Azia

*Restaurant is now closed*

A conference in Downtown is exactly what I needed. I get to learn something. I get to mingle with colleagues. And most importantly, I get to eat! Yes, there is a variety of restaurants within such a small area, it's like a kid in a candy store. Furthermore, there are plenty of people to eat with, enhancing the experience even more. If dining with 6 of my colleagues wasn't enough for variety; Kim joined us as well. We ended up going to a restaurant which was fairly close to the Wall Centre (where our conference was held). Located in the Scotiabank Theatre building, Azia serves up cuisine from a wide range of Asian countries. Normally, that would scare some people, especially since Vancouver is already known for its authentic Asian food.

However, we must take into account that Azia tries to be all things Asian mostly to the Downtown crowd. With that in mind, we cannot expect the finest Asian cuisine around. They don't claim to be nor are they trying to be. Since Kim and I were the only Asians at the table, we had a unique perspective of the food. Kim and I were able to coerce everyone to order items to share. We ended up getting 4 dishes, 2 sushi rolls and Xiao Long Bao. With the Chinese dishes, it included soup, rice and spring rolls. Since there were only 4 dishes, we only received 4 bowls of Swirl Egg Corn Soup. Not sure if the DSLRs had anything bearing on it; but they brought 3 more so we all had soup. A nice gesture nonetheless.

Well, the meal started off pretty good, the Spring Rolls were crispy and not too oily. They were stuffed with quite a bit of filling. The first main dish to arrive was the Broccoli and Beef. Visually, it looked quite good with rich coloured beef and bright green florets. The broccoli was still crispy while the beef was a bit on the chewy side. The downside of this dish was its lack of flavour. Seems a bit impossible since the colour looks so good; but curiously it was.

When the Evil Jungle Green Curry first arrived, someone remarked that it didn't look green at all. Well, green curry does have green in it; but it's not really supposed to be that green. But, this version was devoid of any green at all. A clear indication that it will be mostly coconut milk with only a hint of spiciness. Actually, it was a bit spicier than it looked; yet it wasn't mind-blowing. As you can see, there is no absence of eggplant, chicken, and green beans. For the less adventurous, this is decent interpretation of green curry. At first, we weren't going to order Sweet and Sour Pork since it's a bit boring. Well, Hot Mama insisted we have it and here it is. Again, it looked alright with onions, peppers and pineapple. In actuality, it was too sweet and the pork was a tad overcooked. Mind you, it wasn't horrible.

Kim likes things spicy and decided on a classic - the Ma Po Tofu. Unfortunately, we didn't take into account that it would probably be mild. What we got was something less than mild, more along the lines of bland. It was more tart than spicy; however, I thought the tofu itself was decent. It held its shape while still being soft enough in texture. Yet another Chinese classic arrived next, the Kung Pow Chicken (classic is a very loose term in this case). What can we say about this one... Oh, it was bland. Now let me reiterate here, I'm speaking from the perspective of a Chinese person who grew up eating real Chinese food. So, everything will be bland to me and Kim. But I'll clarify this later in my conclusion. I digress... Texturally, this dish was pretty good with peanuts, peppers and onions. The chicken was quite moist as well. To fulfill the curiosity quotient, Kim suggested we try the Xiao Long Bao. Obviously, we already suspected that they would not be very good; but we thought it would be a good litmus test. Well, they really weren't all that good. First, the dumpling skin was doughy and the pork filling was a bit gritty. Second, and most importantly, there was little in the way of "juice" (which is critical).

We also needed to try out the sushi bar and got 2 rolls - Mango Roll and Spider Roll. Visually appealing with bright colours, the mango roll was alright. I would've preferred if the rice was a bit more firm. I like the mango wasabi sauce, it helped provide a sweet kick to an otherwise delicate roll. The spider roll was a little loose and was a bit hard to keep together when picked up. Despite that, once again, it was decent. When we finally got the bill, the total was indeed very reasonable, especially considering the decor, location and level of service. On the flip side, the portions were quite small. Obviously, the pricing and portion size go hand-in-hand. In terms of authenticity; predictably, it was only somewhat close. I mean it's not Manchu Wok we're talking about here. With that in mind, someone looking for a truly authentic experience should look elsewhere. Yet, that brings up the premise behind Azia. It doesn't advertise to be the best Chinese or Japanese restaurant. Rather, it's a place that caters to the Downtown and tourist crowd who want something safe, decent and inexpensive.

The Good:
- Nice decor, nice service
- Inexpensive
- Varied selection

The Bad:
- Portions are small
- Food is middle-of-the-road and safe (good for some, bad for others)

East is East

If you have ever checked Urbanspoon's "talk of the town" list of restaurants, you'll normally find new or popular places. Well, after you read this post; you'll probably find East is East at #1 shortly. The reason? Well, when you get a large number of food bloggers all together in one spot for dinner, it'll make any restaurants' numbers soar. So a simple suggestion for a dinner meetup suddenly became quite the production. The following people were in attendance:

Angie (Sea Salt with Food), Anita (La Petite Foodie), Darina (Gratinee), Jenny (My Secret Eden), Jessica (Yum-O-Rama), Jonathan (Food & Tell), Joyce & Frank (Van Foodies), Kevin (604 Foodtography), Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food), Melody (Gourmet Fury), Mijune (Follow Me Foodie), TS (eating_club [Vancouver]), Victoria (Victoria's Food Secrets) and Wilson (La Petite Vancouver).

Yah, that's a lot of people. And yes, that is quite a few cameras as well. I'm not sure what the people around us thought. At the very least, no one felt shy about taking pictures! At my table, we all decided to order all the different dishes available for the Eastern Plate (which consists of Dahl Soup, Afghan & Coconut Rice, Salad & Roti). The first 2 were the Lamb Kebob and Chicken Masala. I found that the lamb was a bit dry and a bit bland. I did notice the ginger, onion and garlic hits within the sauce; but it was not exactly savory. I really enjoyed the chicken, it was moist with a smooth and creamy sauce. Next up was the Peas & Cheese and Alu Gobi. I liked the texture of the peas & cheese (which also consisted of potatoes). Again, I thought it was a bit mild; but that is understandable since this dish is not supposed to be super spicy. The Alu Gobi (cauliflower & potato) was a bit more tomatoey than I'm used to; but it was good nonetheless. It was aromatic and a bit tangy at the same time.

All of us agreed that the salmon was a bit hidden by the sauce. As Frank noted, it could've been any fish. With that being said, I didn't dislike it and I actually found the salmon to have a nice sweet aftertaste. Despite a relatively flavorful sauce that was had a nice rich onion flavour, I wasn't a huge fan of the minced beef. It's a personal taste thing really, I didn't like the one at Saffron either. Something about the mushy texture... The next couple of dishes is where we went vegetarian. That's okay, I do eat vegetables sometimes. The Saag Paneer was smooth, mild and creamy. It starts off with a strong spinach flavour and ends with earthy mushroom aromatics at the end. My favourite dish was the Afghan Eggplant. The eggplant pieces were tender and there was a nice tang from the sundried tomatoes.

The last 2 dishes were the Mango Butternut Squash and the Chickpeas. Seemingly a simple dish, the squash was a bit more complex than it looked. In addition to the mango's natural sweetness, there were hints of curry and coconut. I could ate a whole big bowl of this. Other than humus, I'm not a big fan of chickpeas; but this version was not too bad. The sauce was on the sweet side with a nice herb aftertaste. All-in-all, the food may not have the "power" of more authentic places; but honestly, the food was pretty good. If you factor in that refills are complimentary, you have one heck of a value.

The Good:
- Quite the variety
- Unique decor and style
- Good value

The Bad:
- Could upset the "authentic" police
- Flavours are more on the safe side

Li Garden

*Restaurant is now closed*

Goose had been raving about this small Chinese restaurant out on Victoria Drive that served up some pretty good Dim Sum. Now, if you know Goose, if he is raving about something, then there is something to it. Usually, he's not raving about food. Rather, it's about electronics, computers and sports equipment... like your typical male. Therefore, it only seemed natural for me to take this seriously and check it out. It's almost ironic that after I made the reservation, I found out that Goose, Mother Goose and their respective parents would be at the same place as well. Unlike some other similar Chinese restaurants, we got our reservation when we arrived. It also helped that the place was not full as of yet. I am really annoyed at restaurants taking reservations just to humour you. When you get there, you end up being in line with everyone else, possibly with a higher priority. I guess if there is an endless stream of customers, they don't give a rats ass about reservations.

Fate would have it, they gave us a table right at the window. Me and my camera were very pleased at this development. In fact, it was in a little enclosed space all by its lonesome. Light and privacy for my pictures: fantastic! Meeting up with us today were Costanza, Elaine and their 2 kiddies. With the 4 kids in total, it's bordering on chaos. That's not leisurely Dim Sum here! Once again, the 2 staples of Dim Sum are the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) and Sui Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings. It's so unfortunate that Dim Sum carts seem to be going the way of the VCR; but it was rather amusing in my childhood to hear the familiar phrase, "Haw Gow, Sui Mai..." as the Dim Sum ladies walked by. As you can see in the picture, the shrimp dumplings are quite large. Despite filled with lotsa cold-water shrimp, the outer wrapper was on the chewy side. On the other hand, the sui mai were pretty good. There was a good combination of shrimp and bits of pork (with meat texture).

The Sparerib Rice was a bit of a disappointment. First, the rice was mushy and as you can see, the ribs were very bony. Not much in the way of meat. Another predictable flop was the Xiao Long Bao. I generally try to avoid this at Cantonese Dim Sum since it is a Shanghainese dish. Looking quite sad and deflated, these dumplings were devoid of juice and had an almost impenetrable skin. Fortunately, the Beef and Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls were respectively quite good. The noodle itself was a tad on the chewier side; yet there was a good amount of filling.

We then worked our way through some "special" items off the Dim Sum menu. These are usually a bit pricier, albeit larger in portion size. The Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant was pretty good with the eggplant holding its shape and integrity. The Stir-Fried Pea Shoots were cooked nicely still exhibiting a nice "bite". We weren't that thrilled with the congee, as it was a bit on the watery side and quite bland. The Stir-Fried Spicy Green Beans were a quite greasy. It's the standard "deep-fried, then stir-fried" with more oil and spices method. It did taste a bit spicy, a tad salty and sweet. We were really not impressed with the sliced Beef Shank and Jellyfish. The beef was tough and chewy with little to no flavour. Although the jellyfish exhibited the "crunch" texture, it sorely needed more seasoning.

Our last few items included the Shrimp Spring Rolls, BBQ Pork Bun, Steamed Sponge Cake and Egg Tarts. At this stage, our table was becoming completely overloaded with food. To me at least, everything came too quickly. The spring rolls were very good packed with shrimp and having a crisp, non-oily wrapper. The BBQ pork buns were pretty average with a few too many pieces of fat (well, some people like it). The sponge cake was soft and not too sweet while the egg tarts were above average (there was more egg than tart shell). For a Chinese restaurant, I thought the service was not half-bad. Someone checked on us every now and then. Moreover, we saw more smiles than frowns. It may not seem like a big deal; but it's an achievement in this type of restaurant.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Portions are good
- Service was half-decent

The Bad:
- Food came out all at once (I guess some people wouldn't mind that)
- There is better Dim Sum within this class of restaurant (ie. Western Lake, Dai Tung)

Memphis Blues (Broadway)

Seeing how we haven't been to Memphis Blues in awhile, I made it a point to go there sometime soon. I needed to treat Snake Eyes to a meal since he always seems to be there whenever I need something. This included helping me by climbing a 25 foot scaffold at my old place for renovation purposes. If it were me, it would take much longer or not at all. So tonight, Viv and I took him and his wife to the original location of Memphis Blues BBQ on Broadway. When we used to live in Downtown, I'd pick up the Memphis Platter all the time as take out. Vegetarians we are not! That was enough for 4 people easily. However, it seems like the portion size has shrunk and only seems enough for 2-3 people. Whatever, that's what the Elvis Platter is for! Twice as big and at $69.95, I find this massive plate of meat a good value.

I can see why Tony Roma's is not longer operating any locations in the GVRD anymore. Sure, it's a different type of BBQ; yet it's close enough. We could never get out of Tony Roma's without spending $20.00+ each. Memphis Blues is a very casual place. You order from the counter, grab your own drinks, plates and utensils. However, they do bring the food out for you. Thank goodness for that because I'd probably drop the Elvis Platter if I had to do it myself. Look at the thing! You got brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausage, rib tips, a whole BBQ chicken, fries, cornbread, slow cooked beans, coleslaw, potato salad and housemade BBQ sauce. This is a fabulous value for $69.95. Remember, there are hardly any fillers on this plate!

Now, if you're not a big fan of dry BBQ where the meat cooks in its own juices at low heat for a very long time, this may temper your enthusiasm. I'm still not completely a big fan of their ribs since I find them a bit dry; but this is how its supposed to be. I dunno, call me blasphemous; but I prefer the boiled, then BBQ'd ribs you'd find at Montana's. A personal preference really. Otherwise, the rest of the meats are tender and go well with the smoky BBQ sauce. The sides are alright, nothing mind-blowing. If eaten in the restaurant itself, the fries are crispy and well seasoned. Bring them home and they become a soggy mess. The crunchy coleslaw needs more zing in my opinion and the potato salad is not bad. I really like the beans, there are bits of meat residing in the smoky, sweet sauce. It ain't perfect; but in Vancouver, there is little in the way of Southern BBQ. And at the prices they charge, I believe Memphis Blues is the place to go if you get the BBQ meat cravings.

The Good:
- Good value
- On average, pretty good meats
- Casual atmosphere

The Bad:
- Meats are a bit dry (that's the way they do it), some people may not like that
- Not for Vegetarians!

Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle

Generally, when there is a lineup, it draws attention. Much like a traffic accident on the freeway, everyone needs to take a look. Heck, even a broken-down car at the side of the road draws stares. Call it human nature. So, when I saw Ben's tweet about the absurd lineup at Chef Hung in Aberdeen Centre, I initially thought to avoid it like a "faux" lineup at a club. Compounded by the fact that many early reports indicated that the food didn't live up to the hype, I was skeptical. Now skepticism is one thing; yet that has never stopped me before. Even though it's in my favourite driving purgatory, I was determined to find out myself.

Ma was nice enough to join me even though I had a difficult time explaining that these famous noodles may or may not be good. Luckily for us, we arrived early enough to avoid the lineup. We shared an Onion Pancake Beef Roll to start. It was served hot with tender sliced beef shank, scallions and julienned cucumber. The pancake was soft and flaky and there was just enough hoisin. This was a good dish. I added a side of marinaded cucumbers and that was also very good. Crunchy, sweet, garlicky and a bit spicy, I could eat a whole bowl of these.

With suggestions coming from moi, she opted for the Beef Brisket Noodle in clear soup. As others have commented, the bowl of noodles looked really plain and tasteless. Upon taking a sip of the broth, it was indeed very light tasting. I could get a sense of beef flavour; but it was "shallow" at the very best. Now, I do realize this was their intention and I'm not going to knock them on it. On the other hand, the noodles were nice and chewy, while the meat soft and tender. Personally, I prefer spicy beef noodles. And that's what I got, the Spicy Shank, Tendon and Tripe Noodles. Now for those who complained that it wasn't spicy enough, I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Not that it blew my mind; but the broth was plenty flavourful and spicy. Extremely large pieces of shank and tendon mixed with soft tripe sat atop chewy flat noodles. Despite what others have said, I acutally liked my bowl of beef noodles. Now was it worth $11.00? That's debatable. If this is what you like personally, then it is. If you don't, then not. I know one thing is for sure, I wouldn't lineup for it.

The Good:
- Perfectly cooked noodles
- Large, rightly done meats
- Decent service (despite what others have said)

The Bad:
- Is it really worth $11.00?
- What's with the lineup?

Happy Family

On our way to Pho Hoa a few months ago after hockey, we noticed a Chinese restaurant open quite late nearby. In fact, it was Boss Woman who spotted it and she was lobbying to try it rather than going for pho. You see, she doesn't like pho. In fact, she doesn't like much at all other than Chinese food. Hey, I hear her. It's cheap, hits the spot and usually open late. However, doing it week after week gets a bit boring. So we filed it away for another time. Well, tonight would be that time. Funny thing is that Boss Woman didn't join us since it was so late. It always appears that she seems to miss the times we actually go to a Chinese restaurant. Milhouse has another theory - we do it to spite her. Nice. Now let's hope she's not reading this!

So we head over to Happy Family at the really early time of 1:30am. Fortunately for us, the place is open until 3:00am. In addition to their regular menu, they had "da lang", which is essentially Chinese late night consisting of smaller dishes served with plain congee. Despite the presence of Milhouse and Polka King, who are Chinese as well, I had to do the ordering. Apparently, I'm the most Chinese of all, knowing how to order... Probably the one dish we had to get was the Fried Silverfish. No no, don't worry, it's not the little buggers scurrying around in your kitchen (or a Chinese kitchen...). Rather, they are small little fish that are lightly battered, fried and then wok-tossed in chili-salt. They are especially good mixed into the plain congee! The ones here were a bit larger than the usual and were quite flavourful from the chili, pepper and garlic. We also got something that had the exact flavour profile (since it's tossed in the same spice mix), the Fried Tofu. These were alright, although fried a bit too long.

Bear finally came out of his Winter hibernation and joined us as well. He, being the short rib king, naturally ordered the Black Pepper Short Ribs. Greasy, peppery and plentiful, these were pretty decent. Not as tender as in the Korean-prepared version, the short ribs were still decently moist. I just wished that the whole thing wasn't glistening like a teenage boys' forehead. Milhouse went for his favourite Chinese dish, the Sweet & Sour Pork. Let's see, he can't speak the language and loves S&S Pork, is he really Chinese??? It was actually quite good. Too bad that every other piece was pure fat. Not the most appetizing thing when you bite into it. For some inexplicable reason, Polka King got the Curry Chicken. We were not sure how you would eat that with congee... Ultimately, we had to order a bowl of rice. It was alright, your typical Chinese version of curry which is not spicy, very yellow and mostly sweet. For me at least, I found it a bit bland (since I like it spicy). I did like the tender pieces of chicken; although, the texture was indicative of baking soda marination.

The food was pretty much on the good side of average here and that's not really a bad thing. The reason? If you can get half-decent food early in the morning hours, it's all that you can ask for really. I know service at Chinese restaurant is generally a crap-shoot under normal circumstances, let alone the early hours. However, we found that the staff were more interested in socializing with friends or regular customers than actually trying to provide any service whatsoever. Getting tea or the bill took forever (at least they were friendly). This begs the question: Would I eat here at regular hours? Probably not; but I would return if it was early in the morning and not much else was open.

The Good:
- Open until 3:00am
- Cheap
- Edible

The Bad:
- Food is a bit greasy
- Non-existent service

Joe Fortes

I hadn't been to Joe Fortes for quite some time and I had commented on Kim's post that I was in no hurry to return. Yet, it suddenly reappeared on my radar while I was searching for a restaurant in Downtown. I know, there are a lot of choices in Downtown; but the most important criteria is food that my son is willing to eat. No no, we're not going to eat Japanese food again. Besides, we were meeting up with Wolvie and Italian Stallion. You see, Italian Stallion isn't particularly adventurous. Taco Bell is exotic to him! In fact, I'm not even sure he likes anything but his mom's cooking. But really, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just ask Kim! Furthermore, we weren't going to suggest a overly expensive place since they were treating.

Normally, Joe Fortes is quite pricey especially during dinner. However, much like other restaurant these days, Joe Fortes has a prix fixe menu: 3 courses for $16.95 and 2 courses for $13.95 Monday thru Friday. To me at least, it seems like a pretty good deal. When we arrived, we had to wait briefly for our table. The reason? I had requested a window seat for 5 and with the restaurant layout, there is only one of two places where that can happen. Credit to them that they gave me exactly what I requested. Once we were seated, it became quite theatrical. No, the staff did not break into song and dance such as the T-Mobile commercial. However, wouldn't that be awesome? Anyways, what I mean is that the service was so attentive and good, it almost seemed like it was over-the-top. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly impressed with the service we got, it just seemed a bit contrived.

I must give them kudos for getting the Mac & Cheese out quickly to keep my son happy. This particular version was big and hearty. It came out piping hot. It was extremely cheesy and smooth. My son kept asking for extra Parmesan and the staff quickly obliged every time. He's such a tough customer! For myself, I went for the Fish 'n Chips. Yes, I know, there are other things I could have possibly ordered here, especially the oysters and steak. However, I've been here before and I just wanted to order something different. It turns out that I made a good choice. The two fresh cod fillets were lightly batter and perfectly cooked. Most of the batter was crisp except when I got closer to the middle of each piece. Probably the moisture from the fish (and it was moist) conspired to soften the crisp coating. The tartar sauce was decent; if not pretty standard. Adding a bit more fresh lemon helped improve the flavour. I really wasn't a big fan of the fries, they were cooked quite "well" and lost a bit of its potato texture.

Viv opted for 2 courses, with the first being a Caesar Salad and the main being the Steelhead Salmon with roast potatoes. Not being Sockeye nor Coho, the Steelhead is not one of my favourites. Essentially a ocean trout, it is milder tasting and has less fat (thus less flavour). Despite the material limitations, it was moist while being cooked all the way through. I personally would've liked it a bit undercooked. Wolvie also had the salmon and she added that the roast potatoes were a bit inconsistent. One was perfect, while the other was a bit hard and undercooked. Italian Stallion went for the 5oz Sirloin with mash potatoes. For a smaller size steak, it actually was a decent size. I gave it a try and it was perfectly medium-rare. The meat was moist, flavourful and easy to eat. Not bad for a lunch special.

For the price, I believe that the lunch specials at Joe Fortes are an excellent value. Sure, it's not going to blow your mind and in fact, there will be a few disappointments. However, their food has never really been in direct competition with the finer establishments in town anyways. They are all about the seafood (particularly oysters) and steaks. There will better other options for dinner (especially at their price points); but I have no problem grabbing a bite here for lunch, especially at these prices.

The Good:
- Really attentive service
- Good value (for lunch)
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Don't expect ultra-refinement (it's a steakhouse and seafood after all)
- Dinner is considerably more expensive