Ju Contemporary Cuisine (Tasting Menu)

I've already done a post about Ju when they first opened up shop.  They featured an ambitious menu that focused mainly on elevated Korean Westcoast fusion.  I really enjoyed the dishes, especially some of the outside-the-box offerings such as the Vegan Bibimbap.  Well, they have streamlined the menu and are now offering a Chef's Tasting Menu for only $88.00!  Considering its downtown location, quality of food and nice dining room, that is a steal.  We dropped by to try that tasting menu as well as some of their new dishes.

Let's get right to the tasting menu first starting with the Jook.  Yes, as the name implies, this was a rice porridge with earthy espuma and mushroom.  If you can imagine, this wasn't exactly the rice porridge we would find at home (otherwise, why would you be eating here?).  It was much thicker and creamier with the nutty essence of the rice as well as the umaminess of the espuma.  The slices of mushroom on top gave off a natural woodsiness due to the rawness of the preparation.

So the next course was something called Tofu Mochi.  However, it really wasn't mochi due to the absence of glutinous rice.  Rather, this was made with arrowroot and hence, the texture was a bit gummy and sticky.  Personally, I loved it as the mouth feel was something I am familiar with.  However, for some, it might seem too viscous.  In terms of flavour, it was sitting in a dashi broth that was clean, a bit briny and sweet.  Very subtle, but again, I enjoyed it.

Somewhat on the same textural path, we had the Botan Ebi Chawanmushi.  This was super silky and had the subtle sweetness of the dashi broth.  No excess moisture was to be found which meant it was just pure soft custardy egg.  A little herb oil added some brightness as well as a beautiful colour contrast.  On top, we found the buttery sweet ebi that had an ever-so-light crunch.  It was a naturally sweet compliment to the egg.  Also, some togarashi crunch provided the needed texture to the dish.

Moving along, we had the Cured Salmon with a green mandarin sauce served table side.  This was a fairly straightforward dish with the salmon being buttery soft with just a touch of chew.  It was lightly cured, so the sweetness of the salmon still stood out.  The green mandarin sauce had a good viscosity and was a bit sweet and tangy with some background herbal notes.  It was a nice compliment to the salmon.  There was some pickled veggies and soy gel on the side to add even more acidity, some crunch and some saltiness.

If the next dish looks eerily similar to Cantonese shrimp toast, you are not far off.  The one you see here is the Bulgogi Menbow-Yuk which is the Korean version, but with CAB beef instead.  This was quite good with a crunchy seedy bread that had lots of body and nuttiness.  Inside, the bits of Wagyu were buttery and fatty.  Like most versions of this dish, the bread soaked up some oil.  In this case, it wasn't super soaked though.  Some mustard oroshi helped cut some of that greasiness though.

Sure, the next dish looked rather pale, but ultimately, it was super delicious.  The delicately steamed Black Cod was draped with a miso cream and topped with Northern Divine sturgeon caviar.  Now, you might think steamed fish wouldn't be that interesting right?  Well you would be wrong as this was one of my favourite courses.  The fish was buttery and flaky while seasoned enough that the natural sweetness of the fish still stood out.  That miso cream had all of the good fermented things about miso and provided a rich, yet subtle umaminess.  Of course the caviar didn't hurt with briny pops of saltiness.

Our last savoury course was something that I absolutely loved.  It was their signature Galbi with perilla chimichurri, braised daikon and Ju jus.  The slice of Certified Angus Beef short rib melted in my mouth with the fatty richness that was also gelatinous.  It had such rich beefiness that nothing else was really needed.  Well, it didn't hurt that we found some jus and a bright chimichurri to compliment.  On the side, the daikon was tender and was penetrated by the braising juices.

The dessert that we were served was the Chocolate that featured a Belgian milk chocolate half-sphere with black sesame cake, vanilla coffee espuma and dalgona crumb.  I've had this before and it was just as good as I had remembered.  This ate very light where the chocolate mousse was creamy and just sweet enough.  The cake was nutty and aromatic while the crumb was crunchy and sweet.  Getting everything into one bite was the key to eating this.  We also had some other of their a la carte dishes and I will feature them in another post (along with the cocktails).  For now, I will say that this tasting menu is an absolute steal for $88.00.  Food is great and there are enough courses.  I recommend that you go give it a try!

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

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Well-prepared eats
- Enough courses

The Bad:
- The tofu mochi may not be everyone's cup of tea

 

Don at Kitsilano

At first glance, Don at Kitsilano looks like a fancy spot with equally fancy food.  Well, that is partially correct.  The decor is IG-worthy and those tables, with the resin in the middle are absolutely stunning.  However, as the name suggests, this place dishes up rice bowls (and also noodle bowls).  Now unlike many places that specialize in this type of cuisine, Don at Kits is considerably less basic and in fact, rather elevated.  This is due to Chef Victor who has worked under Alvin Leung at a Michelin Star restaurant.

So it wasn't surprising to see a Cured Salmon Tartare on the menu featuring prawn dusted rice crisps.  This was quite good with buttery pieces of salmon that had some subtle seasoning from the pickled radish, fried shallots and sesame seeds.  Some might think that this would be too mild, but it allowed the salmon to exude its sweetness and taste of the sea.  The addition of a free-range egg yolk added creaminess and silkiness.  Loved the light crisps as it didn't take away from the natural texture of the salmon.

Even the humble dumpling gets reworked here with the Lobster Gyoza.  Featuring a stunningly tomato red skirt (or tuile), the dumplings were the beneficiary of a hard sear on the bottom.  Hence, dumplings were crispy on one side and sported a relatively thin dumpling skin on the other.  I found the filling to be a little on the dry side with lean pork.  The bits of lobster were great though being its bouncy best and exhibiting classic lobster essence.   This came with an appetizing vinegar sake dipping sauce.

So onto the "Don" part of the meal, we had the 24-hour slow cooked Pork Jowl.  This featured a buttery soft, melt-in-my-mouth pork jowl where the fat and meat melded together into one texture.  It was delicious by its lonesome with umaminess and just the right amount of seasoning.  However, that shiitake rice underneath was so appealingly chewy and earthy, it complimented the meat beautifully.  Add in the silkiness of the onsen egg and we had some real nice textures.  This was finished tableside with a tomato broth which was elegant, aromatic and subtle.

Another mouth-watering dish was the Braised Beef Cheek with nian gao (rice cakes).  Once again, they did a superb job with the protein where it was cooked for 30 hours.  The meat was gelatinous, fall apart tender and full-of-depth. This seemed to be somewhat of a take on TBN (Taiwanese Beef Noodle) except with beef cheek rather than beef shank and rice cake instead of noodles.  I found the broth to be meaty with plenty of body.  The rice cakes were tender but retained a nice chewiness.

If you looked at the next dish, it wouldn't be a bad guess to think "chicken pot pie".  But in reality, it was a Seafood Congee Pot Pie with puff pastry on top.  The pastry acted like the yau tiao (Chinese savoury donut).  This was a really thick congee that had plenty of well-cooked seafood.  It was sweet and full or aroma.  The DIY sides of sweet & salty peanuts, fried shallot and chili crunch oil allowed me to customize the flavour profile.  I went for spicy and the crunch from the peanuts and shallots added the necessary texture.

The most striking item was the Creamy Lobster Bisque Udon.  It featured a large whole lobster tail baked with salted egg yolk.  This was nutty, aromatic and bordering on salty without going over.  The lobster itself was perfectly-cooked being sweet and bouncy.  The udon was excellent and the lobster bisque was full-flavoured with umami.  The addition of roe helped add pops of brininess.  This was super delicious and one of our favourites of the meal.

We ended our meal with a pair of desserts including the Rabbit in the Garden and the White Rabbit Crème Brûlée.  The slightly firm pannacotta-style rabbit was semi-sweet and creamy.  It sat atop sesame crunch and chocolate shavings.  It had good textural contrast and wasn't very sweet.  As for the crème brûlée, it had a textbook torched sugar topping.  It was crunchy and caramelized.  I found the white rabbit custard to be not very sweet, which was great since the sugar took care of that.  It was light and creamy.  Loved the addition of the salted peanuts.

For drinks, we had the Spicy Peach Margarita, Fairy Wing. Hojicha & Yuzu Iced Tea and Spark of Charm.  These were all non-alcoholic but tasty nonetheless.  There was a fruity theme going on where my favourite was the fairy wing.  It had zero-proof gin mixed with citrus, butterfly pea tea, yuzu and orange bitters.  Very refreshing and light.  The spicy margarita was exactly that and good for those who want impact.  Loved the ice tea as it was fruity and slightly tangy.  I found the spark of charm pretty light with zero-proof rum, ginger beer, lime juice and orange bitters.  Overall, the food at Don at Kitsilano is delicious while being elevated.  There is care and pride put into the food and it shows in presentation and taste.  Decor is also quite inviting.  Worth checking out.

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

The Good:
- Nice dining space, definitely IGable!
- Pretty food
- It is also delicious

The Bad:
- Pricing is on the higher side, but the quality of the food is also high
- Lobster dumplings could be juicier  

Good Thief

I'm sure you are familiar with the story of Anh & Chi located on Main near 18th.  You know, where Pho Hoang used to be located, but the kids took over and modernized the whole outfit.  They have become hugely successful and was even awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation in 2022.  Now they are launching Good Thief right next door that focuses on cocktails with a menu that is modern and of course Vietnamese-inspired.  I recently visited the place with Roanna.

We began with the Crudo featuring BC side stripe prawns, clarified tamarind, pomelo, mango, almonds and ngò ôm.  This was neatly plated with a good amount of buttery soft prawns.  We felt the temperature could've been just a tad colder, but in the end, the dish was still delicious.  Beyond the natural sweetness of the prawns, the combination of Asian ingredients offered up plenty of brightness and tanginess.  Almonds added the necessary texture to the otherwise soft dish.

For our next dish, we went for one of the features - the Oxtail & Chanterelle Dumplings served with Thai dip.  These little precious pockets featured a dumpling skin which was thin and crispy.  It was cooked all-the-way-through without losing its elasticity.  Inside, the filling was a bit lacking in texture as it was soft and runny.  It was meaty-tasting with the unmistakable mushroom taste of the chanterelles.  As for the dip, it had a noticeable kick with sweetness.

We had 2 more small dishes in the Beets and the Pomme Frites.  As for the beets, they were dressed with blood orange, rice patty herb and chili salt.  We thought this dish was quite good where the beets were tender with a sweet earthiness.  There was a good combination of sweetness, tanginess and only the slightest amount of spice.  The big and thick fries had a considerable firm potato texture with a slightly crispy exterior.  Considering they fried them multiple times, they weren't as crispy as they appeared.  However, I still enjoyed eating them since I love natural potato texture.  The side of Thai green chili aioli was creamy and aromatic with only a mild spiciness.

Onto the mains, we had the the Oxtail which featured meat removed off the bone, encased in caul fat and then braised.  The result was a kind of pulled oxtail that was tender, yet didn't give up its classic meatiness.  With the rendered fat from the oxtail, there was a natural umaminess to the dish, but the pho demi glace really brought the dish together.  So much depth, so silky and and classic warm flavours from the spices.  This came with a confit daikon which was firm but tender, yet also added to the pho demi glace experience with its sweetness.  Also on the plate was soft carrots with a sweet carrot puree.

Moving away from the richness of the oxtail, we had the Halibut hidden underneath hakurei turnip and shaved fennel.  The whole dish was finished tableside with a dill and turmeric soubise.  I found the halibut itself fresh and cooked beautifully.  It was classic halibut firm, but was still delicate in its own way and flaky.  The soubise was vibrant, earthy and herbaceous.  Loved the crunch from the turnip and fennel as well as the addition of fresh dill to further amp the flavours.

It was decided that we would order the Ribeye with charred broccolini despite the fact we had already piled on the proteins.  In actuality, we were deciding between that and pork chop feature (which we ended up getting anyways).  Sliced into 3 large pieces, the ribeye was generally medium-rare.  I thought it was pretty tender and had great natural flavour.  The jus underneath was subtle with depth-of-flavour which was meaty and complimentary.

Now for the Snake Rivers Pork Chop, it was beautifully prepared being fully cooked but still having noticeable juiciness.  Hence, the meat was tender and not dry at all, the pork hock demi glace was silky and gelatinous.  It adhered to each piece of pork lovingly and was savoury and full of umaminess.  Underneath, we found a mix of fresh corn, chanterelles and Swiss chard.  We thought this was the better than the ribeye, yet it wasn't as if the ribeye wasn't good though.

For dessert, we tried both options including the White Negroni consisting of calamansi sorbet atop spruce granita and fermented plum while finished off with green tea cherry soda.  As expected, the calamansi offered up a burst of sourness ending off with bitterness.  However, this was balanced off with  the sweetness of the soda and the granita.  Very refreshing and acted like a palate cleanser.  You could eat this between the small bites and the big bites!

Lastly, we had the Mung Bean atop almondine cake.  It was topped with condensed milk ice cream and mung bean crema.  Yes, this dessert was unmistakable mung bean with the density of the mashed beans being present.  It was lightly sweet and the soaked almondine cake underneath had a similar texture to the mung bean.  This was a rather sweet dessert due to the addition of the condensed milk ice cream.  I think you might want to have both desserts if you want some balance (or just choose the White Negroni).

Onto the cocktails, we had the Lặp đi Lặp Lại and Pom Pom Punch for our first round of drinks.  I found the Lặp đi Lặp Lại to be rather refreshing with its mix of fino sherry, Italian dry vermouth, Good Thief shiso mountain honey liqueur, mango cordial, Wasted Citrus Shrub and sparkling sake.  Definitely a dangerous drink but easy going down.  The Pom Pom Punch also had some refreshing vibes but a nice twist at the end with a definite rice finish.  It consisted of pandan & vanilla Don Julio reposado, Parnubes Oaxacan rum, spiced pomelo, fresh lime, salted roselle and rice milk.

Our second round found us going for the Good Leaf with mint-washed Bacardi Superior, lime leaf Mulita Pisco Distillate, passionfruit cordial, lime juice and Champagne.  I definitely got the fruitiness to begin and then the champagne, but as it was starting to get floral, it took a left turn when I was expecting a right turn.  It went strong herbaceous and it was probably due to the lime leaf distillate and/or the mint-washed rum.  In a beautiful hue of purple, the Han Noi Nights featured lemongrass Aviation Gin, cacao butter bitter bianco, rectified mangosteen, lychee jasmine, maldon salt, chilli and ube foam.  This was definitely tart and floral as it was described on the menu, but we really wanted to see a strong ube flavour.  Overall, our experience at Good Thief was good.  The cocktails were interesting and tasty while the food had some real highlights. 

The Good:
- Tasty cocktails
- Well-prepared proteins
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Some further refinements with a few items

Seraphina

To be completely blunt, I was a bit apprehensive visiting Seraphina since I heard differing opinions on them.  However, in all fairness, they are completely new and just trying to find their stride.  Jackie and I went in with an open mind and empty stomachs.  Located right below Vesper Lounge and taking over the spot that once housed Blackbird and subsequently Royal Dinette, Seraphina has a simple elegance to its dining space with a few show-stopping pieces.  I particularly liked the light fixture in its lobby.

But really, we were here for the food right?  We kicked things off with the pepper crusted Ahi Tuna Crudo with cucumber gazpacho and cucumber salad.  So this was pretty bright and refreshing, yet at the same time, surprisingly spicy.  That gazpacho had a nice cucumber freshness to it but that kick was something else.  If we weren't awake before that, we were certainly so after digging into it.  The tuna itself was evenly seared on all sides while the centre was perfectly rare.  

One of our favourite dishes was one that didn't appear on the menu (just yet).  It was the Black Vinegar Glazed Pork Belly.  These big pieces of pork belly had a good balance between meat and buttery fat.  Hence it was hearty and meaty while still tender.  The exterior was crispy despite the amount of glaze. About that, it was sweet, sticky and had the unmistakable depth of black vinegar.  Truly a properly fused Asian-inspired dish.

Onto the mains (as if the pork belly wasn't big enough already to be considered a main), we had the Pan-Seared Ling Cod with edamame puree, tapioca crisp and apple.  This was another solid dish with perfectly seared fish.  It was slightly crispy on the outside while properly seasoned.  It was flaky and moist.  I really liked the caramelized fennel as it was aromatic and sweet.  The edamame and apple provided complimentary sweetness.

In addition to the excellent pork belly, the Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Rack was my next favourite dish.  As you can see, the lamb was perfectly medium-rare.  Hence, the meat was juicy and tender.  The pistachio crust was nutty and crunchy while well-seasoned.  Loved the gratin dauphinoise as it was delicate and creamy.  There was also a smooth and naturally sweet pea puree underneath where I used the succulent lamb to sop it all up.

We also got the Pure BC Wagyu Burger on a beer bun with gruyere, pickles, butter lettuce and caramalised red onion.  This was completely legit with a juicy and well-charred burger patty.  It was rich in flavour and that evenly melted gruyere on top added butteriness and nuttiness.  Those fresh cut fries on the side were money where they were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  It came with a side of house-made tomato ketchup which was delicious and tangy.

Onto dessert, the first one I tried was the Chocolate Mousse with pistachio, hojicha and apple.  Hidden within chocolate ganache, the mousse was creamy and light while still rich at the same time.  Balanced sweetness and plenty of slightly dark chocolate bitterness.  This was complimented by the tea bitterness of the hojicha.  However, the pops of sweetness from the apples balanced it all out as well as come nuttiness from the pistachios.

To keep things light, the Coconut Sago was a refreshing way to end a wonderful meal.  It featured coconut jelly, mango compote and tropical fruit.  It really emulated a mango sago in some sense, but had all of the aromatics of coconut.  The picture was taken before the compote was poured on top.  When combined, this was definitely fruity and purposefully sweet.  In general, the food we had at Serphina was well-prepared and you could definitely see the attention-to-detail.  Looks like the food has been more refined since I first spotted it on IG.  Looking forward in returning and sampling more of their dishes.

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

The Good:
- Well-prepared proteins
- Some bold flavours
- Beautiful dining space

The Bad:
- Still working out the logistics (including the downstairs kitchen not being open yet, that will take care of the smaller dishes and snacks)

Broli Kitchen

At first glance, Broli Kitchen appears to be another restaurant in a strip mall in Richmond.  However, there is more than meets the eye here (and I'm not talking about Transformers either...).  The cuisine is a mix of traditional French, Italian and West Coast fused with Asian influences.  Now before you begin to prejudge this place, consider the head chef is a Red Seal certified.  Chef Zhuang Li has been the sous-chef at the Downtown Sheraton Wall Centre for 10 years and another 5 years of experience in French cuisine.  Pretty unexpected at a little non-decript bistro.  Jackie, Jacqueline, Andrew and myself were invited to try out some of their newest and most popular items from their menu.

We began with a pair of soups in the Lobster Bisque and the Wild Mushroom Soup.  These looked legit and were exactly what we expected.  The bisque was creamy and rich with a balanced amount of lobster aroma.  It was lightly sweet and properly seasoned.  Some herb oil on the top finished off the soup.  As for the wild mushroom, it was also creamy and full-flavoured with the woodsiness of the mushrooms.  With some truffle oil added to the mix, it was aromatic and even more earthy.

Next, we had the Pan-Seared Scallops with pea puree and crispy prosciutto.  This was a well-prepared dish where the scallops were beautifully seared while the middle was slightly rare.  Hence, the texture was on point being buttery soft.  The scallop itself was properly seasoned while exhibiting a natural sweetness.  On top, the crispy prosciutto added crunch and saltiness.  Silky smooth and sweet, the pea puree helped bring the saltiness down a notch.

Our last appie was the Truffle Mushroom Risotto Ball (aka Arancini) with a onion tomato sauce. This was a huge portion of 6 large risotto balls that were somewhat crispy.  This is because the onion tomato sauce was drizzled atop all of the risotto balls, resulting in them become soft and a bit crumbly.  The aborio rice seemed to be fairly al dente, but with all the sauce, it was hard to tell.  Loved the sauce as it was sweet and tangy.  Maybe they should either put it on the side or plate the balls atop the sauce on the plate.

Maybe the most interesting and delicious thing we had was the Durian Pizza.  Yah, this could be pretty polarizing due to the main ingredient.  Durian is extremely pungent and isn't for everyone.  However, in my opinion, they did a good job with incorporating it onto a pizza.  They used a cream cheese base and combined with the sweet durian and mozzarella, this became reminiscent of a Chinese custard bun, except on a pizza.  So this almost ate like a dessert and that was a good thing as the durian was definitely there, but not in a way that was overwhelming.  All of the components sat atop a pizza crust that was somewhat similar to Domino's (which is a good thing as well).

Onto the bigger dishes, we had the Confit Duck Leg with rice, veggies and duck sauce.  The duck leg meat fell apart easily and was rather tender.  It was on the saltier side, but did go well with the rice.  With the addition of some Asian spices, the duck had a different flavour than a regular duck confit.  Nice twist on this dish to make it unique.  There was a bevy of perfectly-cooked asparagus, broccolini, carrots and zucchini.  They were vibrant and still had texture.

Classic in its preparation, the Roasted Rack of Lamb was perfectly medium-rare.  It was crusted with dijon herb bread crumbs and served with Lyonnaise potatoes, veggies and lamb jus.  I was pretty impressed with the lamb as it was slow-roasted which resulted in succulent meat.  It was well-seasoned and the jus was meaty enough without being salty.  Veggies were great like the previous dish while the potatoes were tender with buttery onions.  I would've liked it to be a bit more buttery though.

One of the most surprising dishes was the Bolognese Strozzapreti.  It was super legit and could be served at an Italian restaurant.  The rich bolognese featured a mix of veal, beef and pork that was super tender.  There was a nice balance of tomato and creaminess that made this lightly sweet, aromatic and full of umaminess.   The choice of pasta was also key to making this a good dish as it captured bits of meat and sauce.  It was also al dente, yet not in an overly firm manner.

We had two of their fish dishes staring with the Ginger Miso Glazed Salmon.  Presented as a fairly large piece of salmon, this was a good portion of food.  Although the salmon was a bit over, it was still moist and not dry at all.  I found the salmon to be mildly-seasoned with some ginger flavour and miso saltiness.  Underneath, the miso cream sauce was really good with depth and a balanced flavour.  It was a nice compliment to the fish and also added extra moisture.

The other fish dish was the Pan-Seared Ling Cod with potato, seasonal veg and tomato pepper sauce.  This was another large portion that was also prepared properly.  The fish had a slightly crispy sear while the meat was flaky and moist.  Being ling cod, it had a slightly firmer texture but it was still tender.  I found it be well-seasoned and really didn't need the sauce.  Although the tomato pepper sauce was pleasant enough, a lobster bisque sauce or dashi would've been a better match for the whitefish. 

Onto dessert, we had the Lava Cake with vanilla ice cream.  We really appreciated that they prepared this from scratch and baked-to-order.  Many other places unfortunately use a microwave!  This was more like a chocolate souffle than a basic lava cake.  It was light and fluffy with a crispy exterior.  Inside, the molten centre was silky and purposefully sweet.  It was gave even more souffle vibes as it had the sauce built into it (rather than poured into it).

Lastly, we had the Caramel Macchiato Pot de Crème with pecan graham crumble and fresh whipped cream.  It was rich and creamy with smoky caramel notes intermittently interrupted by coffee.  The crumble on top added a nice crunch.  I quite enjoyed this dessert.  In fact, I enjoyed the meal as a whole.  Lots of highlights including the lamb, scallop, durian pizza and pasta.  Portions were large and proteins were mostly on point.  Flavours were textbook and although the prices are necessarily cheap, the value is there due to the generous size of the proteins and the general execution.

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

The Good:
- Textbook execution
- Generous portions
- Durian pizza!

The Bad:
- Definitely has hotel food vibes, but it was prepared well