Posted on 05/24/2011

Address: 2200 - 8888 Odlin Crescent, Richmond

The food court is located on the second level of this fairly nondescript Chinese shopping center. There are actually quite a few interesting shops in this complex including some health stores with products only real Chinese look for such as herb-scented heating pads, of course piles of ginseng in a shop next to the food court, a laptop repair shop, cellphone sales store and the one business featured well on the web, Pacific Plaza Dental Clinic.

But I was only here for one thing and one thing only: Gee! Taste Good and something from their daily offering of "Southeast Asian Cuisine Specialty."

This food court reminds me of the one at Empire Center. It is much smaller of course, with something like five or six food stalls. The similarity lies in its slow pace, mellow and relaxed ambiance and half-empty feel. Every time I have eaten here it has been mid-afternoon, so I have no idea how busy this place gets at lunch time, although I get the feeling that "moderately busy" wouldn't be too far off the mark.

The actual stall itself is almost outrageous in its bold and expressive "gee whiz" permanent state of excitement. However, this sort of thing really appeals to me and I sort of think that there is a kind of successful differentiation taking place here with the naming of the establishment not to mention the quality of food.

While I was ordering my lunch, an older Chinese gentleman lined up after me and upon hearing my friendly banter with the proprietors, he pitched in that not only is the food here "housikh", but he eats here once a week as a regular part of his diet. Upon hearing this, I caught a possible glimpse into the success of this stall: faithful regulars. I wasn't in a very questioning mood today, but I would ask this fellow if this is his introduction to SE Asian cuisine or what? It is interesting to see an older Cantonese gentleman who, if he is not well-travelled, I am presuming has little exposure or little desire to try the more exotic (and spicy) foods of Indochina and the island nation-states of Singapore and Indonesia.

Padang Beef Rice (Rendang Padang) $6.00

I will definitely be bringing my lovely wife here next time. Ati speaks fluent Mandarin and Indonesia, the perfect lingua-franca of the two Chinese/Indonesia proprietors who don't have an extensive grasp of the English language. I want to know more about their beef rendang. I have never come across "padang rendang" before, but can only assume that it is a dish made from the recipe of Padang-style rendang. I am familiar with padang cuisine from my time at Rendezvous Restaurant in Singapore and want to know more about this rendang at Gee! Taste Good in Vancouver...

For the record, this might be my favorite rendang in Vancouver. It is made with deliciously fatty beef flank meat, cooked for hours until the meat is ultra-tender yet not too mushy. And the spices! Maybe now I know where Gee! comes from. It is what faithful regulars exclaim every time they bite into Gee!'s delectable morsels of finely-tuned SE Asian goodness no?

Also served with this order are a couple pieces of deep fried prawn crackers, or kerupuk in Indonesian. As well as a small offering of peanuts and ikan bilis (anchovies) flavored with sambal.

Kue Lapis $1.00

This soft, moist preparation of kue lapis is extremely well-done from what I have sampled locally. I have eaten this dessert elsewhere many times and rarely is it as soft or moist. I don't know how they make it here, but it is made in such a way that it is hard to peel off the individual layers and snack one at a time as is the favorite custom of my wife. I think there is more rice flower (or sago flower I'm not sure which) added to the mix that makes it much stickier. Nonetheless very good dessert.

Gee! Tase Good always makes me feel gee! very good. The combination of out-of-the-way food court, elderly Chinese/Indonesian proprietors and good quality food will bring me back again, possibly even for a party tray as per their takeout menu. They have a "self choice menu" or a "party tray menu" to choose from. For a birthday party or other social gathering, this food will not be wasted on anyone who likes quality SE Asian cuisine.

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