Thousands of LEGO fans flocked to RiverRock Casino Hotel this past week to attend BrickCan, the inaugural LEGO convention held in Richmond. The four-day event featured keynote talks, games and an exhibit full of astounding LEGO models. The first two days were geared towards AFOLs (adult fan of LEGO) while the weekend was open to families who enjoy viewing LEGO builds or were looking to buy LEGO sets. Vendors had plenty of LEGO for purchase, as well as LEGO-related art, jewelry and clothing. Half the fun while browsing the vendor tables was digging though the minifigure bins, trying to look for that elusive figure needed to complete your own collection.

Chinese Bites has started a new VIP Program this year and I invited to try out Firebird Cafe with Seapotato from Savvy Shopping, Deals & Reviews.

Firebird Cafe is located in Continental Shopping Centre in Richmond. Easy to get to and plenty of free parking around.

Inside the restaurant is very spacious with modern decor. We started our dinner at 6:30pm but it didn't get busy until around 7:30-8pm. This restaurant seems to attract the later crowd.

There's a sheet to mark off for custom fish noodle soups (like Bubble Waffle or Deer Garden). I love these types of menus! Everything is so customizable, I love it!

And on the back there's option for a custom sizzling grill or custom steamed rice.

We decided to order one of each from the custom menu and a few extra things to share.

First up was the Ginko and Pepper Fish Soup with Egg Noodle. Of course, you get to choose the soup base, type of noodles, two toppings, and a drink with your order. It was what it was...very peppery! Most of us couldn't take the heat. But it was very good. Our friend E. loved it so much she drank all the soup!

Most of our order came with a drink. I was having trouble deciding so I asked the waitress what she'd recommend. She said the Signature Milk Tea with Pearls is very popular so I gave it a try. It was pretty good. It's not too sweet. I think Chatime is still my favourite but it's not bad at Firebird Cafe.

All of us agreed that the Baked Chicken Spaghetti in Meat Sauce was one of the best dishes of the night. The chicken was so tender and delicious, V. couldn't stop eating it!

Seapotato ordered the Custom Sizzling Grill - Beef Shortrib and Chicken Wings, a side of fries and garlic sauce. The sizzling grill also comes with a soup of the day and a drink. A pretty good deal for $13.95, if you ask me. The chicken wings were mmmmm-mmmm-good. Nice and crispy. The shortrib was very tender. And the fries were the best! Costco style fries - very crisp on the outside. You can read more about what Seapotato thought about this dish on her blog.

We also ordered a few appitizers - though they should be called side dishes because some of them came near the end of the meal. The Takoyaki while tasty, was a kind of a miss because of the inconsistent texture. Some of them were too gooey than it should be. They came on a bed of fried onions or noodles of some sort - very yummy when you eat it with the sauce the takoyaki was slathered in.

Deep fried squid. They seem to like using tomatos as garnishes. These were also on a bed of fried onions. The squid was a miss for us because it could benefit with some additional seasoning. The batter should be a bit more flavoured but with the dipping sauce, it was better.

Our last appetizer was a huge bowl of Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets. I wasn't expecting that much! I thought the dish would be half the size. There was no fried onion filler in the bowl it was all chicken. The nuggets were delicious! I'm telling you that you can't go wrong with anything chicken at Firebird Cafe. lol

The last item that came was the custom steamed rice with Free Range Chicken and Pork Liver and an added egg on top. We were unimpressed with the egg. It looks like it was microwaved so I'd skip that next time but the chicken was great! Again, Firebird Cafe seems to be good at making delicious chicken. I like how the rice was flavoured from the ingredients chosen. Lovely rice!

Overall, Firebird Cafe was ok. Some things were obviously better than others like the fish noodle soup, sizzling grill and I guess anything chicken. haha. It's another option in Richmond for those who like HK cafe style food.


Disclosure: The meal was provided free of charge by the Firebird Cafe and ChineseBites but the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any other way.

The Taste of Aberdeen media event happened last Thursday and I was invited by ChineseBites to join other foodies to sample the top items from every food court vendor at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond.

There was even a menu prepared! There are plenty of food vendors to choose from in the Aberdeen food court. With 20 items on the menu, I prepared myself mentally for the onslaught of food to come.

We started with some drinks from several different vendors:
8 Juice House  - special (mango coconut juice with tapioca, mango and pomelo bits)
Estea Express - Milk tea with pearls
Strike - Matcha soy bean
Saboten - Iced Genmaicha (Japanese green tea)
Teppan Kitchen - Iced honey matcha tea
Bubble Waffle - Iced lemon Ribena

I tried the Ice lemon Ribena and I liked it. It's a sweet fizzy drink.

Sakura roll (prawn tempura, avocado, chopped scallop) - Aji Hana

Our first dish was the Sakura roll from Aji Hana. I wasn't expecting much from food court sushi but it tasted really good! Would consider this next time I'm there for a meal.

Pan fried Chinese chives with pork dumplings - Chef of Dumplings

Chive and Pork dumplings from Chef of Dumplings served with vinegar and soy sauce. Yum!

Bubble Waffles (original flavour) - Bubble Waffle

Bubble waffles! Yum! Bubble Waffle Cafe was one my favourite haunts even before this tasting event. It's cheap and yummy food. Tip: order online and pick up at Aberdeen and to decrease your wait time. Just pay and go. Also you can get 10% off with code: waffle123

Curry Fish balls - Bubble Waffle

 These are pretty good too. Little spicy.

Hot sour noodle - Szechuan House

 This was even spicier. Not really for me since I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy foods.

Deep fried chicken wings. Deep fried squid - Wu Fung Dessert

Delicious delcious deep fried chicken and deep fried squid from Wu Fung Dessert. Yes. 100x YES. Strange that they don't specialize in dessert given their name, but their fried chicken wings and squid are so good!

Prawn Wontons - Lung Kee

 Prawn wontons from Lung Kee. They are regular wontons. Don't know what else to say.

Club house sandwich - Stike

 I enjoyed this sandwich from Strike. Would be pretty filling lunch. So many layers!

Drunken chicken hotpot - Tofu Hotpot

 Drunken chicken hotpot from Tofu Hotpot. Had very good flavour and a strong rice wine scent. Yummy!

Popcorn chicken nuggets - Yougo Chicken

 I'm slowing down at this point. These chicken nuggets were ok. Could be better.

Baked pork chop on rice - Mambo Café

 This is a lot of pork and a lot of rice...

Chicken bulgogi & pork belly - Kitchen Korea

Sticky rice - Leung Kee

Soy sauce chicken and Long Gong chicken. - Leung Kee

 Really tasty chicken from Leung Kee.

Egg rolls - Strike

These tuna and egg crepes are kind of weird. I really don't like the warm tuna. Not my thing but it must be popular with some people to be one of the top items at Strike.

Saboten set (prawn, pork tenderloin, pork loin) - Saboten

 Deep fried stuff. It's ok. Maybe my mind is in the gutter but this is a poor food placement. XD

Hainanese chicken on rice - Café D'Lite Express

Chicken was ok. The oily rice was mmmmm.

'A' grade ribeye teppan with egg and corn - Teppan Kitchen

'A' grade ribeye teppan with egg and corn from Teppan Kitchen. Mix before eating. Pretty tasty!

Choco banana fresh cream mini crepe - Mazazu Crepe

 I enjoyed this crepe. Simple but delicious!

Mini cream puffs and cheesecake stick - Beard Papa's

Beard Papa's mini cream puffs are the best. The cheesecake stick is pretty good, too. It's a Japanese type cheesecake so it's lighter than a regular cheesecake.

Shaved ice ‐ A Dream in Eden (strawberries, kiwi, mango, mango ice cream) - Frappe Bliss

Shaved ice ‐ Matcha Delight (matcha ice cream, chewy rice balls, red bean) - Frappe Bliss

I love shaved ice, especially this light fluffy kind. It's a very light and tasty end to a food filled night! I was so full but shaved ice seems to make the bloated feeling better. YUM.

There were some hits and misses but safe to say the food court at Aberdeen Centre has many choices for anyone looking for lunch or dinner when they are out shopping.


Disclosure: The meal was provided free of charge by the vendors. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any other way.

Hakka cuisine is a traditional rustic cooking style of the Hakka people, China's gypsies and nomads, found mainly in the southeastern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangxi. Stewed, braised, roast meats, 'texturized' contributions remain central to Hakka cuisine; the cooking style emphasize simple but tasty dishes that focuses on texture.


Hakkasan Bistro is a small but modern looking restaurant found in the industrial area of East Richmond that specializes in Hakka cuisine, in fact they have won several notable mentions and awards for their food and service.

At the end of August, I was invited to a winery tour and dinner media tasting presented by Hakkasan Bistro and Canada Berries Winery. First we were taken to Canada Berries Winery for a wine tasting tour.

The winery is located in Richmond on Blundell Rd., near No. 5 Rd.; I had no idea that there were wineries located so close to the Vancouver! You don't have to travel to the Okanagan for a wine tour! Their staff are super passionate and knowledgeable about their wines. Canada Berries specializes in fruit wines made from BC blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peach, cranberries and other fruits. All their wine are made from 100% BC grown fruits!

We were lead up stairs where we noshed on finger foods while Canada Berries staff prepared their most popular wines for us to taste.




These grapes were just picked fresh from the Canada Berries' own vineyard! They were very sweet and delicious.


We tasted a few of Canada Berries' most popular wines starting with the least sweet - Gooseberry wine to the sweetest - Black Current. My favourites were definitely the sweeter ones. Black Current and Blue Queen Gold Blueberry Cranberry were definitely my two favourite ones. They were also their two popular wines. They have to keep bottling the Blackcurrent one because they keep selling out! The bottle we tried was only bottled the previous week!

Canada Berries churns out 20 varieties of fruit and blended fruit wines as well as VQA ice wines! I will definitely know where to get wines for a party next time! After the wine tasting, we were driven to Hakkasan Bistro at the northern end of No. 5 Rd. for a gastronomic experience featuring some of the restaurant's specialty items.

We started the night off with a cold appetizer dish consisting of  Jasmine Tea Smoked Mushroom Beancurd Crepes, Balsamic Cloud Ear Mushroom, and a Chef specialty: Honey Roasted BBQ Pork Cheeks. I really loved the BBQ Pork Cheeks - so tender, moist and delicious! Everyone agreed that we'd go back to eat that again.

Next we were in for a special treat - Chef Specialty Double Boiled Pork with Snow Fungus Soup in Young Coconut. This was easily my favourite dish of the night. This is a dish that needs to be ordered in advance as this soup takes over 3 hours to make.

The slow boiling method makes the soup so flavourful and the best part is scraping off the young coconut meat inside that is infused with all the soupy goodness!

Another Chef Specialty is Lobster smothered in Chef’s Secret Garlic served on a bed of Jasmine rice. What is so special about this dish is that the odourless garlic won't have you reaching for your breath mints! Perfect for garlic lovers! I also loved the rice that has soaked up all the lobster juices. I definitely had seconds.


Chef Specialty - Ancient Style Hakka Salt Baked Chicken. The free range chicken is marinated in ten Chinese herbs and spices, wrapped in parchment paper then slowly baked in a clay pot filled with course salt. This technique makes the chicken succulent, tender and flavourful without being salty.



The Country style fish fillet was tender, flaky, and flavourful but pretty ordinary dish.

Hakka Homestyle Steamed Egg, Pork and Duck Yolk. I really liked this dish as well. It is has a very smooth and silky texture and was very tasty! Definitely recommend this for those visiting Hakkasan.

It was nice to have some veggies - Mui Choy Stirfry Seasonal Chinese Greens. Very tasty flavoured with some pork bits.

The last Chef Specialty for the night was Braised Pork Hock. The fatty meat (but not greasy) was super tender but a little salty on its own. Good with rice or this mini flour roll.


We ended the night with Steamed Milk dessert. It was smooth, silky custard like but more light and airy. It wasn't too sweet or heavy. A perfect end to a delicious dinner!

Overall, the dinner was amazing. Hakkasan Bistro has some interesting and delicious food. Their Chef Specialties are worth a try. Thought keep in mind that many of them need to be ordered in advance. I appreciate all the textures and flavours experienced in the dinner. I probably will give them a visit again for lunch!

Thank you Hakkasan Bistro and Canada Berries Winery for a wonderful evening!





Disclosure: The meal was provided free of charge by the restaurant and winery. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any other way.