What's with the heat these last few days??? It's only early June! The weather has been kind of wacky this past year, including last December. Let's just hope we don't use up our allotment of good weather too soon. This hot weather is making me quite uncomfortable at work, I'm sweating just sitting at my desk. Also, with all the allergens flying around, I'm in full allergy mode. At the very least, the weather was going to be good for softball tonight. Again, I picked up Milhouse and Boss Woman, trying to be environmentally conscious, driving my SUV (a contradiction?). Miss Y, not being the beneficiary
of a ride from Judes, arrived barely on time. She was one traffic light away from being late again! Following the game, I was in full expectation that we were going to eat right way. How wrong I was... The team had an impromptu batting practice that went on for what seemed like forever. Before that, we had settled on heading to Corner 23 (the idea, thanks to
Chowtimes and
I Love Food Blog). So there I was thinking and drooling about the famous pork hock at Corner 23. Yes, I was fantasizing about pork feet. It's the same affliction I have with ox tongue and beef tripe.
Finally, we were on our way to Corner 23, which is incidentally on the corner of Cambie and 23rd (hence the name). Miss Y was following me to the restaurant and being the nice guy that I am, I decided to switch lanes and lose her (which I did). However, she did make it to the restaurant, so it was all for naught. I got the last parking spot in the small lot behind the restaurant. Mind you, there were actually 3 spots; but only one was usable. Apparently, people do not know what the white lines are for.
In addition to being a restaurant, Corner 23 is
also a great place to get bubble tea. All of us ordered one except for Lionel Hutz, he wanted a Coke. Guess what? They don't have Coke. I'm pleased to say that the bubble teas were quite good. I went with a Guava Slush with coconut jelly. Maybe my expectations were too high, but the slush could've been a bit more smooth. Other than that, it wasn't too sweet (which is good). Milhouse, wanting something a little bit different, ordered a chocolate slush.
We decided to each choose a dish each and share. However, some of the dishes we chose weren't
really conducive for sharing. Moreover, it didn't help they only gave us small little plates; bowls would've helped. Naturally, I ordered the Wun Luan Pork Hock, much to the chagrin of my fellow diners. It seems they do not share my love of pork fat. Speaking of which, I really should avoid pork fat for awhile. I had some at
Kintaro on Thursday, then Yukon bacon at
Tomahawk for lunch on Saturday and the Dong Bao Yeuk at
Top Shanghai for dinner.
Vandelay would be proud. I have to say that the Pork Hock didn't disappoint. The pieces had a gelatinous quality to them and when dipped in the slightly spicy sauce, it was
pork fat goodness!
I don't remember who ordered the Five Spice Beef Wrap; but it was good. The pancake wasn't too thick and there was plenty of hosin sauce tossed in with the beef. The next few dishes were not really good for sharing; however, we did our best to share. It got a bit messy doing so. Impressively arriving at our table was the Creamy Seafood Hotpot. Almost unanimously, this dish was a miss. It should have named "Fish Balls in Milk" because that's what it really resembled. If they had added vermicelli and tofu,
it would be very similar to a "Sa Woh". Inexplicably, this was served with rice. The hot pot had no flavour; thus the rice served no purpose. Fortunately, the chicken steak was big and cooked perfectly. It was tender and juicy. The pepper sauce was very flavourful and full of black pepper.
To really emphasize that many of the dishes we ordered were not meant for sharing was the Peking Style Shredded Pork. It came on a platter with rice and 3 smaller side dishes (creamed corn, stir fried broccoli and bean sprouts with dry tofu).
Although the dish was pleasant to eat, it probably would've been better with steamed flour wraps rather than rice. We also had the Noodles with Spicy Meat Sauce (not pictured). There was plenty of sauce and it was a bit spicy. It went well with the noodles. Milhouse ordered what he usually orders - Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice. I don't blame him, it's one of my favourites as well! We requested them to omit the green onions to no avail. The kitchen messed it up. I'm quite sensitive to these types of mistakes. A really good kitchen would not never make this type of error.
The last dish to arrive were the Potstickers. They arrived last because it apparently takes 20 minutes for them to cook. We accepted this explanation because it is a sign that they were cooked the proper way. Some restaurants cheat and steam the potstickers first before pan frying them. The proper way is to fry and steam them in the same fry pan. As you can see from the picture, they looked really good. For some reason, the elongated shape of the potstickers really worked. There was more fried surface area for us to enjoy.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal at Corner 23. Most dishes were very good and the bubble teas were a great compliment. We felt quite comfortable in our spacious seating arrangements and the restaurant is both clean and modern. Despite the hot weather, the air conditioning was on maximum and we were actually feeling quite cold. No matter, I'd personally rather be cold than sweating at my desk.
The Good:- Pretty good food
- Good bubble teas
- Modern and comfortable dining space
The Bad:- Small and tight parking lot
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I have a love hate relationship with T & T, I really do. Of course it's a good one-stop shop for all your Asian products, meats and produce. Moreover, they have bakery items, cooked food, Vietnamese products, Korean banchan, BBQ, Dim Sum and sushi available. This is where I have the love hate relationship. Whenever a place tries to be all things to everyone, it's always going to be a bit mediocre. My experiences with T & T pastries have been quite negative. There is something amiss with their products. It's not like they're not inedible; but there is something about them that does not add up. This can be said about much of 
the other items too, including their sushi. It's just not authentic. Same with the Vietnamese and Korean items. Again, they're edible, but not my first or even second choice. That brings me to the cooked items. They certainly look the part; yet inevitably, they taste a bit off.
this is a pretty decent deal for so much food. Mind you, I much prefer the food at Kent's Kitchen for roughly the same price. But that is assuming you are near a Kent's Kitchen. What T & T has going for them is convenience. I rushed back to work with my food and if you look at the picture, there is a good amount of food in the Styrofoam container. This is where quantity trumps quality. The fried shrimp were not executed very well. Normally, the shell is fried to the point where I can actually eat it. Not the case here. If I did, I would've probably cut up my mouth. Also, there was practically no flavour. 
This can be said about the spareribs. Not sweet enough and no real garlic taste. Moreover, the ribs were mostly bone, no meat either. Mind you, the bean curd and veggies were pretty decent. The broccoli and cauliflower were not overcooked or over seasoned.
