Food by Fanta

If you've ever been to Baan Lao out in Steveston, you will know that they take Thai cuisine to a whole new level while still honoring the traditional techniques and ingredients.  I've been a few times and it has been fantastic, if not a major indulgence (it's expensive).  However, what if I told you that Food by Fanta out in Langley has similar elements while being significantly more affordable.  Jackie and I went out for a tasting and came away rather impressed.

This isn't my first time visiting Food by Fanta, but as you will soon see, I got to experience some carefully curated smaller bites.  This included the Miang Kham which literally translates to "one bite wrap".  This it was with pomelo, dried shrimp, ginger, pineapple, lime, peanuts and herbs in a betel leaf.  Combined with the sweet and savoury miang sauce, this had all the flavours such as brininess, sweetness, tang, nuttiness and herbaceousness.

Next little bite was the Kratong Tuna Tartare sitting in delicate pastry cups.  Delicate was the operative word here as the tuna was buttery and lightly sweet.  The other bite was the Yum Som with a mix of pomelo, herbs, toasted coconut, crispy shallots and garlic with Nam Prik Pao dressing and crispy prawn sprinkles.  This was aromatic and toasty with tangy sweetness.

Served on a handheld metal spoon/serving vessel, the Tom Kah Scallop Bites were one of my favourite dishes.  It featured a fairly large scallop that was beautifully seared.  It was slightly rare in the middle being buttery and soft.  Plenty of natural scallop sweetness that was concentrated due to the caramelization from the sear.  In addition to being properly seasoned, the scallop all benefitted from the creamy and aromatic tom kha which had balancing tanginess.

Another little bite that was neatly presented was the Shrimp Toast.  I was amazed that the toast was not greasy at all despite its thickness.  Depending on your preference, this could've been too dry also.  Personally, I would've liked to see the toast be less thick and surprisingly, a bit oiler.  However, it was still good since the shrimp mixture was bouncy and sweet while the layer of herbs provided plenty of flavour.

In addition to the shrimp toast, we had another trio of items from their high tea service including the Khanom Krok.  This crispy crepe was nutty and had a great hit of creamy coconut with the smoothness of blended rice.  I absolutely loved the Khao Kriap Pak Mor which was steamed rice-flour dumpling that had a beautiful soft texture with appealing elasticity.  It was filled with a tender savoury minced chicken mixture.  At the top, we found the Khanom Buang which was a crispy pancake filled with grated coconut, diced shrimp and lime leaves on top of lemon meringue.  This pancake had a light crunch coupled with the sweet and briny filling.  Lots of aromatics going on here.

One of their most beautiful dishes happens to be the Chor Muang Flower Dumplings.  These glutinous rice flour dumplings were texturally on point with a delicate chewiness with elasticity.  Inside, we found 3 fillings including chicken, pork and veggie.  Believe it or not, my favourite was the veggies with its combination peanuts, sweet radish, onion and cilantro.  It was not hurting for texture or flavour.  Loved the sweet tanginess with aromatics.

Colourful and presented as individual components (prior to mixing), the Khao Yum Salad consisted of 22 fresh-cut ingredients.  I'm not going to list them all here but the crispy rice made this dish.  Not only did it add texture, but the aromatics and nuttiness blended well with the crunchy vegetables, sweet fruit and herbaceous components.  This was dressed with tangy tamarind and that brought out even more sweetness and tang.

One dish I've had before was the Bechamel Taro Nachos.  Featuring thin waffle-cut taro chips, these were topped with tamarind prawns, melted Swiss and mozzarella and of course, an avocado bechamel.  Beyond the crispiness of the thin taro chips, the best part of this dish was the little bits of prawns.  Due to the cook on them, they were rather meaty and held up to the rest of the components.  They were sweet with a slight tang while the cheese held everything together.

Another nicely-plated dish was the Miso-Orange Roasted Carrots.  This consisted of a variety of carrots that had been butter-poached.  As such, they were super tender to the point they were almost breaking apart, but stayed intact.  The natural sweetness was definitely there with background earthiness.  Complimenting the nutty peanut sauce, we found a bright and tangy beet vinaigrette.

One of the more interesting dishes was the Seared Eggplant with Green Curry.  This acted almost like a vegetarian pate with a silky baked eggplant topped by poached carrots.  This was spread onto toasted and buttered ciabatta served on the side.  Texturally, this only worked because the toasted bread was the contrast.  Eggplant and carrots by themselves were very soft and hence spreadable.

Something a bit more usual was the Confit Chicken Leg Khao Soi.  The combination of delicate egg noodles and crispy noodles helped soak up the rich and coconut curry soup.  It was aromatic, slightly sweet, a bit earthy and plenty creamy.  The large chicken leg was definitely meaty and tender, but at the same time, it was maybe too tender?  I loved the crispy skin though.

One of the most impactful dishes we had was the Khao Khluk Kapi Bowl Thai Fried Rice.  This was not only due to the fact it was the beneficiary of smoky wok hei (high BTUs), but the fermented shrimp paste afforded plenty of umaminess.  With that being said, it wasn't so pungent that it was overwhelming.  Just enough of it.  As evidenced in the picture, the plate was also loaded with crunchy veggies as well as crispy shallots and fried garlic.  Lots of textures and further aromatics.

Encased with an egg lattice, the Pad Thai featured 2 large prawns on top.  They were meaty with a bounce texture.  Inside the lattice, the chewy rice noodles were coated with just enough homemade tamarind sauce.  It was quite balanced as the noodles weren't too tangy nor too sweet.  It had plenty of savouriness with smokiness from the wok hei.

I was happy that we got to try the Coconut Crème Brûlée since I enjoyed it very much the last time I was here.  Presented beautifully in a half-coconut, the dessert benefitted from the fresh coconut meat on the sides.  Beyond that, the custard was creamy and had a light thickness.  Sweetness was balanced and the brûlée was crunchy and caramelized.

Seemingly super simple, the Som Choon consisted of lychee, pineapple, strawberry, jackfruit, and orange in jasmine-scented syrup,

with orange zest, ginger and crisp shallots. The trick with this was to drizzle the syrup to your fancy and then serve it with ice. The result was something that was fruity, refreshing and pretty cold.  I loved it!

Colourful with a variety of ingredients, the Pandan Chocolate & Strawberry Khunafeh was full of different textures.  The crunch from the khunafeh was reminiscent of that in a Dubai Chocolate.  Heck, the chocolate drizzle helped it even more so.  The house-made pandan custard even looked like pistachio, but instead, it gave off a different form of nuttiness.  It was like a Jedi mind trick as it looked like Dubai Chocolate, but it had a twist of slightly different flavours.

A stealthily delicious dessert was the Gluay Buad Chee.  It featured a coconut cream mousse that was silky and rich.  It had plenty of aromatics and sweetness.  That in itself was quite satisfying already but we found a brûléed slice of banana on top.  The contrasting textures between the soft banana and the smoky crunchiness of the torched sugar was appealing and gave the dessert some body.

Of course we ordered some bevvies to go with our meal too. We thought the Watermelon Mule was the most refreshing with fresh-squeezed fruit.  Loved the natural flavours and the texture of the drink.  Mango Supreme was floral and also fruity.  The Mojito was refreshing from the passionfruit and also the mint.  Being savoury, the Tom Yamgrita was a bit spicy with the usual fragrances of lemongrass and galangal.  Overall, the meal was impressive as it featured traditional Thai flavours with some twists and a dose of modern presentation.  Definitely something to consider as the prices are quite reasonable given the quality of the food.

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

The Good:

- Traditional Thai flavours but with a certain refinement

- Reasonable pricing

- Unique dining space

The Bad:

- Confit chicken was far too soft

An Indian Affair (Willoughby)

We all know that Greater Vancouver is famous of its Chinese food (in particular Cantonese cuisine).  However, it is becoming a hotbed of Indian cuisine as well.  Now it isn't as if this was suddenly the case as there has been a long-standing Indian community (particularly Punjabi) in the GVRD.  Yet, there has been an explosion of nicer, higher-end Indian restaurants opening up all over the place.  Many sport elegant decor complete with a full-service bar and elevated dishes.  One of the newest is actually a 2nd location of An Indian Affair in Willowbrook.  We made our way out to Willoughby Town Centre to check it out.

Before we got to the food, we had quite the fun experience with their cocktails (and mocktails).  We had the flaming Tikki Baba as well as a Zero Proof Kiss My Lips.  Featuring a flaming half-lime, this drink sure had the theatrics.  Yet, at the same time, it was went down super-easy and hence, dangerous!  The guava and lime made this tropical and sweet, hiding the Old Monk rum pretty well.  Served in an equally interesting vessel, Kiss My Lips was fruity and refreshing.  Loved the hanging serving vessel with the opening for a straw!

Onto the food, we got the Palak Patta Chaat to kick things off.  I've had this many times before, but this has to be one of the best versions.  The crispy chickpea flour-battered spinach leaves were crispy and light.  This was topped with sweet yogurt, tangy tamarind chutney and mint sauce.  The combination of flavours were a little of everything and very appetizing.

I was super happy about the next dish as Chicken 65 is one of my favourites.  If you are wondering about the name, the dish was created in 1965 at Hotel Buhari.  This particular one was a tasty with meaty pieces of chicken that were doused in an earthy sauce that was slightly spicy and tangy.  The chicken itself was not dry and had a firm exterior.

Up next, we had the Mixed Grill Affair consisting of lamb chops, tandoori prawns, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka and tandoori fish.  Nice char on the each item that was smoky, yet not burnt at the same time.  Lamb was succulent and well-spiced while the chicken was tender and juicy.  Prawns were meaty with lots of aromatics.  The fish was tender and flaky.

So Bubble Cosmo and Paan Affair were both smoke shows, but in different ways.  For the Bubble Cosmo, it was revealed as the cloche was lifted, with smoke filling the air.  Due to the dry ice, the Paan Affair kept smoking as we were enjoying the drink.  Due to the passionfruit, it was tropical and sweet, but tequila was still lurking in the background.  The Bubble Cosmo wasn't as strong as other Cosmopolitans I've had due to the balanced amount of cranberry juice.

The Affair Malai (Coconut Prawn Curry) was served in a whole coconut.  Not the best to see in a picture, yet I assure you, it was plenty tasty.  Aromatic and creamy from the coconut milk (and cream), the gravy was also nicely spiced with some earthiness and slight spice.  The prawns were juicy with a meaty snap.  Best of all, the young coconut meat added another layer of texture and bright sweetness.

We added some more dishes including the Chicken Tikka Masala and Goat Curry.  Unlike Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala is more robust and spiced.  That it was with tender chicken with an earthiness and balancing tanginess.  As for the Goat Curry, it had classic fall spice flavours with cloves and cardamom.  There was the usually earthiness from the cumin and some gingery notes.  The goat itself was tender and gelatinous.

Out last entree was the classic Palak Paneer.  With house-made paneer, this benefitted from the soft and appealingly squishy cubes of cheese.  They were bathed in a rich spinach gravy that was balanced with gingery notes.  It had equal parts sweetness, savouriness and earthiness.  We had some Garlic Naan to go with the curries and it was fantastic.  Well charred and blistered on the outside, without being burnt, the naan was nutty and crispy.  Inside it was soft and fluffy.  There was plenty of garlic as well as ghee and salt.  Hence, it ate very well even without being dipped into the sauces.

The fireworks continued with our cocktails with the Kambakht Ishq.  It was served surrounded by a cindering steel wool.  The drink itself consisted of smoky mezcal, aperol and lime with cherry infusion.  The  Lycheeni had layers of pretty colours and was fruity and of course, lychee-forward.  It came in a pretty glass with a built-in straw, but was a bit unstable.  Be careful when moving it!

We ended off our meal with desserts that were not the usual.  Rather, we had the Mango Cheesecake and the Paan-e-Bahar.  Fluffy and light, the mango cheesecake was semi-sweet with only the slightest of cheeseiness.  As for the Paan-e-Bahar, it was a total surprise.  Again, it was also not super sweet while being plenty herbal-tasting.  The sponge cake was light and fluffy.  In the end, we were quite impressed with the food, drinks and overall vibe of An Indian Affair.  There are many nicer Indian restaurants in the GVRD these days, but this one seemed to put it altogether for a reasonable price.  One doesn't need to have a special reason to dine at An Indian Affair because their prices are less than most chain restaurants.

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

The Good:

- Well-prepared eats

- Reasonable prices

- Showstopping drinks that actually taste good

The Bad:

- Parking in Willoughby Town Centre can be difficult at times

Goldies Langley

Over the last couple of decades, we've seen a considerable amount of development in Langley.  Once seen as a place that was "too far" is now a desirable destination for people to move to.   I have some friends who are out in Walnut Grove and that area was already built-up a while ago.  Another spot that has seen rapid growth is around Willoughby Town Centre.  Once lined with trees, there are multi-unit complexes sprouting up all over the place.  I've been out to Moku a few times last year, where it is nestled within one of these developments.  Sandwiched in between that and Willoughby, we find the newest location of Goldie's Donuts & Bakery.  It too is also at the ground level of another complex.  Love the concept of these little communities within a community.  We witnessed that as many families came in during our visit to Goldie's.

For those who aren't familiar, Goldie's is a brioche donut shop that also offers a selection of baked goods.  The name is inspired by their golden retriever and in fact, they have a plushie of one at both locations.  Their original opened in Horseshoe Bay in March 2024.  The new Langley spot is bigger with more seating.  They offer the same fluffy filled brioche donuts including Tiramisu, Oreo, Matcha and Strawberries & Cream.  Maybe it is recency bias, but I found these to be so light with a pleasant ending chewiness.  They were only mildly sweet with the fillings to be natural-tasting.  The fresh cream was light with only the right amount of sweetness.  I particularly enjoyed the strawberries and cream since it was light and fruity.

They also feature some donuts that are both filled and glazed.  We tried the Pistachio Cream & Raspberry Puree, Triple Berry Cream and Hazelnut Praline.  Although these appeared to be super sweet, they were only mildly so.  I particularly enjoyed the triple berry as it was fruity, with a light berry cream with a sweet glaze on top.  The hazelnut featured a nutty cream and chocolate glaze.  The pistachio was good too with an aromatic nuttiness balanced off by the fruity raspberry puree.

In addition to donuts, they have baked products as well.  We tried the viral Korean Salt Bread, Ham & Cheese Croissant, Blueberry Scone and Double Baked Almond Croissant.  The first time I tried the salt bread, I didn't think much of it.  This time around, I really enjoyed the textural contrast of the crispy exterior compared to the chewy interior.  The salt level was just right.  The scone was a little too flat for my liking but it was moist and full of blueberries though.  Ham and cheese croissant had enough filling for each bite to be fulfilling and the pastry itself was flaky and shattered.  It was a little on the dense side though.  Really enjoyed the double-baked croissant as it was crunchy with lots of slivered almonds.  The filling was buttery and nutty.  There was also a single Old Fashioned Vanilla Glazed Donut with these baked items and it was cakey with a pretty sweet glaze.

We also had some of their drinks and beyond looking rather appealing, they were also great to drink too!  We had the Matcha Cream Latte, Almond Cream Mocha, Matcha Cream Latte with Stawberries and the Nutty Cloud.  Yah, don't sleep on these because they are just as good as the donuts!  My favourite of the bunch was the Nutty Cloud.  There was some crunch on the top and the whole thing was indeed nutty, creamy and just a bit sweet.  The Matcha Cream Latte with strawberries appealed to me too as it was sweet in a good way and had the nice balance between bitter and fruitiness.  Overall, the stuff at Goldie's is quite diverse and ultimately tasty.  Great place to stop by for a drink and a donut/pastry or to grab a box and impress your friends.

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

The Good:

- Fluffy brioche donuts

- Just sweet enough

- Lots of space at this location

The Bad:

- The way the counter is orientated, it becomes quite the bottleneck when there is a large lineup

- Due to the light flavour of some of the fillings, it might not be sweet enough for some (but I like it)

Kozak Ukraїnian Restaurant

If you can believe it, this would be my first visit to any of the Kozak locations in the GVRD.  Yep, I've literally walked by the original Victoria Street location countless times and have driven past the Gastown one even more.  I've even passed by the New West store a few times on foot and in my car as well.  Now they've opened their newest spot in Langley right near Colossus.  They are featuring some of their best classic dishes on the menu including lunch combos.  So I finally made it out, to their 4th location!

Before I get to those combos, I'll focus on the individual dishes first starting with the both the Beef and the Pork Borsch.  They both came with a large slice of sourdough bread but for the 2nd beef borscht, it came with solo canapé (which was cold smoked pork on rye with horseradish).  For me, I loved both soups, but the pork just had a bit more meatiness and body. Both had the classic sweet and sour notes and with the addition of sour cream, some tangy creaminess.  After adding the sour cream, it is typical to take a bite of the chewy sourdough, then dip the garlic into the salt and take a bite before having any soup.  We did just that and it was great, lots of flavours activated.  Their grand opening is on October 4th & 5th, 2025 and the 1st 1000 customers receive free borsh!

Next, we sampled a variety of their Handmade Varenyky (Pierogies) starting with the Bacon & Potato.   Now if you are still slogging through those frozen ones you get at the grocery store, then you haven't had authentic pierogies before.  Fortunately, I've had the real thing many times and these were really good.  The dumpling skin was tender and thin while retaining a slight chew.  Inside, the russet potatoes were soft and nicely seasoned.  The plethora of housemade candied bacon provided that salty, smoky sweetness as well as a crispy texture.  Add in some brown butter, and we had some nuttiness as well.

Next we tried the Potato & Cheese Varenyky topped with a housemade cheese sauce.  You know how some cheese sauces taste salty and not much else?  Well this one was full on cheddar cheese with the unmistakable tanginess and pungency.  Furthermore, it as silky and cheesy without being greasy.  It also didn't separate.  The addition of sunflower seeds provided a nutty crunch while the chili flakes gave a bit of variation in flavours.

Those two pierogies were excellent, but my favourite was the Duck & Basil Varenyky.  These were packed with Brome Lake duck that was super tender and moist.  It had the appealingly gaminess of duck while also exhibiting sweetness from the onions.  The basil provided a bit of sweetness and herbaceousness.  Completing the plate was a base of tarragon cream, crispy shallots and peppercorns.  We got aroma, pepperiness and the sweet anise flavour of the tarragon.

In addition to the Borsch, we also tried the Bograch Carpathian Goulyash made with beef, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, jalapeños and smoked paprika.  The key ingredient here was the smoked paprika as it added so much depth and smokiness.  Combined with the natural sweetness of the root veggies and tomatoes, this was a hearty and punchy Goulyash.  We also got some spice from the peppers.  Of course we couldn't forget about the smoked pork rib sitting in the soup.  It was smoky, meaty and tender.

The showstopper had to be the Chicken Kyiv.  It was neatly presented on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.  These mashed potatoes were rich and especially more so after we cut into the beautifully prepared chicken cutlet.  The copious amount of melted butter helped made the potatoes even more sinful.  As for the chicken, it was tender and benefitted from the buttery nuttiness inside.  Outside, it was uniformly crispy.

Of course we had to have the Cabbage Rolls as well.  We had this with beef and yes, the filling was loaded with a good mix of that and rice.  Texturally, it was on point with a slight bounce with meatiness while being fairly light.  The cabbage itself was tender and not mushy.  Nicely balanced, the tomato sauce was neither too acidic nor salty.  It was mild with a tang.  Add in the side of sour cream and that provided a bright creaminess.

If you wanted a bit of everything without needing to order full versions of every dish, you could opt for Mama's Combo for $22.00.  This plate has all the goodies including cabbage roll, 3 pierogies, a fried Ukraїnian Kovbasa sausage on stewed sauerkraut, sour cream, horseradish and mustard.  For this plate, we had the Potato and Dill Pierogies and they were the most mild-tasting of the bunch, but the fried onions really helped with the aroma.

As much as Mama's Combo had it all, the Kozak Lunch for $28.00 was ever more so.  It included a choice of Borsch, Cabbage Rolls and Varenyky.  However, to change things up a bit, we had the Nalysnyky instead of the Cabbage Roll.  Essentially the crepe version of a cabbage roll, it was quite flavourful due to the use of a thin crispy crepe rather than cabbage.  The flavours were more concentrated.  It sat atop the same delicious cheese sauce that came with the Varenyky.

For dessert pastries in their display case, you could add a variety of things including Pletenka Cinnamon Roll, Cherry Fluff, Pistachio Butter Croissant, Apricot Fluff and Dark Chocolate Babka.  Pretty good stuff here with the fluffs being my favourite.  Essentially a Danish with riocotta and fruit, these were flaky and just sweet enough.  That Babka was really good with crunchy portions and a softer centre.  The dark chocolate had the perfect sweetness level and plenty of appealing bitterness.

As for the available desserts on the main menu, the Napoleon Cake would be the most impressive-looking.  In terms of taste and texture, it was pretty darn good.  I loved the light flakiness of the puff pastry intertwined with the sweet custard.  It was a rather large slice but ate pretty light.  Overall, the food at Kozak is fantastic.  From the borsch to the varenyky as well as their baked goods, I seriously enjoyed them all.  Definitely something different than your regular fare at most other restaurants.

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

The Good:

- Food just tastes good

- On point textures

- Something different than all of the same everywhere else

The Bad:

- Sourdough was a little on the dry side

- Seating is limited at this location