Fatty Cow Hot Pot

Originally we were set to visit Golden Sparkle for late night eats after hockey tonight. However, the actual operating hours are not even close to the ones indicated on their take-out menu. For Fridays and Saturdays, the menu states that they close at 2:00am. In reality, they close at 10:00pm. So everyone please take note! As a precaution, I always look out for other potential restaurants for future visits. Little did we know, it would be necessary as a backup tonight. We already knew Nancy Wonton House would be open; but there was another place open across the street... Fatty Cow Hot Pot? Hey, I recall reading Ben's post about it. Hmm... Late night AYCE hot pot? I recall doing it once with my softball team last year at Claypot. Well, it is a bit different than our usual wonton noodle exploits. Furthermore, the draw of all-you-can-hork tripe, intestines and pork blood just seemed too irresistible. On a side note, I know Fatty Cow is a bit a variation of the Chubby Lamb name; but honestly, what will we have next? Obese Chicken? Lardy Pig? Lipo Fish?

Joining me tonight were Milhouse, Boss Woman and Polka King. It's most unfortunate than none of them share the same love for offal like I do. Scratch that, Boss Woman doesn't mind it, in fact, she loves tongue. Uh... Anyways, AYCE hot pot was not really on our list of places to go; but there it was staring us in the face. Hey, we weren't going to say no! So we ended up paying an extra $7.00 for the Pork Bone Broth. Is it just me or hot pot restaurants should really just factor in the cost of the broth into the bottom line price? It's a bit of a scam in my books.

After checking off what seemed to be a massive amount of food, we were a bit nervous if we could finish it all. Remember, this is a late night meal after a game, not dinner! Fortunately, it just seemed like a lot, in reality it was just right because the portions were not too big. Since the place is named Fatty Cow, we had to get the Fatty Beef. Nicely marbled and thin without being too fatty, the beef cooked almost instantly. It was tender and moist. As mentioned, only Boss Woman shares the love for offal and we got the Chicken Giblets and Hearts. It arrived on the same plate as the Tofu. Not much to say about the chicken offal other than the fact that Milhouse and Polka King wanted no part in it. I must note that the tofu was quite silky while staying in once piece when cooked.

Arriving on another plate was the Chikuwa (tube-like cylinders of fish mousse) and Sui Gow (dumplings with wood ear mushrooms, pork and shrimp). Not much to say about the store-bought chikuwa; but the sui gow were pretty good with a lots of filling and a relatively thin wrapper. With any good hot pot restaurant these days, everything needs to be fresh. So it was nice to see that the Cuttlefish Meatballs along with the Shrimp Meatballs were such. Although not live shrimp (wishful thinking), the ones we got were fresh enough and had that "snap" texture we look for (rather than mushiness, which indicates deterioration). The one seafood item that surprised us was the oysters. When it arrived, the size of each one of them was shocking. They were some really large oysters. Even after cooking (which took a while), they were still quite big. In addition to that, they were fresh being sweet and not fishy. We also got some Cod Fish Slices that arrived on a dish with Bean Curd Stick and Taro. As with the other items, the fish was fresh and managed to stay in one piece even when boiled.

We also got a few more items which included Fish Tofu, Oil Noodles, Tripe, Cuttlefish and Fish Cracklings. They were pretty standard items and nothing was amiss. In fact, we thought all of the items were more than acceptable and fresh. For a hot pot restaurant, that is probably the most important thing to get right. Since it is newly opened, it is modern and clean with nice built-in units. Service is friendly while not being intrusive. Price-wise, it wasn't necessarily cheap; yet it is in-line with most other hot pot restaurants of this class.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients
- Clean and modern
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Some might consider it a bit pricey
- Could use a few more meat items on the menu (such as tongue...)

Full Moon Lao-Thai Restaurant

*Restaurant is now closed*

Here we go again. Another episode of Sherman's random Whalley adventures. Alright, I know, that doesn't sound all that promising and in fact, it sounds a bit dodgy. But rest assured, everything was on the up and up. And honestly, Whalley gets a bad rap all the time. If you've been here recently, it is really not all that bad. So, cruising up King George, I barely spotted a Thai restaurant hidden deep in a strip mall. It's so hidden, you cannot see it from the street. I had to park and walk-in to see if it was open. Yah, it was open alright. No customers around, but hey, I'll try anything. In fact, I was the only customer throughout my lunch there.

Okay, normally when I'm the only customer or early enough, I go straight for the window seat. No can do here. You see, there are no window seats. The only window in this place is at the entrance. Once you walk in, it's actually quite dark. Well, knowing I'd be using my flash, I picked a corner booth seat so I could creepily take pictures all by myself. I decided to try 2 items off the menu (didn't see a lunch special anywhere). The first was the Shrimp Pad Thai. Now if you look at the picture, you can see that it's quite
saucy. Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of this dish. Although there was a good amount of perfectly cooked shrimp, the abundance of sweet, tomatoey sauce didn't do it for me.

I also got the Red Curry with Basa. Hidden beneath the bamboo shoots, celery, carrots, peppers and onion lay an entire basa fillet. I was quite pleased at this discovery since that allows the fish to retain more moisture. If it were cut up into little bits, it would overcook much more easily. And the fillet was perfectly cooked with moist tender flakes bathed in a spicy (I asked for medium) coconut curry. I thought it was quite smooth with a definite kick at the end. This dish was good and plenty big too. No way I could finish it.

So essentially, I had one good dish and one not-so-good. I know being the only customer would result in attentive service; but I really thought the one waitress there was actually interested in providing good service. Considering the location, I possibly might give it another go since the prices are alright and the portions are big.

The Good:
- Good portions
- The curry that I tried is good
- Service is friendly and attentive

The Bad:
- Non-inviting dining space
- The Pad Thai was not so good

Society Dining Lounge

Initially, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the grand opening bash at Society Dining Lounge. Although it seemed like a fun event with a preview of the restaurant, food and vibe, I ended up declining the invitation. No, I was not snubbing a gift horse in the mouth. In fact, I'm always honoured to be invited to anything. I'm not in this for free food or anything; but hey, it's still difficult turning down free food! However, I've been to a few of these social events and honestly, it's very difficult to judge the food, atmosphere or service. Don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that grand opening events are not useful. Of course they are. It's a great way for the restaurant to promote itself amongst industry people and the media. What better way than to get everyone together to showcase yourself. But for me, I personally like to sit down for a meal.

So with the kiddies at the grandparent's place, Viv and I made a quick dash into Yaletown. Since the barricades for Expo and Pacific Blvd were still up, we had to take a huge detour to make it there. We were worried about being late and to our surprise, the place was empty. Apparently, the Olympic hangover had not passed. Well, that and it was a Monday night as well. Luckily Viv and I are on holidays and it didn't really matter to us. Now, we came to Society with realistic expectations. Despite its location and affiliation with the Glowbal Group, Society is not a fine dining restaurant. Rather, it competes with such places like Cactus Club, Earl's and Milestone's. The one difference is that Society is not a chain restaurant... or so it seems. I guess when you belong to a restaurant "group"; but go by a unique name, no one seems to notice it is part of a "group". I digress.

Before we got our orders, we were presented with an amuse bouche. Yah, I was a bit surprised by that; however, it was a pleasant surprise. It was a slice of AAA sirloin atop horseradish aioli on a chip topped off with balsamic marinated red onion. We enjoyed the little bite. A nice horseradish kick complimented the tender beef. Despite seeing it and eating it, the onions took a backseat to the horseradish flavour. Only complaint is that the whole thing was cold. Not sure if that was intentional; but it would've been better warm.

For our appy, we shared the Classic Mussels. For some reason or another, most of the mussels were very small except for a few plump ones. Not really a criticism since you can't open them up to check before cooking... Just an observation. The mussels were prepared in a garlic, shallot and chardonnay with sun-dried tomatoes. Served on the side was garlic toast, fries and mayo. While munching on the mussels, we got more tomato flavour than anything else. Soaking up the broth with the garlic toast revealed a light chardonnay essence. Despite its dark appearance, the fries were crispy and not overcooked.

For her main, Viv selected the Lobster Gnocchi with tarragon cream and Parmesan gratin. Curiously, if you can see in the picture, there was not much in the way of gratin. Not sure why that is? No idea. We thought the fluffy gnocchi were a bit too big; thus overriding the fluffiness. There was a good amount of lobster swimming (ironic...) in a extremely rich cream sauce. There was clearly tarragon in the sauce; but it wasn't very apparent in taste. The sauce seemed quite one-dimensional being just plain creamy. For myself, I went for the Prime Rib Burger. I substituted a Spinach Salad with pork belly for the fries. We already had fries and wanted to try something else. As you can see, the burger patty was cooked close to medium; but curiously, the meat wasn't exactly juicy . The inclusion of caramelized onions, loads of sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and bacon made this burger messy to eat (which is a good thing). However, there were 2 issues. First, the bacon was extremely fatty, which is not really a problem; but it was not crisp. Thus, it was chewy and a bit hard to eat. Second, the bun was too plain and boring. I would've preferred a Portuguese bun or soft kaiser bun over a plain sesame (it was dry).

As for the salad, I thought it was pretty good. Tossed in a right amount of Rochefort cheese and topped with a crispy slice of pork belly, there wasn't much to dislike (well, I didn't like the large croutons). So if we look at the meal as a whole, it was pretty average at best. Nothing great; yet nothing horrible. Definitely middle-of-the-road food. For Yaletown, I think that the prices and portion sizes at Society are reasonable. If you factor in the discount from Let's Go For Dinner or discounted gift certificates found at Costco, the pricing is quite good. If one views this place from a fine dining point of view, it will never measure up because it's not (and it never claims to be). In fact, the marketing seems to indicate that Society is a place to hang out, be seen and to grab a drink in a casual; yet trendy environment. Thus, if we look at the comparable chain restaurants nearby (although, I still prefer Cactus Club personally), it's a viable option depending on your preference.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices considering location (taking into account the discount)
- Trendy
- Hip, friendly staff

The Bad:
- Food is hit and miss

McKim Wonton Mein Saga

In a galaxy far, far away... It is period of noodle unrest. Rebellious restaurants, striking from different places, have lay claim to the best wonton noodles in town. That's right, its epic and legendary. In fact, it's a saga, in the form of McKim Wonton Mein Saga. When it comes to wonton houses, you have the "good" with Nancy Wonton House, McNoodle and Ho Yuen Kee. Then you have the "bad" with On On Wonton House, Hon's and Penny. For wonton supremacy, we see the pure all-shrimp versions vs. the evil pork wontons. Yes, some people are drawn to the dark side since they don't like shrimp. Fair enough. But personally, I'd prefer to chill with "The Force".

After helping out Costanza move some things and hook up his computer, we all headed out to a nearby galaxy, er... restaurant. McKim Wonton Mein Saga resides only a few blocks from his place and we decided to drive there. Yah, when it comes to intergalactic travel, you need to use a vessel! For way past 8:00pm, the place was hopping much like Mos Eisley's Cantina. Rather than aliens and space bandits, it was filled with hungry diners. We were lucky to snag the last large table in the house. I know we were there to try out the wonton noodles; but that wouldn't have filled us up, so we ended up getting the set dinner for 5 which includes choice of 5 dishes, a complimentary BBQ duo, daily soup, rice and dessert. For the kiddies, we got them Stir Fried Rice Noodle with Beef.

Due to our random ordering of dinner entrees mixed with noodles and congee, other than our daily soup, everything else arrived out of order. The first thing to arrive was the rice noodle (which suited us fine actually, kids needed to eat anyways). Generally, this dish scares a lot of people because it comes glistening like a teenage boy's forehead. You see, to keep the rice noodles from sticking to the wok, copious amounts of oil is needed. However, in this case, it wasn't too bad and the dish was pretty well executed. Noodles were soft while still retaining their original shape, beef was tender and there was just enough dark soy to give some colour and flavour.

Our complimentary BBQ dish consisted of BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck. Unfortunately, the pork was a little on the dry side even though there was a good amount of marbling. I guess it could be due to the end of the day? Moreover, it was a bit difficult to properly judge the BBQ duck since we got the wing piece. Usually, that is the driest, most stringy part of a BBQ duck. So I'll just leave it at that. Costanza's favourite dish by far is the "Say Gwei Dow", which Spicy Beans with Ground Pork, so it was a given he'd order it. This was pretty good with perfectly oil-blanched green beans with a spicy/savory mix of pork and dried shrimp.

To satisfy our vegetable quotient a bit more, albeit unhealthy ways of cooking it, we got the Eggplant Hot Pot. The eggplant was soft while not becoming mush in the sizzling hot pot. Once again, this is achieved by the dreaded oil-blanching. So evil; yet so good. "Luke, join me on the Dark Side!" Anyways, the sauce was a tad spicy and mostly sweet. It was great with rice, especially with the nice gloss from the grease. Once again, we have the Shrimp and Eggs. Yah, you see this every episode here on the Food Aventures. It's like that cursed Jar Jar Binks; you can't seem to get rid of him, unless we're talking about episode 4, 5 or 6. The good thing about this dish was the plethora of large crunchy shrimp and soft "just-cooked" eggs. The bad part was the copious amount of sodium. These were some salty eggs!

One dish we normally do not order when we go out is the Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish. This is traditionally found in home cooking at many Chinese households. This is a classic comfort dish that goes well with a large bowl of rice. However, this particular version was plain awful. We thought that this dish was akin to eating steamed wallpaper paste with some salt. I can't even begin to describe the texture of it. Is there such thing as no texture? If someone blindfolded and asked us what we were eating, I wouldn't have guessed it was meat of any sort. My guess is they got lazy and pureed the poor meat rather than hand mincing it with 2 cleavers. Thus, the lack of meat texture. I would've preferred to be frozen in carbonite than eat this dish again.

Luckily for us, the Tofu and Fish Hot Pot was very good, so we just ignored the last dish for the rest of the meal. Big, perfectly fried, flaky pieces of fish mingled with equally well-fried soft tofu in a garlicky sauce. The hot pot was plentiful in ingredients and tasty as well. As for the Preserved Egg and Salted Pork congee, it was pretty good. The congee itself was thick and only moderately seasoned. There was enough ingredients adequately fill most spoonfuls. Now, for the main event, the Wonton Noodles. The restaurant's claim to fame. On the surface, it looked pretty good and one sip of the soup, it tasted like it should. One bite into the decent-sized wonton revealed cold-water shrimp that exuded an essence of sesame oil. A chopstick full of noodles and... uh... hmm... not exactly what I was hoping for. The noodles lacked the "bite" we looked for in an al dente wonton noodle. Rather, the texture was more like a regular shrimp noodle (haw gee mein). Definitely not as good as Nancy Wonton House, McNoodle and Ho Yuen Kee. Not a bad bowl of wonton noodles; but I was hoping for more. It's like watching Hayden Christiansen in hopes for good acting... So the wonton noodles weren't bad per se; yet it didn't live up to the "saga". Most of the other food was spot-on, other than the steamed wallpaper paste, er... pork. So, it's probably worth another look or a "Return of the Blogger".

The Good:
- Reasonably priced unlike the budget for the prequels
- Large selection of various dishes much like the characters in The Empire Strikes Back

The Bad:
- Service is a bit slow like Jar Jar Binks
- Wonton noodles are average like Attack of the Clones (taking into account the place puts it into their name)

Maple Grill

Although there are plenty of restaurants that I haven't visited, there are times I frankly run out of ideas. Therefore, I turn to Vandelay, who happens to be a dictionary of restaurants in Vancouver and beyond. I posed the simple question: where should I have my next meal? He quickly sent a link to Maple Grill. Okay, that doesn't sound particularly exciting or special. Oh, how I shouldn't underestimate him. The place is a certified kosher establishment. That's a bit different isn't it? So what exactly is kosher you might ask. I have somewhat of an idea since I grew up in a Jewish neighbourhood and actually went to
Kaplan's by myself when I was young to have matzo ball soup. Yah, imagine the looks I got. A little Chinese kid walking into a Jewish deli and ordering matzo ball soup.

So back to the discussion about kosher. To be "kosher", a restaurant has to go through the trouble of ensuring all their food conforms to the Jewish religion. To further confuse things, some interpretations of kosher allows for dairy products if they come from a kosher cow. However, we did not see any dairy at the Maple Grill. Joining me tonight for this foray were Kim, Victoria and Karl. So when one hears the word kosher, there are thoughts of a deli with corned beef. However, at the Maple Grill, there is no corned beef to be found. Rather, the whole premise is to mesh kosher with modern cuisine.

We decided to share the Hummus and Baba Ganoush to start. Both were served with grilled whole wheat pita bread. The hummus was not bad retaining a bit of texture (not being over-blended). We felt that it was a touch bland and could've used more salt and a bit of lemon. However, I found the portion that came into contact with the roasted red pepper to be quite tasty. The baba ganoush was also quite decent with good bits of eggplant in a smooth base. Once again, a bit more flavour would've helped put this over the top. If that weren't enough for appies, we ordered 2 bowls of Matzo Ball soup to share. It was described in the menu as being a rich broth. Although the broth was alright, it was hardly rich. Maybe we were expecting more. The addition of dill provided a bit of uniqueness to the taste. As for the matzo balls themselves, I really liked the texture at first; yet as I got closer to the centre, it became a bit hard. I'm not expert in matzo ball soup; but for the ones I've had in the past, it was a bit softer.

As always, we decided to each have a different entree with different sides. With every entree, there is a choice of 2 sides from a selection of 8. With 4 of us, we ended up trying all of the 8 sides. Interestingly, the sides are refillable, if need be. Trying to eat a bit healthier, I went for the Maple Salmon with an orange maple glaze. Before anyone could call it, I claimed the Saffron Risotto. The Steamed Seasonal Veggies were offered to me by Victoria since we agreed that it would look better in the picture. Great minds thing alike! We all felt that the salmon was executed perfectly. Fresh and just barely cooked, there was the right amount of sweetness from the marinade for flavour. As for the risotto, it serves me right for hogging it. It was not very good. I realize the absence of Parmesan hurt the overall texture and flavour; but with that being said, the texture was quite mushy. The steamed veggies were fresh, I wish that they would've been steamed for a shorter period of time as the beans were lacking crunch.

Victoria wasn't all that hungry and was hoping to get something light, so she chose the most expensive item on the menu being the Lamb Chops. Go figure. Now, as for the lamb, we all thought it executed quite well. The meat was tender, not overcooked and had good charring. For her sides, she went for the Israeli Salad and Basmati & Wild Rice. We all felt the best side hands down was the Israeli salad. It was fresh, vibrant and crisp. Very refreshing. The rice, well, it was rice, at least it wasn't soggy. Karl had the Türkei Schnitzel. It was fried up quite crispy and had a nice colour. We only wish that it was more aggressively seasoned or at least have a lemon wedge provided on the plate. Interestingly, there was a Szechuan Stir Fry as one of the side choices which Karl selected. Too bad it wasn't really Szechuan. If there was more spice it could've passed as such. His other side, the Garlic Mashed Potatoes, were alright; but there was a lack of garlic flavour.

Kim had the Mezurashii Ahi Tuna and I personally liked the presentation. It was seared with a honey soy glaze (which I really didn't taste) and topped with a fruit salsa and black sesame seeds. The tuna itself was seared perfect with a beautiful rare centre. As for his sides, the Rosemary Potatoes were okay, they could've been a bit more crisp. The Roasted Red Peppers were pretty good being sweet and slightly smoky. At the end, we shared a Poppyseed Ring with soy ice cream. I thought it was pretty good being soft and hot from the oven. Our meal at the Maple Grill was mostly decent with perfectly executed proteins. However, most of the sides need a bit of work. Furthermore, more aggressive seasoning would bring most of the food to life. I personally believe that with a few tweaks, the Maple Grill has potential and fills a niche.

The Good:
- Well-executed proteins
- Upscale decor
- Good service

The Bad:
- Some items are pricey (but understandable when dealing with certified kosher products)
- Sides need some work
- More seasoning would go long way

Mui Ngo Gai

*This location is now closed*

The Vietnamese restaurant. You know, the one that has PHO prominently displayed on their awnings. There's Pho 99, Pho Hoa, Pho Tan, Pho Tam, Pho 101 and so on. Just put "Pho" and you got a restaurant name. The classic was Pho Bich Nga. Too bad it's gone! How about a Vietnamese restaurant without Pho in its name? Sure there are a few out there such as Song Huong, Thai Hang, Thai Son and Bao Chau. But there is something a bit different with Mui Ngo Gai. If you ever get a chance to look at their menu, there are dishes that you'll rarely find at other Vietnamese restaurants in town. In addition to the standard pho, rice and spring rolls, there are entrees from the South and hot pot.

Actually, we weren't planning on dining on Vietnamese food tonight. We were on our way home from the women's ice hockey game at UBC between China and Finland. I was wanting to try Banditas out; but it turns out that they close at 10:00. Thus, I had to find something close and quick. Viola, Mui Ngo Gai! If we had more time, I would've tried some of their specialties. Instead, we ended up with most of the regular items you'd find at any other Vietnamese restaurant. I got one Spring Roll and one Grilled Pork Salad Roll to start. I really enjoyed eating the salad roll. It wasn't exactly big; but there were big pieces of nicely grilled pork with crunchy romaine, carrots, daikon and vermicelli. Not exactly that appealing when I laid eyes on it, the spring roll was much better than they looked. Despite looking hard, the spring roll was crunchy and I did like the filling of meat, carrots, cellophane noodles and woodear mushrooms.

Predictably, I ordered a large pho with the works (rare beef, tripe, tendon, brisket). However, if you look at the picture, you'll notice it's not a large. Yah, they messed up. Didn't matter though, it turned out for the better since I really wasn't all that hungry. Remember, I already had dinner prior to the game (an early one though). Well, it was a small in theory; but honestly, there was enough noodles and meat to qualify it as a large. It just came in a smaller bowl with less soup. And about that soup, it was good. Definite meat flavour and a nice balance between salty and sweet. Noodles were al dente and the meats were well-prepared. A pretty solid bowl of pho.

Viv ended up with a rice dish that included grilled pork, chicken and ham. Don't worry, she only ate half. A pretty simple dish really; yet executed properly with nicely grilled meats with a hint of lemongrass. A pretty good bang for the buck at $8.95. Pretty good, another successful random restaurant visit. Food is good, price is right and the owner-lady is quite nice.

The Good:
- Solid pho
- Diverse menu
- Good portions

The Bad:
- A bit run down