the waitress wore traditional Japanese kimonos.. they were friendly.. & the sushi chef said he likes taking pics of food as well..
re food, the sashimi was fresh & the food were good.. the O-Toro was excellent!
however, we both think that Miko Sushi is better..

dessert seemed to be a necessity during my trip..
we visited Marble Slab for ice-cream..


here, we first choose the ice-cream flavor, & pick the fruits or nuts or candies (aka Mixins) we like.. the server will then mix everything together on a frozen marble slab.. there are many choices of cones too..



Double Dark Chocolate with Strawberries (left) & Chocolate Swiss (right)

here's the menu..

i just found out that there are Marble Slab in Toronto too..
Day 3

it's half day for me as my returning flight was at 3pm.. "training" again whole morning & then i managed to spare an hour to walk around the town.. (actually just a walk on Robson Street..)

took some pics of the well-known Vancouver Public Library.. the building looks imposing..



so, this concluded my 3-days Vancouver trip..
training -> eating -> training -> eating again.. hee hee..

Ala Kitchen 阿拉 (Revisit)

Ala Kitchen 阿拉
Date: May 4, 2008 (Sunday)
Address: Unit 18, 21 Fairburn Drive, First Markham Center (Hwy 7 & Woodbine)
Phone: (905) 946-7990 / (905) 946-7992

i still remember that this meal was great (even thou it was almost 2 months ago)!!

酸辣湯 Hot & Sour Soup & 南翔小龍包 Steamed Pork Dumplings

鎮江崤肉 Cheng Kong Pork Cake
..this one was fabulous! i love it.. 看下去好像「肥羔」(lard), 但其實是用肉汁來做的崤肉..

招牌香酥鴨 Special Deep Fried Duck

賽螃蟹 Fried Egg White with Scallop

荷香東坡肉 (配 4 塊夾包) Don Po Meat Lotus Leaf wrapped
..tasted GOOD!! we seldom eat this at home so it feels good to have it once in a while (regardless of cholesterol)!!


ME highly recommended us trying their dessert 高力芝麻 Deep Freid Egg White Ball with Mashed Sesame.. however, we were so full & forgot to order it before we asked for the bill.. it sounds like a perfect dessert for me as i don't like the red bean ones.. gotta come back & try it later..

Adidas Football: Dream Big

Adidas Football

p.s. busy watching Euro 2008 lately..

3 days BootCamp @ Vancouver - Day 1

Date: June 9, 2008 (Monday)
Place: Vancouver, Canada
Day 1

i just came back from my 3-days business trip to Vancouver.. it's actually an orientation program offered by my company (& they called it "bootcamp").. our head office is in Vancouver & that's where our "bootcamp" was held..

i booked my flights & accommodation through my company designated travel agency.. i'm not familiar with the Vancouver area so i asked the travel agent to book the hotel that is closest to my Vancouver office.. & to my surprise, the hotel room was very nice..

i stayed in Westin Grand for 3 nights.. it's located right on Robson Street.. & i believe the travel agent booked a Superior One Bedroom Suite for me (not just a hotel "room").. i was very surprised as i just joined the company & never anticipate that i could stay in a Suite for my orientation trip!!

it has a separate bedroom & living room.. the living room has a 2-seat sofa & a 1-seat sofa, with a spacious work desk & a tv..


there's also a fully stocked kitchen, with microwave, dishwasher, & cookware.. & with Starbucks coffee & coffee cups..

a queen-sized bed (they called it Westin Heavenly Bed®), with extra pillow in the closet, & 2 bathrobes & lots of hangers.. there's another tv in the bedroom.. & a safe in the closet too..

the bathroom is called Westin's Heavenly Bath® with granite counters.. they do have hair dryer (a strong one), iron & iron board..



this was the night view from my Suite.. i could see the B.C. Place Stadium from there..




i had dinner with my aunt & a friend on my 1st day.. & we had Shanghai food..

寧都飯店 Ningtu Restaurant
Address: 2130 Kingsway Street, Vancouver
Phone: (604) 438-6669

my aunt said this is the best Shanghai restaurant in Vancouver.. & the food were really great..

(left) 雞絲粉皮 Shredded Chicken with Noodle
..the mixture of sauce with chicken & noodle (粉皮) was just right.. 粉皮很有彈性..
(right) 小籠包 Steamed Dumplings Shanghai Styles
..it's only $5 for 8 pieces.. 有肉汁, 皮略厚..

醃篤鮮 Salted Pork with Tofu Soup
..the waitress explained the word 「醃篤鮮」: 「醃 」指豬肉 pork, 「篤」是指筍, & 「鮮」是指 湯的鮮味.. as its name, 很有鮮味..

(left) 賽螃蟹 Surimi with Broccoli
..there were shrimp & crabmeat chucks in it..
(right) 苔條黃魚 Deep Fried Yellow Fish with Seaweed
..i love this one.. i usually don't eat fish but this one tasted good.. it's made with Seaweed & Yellow croaker (黃花魚) & it was great!


we went to have cheesecake afterwards.. & to visit Michael, the owner of Cheesecake Etc.
Address: 2141 Granville Street, Vancouver
Phone: (604) 734-7704

Michael played piano for a while that night.. it was nice meeting him again, & the 3 of us had a great chat..

i tried their special, Tiramisu Cheesecake (1st left) & their Mocha.. we also had their signature Cheesecake too!

it's my 2nd visit to Cheesecake Etc. (& i've another post on this here)..