Sherman's Food Adventures

El Comal

2012-05-29T00:00:00.002-07:00

Sometimes food in weird places can be a real selling point. For instance, let's put a restaurant in the shadiest part of town and people will flock to it. Hey, for it to be located there, it must be good! Well, not necessarily, but it is a start. Then you have "meh" food in the most obvious of places. That is when a restaurant benefits from location, location, location. Then there are restaurants that cannot be found unless you knew of it either by pure chance or someone else telling you about it. Wait, I forgot one more... Restaurants that are located in Richmond. Good food, but extra insurance may be required for one's car.

Now I didn't need extra insurance nor any defensive driving for this food adventure. The location of the restaurant ensured there would be very little traffic. Tucked inside an industrial complex on Winston in Burnaby, El Comal would qualify as one of those secret restaurants. I knew about this place quite a while ago. Someone mentioned it to me, but I never got around to eating there. The day finally came when Big D raved about his meal on a prior visit and insisted we do lunch. Hey, how many times have I passed up food? So Mexican food eh? That's like rolling the dice up here in the GVRD. However, I've had some good experiences with Mexican food as of late with visits to Taqueria Jalisco and Taqueria Playa Tropical. Would this visit to El Comal be 3 for 3?

Looking over the menu, I decided to start with one each of the chicken, beef and chorizo Tacos. These were more Tex-Mex than anything with meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato in a soft tortilla. I found them quite mild including the chorizo. The meats were on the drier side, but these were decent if one wasn't expecting an authentic taco. For my main, I had the Veggie Tamales served with rice and refried beans. For something that looked so flavourful, it turned out to be rather flat. Even with peppers inside the tamale, it was lacking in flavour. The masa was a little stiff, which meant there was less lard (more healthy, but not as tasty!) I'm sure they eased up on the spice level to appeal to more tastes though. Again, this was acceptable for what it was.

Big D had his go to dish being the Beef Enchiladas with salsa verde and salso roja. He graciously let me attack his food for the sake of the blog (what a nice guy!). Again, despite the vibrant colours, the flavours were muted. The shredded beef was moist and in the end, it was pleasant enough to eat. Slick ended up with the Beef Burrito which was quite substantial. It also came with rice and refried beans as well as the same 2 sauces. I never got to try this, but it was essentially the same flavours as the enchiladas which meant it was not exactly mind-blowing. Yet, he enjoyed it nonetheless. Actually, that sorta sums up my experience as well. Despite the lack of pop from the food, I thought the eats were decent. I would go to Taqueria Jalisco and Taqueria Playa Tropical first though.

The Good:
- Interesting eats in a non-interesting area
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Flavours are muted
- Not a whole lot of seating when busy

Szechuan House

2012-05-28T00:00:00.036-07:00

"Do you wanna go for lunch?", asked Rich Guy over MSN. Do dogs sniff their rear ends and lick their balls? Uh, could there be a more rhetorical question? However, the place he suggested made me draw a blank. "Szechuan House near Metrotown, you know on Imperial...", he tried to explain. I thought he was referring to the place right next to Alvin Garden, but nope, it was closer to Beautiful Island. When I told Viv about it, she was in disbelief as well. She was trying to jog my memory about this place we've passed by many a time. Hey, I love food, yet I never said I knew everything! Nervously, I replied yes. Why the apprehension? Well, the place is known for its authentic spicy Szechuan cuisine and that didn't sound like something my kids would enjoy.

No worries, we were sure that they'd have some noodle dish that was not spicy. Besides, Viv and I both love spicy so it would be a tasty meal for us. One of their specialties is Boiling Beef, otherwise known as the "Stir-Fried Beef in Full Special Sauce, Top Finished w/Chilli Oil" on their menu. WTF? I would've never figured out what dish they were talking about by reading the menu name. Whatever the case, we were able to order the right dish and it was a pretty big portion (it'd better be for $15.95!) with lots of tender beef. This spicy concoction was seemingly composed of an entire bottle of chili oil with plenty of chili pepper and Szechuan peppercorns. The result was a tongue-numbing experience. For those who don't like spicy food, just don't bother because this would blow your tastebuds away. For me, I thought it was a good compromise between spicy while still being able to taste the other ingredients.

Normally (in North America), Kung Pao Chicken is more of a mild-tasting, sweet, syrupy dish. The one we had was nothing further from that. This authentic Szechaun version had tender pieces of chicken (that were not battered and fried), red chilis and roasted peanuts bathed in a fairly spicy sauce featuring a good hint of black vinegar. Hence, despite the inherent tongue-blasting spice, there were complex hits of sweet, tang and savoury. Another classic dish we couldn't pass up was the Cumin Lamb which Rich Gal and I lobbied for. As the name suggests, there was a considerable amount of cumin which was flavourful while not overwhelming. I thought it helped temper any gaminess which Rich Guy and Viv were worried about. Comparatively, this was a mild dish with only a hint of spice. Although the lamb was tender, it was slightly on the drier side.

Whenever we're at a Szechuan restaurant, Rich Guy just has to have the Sliced Pork with Garlic & Chili Sauce. His favourite is the one from New Szechuan, but I think the one here was better. The thinly-sliced fatty pork had a nice jellied quality which had the right resistance. It was caressed by a garlicky and spicy chili oil sauce which completed the package. The spice-fest continued on with the Ma Po Tofu. The silky tofu was perfect as practically every piece was intact despite its delicateness. Much like the other dishes, it was laced with a good amount of chili oil and spiciness. Hidden beneath the oil was a thick meaty sauce that clung to the tofu. This was pretty good. Definitely not a wimpy version.

For the kiddies, we got one non-spicy item being the Preserved Vegetable and Pork Noodles. The fresh noodles were both al dente and plentiful. It was topped with lots of preserved veg and tender julienned pork. The kids seemed to enjoy it and in actuality, we liked it too since it acted as a reprieve from the other spicy dishes. I guess it is pretty obvious that this is not a North American-style Szechuan restaurant. No sissy spices here, it's the real deal. If you enjoy burn-a-hole-in-your-tongue spiciness, this is the place for you (assuming you order those dishes). With that being said, we found the spiciness bearable since we could still taste the other flavours in each dish. Definitely a place we will try again.

The Good:
- Real Szechuan cuisine
- It's spicy, but controlled (well, you could request spicier too!)

The Bad:
-Too spicy for some
- Not exactly cheap

Oru

2012-05-25T00:00:00.013-07:00

I'll admit it. When I received an invite to try out Oru's new revamped menu, I was slightly hesitant. After all, the place had some pretty dubious reviews strewn all over the internet. In fact, Whipping Girl had told me about her experience there and let's just say it didn't make me want to visit the place anytime soon. C'mon, there was an $18.00 Banh Mi on the menu! Sounds like fusion gone wrong (and overpriced). Enough said. Little did I know that Executive Chef David Wong had left to open his own restaurant on the Island. Replacing him is well-traveled and experienced chef Darren Brown, who redid the menu and refreshed the layout of the restaurant.

We were first treated to some appies from the Skybar and then moved onto a tour of the facilities. To say that the food services in the Fairmont Pacific is impressive would be an understatement. It is refreshing to see Darren Brown's influence on the operation. Most of the ingredients are made in-house, right down to the sausages and cured meats. Oh and I can't ignore the BLT we sampled beforehand. This was made with their house-cured bacon and let's just say I could've eaten more than what was offered on the plate. We finally made it back to Oru and were seated with a nice view of the open kitchen. Arriving first was the Sunchoke Soup which was a pure veloute of roasted sunchokes (no onions) with truffle foamed milk. Immediately, there was a big hit of truffle oil. The soup was flavourful, creamy and rich without relying on salt. I liked how it was smooth while retaining some texture. Next up was the Notch Hills Beet Salad consisting of pickled and poached baby Sorrento beets, beet chutney, chimichurri vinaigrette and Cabrales blue cheese. I'm not normally a huge cilantro fan, but there was just enough in the chimichurri to brighten the flavours without making it taste pungent. A beet salad is usually, well, a beet salad. However, the shaved blue cheese on top really made it pop with an Earthy saltiness.

Continuing on, we were presented with the Qualicum Island Diver Scallops which were seared beautifully and served with sesame sweet peas, smoked salmon lardon, preserved lemon condiment all atop a cauliflower puree. The scallops were pretty small, but packed a sweet punch. There was a multitude of flavours going on the plate including the nutty sesame peas, sweet, tangy lemon and the smooth flavourful puree. The small piece of salmon added a salty smokiness which capped off the flavourfest. Then the dish we'd all been waiting for showed up - the Kalua Pork Belly (Fraser Valley pork belly, pineapple, maple-mustard glaze, fried sage, pork cracklings and lotus root puree). Okay, let me get this out of the way first - the pork belly was not as melt-in-my-mouth as I would've liked. However, I'm not sure if that was the intention or not. It was cooked so slowly that the fat had pretty much rendered down leaving mostly meat. For me at least, I like my pork belly fatty and melty. With that being said, there was a lot to like about this dish. The cracklings were crispy and light while the bak choy was crunchy albeit salty. The sweet glaze went well with the pork belly, yet the lotus root puree looked odd in colour. It did taste good though with a nice balance of flavours.

Before the meal, I had pegged the pork belly to be my potential favourite. It turned out that the Sake Cured Haida Gwaii Sablefish took the honours. When curing sablefish with sake, one needs to be careful as it can turn the fish to mush if not careful (like the one I had at NFA). No problems here as was flaky and moist with a beautiful sear. It was served atop an Alaskan salt cod brandade with roasted sunchoke, melted leeks, fennel, chorizo in a tomato-mirin broth. All these ingredients provided all the flavour needed and therefore, the fish was not aggressively seasoned. The salt cod emulated the texture of crab and offered up saltiness (of course). With the mildness of the broth and the conservative amount of chorizo, the sablefish was able to stand on its own.

Moving onto dessert, we were presented with the Strawberry Rhubarb Vacherin with buttermilk ice cream. This ended up to be very refreshing, like a palate-cleanser to a degree. A palate cleanser for what you might ask. Well, we had one more sweet dish which was the Textures of Chocolate. Starting from the top left corner clockwise, we had the Carmella Mousse with textures of puffed rice and praline and Alpaco Consomme with hints of fresh mint. Both of these were made with Valrhona chocolate. On the bottom right, we had the Mi Amare chocolate cremuex mille fieulle made with Michel Cluizel chocolate and on the bottom left, the Mangaro Lait Chocolate Bar with cocoa nib nougatine made with Cocoa Barry. Of these, my favourite was the Carmella. It was essentially a rich and deluxe version of a Crunch bar. Loved the textures and smooth chocolate. This was a sweet end to a solid tasting menu. On this experience alone, it is quite obvious that Darren Brown wanted a more classic approach incorporating housemade ingredients which represent Westcoast cuisine and then some. *Note - this meal was comped*

The Good:
- From this tasting, it appears the food has a direction
- Dining space is simple yet elegant

The Bad:
- Prices are pretty high

Fraser Court

2012-05-24T00:00:00.005-07:00

When it opened 2 years ago, we had tried out Fraser Court's Dim Sum service and it was pretty decent. However, we never had a chance to sample their dinner menu. Normally, we'd do that pretty soon after but fellow blogger (I mean absent blogger) Jessica had a pretty disappointing experience. So we never had a real good reason to eat there. However, my mother-in-law booked a whole table as part of an association dinner, which meant we were literally forced to go. Yah, forced to go for dinner - #firstworldproblems. As we arrived, they were doing Karaoke on stage and lemme put this out there - if you are tone deaf, please do not subject people to pain. They continued to do this throughout dinner. The horror! At least they did a rendition of Shanghai Beach... Love that song!

So onto the food, the dinner was a set menu which started with the usual Appetizer Platter consisting of marinated jellyfish, honey garlic spareribs, jellied pork hock and sliced five spice beef shank. This was a well-composed dish where the jellyfish was crunchy, washed thoroughly (no fishy taste) and seasoned nicely with plenty of sesame oil, white pepper, chili flakes and soy. The honey garlic spareribs were meaty and crisp. There was a good amount of flavouring which was quite sweet with a touch of spice. The pork hock was sliced thin and aggressively salted. As for the beef shank, texture was fine yet it was on the sweeter side. Next up was the Stir-Fried Chicken and Scallops with snap peas and flowering chives. The snap peas were cooked perfectly. They were crunchy and sweet. The scallops were a touch overcooked which made them rubbery. The chicken, which was thigh meat, was moist and tender. The dish was quite mild and slightly greasy.

In place of the usual crab or lobster dish was the Stir-Fried Prawns with black vinegar. Normally, the prawns are deep-fried first for a couple of reasons. First, it is to quickly flash cook them evenly. Secondly, the frying makes the shell edible. In this case, the shell was tough to eat which meant we lost most of the flavour de-shelling them. Other than that issue, the prawns were meaty and naturally sweet. The seasoning was very strong and there was obvious hits of MSG. We liked the depth of flavour provided by the black vinegar. Right on cue, the soup arrived next. It ended up to be the Dried Fish Maw Soup with dried scallop, chicken, enoki mushroom and flowering chives. I loved how there was a massive amount of ingredients within the silky broth, however, it was far too salty. I needed to add some vinegar to cut the saltiness.

In place of the abalone, we had the Sliced King Mushrooms with baby bak choy. Naturally, the texture of king mushrooms would never be able to replicate abalone, so we could only think of it as cooked mushroom. In that respect, it was done right where it was not overcooked. The bak choy was just barely done retaining a crunch and vibrant colour. The oyster sauce was neither salty nor bland and it had a nice consistency (there was no pool of water at the bottom of the plate). Arriving with the head prominently displayed on the plate, the Free Range Chicken looked menacing to my son. I stuck the head in his bowl and he chucked it back onto the plate. Guess he wasn't eating this dish... Well, due to the nature of free range chicken, the meat can be chewy and lean. Hence, not everyone's cup of tea. For me, I'm indifferent. As long as it is prepared right, I have no problem with it. It was more or less done properly with a nice layer of gelatin between the skin and meat. We liked how there was a large serving of grated ginger on the side since the chicken was quite mild.

For our meat dish, we had a large plate of Peking Pork Chops. Depending on which piece we picked up, the texture ranged from dry and chewy to moist and fatty. There was just enough sauce to coat each piece. It had a nice consistency where the flavour was quite pronounced while being predominantly sweet. For our fish course, we had the Steamed Whole Live Tilapia. Okay, I'm just going to be frank here - I personally can't stand tilapia. Something about the texture - so mushy. Therefore, due to my biases, I can't say I enjoyed the steamed tilapia. Well, the fact it was slightly over-cooked didn't help things. After so many dishes of food came the filler items. Yah, the carbs when nobody really has any interest in eating anymore. I suppose it is better than at the start because one would be full too early. For me, I'd like to change it up a little and have it arrive in the middle of the meal. Too radical? Not traditional? Whatever, if they can serve egg tarts at the start of Dim Sum, we can most certainly have rice and noodles mid-meal! I digress...

So... To our surprise, the Yee Mein was pretty darn good. It was the right balance between being wet and dry. It was not oily and had plenty of flavour without being salty. Moreover, it was served steaming hot. Lastly, we had the Fried Rice which was an interesting mix of shrimp, baby scallops, ham, carrot, sliced gai lan stalks and egg. The rice was clumpy in spots. It wasn't wet, in fact, it was plenty dry. Hence, the texture was nicely chewy and a touch nutty from the
stir-fry. There was a good amount of ingredients which kept each bite interesting while providing texture and flavour. Overall, the dinner was not bad despite our initial thoughts. They must've done something to improve their dinner service recently which is quite important, considering that their seating capacity is very large. They need to fill the restaurant to make money! I wouldn't make Fraser Court my first destination for Cantonese food, but I wouldn't say no if someone suggested it either.

The Good:
- Big dining room, good for banquets
- Service is actually not bad

The Bad:
- Food has a few inconsistencies here and there
- For a big dining hall, it is sure cramped

Bob Likes Thai Food

2012-05-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if there is ever much thought put into naming a restaurant. There is the "let's name it after the street" approach such as Kingsway Deli, Slocan Restaurant and The Main. I really love the "it could mean something else" restaurant names as well. Come Along, Pho T&A and the defunct Pho Bich Nga are perfect examples. Oh and I really love the Chinese restaurants that are named "golden". Golden this, golden that, it actually gets a bit confusing. And let's not forget the iconic Fook Yue where Senor Rooster stands now. It was so outrageous, it made it onto Leno. I often wonder how that place did in daily conversation... "Hey, where did you go for dinner last night?" "Fook Yue"... Anyways, there are too many boring, run-of-the-mill restaurant names out there. However, Bob Likes Thai Food is certainly not one of them.

The Thai joint with a funny name caught my attention when it first opened, but due to its relatively early closing time, we could never make it after hockey nor softball. So I had no choice but to visit the place during the day instead. And coming in to rescue me from eating all alone was Rich Guy. Funny how we eat less together since he is back for good... We started with something a bit different in the Miang Kham which literally translates as "eating many things in one bite". These many things consisted of chaphlu leaves, roasted grated coconut, lime, shallot, peanut, ginger with tamarind palm sugar sauce. For such a simple dish, there was lots of flavour at work. It was aromatic with some spice, a touch of nuttiness, a bit herbal, sweet and crunchy. It practically had all the flavours my tongue could process. We liked it very much. Another interesting item we ordered was the Poutine by Bob. This version saw fried thin-sliced taro root topped by a green curry sauce with lemongrass, lime leaves, deep fried tofu and chilis. Although the flavours were fantastic - with a spicy coconutty curry, the taro chips were a fail. They were far too delicate to stand up to the moisture and ultimately became a soggy mess. Maybe if they used lotus root chips instead? Too bad really since the combination of green curry with the aromatic lemongrass and spicy chilis really did work. They could've added more fried tofu as well.

Seeing how their lunch specials (which included rice, salad and wonton crisps) were only $7.50 each, I did my best Mijune and ordered 3 to share. We started with the Eggplant Pad Ka Pow which was quite good. The eggplant was cooked perfectly. It was bathed in a sauce which was spicy, tart and sweet with a hit of basil. We liked how they were not shy about making the flavours bold. That would the same for the Chicken Green Curry. It was spicier than most other places which made it quite balanced. Rather than being predominantly sweet, it had savoury-spiciness that lingered on my tongue. Furthermore, there was no absence of chicken and bamboo shoots along with the requisite basil.

Lastly, the Pad Thai didn't disappoint as well. The dish exhibited good wok heat where the flavours were in sync. By virtue of using tamarind, there was a good tartness that was accented by some sweetness and savouriness. All the usual stuff was present including crunchy shrimp, pickled turnip, pressed tofu, crushed peanuts and bean sprouts. Despite the very non-Thai sounding name of the place, there is no mistaking that the food is legit. The flavours were definitely there, especially the spice level, and the prices were quite reasonable as well.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- No sissy flavours here
- Pretty legit Thai food

The Bad:
- Limited menu (which also could be a good thing)
- Limited seating

Golden House

2012-05-22T00:00:00.025-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, the hockey team tried to grab some dessert a Breka Bakery at a relatively early hour. Well, the place was packed and that plan fizzled before it even started. We decided to hightail it out of there because we had already eaten at Sawasdee Thai. It wasn't imperative that we have dessert. Somewhere I can imagine Mijune sheding a tear... While I was walking out the door, I spied with my little eyes (and they are little), a tiny Chinese restaurant advertising daily Dim Sum service. Really... I was intrigued. Further to this, LotusRapper reminded me of this place in the comment section of the Golden Harvest post. Okay, I just had to try the place out. But with who? Ah yes, Rich Guy, the ever-so-willing dining companion that I have suddenly taken for granted since he has moved back. In actuality, I kinda guilted him into it since he needed my help replacing the fog lights on his Bimmer. By the way, can they make it any harder to replace those bulbs??? I digress.

So when I thought the place was small, it was shockingly small on the inside. There was about 8 tables only for the whole place. So what kind of Dim Sum could such a small place serve? Well, we were about to find out. The first thing that showed up at our table was the Preserved Egg & Salted Pork Congee. It was really thick and had a home-style feel. We didn't find it particularly salty nor was it laced with too much MSG. Yet, it wasn't bland either since we could taste the pork that had been cooked in the congee. What we didn't like was the aggressively shredded salted pork. It was so shredded, it was more like meat floss than anything else. Furthermore, the meat was hard and chewy. If the congee was mild-tasting, then the Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Eggplant was a flavour explosion. Normally, I complain about bland black bean sauces. Not here. It was garlicky and just salty enough to accent the eggplant. As for the eggplant, it was moist and crispy on the outside. The shrimp, on the other hand, was mostly crispy since there wasn't really a whole lot of it.

When the Haw Gow arrived, it looked pretty legit. They were big and the shrimp filling was peaking through the translucent rice flour wrapper. Considering where we were eating these, the haw gow were impressive. Inside the nicely textured dumpling skin lay a good mix of whole shrimp and shrimp mousse. It displayed plenty of the bounce and snap we look for in haw gow filling. If I had to nitpick, the filling was probably seasoned too aggressively and the mousse was a tad soft. The Sui Mai were equally good. They too were large and texturally sound. The pork was marinated properly exhibiting a good bounce while still having a bite. The meat was juicy and flavourful from the seasoning and shitake mushroom. One thing we would've liked to see was more shrimp.

Well, shrimp was not a problem in the Bean Curd Skin Rolls because that was the main ingredient for the filling. The perfectly cooked shrimp had a snap which really changed the makeup of this usually heavy item. It was lighter than the all-pork version and we easily ate it all. We also liked how the bean curd skin was not too soft nor too tough. Okay, for no reason other than the limited selection, we got the Xiao Long Bao. Yes, I know it is a Shanghainese dish served in a Cantonese restaurant. So therefore, we did not expect XLBs, rather we would've been happy with decent pork dumplings. And they were more or less, okay pork dumplings. The skin was thick and doughy, however, the filling was actually quite tasty with lots of meat flavour and a good hit of ginger. It was moist and not-gritty either. It just wasn't an XLB.

Last but not least, we had the Black Bean Spareribs, which were not bad. The dish consisted mostly of meat pieces (the rib ends) rather than ribs. They were properly tenderized so it wasn't difficult to chew. In fact, they were mostly soft with only the rib pieces having a chew. There was no absence of flavour here with lots of garlic and black bean with a touch of spice.
Overall, not including the XLBs (and really, I'm not holding anything against them), the Dim Sum at this little place was surprisingly good. Not exactly the cheapest, but with the level of execution and quality, we would be willing to do a return visit.

The Good:
- Dim Sum is surprisingly good
- The service we got was friendly

The Bad:
- Calling the place small would be an understatement
- Service is friendly, but with only one staff member, it gets a bit sparse

Salam Bombay

2012-05-21T00:00:00.001-07:00

Normally, I'm not really in the mood for Indian food outside of Surrey. Why? Well, you would be hard-pressed to find the combination of value and good Indian eats anywhere else. Sure, there is decent Indian food to be found in Vancouver - for more money. And sure, there is Indian food to be found in the rest of the burbs, yet it generally is hit and miss. However, when Rich Guy and Rich Gal wanted to meet up for lunch in Downtown, I actually suggested we try Salam Bombay. The reason for this was due to some form of ESP between Rich Guy and I. As we were texting, we messaged each other simultaneously that we should go for Indian since that is Rich Gal's favourite cuisine. Furthermore, time was tight since Rich Gal had a massage appointment afterwards (wait, Indian food and then a massage? uh...).

The most popular thing at Salam Bombay during lunch hour is their buffet for $15.00. It's a great way to quickly down some food before heading back to work (not sure if one would necessarily want to work after that). We didn't have to worry about that since we were all off for the day. The buffet started off with mesclun greens and a bean salad. I ignored both since they are fillers and I am a meatatarian. Right next to it was the Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken respectively. We found the tandoori chicken to be relatively moist considering it was in a chaffing tray. It was quite mild, yet not devoid of flavour either. The Butter Chicken was more of the tomato paste version rather than being very creamy. We didn't mind that as it was not as heavy. The one thing that was quite appealing was the level of spiciness - it was apparent. Now, we could handle spicier, but it was much appreciated since many versions of butter chicken can be overly mild. As for the chicken, it was a touch dry but that was understandable since it was all breast meat.

The next item was the Beef Curry and we universally didn't care for it. The small cubes of beef were dry and spongy. Furthermore, the flavours were overly one-dimensional. For me, I got a lot of cloves and bay leaves which made this more of a stewed beef dish rather than curry. Up next was the Seafood Curry which was predominantly squid. Therefore, the entire thing had a squid taste to it (which wasn't necessarily bad). I didn't mind it since there was a good level of heat. The Baingan Bharta was one of my favourites but it seemed that I was in the minority. I guess it has partly to do with the texture which is akin to baby food. This happened at East is East where most people didn't like the pureed squash and I did. Anyways, I didn't get much smokiness from the eggplant, but I did like the mild and subtle flavours. And yes, I loved the mushy texture.

Rich Guy was trying to figure out what the next item was since it was so watery and seemingly devoid of ingredients. In reality, it was the Daal Makhni and there wasn't much of it in the sauce. I did like the flavours since there was once again a good kick, but it wasn't exactly creamy though. The "balls" to the right of the daal were Potato Pakoras which were actually pretty good. The potato in the middle was soft and spiced nicely. As with most Indian buffets these days, the Naan was made-to-order and served upon request. I found the naan to be more like puffed flatbread than anything else. The bottom was very crispy while the bread itself was very light and airy. There was some chewiness and in the end, it did the job.

Lastly, there was a fruit salad as well as Kheer which was really sweet and thick. Despite this, I could definitely pick out a substantial cardamom hit which helped distract my tastebuds from the sugar content slightly. After dusting off a few plates, we were okay with the food in general considering it was a buffet. Now the price was a reflection of its location more than anything else because one could get better for less in Surrey. Ultimately, Salam Bombay is located in Downtown, and more or less does the job with all things considered.

The Good:
- Okay for its location
- Clean with nice decor
- Good service

The Bad:
- There is better for less, but can't compare to Surrey

Lay's Chip Giveaway

2012-05-19T00:00:00.003-07:00

*Contest is now closed* Congrats to Patricia Z! Okay, I don't blog on weekends anymore, but when Lay's contacted me about a giveaway, I decided to share it with my readers. Lay’s is excited to launch two new potato chip flavours that are only available in Western Canada: Wavy Lay’s Smoky BBQ and Wavy Lay’s Old Fashioned Ketchup. So if you want to win 8 large bags of the new flavours (which will be shipped directly to you from Lay's), make a comment with your first name and initial from your last name. I will draw a winner on Tuesday. Enjoy snacking!

Caché Bistro & Lounge

2012-05-18T00:00:00.045-07:00

Location, location, location. That's what we hear all the time. It can be about buying a house and it also can mean where you should run a business. Actually, it could also mean where not to go if you don't want any unnecessary grief (ie. Richmond during rush hour...). Anyways, there is this one spot in Yaletown right at the end of Hamilton near Drake. There have several restaurants that have come and gone without much long term success. The most recent attempt was Charm Modern Thai which recently closed. Now, rising from the ashes comes Caché Bistro & Lounge. For me at least, I don't mind the location, because it means a greater chance at scoring a parking spot (a safe one at that...). Most of the spots in the heart of Yaletown seem to be designed only for Minis or Fiat 500's.

Caché is the owned and operated by Chef Alex Mok who previously ran the successful Underground Supper Club. I was invited, along with other food writers and media, to sample their 5-course tasting menu. I met up with some familiar faces including Rick, Sean and Ange. We were first presented with a baguette flanked by 3 types of butter consisting of Cranberry, Satay and Truffle. The cranberry was tart and not that sweet while the truffle butter was very Earthy and strong. I liked the satay the best as it exhibited a je ne sais quoi quality. Our first course (Foie Gras Creme Brulee) was presented beautifully in an egg shell on a bed of frisee. Inside lay a creamy concoction of mild custard and chunks of foie topped with flying fish caviar. Not really a creme brulee in the literal sense of the word, it was heavy and rich. The portion size was about right, as if it was any larger, it would've been too heavy for a starter. The richness was somewhat alleviated by the
frisee salad with white truffle vinaigrette.

Next up was the Black Tea Smoked Duck Breast with arugula salad, lemon vinaigrette, onion jam, white wine soaked raisins and candied walnuts. The duck exhibited a subtle smokiness and was super tender. There was a good amount of fat, but it was not chewy at all. The salad and onion jam added a nice acidity to compliment the duck. The crunch of the walnuts and the sweetness from the raisins added another layer of texture and flavour. This was the best dish of the night. From one fowl to another, we had the Bacon-wrapped Semi De-boned Quail stuffed with marinated dried cranberries. Served on the side was grilled asparagus, eggplant, zucchini and peppers. This was bit difficult to eat despite the partial de-boning (that doesn't sound right does it?). Regardless, the meat was moist and subtle in flavour. The cranberries added a sweet tartness while the bacon did its bacony thing. There was flavour, yet I would've personally liked just a touch more. As for the veggies, they were grilled up nicely and well-seasoned. This was a well-executed dish, however, it lacked impact.

Onto our 4th course, we had a vegetarian offering with the Spinach & Cream Cheese Stuffed Portobello Cap with aged balsamic reduction and spinach salad. One bite and the flavours really stood out, especially the drizzle of reduced balsamic. Due to the use of generous use of cream cheese, this was not light. The crunch from the bread crumbs somewhat alleviated the lack of texture from the mushroom and cream cheese. I liked the flavour profile of the dish, but not necessarily the textures. Lastly, we had the Pavlova with fresh strawberries and hibiscus cream. The meringue was a touch dense and clumsy to eat. The cream was not heavy and benefited from the addition of basil. This was a light way to finish off the meal. Despite not being blown away, the meal as a whole was pretty decent. The one thing that really stands out is the price points on the menu. Nothing is over $20.00 and that is an accomplishment for any restaurant situated in Yaletown. Considering that Caché Bistro & Lounge serves up fine-dining fare, it represents a good value in a neighbourhood that usually is known for being overpriced.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Nice dining space

The Bad:
- The food wasn't bad, but could've been more impactful

Max's Burgers

2012-05-17T00:00:00.003-07:00

April 23rd? That's quite the early date for the beginning of softball season. The last couple of years, the first game has been rained out leaving us without any game to play. Oh, but we still went out to eat! So why am I complaining? Well, this year was different. We got a cloudy day, albeit chilly, for our inaugural match, against one of the better teams in our division no less. Well, apparently the rust was a bit too heavy for our team as we lost pretty handily. There is a serious problem when I was the most consistent hitter for team (usually I'm not). That expensive bat finally paid off! So with a 1 in the L column, we needed to soak our sorrows in food. Finally, we got a chance to visit Max's Burgers, which I actually had on my radar for some quite time. I delayed my visit since Bear wanted me to wait until softball season started. Low and behold, he wasn't there for our first game and hey, we weren't gonna wait for him! Uh, I hope he doesn't get mad... Bears are friendly creatures right?

Even before everyone arrived, I declared that I needed people to help me tackle the Behemoth. The what? Was this a trick question??? No, the Behemoth is a monstrosity of a burger big enough to feed 4 people easily and then some. For $55.00, you get a really large burger consisting of cheese, bacon, ham, fried eggs, mushrooms, grilled onions, tomato and lettuce on a house-made cheddar onion roll. Believe me, one quarter of this burger was more than a normal person could eat. Apparently Milhouse and I are not human because we finished it. Is this burger a novelty? Yes. The burger patty itself was pretty overcooked, but that was forgivable considering the size of it. Gotta make sure for safety purposes. However, with all of the wonderful toppings including so much bacon, it made up for the patty.

Served with the burger was the Triple Bypass consisting of onion rings, yam fries and fries with chipotle mayo. These were all fried up crispy and were not very greasy. I liked how they used breading for the onion rings which made them extra crisp. As part of the behemoth, there was a choice between a pitcher of beer or pop. Taking everything into account, $55.00 split between 4 people was actually a good value. Miss Y looked at us like we were some ravenous gluttons and decided to go for a regular burger in the Max Burger (lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion & big Max sauce). It was served on a soft toasted brioche bun and with a heaping side of fries. Unlike the behemoth, this burger was not as overcooked, yet still not exactly juicy. She thought it was a pretty decent burger. In the end, everyone (there was many others who had single burgers too) was satisfied with their meals, taking into account the reasonable prices. Not the best burger we've ever had, yet more than acceptable nonetheless.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Behemoth is quite fun (albeit not the best way to eat a burger)

The Bad:
- Meat is overcooked
- Not their fault, but parking in the area sucks

Bamboo Grove

2012-05-16T00:00:00.004-07:00

Ever since my visit to Bamboo Grove during the CRA media restaurant tour, I've wanted to go back for a complete meal. After all, this little restaurant surprised me with its tasty food. Never would I have thought a place named Bamboo Grove would be better than the big boys in Richmond. Furthermore, our itinerary for that night consisted of 4 restaurants which limited our time to savour the food. Yah, poor us... So I convinced my parents that we should go visit the place, even though it wasn't exactly the closest destination to go for Chinese food. I'll admit it. As much as I ridicule Richmond, it is THE place to go for Chinese food in the Lower Mainland. Thank gawd that I now own a hybrid because I can only imagine how much gas it takes my SUV to make it from North Burnaby to Richmond.

Now, despite not really looking like a legit Chinese restaurant from the outside, Bamboo Grove is nicely renovated inside complete with clean washrooms. One thing that is a bit troublesome with the place is its location - you must rely on their tight parking lot in the back. Once it is full, parking spots in the area are at a premium. We experienced this first-hand, scoring the last available spot which wedged us between a Range Rover and a dumpster. But hey, I got a parking spot! So why all the trouble to eat here? Other than the aforementioned tasty food, they have a CRA winning dish. Now wait for it... Pork Stomach & Ginko Soup. Doesn't that make you want to get outta your seat and drive right down there? Okay, maybe it ain't the sexiest sounding thing, but if you like offal, the soup is money. The combination of pork stomach, ginko nuts, fatty pork, white pepper and bean curd stick just works. Sure, there is a slight gaminess from the pork stomach, but it is nicely tempered by a good dose of white pepper. I realized that the CRA can be highly political as much as any other awards, yet for me at least, this soup deserves the attention. Oh yah, one of the major reasons this "old fire" soup tastes so good is due to the massive amount of ingredients, which was served on a plate with a side of sweet green onion soy. And one more thing, I get my cars from Prestons... Wait, that's AV and his terrible commercials. Okay, the thing I wanted to say was that the soup must be pre-ordered.

For the rest of our meal, we decided to do their "create-your-own-meal" from a list of dishes which includes a daily soup (which we got to go since we already had the pork stomach soup), complimentary crab and dessert. We went for the Crab in Cream Sauce as a result. With just enough cream sauce that was thick and well-seasoned along with a fairly decent-sized crab, this had all the makings for a good dish. However, the crab was completely over-fried where the meat was dry and oil-soaked. What a shame really. For the kiddies, we got them their favourite being the Scrambled Eggs and Shrimp. This was really well-executed with fluffy eggs which were neither oily nor watery. There was good colour and just enough salt to go with the cold-water crunchy shrimp. We also felt this was a relatively good portion.

For our veggie dish, we got the standard Gai Lan with Beef. The picture doesn't do the plate justice. Hidden underneath the gai lan must've been enough slices of beef for another 3 orders. This was a good thing since the slices were big and tenderized properly. Furthermore, there was good caramelization which in turn resulted in great flavour. As for the gai lan, it was of good quality and cooked perfectly being crunchy and vibrant. We also loved the fact there was good wok heat where there was very little moisture at the bottom of the plate. Another one of our favourites is the Peking Pork Chops and yes we got that too. Yah, the colour of the sauce was pretty radioactive-looking, but it was well balanced and just enough to coat each piece of pork chop. Nice mix of sweet, savoury and tart. Although the pork chops were far from being chewy, they were cut too thin which led to them being overcooked.

When we were deciding on our last dish, our server suggested we get the Fried Taro with Boneless Duck. Boy, it has been awhile since we last had this. Possibly because many restaurants need advanced notice or probably the real reason - it's darn unhealthy! Much like a really large "wu gok", this was really well-done. It was fried really crispy on the outside with moist mashed taro and tender boneless duck. Sure it was oily, yet not terribly so. I've seen versions of this where the bottom of the plate could rival the face of a pubescent boy. From one fried item to another, we had the Deep Fried Crispy Chicken. As much as it is pretty easy to drop a chicken into hot oil, there is an art to this dish. I've actually tried making this in a commercial deep-fryer at my friend's restaurant and it is all about oil temperature and timing. The trick is to get it super crispy on the outside with rendered skin while maintaining the moisture in the meat. The one here was perfect. The skin was crispy, meat was moist and well-seasoned. We also loved the traditional plating with shrimp chips (well, my kids loved it more).

Lastly, we had the Steamed Sea Bass in Black Bean Sauce. Despite the huge mound of black bean sauce on top, it was actually not that salty. In fact, there was a good mixture of garlic and sugar which went well with the oily flesh. The fish itself was well-portioned and cooked perfectly. When it came to the end of the meal, we were offered our choice of dessert which was either Sweet Red Bean Soup or Coconut Pudding. For me, I'm not a huge fan of red bean soup, so I chose the latter. It was nice to see something other than red bean soup for dessert. The coconut pudding was pretty good where it was not really all that sweet. I wasn't a huge fan of the evaporated milk on top though. Why do Chinese restaurants dump evaporated milk on everything? LOL. Okay, the meal as a whole wasn't perfect, but considering how busy they were, it was way above average. The chef(s) really know how to execute and it shows in the final product. Furthermore, we found the pricing fell within acceptable limits for the quality of food. If Bamboo Grove was located closer to where we live, I'd be a regular customer.

The Good:
- Food is simply done right
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Seating is a bit tight
- Service wasn't bad, but it was hurried

Super Buffet

2012-05-15T00:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I committed a major transgression. No, it's not something that I need to keep a secret from Viv. In fact, she was right there with me. And get your mind outta the gutter! What we did could almost be inexcusable - we visited an Asian buffet (specifically Super Buffet) in Bellingham... Yes, something like this is on par with eating at places such as Foody Goody (now thankfully gone), Sui Sha Yah and Grand Buffet. Wait, I've done all three! OMFG. Okay, just throw the tomatoes at me. Hold on, don't do that, I think Super Buffet may need them because their salad bar was looking a bit sad... Oh trust me, that wasn't the only pathetic thing there. Oh where should I start... Wait, before I start, let me make one thing clear - drinks are NOT included. Why am I making this an issue? Because they asked us for our drink order without telling us it was an extra charge. It apparently happened to a few tables around us too. Not cool.

Much like Haiku and Bluefin in Seattle (and to a lesser degree Royal Star in Burlington), the buffet consists of several stations featuring specific Asian cuisine (I'm not even sure if I can use the word cuisine!). The Sushi section had various rolls, cones and nigiri which were not really all that appetizing to look at. The slices of fish atop the nigiri were smaller than a tip at a Chinese restaurant. We could see more sushi rice than fish itself! At the very least, the rice was surprisingly acceptable having a texture that was still chewy yet not dry. It was bland, but hey, low expectations here. At the far end of the sushi bar was tempura and fried maki. Adjacent to the sushi bar was a section of Cold Items consisting of tako, hokkigai, wakame, oshinko, crayfish, peel 'n eat shrimp, mussels, squid, kimchi and for some odd reason, boiled eggs. Nothing here was really all that appetizing, yet it was edible. Across from this section was a mixed variety of Hot Food such as spring rolls, baked mussels, steamed oysters, snow crab legs, stuffed mushrooms, teriyaki chicken, pork ribs, fries, fried prawns, steamed sole, BBQ chicken, garlic bread and cream cheese & crab wontons. Most of the stuff here was pretty forgettable, especially the chicken since it was pretty dry. The pork ribs were alright. They were not fall-off-the-bone, but they were a "pleasant chewy". The crab legs were okay for what they were. Since these are typically frozen, there was not much to expect. Surprisingly, the sole was perfectly cooked being flaky and moist. At the end of this section was a selection of Soups which included wonton, egg drop and hot & sour. Meh, these were pretty typical buffet soups with the hot & sour being somewhat edible. Of course there was a lack of depth (because the soup base was probably water), yet there was plenty of flavour thanks to MSG. The ingredients were pretty decent though, especially the moist chicken.

Behind the sushi bar lay a pathetic selection of salads. Sure, I'm not one to visit the greens too often, however, for some people, I'm sure it would be a huge disappointment. Rather than ingredients to go with the bowl of mesclun greens, there were far too many bowls of gelatin. Directly parallel to the "salad" bar lay the mostly Chinese Food section. This included blue crab, fried prawns, coco shrimp, ginger frog legs, fried noodles, fried rice, General Tso's chicken, Mongolian beef, stir-fried green beans, steamed clams, fried squid, mustard greens, black pepper chicken, mixed veggies and ginger beef. The best way to describe most of the proteins would be the word "dry". The frog legs were overcooked and lacking flavour while the same could be said about the fried whole prawns. The coco shrimp were lost in too much batter. Yah, they seem to overcook their meat here. It is a buffet though, so I'll cut them some slack. Looking over my notes, I don't think I actually liked any of the food from this selection, other than the clams.

The Mongolian Grill section was more like Japanese teppanyaki, yet whatever... I'm pretty sure for cost-effectiveness, investing in an authentic Mongolian grill would've been a waste (since many people wouldn't care about the difference). The items available were beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, various veggies, short ribs, steak, squid and shrimp skewers. This turned out to be the least offensive portion of the buffet since the food was cooked up fresh (much like Royal Star buffet in Burlington). However, the chef dropped my short rib on the counter and proceeded to plate it anyways! And I left a tip too! Well, it turned out to be a moot point because the short rib was unchewable. The rest of the stuff was actually not bad with crunchy shrimp, fresh veggies and nicely cooked noodles. There was aggressive seasoning at work here (no, they don't let you choose your own sauces), yet it was not overbearing.

Lastly, there was a whole section dedicated to Desserts. It only existed for the sake of existing. Many of the desserts were prepackaged stuff. In fact, the almond cookies were still in its tray from the box! For reference purposes, the desserts included cream puffs, macaroons (no, not macarons), palmiers, chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, fruit and banana with strawberry sauce (ew...). Alright. I have to admit that the price for the buffet ($13.95) is plenty attractive, considering the sheer amount of food. However, it means absolutely nothing when the food, at the best, is mediocre. The extra beverage charge was annoying and so was the service. Most of the staff were milling around chatting with each other. Actually, all the guys were flirting with the only young female on staff... I fully realize that a buffet is not the best place to find good food, but there are good buffets and bad buffets. Super Buffet falls into the latter.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Large selection

The Bad:
- Food is not very good
- Restaurant is not very clean (esp the washrooms)

Top Gun Seafood Restaurant

2012-05-14T00:00:00.009-07:00

It goes without saying that we are truly spoiled silly in Vancouver when it comes to Dim Sum. So many choices in so many different price points. Sure, there are the occasional WTF joints in town, but they are a rarity. Therefore, it is pretty easy to find decent Dim Sum in all corners of the Lower Mainland. Due to the lack of clientele, some cities do not enjoy what we have (such as Portland). Furthermore, depending on other factors, some cities (such as New York and San Francisco) feature Dim Sum that may not be as progressive. For the longest time, Seattle was another Portland - a vast wasteland of Dim Sum and Asian food for-all-that-matters. I remember suffering through Dim Sum at Noble Court about 10 years ago in Bellevue. Due to the influx of immigrants and high-tech workers, Bellevue isexperiencing an Asian food boom of sorts.

After positive experiences at Din Tai Fung, Facing East and Square Lotus, it was about time we gave Dim Sum another go. From all reports and according to Goose, Top Gun was our best bet. Not to be confused with Top Gun in Vancouver, the one in Bellevue is hidden and a little tough to find. A quick evaluation of the parking lot made me wonder where people would park their cars when the restaurant is full. Looks like they would have to park far away and walk it. Fortunately for us, we scored one of the precious few parking spots. Furthermore, we got seated right away as well. The is good luck was probably due to our weekday visit. We got right down to eating because they kicked it ol' school with push carts.

Recently, my son has been on this Wu Gok (fried taro dumpling) obsession and there was no choice but to order it. These were pretty tasty with a well-seasoned filling which featured a good amount of pickled vegetable. There was an even mashed taro to filling ratio as well. We also appreciated that they were not greasy either. As if it was fate, on the same cart was another kid favourite being the Pineapple Custard Bun. Normally, this item is butchered by many Dim Sum joints, but not here. The bun was soft and topped with a nicely textured sugar topping. Inside was an abnormal amount of semi-sweet custard. This delighted my son as he ate it in record time. With no pan-fried rice noodle rolls in sight, we opted for the steamed Beef Rice Noodle Roll instead. The rice noodle was soft while being a tad sticky. It was bursting with lots of tender beef which was balanced in terms of flavour and the amount of cilantro.

With the declining popularity of push carts, there are certain items we don't see as much as before. Congee is one of them. Sure, it appears on most menus, but it is normally buried at the back of the order list and is usually overpriced. Now when it comes around in a push cart, it beckons me to order it. Call it the power of suggestion via seeing and smelling it. As such, we got a bowl of the Preserved Duck Egg and Salted Pork Congee. Despite what you see in the picture, there was tonnes of egg and tender pork. However, the pork was not really all that salty. It was more of the marinated type. The congee itself was thick to the last spoonful. Onto some steamed items, we had the Bean Curd Skin Roll. Stuffed to the max with filling, the rolls were a touch dense, yet it wasn't hard to eat because the texture was spot-on. The pieces of pork were tender while still retaining a chew. The texture of the bean curd skin held the balance between being slightly chewy, but still being moist. And unlike many versions of this dish, the whole thing wasn't swimming in sauce.

Despite the smallish portion, the Black Bean Pork Spareribs were not bad. However, there was an inordinate amount of cartilage pieces. It was probably due to our bad luck though as I noticed that the table next to us had meatier ribs. The meat itself had the proper texture of being tender while having a slight bite. Unfortunately, the whole thing was bland. That would be the same for the Stuffed Eggplant as well. Even though there was only a modest amount of black bean sauce, that was not the reason for the lack of flavour. Rather, the sauce itself was weak. As evidenced in the picture, the eggplant was pretty oil-soaked. Regardless, the eggplant was cooked just right (not being mushy) and the shrimp mousse filling exhibited a nice bounce texture. Although the meal was far from perfect (and what is really), the Dim Sum at Top Gun was leaps and bounds above what we had experienced many years ago. Make no mistake, this is legit Dim Sum in Bellevue.

The Good:
- This is real Dim Sum
- The place is fairly clean

The Bad:
- Parking lot is too small
- Selection of Dim Sum is limited

More About Crawfish King

2012-05-12T02:00:00.007-07:00

Wait. This is Saturday... Why is there a post? Well, I felt compelled to continue the discussion regarding Crawfish King. You see, there have been some people on Twitter in addition to other various comments that have been negative towards my post. I can totally understand why. After all, I basically ripped into a family run location of Crawfish King. If you have been a consistent reader of this blog, you know very well I DO NOT take my blog lightly when it comes to affecting people's livelihoods. In fact, many have criticized me for being too "soft" or "forgiving". Hey, I'm in a no-win situation, you can't please everyone. So I am cognizant of all the issues at play when I post on my blog. In the case of Crawfish King, the entire incident was completely true and not exaggerated. I have 7 other people with me that night who can echo the same sentiments (or worse). Now why did my post rip into them so harshly when I rarely, if ever, do it in my 1300+ posts? Simple, we gave them ample opportunity to redeem themselves and showed incredible patience over a 2+ hour ordeal. We played along nicely and even stayed at the urging of the manager. We did warn him that for us to stay, there had to be a good reason and compensation for our wait. However, he didn't come through and slapped us in the face with nothing more than a courtesy discount. In fact, Milhouse thought it was a bit of dishonesty on the manager's part because he wouldn't say what kind of compensation we'd get. In the end, he wouldn't even come out to discuss it. It was more of a take-it-or-leave it approach. Talking about unconscionable. We did nothing wrong in this whole predicament. The restaurant was at fault. Plain and simple. I am not in any shape or form backing down from my stance. That is how strongly I feel about it.

To give them the full opportunity to redeem themselves, I actually left my card (which I rarely do) for them to hopefully contact me so I could add their response in the blog post. No, we weren't looking for a free meal or anything. We really had no interest in going back because the food was not to our liking. Rather, I really wanted to give them a chance to right a wrong. Nope, they didn't email me at all over the 3 days prior to the post going up. I even tried with tweets. No reply. Therefore, the post went up as is. I am not going to mince any words when the experience was so bad and the lack of response too. I wasn't expecting preferential treatment. I just wanted some form of acknowledgment. With a Twitter account and Facebook page, I don't think it is too much to assume they should do what most restaurants would do - correct the problem. Especially one as valid as this one. Was the post harsh? Yes, it was. But that is how I felt as a customer (and others too in my party), and I just so happen to have a blog. The lack of professionalism and integrity by the staff and manager wasted our time. And to top it off, the food wasn't even good. Some would point out I should just post good experiences and forget about the bad ones. I don't see it that way. Sure, I rave about places where people should go and also panned the places people should avoid. Everything is fair game. If you run a restaurant or any business, you should do it with the customer in mind. I've been in retail before and that was exactly our mandate - to keep customers happy.

Sure, my blog does have some influence, but let's be real here. If a restaurant is going to fail, it is not going to be due to my blog. I've posted negative things about Kawawa and Po King. They are both in business and still doing well. So no, my blog doesn't close down restaurants. Restaurants fail all by themselves. If they stink, they will fail. Check on Yelp! and Urbanspoon, my experience at Crawfish King was not unique. In fact, it is more often than not. If they are going to fail, they will fail on their own merit. Not my blog post. Again, my biggest issue was their response to the problem and lack of care after the fact. As much as it seems like I want them to fail, I don't. C'mon. I don't wish ill-will on anyone. I saw the family-run operation with the kiddies in the kitchen. We realized it was their first 2 weeks in operation, so things would be chaotic. But even looking past that, the bottom line is the restaurant did not do its due diligence to fix a problem. We gave them ample opportunities during and after the fact. Most customers would merely leave without ever saying a word. What will ultimately affect their longevity are their own actions.

Crawfish King

2012-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know where to begin... If you've been reading this blog for a while, you will see that I rarely rip into a restaurant (Kawawa and Po King are the exceptions). I try my best to be fair and forgiving. However, as I write this post, I am literally still baffled at the ineptitude of the staff and management at Crawfish King in Richmond. Let me set up the scenario. We had just finished our Monday night softball game and headed to Crawfish King for some eats. They were pretty busy for a Monday, so we had to sit at 2 separate tables of 4. Our table of myself, Hot Chocolate, Boss Woman and Milhouse put in our order at 8:23pm. At around 8:30pm, the table beside us left. Hence Bear, Judes, Chill and Bubbly were able to pull the table over to join us. They had not ordered yet and put in theirs around 8:40pm. At 9:00pm, they got their food to our amazement. They were comfortably eating as we wondered what happened to our order. We asked a staff member to follow up our order shortly after that and then again 10 minutes later. Again at 9:20 and again at 9:30. Each time it was acknowledged but nothing happened. You would think that someone would've wondered why we hadn't gotten our food in nearly 1.5 hours! Finally, I lost it and let the manager know at 9:45 that we had been waiting for almost an hour and half for our food. He checked and apparently no one had put in our order. The server who took our order asked us if we were "sure" that he took it. Uh. WTF? The restaurant is not freakin' big. Does he have short-term memory loss? Not only that, all of us witnessed him taking our order. Was he implying we were lying??? He didn't look convinced. Oh and not a single "sorry" during this time. Okay, some might think that the addition of another 4 people at our table messed them up. Well, I'm not sure how that could happen when we put in our order FIRST, a full 17 minutes before the others did. Furthermore, we had not moved at all from our table. It was there all along. With a computerized system, the order would have been attached to our table number. So that cannot be used as an excuse.

Also, when we did place the order, he didn't even know what fried okra was, let alone actually putting in our order. So just a bit before 10:00pm, the manager re-takes our order and informs us that they did not have any okra. Oh and apparently, they did not have any bubble tea either despite having a whole menu page dedicated to it. But honestly, bubble tea, prata roti and noodles at a Southern boil? So let me talk about some of the food at the other table first. Bubbly had the Fried Catfish and Fries which wasn't really her favourite. To be fair, catfish is a bit muddy and that was in no way a reflection of the restaurant. It was rather thin though and combined with the cornmeal batter, it was crunchy (maybe too crunchy). The fries were pretty generic being like the Cavendish variety found at Costco. Bear had some of the Roti Prata and it was super greasy. When did Whales Tails from the PNE set up shop in their kitchen? Spread some jam on these suckers and voila - fry bread. Chill had the whole Dungeness Crab and it was alright. He did like the abundance of garlic in his garlic butter sauce. Kinda greasy though. And pricey considering restaurants in the area would charge less per pound (not a direct comparison, but a legitimate concern).

As for our food, the manager convinced us to stay even though we wanted to leave (after all, we'd been there over 1.5 hours). He promised to make it worthwhile when it came to the bill. So we got our order nearly 2 hours after we arrived at the restaurant. It was 2lbs. each of the Crawfish and Shrimp. We added an order of sausage for $4.00. We got "The Big Easy" medium flavour which included all the sauce options. Okay, am I missing something here? This is a SOUTHERN BOIL right? Then why was the whole thing drowning in grease??? Yes, there should be grease, but not that much. The flavours were pretty strong, so that was not bad I suppose. Too bad the shrimp and crawfish were slightly overcooked. Furthermore, the order of sausage consisted of 4.5 slices (I say .5 because 2 of them were end pieces). When has 4 slices constituted a sausage? Imagine buying a hot dog with half of the sausage missing... And with 2 lbs. of crawfish, it comes with a bonus corn, make that half a corn... So if they cut it into 2 pieces, would that make it 2 corn? The order of Cajun Fries didn't look any different from the one that Bubbly got in her dish. Starch-covered fries... I have a bag in my freezer. Now for the most disgusting item of the meal - the Hot Wings. That "sauce" at the bottom of the basket was actually 75% pure oil. It was neither hot nor tasty. If I wanted a basket full of oil, I could easily steal some from the back of a KFC. The wings were woefully soggy and bland. How does one mess up hot wings??? At the end, the same server that messed up our order asked us how we would like to split the bill. We asked what was the manager going to do for us first. He went back and asked and came back with the same question. Again, we asked what was going on with the bill. He kept asking if we wanted it split or not. Fine, we chose split and when the bill arrived, we were given a whopping 15% off for our troubles. The manager didn't even come out to talk to us. Look. It's not about the money. I can afford the dinner (gosh, I've paid for most of my meals for almost 4 years!) and if I wanted a free meal, I could go get one. It is all about the principle of it all. They don't give a flying rat's ass about the customer.

So there you have it. Mediocre food, poor value and worst of all - crap service. Completely confused and totally unprofessional. We gave them a total of 7 chances (checking on our order and asking what they were going to do with the bill) to make amends for the over 2 hour ordeal. They did not. When has it become acceptable to outright lie to a customer saying you will check on an order when it doesn't exist? When has it ever been right to even suggest that a customer is wrong and even go as far as denying you took their order? How about: "Hey, that table doesn't have food and it's been 1.5 hours, maybe something is wrong!"? And how hard is it to say "sorry"??? Or how about a manager convincing you to stay and promising to make it up by only offering a measly 15% off for your troubles? And on top of that, avoid the customers completely when it came time to settle the bill? Oh and more importantly, the food was greasy and "meh". This place doesn't stand a chance.

The Good:
- You really think there was any good in this?

The Bad:
- Worst service I've ever seen (and I've been to a lot of restaurants)
- Food is mediocre-to-poor and it's not a good value
- Everything was covered in grease (including the non-boil items)
- Management does not train its staff properly nor do they care about their customers

Square Lotus

2012-05-10T00:00:00.017-07:00

Having eaten 3 meals that were non-Asian, we broke down and went back to the well. It is true we had made a vow to eat something other than Asian food on our little getaway to Seattle, but we just couldn't hold out. Therefore, with not a lot of time allocated for dinner, we went for Vietnamese food (which is usually quick and cheap). At first, we considered "What the Pho?' since it sounded cool, but after some internet research, it appeared that would be the only good thing about the place. Hence, we headed over to Square Lotus instead. I punched it into the GPS and we went on our merry way. Unfortunately, the GPS decided to make things more complicated than it should've been. It instructed us to make a U-turn where it was not really possible. Turns out that I could've merely turn left into the strip mall. Moral of the story: don't listen to your GPS when it wants you to put your life at risk with illegal maneuvers.

Settling into the restaurant, we were impressed with the decor as there was an air of class, not usually associated with regular Vietnamese restaurants. Furthermore, the prices were quite reasonable despite the apparent class upgrade. Onto the eats, we started with the BBQ Pork Summer Rolls. For us, BBQ pork in a Vietnamese restaurant would be grilled pork (sometimes with lemongrass). But to our surprise, it was Chinese-style BBQ pork in the rolls. The BBQ pork was very lean which made it very dry. Within the nicely prepared rice wrapper, there was crunchy wonton strips, basil and properly textured vermicelli noodles.

For myself, I went for the standard, being the Pho Dac Biet (or the everything Pho). The broth was rather light with a minimal amount of MSG. It wasn't a flavour explosion, yet it was well-balanced. The noodles were not clumpy and al dente while the meats were plentiful and mostly tender (except for a few tough pieces). Viv had the House Special Vermicelli Bowl consisting of a spring roll, grilled pork and shrimp. Although they didn't use the proper rice wrapper (opting for a wheat wrapper), the spring roll was still quite tasty. It was crisp with a well-seasoned moist filling. The grilled pork was moist and tender exhibiting a wealth of flavour. As for the grilled shrimp, this was probably the highlight of the dish. They had a great snap texture and again, was well-seasoned. Viv really enjoyed the dish and remark that it was prepared carefully, unlike some of the other ones shes had which were merely thrown together. The kiddies shared a Pho Ga which had a chicken broth that was flavourful with plenty of depth. Again, it was not too salty. However, the chicken was very dry and kind of hard to chew. Chicken meat and BBQ pork withstanding, the food at Square Lotus was pretty good. Considering the classy dining space, reasonable prices and decent service, there is not much to dislike about the place.

The Good:
- Clean and classy
- Reasonable pricing
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Some of the meats in the soup noodle are dry
- The service we got was friendly but was sparse most of the time

Zippy's Giant Burgers

2012-05-09T00:00:00.001-07:00

As many times as we've visited Seattle, we've never checked out the Museum of Flight. We've surely passed by it many a time while heading further South. Seeing how we've practically done all the "tourist" things to do over the years, it was about time we scoped it out. With an Entertainment coupon in hand and GPS leading the way, we arrived just as it opened. I don't know about you, but I try my very best to beat the rush whenever there is an attraction, theme park, zoo, washroom, Costco or anything else that has a lineup. It seemed to work out pretty well since we essentially saw everything we needed to see in about 3 hours. Sure, we could've stayed longer, but something was more important - food. Since I usually plan my days around eating, our restaurant of choice was somewhat nearby and accessible. Zippy's Burgers is the name and meat in between two buns is its game.

Located in a run-down strip mall, the place didn't look that inviting from the outside. It got slightly better when we entered the place. Seeing how the walls were adorned with burger memorabilia, it was pretty obvious what they specialized in. As such, I strolled up to the counter with every intention of going all out. Well, not completely so, they did have a burger with 4 patties and 8 strips of bacon (King Lou Lou), however, I wasn't in the mood. Really! Instead, I went for the Last Gasp consisting of 100% fresh ground chuck, hot link, fried egg, bacon, double cheese, secret sauce, pickles, & lettuce. The beef patty was very large, yet had lots of chewy little bits which I wasn't a huge fan of. With that being said, it was moist though. The best part of this burger had to be the hot sausage link. It added both texture and a nice spicy kick. With all the burgers, there is an option to make it a combo for $3.25. Or better yet, I choose the Man Up option for $10.00 which included a Hand-Dipped Shake, soda, Fries, Onion Rings and Tater Tots. As you can see, the chocolate shake wasn't exactly blended that well. However, it was still decent due to the use of hard ice cream. Therefore, it was thick and fairly creamy. It was a touch on the sweeter side though. The fried platter of death was pretty standard. The tatar tots were crunchy as with the onion rings. The fries were pretty decent as well being crunchy with a good amount of potato goodness inside.

Viv opted for the No. 11 consisting of mama lil's kick butt peppers, smoky chipotle mayo, lettuce,
with Monterrey jack & smoked cheddar cheese. Due to our high tolerance to spice, the peppers didn't have as much effect as we would've liked. However, I'm sure this would be spicy enough for some people. It was a solid burger, but we both agreed that the Last Gasp was better. For the kiddies, they shared a Lil' Zip Cheeseburger. Just like us, they really didn't care for the chewy bits (which included some cartilage) either. They picked it all out while they were aggressively chewing. It was pretty large for the price though. It's too bad really since they seem to have a good thing going on here. We would've enjoyed our burgers more if the meat was less chewy. At this stage, we would prefer the burgers from Red Mill and the Lunchbox Laboratory more based on the texture of the meat alone.

The Good:
- Large burgers (lotsa meat)
- The place has got character

The Bad:
- Meat is too gritty
- Not that many seats

3 Pigs BBQ

2012-05-08T00:00:00.001-07:00

Whenever we're traveling with the kids, we do some serious planning when it comes to eats. After all, I doubt they'd be particularly happy about eating raw beef at an Ethiopian restaurant (but I would!). Therefore, I plan out each and every meal with backup restaurants just in case the first one is closed or full. This is all fine and dandy except we tend to eat the same type of cuisine over and over again (mainly Asian). Hence, I made it a point to eat non-Asian for dinner while in Bellevue (at least for one night). Located not too far from our hotel was 3 Pigs BBQ in a large strip mall. We have tried BBQ with the kiddies before with varying degrees of success and we were more than happy to chance it.

Upon walking into the place, I immediately noticed the AYCE Beef Ribs special. I wasn't exactly starving, but I couldn't help myself and decided to go all out. I opted for the spicy BBQ sauce, which was tart and sweet. Moreover, it definitely have a kick. As for the ribs, they were smoky with most of the fat rendered in the cooking process. The ribs alternated between being moist and juicy to dry and hard. This was based on 3 plates of ribs (yes, I had 9 ribs). For my 3 sides, I had corn on the cob, beans and corn bread. The corn was overdone and really mushy, while the beans were sweet and had no depth of flavour. The cornbread had a nice crunchy exterior, yet was really dry and hard inside.

For the kiddies, they shared the 1/4 BBQ Chicken with macaroni salad and garlic bread. The chicken was fairly dry despite being the dark meat. We did like the smoky flavour though. Without the spice, the BBQ sauce was once again tart and sweet. It wasn't bad. Viv ended up with the Pulled Pork Sandwich which, strangely, didn't have much BBQ sauce (in comparison to the other 2 dishes we had). Hence, the meat was dry and bland. We weren't even sure if they should've called it pulled pork as it appeared to resemble chopped pork more. Moreover, the side of coleslaw didn't help the cause as it was severely lacking in acidity. Overall, the food here was pretty average at best. We did appreciate the reasonable prices and smokiness of the proteins though.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Proteins exhibit a good smokiness

The Bad:
- Meats, on average, are pretty dry
- Sides need some work

Pike Place Chowder

2012-05-07T00:00:00.002-07:00

"Yah really, they throw fish there!". My kids were in disbelief that someone would actually throw a whole salmon 20 feet to a willing recipient. Call it a gimmick, but the kids wanted to see for themselves whether I was pulling their legs or not. So off we went down to Seattle for a couple of days. Our first stop - Pike Place Market and the fish-throwing. Okay, there wasn't much happening when we stopped by. In fact, no one seemed to be buying any fish and the staff were just chillin' out... Not until some lady slipped them some cash... They threw an honorary fish for her daughter to see. As a by-product, my kids got to witness the flying fish. Okay, been there, done that. Now what's to eat?

Keeping it simple, we headed over to Pike Place Chowder to do the touristy thing (we've been here before though). We shared 2 soups starting with the New England Clam Chowder. Just like it was before, the darn thing was sure creamy with plenty of bacon and kissed just enough by the sea. The plump clams were tender and plentiful. A very hearty and satisfying chowder. Finally an "award-winning" dish that delivered. If that wasn't rich enough, we also had the Seafood Bisque. Also billed as "The Nation's Best", this also didn't disappoint. We actually thought this tomato-based soup was even more creamy than the clam chowder. One sip and I could feel my arteries clogging up, yet man was it worth it. Loaded with cod, salmon, shrimp and crab, this was a meal in-itself. I'm sure some people might find it a bit heavy though.

Lastly, we shared at Dungeness Crab Roll which was bursting with fluffy crab. The whole thing was light on the mayo and still a touch watery due to the abundance of lettuce and celery. Although there were hints of lemon juice, sweetness and savouriness from the crab, the horseradish cocktail sauce was needed to give the flavours a kick. In the end, we were pretty satisfied with the grub regardless of the deficiencies. Considering that it is located in an area of tourist traps, Pike Place Chowder delivers and lives up to its namesake.

The Good:
- Chowders are solid
- Touristy location in a good kind of way

The Bad:
- It ain't cheap
- Lack of seating

The Bottleneck

2012-05-04T00:00:00.003-07:00

Bad influences... You know - those people who affect your judgement for the worse. These include pushers, infomercial pitchmen or pitchwomen, tailgaters and/or anyone that works at a donut shop. But for me, the baddest of them all is Mijune. For the longest time, I was conservative with my food ordering. In fact, if I ever got a restaurant invite, I would be scared to order more food. Nope, not anymore. Her influence caused us to have 15 items at Onyx and in excess of 20 at Chutney Villa (although indirectly). As much as it seems like unnecessary gluttony, there is a method to the madness. Think of it, the more dishes sampled = a more thorough assessment of the restaurant. That's what I had in mind when I got an invite from The Bottleneck. The what? Yah, that was my initial reaction. I never heard of the place. Whatever the case, I got some eating assistance from Miss Y, Snake and Snake Charmer.

Tucked away near the entrance of the Commodore, it is an easy place to miss. Thank goodness that I was made aware of the place because it would've never been on my radar. I was skeptical at first since it seemed more like a place to grab some pre-clubbing drinks more than anything else. Oh how very wrong I was... The limited menu allowed us to sample nearly everything. We didn't go for the 2 soups because it would've been awkward to share so much spit amongst the 4 of us. Anyways, I took a bite of the Black Pepper Gnocchi first and it was really good. The gnocchi were not oversized (like many found in other restaurants these days) exhibiting a light fluffy texture while retaining a slight chew. The pan fry on the outside was perfect where it added a textural contrast and caramelization. However, the star of the show was the addition of lemon. There was enough of it to brighten up the dish while not overwhelming the rest of the ingredients which included arugula, porcini mushrooms and roasted chestnuts.
Next, we had the Fanny Bay Oysters which were fried up beautifully crisp in blue cornmeal while not being greasy. The oysters were fresh and plump. It was served with bacon jam, red pepper aioli and a hint of lime. I really loved the bacon jam because well, it's like made of bacon! Being a "jam", it was sweet yet balanced by the saltiness of the bacon. It wasn't the easiest thing to eat with the oysters, despite the aioli.

Continuing on with the Beef Carpaccio, it was plated with crostinis, red wine mustard and truffle aioli. The beef was tender while still maintaining a slight resistance. Combined with the crostini and a dab from both of the sauces, there were many textures and flavours going on. A non-traditional carpaccio, yet delicious nonetheless. I'm usually not a salad guy, although I have a soft spot for the Frisee Salad. I was pretty happy they had this on the menu. Normally, I would never order a salad, yet a poached egg, bacon, brioche croutons and warm bacon maple vinaigrette made this one legit. This was a nice take on the classic French salad with fresh crisp frisee, crunchy bacon and a perfectly poached runny egg. There was just the right amount of warm vinaigrette which had a good balance of acidity and sweetness along with a hint of bacon.

Moving along with another salad, we had the Beetroot Salad dressed with pink peppercorn, hazelnut, pea sprouts, goat cheese and blood orange. I liked how the beets still retained somewhat of a bite and how the flavours were balanced. The crunch from the hazelnuts were a nice addition. At this point, I was having a hard time keeping up with the food, let alone pictures and note-taking. Thank goodness my fellow diners were so patient. They didn't dare touch my food before I gave them the okay. I got them trained so well! So despite Snake eying the Salt Spring Island Mussels longingly, he didn't even breath on them. They were bathed in a spicy coconut broth with lemongrass and kafir lime. Served on the side was brioche toast points. The mussels were all open while the broth was indeed spicy with hits of lime and aromatics. It could've used a touch more salt, but it wasn't bland.

Before moving onto the mains, we had one last "appetizer" being the Confit Croquettes resting on a smooth cauliflower puree. These crispy morsels were filled with moist shredded Fraser Valley duck. I found the duck meat to be on the saltier side, but it was balanced by the sweet raisin chutney. This was probably my favourite starter dish of the meal. Our first main to arrive was the Chicken Pot Pie. Hidden beneath the puff pastry top lay Maple Hills chicken, potato, peas and carrots. If you look closely, there is far more filling than sauce. In fact, there wasn't much sauce at all. Honestly, it could've used more sauce and/or seasoning as the whole thing was a little bland. However, that is not to say that it wasn't good though. The chicken was moist while the veggies were not mushy. I loved the texture of the potatoes where it was soft while still retaining its shape.

Progressing along, the Mijune way, we had the Halibut with chorizo and beluga lentils finished off with a blood orange gastrique. Being a firm fish, it is very easy to overcooked halibut. Not here though. It was flaky, tender and moist with a beautiful crispy sear. I liked how the fish was not really all that seasoned. There was just enough where it did not overwhelm the delicate flesh. The little bits of chorizo mixed in with the lentils provided much of the flavour for the dish. Combined with the blood orange gastrique, there was a good salty/sweet thing going on. The firmness of the lentils added some nice pop to the dish. Onto some red meat, we had a nicely prepared Peace River Valley Lamb Sirloin. It rested on a white bean ragout with grainy mustard and a parsley anchovy vinaigrette. Although the meat was seared slightly uneven, it was still very much moist and tender. The beans were firm while not hard to eat either. The vinaigrette was a perfect compliment to the lamb as it had a good balance of tartness to go along with the saltiness of the anchovy.

Now the lamb was good, yet The "Burger" was the star of the show in my books. With house-ground Pemberton Valley beef, they were able to cooked the patty a perfect medium-rare. Hence the meat was super moist and naturally flavourful as the juices were never lost due to overcooking. Moreover and most importantly, the meat did not have any hard cartilage bits. Hence it was soft and practically required very little effort to chew. To go with the meat was crispy bacon and sweet onion jam on a house made milk bun. I loved how they kept this burger simple which let the ingredients shine. Served on the side was crispy hand cut fries. They were crispy with a plenty of potato texture on the inside. Although I really appreciated the use of a non-generic bun, I found it to be rather dense and dry. I'm sure they had to take into account what type of bun would stand up to the ingredients though. Our last main was tied with the burger as our favourite main dish. The Braised Beef Cheeks were incredibly moist where it literally melted in our mouths. The silky braising liquid underneath was rich and had depth. The addition of Guinness fondue (which was also rich and flavourful) only helped add more flavour to the beef. The pomme puree underneath was a tad stiff, yet was ultimately softened by the good amount of sauce.

And to make Mijune proud, we had all 3 of the available desserts starting with my personal favourite - the Meyer Lemon Tart. First of all, the tart shell was actually quite thin which meant more filling less crust. Secondly, the texture of the crust was firm yet crunchy. Inside, the filling was smooth and exhibited a tart zing. It wasn't too sweet either. I liked the meringue on top, yet I could've done with a little less of it as it made the whole thing clumsy to eat. The drizzle of olive oil confit zest added another taste of lemon to the dessert. On deck was the Salted Dark Chocolate Terrine served with espresso creme anglais and crushed praline. The terrine was smooth and had a ganache quality to it. It was not very sweet, rather, it had a bittersweet dark chocolate taste. The salt helped heighten what little sweetness there was. The crunch of the praline added texture and the necessary sweetness that the terrine was lacking (which was a good thing). I didn't really pick out much espresso flavour in the creme anglais though.

Lastly, the table favourite (yes, it wasn't the tart), was the Apple Tart Tartin with caramel sauce and vanilla rum ice cream. This thing had an intense caramelization which was surprisingly not overbearingly sweet (even with the rum ice cream). Instead, it had a smoky quality to it that had both depth and richness. The tart itself had a beautiful texture which was crisp and gooey. This was a very well-executed dessert. In fact, the meal as a whole was pretty much spot-on and exceeded our expectations. Of course, by virtue of being invited, you would think so right? Not necessarily, as I have said over and over, a restaurant is only capable within its limitations. A golfer cannot suddenly improve by 10 strokes nor can a chef improve their food significantly due to "pressure". Hence, the "they knew you were there" complaint doesn't fly with me. There have been many instances that I have been invited to restaurants and the food just didn't impress. However, it surely did here. Everyone else said the same thing. We were further impressed with the reasonable prices considering its Downtown location. *Note - the entire meal, not including tips, was comped*

The Good:
- Reasonably priced
- Food is above-average
- Nice little place

The Bad:
- You can easily miss the place while walking by
- Don't bring a big group during peak times, the place is not that big

Indo Mexicana

2012-05-03T00:00:00.027-07:00

In a city full of different cultures, it is no surprise we have our fair share of fusion restaurants. Of course, the word "fusion" itself is polarizing. You have the purists crying foul while some don't really care about authenticity. For me, if it tastes good, I don't really care who made it and what cuisine the food is supposed to resemble. Okay, so fusion is supposed to represent the combination of 2 or more cuisines into one. So what do we call a restaurant that serves 2 cuisines independent of each other? The last time I encountered this was Crystal Elephant Range in North Delta. They do Thai as well as Italian food. A strange marriage of cuisines for sure. Imagine my reaction to Indo Mexicana while I was driving up North Road... Indian and Mexican? I was hesitant. However, someone emailed me urging me to try it. Oh fine, why not. I gathered up Big D, Slick and Red Light for a food adventure in New West.

In a way, I was disappointed that they didn't try to fuse both cuisines. A butter chicken burrito would've been tasty in my books. However, they really do only serve Indian and Mexican food independently of each other. I decided to get the Combo which included a choice of 3 items from the Indian menu (also included choice of naan or rice). I went for Butter Chicken, Shahi Paneer and Chicken Curry. The Butter Chicken wasn't exactly creamy nor was it heavy on the tomato paste either. It had a nice spice and certainly wasn't bland, but was a touch salty though. The Shahi Paneer was probably my favourite of the bunch with big fried pieces of cheese in a spicy and sweet sauce. The Chicken Curry was also quite tasty with plenty of depth and definitive spiciness. There was good hits of coriander and ginger. However, the big chicken thigh was a bit clumsy to eat. As for the Naan, it was not even remotely close to the real thing. It was more like pita bread. I guess with no tandoor on site, that was expected. Red Light and Slick both had the combo as well. The non-duplicated dishes were the Chickpea Curry, Lamb Curry and Beef Curry. Honestly, there was little difference in the flavour of all 3 except for the main ingredient. They resembled the chicken curry (beef was a bit chewy as with the lamb).

Big D took one for the team and ordered the sole Mexican item at the table. He went for the Enchiladas (one beef and one chicken). I'm sorry to say that these were pretty sad. The meat inside was soggy and cold. It seemed like they were cooked from frozen. I must give them props for using real shredded beef rather than ground though. The mediocre enchilada withstanding, the Indian food was actually quite decent. We liked how they didn't let up on the spice which in turn made the curries flavourful. Sure, the food ain't gonna win any awards (especially the Mexican), however with reasonable pricing and good portions, the lunch crowd will continue to fill the restaurant.

The Good:
- Decent Indian eats
- Good portions
- They did not shy way from using spice

The Bad:
- The one Mexican item we had was subpar
- Don't expect any ambiance (hence the low prices)

Max's Restaurant

2012-05-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

With the large Filipino population in the GVRD, it is somewhat surprising that there are so few Filipino restaurants. I posed this question to Rich Guy and Rich Gal (she is from the Philippines) in hopes of finding an answer. The explanation went like this: since Filipino food can be cooked at home, more often than not, people won't spend the money to go out to eat. With that kind of thinking, I guess it was no surprise that Rekados didn't stand a chance, especially at their price points. Well, that is all fine and dandy, but that really puts a damper into my curiousity about Filipino cuisine. Rich Guy merely laughs at that fact since he is not a huge fan of Filipino food. What the heck did he eat while he was living there then???

Despite this, he did tip me off about Max's Restaurant (a popular chain restaurant in the Philippines), which has opened their 2nd Canadian location on Kingsway in Vancouver (the other one is in Toronto). Originally, we wanted to check the place out during its soft opening, but with lineups 20 parties deep, that was quickly quashed. However, with softball being cancelled due to rain, I was left without a game and food for a Monday. Not to fear though, Bear and Milhouse still wanted to go for eats, which led us to Max's. The first thing that caught my eye was the Crispy Pata. For those who are unfamiliar, it is a deep fried pork knuckle served with soy-vinegar dip. We only went for the mid-size which was still quite substantial. It could've have been crispier, yet it was still plenty crispy. We were pleased with the ample amount of moist meat underneath.

Now a visit to Max's would not be complete without their famous Fried Chicken. Somewhat similar to Chinese fried crispy chicken, their chicken is fried without batter. Hence, the fat is rendered in the frying process leaving a crispy, flavourful skin. The chicken was mostly dry and only certain parts of the skin was crispy. It had a subtle flavour which we didn't mind. It was alright for what it was, although it was not very big. For me, I like the simple things and the Pancit Bihon would be one of them. It is simply a dish consisting of rice noodles stir-fried with veggies and meat (chicken, pork and shrimp in this case) with soy (this one had fish sauce as well). The noodles were cooked nicely exhibiting some chew while the veggies were still crisp. From the first bite, it was obvious that there was fish sauce. There was no absence of flavour and for me at least, there seemed to be a good amount of MSG.

By virtue of being considered a national dish, we had to order the Pork Adobo just because. In reality, there is nothing really all that special about the dish because it is merely pork stewed in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce and a few other ingredients. For some, they love it and for others, it's "meh". I fall into the "I don't mind" category. The one we had was actually not bad. I loved how they used rib meat where it retained a slight chew while being mostly tender. The flavour was pretty mild with only a small hit of vinegar. Lastly, we decided to try one breakfast dish being the Tapsilog. I've had tocilog before and this was pretty much the same except for the meat. This one was beef rather than pork. As with any silog, it includes fried egg and garlic rice. We found the meat to be rather dry, yet flavourful. The egg was fried beautifully with a runny yolk while the garlic rice was a big clumpy and not that garlicky. We found the service to be quite good despite all the poor reviews. In terms of the food, it wasn't bad. On the other hand, it wasn't exactly super impressive either.

The Good:
- A little bit of home for those from the Philippines
- A bit out of the ordinary for most other people
- The service has seemed to improve after a shaky start

The Bad:
- Not sure if the price points reflect value
- Food was okay, but nothing special

Good Friends

2012-05-01T00:00:00.009-07:00

If we can refer to Kingsway as the Banh Mi Highway or "AutoBanh", then North Road should be considered Jap Chaeway (that is a really bad pun I know...). With so many choices for Korean food along the Burnaby-Coquitlam border (Burquitlam to be exact), Rich Guy, Rich Gal and I met up for lunch at Good Friends. For some reason or another, that was the first thing that came to mind. Was it the cool green signage in front? Or was it the non-Korean sounding name? I really am not sure. Sometimes, my choices are made irrationally where my fellow eating companions pay the price (both money-wise and food hazards). Whatever the case, we committed to it and there was no going back, even though construction in front made me enter through the back to get to the parking lot (which was an adventure, not sure if I would've not hit anything if it were dark).

Obviously, the previous restaurant that occupied the building was not Korean because the layout and seating was a bit strange. Moreover, it didn't help the already sparse service because each side of the restaurant was hidden from the staff. Don't get me wrong, the service was friendly, it was just not readily available when we needed it. When we finally got our order in, the Banchan arrived. This had to be one of the most one-dimensional array of banchan we've ever had. Each and every one of them were very similar in terms of appearance and taste. Sprouts or stewed potatoes, where did you go??? To be fair, we did get some stewed potatoes a little later (possibly they were not ready yet as they were pretty underdone).

For our mains, we had the Pork Bone Soup first arriving bubbling hot. Within the broth lay 2 massive pork bones with tender meat. The broth was only moderately spicy and was actually not bad. It exhibited a bone marrow creaminess which gave it body and depth. Normally, we'd get the dolset bibimbap, but we couldn't resist their lunch special. The regular Bibimbap was only $6.00 and when it arrived, the darn thing was huge. A very good value indeed. As you can clearly see, there was no absence of ingredients presented to us in what was the size of a medium mixing bowl. The rice was a touch wet (but that is our fault for not getting the dolset) while the ingredients were all the right textures. Not the best bibimbap we've ever had, except it was one of the cheapest.

When the Bulgogi was presented at our table, we were confused. What was with this wet mess on a cold hot plate? An oxymoron? No, it really was the bulgogi. Lacking in meat and in flavour, this was a fail. We couldn't figure out how to wrap it in the thin pieces of romaine hearts either. Huh? Yah, that pretty much sums up our experience here. It was "alright". I think if the prices weren't as reasonable, it would be a different story. With all the other choices for Korean food in the area, this would not be my first choice.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Decent pricing

The Bad:
- Although kind, the service is lacking

Via Tevere

2012-04-30T00:00:00.026-07:00

Where? A Neapolitan pizza joint on Victoria in a predominantly residential area??? That's what I thought when my sister-in-law mentioned it to me in passing. This was actually over a month ago when Via Tevere had not even opened for business. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be a great idea to go visit the place on its opening night right after Friday night hockey. Fail. We waited in line for about 20 minutes before deciding to ditch the plan. However, we all agreed that we'd try again some other night at a later date. So after Friday night hockey a month later, I suggested we give it another shot. Low and behold, Emilicious had already been to the place twice in the past week! *Gasp* She food cheated on us! Twice! Fine, we quickly forgave her since one could only hold out so long right? Well, it turned out for the better since her positive experiences convinced people to stay and wait for a table this time around.

We finally got a table after waiting for about 45 minutes. Lucky that we made the cut since they were just about to run out of dough. Since we had a big group of 9, only half of us were seated first. Emilicious, Gordo, Ginseng and myself went ahead and ordered things to share, in total disregard for the others (who were still outside waiting for a table). Hey, it's a dog-eat-dog world! Or in this case, it was only pizza, no dogs were involved. Rather than ordering 4 pizzas, we went for variety starting with the Frittura Neapoletana for 2. This appetizer platter consisted of fried pasta, potato, risotto balls and meatballs. For myself, I liked the fried pasta squares. It reminded us of fried mac 'n cheese. The noodles were sufficiently chewy while flavoured by the minimal amount of sauce. The risotto balls were crispy on the outside while the rice still had a very slight chew. They were crispy and cheesy on the inside. I wasn't a huge fan of the meat balls though. They were not really all that flavourful and the texture of the meat was quite soft.

Onto their specialty, we went with the classic Margherita which arrived with beautiful leoparding on the crust. The middle of the pizza was tender, yet not mushy while the edges were crisp, chewy and nutty from the burnt portions. The pizza dough was well-seasoned almost bordering on salty, yet not that overbearing. We really loved the San Marzano tomato sauce as it was balanced and flavourful. For our second pizza, we went with the most expensive being the Capricciosa consisting of prosciutto cotto, salame, artichokes, mushrooms and olives. Naturally, this was a collection of flavours which included the salty-tartness of the olives, Earthiness of the mushrooms and saltiness from the meats. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of so many toppings on a thin-crust pizza, but I did like this one.

In addition to the pizzas, we had the Pasta del Giorno which was the Penne Arrabiatta. With al dente pasta and just enough sauce to coat, this was a surprisingly good attempt (despite not being a pasta joint). There was a decent amount of spice to kick things up a notch while still maintaining a fresh tomatoness about it. Lastly for dessert, they ran out of their donuts, so we settled on the Risotto Pudding and Tiramisu. Although I'm not a huge fan of rice pudding per se, I didn't mind the Risotto Pudding. It was semi-sweet with real vanilla bean and orange zest (which also added some floral qualities as well). The rice was still chewy and overall, it was surprisingly "light". When we took a look-see at the Tiramisu, it appeared promising. Unlike many of the "cookie-cutter" pre-made frozen variety, this tiramisu was fresh and well-made. With lady-fingers soaked with a just-sweet-enough espresso hit and a balanced amount of marscapone cream, this was a much better than average tiramisu. At the end, we all agreed that Via Tevere was well worth the wait not only for the pizza, but for the great service and vibe as well.

The Good:
- Wood-burning oven, the right ingredients = good Neapolitan pizza
- Attentive service
- The place has a nice vibe

The Bad:
- The place is not very big, hence you most likely have to wait
- Parking in the area is not that great

Hi-Nippon

2012-04-27T00:00:00.027-07:00

Other than softball season, I don't make it out to Kitsilano very often. However, we were in the neighbourhood and an eating opportunity awaited us. From all the great choices, we settled on Hi-Nippon. Huh? Seriously? Yes, we did. Why? Well, the kiddies like cooked Japanese food and hence, they held the trump card. Believe me, we tried to find something more interesting. Driving up Arbutus almost to Kerrisdale, then down Broadway almost to UBC, we couldn't decide on something. Finally, we just gave up and parked in front of Hi-Nippon. Don't get me wrong here, I have nothing against the place. It's just that when we have to settle on plan D or E, the excitement just isn't there.

By virtue of arriving pretty early for lunch, we got one of the window seats which allowed for good lighting. Believe me, Japanese restaurants and good lighting generally do not fit into the same sentence. Feeling less than inspired, I pretty much ordered whatever, beginning with a sushi combo which included a Spicy Tuna Roll and 2 pieces each of tuna, salmon and tai Nigiri. We found the sushi rice to be rather dry. On the other hand, the conservative use of the rice in the roll helped alleviate some of the textural issues. The rice was somewhat flavoured which also helped the cause. The fish was pretty good except for the tai (snapper). We realize that it is a chewier fish, but this was unusually tough. For good measure, we got their House Roll as well. Again, there was not a lot of sushi rice and plenty of filling (well, mostly imitation crab meat). Not a bad roll in the grand scheme of things.We had to get our usual order of Assorted Tempura because our kids love it. I mean they love the batter. Maybe we should just get them to give us a plate of tempura bits next time... Anyways, the tempura was light and crisp, however it was greasier than a Chinese kitchen floor. There was literally a pool of oil on the plate. Furthermore, the ebi was gummy and not that appealing texturally.

Now for the fail of the meal - the Tonkatsu Don. On appearance alone, it looked good with a huge pork chop and egg on top. But much like Jay Davidson in The Crying Game, wait... bad analogy... Okay, the pork chop was actually soggy, dry and chewy all at the same time. In fact, the coating slid off the pork. Furthermore, the pork and rice were not that flavourful except for some sweetness.The dish we got for the kiddies turned out much better. Arriving sizzling and bubbling, the Chicken Yaki Udon exhibited good caramelization and did so further on the hot plate. We liked how it wasn't wet where no liquid could be found on the bottom. Also, the noodles were chewy and well-seasoned. There was a good noodle-to-vegetable ration as well. The chicken was not exactly prepared properly though because the batter was mushy and clumpy.Hi-Nippon, to me, is somewhat of a curiousity. Looking at some of the reviews online, one would conclude that the stuff is fantastic. This was hardly the case. I wouldn't say it was bad per se, however, there is much better elsewhere. Funny thing is that all the food looked the part, but some just didn't cut it. I thought the sushi was much better than the cooked food. So it is quite possible a better overall experience could be had if one stuck with the sushi and sashimi.

The Good:
- Prices are decent for the area
- Service is friendly and attentive
- Sushi is okay

The Bad:
- Cooked food needs some work