The food court at Pacific Mall is nothing like you'll find in the Eaton Centre or Yorkdale Mall. Instead of on-the spot meals from warming trays of the already cooked, most of the fast-food outlets at Pacific Mall will prepare your meal fresh to order, which comes in exchange of waiting just a little bit longer. After placing your order you take a seat nearby and listen for your number or dish to be called. Since the menus of many of these food court stalls contain more than a hundred options to choose from, pre-made doesn't really work here. Neither does indecisiveness, for that matter.

The Pacific Mall Food Court is actually two second-floor food courts separated by an atrium. One is smack dab in the middle of all the action in Heritage Town with seating in the middle of the aisle, and the other is a little smaller, a little quieter, but as far as I can see, it's certainly just as popular. Despite the odd Bubble Tease outlets and a curious Wanda's Belgian Waffles stall, most of the food court options are unique independents offering handmade noodles, Hong Kong-style egg waffles, and lots of other freshly prepared pan-Asian cuisine. Here are just a few of the options:

Beard Papa's
Beard Papa's is the home of the famed Beard cream puff, originating in Osaka, Japan. You can smell the baking puffs as you ascend up the escalator, which explains the long line to place your order. Along with the regular vanilla puff ($2.38), Beard Papa's at Pacific Mall offers daily signature puffs including green tea, chocolate, and coffee.

Yummie
This place is perhaps the only one in the Pacific Mall food court to rival Beard Papa's in terms of aromatic power. A candy store/waffle bar hybrid, the seductive muscle here is emitted from the waffle irons, which seem to be running constantly preparing Hong Kong style egg waffles ($3.00), which are also offered as a ice cream sandwich and waffle combo ($5.00).

Love Spicy Very Hot
I can't read any of the menu, but the pictures of the dishes look delicious. And the air around the stand tells me that "Spicy Very Hot" isn't an exaggeration. Love Spicy seems a more modest outlet compared to some other Pacific Mall food court offerings, but customers line up for its (mostly Thai) dishes.

Sun's Kitchen
If you're in the mood for noodles or dumplings, Sun's Kitchen is the place to head to in Pacific Mall. The chefs pull and prepare the dough right in front of you, readying its dumplings to be boiled or pan-fried, and its fresh noodles for its menu of soups including Wonton, Seafood, BBQ Duck. The staff wear "No Pain No Gain" t-shirts.

Shark's Fin City
To some, it's perhaps just serving up controversy. More tangibly, though, the Shark's Fin City stall offers shark fin in a variety of forms, including soup with mushrooms ($21.99) and stewed with egg ($5.50). It also offers BBQ duck, pork, and more.

Yau Tsui Chuen Cuisine
This stall has an incredible menu of endless options. All accompanied by pictures, the offering include Chicken Corn Soup ($3.50), Fried Pork Chops ($5.99), and Seafood Fried Noodle ($5.99). Most meals come with a drink; either a soy beverage or tea.

Japanese Express
For all the options at Pacific Mall, few of the food court stalls offer sushi. Japanese Express, of course, is the exception, with a little bar to sit and enjoy your spicy salmon or spider roll. Japanese Express seems to offer really good prices (is that why its staff wear "I