Fraser Park

If you're into food, you are aware that good food can be found in the strangest of places. By virtue of reading this post right now, I'm assuming you are definitely into food! Take Pizzeria Farina for example. It is located in the infamous Cobalt Hotel. Not a place we'd necessarily associate with good Neapolitan pizza. Rather than thin crust, there used to be thin clothing or lack of... But that's another story altogether. Then there is Be'wiched out in the middle of nowhere in Surrey where one can find some of the best sandwiches in the GVRD. Another is Hilltop Cafe out in the far reaches of Langley that really should've been featured in Triple D's when Guy Fieri was in town. One other place that will be on the Food Network (You Gotta Eat Here) is Fraser Park Restaurant.

Guess what? It's located in the middle of nowhere. Well not really nowhere, but not somewhere you'd think to find a restaurant. Hidden in an industrial complex, Fraser Park serves up a mix of German, Filipino and North American food. That would be the influence of Chef Anton Heggen, with his wife Sylvia, opened the place in 1997. A bit sketch-looking outside, the group I was with were pretty skeptical. However, I assured them good eats would great them inside. Well, the inside was pretty eclectic and that didn't seem to calm anyone's nerves. Everyone reluctantly gave me their choices (you have to order at the counter) and waited to be proved wrong. It wasn't long before they were converted as the food arrived. The Clubhouse had everyone satisfied with its triple deck of goodness. With a generous portion of real turkey meat, edam cheese, multiple crispy bacon strips, lettuce and thick slices of ripe tomato, no one could finish it. A clubhouse is not a complex sandwich, but when filled with well-prepared and plentiful amount of ingredients, you have a winner (especially for $6.00!). The accompanying fries were not bad being crispy and once again, plentiful.

On the topic of plentiful, it continued with the Beef Quesadilla. It was jam-packed with tender slices of beef and cheese. Sure, it looked more like a strange burrito than a quesadilla, but we really didn't care. Once again, a whack-load of fries were served on the side which was also found with the "Ham" burger. So why did I put ham in quotations? Because there was actual ham in the hamburger. The meat patty was a blend of ham meat and spices which resulted in an interesting flavour. A bit salty and completely moist, this was more of a ham cutlet sandwich than anything. The one thing that could've been better was the bun, it was rather chewy and hard. Mrs. Spray Bottle wasn't that hungry and thought she could get away with a side order of Potato Pancakes, but boy was she wrong. She was presented with a full plate of those suckers and she could not finish. These consisted of shredded potato, carrots and onions which were fried up nice and crisp on the outside. Inside, they were fluffy and moist.

She offered some to me, but it wasn't necessary since I went for the Deluxe German Breakfast which was a plate of pure gluttony. It consisted of a 3-egg scramble consisting of peppers, onions and cheese, hashbrowns, potato pancakes, toast, bacon, cured ham and Anton's hand-made sausage. As opposed to the regular German Breakfast, the deluxe included a side of Schnitzel. When it arrived, it looked intimidating and in the end, I only finished half. The scrambled eggs were pretty fluffy with enough gooey cheesiness while the plethora of meat was quite the chore to eat. The hashbrowns were more like fried potato discs which I was quite indifferent about. I was actually a bit disappointed with the schnitzel because it was hard and dry. Despite the schnitzel, we were more than satisfied with the food especially considering the portion size and price. Definitely good value and definitely an interesting place. It's got history and character which makes the experience honest and left us wanting to return as soon as possible.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Large portions
- It is an interesting place

The Bad:
- A bit hard to find
- It gets quite busy - not a place to linger