Triangle Trip

Captain G and Statusmonger made a follow up visit to Maikobe in Pasadena over the weekend. We noticed Maikobe had changed the format of its menu since our last visit from a month ago. The new menu is now simplified. Instead of a booklet type menu, it is on a laminated two sided sheet of plastic. Given the price on the menu, we think the new menu format devalues the Maikobe brand.

We also noticed the “Trust Me” meal was removed from the new menu. We wanted to try the “Trust Me” Omakase when we first visited Maikobe but didn’t really trust the chef at that point. We asked the manager, who was very attentive to us that evening, about the “Trust Me” menu and he promptly offered us to meet Chef Kengo, whose resume includes Masa in New York.

Chef Kengo greeted us and offered three “Trust Me” Omakase meals: $45, $55 and $75. Chef Kengo said $45 is the low end menu where you will get normal salad and rolls vs $55 and $75 where you will get a seafood salad and sashimi. There was also a sake pairing for $50 but we opted to just ask Chef Kengo for a sake recommendation.

Statusmonger and Captain G took the $55 which was extremely filling. We had seafood salad, top sirloin filet as well as the awesome Chilean seabass. Dessert was really delicious as well. Captain G opted for the Bavarian Cake which is a flan like cake with red beans. Statusmonger took the tofu cheesecake which was amazing.

We have dined at many Pasadena restaurants over the past four months and found Maikobe to be on the top end of the places we have visited. However, the Maikobe Omakase cannot be compared to Geisha House’s Omakase. Regardless, we believe Maikobe is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Pasadena — although there isn’t much competition. We will need to return for the Maikobe Tappanyaki next time.

Here’s a link to our previous post with other Pasadena restaurant reviews.

Statusmonger + Captain G

We all know that Vancouver is know for having good authentic Chinese food with famous chefs from Hong Kong. In addition, I think Vancouver has the best food selection in the world. All of restaurants (from French to Italian to Japanese) in Vancouver are authentic and fresh. I love the food so much, I visit Vancouver twice a year (well I also do some skiing while I am there).

Aside from falling into the typical tourist traps or overpriced meals or chain restaurants, below is a list of the restaurants (broken out by cuisine) I highly recommend you check out. Some of these restaurants are only known by locals.

Chinese:

Sun Sui Wah – Ok… this is quite commercial since they’ve an ad at the airport (YVR). There are two Sun Sui Wah locations: one in Richmond right by the airport and another near downtown. They are famous for their quails, Peking Duck and shark fin soup. They also have good Dim Sum as well. Definitely give them a try!

Fisherman’s Terrace – One of my favorite Chinese restaurants. Fisherman’s Terrace is located inside Aberdeen Place in Richmond (by the airport). Great Chinese food served family style. It is a bit pricey but definitely worth the price. It may be the best Chinese restaurant on this list.

Kirin Restaurant – There are 4 locations, I think the one in Richmond is the best. However, the one downtown has the best service. You can have Dim Sum in the afternoon and fine dining in the evening.

Lok’s Chinese Restaurant – Located in Kerrisdale, Vancouver. This restaurant could be a bit too north and west for travelers without a car. Lok’s offer casual to fine dining. I personally like the food here. Definitely worth a try if you’ve a car with you.

Victoria Chinese Seafood Restaurant – Located in downtown Vancouver off Melville Street. They serve Dim Sum in the afternoon and wide variety of dining specials in the evening. Victoria isn’t too expensive compared to the rest of the Chinese restaurants stated above.

French:

Le Gavroche – It is one of my favorites for fine dining. Le Gavroche has excellent food and good service.

Le Crocodile – It is one of the fine dining places in Vancouver. It has 20+ years of history. Definitely worth trying if you’re in a mood to spend some money for real French fine dining!

Chambar – Well… Not quite a French restaurant, more of a Belgium restaurant (but close enough). Chambar has great food, excellent wine selection and dessert.

Italian:

Amacord Restaurant – A fine dining place at Yaletown (one of my favorite areas for good food in Vancouver). Amacord offers fine dining and their lobster pasta is delicious – you must order it when you are there.

CinCin – Great Italian restaurant located in downtown Vancouver. It offers fine dining with great wine selection. It is located on Robson, Vancouver’s busiest and most touristy street.

Provence Marinaside – It is located in Yaletown which is fairly close to downtown. Great place for brunch and fine dining. Restaurant also offer a great view of the harbor.

Japanese:

Guu – An awesome place for Japanese Tapas and one of my favorite restaurants. There are multiple Guu locations. The Guu on Robson is the best but it’s packed from 6pm. The Guu on Thurlow is the original. The third Guu restaurant is in Richmond which is so-so. I usually show up at 5:30PM at Guu on Robson whenever I am in Vancouver!

Gyoza King – located on Robson as well, a few doors down from Guu. Gyoza King opens late. I recalled going there after 1AM and the place was still packed. Very similiar to Guu, Gyoza King has more alcohol (sake) selection. Their Gyoza is good too – hence the name.

Miko Sushi Restaurant – Located on Robson and offers a full Japanese menu. Miko Sushi has fresh fish and is one of my favorites.

Steakhouse & Fish

Blue Water Cafe – This is a place for great raw oysters! Blue Water Cafe is located in Yaletown and offers a great view of the marina. I highly recommend you sit outside on a sunny day. They also have good white wine pairing with the raw bar.

Hy’s Encore – A steakhouse located at the heart of downtown. Hy’s is on Hornby and looks like a cigar shop from the outside. The setting is dark and old – looks like an old church. Steak and garlic bread are great. We only had lunch at Hy’s but I am sure they are great for dinner as well. Hy’s Encore is also a place for power lunch!

Big A, Captain G, and Statusmonger are frequent travelers to Pasadena, CA. Below are our candid reviews of all the places we have dined in Pasadena for the past three months — from mid-December 2008 to early March 2009. We feel that Pasadena is a bit overrated when it comes to dining and shopping. There are many restaurants in Pasadena, but none has stood out.

Captain G is quite disappointed at the choices, especially with Maison Akira which some people tout it as one of the best in the Greater LA area. Arroyo Chop House is by far our favorite. We celebrated Statusmonger’s birthday there. Big A is a nicer rater, but agrees with the rankings below.  He recommends Arroyo and Mi Piace for newcomers to Pasadena.

Below are our 15 restaurants we have dined at and their rankings (best to worst):

1.  Arroyo Chop House – The only restaurant in California that only serves USDA Prime beef and nothing more. Service was excellent. Great wide selection coupled with a wide variety of side dishes. Lobster mash potatoes side is a must!

2.  Ruth’s Chris – A consistent steakhouse, we have been here multiple times. It was the best dineLA 2009 experience we had in California.

3.  Mi Piace – An Italian restaurant and bakery. It has great seafood pasta and excellent selection of desserts to compliment your dinner. It has outside sitting and offers a wonderful experience of Old Town Pasadena.

4.  MaiKobe – A new restaurant on Fairoaks between Colorado and Green Street. It is so new that it didn’t have a review on Yelp yet. Servings were good portions. Despite having “Kobe” as its restaurant name, its Kobe beef was not good. Perhaps we should not have ordered a Kobe roll as Kobe beef should not have been rolled with rice. Dessert was excellent though. They also serve Hibachi style dinners.

5.  Bar Celona – A Spanish tapas joint on Colorado. The stuffed quail is a must. Paellas and mussels are also good options. The sangria was not too good though. Wine selection was a bit limited. Overall the restaurant had good ambiance. Music also went well with the food.

6.  Houston’s – Consistent American style restaurant with good service and atmosphere. It has the best French Dip sandwich and Ribs platter we have ever had… Houston’s even serves sushi now. Wine and beer selections are great.

7.  Roy’s – It’s a Hawaiian fusion restaurant. We were seated in an extension of the restaurant which resulted in poor service. The room was also cold. Food was so-so. We had better meat and fish at Houston’s.

8.  Louise’s – Italian restaurant right across the street from Mi Piace. Menu is a bit less expensive compared to Mi Piace but the food is not too bad. You get what you pay for. Parking is a bit hard to find though.

9.  Cheesecake Factory – Very typical and just like the other Cheesecake chains. The restaurant met expectations. However, it is always crowded so we don’t think it’s worth the wait.

10.  Sushi of Naples – Surpringly good sushi and udon place. We had fresh fish over Super Bowl weekend at Sushi Naples. It is however located a bit out of the way – away from Old Town.

11.  Saigon Noodles – Despite the fact that it looks ghetto outside but the soup was authentic. Pricing was also right. Portion was decent. Can’t complain when you want some authentic Vietnamese at a decent price.

12.  Green Street Tavern – From the outside, this restaurant looked elegant. Service was so so even though it was not crowded on a Tuesday night. We had wine and the tasting menu (tapas like dishes) that evening to try out all the entrees. The only thing worth trying was the short ribs. Wine menu was not good either.

13.  Gyu-Kaku – A Japanese BBQ joint. Service was slow. Beef and other meat were marinated with too much salt which made us drank more Sake… Sake selection was good. Don’t fall into the all you can eat trap. Overall, the price was too high compared to the quality of food we got that evening.

14.  1810 – An Argentinian restaurant located on Colorado – in the heart of Old Town, Pasadena. We thought it was a real Argentinian restaurant but it was more or less a lounge/bar food type restaurant. Food was horrible. We had chewy steak, bad wine and horrible valet service. The valet attendant wanted us to pre-pay for parking because he was leaving his shift. The only thing that kept this restaurant out of the bottom was how bad Maison Akira was back in January.

15.  Maison Akira – A French/Japanese fusion place which was neither Japanese nor French. We’d a prix fixe menu back in February 2009 and it was the worst meal in a decade for Captain G. You can find out the details on his previous post.