Gupshup Social Lounge

For all of the Indian restaurants I've tried recently (and there have been many), they have been pretty good, if not a bit repetitive.  Not that I'm complaining because it is really #firstworldproblems that we get to eat delicious food!  However, there was some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as Jackie and I headed out to Gupshup Social Lounge in Surrey.  Upon entering the place, we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.  The place was swanky, but not in a high-end way.  Rather, it was modern, hip and definitely appealing for both the younger crowd and families.

Looking over the menu, it was clear that they are trying to be accessible to all with only 2 items over $20.00.  Also, there are plenty of creative dishes that I've never seen anywhere else before.  That was exemplified by the first item we had in the Doritos Bag.  Yes, this was nacho cheese Doritos served in its own bag with melted cheese sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and onions.  Something so simple, yet utterly delicious.  It was like having something like a Frito Pie but more like the a better version of nachos you get at BC Place.  They said this is popular with the kids, but I think it would go well with a beer or cocktail.

To illustrate their attempts at keeping up with the times, the Fiery Cheese Pulls were exactly what Gen Z wants in their IG reel.  Take something as simple as fried cheese, but make it a bigger and coat it with Nashville hot sauce.  Yep, these were IG-worthy with a cheese pull that would make the next table look over.  Coated with a crunchy breading, the mozzarella was ooey gooey delicious.  Add in the spice from the sauce and it was tasty in addition to the obvious viral-nature of the dish.

Something that seemed like an obvious fusion crossover dish was the Butter Chicken Mac & Cheese.  I honestly think you can put butter chicken on anything and it will taste better.  I wonder when they will have butter chicken gelato?  Just a thought...  Anyways, this was as good as expected with a cheesy base mac & cheese.  I thought the noodles were nicely al dente despite all the sauce.  About that sauce, the butter chicken was fantastic.  It had a good balance of tangy and creamy (or should I say buttery) to go with the cheese.  Sure, this was heavy, yet nicely spiced.  Best to share this!

Absolutely huge, the Kurkure Sliders featured 2 mini burgers with a choice of aloo tikki or paneer.  We went for the paneer for this one.  As if sliders aren't already quite filling, they deep fried the buns in a crispy breading first.  Hence, this was one crunchy slider where the bun was still soft inside.  It wasn't as greasy as it appeared, but make no mistake, it ate quite rich and heavy.  I personally would order something else from the large menu that was lighter.

Another heavy dish, we had the Baked Veggie Momos topped with cheese and tandoori sauce.  These fried momos were crispy with a veggie filling that was still vibrant having a crunch.  By themselves, the momos were good and could've been simply served with a tamarind and/or mint chutney.  But at Gupshup, they like to take it further so they baked them with a wealth of cheese.  Again, this became a pretty heavy dish.  I would've like to see just the momos, but I get they are trying to be different and more progressive.

Moving onto somthing that was more typical was Cockney Singh's Fish and Chips.  I absolutely love the play on words here because it is a nod to "Cockney Kings".  Well, I am happy to report that Cockney Singh's version was straight up on point.  The breaded basa was really good.  Normally, I'm not a fan of fish & chips made with basa, but the fish was so moist and flaky without the usual over-soft texture.  Breading was crunchy and stayed as such throughout.  Even the fries were good being crispy with a touch of potatoness left.

From the tandoor, we selected the Lamb Chops.  This was plated a bit haphazardly, but hey, it didn't really matter as Gupshup isn't about being high-end.  It fit completely with their laid-back casual atmosphere.   Besides, these lamb chops were excellent!  Evenly charred, there was smokiness and a certain intensity to the spices.  Lots of earthiness and muted heat to go with the natural lamb flavour.  Texturally, the lamb was tender and meaty.

So we went for something more traditional in the Gupshup Chicken Biryani.  This was fairly typical with big pieces of bone-in tandoori chicken leg hidden within the basmati rice.  I found the rice a little on the dry side, but I much prefer that over something wet or too saucy.  Flavours were a bit muted and could've been more spiced or spicy, but all-in-all, it was a serviceable biryani.  The best part was the chicken though as it was flavourful and tender.

From here, we continued with the usual and the aforementioned delicious Butter Chicken.  I have to say it was pretty darn good with a good amount of tomato tanginess balanced off by enough creamy butteriness.  The spices in the butter chicken did come through after the initial tang with earthiness and spice.  With the chicken itself, the medium-sized cubes were tender and not dry at all despite being breast meat.

To get some veggies (in spirit) into our diet, we also had the Palak Paneer.  This was pretty creamy with the spinach being cooked down well.  Definitely got the earthiness of the spices as well as the ginger.  This was fairly bright and not heavy.  As you can clearly see, there was a plethora of paneer that was squishy (in a good way) and soft.

Of course we had some Garlic Naan too as well as some drinks.  The naan was pretty good with a crispy charred bottom and the rest was fluffy with elasticity.  Would've liked to see more garlic though.  As for the drinks, we had the Mango Lassi, Parrots Paradise and Tiramisu Shake.  As you can see, they really try to be modern and fun with their drinks.  That is really the point of Gupshup as they are truly catering to the young and young-at-heart.  Food may not be as refined, but they aren't trying to be.  Prices are very reasonable and definitely a place where you can hang out with friends and family.  More fun times ahead because they have pizza coming soon too!

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

The Good:
- Modern and trendy
- Reasonable-pricing
- Fun dishes and drinks

The Bad:
- Maybe lacking in refinement but they aren't trying to be
- Some dishes can be quite heavy

Chopsticks on Pho

*Restaurant is permanently closed, but still sells sauces and broths*

Oh wow, it has been a long 12 years since I last set foot into Chopsticks on Pho out in Surrey.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the food there and at the time, they were doing something that wasn't quite trending yet.  You see, they were one of the few Vietnamese restaurants operating in a modern dining space as well as doing fusion cuisine.  I had my doubts about it since it really wasn't a thing yet.  They are still around today, so they must've been doing something right!  Well, the owners remembered me and decided to invite me back.

In addition to the food from the kitchen, they now produce their own artisan sauces that are all hand-made and jarred.  Some of these were used in the Tasting Platter consisting of one skewer each BBQ Nem Pork and the Satay Chicken, Grilled Garlic Prawns, Salad Roll and Crispy Pork Spring Roll.  Now if you look at the picture, you'll notice that the spring roll is missing.  Not sure what happened there, but it will make an appearance later on in another dish.  I really enjoyed the skewers as the meat was tender and full-flavoured due to the marinade and sauce.  The pork was tender with a nice rebound while exhibiting its usual smoky and sweet notes as well as some fish sauce.  The satay sauce for the chicken was sweet and nicely spiced.

Here is one dish where the spring roll makes an appearance...  in the Chef's Special Rolls.  As you can clearly see, the spring roll was encased within a salad roll.  Now the picture doesn't do this roll justice in representing its size.  I ate half of one and that was a lot.  First things first, the spring roll itself was large and stuffed with moist and seasoned pork filling with veggies and noodles.  The roll remained crispy despite being surrounded by a salad roll.  What really elevated these rolls was the dips on the side.  In particular, the satay sauce was out-of-this-world.

After this, we moved onto the BBQ Pork Banh Mi with all pickled veggies, jalapeno, cilantro and house aioli on a French baguette.  This featured an airy and light baguette that still had some bread texture left.  The outside was a bit crusty but didn't shatter completely upon the first bite.  Inside, the pork was moist and tender while having a pleasant natural flavour.  Good crunch from the ample pickled daikon and carrots as well as some acidity.  Peppers provided heat while the cilantro did its usual herbaceous thing.  This came with a bowl of broth that could be eaten as soup or used as a dip for the sandwich.  I personally wouldn't dip it because I love the crunch of the bread, but hey, you do you!

If you have followed me for awhile, you will know that if something is going to be vegetarian, it'd better be delicious for me to like it.  Well, their Pho Xao Tofu or veggie Pad Thai was something that I really enjoyed.  The ample amount of noodles were chewy with lots of elasticity.  They were bathed in a sweet and tangy sauce that was also briny and a touch spicy.  The addition of pickled veggies and the sprouts added crunch while the peanuts provided the aromatics.

A similar-looking dish was the Curry Basil Fried Rice with chicken.  Being a fried rice, this ate remarkably different though.  The chewy rice was fairly sauced, hence it was a touch moist instead of being dry.  The initial spoonful was definitely sweet and full of caramelized flavours.  The basil did come through while the curry was more in the background with an earthy spice.  I felt that with the squeeze of the lime wedges it really helped balance out the sweetness with acidity.

Moving back to the vegetarian side of the ledger, we had the Buddha Bowl which was presented much more like a platter.  It consisted of rice noodles topped with pressed tofu in a satay curry peanut sauce.  This was like liquid crack as it had elements of sweetness, spice, pepperiness and nuttiness.  The texture of the pressed tofu added body to the dish and I kept eating it.  We also found some crispy veggie spring rolls and a wealth of veggies with a vegan vinaigrette dressing.

So here we have the Crispy Pork Spring Roll make another appearance.  Since it was cut diagonally lengthwise, you can see how there was so much filling.   This came with the Chicken Satay (which was also in the Tasting Platter).  Really love that satay sauce with the coconut rice as the aromatics were off the hook.  Normally, this comes with vermicelli noodles, but since we've had that in other dishes, the rice was definitely a great canvas for the impactful sauce.

In addition to the Curry Basil Fried Rice, the other new dish on the menu is the Curry Beef Pho (this can be had with other proteins as well).  Piled up high, the rare beef was sliced thin and as it cooked in the hot broth, it turned out to be buttery tender.  About that broth, it started off sweet and clean but had a considerable kick at the end.  There was nuttiness and briny spice from the red curry.  Really delicious and a good alternative to the regular Pho.

But we couldn't pay them a visit and not have a bowl of "The Works" Pho right???  With the same rare beef majestically on top of the other meats (brisket and beef meatballs), this was a hearty bowl of soup noodles.  The broth was very clean and did not have any muddled flavours.  In fact, it was sweet and meaty despite not looking as such.  There was some background daikon and star anise vibes.  Hidden underneath, there was a considerable amount of al dente rice noodles.

To compliment our savoury and spicy food, we got a couple of smoothies including the Aloe Avocado and Mango Tango.  Both were creamy and smooth while not too thick, so they were very drinkable.  Since I love mango, that was my favourite of the two.  They were on the sweeter side, but paired well with our food as it was almost like a palate-cleanser.  Onto dessert, we were served some Vietnamese Coffees that were so rich and flavourful.  The condensed milk really balanced it off with creamy sweetness.  The dessert was Deep Fried Dough Sticks with a sweet peanut dip.  These "yau tiao" were super light and airy with a crispy crunch.  Loved the dip as it was purposefully sweet with lots of peanut flavour.  In the end, it was so nice to be back at Chopsticks on Pho.  Glad to see that the owners are still doing well while continuing to innovate with their artisan sauces.  Sure, prices are a touch higher than most, but you are also getting both quality and quantity as well as a nice dining space.  I really should bring the fam out, even though it is a bit of a drive for me!

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

The Good:
- Great-tasting food
- Well-portioned
- Super nice people (I can say that because my first visit was on my own coin!)

The Bad:
- It does cost a bit more than most

Par4 Kitchen & Bar

As you know, Vancouver has a few days of rain a year...  In fact, an average of 169 per year!  So when you feel a little blue sometimes, especially during the months of October - April, I don't blame you!  So even though we boast that we can play a round of golf 365 days a year, there are many of us who are fairweather golfers.  Not to fear, we now have a new place where we can play on a golf simulator while enjoying beverages and food, even before we hit holes 9 and 18.  Located in the former location of Big Ridge Brewing in Surrey, we find Par4 Kitchen & Bar.  We checked out both the simulator and food one night.

So beyond playing the Golf Simulator, they also have other games such as hockey, football, soccer, handball and shooting zombies.  They have all the equipment necessary including golf clubs (L&R), hockey stick, football, soccer ball and a ball for handball and throwing at those aforementioned zombies.  There is bar seating for your friends to watch you shank that golf ball as well as a place to have drinks and share some snacks.  Good call on the hand sanitizer at the table.  When you are done playing, you can move to the dining room and enjoy more food!

About that food, we did get started on some shareables because we were busy making fools of ourselves with the games.  To start off, we had the Albatross Nachos with beef.  These were quite good with crispy chips that had enough cheese on them.  On the side, we found sour cream, guac and salsa.  The one thing that made these nachos was the braised beef brisket.  It was super tender, meaty and full-flavoured.  It was another $7.00, but well worth it.

Next, we shared the Bubba Platter featuring fried chicken, dry ribs, corn ribs, fries and slaw.  I really enjoyed the corn ribs as they were crispy but still had the sweet juicy pop of each niblet.  They were nicely spiced too.  The dry ribs were typical being crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside.  The fried chicken skewers were like chicken strips with Cajun spice and ranch dressing.  I didn't mind them but the batter was a bit thick.  Fries were fantastic, they were hot, crispy and with tender potato inside.  Slaw was pretty solid being crunchy and not overdressed.  Although there was a nice mix of appies, this was a bit pricey at $55.00.

Since we were here on a Tuesday, they were offering all their pizzas for $15.00 each.  We decided to try the Donair Pizza with shaved beef, za'atar, onion, tomato donair sauce and chili oil.  In terms of concept and flavour, this met the challenge.  There was an array of earthy and tang spices, meatiness and slight heat.  The crust was crispy and a bit chewy.  However, one thing that we would've liked to see was softer beef.  Since it was double-cooked, it ended up being chewy.  Maybe add it on after the fact?  Not sure...

We really had no choice but to order the Masters Club Burger as Par4 Kitchen is a bar/pub restaurant (you need to try the burger!).  This also passed the test as sported afresh seasoned ground beef patty, bacon, burger sauce, aged cheddar, tomato, onions, pickles and iceberg lettuce on a brioche bun.  We added an extra patty to make this even better.  About that patty, the beef was moist and nicely seared.  The texture was naturally meaty and the flavour was beefy.  The toasted brioche was perfect.  Solid burger.

We didn't end there with the handhelds as we also went for the Korean Fried Chicken Burger.  By virtue of using a chicken thigh, the meat remained moist and juicy.  The batter was a bit thick, yet worked in this case offering up a firmly crunchy coating.  They were conservative with the gochujang, hence it wasn't dripping with sauce.  As a result it wasn't super spicy either.  The crunchy slaw worked in this burger but I would've liked to see some kimchi instead.

We tried the one pasta option on the menu in the Basil Pesto Fettuccine.  We added a grilled chicken breast for $7.00 extra.   Although a bit saucy, the pasta was quite good.  It was creamy and rich with the definite taste of basil.  The addition of mushrooms and truffle oil did provide the usual earthiness.  Glad they didn't overdo it with the truffle oil.  The pasta was a little past al dente, but that might've been due to our picture-taking.  Chicken was charred and smoky.

Although looking more like a pork chop, I can assure you that the picture is of the Big Easy 8oz Ribeye.  We chose it to be prepared blackened with Cajun butter.  This was perfectly medium-rare being super tender and juicy.  The outside was smoky and charred while the Cajun butter was nicely spiced.  The accompanying mashed potatoes were starchy and potatoey.  Also, charred, the broccolini was still vibrant and crunchy.  Although a delicious dish, it was a bit pricey at $52.00.

For dessert, we tried 3 of them including the Carrot Cake and the New York Cheesecake.  Although fairly moist, the carrot cake was still a bit crumbly.  It was super sweet, especially with the cream cheese frosting on top.  As for the cheesecake, it was pretty dense, but typical for New York Style.  It was plenty cheesy and somewhat aromatic.  I found it to be purposefully sweet, so it was fine.  Both of these desserts were okay, but the next one was my favourite.

That favourite happened to be Stubby's Cookie Skillet.  Crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle, the cookie was on the sweeter side, but the texture really was the key.  On top, we found vanilla gelato and a salted caramel drizzle.  This really didn't need to be sweeter, but hey, it is a dessert.   Overall, the food at Par 4 Kitchen & Bar is decent with some highlights.  Prices are on the higher end, but things aren't cheap these day anywhere.  The golf simulator is fun and a great way to spend some time with friends before, after or during food.  Even better given we are heading into the rainy months.

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

The Good:

- Golf simulator and other games are a great way to pass the time with friends

- Food is decent

- Nice dining space

The Bad:

- Some items seemed to be too expensive?

- Desserts are pretty sweet, but if you like that, then ignore this comment

My Greek Taverna (Surrey)

For as long as I can remember, I've had My Greek Taverna on the list of to-eat-at-restaurants.  It really didn't matter which location either as they have one each in Coquitlam and Surrey.  Every time I've had a chance to visit the place, something else came up or the place was closed.  So it got forgotten for like the last 8 years (almost the life of the blog).  Finally, I got chance to check the place out despite some varied reports from others.  I happened to be in Surrey, so we headed towards Scott Road at 64th.  On that note, the place isn't the easiest to get access if one was traveling southbound on 120th.

Things got off on a relatively good start with the Calamari.  It was a generous portion of large rings of squid.  It was fried golden brown being lightly crispy and easy on the grease.  The squid itself was tender while retaining an appealing bite and chewiness.  On the side, the tzatziki was airy and garlicky with dill.  However, they were over-zealous with the seasoning as some pieces were stingingly salty.   The same could be said about the Chicken Souvlaki as each nugget of chicken breast tasted purely of salt.  Such a shame as it was grilled almost to perfection with a beautiful charred exterior and being relatively moist for white meat.

As much as it wasn't as salty, the Roast Lamb was not immune to the same issue.  Although it was pleasantly garlicky, it was still overseasoned in our opinion.  We were pretty excited that the portion size which was generous, but ultimately, it was disappointingly dry and chewy.  The desired gelatinous, moist and tender texture was missing.  On the positive side, the rice was one of the best we've ever had being chewy, well-seasoned and nutty.  The best dish of the bunch had to be the Moussaka where it had a delicious and texturally-appealing layer of bechamel.  The meat was moist and well-seasoned while not being salty emitting the classic nutmeg essence.  Overall, this visit to My Greek Taverna could've been good if not for the overuse of salt and the chewiness of the lamb.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Excellent rice
- Except for the lamb, proteins were on point

The Bad:
- Overuse of salt
- Lamb was dry