Happy Singh Street Eats

There is certainly no shortage of great Indian restaurants near and along Scott Road on the Surrey/North Delta border.  Choices range from higher end such as Tasty Indian Bistro and Yellow Chilli to smaller spots like Mirch Masala and Rama.  Of course, we have the big daddy of them all at the expansive buffet in Tandoori Flame as well.  However, what if one wanted something inexpensive, yet trendy where you can take the family almost any day of the week?  I introduce you to Happy Singh Street Eats with their counter-service setup with different stations offering up a huge variety of food.  There is a little for everyone including the kiddies.

It is always nice to start a meal with some chaat and we did so with the Mixed Punjabi Chaat as well as the Aloo Bhaaji Khasta.  The mixed Punjabi chaat consisted of papdis, bhel mix, chickpeas, tomato, onion, house special chutney, spices and topped with sev.  If you can imagine, this was a bit tangy, a bit crunchy, a bit creamy and of course sweet.  A really appetizing plate.  The aloo bhaaji khasta was trending in the same direction except with the robust texture of potato and lentil puffs.  Of course with the curry, flavours were more rich, yet the chutneys and pomegranate seeds leveled it off with tang and sweetness.

Over to some dumplings we had both the Steamed Momos and the Garlic & Chili Momos.  Featuring medium-thick dumpling skin, the momos featured a light and tender chicken filling.  I found the wrapper to have a decent amount of elasticity, hence there was nice bite to each dumpling.  As for the garlic & chili momos, you can clearly see that there was plenty of sauce.  Therefore, flavours were intense and impactful.  Good mix of sweet, tang, spice and savoury.

Moving onto the some larger items, we tried the Tandoori Chicken Leg with mint & coriander chutney, red onion and lime.  This was well-marinated being flavourful and juicy.  The meat was super moist and unlike many other versions of tandoori chicken, we couldn't find any dried out portions.  However, we would've liked to see a bit more charring on the outside.

From a meat we move to meatless with the Malai Soya Chaap marinated in yogurt and North Indian spices, then cooked in a tandoor.  This was rather creamy with all that yogurt.  It kept things moist and the spices did come through.  Again, I would've liked to have more impact from the tandoor, but then again, the soya chaap would not have been as tender.  In addition to the soft texture, there was also some meaty bite to it even though it was not meat.

For our bread selection, we had the Paneer Paratha.  This was stuffed with marinated paneer and cooked on the grill.  Nice leoparding that resulted in caramelized smokiness.  Texturally, the paratha had a nice chew while still fluffy and soft. I enjoyed dipping the paratha into the creamy (and buttery) dal makhani.  If we actually needed any more, there was some butter (makhan) on the side as well as sweet cane sugar (gur).  Some pickles (aam ka achaar) provided salty tang to break up the heaviness.

So if this next dish looks eerily familiar, let me say this wasn't the momos again.  Rather, this was the Dry Chili Chicken from the Hakka Chinese section of the menu.  This was almost exactly like the momos except it appeared to me that it was a tad spicier?  The chicken itself was in good sized chunks where it was moist while still having a somewhat firm exterior.  The sauce was sweet, spicy and tangy.

Also very similar was the Chicken Lolipops seemingly dressed in the same sauce.  Once again, I'm pretty sure this was different as the spice level was a touch lower while there was definite hits of ginger.  With that being said, this was absolutely similar with tang, spice and sweetness.  As for the chicken drumettes, they featured rendered skin and fairly tender meat.  There was not absence of flavour here.

Staying with chicken but moving away from chili sauces, we had the Chicken 65 Roll.  Now you are wondering what's with the number...  Well, it is deep fried chicken originating from Chennai in 1965.  This particular version was tender with plenty of flavours from the marinade including spice, aromatics and sweetness.  It was a bit crispy and wrapped in paratha along with peppers and onions.  Reminded me of a cheese steak except with crispy marinated chicken.

Now the following dish also reminded me of something else.  If the Keema Pao looks like a sloppy Joe to you, it isn't far off.  Yes, the filling is traditionally made with mutton rather than the beef you'd find in a sloppy Joe, but it ate quite like it.  Being interactive, we spooned the keema into the soft pao (the buns).  Naturally, being a Mumbai specialty, the spices did pop such as cardamom, chilis and cumin.  I'd imagine myself eating this as a snack often if I had more access.

Heading to a classic South Indian item, we tried the Masala Dosa with a side of sambar and coconut chutney.  To fit onto the recyclable plate, they had cut the dosa in half.  So it wasn't as majestic as the whole dosa that we are usually accustomed to.  Nevertheless, the lentil crepe was still crispy and light.  Inside, the potato and onion mixture was tender and flavourful with ginger notes as well as some spice.  Side of sambar was mild with background tomato notes.

One of my favourite items was the Amritsari Fish Pakora with mint/coriander chutney.  I liked how each piece of fish was fairly large, hence, they were moist and flaky.  That also meant the batter was crispy but not too hard.  Therefore, the dish ate light despite being fried.  Flavours were great from the marinade, but even better when dunked into the chutney on the side.  Some brightness was added because of it.

Onto desserts, we tried their Cheesecake on a Stick (Smurfette) that featured a hard sweet coating on the outside.  This one was blue and somehow it ate like it was blue (only way I could describe it).  The cheesecake inside was definitely cheesy and only semi-sweet.  We also got one of their crazy shakes in the Sticky Toffee Bite, with a piece of toffee cake on top.  As for the shake itself, it was creamy and had a rich sweetness that was a bit of smokiness.  Lastly, we had the Jab Mango Met Lychee Shake which was my favourite.  It was creamy and fruity where it was like a mango lassi, except with lychee.  Even though it was rich, I still found it refreshing and just sweet enough.  Oh man, now that was a lot of food...  But generally, it was all pretty good and well-priced.  Definitely accessible for family dinners and take out.  A good variety too so that no one gets left out.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Nice variety
- Well-priced
- Overall solid

The Bad:
- Since it is a casual counter-service spot, the plating will be very basic

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

Hakka Masti

Hakka Masti, I remember you very vividly.  Considering the fact you are an inconspicuous Indian-Chinese restaurant smack dam in a whole lot of other joints along Scott Road, one might wonder why I can't forget you.  Was it the food?  Well, it was okay.  But the real reason for my unforgettable memories is that I ate there just prior to one of my worst episodes of food poisoning and/or stomach flu.  Let's just say I didn't leave the washroom for 3 days.  Was it the food there or was it something else?  Only one way to find out - go back.

To be fair, we will never be able to find out the real reason for my stay at the Chateau Washroom, so it may have been something else.  This go around, I started with the Cream of Corn Soup which was pretty typical being the watered-down, starch-thicken canned type.  It was okay though as it wasn't overly sweet.  Rather, it was more on the saltier side.  It was pretty thick though and remained so til the last spoonful.  As for the Hot & Sour Soup, it was exactly how I remembered it.  There was a low-rumbling spice that lingered while the plethora of cilantro dominated the flavour profile.  The soup base was actually quite mild with some savoury elements.

For my mains, I tried the Chili Chicken first and it had a noticeable spiciness that was purposeful.  That meant I could taste it without burning off my taste buds.  Moreover, I could get the garlic, cumin and coriander from the sauce.  However, there was a bit too much soy for my liking.  The chicken was a little dry due to the deep fry, but the ample sauce helped things out.  Next, the Szechuan Fish was really good with big pieces of flaky, moist fried filets.  The sauce was garlicky and spicy with just the right amount of sweetness to balance the flavours.  The noted acidity didn't hurt things either. 

What the hey, I decided to pay them another visit the week after and went for the Mushroom Soup to start.  I didn't really like this starch-thickened soup as it really had no inherent flavour other than a whole lot of salt.  Furthermore, the bits of mushroom were of the canned variety which made it taste artificial.  For my first dish, I tried the Coconut Shrimp which was a whole lot more sauce than protein.  To be fair, for the price, I didn't expect a lot.  Despite being few in number, the shrimp were cold-water crunchy though.  As for the sauce, I got more green onion and cilantro than coconut.  I did like the consistency and purposeful spiciness though.

Lastly, I had the Black Bean Beef that looked typical but was much spicier than ones found in Chinese restaurants.  In addition to the spice, there was a pronounced salty black bean flavour combined with garlic.  The slices of beef were medium thickness and were tenderized enough.  Based on the 2 revisits, I personally prefer Green Lettuce more than Hakka Masti (in terms of portion size and overall flavour impact). With that being said, Hakka Masti still remains a decent choice for Indian Chinese food along Scott Road.

The Good:
- Friendly staff
- Something different

The Bad:
- Flavours are good, but could be more pronounced

Chili House

There is no doubt that we have a wealth of Asian cuisine in the GVRD.  However, there are some that are poorly represented.  One of which is Indian Chinese food.  This cuisine originated out of Kolkata, India as there was a significant Hakka population prior to the second Sino-Indian War.  Many left and immigrated to places such as Australia, the US and Canada.  Therefore, we are lucky for the exposure to this cuisine from restaurants that include the Green Lettuce, Chili Pepper House, Asian Spice, Indian Wok and Hakka Masti.  Now we can add another, Chili House, which is located near the border between Surrey and Langley.

I was invited by the owner to try the place out and since this type of food is best shared, I brought some eating assistants in Furniture Guy and Furniture Girl.  We started with the Spicy Green Beans which were the beneficiary of good wok heat and just enough oil-blanching.  Hence, they were vibrant and still crunchy despite being cooked all the way through.  With a generous amount of garlic and chilis, there was noticeable spice and aromatics.  Onto our next dish, we had the Spicy Ginger & Garlic Beef.  There was not much filler to this dish as it consisted mainly of fried beef.  By virtue of the double-cooking process, the beef was more firm than moist (which is typical of this type of dish anyways).  Again, with a good wok toss of onion, ginger, garlic, chilis and vinegar, the flavours were purposeful and apparent.

Moving on, we tried the Haaji Prawns which were fried in a light batter and wok tossed with chili flakes, garlic and green onion.  Naturally, this meant bold flavours which went really well together.  Again, there was a definite spice to the dish, yet not overpowering.  The prawns themselves were meaty with a slight snap.  A familiar dish arrived next being the Singapore Fried Noodles.  This was again, the beneficiary of intense wok heat as the flavours were caramelized.  The peppers and onions were still crunchy while the shrimp had a cold-water snap. On the other hand, I found the noodles slightly too dry (even though it is supposed to be, just drier than usual).  There was just enough curry and spice without causing a firestorm in my mouth.  

Continuing on with the feast, we were served a non-spicy dish (for the kiddies) being the Mix Fried Rice consisting of shrimp, chicken, peas, carrots, onion and egg.  Consistent with the other dishes, the ample wok heat ensured dry, chewy rice with caramelized flavours.  This was a good side to all the other spicy dishes, especially the Garlic Fish.  Okay, by looking at the picture, one would assume it was sweet n' sour fish, but the flavours were much more than that.  It was a combination of a mild sweet n' sour with garlic and a good dose of heat.  As for the fish itself, it was moist with a slightly gummy batter due to the ample amount of moisture on the plate.

We actually got 2 versions of the Hakka Chow Mein with one being spicy and the other without (once again for the kiddies).  With elements similar to Shanghainese fried noodles, this dish consisted of chewy wok fried noodles with rich dark soy and a balanced amount of spiciness.  There was also a noticeable smokiness as it was evidently touched by a flaming hot wok.  Onto a familiar sounding dish, we had the Kung Pao Chicken (but the Indian Chinese version of course).  Now, unlike the North Americanized version, this was not subjected to a sweet goopy sauce.  Rather, it was a drier and spicier.  Now, in terms of spicier, I also mean more spices as well.  Hence, the flavours were more intense and caramelized.

Onto a second chicken dish, we had the House Special Chicken which was included a host of veggies.  As such, the flavours were similar, yet different than the previous dish.  Despite the veggies, there was no residual moisture at the bottom of the plate.  Once again, there was a noted spiciness to the dish.  We finished off the meal with Fried Banana with ice cream.  Unlike Szechuan cuisine, where the heat level can be tongue-numbing (thanks to the peppercorns and depending on how hot you like it), Indian-Chinese food exhibits purposeful heat.  Hence, we could still taste the other spices, in particularly cumin.  At Chili House, the food was good and benefited from high wok heat.  It now joins the ranks of Green Lettuce and Chili Pepper House as great places to get Indian Chinese food.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped except for gratuities

The Good:
- Good wok heat
- Purposeful spice

The Bad:
- Meats were a bit drier than I'm used to