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

Dija Mara

Continuing on with the theme of "we are not going to eat crap just because we are in a touristy area with a theme park", we ended up at a highly-rated spot in Dija Mara.  This place is also located in Oceanside and according to them, "we mix Southeast Asian flavors with Western flair and Japanese cooking techniques to create our unique, Balinese-Inspired menu".  That is quite the mouthful and sometimes a bit scary for some.  However, we are always game for interesting eats and are totally on board with fusion.

We began with a pretty basic dish in the Grilled Roti, but it was anything but basic.  Normally, we've had different rotis ranging from super crispy and layered to very hard and dense.  Thankfully, this was fluffy and light with a beautifully golden brown and crispy outer surface.  It came with two dips including the creamy and spicy lamb jus curry and the mildly aromatic vegan rendang sauce.

We also got the Chicken Thigh Skewers with mild spice.   These were grilled aggressively where the char was evident in its appearance and completely noticeable in taste.  That added depth-of-flavour and loads of smokiness.   Despite the char, the meat was juicy and buttery.   Lastly, the marinade penetrated the meat and we had some aromatics and savoriness going on.

One of the best dishes we had was the Charred Eggplant.  Served as large chunks, the lightly fried eggplant kept its integrity but was still tender and silky.   However the real star of the show was the intense flavors.  It started with the spicy sambal that had a briny pungency.   It was leveled off by the tangy and creamy lemon labneh.  Finishing off the dish was some crispy shallots on top.

Really enjoyed the Ayam Penyet (Fried Chicken) as the chicken leg was beautifully prepared.  In past versions, I've experienced dry meat but for this one, it was succulent and buttery.   Skin was completely rendered and crispy.   This came with aromatic coconut rice and that killer sambal which added plenty of heat.

Although I enjoyed the Mee Goreng, it was quite salty.  I have a high salt tolerance but for others, I can see that this would be over-seasoned.   For me, it had all of the flavors including spiciness, brininess and the sweetness from Kecup Manis.   Noodles were al dente and the addition of shredded short rib made things really hearty.

Last dish was the Short Rib Rendang.  This was a meaty dish in flavor and texture.  Got the aromatic sweetness from the coconut and the bright hits from the lemongrass and galangal.  Meat was tender with some chew to it.  Really delicious in my opinion.  In the end, we felt the food at Dija Mara to be an explosion of flavors and also a study in textures.  We thought that their fusion was successful and ultimately delicious.

The Good:

- Intensely flavorful food

- Lots of textures

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Some things were salty

Moj Masti

We all know that there are plenty of Indian restaurants in town that offer a buffet of some sort.  They vary very much in selection and of course quality.  I've had some good ones recently and I feel that they were a good value.  Many of them are around $20.00 for the dinner buffet.  Of course we have the granddaddy of them all in Tandoori Flame which boasts up to 150 items.  However, that comes with a cost ranging from $37.00 to $43.00 for dinner.  What if one wanted a comprehensive Indian buffet that serves 50 different items, but only for $23.00?  Well, that would be Moj Masti out on King George Highway.  We dropped by to see how it stacks up to the other choices in town.

One look at the buffet section of the restaurant and it was pretty clear they were nearly offering their whole menu.  Starting with the Appies, we found a whole bunch of fried things like Paneer Bites, Samosas, Spring Rolls, Dahi Kebab, Paneer Sticks, Soya Chaap, Jalapeno Poppers, Paneer Tikka and Soya Chaap Manchurian.  My favourites of the bunch included the crispy spring rolls, the texturally appealing soya chaap (according to me, because I like them) and the samosas with a crunchy exterior and soft fluffy potato filling.  However, the paneer was on the firmer side and it was tough to eat more than a few pieces.

Moving over one section, we found Vegetable Soup, Vegetarian Noodles, Pasta, Sarson Ka Saag, Lahari Cholay, Kadi, Dal Makhani and Paneer Makhani. Despite not looking appetizing, the pasta was quite tasty.  It had a butter chicken-esque sauce and it was rich and flavourful.  The  vegetarian theme of this section didn't dilute the flavours nor the impact.

The last section had the meat curries including Goat Curry, Lamb Curry, Butter Chicken, Kadai Chicken, Fish Pakora, Chicken Soup, Chicken Tikka and Tandoori Chicken.  I thought the goat was delicious with an earthy notes and rich meaty tones.  The meat itself was gelatinous and super tender.  Lamb curry was on the same wavelength.  The dark meat chicken was juicy and well-marinated, but could've used more charring.

Also included with the buffet was made-to-order Naan.  We got both the regular and garlic versions.  Despite not having an aggressive char from the tandoor, the naan was still quite good.  it was crispy and nutty with a soft chewy interior.  We also had some drinks including the Masti Pacific Breeze, Masti Mock Mango Martini and Mango Shake (wasn't sure of the first drink).  I really liked the shake as it was a mango lassi but more creamy.

Moving onto the sweets, they had an attended Pani Puri station where they help prepare the classic street food, but also can combine the chickpeas from the buffet to make Channa Puri.  Right next to this station was a selection of random cookies and even mini-donuts.  Nothing particularly mind-blowing, but something for the kiddies.  For me it was all about the puri and that tangy tamarind and herbaceous coriander leaf water.

In addition to the aforementioned sweets, there was also Kheer and Custard.  I enjoyed these as the sweetness was balanced and hence, both were rather refreshing.  The bits of fruit in the custard added natural sweetness.  They also had a Chai machine and I chose to try the Ginger Chai.  It was also just sweet enough and plenty aromatic with a slight gingery finish.  Overall, the buffet at Moj Masti is a good value with lots of variety for everyone.  It is tough to find affordable, yet tasty eats these days, so it is nice to see that some of these places still exist.

The Good:

- Reasonably-priced

- Relatively good eats

- Lots of selection for the price

The Bad:

- Food could've been turned over a bit more (some items were near empty)

Orto Artisan Pasta

It's been almost 9 whole years I've been trying to dine at Orto.  Even since they opened in 2017, I've received recommendations from friends about the place.  From its beautiful garden to their handmade pastas, this was apparently the new hot place to go in North Van.  Well, it is no longer new, but still a popular place amongst the locals and those willing to drive out to the North Shore.  We finally got the opportunity to hit them up since we were in nearby Downtown Vancouver.  Since we had an early reservation, we secured prime seating amongst the foliage in an almost private dining-esque table for 2.

Being neighbouring businesses and sharing the same ethos of artisanal eats, Orto serves Bad Dog Bread on their menu.  Of course we didn't hesitate to have some for our meal.  This came with 6 toasted slices accompanied by tapenade, EVOO and caramelized onion butter.  Bread was fantastic having a heartiness to it without being dense.  It had a nuttiness and went really well with the sweet butter.  Tapenade was great too having the classic briny saltiness of the olives.  We also got the Green Leaf Lettuce Salad as well and it was organic and fresh while being tossed in a tangy and bright vinaigrette.  It was topped with plenty of shaved parmesan.

Onto some appies, we went for one of the features of the night being the Calamari.  These were in generally little pieces which were coated in a uniformly crispy batter.  We thought it was properly seasoned and none too greasy.  The squid itself had a chew while still being tender.  Best part was the housemade tartar sauce.  It featured fresh mayo that was made with free-range eggs with a combination of dill, capers and onions.  Really bright and tangy with rich creaminess.

We also had the Mussels Poulette with a huge side of frites.  Sitting in a white wine and cream sauce, the plump honey mussels were cooked beautifully.  We found them buttery soft with the usual chew from the mantle while having an appealing sweet brininess.  The broth was a bit sweet and bright, but could've used just a bit more aromatics.  Really enjoyed the frites as they were super crispy while light and airy on the inside.  Despite the large portion, we dusted it off.

Onto our pastas, we went for the Spaghetti Carbonara.  Featuring firmly al dente pasta, there was some real texture with every bite.  Really well done since fresh pasta can be finicky to work with.  There was a real cheesy richness to the dish without having the egg curdle.  Plenty of lardons in the mix providing the fattiness as well as the saltiness for the dish.  It also provided a meaty texture intermittently between bites of pasta.  A final topping of parm on top provided extra nuttiness.

For some reason, the Squid Ink Spaghetti was a little less al dente than the carbonara.  It was quite possibly due to the residual moisture from the seafood at the bottom of the plate.  No matter, as that was where some of the brininess and bright wine flavour resided.  There was a good amount of garlickiness from the garlic and garlic scapes.  However, as a whole, the pasta was quite bland.  It was lacking in salt and could've used much more chili for some kick.  As for the scallops, they were buttery soft and cooked beautifully.  The prawns were also good being cooked first and added to the pasta after.  Nice meatiness to them.

In addition to our pastas, we added the Risotto with crab meat for good measure.  This was rather tasty with the definite sweet aromatics of lobster.  It quite possibly obscured the brininess of the crab, but we did get some hits of it with the bits and pieces of meat.  With the addition of mushrooms, we got another hit of umami and depth.  The rice itself was chewy and cooked right.

Despite being rather full and having to pack most of the pastas, we saved room for dessert.  We ended up with the Affogato and we were surprised it came with 2 scoops of gelato.  Combined with the espresso, there was an aromatic caramel flavour.  However, with so much gelato, it did dilute the coffee a bit.  No matter, we still enjoyed this and it was great on a hot day.

Our second dessert was the Cherry Pannacotta.  It was refreshing and light, but the pannacotta wasn't completely set.  I personally didn't mind it that much as I prefer that over an overly firm texture.  The cherry compote on top was only semi-sweet with some tartness.  Overall, the meal at Orto was mostly good with some things that could be better.  Service was fantastic and the garden setting elevates the experience.  Pricing is completely fair where it fairly accessible.

The Good:

- That garden is fabulous

- Excellent service

- Generous portions

The Bad:

- A few things could be better

- If you are stuck sitting inside, it is unbearably warm during the Summer

Sun Sui Wah (Main Street)

Boy, here is a Cantonese classic - Sun Sui Wah on Main Street.  It first opened on Main Street in 1988 where Haiyi Seafood Restaurant operates currently.  However, due to their popularity, they moved into a larger location at 3888 Main Street in late 1995, where they still stand today.  They were known for their Squab and excellent Cantonese dishes.  Over time, there has been an increasing amount of capable competitors where some have definitely passed them by.  With that being said, I've had many great meals here and for the first time in years, we decided to pay them a visit, taking my father-in-law out for Father's Day.

As much as the set menus looked great, we didn't have enough people to go for a 10-course meal.  So we ended up doing a la carte.  On that note, they supplied us with menus that we couldn't order from.  Their reasoning?  It was for "advertising purposes".  Honestly, that was pretty weak.  Anyways, we went about getting an eclectic selection of dishes because my FIL can't exactly chew very well.  Hence, we ending up getting a 3lb Dungeness Crab in cream sauce with a yee mein base.  Normally here, we would go for wonton noodles since they hold up to the sauce better, but again, he can't chew it.  No matter, as the noodles weren't too soft and the crab was supremely fresh and meaty.   The meat was bouncy and sweet with classic crab brininess.  Cream sauce was flavourful and buttery.

I was betting that the beef would be marinated enough to be buttery soft in the Satay Beef Vermicelli Hot Pot.  After a few bites, it was indeed tenderized to the point where it was a bit spongy and ultimately tender.  At the same time, there was enough natural meat texture left so it wasn't too artificial.  There was a nice ratio of meat to vermicelli, so it was a fulfilling dish.  The vermicelli was still al dente, but not clumpy.  In terms of taste, the dish was well-seasoned.  Plenty of savouriness with a touch of spice and brininess.  I liked how the hot pot wasn't overly greasy too.

The very softest dish we ordered was the Salted Fish & Chicken with Soft Tofu Hot Pot.  Another solid offering where the saltiness from the fish (and the seasoning) was impactful bordering on salty without going over.  This definitely needed rice as a counterbalance.  We found the tofu super silky, but they were able to keep it from disintegrating during the cooking process.  Bits of chicken were tender and buttery while the amount of salted fish was generous.  Little hits of ginger helped keep things from being too heavy.

One dish that wasn't as soft was the Sweet & Sour Pork.  This was a pretty even mix of meat and pineapple, onions and peppers.  There was just enough sauce to coat each piece of pork, which helped keep things a bit crispy.  The meat itself was only a little fatty, yet still tender and bouncy.  Tangy and sweet, the sauce was quite good, but possibly it could've had just a bit more sourness. 

We ordered one vegetarian dish in the Braised Fried Tofu, Broccoli, Mushrooms and Morels.  This featured soft and almost fall-apart tofu that was was coated in a silky starch-thickened sauce that was just salty enough.  Despite using dried morels, it was still nice to have the earthiness and unique texture of the mushrooms.

We ended up getting the 2 courses of Ling Cod with the first dish being the Stir-Fried Yau Choy with Ling Cod Filets. We asked the vegetable to be cooked a bit longer so that my FIL could eat it.  So I can't really comment on the texture as a result.  However, it was well-seasoned and not overly greasy.  The fish itself a bit crumbly, but tender and fresh.

The second course was the Ling Cod & Tofu Hot Pot.  This was a large portion of the fish bones, belly, tail and fins that were coated in starch and deep fried.  Along with the deep fried tofu, it was finished off with a toss in starch-thickened sauce, onions, ginger and shredded pork.  Once again, the tofu was tender while the fish was buttery and flaky.  Sauce was a bit salty, but wasn't longing for flavour.  

Last item was the Yeung Chow Fried Rice consisting of egg fried rice, BBQ pork, shrimp and gai lang stems.  Nutty and dry, this rice was textbook execution where it was nicely salty and not greasy with discernible grains of chewy rice.  Overall, the meal at Sun Sui Wah was above average and we were satisfied.  Too bad we didn't get to try some of their signature items due to being selective with our dishes.   Prices have definitely gone up in the last 10 years, but that is true across the board.  With that being said, there are other places that I can get roughly the same quality for less money.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Large portion size

- Despite being busy, the service was quite good

The Bad:

- Prices are on the higher side

- Not sure why we got menus that we couldn't order from