Gamamaru Shokudo

Normally, late night spots dishing up eats that go well with beers and the sort are reserved for Downtown Vancouver or small enclaves of restaurants on Main and Fraser Streets as well as Central Richmond.  So when we found out that Gamamaru Shokudo is doing that very exact thing, but in Fleetwood, it piqued our interest.   In addition to soju and beers, they have a menu that is a mix of Japanese and Korean late night favourites.  We ended up trying a bunch of dishes to go with our soju.

On the topic of Soju, we had a bit of a sampler consisting of peach, grape and mango.  Really dangerous as these went down easy.  I liked the mango the most as it was lightly sweet and tropical.  This went well with the Kushikatsu including baby crab, cuttlefish nugget, snow crab, pork belly, garlic beef, scallop, cheese menchi and teriyaki menchi.  These were really good with the 2 menchi skewers being the most flavourful.  The meat was tender and hey that slice of processed cheese!  Made it taste like a cheeseburger.  Crabs were crispy and briny while the snow crab was delicate.  Scallops were buttery soft despite being fried.

We had 3 different Oshizushi including Saba, Salmon and Unagi.  The one thing that they all had in common was the generous amount of the main component.  They were sliced a bit thicker than usual which resulted in more impact and texture.  The rice itself was a little on the denser side, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.  Nice torching on the top and for me, the salmon was my favourite with smokiness and sweetness.

On the menu, they have a section of share plates that included the LA Galbi.  This was a decent portion of meaty shortribs.  I really liked how they had marinated these so they were tender but still retained a considerable amount of chewiness (in a good way).  Too often, these are over-tenderized and hence, are too soft.  In terms of seasoning, they were a good combination of savoury and sweet with good caramelization from the grilling.

One of my favourite items was the the Clam Nabe.  The broth was so clean and pure tasting with the natural sweetness and brininess of clams.  The clams themselves were plump and buttery.  They were just barely cooked through.  All of them were open and the broth was not sandy.  We also had the Tako Bomb which was colourful with its combination of green onions, octopus, salmon, garlic chips, diced tsukemono and quail's egg yolk.  As expected, there was varied texture and flavours when mixed together.  We ate this with strips of nori.

We got a bunch of carbs to round out the meal including the Mentaiko Yaki Udon.  This was a good version due to the perfect texture of the noodles.  They were prepared properly where each strand was chewy with a nice rebound.  Beyond the great mouth-feel of the noodles, the creaminess of the dish was also on point.  It was creamy without being too heavy.  Of course the cod roe was at its fishy briny best completely flavouring the dish.

So I'm sure you've heard of Omurice before, but how about Omusoba?  Same concept but with noodles instead of rice!  The yakisoba was covered with a soft omelette while aggressively drizzled with yakisoba sauce and kewpie mayo.  As much as it looked like to much sauce, it was actually not that noticeable after mixing everything together.  The soba, much like the udon, was perfectly cooked with a springy chewiness.

We got the Sukiyaki Nabe for good measure and being a nabe, it was not as salty and sweet as the regular version.  Hence, the soup was drinkable and lightly flavoured.  The beef was marbled and hence was tender while the veggies added some relief from the heaviness of the other items.  Last dish was an Unagi Don and yah, they loaded up with so much buttery unagi, that we couldn't see the appealingly chewy rice underneath.  The unagi was evenly seared and drizzled with just enough sauce.  Simple, but well-executed.  As you can see, the food is pretty solid here at Gamamaru.  The prices are also quite reasonable, so you can order lots to share without breaking the bank.  Nice addition to the Fleetwood neighbourhood of Surrey.

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

The Good:

- Well-prepared eats

- Reasonable-pricing

- Open late and lots of parking

The Bad:

- Sushi rice could've been less compacted in the pressed sushi

Yory Korean Cuisine

It has only been one month since we had visited Yory Korean Cuisine in Fleetwood.  But we were returning just as Summer had just begun because they have launched a few new items and also we wanted to try some dishes we didn't have last time.  The big takeaway from our original meal at Yory was that the food was delicious but best of all, it was reasonably-priced and served in large portions.  Hey, the trifecta of great restaurant eating: taste, price and value!  So we were excited to return!

We began with the Dak-Galbi which was plenty saucy and cheesy.  This was a mix of boneless dark meat chicken, sweet potato and rice cakes in a sweet & spicy gochujang-based sauce.  I found the large pieces of chicken to be tender where they took on the flavours of the sauce.  The rice cakes were tender with an appealing chewiness.  Bringing it all together was the melted mozzarella on top that created some delicious stringiness.

Just in time for Summer, they are now offering Spicy Cold Buckwheat Noodle and Spicy Cold Buckwheat Noodle Salad.  Somewhat similar, yet remarkably different, these both featured cold chewy buckwheat noodles.  The noodles were perfect while the spiciness was balanced.  The biggest difference between the two was that the salad did not sit in a broth and of course, had crunchy veggies.  The cold noodle in broth was a bit less spicy since it was diluted somewhat.

 

Yet another new dish on the menu is the Thick Soybean Paste Stew (that also comes with a Barley Bibimbap).  The stew itself was more like a Chunky Soup with mushrooms, soft tofu, beef, veggies and egg.  Due to the use of fermented soybeans, the soup had a richness to it that was salty in a good way.  There was enough sweetness to balance things though.  We didn't get to try the barley bibimbap, but I've had something similar at another Korean restaurant.  The texture of the barley is much chewier than rice, which I prefer.

Staying with hot soup, we had the ol' standby being the Gamjatang (or Pork Neck Soup).  This one featured 3 really large bones with plenty of tender meat.  It fell off-the-bone and took up all of the flavours of the broth.  That broth was super flavourful with good spiciness as well as a nuttiness from the perilla seeds.  Due to the seeds and the pork bone, it made the soup a bit creamy and silky.  The big chunks of potato were soft and also absorbed the tasty broth.

So yah, we were having yet another hot soup dish on a warm day with the Clam Kal Gook Su (Knife-cut noodles in clam broth with barley rice).  Oh wow, this was fantastic!  Reminded me of the one I had at Kang's Kitchen in Coquitlam.  This featured perfectly-cooked noodles that were al dente with a nice rebound.  There were ample fresh clams that gave the broth a natural sweetness that was slightly briny.  I couldn't stop drinking the broth!

We also tried the Volcano Jokbal which looked more like bossam to me.  The pieces of pork belly were a little firm, but was ultimately tender with slightly gelatinized skin and fat with equal parts tender meat. There was inherent flavour with a mild salty sweetness. Dipped into the side of ssam, it added spice and extra saltiness.  This was served with some spicy radish and of course, lettuce on the side for wrapping.  

So we ended things off with the Dolset Squid Bibimbap which was a nice departure from the standard version.  I found there to be more impact of flavours from the squid stir-fry without needing to add more gochujang.  There was sweetness and spice to go with the tender pieces of squid (that still had a nice rebound).  The rice had a nice texture that was not too wet, so it could take on the saucy squid.  In the end, Yory did what Yory does, as in provide delicious eats in good portions for reasonable prices.  The new Summer dishes are good and only adds to the repertoire of good eats on the regular menu.

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

The Good:

- Consistently good eats

- Large portions

- Reasonable prices

The Bad:

- Service is a bit sparse due to the restaurant being busy

Yory Korean Cuisine

There seems to be a new Korean restaurant opening up every month now.  Way back when I was a kid (yah, that was awhile ago...), we had a limited selection of Korean restaurants.  Now, it wouldn't be a surprise to find a decent one in any location across the Lower Mainland.  I've been noticing that more and more Korean restaurants are opening up in Surrey and Langley that can rival some of the best along North Road in Burquitlam.  The latest one on my radar is Yory Korean Cuisine out in Fleetwood in Surrey.  Jackie and I were invited to check it out.

We had a wide selection of dishes including their Assorted Seafood Pancake.  This was quite the robust version with a thicker-than-usual pancake loaded with seafood and green onion.  Despite being on the thicker side, the pancake did not eat heavy.  Sure, it was not exactly light, but it was not doughy nor dense.  It was almost fluffy with a nicely seared exterior being crispy.  Inside, the seafood was not overdone while the amount of green onion was limited.  Hence it wasn't one note in flavour.

One item that really caught our eye was the Deep Fried Flounder.  For only $21.95 this was one massive flounder.  It was heavily battered and deep fried to perfection.  Beyond the crunchy exterior, the fish itself was flaky and moist.  The fish was naturally sweet and was not fishy at all.  It was served with a spicy dip that really brought the dish to life.  This was the a la carte version where one could also have it in a dinner set.  It costs a bit less and I assume the flounder would be smaller.  For this one, I found it a good value and perfect for sharing.

Next, we had the Wang Jokbal or pork hock cooked in sweet soy and served with ssam jang, shrimp sauce, lettuce, garlic and jalapeno.  Somewhat similar concept to bossam, the sliced pork hock is wrapped in lettuce (rather than Napa cabbage) with all of the condiments.  I found the pork hock to be excellent being tender with nicely gelatinized fat and skin.  It was flavourful from the sweet soy braise while balanced out by the spicy ssam jang and fermented flavour of the shrimp sauce.

We also spotted KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) on the menu and of course we ordered some!  We got half & half of Sweet Soy and Spicy & Sweet Boneless Chicken.  This was a pretty large portion where we found large nuggets of dark meat.  The batter on the outside was crunchy despite being completely sauced.  Inside, the meat was juicy and tender.  Personally, I love the sweet soy flavour the most and this one didn't disappoint.  It was plenty tasty with with more sweetness than saltiness.  The spicy was no slouch either with a good balance between spice and sweetness.

The biggest item we had was the Jeon Gol Hansang (Korean Hot Pot).  We chose the Bulgogi Mushroom Jeon Gol with thinly sliced beef ribeye, glass noodles, mushrooms, Napa cabbage, rice cake, wood ear, green onion and crown daisy.  For $46.95, this was a fair portion where it would be best to share with 4 people (along with other dishes).  I found the broth to be sweet and clean while taking on the meatiness of the raw beef and umaminess from the assorted mushrooms.  Loved the glass noodles where it soaked up all of the deliciousness of the ingredients.

Their best value, in my opinion are their Hansang (limited to 15 per day).  We had the SoonDuBu Bakban Hansang for $19.95 and it included choice of pork cutlet or fried chicken, choice of seafood, meat or mushroom tofu soup, rice and assorted side dishes.   The side dishes included japchae, banchan, octopus and pancake.  I found the pork cutlet to be crispy from the panko coating, yet a touch dry on the inside due to the leanness of the meat.  The soup was full of ingredients and naturally sweet.

Just for kicks, we added the Spicy Kimchi Cheese Fried Rice served on a cast iron plate.  Although it wasn't really sizzling that much by the time it arrived at our table, there was a cheese crust on the bottom that was both nutty and texturally appealing.  When mixed with the rice and runny sunny side egg, there were layers of texture including the stringy cheese and silky yolk with the flavourful rice.  I liked the fact that the rice was a bit spicy, sweet and savoury without being sour from the kimchi.

We also had the Corn Cheese also served on a sizzling cast iron plate.  The cheese crust for this dish was much more aggressive being crispy and nutty.  Beyond the aroma, it added a nice crunch to the corn niblets and stringy cheese.  About the corn, it was grilled enough so that there was caramelization with intense sweetness.  Overall, the food at Yory was good and well-portioned.  Loved some of the unique items on the menu too including the great value Hansang.

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

The Good:

- Generally tasty

- Good portions

- Great value with the Hansang

The Bad:

- Staff can be kept very busy when the restaurant is full

Inchin's Bamboo Garden

We are so fortunate in Vancouver to have such a variety of Asian cuisine.  In particular, we probably have the best Cantonese food in the world (I find it better here than Hong Kong!).  However, there are still certain Asian cuisines that are poorly represented.  One of which is Indo-Chinese food.  Now, before some of you start crying about fusion food, this is an actual thing.  There used to be a substantial Chinese population in Kolkata where we found the origins of said cuisine. 

One of the newer spots for that in town is Inchin's Bamboo Garden that sports 26 locations in North American including the newly opened Surrey-Fleetwood store.  We were invited to give the place a try and wow, they put a lot of effort into creating an inviting dine-space that combines both traditional and modern elements.  They also sport a cocktail menu that is both extensive and interesting.  We were able to sample a variety that were fruity and delicious.

Onto the food, we began with the Shrimp Pepper Salt which is reminiscent of the Cantonese dish that wok tosses fried shrimp in pepper, salt, chilis and onions.  This one featured a gluten-free batter that was crunchy.  There was enough hits of salt and pepper as well as the aromatics from the onions.  I would've liked to see more spice, but that was not the intention of this dish.

I was quite fond of the next dish, which happened to be vegetarian - Paneer Tacos.  Stuffed within a crispy shell, we found crumbled paneer. carrot. cabbage. mexican & goat cheese and sriracha ranch.  This resulted in layers of crunch including the shell and the julienned veggies.  In addition to that, there was the creaminess of the paneer to balance off the slight spice from the sriracha ranch.

Our last appie was the Steamed Momos topped with one of the 4 bottled sauces available at our table.  This one happened to be the garlic chili and it complemented the fully-stuffed momo's beautifully with some spice.  The chicken filling was rather mild, yet tender and juicy.  It needed that extra kick to make it flavourful.  I found the dumpling skin to be al dente with a medium thickness.

With the bigger plates, we were served the Black Pepper Beef with bell peppers, onion and crushed black pepper. This was kept warm with candles underneath the cast iron pan.  I found the flavour to be quite pleasant with the usual bite of black pepper and the sweetness from the onions.  It was rather saucy, so a bowl of rice was necessary.  Unlike the Cantonese version of the dish, the beef was not tenderized.  Therefore it had a natural chewiness.

From black pepper, we went to the Sweet & Sour Shrimp with mixed veggies, pineapple and strawberry.  Once again, this was very saucy and rice was necessary to compliment the dish.  The shrimp were quite large and were more in the prawn category.  They were cooked just enough where there was still a meaty snap texture.  There was also natural shrimp sweetness and aroma.  I found the sauce more sweet than sour though.

One of the sneakier dishes in terms of flavour was the Cauliflower Manchurian with cilantro, red onion, green chili and celery.  The deep fried cauliflower was on the softer side, but that meant it soaked up all of the rich flavours of the sauce.  It was bordering on salty, but once again, this should be eaten with rice.  There was depth to dish that included the combination of flavours from the other ingredients.

Another surprising item was the Chili Ginger Okra with ginger, soya sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, wine, sesame oil, chili oil, dried red chili and green onion.  First of all, the okra wasn't overly slimy, which I appreciated.  Secondly, the sauce was quite the combination of ingredients.  This resulted in a salty and mildly spicy broth that the okra soaked up.  In addition, the ginger added sharpness while the sesame oil provided aromatics.

You've heard me keep on saying that the dishes needed to be eaten with rice and viola, we had the Burnt Garlic Chili Fried Rice.  As described in its name, there was a bevy of golden fried garlic to go with the dried chili flakes.  The result was some extreme nuttiness to go with some spice.  By virtue of using basmati rice, there were no clumps while the rice was chewy and aromatic.

We also had the Hakka Noodles with thin eggless noodles, shredded vegetables, Napa cabbage and celery.  I really enjoyed these noodles as they had a beautiful chewy texture while still being delicate.  Furthermore, there was enough seasoning for impact.  Lastly, the combination of veggies, cabbage and celery added the necessary crunch as well as some brightness (also getting veggies into my diet).

Now these dishes were all fine and dandy, but we all felt the following ones were even better starting with the Sambal Lamb with onion, celery, chili, garlic and sambal.  Served similarly as the black pepper beef, the lamb was different as in the fact it was more caramelized due to the absence of sauce.  That heightened the flavours and spices even more so.  The lamb was tender and fatty while benefiting from the spice of the sambal.

So for the purely Indian dishes, they were absolutely delicious.  We had both the Chicken Butter Masala and the Saag Paneer.  The butter chicken was super rich and thick with a noted creaminess.  There was a mild tang from the tomato paste that didn't overwhelm.  As for the other curry, there was an ample amount of tender paneer hidden within the creamy spinach with the sweetness of onion and the sharpeness of ginger.

To go with these dishes, we naturally had to order the Naan as well as the Malaysian Paratha.  If I had to choose between the two, the naan was my favourite.  It was fluffy and light while exhibiting some chewiness.  Being a completely different type of bread, it was a bit unfair to compare between the two.  It wasn't as if I didn't enjoy the paratha as it was chewy and had some crispiness on the outside.  It is just the naan soaked up the sauces nicely.

For dessert, we were served an array of fried items including the Date Wontons with ice cream, Fried Ice Cream, Chocolate Spring Rolls and Rasmalai.  Now if you are familiar with Indian desserts, you will know that they are generally on the sweeter side.  These were no exception, especially the sweet dates in the crunchy wontons.  Nothing wrong with the desserts if you enjoy sweet things, but for me, I liked the rasmalai more because it was lighter and more refreshing especially after a filling meal.  Overall, I thought the food was good, especially the Indian dishes, fried rice and noodles.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Beautiful decor and atmosphere

- Lots of choice on the menu ranging from Indian-Chinese to Indian to fusion

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- For those trying to compare to Cantonese cuisine, it is not a good comparison as they are completely different cuisines

- Desserts were sweet, but that is how they are supposed to be

Full Ramen

*Restaurant is now closed*

For all the ramen that is available in the GVRD, most of it is found in a small radius in the Downtown core.  In fact, most of them do not stray far from Robson Street and hence the people that live there are in Ramen heaven (or not, if you hate ramen...).  But what about the burbs?  Yes, there is one in Coquitlam, a few in Burnaby and surprisingly few in Richmond.  Hey, how about Surrey???  Okay, stop laughing (or it you aren't, good for you).  That is exactly the mission Hot Mama and I were on where we visited Full Ramen in Fleetwood.  Yes, kinda random, but what the hey, you never know until you try...

Hot Mama decided to go for the Tonkotsu Ramen with chashu, half golden yolk egg, kikurage mushrooms (wood ear), menma (bamboo shoots), bean sprouts and scallions.  As much as the bowl didn't look especially large, there was a substantial amount of noodles which were appealingly toothsome.  As for the broth, it had a natural pork flavour that was accented by the usual dose of salt.  I wouldn't say it had incredible depth nor richness, but it was decent.  As for the chashu, it was fatty which in turn helped achieve a melt-in-our-mouth texture.  For myself, I had the Kakuni Ramen in a miso broth.  It included the same items as the aforementioned ramen except with braised pork belly.  As such, the meat was fatty and richer in taste.  Due to being in larger chunks, the meat wasn't overly soft, but it wasn't chewy either.  The miso broth was unmistakable in flavour but not overly salty.  It had a bit more impact than the tonkotsu.

We also shared an order of Gyoza that featured a relatively thin and chewy exterior skin.  Inside, the ratio between cabbage and pork was good while the meat was not dense.  I felt that they could've done a better job with the exterior sear.  After it was all said and done, we were mildly impressed with the food at Full Ramen.  Sure, it wasn't exactly Downtown quality, but for Fleetwood, it was more than acceptable.  So stop laughing will ya?

The Good:
- Decent ramen given its location
- Decent pricing
- Decent service (I can't think of another word than "decent")

The Bad:
- Decent, but of course Downtown is better (but not as much as you would think)