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

Lee Garden (Dim Sum)

I haven't been back to the Kingsway location of Lee Garden for quite some time.  We've hit up the Coquitlam spot but once again, the Kingsway location was out-of-sight and out-of-mind.  Finally, we decided to meet up with some friends for Dim Sum.  As usual, their parking lot got pretty packed, so we ended up parking on the street.  If you really want a parking spot, better make a reservation right when it opens at 9:00am.  On that note, reservations will not get you in right away when it gets busy at around 11:30am.   Best to go early or later.

We began with the BBQ Pork Pastries served as a trio.  These were a bit pastry heavy with only a modest amount of BBQ pork.  Pork was lean though and the sauce was pretty balanced between sweet and savoury.  Flaky, but slightly doughy, the pastry had an on point exterior, but got progressively denser inside.  I would say this was an average version of the dish.

I thought the Siu Mai was a bit hit and miss.  I thought these were medium-sized compared to many other places.  The pork itself was chewy and didn't have the rebound texture I was looking for.   Hence they ate a bit dense. There was plenty of shrimp which had a sweet snap though and the seasoning was just right.   I liked how they put the tobiko on after they had finished cooking.

On the other hand, the Ha Gau were textbook.  Translucent, fairly thin and having appealing elasticity, the dumpling skin was great.  It also helped that these were streamed just enough so that everything was cooked, but not overdone with excess moisture.  Hence, the wrapper did not tear.  Inside, the shrimp filling had a buttery snap and tasted great with sweetness.

Loaded with cilantro, the Beef Meatballs had the desired texture.  They were bouncy and airy with mild seasoning.  That didn't really matter as the dominant flavour was cilantro.  I would say that a bit less would have balanced things out.  Small detail, but I loved the bean curd skin at the bottom of the plate.  It helped keep the meatballs from sticking, but I also enjoyed the texture.

Here we are with the Steamed Honeycomb Tripe & Tendon, one of my most favourite dishes not only for Dim Sum, but of all time.  Yah really, I love the texture when the dish is done right.  The one here was absolutely prepared properly.  Each strip of tripe was a of a good size and had that desired tender texture with just a bit of chew.  It had been stewed enough prior to the steaming and it took on all of the good sweet, savoury and garlicky elements.  Tendons were equally tender, but still had texture, rather than melting away.

Another favourite of mine is the Steamed Chicken Feet.  These are deep-fried, then braised and finally steamed.  Once again, another solid dish as the texture was on point.  The skin, fat and cartilage were buttery and soft while not being mushy.  All of the chicken feet were intact and everything came off the bone easily.  Flavours were similar to the tripe except with a bit more saltiness.

Okay, usually I break one of the BBQ Pork Buns apart so we can see the filling in the picture.  I didn't do so here, so you'll just have to trust me that the filling was sufficient and full of the same BBQ pork as found in the pastries.  The bun portion was a little more dense than some of the other versions I've had lately.  However, at the same time, it was still fluffy and soft.

Another favourite dish of mine is the XO Daikon Radish Cake.  For this one here, I thought they did a good job.  Although not fried enough to create a uniformly crispy exterior, there was still browning where the aromatics were great.  There was a bit of crispiness giving way to a soft pillowy interior.  I thought that the briny spice of the XO sauce was a little light and this definitely could've used more of it.

Normally, you'd find me ordering some pea shoots or gai lan, but since they were featuring Water Spinach stir-fried with fermented tofu, I was changing it up!  The wok-fry on the water spinach was good as it was cooked enough, but still remained crunchy.  I would've liked a bit more fermented tofu, but it was still sufficient to provide a funky saltiness to the dish.  On that note, more garlic would've been nice too.

I don't often order the Deep-Fried Chicken Knees, partly because it isn't offered on all Dim Sum menus.  They had it here and I was pretty glad I ordered it.  As you can see from the picture above, those pieces were large and meaty.  Hence, we weren't only eating cartilage, there was juicy meat all around.  They were lightly crispy with an impactful salty peppery seasoning.

For our Rice Noodle Roll, we opted for the beef.  As you can see in the picture, the rice noodle was a little on the stiffer side, however, it was quite thin.  Hence, it was soft enough that it was pliable.  It ate better than it looked.  Inside, the beef filling was tender and airy much like the beef meatballs.  Also like the beef meatballs, there was a good amount of cilantro, which was the dominant flavour. 

We went for three desserts this time around including the classic Baked Egg & Milk Tarts.  Served in a set of three, these were uniformly almost exact in their appearance.  We found the pastry to be flaky and buttery with no undercooked portions.  The egg yolk custard was silky and light while being only moderately sweet.  Overall a very good egg tart!

A surprisingly excellent dessert was the Deep Fried Crispy Coconut Milk Roll.  Sure, these were a touch greasy, but it didn't take away from the eating enjoyment we had.  Super light and crispy, the deep fried shells were aromatic and sweet.  Inside, we found thickened milk that was also aromatic and sweet.  It helped provide some moisture to balance out the crispy shells.  Super tasty, would order again!

Finally, we had another classic in the Steamed Sponge Cake.  Loved the use of brown sugar which made the smell and taste deeply rich and almost toffee-like.  The cake itself was airy and soft which made things very easy to eat.  Really nice end to a generally solid Dim Sum meal.  Sure, some things could've been better, but with all things considered, we had no complaints about the food or service.  I can see why the place remains popular and hence, extremely busy.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- We had friendly service
- Even though it is busy, seating isn't overly cramped

The Bad:
- Some dishes could've used a few tweaks
- When you want to dine here after 11:30am, a reservation might not even help you

New Mandarin (Dim Sum Peking Duck)

For awhile there, I was visiting New Mandarin for dinner and dim sum regularly.  However, with me being out-of-town frequently and also Viv breaking her ankle, some things just got lost in the shuffle.  Well, we would make a return to New Mandarin for dim sum and to try out their Beijing Duck special.  Yes, most people don't order that for Dim Sum, but for only $59.98 for one course, that can be considered a deal!

Of course we had to get some Dim Sum in addition to the Beijing Duck.  The first dish to hit the table was the Deep Fried Taro Dumplings with Scallop.  These were light and crispy on the outside while not being overly greasy.  Soft and fluffy, the mashed taro encased the usual ground pork filling.  It was moist and was mixed with a starch-thickened sauce.  Since the top was open due to the scallop, more oil seeped into the taro.

Since we ordered over $100.00 worth of dishes, we were presented with the bonus dish of BBQ Pork.  Since this was the kurobuta variety, it was plenty fatty and hence juicy.   It wasn't flabby though as there was just enough fat to make things rather bouncy and gelatinous.  Meat was tender an moist.  Really enjoyed the sweet honey-glazed bark.

As you can see in the picture above, the Beijing Duck was carved with crispy skin only and also breast meat with skin attached.  This way, you could take your pick as to wrapping it with either option.  Alternatively, you could merely eat the breast meat on its own.  The duck was quite good with crispy skin that wasn't fatty while the breast meat was tender and flavourful.

For another $15.00, you could add another course in the Duck Lettuce Wrap.  Really good value in my books because that would be $65.00 for 2 courses!  This was also good with crunchy veggies and plenty of moist duck meat.  Seasoning was a touch on the saltier side, but the hoisin helped balance it with sweetness.  I love how the iceberg lettuce was in big pieces (can wrap better) and was not wet.

We got back to the Dim Sum with the Truffle Siu Mai.  These were large while stuffed full of large shrimp and pork.  The dumpling was uniformly bouncy and almost juicy.  Natural sweetness from the pork and shrimp were present while the seasoning was just enough for impact.  Truffle sauce was not distributed evenly, so 2 pieces were more truffly than the other two.

Of course, I must talk about the Ha Gau (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings).  As you can see, the dumpling skin on these was translucent and fairly thin.  There was a slight chew to them, but they had good elasticity.  I liked how they didn't fall apart when I picked them up.  Inside, the shrimp filling was buttery and moist with an appealing snap.  Proper seasoning on them too.

Other than tripe, the Steamed Bean Curd Skin Rolls are my favourite Dim Sum item.  With an aggressive fry on the bean curd skin, it ensured a chewier texture (which was good).  Inside, the pork filling was moist and had that requisite bouncy texture.  Not much starch-thickened sauce in this one, so the bean curd skin did eat more dry.  I didn't mind it, but others might.

Even though my kids were present for this meal, we still got the Shrimp Spring Rolls with Garlic (we like them too!).  These were a bit small, but at least we had 4 of them to an order.  They were crispy and just a touch greasy but that didn't make of break this dish.  Inside, the shrimp filling was buttery and moist with that desired bounciness.  Well-seasoned too with hits of garlickiness.

Even though there isn't a whole lot of food with the Steamed Chicken Feet, I love ordering it nonetheless.  These were good with soft deep-fried skin that had a bite still.  Underneath, the cartilage and fat were soft and ate easily.  It wasn't too soft where things were melting away either.  In terms of seasoning, it was plenty sweet, savoury and garlicky.

One of their more unique items is the Hot & Sour Soup Dumplings.  They are somewhat similar to the ones found at Mott32.  Usually, these are on point, but this time around, there was a lack of soup.  Too bad really, as the dumpling skin was relatively thin and great elasticity.  Also, the pork filling was tender with a slight rebound.  The small amount of soup was classic hot and sour with tang and some spice.

One of Viv's favourite Dim Sum dishes is the Stuffed Eggplant.  So yes, I ordered it!  It was quite full of shrimp mousse, to the point where there was more than eggplant.  Texturally, the mousse was not overly dense, yet not too airy either.  It had a light rebound while being a good balance of savoury and sweet.  The eggplant itself was tender without being mushy.  We would've liked to see a saltier black bean sauce though.

We always prefer the Baked BBQ Pork Pastries over the BBQ pork buns and hence, we ordered our favourite.  The pastry was generally flaky and buttery (mostly likely lardy), especially at the top.  However, the sides were a touch gummy with less flakiness.  Inside, the BBQ pork was mostly lean and enveloped in a sweet glaze.   

One item I've never had before at New Mandarin is the Seafood & Chinese Yam Dumpling.  These featured a translucent skin that was appealingly chewy with great elasticity.  Inside, the pieces of seafood were cooked just right and there was a some greens in it for brightness.  I thought these were a good alternative (or addition) to the ha gau if you one felt they wanted something different.

Moving onto 2 Rice Noodle Rolls, we had both the BBQ Pork and Prawn.  Both were quite large and featured buttery soft rice noodle sheets.  With that in mind, there was still some elasticity, so they didn't break upon contact.  Lean and plentiful, the BBQ pork was really noticeable in every bite.  That created a meatiness to go with the soft sheets of noodle.  Same with the prawns, as you can see above, there was much more prawns (with a buttery snap) than noodle.

In a pretty dark shade of brown, the Beef Meatballs looked to be heavy with the dark soy.  In terms of texture, these were a bit firmer than most other versions I've had lately.  Hence, it was much more meaty than being airy or fluffy.  With a good amount of greens mixed in, there was a herbaceous brightness to the meatball.  This came in a set of four rather than the usual three everywhere else.

One of my favourite desserts at New Mandarin at their Deep Fried Purple Yam Chrysanthemum Balls.  These were every-so-lightly-crispy while the inside had a mochi-like quality to them.  However, the texture was almost fluffy and super airy.  With some chrysanthemum and syrup, the whole thing was floral and sweet.  With that being said, it wasn't crazy sweet either.

Finally, we had the classic Baked Egg Tarts served as a trio.  Yes, they were a little inconsistent, with one being darker, then medium dark and light.  However, they all ate flaky and buttery with discernible layers.  Egg filling was silky and mildly sweet.  Overall, this was another delicious Dim Sum service at New Mandarin.  It was extra bountiful since we went for the Beijing Duck.  Very well-priced as well.

 

The Good:

- Solid dim sum

- Service has improved over the years

- The Beijing Duck special

 

The Bad:

- With the place so busy, your meal might be a little rushed 

 

Deer Garden

When my parents used to live in Coquitlam, I remember frequenting Deer Garden for dinner.  That stopped as soon as my parents moved into Burnaby.  Mind you, I could've easily just ate at Deer Garden without them, but it was out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  Such a shame really as their food was generally solid and well-portioned.  Recently, along with other foodies, I was invited to try out a variety of dishes at their new location.  That's right, they are no longer on Westwood Street.  Rather, they've moved into Henderson Centre right across from the New Pacific Market.  

We started off the meal with an Appetizer Platter consisting of Salty Peppery Pork Chops, Fried Wontons, Honey Shrimp and Fried Eggplant.  Loved the crispy and light batter on the pork chops.  Inside, the meat was tender and not dry.  There was enough seasoning to flavour the pork chops.  The shrimp were also good with a starch coating.  Since it was tossed in sweet mayo, the exterior was just somewhat crispy.  The shrimp itself was meaty and buttery.  I found the fried eggplant to be cooked-through without being mushy.

Next dish was the Whole Lobster steamed with garlic.  Nothing complex with this dish and really, the most important thing is that they served a live lobster.  That was confirmed with the delicate bouncy texture of the lobster meat.  It was sweet and fresh-tasting.  The ample garlic on top did not overwhelm the lobster.  It only accentuated the already-present lobster aroma.  Absolutely loved that they put the lobster butter on the side so we could easily eat it.  So much umaminess!

Moving onto a classic dish, we had the Hainanese Chicken with chicken oil rice.  The free-range chicken was beautifully prepared with tender and moist pieces of both white and dark meat.  I found that the skin was perfectly gelatinzed while a bit of gelatin lurked underneath.  The pieces of chicken were delicious on their own but the accompanying condiments helped in that respect.  As for the chicken oil rice, it as nutty, a bit fatty and full of umaminess.  The rice itself was chewy and nutty.

Like many restaurants of this style (think Miu Garden) we also had the Coconut Curry Bef Brisket to go along with the chicken dish.  This was every bit as good as Miu Garden with big chunks of beef that were super tender and surprisingly not that fatty.  The coconut curry was rich and creamy with so plenty of aromatics and proper seasoning.  Really needed white rice for this and with the sauce, maybe a few bowls of rice just for myself!

Going in a totally different direction, we had the Seafood Congee with a side of salty donut.  The congee base was a bit more homestyle than other Chinese restaurants.  The colour was bright white and the seasoning was mild.  It was still thick though and the amount of seafood was generous.  I found the slices of fish to be tender and flaky while the prawns had a perfectly-cooked meaty snap.  There was also delicate slices of scallop.

We moved onto a pair of soup noodles after this including Beef Tendon & Tripe Noodles as well as Home-Made 4 Kinds of Meatballs Noodles.  Both featured chewy wonton noodles that had an appealing resistance to them.  The tendon and tripe were tender, but not to the point there was no texture left.  I found the soup base to be quite good.  As much as it isn't as good at a dedicated wonton noodle house, it was still flavourful with a sweet meatiness.  Not much to say about the meatballs other than there were a good amount of them.

We always go for the default with the Sweet & Sour Pork mostly because we enjoy the dish.  However, it is so beloved by everyone, I tend to judge most places with this dish in mind!  Well the version here was actually quite good.  It featured medium-sized nuggets of pork that were juicy and tender.  This was definitely fried-to-order, which meant the exterior batter wasn't hard nor was the meat overdone.  Sometimes restaurants par-fry the pork to make preparation faster.  They didn't here.  The sauce was on the sweeter side and could've used a touch more tang.

We moved onto the a pair of hot pot dishes in the Singing Pork Sparerib Hot Pot and the Satay Sliced Beef Vermicelli Hot Pot.  Both came out sizzling with still vibrant veggies.  I found the ample amount of spareribs to be meaty, yet tender without much in the way of fat of cartilage.  It was seasoned properly with a starch-thickened sauce.  As for the sliced beef, it appeared that the cuts were more with the grain than against the grain, so the meat wasn't as tender as it appeared to be.  It possibly could've benefited from more tenderization through a longer marinade.  It did taste good though with well-seasoned vermicelli.  Love the chewy texture that was not hard nor was it too saucy.

We had a HK-style dish next with the Baked Pork Chop Spaghetti.  Yes, normally, this would be a baked rice, but honestly, I like spaghetti more anyways.  This was a large portion that would be best for sharing.  The spaghetti itself wasn't exactly al dente, but it wasn't soft either, so that was a good thing.  I found the sauce having the right viscosity and having a pleasant taste including just the slightest of tomato tang with balancing sweetness.  There was so garlic notes too.  Served in cut up strips, the fried pork chop was tender and not dry.

The same sliced beef from the hot pot showed up in the Beef with Egg Sauce on Rice.  Hence, it looked great on the place being cooked perfectly.  However, it as still chewy due to the combination of cutting with the grain and not being marinated long enough.  Despite this, the dish was still tasty and went will with rice.  The eggs were silky and the starch-thickened sauce was flavourful and the right viscosity.

We ended off the savoury part of the meal with the Fried Rice with shrimp paste, shrimp and chicken & the Supreme Fried Kuiteow.  The noodles were pretty good despite missing the usual flavour profile of a true chow kuiteow.  It had good wok hei which meant it was a a a bit smoky without any residual moisture.  I would've liked to see some brininess but it still tasted fine.  I found the rice to be quite good with plenty of ingredients.  It had enough of a hot wok fry that it had some caramelization and colour.  The ample amount of shrimp were cold-water crunchy.  I would've liked maybe more aggressive seasoning with this though. 

For dessert, we had the HK-Style French Toast with butter and syrup.  Classic Hong Kong Cafe-style, these French toast bites were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  There was a layer of sweetness already between the white bread, but the addition of syrup made this a satisfying dessert. In the end, we were quite satisfied with the combination of classic Chinese dishes and HK-Style cafe favourites.  Things were generally well-prepared except for the beef.

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

The Good:
- Well-prepared dishes
- Good portions
- Fairly large menu

The Bad:
- Unfortunately, the beef was not tender
- Kuiteow didn't taste like one, but really, it was still delicious