***½~ (3.5/5)

We went to Asian Spice for our dinner before our Portland Surfing Trip. It was in the Entertainment Book, which we really want to make use of. Asian Spice is on Scott Rd (120th St) and 94 Ave right beside Mahek. We were excited to try some Indian style Chinese & Szechuan food.

We started off with the Paneer Pakora. It was really good. We loved the green sauce that it came with. It was fried to a nice golden brown, and the paneer inside was still a bit stiff. By itself, the paneer was pretty bland, but it was really good with the sauce. I ordered the Ma Po Tofu because our friend said it was her favourite dish. I haven’t had it in a while, so I gave it a try here. Sadly, although there were two peppers by it on the menu, it wasn’t as spicy at all, the sauce didn’t have much flavour. They also didn’t have a version with pork. I think the tofu should be a bit softer too, and definitely a lot more flavourful and spicy. The Chicken Hot Garlic Noodles was probably my favourite of the bunch. It wasn’t too spicy (although it has 2 chili symbols by it on the menu), but it was spicier than the ma po tofu. The noodles weren’t your normal chow mein noodles, and it had plenty of chicken and garlic mixed in. Manchurian Eggplant was an eggplant dish in a brown spicy sauce. All we can remember is that it had a ton of sauce for the amount of eggplant in there. Beef Hotpot was good too. It had plenty of tender meat and lots of vegetables like celery, carrots and different bell peppers.

Hmm.. the hottest things on the menu had two chili symbols, and we tried a couple but nothing was too spicy. They did have some hot chili oil, and other hot pepper condiments which you can add, but I didn’t. Our waitress noticed that we ordered a lot of saucy dishes, so she gave us some white rice. They also applied the coupon to two dishes on our bill totalling $13, rather than just our most expensive dish ($8). Normally the coupon just works for one entree up to $13. I’d come back here.

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Asian Spice
9436 120th Street
Surrey, BC

(604) 582-8388

***½~ (3.5/5)

I’ve seen Yummy Wonton House quite a few times, but with a name like Yummy I wasn’t sure if I should try it. Well today, I decided to since my friend was a bit sick, and I didn’t want to travel far to get some congee. I got to this place, and it is huge. The dining area was split in half by a see-through curtain. On the other side was an elderly women get together of some sort.

The first thing that struck me was that my waitress wasn’t Chinese. I don’t recall ever seeing anyone other than a chinese or at least asian person as a waiter/waitress at a Chinese food place. She did a good job though and was very kind.

We sat down and ordered Chicken and Mushroom Congee, Chinese Donuts, Almond Chicken, and the House Special Chow Mein, and a Zhu Jiang Beer for me.

The congee came quick. At first, the taste was kind of bland, but the more I ate, the more the taste grew on me. There definitely was a good taste there. The congee had a good thickness to it, not too watery. There was some ginger, chicken, and mushrooms in there. I think they should’ve had a bit more chicken and mushroom in there though. I’m not sure, but our Large bowl was $8. It was plenty for us to share. We ordered the Chinese donuts a little bit, late as I forgot to order when I ordered the congee, but they came by the time I got to my second bowl. The donuts were good, and freshly fried. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, and not too oily. It’s a perfect accompaniment to the congee, though it may seem weird to those who aren’t used to it.

The House Special Chow Mein with crispy noodles came next. And the edges were really crispy.  It came with your typical House Special Ingredients, shrimp, squid, scallops, pork, chicken, mushrooms, and bok choy. It was good, and the sauce provided a nice coating and taste. I’d say it was pretty good, not the best I’ve ever had, but also far from the worst.

The almond chicken came next and fried fresh too, and toped with crushed almonds. The chicken was tender, but the breading got a little bit oily. I liked it, but having too much of it, the oil gets to you. It was also your pretty standard almond chicken.

I’ve heard this place is a bit pricy, but all in all our 3 dishes and $5 beer came to $45 after tax (before tip). Is that expensive? I guess it’s a bit pricier than some. Overall, I liked the food at this place, and would come back. It is definitely one of the better Chinese restaurants in the Surrey-Delta area. I guess I’ll have to try the Wonton’s next time, since it’s in the name.

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Yummy Wonton House
8677 120th Street
Delta, BC

(604) 591-6638

http://www.yummywontonhouse.com

****~ (4/5)

I was excited to learn about Big Ridge Brewing Pub. I actually saw it when I went to Luna Loca a few weeks ago, but just totally forgot about it. This place is actually part of the Mark James Group which owns other restaurants such as Yaletown Brewery and DIX downtown. I’ve been happy with both of those restaurants, so I was excited to go here. I didn’t think the MJG would have a restaurant in Surrey.

I actually came here twice on the weekend. On Friday for dinner, it was kind of busy but we were seated immediately. There were quite a few families here. The kitchen is wide open and visible to everyone. We learned that they are in the middle of moving across the street, so they weren’t brewing their own beer at the moment. Bummer. I settled for an Okanagan Valley beer on tap. The menu isn’t that big, but have quite a few things that I want to try. I was a bit confused because they had a LOT of Chinese food on the menu. I was a bit skeptical because this is a pub! But as I was eating, I heard a lot of Cantonese being spoken in the kitchen, and I looked over, and about half of the cooks in there were Chinese. Maybe the Chinese food will be decent? I didn’t try though. They even had soy sauce as one of the condiments at each table.

So we ordered, I was really wanting the 1/2 beer can chicken. But I think I’ll save it for next time. The beer battered fries enticed me even more. We had Roasted Garlic 5-Cheese Artichoke Dip. This was very good and very parmesany. It was served with a herb-garlic flat bread and went perfect with the warm cheesy dip. It was kind of expensive at $9.99 but really good. I’d order it again.

I ordered the BRBC Pesto Chicken Club sandwich with beer-battered fries and was very happy. It was a bit messy, and with every bite, the chicken breast would start sliding out the other side. The pesto sauce was good, but not too strong. The burger was topped off with cheddar cheese, bacon, and some veggies. You can add more toppings for extra if you want. The beer battered fries were good as well. There was just a light coating of the beer batter. If I ever wanted a burger, or a good bite to eat in a family friendly setting, I’d go here over Boston Pizza or Red Robins. This place didn’t have very high-end fancy food. I think their main competition would be something like BP or RR.

The service was great also. I’m coming back for the Chicken, but probably after they move, so I can see if their beer is any good.

I forgot to mention they have Appy Hour from 3-5PM where all appies are $2 off. Which isn’t that great, but it’s something. Check the image below for details on their specials each night.

Big Ridge Brewing Pub
15133 56 Ave
Surrey, BC

(604) 574-2739

http://www.markjamesgroup.com/bigridge.html

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****½ (4.5/5)

This weekend I finally had the chance to eat at this magical On Yuen Chinese restaurant in Surrey that my friends have been raving about. This place is so good lah!

We got seated right away, and half way through our dinner the restaurant was full with people lining up. I let my friend do the ordering, because he’s a regular diner here. He comes here so regularly that almost all the staff knows his name. He ordered us Chicken Fried Rice, House Special Chow Mein with Crispy Noodles, Salt and Peppery Shell-less Deep Fried Prawns, and Boneless Honey Garlic Pork.

I wasn’t paying too much attention while my friend ordered, so every dish came as a surprise. Shell-less prawns and boneless pork? SUCH a genius idea! There’s nothing better than just picking up your food and eat it as is without trying to peel the shell off or eat around the bones. How come other restaurants don’t have these options?

The Boneless Honey Garlic Pork is to die for. I loved it sooo much. Every piece has a thin layer of batter, and the rest is all meat, all lean, not a bit of fatty part in there. I ate them like popcorn, so good, and so satisfying! The Chicken Fried Rice went really well with the pork. It is not greasy as it doesn’t have a shiny layer of oil on every single grain of rice. The crispy noodles for the House Special Chow Mien was REALLY crispy, I think they might have left it in the deep fryer for a bit too long. Other than that, the topping was delicious too.

The staff here were really friendly, and they are definitely not short staffed like a lot of Chinese restaurants. Our tea pot was always refilled right away, and were asked if everything was okay once in a while. There was free oranges and mango pudding dessert after our meal. The mango pudding was really good, it had a hint of calpis (yogurt flavored drinks), it was very nice.

This is the only good Chinese food in Surrey! I am going back for sure.

Note: Closed on Wednesdays!

Shell-less prawns is a special request. If you don’t mention shell-less to the waiter, your Salt & Peppery Prawns will have shells on them.

Boneless pork is a special request. If you don’t mention boneless when ordering the Honey Garlic Pork, your pork will have bones in them.

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On Yuen
9014 152nd St., #304
Surrey, BC V3R4E7
Tel: (604) 583-3238