Mala King Hot Pot

You just know when something gets super popular, there will be copycats.  Now, I'm not trying to say that in a derogatory manner.  In fact, as things evolve, newer versions of the original often become better and come up with new ways of doing things.  We've all seen that with bubble tea and its never-ending metamorphosis from what it was in the 90's.  You'd think that the market would be saturated (well, maybe to a degree), resulting in a collapse of sorts.  Well that hasn't happened.  Now take the DIY hot pot craze that started with Big Way locally.  There have been a slew of imitators but Big Way itself was a copycat of something that started in Australia.  We have the latest one in the GVRD in Malaking Hot Pot out in Surrey.  The name seems to mirror Malatown out in California.  So everything is a mish-mash of everything else.  Jackie and I checked out Malaking to see their version of this current craze.

Located in the former Pho Tam spot (so sad its gone), Malaking's setup is pretty typical of the genre.  Upon entering, there are bowls and tongs ready for you to pick your items.  There is a varied selection including seafood, meats, veggies, tofu products, meatballs and noodles.  Like I've said before, do not load up on meatballs, things with shells and heavy noodles.  You might have a nasty surprise in terms of cost otherwise.  But if you stick to lighter items, you can have hearty bowl for around $20.00.  You proceed to the counter and have your bowl weighed, then pick a broth (which is included).

In case you didn't only want to drink water with your hot pot, there is a selection of drinks available.  We sampled a few of them including Mango Slush, Avocado Slush, Piña Colada Slush and Thai Iced Tea.  You can choose your sweetness and add things like coconut jelly and pearls.  I really liked the piña colada as it was fruity and aromatic.  Nice tang on the mango and the avocado was smooth.  Of course the Thai iced tea   was sweet, but it was still balanced with enough tea flavour.  Right next to the counter is the Sauce Lab where you can create your own dip.  Pretty standard ingredients here.  They have self-service to go containers and paper bags underneath.

We sampled a nice selection of their broths including the Classic Ma La Tang.  Unlike some versions I've had at other places, this one was definitely spicy, yet not mind-blowing.  It had a nice viscosity where it wasn't thin.  There was some pleasant sweetness to compliment too.  I normally do not combine seafood with this, but I did this time and it was good.  The brininess of the razor clams, scallops and abalone paired well with the spicy broth.  The buttery snakefish was especially good with the spice.

Another delicious broth with aromatic creaminess along with some spice, the Laksa paired well with seafood (as expected).  The combination of the natural sweetness of the seafood and the broth made each spoonful delicious.  Soaking up the broth, the non-fried noodles were properly cooked where it had some chew left.  I think the fatty beef we had in this was good, but maybe some chicken would pair better with this broth.

The most impactful broth, other than the spicy mala, was the Japanese Black Garlic.  Resembling a rich tonkotsu ramen broth, this had the silkiness of collagen and fermented pungency of black garlic.  This was the best example of their 8-hour broths as it showed depth and thickness.  This an excellent compliment to the meats I chose (pork and beef) as well as mushrooms, veggies and quail's eggs.

One broth that we though needed something extra was the one-note Coconut Curry Broth.  It was definitely creamy with the goodness of coconut milk, but it did not have enough curry flavour.  We decided to combine the Mala with it and boom, it was so much more impactful.  Maybe next time we'll just ask for Coconut Mala mix.  We went for a predominantly seafood forward mix of items and although it added more sweetness to the broth, it all turned out to be quite muted.

The last broth we tried was the Tom Yum and that was another fantastic option.  It really did exhibit all the great flavours in Tom Yum including lemongrass, the tanginess of lime and some spice from the peppers.  The broth was pretty concentrated and held up to the excess moisture released by the veggies.  It helped flavour the noodles as well as the meat.  I would say this was right up there with the mala and black garlic.

Of course at the end of the meal, we were served the complimentary Soft-Serve Ice Cream in a waffle cone.  Like everywhere else, this was not the creamiest soft-serve, but definitely appreciated after hot pot.  Overall, Malaking Hot Pot fits in quite nicely into the DIY hot pot landscape in the GVRD.  I think their broths are some of the best (Coconut Curry withstanding) where they are impactful and do not dilute with the moisture of the components.

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

The Good:

- Impactful broths that are concentrated enough to stand up to the moisture from the components

- Solid drinks

- Free parking (albeit very narrow spots)

The Bad:

- Coconut Curry broth needs more spice

- As mentioned, there is free parking, but those spots are incredibly tight

Skye Avenue - Kitchen & Lounge

For awhile, I knew that Skye Avenue had replaced the long-standing Central City Brewing at Surrey Central.  However, I just never made it out there to see what it was all about.  It wasn't until Executive Chef Bal (of Desi Lounge in Downtown Vancouver) raved about the burger at Skye Avenue, that piqued my interest.  So when Nikita and Bluebeard wanted to meet up for some eats and they suggested that Skye Avenue be one of the options, I totally agreed to meet them there. 

We arrived in time for their Happy Hour and in addition to getting some drink specials, we also started with a few food specials as well.  Instead of the usual ball shape, the Mushroom Arancini arrived as a rectangle slab.  I thought it was nicely crispy, but the inside was rather mushy.  It did have good flavour in the earthiness of mushroom and smokiness of eggplant puree.  In actual balls, the Smoked Salmon Croquettes were also a bit mushy inside too.  Yet, most croquettes are made with potato, so that was to be expected.  There was a smoky saltines to them and there was a bit of tartar sauce in the middle.

We got 2 more specials in the Wagyu Carpaccio and Prime Rib Slider.  We found the carpaccio to be a competent plate with thinly sliced and tender beef.  It was topped with flaked salt, aged pecorino, truffle aioli, arugula and some aged balsamic.  Again, it as pleasant enough but the focaccia that came with it was horrible.  It was hard and very dense.  As for the slider, it was excellent with a soft toasted bun, horseradish aioli, fontina cheese, crispy onions and au jus.  The beef itself was super tender and there was no absence of flavour and texture.  Should've gotten a few of these!

Onto the mains, Bluebeard and I shared the Lobster Cobb Salad as well as the burger.  As you can see with the salad, there was no absence of lobster meat.  It was at its bouncy and springy best with natural sweetness and brininess.  It featured tender butter lettuce, ripe avocado, cherry tomatoes, custardy soft-boiled egg and gorgonzola cheese.  I thought this was a very good salad with excellent components.

Now for the Chef's Burger, it was comprised of an 8oz organic grass fed house-ground patty.  That way, it could be prepared so it wasn't cooked to a crisp.  It was super juicy, meaty in flavour and of course tender.  It was topped with fontina, truffle aioli and crunchy onions all on a brioche bun.  Chef Bal was right, this burger had it all, a juicy patty, texture from the onions and a soft brioche bun.  Even the side of fries were really good being crispy with lots of creamy potatoness inside.

Viv wasn't very creative and also ordered a burger in the Fresh Sockeye Burger.  This featured a 5oz chermoula-marinated salmon patty with mango salsa, pickled coleslaw and tartare sauce on a charred leek bun.  So with all those tasty ingredients, the flavours were impactful.  We had sweetness, tanginess and brightness on the crispy and smoky bun.  However, the main ingredient, which was the salmon, was rather dry.  Being sockeye, I wasn't surprised as the meat is leaner and would dry out easier.  It did taste good though.

Lastly, Nikita had the Gluten-Free Margherita Flat Bread.  For a gluten-free crust, it was pretty good being crispy and not too dense.  The tomato sauce was bright and tangy while there was more than enough fior di latte on top for impact.  We also found some fresh basil, but would've preferred it added after the fact.  Overall, Skye Avenue is a competent restaurant with some real highlights.  The decor is quite nice and the service is top-notch.  I do believe a few refinements are here and there.

The Good:

- That burger!

- Nice decor

- Great service

The Bad:

- A few refinements needed

Combine Cafe & Bar

For those who are not in the know, Surrey Central has become (or already is) a bustling and modern community that is on an upward trajectory.  Sure, there are still remnants of the old Whalley that has yet to be redeveloped, but the place is attracting people and businesses alike.  So it wasn't surprising to see a beautiful restaurant in Combine Cafe & Bar open up shop along King George Hwy near Fraser Hwy.  It is actually right across from the King George Skytrain station and dishes up food that is both sustainable and locally-sourced.

Jackie and I were invited to try the place out and we were impressed with what they have done with the space as it is inviting with lots of natural light.  We started with the some drinks including the Wine Flight and also a mocktail in the Cosmo.  The appetizer menu is fairly simple and at first, we were not interested in ordering the Baked Focaccia.  Well, thank goodness they recommended it because the bread was super fluffy and soft with a slightly crispy exterior.  The addition of tomatoes and peppers on the top afforded some moisture and pops of sweet tanginess.  They finished it off with some herbed butter and that just helped amp up the aromatics and butteriness.

Next, we had the Oysters Rockefeller that were a bit different than the traditional version.  It still had a creamy butter sauce, but had far more melted cheese on it.  In a sense, that helped lock in the moisture of the oyster and they turned out to be juicy and soft.  Lots of natural brininess from the fresh oysters.  There could've been a bit more sauce, but otherwise, this was a serviceable version.

We ended up building-our-own Charcuterie Board with cured salmon, smoked duck, gouda, chili jam, toasted almonds and pickled vegetables.  They did a fine job in arranging the items on the board where it looked appetizing.  I particularly enjoyed the cured salmon as they were in large slices and the texture was buttery.  Nice sweetness accented by just a bit of saltiness.  The smoked duck was good too being tender with a quick sear from the torch.  Not a fan of the pickled vegetables as I would've preferred distinguishable pieces rather than a blitz through the food processor.  Almonds were fantastic with a sweet crunch.

Onto the mains, we had the Chilean Chicken with chorizo, white wine cream sauce, mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables.  I thought it was artfully plated with well-prepared components.  The root veggies were cooked through, yet still had a firmness to them.  They were intensely sweet from the caramelization.  The swaft of mashed potatoes was smooth and creamy.  Wished there was more of it though!  Chorizo was seared, hence it amplified the salty spice.  There was some smokiness too.  The chicken itself was a bit hit and miss.  The interior of the chicken leg was tender and moist, but the outer parts were a bit dry.

For the Oyster Cream Pasta, we added Teriyaki Salmon so that it would have some more protein.  We found the spaghetti to be perfectly al dente and bathed in a minimal amount of cream sauce.  I thought that was okay, but the promise of oyster sweet and brininess wasn't really there.  I mean, the pasta was solid and it did have enough seasoning, just needed more oysters or oyster liquour.   I would be fine paying more money for more oysters in the dish.  As for the salmon we added, it was not dry, but not moist either, somewhere in between.  The sauce was tasty though and the amount of it helped keep the salmon from being dry.

For dessert, we had the Ooops! Ice Cream which was more playful than anything else.  Consisting of vanilla bean ice cream with a waffle cone inverted on top, the dish also had berry compote, poached pear and cookie crumbs.  So was this something I would normally order?  Well no, but I enjoyed it all the same.  The ice cream was rich and creamy while the cone was crispy and aromatic.  The compote and pear added some bright fruitiness and the crumbs provided more texture.  In general, Combine Cafe & Bar is a stylish place where you can enjoy drinks with friends.  The food is quite serviceable but some further refinement is needed for them to be competitive with similar restaurants.

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

The Good:

- Wonderful space

- Serviceable eats

- On the right track

The Bad:

- Food needs further refinement

Filipino Noodle Joint

For those who have visited Filipino Noodle Joint in Chinatown, you may or may not already know that they have moved locations.  In fact, they have moved to another city into Surrey.  Hey business is tough these days and also factor in operating costs and rent, yah, I'd get out of Vancity as well!  Now they have a proper full-service restaurant complete with a bar (liquor license pending), karoake and dedicated takeout counter.  They also have all the favourites and more...

We are going to focus on their daily specials (at 15% off) including the Sisig on Mondays.  As you can see, they serve the full version with tender crispy nuggets of pig head (yes, you read that right).  There is a good tang to it which helps cut down the heaviness.  I find that the spice level is noticeable.  That is great for me as I like a kick that goes with the rest of the complimentary flavours.  To add even more acidity, the lemon wedge is there for you to squeeze.

So on Tuesdays, you can get the Lomi with a rich and thickened chicken broth, egg noodles and bagnet on top.  Yes, this is also quite the filling bowl where the starch-thickened soup is silky and somewhat sweet with equal parts savoury.  The egg noodles are plentiful and nicely al dente.  Of course the best part is the bagnet on top (pork belly) with its crunchy crackling as well as its fatty (not too fatty) and tender meat.  It is aromatic and natural tasting.

Moving onto Wednesdays, we find the Loaded Beef Pares which is a beef brisket stew topped with bagnet and fried chicken skin.  This comes with a choice of egg noodles or rice.  The rich beef broth gravy pairs well with both the noodles and rice.  The rice would be my choice of starch as it really soaks up all of the beefy goodness of the gravy.  Now the gravy isn't overly sweet nor salty.  Rather, it has the natural beef flavours really coming through.  The chunks of brisket are fall-apart tender.

Okay, bagnet resides in 2 of the dishes already, so why not have the Ilocos Bagnet on top of a rice bowl?  Well, this Thursday special is made for those people who love pork belly with crunchy cracklings.  Lots of texture in this and the accompanying fried pork fat aromatics.  To lighten the load, there is a side of vinegary dip.  To top it off literally and figuratively, we have a fried egg.  The rice is perfect being fluffy and not wet.  This also comes with a side of soup too.

So Fridays are reserved for the grandest of offerings in the Skewer Tray with 2 each of the pork, chicken and fish balls with one Filipino wiener.  This will go really well with a beer (when they get their license).  This is all meat, so I don't recommend that you finish this by yourself (unless you are a football player).  Love the char on the chicken and pork.  Nice smokiness and further enhancement by the sweet sauce.  Meat is juicy.  Fish balls are bouncy and airy.

On Saturdays, they are featuring Karaoke and bottomless Sago At Gulaman.  This brown sugar drink is sweet (but not too sweet).  There is a wealth of sago pearls and different jellies that make this a refreshing and texturally interesting beverage.  On Sundays, we find Fried Chicken Skin with some slaw, lemon wedge and tangy sweet dip.  Also great with beer, the crispy skin is rendered and has a light crunch.  As you can see, the specials are the full-versions and at that, they are huge.  Good value here and also good food.  Just waiting to get their liquor license!

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- Hearty food
- They have a full dining room now

The Bad:
- Yes, area is still in transition but don't worry about that, people will leave you alone

Fresgo Inn

The Fresgo Inn.  Ah, it brings back such good memories.  Greasy diner food served in large enough portions to make one forget they were pretty much plastered.  Yes, that was one of the late night options for the Downtown party crowd on Davie Street.  Sadly, that location closed awhile ago, leaving the Surrey spot the only place to get such eats.  I guess only inebriated Surrey party goers can experience such gut-busting delicacies now.

For me, I party like it's 1999.  As in I haven't partied much since 1999.  Hence, it was a lunch visit to Fresgo Inn this time around.  And much like last time, the Red Clam Chowder was pretty strange.  It was obviously thickened by a roux, but the whole thing separated in the chaffing tray.  Hence, there were little clumps of thickened broth within watery soup. On the positive side, there were lots of tender baby clams and veggies.  Flavourwise, it was pretty mild with just a bit of clam juice. One of their best deals is the Burger Special and Yodeling Girl had issues finishing it.  With 2 large beef patties, bacon, cheese and all the fixins', the burger was plain massive.  Although nothing outstanding, it was better than the average burger.  The fresh cut fries were a treat though being lightly crisp.

Consisting of 2 slices and 2 uniformly shaped scoops of mashed potatoes (interesting plating...), the Meatloaf was a substantial portion.  Although it was smothered in thick gravy, the entire dish was actually quite mild.  The gravy itself was less flavourful than it appeared as it provided moisture more than taste.  Soft and only slightly meaty, the meatloaf was moist.  I found the mash potatoes a bit too firm though.  Mrs. Spray Bottle ended up with the Clubhouse.  Yes, it was enormous too.  Stuffed with real turkey, crispy bacon and fresh fixin's this was a solid clubhouse.  Paired with the same house cut fries, there was not much complaining about the price due to the portion size.

On another visit, I decided to try their Spaghetti & Meatballs.  For under $10.00, I wasn't expecting much.  In reality, the plate of pasta was pretty mediocre since it was far from al dente and the sauce was pretty bland.  But dang, that was a big plate of food and the meatballs...  they were impressively monstrous. I found them decently soft, yet a bit bland.  Honestly, I really shouldn't do much complaining considering most items are $10.00 or less.  The portions are so massive, the BC Lions eat here after practice.  Enough said.

The Good:
- Massive portions for the price
- Not great food, but more than edible
- Lots of choice

The Bad:
- Hey, it's cafeteria food, won't impress some food snobs
- Place in need of a renovation

Afghan Bakery & Fast Food

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

I love Afghan food.  Hey, it probably has something to do with the meat - there's lots of it!  However, that becomes a bit of a problem for me since there are not many Afghan restaurants in town.  In fact, there are less than 5 actual Afghan restaurants in the GVRD period.  Too bad I don't live in Fremont, California because it houses the largest Afghan population in the North America.  Mind you, I'd miss the rain in Vancouver...  uh... So I've already been to Afghan Chopan (another location opening up in Downtown), Afghan Horsemen and the defunct Khyber Pass.  All were not bad taking into account the locations and lack of competition.  There was one more that I once tried visiting (Afghan Bakery & Fast Food), but got distracted by another new restaurant nearby.  This little non-descript place on 104th in Whalley apparently serves up full-blown Afghan dishes.  With only enough seating for one party, it is mainly a take out joint.  

So I finally made it out there again where I decided to get a couple of dishes to go including the Kabuli Palaw,  It looked very appetizing with plump raisins, glistening carrots and rice.  Hidden within the firm long grain rice were morsels of fatty lamb.  The rice itself wasn't too sweet despite the carrots and raisins.  In fact, it was quite mild except for the lamb flavour. The pieces of lamb were tender and it was like striking gold each time I found one. Continuing on with even more lamb, the Lamb Shank for $11.00 was a steal since it could easily be plated at a sit-down restaurant where it would be priced much higher.  The lamb was relatively tender and moist (with a few drier spots).  The addition of hot peppers really amped the flavours of both the lamb and the rice palaw.  A sprinkle of spices (appeared to be coriander and cardamom) on top really added to the flavour profile of the dish.

Not satisfied by only one visit, I made my way back for some more eats.  I got an order of the Mantu to start (yes, I was hungry, wait, I'm always hungry!).  These dumplings were filled with lots (and I mean lots) of onion.  I thought the onion-to-meat ratio was a bit off.  Despite this, the dumpling skin was soft, yet not mushy, while the flavours were good.  I asked for spicy and there was a good level of heat to go with the yogurt. For my main, I had the Lamb Kebabs (yes, it appears I only eat lamb here) and they were fatty and somewhat tender.  A few pieces were chewy with some gristle. However, fat is sometimes added for flavour, so I'll have to assume they did that here. Lastly, I got some Afghan Bread to go and when heated up at home was pretty good.  If you show up around 2:30pm, they'll have some baked fresh and ready to go. Hey, Afghan Bakery ain't much to look at, but I do believe we have a hidden gem on our hands...

The Good:
- Good portions
- Reasonably-priced
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Well, not really a sit-down restaurant (one table)