Stone & Flow Asian Bistro

You've heard me say and I'll say it again, we have a dizzying array of Chinese food in the GVRD...  But it is overwhelmingly Cantonese cuisine.  For those who not familiar, Chinese cuisine is usually grouped into "Eight Great Traditions" that consist of Sichuan, Shangdong, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hunan.  However, if you want to be specific, there are many more than that.  I mean, there are some obvious omissions such as X'ian, Shanghainese, Xinjiang, Macanese, Taiwanese and the list goes on forever.  This brings me to the latest food adventure at Stone & Flow Asian Bistro.  It specializes in another cuisine which is Guizhou.  Unfortunately, it gets grouped into Sichaun at times due to the use of spice and its proximity to Chongqing.  In addition to spice, Guizhou cuisine is synonymous with fermented sour flavours as well. 

Therefore, the first dish we tried was completely representative of these flavours in the House Special Pounded Chicken Feet.  This was prepared tableside with all of the ingredients starting in separate plates.  Everything was literally pounded in a wooden mortar by a wooden pestle.  This ensure all the flavours were activated (and juiced).  We got plenty of sour and spice while also plenty of sharpness, aromatics and herbaceousness.  The chicken feet were gelatinzed being a bit crunchy and plenty bouncy.  My only wish would to be more chicken feet in this dish.

Something that was neither spicy nor sour was the Crispy Tofu Balls with Shrimp.  Honestly, these didn't look that appetizing and it took me awhile to actually try one.  Turns out, they were actually delicious!  They were indeed crispy with a crumbly tofu interior.  On its own, the flavours were pretty mild, so I went ahead and dipped it into the sauces.  Naturally, I went for the hot one.

We also tried the Stone & Flow Spicy Noodles with Beef.  We had 2 slightly different versions of the dish with one of them having thicker rice noodles.  These had a passing similarity to Chongqing Noodles with spicy and savoury beef mixed into the rice noodles.  I found the one with thicker rice noodles to have a bit more liquid, hence it was slipperier and a bit more spicy.

All of the food up until this point was good, but in reality, we were waiting for the Hot Pot.  We chose the both the Signature Kalli Sour Soup as well as the Sichuan Mala Peppercorn Soup.  Definitely loved the fermented sourness of the Kalli Soup while the peppercorn soup was only mildly spicy.  I felt the beef went better with the sour soup while the dumplings and fish were better with the peppercorn soup.

On that note, let's talk about the beef we had.  We tried the AAA Prime Rib Beef Slice and also the Australian Wagyu Beef.  Meat quality was great as the prime rib slice was tender and a bit buttery.  However, the Wagyu was even more buttery and yes, it almost melted-in-my-mouth.  I thought the prices for the beef were reasonable, with the Wagyu being $28.99.

We had the Hand Made Shrimp Paste (Balls) and also the Hand Made Beef Meatballs.  These were both excellent.  The shrimp had the desired bounce texture where the meatballs themselves were not dense.  There was a butteriness to them too.  That was the same for the beef as they had an airiness to them.  Just like the shrimp balls, the beef was buttery and required very little chewing. 

The most surprising items were the Shrimp Blossom Dumplings and the Shrimp & Crab Blossom Dumplings.  Not only were they striking to look at, they were large and fully-stuffed.  When cooked through, the texture of the wrapper was spongy (in a good way).  It was as if they used fish paste to make them.  Rather, it was probably due to the egg.  Inside, the filling was bouncy and airy, just like the shrimp balls.

We got some veggies as well in the form of the Assorted Mushroom Platter, Pea Shoots and Crown Daisy.  Things were definitely fresh, as you can clearly see in the pictures.  Once again, prices were reasonable considering the portion size.  For the mushrooms, we had a selection including woodear, king, oyster and enoki.

To end our meal, we got a few of the Hand-Smashed Lemon Tea with green peppercorn.  That was quite the interesting flavour.  It was light and refreshing with only a bit of sweetness while the peppercorn added some bitterness and bite.  The dessert that you see was the Guizhou Ice Slush which was more pudding-like with some mochi textures.  It had a toasted wheat flavour that was aromatic and a bit yeasty.  This was not sweet at all.  In the end, our Guizhou meal was delicious and had some unique flavours, in particular, the fermented sourness.  Although it shares some similarities with Sichuan cuisine, it is different in a good way.  Worth checking out!

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

The Good:

- Unique flavours, in particular, the fermented sourness

- Love those dumplings

- Food quality is decently high

The Bad:

- Table turnover is somewhat slow, so there will be a lineup

Upstairs Hot Pot

I'm sure most people have noticed the "pick your own ingredients" and get it weighed hot pot craze.  That started with Big Way Hot Pot locally and places like Malatown in California.  But before that, it was just traditional hot pot where we would order things to cook in a communal pot.  Then, in more recent times, we found the AYCE concept where we could order as much as we could eat at one inclusive price.  In between all this, we also had pre-constructed personal hot pots at various price points at places like Boiling Point.  That type of hot pot restaurant has gotten lost in the shuffle and it was quite the surprise when I found out about Upstairs Hot Pot in Richmond.

To stand out in the crowded hot pot landscape, Upstairs hot pot focuses on healthier broths that are naturally flavoured and not reliant on artificial seasoning or excess salt or MSG.  Furthermore, they specialize in Chongqing noodles and also bring some of those influences their hot pots.  However, the best thing about Upstairs Hot Pot is their pricing.  Their Green Sichaun Pepper Pot is on special for only $9.99.  Yes, places like Big Way are sexier but you might find it hard to get a meal for that price, unless you are get the lightest ingredients.  Really enjoyed this slow-cooked broth made from chicken, beef and pork bones.  The green chili offered up some brightness and mild spice.  Good amount of varied components that were not overcooked, especially the veggies.

Now you cannot do anything Chongqing without some Mala right?  Their Signature Spicy Pot is exactly that and can be had in a variety of spice levels.  They gave us a mediumish version since Mijune was with me and they didn't want to give a pregnant lady the max spice level.  LOL.  This was still flavourful though.  It was earthy with a low-rumbling heat and rich fragrance.  We could choose the main protein and selected marbled beef slices.  It also came with a variety of veggies and other meat products.  Definitely hearty and reasonably-priced for $14.99.

With any hot pot place, there will be the standard Rich Pork Bone Broth.  Perfect for those who do not like spice and just want something soothing and clean.  This one was definitely clean with a milky white appearance.  There was definitely a silkiness to it due to the collagen.  Seasoning was mild and it wasn't too salty nor sweet. It was just right.  We had the tender pork slices for this one and added (for an extra $4.50) some fatty beef slices too.  There was some clams by default in this and it provided a subtle sweet brininess.

Excuse this picture of the Tomato Beef Hot Pot as it seemed to focus on Mijune's tummy rather than the beef.  Anyways, this was our favourite being naturally flavourful without the saltiness sometimes associated with tomato broth.  It was tangy and richly flavoured due to the use of fermented tomatoes.  The beef was the best part as they used collagen-rich pieces that were cooked slowly, rendering the fat and ensuring the meat and tendon were melt-in-our-mouths tender.  

Now that was our favourite hot pot, but the best thing we ate was the Chongqing Noodles.  These handmade noodles had such a nice texture to them.  They weren't firm, yet they weren't too soft either.  Rather, they were silky with a gentle chew to them.  On top we found some braised pork as well as some mashed peas.  Once again, the spice level was fairly mild-to-medium with a certain smokiness and savouriness.  Really delicious and I urge you to go try this!  Overall, the food at Upstairs Hot Pot is prepared carefully and the ingredients are good quality.  Pricing is super reasonable and the portion sizes are enough for most appetites.

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

The Good:

- Clean broths that are not overseasoned

- Quality ingredients

- Those Chongqing noodles!

The Bad:

- The parking lot is usually packed and the time limit is too short for most of the spaces

- Dumplings are average

CHOCHO Hot Pot

I am really late to the party when it comes to blogging about Chocho Hot Pot.  However, better late than never right?  One of the reasons it has taken me so long is the difficulty getting a reservation.  I finally remembered the day I needed to book in advance to get the date and time I wanted.  So you know, there is 2 hour free parking at the back as long as you register your car.  Situated in the old Earl's, there isn't very much space for the serve-yourself portion of the AYCE hot pot.  We got a front row seat as we were sitting adjacent to it.

Most of the items are at the self-serve bar, but you must order the Soup Base and Meats from the supplied tablet.  We ended up having a variety of broths including my half-Tomato and half-Tom Yum.  I thought the tomato was decent with enough impact I could taste the tanginess.  However, it could've been even more powerful in my opinion.  Reduce it a bit more perhaps?  The same could be said about the Tom Yum.  It was fragrant but I was missing the bold flavours such as lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime.  It was quite muted.  However, the Pork Broth was quite good with meatiness and natural sweetness.  We also had the Sukiyaki, which was balanced in terms of saltiness and sweetness.

Onto the meats, we ordered all them including the Rib-Eye, Fatty Beef Slices, Flat Iron Beef, AAA Chuck Slices, Pork Belly, New Zealand Lamb and Chicken Thigh.  Other than the Flat Iron, the rest of the meats were disappointedly chewy.  No matter how we cooked it (just barely cooked or cooked for a long time), the beef just wasn't tender.  On the other hand, the pork belly was quite nice being meaty with just enough fat.  It did come out tender and buttery.  Lamb was also good with just the right amount of marbling.  Chicken was great too, being tenderized and cooked up nicely, no matter how long you left it in the pot.

Onto the self-serve Sauce Bar, we found a modest array of options that do the job for most people.  For some odd reason, our server provided us with the house blend sauce that wasn't everyone's preference.  We ended up going to get a second custom sauce for ourselves.  There were the usual things like soy, sriracha, vinegar, oyster sauce, garlic, cilantro, green onion, chilis, seafood sauce, satay sauce, sesame sauce, sesame oil, chive sauce and chili oil.  On the side, we found some kimchi, edamame and fruit.

Over at the buffet bar, we had 2 sections dedicated to Vegetables, Soy Products and Noodles.  These were well-stocked and kept orderly by the staff.  These included Cabbage, Tong Ho, Spinach, Napa Cabbage, Fried Bean Curd Roll, Rice Noodles, Quail's Egg, Woodear, Seaweed Knots, Raw Egg, Bamboo Shoots, Yam Noodles and Tomatoes.  Across from these options, we found Corn, Pumpkin, Shiitake, Broccoli, Enoki, Taro, Lotus Root, Bean Curd Skin, Wintermelon, Tofu, Frozen Tofu, Yam and Carrot.

Other than the Meats we ordered from our tablet, there was a selection available in the self-serve section.  These included Mussels, Black Beef Tripe, Beef Tripe, Fish Ball with Roe, Crab Stick, Spam, Pork Blood, Fish, Head-on Shrimp, White Shrimp, Fish Tofu, Cuttlefish Balls, Pork Balls and Beef Balls.  Most of the items were pretty typical with the fish being tenderized.  The tripe was pretty chewy and needed to be cooked for a long time to soften.

Adjacent to the raw stuff, there was a selection of Dim Sum including BBQ Pork Buns, Salted Egg Yolk Buns, Ha Gau and Siu Mai (they were steaming the Siu Mai, hence none in the picture).  I thought these were all pretty decent with the salted egg yolk buns being on point with a runny aromatic centre.  Next to it, we found Portuguese Tarts, Beef Tarts, Fried Shrimp & Pork Wontons, Fried Cheese Wontons, Fried Sesame Balls, Brown Sugar Rice Cake and Yogurt Twist.  Really enjoyed the egg tarts where the shell was buttery and flaky.

Right next to these fried items, we found a section mainly dedicated to Noodles.  They had an array of fresh multi-colured noodles, dried noodles, udon and steamed rice.  I particularly enjoyed the fresh noodles as they had a chewy texture (as long as you don't overcook them). Moving onto the desserts, we had a Candy Station with various gummies including Fuzzy Peach, Coke Bottles and Worms.  These were still soft and a nice bite after a filling meal.

Right across from the gummies, we found the builid-your-own Tasty Iced Jelly dessert station.  It had all of the beans, jelly and syrup to make a custom dessert.  Due to all of the syrups around, the floor was rather sticky in this area.  That was fine and dandy but the Soft-Serve Ice Cream Cone is what we were waiting for at the end of our meal.  It was great, soft and silky with a real sweet milky taste.  Great finish to a surprisingly average meal considering all of the great reviews.  I do think it is still a good value considering that it is related to Dolar Shop, but compared to another AYCE such as Liuyishou, I think it is unnecessary to spend the extra money.  The meats at Liuyishou are more tender in general and you get most of the same items for about $20.00 less per person.

The Good:

- Personal hot pots are great IMO

- Lots of choice

- Service was great

The Bad:

- Meats were generally not tender

- Self-serve stations are cramped (too bad given the existing layout from the previous restaurant)

Liuyishou Hot Pot & BBQ (Robson)

Okay, you might be wondering why there is yet another Liuyishou post on my blog.  Also, why is it at the Robson location as I've visited it not that long ago.  Well, there are a few reasons for this.  First of all, I've never had the AYCE dinner menu at this spot before and more importantly, they now have the option to add AYCE BBQ in addition to the hot pot for only for $32.99 (+$2.00 on weekends and holidays).  I don't know about you, but just having the AYCE hot pot alone for that price (in Downtown by-the-way) is a steal.  Add in BBQ, then you really have an affordable meal that isn't just a burger and fries (if you haven't seen lately, that will cost you $25.00+ at most places).

In addition to their AYCE menu that you check off and hand over to the staff, there is also a Self-Serve section that consists of noodles, fish balls, tofu products and the sort.  This is a great way in cutting down the time waiting for items and being able to get cooking right away.  Next to it is the Sauce Bar, where you can make your custom dip for all the food you cook.  It isn't the most comprehensive selection, but you can create a pretty tasty concoction.  Over to the left of this section, you will find some braised pork bones as well as a jelly dessert.

Right beside the Sauce Bar, we found a few items including Boiled Peanuts, Grape Tomatoes, Pickled Daikon & Carrots, Orange Wedges, Spicy Chicken and Shrimp Chips.  Next to it, we found a selection of hot food too with fried chicken wings, salted crispy chicken and spring rolls.  There was also an adjacent chaffing tray with fried rice and 2 stir-fries.  However, that particular tray was never refilled for the 2 hours we were there.  The highlight had to be the juicy chicken wings.

So the BBQ plate sat atop the exhaust of the hot pot.  This was a space-saving way of having both types of cooking vessels.  For our hot pot broths, we chose Pork Tripe with black pepper and the Golden Chicken Broth.  Loved both as they were flavourful and naturally sweet.  Great for those who don't want spicy.  They put a piece of parchment on the BBQ plate and it was necessary as the meat got stuck on pretty hard on parts without it.  As you can see, we had the Liu's Beef & Lamb Platter that looked impressive around the hot pot.  Meats were sliced thin and cooked up tender.

In the pictures above, this was just a sample of the items that can be ordered from the AYCE menu.  These included cooked items such as Deep Fried Pork and Fried Chinese Donut.  There was also an assortment of tripe and beef aorta.  In addition, we found freshly made meatballs and also crispy sausages.  There was also a BBQ meat section that featured Signature Marinated Beef (also spicy version) and Black Pepper Chicken.  Overall, the combination of Hot Pot and BBQ with broth included as well as the wide selection of ingredients and cooked food makes this an absolute steal.  With the unaffordability of eating out these days, it is nice to see something so fulfilling for under $35.00.  Would totally do this meal again.

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

The Good:

- You get both AYCE Hot Pot and BBQ

- Reasonable price

- Lots of choices

The Bad:

- Food does get stuck onto the grill where there isn't parchment

- Self-serve area is a bottleneck and some cooked food doesn't get refilled enough  

Liuyishou (Burnaby)

Here I am again at Liuyishou in Burnaby.  This time around, I am trying out their AYCE menu for $39.99 per person.  That also includes one soup base for the table.  Currently, they are running a Halloween special where if you are a party of 4 and dressed in a costumes, you get one AYCE meal for free!  That effectively is 25% off.  So make sure you can round up 3 friends or family members!  This is only available on Oct 31st.  Remember though, since this is a Halloween special, you must dress up!  Also, if you say "trick or treat",  they will send out a free special dessert (available Oct 28th - Oct 31st).

Since I've been here so many times, it was nice to see some subtle changes.  Over at the Sauce Bar, they now have a refrigerated serving tray that features 5 different small dishes.  These include Mouth-Watering Chicken, Marinated Pig's Ear, Sliced Pig's Feet, Tofu Skin and Seaweed Salad.  All are very good and kept cold by the cooling trays.  The sauce portion of the station remains quite the same but there are now sliding sneeze guards.  Nice to keep things sanitary!

There is also a small selection of Hot Food that included Fried Mantou, Fried Chicken and Fried Egg Rice.  These are not merely throw-ins or for show, they are actually good.  The chicken is super juicy and the batter is crispy and light.  Fried rice is a bit greasy, yet is chewy and flavourful.  Adjacent, there are some DIY Grass Jelly dessert as well as some cantaloupe and orange slices.  The fruit is actually quite good being sweet and juicy.

Another welcome change is the serve-yourself Hot Pot Bar.  It consists of various noodles, vegetables, bean curd things, fish balls and tofu.  Obviously, this is added due to the introduction of AYCE.  This makes things easier for the staff as these items are easy enough for people to get themselves.  I personally like it since these are some of the items I like most and I could help myself to as many quail's eggs, bean curd sticks, corn and noodles to my heart's content!

For our visit, we ordered a good selection of what is available on the AYCE menu including the popular Beef & Lamb Ring.  Very cool to look at, but beware, you need to cook that meat fairly quickly or it will cook on the board.  Love that their Meatballs are freshly made including the beef and shrimp.  Another must is the Sliced Snakehead Fish.  Super buttery and moist.  One of the extra charge dishes is the Peppercorn Beef Tongue.  It is so tender and buttery.  Worth the $9.95.  Also worth the extra $4.95 is the Brown Sugar Sticky Rice Cakes.  Crispy on the outside with a soft chewiness inside.  The brown sugar is so sweet and rich.

On the topic of sweet, the free dessert that is part of the Trick or Treat promotion is the Deep Fried Yam Balls.  These are also delicious where the outside is lightly crunchy while the inside is soft with a chew.  These are sweet but not too much.  A nice little bite to end the meal.  So you might already know that I love Liuyishou and now that they have AYCE, it is even a better deal.  But try to take advantage of their Halloween special.  Remember to dress up!

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

The Good:

- Affordable pricing for the AYCE

- Food quality for AYCE is the same as their regular menu

- Service is great (based on previous visits as well)

The Bad:

- Location is somewhat small, so less space and less selection of cooked items