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

Hiyaku Buffet

Okay, here we go with another Asian buffet, but this time, it has pretty good reviews.  In fact, it has a 4.1 average rating on Google.  Yes, yes, I know that Google may not be the most reliable place to get a restaurant review, but I decided to check it out myself.  The place is fairly new and sports a pretty large parking lot.  That is completely necessary because the restaurant is fairly large and for the time being, it is generally packed (for all the times I drove by, which was 8 or 9 times). 

Upon walking into the place, it was pretty clear they do a good job in keeping things clean.  Sure, the place is new, but for all the time we were there, the food was replaced quickly and the counters were kept relatively clean (until the next person messed it up).  The buffet started with a selection of Fruit (Watermelon, Orange Slices, Honeydew, Banana Salad and Lemon Wedges).  It was okay, but the fruit was a bit lackluster.  Right next to it, we found Jello, Mango Jelly, Canned Peaches, Banana Pudding and Tapioca Pudding.  Once again, not super inspiring, but I liked the mango jelly (despite not tasting too much like mango).  Next section over, we had some Asian Appetizers including Edamame, Sliced Beef Shank, Seaweed Salad, Marinated Pig's Ear, Cucumber Salad and Cold Chicken Feet.  Yes, this would not be everyone's fancy, no matter what ethnicity.  However, I'm strange and I ate everything here.  Pretty decent.  

So let's get to the good stuff right?  They had Cocktail Prawns, Mussels and Snow Crab on ice right after the fruit, quasi-desserts and Asian bites.  They kept these stocked at all times and the snow crab was quite meaty and had a nice rebound texture.  We got our fill of that.  Right around the corner, we found the Sashimi.  The sashimi (as stated in the picture) is only available during dinner and featured Red Snapper, Atlantic Salmon and Tuna.  There was also some Wood Ear Salad, Fish Skin Salad, Seaweed Salad and Tako Wasabi.

There was quite the selection of Maki Sushi available.  Many were based on California rolls or Dynamite Rolls and then topped with various fish, fruit or vegetables. I found the rice to be just slightly gummy, but otherwise, had a good chew still and was mildly seasoned. The amount of rice was average, so it wasn't cumbersome to eat the sushi, but for an experienced buffet eater, you would be best to only eat a modest amount of these.

There was a small selection of Nigiri as well.  This included Kani, Tamago, Mackerel, Inari, Wakame, Red Snapper, Atlantic Salmon and Tuna.  The ratio of rice to fish was quite good.  Normally, we would find too much rice and a thin sliver of fish, not here though.  Around the corner, we found some Fried Sushi and also more fried things in the Glutinous Sesame Balls, Tempura Fish, Chicken Katsu and Tempura Vegetables.  Nothing out of the ordinary here, but the veggies were kinda of greasy though.

Moving along, we got to the meat of the buffet, literally.  We had Teriyaki Chicken, Beef Short Ribs, Grilled Salmon and Octopus.  Chicken was decently tender and flavorful while the shortribs were tender and sweet.  They were a bit fatty though.  Salmon was overcooked whereas the octopus was tender with a chew.  Right next to it, we found Chicken Gyoza, Pan Fried Sole and Beef Ribs.  I liked the sole as it was crispy but still flaky inside.

The next station featured the second best thing (for me that is) in the Salt & Pepper Crabs.  These were full of meat which was fresh being delicate with a slight bounce (and not mushy). The Salt & Pepper Shrimp were good too but without being deveined, it was slightly a turnoff.  The Salt & Pepper Calamari was good though with a chewy, but tender texture.  Baked oysters were great too being fresh (they were going fast!).  Rounding the corner, there was an array of steamers with mostly Steamed Buns.  I didn't try those.  I did sample the Deep Fried Shrimp, which were not bad as well as the crunchy Spring Rolls.  The Deep Fried Chicken Wings were juicy with crispy rendered skin.

I really love Steamed Scallops in the shell with vermicelli.  So I was happy to see them.  However, those must've been the smallest scallops I've ever seen.  No matter, it still tasted good and I had a few of them.  The Honey Shrimp were tasty, but the batter had gotten soft, so it wasn't crispy anymore.  We also found some Mushrooms and Potatoes (that I didn't try).  Shockingly, the Gai Lan was outstanding.  Not only were they fresh and cooked perfectly (being crunchy), the seasoning was on point.  So tasty!  The Chili Chicken, Chicken & Broccoli and Mongolian Beef were okay, but you could skip it for more seafood!

We had even more seafood in Steamed Clams, Cajun Seafood Boil, Stir-Fried Shrimp and Crayfish.  Really enjoyed the clams as they were buttery and plump.  Seafood boil was slightly spicy and garlicky but the blue crabs were difficult to eat.  Shrimp was alright being cold-water crunchy.  Didn't touch the crayfish as they are notoriously a lot of work for very little meat.  Yes, that is Orange Chicken you see in the picture and no, it wasn't as good as Panda Express.  However, they were serviceable, being not as flavorful.  We had the requisite Fried Noodles and Fried Rice.  Both were acceptable.

We finally got to the Desserts and there was a selection of cake squares and cookies.  I didn't have any of these because I was more interested in the individually-packaged ice cream and popsicles.  These were actually decent quality and I loved how they offered these rather than messy soft-serve machines and even messier scoop yourself ice cream.  Overall, I enjoyed Hiyaku Buffet.  Of course we need reasonable expectations when it comes to buffets in general, but Hiyaku's food was decent in quality and execution.  Seafood was fresh and refilled often.  I would come back if I was back in town.

The Good:
- Food is fresh
- Lots of selection
- Clean

The Bad:
- Fruit was so-so
- Desserts were so-so (except for the ice cream and popsicles

24 Suns

Hoping to try something a bit more elevated while we were in Oceanside, we found out about 24 Suns.  This place is Michelin-recommended and features a mainly Chinese menu with some French influences.  There is also a tasting menu available that shows off the Chefs Nic Webber and Jacob Jordan's fine-dining training and time at Michelin 3-Star Addison in San Diego.

Our Asian gastronomical journey started with a small bite in the form of Shrimp Toast.  This was quite good where the shrimp mousse was light and airy with an appealing rebound texture.  Nice balance between sweet and salty while still having a natural shrimp brininess.  Unlike many versions of shrimp toast, this was not greasy, yet still was uniformly crispy on the bottom.  Nice start to the meal.

From the small bite, we moved onto a collection of snacks that included Hibiscus Jellyfish.  It was light and buttery with a bit of crunch.  Flavors were bright and lightly-seasoned.  Below and to the left, we found Chilled White Fungus with young bamboo.  This was a subtle dish that focused on textures.  The white fungus had a light crunch while the young bamboo mirrored that.  The brightness of the celery juice paired well.  Finally, the Oyster Yuba Salad featured the delicately chewy texture of tofu skin.  There was brininess, sweetness and a touch of spice from the Fresnos.

With an array of lively colors, the Yi Sangh or Prosperity Salad (also known as Lo Hei) featured trout belly and kanpachi alongside fruits and veggies.  There was some ikura, chia seeds and 3-year umeboshi.  When combined altogether, we had a wide range of flavors and textures.  Things were bright, sweet and a bit tangy as well as brininess with a bit of spicy bitterness too. 

Sitting in a fermented habanada butter sauce, we found two scallop and pork Siu Mai.  Since they used scallop rather than shrimp, the bounce texture was more subtle and softer.  I thought the dumpling was rather airy rather than dense, which made it extremely easy to eat.  With a dab of finger lime on top, it added the necessary tartness and citrus to the dish.  The star of the show was the sauce as it was sweet and aromatic without being too spicy.

Hitting all of the Chinese classics, we were served a version of the classic Turnip Cake.  This was a fairly large piece that was not a one-biter.  There was some shrimp in there to give it some body and meaty snap.  The texture of the turnip cake itself was somewhat soft with just a small bite.  This was battered and deep fried, which added a textural contrast.  On top, we found some briny XO sauce as well as some green garlic, celery tops, parsley and dill.  With all things combined, we got herbaceousness, bitterness, spice and brightness.  This went a long way in lightening things up from the deep fried turnip cake.

One dish we had that wasn't exactly Asian (but still had some influences) was the Lotus-wrapped Trout.  This was sous-vide where its appearance looked raw, but it was cooked.  Hence, the texture was super buttery and tender. It sat in a coconut fennel fumet which was full of natural fish sweetness and aromatics from the coconut.  Some Sichuan chili added just a slight kick at the end.

One of the most interesting dishes was the Claypot Chili Eggplant.  You can't see it in the picture, but believe me, the claypot was smoking hot.  Hence, the smokiness was definitely there.  Those eggplant-stuffed squash blossoms were full of spicy, saltiness, umaminess and tang.  On the side, we found Youtiao which were crunchy and topped with tuna sugar.  We didn't think it needed the sugar for this application though.

We were each served a mini-sized Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup.  This was pretty good with chewy noodles sitting in a flavorful broth that had umami and aromatics.  It wasn't salty which was good.  The best part of the dish was the large piece of super tender smoked short rib topped with chiu chow sauce.  Hence, we got a combination of smokiness, spice and garlickiness.

The most interestingly-plated dish was the Cigarette & Coffee.  Cleverly constructed, the "cigarette" was actually stuffed with coffee-braised duck.  These were crunchy whereas the duck was tender with smokiness and depth.  On the side, we found a duck jus latte that was intensely rich, tangy, sweet and spicy. There was some viscosity to go with the silkiness.  Loved the creativity with this one.

Our palate cleanser or pre-dessert was the the Mandarin Ice served in their cute little half rinds.  Totally refreshing and only lightly-sweet, the flavor was unmistakable Mandarin orange.  Really helped levelled things off from the full-flavoured and mostly spicy items we had so far.  Oh and these were sitting literally on ice that was set on the plate.

Our last item was the Budino featuring butterscotch pudding with chocolate ganache and cream.  Really enjoyed the silky and thick ganache which paired well with the sweet and buttery pudding.  The addition of black sesame really changed things up with nuttiness.  Loved that this was not very sweet, which was the nod to Asian desserts.  Overall, we thought 24 Suns was a fun and interesting meal.  Sure, you need to be good with the creative license they have over specific Chinese dishes in order to enjoy your meal.  I went in with an open mind and thought this was pretty solid.

The Good:

- A nice cache of courses

- Solid execution

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- If you are a stickler for what a dish should be, then you might not be the target audience

The Hungry Tiger Grill Kitchen

When Tendon Kohaku suddenly closed recently at Madison Centre, it was a bit surprising, but also not unexpected, especially during these turbulent economic times.  However, it didn't take long for The Hungry Tiger Grill Kitchen to take over.  If you've ever heard of their sister restaurant, The Hungry Duck on West 4th, then you will know what they are all about.  Think rice bowls, that are overflowing with grilled meats.  We stopped by recently to check it out.

Included with every meal is their Salad Bar.  It isn't a comprehensive salad bar by any means, but it has the usual shredded cabbage and roasted sesame dressing.  Moreover, we found some julienned green onions as well as pickled daikon and carrots.  You can help yourself to more if you wanted to.  Not bad if you wanted some veggies.

We got a small appie to start in the form of the Truffle Fries.  These actually showed up at the end of our meal when we were about 75% finished.  They need to work on their food expediting.  It came with an inordinate amount of mayo and ketchup.  Far too much for the amount of fries, which was wasteful.  The fries themselves were of the crispy shoestring variety.  There was enough seasoning to provide saltiness, but the truffle was quite muted.

Onto their Signature Bowls, my daughter had the Classic Chicken Don in the large size ($21.50).  All bowls included the aforementioned salad bar, miso soup, seaweed and dipping sauce.  They weren't skimping on the chicken was there was two layers atop the chewy rice.  I would've liked to see more charring on the skin, but there was smokiness nonetheless.  Meat wasn't exactly juicy, but it wasn't dry either.

Viv went for the large Chicken Vermicelli for $23.50.  This was a bit different than the don, not only because the chicken sat atop rice vermicelli, but it also came with fish sauce.  So the flavour profile was different as the standard dipping sauce was more vinegary and of course not briny.  It came with some greens and more pickled veg.

For myself, I had the large Grilled Pork Curry Bowl for $21.50.  As you can see in the picture above, the slices of pork were charred quite evenly.  Therefore, the smokiness was strong and the edges were crispy.  The meat itself was a bit dry, but in a good way.  It went well with the vinegary dip.  The ample amount of curry was quite mild and a bit sweet.  Just the right amount to go with the chewy rice.

My son had the biggest bowl in the large Chicken & Beef Short Ribs for $26.50.  This was loaded with the same amount of chicken, but adding in an equal amount of tender short ribs.  They were well-marinated and also nicely charred.  The addition of an onsen egg added a silky texture to the rice.  I recommend adding it to your bowl if it didn't include it already for another $2.50.

We ended up ordering some of their Hakkaido Soft Serve for a very reasonable price of $2.99.  These were fairly creamy for using Hokkaido milk and were just sweet enough.  Naturally, the best part was the strong milkiness of the soft serve.  Loved the crispy waffle cone.  Overall, we thought Hungry Tiger was decent and they didn't skimp with the meat.  I wouldn't put this on the top of my list, but if someone wanted to go, I wouldn't object.

The Good:
- Generous with the meat
- Generally impactful smokiness from the grilling
- Inexpensive Hokkaido soft-serve

The Bad:
- Fries came at the very end of our meal, they need to work that out
- Service was actually quite good (despite the online reviews), but the tablet at our table died, so we couldn't flag someone down electronically