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I never did get to try Chefe Daniel when it was located on Kingsway near Nanaimo. It was a little restaurant that was not particularly interesting to look at from the outside. Well their new location on King George Hwy and 80th in Surrey is a whole lot bigger. I'm still not sure if the place looks super inviting, but it is at least a start. Inside, it still retains the basic decor left by Villa Verdi. Chill and I decided to give the place a try for lunch one day.
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We began with a simple appie in the Chouriço (Grilled Portuguese Sausage). Essentially the Portuguese version of chorizo, this was well-charred and caramelized on the outside. Hence, the flavours were impactful and aromatic. It was definitely meaty with whole chunks intermittently strewn within processed portions. It was purposefully salty with a background spice. This was further enhanced by the 3 house-made sauces which included Jalapeno Cilantro, Peri Peri and BBQ. For myself, I loved the peri peri as it was creamy, rich and purposefully spicy. They have an even spicier version that is tongue-burning. I found the jalapeno cilantro to be bright and light with only a touch of heat. Smoky and balanced, the BBQ was not too sweet nor salty.
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For my main, I went for the fish special being the Cobbler coated with corn flour and pan-fried. It was served with a garlic butter sauce and baby shrimp. With a texture similar to sole, the cobbler was flaky, moist and delicious. It was well-seasoned while the coating was thin and light. I found the sauce to be creamy, salty enough and exhibiting a light brininess from the shrimp. As for the sides of grilled veggies and fingerling potatoes, they were also on point being cooked just enough. I loved the smokiness of the zuchini from the charring. Chill went for the Febras or Pork Medallions with a mushroom sauce. These large pieces of pork were buttery tender while being nicely grilled. The sauce was Earthy with hits of saltiness and tang. This was a well-executed dish (pictured is the second version on another visit, where it came with fries and without mushrooms).
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I ended up returning the very next day with a few friends to try some more dishes starting with the Sardines on Toast. The dish that showed up wasn't exactly what I had envisioned. It consisted of a crunchy piece of toast covered by mesclun greens, shredded sardine, tomatoes and olives dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. This was rather appetizing and very filling. I wasn't sure about the shredded sardine though as it wasn't texturally my preference. For my main, I had the Linguine with clams and cilantro. At first, I was concerned that the cilantro would overwhelm the dish, but everything was good as it was aromatic and only in the background. The pasta was al dente while there was a minimal amount of moisture. With plenty of clams, I got some brininess to go with the balanced acidity and spiciness.
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Dee Dee decided to try the Bitoque with fresh cut fries, pickles, olives and fried egg. Although this looked like a mess of ingredients, they all worked in harmony. The buttery beef was barely medium-rare, yet was tender and nicely charred. With the tang from the pickles and mildness of the gravy, this was a pleasant dish. The fresh cut fries were only lightly crisp with plenty of potato goodness left. On the table was also the Galinha (Chicken Sandwich) which was served with a soft multi-grain bun. The chicken itself was flavourful and moist while subjected to the jalapeno cilantro sauce. With an extra dousing of the peri peri, this ate a whole lot better than it looked. For $9.00 this was reasonably-priced as it came with house-cut fries as well. Overall, we felt the value was there and of course the food quality as well.
The Good:
- Interesting and generally solid eats
- Reasonably-priced
- Nice people
The Bad:
- Food is good, but could benefit from more refinement
- Not sure about consistency as the Febras looked and tasted totally different on 2 separate occassions
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