Chef Tian's

Originally, the plan was to hit up Max Wonton House for some Chinese comfort eats.  Seeing how they only take cash, I had to make a quick pit stop at the bank.  This brought me to the Central at Garden City shopping complex.  After snagging a parking spot, I looked over and thought that maybe we should just head over to Chef Tian's instead.  I've always wanted to check out their gigantic salty donut as well as their other signature dishes.  Situated in the former location of Z & Y Shanghai, Chef Tian features Hunan cuisine (which is rarely found in the GVRD).

Of course we were here for more than the salty donut, and hence, we began with an interesting dish I've never had before - Stir Fried Egg with Vinegar.  Honestly, we were both interested and a bit apprehensive at the same time.  Turns out that it was a great decision to give it a go because the eggs were super fluffy and silky.  Also, the most important part was that the dark vinegar was definitely there but not so much that the dish was sour.  It was nicely balanced in terms of sweetness and savouriness with only a hint of vinegar.  The addition of chili peppers gave the dish a slight kick.

For some people, they might be laughing at me for ordering the Sweet & Sour Pork.  Yes, we were at a Hunan restaurant, so maybe I shouldn't order it right?  Well, they do have their own version of it and I'm pretty sure they adapted this one for the masses.  However, it was unique in its own way though.  The pork came in strips and was coated with a lighter starch batter that was crispy and airy.  As for the sauce, it was pretty red, but had a nice viscosity where the balance of sweet and sour was quite nice.  The pork itself wasn't too fatty and was tender.

Arriving on a huge dish, the Spicy Diced Chicken was one of the best we've ever had.  Not only was there a good portion of crispy nuggets of chicken, we found crispy rice as well.  That was a textural delight that was crunchy and airy that took on all of the appealingly spicy saltiness of the dish.  As for the chicken, beyond the crispy exterior, the meat was actually juicy and completely seasoned.  The brine on them was on point while the outer seasoning was salty, spicy and slightly smoky.

Probably our 2nd favourite dish was the Feiteng Fish featuring slices of grouper in a spicy oil broth.  This was similar to the Szechuan spicy boiled fish, but without any broth (just oil).  This was a huge portion of delicate and flaky slices of fish.  They were buttery soft and naturally sweet.  The spicy properties of the oil from the dried peppers and the Szechuan peppercorns were soaked up by the fish and it was a impactful without being completely overwhelming.  Underneath, there was bean sprouts, Taiwanese cauliflower and seaweed.

Even our one vegetable dish was outstanding.  The Baby Napa Cabbage with Vermicelli and Garlic was super tasty.  Each leaf was perfectly steamed being completely soft, but not mushy.  The delicate texture had a great mouth feel and the abundance of garlic and chilies on top permeated through.  However, the best part of the dish was the mung bean noodles.  They had soaked up all of the flavourful goodness and the natural sweetness of the cabbage.  In addition, they were on point texturally having a slight chewiness.

We ended up getting one noodle dish in the Braised Beef Noodle Soup.  This didn't look like anything special, but believe me, it was good!  There was an overload of al dente noodles sitting a clean and flavourful broth that had concentrated meatiness as well as hits of star anise.  In fact, there was so much noodle, I think we needed more soup!  The cubes of beef finger meat was super tender with only a marginal amount of fat.

 

Finally, the dish I was waiting for - the gigantic Salty Donut!  Served hanging from a hook (so that it stays crunchy), it was cut table side.  This has to be one of the best versions I've had.  Beyond the crunchiness of the outside, the inside was fluffy and appealingly chewy with a nice elasticity.  It was also well-salted where I could just eat this without anything to dip it into.  So yes, I came to Chef Tian's for this donut, but discovered that their other dishes are just as appealing and well-portioned.  I will definitely come back, not just for the donut!

 

The Good:

- Excellent salty donut

- Other dishes are delicious too

- Well-portioned

- Good service

 

The Bad:

- Menu isn't the most descriptive, confusing for people who do not know the dishes

- Finding parking is not easy 

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  

The Fishman

After my initial visit to The Fishman back in 2022, I really wanted to go back.  For a place that almost exclusively features fresh (mostly live) seafood, the prices are surprisingly reasonable.  Couple that with expert execution and just outright deliciousness, you can see why they are always busy.  This time around, I am incorporating 2 recent visits into one blog post.  I got to sample a few more items this time and you know what?  I love The Fishman even more so now!

On my first return visit, we started with the Jumbo Prawns.  These could be had in 2 different preparations - Sichuan or Salted Egg Yolk.   We chose the former and they were fantastic.  When they said jumbo, they weren't lying.  These giant prawns were deep fried perfectly where the shell was crispy and edible while the meat had a firm snap.  They were naturally sweet and a bit briny but the Sichaun peppercorns added numbing spice.  There was some earthiness to the dish from the use of cumin.

Next we had the Wok Fry Clams with Black Bean Sauce that also came in a pretty large portion.  Although there were a few unopened clams, most were opened and cooked well.  We didn't notice much sand either.  The clams were buttery with an appealing chewiness.  There was plenty of sauce, so we could spoon it out with the shells.  I thought the viscosity was on point.  As for flavour, there was enough fermented saltiness and garlic.  However, a bit more spice would've made it perfect.

For our larger dish, we selected from the fresh sheet and had the Live Boston Lobster with black truffle cream sauce and yee mein.   This was indeed a generous portion as there was plenty of yee mein.  It was perfectly cooked as it wasn't overly soft (despite it naturally being on the softer side).  The black truffle sauce was earthy and creamy but I wasn't sure it necessarily went with the lobster.  I felt it was delicious on its own, but ultimately overshadowed the sweet lobster meat.

To get some balance in our meal, we got the Stir-Fried Crown Daisy with red fermented tofu and Thai chili.  This was absolutely delicious as it made me go for seconds, thirds and fourths.  You see, I'm normally not a fan of crown daisy due to its pungency.  However, the liberal use of Nam Yu (red fermented tofu) helped balance the natural taste of the vegetable.  It was also cooked properly where it was completely wilted but still had crunch in the stalks.

Normally, the Sea Scallops come in an order of 4, but they only had 3 left.  Well, we weren't going to let that small detail from ordering it!  Turns out that it was a great move since they were so good.  Each scallop was large and super sweet.  They were buttery and had the contrasting chewy mantle surrounding it.   As expected, there was vermicelli underneath to soak up the natural juices.  On top, we found plenty of garlic and scallion that offered up aromatics and pungency.  Some sweet seafood soy helped flavour the dish.

On the next visit, we went for something similar to the scallops and went for the fresh sheet again with the Irish Razor Clams.  These were steamed in the same manner as the sea scallops.  Hence, the flavour profile had the sweet saltiness of the seafood sauce, the brightness of the green onion and pungency of the garlic.  I felt the sweetness of the razor clams to be equal to the scallops but maybe with more brininess.  Vermicelli was al dente and super delicious.  Clams were buttery with some bite.

We went big with the Spicy Fish Hot Pot with the ling cod option.  This was a massive bowl of food as it took up like one quarter of our table.  It was filled to the brim with tender and buttery slices of ling cod.  The fish was supremely fresh, sweet and had a taste of the sea.  It was sitting in a fairly spicy broth, but it was balanced as we could still taste the fish.  There was some Sichuan peppercorns in there for some numbing effect. We found some glass noodles, sprouts and tofu as well.

We also got a lobster for this meal as well with the Salted Egg Yolk Whole Lobster with sliced rice cakes.  Although the lobster was fried perfectly with a crispy starch exterior and bouncy and sweet meat, the salted egg yolk was a bit too dry and crumbly.  Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious with the nutty salted egg taste.  In fact, there was many discernible pieces of salted egg yolk.  However, it wasn't a sauce per se and didn't season everything equally.  This was due to the fact they used hard salted egg yolks.  Normally, this dish employs soft, almost watery salted egg yolks to create a sauce.

Going away from seafood, we went for some BBQ Skewers in chicken hearts, pork intestine and chicken knees.  I thought these were well-prepared too.  The chicken hearts were still juicy despite the charring on the outside.  They were well-seasoned with some spice, saltiness and earthiness.  Same could be said about the chicken knees as they had a nice crunch while still being moist.  The intestines were a bit more dry, but still had a moist interior to contrast the slight crispiness of the exterior.  I didn't find them particularly gamy as the seasoning did help mask it.  So these 2 revisits to The Fishman only helped validate what I already knew - they dish up fresh seafood in a delicious manner.  Considering the portion sizes and the quality of the seafood, I find the prices reasonable.  If you haven't checked them out, I recommend that you do!

The Good:

- Fresh seafood

- Delicious

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- That parking lot is woefully insufficient

- Super busy at peak times, make sure you have a reservation

- Salted egg yolk should use liquid yolks not hard yolks

Lu Charcoal Grill

It isn't very hard to find Northern Chinese BBQ skewers in the Lower Mainland.  There was an explosion of spots in the past 10 years starting with Happy Tree out on Kingsway (there are more, but this is the most well-known one).  For me, it has been awhile since I've had Chinese BBQ skewers.  This is partly because you can really start spending a pretty penny when you over-order.  That is quite easy to do when there are minimum amounts such as 5 or even 10 skewers of specific meats.  Recently, I visited Lu Charcoal Grill in Richmond that not only has no minimum per skewer, their pricing is rather reasonable too.

Unlike many other skewer spots, you do not order from a menu or order sheet.  Rather, you walk up to the refrigerated area where all the skewers are ready for you to choose.  Take as many or little as you want, pass to the servers and the kitchen will seasoned and BBQ them.  As you can see in the picture, there is a good selection including pork intestines, spicy beef, beef tongue, chicken gizzards, pork rib, chicken wing, beef, lamb, chicken, pork belly, chicken heart, chicken cartilage, enoki, chives, tofu, steamed buns, bread, corn, sausage, chicken feet, snake fish and beef aorta.  Not only are the prices reasonable, I felt that the amount of each skewer was more than sufficient.

Once BBQ'd, the servers bring the skewers out and place them on the platter that is kept warm with lit tea candles.  I thought the skewers were more or less cooked properly keeping the meat tender while having a slightly crispy exterior with caramelized spices.  My favourites included the pork intestines as they were tender with a chew.  Loved the thick cut.  Beef tongue was also good with a tender chewiness.  Good amount of spice and seasoning on it.  Chicken wing featured rendered skin and juicy meat.  Also enjoyed the chicken heart and chicken gizzards as they provided an appealing chewiness while not being dry.  I wasn't as enthused about the corn though as it wasn't plump.

In addition to the skewers, we also had a variety of dishes including the impressive Seafood platter.  It consisted of scallops, shrimp, clams, abalone and cuttlefish.  I think these are usually separate orders, but they combined it all into one platter.  The seafood got plenty of garlic and that meant things were flavourful.  Underneath, we found a mess of mung bean noodles, that had soaked up all of the delicious garlic and seafood juices.  That was probably even better than the seafood!  However, let's be real, this was all about the seafood and they were cooked just right with butter clams, scallops and cuttlefish.  The abalone was firm with its classic chew.

So we also got the new Tomato Egg Noodle Soup served in a hot claypot.  This came out bubbling and was filled to the brim with tender lai fun and a wealth of fluffy egg and tomato.  I thought the broth was not particularly tomatoey but it did have the aftertaste.  It was more mild and brothy with equal parts savouriness and sweetness.  I found the noodles to be fairly al dente while slippery.  The fluffy egg is what made this dish as it added so much texture.

Another bubbling claypot was the Seafood Pork Claypot with sauerkraut.  At first, I was confused why the broth was tangy, but double-checking the ingredients yielded pickled napa cabbage.  That made things rather appetizing and helped lighten the heaviness of the pork belly.  In that sense, the broth was fairly light and was not devoid of various flavours.  Cabbage was tender while not overdone and the shrimp on top were meaty and sweet.

Accompanying our skewer and seafood fest, we had some smaller plates to supplement as well.  This included the Chicken Nuggets and the Fried Stinky Tofu.  Although the chicken was heavily battered, it wasn't as dense as it appeared.  Rather, the exterior was crunchy while giving way to tender chicken.  It was fairly well-seasoned too.  As for the stinky tofu, it was indeed pretty sharp.  I don't mind eating it as long as it isn't super pungent.  This one was bordering on that, but I did enjoy the aroma and crispiness.

As our defacto veggies for the meal, we had the Garlic Cucumbers and the Deep Fried Taiwanese Cauliflower.  Crunchy and full of garlicky spiciness, the cucumbers were a nice interlude between skewers.  As for the cauliflower, they were crispy with some peppery salt.  They were fully cooked, but still had a crunch.  Overall, the food at Lu Charcoal Grill was tasty and well-priced.  It is a little more on the rustic side, so don't expect refinement.  But that is the draw here.  The food isn't complex, but it is served in generous portions and is generally delicious.

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

The Good:
- Fair pricing
- Generous portion sizes including the meaty skewers
- Seafood is fresh

The Bad:
- Tomato soup could've been more impactful
- Possibly put some saran wrap over the skewers to keep them fresh?

Noodle Dynasty

So I'm sure that authentic Chinese hand-pulled noodles aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Portland's culinary scene.  But over the past 15 years, Asian cuisine has come a long way in the Portland Metropolitan Area.  I remember a time when I had Dim Sum on SE Division Street and had probably the worst I've had in my life.  Fast forward to the present, we find all types of good Asian cuisine (in particular, Thai).  So I went in with relatively high expectations when we visited Noodle Dynasty in Beaverton.

We ordered a variety of dishes and began with the Hot & Sour Soup.  This was a somewhat pale-looking version, but in terms of taste, it was decent.  I definitely got sour and savory elements with only a bit of heat.  There was enough components for effect such as crunchy wood ear, fluffy egg, delicate tofu, bamboo shoots and carrots.  I would've liked to see some sort of protein as the soup was a bit lacking depth.  It also could've used a bit more starch too for thickeness.

The Beef Pancake Roll was possibly one of the best I've had in quite some time.  The pancake was flaky and had an appealing crunch on the outside.  It was fairly light, yet still had a good chewiness.  It was aromatic and had a beautiful nuttiness.  Wrapped inside, the beef was tender and had the aroma of 5-spice.  There was enough hoisin sauce to add the usual sweetness while the amount of green onion was balanced.

Onto the noodles, we had the classic Lanzhou Hand Pulled Beef Noodle Soup.  The noodles you see in the picture were literally hand-pulled to order and cooked immediately.  They were prepared al dente and had nice elasticity and bite.  This type of beef noodle featured a clear broth which I found was clean and light tasting with sweetness.  The sliced beef was tender and also mildly seasoned.  For some, this is purest form of the beef noodle since it is so simple, but I much prefer the next one we had.

The Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was more up my alley with tender nuggets of braised beef.  The soup itself wasn't super spicy, but did have a slight kick.  I could still taste the base flavor of the broth, but it did lack natural meatiness and body.  We had the wide hand-pulled noodles for this bowl and they were predictably chewier than the thin ones (also prepared al dente).  This was a decent bowl of noodles, wished there was more spice though.

Now that wasn't an issue for the Spicy Pork Ribs Flat Noodles though.  Sometimes referred to as "Biang Biang" noodles, these wide sheets were extra chewy.  Now the chewiness wasn't a bad thing though as it is generally a hallmark texture.  I found these noodles just a tad thicker than I would've liked, but still appealing nonetheless.  Yes, these had quite the heat to them, but it was a good thing as the wide noodles needed all the seasoning it could take.  The pork ribs were super tender and had a good balance of sweet and savory notes.

Although the Pork Wontons with Chili Sauce looked super spicy, they were quite mild (at least according to me).  I have a high spice tolerance, so for some, this might be scorching.  I found the dumplings to be delicate with tender and juicy pork inside.  It had a nice bounciness to it and was well-seasoned.  The chili sauce was smoky, sweet and a bit nutty.  It did have heat, but again, it wasn't tongue-burning.

To temper the spiciness of the meal so far, we had the Hot & Sour Fish Filet.  Yes, this had spice in it too but rest assured, it was very mild where the pickled mustard greens were the dominant flavor.  The broth itself was quite appetizing mostly due to the tanginess and also some sweetness from the fish.  There was an abundance of what I though was basa filets.  Say what you will about the fish, it was pretty buttery tender in texture.

Beyond the spicy wontons, we also got the Pork Xiao Long Bao for good measure.  Although these featured medium-thick dumpling skin, the texture wasn't dense.  In fact, it was a bit wet.  Despite this, there was a good amount of sweet soup inside that had a hint of shaoxing wine.  The meat itself was bouncy and tender.  If they could improve the dumpling skin (in terms of thickness and texture), these would be quite good.

For dessert, we had the cute piggy Egg Yolk Bao.  The bun itself was fairly fluffy with a sweet salted egg yolk filling.  It wasn't the runny type (Lau Sa Bao), but I prefer this kind more anyways.  It is much easier to eat and less messy.  Overall, the food at Noodle Dynasty is pretty legit.  Sure, some items can use improvement, but in general, the food is enjoyable and authentic.  Portland has really come a long way where Asian food is more plentiful and delicious.

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

The Good:
- Legit hand-pulled noodles
- Large portions
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Soup bases could be more impactful

Shanghai Dumpling King (Kingsway)

For the longest time, I've been trying to pay Shanghai Dumpling King on Kingsway a visit.  But every time I've been foiled by either a long lineup or lack of parking available in the tight parking lot and/or on the street.  Also, with all of the other places I can eat at, I just lost interest.  However, Ophilia insisted I go and we made plans to have dinner there on a weekday night in hopes of avoiding all the aforementioned challenges.  So we were able to find a parking space and actually snag the last small table in the place.  Finally, mission accomplished!

Getting right to the point, the one dumpling that you must order here is the Potstickers.  These are so on point with a medium-thick skin that is pliable and also has nice elasticity.  The bottom is crisped up beautifully while the pork & cabbage filling is tender and juicy.  In fact, it is beyond juicy because there is actually soup inside.  In terms of taste, they are well-seasoned and I could taste the natural sweetness of the pork.  If you order one of their combos, a Tea Egg is included.  They are bound to be overcooked because they sit in the warm braising liquid before it is served, yet as you can see in the picture, they are not that overcooked.  Flavours do penetrate nicely into the egg.

The next must order dish here is the Dry Noodles mixed with scallion oil.  This is even better with the Pork Chop braised in soy.  So aromatic and bright, the chewy noodles have just the right amount of oil that is infused with the flavour of scallions.  It is also well-seasoned where the balance between savoury and sweet is just right.  That pork chop is braised to the point it is falling apart.  It is glazed with a sweet and savoury sauce that has a bit of smokiness as well.  If you want it all, then you must order The Meeting of Three that includes Spicy Pork and also Pickled Vegetable with Sliced Pork.  Of the 2, I think the pickled veg & pork would be my choice.  Too bad it is cold, would like it hot.  However, this normally goes into a soup noodle which warms it up.

They have 2 wontons on the menu in the Secret Stuffing Large Wonton as well as the Tiger Prawn Small Wonton.  Both feature medium-thick wonton skins that are delicate with a bit of bounce texture.  I find that the large wontons are the shepherd purses with leafy greens and pork.  They are fairly dense and definitely eat like a meal.  These go well with the supplied chili oil at the table.  For me, the shrimp wonton are the right size and light texture that I enjoy.  I think the seasoning can be more aggressive, but at the same time, it allows us to use the smoky and mildly spicy chili oil condiment once again.  As for the soup, it is super light, yet comforting during these cold months.  In general, the menu at Shanghai Dumpling King is limited and the food is pretty straight forward.  Yet, that is what makes the place appealing.  They offer only a few things and they do it well for a reasonable price.

 

The Good:

- Those scallion noodles and pork chop

- The potstickers

- Reasonable pricing

 

The Bad:

- Not a lot of seats and it is tight in there

- Wontons are not bad, but not as good at the other dishes