Sugar Patisserie

*Bakery is closed*

We all know that some of the best macarons in the GVRD can be found at vancouver locations like Soirette and Bon Macaron.  If we head out further, there is also Chez Christophe and even Kitchening with Carly.  However, are there any decent macarons to be found once we cross a bridge?  Yep, L'Opera Patisserie makes some mean ones, but how about Surrey?  That is what I wanted to find out the first time I visited Sugar Patisserie out on 64th Ave.  It was a fail since it was closed (4pm).  So I tried again and picked up some other items including their macarons.

I went for a full dozen of Macarons that covered all 10 of their available flavours for the day.  These consisted of peanut butter caramel, strawberry, pumpkin, coconut, chocolate, raspberry, caramel, Tiffany vanilla, pistachio and lemon.  When I first bit into one at the store, they were still cold from being refrigerated.  Hence, I waited for them to warm up and they ended up to be lightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Interestingly, the peanut butter caramel was rather dense and chewy while the coconut was lighter and softer.  This was the theme for most of the macarons, so depending on the flavour, the texture could vary.  My favourite was the coconut as it was aromatic and not too sweet.  As much as I wasn't a fan of the texture of the peanut butter caramel, it was pretty tasty.

However, the most tasty thing was actually the Peanut Butter Brownie.  This was well-balanced in flavour with a mild sweetness from the rich chocolate and the classic nutty aromatics from the smooth peanut butter.  Texturally, the brownie was dense and moist without being too heavy.  This was something that I couldn't stop eating and wanted more of it.  With a bevy of layers, the Pistachio Torte sported an almost floral quality.  It was aromatic, lightly sweet and ended off with a classic roasted pistachio essence.  The torte was light yet a bit dry despite all of the cream in between the layers.

Something that was less sweet and had a bitter finish was the Chocolate Caramel Tart.  It featured a thick ganache chocolate filling that was smooth and as mentioned, with a dark chocolate slant.  The buttery tart shell was crispy and firm while aggressively baked.  That meant there was a certain nuttiness from the copious amount of butter. Now that tart shell worked with the robust chocolate filling, but it was a bit too strong for the curd in the Lemon Tart.  Despite being appealing tart and only purposefully sweet, the aftertaste of the nutty tart shell was more dominant.  Now that didn't mean the whole thing wasn't good though as the custard was tasty and had a balanced consistency as well as a sparkly sheen.  So despite some shortcomings, I believe that Sugar Patisserie offers up decent enough products, especially given the lack of choices out in the area.

The Good:
- Okay pricing
- Decent products
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Some macarons were dry and too dense

Escape (Elements Casino)

*Restaurant is closed*

I remember a time when one wanted to visit a casino and any accompanying eats, it would take an almost 3 hour flight to Vegas.  Well, I guess the flight would be shorter out of Bellingham (BLI), but that would imply flying on Allegiant.  Well, at least the fares are cheap!  I digress...  But fast forward to the present and we have an array of casinos that not only offer up hours of fun (costing you a pretty penny), there is food to be had as well.  To be frank, the buffets up here are just not very good compared to anything South of the border.  However, with an invite to Elements Casino to check out Escape Restaurant and their new direction, I guess I was going to find out if good eats could be had.

They were out to impress with a 8-course family-style meal that was really an 12-course (some courses were doubled-up with 2 different dishes).  We started with the Antipasto Plate consisting of grilled veggies, salami and basil.  Although a bit rustic in appearance, the salty thick-cut salami complimented the smoky veggies nicely (as they were rather bland on their own).  I would've liked to see the zucchini cooked a bit less though.  On the other hand, the accompanying Tomato & Bocconcini Salad was not lacking in the flavour department.  There was a considerable amount of balsamic dressing atop the ripe tomatoes and firm balls of bocconcini.  A nice pop was provided by the sundried tomato pesto which elevated the dish.

The next 2 dishes consisted of Pork Loin with grainy mustard apple sauce and Baby Back Pork Ribs with whiskey smoked BBQ sauce.  Depending on the slice of pork loin, it ranged from succulent and tender to dry and a bit chewy.  For me, I got lucky and had the juicy piece which sported a nice roasted aroma (well-seasoned on its own).  The grainy mustard apple sauce was slightly sweet, yet it lacked impact from the mustard.  As for the baby back ribs, they were generally tender, but with dry spots.  I did like that it wasn't overdone, so there was some meatiness left.  I found the sauce to be sweet and somewhat smoky but lacking in whiskey.

Moving away from meat, we dug into the Portuguese Paella with chorizo, shrimp, peppers, tomato and saffron.  Although this dish didn't lack flavour per se, we could detect very little of the saffron.  On the other hand, there was enough savoury elements including a mild spiciness and hits of tomato.  There was enough chorizo and well-prepared shrimp that made each bite fairly flavourful.  But the biggest issue other than the lack of saffron was the overcooked and soft rice.

My favourite dish of the meal was the Clams & Mussels in a cioppino broth.  Both shellfish were prepared just right where the meat was still buttery with a tender chewiness.  Hence, the mussels and clams retained a natural sweetness and brininess.  This was further enhanced by the spicy and tangy tomato broth which was not overly watery.  The flavours were appealingly concentrated.  Another solid dish was the Seared Salmon in bacon carbonara jus.  Although this looked really rich, the flaky and buttery on point salmon kept it in check.  Now with that being said, the sauce was creamy and purposefully salty.  A nice compliment to the beautifully prepared fish.

As if this meal needed any more food, we moved onto 2 more meat dishes. The first was Lemongrass Chicken with pineapple chutney.  Well-charred and smoky, the "just barely cooked" chicken was succulent and juicy.  It was well-seasoned and aromatic while the bits of pineapple added hits of tangy sweetness. Another surprising offering was the Smoked Beef Brisket with natural jus.  Presented on a wood board, we were treated to slices of juicy brisket.  The smokiness was not very strong while the exterior rub was on the saltier side.  Naturally, the point was more tender than the tip of the brisket.

Okay, the 2 plates we had been waiting for were left to the end.  These included King Crab Legs steamed with garlic and Snow Crab Legs with butter. Since it wasn't king crab season, these were probably frozen and hence, the meat stuck to the shell a bit.  Despite this, the meat was still fluffy and plenty garlicky.  As for the snow crab, the meat was soft with a rebound while being naturally sweet.  After this, we headed down to the buffet for some soft-serve ice cream (didn't take a picture since it wasn't that photogenic).  From the items we sampled, most were pretty good and some were definitely surprising.  Sure, some improvements and further refinement could be had, but not bad for casino food.

*All food, beverages and gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Diverse array of dishes
- Generally on point with the proteins
- Spacious with a nice view of the track

The Bad:
- Some items could use further refinement
- Adding to the last point - flavours need some adjustment  

Chili House

There is no doubt that we have a wealth of Asian cuisine in the GVRD.  However, there are some that are poorly represented.  One of which is Indian Chinese food.  This cuisine originated out of Kolkata, India as there was a significant Hakka population prior to the second Sino-Indian War.  Many left and immigrated to places such as Australia, the US and Canada.  Therefore, we are lucky for the exposure to this cuisine from restaurants that include the Green Lettuce, Chili Pepper House, Asian Spice, Indian Wok and Hakka Masti.  Now we can add another, Chili House, which is located near the border between Surrey and Langley.

I was invited by the owner to try the place out and since this type of food is best shared, I brought some eating assistants in Furniture Guy and Furniture Girl.  We started with the Spicy Green Beans which were the beneficiary of good wok heat and just enough oil-blanching.  Hence, they were vibrant and still crunchy despite being cooked all the way through.  With a generous amount of garlic and chilis, there was noticeable spice and aromatics.  Onto our next dish, we had the Spicy Ginger & Garlic Beef.  There was not much filler to this dish as it consisted mainly of fried beef.  By virtue of the double-cooking process, the beef was more firm than moist (which is typical of this type of dish anyways).  Again, with a good wok toss of onion, ginger, garlic, chilis and vinegar, the flavours were purposeful and apparent.

Moving on, we tried the Haaji Prawns which were fried in a light batter and wok tossed with chili flakes, garlic and green onion.  Naturally, this meant bold flavours which went really well together.  Again, there was a definite spice to the dish, yet not overpowering.  The prawns themselves were meaty with a slight snap.  A familiar dish arrived next being the Singapore Fried Noodles.  This was again, the beneficiary of intense wok heat as the flavours were caramelized.  The peppers and onions were still crunchy while the shrimp had a cold-water snap. On the other hand, I found the noodles slightly too dry (even though it is supposed to be, just drier than usual).  There was just enough curry and spice without causing a firestorm in my mouth.  

Continuing on with the feast, we were served a non-spicy dish (for the kiddies) being the Mix Fried Rice consisting of shrimp, chicken, peas, carrots, onion and egg.  Consistent with the other dishes, the ample wok heat ensured dry, chewy rice with caramelized flavours.  This was a good side to all the other spicy dishes, especially the Garlic Fish.  Okay, by looking at the picture, one would assume it was sweet n' sour fish, but the flavours were much more than that.  It was a combination of a mild sweet n' sour with garlic and a good dose of heat.  As for the fish itself, it was moist with a slightly gummy batter due to the ample amount of moisture on the plate.

We actually got 2 versions of the Hakka Chow Mein with one being spicy and the other without (once again for the kiddies).  With elements similar to Shanghainese fried noodles, this dish consisted of chewy wok fried noodles with rich dark soy and a balanced amount of spiciness.  There was also a noticeable smokiness as it was evidently touched by a flaming hot wok.  Onto a familiar sounding dish, we had the Kung Pao Chicken (but the Indian Chinese version of course).  Now, unlike the North Americanized version, this was not subjected to a sweet goopy sauce.  Rather, it was a drier and spicier.  Now, in terms of spicier, I also mean more spices as well.  Hence, the flavours were more intense and caramelized.

Onto a second chicken dish, we had the House Special Chicken which was included a host of veggies.  As such, the flavours were similar, yet different than the previous dish.  Despite the veggies, there was no residual moisture at the bottom of the plate.  Once again, there was a noted spiciness to the dish.  We finished off the meal with Fried Banana with ice cream.  Unlike Szechuan cuisine, where the heat level can be tongue-numbing (thanks to the peppercorns and depending on how hot you like it), Indian-Chinese food exhibits purposeful heat.  Hence, we could still taste the other spices, in particularly cumin.  At Chili House, the food was good and benefited from high wok heat.  It now joins the ranks of Green Lettuce and Chili Pepper House as great places to get Indian Chinese food.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped except for gratuities

The Good:
- Good wok heat
- Purposeful spice

The Bad:
- Meats were a bit drier than I'm used to

Vault

What in the world am I doing in Cloverdale you might ask? Well, the rodeo was a few weeks ago, so I'm certainly not here for that. I'm not heading down to the states, so that's outta the question. Maybe I was lost? No, no, that's reserved for Miss Y. I was in Cloverdale with a few of my colleagues to have lunch. Lunch? But is there anything good to eat out in Cloverdale other than the requisite bar? You might not think so, ah... but many people are mistaken. Hidden amongst the many shops in Cloverdale on 176th is the Vault. It is named as such because there is an actual vault at the back of the restaurant. We can only surmise that this location used to be a financial institution of some sort. And yes, inside the vault is a very private table.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get a window seat again! There was a big group that took over half of the restaurant. I was tempted to take the plates over to the entrance... Anyways, Ma got the Dry Ribs to start and it was a generous portion of meaty ribs. It was not over fried and had a good dusting of pepper and kosher salt. She also had the Ale Braised Short Rib Sandwich and it certainly looked appetizing. On top of the tender meat were fried onions which apparently made the dish. There was a complaint that the glaze was a bit sweet; but I guess it's personal preference.

Blondie had the Prawn, Scallop and Goat Cheese Salad. The dish itself had a bevy of seafood, strawberries and goat's cheese. I tried some of it and it was every so lightly dressed, which is a good thing. This way, I could actually discern different flavours in the salad. Although the scallops were large and had good colour from the sear; they were a bit chewy and possibly overcooked. The prawns on the other hand were perfectly prepared. Continuing on the seafood theme, I went for the Mixed Seafood Grill with Asian BBQ Glaze. In addition to the same prawns and scallops as the salad, I also got a piece of salmon. Surprisingly, the rice that accompanied the seafood was quite flavourful and beautifully cooked. The reason I mention this is that most times the rice is an afterthought. The salmon was soft and not overcooked. The prawns were cooked correctly; yet I had the same problem with the scallops, they were slightly overcooked and had a slight fishy taste. In terms of the hoisin glaze, it was pretty standard being quite sweet and not really having any other complex flavours present. Unfortunately, that is the flavour profile of hoisin sauce.

Ma was the only one at our table who went for dessert. Mind you, she chose NY Cheesecake and it was fabulous. It was a really large piece of baked cheesecake with an ultra thin crust. I tried it and it was ever-so-smooth and full of cream cheese flavour. It's definitely nice to get a baked hard cheesecake rather than the whipped ones. The depth of flavour and texture are just not the same. For being out in Cloverdale, which is hardly the mecca for fine dining, The Vault was not bad. If it were located in Downtown Vancouver, it might face stiff competition. The food in general was pretty decent. It's location works in their favour because there is not another restaurant like this close by.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Eclectic, funky atmosphere
- Great service

The Bad:
- A bit far for most people other than the locals

Business Hours:
11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Fri)
5:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat)
5:00pm - 9:30pm (Sun)