House Special Chow Mein

New Town Bakery makes my favourite house special chow mein ($16) in Vancouver.  Everything that you'd normally want is on there including squid, chicken, barbecue pork, bok choy, prawns, onions, plus extra goodies like fish balls (halved), liver, pigs ear, and Chinese mushrooms (in other words, they don't cheap out with button mushrooms).  Everything is perfectly cooked and extremely tender.  The prawns are plump, too.  They ask if you prefer the noodles soft or crispy, so you will get lots of nice crispy edges if you are like me, and like the noodles pan-fried.  I always pick up some Chinese buns/pastries while I'm there and some of them are half price at the end of the day.  Also, servers are friendly to everyone and will speak English with you without judgement.  There are plenty of other choices on the menu, and they are open for breakfast too (with Chinese style and Hong Kong Western style breakfast menus).  But I think it's hard to find a good house special chow mein right in Vancouver, and they do a great job with this dish.  

Fatty Papa!

I've been wanting to try this newish okonimiyaki place on Robson with a great name.  I'm enjoying my original style okonomiyaki ($8.50, chicken, bacon, and seafood versions are also available) plus an add-on of soba noodles.  I combo'd up with a fresh watermelon milk slush for $3.50 more.  The slush was delicious but watermelon is seasonal so it might not be available much longer this season.  The okonomiyaki was good.  It was not Hiroshima style so the soba was not crisped up on the grill and incorporated in it, but was still a great addition sitting on top.  The restaurant also has other homey dishes like omurice (fluffy rice filled omelette), curries, noodles in soup, and gyoza.  Casual bright room with simple and clean decor, so it may not look it, but it does have full service.  Hope it's here to stay.