I like to eat, as you know, but I’m also “strategically frugal.” (Don’t call me cheap.) To that end, while I want to eat well, I don’t want to go broke doing it. That’s why I’m always on the hunt for a good deal. Well, we covered cheap lunch options in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. Now, let’s move on to Burnaby lunch options on the cheap! I hope you’re hungry!

Hi Genki Japanese Restaurant

Location: 6680 Southoaks Crescent (at Sperling Avenue)
Cuisine: Japanese
Menu: higenki.ca

Don’t let its looks deceive you. Hi Genki is really good. Yes, it’s located inside a retirement home. And yes, the decor isn’t exactly the most exciting thing in the world. But, this is real Japanese comfort food, as if it were prepared lovingly by a Japanese grandma. Two of my personal favorites are the spicy chicken karaage don (shown here), which really isn’t spicy at all (just more flavorful), and the saba shio (grilled mackerel with rice). To be fair, the saba shio breaks past the $10 benchmark for this list.

Turkish Donair

Location: 4066 Hastings Street (at Gilmore Avenue)
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Menu: Zomato page

Amir is a great guy. And he makes an awesome donair. The international story really is something else, too. Here’s an Iranian guy, opening a restaurant in Canada, that’s called Turkish Donair, serving Lebanese lamb (I love tabbouleh), to a Chinese Canadian. The Hawaiian chicken (with pineapple, of course) is pretty good too. You may be able to find a better shawarma or donair place elsewhere, but we don’t have too many of these kinds of places in North Burnaby, especially at this price.

X-Site Grill & Bistro

Location: 4625 Hastings Street (at Alpha Avenue)
Cuisine: Bar and grill
Menu: x-sitegrillbistro.com

The $5.95 lunch specials (they went up a dollar a few years ago) at X-Site are among the best deals in town. The caveat is that you do have to buy a drink to go with it (pop is $2.95). The chicken souvlaki, shown here, is easily the most filling of the bunch, served with rice pilaf, Caesar salad, potato, and pita bread. You can also opt for pasta, a cheeseburger, a soup and sandwich combo, any of which is the same $5.95.

Kimbab Cheonguk

Location: 341 North Road A (at Lougheed Highway)
Cuisine: Korean
Menu: kimbabcheonguk.com

Okay, so Kimbab Cheonguk isn’t technically in Burnaby. It is literally just on the other side of North Road in Burquitlam, putting it on the Coquitlam side. I’ll just that’s close enough, because it’s very much worth mentioning. Now, some people might refer to kimbab (sometimes spelled kimbap or gimbab) as “Korean sushi.” That’s not really accurate, as the seaweed, rice and filling are all different. The standard kimbab comes with oshinko, burdock root, fish cake, and other goodies, or you can fancy it up with bulgogi beef, cheese, kimchi, or tuna. A couple of these is plenty for lunch. The al bab (stone bowl rice) and ddock bok ki (spicy rice cakes) are really good too.

Park Crest Diner

Location: 5901 Broadway (at Holdom Avenue)
Cuisine: Diner / Canadian Chinese
Menu: On Zomato

The nostalgia factor plays really heavily into this selection, at least for me. My parents ran very similar restaurants for much of my childhood, so diner classics like triple decker club house sandwiches and hamburger steak will always hold a special place in my heart. In fact, my parents considered buying Park Crest Diner at one point! Don’t expect anything especially unique, creative or original here. I don’t even think anything has changed here in the last 30 years, if not even longer!

You can order just about anything on the menu for less than $10, so this is probably one of the cheapest Burnaby lunch options in town. Get something like a Reuben with crinkle cut fries, for example. There’s always a burger special, served with soup, or grab some breakfast for lunch. And as is par for the course, they’ve got Canadian Chinese food too, like sweet and sour pork with chow mein. There aren’t too many places like this left!

Burnaby Has Cheap Lunch Eats Too!

If you’re willing to nudge yourself just past the $10 mark, you’ll open up all sorts of other Burnaby lunch options too. Viet Noodle Guy on Rosser Street has great Vietnamese food (the spring rolls are especially good). Triple Coconut Tree is a couple bucks less for similar kind of Vietnamese food too.

And then there are no fewer than three ramen spots on Hastings too — Hakkaku, Kamamarui and Ramen Gaoh — all of which offer a slightly different take on the Japanese noodle classic. The epic German breakfast at Fraser Park is worth mentioning too.

Do you have a favorite lunch spot in Burnaby? Can it be enjoyed for $10 or less?