Reviews of take-out restaurants in the tri-cities area
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Many chicken places in the area, including Swiss Chalet, Nando’s, and bb.q Chicken still offer their whole chickens, or whole chicken legs through curb-side pickup.
In my opinion, the best way to eat is to dine in a restaurant. The food is served hot, sizzling, and fresh. While many restaurants in the Lower Mainland are still open with safety precautions in place during the pandemic, some people are still worried that they might catch the virus and choose to eat at home.
There are take-out menus in most restaurants, but the problem is that depending on how you get home, the food could end up being cold and soggy or even damaged along the way. Only if you bring the food home as quickly as possible will you get almost the same great fresh meals that you can get in a restaurant.
It has almost been a year since I went to C-Lovers Fish and Chips when they still had their all-you-can-eat fish and chips menu. For their take-out, they pack up the fish and the chips the old fashion way in newspapers. I had haddock and it still has the batter taste but may not be as crunchy as when you eat it in the dining room. If you still like all-you-can-eat fish and chips, C-Lovers Fish and Chips has a take-out special where you can get two pounds of fish, three orders of chips, a large coleslaw, and a 2L pop for $40.
Many chicken places in the area, including Swiss Chalet, Nando’s, and bb.q Chicken still offer their whole chickens, or whole chicken legs through curb-side pickup. Swiss Chalet’s chicken is put in special packaging in a paper bag, while Nando’s puts their chicken in compostable packaging and their bread is still soft by the time you get home.
In Port Coquitlam, there is a Chinese restaurant close to me called Happy Chinese Restaurant. They have a sweet and sour chicken that has a tempura batter and a tangy sauce that makes it crunchy, sweet, and melty in your mouth.
While Indian buffets have fewer choices right now because of limited seating, there is an Indian restaurant called Spice Art where you choose your meat, sauce, and how spicy you want it to be. Even the medium spice is extremely spicy and the sauce is creamy while the meat is chewy.
For anyone that misses Triple-O burgers in the cafeteria, you can still get them at your local White Spot. When you receive the burger, you can immediately eat it in your car.
There is a roasted lamb that is tender and moist in a Greek restaurant in Maillardville called My Greek Restaurant which compliments a big Greek dinner. The lamb is tender and even more delicious when you dip it in tzatziki as well as the pita bread and the calamari. Their Greek dishes also include rice and baked potato which fills you up quickly.
Right now, take-out is the closest that you are going to get to food in a restaurant. If you bring the meals to your house as quickly as possible and somehow manage to not damage the food, it will be as if your house is a restaurant when you organize it on the plates.
