Empire Garden

Tonight, we were going to go for some Chinese food. Okay, that doesn't sound overly exciting or interesting really. How about Chinese food in Langley? Langley??? Alright, it is well known that I try to avoid Richmond as much as I like to avoid stepping in doggie doo; but go out to Langely for Chinese food? Now that's a bit odd. Well, I felt a bit strange really. Admittedly, Langley is not exactly the hotbed of Chinese cuisine. My concern was that the food might be a bit too "North Americanized". Well, that does bring up an interesting thought. Maybe North American Chinese food is what people want and that is probably what they'll get. We were meeting up with Nikita and Bluebeard at Empire Garden near Colossus to really see if real Chinese food exists out in Walnut Grove.

Of course we ran into rush hour traffic on our approach to the Port Mann. Luckily for me, having the whole family with me meant that I could take the carpool lane. I was surprised to be smooth sailing across the bridge until we hit Johnson Hill and instant stop... Yup, traffic jam. It never fails in the GVRD. When you think you are in the clear, a traffic jam appears to make your day. Of course that made us a bit late for our dinner and that is never a good thing. Any time taken away from my eating is a tragedy in itself. To prevent any more tragedies, we had called earlier in the day to reserve a Peking Duck. You see, Peking Ducks need to be prepared well in advance for dinner service. If they happen to run out, they can't instantly make one for you. It requires a process of "blowing up the duck" and having the skin dry out for roasting. If you don't do that, you'd merely end up with BBQ Duck.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that our duck
was being prepared table side. Each crispy piece of skin made a delicious crunching sound when pared off of the carcass. The crisp skin had a nice rich colour and it really was a good Peking Duck. It's a bit unfortunate that the steamed flour crepes were not exactly hot. When ordering Peking Duck, depending on the restaurant, there are either 2 or 3 courses. At Empire, it was 3. The second course consisted of using some of the duck meat for a Lettuce Wrap. A large mound of diced duck meat, carrots, onion and rutabaga rested on a bed of fried bean thread noodles. Combined with the fresh lettuce and hoisin sauce, this was another solid dish. The third duck course, Thick Duck Meat Soup was a slight miss. There was plenty of duck, bamboo shoots, shiitake, carrots and tofu in the soup; but it was really bland. Furthermore, it really need much more colour. With a bit of tweaking, this soup would've been good.

We were informed that the live lobsters were on special and since I drove all the way out to Langley for Chinese food, I was going to eat in style. No Lemon Chicken or Spring Rolls for me! We chose to have the lobster prepared in a ginger and onion sauce. To our delight, it was cooked perfectly. The lobster meat was fully cooked while still exhibiting a bit of chewiness. The sauce was a bit goupy; but tasted good without being too salty. To satisfy our veggie quotient, we got the Stir-Fried Pea Shoots with Garlic. This was another successful dish since the pea shoots were fresh and not overcooked. There was just enough salt and plenty of garlic flavour. I'm amazed how many restaurants mess up this dish by over-cooking the pea shoots.

Alright, the last dish was a bit of a cop out. We ordered the Sweet & Sour Spareribs. I know, I know, it's not a dish actual Chinese people normally order; but hey, we needed to try out a Western-friendly dish for research purposes. In fact, Nikita pointed out that they ordered the usual North American Chinese dishes here and they were woefully disappointing. They much preferred the unauthentic restaurant across the street for that stuff. More on that later... As for the spareribs, they were a bit over-fried and had too much flour on them. Furthermore, the sauce was weak, not much in the way of sweet or sour. I didn't like this dish and ironically, it happened to be the least "Chinese" dish of the bunch.

And this brings up an interesting point. I found that the authentic Chinese dishes to be more than acceptable. Now for the one "Western-friendly" dish, it was another matter. So, I'm thinking that a restaurant that specializes in North American Chinese food would probably do a better job in the "sweet 'n sour" category than an actual Chinese restaurant. Therefore, if you want authentic Chinese eats, Empire Garden is good for Langley. However, if you merely want a combo #5, then go across the street to Chan's Palace.

The Good:
- It's authentic
- Surprisingly nice decor inside
- Friendly service (for a Chinese restaurant)

The Bad:
- Service was sparse when it got busy
- Their take on North American Chinese food is weak

Gotham

Bishop's, Cin Cin, Blue Water, Cioppino's, Lumiere, Bacchus and West are some of the restaurants that come to mind when considering the most expensive places to eat in the GVRD. They all have differing justifications for their pricing and exclusivity. One restaurant I left off the list is Gotham. The flagship of David Aisenstat's restaurant empire (which includes Hy's and The Keg), is indeed one of the most priciest places in town. However, the question always comes up, "is it worth the $$$$?" Hey, I love a good steak and I'm willing to pay for it. Case in point, before the Vancouver Morton's shut down for good, I thought the meal was worth the money despite not really living up to the "fine dining" moniker. And that brings up an interesting argument. Is Gotham really a fine dining restaurant? Price-wise and image-wise, it sure seems like it. Ultimately, its true persona is a high end steakhouse serving the only Canada Prime Beef.

Tonight, we were going to find out what the fuss is about . Does it stack up to the very best in town or is it a category all by itself? We ended up parking in the Bay parkade and it turns out that it would've been cheaper to do valet (which is a reasonable $7.00). Well, I did want to do valet... but guess who didn't? Anyway, we were greeted and seated expeditiously. The maître d’ honoured our request for a relatively quiet table and seated us upstairs. This way, I could use my flash and bother as few people as possible. There is no way possible to take good photos otherwise since Gotham is quite dark inside. It's actually quite surprising that requests made over Opentable are sometimes overlooked by the restaurant.

Our server introduced himself immediately and proceeded to get our beverages. He explained the menu and the exclusive prime meats they serve. We decided not to have appetizers since our meals were bound to be quite filling. I did not even consider anything else on the menu since I already had the 24oz Porterhouse in my sights. Viv opted for the Petit Filet while mom had the 16oz Prime Rib. Dad had the Salmon Filet since a huge chunk of meat is a bit high in cholesterol for him. We got 3 sides to share which included Aspargus, Lyonaisse Potatoes and Cauliflower Gratin. We started with their house-made onion loaf which is served hot from the oven. It was pretty good with a nice chewy "oniony" exterior while the bread was soft. Although it was only a half loaf, we didn't ask for more since we'd only be spoiling our appetite for the meat!

Practically taking up the whole plate, my 24oz Porterhouse didn't look as intimidating as it originally sounded. To many, a porterhouse appears to be a good ol' T-Bone steak which is tenderloin on one side and strip loin on the other. However, a porterhouse has a much larger tenderloin portion. I asked for it to be prepared medium-rare and it was pretty much so, except it was creeping towards medium. Despite this, the meat was extremely moist, especially the tenderloin portion (naturally). It was melt-in your-mouth tender. What I noticed right away was the delicious beef flavour due to the extensive marbling of the meat. I do believe this is one of the best steaks I've ever had. Well, for $52.95, it'd better be!

Viv's Petit Filet was cooked a perfectly medium-rare and had nice exterior charring. Again, her steak was buttery soft and flavourful. As expected, the meat rested properly and very little juices were wasted. My mom's 16oz Prime Rib was truly a big piece of meat. Double the thickness you'd normally see anywhere else, there were pockets of fat all around the meat. Yum! She also asked for it to be medium rare and for the most part it was. Meaty, well-seasoned and again, flavouful (due to the high fat content), this was a very nice slice of prime rib. It was so big, she could only finish half of it. I tried to help her a bit; but I just ate a 24oz porterhouse!

Naturally, the Premium Salmon Filet was a bit of a disappointment. We expected as much. After all, Gotham is a steakhouse. My dad asked for it to be cooked medium and it come out cooked all-the-way through. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice piece of salmon. He still enjoyed eating it; however, he's had much better. As for the sides, the Cauliflower Gratin was pretty average. The cauliflower itself was perfectly firm while being cooked through; however, we found the sauce a bit bland and not really all that hot. It was still pleasant to eat. It just needed more cheese flavour and a bit of salt. The Potatoes Lyonnaise were pretty good. Each slice of potato was completely cooked while still retaining their shape and integrity. A strong caramelized onion presence upped the ante in terms of flavour and aroma. Just barely cooked, maintaining it's colour and texture, the asparagus were well seasoned and buttered. Nothing really more to say about them.

We were all quite stuffed and didn't have room for dessert except for Viv. She decided on the Creme Brulee. I gave it a try and personally, I thought it was a bit too sweet due to the relatively thick layer of hard caramel. I'm sure there are people out there who probably like this; but for me, it was just a bit too much. It totally overwhelmed the custard filling, which by the way was quite velvety. So, with our meal over, I began to mull over whether it was worth it or not. Of course, there is the sticker shock of the menu; however, if you examine it more carefully, it's not as overpriced as you might think. Consider the size of the prime rib (16oz) @ $39.95. A 10oz prime rib (AAA) at Milestone's is roughly $23.00. So if you take into account the meat at Gotham is superior (Canada Prime) and it's 6oz bigger, it's really not that pricey. The Gotham steak is $2.50/oz, while Milestone's is $2.30/oz. Factor in the different level of service and ambiance, you can see it isn't as outrageous as it may appear. Of course you still have to add the sides, so it's not really a direct comparison; yet you couldn't anyways with the different quality of meat. For me, I'm generally happy visiting the Keg regularly for my steak cravings. However, if you have a brown note burning a hole in your pocket, want to impress someone, won the lottery or just visiting from out-of-town, you can get one heck-of-a-steak here.

The Good:
- Really high quality meat
- Generally excellent execution (of the meat)
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- It's quite expensive
- Don't expect the usual fine dining, it's a steakhouse
- As expected, non-steak items could be better

Han Ju

Last minute Christmas shopping. Words that strike fear into many; yet afflicts so many shoppers at this time of year. A few years back, I would manage to finish my shopping months ahead of time via internet shopping. Yup, I used to scour Redflagdeals and Slickdeals daily to score the best deals. By the time December hit, I was sitting pretty. Being totally consumed by this blog, I totally forget about shopping, let along searching for deals. Therefore, Viv and I had to pay a visit to Metrotown. Now, since we were out, we needed to find a place for a quick bite. Much like the rest of the fall and winter, it has been dreary, rainy and cold. Perfect for something a bit hot and steamy (get your head outta the gutter!).

A Taiwanese Korean hot pot restaurant which resides on the outside of Crystal Mall facing Willingdon seem to fit the bill. I know, it sounds strange, but if you can get over the strange fusion of 2 different cuisines, it's alright. As you know, my love for the Crystal Mall parking lot is somewhere between pulling nose hairs and trying to squeeze out a difficult pimple. Therefore, we parked at Metrotown and walked over in the wet and cold. Yup, I'll do that to avoid that lot, otherwise known as parking purgatory. Imagine going around and around, surrounded by people who are clueless about parking with only one way out. If that's not hell, I'm not sure what is! By the time we arrived at Han Ju, it was still early and we were able to nab a seat. Good thing too, a lineup began to build soon after. Why is that you may ask?

For starters, the food here is cheap. You can eat well here for under $10.00. In fact, with $5.00 and spare change, you'll have enough. I went for their specialty which is the hot pot. Like any value-loving Chinese person, I selected the Seafood and Tofu Hot Pot. Hidden within the spicy broth was a modest amount of seafood with cellophane noodles. It was mostly broth; yet, I don't expect much for the price I paid. A bit spicy and steaming hot, that hit the spot. Again, nothing spectacular; however, for the price... I also added 3 side dishes to my meal: Beef Shank, Seaweed and Marinated Hot Cucumbers. Honestly, I wasn't exactly thrilled with the sides. The beef shank was a bit chewy and not really all that flavourful despite the sauce. The cucumbers were a bit soggy; thus lacking any real crunch. I did like the spiciness of them though. Probably the best of the bunch was the seaweed. It had a nice chewy texture which wasn't too hard to eat.

Viv opted for Korean Style BBQ Beef on Rice. The darn thing was huge, with lots of beef, spicy tofu and veggies completely covering the rice. The beef was quite tender and modestly seasoned while the rice was still a bit firm. For $6.95, there's not much to complain about. Like most Taiwanese restaurants, bubble tea was available. Viv decided to try one and it was a bit on the sweet side. The pearls were the right texture bordering on chewy while being soft. Not bad, but it's best to visit an actual BBT place instead. Nothing all that special about the food here really. However, it's definitely more than acceptable. Yah, it's not authentic Korean food and yes, it's mixed in with some Taiwanese. That really didn't bother me in this instance. For the rock bottom prices they charge, I can see myself returning for a quick bite to eat.

The Good:
- Cheap!
- Food is decent

The Bad:
- Quite cramped
- Gets quite busy, you'll need to lineup

Sfinika

The Entertainment book, a huge bastion of coupons which we probably will never end up using. I mean look through the darn thing, some places in there are offering 2-for-1 and we still try to avoid them like the H1N1. Actually, I'm sure some would prefer the H1N1. After all, in both instances, you might end up praying to the porcelain god. Now since I've bestowed you with such a lovely thought, lets move on. Hidden in the multitude of useless coupons, there resides some real gems. For example, The Cannery (closing in March) is one of those coupons I look for every year. Searching through the book tonight, I happen to spot Sfinika in Burnaby North. I did a quick look at Urbanspoon and Dinehere for some info on the place. Hmm... Seems like a solid place.

With a poorly ripped out coupon in one hand and grumblings from my stomach, I called up Wolvie and made sure she brought her coupon as well. Yup, we had 4 of us tonight and we used 2 coupons. That made for some affordable eats. Of course I never actually end up saving any money since I end up ordering more to compensate for the discount. Normally, with Greek food, it can be quite heavy and there is really no need to get a big appy. In fact, we normally share one Calamari and we're good. Well, me and my "stomach is bigger than my pants" rule came into play. I ordered the biggest, most expensive appy on the menu - the Appetizer Sampler. Included in this platter were Keftedes, Spanakopita, Dolmathes, Kalamari, Pita Bread, Tzatziki and Humus. Honestly, all of it was pretty good. The Keftedes (Greek-style meatballs) were browned up nicely and had a strong onion flavour. Despite what some people think, I do not hate onions. In fact, in this case, I really liked the flavour. It's the consequences of eating onions which is the problem... (TMI!!!) Crispy and light (well, at least the phyllo), the Spanakopita was stuffed with the usual feta and spinach. The Dolmathes were not wrapped too tightly and I prefer it that way. The rice and meat were soft as a result. The Kalamari was also very good with a nice crunch and easy to eat texture. The only thing we wished for was a bit more zing in the Tzatziki.

We all started with a Greek Salad and this one was pretty good. The cucumbers and tomatoes were fresh and colourful with plenty of zing from the dressing. For my main, I once again went with the Roast Lamb. Hey, I love lamb! It was pretty tender in most spots except where the meat had less fat. Not much you can do about that really. It was well-seasoned with plenty of garlic flavour. I absolutely loved the texture of the roast potato. It was cooked all the way through without being mushy. Although I would've preferred a lemon potato instead. I have to say the rice was a complete miss. There was quite a bit of moisture and was bordering on soggy. Wolvie went for the Beef and Chicken Souvlaki. She smartly asked for it to be plated without the skewers. This way, you won't have rogue piece flung across the room while trying to remove it. These little morsels were well-seasoned with discernible garlic and oregano notes. Naturally, the chicken was more tender than the beef; although by no means was the beef tough.

Viv decided to depart from the usual and order a random dish. She chose the Yemista, which is a baked tomato and pepper stuffed with beef, rice and tomato sauce. Call it a personal preference; but we thought it was only okay. Not that it was offensive in any way, it just wasn't all that interesting, to us anyways. Everything just seemed a bit mushy and tasting like tomato. Not being interesting at all, Italian Stallion had more Dolmathes, except his were bathed in a simple lemon dill sauce. We all enjoyed our food at Sfinika. Nothing mind-blowing; but solid Greek food nonetheless. The service was friendly and the Entertainment coupons were a bonus. However, without the coupons, the prices are a bit on the higher side.

The Good:
- Most of the food was well seasoned and prepared correctly
- Friendly service
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Regular prices are a bit high
- Would've liked a lemon potato instead

CRU

*Restaurant is now closed*

At one point in my life, I looked forward to my birthday. Hey, I got presents and who doesn't like presents? It was especially fun since we had a large group of friends who would "chip" in to get a killer gift. Well, sadly those days are gone since everyone has their hands full with kiddies (and their gifts). Furthermore, as every year passes by, it just serves as a reminder of our advancing age. Viv thinks that I have not mentally aged since 20, so at least I can stay young in theory. Tonight, we decided to celebrate my birthday a bit early at CRU. Bubbly M had been here before and decided to join us as well. Yah, it might seem a bit strange to have another couple celebrate my birthday with Viv; yet, that's what we did with Bubbly's birthday last year at the Hart House.

Our reservation was originally for 2 people at 5:30pm. However, when I increased it to 4 people, I was notified that we'd have the table until 7:00pm. In my mind, that didn't seem like an issue. However, the evening went a bit sideways due to a large party dining at the same time. Everything in theory would've worked out fine if we had gotten our order in promptly. However, M&M were a tad late and part of our order got queued behind the large party. More on that later...

Viv and I shared a few items starting with the Smoked Albacore Tuna. Visually appealing on the plate, it was topped with beats, crispy shallots, micro greens and truffle vinaigrette. Honestly, no complaints here. The combination of subtle smokiness, the crunch and aromatics of the shallots, the tender beets and the smooth citrusy vinaigrette was an illustration of balance. If the tuna was balanced and gentle, the "Cellar Door" Caesar is a bold version of the usually standard salad. With grilled romaine and an obscene amount of shredded asiago, this Caesar is not devoid of flavour. However, the real star is the garlic butter croutons. Probably prepared with excessive amounts of butter, these large bad boys are crispy and melt-your-mouth goodness. This salad is absolutely delicious. Only thing negative I can say about it is that the large amount of asiago completely dominated the flavour profile of the salad. Mind you, that is probably the intention as well.

For my "main", I went for the Crispy Duck Leg Confit with spatzle goat cheese hash and bacon dressing. Most of the duck meat was tender; however, some portions were a bit dry. I did like the skin despite not being as crispy as advertised. It's probably due to the bacon dressing being so darn smoky and sweet (curiously not salty at all). I really liked the goat cheese flavour dimension to the dish. It really livened up the hash of napa cabbage and spatzle. I wasn't a big fan of the spatzle since it was a bit too chewy. Viv had the Syrah-Braised Beef Short Rib with Mac 'n Cheese. The meat was perfect balance between tender and meaty. The accompanying sauce was more
subtle than its appearance exhibiting smoky and red wine qualities. The mac 'n cheese was a total miss, it was way too salty.

Our food didn't stop there, we also shared the Miso-Marinated Sablefish. Since it's so expensive, the portion size was predictably and understandably small. The perfectly cooked fish was tender and melted in our mouths. We felt that it was a bit salty (a bit too much miso). The sauteed kale was absolutely perfect being fully cooked while still retaining a slight crunch. Good thing too since the cauliflower puree was ultra smooth and understated taste-wise. Our last dish was the Hand-Cut Fries with dijon aioli. The extremely generous mound of fries were crispy with very little in the way of potato-ness. Didn't matter in this case since they were good nonetheless. We ended up passing them over to M&M because they were famished. Why you might ask? Well first of all, their dishes were not very filling. Bubbly had the Tomato Soup to start. Unlike the typical version, this one was a tad chunky which gave it a nice texture. It was a bit tart, not too sweet and had an underlying spiciness. The crisp croutons were a nice compliment to the soup.

Chill had the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio to start. I did not get to sample this dish since Chill is a big eater and he needs all the food he can get. Once again, much like the time at Pied-a-Terre, all I got out of him was "good". Then came the wait. In fact, it was roughly a 45 minute wait until their next dishes arrived. However, this was mostly due to the fact we didn't get our order in on time before the large party. Our server did apologize many times for the delay. Finally, they each received their order of sablefish. Unfortunately, their portion sizes were smaller than ours. Bubbly also had the Cavatelli Bolognese which was prefectly al dente. The shape of the pasta helped hold the nice tomato flavour in its crevices.

Personally, I thought the food was pretty good for the prices. On the whole, it was well executed and thought out. Service was attentive and friendly under the circumstances. Bubbly was not amused at the wait and thought that the situation could've been handled differently. However, I respectfully disagree with her since our entire party was not present at the designated time and thus, our order was not put in prior to the large party. She was quite adamant that she had a terrible time and that it was the restaurant's responsibility to keep all parties happy despite the large table. I do agree with that to some degree and possibly they could have provided some bread in the meantime; however, the rest of us didn't feel that it was really too big of a deal. Ultimately, the food was good, atmosphere was simple; yet elegant and the service was solid.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Food is generally executed quite well
- Decent portions (sablefish withstanding)

The Bad:
- Dining area is very tight
- Long wait between courses (understandable in this particular situation)

Taverna Gorgona Revisited

I originally visited Taverna Gorgona in early 2009 and did not have a very good experience. In fact, all my previous visits were inconsistent. What made it really bad the last time I dined there was the nice mold in my Greek Salad. Yup, that would destroy anyone's enthusiasm. Well, as of December 2009, Taverna Gorgano is under new ownership complete with new kitchen staff. The new owner, Franco, contacted me with concerns about my post since it really didn't paint a great picture of the restaurant. No kidding... Mold in food, not a great endorsement indeed. In light of the changes made at the restaurant, I was willing to put up a note stating the place was under new ownership and I would revisit in the new year. With a meeting in Ladner today, I thought "might as well". So I tried to replicate exactly what I did last time. I went at lunch around the same time. I sat in the same seat and ordered the same dish, which was Roast Lamb.

The last time, not only was the salad moldy (it also was drenched in balsamic, a no no), the lamb was dry and flavourless while the rice was wet. I was eager to see if there would be any noticeable differences in the food. When the plate arrived, I immediately knew that there were indeed changes. First, the salad was extremely fresh and not doused in balsamic. Second, the rice was not water-logged. Third, the lamb was very tender and well-seasoned with lots of garlic flavour. I also enjoyed the Tzatziki very much. A bit chunky, with cucumbers and garlic, it was flavourful and thick. Moreover, the lemon potato was delicious being tart and soft while retaining its shape. This dish was like day and night over the last time.

If an entire roast lamb dinner was not enough for lunch, Franco brought me his own mothers' hand made Spanakopita. The thing was enormous! The phyllo was prefectly crispy on the outside and it encased a massive amount of spinach, feta and onions. I really liked that the spinach was fresh; rather than frozen. I could really tell in the texture and taste. This was one of the most flavourful Spanakopitas I've ever had with big hits of feta, onion and pepper. There was supposed to be dill in it too; but I really didn't taste it much since the onion and pepper taste overwhelmed everything else. This may mean different things to different people. I personally loved it; however, I can see some people preferring a less intense filling.

If that wasn't enough, Franco was gracious enough to also bring a slice of Ekmek. I've had many Greek desserts before; yet never this one. It's essentially a custard cake consisting of Kataifi pastry on the bottom, custard in the middle and whipped cream on the top. A thick, sweet syrup finishes off the dish. Despite looking like a sugar shocker, the Ekmek was pleasantly light. The syrup itself was quite rich and almost tasted like burnt caramel. I gotta say that I was impressed with the changes at Taverna Gorgona. At the very end, Franco wouldn't let me pay for the meal. I really wanted to pay since I did not visit the restaurant with the intention of free food. However, he was extremely gracious and appreciative that I came out to re-evaluate. Rest assured, I would not hesitate to come out again and gladly pay for my next series of meals.

The Good:
- Food has plenty of flavour
- Excellent service (this is based on previous visits, front of the house staff has not changed)
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- The filling in the Spankopita could be a bit too peppery for some people (I hope Franco's mom isn't reading this!)