Meet Fan

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

You know I go on and on about food costs these days...  This goes for groceries, restaurants and also the cost for restaurants to operate.  I understand and accept that food prices will and are going to remain high due to inflation, fuel and labour costs.  However, I'm always on the lookout for good value when it comes to dining out and I've legitimately found some.  The latest is Meet Fan out on Kingsway near Boundary.  They are primarily a takeout spot with a few seats for dine-in.  There are snacks, rice and noodle bowls that are reasonably priced and spoiler alert, they are tasty too!  Recently, we were invited to try out a good selection of their wares.

First off, we were presented with a selection of snacks including the  Mini Pork Floss Tamago Beignet Balls that were a nice little bite.  Encased in the soft and fluffy donut was a piece of tamago while the outside was coated with sweet mayo and a tonne of dried pork floss.  These had a salty sweetness to them and were quite addictive.  We also got an alternative variation of these in the Pork Floss Tamago Puff Roll, which in my mind, were even better.  The flaky and buttery pastry had an appealing softness to them.  Inside, the egg and pork floss provided texture and flavour that was akin to the beignet balls.

Continuing on with the same delicious pastry, we also had the Smoked Duck Puff Roll.   Again, the flaky pastry was a good starting point.  Inside, the smoked duck was tender and moist with plenty of smokiness and saltiness.  This was tempered by the julienned cucumbers that also offered up a cold crunch.  This was somewhat along the lines of a Peking Duck wrap, but just a bit different and much more fulfilling.

With all these things stuffed into pastry and such, it was by no surprise we also had a sandwich.  This was the Deviled Egg & Chicken Salad Sandwich.  As much as the ingredients are important, the use of brioche was perfect.  It was soft and slightly sweet while giving way to the savoury filling.  There was fluffy egg, tender chicken and crunchy cucumber that would've not looked out-of-place at a afternoon tea service.

For the next item, they ditched all forms of carbs and went just for the meat in the Grilled Chicken Skewers with wasabi mayo.  First of all, the use of dark meat helped ensure that the skewers wouldn't be dry.  Second, it provided more umaminess and body due to the chicken fat.  I liked how the chicken was completely marinated so there was plenty of salty sweetness.  The wasabi mayo was mild and that was a good thing.

Moving back to the duck, we had the Truffle Smoked Duck Salad.  Now I already knew how tender and buttery the duck was from the puff roll, so it was even more evident in this salad (since we were eating actual slices).  This was because they sous-vide the duck first.  There was a light smokiness to it while the truffle dressing was just right not being overwhelming.  We found spring mix underneath as well as some corn with imitation crab on the side.

My absolute favourite "snack" was the Spicy Mala Crawfish Rice.  Normally, I hate eating crawfish because it is so much work to gain access to so little meat.  However, they did the work here by putting a considerable amount of tender crawfish atop rice.  These were dressed in an impactfully spicy mala sauce that was delicious without hurting our tastebuds.  I could've gobbled this whole bowl myself if I didn't need to pace myself.

Onto the bigger items, we had the Garlic & Scallion Sous-Vide Soy Chicken Rice.   For $14.95, this was a good amount of delicious food.  Completely affordable in my books.  So back to the food, the chicken was super tender and the flavours had penetrated the meat.  To complement the soy flavour, the scallion sauce and fried garlic offered up brightness and aromatics.  Loved the addition of a ramen egg on the side.

Suspiciously looking like the same bowl of food, the Pesto Sous-Vide Soy Chicken Rice was completely different in flavour despite the using the same soy chicken.  You see, the pesto was quite apparent and created a non-Asian tasting concoction.  Sure it was still the same moist and flavourful soy chicken, but it suddenly tasted Italian.  Surprisingly good combination even though I wouldn't have expected it a first glance.

Here we are with the delicious smoked duck again in the form of Teriyaki Smoked Duck Rice.  The sauces were actually served on the side and that let us taste the duck all by itself.  It was really good with balanced smokiness and enough saltiness for effect.  With the side sauces, we could've made this teriyaki or truffle.  I tried the teriyaki as we already had the truffle.  Naturally it gave a sweet saltiness to the dish.

Now for our first beef item in the 24-Hour Slow Cooked Beef Rib Strips with black pepper truffle mixed noodle.  Oh I really liked this one as the black pepper sauce really made this dish sing.  In addition to providing a peppery kick to the tender beef, it made the noodles extra savoury and appealing.  There was this depth from the pepper as well as the truffle that made the al dente noodles addictive.

So another favourite of mine was the Shredded Mala Chicken Rice with lots of peanuts and nori on top.  Their mala seasoning is on point with a bite that is numbing to a degree but not really overpowering either.  The tender chicken soaked up all of the nutty spiciness and helped flavour the rice underneath.  Loved the crunch from the nuts too.  Also, those marinated eggs were nicely custardy in the middle.

A bowl with the same chicken but tasting completely different was the Shredded Chicken Shoyu Wasabi Rice.  This one was a Japanese-inspired creation complete with tobiko and nori on top.  The result was something quite creamy with a bit of saltiness, brininess and bite.  Definitely a 180 from the mala rice.  Really, that is the cool thing about Meet Fan.  They use many of the same ingredients (smart thing to do so costs are kept in check), but the dishes taste remarkably dissimilar.  Prices are reasonable and the portion sizes are good.  What's not to like about this place?

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Affordable
- Super tasty with unique flavours
- Well-portioned

The Bad:
- If you wanted to dine-in, there are limited seats
- Repeated proteins, but it keeps the costs down and they really do taste different

Big Way Hot Pot

Generally, I'm pretty famished after Sunday morning hockey, so we are always on the lookout for food.  This time around we decided on something close to Kingsway and Boundary.  Now you might be wondering why we wanted that specific location...  Well, I'm getting back into Magic: The Gathering and I wanted to drop by Magic Stronghold to pick up some cards (yes, my inner geekiness is coming out...).  So we ended up at Big Way Hot Pot down the street.  This place lets you choose from a selection of meats, veggies and noodles for a customized hot pot.  You bring it up to the counter, choose your desired broth and they will cook it and bring it to your table.  Apparently, this is popular in Australia and has finally made its way to Vancouver.  Think of it as the hot pot version of Mongolian grill or U-Grill at Metrotown.

So the deal here is that you walk in, scan a QR code and get into a virtual lineup.  You can see the updated status of this lineup by refreshing your browser.  Once there are enough tables available, you get a text and are welcomed to grab a bowl and fill it up to your heart's content with items from the refrigerated displays.  With the exception of Abalone and Crayfish, it is $3.68/100g.  Now you can easily blow your budget if you pile it on too much and/or fill out your bowl with heavy items such as clams and shrimp.

Now once you have filled up your bowl, you take it up to the counter and they weigh it.  You select your broth with options like Signature Ma La Tang, Szechuan Green Peppercorn, Tom Yum, Collagen Bone Broth, Sa Cha, Tomato, Peanut Sauce Dry Mix, Ma La Dry Mix and Szechuan Dry Mix.  For the spicy broths, you can choose the heat level as well.  From here, you can also order a drink to go with your meal.  After this, you are presented with a order number tag that you place on your table so they know where to serve your cooked bowl of selected ingredients.

On this visit, I selected the the Signature Ma La Tang while Milhouse had the Tomato broth.  In general, the items that I selected were cooked nicely due to the fact they didn't cook everything all at once.  Some items cook faster than others and they accounted for that.  The seafood was not overdone, nor were the veggies.  Best of all, the instant noodles were barely cooked through so that they retained an al dente texture.  As for the broth, I chose hot and it was indeed spicy.  However, it wasn't so much so I couldn't taste anything else.  The tomato broth was delicious being sweet and tangy.  It was impactful and was good to drink on its own.

So before we left, we were offered a Soft-Serve Matcha Cone (pardon the out-of-focus picture...) to eat in or take out.  This is included in the meal and really a nice way to finish off.  Now the soft-serve was a bit icy, yet was refreshing after the hot pot.  It was lightly sweet with a mild matcha flavour.  Loved the waffle cone with its crunch.  In the end, we enjoyed out meal and thought the pricing was fair.  Now with that being said, you need to be careful with the heavier items as the total cost can get up there.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients
- Great service
- Fun concept

The Bad:
- Can get pricey if you aren't careful
- Sauce bar is a bit basic 

 

Uncle's Snack Shop

*Restaurant is closed*

Situated in the old location of Green Lemongrass on Westminster Highway in Richmond, newly opened Uncle's Snack Shop is offering up an eclectic menu that restaurant veteran, Kevin Lin, has developed fusing traditional Asian flavours while presented in non-traditional ways.  Of course I had to see what was cooking, literally and figuratively at Uncle's.  I decided to let the huge lines of the weekend dissipate so I could be first on a weekday and order "one of everything".

Ah yes, doing my best impersonation of Mijune Pak (not that I can be Mijune Pak..), I really did get one of everything including all the sammies.  From top and clockwise, we had the OG Chick Sandy, Hot Chick Sandy, Salty Chick Sandy and Cheesy Shroom Sandy.  They were all solid with the salted egg sandwich standing out for me.  The chicken thigh was juicy and aggressively crunchy on the outside (in a good way).  I could get the richness of the salted egg without it being overdone and heavy.  Nice crunch from the napa slaw that also balanced the richness.  I was pleasantly surprised with the appealing spice from the hot chick sandy where it was definitely impactful without taking over the other flavours including the fragrant Thai basil aoili and the fresh cabbage & daikon slaw.  I thought the OG chick sandy definitely captured the traditional Chinese flavours with the ginger & scallion condiment.  There was a crapload of it where the brightness and zing was apparent.  I would've liked to see more tang from the cucumber salad though.  Of course there was also a vegetarian offering in the cheesy shroom sandy with a cheese-filled panko fried portobello.  Lots of textures here and no lack of cheese.  The tamarind jam added tang, sweetness and spice to liven things up.

There was one more sandy that was definitely different from the rest in the Egg Tofu Katsu Sandy.  Enjoyed this one as the milk bread was ever-so-soft and fluffy.  The thin piece of katsu was tender and not dry while crispy on the surface.  That egg tofu was naturally silky soft while complimented by tangy tartar with bits of pickles and onion.  Katsu sauce provided some salty sweetness as well.

One of the most stealth items was the Pomelo Salad with jicama, pickled watermelon rind, cucumber, mint, caramelized onion, tofu puffs and spicy tamarind dressing.  This salad was a lot of things but most of all, it was about textures.  Lots of fresh crunchy things to go with the chewiness of the tofu puffs.  The tang and sweetness of the dressing went well with the ingredients and the mint added a extra flavour component.

The biggest item we had was Auntie's Staff Meal which was Fried Spicy Ribs on rice with mushroom tofu stew.  For the price ($12.00!!!), this was a lot of food.  If I were to tackle this alone, I probably wouldn't have finished it.  All 3 ribs were large, meaty and fall-off-the-bone tender.  Loved the crisp exterior glazed with a spicy sweet chili sauce.  The rice was texturally sound while the stew was hearty and comforting.

One of their most interesting items was the Taiwanese Sausage Corn Dog with brown sugar chili garlic sauce.  If you are not familiar, a Taiwanese sausage is firmer (oh, cue the jokes...) and sweeter than a regular sausage.  There is also chunks of fat and the casing is a bit chewier.  So this corn dog was considerably different than ones you would find at the PNE.  However, the one thing that put this over the top was the dip.  Sweet, tangy and slightly spicy, it was flavour bomb to go with the corn dog.  I was very pleased that they dared to put Honey Garlic Chickenese on the menu.  These were actually deep fried chicken knees coated with honey garlic butter.  Think of them as small chicken nuggets with the crunch of cartilage.  I thought these were good with the classic sweet aromatics.  I personally would've asked for sauce on the side as I like my chicken knees not covered in sauce.  At the bottom of the picture, we had Uncle Scott's Shake-Shake Tots were dressed in truffle parm (extra $2.00).  These were crunchy and there was definitely enough truffle oil and parm to make them flavourful.

We actually had 2 more items including the Chicken Skin Chickarron and the After School Mac Salad.  However, I'll only discuss the chickarron because the mac salad will be coming off the menu.  Properly rendered and crunchy, the chicken skin was tossed in a sticky fish sauce.  Pretty addictive and if I didn't care about my cholesterol, I would've eaten all of it.  LOL...  Ultimately, we didn't eat all of the food.  We ordered too much!  However, it did give us a good sense of the menu and what Uncle's Snack Shop is all about - interesting food with bold flavours.  Definitely worth a try for a quick bite or a meal.

The Good:
- Bold flavours
- Interesting food
- There's parking!

The Bad:
- Sandwiches are on the pricier side, but this is not a fast food restaurant

Little Bird Dim Sum + Craft Beer

Inaccessible Dim Sum - where most typical diners cannot afford to visit often.  It all started with Mott 32 where we found high-end Dim Sum complete with non-traditional Michelin-Star quality service and accompanying dining space.  Then we found places like Ampersand and Blossom where fusion Dim Sum was served in modern digs without the old surly wait staff that could care less if you existed.  Well now we have something that meshes new and old together without bastardizing traditional Dim Sum nor asking for your first-born to dine there.  The name is Little Bird and this is within the same family that runs the iconic Flamingo House restaurant.  So at the very least, we know that the eats will be legit.  We essentially find traditional Dim Sum served in a non-traditional setting.

The main draw for me was that I could eat this for dinner, so I rounded up the fam and made the drive out to Kits.  We decided to try an array of dishes including the usual Ha Gau and Siu Mai.  Now you will noticed that they served the dumplings in threes rather than fours mostly to keep the costs down as the location isn't cheap and neither is the modern.  Moreover, the wait staff are young, courteous and efficient - that means they cost more too. In terms of execution, the shrimp dumpings were indeed good featuring a semi-thick wrapper that had some elasticity.  Inside, the whole shrimp and shrimp paste filling was moist, airy and of course bouncy.  It was mildly flavoured with the unmistakeable hint of sesame oil.  As for the pork & shrimp dumplings, they were on the firmer side consisting of the classic combination of processed pork, chunks of pork, shrimp and shiitake mushroom.  So all of the usual flavours were there, yet at the same time, the dumpling was not salty.

Interestingly, most Dim Sum spots do not offer Shrimp Toast anymore, but they had it here at Little Bird!  There was no doubt we had to order this.  I'm happy to report that it was no mistake as each piece featured crunchy toast bottoms that were only somewhat soaked with oil (hard to not be when you throw bread into a deep-fryer) which makes it so tasty!  On top, the shrimp mousse was perfectly moist and springy with the natural sweetness coming through.  If you haven't tried this before, I recommend this as a must order.  Staying on with the deep fried, we had the Deep Fried Wontons that were stuffed with a filling that was like the ha gau.  As such, it was just as bouncy and miost.  Once again, the seasoning was mild where the natural flavours came through.  As evidenced in the picture, the outside was crispy and completely browned affording a noticeable nuttiness.

On the flip side, their Spring Rolls were of the traditional variety consisting of pork, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp and bamboo shoots.  It is true that I'm much more used to the all-shrimp variety that is more common on menus these days.  However, this version was really good and brought back memories of my childhood (wait, I used to go to Flamingo House as a kid...  makes sense...).  Firmly crunchy on the outside and served steaming hot, these were on point with a varied textured filling.  One of the more surprising dishes offered on the menu would have been the Deep Fried Chicken Knuckles.  I surely didn't mind as each piece was large and meaty with the unmistakable crunch from the cartilage.  Try it, don't be scared!  The only thing I would've liked to see was a bit more spice and saltiness, but then again, we could get hot sauce on the side.

One of the largest items on the menu was the Sticky Rice served as one portion wrapped in lotus leaves.  Very traditional as we normally find 3 mini versions at most places now.  There are advantages with the larger version as it usually stays more moist and in this case, can be stuffed with 2 drummettes and a large piece of cured sausage (insert joke here...).  Indeed the sticky rice was moist and still appealingly chewy with plenty of ground pork and shiitake.  One of the more relatively expensive items on the menu was the BBQ Pork Bun for $3.00 each.  Granted these buns were actually rather large (also insert joke here) as it took up most of the steamer all by itself.  In terms of execution, the bun was good where it was fluffy and light while retaining some resistance.  The lean BBQ pork filling was on the sweeter side yet not overly so.

Another table favourite had to be the Scallop Taro Puff.  Normally, these are served in a football-like shape, but this one had an open top covered by a scallop.  The scallop itself was delicate and buttery while caramelized on the outside.  Light and crispy, the exterior was not overly greasy (as some versions tend to be).  Just underneath, the medium-thick layer of mashed taro was airy and smooth.  Inside, the ground pork and shiitake was fairly light and mildly-seasoned.  Although the Pork Spareribs were full-flavoured from the plethora of minced garlic, the dish itself was a bit sloppy.  There was far too much moisture and grease which made things goopy.  With that being said, the rib portions were tender while still retaining a bite.  Furthermore, the dish wasn't oversalted which meant that the garlic and natural flavours of the pork come through.

Onto 2 pan-fried items, we had the Pot Stickers as well as the Shanghai Pork Bun.  We enjoyed the semi-thin dumpling wrapper of the pot stickers as they were easy to eat as well as having a mouth-pleasing elasticity.  Inside, the pork filling was tender and moist.  It wasn't very dense either and had just enough cabbage.  Once again, the seasoning was on the milder side and we were beginning to suspect that this was intentional considering that many of the clientele would be sensitive if there was too much sodium or MSG in the food.  As for the Shanghai Pork Bun, it was an actual bun like the BBQ Pork Bun where it was fluffy and light.  That made it a lot less cumbersome to eat like many other versions of this dish.  On the other hand, it also was more wet as it absorbed the moisture from the moist filling as well as the oil in the pan.

We settled on 2 items for dessert beginning with the Egg Tarts.  These were pretty textbook featuring a buttery and flaky puff pastry shell.  The browning on it was a bit uneven, but the ultimate edibility and texture was not compromised.  We found the silky egg custard centre to be aromatic and purposefully sweet.  My son wanted the Steamed Sponge Cake and it arrived in 3 separate portions rather than the tall single version.  This was also good where the cake was airy and light while having a sweet aroma.  The cake itself was just sweet enough, but there was a side of condensed milk for those with a sweeter tooth.   So as you can see, we tried a good chunk of the menu and most items were good.  For all of the places that are offering overpriced fusion Dim Sum, it is nice to see a place reasonably-priced (with all things taken into account) authentic Dim Sum in a non-traditional space (and area for all that matters).

The Good:
- Authentic Dim Sum
- Attentive service
- Reasonable-pricing with all things considered

The Bad:
- Most items could've used more seasoning, but it might have been intentional
- Not a big restaurant, keep your party small
- Might offend some traditionalists, but that is not the target demographic

M8

Funny how certain locations within the city are deathtraps for restaurants.  Case in point, the seemingly awesome waterfront spot along 1010 Beach Avenue sees a turnstile of restaurants coming and going.  The latest iteration, M8, features elevated Chinese/Asian food that "isn't fusion" according to the menu and website.  Featuring the same chef from the former Moma in Richmond, I was intrigued as to what we had in store at this location as well as the somewhat eclectic menu.  Joining me for this food adventure were Maggi, Joyce, Areta and David.

We set out on this meal with some of the smaller plates including the Crispy Chicken Skin sporting chili oil, salty egg yolk, mustard seeds and balsamic glaze.  I have to say right now that this dish has to be one of the "must try" items in the city.  Perfectly and uniformly crispy, the airy chicken skin was kissed with the salty umaminess of the egg yolk powder.  It was further amped by the balanced amount of chili oil, tangy mustard seeds and sweet glaze.  I could have easily eaten all of this myself and 2 more orders.  Next, the Beef Cheeks was also quite good being deep fried and then tossed in aged black vinegar, Sichuan peanuts and lotus root.  Beyond the lightly crispy coating, the beef cheeks were melt-in-our-mouths tender.  Although the sweet tanginess of the black vinegar wasn't everyone's cup of tea, I enjoyed it and thought some white rice on the side would've been great.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Crispy Pork Belly mainly because it was dry and not sinfully fatty.  Since we had 5 of us, I tried to cut the 2 generous slices of belly with a knife.  Unfortunately, all I accomplished by that was shredding the meat due to the dry texture.  This was really too bad as the pork belly was nicely seared and tasted great on its own (as well as with the accompanying pork jus).  We weren't too sure of the taro root puree on the bottom though as it didn't add much.  In fact, the pasty texture didn't really go in our opinion.  Actual chunks of stewed taro would've worked better (like the classic strewed pork belly and taro).  We got a bonus dish since the chef recognized me from my visit to Moma.  It turned out to be one of my favourites in the Shimeji Mushroom Tempura with burnt lemon aioli, warm kale salad and wakame.  This was a textural delight where the crunchy batter revealed tender, yet still firm mushrooms.

Our last small dish was the Smoked Lamb Belly with mint salsa verde and fennel carrots.  Texturally, this was better than the pork belly as it was tender and gelatinous.  The smoke flavour was definitely there, but we found a strong aftertaste which wasn't necessarily appealing.  Naturally, the mint salsa verde was a good compliment to the lamb.  We felt this was a pretty solid dish except for the aftertaste.

Onto our larger items, this is where it became fairly hit and miss.  I would say the Beef and Broccoli was a polarizing dish as many didn't like it.  We actually had 2 versions where the first one featured an overdone 8 oz ribeye steak (our server thought we wanted the steak well-done, huh???).  Anyways, the second steak was perfectly medium-rare and quite good.  Unfortunately, the broccoli in the second dish was far too salty unlike the first dish.  It was properly prepared in terms of texture though being crunchy while cooked through.  Hit and miss on the same plate was the Crispy Aged Duck Breast and Duck Leg Confit.  I really enjoyed the tender duck breast with crispy skin, but the duck leg was over fried being dry and not really all that appealing.  The dish was completed with soybean and preserved mustard greens.

Trying out 2 of their pastas, we had the Tagliatelle Bolognese and also the Tiger Prawn Bucatini.  Reminiscent of a "Ja Jeun Mein", the beef and pork ragu sported shiitake mushrooms and trio soy sauce.  Hence this tasted truly Asian, but mixed with a very non-Asian pasta.  Unlike some others, I didn't mind this dish even though it was missing something.  It could've used some form of acidity or spice to liven up the flat flavours.  However, I thought the pasta was perfect and the meaty ragu exhibited plenty of body and robustness.  Universally, we enjoyed the bucatini more as it was brighter and less heavy.  The pasta featured a shrimp and garlic chive pesto which was aromatic and herbaceous.  Once again, the pasta was perfect and the prawns were meaty with a sweet snap.  Overall, I didn't mind the food at M8, but the appies were definitely the highlight as opposed to the entrees.  Considering its location, M8 is a great place to grab a drink and some small bites while people watching from the patio.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced considering its location (especially the appies)
- Good location for the Summer
- Some highlights

The Bad:
- Entrees weren't bad per se, but could use some tweaks
- A little confusing with some of the combos