Young Young 
1540 Cedar Hill X Rd.
Saanich, B.C. 
(250) 388-9806

J: Young Young is one of those Asian restaurants in the University corridor of Gordon Head, known as Cedar Hill X Road. It is not only a road frequented by Camosun College Lansdowne campus students but also the University of Victoria and the St. Michael’s University students as well. What is interesting is is this is a restaurant frequented by Asians, much like Kuma Noodle across the road. And why not, the restaurant has unique seating depending on what your eating arrangements will be. You have the wooden booths for hot-pot (and a special booth available for a large hot-pot party), the cushioned booths for regular eating, tables for two with mod looking chairs and there is a cozy corner for a large group to relax.

Young has the right idea when it comes making the customers feel welcome but their service is sadly lacking. The place wasn’t busy, in fact few customers occupied the restaurant yet we were not seated promptly. And after we were seated, it was evident our hot pot booth was unclean. The table hid scraps of old food within it’s crevices and the table top had not been wiped down. Cleanliness in an eating establishment shows you have pride in your business and pride in your work. This messy table was left open for interpretation.

E: The first thing I did when the waitress arrived was to ask that the table be properly wiped clean.

After that, the order was relatively simple to figure out. Every hot-pot order comes with rice, and if you’re ordering one of those meals for two specials, what’s served can go by fast depending on your appetite. That day, I was hungry as a horse. And what we ordered might scare a few pigs. An additional hot-pot was ordered and it was made from pig intestine and pig blood. It was quite decent, but I wouldn’t say this added dish was exceptional.

When in Rome (or this case Vietnam), one has to eat like a fellow country-man. For the most part, the hot pot was far more delicious than the pre-cooked meals delivered to your table.

But be warned, you have to know what you’re doing when doing shabu shabu, the Japanese name to a dish where you can cook thinly sliced beef in hot water yourself. I found the beef offered here was particularly tasty, or was it simply the miso in my broth that’s did all the talk?

J: No, it was the beef that was quite tasty. We never did ask where the beef was sourced from but it made for a welcome bite. Let it be known though, that some of the ingredients the servers may lay down in front of you has a tendency to shrink when cooked in boiling water. What Ed and I ordered may have looked like we were eating like kings but you would be surprised how much was left to fill our bowls. I guess you could call it an economy meal.

It was thought eating hot pot style would save us some money and cut corners but I now know this to be wrong. It was more costly to my imitation leather wallet in the end. I was looking to eat on the cheap at Pho-Ever on Pear Street, but I gave in to Ed’s whim. I guess it was easier to do so since he was driving and you wouldn’t want to upset the driver.

3 Blokes out of 5