Tasting Plates Latin American Flavours

When I first got the invite for Vanfoodster's Tasting Plates Latin American Flavours, a thought came into my mind.  No, that wasn't the only time a though has come into my mind...  It does happen occasionally according to Viv...  Anyways, it made me think of Sexi Mexi.  No, not in an inappropriate way, but rather, it made sense for her to be my eating companion.  She happens to know her Mexican food (and other Latin cuisines), so she could be an authoritative voice for this particular food adventure!  As I proudly stated, I was taking advantage of her (wait, that didn't come out right...).  Ultimately, she, Alvin and I formed a quasi-3 amigos as we made our way through our 7 stops.

The registration point was at Agro Roasters 
where we were treated to a variety of Latin American organic coffees from Columbia, Peru and El Salvador.  Unlike the last Tasting Plates where we had to wait 40 minutes at Tapas 23, we were able to get out of there quickly.  Due to the Whitecaps game, our short drive over to Downtown took 25 minutes.  Fortunately, we were able to snag a parking spot near our next stop, El Azteca,in Yaletown. We were treated to a plate consisting of Ceviche de Pescado, Guacamole Mumuca and Cochinita Pibil.  We found the ceviche to be bright and sufficiently acidic.  The guacamole looked and tasted fresh where there was a sufficient amount of lime but it could've used more onion and some garlic.  As for the conchinita pibil, it was moist and tart with a definite kick.

Over the Cambie Street Bridge while still stuck in traffic, we snaked our way over to Las Tortas.  We were presented with a premade basket of goodies including Conchinita Pibil Torta, Tortilla Chips with salsa & guacamole and a Churro.  Since the torta had been sitting around for who knows how long, it wasn't as good as if it were fresh.  Whatever the case, the conchinita pibil was not as impactful as the one at El Azteca.  It was more dry and one-note (being tart).  The salsa and guacamole were pretty generic while the churro was a bit dense and cold.  Over at Chicha, we were treated to a plate consisting of Ensalada de Quinoa (mango, avocado, roated red pepper, red onion, cilantro, mint and jalapeno huacatay dressing), Bolas de Yuca (croquettes with assorted cheese and chilies atop a Huancaina sauce), Calamari and Chorizo Anticuchos (skewers with basic and aji Amarillo mash & Peruvian black olive aioli).  We loved the mango and array of flavours in the salad while the croquette was crispy while fluffy on the inside with the benefit of both spiciness and cheesiness.  The chorizo was meaty and spicy, but the calamari was a touch chewy.  Loved the salty aioli though.

At the nearby parked Guanaco Food Truck, we were served Pork Pupusas with Yuca Frita.  Unlike the last time I tried this very same offering (at the Kits Tasting Plates), the pupusa was less greasy and significantly more fluffy.  Hence, it wasn't overly heavy while the filling helped the cause by being moist and flavourful.  The yuca fries were crunchy and starchy as usual.  Already stuffed, we rolled over to Sal Y Limon where they were serving their wares in the parking lot.  On the plate, we sampled the Chicken Tinga Tostada and Ceviche de Camarones served on a tostada.  We really liked the chicken as it was super moist with a good amount of cheese on top.  It wasn't particularly popping with flavour, but it did have a slight spiciness.  As for the shrimp, they had a nice snap while being adequately spicy with a touch of acidity.

Lastly, we ended off at La Mezcaleria with a plate that included Guacamole (fresh avocado, cilantro, lime, onion, jalapeno and tomato), Pacific Red Snapper Ceviche (with tomato, lime, red onion, serrano and cilantro) and Tostada Oaxaquena de Frijoles (refried cowboy beans with Mexican cheese, fresh tomato, lettuce and sour cream on a corn tostada).  The guacamole was on point with a balance of flavours including acidity and spice.  Much like the last time I was here, the ceviche was good, but I didn't get a lot of fish though.  Finally, the tostada was loaded with toppings which was a curse and a blessing as it was flavourful, yet soggy.  According to Sexi Mexi, most of the food we sampled was pretty authentic and good for Vancouver.  As for the amount of food, it was more than enough.

*All food was comped*

The Good:
- Nice lineup of restaurants
- More than enough food

The Bad:
- Requires a bit of traveling
- A few repetitive items

Jaleo by José Andres

Earlier in the day, we had hit up Todd English Pub for a late lunch because we couldn't check into our rooms at the Cosmopolitan (even though it was past 3:00pm).  Completely bloated from our heavy meals and the fact we had 2 taps at our table, dinner seemed in our distant future.  However, we needed some nourishment before we hit the town.  Seeing how we had no car because Budget gave it away (still bitter about that), our dining options were limited.  Hence, we settled on Jaleo by José Andres right within our hotel.  Being a tapas joint, it seemed like a good fit since we weren't all that hungry.  But those would be words that we learned to regret...

To go with our vino, we got a few items to share starting with the Chistorra Envuelta En Patata Frita (slightly spicy chorizo wrapped in crispy potato).  These small bites were pretty good consisting of meaty chorizo which was only a touch spicy, as advertised.  The thin potato wrapper only covered part of the sausage and added a light crunch.  While we were waiting for our second item, we noticed a server carrying some shoes on his platter.  Snake remarked, "are they serving sneakers now?".  Well, indeed they were because the Croquetas De Pollo arrived in... you guessed it, a sneaker.  Not to worry, there was no musty odor nor strange flavours.  These chicken croquettes were lightly crispy on the outside which yielded to creamy interior that tasted strangely like cream of chicken (in a good way though).

Next up was another chicken dish being the Pollo A La Parrilla En Su Glasa Con Aceite (grilled marinated chicken served with garlic sauce).  Although charred nicely with a smoky essence, I found the chicken to be rather dry and lifeless.  It was flavorful though, yet one note in flavor being quite salty.  This was probably my least favorite dish of the meal. Dining on tapas is generally an unfulfilling proposition due to portion size, so a small serving of mussels only compounds the problem. Sure, it looks impressive, with shell and all, but in reality, there is very little to eat. The Mejillones Al Vapor (steamed mussels with bay leaf, lemon and olive oil) was just that.  With that being said, it was prepared nicely though.  The mild broth was not all that noticeable, but the lemon did come through as well as the slightest of spice.  It must be noted that the mussels were barely cooked which helped retain a nice texture and natural sweetness.

Onto something more substantial, we had the Carne Asada Con Piquillos ‘julián De Lodosa’ (grilled skirt steak with piquillo pepper confit. The steak was grilled a beautiful medium-rare and was sufficiently tender.  The pepper confit added plenty of flavour in the form of tart and sweetness, yet once again, they were a bit heavy handed with the salt.  The Pulpo A Feira Maestro Alfonso was much more mild consisting of boiled octopus with pee wee potatoes, pimentón and olive oil.  The small morsels of octopus were tender while maintaining some chew.  As mentioned, there was only a modest amount of seasoning, which helped highlight the natural sweetness of the octopus.  Despite the aggressive dusting of paprika, it did not really impact the flavours.  I really liked the pee wee potatoes as they were soft, yet not mushy.

For our last dish, it was a whopping $26.00 for a small dish of  Fricandó De Carilleras De Ternera Y Puré De Patatas Al Aceite De Oliva or  veal cheeks and morels with olive oil potato purée.  Definitely quality over quantity as the meat was melting tender. The rich, silky sauce had depth while the smooth puree was smooth and sinful.  This was very good, if not completely overpriced.  Yes, I do realize we ate at a celebrity chef restaurant on the Strip.  Therefore, we shouldn't have had sticker-shock.  However, even with us conceding that the food was pretty good, the value was just not there.

The Good:
- Nicely prepared small plates
- Energetic vibe
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Expensive, even for a Celebrity chef's restaurant on the Strip
- Not really comfortable seating arrangements

Pachamami Sabor Latino

As much as some parts of Surrey are pretty homogenous in terms of food diversity (see: Scott Road), King George Highway is another story. From one end in South Surrey all the way into Whalley terminating at the Patullo Bridge, almost every cuisine is represented. Mixed amongst every conceivable chain restaurant, one would find Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Korean and of course Indian cuisine. However, we can add one more -Spanish. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a place such as Pachamami Sabor Latino opening up shop on KGH near 80th Ave. Furthermore, I was taken aback when they were offering a lunch buffet for $7.99.

As always... a buffet would never be the best way to experience the food, but for the price, I was game. As I walked into the brand new restaurant, I noticed it was clean, tastefully appointed and welcoming.  Similar to Sunny Noodle House, the chef did the cooking, cleaned the tables, served the customers, made coffee (which is included) and tended the till.  Maybe it was a good idea to have the buffet after all...  The first thing I tried was the Chicken Quinoa Soup.  Well, it was basically a chicken soup with lots of celery and chicken.  Flavours were mild and slightly sweet.  As for the main part of the buffet, it featured items such as Green Salad, Pasta Salad, Onion & Tomato Salad, Picante de Gallina (Spicy Chicken), Saice (Ground Beef), Rice, Majau (Rice with Shredded Beef), Black Beans and Chancho al Horno (Roast Pork).

The one thing that stood out was the Chancho al Horno.  It was moist and fatty with a nice bark.  There was a mild roasted flavour with only a subtle hint of seasoning.  I thought the Picante de Gallina was nothing but.  Although the meat was moist and tender (being dark meat), it was pretty bland.  The Majau was not mushy nor hard (even sitting in a chaffing tray) and was flavourful due to the meat. The Saice was pretty much seasoned ground beef.  It went well with the plain white rice.  Lastly, there was some store-bought Coffee Cake for dessert.  It was pretty typical.  As for the rest of the food, most of it was decent with the roast pork being the highlight. Considering the buffet goes for the low price of $7.99, this is a buffet worth trying.

The Good:
- Inexpensive buffet
- Friendly chef/server/barrista/cashier
- Clean and tidy

The Bad:
- Flavours could be more impactful
- Since there is only one person there (at least when I went), service is sparse

Latitude

*Now El Camino*
Over a month ago, I quickly did a same-day post about my meal at Mis Trucos. Was it because the food blew me away and I just had to write about it quickly? Well, not really. Although the food was not bad, that was not my inspiration. Rather, it was the playoff series with Chicago that got me going. Believe it or not, Viv and I were at dinner missing out on Game 6. Turns out that I got home in time to see the Canucks lose in OT. That capped off 2 blowout loses including the game prior. They did come back to win Game 7 in dramatic fashion thanks to Alex Burrows. Now here we are in the Stanley Cup Finals and after building a 2 games to none lead, the Canucks got their lunch handed to them via an 8-1 drubbing. No matter, it's only one game. A loss is a loss. Now, it is time to move on. I have confidence that they will return to their winning ways and that is why I had to post this in a relatively expeditious manner (however, they go on to lose again 4-0 in game 4... deja vu anyone?). Therefore, this post had to go up now since I really don't want to talk about this when the playoffs are already over! So, after the depressing loss, Bear, Milhouse, Emilicious and Hot Chocolate met up with me at Latitude for some after game eats. It was normally our softball night and we've been so conditioned to eat out afterwards, there is always and empty feeling if we don't.

We ended up at Latitude since it was somewhat central to everyone and it wasn't Asian. Yah, we're a bit tired of the Asian food thing; but that is almost an inevitability in Vancouver. There really are so many more Asian food options compared to everything else. Somewhat removed from all the "action" along Main Street, Latitude serves up mainly Latin-inspired food in a hip dining space. We decided to mostly share everything except for the Arepas, which are small round white corn pockets filled with choice of ingredients. Not conducive to sharing, we ended up having one each. I went for the Chorizo with avocado and confit tomatoes. This was a messy proposition. Everything was falling and dripping out. I didn't mind though, it had a nice kick from the meaty chorizo and a cooling effect from the smooth avocado and tart tomatoes. I found the corn "pancake" to be dense while still easy to eat and crisp on the outside. Emilicious had the Wild Prawns with arugula and smoked paprika mayo. It was bursting with crunchy prawns and mayo which made it as messy as my arepas. She really liked the smokiness and thought everything worked well together. Milhouse and Bear both had the Braised Beef with black bean, queso blanco and tomatillo salsa. They seemed to like it; but didn't say much about them. Hot Chocolate had the Smokey Pulled Pork with feta, pickled fennel and jalapeno. She as well thought it was pretty good with a good combination of flavours.

After the arepas, we shared a few items starting with the Baja Fish Tacos served with cabbage, chipotle creama, pickled sweet onion and red salsa. I really like the fact the fish was fried rather than being grilled. This way, the taco was much less wet and the crispiness of the fish added texture. Personally, I would've liked more heat in the taco; but in the end, it was flavourful enough with the pickled onions. Next up was the Calamares which was served with a citrus aioli. The squid was fried pefectly with a light crisp exterior while being tender on the inside. The batter itself was quite mild while the aioli didn't add much in the way of flavour. For me at least, it went so much better with the smoked paprika mayo that accompanied the Chickpea Fries. The flavour of the paprika mayo was more intense and impactful, which in my opinion helped with the flavour-challenged calamari. The chickpea fries themselves were not as crispy as I would've imagined. Rather, they were "cardboard-like". Personally, that was a texture that I did not enjoy; but again, chickpeas have their limitations as to their texture. I did find the inside to be quite good though. It was well-seasoned and fluffy. We also shared the Chicken Wings "Anillo de Fuego" because it was on special. Hey, we'd never pass up a daily special! Initially, we were expecting hot wings and nothing else; but we were pleasantly surprised that their house hot sauce which was quite good. There was a nice balance of smoky, sweet and tang which really amped up the perfectly fried chicken wings. And about those chicken wings, they were big, moist and juicy. There were 12 of them and it sure looked more than 1 pound. Strangely, a few nights prior, we had "1 pound" of wings and there were only 8 (and roughly the same size too) at the Thirsty Penguin.

After all the appies, we shared 2 entrees. The first was the Boneless Beef Shortrib served with Colombian papas chorreados and onion gravy. Despite being fork tender, the shortrib was dry and stringy. It was okay still. Just not as moist as we expected. The gravy was alright. I found it to be slightly sweet with only a modest amount of salt. This was a very mild tasting dish. The papas were pretty good being super soft on the inside while nicely roasted on the outside. Interestingly, we could all see the cheese on the potato; but it didn't have much of an impact. An okay plate of food, if not unmemorable. Lastly, we had the Paella de Mariscos consisting of smoky tomato saffron arborio stew, prawns, mussels, fish and chorizo. We found the rice to be slightly overcooked; but it wasn't short on flavour. Plenty of smoky and savouriness from the chorizo with a touch of the sea. We didn't detect any strong saffron essence though. For $20.00, we felt this was a tad expensive considering the size of the dish (although it did have a decent amount of ingredients).

By virtue of having Bear at the table, he exerted his sphere of influence which resulted in Emilicious and I sharing an order of Tres Leches Cake. As the name suggests, it is cake that is soaked in 3 types of milk - evaporated, condensed and cream. We both thought this cake was a winner. Prepared correctly, the cake was not soggy despite the generous soaking of milk. It had a nice consistency and texture while being only slightly sweet due to the condensed milk. However, what really put the cake over the top was the smashed candied walnuts. It added another layer of flavour as well as a crunch. Good textural and flavour contrast.

Milhouse and Bear ended up ordering the same dessert being the Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding. Man, they make it hard for me! Ordering the same thing again!!! Anyways, I gave the bread pudding a try and I found it to be rather dry. Furthermore, I didn't get much in the way of banana. In fact, the chocolate flavour was not really all that intense either. At the very least, that resulted in a modestly sweet dessert, which I prefer. Although I really liked the Tres Leches Cake much more. Overall, it was a fairly decent meal at relatively reasonable prices. As always, there were some highlights and some not so memorable items. That's normal for any restaurant. Latitude is a decent option for late night eats and drinks along Main Street. Maybe we all need a drink after the the back-to-back deja vu loses to Boston. Hey, they came back to win the Chicago series, so you never know. Keep the faith, that's all we can do anyways.

The Good:
- Decent drinks
- Food is not bad
- Hip interior

The Bad:
- Very limited menu
- Very limited space inside

Super Mario's

Normally, when we go shopping in the States, we hit the Seattle Premium Outlets while bypassing Bellingham. Yes, there once was a time where Bellingham was the place to shop. That would probably explain the construction of Bellis Fair. Even then, we never roamed the streets of Bellingham looking for eats. I think my parents exclusively brought me to Royal Fork buffet. Yah, it didn't exactly set the culinary scene on fire. You see, there were (and still are) no real buffets in the GVRD. Now we have Old County Buffet and that satisfies the "quantity-over-quality" urges every now and then.

Today, we dare to venture into areas of Bellingham we'd never been before. Better yet, we were on the lookout for a taco truck. With the lack of good street food in Vancouver (although there are recent developments aiming to change that), we had to head to Bellingham of all places. Located on N. Forest, Super Mario's serves up Salvadorian and Mexican food from a catering truck. Apparently, one of their signature items is the Wonder Burrito which comes in chicken, beef, pork or tongue. I got the chicken since Viv doesn't like tongue (beef tongue that is...). Filled with rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole and chicken, the burrito must've weighed a pound. Nothing particularly amazing about the burrito other than it was a good value.

I also got 4 Tacos with one each of all the meats including beef steak, chicken, pork and tongue. As you can see in the picture, there is a massive amount of cilantro on top with onions, radishes and lime. Other than the tongue, the other 3 meats were very dry and in the case of the beef, over-seasoned. The pork was actually quite stringy. On the flip-side, the tongue was quite tender. I would definitely say the ones I've had at La Taqueria in Downtown Vancouver to be better in overall execution. Whatever the case, the novelty of a taco truck in the most unlikeliest of locations made it a must-visit. Sure, the food didn't blow me away; but the burrito was an excellent value. There is much more on the menu that I did not get to try and for that, I'd do a return visit based on that.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- Novelty factor

The Bad:
- Food was alright, not wow quality though
- Well, it's a truck, don't expect restaurant facilities

El Barrio

*Now X-Site*

Boy, it's quite difficult to find an authentic mole in the GVRD. No, not the buggers who dig up your lawn. I'm talking about a Mexican mole which can be prepared with as much as 20+ ingredients that sometimes includes chocolate. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Mexico to actually try an authentic mole. I just have to go by what I eat and what Sexi Mexi had explained to me. The last time I had a mole was at La Conquistadora and it was alright. What I really wanted was a Oaxacan Mole, much like the one Rick Bayless incessantly reminds us how long it took him to master. While perusing Urbanspoon, I noticed El Barrio had the very Oaxacan Mole I was seeking.

I was able to convince Pomegranate to join me for this meal. Partly because I needed a dining partner and more importantly, he spent some time in Central America (thus, some knowledge of the food). We started off with the Bison Tacos prepared medium rare. As you can see in the picture, they were indeed a perfect medium rare. Since Bison is quite lean, it is imperative not to overcook it. Otherwise, you'll be chewing for awhile. The soft tortillas were slightly charred giving a smoky quality to them. In this case, you'll either like it or not. For me, it adds flavour and I liked it. Served on the side was a Salsa Roja (or red sauce). Interestingly, people in North America associate "salsa" with everything that is like the stuff you find in a jar of El Paso. However, salsa merely means sauce.

As for my Pollo En Mole (which is a free-range chicken breast smothered in an Oaxacan mole), it was served with refried beans and cactus. I have to admit that the chicken itself was dry. Not totally surprising since free-range chicken is quite lean. However, the sauce made up for it. The mole was quite mild with an underlying spice and nuttiness. Since there are so many ingredients in the mole, it was quite complex, if not very understated. While my dish was mild, Pomegranate's Torta Ahogada was simply a flavour explosion. Savory, spicy and sweet all at the same time, this is described as a Mexican "sloppy Joe" in the menu. A pretty accurate description. However, the side salad was horrid, way too much dressing. From the 3 items we tried here, it showed us that El Barrio offers something a little bit different. In terms of liking it or not, that'll be up to personal tastes. Pomegranate and I were pretty satisfied; however, for some, the prices could be a bit high.

The Good:
- Unique flavours
- Unique menu items
- It's definitely not North American Mexican/Latin food

The Bad:
- Some items are quite pricey

Mochikas Peruvian Cafe

As much as Vancouver is famous for it's gastronomical diversity, Latin restaurants are poorly represented. Yes, there is a decent amount; but they are dwarfed by the endless selection of Asian restaurants. Furthermore, we seem to group Latin American food into one category (just like I did in my opening remark). But there are significant differences among Latin cuisine (as explained to me by Kim, who is from Panama). Thus, when I heard that there was this new Peruvian place from Blondie, I felt the need to try it. I asked Pomegranate, who spent time working down in South America, if he was familiar with Peruvian food and he was not too sure. Just like the aforementioned differences, he was working in Columbia and he said the food ain't the same. The only other "Peruvian" restaurant that I know of is El Inka Deli in Burnaby. Other than that, the other Peruvian experience has been in Portland at Andina.

Now, to the those who have never heard of Mochikas, you will probably have a hard time finding it. Even if you had the address and a GPS, all you would find is Platinum Touch Auto Spa. Yah, rather than enjoying eats, you might believe you'd be receiving a deluxe wash and premium wax. You see, the restaurant is inside the car wash. Don't worry, you won't be eating with suds and a turbo air dry. It's actually at the front entrance tucked inside. Only a small banner at the front of the building hints at its existence. To our dismay, the dinner menu is not available at lunch, so there are only a limited selection of Peruvian dishes. So the only thing we could do was to order them all starting with the Butifarras Pork Sandwich, which is served on a hamburger-type roll. The meat in this sandwich is Jamón del País or Peruvian Country Ham, which in this case, is made in-house. It doesn't look like much; but this lil' sandwich was good. The "ham" is more like roasted pork with a nice spice coating. The texture was tender while still retaining a slight chewiness. It worked well with the red onions and mustard.

We also tried the Chicken Empanada and were a bit confused how they reheated it. We didn't hear a microwave (which is a good thing); yet we saw them using some pot. Don't ask me how, but it came out hot and not looking worse for wear. We liked the filling, it was full of chicken, black olives and hard-boiled eggs. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the pastry. It was somewhat doughy. For my main, I chose the only one that was remotely close to being Peruvian which was the Pollo a la Brasa (1/4 Peruvian chicken with turmeric rice and salad). I ended up with the breast portion of the chicken and it was a bit dry (as expected). I did like the spices and had a hard time deciphering them other than cumin and pepper. Upon further research, there are spices in there I've never even heard of as in Huacatay paste and Aji yellow paste. Pomegranate ended up with something quite pedestrian in the Charcoal Chicken Wrap which basically combines what I ate into one package. It was good; but hardly representative of Peruvian cuisine.

Almost a year later, I have returned to Mochikas to finally try their Peruvian specialties that were once not available on their lunch menu. I brough Mijune with me and we were treated to some delicious eats. We started with the Yuca Frita con Chicharron which is deep fried cassava root & pork belly served with Mochikas signature sauce. Unlike some other versions of chicharron, this one was much more like a Chinese roast suckling pig. The meat was very tender and there was only a modest amount of fat. I thought that it had a nice rich roasted pork flavour that was best to be enjoyed without any condiments. The fried cassava root were in fairly large chunks and were predictably fibrous and starchy. They were fried up nicely with a crisp exterior. The accompanying sauce was creamy, a little peppery and with some underlying heat. Lastly, there was a side of pickled red onion that I didn't touch since my stomach doesn't agree with it. I would have; but Mijune would have to put up with a lot of issues... Moving along, we had the Ceviche next consisting of fresh sole with mixed seafood marinated in lime juice, garlic, & cilantro served with corn, sweet potato & red onions. It was explained to us that the base of the ceviche was a broth consisting of ginger and veggies. That added a nice kick and complexity in addition to the lime, garlic and cilantro. The marinade was so darn tasty, we wanted to drink it. It was so smooth! The fish, squid and baby scallops were tender and sufficiently "flavoured" while the shrimp were a bit of a letdown. But in general, a very good ceviche.

Now for what would be considered a "wow" dish - Chupe de Mariscos. What amounts to a spicy, hearty seafood chowder with Aji Panca, fresh cheese, rice, & cassava, we agreed it was a cross between a Paella-soup and a Peruvian Laksa. The darn thing was so freakin' tasty. A complex combination of flavours, it was sweet, a bit spicy, a touch creamy (and oily) due to the cheese and full of seafood flavour. Despite the oil slick on top, it didn't feel heavy to eat. There was so much stuff in it, it could easily be a soup that eats like meal (hey, where have we heard that before?). From my last visit, I'd been thinking about the Arroz con Pato since. The thought of 6-hour braised duck marinated in Aji Amarillo, Peruvian spices & beer served with cilantro rice sounded too good to pass up. In the end, it was not bad; but not didn't wow me like the chowder. However, if we isolate it without comparisons, the duck itself was pretty tender; yet slightly dry. I liked the smokiness and deep flavour of the duck while the skin was nicely rendered. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro; but the rice was very good. Just enough flavour and not mushy, I wanted to keep eating the rice, especially with the little sweet peas strewn throughout.

Wow. On this return visit, I finally got to experience what Mochikas is really about. And man, do I ever like it. Definitely something out-of-the-ordinary that finally sets itself apart from the boring chain restaurants that litter the Vancouver dining scene. Furthermore, it is not another Asian restaurant. Hey, I love Asian food; but honestly. There is one on every street corner. The food, the flavours and the execution are very impressive considering the venue and limited kitchen. The proprietors are very nice people who care about their business and their customers. The odd location adds a bit of charm and if you really needed your car detailed, you can eat while you wait.

The Good:
- Something different
- The food is generally very good
- Friendly owner

The Bad:
- It's a one-person operation, food will take a bit of time
- Hidden small location