Shoom Restaurant

Whenever someone takes over a failed restaurant, there are possible expenses such as renovations, new menus, equipment, staff and a name change (and new signage).  However, there are times something gets lost when the name doesn't actually change and/or is only slightly changed.  We have the perfect example with Golden Pizza and Sandwiches in Whalley where they actually serve Vietnamese food.  Or how about Mega Ill that replaced Mega Grill on Kingsway.  Now we have Shoom in the former location of Dhoom.  I would've never guessed a place named shoom would be serving up Chinese food.

According to Apu, after hockey one day, the place serves up large plates of well-made Cantonese food.  We took his advice and made the trek out there after Monday softball.  Once done with our some complimentary daily soup, we had the first course of the Peking Duck.  Plated atop shrimp chips on a large wood plate, the pieces of duck skin were light, crispy and easy on the fat.  The dark roasted red hue was appealing as well.  We liked how they included a good amount of soft thin crepes as there was enough every piece of duck skin.  Next, we were presented with the Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp.  Everyone marveled at the portion size and probably got too excited for a plate of eggs.  However, it was really good with barely cooked eggs that were fluffy, silky and well-seasoned. Nestled within were big butterflied shrimp that were meaty with a firm snap.

When the Sweet & Sour Pork arrived, we were not only amazed at the portion size, but also with the strips of meat.  You see, many places use fatty cuts of meat such as the pork butt or shoulder.  But in this case, the pieces were all meat with very little fat.  It seemed like they either used the loin or actual pork chop.  Furthermore, the meat was tenderized just enough that it resembled pork cheek with a buttery rebound texture.  As for the sauce (which was just enough that it clung onto each piece), it was more sweet than sour.  Not resembling the picture on the menu at all, the Curry Beef consisted of more green and red bell peppers than actual meat.  Despite this, the dish was still large and there was more than enough tender slices of beef to go around.  The curry itself was creamy with noticeable heat.

Up next was the Duck Lettuce Wrap, which was the second course of the Peking Duck.  We were impressed with that there was more duck than veggies.  Moreover, the large chunks of duck were still moist and not dried out.  The dish as a whole was subject to good wok heat where the ingredients were dry, not overcooked and well-seasoned.  On the other hand we didn't like how the lettuce was cut as the pieces were far too small to wrap anything substantial.  Our last dish was the Gai Lan with Seafood including scallops, shrimp and squid.  The seafood was stir-fried expertly where the squid had a nice rebound and appealing chewiness while the shrimp exhibited a meaty snap.  Unfortunately, the large gai lan stalks were overcooked and no longer crunchy. 

On another visit with the grandparents, we had exactly the same dishes except the curry, where we substituted it with the Lobster on Fried Rice (yah, some substitution!). This 3lb beauty was fried up beautifully where it was succulent and sweet with only the right amount of batter.  The rice underneath was dry and chewy where it could've benefited from more sauce.  We noticed that all of the other dishes were slightly smaller in portion size, but still mostly on point.  Once again, the gai lan was overcooked. Despite this, the rest of the food was completely on point and tasty.  As much as the prices are on the higher side, the quality and quantity completely justify it.

The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Quality ingredients
- Large portions

The Bad:
- A bit pricey