We were actually trying to go to the The Place Restaurant for dinner the other day but found that they were closed. Since we were quite hungry and did not want to go drive to another place, we decided to just walk along Granville St in the south side of Vancouver to look for another place to eat.
We found a place called Two Brothers which was kind of interesting for a name. From their logo I would guess that it’s operated by two brothers … one who is suave to work in the dining room and another who is a master of the wok. If you ask me, I would prefer to be the suave one — there is no glamour in being a Chinese chef.
This is a no frills place. The furniture are tacky and the color coordinating atrocious. Moreover, they uses the very practical plastic table cloth but I thought the choice of the patterns terrible. The picture above does not look too bad does it not? Somehow, the picture turn out OK but really if you are there, it does not look as good. We also had a couple of bowl that were slightly chipped and dated which to many people is a no-no.
But looks alone could be deceiving as we later found out.
They have quite an extensive menu but they also have what they call the “Special Family Dinner”. We ordered the Special Dinner for Three which for $35.95, we get to choose any three items from 65 dishes. For that price, we also get free house soup, jelly fish, steamed rice and dessert. Sounds like a good deal right? It sure was.
The Jelly Fish was good as an appetizer. It’s cold, spicy and had a certain crunch to it. I like this and was wondering if one could normally make this at home. Looks simple right? Must have just been shredding the jelly fish and then marinating it in some sort of a dressing.
Next came the free house soup which is also pretty good. I am not sure what you would call this but basically it has pork as the base flavour.
It is a bit saltier than I expected. Otherwise, it was perfect. A good indication is that they put in quite a bit of meat in this. Some free house soup is made basically of bones.
The Pan Fried Pomfret with Soya Sauce smell so good when they served this. It had been a long time since we had pomfret. My mum used to make this a lot and I remember I always had at least three all by myself. Here, we are given three to share between us. It’s a bit sweet. The best part is picking off the pieces of meat from the bones and head … something that Suanne enjoys doing most.
The Crispy Fried Chicken with Fish Sauce was equally delicious, particularly the crispy skin. What I like about this is that it is not entirely fried dry but they also cook it off with the sweetness of fish sauce.
You know what I like most about this meat … it is the “jup”. LOL! Cantonese readers will know what “jup” is but what is the English word for it? Gravy does not sound quite right. But basically, “jup” is what give rice the flavour, and makes it great.
The third choice was the Spinach with Roasted Garlic Broth. Oh yummy … so good that even the boys ate this.
The steamed rice was free as it is supposed to be … especially so with so much “jup”! Someone must pass a law that says that all rice are free. I don’t care if restaurants include the price of rice in their dishes but they should not charge it as a separate item. Also they should make it all-you-can-eat rice. Do you agree?
Dessert was quite OK but we were quite full already. Suanne digs these stuff and so she had them all.
Well, for $36 it was really good. This place is definitely a place we will come back to again some day.
They are located on 8532 Granville St (i.e. on Granville and 70th Ave, opposite Safeway). Limited parking is available at the rear of the restaurant.
Hey Ben, Suanne, you are back! I missed your posts while you were away!!!
When I had to commute from Vancouver to Richmond (via the B-Line), I always wondered about that restaurant (just as you mentioned, that name). Since it has your approval, I guess now it is now up to me to convince somebody to tag along.
“Jup” or “jap” could be translated “juice”. So, yes, it is that juiciness of the meat! Just in case, for non-Cantonese speakers, you can listen it here:
http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/cgi-bin/canton-f2.pl?query=¥Ä
OK, it seems the link was cut off. If you want to “listen” to the pronounciation, you will have to copy and paste the whole link (including the “¥Ä” portion), rather than just clicking on it. Sorry about that!
Hi Ben and Suanne! Sorry I just had a quick question! I noticed on the receipt that they charge only 5% tax on the bill. Is it like that at all restaurants in BC?
Sorry the receipt I’m referring too is on the previous blog.
This is close to our house and they deliver… so this is the place we get delivery Chinese food from! Yeah, they’re quite a good value. (Although, it’s been a while since we had anything delivered, from anyplace.)
Oh, I forgot to add… since we have food from there deliviered, we never had to look at the interior. Haha… “Atrocious color coordination.” Haha. (That tablecloth is actually quite a popular pattern in HK-style cafes… but, from 5 years or so ago. I guess it’s out of style now, hehe.)
Suave to work in the dining room: lol.
The look of the restaurant looks so hidden but the inside is different…I like the seating.
“If you ask me, I would prefer to be the suave one — there is no glamor in being a Chinese chef.”
Hahaha that’s a good laugh, you’re too funny Ben…
The spinach looks great! I agree garlic makes spinach awesome. I hated spinach when I was younger but when my mom cook it with garlic and vinegar I would somehow, miraculously stomach it.
Anyways I love reading your blog! The Asian recipes are especially nostalgic, mmm… Too bad my family and I don’t go to Richmond often to check out the places you reviewed.
The green beans are a must to try, great flavours. Also the fish is really good as well. I’m impressed by the food from this little spot.
Had 2 Brothers last night. The special dinner for 2 was delicious and the servings were nice and big. Will be going back again!