We’re always on the lookout for new Malaysian options because it’s Wicca’s favourite cuisine. The big, rich, deep flavours of the curries, the decadent roti canais, the subtle beauty of Hainanese chicken rice, and the interplay of cultures make it a really enjoyable cuisine.
We heard from a few friends that this newish place in Richmond was good. It’s got a (to me) hilarious name: John 3:16.
I…think…this must…ahh my eyes…be…the right place? Just look for the weird non-standalone Dairy Queen next door.
They’re closed on Sundays (of course) and also closed between 3:00pm to 5:00pm. The friendly sign set in Cooper Black says don’t bother breaking in!
Another sign reiterating their business hours, adding times for last orders. Cough.
Their full menu is available on their Urbanspoon page.
Having had Curry Laksa the other week from Amay’s House (where apparently Bo — of Bo Laksa King fame — is now working), I went for a Penang Asam Laksa. Ready to be hit in the face with sour and spicy flavours!
We haven’t had a Cendol in ages. Why not?
They have this verse printed right on the wall. I don’t remember seeing faith presented so prominently in a restaurant before. Except for maybe Storm Crow Tavern and how they worship Cthulhu… 😛
The restaurant itself is SMALL. It only fits ~24 people, uncomfortably.
Roti Canai with Curry Sauce. Look at that sauce! You can tell by the appearance that it’s got spices, depth and flavour. And it did!
This was one of the least-oily roti canais that we’ve had. Very buttery, flaky and croissant-like. Wicca liked how it wasn’t oily. I sort of missed the oiliness. I likened it to making grilled cheese with or without butter in the pan.
But when eaten with the curry sauce, it may just be a moot point! Good stuff.
Satay Beef. The meat was ultra-marinated and was stained yellow from the turmeric etc. Not dried out, it was one of the better beef satays we’ve had in the Lower Mainland.
Chunky peanut sauce and cucumbers cut in that way.
Penang Asam Laksa. Comes with lettuce (!) on top?! Thankfully just a little bit of lettuce 😛 Also comes with half an egg.
After shoving the lettuce aside, I could see cucumbers, onions and chunks of pineapple. There were a few pieces of tamarind in there, providing the big sour flavours. This dish really hits you in the face with sour and a bit of spiciness. I’ve had Penang Asam Laksas in the past that were too sour, but this was still at an enjoyable level. The noodles are similar to the ones found in Vietnamese bun bo hue but cooked a tiny bit too soft for my taste. I also missed having some meat element in this dish. Maybe some more actual fish meat from the fish broth, or whole prawns. They also put whole laksa leaf including the stalks in there, and the stalks are basically inedible, so a minor niggly point. I probably wouldn’t order this again but good to try once to see if it’s your kind of dish.
Beef Rendang. A wetter style of rendang, with a few chunks of potato. Flavour is really good, less of the cloying sweet coconut element that I hate, and more of the savoury, meaty, rich rendanginess! I could see lots of aromatics in there as I ate, which is always a good sign. I think those leaves are lime leaves or laksa leaves or at least something awesome.
Cendol. It’s an Asian shaved ice dessert containing palm sugar syrup, coconut milk, red beans, creamed corn (!) and those green wormy things (also found in the Vietnamese dessert Che Banh Lot). If creamed corn in a dessert sounds weird, I suggest you let someone else order it and try a spoonful. This bowl could serve two to four people easily.
Red beans at the bottom. We liked this dessert a lot but Wicca wanted less ice and more coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. I found it just right.
So after this first visit, our feelings are positive. We’ll have to come back and try many more other dishes before we damn this place or praise it to high heavens.
I chatted with the owner’s niece as I was paying. Her uncle actually used to own the Yummy Malaysian Delights in the Richmond Public Market until selling it off and moving to Kamloops about 5-6 years ago. Now they’re back with their first full restaurant in the Lower Mainland. Their hope is to move to a bigger space sometime in 2015. They’ll need it.
Extra aside: our first (and probably best, although it might be just nostalgia talking) experience with Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine was at Rasa Singapura at Richmond Public Market. The best roti canai and murtabak we’ve ever had in the Lower Mainland. That must’ve been ~12 years ago at least. They used to be featured on the Spicy Steve cable tv show back in the 90s. The place was run by this Singaporean woman but her nephew (?) took over the place. His name was “Radz” and we totally miss him! I remember him cooking up and SCRUNCHING up our roti (the proper way!) and cooking up great food in general. He ended up selling the place to Daniel, who renamed it “Yummy Malaysian Delights” and ran it until 2009ish(?). It’s this Daniel person who opened up John 3:16.
Glad you guys enjoyed it! Rendang definitely one of the best dishes there. And cukes cut in that way haha, so Malaysian!
You (Dennis) seem to show contempt for The Definitive Verse In The Bible On God’s Love Towards sinful, fallen mankind. It seems you would rather perish in your sins than to accept God’s Free Gift Of Salvation; strange how you people are. Enjoy mocking God (if you are indeed doing that, which is quite evident from your choice of words) while you still can, because it will be anything but hilarious if you end up rejecting Jesus Christ As your Personal Saviour! Not a very wise choice my friend, to say the very least!
So, do you like the food at John 3:16?
Yes, I love the food at John 3:16, we order take-out from there at an average of 2 – 3 times a week. The Hainanese Chicken Rice is amazing, as is the Nasi Goreng (we order the seafood one). Most importantly, I appreciate what the restaurant stands for and the message of God’s Salvation Towards mankind that they are proclaiming and not ashamed of. In closing though, I would strongly advise you, Dennis (and anyone else that is reading), to get right with God today and plead with Him To Forgive you of all your sins, as only God (Jesus Christ) Can Do. You can’t know for certain if you have tomorrow, and you don’t know when God Will Return To Judge this sinful world. Don’t Tempt God, His Patience Does Run out eventually (even though He Has More Patience than any man or woman ever will).
Oh, and just for the sake of your soul’s Eternal destiny, I will take a little bit more time to tell you that there is a very heavy price for rejecting God’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, The Saviour of Mankind. John 3:16 Is The Invitation From God to mankind, but there’s more after that:
“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
(John 3:16-21)
In plain English, it means that you’re condemned By God already if you reject Jesus Christ in unrepentant unbelief. You don’t have anyone to blame but yourself for your condemnation, because God Offered To Save you but you spit in His Face.
“7 …when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”
(2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)
When The Lord Jesus Christ Comes To Judge this wicked, Christ-rejecting world, and if you are still in your unrepentant and unbelieving state, you will be punished with everlasting destruction. Laugh and mock while you still have breath, your day of reckoning is coming (and you know it in your heart).
I believe those are curry leaves. Thx for the find will need to visit.
Ah, thanks Lise!