Sun Sui Wah (Main Street)

Boy, here is a Cantonese classic - Sun Sui Wah on Main Street.  It first opened on Main Street in 1988 where Haiyi Seafood Restaurant operates currently.  However, due to their popularity, they moved into a larger location at 3888 Main Street in late 1995, where they still stand today.  They were known for their Squab and excellent Cantonese dishes.  Over time, there has been an increasing amount of capable competitors where some have definitely passed them by.  With that being said, I've had many great meals here and for the first time in years, we decided to pay them a visit, taking my father-in-law out for Father's Day.

As much as the set menus looked great, we didn't have enough people to go for a 10-course meal.  So we ended up doing a la carte.  On that note, they supplied us with menus that we couldn't order from.  Their reasoning?  It was for "advertising purposes".  Honestly, that was pretty weak.  Anyways, we went about getting an eclectic selection of dishes because my FIL can't exactly chew very well.  Hence, we ending up getting a 3lb Dungeness Crab in cream sauce with a yee mein base.  Normally here, we would go for wonton noodles since they hold up to the sauce better, but again, he can't chew it.  No matter, as the noodles weren't too soft and the crab was supremely fresh and meaty.   The meat was bouncy and sweet with classic crab brininess.  Cream sauce was flavourful and buttery.

I was betting that the beef would be marinated enough to be buttery soft in the Satay Beef Vermicelli Hot Pot.  After a few bites, it was indeed tenderized to the point where it was a bit spongy and ultimately tender.  At the same time, there was enough natural meat texture left so it wasn't too artificial.  There was a nice ratio of meat to vermicelli, so it was a fulfilling dish.  The vermicelli was still al dente, but not clumpy.  In terms of taste, the dish was well-seasoned.  Plenty of savouriness with a touch of spice and brininess.  I liked how the hot pot wasn't overly greasy too.

The very softest dish we ordered was the Salted Fish & Chicken with Soft Tofu Hot Pot.  Another solid offering where the saltiness from the fish (and the seasoning) was impactful bordering on salty without going over.  This definitely needed rice as a counterbalance.  We found the tofu super silky, but they were able to keep it from disintegrating during the cooking process.  Bits of chicken were tender and buttery while the amount of salted fish was generous.  Little hits of ginger helped keep things from being too heavy.

One dish that wasn't as soft was the Sweet & Sour Pork.  This was a pretty even mix of meat and pineapple, onions and peppers.  There was just enough sauce to coat each piece of pork, which helped keep things a bit crispy.  The meat itself was only a little fatty, yet still tender and bouncy.  Tangy and sweet, the sauce was quite good, but possibly it could've had just a bit more sourness. 

We ordered one vegetarian dish in the Braised Fried Tofu, Broccoli, Mushrooms and Morels.  This featured soft and almost fall-apart tofu that was was coated in a silky starch-thickened sauce that was just salty enough.  Despite using dried morels, it was still nice to have the earthiness and unique texture of the mushrooms.

We ended up getting the 2 courses of Ling Cod with the first dish being the Stir-Fried Yau Choy with Ling Cod Filets. We asked the vegetable to be cooked a bit longer so that my FIL could eat it.  So I can't really comment on the texture as a result.  However, it was well-seasoned and not overly greasy.  The fish itself a bit crumbly, but tender and fresh.

The second course was the Ling Cod & Tofu Hot Pot.  This was a large portion of the fish bones, belly, tail and fins that were coated in starch and deep fried.  Along with the deep fried tofu, it was finished off with a toss in starch-thickened sauce, onions, ginger and shredded pork.  Once again, the tofu was tender while the fish was buttery and flaky.  Sauce was a bit salty, but wasn't longing for flavour.  

Last item was the Yeung Chow Fried Rice consisting of egg fried rice, BBQ pork, shrimp and gai lang stems.  Nutty and dry, this rice was textbook execution where it was nicely salty and not greasy with discernible grains of chewy rice.  Overall, the meal at Sun Sui Wah was above average and we were satisfied.  Too bad we didn't get to try some of their signature items due to being selective with our dishes.   Prices have definitely gone up in the last 10 years, but that is true across the board.  With that being said, there are other places that I can get roughly the same quality for less money.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Large portion size

- Despite being busy, the service was quite good

The Bad:

- Prices are on the higher side

- Not sure why we got menus that we couldn't order from

The Hungry Tiger Grill Kitchen

When Tendon Kohaku suddenly closed recently at Madison Centre, it was a bit surprising, but also not unexpected, especially during these turbulent economic times.  However, it didn't take long for The Hungry Tiger Grill Kitchen to take over.  If you've ever heard of their sister restaurant, The Hungry Duck on West 4th, then you will know what they are all about.  Think rice bowls, that are overflowing with grilled meats.  We stopped by recently to check it out.

Included with every meal is their Salad Bar.  It isn't a comprehensive salad bar by any means, but it has the usual shredded cabbage and roasted sesame dressing.  Moreover, we found some julienned green onions as well as pickled daikon and carrots.  You can help yourself to more if you wanted to.  Not bad if you wanted some veggies.

We got a small appie to start in the form of the Truffle Fries.  These actually showed up at the end of our meal when we were about 75% finished.  They need to work on their food expediting.  It came with an inordinate amount of mayo and ketchup.  Far too much for the amount of fries, which was wasteful.  The fries themselves were of the crispy shoestring variety.  There was enough seasoning to provide saltiness, but the truffle was quite muted.

Onto their Signature Bowls, my daughter had the Classic Chicken Don in the large size ($21.50).  All bowls included the aforementioned salad bar, miso soup, seaweed and dipping sauce.  They weren't skimping on the chicken was there was two layers atop the chewy rice.  I would've liked to see more charring on the skin, but there was smokiness nonetheless.  Meat wasn't exactly juicy, but it wasn't dry either.

Viv went for the large Chicken Vermicelli for $23.50.  This was a bit different than the don, not only because the chicken sat atop rice vermicelli, but it also came with fish sauce.  So the flavour profile was different as the standard dipping sauce was more vinegary and of course not briny.  It came with some greens and more pickled veg.

For myself, I had the large Grilled Pork Curry Bowl for $21.50.  As you can see in the picture above, the slices of pork were charred quite evenly.  Therefore, the smokiness was strong and the edges were crispy.  The meat itself was a bit dry, but in a good way.  It went well with the vinegary dip.  The ample amount of curry was quite mild and a bit sweet.  Just the right amount to go with the chewy rice.

My son had the biggest bowl in the large Chicken & Beef Short Ribs for $26.50.  This was loaded with the same amount of chicken, but adding in an equal amount of tender short ribs.  They were well-marinated and also nicely charred.  The addition of an onsen egg added a silky texture to the rice.  I recommend adding it to your bowl if it didn't include it already for another $2.50.

We ended up ordering some of their Hakkaido Soft Serve for a very reasonable price of $2.99.  These were fairly creamy for using Hokkaido milk and were just sweet enough.  Naturally, the best part was the strong milkiness of the soft serve.  Loved the crispy waffle cone.  Overall, we thought Hungry Tiger was decent and they didn't skimp with the meat.  I wouldn't put this on the top of my list, but if someone wanted to go, I wouldn't object.

The Good:
- Generous with the meat
- Generally impactful smokiness from the grilling
- Inexpensive Hokkaido soft-serve

The Bad:
- Fries came at the very end of our meal, they need to work that out
- Service was actually quite good (despite the online reviews), but the tablet at our table died, so we couldn't flag someone down electronically

Nén Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

Our early introduction into Vietnamese cuisine in the GVRD was mostly represented by the South.  However, as time passed by, we started to see Northern Vietnamese enter the market, starting with Mr. Red.  More recently, we have seen Chén Vietnamese open up shop on Hastings in Burnaby.  Now we have a Central Vietnamese restaurant in Nén Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine taking over the space in a strip mall on Canada Way at Edmonds. 

We started our meal with a Central Vietnamese dish originating from Huế in the Bánh Bèo (or steamed rice cake).  These were texturally delightful with an initial firmness and then a silky and bouncy finish.  They were topped with a full-flavoured minced pork sauce that had hits of umami.  Textural contrast was provided by the crunchy fried shallots and crushed peanuts.  This was an excellent version of the dish.

We got an order of their Cánh Gà Chiên with garlic butter.  This actually came quite late in the meal, possibly due to the restaurant being slammed during peak dinner time.  These featured whole wings there were fried pretty crispy with the skin being well-rendered.  The meat was not exactly juicy, but it wasn't dry either.  With copious amounts of butter, we could smell it while it sat on the table.  Flavourwise, it was definitely buttery and could've used more hits of garlic.

We had a few of the bigger plates from the menu including the Nén Special Platter.  This featured 3 types of meat.  The grilled pork with lemongrass was charred well, but pretty dry.  The grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves was a bit better, but still dry.  It did taste good though with hits of brininess, herbaceousness and sweetness.  The most tender and juicy of the bunch was the sweet ground pork skewers.  We found some rice noodle sheets, pickled daikon and carrot, herbs and lettuce to wrap the meat.  For $27.75, this was a lot of food and enough for 2 people.

We went for a bowl of the Nén Special Phở or their version of Phở Dặc Biệt.  The most prominent meat in this bowl was the whole back rib.  In addition we found tender slices of AAA brisket and AAA sliced beef along with beef meatballs.  The one thing that was quite evident with the first sip of broth was the amount of fat.  It really did add aromatics and meatiness, but at the same time, there was just a bit too much of it.  Otherwise, the broth was intensely meaty and full-bodied.

Full-sized and stuffed with bean sprouts and sliced pork, the Bánh Xèo was super crispy with a medium thickness.  Inside, the sprouts were still crunchy while the pork was tender.  Since they plated the shrimp on the outside of the pancake, they remained in their optimal doneness.  They were meaty with a rebound texture.  When combined with together with some fish sauce, we had plenty of textures and flavours.

With my son around for this dinner, we knew a plate of Lemongrass Chicken was incoming.  They didn't skimp on the chicken as we found 2 large deboned and marinated chicken legs on the plate.  They were charred nicely and completely caramelized.  There was so much sweetness and savouriness from the marinade that the chicken ate well with the rice without the need from the nước chấm.

With the same tender chicken, the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi featured a crunchy and fairly light baguette.  As you can see in the picture above, they stuffed the baguette full of chicken, so it ate hearty with plenty of flavour.  Overall, we were pretty happy with our meal here.  The portions are massive, so the higher prices are justified.  Furthermore, the food is tasty.  Would come back for sure.

The Good:
- Tasty eats
- Large portions
- Some unique items

The Bad:
- Service was polite, but not enough servers, so hard to flag someone down
- Is pricier than other spots, but the portion size justifies it

The Lodge Steakhouse

Did you know, one of the least known steakhouses in the GVRD is located in a facility that hosts both an ice and curling rink?  Yah, that in itself would make it a bit obscure.  To top it off, it is found in the Brookswood in Langley.  For those who live in the area or nearby, The Lodge Steakhouse might be actually familiar.  However, to everyone that doesn't live there, they never know what the heck I'm talking about when I rave about the place.  I've blogged about the place before and have been back many times after that.  After my latest visit, I decided to combine 2 dinners into one post.

I normally do not order a lot of appies because their steak and main dishes are large and include sides.  I did end up trying their Calamari though and the best way to describe them was "fine".  They were uniformly crispy and the the squid itself was tender with a slight chew.  Batter was a bit bland though and the light drizzle of yuzu sambal aioli was not enough to flavour the dish.  It was tasty though with a tangy spice.  I think the solution would be to ask for it be served on the side.

We always get the ribeye here since it is always prepared right and it is reasonably-priced.  Well for our most current visit, they replaced that with a 14oz PEI Ribeye for $85.00.  I guess the 12oz for $56.00 is long gone...  However, I felt the PEI ribeye was worth it as the meat was tender with an appealing meatiness.  The steak was charred and prepared a perfect medium-rare.  This was served with vibrant crunchy veggies and creamy mashed potatoes.  We added the Peppercorn Sauce on the side for $3.50.  It was creamy, salty enough and slightly peppery.

For the previous visit, we got the Lobster Flambee prepared tableside.  This was seared in brandy along with white wine, cream, garlic and herbs.  The lobster was fresh and cooked to perfection maintaining its moisture and being at its bouncy best.  The natural brininess was well-accented by the creamy sauce that was aromatic with a touch of brandy.

Back to the current visit, we tried their Maple Bacon Scallops, also prepared tableside (and flambeed).  Despite being seared and prepared properly, the scallops themselves were the reformed variety.  No, these scallops didn't go to the big house and come out for the better.  Rather, these were a selection of smaller scallops formed into perfectly and uniformly-shaped "scallops".  Personally, I'm not a fan of these and wished the menu would've indicated this.  With that being said, they did taste great though with a smoky and salty sweetness.

Although the Lodge Bacon Cheddar Burger is one of the least expensive items on the menu, don't sleep on it.  Sporting a well-charred fresh beef patty with all the produce and charred onion relish on brioche, this ate really well.  There was a good combination of smokiness, meatiness, saltiness and fresh crunch from the veggies.  On the side, we got the Truffle Fries and they were crispy and nicely seasoned.

We also had the Chicken & Gnocchi sporting a blackened chicken breast.  As the picture illustrates, the chicken was nicely seared but not truly blackened.  Despite that, it had a smokiness and earthiness.  Chicken was tender and not dry.  Underneath, the large gnocchi were pillowy soft and light.  It sat in a creamy sauce that was not overly heavy with hits of herbs.  Some fresh ricotta helped add extra creaminess.

One of our favourite dishes at The Lodge is the Brown Butter Sablefish.  We had this dish on both visits and the first time was definitely better than the second.  For some reason or another, the flakes of salt that usually finishes the dish was either missing or there wasn't enough of it.  Hence, the dish ate a bit too mild.  However, the sablefish was still excellent being buttery and flaky.  We actually had to ask for more brown butter since you can see that the plate was lacking it.  That totally makes the dish as it provides a aromatic nuttiness and saltiness.

As for sides, we got the Creamed Corn and the Scalloped Potatoes.   Either I'm dreaming things up or they changed the recipe for the creamed corn.  I found it was still sweet and lightly creamy, but we found chunks of garlic in it that made it a bit different in texture and taste.  Still decent though.  As for the scalloped potatoes, it was more like a potato pavé in my opinion.  Definitely could see the layers of potato with butter and cream in between.  Pretty decent if not a bit dense.

Had 2 different desserts for the both visits with the Warm Brownie coming up first.  This featured a soft and chewy brownie with salted caramel chocolate ice cream on top.  Sure, a pretty simple dessert, but a well-prepared one at that.  The brownie was rich, but not incredibly dense.  Lots of chocolate flavour which was enhanced by the salted caramel.

The best of the 2 desserts was definitely the Salted Caramel Cold Brew Bar.  Yes, we found the flakes of salt here and it definitely elevated the flavours of the coffee (and coffee crisp).  Some dulce de leche added some creamy sweetness.  Really balanced dessert and we dusted this off quite quickly.  Overall, these 2 visits further reinforces my belief that The Lodge is a sneaky well-priced steakhouse hidden in an ice rink in Langley.  If you are in the area, go check it out!

The Good:

- Well-priced for what you get

- Excellent service everytime

- Overall solid eats

The Bad:

- Um, those scallops were "reformed", need to say that on the menu

- Too bad they got rid of the $56.00 ribeye, but things are expensive these days... 

Lee Garden (Dim Sum)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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