Tasty Sweets & Restaurant

Alright, I was thinking about what I would eat for lunch today. I considered going to Mehfil for their Indian buffet. I decided to throw that thought up on Facebook and almost instantaneously, Nikita makes a comment that I should avoid at all costs. Well, I have heard conflicting stories about Mehfil. Some say it's good and some suggest to avoid it like a full-face-visor-wearing Corolla driver in Richmond. As I was just finishing responding to Nikita's comment, I got another comment from someone else suggesting Tasty Sweets and Restaurant. Well, that idea sounded good since Tasty Sweets is less than 5 minutes away.

Having never been to Tasty Sweets before, I really didn't know what to expect. From what people had told me, I expected it to be some fast food joint. However, it sure didn't look like one. In fact, it was quite nice inside. But, it was quite dark inside since all the blinds were drawn. Moreover, all the furnishings and decor were dark coloured as well. Why does it seem like every Indian restaurant I go to is dark? It makes for difficult photo-taking! Anyways, I looked over the menu and it's the usual assortment of items. Since I was eating alone (gasp!), I decided to get the lunch special for $9.95. It included a choice of Butter Chicken or Goat Curry, Palak Paneer, Tandoori Chicken (2 pcs), rice, naan and Gulab Jaman. There is a vegetarian lunch special for $8.95 which includes 3 vegetable curries, rice, naan and dessert. You'll find similar lunch specials at many of the Indian restaurants in the area. These specials are an excellent way of sampling an array of items from each restaurant. Similar to Mahek, the pop that I ordered was bottomless.

While I was waiting, I picked up a takeout menu. I was told that the prices on the menu were out-of-date. So for reference purposes, add about a dollar to each of the major items and 50 cents to the smaller items. My food arrived on a platter similar to Desi Junction. However, the one at Desi Junction was more aesthetically pleasing. There was ample amount of food for $9.95. There were 2 full pieces of naan that had been cut into halves. However, the naan itself was far from fluffy. It was doughy despite not being very thick. The Butter Chicken was full of large pieces of chicken; but it was super salty. All I could taste was salt and tomato; rather than the smooth delicate flavours that it is synonymous with. On the other hand, the Palak Paneer was quite good. It was a bit spicy, with nice fluffy chunks of paneer (cheese) nestled in creamy-textured spinach. The Tandoori Chicken was quite average. Compared to the flavours at Mirch Masala, it was a bit bland and overcooked. Yet, it was still better than the Tandoori Chicken at Mahek. Lastly, the Gulab Jaman was sweet, but not unbearably sweet. I'm not really a big fan of this dessert; but this one wasn't too bad.

Tasty Sweets was okay, I didn't hate the meal, but it definitely lags behind the other Indian restaurants in the area. Yet, I was intrigued by the good selection of sweets available for takeout. I will return to get a box of those one day.

The Good:
- Good value
- Comfortable surroundings
- Good service

The Bad:
- Food is inferior to other places (at least the things I tried)

Tasty Sweets & Restaurant
12047 80th Avenue
Surrey, B.C.
604-543-9113

Business Hours:
9:30am - 10:00pm (7 days a week)

Sea Harbour

Didn't I just have dinner in Richmond yesterday? Yes I did. Don't you fear Richmond traffic and drivers? Don't even get me started! Why am I back in Richmond again in less than 24 hours? The answer to this is that one of the best places to have Dim Sum in the GVRD is Sea Harbour Restaurant. Yes, the same Sea Harbour that looks like any other run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurants you'd find in a strip mall. Don't let the laughable exterior scare you away, once inside you are treated to a clean, modern and upscale dining room. If you think of Sea Harbour, you also have to consider the competition: Imperial, Victoria, Fortune House, Fisherman's Terrace, Red Star, Sun Sui Wah, Spicy Court and Kirin. All of the aforementioned restaurants are solid choices for Dim Sum, and there is very little to choose between them all. However, taking personal preference and location into consideration, there would be a considerable debate as to which one is the best.

Sea Harbour is definitely one of the best places to have Dim Sum in the GVRD. We'll see if this visit affirms that or not. Luckily for Viv and I, we didn't have to work on the Good Monday; thus we could go for Dim Sum. Knowing that Sea Harbour can get quite busy, we made a reservation for 11:00am. Although there is a decent-sized parking lot in front of the restaurant, it can get full pretty quick. Best to arrive early or carpool. We were pretty early, so we didn't have any problems getting a parking spot. Moreover, this reduces the chance of going insane trying to fight for a spot (see Bo Kong post).

After a bit of thinking, we decided on the following dishes: Shrimp Dumpling, Beef Noodle Roll, Mini-BBQ Pork Rolls, Shrimp Spring Rolls, Beef Tripe & Tendon, Black Bean Spareribs, Pot Stickers, Seafood Yee Mein, Lap Mei Fan, Beef Tripe/Tendon/Brisket/Daikon Hot Pot, Egg Tarts and Steamed Sponge Cake. I mentioned that the shrimp dumpling (haw gow) at Red Star as being one of the best in the GVRD. Well, the one at Sea Harbour is either just as good or better (depending on your preference). The shrimp dumpling were large and bursting with crunchy whole shrimp. The skin was not as thin as Red Star, but it was still good. The rice roll was very good as well. The noodle was so quite thin that you could see mostly through it. There was plenty of perfectly spiced beef filling, with just enough cilantro that it didn't overpower the dish. The spareribs were meaty and delicately flavoured. Unlike Floata (msg overload), I could actually taste the pork. This is one of the differences between a good Dim Sum place and a bad one.

The pork bun was soft; but a tad too sweet. Also, it had onions in it. This, of course is personal taste; however, I don't believe there should be onions in a pork bun. The onion ultimately ends up overpowering the flavour of the BBQ pork. The shrimp spring rolls were uniquely served in a glass. Not only was this aesthetically pleasing, it help the rolls stay crisp. When spring rolls are placed flat, the bottom tends to get soggy from the oil and juices settling on the bottom. Moreover, the residual heat essentially steams the bottom of the spring roll. The rolls themselves were very crispy, even through multiple layers; yet not very oily. In addition, there were plenty of whole shrimp in them. Despite having a very tasty, meaty centre, the pot stickers were pretty average. The skin was a bit thick and it could've been fried for a little bit longer (bottom not crispy enough).

The tripe/tendon/brisket/daikon hot pot was very light; yet still delicately flavourful. Unlike the more rustic, traditional version, the sauce did not have much depth. However, it was less heavy as a result. All the items were just right - soft, but not too soft. The yee mein (Chinese egg noodle that has been fried and then dried), was cooked perfectly, still retaining it's elasticity. There was a decent amount of seafood and the dish was lightly flavoured with soy. The lap mei fan (cured duck and sausage on rice) was cooked in a hot pot and was pretty good. The rice was cooked correctly being a bit dry. Combined with the cured meats, the rice is supposed to be dry and aromatic. A side of sweetened dark soy helps soften the rice a bit and to provide flavour. The best parts are actually the rice that has stuck to the pot itself. The beef tripe and tendons (don't know why we ordered 2 dishes with the same things) were not very good, it was way too sweet.

For dessert, we ordered the egg tarts and the steamed sponge cake. The egg tarts didn't look very good, with too much pastry and a sunken centre. However, they tasted much better than they looked. The sponge cake was much darker than we were used to because they used brown sugar. Taste-wise, they gave the cake a much more richer flavour. However, the cake was not fluffy enough, as you can see, it didn't rise very much while cooking. The service at Sea Harbour was quite good. The servers were always responsive and pleasant to deal with. Overall, I thought the Dim Sum was pretty good. I wouldn't say it is the best in the GVRD; but definitely up there with the best.

The Good:
- Food was not over salted, flavours were delicate
- Unique items for Dim Sum
- Service is pretty good

The Bad:
- Dining room is tight (but nice though)
- Parking spaces can be hard to come by

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3711 No. 3 Road
Richmond, B.C.
604-232-0816

Business Hours:
10:30am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Fri)
10:00am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat & Sun)

Dragon Ball Tea House

Heading home from Bo Kong, I decided to take the scenic route home and drop by Dragon Ball. It's on King Edward near Oak, you won't miss the dragon sipping on bubble tea. I seem to be in the mood for bubble tea lately; mind you I've been in the mood for lots of things (gelato, Chinese pastries, izakaya's...). From my many previous visits, I do agree with most people that Dragon Ball is one of the better bubble tea joints in the GVRD. Dragon Ball has the usual choices of powdered bubble teas and fresh fruit as well. Green Leaf used to one of the few that served fresh fruit; but it seems that most places have fresh fruit now.

Although Dragon Ball is good, I'm not convinced that it is incredibly better than a lot of other bubble tea places. I think what sets Dragon Ball apart is its consistency. I've never had a bad experience with Dragon Ball. With that being said, I still think Bubble World (some people may disagree with this) is a good choice for bubble tea as well. When I get bubble tea, I usually go for my favourites: lychee slush, green apple slush (powdered), pineapple slush and strawberry slush. Today, I decided to have something a bit different. I wanted to try the fresh Bartlett pear slush. Of course, with my luck, it was unavailable. So I decided to go for fresh green apple slush. Well, I have to say it was fresh, I actually felt like I was eating an apple. It wasn't sweet, which made the slush quite refreshing. Viv thought it was bland, but I thought it was just right. Some complain that bubble teas are too sweet; however, I find that Dragon Ball is not crazy sweet. I think Dragon Ball is a solid choice when you want bubble tea. It's definitely one of the better ones in the GVRD.

The Good:
- Consistent
- Sweet, but not too sweet
- Fairly clean compared to some other joints

The Bad:
- Cramped store, you may want to just order, pay and then leave
- There is no parking in front, you'll have to park a block away sometimes (not that a block is really that far)

Dragon Ball Tea House
1007 West King Edward Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-738-3198

Business Hours:
2:00pm - 12:00am (7 days a week)

Bo Kong Vegetarian

*Restaurant is now closed*

How I love the Easter long weekend. It gives me some time to relax a bit from my hectic schedule. Moreover, I get a bit more time to go find some tasty treats! It was M & M's (both of their names start with M) son's 1st birthday today and we made the trip out to Tsawwassen in the pouring rain. Why does it seem to rain every Easter long weekend? Luckily, there was a covered promenade outside of the heritage house where the party was held. The kiddies seem to have lots of fun looking for Easter eggs. We took advantage of our location to have dinner in Richmond on our way back home. Vandelay, Donna Chang, Costanza, and Elaine all joined us at Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant. Vegetarian?!?!? Has Sherman lost his mind again? Well, we decided to eat something a bit different this time, especially since all of us eat a lot of meat to begin with.

We arrived at Bo Kong in Richmond and got a really choice spot right in front of the restaurant without incident. You're wondering why I am mentioning this... Well, finding a parking spot anywhere in Richmond without an adventure is extremely rare. Either someone will:

a) try to steal it;
b) back up into it even if they passed it;
c) reserved it for someone with either their body or double-park their car;
d) park their car in such a crooked fashion, you can't park in the spot next to it
e) or play chicken with you for that last spot

Costanza and Elaine got a choice spot right next to me and Vandelay parked nearby without any troubles as well. Hell must be freezing over...

Anyways, we were looking over the menu and noticed a dinner for 6 which costs $89.95. We were very interested in this meal; however, none of us other than Viv knew how to read Chinese. Unfortunately, Viv couldn't decipher some of the dishes, so we actually had to get the server to explain it to us. She was very nice and took time to go over every dish and even offered to change the Chinese vegetables to broccoli. Uh... sure we're bananas (yellow on the outside and white on the inside); but we're still somewhat Chinese... We had a good laugh about that. So we actually ended up ordering the set meal and it consisted of: a Cold Appetizer Platter, "Fish" Maw Soup, Fresh Bean Curd Skin with Lemon Sauce, Fried Tofu with "Meat" Sauce, Deep Fried Tofu Rolls and Crispy Seaweed & Soft Curd Roll, Spicy Stir-Fried Green Beans, Yau Choy with Enoki Mushrooms and Assorted Vegetable and Tofu Fried Rice.

The appetizer platter consisted of mock ham, beef and goose. The ham was very close to the real thing, mind you it's more close to canned ham than anything else. The beef was not close at all, but it was still good, being a bit chewy and flavourful. The mock goose, which is essentially bean curd sheets wrapped around shiitake mushrooms, was just as good as larger Chinese restaurants. The soup was very good, it had good depth of flavour without being salty. It had lots of enoki mushrooms, mock ham and bamboo pith. The bean curd sheet in lemon sauce was a vegetarian attempt at Lemon Chicken, and it wasn't bad. The lemon sauce was a bit weak, it probably needed a bit more lemon. However, the fried bean curd had a good contrast of crispy, chewy and soft. The fried tofu with mock meat sauce was very tasty. The bits of "meat" could've passed for ground pork and the tofu was fried perfectly. It was ever-so-soft in the middle while being crispy on the outside.

The fried taro rolls were fabulous. Lightly crispy on the outside, but fluffy soft on the inside. However, the taro was a bit flavourless; mind you there was sweet and sour sauce on the table. It went quite well with the taro rolls. The seaweed curd roll was good; but I think we were suffering from bean curd fatigue by then and no one really said anything about it. I thought the sauce was quite good, it gave the bland bean curd some needed flavour. The spicy green beans were awesome, they were bursting with flavour (spicy, salty & a bit sweet) and they were not overcooked. The yau choy was not overcooked either, they were still a bit crunchy. I also really liked the generous amount of enoki on top. Lastly, the fried rice was excellent. The rice was seasoned correctly and it was dry like it's supposed to be. The addition of roasted pine nuts on top really added to the dish. It provided both aromatic flavour and texture.

Honestly, I really didn't miss the fact there was no meat in any of the dishes. When food is executed this well, you will forget that you are essentially eating a lot of vegetables and bean curd. Mind you, some of the mock meat may not be everyone's cup of tea; yet, if you take it for what it is, the food is good. I will never give up my meat; however, I don't mind the occasional vegetarian meal. The experience was enhanced by the great service we received. It was efficient, attentive and extremely friendly.

The Good:
- Creative dishes that made you forget about meat
- Good use of textures and flavour
- Really good service

The Bad:
- You really can get bean curd/tofu overload here
- Some people may not get the mock meat concept

Bo Kong Vegetarian
#80 - 8100 Ackroyd Road
Richmond, B.C.
604-278-1992

Business Hours:
11:00am - 9:00pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 9:30pm (Fri - Sun)

Amato Gelato

After a very salty (msg!) and unsatisfying Dim Sum at Floata, I really needed something refreshing. The closest thing other than bubble tea was Amato Gelato (aka Mario's Gelato). I guess other than my quest for the best Chinese bakery in town, I'm also on the sub-quest for the best Gelato in town as well. Mario's is quite popular in the GVRD as it supplies many restaurants with their specialty desserts and gelato. However, does popularity and name recognition translate into good gelato and sorbetto? Well, I've had Mario's many times in the past and it's always been pretty consistent. I visit Amato Gelato today to compare with my past visits to Vivo and La Casa. Of course there are many more to visit (or revisit) before I can make a fair judgment.

I'm actually pretty glad I went early in the afternoon to Amato Gelato. There was nobody around (partly because it was cold too) and I could take my sweet time looking over the flavours. I finally decided on one scoop of sorbetto and one scoop of gelato. Just in case you don't know, sorbetto contains no milk products and gelato is made from milk, not cream. I choose the Blood Orange sorbetto and the Aloha gelato (pineapple and coconut). Two scoops cost me $6. In comparison, it's only $4.50 for a large cup at Vivo. I really liked the blood orange sobetto, the flavour was perfectly balanced. It was a bit tart; but it was tempered by the right amount of sugar. It was really refreshing and I really could eat much more of it. Although the pineapple coconut gelato had good flavour, the texture was ruined by too many large bits of coconut. I know this might be a personal taste thing; however, I really don't like really large chunks of anything in my ice cream or gelato. To me, it is hard to enjoy the smoothness of the gelato that way.

Now, talking about smoothness, the gelato and sorbetto were both not very smooth, in comparison to Vivo, La Casa or Mondo. In fact, I found the sorbetto and gelato quite icy. Yet, the flavours at Amato are better than La Casa. I think Mondo and Vivo have a good balance between flavour and texture. I think Amato is actually an okay place to get gelato; however, with the prices they charge, there are better choices.

The Good:
- Flavours are well balanced
- A good selection of products

The Bad:
- Texture is not as good as some others
- A bit pricey

Amato Gelato
78 East 1st Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-879-9011

Maxim`s Bakery

With pure randomness, I think I'm now on a mission to find the best Chinese bakery in the GVRD. It all started with an impromptu stop at Pine House two weeks ago. Unsatisfied with the buns and pastries from Pine House, I decided to visit New Town Bakery last week. So far, New Town has been the best. Up this week is Maxim's Bakery. Maxim's has been around for quite a long time and they have subsequently expanded into several locations in the GVRD. In fact, you can add The Boss Bakery as one of their locations too since it is owned by the same company.

For many years now, I've mainly gotten my Chinese buns and pastries from Maxim's (the Metrotown location). Not because they are necessarily the best; rather, they are the closest to where I live. I think Maxim's is pretty decent in terms of appearance and taste; however, everything seems to be shrinking in size. I'm either imagining things or they are indeed getting smaller.

Since I was in Chinatown, I decided to pick up some bakery items from the original Maxim's location on Keefer. It was quite busy and I really couldn't stand that there was no ticket system there. Essentially, it's whoever is more pushy will be the next up in the queue. The other Maxim locations have a number system; however, the Chinatown location still hasn't caught up with the times. I guess they want to retain the Chinatown feel to it, where everything is about yelling, pushing, spitting (well, not in the store at least) and fighting for things. Well, I put on my Chinatown game face and was able to barge by a few people.

I got my usual 16 pieces of buns and pastries which included: Pineapple BBQ Pork Bun, Curry Beef Bun, Curry Puff Pastry, Egg Tart and Chicken Pie. I have to say that I totally agree with Kim Ho, who writes I'm Only Here for the Food. There seems to be less and less filling in Maxim buns. Compared to New Town, it's less than half the filling for an equivalent-sized bun. Appearance and taste-wise, the stuff at Maxim's is acceptable. However, if you don't have enough filling, it's like a burger with a tiny patty. Moreover, the filling is a bit weak in flavour. The filling at New Town is much more flavourful and savory. Other than being skimpy on the filling, the Pineapple BBQ Pork bun is quite good. There is a nice crumbly top and the bun itself is not too dense. The egg tart tastes pretty good, but the crust is far from flaky. At least there is more egg than crust.

For me, Maxim's will never be proclaimed as the best Chinese bakery in town. However, it is more than respectable if you want to get some buns and pastries. Moreover, their fresh cream cakes are pretty good value. They are not as good as Amy's or Anna's, but they are less expensive. I would put Maxim's in the middle somewhere; along with Pine House, but definitely better than T & T.

The Good:
- Looks the part, mostly tastes the part
- Reasonable prices
- Consistent

The Bad:
- Filling is skimpy and is a bit bland
- Buns are a bit small

Maxim's
257 Keefer Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-687-0949

Business Hours:
8:00am - 7:00pm (7 days a week)

Dim Sum @ Floata

Why oh why do I punish myself over and over again??? I always say to myself I'll never eat at Floata again. I guess it was convenient for us today. We had just visited the Aquarium early in the morning and it was raining. In addition to the validated covered parking, Dim Sum was only $2.75 per dish if you order before 11:00am. Some of you might wonder why I never mention Floata in the same breath as Sun Sui Wah, Red Star, Victoria, Kirin, Spicy Court, Fortune House, Fisherman's Terrace, Sea Harbour and Imperial. There is a simple reason for this... Floata is a wannabe upscale Chinese restaurant. It looks the part, with its massive 100 table dining room and well dressed staff. However, the food and the service are absolutely sub-par for an upscale Chinese restaurant.

Time and time again, I'm always frustrated at the service, or lack of, at Floata. I can remember one time we had ordered a rice and we had waited 45 minutes for it. We complained to a manager and he mouths off to another manager that we were complaining about our rice. Uh... we're right here! We can HEAR you! What the #$(#(#$&??? Every time I keep thinking that it's an isolated incident. But, it's much of the same every time.

Anyways, today we met up with my father-in-law for Dim Sum and I feverishly ordered everything to take advantage of the $2.75 price (I arrived at 10:30am). We ordered the following: Beef Rice Roll, Beef Tripe, Black Bean Spareribs, Chicken Feet, Preserved Egg & Salted Pork Congee, Shrimp Dumpling, Sui Mai, Shrimp Spring Rolls and Chicken Rice. The rice roll was not that great. The noodle was a bit stiff and the filling was just as hard. Not the fluffy soft rice roll that other places serve. The tripe was downright terrible. My father-in-law hated it and he used to run a large Chinese restaurant in town before. So his opinion is backed by knowledge and experience. The tripe was terribly overcooked, it was mushy and practically had no texture left. The sauce was both too salty and too sweet at the same time. Mercifully, the spareribs were pretty good. They were meaty and had lots of flavour.

Unfortunately, the chicken feet were not good. They were overcooked, with the skin separating from the bone. It was also too salty. The congee was alright, but there was nothing in it! Yes, we did order the preserved egg and salted pork congee, but it looked more like plain congee with some fried donut on top. Okay, here's the litmus test, the Haw Gow or shrimp dumpling. If a restaurant messes up this dish, they'd better just give up altogether. Well, the haw gow wasn't bad; yet it wasn't good either. The skin was too thick and the shrimp was in too many small pieces. I know our Dim Sum was at a discounted rate; however, when you only give us 3 instead of 4, doesn't that defeat the purpose of a discount? It's like saying you get 25% off these set of tires. But you will only get 3 for that price. Thank goodness the Sui Mai was good. It was full of whole shrimp mixed with tender pork. But again, it was salty. The shrimp spring rolls were okay as well. They were crunchy, but there was not a whole lot of shrimp in them. Moreover, it was quite oily inside, despite not being oily on the outside. What I said about the haw gow applies to the chicken rice as well. We actually ordered ours after the 11:00am cutoff, so we got the "bigger" size. Again, what's the point of a discount when you get less? I can't seem to figure that out. Well, the "bigger" rice was definitely not better! The rice was very mushy, something in between how rice should be and congee. It was perfect for a baby; but I'm not a baby (well, Viv thinks otherwise...). At least there were big pieces of tender chicken.

So the food is mediocre, you would think the service would make up for it. Wrong, as I mentioned before, the service is not even close to being where it should be. Today, it was actually quite pleasant, we didn't get ridiculed, yelled at or given dirty looks. However, it is very hard to flag someone down. Everyone seems to be busy doing something other than helping you. Our empty Dim Sum steamers were stacked on the table and they remained there even as we left. I've had dinner here many times in the past and it's nothing special. Service is actually a bit better during dinner because you'll probably be one of the few tables that are there. One thing that lingered after we left wasn't the disappointment; rather it was the fact we were very thirsty. The Dim Sum was just too salty (MSG anyone?). At least that provided me with an excuse to get a refreshment (you can read about it later).

The Good:
- Validated covered parking
- Lots of tables (100), good for big parties or banquets
- Good selection of Dim Sum

The Bad:
- Food is mediocre
- Service is lacking
- Restaurant needs a cleaning

Floata Seafood Restaurant
#400 - 180 Keefer Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-602-0368
www.floata.com

Business Hours:
7:30am - 10:00pm (7 days a week)