Lao Hu Dong Yi Ju...Best Annin Tofu!

Lau Hu Dong Yi Ju is a Chinese restaurant located in Roppongi Hills!! It is a pretty small restaurant, though it apparently seats 60, and has an open bar & kitchen.

Seasonal Vegetable

Cashew & Chicken

Pork Belly

Fried Rice

Almond Pudding

杏仁豆腐 (Annin Tofu) is a popular dessert in Japan! You can find it in almost any Chinese restaurant. Surprisingly, this yummy dessert does not actually contain any almonds, but is made from apricot kernels (杏仁)!! It is called "tofu" because of it's soft gelatin consistency, although it is also known as a jelly or pudding. It is always decorated with some goji berries.

Sadly, most Chinese restaurants in Japan use instant packs to make their Annin Tofu, which makes them all taste the same (bland artificial flavour, hard 寒天 (kanten) -like texture). HOWEVER...very rarely you will come across the authentic deal...just like in this restaurant, Lau Hu Dong Yi Ju!! The Annin Tofu here was THE BEST one I have ever eaten in my life (so far)!! It is more like pudding than jelly or tofu, and bursts with a creamy 杏仁 flavour!

If the restaurant promoted their dessert more, I'm sure it will be a popular item. It's a good thing I happened to order it that night! Can't wait to try their other desserts and see if it is exceptionally yummy!

SORRYYYYYYYYYYYY

Thanks for the e-mails (and comments) while I was away.

New post coming soon!!!

K town Korean BBQ

K town Korean BBQ is located on the top floor of Aberdeen Centre, Richmond!  The BBQ menu is popular during dinner time, but at lunch time I didn't really see many people choosing to cook their own food.

Promotion on the day!

Traditional Korean display!

View from my seat!

Take a look at the menu!!

Though surprisingly they didn't have a lunch menu, they have a "lite fare" selection, which is similar! 

So many choices for Korean BBQ!

Side dishes to share!

Hae-mul Doenjang Jigae (Spicy Seafood Soy-bean Soup) $10

Lots of seafood and lots of tofu!!  Comes with rice too.

Doenjang Jigae #1 (Soy-bean Soup with Vegetables) $9

There was actually a LOT of seafood in the regular Doejang Jigae...not just the huge shrimp you see, but clams, mussels, and squid too!  That would have been a good thing usually...except that the one who ordered this dish doesn't eat seafood!  

So my friend asked the server to make one that's ONLY vegetables...like it says on the menu.

Doenjang Jigae #2

No seafood this time!  However, unlike the first one...this Doenjang Jigae came out to to be sooo spicy!!  Were the possibly-frustrated chefs trying to kill us?

Many Oriental Asian restaurants aren't clear when it comes to describing their dishes on menus!  For example, if you order a "Vegetable Fried Rice" at a Chinese restaurant, you may find shrimp or even slices of ham cooked together.  In Japan, when I order a "yasai itame" (vegetable dish), most of the time there is ham or scallop cooked with it.  Whereas if you ordered a "Vegetable Stew" at a Western Restaurant, or a "Vegetable Curry" at an Indian Restaurant...there would never be traces of meat in it!  I guess it's because it's pretty rare to find Oriental Asian vegetarians (only recently have there been more maybe because of the healthy lifestyle hype)...so they aren't so strict about making the dishes completely vegetarian.  In fact, they might even be adding little meat to vegetable dishes to please customers!

What do you think the reason is?

Oh, and I know Halloween is way over right now...but Aberdeen Centre had a fun Halloween display going on that day!

So cute!  They also moved too!!

& I didn't know there was such a thing as Pumpkin Arranging!

Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine

For some reason, I've been to Banana Leaf a gazillion times.  It's not because I really really love eating here...but every time friends and I can't choose where to go...we end up at Banana Leaf!  Maybe it's because they have five locations all around Vancouver so it's always convenient.  This time I went to the one on Davie Street (1043), but my favourite location is the one in Kitsilano because they give you peanuts while you're waiting and I love their bar!  Every location has the same menu which you can check out here.

Ipoh Char Hor Fun $13

Assam Curry Tofu & Vegetables $14

The plates are pretty big...two dishes with an appetizer are enough to share between two people!

Shuraku

ShuRaku is a Sake Bar & Bistro located on Graville Street (833).  They get pretty crowded on Friday/Saturday nights, but you can always make reservations by phone or even online too!

Sat at the bar this time because all the tables were full!

Volcano Roll $12

It even looks like a volcano!!!  They had fried uncooked spaghetti in the middle...this snack originated from bars in Tokyo!

Ika BBQ $8.75

Sushi is ready to go!

A lot of the servers that worked here were Japanese!  They were all friendly, funny, and gave the restaurant a lively atmosphere!

CinCin

CinCin is an Italian Restaurant located on Robson Street!  The entrance is kind of difficult to find - a small doorway with stairs to the second floor that lead to the entire restaurant!

The restaurant is decorated with Roman statues, flowers, and large paintings!  They also have an award-winning wine cellar, and an open kitchen!

Appetizers & Mid Courses

Main Courses & Sides

Dessert Menu!

Fresh Bread & Olive Spread

I like putting pepper on my olive spread!

Tasting Flight $15.75

From CinCin's extensive wine menu, it's nice to know that they have a flight!

The three glasses of wine are placed onto this paper sheet, which explains the type of wines!!  As one who doesn't know about wine, it was fun to try the different bodied wines and compare them!

Insalata Di Barbabietole $14.50

Golden and Chioggia beets, ricotta and orange, green olive, easter egg radish naturally grown leaves and blossoms.

This was the first time I had beets that weren't bright red!

Gnocchi Di Ricotta $15.50

Hand rolled ricotta gnocchi with rosemary, parmesan and bread crumbs.

The gnocchi was super soft...the taste and texture both resembled cheese!  The bread crumbs made it crunchy so it went really well.

Salmerino Alpino Primavera $31

Arctic char from Whitehorse, roasted in the wood oven, slow cooked fennel olives, grape tomatoes, basil and olive oil.

Wow what a terrible picture.  Crispy skin and soft fish!  My favourite were the tomatoes because it was like little bombs in the mouth.

Spiedini Di Capesante $32.50

Wood grilled bay scallops from New bedforn cooked on a rosemary branch, green beans, roast tomatoes and lemon oil.

I LOVED how the scallops are put together on a rosemary branch!!  So creative, and you could actually taste it in the scallops!

Amuse-bouche after meal!  Almond biscuit & Mango Jelly.

The same owner (Toptable Group) of CinCin owns these other restaurants!!  I have been to Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, and Thierry!  Next I want to try West, and maybe if I end up in Whistler I will try Araxi!