Safari Snack House

While we were in the Deer Lake Park area, we came across a small complex of restaurants and little grocery stores right on Canada Way near the entrance to Deer Lake. One of the restaurants was a place called Safari Snack House which advertised the "Best Samosas in Town". This piqued our curiosity, so we went in.

The place itself is not just a restaurant, but a mixture of retail, take out and catering space, with a few small tables for eating in. The atmosphere is lively and friendly, with locals stopping in, and large, colourful murals of zebras, giraffes and lions.

The menu items were pretty interesting, with many East African dishes with a touch on Indian influence. Almost all of the menu items were under $10.

We ordered the Kabab ($5.25 for 4), which were different from anything we've ever had. These were really tender balls of gound meat which were deep fried to a deep brown crispness. The meat was delicious and nicely spiced, and the chutney that came with it was a tangy and wonderful complement.

Next we had the vegetable samosas ($5.25 for 3). These didn't look too impressive when it arrived, but these were great. The pastry was particularly good and crispy, and the filling was corn, potato, and peas.

We also ordered Mogo ($5.95), which was a huge plate of spiced, thick cut cassava fries. We'd never had cassava fries before, and it was different from regular fries. The texture and taste vaguely resemble potatoes, but the cassava is much denser and has a sweeter undertone (though it's not sweet). We enjoyed this a lot, but it was a bit too much for just the two of us.

For dessert we had a deep fried rice and coconut cake. The fried dough on the outside was crispy and chewy, and the inside was soft and pillowy, but the whole this was really oily. It was astounding the amount of oil that came out of the cake.

We really enjoyed Safari Snack House. It is different from anything we've tried, and we will definitely come back. However, our meal was a bit much because everything was deep fried. We felt a little unhealthy after this visit.

Abdul's Barbeque

A couple of weeks ago we went to Metrotown to see "Up in the Air" (pretty good, but a little forgettable). We decided to go over to Crystal Mall before the movie to check out this Middle Eastern place that I'd first heard about through a Chow Times review. It was a little hard to find, because the storefront actually faces the street.

This place is a real hole in the wall-- 3 or 4 metal tables, and barely enough room to walk around. The feeling is more of an eat and run or take out place. There were pictures of the menu items on the wall, and an electronic bell which rings as you come in. Mr. Abdul himself was there, and he was very friendly.

We decided to go for a couple of shawarmas--I got the beef and Shane got the mixed meat (chicken, lamb and beef, all Halal). They were around $7 bucks each, and were an amazing deal, considering how large they were. They were the biggest shawarmas I've ever gotten and filled with a generous quantity of meat and vegetables. The meat was pretty fantastic, with lots of crisp brown bits. But a bit of warning: the hot sauce is incredibly hot. These Syrian shawarmas are a lot different than the regular kind you'd get anywhere else. The meat and sauce are strongly spiced, which I imagine can turn off milder palates. But we loved it.

We were very full after that huge wrap, but like an idiot I wanted to try Abdul's falafels. Mr. Abdul said it would be a wait of about 15 minutes because he fries them fresh, unlike other places which fry them before hand and nuke them in the microwave. Upon hearing this, we were sold. We got a side of 4 (around $4), and they were worth the wait. These pucks were quite large; they were crisp on the outside, but incredibly soft in the middle. The seasoning was spot on, and the sauce that was put on these babies was lemony and really, really good. These falafels made me happy.

We will definitely come back for more--especially for the falafels. There is nothing that makes a place more perfect than a wonderful, friendly owner who obviously takes pride in his food.

Harambe

During our visit to Commercial Drive, we decided to have lunch at Harambe Cafe, an Ethiopian restaurant right on Commerical Drive (at 6th). This was our first visit to the restaurant, though we had eaten Ethiopian once before, years ago.

You really can't miss the restaurant, with its bumblebee colours; inside, the interior was just as colourful, with orange walls, blue table cloth, and lots of thriving green plants. It doesn't feel like a fine dining restaurant or a hipster hang, but the restaurant is humble and is itself, you know? The place felt very vibrant, warm and alive.

For drinks, Shane, out of form, ordered the Ethiopian coffee. Now for those not familiar with Ethiopian coffee, it's dark and strong like expresso, and doesn't come with cream, for those of you who like their coffee light. It was good, not bitter at all.

I had their spiced tea, which arrived with cinammon scented water and a tea bag. This was lovely: light tasting, spicy, and beautifully fragrant.

We shared the vegetarian platter ($19.99). The food came on a round, massive metal platter. Most conveniently, there were two mounds of each type of food. As is the Ethopian tradition, the little curries and food arrived atop a layer of injera bread. We were also given a side of rolled up injera bread, which was springy, spongey, and had a soft texture. It tasted a little like sourdough, with a nice tang. Of course, there were no utensils, because we were supposed to eat with our hands. For some people, this might seem weird, but it's really quite fun. In Thailand, we eat with our hands a lot, though we use spoon and fork most of the time.

It's a little hard to describe every component of the dish, because I didn't take note which was which, but everything was delicious. There were 4 types of lentil stews, Gomen (a spinach dish), a steamed (?) cabbage dish, and a kind of assorted vegetable stew. In the middle was a refreshing salad. The dishes ranged in spiciness, with the one of the red lentil dishes having the most spice, and the yellow lentil dish being mild and really flavourful. The spinach dish was complex and had great flavour. It was such a fun experience tearing off a piece of injera, and picking up a bit of stew and popping that into your mouth. This was a lot of food. We managed to eat most of it, including some of the injera foundation, but we could not finish it all.

We were really full. This was a great experience. Sharing of the platter and eating with our hands make the dining experience a much more communal one, which is what eating together should be, right? The moment you step into this restaurant, you feel transported to a different land. The music, warm colours, and the friendly service make Harambe a beautiful respite from the greyness of Vancouver.

Golden Pita Restaurant

In the Lougheed area, there are a ton of Korean restaurants, a few Chinese and Japanese places, and even a couple of Greek places, but there is only one Lebanese restaurant, and luckily for us, it's a pretty good place to eat. The restaurant is called Golden Pita Restaurant, located near Red Robin and the recently departed Liquor store. It's a little bit hard to find. It's a tiny spot, with seats for only about 15 people, but it's a local favorite and run by a Lebanese family.

We arrived around 6pm and the restaurant was full of eat-in diners, and people who were getting takeout.

The interior is very basic, with menus and pictures of the food on the walls. You order at the counter and wait until they bring the food to your table. The menu has the usual Mediterranean items, like donairs, falafels, hummous and meat plates. An interesting thing is that they have specials everyday. They also do catering, and the prices are pretty reasonable.

After we ordered, we sat ourselves down at the window seat, right below the TV showing the 6 o'clock news. The wait was a little long for the food--but then they were pretty busy. One bad thing is that they brought out Shane's plate first, while I had to wait for a long while for my plate to arrive.

Shane ordered the Friday special, Lebanese Beef plate ($10). This was strips of beef, with a salad, rice, tomato, tzatziki, pita, and a creamy onion salad. He really enjoyed this. Bits of the beef was a bit tough, but the seasoning was amazing. It was nicely spiced, with notes of cinnamon, and you could tell that the beef had been marinated a long while. We were also surpised by the quality of the sides. I normally don't like Mediterranean style rice, but this was was extremely flavorful. Each rice kernel was plump and had a good firm texture (while still being fully cooked), and it was seasoned to perfection. There were also little noodle-y things in the rice, which I'd never seen before. The salad was fresh, and the dressing was a delicious homemade concoction that tasted a little like Italian dressing. Even the onion salad was great--the creaminess of the sauce quietened the rawness of the onions. Everything was delicious.

I was stealing food from Shane's plate because I was waiting so long, but finally my Veggie plate ($9) arrived. This was a sampler, and it included: 2 falafels, a spinach pie, a veggie pocket, dolmates, tabbouleh, and hummous. The spinach pie was unusual and delicious--it just had spinach inside, unlike the Greek spanakopita, and it was really good, having a slight tangy flavour. The veggie pocket was similar in taste to a potato samosa, and it was good as well. The stuffed grape leaf was really flavourful, tender and with a bright zing. The hummous could have used more lemon, in my opinion, but you could taste the tahini and the chickpeas really well. Tabbouleh is one of my favorite salads, and this one was good--it looked like it had been sitting around a while (the parsley were a little wilted, and there was a lot of liquid), but the the sourness of the salad just brightened up the whole plate.

Finally, the falafels! This was what look so long, because unlike a lot of other places, they were made and fried to order. We ordered the side of falafels ($6), and these plump, large brown rounds arrived with a side of Lebanese pickles and a tahini sauce. They were crisp, crunchy and had a great coarse/crumbly texture. They weren't as well seasoned as those at Nuba, but they were still tasty and fun to eat.

Golden Pita is a great place to visit, especailly if you like falafels. We will definitely come back to try other menu items, especially the daily specials. It's a very modest little place, but in care and love in the food, this place is huge.

Nuba

Potatoes, Pita, Baba Ghanooj, Najib's Special

On Saturday before going to see Ponyo at Tinseltown Theatre in Chinatown, we had lunch at Nuba. They have two locations, a sit down eatery on West Hastings and Cambie, and more take-out orientated place on Seymour and Davie. This restaurant was a new discovery for me—I went there with a bunch of co-workers in the middle of the week for lunch and it was packed. In contrast, the crowd on Saturday was quite sparse for lunch. The last time both of us were in that space was when it was the Mouse and the Bean—the restaurant looked beautifully transformed, with mosaic-like mirror walls, white lanterns, and simple and elegant tables and chairs. The floors and the bathrooms needed work though.

We ordered 4 mezze plates, which ranged from $3.40 to $6.25 in price, and came with bracingly sour Lebanese cabbage pickles and thin pitas. The falafel was a wondrous creation: little pucks of deep-fried chick pea cakes that were really well seasoned (I’m not a fan of falafels in general, but these turned me—they are so yummy!). The Najib Special, cauliflower fried and seasoned with sea salt and lemon and tahini was good, though it wasn’t as good as earlier in the week (the cauliflower was a bit overdone, and there wasn’t enough tahini this time round). Still, it is an outstanding dish. We also ordered the Baba Ghanooj, a roasted eggplant puree, which was lemony, creamy, and with a hint of smokiness. The roasted potatoes with olive oil, herbs and seas salt was standard, but still good. For dessert we shared the baklava (no picture on this one), which was good, though not outstanding. I like that it wasn’t cloyingly sweet like others I’ve had.

Falafels

I love this restaurant—the flavors of the food are clear, bright and zingy—lots of lemon, spices—and your mouth becomes alert. And falafels you dream about.

UPDATE: We returned to Nuba on Saturday, August 29, with a couple of people who had never been, and it was a great experience. They're converted.

Shane ordered the Najib Special Plate (above), while I got the Falafel Plate (below). The pita came in a separate bowl. Yum! The weekend is the best time to go, most definitely. I hear from co-workers that it gets really hectic and you're likely to get ignored during the mid-week lunch (in this case, make sure to arrive at 11:30, when they open).