American Buds: Baodown, To Dine For

Some American buddies decided to watch the Apink concert...such dedicated fans.

I took these noobs to some of the best places. Ever. 

Bao Dowwwnnn is super awesome. For some reason, the order took really long to come, so we got extra baos and extra fries :O Free food always makes up for late food.

One of my friends ordered the Flipside with Kung Fu fries. I tried her fries...it has bok choi with garlic mayo, some sweet soy sauce, and chili. This is why I love fusion restaurants; people can get so creative. This is how perfection is born (just like halfie children). 

This is the YVR with sweet potato fries (they call them Kumote).

Here is the order that came late. Since my friend owed me, he paid for all of this. I think the whole thing costs $25 CAD? We weren't supposed to get an extra bao or extra fries. We weren't complaining :)
From right to left, clockwise: Japoyaki fries, VeVo, and another Flipside. I had the VeVo, since I think that was the only vegetarian bao, lol. It has very typical ingredients for a vegetarian dish; it reminded me of rice bowls served at the Naam and at Green Moustache. It comes with kale, sprouts, beets, and carrots, but the peanut sauce and shiitake mushrooms make it stand out. I guess those two ingredients are the "Asian" influence. The filling was crunchy and fresh, just the way I like my veggies :)

They also serve street sandwiches. I got the Vancity Fresh (which is the only vegetarian sub). I think the best part about this sandwich was the sauces and the avocado. It has edamame hummus and ginger sesame sauce, which makes it quite addictive (sesame oil and hummus make vegetables taste amazing. The avocado was just an added plus). The bread was crispy, and the insides were smooth and crunchy. Texture was an A+.

To Dine For is another fusion restaurant. This place is well known for their burgers; I saw an article that called this place the best burger place in 2014. I loved this place.

I think my friend got Bob's burger. which has bacon, cheese, mushrooms, onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce and their "special" sauce.

I got the only vegetarian burger, called Ravi's burger. It's like Bob's, but the beef patty and bacon is replaced with avocado slices. The mushrooms were quite juicy; I think the mushrooms and the special house sauce made this burger shine. The buns are also crispy and not too soft.
The fries remind me of the ones at the Tipsy Cow in Redmond; they're not too skinny or thick, and they're super crispy. Don't pack the fries, because otherwise they'll get soggy. With fries as good as these, do your best to finish them because they'll never be the same if you bring them home.

My friend's snapchat. Noob.

This is him at the concert. I couldn't believe it was at the Orpheum Theatre...just think of all the litter from those fan boys in such a classy place .___.

I actually wanted to have the rice bowl, but it wasn't going to be available until January 11th :/ However, I'm glad I got the burger. It sounds like this rice bowl is just bibimbap, but I'm not sure. I bet they had their own way of Westernizing it.