Sherman's Food Adventures: Spicy
Showing posts with label Spicy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spicy. Show all posts

Bag O' Crab

I haven't done a seafood boil in quite some time.  In fact, it was about a year ago at Pier 88 in Lynnwood.  This time around, I was in the Seattle area once again and we made our way out to Kent for Bag o' Crab.  Not sure why we didn't go to Shoreline, as it was closer to where we were staying.  Oh well!  So, this place is much smaller in size than Pier 88 but upon looking at the menu, the pricing seems rather reasonable.  We ended getting a few combos in addition to some sides.


To start off we had the Cajun Fries as well as the Cajun Wings.  Crispy with plenty of seasoning on the outside, the fries were salty and spicy.  Inside, the potato was a bit on the firmer side, but still plenty of natural texture.  As for the wings, they were pretty large and fried until crunchy on the outside.  The skin was somewhat rendered, partially affected by the batter.  As for the meat, it was super juicy and tender.  Wings were well seasoned with some spice.

We ended up with 2 combos but before that, we had an a la carte plate of 1lb of Crawfish, Mussels and Clams each.  For this plate, we added sides of corn, potatoes and sausages.  The choice of sauce for the seafood was garlic butter and hence was non-spicy.  Naturally, the crawfish was a lot of work for just a bit of tail meat.  It wasn't particularly muddy-tasting, so that was a bonus.  The clams and mussels were fresh and all open.  They were cooked properly being buttery.

Onto Combo #3 with a whole Dungeness Crab accompanied by 1lb of shrimp, corn, potatoes and sausage.  As you can probably tell, this was in a completely different sauce than the first plate.  We chose Atomic Sauce (which is a combination of garlic butter, Cajun and lemon pepper) in medium.  This was plenty spicy for us and offered up layers of spice, garlickiness and aromatics.  The crab was fresh with bouncy meat while the shrimp had a snap texture.

We also had Combo #3 with 1lb of King Crab Legs that came with the same items as with the Dungeness Crab.  Really enjoyed the King Crab Legs as they were large and full of fluffy briny and sweet meat.  We had this in Louisiana Flavor in medium.  This was spicy enough with the smokiness and garlickiness.  Loved that the corn wasn't overdone as they were plump, while the potatoes were soft and creamy inside.  Slices of sausages were tender with some rebound.  Overall, the seafood boil at Bag O' Crab was satisfying and reasonably-priced.  Seafood was texturally on point and the sauces were impactful.  Would do this again if I was in the area.

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

The Good:
- Seafood (especially the crab) is texturally on point
- Sauces are impactful
- Pricing is fair

The Bad:
- Place is a bit more bare bones, but it is reflected in the pricing
- We found it a bit cold inside

Barcelo's Flame Grilled Chicken (Guildford)

I've always loved Barcelo's Flame Grilled Chicken.  Even more so than Nando's, however, I do like them both.  I just think Barcelo's is better.  Did you know that Barcelo's was actually first to the scene in South Africa?  Nando's actually showed up much later despite most people thinking it was the original.  Anyways enough with the history lesson...  Jackie and I were invited to try out their Guildford location within the T&T complex on 152nd at 101st.  Upon entering the store, it struck us that the dining space was large and well-appointed.  No wonder they have a sign outside advertising that they can accommodate 50 people for a private party!


Well, there was only 2 of us and we arrived in the time between lunch & dinner, so we had plenty of space!  We started with some appies including the Cauliflower Bites and the Corn Ribs.  Solid dishes with the bites being still firm with a thin and crispy batter.  Corn ribs were almost like street corn, but instead, these were lightly battered and fried.  They were drizzled with spicy mayo and topped with cheese.  There was this spicy and sweet thing going on here.

Of course, the thing to get here is the chicken, so we had the Peri Plate #2 that consisted of 1/4 chicken, 1 skewer and 2 wings.  These were all nicely charred with plenty of smoky nuttiness to go around.  We asked for mild, so the spice was in the background while the sweetness of the onions came through.  The dark meat chicken was super juicy and tender.  I found the white meat skewer to be moist despite the char.  Wings were solid too with elements of both the leg and white meat.  We got to choose 2 sides and went for the veggies and mashed potatoes.  Those potatoes were really good with the skin providing texture and flavour.

We also had the Half Pack so you can see how one of the family meals look like.  This featured a 1/2 chicken, 4 wings and 2 skewers.  This was essentially double the Peri Plate #2.  With all these pieces of chicken, we could experiment with all of the available sauces such as Lemon Pepper, Mild Peri, Very Peri and Supa Peri.  For me, it was all about the Supa Peri as it had the most impact and flavour.  I have a high spice tolerance, so it wasn't too bad for me.  You still can't go wrong with the other peri sauces as you can taste the slight spice, tanginess and sweetness.

For those who don't just want to eat pieces of chicken, especially on the bone, then there is the Peri Chicken Sandwich.  This was actually quite good with a grilled piece of chicken breast.  It was moist and tender with some mild peri sauce.  Naturally, I dunked it into the Supa Peri!  The veggies were fresh and the brioche bun was nicely toasted.  For our side, we had the Yam Fries which were crispy and not overly greasy.  It came with a spicy mayo.

Now I wouldn't blame you for laughing at me for Peri Sirloin Burger.  This almost seemed out-of-place, but let me assure you, it was actually good!  This featured real ground sirloin (and not some processed patty) that was meaty and lean.  It was seared up nicely with a nice crispy exterior.  Despite being lean, the meat was moist and not dry at all.  It was flavourful and combined with the fresh veggies, it was delicious!  I only wished it was served on the brioche rather than the Portuguese bun.  However, I get it, Portuguese grilled chicken, so need to use Portuguese bun...  The Peri Fries on the side were crispy and nicely spiced.


For dessert, we were served an Oreo Ice Cream Cake as well as a classic Portuguese Tart.  I would say the ice cream cake was pretty typical and did the job.  I did like the Oreo crust!  The tart was very silky and soft where the filling had a hard time staying within the flaky shell.  It was sweet, but was appropriate for the flavours.  Overall, this visit to Barcelo's was exactly like my other experiences (which have been many).  Chicken is prepared right being smoky and not dry.  Loved the peri sauces.  Always satisfying.

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

The Good:
- Well-charred chicken that is not dry
- Surprisingly good burgers
- Affordable

The Bad:
- Sides are hit and miss

Liuyishou (Burnaby)

Here I am again at Liuyishou in Burnaby.  This time around, I am trying out their AYCE menu for $39.99 per person.  That also includes one soup base for the table.  Currently, they are running a Halloween special where if you are a party of 4 and dressed in a costumes, you get one AYCE meal for free!  That effectively is 25% off.  So make sure you can round up 3 friends or family members!  This is only available on Oct 31st.  Remember though, since this is a Halloween special, you must dress up!  Also, if you say "trick or treat",  they will send out a free special dessert (available Oct 28th - Oct 31st).


Since I've been here so many times, it was nice to see some subtle changes.  Over at the Sauce Bar, they now have a refrigerated serving tray that features 5 different small dishes.  These include Mouth-Watering Chicken, Marinated Pig's Ear, Sliced Pig's Feet, Tofu Skin and Seaweed Salad.  All are very good and kept cold by the cooling trays.  The sauce portion of the station remains quite the same but there are now sliding sneeze guards.  Nice to keep things sanitary!


There is also a small selection of Hot Food that included Fried Mantou, Fried Chicken and Fried Egg Rice.  These are not merely throw-ins or for show, they are actually good.  The chicken is super juicy and the batter is crispy and light.  Fried rice is a bit greasy, yet is chewy and flavourful.  Adjacent, there are some DIY Grass Jelly dessert as well as some cantaloupe and orange slices.  The fruit is actually quite good being sweet and juicy.

Another welcome change is the serve-yourself Hot Pot Bar.  It consists of various noodles, vegetables, bean curd things, fish balls and tofu.  Obviously, this is added due to the introduction of AYCE.  This makes things easier for the staff as these items are easy enough for people to get themselves.  I personally like it since these are some of the items I like most and I could help myself to as many quail's eggs, bean curd sticks, corn and noodles to my heart's content!

For our visit, we ordered a good selection of what is available on the AYCE menu including the popular Beef & Lamb Ring.  Very cool to look at, but beware, you need to cook that meat fairly quickly or it will cook on the board.  Love that their Meatballs are freshly made including the beef and shrimp.  Another must is the Sliced Snakehead Fish.  Super buttery and moist.  One of the extra charge dishes is the Peppercorn Beef Tongue.  It is so tender and buttery.  Worth the $9.95.  Also worth the extra $4.95 is the Brown Sugar Sticky Rice Cakes.  Crispy on the outside with a soft chewiness inside.  The brown sugar is so sweet and rich.

On the topic of sweet, the free dessert that is part of the Trick or Treat promotion is the Deep Fried Yam Balls.  These are also delicious where the outside is lightly crunchy while the inside is soft with a chew.  These are sweet but not too much.  A nice little bite to end the meal.  So you might already know that I love Liuyishou and now that they have AYCE, it is even a better deal.  But try to take advantage of their Halloween special.  Remember to dress up!

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

The Good:
- Affordable pricing for the AYCE
- Food quality for AYCE is the same as their regular menu
- Service is great (based on previous visits as well)

The Bad:
- Location is somewhat small, so less space and less selection of cooked items

Dragon Bowl @ Club Kitchen

Back when I first visited Dragon Bowl out in New West, I was impressed with the home-style food they served.  Things were not overly greasy nor salty, which in my mind, made things a bit healthier.  Furthermore, the portion size was more than enough for my appetite as you could choose your protein, carb, sauce and side items.  The most important thing of all, is that the food was delicious in my opinion.  Now, we can get the same tasty and well-appointed rice and noodle bowls from Club Kitchen in Downtown Vancouver.  Club Kitchen is a commissary concept where a collection of different restaurants dish up eats for eat-in, take-out and delivery.  We paid them a visit to try out some bowls and drinks.


Before we got to the bowls, we tried 3 different drinks including Original Black Tea, Peach Black Tea and Lemon Black Tea.  My favourite of the bunch was the lemon as it was tangy and lightly sweet with a fairly light tea flavour.  To illustrate the home-style food at Dragon Bowl, you don't have to look much further than the Daily Soup.  The one we tried was daikon & carrot with chicken.  It was so clear and clean with natural sweetness and essence.  It wasn't salty and the ingredients were honest.

Onto the bowls, we had varied selection to try all the different meats, carbs and sides.  On that note, the way you construct your bowl is exactly choosing a meat, a carb, 3 sides and sauce.  Braised egg is extra.  So our first bowl was the Alberta Beef atop rice with black pepper sauce.  The 3 sides were sprouts, cabbage and shredded potato.  This was a good combination of components as the rice went well with the robust beef that was slightly peppery.  Veggies were fresh and kept things light.

One of their classic meats and personally my favourite, is the Lamb Shoulder.  This was on top of white noodles and the 3 sides were celery/carrots, bean curd and wood ear mushroom.  I personally would've either chosen white rice or yellow noodles instead due to the robust nature of the lamb.  It was mildly gamy and benefited from the spicy dragon sauce as it could stand up to the lamb.  The chewiness of the bean curd and crunch from the wood ear were good matches.  I would probably sub shredded potato for the veggies.

The Beef Brisket, being the most pricey of all the proteins (but only comes in large), is the only option that includes a braised egg (at no extra cost).  The brisket was more like beef finger meat, but that was a good thing as that is usually very tender and meaty.  That it was and the fat had been rendered down quite well.  Each piece had soaked up all of the braising liquid and hence, was delicious on its own.  This came with rice, which is the best match for the meat.

So far, I haven't mentioned that the bowls come in 3 sizes with the smallest coming in really inexpensive at $9.88.  This includes the beef, vegan, pork and in this case Boneless Chicken Thigh with black bean sauce.  The base was rice (which is not extra charge) while the 3 sides were bean curd, sprouts and wood ear.  This bowl in the smallest size (without the egg) would really be $9.88!  The chicken was tender and moist while the black bean sauce was rather mild, not being very salty.

With the Pork Tenderloin, it came with a mushroom sauce and sat atop white noodles.  I thought this was another example of how home-style the food is.  The pork was tender, but mildly-seasoned while the mushroom sauce was not overly salty with the natural earthiness of the mushroom coming through.  The rice noodles were slippery and was only slightly seasoned by the sauce.  Add in the 3 sides and this was not very restaurant-like.  Some would argue that there isn't enough flavour, but somehow I don't mind it because it feels healthy.

Our last bowl featured Jumbo Shrimp with dragon sauce atop steamed yellow noodles.  Yes, jumbo shrimp is an oxymoron, but really, they were a decent size.  The texture was meaty with some rebound.  Being non-spicy and slightly sweet, the dragon sauce didn't interfere with the shrimp flavour.  I thought the yellow noodles were quite good being chewy and a good match for the sauce but maybe not the protein.  So as you can see, the food at Dragon Bowl isn't necessarily complex.  Rather, it is home-style food that is not overly greasy nor salty.  You can literally eat this often and not feel bad about it.  Considering bowls start at $9.88, you can eat this every day without breaking the bank.  It is hard to find good values these days, but Dragon Bowl does offer a great mix of good nutritious food at a reasonable price.

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

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Fair amount of food for that price
- Appears to be healthier than other options

The Bad:

- Some might find the flavours a bit muted

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

 

Li's China Grill

Is it just me or is Kingsway between Joyce and Boundary, the epicentre of Chinese skewer joints?  The newest one is Li's China Grill right across from the Safeway.  To be honest, I didn't even know this place existed until I got a message to try the place out.  The place isn't as big as some of the other restaurants nearby, but their menu does include most of the usual items including skewers, whole fish and rice/noodle dishes.  They are also licensed, so one can get some cold beers to go with your meal.

Before we got to the BBQ skewers, we had some dishes in the form of North-East Style Vegetable Salad, Special Cold Sauce Clams, Marinated Cucumber with Garlic Sauce and Black Fungus with Pickled Pepper.  The vegetable salad was more mung bean with a spicy peanut sauce than actual veggies, but I wasn't complaining.  This was pretty good but maybe a bit too saucy.  Noodles were slippery and still al dente.  Clams were buttery and did have a nice spice to it.  Cukes were crunchy also with spice while the woodear was crunchy with some spicy tang.


What better to go with skewers than a Beer Flight?  Well, this is the first time I've seen it at a Chinese skewer restaurant.  Got to try 4 different beers, which was fun.  Also got the Sichuan-Style Spicy Chicken which definitely looked spicy.  It certainly was, but not incredibly, so that I could still taste the garlic and vinegar.  As for the chicken, it was poached lightly where the meat was moist and tender with gelatinized skin.


Moving onto the BBQ items, but not necessarily the skewers just yet, we had the Beef Tongue, Chicken Wings, Beef Short Ribs and Eggplant.  Sliced incredibly thin, the beef tongue was not chewy.  Wings were flavourful, especially the spicy ones.  Juicy meat inside.  The short ribs were a bit dry, but had good spice.  Loved the eggplant as it was tender, but not mushy.  Once again, well seasoned.

So for the Skewers, we got a good selection of them and I'm not going to list them all, but I will give some highlights.  I really liked the chicken knees as they were cooked just enough and had that classic cartilage crunch.  Tendon was soft and had a slightly crispy exterior.  Chicken hearts were still juicy with a nice grilled flavour. As you can see in the picture, the squid tentacles were nicely spiced and had a bouncy moist texture.

With the Grilled Oysters and Grilled Scallops, we got all of the available flavours including Motoyaki, Hot Pepper, Black Bean and Garlic.  Beyond the type of flavour topping, the oysters were buttery, briny and fresh while the scallops were equally buttery and had an appealingly chewy mantle.  The vermicelli underneath soaked up all the juices and flavours.  My favourite was the hot pepper as it was definitely spicy while the garlic was a close second.  However, the motoyaki was good too as they didn't overdo it with the mayo.  Black bean was not bad either, being a bit salty and garlicky.

Another major item on their menu is the Grilled Fish with various flavours and accompaniments.  We got the half-and-half Catfish in Pickled Cabbage and Soy Bean Paste.  Spicy Sichuan is their signature flavour, but we didn't want spicy this time.  We added rice cake and lotus root to the pickled cabbage while for the soy bean, we had quail eggs and wide vermicelli.  As much as catfish can be muddy tasting, this was actually sweet and moist.  Loved both flavours, but the soybean was my favourite as it had that fermented saltiness with some spice.  Overall, the food at Li's China Grill was solid and I especially enjoyed the skewers and fish.  Pricing is fair and I liked how the minimum order on each skewer wasn't something ridiculous like 10. 

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

The Good:
- Love the fish, well-prepared and flavourful
- Skewers are cooked properly
- They have flights of beer

The Bad:
- Service can be slow due to lack of staff

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