Havana

Chatting with Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!) on Saturday, I noticed that I rarely eat Latin food. The times I've been to the Caribbean, I regret I haven't tried more of it. I guess the lack of Latin American food in the GVRD is one reason I don't eat it enough. But the main reason is probably that I do not know where to find "good" Latin American food. Well, Kim is a good resource; maybe I should just go eat out with him more often. However, I was on a mission today, I was going to eat Latin food! So Viv and I headed over to Dona Cata for some of their famous tacos. But to our dismay, it is closed on Mondays. Undeterred, we headed over to Commercial Drive in search of Latin food. As we cruised down the Drive, we noticed that many of the Latin restaurants were closed as well. Was this a coincidence? I'm not sure, but alas, we finally ended up at Havana near the North end of the Drive. Viv's been to Havana before and she liked it, so we parked and headed over.

I've walked past Havana many times admiring their awesome patio; but just have never walked in. Let me say, walking into the restaurant brought me back to Miami, particularly South Beach. The decor and ambiance took me on a vacation without leaving home. One thing struck me while I was perusing the menu: it's not cheap here. Now I'm not saying that the prices were expensive; but for what we were getting it wasn't inexpensive. Mind you, the dinner menu seems like a better value, which is usually the reverse in most restaurants.

We decided to start with the Tostones, otherwise known as plantain chips. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was pretty full, so it will probably explain why it took 35 minutes for the chips to arrive. However, that's pretty long for an appetizer. Well, at least they were worth the wait. The chips were really crispy and fried just enough to give it a very nice colour. The accompanying red pepper aioli and green chili dip was fabulous. There was just enough heat and flavour to compliment the chips.

After we finished the chips, almost another 20 minutes passed before we got our mains. Suffice to say, I don't care how busy the restaurant was. If I do not get all my food within 30 minutes during lunch, it's too long. Viv had ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich and at first, I was wondering what's so special about it. Well, upon closer inspection; in addition to the fried chicken, there was pickled cabbage, green chili mojo and jerk mayo. All the flavours really worked in this sandwich. You got spicy from the chilis, tartness from the cabbage and salty-sweet from the mayo. For myself, I chose the Media Noche which is supposed to be a smaller version of the Cuban sandwich. However, in this case, the main deviation from the traditional sandwich was the bread. It was served on a Ciabatta and was not pressed. Despite this fact, I enjoyed the sandwich. The combination of ham (Black Forest in this case), roast pork, Swiss cheese and pickles was very tasty. Viv remarked that the bun probably detracted from the sandwich.

Despite the painfully long wait for our food, we enjoyed our visit to Havana. It helped that we weren't in a rush. We were just soaking up the nice weather and atmosphere. Again, the only thing that bothered me was that each of our sandwiches were $14.00 each. Hardly expensive; but it just seemed like we didn't eat $14.00 worth of food (operating costs and raw materials withstanding). However, the 4-course dinner for $25 seems like a fabulous deal, maybe I'll need to try that someday.

The Good:
- Really nice decor and atmosphere
- Nice patio
- Something a bit different

The Bad:
- Really sloooow kitchen (could be this time only?)
- A bit pricey for what you get
- As always, parking is hard to find

Alvin Garden

Last time we had a blogger's dinner, Ben (Chowtimes) organized it. While at the that dinner (@ Long's), he suggested that I should organize the next one. Reluctantly, I agreed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy organizing things, I seem to be doing that all the time anyways. However, I certainly couldn't invite everyone, I don't think they made tables that large. I actually ended up giving Ben a call for some advice. He really had no solution for it either, you can't really please everyone. Well, I ended up inviting as many as I felt comfortable with and we ended up with the following participants: Kevin (604Foodtography), Jessica & Mark (Yum-o-Rama), Gigi & Jenkins (Ho Yummy!), Drea (TBDFBTI), Christina and ET (Doesn't TaZte Like Chicken), TS (eating_club Vancouver), Wilson (La Petite Vancouver) and Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!). It was actually Kim who suggested Alvin Garden and we'll see if his recommendation makes him look good or not. See how I like to pass the buck?

From the outside, I would have never known that the inside was actually quite nice and clean. However, the tables are situated quite close together, so everything is a tight fit. We took quite a bit of time trying to decide what to order because frankly, we weren't familiar with most of the dishes. You see, Hunan cuisine is not very common in the GVRD. The dominant Chinese cuisine is Cantonese food. Thus, we just randomly ordered items off the menu with a little help from the server. We found out at the end that our dishes may have not been the right ones to order. Oh well, it just means we have to come back and do it all over again! While we waiting for our food, we got into the typical banter about food and my favourite topic - Richmond. One person posed the question which parking lot was worse: Aberdeen or Crystal Mall. Well, my personal choice would be Crystal Mall because why would you design a lot that is a big circle with only one entrance/exit? Futhermore, as a result of this circle, each parking spot is shaped like a pie slice. Imagine the difficulty for someone trying to use the lines as a guide to park straight! No joke, I once watched someone spend 10+ minutes going back and forth trying to park in one spot.

The food actually arrived pretty quickly; mind you, we really didn't get to eat until much later. Imagine 7 cameras taking turns snapping photos of EACH dish. Kevin was getting a little impatient because he appeared to be very hungry. I guess we got a taste of our own medicine since people who eat with me have to suffer the "don't touch it, let me take some photos first" procedure. Curiously, 5 dishes arrived before we even got the large soup we had ordered. It appears that they do not have a food expediting system present. The first dish was the Hunan-Style Braised Pork. Essentially, it was pork belly stewed in a mostly sweet soy broth. It was enjoyable to eat, while the dish itself was nothing special. The next dish, Duck Braised with Beer was quite spicy. By just tasting the sauce, you'd never know that there was beer. I guess all the alcohol had been cooked away or that the spice overwhelmed any other flavour that was present. Although I enjoyed the sauce with my rice, the duck itself was chopped into really small pieces. Therefore, it was tough to find any pieces with any meat on them. I mostly got bones in every spoonful.

Now the next dish was really good. The Dong Ting Broiled Fish in Chili Soup was a symphony of flavours. The sweetness of the fish combined with the spicy and salty broth was absolutely delicious. Continuing on the spicy theme, the Pan Fried Spicy Chicken was quite an intimidating dish. The small pieces of chicken were hidden in a mound of fried red chilis. Although the dish itself wasn't incredibly spicy, the chilis made it look spicier than it really was. The chicken was very well-seasoned; but yet again much like the duck, it was cut up into little pieces. By now I was starting to sweat; but I think Kim was sweating much more than I was. Luckily he brought his own towel (smart move). The Ma Po Tofu looked spicier than it tasted; however, it was very well spiced. Another great dish to go with a big bowl of white rice.

Alright, someone tell me why we got the soup as our 6th dish? As mentioned before, the expedition of dishes was quite odd. I guess they merely brought out stuff as the kitchen cooked it. But soup in the middle of the meal? The soup we ordered was the Daily Soup which happened to be Corn and Pork. It arrived in a really large pot packed with corn and slow simmered pork. I really liked the soup, it was not very salty; in fact, it was rather sweet because of the corn. From sweet, right back to the spicy, the Pan-Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork had just enough heat. Combined with the sweetness of the crunchy beans and the saltiness of the minced pork, this was a balanced dish. Next up was the Double-Cooked Pork with Garlic and Chilis. I bet they buy their chilis in bulk at Alvin Garden, because they used them like there was no tomorrow. In this dish, the fatty pork appears to have been stewed first, then sliced and pan-fried; thus the double-cooked moniker. This was a solid dish, with many different textures and flavours.

Alright, here we go with the incorrect order of dishes once again. We got the sweet Pumpkin Cakes filled with red bean paste too early since there were a couple more dishes yet to arrive. Suddenly I felt like I was having Cantonese Dim Sum because of the randomness of the dishes. The pumpkin cakes were not really that sweet, even with the red bean paste. I liked the texture, it was very similar to that of a Lo Po Beng; however, the cake itself was rather bland and a bit oily. Now, from dessert, back to the entrees! The Steamed Ling Cod Head with Hunan Chilis was another intimidating looking dish. It was topped with a large amount chilis; yet, once again, it was not as spicy as it looked. In fact, the flavours were quite nice being a bit spicy and sweet. However, since it was Ling Cod head, it was boney and a bit hard to eat. I would have much preferred that they didn't cut up the head into little pieces.

Bringing down the spicy quotient was the Steamed Egg with Mince Pork. This is somewhat of a "home-cooking"-type dish that is usually very light in texture and flavour. For those who don't normally eat it, it could be misinterpreted as being bland. It was alright; but it was a bit on the watery side. The last dish of the meal was the Corn Cakes and it arrived in a big steamer. Once the lid was removed by our server, it revealed cone-shaped pastries. The consensus from the group was that the cakes were not very good. In fact, Jessica's boyfriend probably summed it up best - "it had the texture of Playdoh". This is not a ringing endorsement for the corn cakes. At the very least, they showed up in the proper order.

I generally enjoyed my meal despite the awful expedition of the dishes. I liked some of the dishes more than others; but that would be my personal preference. One thing I didn't like was the fact they cut up some of their meats into really small pieces. This is not good for eating or the actual cooking process itself. But really, Kim said it best. The main focus is enjoying each others' company. We had a blast chatting about our common interest - FOOD. Thus, the dinner almost became secondary. Mind you, some of our dishes seemed grossly overpriced such as the duck for $16.98, Ling Cod head for $19.98 and the soup for $14.98. After our meal was over, we looked around and noticed that we didn't order some really good looking dishes at other tables. I guess that alone warrants another visit.

The Good:
- Dishes that you would probably not find at other Chinese restaurants
- If you like it spicy, this is your place
- Service was a bit hectic, yet it was still friendly and helpful

The Bad:
- Some of the dishes seemed a bit overpriced
- They like to cut up their meats into little pieces
- Proper expedition of dishes was non-existant

Business Hours:
11:30am - 9:30pm (Mon - Fri)
12:00pm - 9:30pm (Sat & Sun)

Ki Sushi

Alright, I think for the very first time, my son actually decided where we were going to eat tonight. We asked him if what he wanted to eat and he insisted on udon noodles in soup. That pretty much narrowed down our choices; thus we headed off to Ki Sushi in New Westminster. I've been meaning to try the place out for awhile and since we needed udon, I guess this was as good as any time to try it out. When we arrived, the parking lot was completely full, so we had to circle around a bit until we found a spot on Columbia. We figured out why the parking lot was full when we entered the restaurant - there was a lineup. No matter, it didn't take long to get a seat. Fortunately for us, the table was fully enclosed into it's own little room. This was good since the kiddies could do there thing and not bother anyone. Also, I could take many pictures and no one would even notice. We overheard the servers chatting in Mandarin amongst themselves. So I guess this is not a Japanese-run restaurant? No matter, for me if the food is good, I don't give a damn who is making it.

The first thing I noticed about the menu were the prices - they are very reasonable. Taking a peak at what other people were eating, it also appears that the portions are good as well. This looked promising. Viv and I decided on the Dinner for 2 which included Assorted Sashimi, California Roll (6pcs), Kappa Maki (6pcs), Sushi (4pcs), Prawn & Vegetable Tempura, Oyster Motoyaki or Chawan Mushi, Kara-age, Sunomono, Miso Soup and Ice Cream for $34.95. We added a Vancouver Roll and also a Chicken Udon for the kiddies.

The sashimi and sushi arrived on one platter and they were quite good. Each slice of sashimi was fresh and quite large. We particularly like the wild sockeye salmon sashimi; it was deliciously sweet. I must mention that there was very little rice in every one of the rolls - a very good thing. The Tempura was also very good. It was perfectly fried and the batter was ever so light. It wasn't particularly oily either. The same goes with the boneless Chicken Karaage. Outside was not oily and very crispy; but the inside was tender and juicy. Included in the meal was a choice between Oyster Motoyaki and Chawan Mushi. We couldn't decide on either, so we had one of each. The motoyaki was a bit different than I am accustomed to. Rather than a whole oyster baked in sauce, it was diced-up oyster, mushrooms and spinach mixed in with sauce. For me, it was alright; but I wouldn't want to eat another. The mushi was very light and velvety. I really liked eating it and was a bit amused by the happy face created by the edamame beans and shrimp on top.

The Vancouver Roll was a bit of a disappointment. The roll itself was prawn tempura, avocado and masago on the inside. It was topped with more avocado and unagi with sauce on the outside. This is similar to a Dragon Roll found at other Japanese restaurants. Yet, compared to other places such as Toyotomi and Tomoya, the Vancouver roll here at Ki was not as good. It was generally flavourless and seemed a bit empty inside. Definitely not worth the $10.00 price tag. However, the meal in general was solid and I certainly enjoyed eating it. The portions were generally pretty good and the prices make Ki Sushi a good value. Service was generally quite attentive and friendly; if not a bit absent minded. It took us 3 tries to replace a dirty bowl. Not the best Japanese food I've ever had; yet still a solid choice in New West.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Good portion size
- Pretty decent food

The Bad:
- Small parking lot, fills up quick

Pied-à-Terre

Wow, we haven't dined with M&M since Dine-Out at Hart House! No, we didn't go pick up some chicken wings, a flat of Sheppard's pie and apple blossoms from M&M on our way to Hart House. Rather, M&M are 2 friends of ours whose names happen to start with the letter M. Too bad they didn't name their kids M names. Otherwise they'd be mini-M&M's (lame joke, I know...). Tonight, we were all childless and decided to try out Pied-à-Terre on Cambie. There are so many of these small moderately-priced French bistros popping up all over the place. French food is becoming more accessible and affordable. We arrived promptly at 6:30, however, due to some extenuating circumstances, both M&M were late. We'll refer to the wife as Bubbly because she has enough energy to run a small town. Also, we'll refer to the husband as Chill because nothing ever seems to faze him. Bubbly was stuck on the Oak Street bridge for almost 20 minutes. Second, Chill was stuck behind some bike parade in downtown for about the same time. It was almost like fate was working against them for this meal. No matter, the staff at Pied-a-Terre were extremely understanding and professional about the matter. When Bubbly did arrive, she hijacked my camera and starting snapping photos like there was no tomorrow. She is an avid photographer and I have to give her credit for some of the pictures. She's definitely got an eye for the artistic flair. One thing I do know is she made me look normal for once, because she was taking more photos than I would normally. So that's how someone appears when they are madly snapping photos of food. No wonder people stare at me!

Viv and Bubbly both decided to have the Table D'hote which gave them a choice of appetizer, main and dessert for $31.00. Viv chose the Terrine Maison to start. She figures it was pork terrine with some bacon. She thought it was pretty good because it was well-seasoned. The sweet figs, horseradish cream and sour cornichons complimented the Terrine really well. Bubbly got the Fennel Cream Soup for her first course and it was luxurious in texture. There was only a slight fennel taste to the soup. I opted for the Steamed Mussels to start and it was a decent portion. Bathed in a white wine and onion broth, each mussel was opened and very sweet. I got extra bread to soak up every last bit of the
broth.

Viv went for the Coq au Vin as her main. The perfectly stewed chicken rested on a rich red wine sauce with carrots, peas, onion, lardons, and mashed potato. I tried some and the chicken was tender and the wine had penetrated nicely into the meat. Bubbly had the Onglet Steak & Frites with a Marchand du Vin sauce. The server gave the heads up that it was a hanger steak and it could be a bit tough. Normally, a hanger steak cannot be cooked past medium-rare and should be cut against the grain. I tried a piece of the steak and although it wasn't tender, it was not overly tough either. It definitely had plenty of flavour due to the cut of meat and the sauce.

Chill had the Rib Eye Steak & Frites with Marchand du Vin as well. His steak was cooked perfectly medium-rare and was predictably tender. The fries were very crispy and light. He was quite hungry and plowed through it. All I could get out of him was that it was "good". I was going to have the steak as well; but seeing that 2 people were already having steak, I went for the Muscovy Duck Confit with Cassoulet Beans. The duck leg was beautifully cooked with an extremely crispy skin. Normally, I'm not really into eating skin or fat of any kind; but I enjoyed every piece of the duck skin. The meat itself was melt-in-your mouth tender (due to being simmered in duck fat). It was a bit saltier than I would have liked; however, salt is an integral part of duck confit. However, eaten with the orange slices, it did balance the flavours. Although the beans were a side to the duck, I personally thought they were the star of the dish. The soft, haricot beans were prepared beautifully.

For dessert, Bubbly decided on the Chocolate Mousse and Viv got the Creme Caramel. Simply presented, the creme caramel was absolutely divine. It was silky smooth with a rich caramel finish. Viv remarked that there was a hint of orange as well. Bubbly thought that the mousse was the better of the 2 desserts and I will agree on that. At first, I didn't enjoy the mousse as much because I'm not really a big chocolate lover. However, the mousse was fluffy and full of chocolate flavour without being too sweet. Good food aside, the rest of the dining experience was very positive as well. The staff were quite efficient and very knowledgeable. The ambiance was cozy and warm, partly because the restaurant itself is quite small. Value-wise, it was very good. The prices were reasonable and the portions were more than adequate. Pied-a-Terre is another great bistro among many in the GVRD.

The Good:
- Generous portions
- Food is spot on
- Reasonably-priced
- Quaint
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- Make reservations, it's a small bistro, walk-in diners will not get a table

Guildford Station Pub

After an eventful and fun visit to La Charcuterie last week, Miss Y and Kc joined me again for some eats today. Boss Z and Lady Mustang also tagged along for this food adventure. We weren't going to travel all the way to Port Kells or Cloverdale this time for food; rather we only made it out to Guildford. The destination: Guildford Station Pub. Okay, before you make any assumptions or judgements, pub food can be really good! And in the case of Guildford Station, that seems to be the norm according to many Internet reviews.

At least from the outside, the pub looks quite inviting and clean. Inside, it is not different. This is a nice pub! I got pretty excited looking over the menu (yes, my life revolves around food). It appeared that other than the steaks, there was practically nothing over $9.00. That's the kind of pricing I like! In fact, the specials of the day were very well priced, especially the BBQ Ribs with coleslaw and roasted potatoes. With a beverage order, the ribs would only set you back $6.95! Although it was not a huge rack of side ribs (looked like it was cut vertically in half), it was more than enough for lunch. The ribs were tender without being mushy and the BBQ sauce was not Kraft-like (Kraft is generally very tart and vinegary without much in the way of smokiness).

I also ordered the Pacific Clam Chowder hoping to erase the paper mache version I got at Fresgo Inn. I must say this chowder was like a good Psychiatrist; it made me think happy thoughts. Although it wasn't exactly that thick, the chowder was still creamy with plenty of seafood flavour. I had to do a double take as to where I was eating this - a pub! Lady Mustang had the chowder too and she had quite the same reaction after her first spoonful. Despite a reputation of having good beef burgers, Boss Z goes ahead and orders a veggie burger??? She's not even a vegetarian! Well, regardless of that, she enjoyed her burger and yam fries.

Miss Y opted for the 2 piece Fish & Chips. I can never understand how she stays so thin. She really does eat the crappiest food sometimes. While I take a pass on the Krispy Kremes, she goes ahead and eats 4. I hate her and her metabolism. Anyways, the batter for the fish was probably the issue we had with the food. It was very thick and doughy. A definitely sub-par fried fish. I would stay away from this or any of the battered seafood items on the menu. Overall, we were quite satisfied with our visit to Guildford Station. It seems to have the winning formula of good eats, cheap prices, great ambiance and in this case - booze.

The Good:
- Prices are really good
- Most of the food is surprisingly good
- Really nice pub; clean and inviting

The Bad:
- Tables are a bit small
- Stay away from battered items

Vault

What in the world am I doing in Cloverdale you might ask? Well, the rodeo was a few weeks ago, so I'm certainly not here for that. I'm not heading down to the states, so that's outta the question. Maybe I was lost? No, no, that's reserved for Miss Y. I was in Cloverdale with a few of my colleagues to have lunch. Lunch? But is there anything good to eat out in Cloverdale other than the requisite bar? You might not think so, ah... but many people are mistaken. Hidden amongst the many shops in Cloverdale on 176th is the Vault. It is named as such because there is an actual vault at the back of the restaurant. We can only surmise that this location used to be a financial institution of some sort. And yes, inside the vault is a very private table.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get a window seat again! There was a big group that took over half of the restaurant. I was tempted to take the plates over to the entrance... Anyways, Ma got the Dry Ribs to start and it was a generous portion of meaty ribs. It was not over fried and had a good dusting of pepper and kosher salt. She also had the Ale Braised Short Rib Sandwich and it certainly looked appetizing. On top of the tender meat were fried onions which apparently made the dish. There was a complaint that the glaze was a bit sweet; but I guess it's personal preference.

Blondie had the Prawn, Scallop and Goat Cheese Salad. The dish itself had a bevy of seafood, strawberries and goat's cheese. I tried some of it and it was every so lightly dressed, which is a good thing. This way, I could actually discern different flavours in the salad. Although the scallops were large and had good colour from the sear; they were a bit chewy and possibly overcooked. The prawns on the other hand were perfectly prepared. Continuing on the seafood theme, I went for the Mixed Seafood Grill with Asian BBQ Glaze. In addition to the same prawns and scallops as the salad, I also got a piece of salmon. Surprisingly, the rice that accompanied the seafood was quite flavourful and beautifully cooked. The reason I mention this is that most times the rice is an afterthought. The salmon was soft and not overcooked. The prawns were cooked correctly; yet I had the same problem with the scallops, they were slightly overcooked and had a slight fishy taste. In terms of the hoisin glaze, it was pretty standard being quite sweet and not really having any other complex flavours present. Unfortunately, that is the flavour profile of hoisin sauce.

Ma was the only one at our table who went for dessert. Mind you, she chose NY Cheesecake and it was fabulous. It was a really large piece of baked cheesecake with an ultra thin crust. I tried it and it was ever-so-smooth and full of cream cheese flavour. It's definitely nice to get a baked hard cheesecake rather than the whipped ones. The depth of flavour and texture are just not the same. For being out in Cloverdale, which is hardly the mecca for fine dining, The Vault was not bad. If it were located in Downtown Vancouver, it might face stiff competition. The food in general was pretty decent. It's location works in their favour because there is not another restaurant like this close by.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Eclectic, funky atmosphere
- Great service

The Bad:
- A bit far for most people other than the locals

Business Hours:
11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm (Mon - Thu)
11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Fri)
5:00pm - 10:30pm (Sat)
5:00pm - 9:30pm (Sun)