Song Huong Eatery

Many years ago, I would visit Song Huong out on Nanaimo for their Vietnamese fare, in particularly, their Bò 7 Món.  For those who are not familiar, this is seven courses of beef that is usually served during celebrations.  So when they opened a second location near me, I knew I had to go.  I actually went twice with the second visit being the one I had their Bò 4 Món.  Yes, they no longer have the 7 courses, but hey, I'll take 4 courses!

But before, we got to the 4 courses of beef, we had the Bánh Cuốn Chả Lụa Bánh Cống on our initial visit.  This consisted of steamed rice rolls with ground pork and wood ear mushroom as well as deep fried fish cake and Vietnamese ham.  I thought the sheets of rice noodle were a bit firm, but still soft enough.  Filling was tender with the crunch of the wood ear.  Fish cake was crispy and soft in the middle.

Of course we have to try the Phở Tái Nạm Gân and this featured a broth that was fairly clean and not overly fatty.   I would say the overall impact and flavour of the broth were good where we had some meatiness and I also could taste some of the usual components including star anise, daikon and charred onion.  Noodles were al dente while the meats were tender.  However, the portion size was concerning.  Sure, I do have a bigger appetite, but really, this would be more of snack for me.  At least maybe offer the option of an XL and I would gladly pay the higher price.

As for the Bún Bò Huế, there was definitely spice and a touch of brininess, but as for depth, it didn't have the hit of lemongrass that I would've liked.  It was there and not strong enough, or not there at all.  Even the brininess could've been dialed up by 3 times.  Also, the portion size, like the Pho, was pretty small with a limited amount of noodles and only just enough meat.  Again, an optional larger size would've been appreciated.

Moving away from noodle soups, we had the Lemongrass Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl.  There are pros and cons about bone-in chicken, but for me personally, I'm not a fan of bone-in as it makes it really difficult to eat.  With that being said, the chicken was moist and flavourful though.  Spring roll was great with a crunchy rice paper wrapper.  Pork and veggies in this was sweet and briny while being juicy.

Here we are with the Bò 4 Món with the first course being the Sliced Beef in vinegar hot pot.  All the fixin's were there including rice paper and the hot water to dip them into (you only need to dip it for a few seconds!).  Rice noodles, herbs, pickled veg, bean sprouts, onions and anchovy sauce were also there to wrap inside the rice paper along with the beef.  There was a small amount of lemongrass, peanuts (on the side because my daughter has sensitivities) and chili sauce as well.

The next 3 courses consisted of Grilled Beef Rolls (Satay Beef, Beef wrapped in La Lot Leaves and Beef wrapped in Caul Fat).  Naturally, these were all very similar where the ground beef was juicy and tender.  They were well-seasoned being a bit sweetness while nicely charred and caramelized.  We enjoyed wrapping the meats and making our own salad rolls.  I really wished they still had the 7 courses, but I guess it might not have been a big seller, so it is understandable.  Overall, the food is pretty solid at Song Huong, but portions are either too small or just average in size.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- They have Bò 4 Món

- This location is spacious and clean

The Bad:
- Portions are too small (should offer larger portions for an extra charge)

- Service is good, but sparse

Cibo Trattoria

Cibo Trattoria is yet another restaurant I've not been back to for quite some time.  I know in the meantime, there have been a few changes including the head chef.  Currently, they have one that is from Naples, which gives the restaurant some legitimacy.  However, we all know, it doesn't really matter where someone is from, rather, it is how they cook.  We stopped by for an early dinner before heading over to the Orpheum for some music from the VSO.

To get things started, we had a bunch of appies including the Focaccia and Burrata.  Extremely fluffy with a slightly crispy exterior, the focaccia was only okay for me.   I wished I had some more inherent flavour from the bread before I dipped it into the EVOO and balsamic.  As for the burrata, it was served with prosciutto.  I thought the burrata was fresh as it was still creamy in the middle and not runny.

Really enjoyed the appetizer that I selected, which was the Grilled Humboldt Squid.  This was a generous piece where it was a bit smoky from the grill.  Loved the colour on it.  It had an initial squishy chew to it, but gave way tenderness.  It was properly seasoned and it rested a tangy arugula and chickpea salad.  Some salsa verde added more brightness and seasoning.

Viv went for the Seared Ahi Tuna atop an orange fennel salad.  Evenly seared on each side, the ahi tuna was soft, but a bit meaty at the same time.  I wished there was some salt atop the tuna, but the citrus vinaigrette was plenty punchy to make things bright and tangy.  More sweetness and crunch was added by the fennel and orange slices.

For our mains, we had a couple of pastas including the Linguine with Sea Scallops.  The fresh pasta was prepared firmly al dente and had a good chew to it.  Really great mouth-feel and completely fragrant from the saffron.  The creaminess of the sauce held on tightly with the pasta without having a big pool of it on the bottom of the plate.  Scallops were nicely seared and slightly rare in the middle.

With an abundance of meat sauce, the Tagliatelle al Ragu was my favourite dish.  Just like the previous pasta, the tagliatelle was fresh and cooked until barely tender.  There was a firmness to it that added texture and a robust quality to the dish.  That was completely aided by the rich ragu where the meat was super tender while taking on the sweetness of the veggies.  Super delicious.

In addition to the pastas, we also the Asparagus Risotto.  There was an option to add scallops, but since we already had them, we had it as it came.  Honestly, the dish didn't need it as it was plenty rich and cheesy with al dente grains of arborio rice.  The risotto spread on the plate and that was our first indication of proper execution.  Moreover, the distinct flavour of asparagus emanated from the risotto.

Although the Roasted Duck Breast was cooked to medium-rare where it was tender and juicy, the skin was a real miss.  It was flabby and not crispy.  Hence, it was chewy and frankly, unappealing.  Really too bad as the meat was perfect.  Furthermore, the amarena cherry jus provided the delicious sweet & tangy compliment to the duck.

Our meal then transitioned to dessert with the classic Tiramisu.  This was textbook with soft espresso-soaked lady fingers as well as some liqueur.  The mascarpone cream was light and mildly sweet.  With a dusting of cocoa powder on top, we had some chocolaty goodness.  Solid tiramisu.

The other dessert we had was the Vanilla Bean Pannacotta.  This was also quite good where the pannacotta set properly but was not too gelatinized.  Hence, it was creamy and light.  Sweetness was measured and the fresh strawberries added brightness and sweet tang (pretty great even though they were not really in season yet).  Overall, the meal at Cibo was beyond solid.  Sure, somethings could've been better, but the new chef knows what they are doing with the pastas and the risotto.  Would come back.

The Good:

- Solid pastas and risotto

- Well-portioned

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Duck skin was not great

New Mandarin (Dim Sum Peking Duck)

For awhile there, I was visiting New Mandarin for dinner and dim sum regularly.  However, with me being out-of-town frequently and also Viv breaking her ankle, some things just got lost in the shuffle.  Well, we would make a return to New Mandarin for dim sum and to try out their Beijing Duck special.  Yes, most people don't order that for Dim Sum, but for only $59.98 for one course, that can be considered a deal!

Of course we had to get some Dim Sum in addition to the Beijing Duck.  The first dish to hit the table was the Deep Fried Taro Dumplings with Scallop.  These were light and crispy on the outside while not being overly greasy.  Soft and fluffy, the mashed taro encased the usual ground pork filling.  It was moist and was mixed with a starch-thickened sauce.  Since the top was open due to the scallop, more oil seeped into the taro.

Since we ordered over $100.00 worth of dishes, we were presented with the bonus dish of BBQ Pork.  Since this was the kurobuta variety, it was plenty fatty and hence juicy.   It wasn't flabby though as there was just enough fat to make things rather bouncy and gelatinous.  Meat was tender an moist.  Really enjoyed the sweet honey-glazed bark.

As you can see in the picture above, the Beijing Duck was carved with crispy skin only and also breast meat with skin attached.  This way, you could take your pick as to wrapping it with either option.  Alternatively, you could merely eat the breast meat on its own.  The duck was quite good with crispy skin that wasn't fatty while the breast meat was tender and flavourful.

For another $15.00, you could add another course in the Duck Lettuce Wrap.  Really good value in my books because that would be $65.00 for 2 courses!  This was also good with crunchy veggies and plenty of moist duck meat.  Seasoning was a touch on the saltier side, but the hoisin helped balance it with sweetness.  I love how the iceberg lettuce was in big pieces (can wrap better) and was not wet.

We got back to the Dim Sum with the Truffle Siu Mai.  These were large while stuffed full of large shrimp and pork.  The dumpling was uniformly bouncy and almost juicy.  Natural sweetness from the pork and shrimp were present while the seasoning was just enough for impact.  Truffle sauce was not distributed evenly, so 2 pieces were more truffly than the other two.

Of course, I must talk about the Ha Gau (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings).  As you can see, the dumpling skin on these was translucent and fairly thin.  There was a slight chew to them, but they had good elasticity.  I liked how they didn't fall apart when I picked them up.  Inside, the shrimp filling was buttery and moist with an appealing snap.  Proper seasoning on them too.

Other than tripe, the Steamed Bean Curd Skin Rolls are my favourite Dim Sum item.  With an aggressive fry on the bean curd skin, it ensured a chewier texture (which was good).  Inside, the pork filling was moist and had that requisite bouncy texture.  Not much starch-thickened sauce in this one, so the bean curd skin did eat more dry.  I didn't mind it, but others might.

Even though my kids were present for this meal, we still got the Shrimp Spring Rolls with Garlic (we like them too!).  These were a bit small, but at least we had 4 of them to an order.  They were crispy and just a touch greasy but that didn't make of break this dish.  Inside, the shrimp filling was buttery and moist with that desired bounciness.  Well-seasoned too with hits of garlickiness.

Even though there isn't a whole lot of food with the Steamed Chicken Feet, I love ordering it nonetheless.  These were good with soft deep-fried skin that had a bite still.  Underneath, the cartilage and fat were soft and ate easily.  It wasn't too soft where things were melting away either.  In terms of seasoning, it was plenty sweet, savoury and garlicky.

One of their more unique items is the Hot & Sour Soup Dumplings.  They are somewhat similar to the ones found at Mott32.  Usually, these are on point, but this time around, there was a lack of soup.  Too bad really, as the dumpling skin was relatively thin and great elasticity.  Also, the pork filling was tender with a slight rebound.  The small amount of soup was classic hot and sour with tang and some spice.

One of Viv's favourite Dim Sum dishes is the Stuffed Eggplant.  So yes, I ordered it!  It was quite full of shrimp mousse, to the point where there was more than eggplant.  Texturally, the mousse was not overly dense, yet not too airy either.  It had a light rebound while being a good balance of savoury and sweet.  The eggplant itself was tender without being mushy.  We would've liked to see a saltier black bean sauce though.

We always prefer the Baked BBQ Pork Pastries over the BBQ pork buns and hence, we ordered our favourite.  The pastry was generally flaky and buttery (mostly likely lardy), especially at the top.  However, the sides were a touch gummy with less flakiness.  Inside, the BBQ pork was mostly lean and enveloped in a sweet glaze.   

One item I've never had before at New Mandarin is the Seafood & Chinese Yam Dumpling.  These featured a translucent skin that was appealingly chewy with great elasticity.  Inside, the pieces of seafood were cooked just right and there was a some greens in it for brightness.  I thought these were a good alternative (or addition) to the ha gau if you one felt they wanted something different.

Moving onto 2 Rice Noodle Rolls, we had both the BBQ Pork and Prawn.  Both were quite large and featured buttery soft rice noodle sheets.  With that in mind, there was still some elasticity, so they didn't break upon contact.  Lean and plentiful, the BBQ pork was really noticeable in every bite.  That created a meatiness to go with the soft sheets of noodle.  Same with the prawns, as you can see above, there was much more prawns (with a buttery snap) than noodle.

In a pretty dark shade of brown, the Beef Meatballs looked to be heavy with the dark soy.  In terms of texture, these were a bit firmer than most other versions I've had lately.  Hence, it was much more meaty than being airy or fluffy.  With a good amount of greens mixed in, there was a herbaceous brightness to the meatball.  This came in a set of four rather than the usual three everywhere else.

One of my favourite desserts at New Mandarin at their Deep Fried Purple Yam Chrysanthemum Balls.  These were every-so-lightly-crispy while the inside had a mochi-like quality to them.  However, the texture was almost fluffy and super airy.  With some chrysanthemum and syrup, the whole thing was floral and sweet.  With that being said, it wasn't crazy sweet either.

Finally, we had the classic Baked Egg Tarts served as a trio.  Yes, they were a little inconsistent, with one being darker, then medium dark and light.  However, they all ate flaky and buttery with discernible layers.  Egg filling was silky and mildly sweet.  Overall, this was another delicious Dim Sum service at New Mandarin.  It was extra bountiful since we went for the Beijing Duck.  Very well-priced as well.

 

The Good:

- Solid dim sum

- Service has improved over the years

- The Beijing Duck special

 

The Bad:

- With the place so busy, your meal might be a little rushed 

 

Folietta

I've always been a fan of the family of restaurants run by the Wentworth Hospitality Group.  These include Tableau, Maxine's and Homer St Cafe.  So when I heard they opened Folietta Italian restaurant out on Nanaimo Street, I was anxious to try it out.  Turns out that Viv beat me to the punch and went for their Happy Hour first.  With positive feedback, I decided to book it for my mom's birthday dinner.  Since it was an early reservation, we were able to order some items off the Happy Hour menu as well.

As such, I ordered quite a few things off of that menu including the Focaccia with Ricotta.  We enjoyed the creaminess of the ricotta combined with the black truffle and olive oil.  The flavours were not strong but definitely there to provide some aromatics.  The focaccia itself had a firm crispy exterior giving way to a softer almost airy interior.  We also ordered a plain focaccia with EVOO and balsamic.  That was great with the pastas.

Also part of the happy hour menu, the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio was sliced paper-thin.  As such it was also super buttery and tender.  The fact there was only a modest amount of fat helped its cause as too much would make it chewy.  On top, we found pickled mushroom, bagna cauda, smoked egg yolk and shaved reggiano.  The combined flavours resulted in acidity, brininess and nuttiness.  Didn't get a lot of smokiness from the egg yolk though, but loved the texture.

When Viv suggested we go for the Insalata Mista, I thought she was joking.  When she pointed out that there was cubes of salumi and crispy pieces too, I was sold.  That itself gave the salad plenty of robust saltiness to compliment the tanginess of the dressing and the pickled peppers/olives.  Greens were crisp and fresh while the generous amount of sharp provolone afforded extra body to the salad.

From salad to all meat, we had the Polpette e Sugo.  These meatballs consisted of veal and pork.  They were soft and moist with an almost fluffy texture, but while retaining a certain meatiness.  The slow-roasted sugo was bright and very tomatoey.  Nice tanginess and balancing sweetness.  That toasted focaccia was great with the sauce as it had a smoky crispiness.

Up until this point, the appies were quite good, yet the Calamaro was my favourite.  Each strip of Humboldt squid was soft and tender while having a slight chew.  Exterior was crispy and light as the coating wasn't too thick.  Yet what really made this dish was the Puttanesca underneath.  It was intensely flavourful with hits of brininess, salty tanginess and slight spice.

Rounding out our appies, that were all from the happy hour menu, was the Parmesan Crocchette.  These were $3.00 per piece.  I thought they were tasty with a crispy shell that revealed a soft and creamy mochi-like texture.  Definitely could taste the salty nuttiness of the parmesan.  With grated prosciutto di parma and reggiano on top, we got an extra hit of saltiness.

Onto our mid-course, we had some pastas including the Bigoli with Venetian duck ragu.  This was absolutely fantastic with firm strands of thick bigoli.  The texture of the pasta held onto the ragu well and each bite was impactful with rich meaty notes and sweetness.  Extra body and nuttiness was provided by the cheese. Loved the texture of the crispy skin pangrattato.

As great as the first pasta was, the Linguine was equally delicious.  It featured Zeke's spot prawns and the briny sweetness combined with the shellfish jus made this pasta memorable.  The natural shellfish flavours created a connection with the prawns.  Quite often, a seafood pasta is disconnected from the components as there is no seafood flavour.  Not the case here.

We moved onto the main dishes starting with the Pollo e Crostone.  As much as its appearance was fantastic, the chicken itself was rather dry.  However, the piece of charred focaccia with garlic jus was super tasty.  On the side, we had the Piselli Grigliati.  I wanted to like the grilled spring peas but they were so limp and overdone, there was no texture left.  On the other hand, the lemon ricotta at the bottom was creamy and tangy.

We weren't a fan of the chicken, but the Maiale was on point.  The spiced pork chop was cooked beautifully where it was slightly pink inside, but fully cooked.  Sporting a cheesy taleggio crust, there was some tanginess already, but the fennel sausage soffritto was money.  It was meaty, salty and tangy.  Really complimented the pork with brightness and umaminess.

Onto the sweets, we only shared 2 because we had a Trafiq cake waiting at home!   With the marscapone crema poured on top table side, the Tiramisu was quite good.  I found the ladyfingers to be soaked until moist while not being mushy.  There was a balanced espresso hit while the marscapone itself was creamy and purposefully sweet.  I thought the presentation was an interesting touch.

The other dessert we had was Dolci al Cioccolato Trio featuring dark chocolate terrine, chocolate salami and chocolate torte.  This was a chocolate lovers dream!  I loved the salami as the pistachios added crunch and nuttiness.  Torte was rich and smooth with an appealing density.  Nice sheen on the ganache in the terrine.  Those candied hazelnuts added crunch.  Overall, our meal at Folietta was good.  I'd skip the chicken and snap peas though.  Service was excellent and we would be open to a return visit.

The Good:

- Loved the pastas

- Lots of selection with the happy hour menu

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- It was busy, so food came out a bit slow

- Skip the chicken and snap peas