Madangcoul Korean Restaurant (map, 847 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC, 604-688-3585) is a family run Korean restaurant in the West End of downtown Vancouver that serves comforting, home style food.
Visitors on yelp.ca write glowing reviews about Ma Dang Coul’s “truly homestyle cooking”, the “best kimchee in all of Vancouver”, and describe the restaurant and food as “inexpensive, tasty, warm and welcoming”. My friend who lives two blocks away goes there regularly, and I was really happy when he introduced me to Madangcoul.
I ordered a combination meal of a Korean tofu soup (pictured below) and Bulgogi pork (also pictured below). It was served with all the usual side dishes – my favorite being the caramelised sweet potato (pictured below), the seaweed, and the kim-chee. The combo came to around $15 which was quite reasonable for the amount of food. I’ll definitely go back to enjoy a comforting meal at Ma Dang Coul when I’m in the area!
Korean tofu soup from Madangcoul Korean Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Bulgogi Pork from Madangcoul Korean Restaurant on Denman Street in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Korean condiments (caramelized sweet potatoes) and chopsticks from Madangcoul Korean Restaurant.
16,094 views - Posted Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Fish On Rice Japanese Cuisine (website) is a popular Japanese “all you can eat” restaurant chain with two locations in the Vancouver area.
Their location in Burnaby (map, #201-4361 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC, phone: 604-439-8882) is about a 5 minute walk from the Patterson Skytrain station.
Fish on Rice’s Vancouver restaurant (map, 1414 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC, phone: 604-732-0112) is located at Broadway and Hemlock (one block from Granville), and has a patio.
“All you can eat” sushi is a very popular phenomenon in Vancouver, and Fish on Rice does it well. The Japanese buffet at Fish and Rice costs $11.95 for lunch (served from 11am to 2:30pm) or $20.95 for dinner (served between 4:30pm and 10:30pm). Their happy hour ($13.95) is between 4:30pm and 6pm.
At Fish on Rice, similar to other All You Can Eat places in town, you make your order by writing desired quantities next to items on a little piece of paper. Pass the paper to your server, and the food will start arriving as it’s ready. Take care: if you write an order that’s too large, the food will just keep coming! Or if you didn’t order enough, you can request more forms when you need them.
At the Burnaby location, there are many large private tatami booths with inset tables (where you take your shoes off to dine while sitting on cushions) – these are great for large groups or families. There are also a bunch of regular booths and tables for couples or smaller parties.
Below are some pictures of the delicious sushi and other Japanese items we ordered. Note that the restaurant serves all the popular kinds of sushi such as California Roll and BC Roll, but being sushi aficionados we ordered a bunch of less common items to explore the large and varied menu.
Nigiri Sushi pieces from Fish On Rice Japanese Cuisine Restaurant
Assorted Tuna and Salmon Sashimi from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (all you can eat) in Burnaby BC Canada.
Teriyaki Vegetables from Fish on Rice Japanese Cuisine (AYCE sushi) in Burnaby BC Canada
Vegetarian Udon Noodles from Fish on Rice Japanese Restaurant in Burnaby BC Canada (All You Can Eat).
Inari (sweet bean curd wrapper) nigiri sushi (from Fish on Rice All You Can Japanese Cuisine in Burnaby)
Vegetable Tempura (pictured in front) plus other assorted Japanese dishes (from Fish on Rice Japanese All you can eat buffet restaurant).
Little Thailand Restaurant (map, visitor reviews, 1-2335 St Johns Street, Port Moody, BC, Canada, phone: 604-939-9962) is an authentic Thai restaurant on the ground floor of a quaint house-turned eatery overlooking St. John’s street.
My friend A.C. lives in the Port Moody area, and I asked him to give me a before-dinner tour of this quiet suburb of Vancouver. We walked down by the railroad tracks north of the restaurant into Moody Centre, an eclectic and historic shopping district. Many small independent shops and several art galleries can be found, living up to Port Moody’s reputation as a city of arts and culture.
The city is also situated in a beautiful natural environment, perfect for outdoor activities. Visitor information about the city of Port Moody can be found on the official web site, which says:
Port Moody has something for every member of the family. With over 27 kilometres of waterfront, water sports such as boating, sailing and kayaking are popular. We also have trails from easy boardwalk strolls to strenuous mountain hikes.
Little Thailand Restaurant has been getting excellent reviews on the website Dinehere.ca, including mapia who writes (click here to read review):
We started with the fresh lemonade and loved the cool and sweet/tart taste. We ordered spring rolls, a small tom kah gai, and (the main event) chicken and prawn pad thai. Hubby (a pad thai virgin) enjoyed every bite. The soup was spicy and delicious. The spring rolls were crisp and not too greasy. The portions were plentiful enough to feed us both to the brim.
We also ordered the Pad Thai (pictured below, $12.95). It was a generous portion and had a great combination of flavors: sweet (as some sugar is added), spicy (chili pepper), salty (fish sauce), and slightly tart (lime juice). The large prawn placed on top was an appealing way to present the dish.
Another dish we ordered was an Indian-influenced Thai curry with chicken and potatoes ($12.95, pictured below) which went well with a bowl of rice ($2.00). For a refreshing drink, we tried the mango juice ($2.50) – a bit watery, but good nevertheless.
If you are lucky to live in the Port Moody area, I’d definitely recommend checking out Little Thailand Restaurant. But visitors to Greater Vancouver without a vehicle may find it difficult to get out to the area from downtown (it’s about a 30-45 minute drive). It is possible to take transit (via the skytrain to Lougheed Mall station and then the 97 B-Line bus up North Road).
Hopefully our local and provincial governments will make the Evergreen Line a reality. It’s the proposed Skytrain transit line which will link Vancouver and Burnaby with Port Moody and Coquitlam. According to the Provincial Government’s web site:
Construction of the Evergreen Line is anticipated to begin in late 2010 and be completed in 4 years.
The proposed Port Moody station on the Evergreen Line is very close to Little Thailand Restaurant.
Happy travels, and keep enjoying Greater Vancouver’s restaurants!
