Silom Thai Cuisine

As much as it isn't hard to find a Thai restaurant in the Lower Mainland, it is truly difficult to find a good one.  I've had better luck doing so in Portland, Oregon than here.  So it really did pique my interest when a small Thai spot opened up on Knight near Kingsway.  Silom Thai only sports 6 or 7 tables, but it features a menu that features a surprisingly diverse array of dishes.  Some of which I've never seen on any other menu locally.  Of course I made resos to try the place out ASAP.  Thank goodness that I did because they were fully-booked, on a weekday!

We were only able to snag a small table for 2, but that didn't stop us from going ham on the menu.  We started with the Yum Pork Roll with salted egg.  This was literally cha lua sliced into quarters and tossed in a fermented fish sauce, spicy & sour sauce, shallots, green onion, cilantro, chili flakes and salted duck egg yolks.  This was indeed yummy since the seasoning was all the good things about SE Asia.  We had a combination of tanginess, spiciness, sweetness, herbaceousness and also saltiness.  The pork roll was merely a textural component of the dish.

At first, when I spotted the Crispy Enoki Mushrooms on the menu, it made me nervous.  I thought back to the version I had at Miso Taco and remembered how greasy they were.  Well, turns out that at Silom Thai, they know how to deep fry them perfectly.  Still delicate and retaining their unmistakable chewy texture, the enoki were coated with a crispy and non-greasy batter.  So delightful to eat them with the sweet chili sauce.

To get a taste of more items, we also ordered the Silom Platter with Green Papaya Salad, Grilled Chicken Wings, Grilled Pork Jowl and Deep Fried Pork Balls.  The best thing on the plate was the pork jowl since it was doing its bouncy textural thing while being nicely charred.  The wings were good too being juicy and well-spiced  I was on the fence with the pork balls.  They were nicely textured with a bounce and being crispy outside, but it wasn't as interesting.  The papaya salad was crunchy, bright and tangy.

I always compare Pad Si Ew to my favourite in town being Sen Pad Thai.  This one here at Silom was pretty close.  I think the wok hei (or wok's breath) was sufficient enough to caramelize the flavours and add a sear to the mung bean noodles.  They were chewy and had a nice elasticity.  The dish was fairly well-seasoned but could've used just a bit more saltiness.  We decided on chicken as the protein and it was a bit dry.  Gai lan was vibrant and crunchy.

Naturally, we also had to try the Pad Thai and this version was made with glass noodles (more mung bean).  We opted to make this vegetarian with tofu.  I'm not sure if having such big slices of fried tofu was the best choice here.  I would've liked smaller pieces instead.  As for the noodle, it had great mouth-feel with a bouncy chewiness.  Seasoning was a bit sweet, yet there was enough tanginess from the tamarind to balance.  There was the slightest of spice too.

Now if this Green Curry Crispy Chicken looks good in the picture, imagine eating it.  This was absolutely fantastic with a crunchy piece of fried chicken.  The meat was moist and when dunked into the curry, there was a flavour explosion.  It was lightly creamy while definitely spicy.  However, we could still pick out the aromatics of the coconut milk and the slight brininess of the green curry.

Last dish was the Tom Yum Dry Noodle with ground pork, deep fried wontons, green onion, cilantro and beansprouts.  Of all the dishes, I felt this was least successful.  I do think that the individual components were good including the chewy noodles and the tangy tom yum sauce.  I think there needed to be more sauce since the pork and beansprouts watered down the flavours.  Those wontons were excellent with a crispy dumpling skin and juicy flavourful filling.  Overall, the food at Silom Thai is very good where they put care into preparing the food.  This is a definite return visit for me as I'd like to try some of the other dishes on the menu.

The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Impactful flavours
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Really small place, not many seats and they are not spacious

New Fuji

From the same group that has brought us great restaurants such as Kingyo, Suika and Raisu, we now have another in New Fuji on 1st Ave in Kits steps away from one of my favourite restaurants, AnnaLena.   The menu here is quite extensive with grilled meats, battera sushi, udon and desserts.  Jess and I decided to come here for lunch so we could take advantage of their Gozen menu.  These combos feature 4 items with an udon, battera sushi, salad and karaage from $30.00 and up.

As such, we got the Uni Kamameshi Gozen with the Uni Eel Kamameshi, Uni & Scallop Miso Cream Udon, Sashimi Salad and 2 kinds of Karaage (Chicken and Corn).  Originally, the rice had a lid on it and we were instructed to mix in the uni and ikura (and chopped shiso and wasabi stems) when the hourglass timer was up.  That we did and the results were fabulous.  The chewy and flavour-infused rice was mixed with generous amounts of buttery eel, king oyster mushrooms, bamboo shoots, uni kombu broth and kansai dashi.  There was a wealth of flavours and textures.  Truly a luxurious rice that was well-worth the price (this gozen was $50.00).  The udon was quite good too with a creamy and sweet broth with a considerable uni flavour.  Sashimi salad was fresh and full of fish while the karaage was solid.  The chicken was juicy with a crispy exterior.  It was well-seasoned too.  Corn was sweet with pops from the niblets.

We couldn't just have that right?  Staying with eel, we had the Fluffy "Rare" Unagi Omelette.  As you can see, there was still quite a bit of moisture in the bowl, but the result was buttery soft eggs blessed with the sweetness of unagi and unagi sauce.  This was a study about soft textures and no, it didn't need any textural contrasting component because the mouth-feel from the eggs was what this was all about.

Another textural-focused dish was the Cheese Tofu that was super creamy and of course cheesy.  This was topped with figs and syrup that made it taste more like a dessert (like a soft cheesecake).  This was spread onto crunchy crostinis and it was super addictive.  The sweetness of the syrup only helped enhance the cheesiness while the crunch from the crostinis added that textura contrast (yes, unlike the last dish).

I always like to order Ebi Mayo whenever I see it on a menu (even when I shouldn't).  Well, it was a good decision this time around as each ebi was quite large and also fried beautifully crispy.  The ebi itself was meaty with a bounce texture.  It was aggressively dressed with a ginger & scallion chili mayo that was creamy and a bit heavy.  However, the brightness from the ginger and scallion did balance that out to a degree.

The other Gozen lunch specials featured battera sushi, so we were having serious fomo and decided to order the full Bluefin Negitoro Battera and half each of the Aburi Salmon and Wagyu Yukhoe Battera.  I found the sushi rice to be chewy, but quite loose.  So when we picked each piece up, it was hard to keep its shape.  In terms of toppings, the bluefin was buttery soft and sweet.  The flavours in this was quite complex due to the addition of apples, shiso, kelp, shiso chimichurii, sweetened soy, scallion ginger sauce and fresh green onions.  Lots of sweetness, umaminess and brightness.  The aburi salmon was buttery soft too with some bright yuzu koshu mayo, sweetened soy, ikura and chives.  The wagyu was beefy and also soft with crispy rice cracker bits, onion, apples, shiso chimichurri, sweetened soy, crushed garlic chips and soy.  So there was texture and also sweetness and aromatics to go around.

We decided on two desserts being the Ichigo Cake Daifuku and Tiramisu Parfait alle Fragole.  For the daifuku, it was good with a fresh strawberry (amazingly during these months) atop a layer of sweet red bean and thin sponge cake.  Then the whole thing was topped with mascarpone sauce and wrapped in mochi.  This was about sweetness and the chewy texture of the mochi.  Quite good and not as heavy as it sounds.  For the tiramisu, it featured a base of cocoa cookie crumbles topped with tart strawberry sauce and sliced strawberries.  From there, it was more traditional tiramisu with sweet mascarpone cream and cocoa powder.  I quite liked this as it was a lot lighter than having espresso-soaked ladyfingers.  Very refreshing, lightly sweet and full of texture due to the cookie crumbles.  In the end, we really enjoyed our meal at New Fuji. It is obvious there has been plenty of thought put into each dish with some sporting many components to create both flavours and textures.  Sure, it a bit pricey, but worth it in my opinion.

The Good:

- Lots of textures and flavours from a multitude of components

- Things are fresh

- Attentive service

The Bad:

- On the pricier side

The Grey Olive

For some reason or another, I haven't been paying much attention to The Grey Olive for the past few years.  After the initial hype, I just stopped going.  It wasn't because the food wasn't good.  I've always enjoyed their solid execution of breakfast and lunch items.  I do believe one of the reasons I stopped going was the lack of seats.  However, that has been rectified as they have taken over the space next to them that used to be an insurance agency (as you can see in the picture because I didn't take a new one).  So it was with great pleasure that we waltzed in and got seated immediately.

We had to get their G.O. Breaky Sandwich with crispy cheese, scrambled egg, black truffle aioli and bacon (can choose sausage or smoked tofu too) on a toasted brioche bun.  Solid sammie with crispy and meaty bacon.  The egg was fluffy and not overdone while the crispy cheese was nutty and indeed texturally awesome.  The bun was soft and held everything together.  There was just enough aioli in there without being too strong.

Now I'm not doing my Fried Chicken Sammie quest anymore, but just had to get the one here.  It was a good decision as the fried chicken thigh was juicy and tender.  The batter on the outside was crunchy and stayed as such even with all the sauce on it.  Now the sauce wasn't exactly super spicy (add $1.00 for that), but it did have a slight kick.  It came with the usual compliments such as crunchy slaw and pickles.  It was also served on brioche and I would say this was pretty solid.  Fries were crispy too.

Moving back to breakfast, we had the Crab Cake Benny with hashbrowns.  The deep fried crab cakes were actually quite good with a crispy exterior and fluffy interior.  The poached eggs were perfectly runny while the Hollandaise was actually not overly heavy.  It was still silky though and had all of its buttery goodness.  A bit more tang would've been perfect.  The side of hashbrowns were super crispy and just somewhat greasy.

Although the French Toast was not really a dessert, we treated it as such.  It featured egg & milk soaked baguette which had a custardy bread pudding like consistency.  That was perfect in our opinion.  It came with whipped cream, butter and syrup.  Overall, The Grey Olive lived up to its past history, but now with more seats!  I don't have many complaints now!  I guess I'll be back more often.

The Good:

- More seats!

- Solid breakfast

- Pricing is reasonable for what you get

The Bad:

- Service was friendly, but a bit hard to get anyone's attention at times

Cantonese BBQ

There are some pretty good choices for Chinese BBQ within Greater Vancouver.  Naturally, the first thought that comes to mind is HK BBQ Master or the one across from it at Parker Place.  However, there is a another in Vancouver that could be spoken in the same breath.  It is Cantonese BBQ on Kingsway near Joyce.  I've been here countless times and finally got to eat in (rather than merely taking out, things are fresher when eating in of course).  We ended up with one of their lobster dinners that included some other dishes.

Naturally, we started with some of their famed BBQ including the Roast Pork and BBQ Duck.  As you can see in the picture, both looked pretty legit.  I've had these before but first time dine-in and yes there was a difference.  The duck skin was low in fat (must be the breed of duck) and whatever fat there was, it was rendered.  Hence it was crispy and delicious.  The duck meat was moist and well-brined as well.  As for the roast pork, it featured crispy and light crackling with juicy pork.  Very good.

So they have a couple of Lobster specials and we picked the one that included 2 Lobsters on Sticky Rice.  These were pretty small lobsters, but there was enough meat to go around.  Lobster was cooked right and it was coated in a flavourful starch-thickened sauce.  Might've needed a bit more of it since the sticky rice underneath was a bit bland and dry.  Overall, it was decent, but the one at Ho Yuen Kee is superior.

For our 3 dishes, the best of the bunch was the Peking Pork Chops.  Just on appearance alone, the sauce looked on point, especially with just enough of it to coat each piece.  Despite the sauce, each pork chop still had some crispiness on the outside while the meat itself was juicy and tender with a rebound texture.  As for the sauce, it was nicely balanced with sweetness and tanginess.  I feel this is one of the better versions I've had lately.

Since my son loves beef brisket, we decided to go for the Beef Brisket and Daikon Hot Pot.  This ended up to be pretty brothy, but we didn't mind.  Some places tend to thicken the sauce a bit more.  The pieces of brisket, which was more like beef rib finger meat, was tender and full-flavoured from the stewing.  Since the daikon was cooked separately and then added to the hot pot, it didn't take on as much flavour, but better than being too salty.

Being a bit boring, we got some veggies into our meal with the Yau Choy in consommé. This was merely whole stalks of yau choy cooked in broth with some ginger and fried whole garlic cloves.  As you can imagine, this was quite light in flavour and unless we actually ate one of the garlic cloves, it was almost undetectable.  The point of the dish is to be more "ching" or clean.  The yau choy was cooked properly maintaining a light crunch.  I won't add the pictures of my takeout orders in the past, but I can say that the BBQ Pork is just "okay" here.  The marinade doesn't penetrate the meat enough, hence it relies heavily on the dextrose glaze for impact.  I went for half-fat, half-lean and it was still not completely juicy.  Stick with the BBQ Duck here, it is one of the best in town.  In terms of dining in, the food is above average and of course you get to eat the BBQ at its optimal state.  Be aware that they are very busy and the seating is very tight.  Also, the BBQ Duck usually sells out before dinner time, so either come earlier or reserve one.

The Good:

- Excellent BBQ Duck

- Roast pork is good too

- Other dishes are above average

The Bad:

- Very busy, things sell out and seating is tight

- Horrible parking lot

Ju Contempory Cuisine (New Menu)

The original menu at Ju when it first opened was quite ambitious due to the many options of canapes, appetizers, entrees and desserts.  Although most of the dishes were delicious, there was a lack of focus.  Now hitting its stride, they have streamlined the menu so that it prominently features a tasting menu for $88.00 (which is a steal).  To compliment this, there are a select few a la carte dishes available.  This post will feature the other dishes we had in addition to the tasting menu (featured in the previous blog post).

One of the most interesting items was the Teriyaki Chicken.  Yes really.  It was an oven-roasted chicken leg that was super tender and juicy.  The teriyaki was quite balanced with sweet, savoury and tanginess.  To compliment this, there was a mildly spice serrano aioli.  To provide a bit more acidity and bite, we had some pickled ginger.  Lastly, some katsuobushi (or bonito flakes) provided the usual combination of salty umaminess.

Something a bit more conventional but with a twist, we had the Gochujang Yook Hwei.  This was essentially a beef tartare but with the quintessential Korean condiment in the sweet & spicy gochujang.  The CAB was soft and tender while the use of gochujang showed restraint.  That ensured that the meat flavours were still present and the subtle sweetness of the Asian pear was noticeable.  The seaweed on the side served as a vessel for the beef.  However, I would've personally liked some tapioca chips for more crunch.

Looking like merely a slaw of some sort, the Creamy Green was actually quite good.  Sure, it wasn't anything complex or super amazing, but at the same time, very welcomed.  Something so fresh, crunchy and light acted like a palate cleanser and also made us feel just a bit healthier.  It was comprised of shredded cabbage and field greens dressed in a creamy coconut dressing.  Naturally, it was aromatic and sweet, but there was a balancing tanginess as well. 

Trying to stay with the Korean influence on the menu, the Miso Jjajang-Myun was their take on the classic dish.  Rather than a black bean sauce, we found a fermented soybean, which gave similar salty richness, but in a more subtle manner.  Naturally, this dish would be incomplete without the onion and they were sweet and well, oniony.  There was also tender zucchini, cabbage and mushrooms which added both texture and a bit of extra earthy sweetness.  Noodles were perfectly al dente.

Off to another noodle, the Vongole Kal-Guksu was another interpretation of the Korean dish.  I very much enjoyed this as the knife cut noodles had so much bite and rebound.  Very nice mouth feel and chew.  The ample clams afforded sweetness and a bit of brininess.  The addition of garlic and shallots upped the aromatics and overall flavour profile.  Some zucchini provided soft textures and just a tiniest bit of bitterness.  So unassuming, but delicious.

For reference only, I will refer to a previous time I visited Ju and talk about another item that is still currently on the menu.  It is the Poached Oyster with roasted garlic mushroom espuma, rosemary oil and togarashi crunch.  This is particularly great for people who don't eat raw oysters.  However, it was poached just enough, so that all of the butteriness and brininess was still present.  It was not obscured since the espuma was subtle.  Loved the crunch on top.

They also have an array of unique cocktails including the Rose-Merry, Maple Cinnamon, Snowy Battle Field and Rice Punch.  Despite my love for fruity drinks, my favourite of the bunch was the Maple Cinnamon with its milky "eggnog" like vibes.  Just sweet enough and Fall-tasting.  With the rosemary being torched, there was some definite woodsy aroma going around.  But then, the actual cocktail was fruity with pomegranate and vodka.  The Rice Punch had some vodka and sik-hye (which is a sweet rice drink), hence this was lightly sweet and plenty nutty from the rice.  Lastly, the Snowy Battle Field consisted of Calpico, gin, vodka and red wine.  This looked quite Halloween-like, but was went down easy due to the addition of sweet and tangy Calpico.  There is one more item on the menu that I didn't feature, which is the Galbi.  However, it is in the tasting menu, so you can refer to it in the previous post.  I would say that these items were good, but the tasting menu is still the best bet.  You get all of the highlights and it is only $88.00.

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

The Good:

- Overall tasty

- Reasonably-priced

- Unique cocktails

The Bad:

- Theses dishes can supplement your meal, but the highlight is the tasting menu

- Noodles may need more colour

Ju Contemporary Cuisine (Tasting Menu)

I've already done a post about Ju when they first opened up shop.  They featured an ambitious menu that focused mainly on elevated Korean Westcoast fusion.  I really enjoyed the dishes, especially some of the outside-the-box offerings such as the Vegan Bibimbap.  Well, they have streamlined the menu and are now offering a Chef's Tasting Menu for only $88.00!  Considering its downtown location, quality of food and nice dining room, that is a steal.  We dropped by to try that tasting menu as well as some of their new dishes.

Let's get right to the tasting menu first starting with the Jook.  Yes, as the name implies, this was a rice porridge with earthy espuma and mushroom.  If you can imagine, this wasn't exactly the rice porridge we would find at home (otherwise, why would you be eating here?).  It was much thicker and creamier with the nutty essence of the rice as well as the umaminess of the espuma.  The slices of mushroom on top gave off a natural woodsiness due to the rawness of the preparation.

So the next course was something called Tofu Mochi.  However, it really wasn't mochi due to the absence of glutinous rice.  Rather, this was made with arrowroot and hence, the texture was a bit gummy and sticky.  Personally, I loved it as the mouth feel was something I am familiar with.  However, for some, it might seem too viscous.  In terms of flavour, it was sitting in a dashi broth that was clean, a bit briny and sweet.  Very subtle, but again, I enjoyed it.

Somewhat on the same textural path, we had the Botan Ebi Chawanmushi.  This was super silky and had the subtle sweetness of the dashi broth.  No excess moisture was to be found which meant it was just pure soft custardy egg.  A little herb oil added some brightness as well as a beautiful colour contrast.  On top, we found the buttery sweet ebi that had an ever-so-light crunch.  It was a naturally sweet compliment to the egg.  Also, some togarashi crunch provided the needed texture to the dish.

Moving along, we had the Cured Salmon with a green mandarin sauce served table side.  This was a fairly straightforward dish with the salmon being buttery soft with just a touch of chew.  It was lightly cured, so the sweetness of the salmon still stood out.  The green mandarin sauce had a good viscosity and was a bit sweet and tangy with some background herbal notes.  It was a nice compliment to the salmon.  There was some pickled veggies and soy gel on the side to add even more acidity, some crunch and some saltiness.

If the next dish looks eerily similar to Cantonese shrimp toast, you are not far off.  The one you see here is the Bulgogi Menbow-Yuk which is the Korean version, but with CAB beef instead.  This was quite good with a crunchy seedy bread that had lots of body and nuttiness.  Inside, the bits of Wagyu were buttery and fatty.  Like most versions of this dish, the bread soaked up some oil.  In this case, it wasn't super soaked though.  Some mustard oroshi helped cut some of that greasiness though.

Sure, the next dish looked rather pale, but ultimately, it was super delicious.  The delicately steamed Black Cod was draped with a miso cream and topped with Northern Divine sturgeon caviar.  Now, you might think steamed fish wouldn't be that interesting right?  Well you would be wrong as this was one of my favourite courses.  The fish was buttery and flaky while seasoned enough that the natural sweetness of the fish still stood out.  That miso cream had all of the good fermented things about miso and provided a rich, yet subtle umaminess.  Of course the caviar didn't hurt with briny pops of saltiness.

Our last savoury course was something that I absolutely loved.  It was their signature Galbi with perilla chimichurri, braised daikon and Ju jus.  The slice of Certified Angus Beef short rib melted in my mouth with the fatty richness that was also gelatinous.  It had such rich beefiness that nothing else was really needed.  Well, it didn't hurt that we found some jus and a bright chimichurri to compliment.  On the side, the daikon was tender and was penetrated by the braising juices.

The dessert that we were served was the Chocolate that featured a Belgian milk chocolate half-sphere with black sesame cake, vanilla coffee espuma and dalgona crumb.  I've had this before and it was just as good as I had remembered.  This ate very light where the chocolate mousse was creamy and just sweet enough.  The cake was nutty and aromatic while the crumb was crunchy and sweet.  Getting everything into one bite was the key to eating this.  We also had some other of their a la carte dishes and I will feature them in another post (along with the cocktails).  For now, I will say that this tasting menu is an absolute steal for $88.00.  Food is great and there are enough courses.  I recommend that you go give it a try!

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

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Well-prepared eats
- Enough courses

The Bad:
- The tofu mochi may not be everyone's cup of tea

 

Filipino Noodle Joint

For those who have visited Filipino Noodle Joint in Chinatown, you may or may not already know that they have moved locations.  In fact, they have moved to another city into Surrey.  Hey business is tough these days and also factor in operating costs and rent, yah, I'd get out of Vancity as well!  Now they have a proper full-service restaurant complete with a bar (liquor license pending), karoake and dedicated takeout counter.  They also have all the favourites and more...

We are going to focus on their daily specials (at 15% off) including the Sisig on Mondays.  As you can see, they serve the full version with tender crispy nuggets of pig head (yes, you read that right).  There is a good tang to it which helps cut down the heaviness.  I find that the spice level is noticeable.  That is great for me as I like a kick that goes with the rest of the complimentary flavours.  To add even more acidity, the lemon wedge is there for you to squeeze.

So on Tuesdays, you can get the Lomi with a rich and thickened chicken broth, egg noodles and bagnet on top.  Yes, this is also quite the filling bowl where the starch-thickened soup is silky and somewhat sweet with equal parts savoury.  The egg noodles are plentiful and nicely al dente.  Of course the best part is the bagnet on top (pork belly) with its crunchy crackling as well as its fatty (not too fatty) and tender meat.  It is aromatic and natural tasting.

Moving onto Wednesdays, we find the Loaded Beef Pares which is a beef brisket stew topped with bagnet and fried chicken skin.  This comes with a choice of egg noodles or rice.  The rich beef broth gravy pairs well with both the noodles and rice.  The rice would be my choice of starch as it really soaks up all of the beefy goodness of the gravy.  Now the gravy isn't overly sweet nor salty.  Rather, it has the natural beef flavours really coming through.  The chunks of brisket are fall-apart tender.

Okay, bagnet resides in 2 of the dishes already, so why not have the Ilocos Bagnet on top of a rice bowl?  Well, this Thursday special is made for those people who love pork belly with crunchy cracklings.  Lots of texture in this and the accompanying fried pork fat aromatics.  To lighten the load, there is a side of vinegary dip.  To top it off literally and figuratively, we have a fried egg.  The rice is perfect being fluffy and not wet.  This also comes with a side of soup too.

So Fridays are reserved for the grandest of offerings in the Skewer Tray with 2 each of the pork, chicken and fish balls with one Filipino wiener.  This will go really well with a beer (when they get their license).  This is all meat, so I don't recommend that you finish this by yourself (unless you are a football player).  Love the char on the chicken and pork.  Nice smokiness and further enhancement by the sweet sauce.  Meat is juicy.  Fish balls are bouncy and airy.

On Saturdays, they are featuring Karaoke and bottomless Sago At Gulaman.  This brown sugar drink is sweet (but not too sweet).  There is a wealth of sago pearls and different jellies that make this a refreshing and texturally interesting beverage.  On Sundays, we find Fried Chicken Skin with some slaw, lemon wedge and tangy sweet dip.  Also great with beer, the crispy skin is rendered and has a light crunch.  As you can see, the specials are the full-versions and at that, they are huge.  Good value here and also good food.  Just waiting to get their liquor license!

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- Hearty food
- They have a full dining room now

The Bad:
- Yes, area is still in transition but don't worry about that, people will leave you alone