Avishan Persian Restaurant

After the first time I had visited Avishan out in Langley, the food continues to occupy a space in my mind.  The meats were prepared with such precision and the flavours, oh they were impactful and delicious!  Not to mention the generous portions as well as the friendly service provided by the staff.  What a little gem in the heart of Langley City.  I've been wanting to do a return visit for quite some time and coincidentally, I was invited back!  Well, they didn't have to ask me twice!

Upon sitting down, we were served the obligatory Black Tea with sugar cube on the side.  This is typical of Persian culture to offer guests some tea before anything else.  This was a nice start to the meal.  Just like last time, I had to go for the Kash Bademjan (Eggplant Dip) to kick things off.  Consisting of mashed grilled eggplant topped with whey sauce, sauteed onion, garlic and mint, this was a veritable flavour bomb.  Lots of tanginess from the whey complimented by the earthiness of turmeric.  The eggplant itself had a bit of smokiness and was almost creamy.  The chopped walnuts provided some texture to the dish.

When we look at a menu and see Chicken Wings, we might consider it a default item.  You know, something that all menus must have so that they are appealing to as many people as possible.  However, these were no ordinary fried chicken wings doused in some form of hot sauce.  Rather these were grilled and exhibited intense smokiness and caramelized flavours.  They were super flavourful and the meat was still quite juicy.  The skin was nice charred and somewhat rendered.

If you wanted a variety of meats, the best dish to get here (in my opinion) is the Vaziri.  This consisted of one each of a Koobideh and Grilled Chicken kebab. Made of ground lamb, the koobideh was juicy and tender with the unmistakable gaminess of lamb.  It was well-seasoned and spiced where the sweetness of the onions came through as well as the earthiness of the turmeric.  As for the chicken, it had some nice charring and the meat itself was tender.  It wasn't juicy per se, but not dry either.

It was suggested we try the Ribeye Steak.  Well, I wasn't really sure about that, but was pleasantly surprised that it came out perfectly medium-rare (close to rare, it is how I like it).  The steak had a nice char and it was well-rested.  The result was tender meat that wasn't oozing out juices.  This paired well with the saffron rice as well as the barberries with their tangy sweetness.  Considering how expensive steak is these days, it was a great value at only $39.99.

Normally, I'm not a fan of ordering Salmon Kebabs because they are usually overdone and flavourless.  However, this one completely impressed me because not only was the salmon moist and flaky, it was also completely seasoned with smokiness.  The salmon was so juicy that you can literally see the moisture on the wood cutting board.  This, like the other dishes, was served with saffron rice, salad and grilled tomato.

The last time I was at Avishan, I really wanted to have what Bluebeard was having - The Braised Lamb Shank.  But I was enjoying lamb chops already...  This time around, we did get the lamb shank and oh it was fantastic.  Fall-off-the-bone and super moist with the usual lamb gaminess.  It was well-seasoned and took on the sweetness of the onions and aroma of the roasted garlic.  This has to be one of the best dishes here amongst many great dishes.

Onto the sweets, we had the Cake of the Day, which was Pistachio Cake as well as the Saffron Ice Cream.  The cake looked fantastic and despite some harder parts on the exterior, the inside was moist and nutty.  Not too sweet and ate actually rather light with the fresh cream.  As for the ice cream, it was a touch icy, but plenty aromatic and purposefully sweet.  A nice finish to an absolutely delicious meal.  If you haven't been to Avishan, I suggest you do.  Sure, it is in Langley, but if you are heading out there, make it a destination.

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

The Good:
- Delicious well-prepared food
- Well-portioned
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Dining space is small, so make a rez or you need to wait

 

Liuyishou (Burnaby)

Here I am again at Liuyishou in Burnaby.  This time around, I am trying out their AYCE menu for $39.99 per person.  That also includes one soup base for the table.  Currently, they are running a Halloween special where if you are a party of 4 and dressed in a costumes, you get one AYCE meal for free!  That effectively is 25% off.  So make sure you can round up 3 friends or family members!  This is only available on Oct 31st.  Remember though, since this is a Halloween special, you must dress up!  Also, if you say "trick or treat",  they will send out a free special dessert (available Oct 28th - Oct 31st).

Since I've been here so many times, it was nice to see some subtle changes.  Over at the Sauce Bar, they now have a refrigerated serving tray that features 5 different small dishes.  These include Mouth-Watering Chicken, Marinated Pig's Ear, Sliced Pig's Feet, Tofu Skin and Seaweed Salad.  All are very good and kept cold by the cooling trays.  The sauce portion of the station remains quite the same but there are now sliding sneeze guards.  Nice to keep things sanitary!

There is also a small selection of Hot Food that included Fried Mantou, Fried Chicken and Fried Egg Rice.  These are not merely throw-ins or for show, they are actually good.  The chicken is super juicy and the batter is crispy and light.  Fried rice is a bit greasy, yet is chewy and flavourful.  Adjacent, there are some DIY Grass Jelly dessert as well as some cantaloupe and orange slices.  The fruit is actually quite good being sweet and juicy.

Another welcome change is the serve-yourself Hot Pot Bar.  It consists of various noodles, vegetables, bean curd things, fish balls and tofu.  Obviously, this is added due to the introduction of AYCE.  This makes things easier for the staff as these items are easy enough for people to get themselves.  I personally like it since these are some of the items I like most and I could help myself to as many quail's eggs, bean curd sticks, corn and noodles to my heart's content!

For our visit, we ordered a good selection of what is available on the AYCE menu including the popular Beef & Lamb Ring.  Very cool to look at, but beware, you need to cook that meat fairly quickly or it will cook on the board.  Love that their Meatballs are freshly made including the beef and shrimp.  Another must is the Sliced Snakehead Fish.  Super buttery and moist.  One of the extra charge dishes is the Peppercorn Beef Tongue.  It is so tender and buttery.  Worth the $9.95.  Also worth the extra $4.95 is the Brown Sugar Sticky Rice Cakes.  Crispy on the outside with a soft chewiness inside.  The brown sugar is so sweet and rich.

On the topic of sweet, the free dessert that is part of the Trick or Treat promotion is the Deep Fried Yam Balls.  These are also delicious where the outside is lightly crunchy while the inside is soft with a chew.  These are sweet but not too much.  A nice little bite to end the meal.  So you might already know that I love Liuyishou and now that they have AYCE, it is even a better deal.  But try to take advantage of their Halloween special.  Remember to dress up!

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

The Good:

- Affordable pricing for the AYCE

- Food quality for AYCE is the same as their regular menu

- Service is great (based on previous visits as well)

The Bad:

- Location is somewhat small, so less space and less selection of cooked items

The Soup Meister's Nephew

Okay, here is a classic spot located at Lonsdale Quay - The Soup Meister's Nephew.  What?  Wait...  Wasn't this The Soup Meister???  Sadly, he passed away, but his nephew took over and is using the original recipes.  That is definitely a relief for me as I've always enjoyed their soups.  There is something homemade about them (because they are), which makes them healthier, but still hearty.  Jackie and I were invited to revisit an ol' favourite on a very wet day in Raincover.

The best example of their soups being less commercialized and "healthier" is with the Boston Seafood Chowder.  I found it to be more broth-like and since it was thickened with starch rather than a roux, it was less heavy.  Sure, it wasn't creamy per se, but I could easily finish the bowl due to this.  This was pretty chunky with tender potatoes, little cubes of fish and clams.  I decided to kick it up a few notches and added hot sauce.  

Filled with more ingredients than broth, the Steak & Vegetable Soup was a homemade version of Chunky Soup.  The broth was meaty, well-seasoned and peppery.  The veggies were soft but still retained some texture.  I could taste the natural sweetness of the veggies as well as the beef in the broth.  About that beef, it was lean, but had been cooked down enough that it was tender.  Texturally, it was on the drier side though, but I guess it was better than overly fatty cuts.

With a squash and root vegetable base, the Winter Harvest was the heartiest soup of the bunch.  So warming and comforting, this was definitely the best for a rainy day.  The natural sweetness of the components were able to shine while being balanced by the savoury herbs and seasoning.  This was the thickest soup by virtue of natural thickeners of the ingredients.  There was also some rice and chicken to compliment.

Lastly, the Moroccan Chickpea was the most exotic-tasting soup.  It was thanks to the spices that gave it an earthiness and aromatics.  Once again, the veggies were cooked through, but not mushy.  The chick peas also had some bite left.  To give more texture, we found some black-eyed peas too.  Another healthy soup the nourished our soul.  Oh, and each soup came with a fresh roll from Cobs next door.  You could choose from white, whole wheat or focaccia.

Of course you can get all the soups to go served hot, but another way to enjoy them is to buy them in packaged containers for you to heat up at home.  They have all their favourites in both small and large sizes.  It can make for a convenient meal or in the larger containers, soup to share!  In addition, they have hummus and salad dressings.  Nice to see the Nephew has kept it in the family and didn't changes things.  We can still get the same hearty soups that also includes a freshly-baked roll.  Can't go wrong with that, especially when the weather is getting colder.  Go check them out!

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

The Good:
- Hearty, homemade soups
- A bowl is quite a bit of food!
- You can get all their soups to heat up later (from their display fridge)

The Bad:
- Maybe not rich enough compared to other soups, but they don't do it that way  

Jack's Chowder

Back in 2016, we did a trip to the East Coast of Canada and New England.  In addition to the sights and sounds, we feasted on lobster rolls, chowder and the sort.  That was a dream come true since that type of cuisine is one of my favourites.  There haven't been too many choices for spots that focus solely on chowder and the sort.  Now, from the good people who bring us the Shameless Buns food truck, we have Jack's Chowder, located in their former B&M store.  We finally got out there to check them out.

Getting right to the main event, we did indeed try their New England Clam Chowder in 2 ways.  First was their humongous bowl and then also, served in a sourdough bowl.  To further amp the flavours, we found some lobster oil and meaty bacon (from Crack-On).  Gotta say this chowder was thicc!  Lots of tender potatoes and carrots along with buttery clams.  The broth was creamy and rich with the smoky saltiness of the bacon coming through.  Of course the lobster oil added even more aroma.  Ah yes, we must not forget about the oyster crackers on the side too!  One observation is that there is more chowder in the regular bowl, so if you didn't care about the sourdough, this would be the way to go.

They also have fish & chips available, but we tried it in a different form with the Fish Burger.  The large piece of fish featured a uniformly crunchy batter that encased flaky and moist fish.  Loved the tartar sauce as it was creamy, mild-flavoured and full of dill.  The addition of pickles and banana peppers provided tangy and spicy notes to really kick up the flavour quotient.  Furthermore, the bun was well-toasted so that it held everything together without being soggy.

Of course, if we were treating this as a de facto fish & chips, we need to have the Salt & Vinegar Fries right?  These may seem familiar to you and if you have had them before, you would know how great they are!  They were super crispy but not greasy while totally seasoned with the tangy saltiness we love with salt & vinegar.  In addition to the tartar sauce, I would recommend you try the Mango Tamarind Hot Sauce.  Such a fruity and spicy compliment to the fries.  Other sides that we added were the Curried Slaw and B&B Pickles.

For me, I really enjoy a good order of Popcorn Shrimp and the one we had here was really good.   The best part was the actual shrimp itself as they used the Argentinian variety.  If you are familiar, these have a strong aroma and are very shrimpy.  So each piece was flavourful even before the tartar.  Texturally, the shrimp had a meaty texture (that is common with Argentinian shrimp).  I really also enjoyed the batter as it was very crunchy while giving way to soft fluffiness.

For dessert, we had both options including their version of Coconut Cream Pie Pudding and Sticky Toffee Pudding.  Both of these were creamy and light while being purposefully sweet.  Hence, I couldn't stop eating them since I never thought it was too much or too sweet.  The toasted coconut was nutty and aromatic while the sticky toffee pudding had delicious caramel vibes (and caramel crunch too).  In the end, the food at Jack's Chowder was really good and well-portioned.  Great to see a spot offer this type of food and isn't located on a dock or some touristy spot.

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

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Good portions
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Not many seats here  

Kosoo Korean Restaurant Chicken & BBQ (Robson)

In 2018, I had visited Kosoo on Cardero for some Korean eats and it was pretty tasty!  Since then, they have expanded aggressively with different themed restaurants bearing the same Kosoo name.  They have a Korean BBQ in Coquitlam, a Pocha in Chinatown and now a location on Robson specializing in KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and BBQ (but not at your table such as the one in Coquitlam).   Jackie and I checked out the newest Kosoo on 2 separate visits.

On our first go-around, we focused on BBQ and chicken.  We were started off with some Banchan consisting of sprouts, potatoes, daikon and kimchi.  All were pretty good, especially the potatoes as they were tender and sweet but didn't fall apart.  All of our dishes arrived at once, yet I'll talk about the Yangnyeom Chibap first. This was massive amount of sweet & spicy KFC atop chewy rice.  I found the chicken to be juicy and tender (it helped that it was chicken thigh) while the sauce was more sweet than spicy.  There was some greens on top with corn and a mild mayo-based sauce.

Up next we had 2 BBQ items in the Pork Belly and the LA Galbi.  Now one look at the menu and you might be wondering why they are $45 and $52 respectively.  It was obvious to me why, as the amount of meat on the sizzling cast iron plate was enough for 2 people.  Another obvious clue was the 2 bowls of rice, lettuce, spicy salad and huge bowl of soup.  In that case, for 2 people, the prices are actually a steal.  But what about the food?  The meats were nicely grilled being charred and caramelized.  The meats were tender and the galbi was especially flavourful.

At the end, we got to the KFC with a mix of honey butter and mayack (cheese powder).  Since this consisted of bone-in chicken, it required a bit more effort.  There was a mix of white and dark meat where both were moist and tender.  I loved the crispiness of the batter and the cheese powder was impactful.  Lots of cheesy saltiness.  There was also a mix of fried rice cakes (additional cost) whereas the honey butter had corn, rice cakes and some chips.

On the side, we added the Dirty Fries and they were fantastic.  The fries were crispy despite the amount of components on top.  About those components, we had cheese, sauce, corn, olives, jalapenos and bacon.  Normally, I'm not a fan of fries that are loaded with so much stuff, but this was different.  The crispy fries took on the toppings very well and there was a little of everything including tanginess, spice, saltiness and even sweetness with the sauce.

On the next visit, we started off with the Chive Pancake with melted cheese on top.  Now this might look eerily similar to a pizza, but it sure didn't eat like one.  The actual pancake was relatively thin, but still moist inside.  The exterior was crunchy on the edges and plenty nutty tasting.  For the rest of it, it was crispy, even with all the cheese on top.  The grease level was low and the cheese really did add to the pancake texturally and mild notes of cheesiness.

We love spicy cold noodles, so the Makguksu was right up our alley.  It consisted of buckwheat noodles with spicy sauce, carrots, cabbage, onions, seaweed and sesame oil.  First of all, this was served in the right temperature being ice cold.  Secondly, the sauce was on point.  It definitely had a kick, but was also balanced off by some sweetness.  The rest of the ingredients ensured there was some brightness and crunch.  Enjoyed the aromatic nuttiness of the sesame oil too.

Getting a soup into the mix, we had the Selleong Tang with ox bone, beef brisket, mushroom and green onion.  This came with a bowl of rice.  Like many other versions of this soup, it was great for the cold weather and mild-tasting.  However, this had more meatiness and salt content and hence, was decently flavourful with natural sweetness.  The big pieces of brisket were tender and meaty.  Loved eating this with the rice as it was total comfort food.

We ended off big with the Gamjatang Geongol that arrived in a huge pot served on a butane burner.  This came with 2 bowls of rice.  Sure, this was $53.00 but this had 8 large pork backbones that were tender, but still meaty.  The flavours of the pork bone broth were rich, sweet and a bit spicy.  Could definitely taste the perilla seeds.  Overall, the food at Kosoo Robson is fantastic.  Portions are huge and preparation is on point.  Sure, the prices are on the higher end, but usually, the portion sizes are for 2 people or more.  So don't let the prices fool you, it is actually a really good value, especially for a location right on Robson.

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- On point food
- Good location for those in downtown

The Bad:
- The place could use some renovations

Grand Neptune

We all know that the most prevalent Chinese restaurant chain in Vancouver is Neptune.  They come in many flavours such as Neptune Wonton Noodle, Neptune Seafood Restaurant and their higher-end Neptune Palace.  Now, they have gone one step further with Grand Neptune, taking over the spot that used to house Grand Dynasty.  Naturally, the place is a step up with a gorgeous VIP room (that I dined in) and subsequently, higher prices.

Even though the first dish to arrive was the congee, I'm going to talk about the most important dishes first - Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumpling) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling) first.  Both were textbook in terms of execution with the dumpling skin on the ha gau to be fairly thin and translucent.  It had good elasticity and wasn't oversteamed.  The shrimp filling was buttery with a sweet snap.  I could taste the sesame oil and the natural flavour of the shrimp.  As for the siu mai, the pork was "wat", which means there was a buttery tenderness to it while still retaining a rebound texture.  Seasoning was mild, but the balance between sweet and savoury was on point.  Also, there was not overly porky flavour to be found, which was a good thing.

In addition to the classic aforementioned dumplings, we had some of their specialty version including the Scallop Dumpling and Tomato, Egg & Shrimp Dumpling.  With a squid ink outer wrapper, the scallop dumpling was good with the same shrimp filling as the ha gau while topped with a scallop.  The scallop was still buttery  while the dumpling skin was chewy, but in a good way.  As for the other dumpling, it was whimsical as it did look like a tomato.  The dumpling skin had appealing elasticity like the ha gau while the filling had the same qualities as the other shrimp filling but with egg and a touch of tomato flavour.

Back to a usual dim sum dish, we had the BBQ Pork Buns.  These were also textbook with a fluffy steamed bun that was lightly sweet.  Inside, the BBQ pork filling was quite lean and mixed with a sweet and savoury glaze.  Not that we were expecting anything other than "okay", the Xiao Long Bao were exactly that.  Cantonese dim sum is not known for great Shanghainese dishes, and the XLBs were no different.  The skin was semi-thick but not dense.  Inside, the pork filling was tender with a decent amount of soup.  It was mostly one-note though.

Continuing with the usual dim sum offerings, we ordered the Beef Meatballs as well as the Steamed Pork Spareibs with black garlic.  A little on the firmer side, the beef meatballs were still bouncy and tender.  There was a balanced amount of greens that it didn't dominate the flavour profile.  As for the spareribs, they were in large meaty pieces that contained very little fat and cartilage.  Meat had a nice rebound while still maintaining its texture.  Seasoning was on point with hits of saltines, garlickiness and slight spice, however, I didn't get much in the way of black garlic.

Of course I had to get my usual fill of offal in the form of Chicken Feet and Steamed Spicy Beef Tripe.  Both of these were also good where the chicken feet were plump and featured soft cartilage and fat underneath the delicate skin.  It was full-flavoured with garlic and saltiness.  As for the tripe, it was also garlicky with some spice.  The slices of tripe were cooked until tender while still having that classic soft chewiness.

If you have seen in my previous dim sum posts, it is pretty obvious that the Bean Curd Skin Roll is one of my favs.  This one here was also delicious with tender bean curd skin that had a light chew to it.  Inside, the pork filling was tender and moist with some amount of veg.  Now on the other hand, Viv's favourite dim sum item is the Deep Fried Eggplant with shrimp paste.  This was also good but we wished there was more shrimp paste (as you can see in the picture there wasn't much of it).  The eggplant was delicate, but not overdone while the shrimp paste was sweet and bouncy.  We also wished there was more black bean sauce too.

Not sure what they were getting at with the BBQ Pork Pastries, but I think they were jellyfish?  Whatever the case, they were good though with a flaky and buttery puff pastry filled with lean BBQ pork.  It was a bit sweet, but not overly so.  As for the Shrimp Spring Rolls, they were also textbook.  The outer wrapper was golden brown and crispy.  None too greasy either.  The shrimp filling was sweet and had a buttery snap.

We couldn't have dim sum without a Rice Noodle Roll of some sort, so we got the beef version.  Not trying to sound like a broken record (hey, these are back!), but this was good.  The rice noodle was soft with a nice elasticity while the beef filling was tender.  One of our family favourites is the XO Daikon Radish Cake.  I thought this was the weakest of the dishes we'd had in the meal.  The cubes were a bit too large, but the texture was soft.  There was not enough XO and hence, the flavours were muted and not very impactful.

One of my son's favourite things to eat is beef brisket, so we had to get the Beef Brisket with daikon.  In reality, this was beef finger meat (which is the meat in between the beef ribs).  The meat was tender while still retaining a meatiness.  The broth was super light and this dish was very subtle in flavour.  We also got another one of his favs in the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice Wrap) and this one was good.  It had some wild rice in it for texture and the amount of pork, dried shrimp and sausage was enough to make every bite meaty and flavourful.

To end things off on the savoury part of the meal, we had the House Special Crispy Noodles.  This was a good portion of fried noodles topped with a good mix of properly cooked seafood, meats and yau choy.  Loved the large scallops!  Also, the sauce had the right thickness while adequately seasoned.  Oh, and we can't forget about the Seafood Congee (that I mentioned earlier).  It was a bit homestyle in terms of thickness and appearance.  The flavours were a bit mild, but the side of peanuts, green onion and pickled mustard greens helped with that, as well as the white pepper.  There was a good amount of quality pieces of seafood that were prepared properly.

Onto dessert, we went for some whimsical items including the Lychee & Mango Rabbit.  The attention to detail with the colours made this appealing.  The gelatin was firm, but delicate enough that it wasn't dense.  Nice combination of aromatic lychee sweetness and mango flavours.  The Steamed Salted Egg Lava Buns came out with an "Hello Kitty" themed design.  Also cute and ultimately well-executed too.  Beyond the fluffy bun, the lava was runny, sweet, nutty and aromatic.

The best dessert was the Passion Fruit Mousse made to look like the actual fruit.  It was tangy and sweet with a lot of impact.  Texturally, it was a bit frozen, but I liked it.  Overall, the dim sum service at Grand Neptune was really good and almost worth the extra cost.  I say "almost" because it cost me a pretty penny to eat there and we didn't even order anything outrageous.  Hence, if money is no object to you, Grand Neptune should be on your list for higher-end dim sum spots in the GVRD.

The Good:

- On point dishes

- Decent service

- Nice dining space and also free parking in the casino lot

The Bad:

- On the higher end of pricing for dim sum in the GVRD