John 3:16 Malaysian Delights (Burnaby)

Way back in 2014, John 3:16 opened up shop in Richmond.  That was followed up by their short-lived North Vancouver location.  My first visit was to the one on Lonsdale and it was pretty good in my opinion.  Other locations followed including their newest in Burnaby.  Located underneath Oyama Sushi on Kingsway, the once quiet shaved ice spot is now busy with people enjoying the Malaysians eats.  We met up with Aussie as he was in town.

Whenever I'm grabbing Malaysian food, it is by default I order the Roti Canai.  For me, I'm looking for something flaky with discernible layers.  This one here was on point.  Beyond the crispy exterior, the inside of the roti was almost fluffy and plenty buttery.  The airiness of the roti allowed for it to be ripped apart easily by hand.  That texture had great mouth feel and by dipping it in the slightly spicy coconut curry, it was a delicious.  Oh, the side of sugar was great too as it provided a different experience than the curry alone.

The roti got us to an excellent start and the Chicken Satay didn't disappoint either.  Beautifully-charred, the exterior was also completely caramelized.  With the plenty of sugar in the marinade, it was activated from the grilling becoming super sweet and smoky.  There was the brightness of lemongrass coming through as well.  By using thigh meat, the chicken was super juicy.  The side of satay sauce was sweet and nutty.

Moving on from the appies, we went for a classic dish in the Beef Rendang.  By looking at the dish, you can see this was a saucier version (generally, there is no "sauce" in this dish), but we really didn't mind that.  The coconut milk was at the forefront offering up rich creaminess and aromatics.  Although the caramelization wasn't present in this dish, the sweetness of the palm sugar and coconut milk helped make this impactful.  The beef itself was super tender and not dry.

Another intensely aromatic and flavourful dish was the Assam Fish Curry.  This had all of the usual hits of spice, tang, sweet and umami with tender deep-fried filets of fish.  Of those flavours, the tanginess was the most apparent and it made things rather appetizing.  Since the fish had been fried first, it was cooked evenly where the skin soaked up a lot of the sauce.  The fish itself was buttery and soft while not falling apart.

Aussie's wife really loves prawns, so it was without hesitation we ordered the Nyonya Assam Prawns.  Having been fried, the prawns were completely edible including the shell.  As such, the natural prawn essence was present in smell and taste.  Tangy and sweet, the tamarind sauce clung onto each prawn providing a complimentary flavour to the meaty and briny meat.  Some crunchy veggies completed the stir fry.

As you might already know, there are many variations of Hainanese Chicken in SE Asia and the Malaysian one is a bit similar to the Thai version.  For this one, they employed the addictive ginger garlic sauce that really amped the impact.  The chicken itself was juicy and cooked perfectly.  On the side, the chicken oil rice was nutty, well-seasoned and appealingly chewy.  There was also the classic condiments of ginger scallion and sweet chili sauce on the side.

Going for a meat-centered dish, we had the Special BBQ Pork Ribs.  These were large and super meaty.  Prior to being BBQ'd, these were cooked to the point they were fall-off-the-bone tender.  Smoky and well-charred, the ribs had a bit of a crispy exterior and the sweet glaze was caramelized.  Intense flavours that made every bite a memorable one.  Really enjoyed these.

Of course we got veggies too in the form of Nyonya Eggplant and Stir-Fried Green Beans with Garlic Sauce.  Gotta say that the eggplant was excellent.  Each piece was tender and soft without being mushy.  There was definitely caramelization happening with a sweet smokiness.    As for the beans, they were flash fried first before the wok-toss.  Despite also exhibiting caramelization and sufficient seasoning, the beans themselves were a little soft.

In addition to all this food, we just had to get a fried noodle in the form of the Chow Kway Teow.  Super classic dish that was properly wok fried.  It was smoky and seared, creating umaminess and caramelization.  Add in the charred slices of lap cheong (cured pork sausage), the chewy rice noodles benefitted from the saltiness and rendered fat.  I would've liked more brininess to the dish though.  This was a solid version of the popular Malaysian dish.

Our final item was the Nasi Goreng with fried chicken.  Another winner as the wok hei (intense wok heat) was on point.  It created a smoky nuttiness where the chewy rice was well-seasoned.  The side of sambal ensured we could make this as spicy as wanted.  The piece of fried chicken thigh on top was super juicy, well-brined and sported a crunchy coating.  Overall, the food at John 3:16 is solid and tasty.  Sure, some dishes are prepared a bit differently than the traditional version, but that didn't lessen our enjoyment.

The Good:

- Flavourful

- Good wok hei

- Decent portion sizes

The Bad:

- Different interpretation of certain dishes (and could be considered not authentic), but still tasty if you don't care about that

Happy Hour @ Trattoria (Burnaby)

After a delicious and well-priced Happy Hour at Italian Kitchen in Downtown, I planned to visit Trattoria in Burnaby for a similar experience.  For those who do not know, Trattoria belongs to the Glowbal Group, much like its older sibling, Italian Kitchen.  It is a bit more casual and relaxed compared to the higher-end Italian Kitchen.  Originally, I tried to make a reservation for Happy Hour (from 3:00pm to 5:00pm everyday), but apparently, they only take walk-ins during that time.  No worries though as we didn't have any difficultly finding a table.  Also, for those worried about parking, especially since Happy Hour happens during rush hour, they have underground parking (albeit not validated) available.

Seeing how we had 5 people, I really dove into the menu and ordered a bunch of dishes, but they started us off with an Amuse Bouche (Arancini).  These were crispy with medium-soft risotto in the middle with melted cheese.  Our first actual dish was the Baked Meatballs.  These large meatballs were soft and tender with natural meat texture still hanging around.  They were well-seasoned with the herbs coming through.  It was topped with a tangy tomato sauce as well as melted cheese.

Next up was the Shrimp & Calamari Fritto Misto.  This was a generous portion of tender, yet with a bite, squid.  It was buttery and not dry despite the batter being crispy and staying adhered to each piece.  It was also properly seasoned too.  As for the shrimp, it had a buttery snap.  Some shishitos were added to the mix and they were good too being tender but still intact.  Some calabrian chili aioli was served on the side.

Unlike the Bruschetta found at Italian Kitchen, the ones here were constructed using pizza bread.  Hence, they were a whole lot larger and ate differently.  We had the Tomato & Basil as well as the Zucchini & Stracciatella.  With classic tomato sweetness and tang to go with the fresh basil and EVOO, the original was the best in our opinion.  Pizza bread was chewy with some crispy parts and soft insides.  I thought the hummus on the latter made things a bit heavy and when combined with the zucchini, asparagus and stracciatella, the whole thing was wet.

One of the best deals on the Happy Hour menu has to be the Beef Carpaccio.  Sure, it consists of extremely thin slices of beef, but the plate was pretty huge.  The beef had a nice colour to it and was buttery and tender.  The mustard dressing was creamy with a bite while the amount of shaved pecorino added the right amount of salt.  Crunch and more salt came in the form of fried capers and some peppery brightness was provided by the baby arugula.  Brushed with EVOO, the pizza bread triangles were nutty, crispy and a good compliment to the beef.

Accompanied by the same delicious pizza bread triangles, the Sicilian Mussels was another solid dish.  Loved the large and plump mussels in this dish as opposed to the often scrawny PEI mussels (although they do taste great!).  I found these ones to be more briny than sweet.  They were just barely cooked through and bathed in broth consisting of olives, capers, nduja sausage, white wine and lemon.  Due to the sausage, it was plenty spicy and salty.  Nice acidity to balance though.

We ended up with two of their pizzas.  For only $15.00, they were a good deal, especially the fully loaded Funghi.   As you can see, there was a good amount of smoked pancetta, mushrooms, 

creamed leeks, sprouts and provolone.  Hence, we had salty smokiness to go with the woodsiness of the mushrooms.  Nice charring on the crust too.  We also went for the basic Margherita and due to less components on top, the crust was crispier.  Tomato sauce was tangy while the fresh basil (placed on top after the pizza was done) was impactful.

There are two pastas on the Happy Hour menu and we got both of them.  The first was the Bolognese with house-made penne.  I thought this was a competent pasta where the penne was al dente with a nice chew.  As for the sauce, it was definitely meaty with a proper viscosity.  It was thick with a mild tomato flavour while somewhat creamy due to the proper amount of milk/cream.  There was balancing amount of sweetness.

So the bolognese was good, but the Tagliatelle Ghiottone was even better in our opinion.  It featured firm pasta that was bathed in a delicious cream sauce.  I thought it was just rich enough that each strand of pasta was coated without it being heavy.  Little nuggets of tender chicken were plentiful while the slight hint of brandy was in the background.  Some parm added the necessary saltiness.

Although desserts are not part of the Happy Hour menu, we decided to get two of them anyways.  The first was the Torta di Cioccolato (or flourless chocolate torte).  This was rich and chocolatey while not dry (even though it looks it in the picture).  Really enjoyed the nutty hazelnut cream and the particularly the crunchy and sweet candied hazelnuts.  Even though some might view it as gimmick, the Signature Tableside Tiramisu is worth ordering.  I've had it before and it was quite good.  This was prepared tableside and in reality, there wasn't that much of a show.  Yet, since was made-to-order, it had not been sitting around in a fridge all day.  Hence, the espresso-soaked lady fingers were fluffy and not overly wet.  The mascarpone was creamy and stable (not separating) with just enough sweetness.  A good helping of freshly shaved chocolate completed the dessert.  Overall, the Happy Hour at Trattoria was good and featured a good amount of dishes.  We felt it was good value and worth a return visit.

The Good:

- Generally tasty food

- Excellent service

- Well-priced

The Bad:

- Would've preferred the bruschetta on crostinis rather than pizza bread

- Wished parking was validated

CHÉN Vietnamese Restaurant

Always love new spots opening up and especially in my hood since, even though I drive for food, it makes it a whole lot easier if I drive less!  So when we spotted CHÉN Vietnamese Restaurant opening up where Sushi UOmo used to be, it was at the top of my list to try.  We didn't get to it right away since we were busy getting ready to go to Japan.  Well, that didn't go as planned where Viv broke her leg early on.  That meant we were back in town to try the place out, including Viv.  She was in a bit of discomfort, but made it through the meal!

For those who don't know, CHÉN features Northern Vietnamese cuisine, so many things on the menu may not look familiar or may be a little different.  Take the Crab Spring Rolls for instance.  They looked similar to the regular type, but there was crab and loved to see them use rice paper as the wrapper.  We found these to be good with a nice crunch and a fluffy filling.  There was not too much crab in there, so it wasn't that noticeable.  If I had to compare, I like the ones at Crab Hot Lau more due to their size and big pieces of crab leg meat.

So you might be wondering if there is any difference between North vs South Vietnamese Bánh Mì Thịt Nguội.  Well, there are subtle differences such as less sauces and no butter mayo.  Instead, it is usually just pâté and sometimes, there is Maggi added to it rather than soy sauce.  This one here was minimalist but had all the usual ingredients.  The baguette was crunchy and airy while there was enough pâté to add umaminess.

The same minimalist concept applies to the Phở Tái Bò Viên as well with a lighter broth and only a garlic vinegar condiment on the side.  However, just like at Crab Hot Lau, they also have sriracha and hoisin just to please everyone.  I found the broth clean and actually quite flavourful but not salty nor too sweet.  The amount of noodles was a bit meager but did the job.  The meats were tender, but once again, limited in portion.

We also had the Bún Bò Huế and there was much more meat involved in that bowl.  Furthermore, the broth was tasty with hits of lemongrass, brininess and some spice. Loved that they included pork blood in this as many places do not (understandable since many people do not eat it).  There was no pork knuckle though, but once again, that would only appeal to a small percentage of diners.  A really solid bowl of BBH and I would gladly have it again.

Trying to go for something different, I tried a Hanoi specialty in the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm which included sliced pork hock, fried young rice cake, fried tofu, rice noodle bundles, herbs and a bowl of fermented shrimp sauce. If you can imagine, that shrimp sauce was the key to this dish.  It was super funky and briny.  This wouldn't be great for novices, but if you are into shrimp sauce, this was super delicious with different textures combined with also the lime, herbs and bird's eye chili.

Finally, onto a defaultish dish in the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with 2 sunny side eggs.  Unfortunately, this was the one dish that could've been better.  The chicken was flavourful and had some nice grill marks, but it was dry and a bit chewy.  Portion size for the dish was good, but a bit more chicken would've been great.  Overall, we thought the food at CHÉN to be solid and a bit different being Northern Vietnamese.  Loved the decor and also the people there!

The Good:

- Something different than the usual Southern Vietnamese

- Generally good quality food

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Pricing is on the higher end

- Seating is a bit tight

Stone Korean BBQ

Sometimes it is hard to differentiate between many of the Korean BBQ spots in town.  Naturally, some are better than others in terms of meat quality, banchan selection and overall value.  However, what if I told you there is a new Korean BBQ out near Lougheed Mall (right next to Price Smart) that employs large stone slabs as their BBQ surface?  Yes, do we really need another Korean restaurant on North Road?  Well yes, especially when it is a new modern space and unique.

We ended up ordering the Signature Pork Combo for $42.00 per person (minimum 2 orders).  This included a nice selection of Banchan, Jjigae and Corn Cheese.  For the Banchan, we found potato salad, spinach, slaw, kimchi daikon, spicy octopus and chwinamul.  Really liked the selection, especially a few less seen dishes. We also found romaine so we could wrap our pork belly as well as some pickled Napa cabbage that served the same purpose.

 

For our combo, we were served a good amount of meaty and fairly lean pieces of pork belly.  There was enough fat for flavour and texture though.  As you can see, things were cooked on a big stone slab.  The middle was hottest while the sides were only warm.  This was enough to keep the corn cheese (with an egg yolk) melty, the soup hot and the kimchi warm.  As you can see, the pork belly seared up nicely.  Really enjoyed the pork, especially dipped into the jalapeno condiment. 

 

About that Bean Paste Soup, it was included with the combo and it came bubbling hot.  Nice fermented saltiness to it without going overboard.  Some soft veggies in there, adding some sweetness.  We added the Seafood Pancake for good measure and it was seared up super crunchy.  It was nutty and aromatic with a soft, but not mushy centre.  There was a decent amount of well-cooked seafood with only a balanced amount of green onion.  This was pretty good and I would order it again.

 

We were served a bonus dish that was the Korean version of Beef Tataki.  These medium-thin slices of beef were tender with the slightest of chew.  It sat in a sauce that was soy-based but had sweetness and aromatics.  Lastly, we added the Jjapaghetti (yes, the instant noodles) at the end finished off on the stone grill.  Unfortunately, these noodles were overdone and stuck to the stone slab.  There was also too much moisture and prevented them from caramelizing properly.   Other than the Jjapaghetti, everything else was really good and well-portioned.  Combine that with a modern dining space with plenty of staff, Stone Korean BBQ should be one of the better options along North Road for Korean BBQ.

The Good:

- Modern and spacious

- Good value

- Delicious

The Bad:

- Jjapaghetti add-on needs to be improved upon

Sol Lee's

Some might suggest that the best Korean food outside of Korea can be found in K-Town in Downtown LA or even in NYC.  Having visited both in the past, I can attest that the Korean eats are indeed excellent at both locations.  However, I personally think that the Korean food in the GVRD is pretty good too.  Sure, I might have a bias here, but I truly believe in that sentiment.  Look no further than our very own K-Town along North Road straddling the border of Burnaby and Coquitlam for authentic Korean eats.  There are many to choose from and now, we have another in Sol Lee's within the H-Mart shopping complex.

If you have been here, you will know parking is quite the challenge, yet I assure you it is worth it for all of the available restaurants.  I will of course concentrate on Sol Lee's with their well-priced menu.  The one dish that I would absolutely recommend that you order is the Deep Fried Rex Sole.  For $18.95, you get not one, but 2 huge perfectly crispy whole sole.  Beyond the light batter, the fish itself is flaky and super moist.  With a bit of spicy sauce on the side, this is hugely addictive.  Despite being 2 whole fish, you could eat all of this since it was not heavy.

Going with one of the classics, the Pork Back Bone Soup (Gamjatang) is solid as well.  This is pretty textbook with a hearty broth bubbling within a hot stone bowl.  It is full of depth and has meatiness, tang and plenty of savouriness.  A background spiciness exists too.  There is no shortage of meaty pork bones sitting within the hot broth.  The bones feature super tender meat that takes on all of the flavours of the broth.

When in a Korean restaurant, we can never pass up the opportunity to order some Grilled Beef Ribs (Kalbi) and this one doesn't disappoint.  It arrives on a sizzling cast iron plate and each piece has plenty of beef where the fat is minimal.  They are evenly grilled on each side displaying appealing sear marks that are smoky with sweet caramelization.  The marinade ensures that each piece is a good balance of sweet and savoury.  Being tender, the meat still exhibits some chewiness for a great texture.

Sticking with the greatest hits, the Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon) is another textbook item.  This is a fairly thin version, which is actually a good thing.  I find the overly thick ones end up to be much too dense and doughy.  Hence, this one has a uniformly crunchy exterior that is nutty and not too greasy.  The inside is delicate and moist with only a modest amount of green onion.  Some versions have far too much green onion and it overwhelms the dish.  There is a modest amount of seafood bits strewn throughout that gives the pancake some texture.

Onto some noodle and rice dishes, another staple is the Hot Stone Bowl Rice (Dolset Bibimbap).  This arrives sizzling hot and stays as such even after some picture-taking.  As such, I can mix the components with gochujang and I am able to get a socarrat by pushing the rice onto the sides and bottom of the hot bowl.  It also helps that the rice is not too soft, which means it can crisp up properly.  There is a good amount of toppings which in turn gives each scoop of rice some substance.

Lastly, the Cold Noodles with Raw Skate Fish is an under-the-radar dish.  This is something I don't remember having before.  Well, I've had the cold noodles, but not the raw skate fish.  It will not be the last time either as the fish has a wonderful chewy texture that exhibits a pleasing rebound.  The soft cartilage is easily chewable and the sweet and slightly spicy sauce goes well with the skate.  Noodles are pleasingly chewy too.  Overall, the food at Sol Lee's is solid and pleasing to eat.  Prices are reasonable and portion sizes are generours.  Great addition to the strip mall full of many other restaurants.

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

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Large portions

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Parking lot is a disaster

Zhengxin Chicken Steak

I don't think there is a more universally loved dish as fried chicken.  Almost every culture has their own version and for all that I've tried, they have all been awesome.  So we are all familiar with Southern Fried Chicken and more recently, the ever popular KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).  However, one type of fried chicken that is gaining traction, especially locally, is Chinese-style fried chicken.  Now, I'm not talking about the Cantonese-style crispy chicken.  Rather, it is the Northern Chinese one that incorporates a savoury seasoning that usually includes Szechuan peppercorns.  The first location of Zhengzin Chicken Steak (out of China) has set up shop in Burnaby on Kingsway near Metrotown.

To get a full rundown of the menu, we ended up with both of their Combos for Two including the Double Package A consisting of a Spicy Chicken Steak, Spicy Chicken Leg Burger, 6 Hot Wings, Fries and 2 drinks.  This was a fantastic value at only $36.95.  The wings were crispy while sporting juicy meat inside.  It was mildly spiced while seasoned completely.  Chicken steak was cut up for us and it was fairly tender with also a slight spiciness.  As for the burger, the deboned chicken leg was succulent and juicy.  It was also mildly spicy with some tingle on our tastebuds.  The bun was really thin and almost not there.  It was like a jiang beng but fluffier.

The Double Package B featured even more food with the Hawaiian Grilled Burger, Spicy Chicken Burger, Boneless Chicken Strips, 6 Orleans Wings, Fries and 2 drinks.  I thought the thin bun did not stand up to the wet ingredients of the Hawaiian burger very well.  However, the chicken was fantastic though being super juicy.  The addition of pineapple did give it plenty of sweetness and tang.  The chicken strips were very crunchy and a touch dry.  However, they were well-seasoned with the usual spices such as 5-spice, cumin and Szechuan peppercorns.  The Orleans wings were quite different as they were grilled.  Hence, they were a little less juicy, but still plenty tender.  Skin was fairly well-rendered and slightly sweet.  Fries were great being hot, crispy and plenty potatoey inside.

Last item was the Deep Fried Chicken Legs.  These were split down the middle and fried aggressively.  Hence, the outside was super crispy and the meat was on the drier side.  However, that worked as the texture was remarkably different than the juicy wings and leg in the burgers.  It helped concentrate the spices more so with its fall flavours having an earthy, licorice and spicy notes.  Overall, the fried chicken at Zhengxin was great with many different options that were unique in their own way.  Naturally, the seasoning is typical of Chinese fried chicken with its earthy, sweet and fall flavours.  Pricing is reasonable where the combos being a steal in my opinion.  Great for both take out and dine-in.

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

The Good:
- Solid fried chicken that is a different than the local version
- Large portions
- Combos are a great deal

The Bad:
- Some items are not exactly juicy, but they work in their own way
- The thin bun doesn't stand up to wet ingredients