Mui Garden Restaurant (map, web site, 5960 Minoru Boulevard, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-303-7977) is a Hong Kong style cafe that specializes in authentic Malaysian Curry.
This restaurant is well established within the local Asian community and I was one of the few Caucasian diners enjoying the food that night. However, I think the fantastic flavors at Mui Garden would appeal to many people regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.
For example, the Chicken Satays ($8.50, pictured below) were the most juicy, flavorful chicken satays I have yet tried, in my opinion beating out the satays at the more upscale Tropika on Robson. I also tried the Beef Brisket Curry served on chow mein noodles ($9.50, also pictured below), and the combination of spices was really great, making for a really satisfying main course to share with my friend.
I’ve eaten in Mui many many times and I always order the beef brisket curry (fish curry is good as well), green beans with minced pork, and anything else that my friends and I feel like at the time. I have never been disappointed with the food. Besides being Chinese, I’ve grown up eating Chinese food and Mui definitely one of the top with its awesome curry among other things.
Video from Mui Garden:
(above) Chicken Satay skewers at Mui Garden restaurant in Richmond ($8.50)
(above) Beef brisket curry on Chow Mein noodles from Mui Garden restaurant ($9.50)
Nuba Restaurant (web site, 1206 Seymour St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 778-371-3266, at Davie and Seymour) is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant downtown that serves delicious Lebanese food at reasonable prices. This restaurant serves many vegan and vegetarian dishes, as well as a few selections with meat. Nuba has another downtown location at 322 West Hastings (phone: 604-688-1655).
I enjoyed the Najib’s Special plate (pictured below, $9.29) which featured some wonderful crispy cauliflower served with roast potatoes, hummus, salad and pita. I could have ordered rice instead of the roast potatoes, but the potatoes were a good choice. I also had the Baklava for a sweet dessert ($2.62, not pictured).
We love Nuba for healthy fast well priced food. The garden falafel is really tasty with avocado and their homemade pickle. The vegetarian appetizer plate is a great sampler of all their goodies. I love the flavour of the lentil/rice/avocado dish, the crispy cauliflower is amazing and the mushrooms are great!
Prima Taste Restaurant (map, web site, 570 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-685-7881) serves authentic, modern Singaporean cuisine in an upscale and casual atmosphere. My friend who is from Malaysia says that Prima Taste is his favorite restaurant in the downtown area, and after visiting on two occasions and falling in love with the flavors, I can really understand why. What’s more, prices are quite reasonable: the main courses are in the $9 to $12 range at lunch time, and a tad more for dinner time.
Pictured below is a delicious chicken dish (of which I forgot the name, priced around $11 and included soup and rice). Also shown below is the Laksa Prawns dish ($9.50). The Laksa Prawns featured some succulent cooked prawns served with inari bean curd, fish cakes, and noodles in a rich broth made with coconut milk(?) and some hot spices. This was a real treat and I finished every last drop!
For some more info and photos, please view Part 1.
(above) Singaporean Chicken dish, also served with rice and soup.
(above) a Singaporean dish, the Laksa Prawns ($9.50)