Milestones Coquitlam Test Kitchen

There was a time that Milestone's was the place to be.  For those who remember (or are that old), we couldn't get enough of those Thai Drumettes, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Portobello Mushroom Chicken, Burger with curly fries and of course their Prime Rib.  Yes, they were the sh*t and were already onto the "elevated chain restaurant" path, even before Cactus Club and Joey Tomato's (now known as Joey) pivoted from casual eats to a bit higher-end.  However, somewhere down the road, they were passed by the aforementioned chains as well as Earl's.  Now they have totally remodelled their Coquitlam location and added "Test Kitchen" to their name.  As with most test kitchens, the menu consists of items that are not available at any other location.   They are "test" dishes to see if they work with the customers.  We decided to try the place out to see if good things were cooking at Milestone's these days.

We arrived in time for Happy Hour and got their 3 for $39.00 deal, where we could pick any 3 appetizers from the ones listed.  Our favourite was easily the Calamari.  It featured large strips of squid that were quite tender with just the slightest of chew.  On the outside, there was a crispy and well-seasoned batter.  We found 2 different sauces on the side.  I thought the preserved lemon aioli was the one that complimented the calamari the best.  It was tangy and creamy while allowing the squid to stand out.  The other sauce consisted of spiced andouille sausage & tomato ragu.  Nice tang and spice, but better on a meatball.

On the topic of meatballs, we also had the Moroccan Meatballs.  These were fairly large in size and slightly dense.  However, the meatball itself was moist and naturally meaty.  There was enough filler in there to keep things tender without compromising the natural beef texture.  Since these were advertised at Moroccan, the spices offered up earthiness with the cumin and classic fall flavours with cloves.  The accompanying spiced tomato and pepper sauce was tasty being tangy and sweet with a bit of heat.  However, we really could've done with much more of it.  There was also crispy focaccia on the side.

Our last appie was the Sweet Chili Chicken Bites with crispy wonton strips, cucumber, green onion and sesame seeds.  As expected, the flavour profile of this dish was rather defaultish due to the use of sweet chili sauce.  Nothing particularly wrong with the dish as the chunks of breast meat were not dry and the batter was still crispy despite the dousing of sauce.  The sauce was typical being thick like a glaze and having mostly sweetness with just a touch of heat.  I think the addition of wonton strips and fresh cucumber helped with the texture and also provide some freshness.

For good measure, we got the OMG Pepperoni Pizza and it was loaded with toppings.  There was so much cheese and pepperoni on it that the crust couldn't stand up to it.  So beyond the crispy edges, the middle of the pizza was really soft.  Definitely a fork and knifer or if you so please, folded over.  This really tasted good though as the sauce was sufficient with an appealing sweet tanginess.  The amount of provolone and mozzarella made things stringy and cheesy.  Yes, the amount of pepperoni was generous which added salt and of course pepperiness.

Onto the mains, my daughter had the classic Portobello Mushroom Chicken.  It has changed a bit in terms of overall presentation and execution, but it remains as one of their best dishes.  Instead of capellini, they use fettuccine now which is a better choice.  I found that the thin strands of the original pasta got soft quickly while the fettuccine here was al dente.  Employing a basil pesto cream sauce rather than the mushroom cream sauce is a solid evolution.  Still plenty creamy, but now with some brightness, it is plenty tasty.  Of course, we can't forget about the chicken, still tender and juicy.

My son went for the other original item in the 1989 Burger.  It was a substantial burger back then and it isn't any different now.  Thick, juicy and nicely charred, the burger patty was as good as I had remembered.  It was one of my go-to items at Milestone's and I'm glad they kept it around.  It had smoked bacon and cheddar on a soft sesame egg bun.  However, the one thing that did change was the omission of the curly fries.  I loved those and miss them!  My son opted for the sweet potato fries, and they were fairly crispy.

Viv had one of the test kitchen items in the Seafood Risotto.  Generally, I've had very few good risottos in my lifetime, so I wasn't expecting much from this one.  Alas, the rice was overdone, but as a dish, it was not bad. The risotto didn't spread on the plate well, but it was still creamy and flavourful.  It might have bordered on being salty, but no one could complain it was bland.  There was a wealth of seafood present including bay scallops and shrimp with a half lobster on top.  We also found caramelized onions and leeks which provided sweetness and some brightness.  But the most defining ingredient was the lobster tomato broth which made things taste like a lobster bisque.  Quite tasty.

For myself, I continued the seafood theme with the Lobster Frites.  Featuring 2 split whole lobster tails and a pile of fries, this was quite appealing at first glance.  The charred lobster tails were prepared perfectly with juicy and bouncy meat.  It was barely cooked through retaining much of the natural sweetness and aroma.  They were basted some roasted garlic & herb butter which was also well-salted.  I enjoyed the fries as well since they were uniformly crispy.  They came with the classic watercress dip.

My mom went for her standby being the Steak Frites.  We asked for medium-rare and it came out as such.  The steak was sufficiently tender with a decent char and proper seasoning.  We found the demi-glace rather salty as well and being maybe a bit too thick.  It did have plenty of flavour as a result which meant the steak was not lacking flavour.  As for the fries, they were exactly like the ones on my plate and hence, they were pretty good.  

For dessert, we shared 2 of them including the Colossal Chocolate Cake.  Bringing back quasi-memories of the one I had at Claim Jumper, this was 6 layers tall and plenty chocolatey. I found the cake itself to be moist and not particularly sweet.  In between, the chocolate ganache was flavourful and purposefully sweet.  I found it plenty rich, but not heavy.  This cake was good and although we were full, we dusted it off.  I think the restrained sweetness and rich dark chocolate flavour made this cake.  Would definitely eat this again.

The other dessert was the Pistachio & White Chocolate Crème Brûlée.  Although it looked big, the plate was pretty shallow.  That was actually a good thing as a crème brûlée shouldn't be deep.  Hence, there was just enough creamy and lightly sweet custard underneath.  It was a bit nutty, but not too strong with pistachio.  The sugar topping shattered beautifully and provided the sweetness for the dessert.  Overall, Milestones Test Kitchen is not bad.  Sure, there could be some improvements made with most of the dishes, but compared to say...  the defunct White Spot R&D, it is miles ahead.  Now hopefully they bring back the Thai Drumettes!

The Good:

- Ample portions

- Not bad

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Salt levels are a bit high

- Not bad, but could use further refinement

Jimoco Café & Pasta

Wow, this is a ol' favourite on Austin in Coquitlam...  Jimoco opened shortly after I started this blog over 16 years ago.  This Korean-run pasta joint was famous for its 2-for-1 grand opening special that lasted what seemed like forever.  Now the menu has expanded and although the 2-for-1 is long gone, their dishes are still reasonably-priced.  I've been here countless times over the years and the food is great for what it is, especially for dining in.   It was a life-saver when the kids were younger as we would eat here economically while still having a good time.  Jackie and I dropped by recently and it was great to visit an ol' friend.

We started off with the Calamari which was served with a spicy tomato dip as well as a sour cream sauce.  Crispy and fairly light, the batter was mildly seasoned.  Inside, the squid rings and tentacles were bite size and sufficiently tender.  There was an appealing chew to them.  We also had the Meatballs sitting in a bright tomato sauce.  Although small, the meatballs were almost juicy inside with a tender meatiness.  A light oven-roasted sear on the outside was a bit crispy and aromatic.

We somewhat made a custom dish by taking the Linguine Soul and adding a Chicken Parmigiana to it.  This was a fairly spicy pasta that had lingering effects without being painful.  Beyond that, the sauce itself was tangy with some sweetness.  Despite sitting in all that sauce, the linguine itself was al dente while the brininess of the ample seafood came through.  The mussels and clams were both buttery and plump with all of them open.  The piece of chicken parm was quite thin where the meat was also firm but not dry.

We had 2 dishes that were nearly identical except one was the Rose Seafood and the other was the Seafood Rose Tteokbokki.  The biggest difference except for the carb involved was the addition of fish cake and the spice level in the Rose Tteokbokki.  Otherwise, both sauces were creamy and mildly tart.  Once again, the seafood brininess was there, but not overwhelmingly so.  The pasta was al dente while the rice cakes were chewy, yet soft at the same time.

For me, whenever I see Linguine Vongole on the menu, I must have it!  Despite almost everything we had was seafood related, I just couldn't help myself.  Good call on my part though as this was good.  Once again, the pasta was firmly al dente while sitting in minimal moisture.  Despite that, the dish did not eat dry and yes, the clams were abundant here.  Good clam flavour while the pasta itself was mild-tasting with just enough seasoning.

One of the more striking dishes was the Squid Ink Cream.  Yes, the sauce was black thanks to the squid ink, but if one closed their eyes, they wouldn't even know it.  For me, it tasted creamy and rich.  There has only been a handful of times I have actually tasted the squid ink in my pasta (it has the slightest seafoodiness and earthiness).  Once again, there was ample seafood that provided a taste of the sea.  The pasta was once again al dente.

So our one non-seafood pasta was the Beef Soy.  A bit similar to the Japanese Butter Soy, this was much sweeter and more saucy.  Lots of meat juices from the sliced beef meant this was full of umami and depth.  The umami was further reinforced by the addition of mushrooms.  By the same token, the sweetness was layered since we also had sauteed onions as well.  Pasta was al dente despite the moisture and the beef was easy to chew.

Even though there is a certain Korean influence at Jimoco, I'm not entirely sure that they serve "Korean-style" pizza.  It is true the crust was a bit thicker and there was a good amount of cheese, but the Pepperoni Pizza we had was pretty much a standard North American-style pizza.  The crust itself was crunchy and chewy while the centre was a bit soggy due to the generous amount of sauce, cheese and pepperoni.  Other than that, it was non-offensive and did the trick.

Onto the desserts, we had 3 of them including the Chestnut Tiramisu, Affogato and Basque Cheesecake.  I enjoyed the flavour of the tiramisu as it was lightly sweet and had nice aroma, but the chestnut was rather dense (as it usually is).  The Affogato was pretty creamy from the hard ice cream.  However, the coffee was strong enough to balance that sweetness.  As for the Basque Cheesecake, the texture on the top, bottom and edge was silky but firm.  In the centre, it was softer and almost a bit jiggly.  It was very subtle in flavour and maybe needed just a bit more sugar.  Overall, the food at Jimoco is exactly how I remembered it - solid and especially good for the price.

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

The Good:
- Solid Korean-style pasta
- Reasonably-priced (nothing over $20.00)
- Decent portion size

The Bad:
- Pizza a bit soggy in the middle
- Parking in front is hard to come by

I Love K-BBQ

Honestly, I love Korean BBQ.  The grilling of the meats, marinated and non-marinated, it just makes things interactive and you can cook it to your own specifications (as long as it is cooked through!).  Also, the rest of the meal is great too, including Banchan, a soup of some sort and a bunch of sides.  Great for dining as a group whether it be family or friends.  Imagine my joy when I found out about a new place in Coquitlam called I Love K-BBQ.  My sentiments exactly!  Located in the old Tabom spot, they offer up Korean BBQ on a stone grill. 

Jackie and I came for a tasting of their menu and we ended up with 2 of their combos.   Both of them included a soup, Corn Cheese, Salad and Banchan.  The Lucky Combo had Prime Boneless Short Rib and Beef Short Rib.  The Happy Combo had Pork Belly, Pork Jowl and Marinated Pork.  Since they butcher a lot of their own meats, the quality control was evident.  I found the Prime Boneless Short Rib to be high quality with even marbling.  Hence, it cooked up buttery and soft.  Pork belly was also a good balance between fatty and meaty.

We added some other dishes to try to including the Cold Noodles and also the Spicy Cold Noodles.  First of all, the temperature was on point being cold, but not giving us brain freeze.  Noodles were appealingly chewy with the cold noodles sitting in a flavourful broth.  The spicy one was definitely so with a balancing amount of sweetness.  Both came with a half boiled egg and pickled sliced daikon.

So we got the usual Seafood Pancake as well and it was pretty loaded with bits of seafood.  We found shrimp, mussels and squid hidden within a slightly dense interior and a really nice crispy exterior.  It wasn't overly greasy either.  The Steamed Egg was excellent being fluffy and light with a consistent texture throughout.  It was also lightly seasoned being sweet with plenty of natural egg flavour.

We got one last dish in the Grilled Spicy Pork Intestine cooked with onions and cabbage as well as rice cake.  This was quite good with chewy (in a good way) pieces of pork intestine.  Sure, it was at its gamy best, but I personally love the taste.  There was a good amount of sweet spice that was caramelized.  Rice cakes were appealingly chewy and also took on the same flavours.

Looking at the Stone Grill, you can see that it is tilted so the fat could drain.  The cooking surface was most hot in the middle with the edges being just warm.  This worked well with the cooked meats being moved over so they could be kept warm.  At the end, Fried Rice was prepared on the stone grill (after a scrape clean) with nori and cheese.  We were able to create a socarrat at the bottom that was crispy and nutty.  A great finish to a tasty meal!  Overall, the food at I Love K-BBQ is solid and generally high-quality.  It is a fine addition to the cache of Korean restaurants in Coquitlam.

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

The Good:

- Meats are high-quality

- Loved the stone grill, can just clean it rather than replacing it

- Other dishes are solid too

The Bad:

- With the stone grill, the fat does splatter quite a bit, at least they offer bibs

- Parking can be a bit tricky on Austin

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

Kosoo Korean BBQ

Here we are again at Kosoo Korean BBQ out in the heart of Coquitlam.  We had a great experience last time with their excellent meats and the unique selection of Banchan.  As you might be familiar, Kosoo belongs to the bigger group of restaurants that included Kosoo Cardero as well as Kosoo Chicken & BBQ.  We've been to all of them and they each offer something a bit different than the other.  This time around, we were doing the BBQ for sure, but there were a few more dishes we've never had before.

But to start, we had 2 versions of their Pancake including the Chive and Kimchi Pancakes.  The interesting thing about their pancakes is that they are relatively thin.  Hence, they were super crispy (without being too crunchy), while the interior of the pancake was not overly soggy nor doughy.  Overall greasiness was modest, especially since it was not served in a cast iron pan.  I personally enjoyed the kimchi version more due to the spice and tang.  The chive pancake had a balanced amount of green onion.

Onto the Banchan, it consisted of Kimchi, Stewed Potatoes, Bean Sprouts, Tofu Skin, Quail Egg, Fried Zucchini and Pickled Daikon.  These were a bit more standard compared to our last visit where we had the anchovy and shredded squid.  However, the quail eggs were nicely marinated where the sweet and salty flavours were impactful.  I wasn't a fan of the zucchini since the batter was a bit stiff since it was served cold.  For our choice of soup (that was included with Combo B), we had the Soft Tofu Soup.  It was served bubbling hot and had some spice and plenty of depth.  The soft tofu was silky and the bits of beef were tender.

One new item we had was the Raw Marinated Crabs & Prawns served with tobiko and egg yolk with rice.  It took me awhile to get into this Korean raw crab craze but now that I am, it really is truly delicious.  The meat was silky with sweet and briny elements.  We squeezed the meat onto the rice and deshelled the prawns.  Mixed with the egg yolk, tobiko and sauce on the side, the rice was flavourful with plenty of umami and silkiness.  Really delicious and if you haven't tried raw marinated crab, this is an accessible way to do so.

So onto another newish dish, at least at this location - the Clam Bibimbap.  I've had this at their Pocha spot in Chinatown (which is now closed) and it was fantastic.  Well, this version was exactly that loaded with whole buttery and plump clams.  They were dressed in a spicy sauce that also had some sweetness.  There was an equal amount of chewy rice that we could sandwich with the clams in the supplied nori.

Fresh off a recent experience with the Spicy Cold Noodles with raw fish at another Korean restaurant, we were excited to try Kosoo's version.  I would say that this one was pretty solid.  The sweetness of the pear came through while helping balance the spiciness of the sauce.  With a bite and sweet chewiness, the raw fish added another texture to the already al dente naengmyeon noodles.  The broth was also cold enough so that it was the right temperature.

We can't forget about the Korean BBQ right?  Well, we went for the Combo B for 2 that included Pork Belly, Marinated Beef Rib Finger and Marinated LA Galbi.  As mentioned above, the pancake and soup were also included.  Considering this was technically for 2 people, there was plenty of meat.  The 3 huge slabs of pork belly had a good ratio of meat to fat while the beef rib finger was fatty and tender.  Our favourite was the short rib as it was well-marinated allowing for caramelization from the BBQ.  The meat was tender with the classic short rib chewiness.

Our last item was the Rose Chicken Galbi Platter served on a butane burner.  This allowed for the cheese to melt (so we have corn cheese!) and start to crisp up on the sides and bottom.  The trick here was to not mix the chicken and rice cakes with anything else.  It was to be eaten with the corn cheese and rice separately.  Overall, the food at Kosoo Korean BBQ is solid and served in generous portions.  Love the spacious dining space and their selection of banchan.  One of my go-to spots for Korean BBQ.

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- Delicious eats
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- Grill seemed to be hotter on one side
- The Rose Chicken Galbi was a bit unstable on the portable burner