ellen loves restaurants

4741 Willingdon Ave. at Moscrop, Burnaby, BC. Phone: (604) 438-6648.

I’m rather reluctant to even mention this place as I know it’s going to continue to get busier and soon I’ll be waiting in a long line-up in get in.

But, throwing caution to the wind, I’ll tell you about the “No 1″ so you can also rejoice in its dee-lish-iosity.

And dee-lish it certainly is. The food is Taiwanese and they serve a great variety of dishes - huge bowls of noodle soup with yummy accompaniments such as crispy peppery salty chicken (similar to Japanese chicken karaage), beef brisket, baby bok choy, and wontons. The noodle bowls are enormous and tasty.

Also on the menu are appetizers - deep fried yummy-ness (isn’t everything good when it’s deep fried?) like tofu, chicken, and squid. Dim sum items are great too - Shanghai dumplings (those juicy ones that squirt when you bite into them - make sure you let them cool or you’ll scald the inside of your mouth!), pot stickers, and chili wontons are a few of my faves.

They also make mini hot pots of all varieties. We ordered the spicy beef and it certainly lived up to its name. The broth was full of chilies and included the beef, veggies and rice noodles. The hot pot also came with steamed rice, a small dish of salty pickles, and a side dish of beans with mixed vegetables.

In a similar configuration, the spicy eggplant and pork dish came with the same side dishes of rice, pickles and beans. An excellent dish for one person, but even more fun to share.

Bubble teas and coffees (hot and cold, with or without pearls) are also available - just remember to order them sugar-free if you don’t want them sweet.

Prices are reasonable with most dishes in the $3.50 to $7 range. Go with a group so you can sample more dishes!

2199A - 4700 Kingsway, Metrotown, Burnaby, BC. Phone: (604) 438-8686.

I love dim sum. For me, the sheer variety really adds to the pleasures of eating. Even with two people, you can experience many different dishes. You can each order your favourites and also try some new dishes - my kind of dining.

Fortune House is the best place I have been to in Burnaby for dim sum. It is a bit pricier than other restaurants, but the food quality makes it well worth the price. This is the “order from the menu” style as opposed to the “choose from the carts” style of dim sum. You’re given an order form and a pencil - you mark off what you want to eat, and then give the form to the wait staff. This ensures your dim sum selections are hot and fresh, and you always get the dishes you want.

There are so many delicious dishes to mention here - the scallop and prawn dumplings are amazing - crisp, fresh seafood, steamed in a light wrapper; bean curd rolls (one of my faves) filled with ground pork and veggies, steamed in oyster sauce; deep fried taro - sweet and savoury, crispy outside and melt-in-your-mouth inside; steamed beef balls wrapped in a thin layer of bean curd; spring rolls - deep-fried - need I say more; and for dessert - carp-shaped mango pudding and the ubiquitous egg tarts.

6 dishes plus tea and tip will cost you around $35.00.

While the food is dee-lish, just be forewarned that everyone else in Burnaby knows it too. If you want to go during the traditional lunch hour - say noon to 1:30, be prepared to wait. Having reservations doesn’t mean you won’t have to wait in line! If you’re like me and are a bit patience-challenged, go early or go late for the best dining experience.

7090 Lougheed Hwy at Bainbridge Ave., Burnaby, BC. Phone: (604) 421-4877.

I’ve been to the Soho on numerous occasions, but after a recent experience, I think it should be renamed the So-So Bar and Grill.

I know I’m off to a bad start at a restaurant when I ask for something fairly basic from the wait staff and get refused for inexplicable reasons.

I asked for a few fries and salad with my meal (which can be served with either) and was told they couldn’t do it. When I asked if it was difficult to do, I was told that lots of people request the same thing but the kitchen refuses - it has to be either fries or salad - no exceptions. What was hurtling through my mind at the time was - “gee, if lots of people are requesting it - why not make the effort to satisfy those people? Surely a happy customer is worth the price of a few fries.”

However, since it was not to be for me that day I chose the salad. Big mistake. The mixed greens (you know, the same ones that every restaurant in town is now serving), came pre-mixed with the dressing. There was so much dressing that the salad became one big mass of soggy foliage that was virtually inedible.

My companion’s meal was considerably better - chicken fettucine alfredo. The pasta was al dente, nicely sauced and the portion was generous. It was served with garlic bread.

To be fair, I have gone to the Soho on other occasions and have experienced both better food and better service. Some of the faves from the menu include: the chicken and bacon sacchetini, the Santa Fe salad, the burgers, and the roast chicken dinner. Stay away from the marinated deep-fried shrimp (the marinating makes it mushy), and the steak tips (hard and over-cooked).

Oh yeah, and if you do go, order your salad dressing on the side.

15E - 4700 Kingsway, Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby, BC. Phone: (604) 435-1211.

It’s more than 6 hours since I finished my all-you-can-eat lunch and my belly is still bloated. I don’t know which switch in my brain gets turned on - the “el cheapo” or the “el piggo” switch when I go to these belly-up-to-the-trough type restaurants.

The benefit of the all-you-can-eat menu is the fact that all the dishes are small. It’s like Japanese tapas - little tastes of everything. If the food is really yummy you can always order more, and if it’s not too tasty you only get a little anyway, so it’s not a big deal. The downside is that “all-you-can-eat” is the equivalent to throwing down the gluttony gauntlet. It’s amazing how easily you can eat more than your bodyweight in an hour and a half.

Some recommended dishes:

- bbq salmon bellies - crispy, rich, and bbq’d to perfection; chicken karaage - deep fried chunks of chicken with a sweet and soy drizzled sauce; agedashi tofu - crisp, light batter - beautiful tofu in a mild broth; California roll with a twist - the addition of tamago and flying fish roe improves an old fave.

Pass on these dishes (you’ll need the extra room in your stomach):

- yakisoba - noodles too hard and dry, not an authentic Japanese flavour; age gyoza - deep-fried gyoza - too much wrapper, better to order the pan-fried gyoza; bbq beef ribs - overcooked and lacking in flavour.

All-you-can-eat lunch is a bargain - $10.95 for adults and $6.95 for kids, Monday to Friday. You can also pass on the all-you-can-eat and order from the regular menu.

Just remember to wear your “piggy” pants.

4624 Hastings St., Burnaby, BC, Phone: (604) 299-0008

I love variety when I go out to eat, so small plates like dim sum or tapas, sharing several dishes with a big group, or ordering lots of different appies always appeals to me. You get to really taste what a restaurant has to offer and you have more opportunity to find those hidden gems - the dishes that become your faves.

Needless to say, one of my favourite things to order at Cristos is their appetizer platter. It’s supposedly for 2 people but it’s huge and varied. You get to try all their most popular dishes - homous, pita, tzatziki, calamari, kefthedes, dolmathes, spanakopita, and feta. The calamari is especially good and includes both the tubes and legs (my fave) of the squid. I also love the kefthedes (those Greek meatballs) which are made into mini patties and grilled, and the dolmathes with their lemony sauce. The homous and tzatziki are a perfect accompaniment, and will leave you with a garlicky aura for days to come.

Other yummy menu items include the saganaki (fried cheese), gyros, avgolemono soup, and the garlic prawns. Their salads - Greek and the house salad with shrimp, are both tasty but not stellar. Best to choose these when produce is at its peak.

Service is another reason to come to Cristos as they have some of the friendliest waitresses in town. They make you feel like you’re coming over to their house for lunch. Prices are reasonable - lunch appetizer platter for two, two soft drinks, tax and tip will come to under $35.00.