Sherman's Food Adventures: Ham & Eggmans

Ham & Eggmans

Vancouver's brunch game has steadily evolved where stand alone spots are fairly common.  So that means no one should be defaulting to a hotel or chain restaurant for their morning (or early afternoon) eats.  Now I'm not slagging the aforementioned spots because they can be good in their own right.  Rather, I'm merely suggesting that these independent places can not only hold their own, they can be unique and offer up a more homey experience.  One of the newer joints is Ham & Eggman's out on Rupert in shuttered location of Aburi King.

I was recently invited along with the foodie fam (Joyce, David, Maggi, Hanson and Diana) to try out their brunch service.  Diana has been here before and she really wanted to order the Oatmeal with seeds, nuts and dried fruit.  Well, she is a smart woman as it was actually really good!  Completely cooked through but still appealingly chewy while not too wet, the oatmeal was spiked with enough cinnamon for effect.  It wasn't very sweet where the other ingredients could be heard.  Another one of her suggestions was the Wild Mushroom Benedict.  As it turns out, this was also very good with a properly toasted English muffin (stayed crispy, but wasn't hard either).  There was plenty of button mushrooms underneath.  Not sure about the wild part, nevertheless, they were buttery and well-seasoned.  Eggs were soft poached and the Hollandaise was rich, but had enough tang to balance.

We got versions of their hashes in the Pork Belly Hash as well as the Lomo Saltado Hash.  For those who are hungry, these 2 were the largest plates of the bunch.  The pork belly hash sported crispy pork belly, Asian greens, cabbage, shiitake & kennebec hash browns tossed in gochujang BBQ sauce.  Normally, when something has gochujang, I cringe because it is completely overused.  Not here though, there was just enough of it to be noticed without being goopy.  Potatoes remained crispy while the big chunks of pork belly were buttery soft and tender.  Consisting of Peruvian style marinated steak, fajita peppers & onions, grape tomatoes and fresh herbs, the lomo saltado was full of earthiness from the initial hit of cumin.  The sweetness of the peppers and onions were also prominent.  I found the steak lean and a touch dry, but still tender.

For our one choice of scramble, we ended up choosing the Mexican since it had the best chance at having some colour.  Other than that, we also found the combination of house-made chorizo, fajita peppers & onions, aged cheddar, salsa and sour cream appealing.  The best part of the scramble was the eggs itself.  Unlike many other versions, the eggs were still fluffy and not overdone.  There was plenty of ingredients that made the whole thing hearty and filling.  On the side, the kennebec potatoes were awesome being crunchy (remaining so until we finished the last one) with a fluffy interior.  Something a bit different was the Shakshuka with Turkish style spiced tomato sauce, poached eggs, feta cheese and fresh herbs.  Although the eggs weren't cooked within the sauce, that didn't detract from the dish.  I found this version to be very bright and tangy being on the lighter side.  Best eaten atop the accompanying toast and runny eggs.

Our last 2 dishes were pretty similar in the Chicken & Waffles and the Waffles by themselves (with hash browns though).  Flanked by a huge bowl of fresh fruit, the fried chicken thigh was very good.  It was aggressively fried where the batter was crunchy and not greasy at all.  The chicken itself was moist and juicy.  Although the Belgian waffles were crispy on the outside, we found them to be a bit dense.  For the plain waffles dish, it was served with hash browns, maple syrup and strawberry compote.  I thought it was a nice touch they included real maple syrup rather than the thick artificial stuff.  That is pretty much the theme of the place as everything is house-made except for the bread.  Seeing how we practically ate the whole menu, I can confidently say that most of it is well-portioned and carefully made.  I would come back.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Well-portioned
- Everything made in-house
- Some interesting items on the menu

The Bad:
- Waffles could've been less dense

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