Win Win Chick-N

Boy, I haven't been back to Win Win Chick-N in quite some time.  In fact, I don't even recall the last time I visited the Steveston location.  When I was doing my fried chicken quest (I stopped because my bloodwork came back horrible), I had went to the Main Street store (which is not there anymore).  This time around, we were here to sample some classics as well as their Summer Sliders.  Yes, it isn't Summer anymore, but they are still available until October 21st!

Let's get right to the Chicken Sliders!  There are 5 choices including BBQ, Szechuan, Mango Tajin, Honey Dijon and Original.  Beyond these flavours, if you just look at the sliders, you'll notice that they are pretty large with 2 whole chicken strips.  These were crispy with moist breast meat.  I liked the batter as it was well-spiced and seasoned.  My favourite flavour of the bunch was the Szechuan with its salty spiciness.

If these sliders aren't big enough for you (it would be hard to finish even 2 of them by yourself!), then you can go outright to the Fried Chicken Sandwich.  As you can see, it was pretty large too with enough moist chicken to occupy every bite.  I've actually had this a few times before and it is a solid sandwich.  The toasted brioche paired well with the crispy spiced batter, mayo and lettuce.  You won't go hungry with this one.

Of course we couldn't visit Win Win without ordering some Fried Chicken right???  We ended up with original dark meat pieces with drums and a thigh.  Unlike some of my previous visits, the chicken was pretty juicy.  I like how the batter (much like their other items) was flavourful with some spice.  But I still dunked it into their peppery gravy because it just made the chicken even better.  Good for the fries as well.

They also have some pretty good sides too including the Filipino Mac.  Consider this a version of Filipino spaghetti (but with macaroni).  It was sweet as expected and yes, the sliced hot dog wieners were there.  Surprisingly, their Poutine was super legit with crispy house-cut fries (and they were still crispy even with all the gravy), real cheese curds and of course, the gravy.  I would recommend this as a must order.

We ended off with an Mini Ube Flan Cake.  As you can see, there was an actual flan right on top.  This was quite good with the unmistakable flavour of ube and a purposeful sweetness.  The flan really did it for me with its silkiness and caramel flavour.  Overall, this was a delicious visit to Win Win Chick-N.  Chicken and sides were solid while their featured sliders could be considered full-blown chicken sammies.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid fried chicken with a flavourful coating

- Those sliders are huge

- Good sides

The Bad:

- Um, it is far for most?

Mama's Diner

I'm sure we are all familiar with Korean food in the Lower Mainland.  We have enough of it to get a good sense of what to expect and what is considered good.  However, we don't see much in the way of Chinese-Korean cuisine.  By the name alone, it is pretty self-explanatory, but I would say it is more Korean than Chinese.  There are Chinese influences and interpretations of Korean dishes in my mind.  But then again, there are related dishes that have benefitted from influences both ways.  On that note, Jackie and I checked out Mama's Diner (yep, serves Chinese-Korean eats!) located near the Walmart on Garden City Road.

We began with the usual Banchan consisting of sprouts, kimchi, daikon and garlic scapes.  I loved the addition of the garlic scapes as you don't see it very often.  They were cooked through while being still crunchy.  Our first dish was the classic Tteok Sausage.  This was solidly-prepared with soft and chewy rice cakes that were crispy on the outside.  The sausages were seared enough that there was aromatics whereas the overall texture was still juicy and bouncy.

One of the best tasting dishes was the Sweet & Spicy Squid.  That sauce was so flavourful and appealing where it was completely balanced.  Also, it was bang on in viscosity and just enough of it to coat each piece of squid.  However, the starch batter was a bit gummy where each piece of squid stuck to each other.  So when we picked it up, the batter slid off.  Other than that, the squid was tender with a bite and of course the sauce was fantastic.

Another solid item was the Seafood Pancake.  This was the thinner type where the outside was uniformly crispy without being overly greasy.  As you can see, it was subjected to a proper sear where it was golden brown, but not burnt.  Hence, it was nutty and aromatic with good caramelization.  Inside, the pancake was soft and but not wet.  It had just enough green onion for impact and there was the right amount of seafood.

With our choice of soup, we went for the classic Gamjatang.  This was loaded with big pork neckbones that were meaty and cooked down perfectly.  The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, but did not actually fall-off-the-bone without us manipulating them.  The soup itself was meaty with some spice and the unmistakable herbal background taste. Potatoes were also soft and delicate while not melting in texture.

We decided on 2 noodle dishes and sure it was a bit defaultish, yet at the same time, we really enjoy Spicy Cold Noodles as well as the Jajeunmyeon. Both were really large portions of noodles  Normally, you see a small clump of noodles, but in the pictures, it is obvious that they skimp.  Texturally, both noodles were chewy, I think the cold noodles could've used a few ice cubes though.  As for the jajeunmyeon, it was on point with enough sauce that had the right viscosity.  Flavourwise, it was impactful but in a mild way.  Nice sweet onion hits.

We ordered an equal amount of rice dishes as well including the Beef Bulgogi Bibimbap and the Kimchi Fried Rice.  There was so much beef in the rice bowl that it ensured every scoop would be 50% meat.  It was savoury and sweet while being tender due to the beef being sliced thin.  Only wish would be the dolset to be hotter so a rice crust could form.  As for the kimchi fried rice, it was tasty.  The rice was chewy and subjected to a good wok-fry.  There was good spice and overall seasoning while pieces of squid were appealingly chewy.

Now the most impressive-looking dish of the bunch, the Mama Hot Plate Special features a cast iron UFO with the featured dish in the middle (Stir-Fried Spicy Beef Intestines), rice and cheese.  On the outer ring we found corn cheese and fish cake.  Loved this dish as there was plenty of tender intestine that was not overly gamy.  Nice spice on it and when mixed with the rice and cheese, it was satisfying.  Overall, the food at Mama's Diner is solid and served in generous portions.  I found the Chinese influences to be quite minimal and hence, things seemed to be how they should be.  Would come back.

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

The Good:

- Apparent flavours

- Large portions

- Nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary (which is a good thing)

The Bad:

- The dolset should've been hotter

Daimanya

We have seen many AYCE spots pop up all-over-the-place in past year or so.  As mentioned in my previous posts, the economy has dictated this trend where people are looking for the best-bang-for-the-buck during these inflationary times.  Hey, if one was to eat out, better make it worth it, right?  Well, there is a new player in town that is actually just the re-imagined Meet Oyster.  It is now Daimanya, and although you can still get a personal hot pot, the main portions of the menu features Japanese Izakaya dishes.

So we started with an array of small dishes including Wakame Salad, Green Salad, Edamame, Tako Wasabi, Ankimo and Meet Ocean Tartare (nice play on the old name...).  The items were pretty typical with the ankimo being my favourite.  Definitely the foie gras of the sea with its soft butteriness and natural sweetness.  Tako wasabi was also good with just enough wasabi hit.  It was served with crispy nori.  The tartare was more of soy-based mix, but the fish had decent texture.

Next, we were served 2 large plates of Beef Tataki and Tuna Tataki. So if they were implying that their AYCE dishes were near a-la-carte Izakaya quality, then these 2 did their part.  The beef was vibrant in colour and tender to the chew.  I would've liked a bit more acidity, but it was good nonetheless.  As for the tuna, it was evenly seared on all sides and buttery soft on the inside.  It wasn't particularly sweet, but the dressing made up for that.  Once again, I would've liked a bit more acidity to it.

We were served 2 types of Chawanmushi including the Snow Crab Roe and Seafood.  Now with the snow crab roe, it actually meant there was crab butter too and for me, that was fantastic.  The natural sweet and briny nature of the crab butter added umami to the otherwise silky and slightly sweet egg.  We also had the Butter Sake Clams and this was another a-la-carte quality dish.  The clams were all open and cooked perfectly.  They were tender and buttery with a light sake essence.

On the menu, I was delighted to see that they had Baked Motoyaki Scallops.  Unlike some other AYCE spots, these were actual scallops (not imitation) complete with the mantle.  Therefore, beyond the butteriness of the scallop, we got the exterior chewiness.  They were sweet by themselves, but the motoyaki was quite good being creamy and sweet.  The Baked Oysters came in 2 flavours including motoyaki and garlic.  For me, I preferred the garlic and it was very garlicky.  The oysters were large, briny and fresh.

Probably the most striking and impressive-looking dish was the Sashimi.  It was an assortment of Atlantic salmon, akami, madai, hokkigai, hotate, ika, hamachi, tuna and amaebi.  By appearance alone, the fish was pretty fresh with a nice sheen.  Texturally, some of them were a bit watery while some weren't all that sweet.  However, considering the options available and the fact this was AYCE, the sashimi was more than acceptable.

Of course if we have sashimi, we would also have various forms of sushi too right?  Well we got a plate consisting of Black Dragon Roll, Aburi Tuna Love Roll, Green Caterpillar Roll and Aburi Salmon Oshi.  These were pretty decent with chewy sushi rice and plenty of components.  I particularly enjoyed the oshi as the salmon was buttery and the sauce was not too greasy.  The tuna love roll was good with a balanced filling-to-rice ratio.  The black dragon roll could masquerade as a non-AYCE item.

Onto some fried items, I was surprised to find Fried Soft Shell Crab on the menu.  These are usually $10.00-$15.00 a pop on most menus.  This was breaded with panko and fried pretty aggressively.  Hence it was super crunchy.  The soft shell crab was still creamy and delicate inside, but I would've liked a lighter batter.  As for the Tempura, it was crispy and not a dense as it appeared.  The ebi was still buttery and sweet.  Veggies were cooked properly.

Continuing with the deluxe items, they had Foie Gras.  So nothing particularly wrong with its preparation (being seared and then drizzled with sauce), but the piece of crostini was far too large for the small slice of foie.  Otherwise, it was buttery and decadent.  Then we had the Salted Egg Yolk Wings.  With rendered skin, the wings were beautifully fried where the meat was succulent.  Unfortunately, the salted egg yolk slid off the wings and left the flavour on the plate.  I had to take one bite of the wing and then scoop up the egg yolk to have any effect.

As if the luxurious items we had were not enough, they also featured Deep Fried Lobster Tail as well.  The lobster tail was cut up and then battered with tempura and fried.  This was good with bouncy and sweet lobster meat with a crispy batter.  To make sure we covered most of the other times, we had the BBQ Hamachi Kama and the Saba too.  I thought kama was a bit overdone in spots, but the more fatty portions were buttery.  The saba was cooked quite nicely being moist and typical saba-tasting (which is a bit fishy, but in a good way).

Maybe one of the under-the-radar items was the Corn Cheese Croquettes.  Coated with crispy panko, the inside was exactly a combination of stringy cheese and sweet corn niblets.  Not as sexy as some of the other dishes, but delicious in my opinion.  We also had the Mentaiko Udon which was decent, but could've used more brininess to the dish.  Rather, it was pleasant with equal parts savoury and sweet notes.  It just need more fishiness.

Getting a few more normal dishes, we had some Sushi Cones including salmon, unagi and chopped scallop.  These were solid with enough ingredients nestled within the chewy sushi rice.  If we had eaten them right away, the nori would've been crispy too (but alas we were taking photos).  The Unagi Don featured enough eel to go with the somewhat dry rice.  When mixed together with the eel and unagi sauce, it ate well enough.

The last deluxe item we had was the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Sukiyaki.  As you can see, the fatty slices of wagyu dominated the dish.  When cooked down, it was buttery and super soft.  It was accompanied by some mushrooms and napa cabbage.  For dessert, we were served the Premium Ice Cream Bars (Kirkland brand).  Pretty good way to end off an AYCE meal that featured more than a few premium items.  In terms of quality, I believe it is better than most AYCE spots.  When they say it is a near a-la-carte Izakaya experience, I would agree with that.  It doesn't quite get there, but it is good enough to justify the price.  If you go in with reasonable expectations, your meal will be enjoyable.

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

The Good:

- Wide range of premium items on the menu

- Generally better quality than most AYCE spots

- Love those VIP rooms!

The Bad:

- It is better than typical AYCE spots, but it still isn't a-la-carte quality

- Parking lot can get full fast

Cherry's Food House

So if you haven't already heard, there has been some drama surrounding Cherry's Food House in Richmond.  Well, I'm not going to get into that with this post.  What I am going to focus on is the Korean Chinese food that they serve and what I thought of it.  I will reiterate that Cherry's dishes up Korean Chinese fusion cuisine, so I do not want to hear comments saying it isn't authentic.  That is not the point of the place.  Frankly, if the food tastes good, I am not inclined to slam a place for not being authentic, especially when they have already stated as such!  So without further delay, lets get into the food!

The main thing they wanted us to try was the Ginseng Chicken Soup.  This was served in a large pot atop a butane burner.  There was a whole small chicken prominently in the soup with dates, goji berries and of course ginseng. I really enjoyed this as the soup was so full of concentrated chicken flavour.  It was naturally sweet and exhibited the silkiness of the collagen-rich broth.  The ginseng was definitely there, but not too strong so that it was too herbal.  Highly-recommended.

Another must-order item here is their Seafood Pancake.  With most other places, you'd find a bunch of green onion and practically no seafood.  Not here.  In fact, there was so much imitation crab stick, the whole thing looked like an imitation crab pancake.  There was also other bits of seafood in there though and it was not super doughy either.  As you can see, the outside was crispy and the whole thing was really large.  Sure, there was green onion in there, but only a bit.

With the BBQ Beef Short Ribs, we finally saw the fusion part of the menu.  At first glance, the short ribs looked like any other version with nice grill marks and a sizzling aroma.  However, the meat had been tenderized, hence, the chewy meatiness of short rib was absent.  Instead, it was buttery tender except for the cartilage portion near the bone.  For some, that would be the wrong texture, but believe me, for others, it would be welcomed being easier to chew.  Personally, I didn't mind it as it was indeed a breeze to eat and the flavour was aromatic from the fat as well as the classic sweet saltiness.

The same Chinese Korean fusion was present in the Bossam as well.  Normally, the pork belly is boiled in a brine that has elements such as ginger, onion, garlic, soybean paste and believe it or not coffee.  The reason you do not taste the coffee is that all of these elements are supposed to be subtle.  In this version here, it seemed to taste more like a Chinese "lo siu" where there are elements of sweetened soy and other aromatics.  Again, that didn't bother me because I'm Chinese and these flavours were familiar.  I merely wrapped the tender pieces of pork belly in the cabbage leaf and all of the other condiments.  Tasted great in my opinion.

The next fusion dish, Sweet & Sour Pork, was something I really enjoyed.  I'm sure you are all familiar with the Korean version of Tangsuyuk where the batter is potato starch and the sauce is filled with fruit.  Then there is the Northern Chinese-style where the pork is sliced into thin pieces and coated with corn starch (or tapioca starch).  Both versions do not contain ketchup nor hawthorne.  So the one here at Cherry's is more akin to the Northern Chinese-style but has elements of the Korean version as well.  The pork was tender and the batter was super crispy.  The sauce was tangy and sweet.

We tried 2 of their cold noodles including the Cold Noodles with soup and the Spicy Cold Noodles.  The buckwheat noodles were chewy and appealing while sitting in a cold broth.  The flavour was a bit different that I am used to but it was still savoury with some sweetness.  Maybe it needed some more acidity?  It did have some chicken meatballs which was different.  As for the spicy cold noodles, they were chewy and mixed with a good amount of gochujang-based sauce.  Plenty of spice, tang and sweetness.

We weren't done with noodles as we also had the Jajangmyeon.  I guess a Korean Chinese fusion restaurant makes sense as this is the Korean version of the Chinese Ja Jeun Mein.  It is basically cooked noodles topped with a stir-fried sauce.  For the Chinese version, it is usually a meat sauce made of pork, sweet soybean paste and sometimes onion and/or pressed tofu.  Julienned cucumbers are served atop the sauce.  The Korean version is a black bean sauce with onions, chunjang and pork.  Well, as you can see, this is a pretty legit Korean version, but with cucumbers and a fried egg.  So definitely fusion but also pretty authentic too.  This was good.  I definitely enjoyed the chewy noodles and the rich sauce with the sweetness of cooked down onions.

We had another hot pot on a butane burner with the Sliced Beef Hot Pot.  I think this was pretty much a fusion of Korean and Japanese where the broth was akin to Sukiyaki with its sweet soy flavour.  This turned out to be one of my favourites as the beef was super fatty and tender.  It soaked up all of the broth and the veggies did so too.  Overall, the food at Cherry's is quite tasty and if you accept the fusion part of it, then there should be no complaining about authenticity.  Portions are really generous and the pricing is reasonable.  I can see why the place was packed when we were there.

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonably-priced
- Some pretty tasty dishes

The Bad:
- Well, this will upset the authenticity police (well too bad for them)
- The place gets slammed at peak times and they have a hard time attending to all the tables