Tag Archives: let’s try again

First Look: Good Pizza & Beer, Aw-pho Pho at Sing Sing Beer Bar on Main St.

As Wicca says, the beef pho we had here was “aw-pho” (as in “awful”, for the dense people). I try to stay away from superlatives, but that bowl of beef pho we had at Sing Sing Beer Bar was the single worst dish I’ve had in the last year. The chef here is vegan.

Disclaimers about this review:

  • Sing Sing were open less than a week a week and a half when we visited, so the food and menu will probably change. Hopefully the pho will improve.
  • I post this because people like you and me deserve to know how the food is tasting now, if we’re considering risking our hard-earned money on a place with a gloriously wacky concept.
  • Consider this a rough guide to what works and what doesn’t right now.
  • NOTE: the room got dark really fast, so my photos of the food are horrible. The food actually looks way better in-person.
  • There’s some connection to Donnelly Group that I haven’t been able to suss out yet. Sing Sing is a venture by the people behind Back and Forth Bar (the ping pong bar) in Gastown. Could it be Donnelly Group lending support to places that are actually cool? Instead of overwrought and soulless?
  • NOTE 2: I wrote this while high, so I’ve gone back afterwards and added a few notes, as noted. 🙂

If you don’t want to read or scroll, here it is in a nutshell:

Good beer list, very fair beer prices, great pizza, the pho is a crime against Vietnamese culture, and the room is VERY LOUD.

Continue reading First Look: Good Pizza & Beer, Aw-pho Pho at Sing Sing Beer Bar on Main St.

A Very Soft Soft Opening: Bean Bánh Mì

A Very Soft Soft Opening: Bean Bánh Mì

Seems like banh mi is having a bit of a resurgence! In addition to Banh Mi Yen Linh (Kingsway & St. Catherines), the new second location of Ba Le (Broadway & Fraser), and the new Chinatown location of DD Mau, a new “modern” banh mi place has taken over the old Tung Hing space on Kingsway & Inverness called “Bean Bánh Mì“. Why “bean”? It’s a family operation and “bean” (đậu) is the son’s nickname which in Vietnamese also means good fortune or prosperity or something like that ;). So they’ve ran with the whole “bean” theme in their marketing. Wicca and I checked them out during their first week of operation.

NOTE: they’re still in their soft opening phase, so things probably will change and hopefully improve!

In a nutshell: the bread needs a lot of work. Some components need to be tweaked. But a promising start with a lot of heart.

Continue reading A Very Soft Soft Opening: Bean Bánh Mì

Lunch Quickie: The New Efendi Uyghur on Kingsway

The old Efendi Uyghur at 1345 Kingsway (near Knight) was only open for about a year but received great feedback (like this Alexandra Gill review). Unfortunately, they had to close the restaurant due to the mother’s health issues. The space got sold and turned into House of Dosas nemesis, Dosa Factory. I didn’t get a chance to check out Efendi the first time, but thanks to “el lobo solo” on Chowhound, I learned that it’s back in a new, smaller location further east at 3490 Kingsway (same tiny stripmall as Subway).

Continue reading Lunch Quickie: The New Efendi Uyghur on Kingsway

There Must Be More To It Than That: Happy Hour at Fayuca in Yaletown

Let’s get this out of the way first: “Fayuca is a term used in Northern Mexico to describe petty contraband goods smuggled over the border like clothes, liquor, and food.” – Scout Magazine. So the name of the restaurant is a sly nod to how they approach their food, bringing influences from all along the Pacific coast. But, as they say, don’t call them Mexican.

Long story short: I don’t think their happy hour menu really shows what they can do. I wasn’t thrilled. These are Chefs with a captial C, and this restaurant did a lot of collaborations and events with the YVR Food Fest, so I thought they would be capable of much more.

Continue reading There Must Be More To It Than That: Happy Hour at Fayuca in Yaletown

Second Look: Sen Pad Thai at Granville Island

I don’t often do “revisit” posts unless something goes REALLY haywire with a place. Day-to-day stuff I post on Instagram and the bigger, more important, or newsworthy stuff I post here. My second visit to Sen Pad Thai resulted in more thoughts about this place — too much to cram into an Instagram post — so I put it up here. Enjoy.

(First review is here.)

Continue reading Second Look: Sen Pad Thai at Granville Island

Hate Mail: “The Donald Trump of Vancouver Food Bloggers”

Surprisingly, I don’t get a lot of hate mail or trolls commenting in the 2+ years I’ve had this blog and Instagram account. When I started, I knew that that would be a possibility — when you put out “strong opinions” on food, beer, and restaurants, not everyone is going to agree with you. And they might let you know about it, in interesting ways:

Continue reading Hate Mail: “The Donald Trump of Vancouver Food Bloggers”

Double-Tortilla Tacos at Tacomio & Double-Starch Grilled Cheese at Hi-Five

Tacomio (block away from Taishoken Ramen) opened in March but I hadn’t tried it until last week. They do guisados (Mexican stew) style tacos. Are they good enough or different enough to dethrone the current king, La Taqueria?

Continue reading Double-Tortilla Tacos at Tacomio & Double-Starch Grilled Cheese at Hi-Five

LA Day 3 – More Great Beer, and a Tough Night of Thai Food

In the previous two days of our trip, I was dazzled by the variety of beers available. I was at times paralyzed by choice! A good problem to have, I guess. Today, we scaled it back a bit.

Places visited:

  • Golden Road Brewing (Glendale)
  • Night + Market Song (Silverlake)

Continue reading LA Day 3 – More Great Beer, and a Tough Night of Thai Food