FlyerTalk Forums - A few asian restaurants in Vancouver

My kitchen is being renovated so not much cooking at home (still have the currently-vacant suite downstairs but it's not the same). As a result, my partner and I have tried a variety of restaurants in the eastern part of Vancouver, all of which are very low budget.

First place was a Tamil/south Indian/Sri Lankan restaurant by the name Nooru Mahal. My partner had the dosa (thin crepe-like wrapper) with a chicken vindaloo filling. Came with a bit of sauce to dip it in and green and red coconut chutneys. She thought it was nice but nowhere near as nice as my kothu roti ("chopped roti" literally) special which I opted for mutton. The hot sauce was piquant but not particularly chilli hot. Went back again a few days later and she had a chicken kothu roti while I had the special chicken briyani. This one is different from the ones found in SE Asia (Malay) and India but tasty. Bit red (instead of saffron yellow) due to dried chillies? Tasty but not what I'm used to. Also tried the puttu mayam which is a tamil dish found in Singapore. Noodles of some sort that you use to grab some coconut and palm sugar to eat. No fresh coconuts here so they used some pre-grated one which was a bit dryer and more intense in flavour. Not too bad if you're craving this.

Next was Bo Laksa King on East Hastings past Nanaimo (so in the far NE quadrant of the city). Promises Burmese food but there are only a handful of Burmese dishes. The infamous fermented tea leaves (lephet) and mohingar (fish stew/soup) and a couple of desserts. The fermented tea leaves were out (so call ahead if you're coming for this) though. The mohingar was not salty or sour enough for a relative who knows what it tastes like. They also waited a bit to serve so the noodles absorbed too much broth. Good and fairly authentic otherwise. Also had a chicken curry which could be Burmese. The roti canai while fresh was a bit too greasy. Lots of Indian (butter chicken!) and SE asian specialties otherwise. Seats limited so go early or be prepared to wait.

Last was the Green Lettuce which boasts as being the first Indian-style Chinese restaurant in Vancouver (review written years earlier). The restaurant has amoeba'ed so half the staff went to a new location in Surrey (hub of the Indian community in Vancouver) and the other half stayed. Order a few dishes and the best were the Manchurian fried rice (zesty piquant) and the hot & spicy eggplant. Also ordered a mutton/lamb curry (rather uninspired with what appears to be just curry powder in the sauce) and a pili chicken which seemed to be seasoned with tandoori seasoning. Bit uninspired too. (took leftovers for the last two home and made a fried rice the next day). Prices are not cheap but the portions are larger compared to your average Chinese restaurant. Although it doesn't claim to be halal, oddly no pork is offered but beef is.