604: Anar (Richmond)

Anar, a family-owned Iranian restaurant, is situated in Steveston Village, where a lot of Hollywood movies were filmed. The restaurant is so cute and it was so nicely decorated. You could smell Christmas is in the air before stepping into the restaurant. When we entered the restaurant, we were served right away by the boss, who is extremely friendly and enthusiastic. He took the time to explain all their famous dishes.

With our big eyes and small stomachs, we ordered the lamb shank and Loghmeh Kabob (a mixture of beef and lamb kabob). Perhaps I had a pretty high expectation from the reviews online, I was a little disappointed with these items. From experience, I was never disappointed with any lamb dishes from any Mediterranean restaurants I've been to. Lamb seems to be their signature dish. Though the lamb shank was very saucy, it still tasted bland and dry. The kabob was a lot better but could improve with some more seasoning.

We immediately lowered our expectations after the main, but nevertheless, we still wanted to give their dessert a try. We ordered the Baklava with little expectations, and Anar gave us a surprise again! This was THE best Baklava I've ever had. The texture was multilayered with a flaky top with a filling that is syrupy and moist. The fragrant was soaked with richly flavored butter, nut, cinnamon, honey, and spices. It was heavenly!

I really appreciated their Baklava because I know how difficult it is to keep it crispy, and Anar's Baklava was ultra crunchy (play the video above with the sound on).

Honey syrup is poured over the Baklava after it's baked, so in theory, it's really hard for it to stay crispy when it's soaked and cooled. They also added rose water to it so it has a very unique aroma to it! This is on the sweeter side but it's how it should be. I'd definitely come back for their Bakalava and may even give their other desserts a try. The Bastani (their Persian ice cream) is currently on my radar.

Apparently, the dessert is made by the sister, which explains why there's a huge gap in the quality of the two courses.

Loghmeh Kabob:

Price: $17.99

Taste: 3.8 / 5

Price Performance ratio: 3.9 / 5

Lambshank:

Price: $23.99

Taste: 2 / 5

Price Performance ratio: 3 / 5

Baklava:

Price: $6.99 for 3 pieces

Taste: 4.8/ 5

Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

seating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Location: Here

Menu: Here

604: The American

I saw their post two days ago, and here I am at @downlowburgers, which is just steps away from Torafuku! I went in at 3 pm and as soon as I stepped in, I asked the server if they still have the special donut burger. The server beamed and said, ”yes, and only on Mondays!" I refrained from shouting back in excitement, "Yeah, I did my research and here I am!!!" Instead, I smiled back and responded nonchalantly, "Oh yay. That's awesome!"

As soon as I saw down and without even scanning the online menu, I ordered my fried chicken burger with the Lee's Donuts. Man, I can only say that they did not disappoint!!! I already mentioned from my previous post that the donuts from the Lee's (possibly my distant relatives ??) are the best in town. But the actual star here is the fried chicken! The outside was super crispy and the inside was so tender and juicy that the juice was seeping through the wrapper. The batter was fried perfectly but I didn't think it was too greasy or filling. They also chose chicken thigh over breast, which really tells you they really thought it through and picked the best ingredients (oh hello to the best donuts WITH chicken thigh).

I think the last time I ordered a burger was two years ago because I just don't like ordering burgers from restaurants. Beef patties tend to be quite too meaty or dry, and fried chicken burgers are generally sandwiched with chicken breasts and they turn out dry... This exceeded way above my expectation. In fact, the thigh was fried so well that the attention was focused mostly on the chicken and the donut became somewhat unnoticeable. It's still great though but I think I would prefer eating them separately to fully enjoy everything to the fullest. I chose mildly spicy and so the combination gave a lot of flavors - the sweetness with the savory and then a kick from the heat. They were also very generous with the pickles, but too bad I'm not a fan of pickles :(. I did give it a try since it would add another layer of flavor to it but yeah I don't like pickled things.

Then I found out from a friend later on that this restaurant is known for its fried chicken burger and usually has lineups. With covid and my late afternoon arrival, I was lucky to be seated right away :)

The setting was also very interesting. It had an arcade, pool table, and a bar area. Not sure what it was but the vibe made me felt like I was in the states. Then later on I found out that their store name was changed from Downlow Burgers to the Americans (so many realizations after this meal).

In summary, this restaurant has won many thumbs up from a very challenging and fussy customer who generally hates burgers. I'd come back for their burger without the donuts. The donut was just kind of hiding in the background, so I didn't think it added that much extra satisfaction in this meal. I think I'd prefer a separate trip to the Lee's for dessert.

NOTE: Donut burger is only available on Mondays

Price: $13 without a side

($2 extra for a choice of: fried onion rings/ fries/ house salad/ caesar salad)

Taste: 4.7 / 5

atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

seating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Price Performance ratio: 4.7 / 5

Location: Vancouver

Burger Menu: Here

Drink Menu: Here

604: Tacomio (Pick up Window)

Only Joyee would eat standing outside a taco restaurant in an industrial area, and utilize the car hood as a table, and eat shamelessly while pedestrians walked by glaring over (if there were any). But it was 4 pm and I haven’t had breakfast or lunch and I was starving.

Usually when someone’s hungry food tastes extra good, but today was an exception. The meat was a little too dry for me and the tortilla shell needs to be either crispier or softer (one or the other). The burrito had a tad too much rice and I also didn't like that they’ve used chicken breast - it was a bit dry and too chewy. The shredded pork was so dry that it's like as if they overcooked it with a microwave and it sucked all the moisture out... Good thing it was drenched in flavourful sauce. The burrito wrap was nice though. It was soft and springy. Overall, the burrito wasn't too bad but I think I am just way too spoiled from my food adventure from Texas. They are reasonable with their portions and everything was drenched in sauce so it was flavourful.

So far the closest burrito in Canada that resembles my favourite Tex-Mex burritos from Dallas is Chipotle... I shall continue my hunt and report it to you guys.

P.S - Man, last week there wasn’t enough meat in my burrito and this week they loaded it with chunks of dry meat. 🥺🥺 Geez, I feel like I'm such a difficult customer. Dallas, what have you done to me?

Price:

$3.50 per Taco || $11.95 per Burrito

Taste: 2.9 / 5

atmosphere: NA

seating: NA

Price Performance ratio: 3.9 / 5

Menu: Here

Location: Pick up Window || UBC || North Vancouver