Bahubali Biryani House Downtown

Awhile back, I had the chance to try out Bahubali Biryani House in North Delta with a few other people.  It turned out to be a tasty experience with the biryani being really good (yes, it is in the name of the restaurant right?).  There was a low-key dish that I am still remembering quite fondly.  That was the Crispy Corn which was "wow", super addictive and would go really well with a tall cool one.  Now, they have a Downtown location that serves some of the same delicious items, but also features a lunch buffet for only $19.95.  For those who want to take away, they offer "all-you-can-take" for the same price.  In this economy, that is a really great deal and super flexible as you can take it to go as well.

So we came here to try that exact Buffet and also sample some of their a la carte specialties.  As you can see, there was a good selection of items available as hot food in the buffet.  We found Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Curry, Saag Paneer, Chana Masala, Aloo Matar and Onion Pakora.  We also found both Basmati and Dum Rice on the side to compliment the curries.  I thought everything looked vibrant and fresh, which cannot be said about all Indian buffets.

The curries tasted as good as they looked and surprisingly with a good amount of spice.  The Butter Chicken was creamy with a mild tanginess and earthiness.  Chicken was in good sized chunks and tender.  Loved the Saag Paneer as the cubes of cheese were soft and squishy.  The cooked down spinach sat in a semi-creamy curry that was earthy and slightly gingery.  Chicken Curry was solid with fall-apart pieces of meat while being bathed in a spicy and sweet curry that had the taste of fall flavours.  Slightly gingery, a bit sweet and of course earthy, the Chana Masala was definitely flavourful.  Same could be said about the Aloo Matar with its tomato-based curry that was, once again, earthy and slightly spicy with the sweetness of the peas.

The last 2 items that I had to try from the hot items was the Onion Pakora and Tandoori Chicken.  The pakora was crispy and fairly light with completely cooked through onion.  Maybe needing just a bit more char, the Tandoori Chicken was juicy and tender while having some spice and tang.  The rest of the buffet featured some veggies, fruit, chutneys, raita, gulab jamun and kheer.  Those chutneys were a great condiment to the spicy curries, especially the sweet and sticky Mango Chutney and tangy Tamarind Chutney.

Since Naan should be eaten fresh out of the tandoor, they make it to order for the buffet.  You have a choice between Butter Naan and Garlic Butter Naan.  We had both and they were fantastic.  Look at that char and external crispiness!  That crunch gave way to a chewier, yet soft, interior.  So much nuttiness and aroma from these two fresh breads.  They weren't shy about the ghee either as they were glistening.  Naturally, the garlic naan had some more flavour.

Moving away from the buffet, we ordered a few dishes off the regular menu.  Of course we couldn't do without the Crispy Corn.  Marinated, battered and then deep fried, the corn was super crispy and super sweet.  Being tossed with fried curry leaves, we got some real earthy aromas.  Once again, I feel that this dish is perfect with a cold beer.  The wedge of lemon was there to cut through some of the deep-fried heaviness, but honestly, I didn't use it since the aroma would've been less apparent.

To my horror, Jackie decided to order the Cilantro Chicken.  Okay, I'm not the biggest fan of cilantro, but this looked to be quite the challenge for me to eat.  But something surprising happened...  I enjoyed this dish!  The tender nuggets of chicken were bathed in plenty of greeness but it wasn't overpowering with the cilantro.  Rather, it combined well with the rest of the ingredients to create a cohesive flavour that was partially earthy, a bit spicy, somewhat tangy and of course cilantro-tasting.

We ended up with 2 sizzling Tandoori platters including the Mixed Tandoori Platter and Tandoori Prawns.  Both did indeed come out sizzling (as some places do not) and the aroma was intoxicating.  Unlike the tandoori chicken in the buffet, these tandoori items were nicely charred and smoky.  I particularly liked the fish as it was flaky and full-flavoured.  The prawns were excellent too having an intense brininess and sweetness.  Good texture on them too.

For myself, I needed to have the Goat Curry.  I just love the texture of goat and yah, I don't mind the gaminess either.   Actually, I didn't notice too much in the way of gaminess, but then again, I'm used to it, so it could be subjective.  Each piece of goat was tender with its usual gelatinous texture.  The curry was really flavourful bordering on salty but not being salty.  The spice level was great for me as it had a real bite.  Of course the usual earthiness and fall flavours came through.

We couldn't get out of here without having at least one biryani right?  So we opted for the Vijayawada Fry Piece Chicken Biryani.  As you can see, this was overflowing with basmati rice that was nutty and chewy.  Hidden underneath, there was a considerable amount of tender pieces of chicken that were the beneficiary of being fried.  Hence, they retained their juiciness and intensified their flavour.  This was pretty spicy but completely up my alley.  I could see it being a problem for some people, but I loved it.  The side of raita helped cool things down and the salan provide even more spice and nuttiness.

We also got an order each of the regular Paratha and the Spinach Paratha (only the spinach pictured) and these were good.  They were lightly browned on the outside with some leoparding while maintaining a soft fluffiness.  It had more body due to the whole wheat flour.  Nice aroma on them and with the spinach paratha being a bit more loose due to the moisture.  Overall, the food at Bahubali Downtown is fantastic with a high default spice level.  Portions are generous and the prices are affordable, especially for its location.  Would totally recommend.

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

The Good:
- Flavourful food with a high default spice level
- Affordable, especially the buffet
- Generous portion sizes

The Bad:
- A bit hidden and parking isn't the best, but most people would be in the area anyways
- Seating is a bit limited, was really busy when we were there

Biryani Lounge Restaurant and Bar

It wasn't that long ago that finding good Indian eats in Downtown Vancouver was limited to some tourist traps.  Unless you were willing to travel to Surrey, particularly Scott Road, you would be hard pressed to find anything decent.  Well, those days are gone since Indian restaurants have been popping up all over the place.  In fact, many of them are rather fancy and sport nicely appointed dining rooms.  Recently, Jackie and I visited Biryani Lounge perched on the 2nd floor at the corner of Denman and Davie.  Really awesome location, but how does the food stack up?  Well, we were about to see...

We began with a few appies including the Samosas filled with potato and peas.  Normally, I don't have a lot to say about samosas because many are very similar.  This one had a pretty typical filling with soft potato and peas with the usual spice and earthiness.  However, the pastry was a cut above because it was flaky and almost airy.  Very appealing since it wasn't heavy, yet at the same time was uniformly crispy on the outside.  Really good!

Next, we had the Vada Pav consisting of a fried potato patty (or ball in this case) and chili peanut chutney on a soft roll.  Despite being carb-on-carb, this Indian slider (as described on the menu) was satisfying and delicious.  I've had this many times before and I found this particular version to be extra crispy (the patty that is).  Hence, there was a distinct textural contrast between the soft bun and the patty.  There was good spice and to top it off (literally and figuratively), we found a hot pepper to amp things out even more so.

I know, I know, the Butter Chicken is often seen as a defaultish dish like Sweet & Sour Pork in Cantonese cuisine.  But, I happen to like both of these dishes and am not a food snob.  Good thing that we ordered this as it was quite good.  It was thick and creamy but also had an impactful tanginess.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices with equal parts sweetness and savouriness.  I would say this version was pretty mild though.  The pieces of chicken were tender and a bit smoky.

The best curry I had was the Coconut Goat Curry.  This was rich and creamy but at the same time, wasn't overly heavy.  The aromatics from the coconut milk was at the forefront, but the shredded coconut added some sweetness as well as texture.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices that balanced off the sweetness.  Of course, the best part was the goat.  It was tender, gelatinous and super moist.  So pleasing and delicious!

Now I emphasized that "I" enjoyed the goat curry because Jackie doesn't like goat.  Therefore, we went for the Coconut Prawn Curry as well.  You will notice the difference in colour and that also resulted in different flavours.  The curry featured less fall flavours and was sweeter.  Less depth due to the use of prawns, but brighter too.  The prawns were cooked nicely being meaty with a light snap texture. 

To go with these curries, we were served some Garlic Sesame Naan.  This was well-charred, nutty and the beneficiary of delicious ghee.  It was the thinner variety, so it ate more like a cracker-type bread rather than a fluffy and chewy interior.  We also had a few drinks including the Indian Coffee and Mango Lassi.  I found the coffee aromatic and sweet while the lassi to be thick, sweet and creamy.  Nice compliments to the curries we were enjoying.

Naturally, we were going to order some biryanis too in the Tandoori Chicken Biryani as well as the Prawn Biryani.  Predictably, the tandoori chicken biryani was much more rich and impactful due to the flavours imparted by the charred and marinated tandoori chicken.  I liked how the rice was fairly dry and not overly wet.  It was nutty and nicely spiced.  The prawn biryani was even drier due to the main protein and also lighter tasting as well.  This would be good to go with some curry (despite Biryani not generally eaten with curry, that is where plain basmati rice comes in).

Speaking of Tandoori Chicken, we got an order since we were so impressed with the chicken in our biryani.  Since it was served on a sizzling platter and not cooked into the rice, it was more smoky, more flavourful and more moist.  Very nice render on the skin which was nutty and earthy.  The chicken was super tender and well-marinated.  Overall, the food at Biryani Lounge was really good and well-priced.  Considering its prime location at English Bay, you might think it would be a tourist trap.  It is clearly not.

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

The Good:

- Delicious

- Well-priced

- Prime location

The Bad:

- Parking, of course, is not the best down here

Stackhouse Steak Sandwich

One of the most convenient quick take-out lunches (or dinner) is the classic sandwich.  Even though they have been on the downturn as of late, Subway has been the go to spot for decades if someone wanted a sandwich.  However, with prices creeping up, there are other options and that would also be one of the contributing factors into Subway's struggles.  Consider the new Stackhouse Steak Sandwich on Davie offers up their signature Steak Sandwich for only $12.00, you can see why people are not flocking to Subway as they did before.  We dropped by Stackhouse to try their wares recently.

Before we got to the sandwiches, we had some of their accompaniments including the surprisingly delicious French Onion Soup.  For a sandwich shop, this was a pretty solid soup with the sweetness of slow-cooked onions coming through.  Unlike many other versions, this was not overloaded with salt either.  This was topped with the usual toasted baguette as well as a slice of gruyere.  With all of the usual components, this was a classic French onion soup!  Even the Caesar Salad was elevated with house-made dressing and anchovies on top.  That added the salty fishiness that was noticeable and provided impact to the salad.

The Stackhouse Steak Sandwich is their signature menu item.  It features medium-thick slices of medium-rare flat iron with a chimichurri sauce and crispy onions.  This was a really good sandwich!  The beef was tender but still had a natural texture while the sauce was bright and tangy which kept things light.  Loved the crispy onions as they added aroma and more texture.  The bread itself had a crusty exterior with a soft and almost fluffy interior.  Really good value at only $12.00.

Something a bit more fancy, the Steak Tartare Open Sandwich was also well-priced at $12.00.  It featured a considerable amount of fresh beef that was tender with a slight chew.  It was dressed with the usual components such as dijon, cornichons, capers, parsley and red onion.  A sous-vide egg yolk topped the whole thing.  When mixed together, we had a silky custardy texture from the egg yolk.  The sturdy bread was a good compliment to the tartare but secretly, I liked putting it on top of the chips! 

Yes, the previous 2 sandwiches were good, but it was all about the French Dip for me.  This featured the same sliced flat iron with Swiss cheese, horseradish cream and fried onion chips.  I really enjoyed the horseradish as it a slight bite, but the biggest thing was the aromatic creaminess it provided.  The au jus on the side was flavourful without being salty.  When dipped into the au jus, the bread soaked it up well without going completely soggy.  It added the last bit of flavour that put this sandwich over the top.

They also had a featured sandwich which was the Pulled Pork.  There was no shortage of fully sauced and tender pulled pork.  It was on the sweeter side, but I appreciated the impactful flavours.  Sometimes, people forget that the bread is pretty neutral-tasting and the filling needs to compensate for that.  That it did and it was delicious with each bite.  There was some crispy onions for crunch while a bit of slaw provided a creaminess to the sandwich.

Dessert came in the form of a jarred Cheesecake with strawberry topping.  I found the no-bake cheesecake pretty creamy as there was whipped cream mixed with the cream cheese.  Possibly too much whipped cream as it took away from the cream cheese.  It was lightly sweet, but the strawberries on top were quite sweet.  I really enjoyed the crispy crumbs on the bottom.  Added so much texture to the dessert.  Overall, I was pretty impressed with Stackhouse since their stuff is pretty good quality but their prices are low (especially for Downtown).  I would totally come back, especially for the beef dip!

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

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Reasonable prices

- Surprisingly elevated food

The Bad:

- Limited seating, but it is a sandwich shop

- Cheesecake could use less whipped cream

Guu Toramasa

Back in June, we attended the OMD concert at the Orpheum.  It was actually supposed to be in 2024, but Andy McCluskey needed a knee replacement.  Okay, that was a legit reason and we hung onto our tickets for almost a year to see them perform.  Before that, we needed to get some eats and once again, we didn't have a plan.  We wandered around Robson and noted down some options, but eventually settled on the Osaka-themed location of Guu, specifically Guu Toramasa.  For those who are unfamiliar, the Guu chain of restaurants are Izakayas, where people grab some drinks along with little plates to share.

We got a bunch of classic dishes as well as some we've never had before.  Of course we've had the Salmon Yukke on many occasions and this version was rather familiar.  The cubed Atlantic salmon was tossed in a sweet teriyaki sauce with garlic and sesame seeds.  There wasn't a touch of spice as per usual but this way, the natural sweetness of the salmon was still apparent.  I personally love shrimp chips and this was a light and crispy vessel for the salmon.

I think we might've had the Jellyfish & Mustard Green Stems on Tofu before, but not in such a big portion.  In some sense, the amount of tofu was a bit overwhelming considering that the topping wasn't able to flavour it all.  Hence, we were eating big chunks of plain tofu.  Now about that topping, the combination of tangy and crunchy mustard green stem along with the delicate crunch of the jellyfish was delicious.  There was a bit of spice as well.

The tofu dish was one of three for only $18.00 with the other two being the Grilled Capelin and the Seaweed Salt French Fries.  I thought the capelin was pretty good with a well-seared exterior and still moist interior.  As for the fries, they were surprisingly good.  They were the starch-covered variety, but deep fried to perfection.  The outside was crispy and light while the inside was creamy potatoey.  Nice flavour on them too.

Probably my favourite dish was one of the simplest.  This was the Sake Steamed Clams with yuzu in a dashi broth.  As you can clearly see, those were actual yuzu rinds.  Hence, we weren't just looking at some yuzu extract.  So we got the tangy and floral nature of yuzu, but also with the rind present, there was a bit of bitterness.  Sitting in a subtle broth, the sweetness and brininess of the clams came through.  They were buttery and plump.

Another good dish was the BBQ Eel Omelette which was quite large.  It featured folded soft cooked eggs which were fluffy and a bit runny.  That was the perfect texture in our opinion.  Inside, there was a decent amount of buttery unagi that was sweet and a bit smokey.  On the outside, it was topped with bonito flakes, nori strip, green onion and a drizzle of unagi sauce.  So there was no shortage of umami as well.

You might be wondering at this point, why there wasn't any takoyaki nor okonomiyaki...  Well, yes, those are Osaka favourites, but we just wanted to eat other dishes like the Kaki Fry.  These breaded oysters were fried properly where the coating was crispy while the oyster itself was still a little rare in the middle.  Hence, they were soft with creamy centre and plenty of briny sweetness.  They were drizzled with tonkatsu sauce and served with tartar.

Completely covered in scallions, the Tontoro was actually a pretty large portion.  However, I felt this dish was lacking.  The pork jowl was not that fatty and also a bit dry.  Not the desired texture for this cut of meat.  It was grilled decently though and it did also taste quite good with enough seasoning and it was also sitting in a bright yuzu ponzu sauce.  I just wished the tontoro was bouncy and fatty like it should be.

Another classic Izakaya dish we had to get (or specifically "I" had to get) was the Ebimayo.  These decently-sized prawns were coated with a light batter than was crispy and didn't feel like it was there.  Inside, the prawn was meaty and had all of the good taste of prawns (sweet and a bit briny).  It was drizzled with a balanced amount of chili mayo so I could taste the creaminess (with some spice) without being doused in sauce.

Now look at the picture above.  Does that look like Otoro to you?  Well, it certainly didn't eat like it either.  Not sure what they served up, but it was the worst otoro we've ever had or it wasn't otoro.  Whatever it was, I checked the receipt and we were charged for otoro.  Since we were in a rush to finish, I didn't bother complaining about it.  However, this is completely unacceptable given I spent $23.00 on 3 pieces.  Granted, this was "Marinated Otoro" and obviously seared on the outside, but it was not fatty nor buttery.

We decided to add some veggies into the meal but regretted doing so.  The Baked Broccoli was super lifeless and not very delicious.  The positive was that they were cooked perfectly being crunchy and completely vibrant.  Despite being topped with teriyaki sauce and mayo, there was just no impact nor taste.  It was like plain boiled broccoli.  I would skip these if I were you.  So overall, we had some good dishes but also some bad dishes.  With all of the other options for Izakaya (including better Guu locations), I'm not sure if Guu Toramasa should be at the top of any list.

The Good:

- Excellent service

- Pricing is ok for Downtown

- Unlike most Izakayas, this spot is roomy

The Bad:

- Food was fine, but some dishes were plain bad

Din Tai Fung

So Vancouver finally gets their own Din Tai Fung...  Why is this so special?  Well, it all started with an oil shop in Taiwan that then transitioned into a small restaurant that had some really great Xiao Long Bao.  It became a bigger restaurant (that still stands today) and expanded globally.  Located right next to the Camana Hotel on Alberni, Din Tai Fung seems ready to take on the tourist crowd and also locals (who will brave Downtown traffic and find the few precious and expensive parking spots).  There is underground parking available as well.  We waited until the initial crowds had dissipated to check it out.

We've been to Din Tai Fung many times in the past, so we have a baseline for what to expect.  To start, we had the Cucumber Salad as well as the Seaweed & Bean Curd Salad.  Both were pretty small in size, but delicious.  Exhibiting a fresh crunch, the baby cucumbers were perfectly salted and accented by both sesame oil and chili oil.  As for the seaweed & bean curd salad, it was also well-seasoned with mild spice and a good balance between savoury and sweet.  Nice textures here.

We got one order each of their famous Kurobuta Pork XLBs and the Crab & Kurobuta Pork XLBs.  Both featured the classic thin dumpling skin with exactly 18 pleats.  This optimal method keeps all the soup inside while looking aesthetically-pleasing.  I am happy to report these were just as good as I remembered.  The skin was delicate with some elasticity.  The pork filling was moist and tender with a considerable amount of sweet and savoury soup that was not greasy.  Personally, I enjoyed the regular pork XLBs more than the crab.  It was just a bit too briny for my liking.

For our one veggie dish, we selected the stir-fried Spinach with Garlic.  Presented in the shape of the wok ladle, there was actually quite a bit of wilted spinach on the plate.  It was definitely soft, but not mushy.  Plenty of seasoning meant it tasted great.  Featuring the same spinach, the Stir Fried Rice Cakes with Chicken was also well-executed.  Possibly there could've been more searing on the rice cakes, but the dish did have wok hei.  It was nicely seasoned where it was a bit salty with some sweet elements.  The rice cakes were chewy, but not hard and the chicken was tender.

We moved onto a pair of noodle dishes next with the Braised Beef Noodle Soup and the Noodles with Minced Kurobuta Pork.  The beef noodle soup was legit with a meaty broth that had depth and was well-seasoned.  The large pieces of beef were almost melt-in-my-mouth tender with some tendon within.  It was also flavourful from the braise.  Noodles were al dente with a nice rebound.  As for the mixed noodles, the mince pork "sauce" was lacking moisture to combine with the chewy noodles.  With that being said, the pork itself was not dry and was full-flavoured being on the saltier side.

We went back to the dumpling well with the Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Shao Mai and the Sticky Rice with Pork & Mushroom Shao Mai.  Yes, they looked like sea anemones and unlike the XLBs, the dumpling skin was much thicker and chewier.  With the same pork filling, the first shao mai had elements of the XLBs.  With carbs on carbs, the second shao mai was rather doughy and not really something I'd order again.  They did taste good though with some umaminess and mild saltiness.  I've had these before, but somehow I forgot I didn't like them! 

To get our fill of dumplings, we also got the Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Potstickers as well as the Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Spicy Wontons.  We really enjoyed both of these with the potstickers having a crispy skirt.  Subsequently, the bottom was crispy as well and the rest of the dumpling skin was medium thick and appealingly chewy.  Filling was juicy and tender.  As for the wontons, it had the same filling, so that was a good start.  They were quite large in size and held onto the chili oil sauce well.  It didn't eat as spicy as it looked, rather taking on some sweetness and smokiness.

We got our dumpling fix but couldn't resist and had the Chocolate & Mochi XLBs with a side of Sea Salt Cream.  Oh these were fantastic with a rich and sweet velvety chocolate centre.  The sea salt cream was the key to this as it added a balancing saltiness.  I would have these again in this combination.  Overall, the meal at Din Tai Fung was as expected.  It was satisfying and the XLBs were on point.  Service was fantastic being attentive and personable.  Prices are of course on the higher side and portions size are not very big.  Good for a visit once in awhile or to bring your out-of-town guests who don't have a Din Tai Fung.

The Good:
- Excellent XLBs as usual
- Other dishes are above average
- Service is fantastic

The Bad:
- Pricey for the portion size
- Parking in the area is expensive