Kovan

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

If one was looking for good and authentic Korean food in the Lower Mainland, it is usually a safe bet to hit up North Road along the Burnaby-Coquitlam border.  However, there are also random Korean restaurants strewn throughout the GVRD that are also quite good.  Now normally, I don't associate good Korean eats with the Langley, but with an invite with Jacqueline to try out Korean Korean Cuisine near Willowbrook Mall, I guess it was a good time to find out.

We got an array of dishes, but of course let's dive into the included Banchan first.  Although the selection wasn't vast, what we got was solid.  They included marinated bean sprouts, seaweed, kimchi and stewed potatoes.  I found the crunch in the sprouts to be good while properly seasoned.  Same could be said about the seaweed, but a little less texture.  Kimchi was the more sour kind, but texturally it was good.  The best item was the potatoes as they were soft but not melting.  Loved the rich sweetness.

Onto the appies, we went for one of my favs in the Bossam featuring steamed pork belly, blanched Napa cabbage, pickled daikon and kimchi radish.  This was a good portion size and there was much more pork belly than cabbage.  I found the belly to be tender with just enough fat (which was not flabby).  The cabbage was still crunchy while the radish was flavorful and spicy.

Next we had another Korean classic in the Seafood Pancake.  I've had a few of these lately, and this has to be one of the better versions.  First of all, the exterior was crispy and light while not being overly greasy.  Secondly, the inside was not doughy not dense.  Lastly, it was filled with plenty of seafood and a balancing amount of green onion (some versions have far too much onion).

Continuing on with the greatest hits, we tried the LA Galbi next.  These marinated beef short ribs were nicely grilled where there was definitely caramelization while not being burnt.  There was an intense sweetness balanced by equal parts saltiness.  I found the meat to be typical short rib tender with an appealing chewiness.  These were rather saucy, hence being moist as well.

So we had something a bit different with the next item in the Beef Intestine Hot Pot with tofu, mushrooms, veggies and tripe.  Since it was served on a butane burner, it was bubbling hot and great to cooked the included udon noodles.  Despite the intestines and tripe, I didn't find the broth gamy.  It had a nice spice and sweetness.  Considering the amount of food involved, it was very reasonable for $38.00.

Another interesting item was the Osam Bokkeum for 2.  This consisted of squid, onions, yam noodles and sprouts served on a hot plate over a butane burner.  Once we were left with scraps and sauce, it was cooked with rice and left to form a socarrat on the bottom.  Loved the spiceiness of the sauce and the squid was perfectly chewy-tender.  As for the rice at the end, it soaked up all the flavour and it had nice crunchy bits stuck to the plate.  The melted cheese on top didn't hurt either.  If this is for 2 people, you have to be pretty hungry to finish it.

We ended things off with 2 noodle dishes including the ever-so-popular Jajangmyeon.  This was a large portion of slippery al dente noodles bathed in enough black bean sauce for effect.  I found the sauce to be rich and thick with a certain meatiness accented by plenty of sweet onion flavour.  It was a good version and more food than one person could eat.

Our last dish was the Spicy Cold Noodle featuring buckwheat noodles in an ice broth with hard-boiled egg, sliced brisket and of course, spicy red pepper paste.  Again, this was solid with chewy cold noodles and when mixed with everything, there was spice, sweetness and crunch.  So as you can see, the food at Kovan is definitely legit and well-portioned.  Considering the fair prices, I feel that there is good value here, especially if you order the larger share dishes.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Good portion sizes

- Hot pot and hot plate dishes are very large and good value

The Bad:

- Would like a larger selection of banchan

Sabà Cafe and Bistro

It isn't often I venture into Fort Langley, even though it is closer than some of my Abbotsford adventures as of late.  However, Ophilia urged me to head out there to try one of her favs in Sabà Cafe and Bistro adjacent to the actual Fort Langley site.  The place is a bakery/cafe in the daytime and then sectioned off at night to become a bistro.  To further increase capacity, they occupy the courtyard for outdoor seating.  We ended up sitting inside, but when the weather is nice, the courtyard sure seems inviting.

We began the meal with the Jumbo Tiger Shrimp pan-seared in lemon garlic butter with a side of fresh herb aioli.  These shrimp were indeed large (this is an oxymoron right?).  They were perfectly prepared being meaty with a buttery sweet snap.  They were completely seasoned and the acidity came through.  I was expecting the aioli to be heavy, but it ate more like a tzatziki being light and almost bright.

Trying to order one item from each section of the menu, we got the Grilled Caesar Salad featuring a whole romaine heart with house-Caesar dressing, fried capers, parm, crispy germolata and charred lemon.  On the surface, this didn't appear to be anything out-of-the-ordinary, but it was ultimately very good.  Despite the char, the romaine was still crisp.  The creamy dressing was balanced with saltiness and garlickiness. More acidity was provided by the lemon (in addition to the gremolata and capers).

For our pasta course, we chose the Wild Mushroom Gnocchi in a rich and creamy sauce.  First and foremost, the fresh gnocchi were delicate while retaining a chew.  That meant that beyond the almost pillowy softness, it wasn't mushy nor devoid of texture.  As for the sauce, it was a bit heavy, yet still very tasty due to the plethora of wild mushrooms added the classic umaminess.  Seasoning was on point where there was enough without going overboard.

Onto the mains, we had land and sea with the latter being the Halibut with coconut jasmine rice, asparagus, broccolini, lemon caper butter and charred lemon.  Although the plating was quite basic, the overall execution was on point.  I found the halibut to be seared nicely while still being flaky and moist inside.  It was properly seasoned while accented well by the salty acidity of the butter.  Asparagus and broccolini was charred and cooked just enough.

For the land portion, we had the 10oz Prime Striploin with garlic mash and asparagus.  Again, the plating was very rustic in appearance, yet the execution was good.  The steak was medium-rare and tender.  Good char on the outside and properly seasoned as well.  Mash was creamy and garlicky and the once again, the asparagus and broccolini were crisp and bright.  Overall, the meal was good with the proteins properly executed.  A bit of a surprise given that it was way out in Fort Langley.  But it just proves that delicious eats aren't limited to Vancouver.

The Good:
- Properly executed proteins
- Seasoning on point
- Quaint

The Bad:
- Basic plating  

TracyCakes Bakery Cafe (Langley)

Let's be honest here.  High tea or afternoon tea is not generally frequented by dads.  More often than not, we see a bunch of girlfriends or mom and daughter sipping tea while snacking on scones.  Yet, that shouldn't be the case.  If moms can enjoy this on Mother's Day or really any other day, Dads should be able to get in on the action too!  I've always lobbied for "Man Tea" where we would find 3 tiers of appies such as hot wings, dry ribs and potato skins served with beer.  

That doesn't exist, but for now TracyCakes is offering a "Dad & Me High Tea" on June 17th and 18th for $20.00pp  that consists of the usual (such as finger sandwiches and scones) with the addition of deviled eggs, sausage rolls and cupcake "burgers" with a side of yes...  beer.  I was recently invited to give this a try along with the family.  We decided to hit up the Langley location on 48th at 216th.  There is also another store in Abbotsford as well.  Housed in a building that dates back to 1932, both the outside and inside were quaint and nostalgic.  Tastefully decorated, the dining room was filled with natural light.  It was a peaceful environment where we could watch all the cars circle the roundabout in front from the 5 corners.

Now I never did have a beer, rather I stuck with the usual tea in the Tropical Green Tea.  This was actually quite mild with a hint of fruit flavours that blended well with the light green tea.  Usually, green tea can exhibit some bitterness, but this was smooth.  Viv decided on the Vanilla Tea which was predictably aromatic.  There was no mistaking the flavour and it was even more impactful with the addition of some sugar.  My daughter chose the Very Berry and it was more floral than we would've expected.  Rather than berries, it tasted more like aromatic flowers.

Onto the actual goodies, we tackled the bottom tier first.  There was an array of Sandwiches that consisted of cucumber and cream cheese with dill, egg salad, pesto tomato and turkey with cranberry and spinach.  We found the bread to be fresh and soft while the pesto tomato was the most impactful.  Also on the plate was a sausage roll and deviled eggs.  The egg was quite good where the whites were not rubbery while the yolk was creamy and light.  It was mildly salted with a hint of mustard.

We moved onto the 2nd tier consisting of 2 types of Scones.  One was made with peaches and the other with strawberry.  They came with the requisite strawberry jam and Devonshire cream.  These were abnormally large where none of us actually finished an entire one.  They were pretty typical being slightly heavy, but still moist and tender (not wet though, even with the fruit).  It wasn't particularly crumbly though.  There was a minimal amount of fruit which was probably intentional as the moisture content would make the scone wet.

The last plate of goodies consisted of Cupcake "Burgers" with coloured frosting emulating mustard, ketchup and lettuce.  These were moist and not as sweet as they appeared.  We also found sugar vanilla cookies and lemon glazed cake as well.  I enjoyed the sweet, yet lemony glaze on the cake as it almost seemed light because of it.  We never did finish all of the cake and the cupcakes because there was more than enough for the 4 of us.  We also had 1.5 scones left too.  Definitely a good value for $20.00pp and loved how they are marketing it for Father's Day.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Quaint spot
- Family-friendly

The Bad:
- A little far for those urban-dwellers
- Eggs could've used more salt

Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant

Once again, the dreaded "I forgot I bought a Groupon" phenomenon hit us.  For some reason or another, I didn't remember buying one for Castle Fun Park which was going to expire at the end of the month.  Great.  I had to shoehorn a visit to Abbotsford into our busy schedule.   It's like Lindsay Lohan trying to schedule some sobriety into her life... Don't get me wrong.  I love Castle Fun Park.  In fact, we used to go there for some late night fun back in the day.  However, Abby is just a bit far for some mini-golf and batting cages.  But my son absolutely adores the place, so off we went to redeem the Groupon.  Once we were finished, we briefly entertained the idea of eating locally, but Viv suggested we head closer into town for food.  Hence, we stopped at Mai's Vietnamese just off Hwy 1 near 200th.

Much like many of the newer Pho joints in the GVRD (in particular, the burbs), Mai's is an original restaurant from the ground up.  What I mean is it isn't a former Italian or Greek restaurant (or even a former 7-11).  We started with the Fried Chicken Wings which were dark and really crunchy (a touch too much batter).  The meat underneath was not a moist as I would've liked, but the sweet and tangy sauce partially made it up for. Predictably, we had a bowl of Pho as a baseline of sorts. As the hot broth met my lips, the burst of sweetness was very strong.  Not much in the way of meatiness, but there was the usual Pho flavouring agents.  This was a decent broth.  In terms of the noodles, they were plentiful and al dente.  The meats were generally thin and tender, but the flank was somewhat dry and crumbly.  

I had the Bun Bo Hue and it was not as fragrant as I would've hoped.  Moreover, it was actually quite mild altogether with very little spice, yet at the same time, I did get a hit of shrimp paste.  The noodles were a touch softer than I would've liked.  There was plenty of meat though, but missing the pork knuckle and blood.  The kids shared the Lemongrass Chicken with Rice.  It came neatly plated with 2 well-charred pieces of white meat on top of chewy rice.  I could understand the use of breast meat, especially since they are trying to appeal to the local clientele, yet personally, I found it dry and lacking in flavour. Ultimately, we were pleased with our meal despite the fact, we could get cheaper and better in Surrey.  But we were not in Surrey, so Mai's did the job in a clean environment complete with great service.

The Good:
- Clean
- Very good service
- Okay eats

The Bad:
- A touch pricey
- There is better in Surrey, but we were not in Surrey 

Hilltop Cafe

How far will one travel for food? Well, I guess it really depends on the eats doesn't it? Also, we are not referring to traveling to other cities and countries either. Now most people would immediately discount Langley as a culinary destination due to its distance from Downtown Vancouver. However, has anyone ever considered where people out in the burbs eat then? It's not like everyone can just hop in a car and make the trek out to Vancouver you know. Also, there must be good eats if you look hard enough. So lost among the plethora of chain restaurants in Langley, we find ourselves at
Hilltop Cafe. What? Yes, this little ol' unassuming diner out on Fraser Highway was an intended food adventure. Why? Well, there are several reasons. First, it is a diner. I love diners and this was is an actual diner which has been around for 65 years (however, it just changed hands recently). So the prices are good and the food is honest. Second, it is out in Langley. For me, I think good food can be found anywhere and Langley gets no foodie love. Third, they have something known affectionately as the Everest Burger. If climbing the mountain is considered tough, eating this burger may test ones' will, desire and intestinal fortitude. It's $20.00 of pure gluttony.

Ah zut! It was not meant to be... They can't do the Everest Burger during proper lunch hours because it takes up the entire grill. It is only available during non-peak hours. That only means one thing. I need to make the trek out here again just for that! So a bit dejected, I had to settle on the Chili Burger instead. With 2 large handmade beef patties smothered in obscene amount of chili and served open-faced, this was a mountain of food in itself. The beef patty was very meaty; yet on the drier side. However, the large amount of chili helped moisten the entire burger. As for the chili itself, it was hearty and quite mild. The banana peppers on top added a kick to it though. The fresh cut fries were thin and very crispy. Not much in the way of potato texture left; but I liked them nonetheless.

Hot Mama had the Classic Burger and as evidenced in the picture, all of the ingredients from the thick sliced tomato to the grilled onions were fresh and top-notch. The warm bun was soft while strong enough to stand up to the filling. She quite enjoyed her food and thought it was reasonably-priced. Ma went for the blue plate special which consisted of a BLT and choice of soup. The sandwich was solid. The toast was perfect while the ingredients were similarly as good as the burger. As simple as it is, everything was there: thick fresh-cut tomato, fresh crisp lettuce and crispy bacon. The side of tomato soup was creamy and well-balanced. Not too tart, not too sweet nor too salty.

Whenever there is Poutine on the menu, it is a given we'll try it and it looked promising when it arrived. The gravy was flavourful and just the right consistency. The "cheese curds" were not exactly so; but I give it to them they did not use shredded mozzarella. Although we loved the crispy thin fries on their own, they did not exactly work in the poutine. A thicker cut fry that could soak up the gravy a bit more would've been texturally more pleasing. Another sandwich at our table was the Clubhouse. Do you know what irks me the most about some clubhouse sandwiches? If you answered chicken deli meat, you get a gold star! As you can clearly see, the chicken meat is real, plentiful and house made. Add in real cheddar, crisp lettuce, the same fresh tomato and perfectly toasted bread, we have a solid clubhouse.

Now afterwards, we really couldn't leave without pie... It does say "the home of famous pies". Well, then again, we have places saying they have the "best coffee" and "best pizza" as well. Usually, there is usually as much truth in those statements as proclaiming Richmond has the "best drivers"... But hey, the pie is decent here. Ma had the Peach Pie a la mode. The crust was really flaky and somewhat moist. I would've preferred for it to be little drier; but I'm being picky here. The pie was pretty solid, not too sweet or wet either. The ice cream was fantastic being hard and creamy. However, the Banana Cream Pie was even better. I'm normally not fond of anything banana in a dessert; but this one was pretty good. The crust on this one was drier (due to filling not being baked with the crust) while the filling was very flavourful and sweet (maybe a touch too sweet). We particularly liked the layer of bananas at the bottom.

Now, you probably would've guessed that I was pretty choked that I didn't get a chance to try the Everest Burger. So it was only fitting that I made the trek out to Hilltop again. To tackle this burger monstrosity, I needed someone that loves meat and had a big appetite - Mijune. So what does $20.00 get you in a burger? Try 4-5oz beef patties, baked ham, cheddar cheese, mozza cheese, bacon, farmer's sausage, sauteed mushrooms & onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle and mayo served with a mound of fresh cut fries. So let's cut to the chase here. This is what you call a novelty item. People will order this just for the shock value; rather than really wanting to put their heart and stomach through torture. With that being said, there were some really good components here at work. First, the fries were even better than last time. They were very crisp and fresh-tasting. As for the burger itself, it is definitely a fork & knifer. The patties were homemade and very meaty. They weren't particularly moist or juicy; but they weren't incredibly dry either. I really enjoyed the farmer's sausage. It was meaty, easy on the fat and flavourful without being salty. On the other hand, the bacon could've been more crisp.

Of course we couldn't only have one item, despite its size. So we also tried the Sausage Benny. Essentially a classic eggs benny with the substitution of housemade sausage, we found this to be quite good. The eggs were poached perfectly while the sausage was meaty, not fatty and easy on the seasoning. I found the Hollandaise to be rather sweet and lacking in lemon; but it was still okay. Believe it or not the hashbrowns were the star of this plate. It consisted of smashed potatoes which had been panfried until crispy. So there were parts that resembled mash potatoes intermingled with chunks of whole potatoes. They were well-seasoned which made them some of the best non-typical hashbrowns I've had in awhile. Of course a meal with Mijune would not be complete without dessert. Thus, we did the pie thing again. This time, we shared a slice of Coconut Cream Pie. It is basically the same as the banana cream pie except with coconut. Thus, it was pretty solid with tonnes of coconut in and on top of the pie. I would've liked some of the toasted slivers to be drier to give some crunch. Once again, the filling was good; yet really sweet.

Now one slice of pie would not be enough right? So enter the second slice being the Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie a la mode. Again, it came with the fantastic hard vanilla ice cream. We inquired about the brand and it turns out they use Mountain Dairy out of Abbotsford. It was really good! Anyways, the pie filling was quite tart. No matter, I like it tart, so it suited me just fine. In fact, there was more filling than crust. The crust was almost an afterthought, which again, suited me just fine because I like filling more than crust. About that crust... Just like the peach pie, the crust was wetter than I would've liked; but it's forgivable due to the amount of filling. Okay, after 2 visits, it is clear to me that the Hilltop Cafe has character. From the staff to the decor down to the food, it is not just your run-of-the-mill diner wannabees. This is a full-fledged diner. Of course it is located pretty far out in Langley; but if you are in the neighbourhood, it is a great place to grab a bite to eat (or a large one if you go for the Everest).

The Good:
- Staff that care
- Real diner decor, not the "modernized" diner look
- The food ain't gonna win any awards; but it is solid nonetheless

The Bad:
- Was featured in the movie the "Butterfly Effect" (yah, I'm stretching here for a bad...)

Ozark's

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

Good ol' Southern BBQ - baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork with all the fixins'. Well, hold that thought because there ain't much of that in these neck of the woods. Sure, there's Memphis Blues (which is probably the best of the lot), Migz, Dix, Burgers Etc and if you want to stretch the genre, Montana's. No, we're too far North for really good BBQ. But we do rule in the realm of Asian food. How about Korean BBQ, Chinese BBQ meats or even Tandoori? I know, I know, it's not the same thing. Thought I'd try... Well, other than the aforementioned establishments, there are others; but Ozark's has been on my radar for some time. One problem, it's in Langley. Well, it really isn't that big of an issue since I have been out to Abbotsford for pizza.

Nikita and Bluebeard (fine residents of Langley) were up to trying this place out and I had planned to meet up with them. Kim joined us as well since Ozark's was on his "to try" list as well. Driving out to Langley was a breeze, no traffic really. I'd passed by Ozark's quite a few times in the past and for some strange reason, I was doubting my own memory. Thinking I had passed the place, I decided to make a U-turn on Fraser Hwy. Turns out that I made the U-turn right in front of Ozark's! If I had only looked to my right... Finally arriving at the place, I was so excited to see their "all-you-can-eat" ribs sign that I walked right into a planter. How embarrassing, I got charley-horsed by a stationary object. Originally, I was worried that my son would have nothing to eat since it is a BBQ joint. The chances of him eating ribs are as good as me becoming vegetarian. To our surprise, they had a kid's menu that included... grilled cheese... We have been saved! With his choice of food out of the way, Kim and I devised out strategy. Strategy? Yes, we made sure that most of the meats were well represented at the table. Thus, after seeing that Nikta had selected the Side Ribs and Baby Backs for Bluebeard, Kim went for the Brisket Plate while I had the Beef Ribs. To make sure of things, Kim and I split a Pulled Pork Sandwich. Viv had ordered the same thing; but that would've been hard to share with us. Yes, Kim and I are dedicated to our craft.

I actually refrained from the AYCE since I was meeting up with Costanza and Elaine for dinner later in the evening. Well, it turns out that the AYCE special was not necessary since the plate of 6 big beef bones was more than enough, especially for lunch. The consensus was that these ribs were pretty good. These were cooked until most of the fat had been rendered from the meat, resulting in a tender product. Flavour wise, there was only slight hints of sweet and saltiness. But there was no need for extra BBQ sauce. We liked that the meat was not overly charred, so that all of the it was edible. The 3 sides to my dish were all pretty decent as well. The coleslaw was pretty standard, quite similar to the one you'd find at KFC. Not really all that tart, it was crunchy and a bit creamy. The baked beans were soft while still retaining their shape. They were slightly sweet with strong onion flavour. The baked potato was alright, it was still slightly firm.

If that was the best dish of the meal, Nikita's side ribs must've been the worst. Dry, hard and lacking any real taste, these were not good. We realize that authentic Southern BBQ is based on cooking the meats from a raw state at a low heat over a long period of time. Thus, it will never be "juicy" per se. Well, call it personal preference, we weren't all that impressed by them. Fortunately, Bluebeard's baby backs were a bit more tender and moist. It was probably due to the baby backs having more meat and a bit more fat on them. With that being said, there was a lack of flavour and they weren't exactly moist. The pulled pork sandwich was another example of dry meat. It was a bit stringy and needed copious amounts of sauce. To be fair, it was probably their intention not to douse it with too much BBQ sauce since it's a lot easier to adjust it if had very little sauce on it as opposed to arriving drenched. On that note, the BBQ sauce itself was slightly smokey and predominantly sweet. The side of fries, to me at least, were good and bad. On one hand, they were nicely seasoned; yet on the other, they were not crispy at all. At least they were quite potatoey.

Finally, Kim's brisket plate was alright. I liked that the brisket was not overly charred since it only takes away from the edible portions of meat. It was fairly tender and with a nice dousing of BBQ sauce, I didn't mind it. The side of mash potatoes was actually quite good with big hits of garlic. Now feeling quite bloated from all the meat, Kim and I decided to go for the Fried Cheesecake. Yes, we are indeed gluttons for punishment. Similar to the one found at Dulcinea, the cheesecake is wrapped in a tortilla and then deep-fried. French vanilla ice cream is served on the side. Unexpectedly, the dessert worked quite well. The tortilla was crispy without being oily and the ice cream went well with it. We thought possibly there could've been more cream cheese flavour. This was a nice treat to end off the meal. It's too bad that most of the meats were quite dry and lacking in flavour. With that being said, the beef ribs were very good while the brisket and pulled pork were alright. They just needed more sauce. In my mind, Ozark's is passable. Nothing really all that special; although the side ribs were not very good. Probably okay if you live in the area (and if Memphis Blues is closed); but certainly not worth the drive if you're not.

The Good:

- Reasonable prices

- Generally good portions

- Attentive service

The Bad:

- If you don't like dry meat...