604 Foodtography

Taqueria El Rinconsito, SeaTac, Washington

Kevin Wu — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:00:50 +0000

I went to Mexico recently with my parents, and since we were flying out from SeaTac, I looked for places to eat nearby our hotel. What better way than to kickstart the upcoming Mexican eats with a Taqueria? Reviews looked good on Google and Yelp and it was a short 2 minute drive away, so we had an early dinner before calling it a night for our 5am flight.

Located in a small strip mall off the busy highway like street [or is it a freeway?] the interior of this recently opened Taqueria El Rinconsito is very clean and expansive. You order at the counter, and they punch it in the system and also call it out to the kitchen through the microphone.

My dad ordered Menudo, a traditional Mexican soup made with hominy and tripe, offered on Saturday and Sunday only for $8.99. Includes tortillas.

Typically made with beef stomach, it takes a lot of time and labour for this soup. Other additions such as tripe, honeycomb, tendon, and even beef feet can be added. Spices such as onions, cilantro, oregano and chili flakes can be added as well for more flavour.

My mom ordered Arroz Con Pollo ($8.69) which also includes tortillas. The Mexican version of Arroz Con Pollo is heavy on sauce, which she asked to be omitted for this order, while the Costa Rican way, or at least the way my mom makes it, is more like fried rice, with very liberal use of achiote to give it a deep red colour and distinctive flavour.

I ordered 3 Carnitas Tacos for $3.36, and I think I had the most filling meal. Beside the cashier, there’s a self serve condiment/salsa bar, and I took advantage of it. Salsa? Cabbage salad? Pickled vegetables and jalapenos? Limes? I’ll take them all! Coming in at just over $1 each, I may never look at La Taqueria or Dona Cata the same way..until I crave some tacos.

It’s a bit funny and sad at the same time that these were the best tacos I ate during my trip, even when I was in Mazatlan. It’s probably due to the fact that we had more seafood [ie, ceviche, clams, calamari, lobster, fish, etc] and not that much “typical” Mexican food while there, but on our way back to Vancouver, we made one last stop to Taqeuria el Rinconsito for some cheap and delicious tacos.

Taqueria El Rinconsito (SeaTac)
(206) 835-2900
15245 International Blvd
Seatac, WA 98188

Fruit Dealers: Healthy Fruit Delivery at SFU

Kevin Wu — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:21:35 +0000

One of the things that I love about going to school in New Westminster is the many good, unknown eats in the neighbourhood [Good Eat Cafe, Burger Heaven, Burger Burger and etc]. During my time at SFU, most of the food was located on the far end of the campus, highly inconvenient. So when Jeff told me about the Fruit Dealers and how they deliver fruit salad to SFU students and staff, I thought it was a great idea.

The Fruit Dealers feed SFU staff and students a healthy alternative. At VDL’s Extravaganza, Jeff had a couple of cups to hand out to some of the execs. (Note: Want to be a VDL exec? Recruitment beings this summer!)

Orders of 16oz ($4) are submitted online via their Facebook page and are prepared and delivered the morning of. Their fruits vary daily but the one I had included apples, oranges, grapes, dragon fruit, kiwi, and strawberries, topped off with some mint and a “secret sauce.” It is also important for them to be sustainable and local, sourcing from local markets and using recyclable cups.

No, not that kind of secret sauce, but some wonderful sweet citrusy sauce with a bit of kick to it. The sauce was sweet from the honey but it was complimented nicely by the mint. The pictures are a bit deceiving but this was a lot of fruit for one sitting.

It doesn’t appear that they’re taking single orders for the summer but they’ve recently begun catering events and meetings. If you’re interested, check them out on Facebook or on Twitter.

Taking a very special Fruit Dealer platter to @YWiBSFU‘s Academy Awards tonight! twitter.com/FruitDealers/s…

— Fruit Dealers (@FruitDealers) April 24, 2012

And for anyone playing in VDL’s weekly playoffs, they’ll be in attendance on May 5th/6th and May 12th/13th at David Thompson Secondary from 12:30-4. Come say hi to me or Jeff!

Crawfish King, Richmond, BC

Kevin Wu — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:33:41 +0000

Craaaaazy crawfish. Prior to my visit to this brand new restaurant in Richmond, I’ve only had two experiences with crawfish. The first being dissection in Science class during high school, and the other when I was younger eating at some restaurant in Taiwan.. I think.

Judging from their site and various reviews and reports, and if they’re to be believed, Crawfish King is an import all the way from Texas, run by a Vietnamese family. They first opened on April 24th, and so far reviews seem to be mainly about the service. Really though, that’s kind of expected. Everyone expects perfect service from the get go, but it’s not easy, and I can sympathise.

Anyways, Val spotted this a couple days ago and said it was open, so I was determined to come ASAP to try it out. Funny as I had first read it on Wise Monkeys forum but completely forgot about it. Watching the FOH staff, they did seem unorganized and unsure of their procedures, but were definitely friendly and attentive. (...)
Click to read the rest of Crawfish King, Richmond, BC! (401 words)

Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen – VANEATS.ca “Siddhartha NIRVANA” Preview

Kevin Wu — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:43:43 +0000

Namaste, everyone. Kevin and Billy are like a freight train, running through every kitchen in this city possible with their awesome VANEATS.ca deals. This time, it’s off to Commercial Drive for some Indian cuisine at Siddhartha’s.

Upon my arrival, I had a bit of deja vu at first, from the main entrance and the light minimalistic decor inside, as it reminded me of Palki Indian Restaraunt, coincidentally also on Commercial Drive! Sitting in the restaurant was also Diana from Foodology.ca, hollla.

Onto the food, watch this video. Now with voiceovers by Kevin and Billy, I think it really speaks to their business and their passion when they put their personality directly into the products they’re selling. (...)
Click to read the rest of Siddhartha’s Indian Kitchen – VANEATS.ca “Siddhartha NIRVANA” Preview! (556 words)

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

Tien Nguyen — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:27:20 +0000

Famoso began in 2005 back in Calgary after a trip to Italy left Justin, 1 of 3 partners, spellbound by the simple eloquence of the Margherita pizza. Inspired to learn more about Italian pizzas and its flavorful culture, Famoso was born. Now also residing in Commercial Drive’s ‘Little Italy‘, Famoso “brings Naples a little closer” to us Vancouverties with their fresh ingredients and passion for authenticity and artisan roots.

Since Kevin was out of town, I got to take his place and took @nuwen with me to explore all that Famoso had to offer during their grand opening.(...)
Click to read the rest of Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria! (699 words)

White Castle Microwaveable Burgers

Kevin Wu — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:00:32 +0000

I spotted these in the freezer section while down in Washington in January, and thought I’d pick them up since I’ve never had White Castle.

You see, they’re only out on the East Coast, and therefore nigh impossible for me to attain.

This box came in three individually sealed bags, two sliders each. Instructions said to either microwave or bake. I did both just to compare. Microwaving sucked, they were slightly soggy but the cheese was nice and melted.

Baking them actually took a bit more work, as it asked for a tray with a layer of steaming hot water, then to cover the burgers in foil on the slotted top part. When you got the munchies..I’m pretty sure you won’t go through all that work.

Popped these bad boys in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes. That’s a lot of waiting…

End result? A crispier bun but the cheese less melted. I guess I could have had them in longer, but 20 minutes compared to a whopping 2 minutes in the microwave? I’ll take the latter .. it gets the job done.

Of course, this is not a true representative of the real White Castle burgers (I sure hope so!) so until the day I’m out East….

Harold and Kumar, this one’s dedicated for you.

El Pulgarcito de America Restaurante

Kevin Wu — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:00:19 +0000

Sometime late August last year, I hiked Mount Seymour with Kevin and Bonnie. Absolutely starving for some food after we came down, I thought of going to Bo Laksa King after. However, since it was a hot day and while driving past I spotted El Pulgarcito, I suggested we have some Latin food instead of a bowl of piping hot laksa.

Located on busy Hastings Street between Nanaimo and Renfrew, it’s easy to miss this restaurant without this colourful sandwich board outside.

For those who have read my older posts before or know me in real life, you probably know I love Latin American food, but even more specifically, I love pupusas.(...)
Click to read the rest of El Pulgarcito de America Restaurante! (213 words)

Taco Luis (Lansdowne Centre, Richmond, BC)

Kevin Wu — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:42:48 +0000

604Foodtography (or rather, just me, Kevin) is now on instagr.am! ;)

Hey look, a food court. I rarely eat at food courts now for a variety of reasons, but there was good reason for this visit to Lansdowne Centre mall. Taco Luis is famous in Richmond for cheap Tex-Mex food, with (so I’ve heard) numerous Kwantlen students flooding the food court at lunch for a quick and easy lunch. In fact, some people will cross a bridge just to eat here. Taco Luis is so popular that they’ve even opened up a second location at Oakridge Mall.

I’ve always walked past it on the times I’ve been in Lansdowne Centre, but never patroned because I had already eaten. Since Val wanted a quick cheap dinner before dodgeball, I suggested we meet at Taco Luis.(...)
Click to read the rest of Taco Luis (Lansdowne Centre, Richmond, BC)! (263 words)

La Casita – VANEATS.ca “La Casitas Botanas” Preview

Kevin Wu — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:00:40 +0000

Arribaaa!

La Casitas in Gastown is the newest and the first Latin American cuisine to be featured on VANEATS.ca for “La Casitas Botanas“. Personally, I’m hoping they strike up more deals with other Latin/Spanish cuisine restaurants, as I think they’re highly underrepresented and also misinterpreted in Vancouver.

Inside is a mainly kitschy yet somewhat truthful representation of many Mexican restaurants, complete with large margarita glasses and plenty of tequila. Mexico, I’ll be in you once finals are over!

Since it was Monday.. it meant it was Industry Night, Mini Margaritas (1oz) for $3 and Cariboo beers for $4.50. No, I didn’t order two for myself, but I’m more than capable and willing to do so.

The standard chips and salsa arrived shortly after. The salsa was more like a cold gazpacho and the salsa verde creamy but with a lingering kick of spice.

Let’s move onto the food now.

Chipotle Prawn, grilled in butter, garlic, & our special chipotle sauce
Chicken Wings, served with mole sauce on a bed of rice
Quesadillas, handmade folded tortillas with melted cheese and Mexican chorizo sausage
Cabbage Salad, served with avocado
Super Nachos, beef & bean salsa, cheese & veggies on fresh corn tortilla chips

4 prawns [without tail, I'm lazy!] grilled in butter, garlic and chipotle sauce. Smokey, without too much spice, these were tender and almost went down the hatch too quickly for me. More please!

I’ve had mole sauce.. but I still can’t understand the appeal of it. To me, it seems to be confused about its identity as a sauce. Is it sweet or savoury? Is it chocolatey, spicy or smokey? Let’s just be all of the above.. that’s how I view it. These wings were a bit small.. and dry. Neh…

Handmade quesadilla with real handpressed tortillas! These were super thick, nearly half a centimetre and filled to the brim with cheese and chorizo. My favourite of the 5 items on this big platter.

Cabbage salad. I’m so very used to this type of salad, since my mom makes a variant of it at home all the time. Shredded cabbage, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper. Done. A very simple salad for sure, but it’s refreshing, healthy and makes you feel like you’re “cleansing” your stomach.

The last and biggest portion of this platter is the nachos, made with freshly deep fried corn tortilla chips and thick beef & bean salsa. A very deceiving pile of nachos, this took up the bulk of the space in my stomach in the end.

For what it’s worth, I think $18 is more than a fair deal for this package, possibly verging on committing a crime for getting it this cheap. Other items on the La Casitas menu interest me mainly because the price point isn’t too high for the Gastown neighbourhood.

La Casitas
101 W Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 646-2444

Fourplay Ep. 4 – Union by In The House Festival at Salt Tasting Room

Kevin Wu — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 23:10:48 +0000

I’m alive, I swear. Life [mainly school] has been busy and I just don’t have enough time to sit down and fully collect my thoughts. This calm before the storm of finals is what’s allowing me to do so right now, as I type up the final episode of Fourplay. [read Episode 1 , Episode 2 & Episode 3].

Having missed out on Episode 3, which I sent my proxy writer Tien to [who first wrote Verace Pizzeria], I realized how strange it was to miss out on familiar faces on a Monday night.

Tonight was the big night though, and it wouldn’t be without a few hiccups…wedding jitters, cold feet, whatever you call them! (...)
Click to read the rest of Fourplay Ep. 4 – Union by In The House Festival at Salt Tasting Room! (395 words)