Chopsticks on Pho

Oh wow, it has been a long 12 years since I last set foot into Chopsticks on Pho out in Surrey.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the food there and at the time, they were doing something that wasn't quite trending yet.  You see, they were one of the few Vietnamese restaurants operating in a modern dining space as well as doing fusion cuisine.  I had my doubts about it since it really wasn't a thing yet.  They are still around today, so they must've been doing something right!  Well, the owners remembered me and decided to invite me back.

In addition to the food from the kitchen, they now produce their own artisan sauces that are all hand-made and jarred.  Some of these were used in the Tasting Platter consisting of one skewer each BBQ Nem Pork and the Satay Chicken, Grilled Garlic Prawns, Salad Roll and Crispy Pork Spring Roll.  Now if you look at the picture, you'll notice that the spring roll is missing.  Not sure what happened there, but it will make an appearance later on in another dish.  I really enjoyed the skewers as the meat was tender and full-flavoured due to the marinade and sauce.  The pork was tender with a nice rebound while exhibiting its usual smoky and sweet notes as well as some fish sauce.  The satay sauce for the chicken was sweet and nicely spiced.

Here is one dish where the spring roll makes an appearance...  in the Chef's Special Rolls.  As you can clearly see, the spring roll was encased within a salad roll.  Now the picture doesn't do this roll justice in representing its size.  I ate half of one and that was a lot.  First things first, the spring roll itself was large and stuffed with moist and seasoned pork filling with veggies and noodles.  The roll remained crispy despite being surrounded by a salad roll.  What really elevated these rolls was the dips on the side.  In particular, the satay sauce was out-of-this-world.

After this, we moved onto the BBQ Pork Banh Mi with all pickled veggies, jalapeno, cilantro and house aioli on a French baguette.  This featured an airy and light baguette that still had some bread texture left.  The outside was a bit crusty but didn't shatter completely upon the first bite.  Inside, the pork was moist and tender while having a pleasant natural flavour.  Good crunch from the ample pickled daikon and carrots as well as some acidity.  Peppers provided heat while the cilantro did its usual herbaceous thing.  This came with a bowl of broth that could be eaten as soup or used as a dip for the sandwich.  I personally wouldn't dip it because I love the crunch of the bread, but hey, you do you!

If you have followed me for awhile, you will know that if something is going to be vegetarian, it'd better be delicious for me to like it.  Well, their Pho Xao Tofu or veggie Pad Thai was something that I really enjoyed.  The ample amount of noodles were chewy with lots of elasticity.  They were bathed in a sweet and tangy sauce that was also briny and a touch spicy.  The addition of pickled veggies and the sprouts added crunch while the peanuts provided the aromatics.

A similar-looking dish was the Curry Basil Fried Rice with chicken.  Being a fried rice, this ate remarkably different though.  The chewy rice was fairly sauced, hence it was a touch moist instead of being dry.  The initial spoonful was definitely sweet and full of caramelized flavours.  The basil did come through while the curry was more in the background with an earthy spice.  I felt that with the squeeze of the lime wedges it really helped balance out the sweetness with acidity.

Moving back to the vegetarian side of the ledger, we had the Buddha Bowl which was presented much more like a platter.  It consisted of rice noodles topped with pressed tofu in a satay curry peanut sauce.  This was like liquid crack as it had elements of sweetness, spice, pepperiness and nuttiness.  The texture of the pressed tofu added body to the dish and I kept eating it.  We also found some crispy veggie spring rolls and a wealth of veggies with a vegan vinaigrette dressing.

So here we have the Crispy Pork Spring Roll make another appearance.  Since it was cut diagonally lengthwise, you can see how there was so much filling.   This came with the Chicken Satay (which was also in the Tasting Platter).  Really love that satay sauce with the coconut rice as the aromatics were off the hook.  Normally, this comes with vermicelli noodles, but since we've had that in other dishes, the rice was definitely a great canvas for the impactful sauce.

In addition to the Curry Basil Fried Rice, the other new dish on the menu is the Curry Beef Pho (this can be had with other proteins as well).  Piled up high, the rare beef was sliced thin and as it cooked in the hot broth, it turned out to be buttery tender.  About that broth, it started off sweet and clean but had a considerable kick at the end.  There was nuttiness and briny spice from the red curry.  Really delicious and a good alternative to the regular Pho.

But we couldn't pay them a visit and not have a bowl of "The Works" Pho right???  With the same rare beef majestically on top of the other meats (brisket and beef meatballs), this was a hearty bowl of soup noodles.  The broth was very clean and did not have any muddled flavours.  In fact, it was sweet and meaty despite not looking as such.  There was some background daikon and star anise vibes.  Hidden underneath, there was a considerable amount of al dente rice noodles.

To compliment our savoury and spicy food, we got a couple of smoothies including the Aloe Avocado and Mango Tango.  Both were creamy and smooth while not too thick, so they were very drinkable.  Since I love mango, that was my favourite of the two.  They were on the sweeter side, but paired well with our food as it was almost like a palate-cleanser.  Onto dessert, we were served some Vietnamese Coffees that were so rich and flavourful.  The condensed milk really balanced it off with creamy sweetness.  The dessert was Deep Fried Dough Sticks with a sweet peanut dip.  These "yau tiao" were super light and airy with a crispy crunch.  Loved the dip as it was purposefully sweet with lots of peanut flavour.  In the end, it was so nice to be back at Chopsticks on Pho.  Glad to see that the owners are still doing well while continuing to innovate with their artisan sauces.  Sure, prices are a touch higher than most, but you are also getting both quality and quantity as well as a nice dining space.  I really should bring the fam out, even though it is a bit of a drive for me!

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

The Good:
- Great-tasting food
- Well-portioned
- Super nice people (I can say that because my first visit was on my own coin!)

The Bad:
- It does cost a bit more than most

Phở Bắc Sup Shop

Meeting up with Lola and Scout in Seattle is always a treat.  If I haven't told the story before, we met them on an Alaskan cruise over 10 years ago.  I was excited to do cruise ship trivia, but could not find a seat at the bar.  However, Lola waived me over and asked if Viv and I wanted to join her and Scout to form a team.  We killed it at that session and subsequent ones on the the 7-day journey.  Since then, we meet up every now and then when we are in Seattle or when they come up to Vancouver!  This time, we met up at a Seattle favorite in Phở Bắc Sup Shop.  They dish up traditional Vietnamese eats with some modern touches as well as offering cocktails.

We started with some fried things including the Pho Fries featuring a dip made of pate pho gravy with minced brisket, herbs, pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapenos and fried shallots.  Oh man this was absolutely delicious.  The uamaminess was so intense with the liver aroma and the sweetness.  Fries were crispy and already good on their own.  We also had the Chinese Donuts that we ended up dipping into the broths of our noodle soups.  They were crispy and not overly dense.

Viv ended up with the Short Rib Pho that featured three bones!  These were so tender as the meat fell off the bone.  There was some delicious meatiness to them and that was filling enough.  But there was still al dente noodles and the broth was fairly clean with the star anise coming through.  We felt maybe the broth was a touch on the lighter side where they didn't overdo it with the salt and rock sugar.  However, there was enough natural flavors from the beef bones already.

For myself, I went for the BBH (or Bun Bo Hue) also sporting a beef rib. This was much more impactful due to the spiciness of the broth.  I wouldn't say it was super spicy, but it definitely lingered.  There was also a bit of brininess and sweetness to the broth.  It cam complete with pork blood cubes and shrimp meatballs.  These meatballs were excellent with a fluffy bounciness to them while being naturally sweet.  The lai fun was slippery and cooked just right.

For Lola, she had the Pho Tron Prawns & Veggies.  This consisted of turmeric noodles tossed in an OG Pho Bac sauce, fried shallots, peanuts and a side of broth.  Those yellow ribbons were the highlight of the dish as they were chewy (in a good way).  Some real earthiness to them and plenty of impact from the sauce.  There was an intoxicating mix of sweet, tangy and briny.  When all mixed together, the prawns and veggies (which were properly cooked) benefited from the awesome sauce too.

For Scout, he went for the Pho Tron with Beef.  This came with the same turmeric ribbons and accompaniments.  There is no soup in this picture because the thought it would be a better shot...  Anyways, the main difference in the protein really changed the dish.  The well-marinated and tender beef provided more punch and depth with salty brininess to already compliment the existing sauce. Overall, we enjoyed the food at Phở Bắc Sup Shop where things were just tweaked enough to create some excitement to the dishes without being completely unfocused.  Loved the industrial vibe of the place and we had some great cocktails too.

The Good:
- Simple and industrial, the dining space worked
- Food was delicious
- Well-planned tweaks to the dishes

The Bad:
- That must be one of the worst parking lots ever
- Gets pretty busy, you might have to wait

Tang's Vietnamese

Awhile back, I had stopped by for a quick meal at Tang's but only tried their Pho and not much else.  I thought it was pretty solid but lamented that I didn't try some of their more unique dishes.  Well, that wasn't going to be a problem this time around since Jackie and I were there to sample their featured items as well as ordering a few classic dishes as well.  I enjoy the collection of Vietnamese restaurants in town that now serve more than the basic dishes.  Love the variety.

As such, we began with a dish that is becoming more popular in some of the newer Vietnamese spots in the Signature Viet Butter Garlic Beef.  Of course we always have to compare to the most famous version of all - Phnom Penh.  This one featured less cilantro and smaller slices of raw beef.  But in my opinion, this was more tender and easier to eat.  In terms of taste, this was more mildly-flavoured where I could taste the garlic butter. 

Next up, we had the Tamarind Viet Snails.  These can also be had in sea salt or garlic butter.  I actually thought tamarind was a good match for these large snails since the other 2 flavours could have less impact than the tangy and sweet tamarind.  Texturally, these snails did have a chew, but were ultimately tender enough to eat fairly easily.  Due to the amount of meat, the impactful tamarind helped flavour the dish.

Another special dish was the Saigon Salted Egg Yolk Prawns.  This could also be prepared with tamarind, but since we already had that, the salted egg yolk was the flavour of choice.  The medium-sized prawns were deep-fried enough that we could eat the whole thing including the shell.  However, it may have needed just a bit more deep fry because some parts were hard to chew.  The prawns were perfectly cooked with sweet bouncy meat.  As for the sauce, it was definitely full of creamy salted egg yolk as well as garlic.

We added 2 other smaller dishes in the Shoulder Pole Chicken Feet with kumquat and lemongrass as well as the Oyster Pancake.  The gelatinized chicken feet were appealing in texture while so flavourful from the ample lemongrass.  There was sweetness and tang from the kumquat.  Rather plain-looking, the oyster pancake ate much better than its appearance.  It was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  There was a good amount of buttery and briny oysters hidden within.

We had Combo Set A as well that consisted of sugar cane prawn, grilled beef skewer and spring roll with vermicelli.  This was a good mix of components where the prawn paste on the sugar cane was bouncy and sweet.  The beef was well-charred, tender and caramelized.  Spring roll was crispy with a tender pork filling with the usual carrot and wood ear.  Also on the plate was basil, lettuce and veggies.  The trick here is to wrap all of the ingredients like a lettuce wrap.

On the topic of wraps, the Beef Rib Bánh Hỏi featured well-charred grilled beef short ribs.  They were marinated well with a rich sweetness accented by the saltiness of the fish sauce.  The dish came with vermicelli noodle sheets that you can wrap the short rib, basil and veggies.  Add some nuoc cham and you have a nice little bite with textures and briny saltiness.  As much as this was an appetizer of sorts, I would've been happy eating this by myself!

Here we go with the Phở Dặc Biệt because well, we needed to feature phở  at a Vietnamese restaurant.  As mentioned earlier, this was a solid bowl of phở  with a broth that was clean and had some rich flavours.  I wouldn't way it was particularly meaty, but the sweetness of the charred onion and daikon were present.  I could also get the licorice hits from the star anise.  The noodles were abundant and al dente while the thinly sliced meats were tender and plentiful.

Lastly, we had the Beef Luc Lac served on a sizzling cast iron plate.  Rather than cubes of meat, this featured thinly sliced beef.  This was closer in texture to the one found at Phnom Penh but with a much lighter sauce.  It was still sweet, savoury and caramelized.  Combined with the runny egg, this worked well with the plain rice on the side.  Overall, the food at Tang is quite good across the board.  Lots of interesting dishes in addition to the usual stuff.  We didn't get to try their hot pot or crab, but it looked good on the menu!  Something else to try next time!

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

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Some unique dishes
- Well-portioned

The Bad:
- Parking at the back can be a challenge on busy nights
- On the pricier side

District Noodle House

I recently visited District Noodle House located in the fast-growing River District for a quick lunch.  All I had was a Pho and came away satisfied.  I really wanted to try more dishes since their menu is fairly large.  However, I was short on time and really, how much can I eat when I only had one more person with me?  Well, my prayers were answered when I attended a menu tasting along with Jackie, Roanna, Eileen, Joyce and Diana.  Yep, with those capable eaters with me, I know we could put a dent into the menu!

So we began with some standard items in the Pork Spring Rolls and Grilled Pork Patty Salad Roll.  I thought the spring rolls were pretty textbook and then some.  Beyond the crispy wheat wrapper, the filling was good where the mix of pork and veggies was spot on and the texture was not too dense.  In fact, it was on the fluffier side despite the roll being jam-packed with filling.  As for the salad roll, it featured a big piece of sweet and charred pork patty.  What made this roll was the addition of mini fried spring roll inside.  It added a wonderful crunch.

Next, we had the Deep Fried Chicken Wings as well as the House Special Chicken Salad.  Tossed in garlic, black pepper, peppers and butter, these wings had plenty of aroma and flavour.  I found the wings to be crispy with enough seasoning for impact.  However, the toss with the components could've been more aggressive (as they tasted great on their own).  Texturally, the wings were juicy and tender.  As for the salad, it was appetizing with a nice tanginess and brininess.  Loved the crunch of the cabbage while the big pieces of shredded chicken were succulent.

We tried the Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio featuring lightly seared beef tenderloin topped with a house special sauce.  The sauce seemed to be a sweetened soy with elements of acidity and also some saltiness.  On top of the carpaccio was some cilantro, scallions, fried shallots, peanuts and pickled onions.  I found some pieces of the beef to be tender while larger and thicker slices to be have a bit more chew.  I did like the dressing as it was plenty savoury with acidity and a minor hint of spice.

Now here is where the meal got interesting as they are introducing a selection of new dishes including the Vietnamese Mango & Papaya Salad.  This was super delicious where the crunch from the green papaya provided texture while the dried banana blossoms added a "meatiness".  Nice tangy dressing that had sweetness and brininess.  On top of the salad were rice crisps topped with sesame & lime marinated shrimp, balsamic caviar and wasabi mayo.  These bites had a little of everything including crunch, creaminess, bounciness from the shrimp, tang from the balsamic and a bite from the wasabi mayo.

Another new dish was the Double Mustard Green Rolls consisting of shrimp, butter eggs and Vietnamese ham.  These looked like harmless rolls, but in reality, they were less straight-forward than they appeared.  Let's start with the mustard greens first.  They were blanched until tender, but not mushy.  There was the unmistakable slight bitterness such as mustard greens can be.  Inside, the combination of ingredients would've been enough for impact, but the side of mắm nêm added a pungent fermented shrimpiness.

Continuing on with the new, we tried the Vietnamese Pizza served on grilled rice paper and topped with shrimp, pork bits, butter corn and spicy mayo.  Loved the creativity by using multiple layers of hydrated rice paper that was crisped up by putting it on a hot grill.  The result was a firm crunch that was a bit smoky.  Having the spicy mayo on top provided a kick that was complimented well by the bursts of sweetness from the corn niblets.  Add in the meatiness of the shrimp and aromatics from the pork, we had an appetizing dish.

Those were the smaller new dishes, but they also had 2 larger mains in the Fried Banh Chung & Beef Short Ribs.  This was plated as a composed dish with a large braised short rib covered with a creamy peppercorn sauce.  Meaty and fork tender, the short rib was flavourful on its own but the sweet and savoury peppercorn sauce added the necessary moisture and saltiness.  I found the sauce a touch salty, but when eaten in moderation, it was tasty.  On the side, there was fried sticky rice that was super crunchy.  Some pieces were a bit too crunchy, but others were soft and glutinous.  Perfectly roasted honey glazed carrots completed the dish.

The other dish was the La Vong Sizzling Cod Fish Wrap & Roll.  It was impressively presented on a hot cast iron plate with dill and scallions.  Tender and flaky, the pieces of cod were marinated in fermented rice, turmeric and galangal.  Hence, the fish was not devoid of flavour.  However, the dominant item was the ample amount of dill.  This was served with ruby red lettuce and herbs as well as vermicelli and rice paper.  There was a choice of sauces including the mắm nêm and mắm tôm.  Lots of impact here including the pungent brininess of the mắm tôm.

Back to regular programming, we had a selection of sandwiches including Grilled Lemongrass Pork, Grilled Lemongrass Chicken and Cold Cut.  All 3 featured crusty and airy baguettes that stayed as such even though it sat there on the table as we took our photos.  My personal favourite was the cold cut or Bánh Mì đặc biệt since it was loaded with meat.  It had the usual ingredients such as pickled veggies, jalapenos, mayo, soy sauce, cucumbers and cilantro.  The other 2 contained plenty of moist charred meat as well as the same ingredients.  The chicken was predictably more tender.

Of course we had to get some soup noodles too in the form of Pho Satay and Pho Ga.  I thought that the base broth for the Pho Satay was quite meaty, yet light at the same time.  I didn't think it was particularly spicy, rather it was aromatic.  The noodles were not overdone and the meats were both plentiful and tender.  As for the Pho Ga, it consisted of chicken meat and chicken meatballs.  I found the meatballs to be fluffy and bouncy while the chicken was fairly tender.  The broth was clean and sweet.

Hitting all the usual dishes, we had the  Special Rice Platter and Special Vermicelli. Both included lemongrass chicken, pork chop and pork patty.  The vermicelli added a spring roll while the rice included a runny egg.  As usual, we found pickled daikon and carrots, lettuce, cucumber and tomato.   Fish sauce was served on the side.  Much like the meats in the bánh mì, they were well-marinated, properly charred and tender.

We had another rice dish in the Vietnamese Shaking Beef.  This featured cubes of beef that were wok-fried with onions and garlic.  This was plenty aromatic from the caramelization of the beef.  Furthermore, the beef was marinated enough so that it was tender with a balance of sweet and salty flavours.  Naturally, this went well with the side of chewy rice (in a good way).

We did a complete tasting by sampling a wide range of their Drinks including Lemongrass Kumquat Black Tea, Lychee Iced Tea, Passionfruit Iced Tea, Creamsicle Orange, Condensed Milk Cold Coffee, Strawberry Smoothie, Durian Smoothie, Avocado Smoothie and Jackfruit Smoothie.  My favourite was the Durian Smoothie hands down.  It was creamy and well-blended where the durian flavour came through without being overbearing.  It was lightly sweet and aromatic.  I also enjoyed the Lychee Iced Tea as it was not too sweet and really refreshing.  Overall, the food we had at District Noodle House was quite good with some of the new dishes being both interesting and showing the creativeness of the kitchen.  Great addition to the River District!

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

The Good:
- Good eats
- Well-portioned
- Some interesting creations

The Bad:
- Pho broth can be a bit more aggressive

- Prices are on the higher side, but then again, what is cheap these days?

Bánh Mì Très Bon White Rock (Mother's Day Brunch)

We all know Mother's Day is special and restaurants take notice by offering brunch, buffet brunch and other options.  Some of us might take mom out to Dim Sum, sushi, pasta, Indian or high-tea.  So many choices, you can't go wrong.  Well, there is something a bit different where Bánh Mì Très Bon in White Rock is offering a Mother's Day brunch that is what can be referred to as Vietnamese High Tea.  Yep, at a very reasonable price of $65.00pp, one can dine on a nice selection of savoury and sweet treats.

The first item was the savoury with a 2-tiered tower with a selection of Banh Mi on top and a combination of mini Salad Rolls and Spring Rolls on the bottom.  I particularly enjoyed the meatball banh mi since it was stuffed full of tender spiced-pork.  Combined that with the crunchy baguette, it was a nice textural contrast.  The mini salad rolls were great with the peanut-hoisin sauce.  I wished that the mini spring rolls were just a bit larger as they were super crunchy with not enough filling.  Yep, as the picture suggests, there was also a mini-bowl of Pho included per person.  Choices include beef, chicken or vegetarian.  The second tower was more traditional sporting a collection of pastries and sweets including Lemon Tart, Chocolate Mousse, Creme Brulee, Key Lime Cream, Macarons, Peach Danish, Blueberry Danish and mini-Croissants.  This was a solid spread of little desserts where the lemon tart was my favourite.  It was tangy with a firm shell.  The key lime cream was also tangy and refreshing.  Macarons were on point with a crispy shell giving way to a soft and slightly chewy interior.  They were on the sweeter side. The last tower was a bevy of Fresh Fruit that consisted of honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, green grapes and Mandarin oranges.  Sure, this was just fruit, but all of it was fresh and ripe.  In particular, the honeydew was so sweet and soft.  Pineapple was also sweet with its classic acidity.  Strawberries were flavourful and all very fresh.  Grapes were firm and juicy.

They also have a Mother's Day Dinner Platter for $89.00.  It serves 4 people and consists of cubes of rib-eye steak, rice & watercress salad (not pictured), grilled pork & beef skewers, mini savoury crepes & woven vermicelli noodles.  We tried the main platter and the meats were well-charred and nicely marinated.  Great for wrapping in the delicate vermicelli noodle sheets with the herbs and fish sauce.

Also available are the Xoi Chien or sticky rice cakes topped with a tangy sweet & sour sauce of $16.00.  Absolutely loved these as the sticky rice was both firm, but also soft and chewy inside.  There was a meat filling and also meat in the sauce.  This made it hearty and robust. The sauce was full of impact where the sweet and sour was balanced.  But really, it was all about the textures in this dish.

Lastly, there are Mimosas available to compliment either the Vietnamese high tea or the dinner platter.  Options included orange, pomegranate or passionfruit for $15.00.  So there are the Mother's Day options at Bánh Mì Très Bon.  I feel that the high tea is a fabulous deal, not only because you get so much food for the money, but is also delicious.  Definitely something a bit different than the usual brunch or dim sum choices we have in town.

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

The Good:
- Something a bit different for Mother's Day
- Good value
- Tastes good

The Bad:
- Not so sure of those mini spring rolls