604: Tommies Jerk (Cloverdale)

If you have been following me for a while, you'd know I'm big on (1.) burritos and tacos; and (2.) trying exotic cuisines. When Tommie reached out to me and asked if I could try out his new items at his Grand Opening to give him some constructive feedback, I said okay without second thoughts. I'm not gonna say no to burritos and tacos, and in Jamaican style? Heck yes!

I think this guy is pretty freaking bold because (A.) he's doing a grand opening during COVID season when there are a lot of restaurants closing down, and (B.) everyone knows that I'm super fussy with my food and I can be quite ruthless when it comes to food critiques! So that tells me that this guy is pretty confident!

Twice he had said to me, "If you like my food, that's awesome! If you don't, your feedback helps me improve. So it's a win win for me. Please don't be afraid to hurt my feelings, Joyee." As a cook myself, I can totally relate to this because this is exactly what I always tell my friends too when I go through my experimental cooking/ baking.

When I first arrived, the location smelt like camp fire and I could see this charcoal grill from afar, but nothing was in it. Apparently they grill all their meat in this charcoal grill in the morning, and store them in a slow cooker after. So everything's made fresh daily. I asked for the Jerk Chicken Burrito since Tommie recommended that, and when I was watching them making my burrito, I noticed that they've used chicken breast. I cringed slightly because I've always avoided ordering chicken breast in restaurants as they always turn out dry.

Observing closely, I also noticed that they are extremely generous with the meat. Just watch the video.

Wait a second! Have you noticed that there's no filler in it? There's no rice in it. The burrito is also massive. As I was walking towards my car carrying the burrito, I thought I was in Dallas for a minute. I couldn't help and took a selfie with it. Just want to show you guys how massive this thing was (Sorry my arm's not long enough and part of the burrito got cut out.)

Honest to God, here's my truthful review:

I was really surprised at how tender the chicken turned out and I don't understand how grilled chicken could be so moist. The filling was herby, exotic, mildly spicy, and slightly sweet from the sweet sauce and the pineapple salsa. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Jamaican food are generally very spicy? I had it once at White Rock at the Jamaican restaurant and I pretty much lost my taste bud from all that fiery heat, and my ears hurt from it. I think Tommie had toned it down to cater it to the general crowd in Cloverdale who can't take the heat like me. I don't mind it to be a bit spicier but definitely not like the kind of heat I experienced at PG's Jamaican in White Rock.

When eating out, some food can taste very commercialized, some are very country like, and some tastes very homie. My favourite kind is the homie kind because you can taste the secret ingredient in their food, which is love. (That's why I love the restaurants in Sunshine Coast - most chefs are retirees and everything tasted like your grandma's cooking). I can't say that this taste very homie but you can tell that he had put a lot of love into his cooking and he takes his food seriously. I have so much respect for that.

Overall, this is a great burrito with great seasonings, and it's an excellent choice for those who are more health conscious. For what you are paying, I think this is a steel!

Congratulations Tommie's Jerk! With the kind of attitude you have and care you have for your customers, I trust that you will go a long way with your business! Thanks again for having me.

📍Location: Cloverdale

💵 Price:$7 - 11

🤤Taste: 4.7 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️

🪑Seating: NA

📈 Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

Rentention Rate: 100%

604: Minami (Yaletown)

Correct me if i am wrong, but rumor has it that Miku and Minami were the first restaurants here in Vancouver that started the aburi frenzy, and they have gained popularity from their signature aburi rolls. Recent years the intensity of rivalry has increased greatly for them, and many restaurants have started following suit and included aburi rolls into their menu. As a result, other than their ambiance, I think they have lost a huge competitive edge. When I first tried Miku, I fell head over heels with their aburi sushi. Years later, after trying many other restaurants and coming back to the sister restaurant, Minami, I would say that many restaurants have far exceeded their quality.

This time during the Vancouver Dine out, after some careful calculations and analysis, I decided to opt-out of their dine out menu. It was not worth it. I didn't want to be restricted with their selections when I could have paid the same price for better things. Here we ordered the steak, aburi sampler and the rolls. The rolls were not spectacular and the aburi had too much rice with a thin sheet of torched sashimi with an unnoticeable layer of mayo sauce... Very much like the ones from Green Leaf (I applaud to their excellent copycat skills). While restaurants that offer better value and taste include: Victoria sushi from New Westminster, Richmond Sushi Lover, Sushi Modo from Burnaby, and Uma Sushi on west 8th. (Sorry, Green Leaf Sushi didn’t make it to the list. It’s just as unimpressive as Minami).

Unless it's for special events, I wouldn't return just for their aburi, and definitely not for the Vancouver dine out menu. For all you see in the photos, it's equivalent to their dinner menu minus a dessert but only cost $33 pp. We went to Nero's after for dessert and only costed $10. with two bills together, it's still cheaper than their lunch or dinner dine out menu, and I wasn't restricted with their options either.

One note worth mentioning is that their steak is spectacular. In fact, I may consider returning for their steak on special occasions.

Location: Here

Menu: Here

💵 Price:$35 pp (lunch)

🤤Taste:

🍣 : 3 / 5

🥩: 4.7 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 3 / 5

Retention Rate: 100% for the 🥩

🕯Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪑Seating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📍 yaletown

Pros:

• Spectacular Steak 🥩 ! 👍🏻🥳

• Good ambiance and customer service

Cons:

• We opt out of their dine out menus. It's a terrible deal 🌚

• Aburi - had too much rice. Sashimi layer was too thin, and had too little mayo sauce 🌚

604: Wang's Shanghai Cuisine (Vancouver)

This restaurant was recommended by a friend, whom we used to have our regular meet-ups at Top Shanghai. So when she mentioned this place, I knew that her recommendation would be reliable (not to mention that her fiance is also Shanghainese so it's definitely reliable).

I've never had such amazing green onion pancakes before, and so it deserves a detailed review in Chinese as well. I think it's the best scallion pancakes I've ever had and we all had to order seconds. The outside is ultra flaky and the inside is soft and slightly chewy. The photos I took don't do justice! I'm pretty certain that they added lard in the dough and deep fried this, but it wasn't too greasy or filling at all. This delicacy was worth every single calorie.

The steamed soup dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), pan fried dumplings, and pork buns are all of high quality, but I still think Top Shanghai Cuisine still has it marginally better. Mainly because they've used leaner pork in this restaurant, which is healthier, but as a result, the flavor of the broth isn't as rich. Regardless, I would also say that this restaurant far exceeds the renowned restaurant in Shanghai, Jia Jia Tang Bao, known for their soup dumplings (I think their skin is slightly gummy).

The dumpling skins were rolled out one by one and I'm quite pleased with how thin they can roll em'. Whether it's the steam or fried dumplings or the buns, each of them is filled with flavourful soup.

Out of curiosity, I ordered the sticky rice dumplings as well, but that was just okay. It's a bit bland. The beef roll was also so-so. I've had better ones (I.e. Xi'An Cuisine at the Public Market).

Too bad this restaurant opens at 5:00 pm, otherwise, I'd totally make a trip over for their scallion pancakes and a cup of soy for breaky! And I love supporting small local businesses!

Location: Here

Price: $65 for everything you see here

Overall Taste: 4.7 / 5

Xiao Long Bao: 4.6 / 5

Pan Fried Dumplings: 4/5

Fried Pork Buns: 4.4/5

Beef Roll: 3/5

Sticky Rice Dumplings: 3.5 / 5

Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️

Seating: ⭐️⭐️

Price Performance ratio: 5/5