In high school my friends and I used to drive into town from Langley and sit for hours in Wazubees. Except we called it Cafe Cafe Cafe because that’s all they had on their sign and we never thought to ask past that. There are so many establishments in this city that fall into the category of decent, possibly unmemorable food that are described as “that pho shop up on Hastings” or “the dim sum with the blue awning”. They don’t need to have a sign or even a name (although I guess they must need to have one somewhere to register as a business) because there will always be people around in the community who need to eat. This post is a tribute to all of those places.
Last week I ate at the Ginseng Seafood Noodle House. I only know the name because I made a point of taking a photo of the sign:
We went because it was late and we wanted something cheap and not too unhealthy. We were greeted warmly and after not too much deliberation, decided to order the Special Dinner for Two. Soup of the Day, a thin vegetable soup that was nourishing but otherwise uninteresting; Deep Fried Quail, a succulent, tender little bird that also came with the head; Prawns and Scallops with Gai lan, delicious, fresh steamed Chinese broccoli topped with seafood ;Bean Curd & White Nut with Vegetables, an interesting but tasty concoction involving something called White Nut (actually yellow and I’m pretty sure from the bean family) and tofu skin in soup; accompanied with Steamed White Rice and followed by fortune cookies.
I’m not sure that “special” is the right word for it, but the variety of flavours and colours complimented nicely and for $32 we ate very well.
I even ate a bit of the quail head, dipped in fortified salt. Little strange, but it was actually pretty good.
So while I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Ginseng Seafood Noodle House, I’m sure I’ll be back, and I’ll enjoy it.
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Ginseng Seafood Noodle House
Cambie Street, Vancouver
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9 responses so far ↓
shokutsu // July 29, 2008 at 11:18 PM |
I always love it when I find one of these non-descript, generic spots that ends up being a big surprise and not the “unmemorable food” variety. Always worth checking them out I say, in case a diamond does come out of the rough. Pretty adventurous with the quail head here (the picture sure is shocking!), I wouldn’t do that even on a bet.
shokutsu
@ http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/
degan // July 29, 2008 at 11:26 PM |
lol, tastes like chicken.
great site, thanks for coming by!
Boo // July 30, 2008 at 12:08 AM |
The ‘white nut’ is a direct translation from chinese. It’s actually ginko nut.
degan // July 30, 2008 at 12:28 AM |
well that’s helpful! thank you.
the white/ginko nut does not taste like chicken.
degan // July 30, 2008 at 12:29 AM |
do you know what the fortified salt is called that comes with the quail?
shokutsu // July 30, 2008 at 4:21 AM |
LOL. Why does everyone describe those unique meats as always tasting “like chicken”.
Shera // July 30, 2008 at 6:15 PM |
I love your site – it is so interesting! It has inspired me to explore the foods in my hometown in Florida.
My husband and I are heading out to Vancouver in a week for two nights before boarding a cruise. Are there any restaurants that we MUST check out while there? Thanks so much!
degan // July 30, 2008 at 9:54 PM |
thank you for your comments! I can certainly recommend any number of restaurants. What kind of cuisine do you like?
degan // July 31, 2008 at 2:05 AM |
FYI the salt is called Ma Yim. There appears to be no english translation for it.