Van Soba @ Tama Organic Life

2 - 1600 MacKay Road

North Vancouver, BC

Reading the newspaper daily is good for you. Not only will you learn about the current events happening at home and around the world, you will learn of any new, unique, or good eats that you would not normally encounter.

Case in point, Van Soba @ Tama Organic Life. This little hole in the wall is literally hidden from the main street, tucked away inside a tiny organic grocery store. Even from the side street you wouldn't be able to find it! I only found out about it through The Vancouver Sun with specific instructions on how to get there!

Van Soba is located beside the Ethical Kitchen cafe, with access either through their parking lot-slash-garden entered through a back lane or actually walking through Ethical Kitchen's door and bee-lining to the cafe's patio to get to the back (which we did). I wouldn't suggest walking through someone else's cafe to get to another business but the staff at Ethical Kitchen were really nice and even let us sit on their patio for lunch.

Van Soba is actually a small shop owned and operated by the same folks who run Tama Organic Life, the organic grocery story. The son of the Japanese owner specializes in freshly made soba noodles so that is their selling point. Since they only open during lunch hours, their menu is small and concise. The set-up is that you walk up to the cashier, make your order, and then step outside to find a spot to sit at one of the picnic tables.

After ordering, we wanted to find a shady spot to sit so we sat at Ethical Kitchen's patio (don't worry, we bought a drink from them so it'd feel like we were patronizing them too =P). Our view was of Tama Organic Life's garden beside the parking lot. We picked a really nice day to go! It was sunny and warm; perfect for alfresco dining.

Buckwheat noodle in hot soup ($9.95)

Rice mixed with mushrooms and carrots ($1.95?)

Since there were only 2 choices for the soba noodles, it was natural that we ordered one of each to try! To showcase their buckwheat noodles, they were served plain without any toppings aside from sliced green onions. This hot soupy version also had some lemon zest to bring out the umami flavours of their broth. The owner recommended that we try their bowl of home-made mixed rice too. 

The fresh soba noodles were definitely different from the dry, commercial-grade noodles. They were toothsome and you could feel a slight gritty texture from the freshly milled buckwheat flour that the owner-chef used. The simple bowl of rice added to the warm, wholesome feeling of eating a home-cooked Japanese meal.

Cold buckwheat noodle ($8.95) - with green onions, wasabi, and dipping sauce

Although the cold soba noodles were pure and plain, they were refreshing on a hot day. The owner taught us how to eat their cold noodles with the savoury dipping sauce. We were to pick up some noodles and dip it slightly in the concentrated sauce. After finishing the noodles, a tea pot filled with hot water that the buckwheat noodles were cooked in is to be poured into the remaining sauce and drunk like soup. Despite being a hot sunny day, the buckwheat water soup was calming and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I like experiencing the small traditional touches of Japanese food.

This place is definitely out of the way for some, but if you do happen to venture out to North Vancouver, or you're in the area, it's nice to step back and appreciate the simple things in life.

Crepe Montagne

116 - 4368 Main Street
Whistler, BC

For my birthday, W treated me to the Scandinave Spa up at Whistler!! What an awesome fiancé (now husband!) eh? We only planned an overnight trip so we didn't have much time to venture around.

I found Crepe Montagne on the Internet and it seemed like a quaint place to have breakfast so off we went to Whistler village before our spa day!

Crepe Montagne states that they are an authentic French creperie. In addition to sweet and savoury crepes, they also serve Western style breakfasts, raclette, cheese and chocolate fondues, and ice-cream sundaes.

Since their namesake has "crepe" in it, W and I both decided not to deviate and just stick to their savoury crepes for breakfast.

Slalom ($11.95) - 1 egg, Ham or Canadian Bacon, 3 cheeses and fresh tomato

There weren't any photos of their crepes so I was expecting one of those triangular folded crepes with the ingredients tucked inside. To my surprise, it was square folded crepe that has an egg enveloped inside and the ingredients on top like a pizza! Regardless of the construction, this was still one tasty crepe. The crepes here are of the buckwheat variety and it's a nice change from regular flour as it adds a slight nuttiness to the flavour. The gooey, melted cheese under the lean, but juicy, Canadian bacon and the fresh tomatoes creates a delicious breakfast that satisfies the four food groups!

Freestyle ($11.95) - 1 egg, Ham or Canadian Bacon and 3 cheeses

W chose the Freestyle which basically is the Slalom without tomatoes. W does not like to eat tomatoes =P The crepe at the edges were a bit dry because the toppings and the egg inside didn't reach all the corners. The browned, crispy cheese crisps stuck to the side were really addictive though!

I really liked Crepe Montagne. The servers were warm and attentive and the décor of the restaurant was also charming with a rustic flair. The crepes, although not anything to-die for, were simple and yummy and we left with our tummies filled without a greasy feeling in our mouths. It felt like a healthy and delicious way to start our spa day!

Marutama Ramen

780 Bidwell Street
Vancouver, BC

Another ramen joint has opened up near the west end of Robson again! Why is it that all these ramen places like to congregate together in the same area?! There’s Santouka, Kintaro and Motomachi Shokudo all within walking distance. Too bad Benkei on Robson closed or else I would’ve included them in the list too.

This time, the new-comer is Marutama Ramen, located on the corner of Bidwell and Robson.

The interior is spacious and has this rustic wood-themed décor going on. In addition to some small tables that accommodate 2 diners, there are 3 separate counter seats – one facing the kitchen, one facing the noodle making room, one facing the window, and a large wooden communal table.

Before we get to the food, I just want to point out their washroom. No, it’s not something disgusting, don’t worry!

I think they did a really fine job of renovating and designing the washroom, the women’s washroom at least! The focal point has to be the sink because I think it’s beautiful! It looks so traditional with the small floral dots all over, perched on top of a natural-looking wood vanity, yet cool because of the black and red contrast paired with the brass faucet. Anyway! On to the food!

Marutama is a little different from the rest because they use their own specially-made chicken broth as their ramen soup. I believe G-Men in Richmond used to claim that their soup was chicken-based but I’m not sure if it still is right now when they merged with Nan-chuu. Ok, digressing again…

According to Marutama’s menu, “time, care and experience are put into the extraction of ‘umami’ from the chicken. Our ‘chicken only’ based broth is loaded with collagen which adds to the richness of the soup”. That is why they named it the Ultimate Richly-Textured Cloudy Chicken Soup!

Marutama Tamago Ramen ($10.50) - mild

Marutama doesn’t have a lot of variety on the menu (just variations of the same ramen) so W and I both chose the Marutama Tamago Ramen. W had the spicy version and I had the mild one.

The soup was true to its claim. It was milder than the broth made from pork bones but the essence of chicken was prominent and it left a sticky feeling in the mouth due to the collagen present in the soup. The ramen was the thin kind. I’m not a fan of the thin noodles but I think it matched well with the lighter soup. There weren’t a lot of accompaniments in the bowl; just 2 slices of cha shu (BBQ’ed pork), which was yummy and tender, and a pile of Aosa sea lettuce. Now, what is this “sea lettuce”?? It’s a mild kind of seaweed and it’s lighter in colour though it still does have a bit of slimy texture to it. It was not bad and unique in its own way but I still miss my favourite bamboo shoots.

The bowl of ramen also included their signature medium boiled egg. It's been marinated in a sweet soya sauce so a bite of the flavourful egg white with the creamy egg yolk blended quite well together.



Cha-shu gohan ($4.75) - roasted pork filet on rice

On our second visit the following week (W’s idea, not mine!), I wanted to try something other than their ramen so I went for their Cha-shu Gohan. This is basically a bowl of white rice topped with shredded cha-shu mixed with some onions and sauce. After taking a bite, I wasn’t fairly enthusiastic about the Cha-shu gohan. It could have used more sauce because the meat was a bit stringy and dry while the white rice was bland. The waitress dropped off a bottle of their house-made garlic chips and it added an oomph to the rice bowl but still, more sauce would have been better.

Dashiyaki ($7.00) - Japanese omelette

Thinking that their Japanese omelet would be similar to the one I had at Aki Japanese Restaurant, I decided to order Marutama’s Dashimaki. The dashimaki had a sweeter profile and the texture was springy-soft rather than melt-in-your-mouth soft. The egg at Aki still wins in this case.

In the ramen department, Marutama can be a good contender. The other items on the menu…well it could use some improvement. If there is a long line-up at the nearby Santouka, walk a few steps up the street and try Marutama. It’s not exactly the same type of ramen but it is still good eats!

California Pizza Kitchen [Tigard, OR]

7315 SW Bridgeport Road
Bridgeport Village
Tigard, OR

Boo hoo!! It was our last night in Oregon and after a final shopping spree (which I, disappointedly, came up empty-handed), we had to figure out where to have our final meal. After many deliberations, my bro-in-law suggested California Pizza Kitchen.

Despite being a stone's throw away from our hotel, we never knew Bridgeport Village existed until that night! The village was an outdoor shopping complex with many mid-high end stores and restaurants.

 

Not knowing how we should order (individual orders or a bunch of dishes to share?) we asked our server for recommendations. He suggested that we get 2 salads and 2 pizzas to share between the 6 of us. We were afraid that wouldn't be enough so we added a pasta to share as well.

 

Caramelized Peach Salad - field greens, spinach, warm caramelized peaches, cranberries, red onions, toasted pecans and Gorgonzola cheese tossed in house-made white balsamic vinaigrette

The Caramelized Peach Salad sounded very summery and fresh and indeed, the salad was chock full of fresh greens and warm sweet peaches. The pecans provided some crunch while the Gorgonzola cheese (not my favourite cheese =P) gave the salad some salty depth. Overall, this could be a salad that I would want to hoard all for myself!

Thai Crunch Salad - crisp veggies and cilantro with chicken and crunchy peanuts, wontons and rice sticks, tossed in a Thai peanut dressing

Yes, this salad looked like a big mess but only because we mixed it all together before I could take a picture of it when the salad arrived! I didn't like this one as much since I'm not a big fan of edamame beans but it was unique. The veggies were crisp and there were lots of crunchy things going on like the peanuts, fried wonton wrappers and rice sticks. The Thai dressing also had a bit heat to it.

The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza - CPK's legendary BBQ sauce, smoked Gouda, red onions and cilantro

One of their popular items on the menu, this pizza, naturally, did not disappoint. There was a powerful smokiness and tanginess from the sauce and cheese and there was enough chicken on top for everyone to enjoy. I wasn’t particularly fond of the huge crusty edge since I don’t really like eating plain crust. Would have been nice if the toppings extended more the edge.

Hawaiian Pizza - Pineapple and Canadian bacon with green onion slivers

 

The Hawaiian is my mom’s go-to pizza. Whenever we have pizza, there will most likely be a Hawaiian on the table. CPK’s version was very good. Instead of ham, they used Canadian bacon. The slices of sweet juicy pork were so yummy that we thought it was actual roasted bone-in ham! The pineapples were also sweet and juicy but it did not make the pizza soggy in any way. I really liked this one!

 

Shrimp Scampi Zucchini Fettucini - sauteed with lemon, garlic and white wine tossed with zucchini ribbons, fettucine, parsley and Parmesan cheese

The lone pasta dish of the night was the fettucini that I picked. Boy did I pick the right pasta!! I LOVED this dish!! The flavours were so fresh and aromatic with the lemon and strong garlic wafting out. The shrimp was cooked nicely absorbing the savoury garlic flavour. The noodles were cooked well at a nice firmness, just past al dente but man oh man, the star of the dish were the zucchini ribbons!! They were soft in the middle with just a little bit crunch where the skin was. It soaked up all the essences of the sauce but it was still light and it felt healthy haha… This whole dish just screamed summer to me! I ended up scraping the bowl when everyone else was too full to finish it LOL...

Wild Mushroom Pizza - cremini, shiitake, portobello and white mushrooms, mozzarella and wild mushroom walnut pesto

It was nearing the end of our meal but we all felt like we weren't really full yet so we took a second look at the menu. Not wanting something too meaty and heavy, we opted for the wild mushroom pizza. At first, we were kind of skeptical of this pizza as it looked quite pale and bland. But when we took our first bite, we were pleasantly surprised! The pesto provided an earthy, savoury hit to our tastebuds and the whole thing was full of umami-ness!! The dinner definitely ended on a very yummy note!

We had an enjoyable night at California Pizza Kitchen and it was a good finishing touch to our trip in Portland, or should I say “in Tigard” as that’s where we stayed most of the time!