Meet Oyster

As mentioned in many previous posts, AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat) has become a thing again in the GVRD.  For awhile there, it seemed to go the way of the Dodo (infamous bird that went extinct), never to be seen again.  However, with rising restaurant prices and the overall cost of food these days, an all-inclusive price for everything seems like a good value.  One thing that I have seen across-the-board is the generally higher quality of eats available for AYCE.  Now, don't get me wrong, AYCE is still very much a quantity-over-quality endeavour, but if you have reasonable expectations, it can be completely acceptable or even very good.  The latest AYCE I visited is Meet Oyster with its individual hot pots and Japanese food.  This time, I was here for their Late Night Set, but I also go to order off the AYCE menu just to try some more items (that were not included in the Late Night Sukiyaki Set).

Let's get right into the Late Night Sukiyaki Set for only $29.99.  Yes, you really get all that you see on the table for one low price.  I honestly can't see you spending less money at a variety of restaurants considering the quality of the ingredients you get here.  In addition to the included broth (additional cost for more premium broth), we had 2 choices for seafood (abalone & oyster), 2 hotpot classics ( tripe & beef meatballs), 2 beef choices (Wagyu beef & premium beef chuck), 2 soy-based items (fish tofu & crispy tofu skin rolls), 2 noodles (konjac noodles & fresh ramen noodles), 3 veggies, 6 pcs sashimi and 6 pcs sushi.  Also included was an array of sauces and condiments for the sauces.  This was more than enough food for 2 people.

Not that we didn't have enough food already, but we also decided to try out some items from the AYCE menu for "informational purposes" including the Aburi Oshi with salmon, unagi and hamachi.  Sure, these wouldn't be mistaken for Miku, but they were good in their own way, especially for AYCE.  I particularly enjoyed the salmon as it was lightly-torched being buttery soft atop chewy sushi rice.  The amount of mayo sauce was modest, so it didn't get too creamy nor greasy.

From there, we tried a few of their other items including the Meet Oyster Tartare, Unagi Rice and Sashimi.  I thought the salmon tartare was pretty decent and they did pile on a tonne of tobiko on top as well as a quail's egg.  So it had so nice buttery silkiness.  The unagi was pretty standard and adequately sauced.  We found the sashimi decent much like the one included in the Sukiyaki set except this one had tamago and unagi.

One of the best things we ate was the selection of Oysters including one topped with cheese, one topped with durian and the last one topped with garlic.  Beyond the fact that the oysters were gigantic and plump, the toppings made all the difference.  I enjoyed the garlic one the most because it kept things simple and I could still get the full brininess of the oyster.  The durian was just enough that I got a taste without it being overwhelming.  I found the cheese to be pretty good too, but less interesting at the other 2.

To give a bit more of an overview of the items you can choose from other than the ones we chose for the Sukiyaki Set.  These included Sliced Snakehead Fish, Fish Meaballs and Scallop (we also got another oyster because the place is called Meet Oyster!).  As you can see, it maybe AYCE, but the quality of the items weren't compromised.  The fish cooked up buttery soft while the meatballs were bouncy and sweet.  Scallop was big and included the mantle.  Yup, the oyster was buttery and soft with its classic sweet bininess.

For dessert, we ordered the Fried Coconut Milk and it was so good, we got another plate!  These were lightly breaded and fried with creamy and sweet coconut milk that was super aromatic.  Not sure about the mayo on the side, it didn't need it.  Lastly, we had the Kirkland Hagen-Daas Ice Cream Bars to finish and hey, pretty generous offering for dessert!  In general, the food at Meet Oyster is quite good in terms of quality and quantity, especially for the price.  That late night sukiyaki set is a really good value and if you want even more food, then just go for the AYCE.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Good quality ingredients

- Overall decent food

- Well-priced, especially that late night Sukiyaki Set!

The Bad:

- It isn't the biggest place, so seating will be limited