Salam Bombay

Phone: (604) 681-6300
Address: 217 - 755 Burrard Street., Vancouver, BC
Hours: Daily, 11:30am to 10:30pm
Website:  http://www.salambombay.com
Parking: Meter parking along street.

Salaam Bombay is a contemporary Indian restaurant located in downtown, Vancouver. In addition to an a la carte menu, a buffet is available during lunch hours. They also have a wide selection of wines available.

 

BuffeT Line

• Twelve items excluding rice, naan (served to your table), and condiments.
• Varied selection of curries, however, the selection of appetizers and desserts can be wider.
• Most items were refilled regularly.

 

Chickpea Bean Salad and Mixed Greens Salad

• The two salads were the only two appetizers available.
• The mixed greens were a refreshing contrast to all the curries available and served as a palette cleanser

 

Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken

• The butter chicken was very heavy on the cream and was lacking on that distinct tomato flavour.
• The tandoori chicken was my favourite item on the buffet line. Some of the pieces were a bit dry and this item doesn't seem to be refilled regularly, so some of the pieces were a bit cold.

 

Seafood Curry and Beef Curry

• The only seafood I found in the seafood curry was calamari.
• The beef curry was very reminiscent a beef stew, but spicier.

 

Shahi Panir and Vegetable Spinach

• The gravy of the shahi paneer (paneer is a South Asian fresh cheese) was very creamy and filling.

 

Bitter Melon Yogurt Curry

 

Kheer and Fruit Salad

• The kheer (rice pudding) was very watery. Some condiments like nuts, spices, or raisins on the side would have been nice.
• The fruit salad had chunks of cantaloupe, strawberries, and watermelons.

 

ATMOSPHERE

• Clean and modern dining area, all the tables had white linen.
• Small lounge at the front by the bar.

SERVICE

• Service was quick, attentive, and professional.
• Water was refilled quickly.
• Plates were quickly cleared as soon as you get up to get another round of food.

VERDICT

I’m not as familiar with Indian cuisine as I’d like to be. The buffet line here at Salaam Bombay had a varied selection and gave me the opportunity to try several new dishes at once. However, the line-up of food could have had a greater selection. I had trouble differentiating the taste of the gravy of several of items, they were all quite creamy and heavy. All-in-all, it was a good foray into Indian cuisine.

EXP Restaurant + Bar

Phone: (604) 558-1337
Address: 309 W. Pender St., Vancouver, BC
Hours: 5:00pm to 12:00am Daily
Website:  http://www.expbar.ca/
Date of Visit: Jan. 28, 2013

EXP Bar is a video-game themed restaurant, and one of the few themed restaurants in Vancouver. Despite being opened for about a year already, they’re still in their soft-opening phase. Their original vision was to create a social meeting place for gamers that also serves alcohol, basically an arcade and bar. However BC’s liquor board put a stop to this as EXP bar has a food primary liquor license, the video games would take away from the food. So now, instead of of game consoles hooked up to the flat screens, they just have gameplay footage showing on them. It seems to me they’ll be in their soft opening phase until this issue is resolved. Personally, I think this still works. Sure I would like the option to play some video games too, but would you really want alternate between holding the controllers that have been handled by other patrons and shoving some nachos or fries down your mouth?

 

SPECIAL NACHO STAGE

Super Smash Nachos 7.5/10

• Nachos topped with cheese, pulled-pork, Italian sausage, and sour cream.
• Pulled-pork was a little dry, but still good.
• The Italian sausage worked pretty well with the nachos.

Overall, the nachos were a pretty simple dish, great to to start with with some beer. However, the plate the nachos were served in made if difficult to evenly distribute some topping onto each individual nacho.

MAIN QUESTS

Chocobo Chicken BUrger 7.5/10

• Chicken could have been a bit moister and crunchier .
• Garlic sauce really tied all the ingredients together.
• Needed more bacon.

Ubi Poutine Burger 5.5/10

This burger wasn’t necessarily bad but, it’s a burger, topped with fries, and served with a side of fries. You’re basically ordering a hamburger with cheese curds and some gravy for sauce. I don't know why my buddy ordered it. If you really wanted gravy, I’d suggest you pay the small surcharge and upgrade your fries to a poutine.

Beyond Mac & Cheese Burger with Poutine Power-Up 6.5/10

Like the poutine burger, the mac-and-cheese burger is another interesting combination. The mushiness of the pasta doesn't work too well with the burger patty. The mac-and-cheese also lacked a distinct taste that was expected from being made with dark beer. The poutine needed more cheese curds.

Tri-Force Burger 8/10

• 6oz beef patty, fried chicken, & two thick slices of bacon.

This burger should be EXP Bar’s signature burger. There aren’t a lot of places that regularly serve a burger made from (at least) three different animals. The Tri-Force char mark on the burger added a cool cosmetic touch.

ATMOSPHERE

It’s a theme restaurant, so some effort on the decor was expected, after all, naming menu items after an item or character from a video game can only do so much. Throughout the restaurant are replicas of video game characters and items. Even the bathroom (which were relatively clean, safe for #2) was decorated with video game posters. Adorning the walls are flat screens playing video-game game play footage, and in one of the corners was a DJ station. I was surprise to find that the restaurant wasn’t as loud as expected.

SERVICE

There was only one waitress on duty during our visit, despite that service was still pretty quick and our food arrived within a reasonable amount of time. That said, they weren’t very busying during our visit, I would expect service to decline greatly if it was.

VERDICT

I thought their focus would be prioritized on the atmosphere over the food, however, the food here was pretty good. The portions and price were pretty reasonable and on par with a dive bar, except you get much better atmosphere. While it may seem EXP Restaurant + Bar is catered more towards a niche audience, I would recommend this restaurant even if you’re not a gamer and you’re just looking for a place to eat and have a drink with some friends.

No. 1 Noodle House

Phone: (604) 999-1111
Address: 1 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC.
Hours: 11:00am-5:00pm, 6:00pm – 2:00am
Website: http://www.no1noodlehouse.ca/
Date of Visit: Apr. 30, 2013
Parking: Meter parking along street.

No. 1 Noodle House is a "pop-up” ramen restaurant. Opened by restaurateur, Mark Brand of Save-on-Meats, there has been some anticipation being built up around this restaurant recently. No. 1 Noodle House is basically a test kitchen, serving a very limited menu and aimed towards the late night crowd, closing as late as 4:00am (if they still have any food leftover). In addition to ramen, they also serve beer, wings, and a bahn mi sandwiches.

  

Ramen

Shoyu Ramen 2/10

• The noodles themselves were okay at best.
• Broth was very bland, just step up from watered-down soy sauce.
• Pork was chewy.
• Fresh greens were an interesting topping.

I ordered the shoyu ramen because their signature spicy chicken ramen was unavailable. The presentation was surprising and out of place with the overall dive atmosphere of the place. I don’t like being so critical, but taste-wise, this may be the worst bowl of ramen I’ve had. It was like someone with minimal prior experience preparing a bowl throw something together to imitate a bowl of ramen. The overall dish was bland with no redeeming aspects. Portioning was on the small side too, but I guess that wasn’t necessary a bad thing. Good thing there was a bottle of Sriracha hot sauce on the side to aid the dish.

To give the readers some more perspective, here’s a bowl of Toyo Suisan instant ramen. Compared to the ramen served at No. 1, well, simply put, it blows it out of the water.

ATMOSPHERE

• Most of the seating was available as pic-nic tables. Sit wherever there’s a spot.
• Sticky seats.
• Reminiscent of a dive bar/pub.
  

SERVICE

• Service was pretty quick.

VERDICT

I realize No. 1 Noodle house is in its initial soft opening stage at the moment, and they’re still working out the kinks, but this may be one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a while. It’s like a dive bar experimenting with some new menu items. If they remain open past their 7-month “pop-up” period, it may be an indication things have improved. However, at the moment, for the same price, you could head over to West End and have an actual bowl of ramen. I really couldn’t recommend this place.