Tre Viet

It is nice to see the increasing amount of Northern Vietnamese spots opening up in the GVRD.  Growing up, all I was exposed to was Southern Vietnamese, where the menu sported various versions of Pho, Rice dishes and Vermicelli Bowls.  Yes, there is more to Southern Vietnamese cuisine than that, but that is what we got.  The latest Northern Vietnamese spot is Tre Viet on Denman in Downtown Vancouver.   This is the sister restaurant the CHÉN Vietnamese in Burnaby, hence you will find many of the same delicious dishes on the menu.  We dropped by for a tasting of the menu.

To start, we had the Hanoi Crisp Crab Parcels and the Anchovy Chicken Wings.  Although crispy (from the rice paper wrapper) and generally pleasing, I would've liked to see more crab in the parcels.  I would gladly pay more money for it.  As for the wings, they were quite good.  Nicely caramelized fish sauce with its classic salty brininess.  The meat was juicy and tender.

Our next appie was something that would appear in another dish later.  These were the Deep Fried Young Rice Cakes.  Really enjoyed the "meatiness" of these with a pleasant chew that went well with the sticky rice.  We also got the Rainbow Salad with prawns.  This was a fresh and appetizing mix of purple cabbage, carrot, onion, mint, peanuts and fried onion.  Lots of crunch and aromatics to go with the chili sweet & sour dressing.

Onto the soup noodle portion of the meal, we had the veritable Bún Bò Huế.  I found the broth to be clean with sweetness and the impactful aromatics of lemongrass.  Then we had the hit from the spicy oil as well as some brininess.  Pretty good!  In place of a pork knuckle, we got sliced pork hock instead.  We also found cubes of pork blood in addition to the other meats.  

Rather than ordering the typical Phở, we went for Tre's Special Soup.  The moist interesting thing in the bowl was beef meatballs encasing a salted egg yolk.  Like a Vietnamese Scotch egg, this was bouncy and flavourful with the nutty and salty egg yolk.  There was also thinly sliced rare beef with rice noodles in a phở broth.  Again, the broth was clean with mild flavours (just like how Northern-style phở generally can be).

We tried a new item that isn't on the menu yet in the Peanut Satay Phở.  This was aromatic and of course, nutty.  It was rich, but not thick (if that makes sense).  Hence, it was completely drinkable with some briny spice at the end.  There was also a balancing amount of sweetness.  We got some aromatics in a herbaceous manner.  Really good and the thin-sliced beef was tender.

 

Our last noodle soup was the Lemongrass Chicken Phở.  The chicken was actually served on the side, but we put it in the broth for the picture.  However, that actually was great in function too.  The smokiness from the charred chicken helped add depth to the broth.  Normally, a Phở Ga is pretty mild-tasting and sweet (which this was), but with the chicken added, we got the lusciousness from the chicken fat.

All of the dishes we've had so far was delicious, but the Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm Đặc Biệt was striking and even more delicious.  This platter consisted of pieces of vermicelli noodle, fried tofu, sliced pork hock, fried young rice cake, fried intestines and blood sausage.  All of this could be dipped into a punchy fermented shrimp paste sauce.  On the side, we found calamansi, peppers and lime.  Great for brightening up the flavours and cutting through the richness of the fermented shrimp paste.  Really enjoyed this as the textures of each item were different and that shrimp sauce was full of umami, funk and brininess.

So we did get one rice dish and it was the Grilled Lemongrass Pork Slices and Prawn Skewer.  We added 2 fried eggs for good measure.  This was a generous portion of food where the pork was charred and caramelized.  Since it was fairly fatty, it was tender as well.  Good marinade on it where it was plenty sweet, briny and salty.  The prawns were charred as well but a little overdone.

We had the Tre House Special Banh Mi.  This was similar to a đặc biệt where it had a variety of hams and meats.  It was plenty saucy with butter mayo and pate.  It wasn't devoid of flavour where the meats provided umami while the ample pate added aromatic meatiness.  Pickled veg offered up crunch and tanginess while the cilantro did its herbaceous thing.  The baguette was crunchy and fairly soft on the inside.

To go with our food, we had a variety of beverages including Matcha Coconut, Avocado Coffee, Calamansi Ice Tea and Fresh Sugar Cane Juice.  Hands down, the calamansi was a hit for me.  The tartness and sweetness really was refreshing and help compliment the dishes we had.  Avocado coffee was rich and smooth.  This would be the drink I would have by itself.  Aromatic and tropical, the matcha coconut also had the requisite bitter aftertaste.  It was nicely balanced.  Of course the cane juice was sweet, but on the other hand, it was diluted enough that it was not too sweet.  Overall, the food at Tre Viet is delicious and served in generous portions.  Some real distinctive dishes you'd not find at the run-of-the-mill Southern Vietnamese spots in town.  Definitely worth checking out.

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

The Good:

- Distinctive Northern Vietnamese dishes

- Large portions

- That fermented shrimp sauce!

The Bad:

- Wished there was more crab in the parcels

- Pork slices could've been a bit less fatty

El Comal Downtown

The El Comal that I'm familiar with is the lunch spot tucked way in an industrial park along Winston Street in Burnaby.  I've been there before quite a long time ago.  Now we find their brand-spanking new location in Downtown on Hornby Street.  It has taken over the space Toloache used to occupy.  Fortunately, they are continuing the Sunday Mexican brunch with some of the same dishes we've seen before plus a few new ones.

Their brunch buffet starts around 10:30am on Sundays, but the restaurant opens at 10:00am.  The setup includes many different items including a drink station that features Hibiscus, Lemonade and Horchata.   My favourite of the bunch was the Hibiscus as it was not too sweet and had a mild tanginess.  It was went well with the food as it acted like a palate cleanser.  Same could be said about the Lemonade as it was light on the sugar and was refreshing.  I found the Horchata to be on the sweeter side with the usual aromatics.

Onto the food, there was the usual Rice and Refried Beans.  Nothing unusual here but the rice had a pleasing texture where it was fluffy but still had a bite.  It was nicely seasoned too.  As for the beans, they were pretty smooth and almost creamy.  The viscosity was perfect, where it spread on the plate, but was not watery.   Next chaffing tray over, we found the Rajas and Mexican-style Wild Mushrooms.  The Rajas consisted of poblano peppers and corn in a creamy sauce.  I actually enjoyed this with the rice.  The mushrooms were also good with its usual woodsiness. 

Right next to it, we found the Chilaquiles in both Rojo and Verdes.  Personally, I'm a bit indifferent with Chilaquiles as I prefer my tortilla chips super crispy and dipped into queso with chorizo.  But even with that bias, these were decent with some crunch left with the chips on top and at the sides.  I thought both sauces were good with the red having more depth and a touch of spice.  The green was much brighter and milder tasting.   We found some Mexican Eggs and Tamales next to this and both were good.  The eggs were cooked with some tomatoes and onions while remaining fairly fluffy.  This was actually the last dish to be placed in the chaffing tray (which helped it from being totally overdone).  As for the tamale, it was decently moist while filled with chicken.

One of the better chaffing trays was the one that held the Chicken Enmolades and Ribs.   These enchiladas were filled with tender chicken and topped with a sweet mole that had elements of bitterness, fall spices and nuttiness.  As for the ribs, they were tender but still retained a meaty firmness.  Hence the meat didn't fall-off-the-bone, yet was not stuck to the bone either.  There was a savouriness to them while the seasoning was sufficient with earthy notes.

The last set of chaffing trays contained all the meats including Pork Chicharron in Red Sauce, Beef Birria, Cochinita and Chorizo.  I've complained in the past about dry meats when it comes to Mexican food, but these were moist and well-seasoned.  Perfect for complimenting all the previous items or using them with the supplied tostadas and/or warm tortillas.  I thought the Beef Birria was super tender while mildly spiced.  Wished there was some birria broth for us to dip the tacos into though.  The chorizo was the moist flavourful with spice and meatiness.  Went well on the tostada with some queso.

Right next to the meats, we found all of the Condiments including salsa, limes, sliced radish, greens, queso fresco, sour cream, queso, tomatillo, macha, cream, onions and cilantro.  We also had some fresh tortilla chips and tostadas.  Right in the middle, there was a delicious Shrimp Ceviche as well.  Soft tortillas could be found on the opposite side in a warming cabinet.  There was a Chicken Sopa right next to it as well.

Onto desserts, there was a selection of fresh fruit, Dulce de Leche Cake, Flan, Concha, Rice Pudding, Granola and Yogurt.  This was a modest, yet varied amount of items that ranged from fruit, to mildly sweet to quite sweet.  So therefore, it suited all tastes and besides, a coffee went well with the sweets.  Overall, the Sunday Brunch at El Comal in Downtown has a good variety of food that fits many different tastes and dietary preferences.  For $34.99 per person, it isn't expensive yet neither it is cheap either.  I would say it is exactly the right price considering its Downtown location and selection of dishes.

 

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

 

The Good:

- Enough variety for most people

- Meats were tender, moist and flavourful

- Things were fresh

 

The Bad:

- A little cramped on the buffet line, but it moves

- Parking is very expensive in the neighbourhood (Pro Tip: Use the parkade in Cathedral Square)

Akira Sushi

Not to be confused with the longtime Akira Sushi that existed on Hastings Street in North Burnaby, Akira Sushi on Denman has been around for 23 years.  It is amazing that I've never tried the place out despite walking past it countless times.  However, I guess it isn't surprising as there are so many places to eat in Vancouver, especially Japanese restaurants.  Jacqueline and I were invited to try out some of their new menu items as well as some classics on the regular menu. 

We were started off with the Uni Shooter with real crab meat and ikura.  For those who do not like uni, I can understand some trepidation with something like this shooter.  But I find that when uni isn't fresh, especially the local variety, it can pretty much taste like garbage.  However, for this one, it was indeed fresh being sweet, a bit briny and creamy.  Due to the combination of delicate ingredients, I could still taste the crab as well as the pops of briny goodness from the fish roe.

Up next was the Kaiseki Bento for $46.00 with an array of dishes including Zaru Soba, Albacore Tuna Mango Salsa, Spinach Gomae, Ebi Mayo, Sashimi, Pudding, Fried Chicken, Maki Roll, Chawanmushi, Agedashi Tofu, Aburi Salmon Oshi and Fruit.  With all of these little dishes, it was hard to choose what to eat first.  However, the chawanmushi was our choice as we wanted to eat it hot.  It was silky, smooth and lightly sweet.  All of the other items were solid and there was a good variety for one person (a lot of food for one person though) or to share with another.

Our next starter was the cold Gomoku Somen that is perfect for the upcoming Summer months.  It consisted of wheat noodles topped with shrimp, crab meat, egg and mushrooms served in an ice bowl (to keep everything chilled).  We drizzled the side of dressing onto the salad, then subsequently, we tossed everything together.  Due to the ice bowl, everything was uniformly cold and that was appealing.  I found the dressing to be lightly sweet and it complimented the ingredients well.

One of their newer offerings is the Sukiyaki served over a a heat source.  There was an array of mushrooms, greens and premium beef in the cast iron pot.  The sukiyaki broth was poured tableside as well as some milk.  Extra dipping sauce as well as the usual raw egg was served on the side. The trick was to have everything cook through first and then we would dip the beef into the raw egg and sauce.  The beef itself was buttery and soft with a noticeable meaty flavour.

In addition to the new features I've already talked about, we also tried some classic dishes including the Aburi Set consisting of salmon oshi, jumbo scallop, engawa, aki ebi, foie gras, hamachi and toro.  As you can see, this was appealing to the eye, but in my opinion, also great to eat.  The sushi rice was chewy and lightly seasoned while the ingredients were fresh and clean tasting.  There was enough sauce for impact.  Personally loved the scallop and the salmon.

We also sampled one roll and it happened to be the very pretty Volcano Roll with tempura sakura garnish.  The roll itself consisted of imitation crab, salmon and spicy tuna.  It was coated in tempura batter and deep fried.  Then finished with spicy mayo, avocado, tobiko and green onion.  This was texturally interesting with the crunch of the outside giving way to the soft and warm rice.  It was definitely a bit spicy, but not overly so.

For myself and Jackie, we couldn't visit a Japanese restaurant without ordering Assorted Sashimi as well as a Charashi Don.  If the picture makes you think that the slices of sashimi were vibrant and sweet with a beautiful sheen, you would be correct.  This was some pretty good stuff, especially for a smaller spot.  Furthermore, the pieces were cut properly into the right size.  We also got the spot prawn head fried up afterwards.

If we had a cold don, it was time for a hot one in the Unagi Don which featured a huge piece of unagi.  There was enough of it to compliment the chewy seasoned rice.  It was sauced rather aggressively, but the rice needed that.  We also had some Mocktails including a Passionfruit Green Tea Mojito, Lychee Mocktail and Blueberry Mojito.  These were equal parts sweet and tangy if stirred before enjoying.  As you can see, the food at Akira Sushi is legit.  They have a great mix of classics as well as some modern dishes.  Something a bit for everyone at a reasonable price.

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

The Good:
- A cut above the typical neighbourhood sushi spot
- They have the classics, but also newer modern dishes
- Good portion sizes

The Bad:
- Small spot, so limited seating