Mis Trucos

* Restaurant is now closed*

Normally, I have a fairly long queue of posts that will keep me going even if I suddenly fall into a large crevasse. Consequently, there are some musings that don't seem to jive with current events. Very rarely do I post something right away. However, I felt the need to write this post almost immediately to not seem too dated. You see, the Canucks are in the playoffs against the hated Hawks once again for the third straight year. This time around, they built up a 3-0 games lead and seemed destined to finally exorcise some demons. Now, if you haven't been a Canuck fan for long, you have a big surprise waiting. You see, the Nux are cursed. Whenever something good happens, it is followed up with despair and anger - much like a visit to Richmond. Ever since they went up 3-0, they dropped 2 consecutive games in blowouts. Game 6 was in Chicago and honestly, it was too nerve-wracking to watch. Well, not really, I wanted to watch it; but we had existing dinner plans at Mis Trucos. I had purchased a Living Social coupon a while ago which essentially gave us 2 tasting menus for the price of one.

So off we went, Viv and I, down to this lil' tapas place on Davie. Naturally, the place was deader than Charlie Sheen's career when we arrived. Hello, Nux game! No matter, we had the place to ourselves and the food came out fairly quickly starting with the Crispy Bread Wild Prawn with citrus aioli. We really liked the crunchy "toast" wrapped around the perfectly cooked prawn. The prawn itself was not particularly flavourful; but the binding agent (egg) along with the chives provided the necessary flavour. The aioli was indeed citrusy and tart. A nice bite to begin the meal. Next up was the Seared Salmon with preserved lemon and arugula pesto. I took a sample of the pesto immediately and it was nutty (from the pine nuts) and mildly flavourful. I then proceeded to combine everything together into one bite and the diced red peppers gave a nice pop in texture and sweetness while the preserved lemon added a hit of saltiness and some zing. I would've liked a tad more acidity to liven up the dish though. The salmon was slightly dry; yet not totally overcooked.

As we finished up the salmon, a bowl of Mixed Seafood Stew in a fennel, paprika and lobster broth was presented to us. The smell of lobster immediately filled the air and I dug in right away. I would describe this broth as more rustic than refined; yet that suited me just fine. There was a very faint fennel taste which Viv liked since she's not a huge fan of it. The seafood consisted of salmon, halibut, squid, scallop and crayfish with red peppers, fennel and fingerling potatoes. Everything was cooked relatively nicely and we enjoyed the stew to the last drop. Our carb dish came next being the Housemade Tagliatelle with housemade chorizo and wild mushrooms. This was a very good pasta. It was very al dente, which is very good for a fresh pasta. But the star of the show was the chorizo. It was meaty and sufficiently spicy that it helped flavour the rosée sauce. Combined with the ample amount of mushrooms and a pronounced presence of garlic, this was not lacking in flavour.

For our last savoury dish, we were presented with a Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with celeriac puree, roasted leek and arugula salad. The pork was barely (and if you look closely, somewhat pink) cooked and that suited me fine because I hate overcooked pork. I found the honey glaze to be too sweet; yet it was tempered by the wonderful vinaigrette with the peppery and bitter arugula. The roasted leek was perfect. It added a nice herbiness to the dish while the celeriac puree was texturally pleasing. For dessert, we were served a Vanilla Pannacotta topped with a pear compote and candied almonds. I dug right into the silky pannacotta and it was pleasing in texture and taste. It wasn't too sweet which let the pears stand out. However, the candied almonds were far too sweet. We liked the textural contrast with the crunch and all; but a little less candied sugar and just nuts would've suited this dessert fine.

When it was all-said-and-done, we were satisfied with our meal. Of course the coupon helped, otherwise this would've been $70.00 before beverages, tax and tip. Not exactly cheap; yet the food was pretty good. I guess it depends on personal preferences if this would be considered worth it or not. Price withstanding, we did like the food and the portions were alright. As for the Nux game, I made it back for overtime... where they lost. Sucks. Now onto game 7. I still have faith; but I'm going to lose my appetite. Well, not really...

The Good:
- Food is pretty tasty
- Quaint dining space
- The service we got was good (albeit there was only one other table at the time)

The Bad:
- If you're a hungry person, not sure if this would necessarily fill you up; but this is a tapas place
- Menu is limited
- The dining space is quaint; however it is tight

Congee Noodle House

Early on in the life of this blog, I did a post on Congee Noodle House. Prior to that, I had been to the place many, many times in the past. However, the day I visited it with my camera (my point & shoot), only Milhouse had joined me for eats. Thus, that particular post was lacking both in good pictures and variety of food. Being a bit OCD, it has been bothering me for the longest time. Every time I look at the post, the quality of the pictures pains me. I've had it in the back of my mind that I needed to go back. Yet, that opportunity never materialized due to many factors (including the fact there are newer places to visit). Tonight, our intention was to give The Whip a go. Don't worry, we're not into S&M, although maybe Mijune might be interested... Rather, the Whip is a late night spot on 6th at Main. We arrived to find that the place was not only very busy, it was loud... from the outside. Not that we don't like good music; but we really wanted to have some conversation. We just didn't feel like yelling to each other. That is usually reserved for times on the ice. Hence, the opportunity to revisit CNH presented itself. Only 3 blocks away, it worked out for everyone. Well, maybe not Sweet Tooth, she loves dessert and CNH is not exactly a hotbed of sweets.

Despite being midnight, CNH was pretty busy itself. Not unexpected though since the place does have solid eats. Well, due to its namesake, I naturally ordered the Wonton Noodles. Much like every other time I've been here, the wonton noodles does the restaurant's name justice. With thin, chewy noodles in a mildly flavourful broth, this is as good as you'll find in town. As for the wontons, they are solid; yet not my favourite. There is a good amount of big crunchy shrimp with a some pork. I'd prefer a shrimp-only wonton; however, that is a personal preference. Milhouse did me a favour and ordered the Preserved Duck Egg & Salted Pork Congee. Although I didn't have any, it was exactly like its always been. Thick, properly seasoned with depth and full of ingredients, it also represents the restaurant with pride. The good thing about the congee is that it remains thick until the last spoonful. He added a side of Salty Donut (what's with his love for salty things? Polka King does call him salty-wet all the time though...). I'm sorry to say that the donut sucked. It was really chewy and not crisp at all. If it wasn't dipped into the congee, it would be basically inedible. Not freshly fried would probably be the reason for this. For my offal urge, I got a plate of Assorted Offal as a side dish. Buoyed by a large amount of lettuce underneath, the tripe was slightly on the chewy side while the tendon was perfectly soft. On the other hand, I found the brisket to be extremely chewy and dry. All of the components were seasoned properly. With that in mind, I still used a large amount of their hot oil as a condiment. If that wasn't enough food already, I got a plate of the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice. My intention was to bring this home as takeout; but I got it plated first. LOL... For picture's sake! I found the fried rice to be lacking in flavour. There was a total lack of salt and the small amount of salted fish didn't help the cause. Texturally, the rice was fine being dry, chewy and not oily. Also, there was a bevy of tender diced chicken. Milhouse (he of the salted fish expertise or was that salty wet?) thought it was indeed bland.

Sweet Tooth didn't find any desserts, so she only had a small plate of Fried Tofu tossed in salt and peppers. Normally, anything fried is oily; yet this was extremely oily. Looking like an absorbent sponge dropped in a deep fryer, each piece was oil-soaked. Furthermore, we found it to be unusually salty. Perfect for Milhouse I suppose... Apu had the Beef Brisket Noodles. Much like my order of offal, the brisket looked dry and hard. However, similar to my bowl of noodles, his was perfectly chewy once again. Bear, who joins us in a cameo appearance, had the BBQ Pork Lo Mein (or dry-tossed noodles). Naturally, the noodles are chewier in this application. If you wanted it softer, the side of soup can help adjust it. As you can see, the BBQ pork has a good colour and according to Bear, the dish was decent. Hey, most of the food here at Congee Noodle King is more than decent. As for its closely related sibling, Congee Noodle King, I find it to be slightly better. Yet, it is like splitting hairs. They're both good and the food does their name justice (unlike some other places with wonton in their name...). And you gotta love that they're open until 2:00am.

The Good:
- Solid eats, especially the congee and wonton noodles...
- Inexpensive
- Open late

The Bad:
- Some of the stuff is a bit greasy
- Parking sucks

Yummy Wonton House

"I visited Yummy Wonton House and it sucked!" exclaimed Potman (make your own conclusions with that nickname) in the locker room prior to hockey on Wednesday night. Wow, that is a really bold and damming statement. I quickly asked why he thought it sucked. Well, he had a plate of fried noodles which were subpar. Fair enough. Probing a bit further, it appears he hadn't tried anything else. I quickly defended Yummy Wonton because I still believe they are one of the better places to find Chinese food out in North Delta. Sure, it doesn't compare to Richmond; but not many places do. Curious to see if his comment had any credibility, I decided it was time to visit Yummy Wonton again. I've been there not too long ago for Dim Sum and it was more than acceptable. Yet, I haven't had their regular food for almost 2 years.

So I didn't only visit Yummy Wonton once, I went back 2 times to completely make sure and also to try enough items to make a fair assessment. For my first visit, I got a bowl of Preserved Egg & Salted Pork Congee to start. The congee itself was decently thick with a good amount of ingredients. I found the taste to be balanced neither being too salty nor sweet. One thing I didn't like about the congee was the pork. It was fresh slices of pork rather than being brined in salt. Not a huge problem; but I really prefer salted pork. For my main, I had the BBQ Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice. As it arrived, the dish looked impressive with lots of properly cooked shrimp and meaty pieces of BBQ pork. Much like the first time I had this 2 years ago, the rice was a perfect texture being chewy and dry. The rice was pretty good, if not a tad too salty.

On my second visit, I ordered the Chef's Wonton Noodles. Hey, their name is Yummy Wonton, let's see if they can back it up! If you're wondering why I didn't order the regular wonton noodles, it's because of cost. It is a whopping $6.90! $6.90!!! Sorry, that is too expensive in my books. So I chose the lunch special which was a more respectable $4.00. It included one piece each of shrimp, fish and scallop. As with last time, the wontons were comprised completely of shrimp. You have to give them props for doing so. The wontons were actually quite good; but I wish they would de-vein the shrimp. The noodles were slightly past al dente and the soup was okay (probably a bit too salty). I also got an order of the Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Beef since a bowl of noodles is not enough... for me at least! Hey, this was a nicely wok-fried dish. The snow peas, carrots and celery were still crisp and vibrant. The beef was plentiful and properly tenderized. I liked this dish; but I found it to be too greasy. So my revists to Yummy have confirmed what I've known all along - it is decent Chinese food for North Delta. Sure, it ain't great Chinese food; but honestly, we're not talking about Richmond here. Hence, if you have reasonable expectations, then the food does the job.

The Good:
- Most of the dishes I've tried are prepared in a relatively authentic way
- Lots of choice, including Dim Sum
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Of course there is better... not around here though
- Slightly expensive (regular menu prices)

The Poor Italian

Located on the corner of 1st Ave and Rupert, lies a storefront that has been the home of many failed restaurants. It just seems like they don't succeed here. Whether it be the actual location, local demographics, lousy restaurants or bad feng sui, nothing lasts here. The latest to tempt fate is The Poor Italian. A joint-venture which includes Tony Parsons, The Poor Italian is nothing but. Rather, it is pretty close to fine dining, if not so already. Will it work at this corner of failure? Well, so far it has been doing alright. In fact, last summer, I attempted to visit the place with my softball team to no avail. The place was booked solid. Hence, it has taken me this long to finally dine here. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Rich Guy is in town. Not only is he open to eating out practically all times of the day, he has the moola to pay for it too!

So there we were, a romantic dinner between us. Yah, it looked a little odd; but honestly, who really cares anyways? Us, with our Diet Cokes enjoying a meal to candlelight... Yah, the camera made us even dorkier... After perusing the menu, we were deciding on some appetizers; but our attention kept focusing on the Antipasto Platter for 2. A massive plate consisting of 24-month Prosciutto, White Anchovies, Pickled Onions, Tuscan Chicken Liver Pate Crostinis, Parmesan, White Bean Salad, Cornichons, Caprese Salad with a Balsamic Reduction, Bruschetta, Smoked Salmon, Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives all drizzled with EVOO. The highlight of the platter was definitely the prosciutto and liver pate. The prosciutto was predictably salty due to the aging; but the fat helped balance it. The chicken liver was really smooth and had an earthy quality to it. It was excellent with the crunchy crostini. Not to sound boring; but the rest of the platter was good due to the quality ingredients and textbook execution.

For my main, I went for the Crab Risotto. Packed with lots of crab meat, including a few large pieces of leg meat, there was a nice balance of flavours. It was cheesy; but overly so. I could still taste the sweetness of the crab and the pop of the sweet peas. I thought the consistency was good, not being clumpy nor too wet. However, the rice itself could've been cooked just a tad longer since it was a bit underdone. Originally, Rich Guy went for the special, which was Penne in a prosciutto, sundried tomatoes and basil ragu. The pasta was perfectly al dente with a beautiful ragu that was thick and rich. The sauce had it all - salty, sweet and tart.

By now, we were pretty full and really had no room for dessert. However, our server sweet talked us into it. So, we shared an order of their Cannoli. We thoroughly enjoyed these. The fried pastry dough was surprisingly light and very crisp. It is not house made; however, they said that they will be house-made eventually. The ricotta filling was not very sweet and also quite light. There wasn't really any distinguishing flavours present; but it was still a very solid cannoli. Better than the one I had at Cioppino's actually. I would say all-around the food at The Poor Italian is pretty solid, at least for the items we did try. Service was attentive and pleasant while the interior decor is inviting and classy. It definitely gives me an excuse to revisit it sometime to experience some of the other offerings.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Excellent service
- Classy establishment

The Bad:
- Pricey

Laziza Modern Mediterranean

Getting an invite for a restaurant tasting is not anything new. I get them all the time. However, one of the most recent invites caught my attention. It didn't have anything to do with the restaurant or cuisine. Believe it or not, it had everything to do with the PR representative. You see, the name was very familiar and distinct. In fact, I've heard this name over and over again among some of my friends; yet I've never met this person. To me, I was curious. Curious to see if this was indeed the same person. Naturally, being the goof that I am, the first thing I do when I finally meet this infamous person, I totally embarrass myself. "Hey, are you the same person as my friends have been talking about?"
"Uh, yah", she replies looking at me strangely like I was some crazed stalker. Alright, smooth I am not. I better stick to talking about food. Oh and yes, I was invited to the media tasting at Laziza Modern Mediterranean restaurant on Davie. In actuality, Laziza is a "Lebanese" Mediterranean restaurant in the same vein as Nuba.

For the first time, I met Rachel and Oliver from Trails of Breadcrumbs. It was nice to share a table with them and shoot the breeze about food and photography. Naturally, we snatched the only window seat for the excellent lighting. Arriving first was a Babaganoush garnished with pomegranate seeds. Texturally, this was a winner since it was a nice balance between being smooth without being over-processed. When eaten without the pomegranate seeds, the babaganoush was very mild-tasting. I would've liked to see a bit more smokiness and slightly more lemon. But when eaten with the pomegranate seeds, it did add the necessary flavours which helped liven up the dish. Reminiscent of a Vancouver favourite at Nuba, the Crispy Cauliflower was prepared a bit differently. There was a batter on the cauliflower which made it much crispier than the one at Nuba. However, it wasn't as pungent due to it. For me, I like both renditions and I would chalk it up to personal preference if one had to decided between the two.

Next up was the Saffron Prawns. Beautifully grilled and exhibiting plenty of natural prawn sweetness, these were accented by a saffron aioli. The aioli was actually quite flavourful while being subtle at the same time. Just enough to compliment the prawn without detracting from it. Speaking of perfectly cooked, the Seared Scallops were done just right. With an appetizing colour and just barely cooked (and I mean barely), the scallops would've been good on its own. The orange reduction along with the orange rind helped liven it up. It didn't really add a tonne of sweetness; rather it provided a light bitterness. That actually helped accent the natural sweetness of the scallops. Originally, Mijune was supposed to attend this tasting as well; but was too busy. Too bad really, if she had know there would be sausages, she'd be all over it. She loves her sausages! The Maqanik Lamb Sausages were very tasty and meaty. Sauteed with lemon and capers, the natural lamb gaminess was still quite prominent. Not in a bad way tough, it merely made its presence known despite the other competing flavours and spices. In fact, there was a nice blend of spices which accented the lamb without detracting from it.

The next 2 items were salads and I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of greens. So maybe that is why I didn't show much enthusiasm for either. However, I didn't mind the Beet Salad with mesclun greens, beets and feta cheese tossed in a aged balsamic vinaigrette. A pretty standard salad with familiar flavours and ingredients. Nothing special about; yet nothing particularly offensive either. Now I can't be as kind to the Fatoush Salad. Consisting of crispy pita chips, meslun greens, tomato, cucumber and peppers tossed in lemon olive oil, it was a very difficult salad to eat. The pita chips were far too large and thick. A fork didn't suffice and neither did a spoon. The chips were crispy to begin with and ultimately met a soggy demise part-way through. Much like the beet salad, other than the pita chips, there was nothing really wrong about it. In fact, I really liked the dressing. They did not hold back on the acidity, which really livened up the ingredients.

After the leafy green interlude, we returned to the proteins in the form of the Stuffed Chicken Prawn. As the name suggests, this was essentially tiger prawns wrapped in chicken breast meat and topped with saffron sauce. Once again, the prawn was cooked perfectly and exhibited a pleasantly strong prawn flavour. The chicken breast meat was as moist as white meat can be (which is a tad dry; but still tender). Yet, the thing that really shone here was the lovely saffron sauce. Similar to the saffron ai0li, there was an understated sweetness and aromatic flavour from the saffron. The subtleties of the sauce was a nice compliment to the mild ingredients. However, a squeeze of the provided lemons helped intensify the flavours. On the topic of flavours, the Lamb Chops were absolutely fantastic. These little "Popsicle" lamb chops were reminiscent of the one at Vij's without the sauce. They were grilled up perfectly with a nice colour and extremely tender meat. Very little chewing was required. The best part of these lamb chops was the wonderful seasoning which included rosemary and thyme. Add some fresh mint and the flavours were a natural fit that came out clean.

For our last dish, it arrived in an attractive tagine. The Chicken Bedovin consisted of sauteed strips of chicken breast with dates, apricots, figs, prunes, walnuts and honey. This was all served over a bed of perfectly cooked cous cous. With a squeeze of the grilled half-lemon, the predominantly sweet ingredients were tempered by the the acidity. This dish had it all, sweet, tart, savoury and a bit of spice. Ultimately this dish was a fitting end to a surprising meal. Yes, I know they brought out their "A" game since it was a media tasting; but I'll say it again - a restaurant can only be as good as it can be, no matter the situation. Hence, I will have to say I rather liked the food here. Overall, it was well-executed and the flavours were understated; yet appetizing at the same time. I would gladly return to Laziza on my own dime for sure.

*Note: This was an invited dinner where all food was comped*

The Good:
- A little different than the regular
- Well-executed proteins
- Moderately-priced menu

The Bad:
- The flavours were good; but could've been stronger in some dishes
- I would mention the parking; but I got a free space right away... ;)

HKYK Hot Pot

* Restaurant is now closed*

"Late night Dim Sum!?!?" exclaimed Boss Woman, when I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. She was thoroughly intrigued at the notion of Dim Sum at 2:00am in the morning. Hey, I've been lobbying for this since I can remember. Why can't we have Dim Sum 24 hours a day? Well, it is readily available in Hong Kong... But then again, we're not in Hong Kong right? It's good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Heck, I even steam up frozen Dim Sum at home to eat as a snack! Mmm... Chicken feet while watching the hockey game... So, seeing how we had another game at 11:30pm on Friday, there were not many eating options available afterwards. Perfect time to go for late-night (or early morning) Dim Sum! One problem. It's in Richmond. Okay, before you flame me for hating on Richmond again, it's not about the drivers. C'mon, at 2:00am in the morning, there are practically no cars on the road. The real issue was that we were playing hockey in North Van. Yup, North Van to Richmond for eats. We are dedicated or completely nuts.

Walking into the place, it was evidently clear that there was no heat. Looks like they were dependent on the hot pots to keep everyone warm. One problem - we were not having hot pot! Thus, we were freezing since it was -5 Celsius outside! I'm sure it is a violation of some sort to not have heat, considering the temperature outside. Since it was not exactly the height of normal Dim Sum hours, there were only a limited amount of items available (many were sold out). Everything came pretty much at the same time, so there was no real order. Therefore, I'll just start with the most important item in the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumpling). Very large with a slightly soft skin and packed with a combination of shrimp and shrimp mousse, these were actually quite good. I wouldn't say they can compete with the best in town; but they were above average. Too bad I can't say that about the Sui Mai. These were absolutely disgusting. Probably the worst sui mai I've ever had in my life. Normally, the desired texture of the pork would be somewhat chewy with a bounce-like texture. This is normally achieved with a good mix of meat and fat which has been tenderized (sometimes with baking soda). With this one, not only was the meat not tenderized, it was in big chunks of dry meat that was chewy and hard. It was like eating a big piece of shoe leather. To add insult to injury, there was no flavour whatsoever. It tasted like cardboard. Oh, and of the people who think I'm exaggerating, I've tasted cardboard unwillingly when I tried to open a box with my teeth. So I know the taste! LOL... Stay away from these at all costs.

Normally, I wouldn't order the Xiao Long Bao at a Cantonese restaurant because they just don't do it right. However, with the limited selection available, we decided to give it a go. Now, I wouldn't say that the XLBs were good; but they certainly were a lot better than I expected. The dumpling skin was thick; yet it was easy to eat. The filling was actually quite tasty and there was some juice inside, so I'll give this one a passing grade. A little oil-logged, the Shrimp Spring Rolls were not bad. They were sufficiently crunchy; although with every bite, there was a side of grease to go with it. Another variation along that theme were the Fried Bean Curd Rolls. Bean curd skin replaces the wheat wrappers. These are "pan-fried" (more like fried) and served with Worcestershire sauce. Filled with shrimp, much like the spring rolls and greasy as heck, also much like the spring rolls. Next, we had the Fried Eggplant with Shrimp Mousse. Interestingly, they did not cut them up so we could actually share the dish. They did it for the spring rolls and fried bean curd rolls... Anyways, these were alright. The eggplant was a bit overcooked and mushy while there was only a modest amount of shrimp mousse. The black bean sauce was a bit bland and watery.

Another instance of "serves-me-right-for-ordering-it" was the Spicy Wontons. Not a Cantonese dish, I should have known better. By just looking at them, it was safe to assume they were not going to be good. These were neither spicy nor were they wontons. Sure, they look like wontons; but the meat was on the grittier side and they were only somewhat hot. It may have been victims of the cold environment we were subjected to. As for the sauce or shall we say a small dab of it, was bland. Heck, I could taste more the meat than the sauce. #EpicFail. Now for something that was good. We were a bit hesitant to order the Shrimp & Corn Dumplings; but due to our server informing us that the items we had previously chosen were sold out, we had no choice really. To our surprise, they were one of the better items of the meal (better is all relative though!). A mix of crunchy shrimp, sweet corn and ham, these had good texture and a nice balance of flavours.

The next steamer of Pea Shoot & Shrimp Dumplings was also pretty good. Wow, a hot streak! 2 good dishes in a row. Yes, I'm being facetious here. Packed with tender pea shoots and crunchy shrimp combined with a slightly chewy rice flour wrapper, they almost made me forget about the wontons and sui mai... almost. Exhibiting slightly chewier than desired ground pork, the Steamed Bean Curd Skin Rolls were actually not half-bad. Either we were beginning to lower our standards or they were actually quite decent? Lionel Hutz put it in perspective by stating that it was better than a lot of the other dishes we've had so far. Fair enough. Flavour was good with the right amount of oyster-based sauce and the bean curd skin was tender. As mentioned, the only negative thing about the roll was the chewy meat. I get the feeling that they don't tenderize the pork here (like the sui mai). And this was confirmed with the Steamed Black Bean Spareribs. Hey, it looked good when it arrived. Full of large meaty pieces that were devoid of cartilage or fat, in actuality, the looks were deceiving. We found it difficult to gnaw through the excessively chewy meat. Once again, it begs the question: did they actually attempt to tenderize the meat here??? On the positive side, the seasoning was fine. It was a good mix of black bean, garlic and green peppers.

One item that did not elicit much excitement other than Boss Woman was the Steamed Tendon & Tripe. Lionel Hutz and Milhouse gave the "no thanks" look when I suggested we order it. I give them kudos for encouraging us to do so despite their non-participation. Turns out we ended up with the same response when it arrived. The darn things were so overcooked, it resembled the Wicked Witch of the West, melting before our very eyes. It's not good when tendon and tripe actually melt in your mouth like chocolate. Once again, at the very least, the flavour wasn't too bad, leaning towards sweet more than savoury. The last couple of dishes were of the Sticky Rice variety. The first being the traditional Lo Mei Gai (Lotus Leaf-Wrapped Sticky Rice). Normally, there are 2 versions of this particular item. The "old" way is to have one large portion of sticky rice. The "modern" way is to have 3 smaller portions of sticky rice, which is easier to share. Now for the large portion style, it usually barely fits into the steamer. What we got was the larger size version; but it was not very large. Difficult to share and really not that much of it to share either. It was fairly mushy; but it was acceptable for what it was.

Our last item was Pan-Fried Sticky Rice Cakes. Filled with the same pork mixture as the steamed variety, these little discs were not fried very well. Gummy and lacking any crispiness, the whole dish fell flat. The whole thing was a dry, gummy mess. Not pleasing in texture or taste really. Ending the late-night Dim Sum on that note was almost appropriate since the food was incredibly sub-par. It is almost shocking considering that they are located right in the heart of the action in Richmond. Sure, we realized that this was Dim Sum at 2:00am and shouldn't expect much. However, other than a few acceptable dishes, the food was mostly unappealing. For the life of me, I cannot believe that their sui mai was so bad. Asian fusion restaurants make a better sui mai than the one here. If we take into account that they didn't even bother to turn on any heat whatsoever in -5 degree weather, that made it even worse. The service was indifferent; but not rude. So that was somewhat of a positive. As you can see, I really need to stretch hard to find anything good to say...

The Good:
- Late-night Dim Sum
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Food is generally sub-par
- The place is a bit filthy
- Heat? What heat?