Xiaolongkan Hot Pot

Man, I've been doing so many AYCE hot pots lately...  As I mentioned, AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat) has made a triumphant comeback during these inflationary times.  Another recent option is Xiaolongkan on Alexandra Road (or Restaurant Row or Food Street).  This recently announced AYCE costs anywhere from $35.99 to $39.99 per person depending on the day and time.  Seeing how they are merely serving what was on the menu before, the food quality is high.

Of course with any hot pot experience, we need to talk about the Sauce Bar.  Much like many in the city, the one here at Xiaolongkan has all the basics and a little bit more.  They have all of the base sauces in large dispensers so you can fill your bowl to your heart's content.  All of the other condiments such as cilantro, green onion, garlic, chilis and the rest were in the actual bar itself.  We also found some light snacks and fruit.  You could also help yourself to some guava candy as well.

Before we get to the "meat" of the meal, we have to talk about the Amaebi as well as the soup bases.  Presented sashimi-style, the sweet shrimp were exactly that.  Buttery soft with just the slightest snap, these were a nice start to the meal.  We ended up with 3 different broths to cook our food in including Tomato, Mixed Mushroom and Traditional House Special Chili (in medium spice).  My favourite was the tomato as it truly had all the tang and sweetness we were looking for.  It was slightly thick too so the broth adhered to all the items we cooked in it.  The mixed mushroom was the mildest and definitely had a salty umami thing going on.  For the house special broth, it was spicy and had plenty of depth thanks to the chili lard.

Onto some cooked items first, we had the Deep Fried Chicken Wings, Glutinous Rice Siu Mai, Crispy Deep Fried Pork, Chinese Donut, Pig's Ears with Chili Oil and Brown Sugar Rice Cake.  I thought these were all pretty decent where the pig's ear was my favourite.  They were tender with a crunch while appealingly spicy.  The brown sugar rice cake was also delicious being soft and sticky with a rich sweetness.  Fried pork was tender and came with a side of spiced salt.

Of course we have to talk about the beef right?  Presented on a "dragon boat" and also served to us by a robot, the Selected Beef Slices were thin and tender.  I especially liked it cooked in the spicy broth as it took on the silky heat well.  However, we really were here for the Superior SRF Wagyu Beef Slices (one order per 3 people).  Oh yeah, these were money with just enough marbling to ensure that each piece would be buttery soft.

We had many more items from the menu, but I want to highlight the ones presented in a box because it was nice to look at and I appreciate the effort they put into making things appealing.  We found Seaweed, Enoki, Shredded Daikon, Quail Eggs, Shrimp Paste, Spicy Beef, Shrimp Balls, Fish Slices and Marinated Beef Tongue.  The highlights included the sweet and bouncy shrimp paste.  Our server spooned little quenelles into the hot broth.  The beef tongue was tender with a bit of a chew.  Perfect texture.  The beef was also good being buttery since it was tenderized.  It still kept some of the marinade even after boiling.  There were a few more items that we had randomly and I know it is an easy thing to say they were good, but in fact, they were!  The food quality was really high for an AYCE menu and to top it off, the price is reasonable.  Would come back in a heat beat.

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

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced AYCE
- High ingredient quality
- Nice space, nice presentation

The Bad:
- Sauce bar is smaller than other places
- Large parking lot, but very weird parking arrangements  

Best Fortune

For all of the different types of Chinese cuisine, Sichuan is one of my favourites.  The combination of spice and spices along with meat and noodle dishes, it is something that is much more impactful than say, Cantonese food.  However, due to the influx of immigrants from Hong Kong specifically, that is the most prevalent Chinese cuisine in the Lower Mainland.  So when there is another option for Sichuan eats (and really any Northern or Uygher restaurants), I'm there with bells on.  So I dug out those bells when Jackie and I were invited to try out Best Fortune on Alexandra Road.

We were here mainly to try their Deluxe Sichuan Set Menu that offers 5-courses for $88.00.  There are options for each course.  The 2 choices for the first course included the classic Big Plate of Mouth-Watering Chicken (yes, that is what the description said, big plate...).  Indeed, it was a big mound of tender poached chicken that featured tender meat and gelatinized skin.  Naturally, the chicken was only a blank canvas for the sauce.  About that sauce, it was definitely spicy, a bit nutty and smoky.  There was enough seasoning to add more than just spice, so in general, it was good!

The other option is the Spicy Beef & Tripe.  This featured thinly-sliced beef shank that had been stewed until tender and chilled.  The tripe has also been cooked until it was buttery soft.  Then it was tossed in a chili oil mix that also had some soy and plenty of garlic.  This was a good version of this dish as the textures of the tripe and beef were on point while the flavours were spicy, but not to the point we couldn't taste anything else.

For the second course, there were 2 options, with first being the Green Peppercorn & Sauerkraut Fish.  This featured some glass noodles underneath and a wealth of sliced fish (looked like snakefish?), pickled mustard greens, seaweed and bean curd skin.  Loved the texture of the fish as it was almost crunchy, but that initial texture gave way to flakiness.  The broth was tangy with numbing spice from the peppercorns.

 

If you didn't want the fish, you could choose the Sichuan Boiled Beef.  This is another classic dish that featured sliced beef atop bean sprouts in a spicy broth.  There was a considerable amount of tender buttery beef within the large bowl.  They had been tenderized perfectly where the meat texture was still present.  In terms of flavour, there was the same smoky nuttiness from the chili oil.  It wasn't so spicy that we couldn't taste anything else which meant there was balance.

The third course had 2 choices that would go well with rice.  The first being the Spicy Blood Tofu & Tripe Stew.  It was a pretty large bowl of food that featured large strips of mung bean noodle underneath with some bean sprouts and other veggies.  There was a mix of luncheon meat, intestines, pork's blood cubes and bible tripe.  This all sat in a spicy broth that was rather flavourful and a bit smoky from all the chili oil.

 

The other option was the Braised Bean Curd in Mapo Sauce (aka Mapo Tofu).  Unlike the Cantonese version, this one was much more robust, spicy and deep-flavoured.  They used medium-firm tofu here and it stood up well to the cooking process.  Each cube of tofu took on the flavours of the starch-thickened sauce.  It was a bit spicy, a bit sweet and plenty savoury.  The ground pork added some meaty texture.

Moving onto the fourth course (which was the vegetable dish), the first option was the Dry Pot Cauliflower.  This was essentially stir-fried Taiwanese cauliflower with an array of spices including Sichuan peppercorns.  There was plenty of caramelization and aroma as well as a noticed numbing spice.  The cauliflower was cooked-through but had a nice crunch.

The alternative option from the cauliflower was the Specialty Eggplant Stir Fry.  I absolutely loved this dish since they coated the pieces of eggplant with starch first and deep fried it.  So that ensured each piece was cooked-through and was sealed with a crispy starch coating.  The result was that the eggplant didn't get soggy and melt while help soaking up the delicious black bean-based sauce.  It had a bit of spice as well.

For the fifth course, we had 3 noodle options including Noodles with Peas, Minced Pork Noodle and Sour & Spicy Yam Noodles.  So the 2 noodles were essentially a form of Ja Jeun Mein where you would mix up the components with the boiled white noodles.  For the first one, the chickpeas were soft but still intact while the ground pork was plenty spicy.  With peanuts and sesame seeds, there was plenty of nuttiness too.  The second noodle was similar except it had some mustard greens.  Hence, there was a bit more tanginess.  The yam noodles had a nice chewiness to them and there was plenty of heat to go with the sourness.  If I had to choose, the minced pork noodle would be the best bet.  Overall, the 5-course set meal for $88.00 is a steal considering how much food you are getting as well as it being delicious.  Love that there are choices for most courses, so you can get almost exactly what you want.  The spice level here is right up my alley being hot yet we can still taste the other components and flavours.  If you only have 2 people, you can get the first two courses for $39.00 and it includes rice and pop.  Hard to find cheap eats these days, but this would be it. Definitely a revisit for me sometime down the road.

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

The Good:
- Well-priced set meal
- Good spice, but not overwhelming
- Large portion size

The Bad:
- One of the employees was away, so there was only one person handling the entire restaurant. Even if they had the other person, service would be stretched. She did a good job though and never got frustrated
- Parking at the back can be chaotic

 

The Fish Man

Now here is a restaurant that I should've visited when it first opened.  The Fish Man has been serving up live seafood in the former location of Maji on Alexandra for around 3 years and this is the first time I've tried it.  I guess it didn't hurt that Mijune was paying (thank you Mijune!).  Other than a small section at the end featuring BBQ skewers, the entire menu is completely focused on seafood.  Hey, I'm not complaining as I generally adhere to a see-food diet.  LOL...

To get things started, we had the lightly-poached Geoduck with scallion ginger oil and sweetened soy.  As mentioned, the seafood here is fresh and high-quality.  This was exemplified with the geoduck as it was sweet and texturally super tender with a light chew.  It was cooked just a touch to allow the natural flavours to shine as well as optimizing its texture.  Loved the subtle brightness of the oil and the restraint of the soy.

Oh man, I absolutely love Razor Clams and I was going to savour every bite.  These were simply steamed with a plethora of minced garlic and a touch of scallion oil with soy.  Underneath, there was some vermicelli to soak up all of the juices.  With shellfish, it is imperative that the cook on them is perfect because too much and it is rubbery and too little and it is raw.  They nailed it with the clams as they were buttery with an appealing background snap.  They were so sweet and were beautifully accented by the garlic.  I could've eaten a pound of these.

It just kept coming with the outstanding Wok Fried Salt Spring Mussels.  The thoughtfulness, when it comes to their ingredients, was illustrated with this dish.  Rather than using smaller PEI mussels, they chose the larger plump variety and it was all the difference.  There was so much juicy meat that was delicate and deliciously briny.  Again, they were cooked just enough and the seasoning was on point.  Good amount of spice without being overwhelming.

The Sour Cabbage Rock Cod Hot Pot was the showstopper of our meal.  This picture doesn't do it justice in terms of portion size.  It was absolutely massive and could easily feed 4 people, if not more.  Even though there was sour cabbage, mung bean noodles and tofu underneath, there was still a massive amount of flaky rock cod.  Hence, the broth was so sweet and had the freshness of the sea.  It was balanced off by the tang of the sour cabbage as well as spiciness.  We actually finished everything including the broth.  So tasty!

Even though the place is all about the seafood, we decided to get some veggies in the form of Stir-Fried Taiwanese Cauliflower.  This was super simple with basic wok-fry, yet it was also very good.  With high BTUs, the veggies were cooked-all-the-way-through while still having a crunch.  There was no moisture on the bottom of the plate and there was very little grease as well.

Our last dish was something I was expecting to be chewy.  You see, Silkie Chicken (black chicken) is usually great for soups, but as for meat, it can be typically tough.  However, the Silkie Chicken and Fresh Sea Cucumber was actually quite good.  The chicken was tender with plenty chicken flavour while the sea cucumber was soft.  Actually, everything was really good and the ingredients were high-quality.  I wished that I had visited earlier.  Well, no matter, I'll be back soon enough.

The Good:
- High quality and fresh seafood
- Perfectly prepared seafood
- That fish soup!

The Bad:
- Well, you will have to pay for live seafood (but to me at least, it isn't expensive for what you get)
- Yes, parking is an issue

Dinesty Dumpling House (Gilbert Road)

Sometimes ol' favourites are forgotten when we are distracted by all of the newer and shiner restaurants that are available.  However, it is always good to remember the standbys.  You know, the places where it is a given that you'll find good familiar food that you've always enjoyed.  One of these places is Dinesty, with its XLBs and mix of Taiwanese and Shanghainese dishes.  I've been to every location except for the one near the Olympic Oval in Richmond.  With an invite in hand, it was as good as any time to revisit an ol' friend dressed in new digs on Gilbert Road.

I've actually seen this location before when I was picking up some drinks from the adjacent Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea (more on that later).  I consider this the most appealingly appointed one as the decor is modern and the tables are spaced well-apart.  Of course, the thing to get here is the Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao).  These featured a medium-thick dumpling skin that was delicate with some elasticity.  Inside, the tender and slightly loose pork filling was blessed with a good amount of sweet meaty soup.  Solid XLBs.

One thing I never order, but I got to try this time was the Steamed Green Vegetable & Egg Dumplings.  Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed these more than the XLBs!  No joke!  The dumpling wrapper in this one was similar (naturally) to the XLBs but stretched a bit thinner.  Nice elasticity to the dough which meat the dumplings ate well.  Inside, the tender vegetable filling still had a vibrant texture.  Loved the fluffiness of the filling.

One of my favourite dishes at Dinesty is the Camphor & Tea-Smoked Duck (Chinese Restaurant Award Winner).  This one did not disappoint.  As you can see, this was not a small scrawny duck.  Plenty of smoky tender and moist meat encased in smoky relatively rendered duck skin.  Beyond the breast meat, the skin on the dark meat was crispy.  We deboned the meat and slipped it into the soft mantau buns.

One dish that flew under the radar in terms of appearance was the Crispy Fried Squid.  Instead of the classic Taiwanese chicken nuggets, we got squid nuggets instead.  Good call because these were freakin' good!  The exterior was supremely crunchy (and not greasy) with plenty of seasoning.  The big chunks of squid within were tender with an appealing chewiness.  Very addictive.

To get our one veggie item into our meal, we had the Spicy String Green Beans with Minced Pork.  This dish featured the usual flash fried green beans wok-tossed with chilis, garlic, ginger, pine nuts and minced pork.  I found the beans tender with a slight crunch while the pork to be plentiful (hidden within) and tender.  There was plenty of seasoning as well as a slight kick.

Another dish I probably wouldn't have ordered myself was the Basa Fillet topped with egg whites and soy bean powder.  Turns out it was good and I would probably order it next time.  The ample fillets of fish were delicate and moist.  Loved the egg whites and the soy bean powder as they provided layers of texture.  Completing the dish was some crunchy veggies that added brightness and contrasting texture to the fish.

A classic dish was the Simmer Chicken with basil in triple sauce (aka 3 Cup Chicken).  Loved the flavours in this dish as they were pronounced and impactful.  Generally, this is called 3 cup chicken for its 3 main ingredients - rice wine, soy and sesame oil.  The balance of sweetness with tang and aromatics was perfect.  Furthermore, the pieces of chicken were juicy and tender.  Loved the viscosity of the sauce too as it clung onto each piece of chicken beautifully.

To go with this, we added the XO Sauce & Diced Beef Fried Rice.  Of course white rice would've been more optimal, but why go for boring?  The fried rice was far from boring featuring discernible grains of nutty and chewy rice.  Seasoning was aggressive in a good way where the rice was full of caramelization and umaminess (from the XO).  Beef was not overly tenderized, hence exhibiting a natural meaty texture.  Good caramelization on that too.  To go with the food, we were able to order drinks from Yifang and they were delivered by robot to our table.  A bit novel yes, but convenient and better than drinking just tea.  So once again, Dinesty came through with predictable food at a reasonable price.  It is still a solid choice for this type of cuisine.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Predictable food that is good
- Reasonably-priced
- Nice dining space for this location

The Bad:
- Wish the parking was not only limited to 1.5 hours (should be at least 2)

Shanghai River

In the past 10 years, I have probably dined at Shanghai River like 20 odd times.  You see, my parents love the place and they like to stick with their favourites.  Hey, I like the place too as the food is solid including their XLBs.  However, I haven't posted about the place since 2013 I believe.  I guess it is as good of a time to do another one to see how their are currently.  We only went for morning Dim Sum this time around, but will go back for dinner one day (it is pretty good too).

We always seem to order the same dishes and that always starts with the  Chicken with Wine Sauce.  I find their version consistent and well-prepared.  The free-range chicken was firm (as it tends to be), but was still tender.  The skin was nicely gelatized while there was some gelatin underneath it.  The wine flavour was definitely there without being overwhelming.  It had penetrated the chicken, yet the excess amount on the plate added more aroma and extra kick.

One of our favourite dishes is the Shredded Chicken & Vermicelli (Mung Bean Noodles) with cucumber and sesame dressing.  The texture of the noodles were slippery and full of bite (in a pleasant rubbery way).  Lots of good mouth feel from the chew.  The shredded chicken was tender and moist while the crunchy cucumber added brightness.  As for the dressing, it was thick, slightly sweet and plenty nutty.  Very aromatic and tasty.

Something that we normally do not order is the Deep Fried Bean Curd Skin with Mushroom (Mock Goose).  I can never understand why this dish is so expensive but I guess it might be the labour put into making it.  This featured crispy bean curd skin sheets that were probably a bit too crispy.  I would've liked it to be more moist with some chew.  Inside, the tender shiitake were nicely seasoned being on the sweeter side.

So one of the must-order dishes is their Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Soup Dumplings).  I would pit this against some of the best in town.  They are made-to-order (much like many XLB joints these days) and feature a relatively thin dumpling skin.  I wouldn't say it is Din Tai Fung thin, but it isn't as thick at say R&H in Lansdowne Mall.  Inside, the pork filling is tender and moist (while not falling apart either).  The soup is plentiful, sweet and meaty with a background Shaoxing wine hit.

A few under-the-radar items that are also quite good include the Homemade Sesame Cake (Shao Bing) and Chinese Donut.  They were also made-to-order where the donut was pretty much as good as it can get.  The exterior was crispy and light while not too greasy.  Inside, it was soft and airy (featuring air pockets) with a tender chew.  It was nicely salted where it stood on its own.  As for the shao bing, it was nicely baked with a nutty flavour.  It was crispy with discernible layers.  I do recommend you get the beef one as the plain is well, plain.

Now another favourite of ours is the Hot & Sour Soup.  I find that their broth does have some depth compared to other places.  Furthermore, the amount of ingredients is the right ratio to the amount of starch-thicken broth.  Julienned carrots and bamboo shoots as well as wood ear mushroom added crunch to the soup.  The shrimp are cooked just enough to retain a buttery snap.  We got the hot oil on the side so we could adjust the heat while the vinegariness was on point.

Moving onto the noodles, we always order the Szechuan Beef Noodles.  This is another solid dish where the slice beef shank is nearly melt-in-our-mouths tender without falling apart.  The broth is meaty with a medium spicy kick.  I personally could do with even more heat, but I guess we could add some chili oil.  There is more than enough white noodles underneath that are soft with just a touch of chew.

Even though we ordered the Dan Dan Noodles, it really isn't my favourite version.  Don't get me wrong, it is still fine, but I find it a bit soupy and too mild-tasting.  It is much more peanutty than anything else (has something to do with the fact it is the Shanghainese version).  Due to the nuttiness, it is aromatic and features a thick soup/sauce.  There is plenty of ground pork to give it body and texture.  The julienned cucumber adds a bright crunch.

Our kids love the Fried Shanghai-Style Rice Cakes and of course we ordered it.  This could've used a bit more colour, however, it was still pretty on point.  The rice cakes were soft and tender without being overly so.  They retained an appealing chewiness.  The dish wasn't too greasy and the seasoning was just right with enough dark soy.  Tender julienned pork and slightly wilted spinach finished the dish.

Another stealthily tasty dish is the Sticky Rice with Ribs (Pork Spareribs).  On top of the ample amount of soft sticky rice, the pieces of spareribs were tender with a good rebound texture.  They were fairly well-seasoned being salty with a touch of sweetness.  I would've like them to be even more aggressively seasoned because the rice was rather bland.  So in the end, this was another solid meal at Shanghai River.  Since food is subjective, some might consider other Shanghainese restaurants as being better (and I agree with this statement).  Yet, Shanghai River still sits up there near the top because it is consistent and delivers good food.

The Good:
- Consistently good
- Nice dining space
- Covered parking (and generally enough)

The Bad:
- It is good, but it can be argued that there are better 

 

The Story Cafe

Now this post has been a long time coming...  I've actually visited The Story Cafe on 3 occasions (once I had to leave because they were only serving happy hour) but never got a chance to blog about it.  I guess I'll just amalgamate everything into one post.  For those who are unfamiliar, The Story Cafe is located in Richmond amongst a sea of Asian restaurants.  Nice to see something a bit different featuring brunch and also casual-fine dining dishes to boot.

On my first visit, it was actually to try their Fried Chicken Burger with coleslaw, jalapeño aioli and a side of truffle fries.  I would say this was pretty solid overall where the chicken breast was large with a crunchy seasoned coating.  I thought the chicken could've been a bit juicier, but it was far from dry.  I liked the aioli as it provided a creamy tang and some spice.  I could've done with some more coleslaw but it wasn't a deal-breaker.  The bun was not dense, yet not airy either.  As for the side of fries, they were crispy with plenty of tender potato texture inside.  Good amount of inherent seasoning.

Of course we had to try other things including the Fried Chicken Bennies on a toasted English muffin with a large piece of fried chicken, poached egg, arugula, Hollandaise and fresh fruit.  Boy this was hearty and filling.  Crunchy and fairly moist, the fried chicken was topped with a soft poached egg with runny yolk.  The restrained amount of Hollandaise was creamy, yet not overly heavy.  There was a good balanced to it with a hint of acidity.

Then we move onto the Beef Pappardelle with 7 hour braised short rib, grape tomatoes, arugula and demi cream sauce topped with goat cheese.  I enjoyed this as the pasta was al dente while coated in a delicious sauce that was creamy with umaminess from the meat juices.  There was plenty of tender short rib and the tomatoes added a bright pop of tanginess. Only thing that I would do is to have a bit less sauce.

On another visit, I decided on the Fried Chicken & Waffles.  Okay, I know I'm a bit obsessed with ordering their fried chicken, but it really is good!  The buttermilk marinated chicken was tender and juicy with a crunchy batter on the outside.  However, the star of the plate was the outrageously airy waffles.  They were super crispy with literally air in the middle.  So easy to eat and a textural delight.

Also featuring the same awesome waffles, the My Way Breakfast including choice of meat, smashed potatoes and 2 eggs (only one in this picture).  Potatoes were crispy on the outside while the bacon was lean and crispy (but not too crispy).  Yes, most of the food I have tried so far has been brunch.  I really need to come back to try the other stuff too.  Seeing how solid the food has been, I will be returning for sure.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Nice people
- Indeed casual

The Bad:
- Pricing is actually fine (in my opinion), but it is moving towards the higher end and there are many choices at that price point