Seok Gi Si Dae Korean Restaurant (map, #4 – 602 Clarke Road, Coquitlam, BC, Canada, phone: 604-937-0330) is a very authentic Korean restaurant, so authentic that you can easily fool yourself into thinking you are in South Korea!

All the restaurant’s patrons were sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor, at low tables (although there are some Western-style tables as well). I found sitting this way added to the experience, combined with the contemporary wallpaper of Korean lettering, bare light bulbs (which reminded my friend of home), and some strangely familiar Korean pop music. Not to be outdone by the fact that I was surrounded by many people speaking their native tongue and enjoying food of their country.

There are some English words on the menu, but I recommend ordering the house specialty, which is the first item listed: thick strips of pork fried at a gas grill at your table (pictured below). The fat from the pork drips away into a bowl, and once cooked, you cut the sizzling strips of pork into bite size pieces. Nestle each piece into a fresh leaf of lettuce, top with a tangy Korean salad (pictured below) and garnish with Jalepeno peppers and raw garlic (if you are so brave!).

According to my friend, it is a custom in Korea to take an entire piece of pork lettuce wrap and gleefully “stuff” the whole thing into one’s mouth before munching away. This contrasts with the so-called “polite” western way of eating, where everything is consumed in small morsels with a fork and knife. Perhaps this custom of “gleeful stuffing” developed out of tough economic times when the ability to stuff down any amount of food was considered a luxury. Or maybe it’s to be able to enjoy all the flavors at once. In any case, I thought it was great fun!

The meal of grilled pork slices (as described above) also included the typical Korean garnishes such as kim-chee, and a really wonderful poached egg served in a stone bowl (also pictured below). The meal finished off with some truly awesome fried rice, grilled on the same surface as the pork where it absorbed all the flavors left behind.

We were quite satisfied with the special pork meal (which is about $15.95 per person), but we wanted to really celebrate so we also ordered a large Korean Pancake ($15, also pictured below). This was really delicious, and was similar to the Japanese pancakes (okonomiyaki) which I have tried around town.

Korean pancake

Click here for a picture the name of the restaurant written in Korean, and click here for a map provided by the restaurant.

Korean fried pork (on the grill, before it is cooked)

Korean salad

Korean egg

Korean Garnish

Korean restaurant in Coquitlam

Map to Korean Restaurant in Coquitlam

Western Lake Restaurant (map, reviews, 4989 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-321-6862) serves some of the best Cantonese-style Chinese food in the city. I can say this on good recommendation from my friend Stephen Pong who is a local “foodie” expert and a food tour guide, taking tourists and residents on culinary tours of Vancouver’s Asian restaurant scene. I was really impressed by this restaurant and highly recommend Stephen’s service (his website is coming soon; email me if you’d like to find out more!).

NancyLand writes on her blog (click here to read review):

I went there for a group family dinner a while back, and everything on the set group menu for six impressed me (you know, the one written only in Chinese.  If you don’t read Chinese, just take a chance and order it.  Make sure they are not giving you a non-Chinese version though.  Not sure if they have that there, but some restaurants have a “western” or “gwai-lo” and a Chinese version of the set menus).  In particular, I remember that the texture of the fried rice was amazing, and may be the best I had ever had. […]

The most awesome dish we had was the Beijing Duck (aka Peking Duck) which was served in two courses. First the duck skin was served with crepes and a garnish of green onion and carrot, with sweet hoi-sin sauce (not pictured). Second was the “lettuce wrap”: wok-fried duck meat, crispy noodles, and vegetables served in pieces of fresh iceburg lettuce (pictured below). The two course Beijing Duck dish was $28.00 which is a very reasonable price for two large courses.

We also ordered the Oysters with Ginger and Green Onion (pictured below, $15.80) which had the biggest, most tender cooked oysters I have tasted in a long time. Other good dishes we tried were the Chicken with Gai Lan (Chinese brocolli), which was $12.80 (also pictured below), and the Honey Moon Fried Rice. The fried rice was presented in the shape of a Yin-yang with cream and prawns on one side, and tomato and chicken on the other side ($12.80, pictured below).

Reservations at this restaurant are an absolute must, as the place was fully booked. If possible try to make your reservations a few days in advance. The restaurant mostly serves large groups (four or more people) and it’s much better to have lots of people so that you can order many dishes, put them in the center of the table, and share them in a Chinese banquet style (as opposed to European style restaurants where everyone gets their own dish). Highly recommended.

Peking Duck (Beijing duck) lettuce wrap from Western Lake Chinese Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Oysters with Ginger and Green Onion ($15.80) from Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver.

Chicken with Gai-Lan (Chinese Brocolli) from Western Lake Restaurant in Vancouver ($12.80)

Honey Moon Fried Rice ($12.80), from Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver

Deserts – The Falafel Oasis (reviews, map, 905 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-251-4171) is a very casual vegetarian / vegan restaurant that serves Indian-style food.

The restaurant appears to be under new ownership, and from what I can tell, the food has improved, but the place seems to be a bit messier than before. This is definitely not a place to take someone to impress them! However if you want to get full on tasty vegetarian food for $6.00, order their “Chef’s special” (pictured below) and if it’s a nice day, take your plate out to the small patio.

Chef's special from Deserts Restaurant on Commercial Drive.