Lucky Lily Asian Brasserie (YVR Domestic Terminal)

As much as YVR is lauded one of the best airports in North America and sometimes, the world, I thought their food options could be better.  Well, that has been changing in the past 10 years and now we see spots like Bubble Waffle Cafe, Pajo's, Salmon n' Bannock and Sal Y Limon among others.  Now we see the latest offering at YVR's Domestic Terminal in Lucky Lily Asian Brasserie by Top Chef Canada winner, Nicole Gomes.  This is not her first airport restaurant, as she has opened Wander Kitchen & Bar at Calgary International.  The menu is Pan-Asian and offers a wide-range of options to eat-in and for takeout.

We had a sampling of the menu that covered a wide-range of items including the Chicken Sesame Slaw.  Called "Sau See Gai" in Cantonese, this is a popular cold dish that has hand shredded chicken mixed with cabbage, celery, cucumber, pickled veggies, radish, cilantro and crispy wonton strips in a sesame soy dressing.  This was a good version where the freshness and crunch factor was high.  Chicken was tender and moist while the wonton strips countered that with a firm texture.

Next up, we had a new dish on the menu - Crispy Thai Wings.  This was the best item we tried for the meal.  Consisting of both flats and drumettes, these wings were indeed uniformly crispy.  The skin was properly rendered and nothing was flabby.  Inside, the meat was juicy and super tender.  We loved the size of the wings too as they were neither too small or large.  On the outside, the makrut lime salt added a delicious zing while dipping them into the black pepper lime dip added such brightness and a bit of bite.

We tried a super classic Sichuan dish in the Spicy Wontons.   These pork dumplings were sourced from a legit Chinatown supplier in Vancouver.  Featuring a thin wrapper, these wontons were cooked just right.  The wrapper was al dente, yet was tender enough to the chew.  Inside, the pork filling was moist and tender.  These were dressed in Sichuan peppercorns, chilli crisp and soy-garlic vinaigrette.  Nice combination of flavours, yet I could've done with more heat.  However, I'm sure they made these mild so it could appeal to all.

Our last appie was the Vietnamese Meatballs.  These house-made meatballs consisted of pork & jicama.  Hence, there was a noted bright crunch to go with the soft pork.  Underneath, we found an Asian tomato sauce that was tangy and sweet.  Another layer of sweetness came from the cooked-down onions.  Adding a bit of heat and zip, we found slices of pickled jalapeno.  I thought the addition of crispy onions was necessary since the meatballs were pretty soft.  The buttery toasted baguette provided even more crunch.

Although not listed as an appetizer, the Cold Sesame Noodles was another great dish to share with friends (one could eat it by themselves, but I recommend sharing it).  This was a good amount of chewy thin white wheat noodles sitting atop a creamy sesame sauce along with cucumber, peanuts, chili oil and scallions.  Upon tossing the noodles, it became apparent a bit more sauce would've helped in terms of texture and taste.  However, the parts of the noodles that had enough sauce was aromatic.  I think adding some of the chili crunch (upon request) would've put this dish over the top with even more texture and some smoky bite.

Since sharing one Karaage Burger would've been difficult, we were served 4 mini-versions instead.  Loved the sesame brioche bun as it was super soft and nutty.  Inside, we found a marinated chicken thigh which was juicy and completely crispy from the perfectly deep-fried coating.  We found some creamy melted havarti, crisp lettuce and spicy togarashi mayo that added everything we needed from texture, moisture and flavour.  Nice little bite.  The side of fries were crispy and had a hint of 5-spice.

We ended the savoury portion of the meal with the Bangkok Bowl.  Functionally, this was a solid red curry with mild spice, creamy aromatics and measured sweetness.  Veggies were not overdone and the rice was fragrant and chewy.  The one thing that could've been better was the chicken.  It appeared to be brined and precooked.  My guess is that it holds up better in the takeaway version from the adjacent market.  Totally understandable from a practical point-of-view.  However, the texture was not consistent with traditional chicken breast for Thai curries.

We moved onto dessert at this point and went with a HK-style cafe classic in the Hong Kong French Toast.  The method here consisted of 2 pieces of milk bread with peanut butter in the middle and coated with egg and then deep-fried.  This particular one was topped with condensed milk custard, sliced bananas and almonds. I thought it was pretty tasty with crispy edges and a soft interior texture.  I liked the contrast of salt and sweet, but would've like to see even more sweetness.  The other dessert was the Salted Lava Buns.  These were pretty textbook with a soft and fluffy bun.  Inside, the salted egg custard was plenty runny.  It was aromatic, sweet, salty and a bit nutty.  Overall, the food at Lucky Lily represents something different for the domestic traveler at YVR.   Sure, some purists might wonder about the modern takes on some classic dishes, but I believe the menu at Lucky Lilly is accessible to all for a reasonable price (given it is in the secured area of the airport).

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

The Good:

- Pricing is fair considering where it is located

- Something different

- Nice spot to hang out before your flight

The Bad:

- Not sure about the precooked chicken in the curry, but it is understandable from a functional standpoint