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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Stage - really sets the stage for tapa-style food!
Home Page of Stage Restaurant
Having not had tapa-style cuisine in a long time Mrs. Violet and Mr. Blue scowered the internet in search of a tapa style restaurant in town outside of the usual tapa bar and veneto tapas. We were recommended to the restaurant named "Stage" by a couple friends of ours. Stage restaurant, being situated in the old theatre district of Fernwood is a place we do not regularly visit. It is a beautiful place with a lot of history behind it. Buildings are over 100 years old and are laid with brick. Stage restaurant brings this to a whole other level by modernizing some of the interior within yet keeping a balance with architectures of previous. The atmosphere is buzzing so do not think of bringing a date here for a nice 'quiet' dinner. It is a very social atmosphere that is always packed to the doors on weekends (even in the cold winter weather).
Pho Ever - not bad for being close by
While in a rush to get to a concert Mr. Blue and Ms. Violet had just enough time to stop in for some quick Vietnamese cuisine at a close by restaurant called Pho Ever (4 ever ever?). Pho Ever is a restaurant owned by Koreans that serve both Korean and Vietnamese cuisines. Hungry as we were we decided against fast food restaurants and wanted to dig in to some hearty soupy noodles or some spring roll action.
Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by the servers and seated immediately. As the server was handing us menus we promptly decided to have a vegetable spring roll to share, a dry vermicelli dish for Ms. Violet, and a seafood noodle soup for Mr. Blue. We were also in a rush so we told the server this and they were able to accomodate the request. The food came out lightning fast and straight to our table within 5-7 minutes.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sushi Harbor - Wish There Was Moor
Coming home from The Potholes, we decided to stop in Langford for a bite and came across a new Japanese restaurant by the name of Sushi Harbor. The plaza and the dining area were pretty deserted when we arrived. Considering that we were in Langford getting sushi, I didn't think much of it. In hindsight, there may have been just cause.

Sunday, April 17, 2011
"Kuma Japanese Noodle" Revisted
Having decided on trying something a little different, I ventured out to Kuma Japanese Noodle for the second time. The atmosphere and service was as pleasant as I remembered it, but the people working this time were not quite as fluent at English - not that I'm complaining, just an observation.
Last time I was at Kuma, I tried the miso bbq pork ramen and left feeling a little hungry. This time, I decided to try their katsu don (fried pork cutlet with egg on rice) and their gyoza appetizer. It should be noted that last time, I commented that the prices weren't the best, but I did not take into consideration that HST is included on the menu price. That said, the value is comparable to pho or different types of noodle places, which really isn't bad at all.
I have tried katsu don at a few Japanese restaurants in town, but this one was awesome. The fried pork had a nice crunch on the outside, while maintaining a tender and moist texture inside. The scrambled/poached egg on the rice was well seasoned with tempura or ponzu sauce, sweet corn and sauteed onions. The portion size was decent, but I definitely needed something on the side for it to be a satisfying meal.
This leads me to the gyoza side dish, which comes with 6 dumpings for $3.50. Not bad at all! I didn't get a chance to ask if they made them in house, but I suspect that these gyoza were purchased frozen from somewhere else. The gyoza had a nice sear to them, and were juicy on the inside; something reminiscent of steamed "su lung bao" for those of you that have tried Shanghainese dumplings.
The person I went with tried Kuma's noodle and rice combination, which was a little disappointing. The additional cost for the combo is their soy noodle soup with a bowl of white rice on the side. The soy noodle soup isn't as flavourful as their miso ramen, and didn't have a whole lot going on compared to the katsu don I ordered.
As I've had the opportunity to try a few more of their items, I can safely say that Kuma is not just a "noodle shop". Their katsu don and gyoza are relatively inexpensive and really hit the spot. Considering that their prices include HST, their menu is competitively priced for what you're getting. Again, if you can really pack away the food, you may even want to consider ordering an additional side, but I'll leave that call to you!
Happy dining!
- Mr. Pink


This leads me to the gyoza side dish, which comes with 6 dumpings for $3.50. Not bad at all! I didn't get a chance to ask if they made them in house, but I suspect that these gyoza were purchased frozen from somewhere else. The gyoza had a nice sear to them, and were juicy on the inside; something reminiscent of steamed "su lung bao" for those of you that have tried Shanghainese dumplings.
The person I went with tried Kuma's noodle and rice combination, which was a little disappointing. The additional cost for the combo is their soy noodle soup with a bowl of white rice on the side. The soy noodle soup isn't as flavourful as their miso ramen, and didn't have a whole lot going on compared to the katsu don I ordered.
As I've had the opportunity to try a few more of their items, I can safely say that Kuma is not just a "noodle shop". Their katsu don and gyoza are relatively inexpensive and really hit the spot. Considering that their prices include HST, their menu is competitively priced for what you're getting. Again, if you can really pack away the food, you may even want to consider ordering an additional side, but I'll leave that call to you!
Happy dining!
- Mr. Pink
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
One Fish, Two Fish - Check out "Red Fish Blue Fish!"
Pick-up Counter. |
Pacific Rim Chowder. |
They have a delicious menu featuring fresh Ocean Wise seafood, ranging from classic fish and chips, to scallop tacones (seasonal scallops in tacos rolled into cones). They also serve sandwiches, chowder, salads and sides with their unique twist on them. During my last visit, I decided on the seafood chowder and the "cod dog" - a pretty hearty meal for $12.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Pig revisited for pulled pork poutine
Well, it's definitely not our first time to Pig restaurant for their pulled pork, nor will it be our last. The pulled pork at Pig sets the bar of competition for all pulled porks in Victoria... so why not pulled pork poutine while we're at it! Pulled pork -- good; poutine -- good; pulled pork + poutine must = good x 2?
So what did we think of it?
-- Mr. Blue
-- Ms. Violet
The Office - dine around Victoria because that's what she said
The Office Lounge site
For our final destination of our Dine Around Chronicles, Mr. Blue, Ms. Violet and I got together to check out The Office. This has been an eagerly anticipated visit as our hopes to go last year for Dine Around were thwarted for some forgotten reason. Stepping into the restaurant, the ambience did not disappoint.
Greeted at the front by the hostess and a gentlemen reminiscent of Gordon Gekko, we were led to a large round table with high back chairs. The chairs are perfect to sit back in and lounge around in over a few drinks, but also suitable for dinner, not forcing diners to sit on the edge of the chairs just to reach the table.
For our final destination of our Dine Around Chronicles, Mr. Blue, Ms. Violet and I got together to check out The Office. This has been an eagerly anticipated visit as our hopes to go last year for Dine Around were thwarted for some forgotten reason. Stepping into the restaurant, the ambience did not disappoint.
Looking at the menu, we all decided on the $20 Dine Around options (listed below) and on a few drinks. Beer and cocktail prices were quite reasonable, featuring local and imported beers on tap ($4.75-$7.25) per sleeve, and cocktails around $8.50. Between the three of us, we had: the Wild Mushroom Risotto, the Grilled Chicken Mediterranean Penne, the Office Mac and Cheese, the Grilled NY Strip Sandwich, and the Warm Chocolate Chunk Brownie.
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