De Dutch Pannekoek House

I was completely out of ideas of what to eat today for lunch. Sure, there are still quite a few places in North Delta I haven't tried yet; but I really didn't feel like eating Asian food. So I thought I could have something a bit different - breakfast for lunch! No not Denny's, IHOP, or Whitespot... I had thoughts of De Dutch Pannekoek House ever since Whipping Girl told me to review it. You see, Whipping Girl (see Morton's) had not gone to De Dutch ever and she was very pleased with her meal. She was so excited, she was bugging me to go write about it. Fine. So I decide to visit the one at Strawberry Hill in Surrey today.

I've been to this location before and I believe it's one of the nicer and more spacious De Dutch's around. Typically, most older locations inhabit the smallest of spaces. The one in Burnaby North is very tiny and the entrance is at the back alley! Check out Kim Ho's review at I'm Only Here for the Food for this location. So what is all that special about De Dutch anyways? First of all, it is a chain, but it only exists in BC and Alberta. Moreover, as the name implies, they have Dutch pancakes, which is like a bigger and thicker crepe. The pannekoek itself is 12" in diameter, where it takes up an entire large plate. Some other items that are unique to De Dutch are their Born 3 eggs and De Bacon. With many places offering free range eggs now, I guess serving Born 3 eggs isn't necessarily a big deal. The bacon at De Dutch is a bit different, it looks and tastes more like thinly sliced ham.

Since this was going to be my lunch, I ordered the hearty Boer's Breakfast, which comes with a pannekoek, 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, farmer's sausage, hashbrowns, whipped cream and hollandaise. If you are wondering why the eggs look so funny, it's because I asked them to hard baste them (they don't poach eggs here). The pannekoek itself doesn't look too intimidating, but trust me, it's quite alot. Despite the hollandaise and whipped cream (which I didn't use), the meat items were not very oily. The sausage, bacon and ham were all quite lean. The quality of the items were pretty good; however, I'm not sure if I can justify the $16 (!) price tag.

For that price, you can eat at practically any fine dining restaurant for breakfast and even lunch. Not all the dishes cost that much, but if you wanted a pannekoek, you'll be paying $12 minimum, and that is usually only the pannekoek with some fruit. So, did I enjoy the food? Yes. Was the service good? Yes. Was I comfortable? Yes, especially at this newer location. Was the breakfast worth the money? Depends. If you really had a craving for it, it is probably a treat. But on a regular basis, this is too pricey for the overall experience.

The Good:
- Unique pannekoeks
- It's definitely a bit different from the usual places
- Good quality ingredients

The Bad:
- Expensive
- For older locations, tight and cramped dining rooms

De Dutch Pannekoek House (Various Locations)
#110 - 7310 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-501-0930
www.dedutch.com