Twisted Fork

*Restaurant has relocated to 213 Carrall Street*

My day started at 8:00am and didn't end until 5:30pm with a meeting in Ladner. Yes, call me a wimp, I'm not used to this type of schedule! I had made arrangements to meet up with Whipping Girl and TS from [eating_club Vancouver] for dinner after my meeting. Now, if you ever tried driving in from Ladner into downtown during rush hour, you'll understand my utter frustration. When 5 lanes of highway traffic must merge into 1 lane, mass chaos and congestion erupts. After I got through the tunnel, I had to navigate Vancouver traffic to get to downtown. Most people want to escape downtown during this time. Of course I was doing the complete opposite and got stuck on the Burrard street bridge. What was I doing on the Burrard street bridge when our destination was on Granville??? You see, Whipping Girl did not want to walk to the restaurant. Thus, I had to fight through Burrard all the way to Dunsmuir to pick her up. Upon picking her up, I had to navigate through traffic back to Granville and Helmcken. That detour took over 30 minutes. When we arrived, we tried to get the only window seat; but it was taken by a large group. Now if we were on time...

Well, I hold no ill feelings towards Whipping Girl because she is a good dining partner and those are not easy to find! Together with TS, we decided to share 2 pounds of the mussels to start. On Tuesdays, 1 pound of mussels is only $8. Another special was their 3 course meal for $25.00. TS and I were all over that. TS ordered the Prawns and the Pan-Seared BC Halibut. I went for the Snails and the Beef Bourguignon. Whipping girl decided on the Cured BC Duck Breast. We actually all decided to share everything so we could get a taste of every dish.

The Mussels arrived with frites on top and that probably contributed to them being soggy. They tasted fine, especially dipped into the tomato herb cream; yet they lacked crispiness. The mussels themselves were sweet and not a single one was unopened (although they weren't that plump). Luckily we got complimentary rolls since we used them to mop up any remaining cream at the bottom. One note about the dinner rolls, they are quite dense, one is more than enough. Up next were the Grilled Prawns with chipotle, thyme, garlic & fresh melon salsa. The prawns were cooked nicely retaining it's crunch when bitten into. Eaten with the melon, the sweetness of the melon and prawn was quite refreshing. I would have have liked a bit of acidity like lime juice to further enhance the flavours.

The Garlic Snails were prepared with leek, mushrooms, caramelized shallots, tomato basil sauce, fresh arugula. There was an impressive quantity of snails on the plate. As we kept eating them, there always seemed to be more. Personally, I'm not a big fan of snails and tomato sauce. I prefer them in a simple butter and garlic sauce. That way I can enjoy their flavour and texture without anything overpowering. I find the acidity in tomato sauce a poor compliment to the tender snails. It's also the same with frog legs, I really don't like them with tomato sauce, only butter and garlic. With that being said, the dish wasn't horrible, in fact, I enjoyed eating them despite the fact I don't prefer them.

While we were waiting for our mains to show up, we realized that the big group ended up moving to a table in the back. I was so choked that the one window seat was never used! Argh! Anyways, the Beef Bourguignon was very rich in red wine flavour. It was prepared very well since it had the richness of the red wine and shallots; but did not have much in the way of bitterness. Although the beef had been cooked for a long time in the sauce, it was curiously dry. We hypothesized that the cut of meat might have been too lean. Regardless of that, the dish itself was quite good.

The Cured BC Duck with ratatouille, potato puree and cherry chutney was impressively presented on the plate. The duck itself was quite salty due to the curing. However, if combined with the chutney and ratatouille, it helped cut the saltiness and became more balanced. With that being said, we probably would have all preferred the duck confit instead. TS' Halibut came with ratatouille, artichoke puree, baby carrots and corn relish. The halibut itself was ever-so slightly overcooked; yet was still quite good. Combined with the relish and ratatouille, the sweetness from the corn and peppers really complimented the halibut. One nit-picking observation was that the asparagus was overcooked, although the green beans and carrots were excellent.

Rounding out the 3 course meal were the desserts. I went with the Lavender Creme Brulee and TS opted for the Profiteroles with Hazelnut Ice Cream. We peer pressured Whipping Girl into getting the Chocolate Terrine so we could try it. She folded like a deck of cards or maybe she just felt guilty in getting me to pick her up. Again, we shared the desserts. We thought that the creme brulee was a little on the light side and could have stood to be a bit more luxurious. Yet, it was still very good and TS enjoyed cracking the burnt sugar on top. The profiteroles were a bit hard to eat since the choux pastry was a bit stiff, possibly from the cold hazelnut ice cream (which was divine). The terrine was quite large and beautifully presented. The chocolate was decadent and the layer of coulis running through it gave a nice fruity contrast to the dish. The sorbet added some much needed lightness to the rich chocolate.

After we finished our meal, we were stuffed and I wasn't even remotely thinking of having a Filet-o-Fish. Overall, the food was pretty good and at these prices, it was downright excellent. The Twisted Fork is a little gem hidden among XXX shops along Granville. It is an area in transition; but with restaurants like the Twisted Fork, it definitely helps change the landscape.

The Good:
- Outstanding value
- Food is both plentiful and delicious
- Service was friendly and casual

The Bad:
- Small restaurant, it can fill up fast
- The location is still in a seedy area, but it's changing

Cactus Club Cafe

I originally thought a bunch of us were going to eat lunch at the one20 today, so a couple of us made our way down there to find out nobody was there. Due to a lack of communication, there was no lunch planned. Despite the fact I like one20, we decided to head over to Cactus Club instead. To tell you the truth, I really do like Cactus Club. Yes, some people will point out that Cactus Club is expensive and a chain restaurant. That's is pretty much true; however, there are some good eats here. I still remember back in University, we would frequent 2 of the first few locations near Metrotown and on Robson. Their first location (North Van) opened in 1988. Much like it's competitors, Cactus Club has gone through come changes and has gone a bit more upscale.

Since the addition of Rob Feenie as a food designer, there have been some changes to the menu. Today, all 3 of us chose a Rob Feenie creation and in doing so, paid accordingly. Blondie had the Spinach Salad with Italian prosciutto, goat cheese, balsamic figs, candied pecans and sherry vinaigrette. She really enjoyed the salad; but did remark that the prosciutto's saltiness overwhelmed some flavours. My esteemed colleague, L-Pete, had The Burger which consisted of aged cheddar cheese, cured bacon, sautéed mushrooms and red pepper relish. This is a very large burger and he really liked it. I've had the opportunity to try The Burger as well and it is indeed very good. It's juicy, has more than enough toppings and the relish is pretty tasty. For my meal, I ordered the Prawn & Scallop Spaghettini. It wasn't a particularly large portion of pasta; yet it was enough. The roasted tomato sauce was light and fresh tasting. The seafood was cooked just right and the pasta was al dente.

Honestly, no complaints here about the food, it was consistently good. Only real concern was probably the price because it wasn't cheap. However, if you can get past the "chain restaurant" stigma, the food is actually quite decent. With that being said, yes it is true you can practically eat anywhere for those prices. I guess it would be a personal choice as to where you want to spend your money.

The Good:
- No surprises
- Fun atmosphere
- Good place for varied tastes or big groups

The Bad:
- Pricey (along the same lines as Milestone's, Earl's and Joey's)

Greek Day

I had originally tweaked my ankle during floor hockey on Saturday, so Sunday morning ice hockey seemed in doubt. However, finding a sub was going to be difficult since Sunday was Father's Day. I decided to tough it out with some Advil and pain tolerance. It turned out to be a really good game and afterwords, I was famished. We decided yesterday on attending Greek Day along West Broadway on Father's Day. So we loaded up the kids and headed down there with my parents. Finding parking was a challenge since most of the streets were for resident parking only. Fortunately we didn't take too long to find one and it was only 4 blocks away. Bad planning on our part, we didn't have any cash, so I had to go find an ATM. I spotted Great Western Bank and upon getting to the front door, it stated they didn't have an ATM yet. Seriously, what bank doesn't have an ATM??? I trekked a bit further past Blenheim almost to the Eatery, to the TD Canada Trust.

Money in hand, I was ready to acquire some tasty Greek food. However, there were massive lineups 20 people deep at practically every food stand. I hate lineups. I decided to pick the shortest lineup; but this particular food stand mostly sold desserts. Whatever, I was hungry, I really could care less. I ended up getting Spanakopita, Baklava and 2 slices of the Galaktobouriko. I passed the Spanakopita to Viv and ended up eating most of the sweets myself. I did give one of the 2 Galaktobouriko to my mom. I really enjoyed eating the Galaktobouriko. The combination of fluffy egg and lemon zest made the dessert light tasting. I really liked the crunchy filo as a contrast to the egg. Viv didn't really want anything to do with the Baklava since it is typically very sweet. I ended up forcing her to eat a bit of it. I didn't get anything else because the lineups were so long. Although I really wanted to get some Loukoumades for my kids; but then it started to rain. Not wanting to be drenched, we high-tailed it back to the car. Although Greek Day was a short visit, it was good to get out and walk around. It's nice to see that Vancouver isn't totally devoid of special events (there really should be more though).

Me-n-Ed's Pizza Parlor (Burnaby)

Deciding on a restaurant to eat at is usually a relatively simple exercise. There are so many choices in the GVRD. However, trying to find a suitable restaurant for 4 adults with 4 screaming kids is another story. Costanza and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where we could go. Finally we settled on an ol' standby, Me-n-Ed's. To those who are not familiar with Me-n-Ed's, it's a family pizza joint with 5 locations in the GVRD. Today, we went to the location in Burnaby on Kingsway near Edmonds. Much to our surprise, it was retro-pricing due to Me-n-Ed's 40th birthday; thus we put away our Entertainment coupons. We were seated at the back of the restaurant and that was a good thing, by the time we left, we were the only ones there and the kids could run around free-range.

Normally, without a coupon or retro-pricing, Me-n-Ed's is not a cheap place to eat. The large specialty pizzas are $27.00 each. Today, they were only $22.00 each. Rather than going with the specialty pizzas, we made our own large pizza with as many toppings as we wanted for $22.00. We ended getting 2 large pizzas, one small for the kids, nachos and Caesar salad. We were seated at a large table in the middle of the dining area which was devoid of any real good lighting. Therefore, the chances of taking some really good pictures was compromised. That's when I decided to take all the dishes over to a table near the window, snap a shot and then bring it back. So when the Caesar salad arrived, I swiped it and took it to the table near the window. The server came back and was thoroughly confused as to what happened to the salad. After an explanation from Viv, he was on-board with my antics. The remaining table in our section was quite intrigued as to what I was up to. Again, the things I do for his blog...

The pizza at Me-n-Ed's is a bit different than most of the other pizza chains out there. The crust is very thin and light, bordering on resembling a crunchy cracker. Consequently, the crust is not oily and in fact, the whole pizza is not really all that oily either. Since the pizza is relatively light and easy to eat, you will find that most people will eat more slices than regular pizzas. This actually makes the pizzas here even more expensive because you will need more of it to make you full. The pizzas, salad, nachos and 4 soft drinks pushed the total to nearly $100.00 (including tax & tip). Remember, this is with retro-pricing too. Me-n-Ed's is indeed great for families; however it's not cheap.

The Good:
- Great for kids
- Light, easy-to-eat pizza
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Pizzas are not cheap

Booster Juice

You couldn't imagine how much discomfort I was in after an extremely salty Dim Sum at Pelican. I was dying for a large cool beverage. Initially, a Slurpee or Super Big Gulp came into mind; but I just had a Slurpee a couple of days ago. I dropped Viv and the kids at my in-laws and headed out in search for an oasis of refreshment. That certain oasis would be located below the Skytrain station at Broadway and Commercial. No not Blenz, the last thing I needed was a hot caffeinated beverage. The place I speak of was Booster Juice. Ah yes, one of the many copycats of Jamba Juice, only found in the States. I am truly beginning to believe that the only reason I prefer Jamba Juice is because it was the first one I tried. Jugo Juice has been quite a decent substitute so far, maybe Booster Juice can do the same or better.

To be honest, I really didn't care because I was really thirsty. Scanning the menu quickly, I decided on the Mango Hurricane which is a tropical mix of strawberries, mangos, peaches, guava, passion fruit and sorbet. While I was waiting for my drink, a transit guy was looking at me funny while I was taking photos. I explained to him what I was doing and that made him feel better. He thought I was weird or something. The drink itself was pretty good, a bit on the tart side; but I didn't want anything sweet anyways. I really like how Booster Juice uses the insulated cups like Jamba Juice as opposed to Jugo Juice. It keeps the drink cold and thick longer. Moreover, it doesn't feel like a block of ice in you hand either.

Feeling quite refreshed and having exorcised the MSG demon, I was feeling a lot better. I really didn't get to drink the whole thing because my daughter kept grabbing the cup away from me. She just loves smoothies. Too bad she can't hold a cup without spilling it. Booster Juice does cost more than most other beverages, but seeing how it's full of fruit, I think it's reasonable.

The Good:
- You get 5 servings of fruit in a cup
- Insulated cup
- Healthier choice than a Slurpee

The Bad:
- Costs more than your regular drink (worth it in my opinion though)

Honestly, if my parents didn't recommend this place, I would have never eaten at Lucky Gate. First of all, it's in Coquitlam. No offense to Coquitlam, I used to live there, but it ain't the hotbed of Shanghainese cuisine. Second, it looks rather dumpy from the outside and trust me, I've been to some dumpy looking places. When Viv and I arrived at the restaurant, I was extremely skeptical and was bracing for the worst. Upon entering, my fears were tempered somewhat since there were other Chinese people dining - that's a good sign. Surprisingly, part of the kitchen is open with only a large plexiglass window separating it from the dining space. From time to time, when a noodle order is placed, the chef begins making fresh noodles by hand. Again, something I didn't expect here.

Foregoing the dinner fare, we opted to order mostly Shanghainese Dim Sum since it would probably be the best indicator of the food. My parents assured me that the food is decent because they have been going here for awhile. We started with the Wine Marinated Chicken. The chicken itself was cooked perfectly and seasoned really well. Maybe a bit too well because as I continued chewing, it became more and more salty. Despite that, the chicken did have good wine flavour. As always, we ordered the Hot & Sour Soup. It was a vegetarian version; thus it did not have the usual shrimp and slivered pork. Despite that, the soup still looked and tasted pretty good. I only wish that it was more bold in both the spicy and vinegar department.

Another favourite dish of ours is the Stir-Fried Sliced Rice Cake. It was available in Shanghai-style (spinach, shredded pork, shiitake mushrooms and dark soy) or with sprouts, pickled vegetables and shredded pork. We went for the latter this time and despite looking a bit pale, it tasted quite good. There was a good mix of saltiness, sweetness and zing from the pickled vegetable. Continuing on the pale theme, the Noodles in Soup with Tendon was completely lacking in colour except for the baby bak choy. I was surprised to see the tendon (which was soft) devoid of any colour. Thank goodness everything tasted much better than it looked. I especially liked the fresh hand-made noodles, they had really good elasticity and flavour (fresh noodle flavour, hard to explain).

The one dish that had plenty of colour was the Peking-Style Shredded Pork with Steamed Flour Crepes. The addition of hoisin and dark soy gave the shredded pork a really nice deep colour. It tasted as good as it looked. Wrapped within the large soft flour crepe, the pork had a sweet, rich and almost smoky flavour. One interesting thing was that the pork was not marinated in baking soda and retained it's natural chewy texture. We actually liked this quite a bit because we also go the natural pork flavour as well. It's rare to find places that serve meat without baking soda and still being tender enough to eat.

Okay, eating Shanghainese Dim Sum without Xiao Long Bao is like going to Richmond and finding polite drivers. It just doesn't happen. The Xiao Long Bao at Lucky Gate were unusually large looking. I was nervous at first, expecting to find a really tough and thick outer skin. This was not the case. Although I've had better Xiao Long Bao, these ones were not half bad. Only complaint would be that there was not really all that much juice in them. Also, the vinegar served with the Xiao Long Bao was a bit too powerful, it would have been better if they stuck with a lighter malt vinegar.

The last dish that we ordered was the Pan-Fried Dumplings. They resembled potstickers; but were not really potstickers per se. They were lightly fried on the bottom and pleasant to eat. I only wish they would've been fried a little bit more, so that there would be more of a texture contrast. I think the one word that would sum up the food at Lucky Gate is "home cooking'. Most of the food didn't look very refined and lacked presentation. However, it usually tasted better than it looked. In comparison to the big boys such as Shanghai River, Shanghai Wonderful, Top Shanghai, #1 Shanghai and the sort, Lucky Gate may be inferior. But, it is decent for where it is located since there is no competition within a country mile.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Decent prices
- Food is fresh

The Bad:
- Food presentation and colour are lacking
- Friendly service, but since it's a family operation, not enough servers

Business Hours:
11:00am - 3:00pm, 5:30pm - 10:00pm (Thu - Tue)

Tamarind Hill

*Restaurant is closed*

Banana Leaf and Tropika - these are the first places that come to my mind when I think of Malaysian food in the GVRD. Naturally, there are other choices which may or may not be better than the aforementioned restaurants. One of these choices can be found in the heart of New Westminster. Yes, that is not a mistake, it's not where you'd think a good Malaysian restaurant would be found. Tonight, Dr. 911 joins us for dinner. I chose the nickname Dr. 911 because not only is he a dentist, he drives a Porsche 911 as well. In fact, Dr. 911 wanted to join us for a food adventure, much like HL did when we went to Ramie's.

Located on the corner of 6th Avenue and 7th Street, Tamarind Hill is a quaint little restaurant that is nicely decorated and furnished. The lighting was a bit odd at this time of day and I ended up with shadows and bright sunlight striating the food. This is where I needed a piece of white cardboard to help me redirect the light. However, I'm not sure if I want to carry a piece of white cardboard around. Mind you, I never thought I'd lug a DSLR around either. The things I do for blogging! Next I'll be carrying around a plate like Ben (Chowtimes)!

We started with the Roti Canai. It was fluffy, slightly sweet and not oily. The curry dipping sauce was mild and not overpowering. Arriving at the same time were the Chicken Curry and the Beef Rendeng. Both came with a bowl of rice, which is never enough for the amount of sauce. I really liked the chicken, it was packed full of properly cooked ingredients in a creamy coconut curry. Although the menu states there is both fennel and cloves in the sauce; I could barely detect the fennel flavour. Good thing, Viv hates licorice flavour.

A good contrast to the smooth chicken curry was the beef rendeng. Although it was a coconut-based sauce, it had a more robust flavour due to the addition of ginger, onion and lemongrass. It was spicy; yet an underlying heat which went really well with rice. The beef itself was tender; but some of the pieces were slightly dry. Of course with all this meat, we ordered the Sambal Green Beans. Mind you, they are fried and then stir fried with more oil. Not sure if that helps our health quotient or not. The beans were neither mushy or crunchy, it was somewhere in the middle. I would've much preferred that they were a little less cooked. Also, despite the sauce being quite flavourful, I found it a bit too sweet and not savoury or spicy enough. I do realize that the flavour profile of the Sambal sauce is supposed to be sweet, it's just that I like it with a bit more balance. For good measure, we also ordered a noodle dish - Ipoh Char Hor Fun, which is essentially stir-fried flat rice noodle with seafood in a light egg soy sauce. The dish is definitely Malay; but it could've easily passed for a Cantonese dish. This didn't mean it was bad, it just was a big departure in flavours from the rest of the meal. Rather than being spicy or bold, the flavours were delicate and so were the ingredients.

We were quite satisfied with our meal at Tamarind Hill. The food was solid, the prices were reasonable and the portions were decent. However, the one thing that stood out as a negative was the service, or lack of. The staff was actually quite friendly; but for most of the time, there was only one person handling the whole restaurant (about 9 tables full), the phone and takeout orders. The other server went missing for about half an hour. We hypothesized that he must've went out for deliveries. Consequently, we never got our glasses refilled, plates removed or even checked on once. Worst of all, I had to go up to the front counter to order another bowl of rice. In addition, another person had to go up to the bar and get water for her own table. Again, service wasn't terrible, there just wasn't enough of it. Despite this, the food is still good here and I will be returning.

The Good:
- Flavourful dishes
- Reasonably priced
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Lack of servers