88 Eats

Let's eat an egg salad sandwich, and pair it with a matcha latte. Are we in Japan? The viral egg salad sandwich, hailing from Japan, has made its way to Canada and US. This is part of 7-11's larger efforts to improve its food operations.  Japan and other Eastern Asian countries like Korea are well known for their convenience stores. Cheap, quick, and plentiful selection. In Japan, these are called 'combini', with popular stores including FamilyMart, 7-11, and Lawson. You could basically live a week off of food from these stores because of the vast and healthy selections, from pastas and rice dishes to fried chicken and fruit smoothies.  Unfortunately, 7-11 in Canada and US have long neglected food options, opting for faster, cheaper options like pizza, taquitos, and hot dogs. As such, few if any go to 7-11 go specifically for food or drinks (with the exception of snacks and slurpees). Will this new item encourage us to visit more often? The sandwich was $5.95 (less a $0...

Let's eat some Chinese food. We were craving some regional cuisine so we went to Yu Xiang Yuan, which is often regarded as a 'hidden gem' serving Sichuan style food in the South Fraser neighbourhood. We ordered two entrees and an appetizer to split between the three of us.  This part of Vancouver is quite a busy commercial area, with easy access to Langara and Metrotown. Lots of grocery stores, banks, and medical offices. Easily walkable with lots of ethnic cuisine like the Korean, Vietnamese, and Indian cuisines. Popular restaurants include Hyderabadi (Indian food), Deer Garden (soup noodles), Sal Y Limon (which recently opened), and Ho Yuen Kee restaurant, which is packed on weekends. Breka is also a popular option for those studying late at night, as they are open 24/7. We ordered a beef roll for appetizer, #6 black pepper beef with hand pulled noodles , and #98 fried pork strips with beijing sweet sauce. We also ordered a bowl of rice and some steamed crepes to eat wit...

Let's drink some coffee and eat some ice cream! We went to % Arabica, which is a new spot for coffee lovers in Richmond. Vancouver is a top tier city for coffee and with hundreds of cafes and specialty shops, it's no surprise that Vancouverites know coffee well, whether it's matcha or bold new flavours like ube. We visited Richmond Centre on the weekend to try this new and trending shop.  % Arabica is a Japanese brand of shops from Kyoto founded in 2013. Their brand is based on minimalistic designs and this matches their coffee shop aesthetics. This is consistent throughout their stores across the world, with over 200 locations worldwide. They opened their first store in Whistler in 2024 and their Richmond location in late 2025. Their Richmond Centre mall location positions the brand for high customer foot traffic, being located next to the food court. The line wasn't that long and we waited less than 5 minutes to order. Considering we've heard stories about hour lo...

Let's eat some Chinese food. Finally...after an hour wait elsewhere. We are reviewing Master Hung BBQ. In my previous blog post, we dined at Royal Seafood Restaurant, or tried to. After an hour wait with no food in sight, we decided to take our hunger to Master Hung BBQ Restaurant  across the street. There was a noticeable difference in the way food was served.  Upon arriving, we were seated promptly and this was around 8:00 PM on a Tuesday night. There were still tables in the restaurant. I have to say that despite this being a smaller restaurant, the service and speed that the dishes arrived was very fast and efficient. The kitchen and staff were obviously raring to go and everything arrived within 15 minutes; soup arrived within 5 minutes.  We ordered their pick 4 dish set combo, which comes with soup and red bean soup. This classic Cantonese menu option allows you to pick a set number of dishes from 70 entrees for a set price. We ordered the following dishes (in ...

Let's eat some Chinese food...or not? Would you wait 1 hour for dinner and get nothing? Maybe leave? In this food review, I go over what happened at Royal Seafood Restaurant in Richmond B.C. on Blundell Rd.  We were in the mood to explore the area and went to the restaurant for dinner on a Tuesday weeknight. It seemed like most restaurants in the area were quite busy. We didn't have any reservations but the staff had room and could accommodate us. Or so we thought.  From the looks of it, dinner and the venue looked promising. The restaurant is spacious, large, and inviting.  They even had a fountain at the front and the washrooms were clean. This is the typical type of Chinese seafood restaurants that can seat large groups or banquets. There were also a number of dinner specials to which we ordered across the menu about 3 large dishes (entrees) to share between us (including rice).  Here's where dinner went downhill. We placed our order and we waited, and wait...

Let's eat some fried chicken! This might be the best cheap fried chicken deal in Vancouver right now. Church's Chicken is one of the original players in the Vancouver fried chicken market (the other being KFC). Yes there are newer establishments like Juke and Downlow, but for basic, classic fried chicken, Church's has delivered a winning product. Is their new chicken deal worth it? Let's find out.  We ordered their 6 piece combo (mix, half spicy half regular) with fries and gravy on the side. I picked up my order in person and didn't have to wait that long. Their spring deal brings great value to consumers and for fast food chicken, it's hard to compete at that price. Hot, fresh, and crispy - what more else could you want from fried chicken?  I'm more of a purist when it comes to fried chicken and don't really crave other flavours like Nashville hot or glazed chicken like you see in Asian countries - you get all these restaurants trying to make crazy co...

Let's eat some 'cupcakes'! Dairy Queen's new 'cupcakes' are all the rage. Are they worth the hype or overrated? Let's dive into a quick taste test and review. An important note is that while these are called 'cupcakes', they are  more of a frozen dessert and not a traditional baked cupcake.  DQ cupcakes are a mini version of the popular ice cream cake; chocolate ice cream on the bottom, a fudgy, cookie crumb middle, and vanilla ice cream on top; topped with sprinkles and some whipped cream. I can see this product being popular with those who want the DQ flavours and experience but in a more manageable size and portion.  The price of these cupcakes was 2 for $11.99, which at roughly $6 each is decent value considering a small blizzard with customizations is about that price. A single would cost about $7-8. These cupcakes are not meant to be heated up and the multiple layers create textural contrast. At this size and price, these are perfect for when y...

Let's eat some Crumbl cookies! These cookies have taken over the Internet, and you may have seen these popular cookies eaten on social media, as part of a larger viral trend. Are they worth the hype or is this just a fad? Would you pay $25 for 4 cookies? This company was first started in 2017 and became popular after the pandemic. As more people gravitated to TikTok during these times, these cookies started to become insanely popular, with lines out the door. I actually watched the documentary and showed my class on how the company started (linked below). The company was founded by Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan, who used A/B testing to determine the best possible cookies (a fancy term for market research; which cookie is better? A or B).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6CfG2VEt2c&t=341s&pp=ygUOY3J1bWJsIGNvb2tpZXPSBwkJ2woBhyohjO8%3D Quick Background : Crumbl's business model is based on the idea of 'scarcity'; with rotating special flavours each week, this p...

Let's eat some McDonald's! McDonald's just released their new set of happy meals in the theme of Mario & his friends, in conjunction with the release of the new Mario Galaxy movie coming out April 1. Naturally, we stopped by our local McDonald's to get one in person. There are a variety of new toys (keychains) that match the characters in the movie, from Mario and Luigi to Toad and Bowser Jr.  McDonald's is often credited with establishing the concept of a kids meals. Growing up, it was always cool to open up that box and see what toy you got. Today, we ordered the Crispy Chicken Wrap Happy Meal , coming with a toy, yogurt, and choices of entree, side, and drink. You could also opt for a book instead of the toy. Other options for entrees include hamburgers and the popular McNuggets, and if you want a healthier option for a side, you could opt for apple slices or fruit instead of their French Fries. Since we were there, we also ordered the Spicy Habanero McChicke...

Let's eat some dumplings! Or more specifically, Sheng Jian Bao (pan fried buns) . These are a specialty from Shanghai, China and are similar to the traditional soup buns (xiao long bao) that are more popular and commonly known. The only difference is that for these sheng jian baos, the bottom is pan fried so that these dumplings are half soft, half crispy. Both do have soup inside. Yang's Dumpling is a new restaurant that opened at the tail end of last year. It is a Chinese brand of restaurants that has a family recipe dating back to 1947. The business was established in 1994 and now has 400 locations worldwide. Their location in Richmond is on Alexandra Rd, a popular street for ethnic food in the Greater Vancouver. Yang's had a brief soft opening with long lines but it's fully operational now. With incredible hype from social media posts, this place was worth a try. Upon entering the establishment, we were seated promptly. The service here is quick and all of the ord...