Strike

FYI: I’ve since visited the Richmond location, which is larger, has a more complete menu, and is generally tastier (the standalone store, not the one at the Aberdeen food court). I would *almost* say the Richmond location is a destination. Strike in Kits is moreso if you happen to be in the area and want some Taiwanese food. If you don’t want to go to Richmond but are in the mood for slightly better Taiwanese you can go to Corner 23.

My hubby and I went there on a Friday night… (8ish) half of the restaurant was full. Mostly students. We ordered two sizzling dish (black pepper steak on spaghetti and mushroom sauce with chicken on spaghetti)
It was pretty good. Good portion for the price and fairly tasty. Would recommend this place. Definitely come back again.

I used to come here a lot with friends and love their food. I came here again today and realized they cut all their sizzling dishes portion in half. The egg is smaller, the noodles are halved, the veggies are tiny and dry, not to mention there used to be two pieces of chicken on top but now only a tiny piece left. The presentation is awful. The food looks pathetic and sparse on the big black sizzling pan. I feel sad for the business and how they think they can fool their customers that way. I am definitely not coming back and will never recommend it to anyone again.

Decent prices and the food was good. I would eat here again. My only real complaint is the menu isn’t well explained for us English speakers. No photos so it’s a little hard to tell what dish and sides you’re ordering.

everything inside feels a bit cheap. the tables, the cups, the menu.
The food is decent and decently priced. Bubble tea is quite reasonably priced as well. I would come back if i’m in the area and craving some taiwanese food. But otherwise, i wouldnt take any of my family or friends here.

I go to Strike pretty much every week now. No, it’s not because it’s the best Taiwanese food ever. I go there because it’s close to UBC, and I’m at UBC 4 days a week!
I’m a HUGE fan of their sizzling steaks. Be warned: their black pepper steak is SUPER SPICY. I’ve tried a good chunk of their menu, and I’ve been pretty satisfied with everything that I’ve tried. Some standouts: chicken nuggets, 3 cup chicken, garlic eggplant.
The prices are tres reasonable too! Most of the combos are under $ 10! Perfect for budget strapped students like me!

My husband and I stopped by here for lunch because I was missing Taiwanese food. We got the spicy minced pork on noodle, chicken nugget, and sizzling black pepper steak on noodle. The Spicy minced pork noodle was not spicy at all and very bland. The chicken nugget and pepper steak were alright. Service was great tho.

I. Was. Excited. I remember coming here back in 2013 and it was better than this experience. Initial impression as my gf and i walked in… the place was a dump, decore was def not attractive.
So we sat down and our menus… which in no exaggeration was nothing more than a printed paper back menu, with water damage. Service wasnt too bad. Our waitress kept on fumbling with my utensil and I had to tell her to calm down and relax.
Food came out relatively quick and it satisfied my girlfriend. We ordered yam fries and dumplings in chili oil as our appies. It wasnt that good pretty mediocre to be honest.
As for our mains we ordered the egg plant with meat sauce on rice, which my gf loved and I had the sizzling chicken steak with noodle. I have to say it didnt meet up to my expectations as I expected it to be like what you can get in taiwanese night markets. And the bubble tea. what a disgrace.
Oh and just now the server saw me writing this review and started paying alot of attention to me LOL.

My Taiwanese friend recommended Strike as her favourite Taiwanese beef noodle place so I knew I had to try. Apparently the Richmond location is better but this location was more convenient for us last night.
I had the House Special Beef Noodle Soup and the chicken nuggets. I liked the noodles, beef, pickled veg, and bok choy. The noodles were just the way I like it — slightly al dente, bouncy and thick. My only criticism is on the beef broth — it had hints of spiciness but lacked that extra bit of flavour and depth. I expected more «beefy-​ness» to it. Although near the end of my bowl, that beef flavour I was really looking for started to really shine through — I just wish it was there from the beginning.
Like everyone else says, the chicken nuggets are so good here. These guys are lightly breaded, slightly sweet and peppery. I had ordered A LOT of food but I still found myself munching on these way past the «full» mark, I had to really stop myself before I burst. I could eat these allllll day, e’ery day.
I had a taste of my friend’s 3 Spice Chicken set that came with rice and side dishes (tomato with egg, bean sprouts, and edamame beans). The sauce for the chicken was flavourful and delicious — not spicy/​hot (at least for me) in case anyone interprets the dish’s «3 Spice» name to represent its spice level.
Service is good (for an Asian joint) — our teas were always filled and service was quick to bring us our food and bill.
I will definitely come back (or probably try out the Richmond location) to try the rest of their extensive menu.

Solid and interesting menu. Very reasonably priced. Just happened by this place and will definitely check it out again. Really like the family style dishes. Makes me want to explore more of their flavours.

Strange location, but I was pleasantly surprised! I was looking for a Taiwanese/​Chinese café to replace our usual spot that has since gone downhill. Got the chicken nuggets with noodle soup (8.50) and it was delicious! Large portions, and lots of chicken meat (not fried bits of batter). The food that the people next to us got looked really good too (I think it was a 3 spice chicken with basil).
The restaurant was close to empty, but don’t let that deter you! It’s in a weird location, and people in that area probably aren’t too familiar with BBT café style food (Colony next door was packed). I would definitely be back — and can’t wait to try their Richmond location.

Taste of food is great, but the waitress lady needs to work a little faster, as there are 3 empty tables and 5 people still waited 15 min. This wait could drive customers away.

Tasty food and generous portion. Food also comes out really fast. My favourite is the eggplant with meat on rice. Chicken nuggets are my kids’ favourite. Worth the visit of you like dishes from Taiwan.

It was sooo good!!!
Especially the bubble tea! :))
I’m going there again tomorrow!)))

nice hang out place, esp. for the UBC students instead of going all the way to Pearl Castle. Need more of these Taiwanese-​style hangouts.
nice décor, casual date-​worthy.
plenty of street parking in front.

So I facebook messaged the Strike facebook page about the incident with the bubble tea, and to my surprise, I received a response from the manager on the same day! He told me there was something wrong with the Kits location’s cash register, and said I can come by to get a full refund and a free drink and appetizer! Now THAT is what I call good service!
I stopped by today to get it sorted out. The hostess/​server there today was different, and after the manager called to explain the situation, she was very kind and helpful. I got a strawberry milk bubble tea with pearls, and my friend got the passionfruit bubble tea with pearls. For the appetizer we got yam fries (I have read good reviews about them). Tip: During happy hour (3−5pm) the yam fries are $ 5. Not sure about the regular price, since these were compliments of the manager.
My strawberry milk bubble tea was kinda luke-​warm, and it was so sweet it was almost sour? I should’ve gotten the milk green tea (which is what I got last time). Not a whole lot of pearls. This drink was 2 stars at best.
My friend’s passionfruit bubble tea was refreshing (it is made with green tea) and it was cold! A much better option; less heavy and quenches your thirst. 3 stars for this treat!
Now onto the yam fries… the star of the show.
Crispy, fresh, hot, and SWEET! You can’t tell they are candied just by looking at them. I’ve never had yam fries that were sweet before. They were surprisingly tasty. They came with mayo sauce to dip them in (I didn’t try it; I prefer yam fries with ketchup).
So overall, I really appreciated how the manager attended to my feedback and instead of just refunding/​offering me and my friend a free drink, he offered both! Also… get the yam fries.

[Kits TBN]
After a tough Monday at work, some Taiwanese comfort food was just what the doctor ordered. The restaurant was quite busy given it was 7:30pm but we managed to snag the last table. This little TBN (Taiwanese beef noodle) place was very modern and tastefully decorated and certainly seemed to be happenin’ even on a Monday. I’m guessing because there isn’t any real competition for this type of food in the area.
As I perused the menu, I noticed some of the noodle soup dishes were available without meat. Without meat? What do you mean? I suppose being in Kits, the restaurant does provide some vegetarian options. I wonder if the Richmond location offers this. Anyways, I proceed with ordering a beef roll, wonton in chilli sauce, and fried chicken nugget noodle soup.
[Beef Roll] This was very doughy. They used a green onion pancake and rolled up some beef with some Hoysin sauce. It was tasty but the meat/​carb ratio was way off. Wasn’t my favourite.
[Wontons] These were pretty typical of TBN shops. They were super hot and pretty tasty but without the chilli sauce, would be rather plain on their own. The chilli was not spicy at all.
[Noodle Soup] The fried chicken nuggets were actually done quite well. Large, lean chunks of chicken were used with minimal batter. It was a tad on the salty and peppery side but once dipped in soup, quite good. The noodles though were a different story. They tasted almost a bit stale. It wasn’t really noticeable due to the broth but something was a little off — but not enough for me to dislike the dish.
There was ample seating for around 25 people but there was only one waitress frantically trying to keep everyone happy — she was doing a pretty good job of it too. Value-​wise, it’s on par with other TBN houses (~$ 12 for a noodle/​hot plate entrée and $ 6 for appetizers). If I lived in the area, I’d consider a repeat visit.

Initial thoughts were head-​scratching.
This is why:
Note the first two items on the menu. Huh?
I guess they were trying to say «vegetarian» for the second one? I’m assuming, because in Chinese, it doesn’t say vegetarian either. I didn’t bother asking, I just ordered the first one.
Food ordered:
Taiwanese style cold noodles
Beef noodle soup
Chicken nuggets
Deep fried tofu
The cold noodles came out first, and I noticed the noodle quality right away. It looked good and I was right, This was nice and refreshing with a nice slight chew to the noodle. Served in a peanutty sauce with julienned sliced cucumbers and carrots. I would order this again.
Second up was the beef noodle soup. My first thought when seeing the noodle was that it was out of a box. It looked too straight. Thank goodness I was wrong when I took a bite. If this was out of a box, it was pretty good. The beef in the soup was probably the best I’ve had. Very tender and very flavourful. The broth was quite deep in flavours a well. In my books, this is a near perfect beef noodle soup. 4.5÷5 If the noodles had more of a chew, this would be a home run,
Chicken nuggets were the standard battered, seasoned and deep fried variety. What was different about these was the seasoning. There was a hint of curry powder in it. I liked it. This may not be your thing, so consider yourself warned.
Deep fried tofu. I liked this a lot. This was a Taiwanese version, very diff from the Canto version that I’m accustomed to. Battered and seasoned very lightly and it comes with a slightly sweet dipping sauce and some pickled cabbage. This was killer.
The crowd was predominantly early 20 somethings. I felt like an old fart in there.

We gathered to sample some Taiwanese food at Strike’s newest location in Kitsilano.
Their most popular dish, the Taiwanese style steak with black pepper sauce, was fairly satisfying with all its noodle and egg goodness and sizzling, beefy glory. The dish also came with chicken instead, but the steak was better.
I really enjoyed the basic yam fries for munching on. Its fruity dipping sauce on the other hand was a strange (non) complement. Their five spice beef wrap was a decent take on the traditional beef rool, but I found the pancake a little too thick and doughy without any of the usual crispiness.
I dug the Thai style chicken with a nice balance of crispy flavour and a saucy, tasty texture. Another favourite, the deep fried chicken nuggets, was a solid, decent dish for popping into the mouth.
Unfortunately, the house special beef noodle soup was easily the most disappointing dish of the night. I love TBN as a staple of my diet and comfort food. Too bad, because the soup was flavourless, bland, and generally unpleasing.
Trying most of their dishes, I was more or less pleased with Strike’s balance and the variety of Taiwanese dishes between classic staples and slightly more inventive takes. They are still refining and adapting their menu, incorporating the Japanese ramen noodle kitchen they inherited. With some fine tuning and tweaks, it’s a promising spot for Taiwanese food in Kits.

After reading these wonderful reviews, I thought I’d give it a shot, and to be honest, my reaction was, «Eh.»
I had the BBQ Pork Chop with Rice Combo, and my boyfriend had the Sizzling Steak Noodles. I’d say the dish that I got was very well proportioned (refer to the pictures I uploaded), as a thinly sliced pork chop has been well seasoned with Taiwanese BBQ sauce. The vegetables that I got on the side were pretty plain and tasted the same (even though they were presented as 3 different side dishes… I’m guessing they’re supposed to taste the same). I had a bite of my boyfriend’s dish, and it was all right. The steak was pretty tender, and the sizzling of the dish was pretty neat. But the dish just wasn’t memorable for me nor him.
We also had the milk teas there, and it was pretty artificially flavoured (tastes like milk tea!). Pretty average for me.
Maybe the chicken nuggets are better? I don’t know, either way, what I had there was pretty average. There are some Taiwanese places that make me go, «OMG MUST GO BACK THERE AGAIN», but this just wasn’t it.