Banette

Korean brunch spots are pretty much mainstream now as you can find them almost anywhere.  Many might assume that a place like La Forêt might've started it all in the GVRD, but for me at least, it was an unassuming spot on Fraser Hwy in Surrey called Prairie Cafe.  They dished up regular breaky items but also things like Bulgogi and Spicy Pork with rice.  Yes, there was also some Chinese items mixed in as well.  Sadly, they closed a couple of years ago after 74 years in business.  Now we have dedicated Korean-owned and run brunch restaurants all over the place including On & Off Kitchen, OTreat, Toast to Coast, The Breakfast Table, The Burnt Orange, The Green Brunch & Well-Being, Little Beetle and so on...   Now we can add another to the list in Banette in New Westminster.  Checked this place out on a rainy day in Vancouver (like that is unusual...).

One thing you'll notice right away is the plating.  We ordered the Golden Roost Benedict and it came out looking like the rainbow.  Love the effort and all the fresh fruit on the plate.  However, the lifeless chicken was not really all that appealing.  Although "healthier", the chicken lacked any flavour nor real texture (was a bit mushy).  This would've benefited from a fried piece of chicken.  On the other hand, the rest of the plate was good.  Poached eggs were runny and the Hollandaise was not too heavy.

The next dish was pretty solid in the Avocado French Toast Brunch.  Featuring crispy brioche with a soft centre, this was uniquely topped with ice cream.  We actually enjoyed that much more than whipped cream as it had more impact and sweetness.  The roasted pear added another level of mild sweetness and the fresh fruit was welcomed.

The showstopper was the Supreme Stack featuring a pulled pork sandwich atop a beef burger all on brioche.  This was definitely a fork & knifer as we couldn't even pick this up without it falling apart.  I thought the beef patty was fairly moist with a decent sear on the outside.  However, the pulled pork was the best part being juicy and tender.  Sure, the fries on the side were Cavendish, but they were fried properly!  Overall, the food at Banette is tasty and well-portioned.  Definitely a good option in New West for brunch.

The Good:

- They put effort into their food and plating

- Large portions

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Not a fan of the chicken, a bit lifeless

Big Way Hot Pot (New West)

Okay, I'm sure most of you have visited Big Way Hot Pot (or something similar) by now.  Unless you have been living under a rock, you would know that there has been an explosion of "build-your-own hot pot" restaurants in the Lower Mainland (and also other parts of North America).  You grab a bowl, pick your ingredients, get it weighed and pick a broth (or dry mix).  Food is brought to you when it has been cooked and when you are done eating, you can grab a to-go container.  Oh, and there is complimentary ice cream as well (with differing quality).  So I've been to the original Big Way location on Kingsway when it first opened.  Now I've made many visits to the large New West spot recently. 

As mentioned, this location at New West Station is large and spacious.  Situated in a former pub, it is a unique-looking dining room for hot pot (especially the crescent booth seating).  There is also much more space for the refrigerated display cases.  However, there is a bottleneck at the entrance and the start of the serve-yourself line.  You will find an tablet where you can put you name on a wait list.  Better yet, just do it online before you arrive.

After you grab your ingredients (you can save money, if you ease up on the meatballs, tofu and anything that has shells), you walk up to the till and have it weighed.  Pick your broth and take a number, it will be delivered to you shortly.  One of the more popular broth options is the Collagen Bone Broth.  This one is best for people who don't want anything too flavourful nor spicy.  It does have some meatiness and it is on the milder side.  I personally wouldn't pick this one though.

For me, the one to get is the Tomato Broth.  It isn't as concentrated as some of the competitors, but it does have the classic tangy sweetness.  It does taste like tomatoes and is properly seasoned in my opinion.  I find that this works well with meats as it is robust enough.  Furthermore, I like this broth with any noodles that will absorb a lot of moisture (such as dried noodles or instant noodles).  It takes on all of that flavour.  You can also have this in spicy and that is even more tasty.

So on the topic of spicy, there is the Signature Ma La Tang.  I've had this a few times and dependent on the time of day, it can be remarkably spicier or milder (you can also chose the spice level).  I think as the day goes on, the broth gets more concentrated?  Not sure, but there is some inconsistency.  When it is spicy, there is a real kick that lingers.  Underneath that spice, there is definitely some saltiness and sweetness.  I think this broth goes well with any of the sliced meats.  

Beyond the tomato broth, I also really enjoy their Miso Broth.  It is one of the more impactful soups where the saltiness does come through.  This goes really well with anything, but in particular tofu products.  It helps flavour them in a way that enhances the natural taste.  Noodles benefit from this broth as it adds the necessary seasoning.  Veggies do really well with this as well where it brings out the natural sweetness.

Finally, the most flavourful broth in my opinion is the Tom Yum Broth (with coconut).  It is super fragrant with a big hit of lemongrass as well as the galangal.  The coconut comes through with aromatics and the tanginess makes things super appetizing.  If you can imagine, this works well with both meat and seafood, but I find it compliments seafood the best.  The brininess pairs well with the Thai components of the broth.  Noodles do well too.

Of course, when you are done, complimentary Soft-Serve Ice Cream comes your way.  Depending on the day, you might find a vanilla, matcha or black sesame.  The picture here is the matcha.  This is not my favourite as it is quite gritty.  Tastes okay though, not too bitter.  The vanilla is the best in my opinion.  Now you won't confuse this with good soft serve such as Dairy Queen, but it is no extra charge.  So, is Big Way still the king of the hill after all of the copy cats have arrived?  I would say it is still one of the best and holds its own.  Other spots such as Datang may have more concentrated broths and at Jojo, lobster broth.  I do like this New West location as it has a parkade (paid though) and it is has lots of tables (and a view of the Fraser River).  

The Good:
- Spacious location
- Convenient, has parking and right at the Skytrain station
- Reliable eats

The Bad:
- Entrance is a bottleneck
- No validated parking

 

Captain's Oven Pizza

I'm sure you've noticed that where there is a Skytrain station, there will be development.  It makes sense though because building condos and the sort is a good way to increase density near transportation hubs.  Ultimately, services will inevitably be part of the deal as all these residents need things like grocery stores, medical offices, pet stores, insurance agencies, hair salons and restaurants.

The last one is of particular interest to me since many of these are tucked away within the residential complexes and mainly serve the local residents.  However, many of these places don't solely exist because they have a captive audience.  Rather, they are worth visiting, even if you do not live nearby.  Captain's Oven Pizza would be an example of this as I was rather impressed with their wares.  We started things off with a Caprese Salad which was good.  The tomatoes were pretty ripe (which you can clearly see in the picture) where the texture was possibly a bit soft, but I enjoyed the natural tomato sweetness.  Large slices of fresh mozzarella completed things.

Onto the pizzas, we went ahead and did half and half versions so we could try more flavours.  For the first, we had the Superb Soppresata and Pesto Chicken.  Nice leoparding on the crust which meant we had crispiness and smokiness.  Nice nutty flavour as well to go with the properly-seasoned dough.  I liked the spicy zestiness of the soppresata while the chicken pesto was bright with lots of tender chicken.  It was good to see the chicken being moist despite being double-cooked.

So you would think that the Meat Lover's pizza would've been my favourite, but in reality, it wasn't.  Nothing particularly wrong with it since it had a good mixture of meats, yet I felt the other flavours were more interesting.  This was true with the Oceanside as it combined prawns and bay scallops with capers, red onion, grape tomatoes and arugula.  So we got the sweet brininess that was complimented by the tangy sweetness of the capers and freshness of the tomatoes.  Nothing overwhelmed the seafood and let it stand on its own.

Although the half and half veggie pizza was nothing much to look at, I assure you that they tasted great.  For one half, we had the Chef's Special and the other was the Truffle Mushroom.  In reality, these were rather similar having an Alfredo base and mushrooms, truffle oil and arugula.  However, the Chef's Special added pesto, pine nuts and sundried tomatoes.  That afforded some herbaceous notes and nuttiness with the tang of the tomatoes.  

One pizza caught out eye on the menu and we decided to get the whole thing rather than doing half and half.  Consisting of jumbo prawns, crab, bay scallops and smoked salmon, the Fisherman's Catch was super seafoody and briny.  The natural sweetness really came out and was tempered by the salty smokiness of the salmon.  We had aromatics provided by the garlic oil.  One byproduct of having so many things on top, the crust became softer.  But that didn't bother me since the flavours were appealing.

One look at the Chocolate Pizza and you might conclude that it was a default dessert due to the use of the same pizza crust.  However, it turned out be much better than expected.  The crust was crispy as per usual, but the chocolate sauce they used was delicious and not crazy sweet.  The fresh ripe strawberries slices provided that fresh fruitiness.  As for their Tiramisu, it was unique as the mascarpone cream was super light and airy.  It was also purposefully sweet.  It was a bit light on the coffee flavour though.  Overall, the pizzas at Captain's Oven are delicious and feature well-charred pizza dough.  I wouldn't mind getting some takeout from this location from time-to-time.

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

The Good:

- Fresh well-seasoned pizza dough

- Brick oven cooks things fast with nutty charring

- Lots of choice for the pizza toppings

The Bad:

- Free parking is limited, otherwise you need to pay park

Dragon Bowl New West

As mentioned in my Instagram post, dining out these days is an expensive proposition.  It seems like we have to get a second mortgage to afford groceries.  However, there are still some good value spots available including the newly-opened New West location of Dragon Bowl.  They offer up customizable bowls that can be had with rice or noodles and a choice of protein.  You can also choose a sauce as well as 3 complimentary side items.

To get a sense of the menu, we tried all the proteins including the Beef with spicy dragon sauce on brown rice with cucumber, shredded potato and cabbage.  We thought the firm brown rice was a good match with the tender beef because it was robust enough.  The spicy dragon sauce did have a kick, but wasn't anything too overbearing.  Loved the vibrant sides where the cabbage was crunchy, yet cooked through while the cucumber was not mushy.

Next up was the Lamb with black bean sauce on rice noodles with wood ear mushrooms, spicy cabbage and bean curd.  Similar in texture to the beef but naturally with the wonderful gaminess of lamb, this bowl ate appreciably different due to the rice noodles.  It was less robust than the brown rice and those noodles were slippery and light.  Furthermore the black bean sauce was more mild and had a gentle fermented saltiness.

To get a taste of all the proteins, we doubled-up with our last bow with both Pork & Chicken with dragon sauce, steamed egg noodles, cucumber and woodear mushrooms.  Although the rice noodles and brown rice were solid, the egg noodles would be my pick for the best carb.  They were al dente and soaked up all of the dragon sauce beautifully.  Flavours were fairly mild without any saltiness nor greasiness.  Truly comforting with home-cooked vibes.  The braised egg was quite flavourful with slight herbal notes.

Last bowl was the Jumbo Shrimp with curry sauce atop white rice with woodear mushrooms, Napa cabbage and shredded potato.  Of course the white rice was a good match for the mild and slightly sweet curry.  The shrimp were perfectly cooked exhibiting a meaty snap.  I found this to be the most impactful sauce as the others were quite mild, including the spicy dragon.  As you can see in the picture, the egg was completely penetrated by the braising liquid.

They also offer up a selection of bubble teas and slushes, so of course we got some to try too.  The one on the left is Honey Black Tea with grass jelly while the other is a Passionfruit Slush with coconut jelly.  Since I love fruity things, the passionfruit was my preference.  It was a touch icy, but lightly sweet (I chose 30% sugar) and a refreshing compliment to the savoury bowls.  Overall, we enjoyed the bowls as they were fulfilling and reasonably-priced.  Definitely felt comforting with a home-cooking feel.  Would definitely get these again.

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

The Good:

- Well-portioned

- Reasonably-priced

- Felt healthy

The Bad:

- Parking can be a little difficult in the area

Desi Turka

Most people would say that the best Indian food can be found in Surrey, in particular, along the Scott Road corridor.  I generally agree with this sentiment because I've had my fair share of solid Indian food on Scott Road.  It also helps that I work nearby and everyone keeps giving me suggestions as to their favourite restaurant.  However, if you look hard enough, there are equally good Indian spots littered all over the Lower Mainland.  It isn't much different than the proliferation of great Chinese restaurants.  One place I visited recently was with Jacqueline in Desi Turka in New West.

We started off with the Chicken Momos with mint and tamarind chutneys on the side.  These Indo-Tibetan dumplings were quite good and compared well to the ones I had at Katmandu Restaurant on Scott Road.  The dumpling wrapper was medium-thick with a nice delicate chew to them.  Inside, the chicken was moist and tender while nicely spiced.  I like dipping them into the tamarind chutney since I love sweet tanginess.

Arriving on a sizzling cast iron plate with an intoxicating aroma, the Tandoori Chicken was on point.  As you can see, there was plenty of exterior charring, which meant there was a smokiness to the dish.  The chicken itself was quite moist inside and the marinade did penetrate the meat.  The final touch was a light drizzle of butter sauce that added some added layer of flavour and texture to the already flavourful chicken.

Now we couldn't just have Tandoori Chicken with butter sauce without having the actual Butter Chicken itself right?  The Butter Chicken featured big chunks of breast meat, which were tender and moist.  In actuality, the chicken in butter chicken is tandoori chicken, so this dish and the previous are directly related.  I really enjoyed the butter sauce here as it was rich and creamy with just enough tomato tanginess.  We could definitely taste the spices.

Of course to go with the butter chicken, we had to get some carbs in the form of Pulao Rice, Garlic Naan and Butter Roti.  Rice was nicely prepared where it was nutty and chewy.  We loved the naan as it was blistered and crispy in parts while stiff soft and chewy in others.  Good amount of butter and garlic brushed on top.  As for the roti, it was crispy and nutty with even leoparding.  It was glistening with butter, just how we like it!

Going for a different protein, we decided to try the Bombay Fish Curry.  It was loaded with flaky and soft pieces of fish.  As for the curry, it was thick with a good amount of spice and spices.  We asked for hot and it did have a lingering heat even well after we finished eating it.  Could definitely taste the ginger and the sweetness of the onions.  Naturally, there was also the classic Indian flavours of cumin, coriander and cloves.

Lastly, we had to get a vegetarian dish into the meal and we did just that with the Palak Paneer.  The creamy spinach gravy was earthy from the cumin and cardamom while nutty and slightly sweet.  There was a plethora of squishy and delicate paneer nestled within.  Overall, we quite enjoyed our meal at Desi Turka and I would definitely say that it gives the Indian restaurants along Scott Road a run for their money.  Good option in New West.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Good spice level (we requested hot and it was indeed that)
- On point proteins

The Bad:
- Place is a bit small, so would fill up quickly

Match Eatery & Public House (New Westminster)

Now back to another restaurant that I've never visited before - Match Eatery & Public House.  Okay, before you leave me comments indicating that it is another chain restaurant and there is good reason I haven't visited it yet, please be aware that I happened to like some chain restaurants.  Just because a spot isn't a hidden gem or small bistro doesn't make it immediately a place that we should avoid.  Besides, I'm not a food snob.  Anyways, the reason I finally made it out to Match was due to their limited time Burger Bender menu.

As such, I decided to try all of the burgers and sides starting with the Sunny Side Luther featuring a 6oz griddled smash patty, American cheese, smoked crispy bacon and fried egg in between 2 house-made maple-bacon glazed donuts with breaded onion rings. I liked this as the donuts were light while holding up to the ingredients. Just sweet enough to balance the saltiness.  The strips of bacon were super crispy and that fried egg...  perfect.  On the side, the onion rings were large, crunchy and not greasy.

Stabbed with a steak knife, the BBQ Ranch Hand featured a 6oz charbroiled steak spice chuck burger, cheddar, coleslaw, onion ring, pulled pork and spicy BBQ sauce on a pretzel bun with a side of poutine. Meaty, thick and not over done, the patty was nicely charred. The slightly crunchy exterior gave way to tender meat.  A good amount of pulled pork lay on top of the melted cheddar.  There was an aggressive crunch from the onion ring and further crunch from the slaw.  As for the poutine, it sported plenty cheese curds and thick gravy atop potatoey fries. 

Onto our next burger, we had the Food Truck Double Down with 2 x 3oz patties (appeared to be a 6oz patty in this case?), American cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles and special sauce on a soft potato roll with a side of  dirty fries. This was a pretty classic burger that was meaty and featured all the usual ingredients.  I thought the caramelized onion stood out with its sweetness.  The saltiness of the American cheese provided flavour while the special sauce also added to the classic burger taste. The dirty fries were thin and crispy and the loads of bacon and sauce on top made sure we didn't need any further condiments.

I loved the fact they included a Nashville Hot Chicken because if you don't know already, I'm still trying to find the best fried chicken sammie (check out my IG account dedicated to it!).  This included a double breaded spicy chicken breast, pickles and coleslaw with a side of hand-cut fries. I found the chicken to be moist with a crunchy breading.  Spice was mild and personally, I could've done spicier. The bun was soft and tangy coleslaw was creamy and crunchy. The fresh-cut fries were crispy with plenty of potatoey goodness inside.

With a play on words, the Filet O' Crispy Fish sported hand-dipped beer battered Atlantic haddock, tartar sauce, slaw, butter lettuce, Old Bay mayo, dill pickles and lemon on brioche with Caesar salad. The large piece of fish was flaky and moist. I found the tempura batter to be fairly thin where it was crunchy and cooked through.  I quite enjoyed this sandwich.  On the side, the Caesar was dressed just enough and also had a drizzle of sweet balsamic glaze.  

Possibly the most surprising burger was the Grilled Chicken Goddess.  I was drawn to the other offerings first, but in reality I really enjoyed this one.  It featured a fire-grilled chicken breast with sliced avocado, goat's cheese, butter lettuce, tomato, sprouts, pickled red onion and green goddess dressing on multi-grain bun with yam fries. The chicken was nicely charred and smoky but still moist.  There was a wealth of flavours and textures. Yam fries were fried perfectly being crispy while not dry.

We decided to try a few more items including the Salt & Pepper Wings with carrot and celery sticks as well as blue cheese dressing.  Since Match is essentially a sports bar, this is one dish that needed to be good.  Well, I'm happy to report that they were excellent.  The skin was nicely rendered and crispy while the meat was juicy.  There was enough seasoning for the wings to stand on their own.

Since it was pasta night, we ended up ordering a few including the Mushroom Pesto Rigatoni with pumpkin seed arugula pesto, cremini mushrooms and red pepper topped with caramelized onions, goat's cheese and parmesan. This large portion sported al dente rigatoni bathed in a mild-tasting pesto.  I got the pepperiness of the arugula, but since we got the parm and goat's cheese on the side, the flavour profile changed when they were added.  More creaminess and saltiness was evident and that was probably the intention of the dish.

We also got the Ultimate Mac & Cheese with cheesy mac sauce, pulled pork, bacon and slow roasted grape tomatoes topped with bread crumbs and crispy onions.  This was definitely cheesy as the cheese was quite visible.  It could've been a bit smoother, but the lack of filler meant it tasted quite good.  The choice of Cavatappi pasta was perfect as it was al dente and held onto the sauce well.  Of course, the addition of bacon and pulled pork made this more of a meal.

For dessert, we had the Sticky Toffee Pudding with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  This was super sweet but honestly, that is what sticky toffee pudding is all about.  The whole thing was ooey gooey and full of smoky deep toffee flavour.  The side of ice cream wasn't just for show, it was creamy and of course went well with the pudding.  Overall, we quite enjoyed the meal at Match.  The burgers were solid and the other items were pretty good.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- All around solid food given its venue
- Large portions
- Large dining space with big TVs (for sports)

The Bad:
- Possibly some needed renos

Artusi

*Restaurant is closed*

Here we go with yet another restaurant in the burbs.  This time around Grace and I ventured out to New West for some Italian eats at the newly-opened Artusi on 6th Street.  If you are thinking that I've been eating a lot of Italian food lately, you would be correct.  This hasn't been intentional, although I do in fact love Italian food, rather there are just a coincidental amount of new Italian restaurants opening up lately.  What makes it even more interesting is that most of them have been out of the city of Vancouver itself.  That makes me happy because the burbs deserve good food too!

After some complimentary bread, we got going with some appetizers including the Bagna Cauda featuring an array of fresh veggies, bread and the dip consisting of EVOO, anchovy and roasted garlic.  If I had to compare to the one I had at Savio Volpe, this was actually saltier and fishier.  For me, I enjoyed the pronounced flavours especially when paired with the plain veggies and bread.  However, it was not subjected to the amount of emulsion like the one at Savio Volpe, which meant it was greasier and the flavours needed to be mixed around for full effect.  Next up was the Vitel Tonne (aka Vitello Tonnato, that featured thicker-than-usual slices of medium veal.  This meant that the meat ate much more robust with extra body.  Since the veal was prepared perfectly, it remained tender and moist.  On top, the tuna caper sauce was creamy, salty and fishy (in a good way).

Onto our pastas, we tried the Tagliatelle alla Papalina first and sadly, it was our least favourite item of our meal.  It consisted of prosciutto crudo, free range egg cream and 24 month-aged Parmigiano, which sounded great on paper.  In practice, the pasta was overdone and the "sauce" was far too heavy and goopy.  The pasta could've done with half the amount of moisture (that probably helped it overcook too).  We couldn't even get through 1/4th of it.  On a positive note, it did taste good though with the nuttiness of the aged parm.  We much preferred the Pici al Chinghiale sporting wild board and pecorino.  Unlike the tagliatelle, the pici was al dente and did not soften from the ragu.  It was creamy and rich, but the addition of tomato helped cut the heaviness.  The ample morsels of boar was tender and gave the pasta an appealing meatiness.

Our favourite pasta of the night was the Calamarata Profumo di Mare with squid, clams, prawns, peppers, tomato and wine.  First of all, the pasta was firmly al dente and was the perfect vessel to hold onto the tangy and seafoody tomato sauce.  About that seafood, it was prepared just right without being overdone.  We probably liked this the most because it was not as heavy as the previous 2 offerings.  Onto dessert, we had the Tiramisu al Limon which essentially replaced the espresso with limoncello and added lemon to the marscapone.  The result was a tangy and refreshing version of a tiramisu.  I thought the thick marscapone did its best impression of a lemon cheesecake while the soaked ladyfingers were a bit too wet.  If they lessened the limoncello, this would've been perfect.  Overall, the food at Artusi was decent especially taking into account its location.  Give it some time and we hope to see some improvements.

The Good:
- Okay pricing
- Friendly service
- Some twists with menu items

The Bad:
- Some refinement is needed