Nonna's Cucina Pop-Up (Commercial Drive)

Ever since I first visited Nonna's Cucina on Hastings back in 2022, I was hooked onto their made-to-order pastas and sandwiches.  Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of seating at that spot since it is more of a take out restaurant.  However, my prayers have been answered as they have opened up shop on Commercial Drive where Vivace used to be located.  Now their menu has been expanded as well as offering cocktails and other bevvies at their bar.

Before we got to the dishes we ordered, they started us off with some Pizza Bread with fresh cheese, basil and tomato sauce.  Loved the chewiness of the bread while the crust itself was slightly crunchy and nutty.  Well-seasoned and a great appetizer.  Onto the actual appies, we had the Tuna Crudo with Limoncello cured albacore tuna, lemon puree, pickled onions, castelvetrano olives, fresh basil, radish, chili threads, pea shoots and micro basil.  The tuna itself was bright and lightly sweet while being delicate.  The Limoncello was there, but not overwhelming.  That allowed the lemon puree to add acidity and freshness.  The pickled onions and olives provided some texture, tanginess and saltiness.

Onto another appie, we had the Bomba Chili Prawns. Sometimes, when there is the promise of spice, it is ultimately a fail, but not here.  Those perfectly cooked prawns sat in a sauce that was definitely spicy with a combination of calabrian chili, butter, parsley, pizza bianco, olive oil, charred lemon and white wine.  This offered up hits of saltiness, tanginess and of course spice.  That bread was great for soaking all of this up.

Not looking like much, the gigantic Carbonara Suppli (similar to an arancini) was stuffed with tubettini rather than aborio rice.  Hence it was a pasta dish within a fried ball.  To make this a carbonara, we had the usual ingredients such as egg yolk, guanciale, pecorino and Parmesan.  However, we also had mozzarella inside since it was a Suppli after all!  This was quite rich and somewhat creamy with plenty of cheesiness.  The pasta was actually still somewhat al dente and the panko crust was crunchy.

In addition to the appies, there was a whole section on the menu dedicated to a Burrata Bar.  As such, we sampled 2 versions from the available 5 choices.  We had the classic Caprese featuring heirloom tomatoes, balsamic macerated strawberry, fresh basil, olive oil and maldon salt.  Loved the fresh tomatoes while the sweetness and tanginess of the strawberries came through.  The other one we tried was the Prosciutto & Peach with rosemary honey, olive oil and maldon salt.  This was a good combination of sweet and salty to go with the creamy burrata.

Onto the pastas, we took some photos first (of course that is what we do), but we didn't waste too much time and dug into the Mezze Rigatoni featuring meaty Italian sausage.  This was was quite good where the pasta tubes were firmly al dente while the braised fennel ragu was aromatic with rich tomato vibes.  It was bordering on salty, but hey, we like flavour (rather than being bland!).  There was ample sausage that had some spice.

The Spaghetti alla Chitarra was topped with massive meatballs (another $8.00) and bathed in a pomodoro sauce with, basil, olive oil and parmigiano.  More tangy than the ragu (because it is a tomato sauce = pomodoro), this was bright and it really benefited from the fresh basil (adding herbaceousness).  As for the pasta, it was pretty firm, but that is what we like!  The meatballs were meaty with very little filler.  So there was no airiness to them.  That is what I like more too.

Probably my favourite pasta of the bunch was the Orecchiette Cime di Rapa.  This is normally their vegetarian option, but we erased that with the addition of fennel sausage.  Loved that sausage as it was tender and flavourful.  The pasta itself was also firm (like the others) and had an appealing chewiness to them without being overly heavy.  The combo of rapini, garlic, house made Calabrian bomba and pecorino romano gave elements of brightness, spice and saltiness.

My least favourite pasta was the Herb Ricotta Gnocchi, not because it wasn't good per se.  I just found it the heaviest of the 4 we had due to the cream.  Now if you like pesto cream, then you will probably disagree with me.  It did have a nice flavour to it with the pesto coming through.  There was some background fennel essence as well as a bit of brightness from the arugula.  As for the gnocchi itself, they were somewhere between pillowy soft and firm.

We also had some dishes that were not pasta including the Veal Scallopini Marsala.  This was a well-executed dish with tender slices of veal that were lightly floured and seared.  The marsala wine sauce with mushrooms was moderately rich with plenty of earthiness.  I found that the veal was seasoned enough to stand on its own, so the sauce only added to the layers of flavour.

Described as the PLT on the menu, it was actually referring to the Pochetta sandwich with lettuce and heirloom tomato.  I liked this sandwich but didn't love it.  I thought the toasted bread was good being firm enough to hold everything in.  However, the pork belly itself was not as soft as I would've liked.  It did taste great though with natural aroma and roasted flavours.  Still a solid sandwich with all things considered.

Not sure why there was a burger on the menu, but we tried Nonna's Burger anyways.  Turns out it was pretty good!  A little on the salty side, but can't say this was lacking flavour.  The meat patty was nicely charred and still moist in the inside.  Lots of melty mozzarella in the middle oozing out.  The pistachio pesto aioli added some herby nuttiness while the crispy pancetta provided even more salt content.  Fortunately, the lettuce, tomato and roasted peppers help cut the heaviness and saltiness.  Potato bun was soft and held everything together.

We ended up trying all 3 of their desserts including the Affogato.  This featured pistachio gelato (also fior di latte option) with espresso.  Loved the espresso as it was richly-flavoured and when combined with the gelato, things got creamy and just sweet enough.  The second dessert was the Almond Granita with whipped cream and toasted almonds.  This was refreshing and sweet with the crunch from the aromatic almonds.  There was some interestingly shaped brioche on the side for dipping.

Our last dessert was the Tableside Tiramisu which can be seen as a novelty.  However, this particular one was prepared properly with soaked ladyfingers in espresso and Kahlua, mascarpone cream and shaved chocolate.  I think the best part of the tiramisu was the mascarpone as it was light, creamy and purposefully sweet.  We also had some cocktails that included the Tiramisu Espresso Martini, Creamsicle Sour, The Sexy (Non-Alcoholic) and a White Peach Negroni.  My favourite of the bunch was the creamsicle sour as it was fruity and tangy.  When paired with the fairly heavy dishes, it helped keep things light.  Overall, I though the food was really good and properly executed.  A good alternative to other Italian spots out there with fair pricing for what you get.  Since it took over a fairly nicely appointed spot already, the dining experience is not only about the food.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Generous portions

- Nice dining space and vibe

The Bad:

- Some things were bordering on salty

Jess' Cafe (Brunch)

Once upon a time, there was a glitzy restaurant on 41st Ave right in the heart of Kerrisdale.  It was high end and served refined dinner plates as well as offering a wonderful high tea service.  Then it moved closer to Korean fusion and now they have gone a complete 180 where brunch/lunch is the game.  In fact, it is the only game as they don't even open for dinner!  So the actual restaurant remains the same, being a bit Vegas-like complete with beautiful washrooms.

In terms of the menu, it is now highly influenced by Korean croffles (croissant waffle).  Then it was no surprise that they had a version in the Korean Fried Chicken & Croffle.  Really solid dish where the croffle was crispy and buttery while not overly heavy despite being squished in a waffle iron.  The fried chicken thighs were juicy and featured a crispy batter.  There was a bit of sweet and slight spice going on.  We added more syrup to make it even sweeter.

The use of croffles continued on with the Eggs Benedict as well.  We tried both the Smoked Salmon Benedict (not pictured) and also the Truffle Mushroom Benedict (pictured).  We added a side of Maple-glazed bacon for good measure.  Despite being perfectly runny with cooked whites, we would've liked to see free form poached eggs instead (it appears they might be doing this now?).  I found the Hollandaise to be rich, buttery and creamy.  Croffle once again was crispy while those hashbrowns were killer.  They were nicely-seasoned and crispy with soft fluffy potato inside.

Another savory item with the croffle, we had the Spicy Chicken Croffle Sandwich.  This ate somewhat like a club sandwich with plenty of ripe tomatoes and lettuce.  Once again, the croffle was great and held everything together.  The spicy mayo was good, but the sandwich could've used more of it.  I thought the grilled chicken wasn't dry, but not particularly juicy either.  I know grilled is healthier, but a fried piece of chicken would've been better?

Okay, onto a dish that didn't feature a croffle, we had the Steak & Eggs featuring a 6oz AAA striploin.  We asked for the steak to be cooked medium-rare and it came out more rare, but in reality, that didn't matter as it was tender.  It was nicely charred.  It came with a side of jus that helped add flavour without overwhelming the natural meatiness.  The 2 sunny side eggs were prepared well with runny yolks and a slightly crispy edge.

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was the Bread Pudding French Toast.  I found the name of the dish appropriate as the bread was soaked enough to create a bread pudding texture.  However, they were able to keep the edges crispy and firm.  On top, we found berries, vanilla ice cream and syrup.  Naturally, this ate on the sweeter side, but not overwhelmingly.  I just liked the textures very much.

From the French toast, we moved onto some actual desserts in the Oreo Croffle as well as the Poached Pear Croffle.  As expected, the croffles were exactly like the ones found in the aforementioned dishes.  If I had to pick one that I liked best, it would've been the pear because it was less sweet and more "elevated".  The Oreo was fine too, but more for those with a sweet tooth.  I liked how they included plenty of cookie portions.

Finally, we had to get some drinks to go with our food right?  Well, they serve %Arabica coffee and we had the Affogato and the Iced Latte.  Both were good with plenty of aromatic coffee flavour while being purposefully sweet.  Nice compliment to our eats.  Overall, the bunch at the reimagined Jess' Cafe is pretty solid.  Portions are generous and the pricing is outright a steal.  Other than the steak & eggs, everything else is well below $20.  Combine this with the decor and ambiance as well as the area, it is a good value.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Generous portions
- Well-priced
- Nice dining space

The Bad:
- Poached eggs should be free-form (I think they do this now?)
- Maybe too many things with croffles?

Starlight Kitchen

Since I can remember, Phở Hòa occupied the large restaurant space on Kingsway at Nanaimo.  However, it is now a Hong Kong-style cafe known as Starlight Kitchen.  Renovations are not very extensive as the interior looks roughly the same.  However, whatever they saved in their renos, it seems to have gone directly into the portion sizes.  They are quite generous and for the 2 times I've been there, the food has been solid and so has the service.

Let's get right into the usual dishes that we judge an HK-style cafe on.  The most obvious is the Baked Pork Chop Rice.  This was a good version as the fried rice base was nutty and chewy while the ample sauce on top was flavourful and slightly tangy.  It was more sweet than savoury, but it worked well with the melted cheese.  I liked how they didn't skimp on the sauce since there was enough for both the rice and pork chop.  About that pork chop, it was tender and still featured a crispy panko coating.

Next up, we had another classic in the Linguine Bolognese (instead of spaghetti in this case).  Really enjoyed this one as the pasta was almost al dente.  This is significant because many HK-style cafes overcook their pastas.  Just like the previous dish, they put more than enough sauce to coat every strand of pasta.  Furthermore, the sauce was thick, meaty and full-of-depth.  The melted cheese on top was definitely noticeable.

Moving away from tomato sauces, we had another HK-style cafe staple in the Baked Seafood Rice.   As you can see, the theme of "lots of sauce" applies here once again.  That meant that all of the fried rice base was coated with the starch-thickened cream sauce.  It was quite mild but had some aroma and sweetness.  There was a mix of seafood that included fish, imitation crab, prawns and Kiwi mussels.  They were more or less cooked properly.

Normally here, we would be ordering something like the Portuguese Chicken, but nope, this was the Baked Portuguese Pork Chop Rice.  Not sure if there is actually such a thing, but the sauce was the HK-style Portuguese sauce.  It was creamy and coconutty with a bit of earthiness.  Lots of sauce here on top of the crispy pork chop (like the previous dish) and also the fried rice base.  This was good but I personally enjoy the classic chicken version more.

When at a HK-style cafe, it is always a given that they have combo meat plates or other Western complete dish meals.  Hence we got the 2-Item Plate with chicken steak, pork chop with veggies, black pepper sauce and a side of spaghetti (this also included a soup to start).  Yet another solid dish with a juicy deboned and seared chicken leg as well as thin pork chops that were still moist.  Black pepper sauce was well-seasoned and slightly peppery.

Continuing on with a Hong Kong take with Western dishes, we had the Ham & Egg Sandwich with a side of fries.  This would be like the closest thing to what it should be if we walked into a diner.  However, the HK touches included toasted soft white bread without the crust and soft scrambled eggs.  I would've liked the eggs to be runnier and also the bread to be less toasted.  Fries were cooked perfectly being hot, crunchy and potatoey in the middle.

Like most other HK-style restos, they had a Chinese Dishes section of the menu too that included the Pickled Vegetable & Duck Vermicelli.  This was a huge portion that featured al dente vermicelli that was not clumpy nor dry.  There was enough moisture to keep things loose but not making the dish wet.  I found the flavours to be mild for this dish, but I usually add hot sauce anyways...  I would've liked to see just a bit more in the way of ingredients as there was very little of it beyond what you see in the picture.

So for whatever reason, I decided to try the Ja Jeun Mein.  I would say this was the only dish I didn't like in my 2 visits to the place.  I found the white noodles to be far too clumpy and even when I mixed the meat sauce into it, the noodles didn't seem like they wanted to separate.  The made for an overly cumbersome way to eat the dish.  Furthermore, the sauce was meaty but lacking in overall impact.  It was slightly sweet but I didn't get much beyond that.

Lastly and probably one of the best dishes of the bunch, was the Special House Fried Noodle.  This was absolutely massive and had a bevy of properly-cooked components including giant scallops, prawns, squid, BBQ pork and chicken.  The crispy noodles were soften by the proper amount of sauce.  Overall, the food and portion sizes at Starlight Kitchen are very good.  Compared to somewhere like Copa Cafe, Starlight is better in all regards including price point.  This will be one of my go to spots for HK-style eats for the forseeable future.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Large portions
- Well-priced for what you get

The Bad:
- Not sure how it will be in the winter, but the dining room gets stuffy
- Service is good but hurried

 

Daimanya

We have seen many AYCE spots pop up all-over-the-place in past year or so.  As mentioned in my previous posts, the economy has dictated this trend where people are looking for the best-bang-for-the-buck during these inflationary times.  Hey, if one was to eat out, better make it worth it, right?  Well, there is a new player in town that is actually just the re-imagined Meet Oyster.  It is now Daimanya, and although you can still get a personal hot pot, the main portions of the menu features Japanese Izakaya dishes.

So we started with an array of small dishes including Wakame Salad, Green Salad, Edamame, Tako Wasabi, Ankimo and Meet Ocean Tartare (nice play on the old name...).  The items were pretty typical with the ankimo being my favourite.  Definitely the foie gras of the sea with its soft butteriness and natural sweetness.  Tako wasabi was also good with just enough wasabi hit.  It was served with crispy nori.  The tartare was more of soy-based mix, but the fish had decent texture.

Next, we were served 2 large plates of Beef Tataki and Tuna Tataki. So if they were implying that their AYCE dishes were near a-la-carte Izakaya quality, then these 2 did their part.  The beef was vibrant in colour and tender to the chew.  I would've liked a bit more acidity, but it was good nonetheless.  As for the tuna, it was evenly seared on all sides and buttery soft on the inside.  It wasn't particularly sweet, but the dressing made up for that.  Once again, I would've liked a bit more acidity to it.

We were served 2 types of Chawanmushi including the Snow Crab Roe and Seafood.  Now with the snow crab roe, it actually meant there was crab butter too and for me, that was fantastic.  The natural sweet and briny nature of the crab butter added umami to the otherwise silky and slightly sweet egg.  We also had the Butter Sake Clams and this was another a-la-carte quality dish.  The clams were all open and cooked perfectly.  They were tender and buttery with a light sake essence.

On the menu, I was delighted to see that they had Baked Motoyaki Scallops.  Unlike some other AYCE spots, these were actual scallops (not imitation) complete with the mantle.  Therefore, beyond the butteriness of the scallop, we got the exterior chewiness.  They were sweet by themselves, but the motoyaki was quite good being creamy and sweet.  The Baked Oysters came in 2 flavours including motoyaki and garlic.  For me, I preferred the garlic and it was very garlicky.  The oysters were large, briny and fresh.

Probably the most striking and impressive-looking dish was the Sashimi.  It was an assortment of Atlantic salmon, akami, madai, hokkigai, hotate, ika, hamachi, tuna and amaebi.  By appearance alone, the fish was pretty fresh with a nice sheen.  Texturally, some of them were a bit watery while some weren't all that sweet.  However, considering the options available and the fact this was AYCE, the sashimi was more than acceptable.

Of course if we have sashimi, we would also have various forms of sushi too right?  Well we got a plate consisting of Black Dragon Roll, Aburi Tuna Love Roll, Green Caterpillar Roll and Aburi Salmon Oshi.  These were pretty decent with chewy sushi rice and plenty of components.  I particularly enjoyed the oshi as the salmon was buttery and the sauce was not too greasy.  The tuna love roll was good with a balanced filling-to-rice ratio.  The black dragon roll could masquerade as a non-AYCE item.

Onto some fried items, I was surprised to find Fried Soft Shell Crab on the menu.  These are usually $10.00-$15.00 a pop on most menus.  This was breaded with panko and fried pretty aggressively.  Hence it was super crunchy.  The soft shell crab was still creamy and delicate inside, but I would've liked a lighter batter.  As for the Tempura, it was crispy and not a dense as it appeared.  The ebi was still buttery and sweet.  Veggies were cooked properly.

Continuing with the deluxe items, they had Foie Gras.  So nothing particularly wrong with its preparation (being seared and then drizzled with sauce), but the piece of crostini was far too large for the small slice of foie.  Otherwise, it was buttery and decadent.  Then we had the Salted Egg Yolk Wings.  With rendered skin, the wings were beautifully fried where the meat was succulent.  Unfortunately, the salted egg yolk slid off the wings and left the flavour on the plate.  I had to take one bite of the wing and then scoop up the egg yolk to have any effect.

As if the luxurious items we had were not enough, they also featured Deep Fried Lobster Tail as well.  The lobster tail was cut up and then battered with tempura and fried.  This was good with bouncy and sweet lobster meat with a crispy batter.  To make sure we covered most of the other times, we had the BBQ Hamachi Kama and the Saba too.  I thought kama was a bit overdone in spots, but the more fatty portions were buttery.  The saba was cooked quite nicely being moist and typical saba-tasting (which is a bit fishy, but in a good way).

Maybe one of the under-the-radar items was the Corn Cheese Croquettes.  Coated with crispy panko, the inside was exactly a combination of stringy cheese and sweet corn niblets.  Not as sexy as some of the other dishes, but delicious in my opinion.  We also had the Mentaiko Udon which was decent, but could've used more brininess to the dish.  Rather, it was pleasant with equal parts savoury and sweet notes.  It just need more fishiness.

Getting a few more normal dishes, we had some Sushi Cones including salmon, unagi and chopped scallop.  These were solid with enough ingredients nestled within the chewy sushi rice.  If we had eaten them right away, the nori would've been crispy too (but alas we were taking photos).  The Unagi Don featured enough eel to go with the somewhat dry rice.  When mixed together with the eel and unagi sauce, it ate well enough.

The last deluxe item we had was the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Sukiyaki.  As you can see, the fatty slices of wagyu dominated the dish.  When cooked down, it was buttery and super soft.  It was accompanied by some mushrooms and napa cabbage.  For dessert, we were served the Premium Ice Cream Bars (Kirkland brand).  Pretty good way to end off an AYCE meal that featured more than a few premium items.  In terms of quality, I believe it is better than most AYCE spots.  When they say it is a near a-la-carte Izakaya experience, I would agree with that.  It doesn't quite get there, but it is good enough to justify the price.  If you go in with reasonable expectations, your meal will be enjoyable.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Wide range of premium items on the menu

- Generally better quality than most AYCE spots

- Love those VIP rooms!

The Bad:

- It is better than typical AYCE spots, but it still isn't a-la-carte quality

- Parking lot can get full fast