Dim Sum @ Lotus

Originally, when Lotus opened up in North Delta, it was fairly well-received. And why wouldn't it be? 2 former chefs at Sun Sui Wah helped get this place running. You knew the food would be better than what most other places in the area could offer. However, not too long ago, it changed hands and I wanted to check it out for myself. Driving past the place to and from work, I would take a peek at the $3.00 daily Dim Sum. A novel idea really. Dim Sum in North Delta? Other than Yummy Wonton House, there is no such thing here. Honestly, even if there was, it probably would not be very good. Today, it was the perfect opportunity since Hot Mama could join me for lunch. Normally, it's not the best idea to have Dim Sum alone. Sure, it's possible; but it severely limits the amount of dishes one could order.

Last time I ate with Hot Mama, it was at Azia and she was adamant that we get Sweet & Sour Pork. Admittedly, she is not very adventurous when it comes to food. In fact, she had a hot pepper by mistake at Azia and came away quite traumatized. Seeing she had never tried Dim Sum before, I glowingly spoke of dumplings and spring rolls before I described chicken feet and tripe. Nervously, she still joined me in my food adventure. When we did get down to ordering, I wanted a nice selection and I ended up with 7 dishes. The server suggested we wouldn't finish it. Either she thought we were light eaters or the portions could be large. Well, the dishes turned out to be quite large.

We started with the staple of any Dim Sum lunch - Steamed Shrimp Dumplings. I wasn't expecting too much and these were actually quite good. Despite the outer wrapper being a bit thick and gummy, the shrimp inside were both plentiful and perfectly crunchy. It tasted quite good too with nice shrimp flavour and a hint of sesame oil. When I suggested we order Shrimp Spring Rolls, Hot Mama's face lit up since it was a familiar item. Well, these fried gems were really good. Hot, crunchy and full of shrimp, these delivered. What made me really happy was that they were served with Worcester sauce, not the "sweet 'n sour" we'd normally find out here in North Delta.

We also got the BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Roll. Personally, I love this dish despite the fact my parents instilled into me that BBQ pork is not worth as much as shrimp. The significance? Well, I've been conditioned to order anything shrimp over pork especially if they're the same price due to "worthness". But honestly, I enjoy the BBQ pork version of this dish more since it tastes better. Sure shrimp has more texture; but it's a bit bland to me. This one was also acceptable. A bit stiffer than I would've liked, the noodle roll was packed with BBQ pork.

You knew I had to do it. I had to order the Phoenix Talons AKA Chicken Feet. Despite its interesting appearance, Hot Mama stayed calm and didn't seem fazed. Either she wasn't offended by them or she did a good job acting... Once again, another solid Dim Sum entry here. The chicken feet were in one whole piece and had that gelatinous texture right under the skin. It was steamed perfectly with no skin disintegrating. This is also an indication of freshness since bad prepared chicken feet are also an indication of re-steaming. As always, I got an order of the Steamed Black Bean Spareribs and yes, they were pretty decent as well. Soft, yet a bit chewy, meaty pieces of sparerib were flavoured nicely with black bean and garlic.

The first miss of the meal had to be the Sui Mai (steamed pork dumplings). They were pale looking and did not have a desirable texture. Usually, these are topped with some tobiko or salted duck egg for colour. Also, the meat is supposed to have some chewiness or bite. These one was too soft. The last dish we got was the Sticky Rice wrapped in banana leaves. This was a fine way to end the meal since the rice was perfectly soft while still chewy and sticky. A good amount of ground pork helped provide texture and flavour.

What do you know? Decent Dim Sum in North Delta? I would've never have guessed. And at only $3.00 per dish to boot! That's pretty good value, especially out here. The food was generally decent, well portioned and inexpensive. A good combination. Now, I haven't tried their dinner menu and from some reports, it's not as good. I guess I'll have to try that too...

The Good:
- Very decent Dim Sum for North Delta
- Good portions
- Great value

The Bad:
- Dinner has not gotten rave reviews (I'll need to see this for myself)
- Not enough staff to handle a full house

Toursim BC Media Event: Vancouver Island & the Sunshine Coast

It's always a treat to be invited to media events. After all, you get to mingle, grab some tasty bites and receive some swag at the end. Viv and I were fortunate to attend an event sponsored by Tourism Vancouver Island promoting Vancouver Island & the Sunshine Coast. Kim, Joyce & Frank, Victoria, Darina, Anita, Mijune and Jonathan were also present. Arriving a little bit late, Viv and I were only able to catch the last bit of the First Nations performance. We were quickly ushered into another room where celebrity chef Bob Blumer was hosting sessions with fellow chefs from the Island and the Sunshine Coast.

During the presentation, we were treated to various oysters and seafood from Pacific Kiss. The oysters were shucked right in from our eyes and served on ice. These babies were so fresh and sweet. Just then, Kim comes strolling by with a plate of steamed clams. With clam juice flowing down his arm, being the gracious fellow that he is, he offered me some. I had a few; but not really satisfied, I made my way over to the source and scooped a dish for myself. Now, it wasn't all that easy since the lady in front of me took her sweet time choosing the best ones. Then, she proceeded to eat them standing right in front of the tray being totally oblivious at the lineup behind her. I quickly took a look a the person beside me and we both simultaneously had the "WTH" look on our faces. All we could do was laugh and shake our heads...

However, that was not the last example of cluelessness. While Bob Blumer was hosting the cooking sessions, some dude decided to stand right in front of the display and remain there for the entirety even though no one, including the house cameraman, had no clear view. Even after several people (myself included) asked him to move, he continued to stay there. He even seemed annoyed at the requests to move. Honestly people... a free event doesn't mean you can be rude and obnoxious! Okay, enough of my rant. I'm sure David Pratt would be proud... Anyways, we were treated to oysters with a Hollandaise sauce. They were a bit salty; but they were a treat to eat.

Next up were skewers of Geoduck that were sliced thin and cooked properly. They cannot be fully cooked since they get really rubbery and chewy easily. Moreover, only the "snout" is good to eat in this manner. The innards are typically good for soups and stews only. If you've never tried Geoduck, I strongly suggest you do despite it looking like a really large "appendage". Remember, size doesn't matter! The last item we got to try was scallops on top of sushi rice. Since it wasn't served hot, the texture of the scallops weren't ideal. Whatever the case, we expected that and they were still quite good. And in all honesty, this was a nice treat, courtesy of the Tourism Vancouver Island and the fine people representing Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Ba Le Deli & Sandwiches (Surrey)

I'm always game for some Banh Mi. For me at least, it's the perfect snack food. Not quite large enough to be a full-sized sub sandwich; yet not too small that there is no substance to it. Yes, I do get it for a meal occasionally. However, I usually get at least 2 to make sure I am full. It's been months since I've had one and when I saw Ben's post on Ba Le on Kingsway, the Banh Mi cravings came to the forefront. You know, the urge to have crumbs scattered all over you from the crusty baguette. The urge to have your tongue burn from the hot peppers. The urge to have pate and Vietnamese meats in one sandwich. Yes, those urges. If you've never had these urges, I "urge" you to try one for yourself.

One problem. Since I work in North Delta, the chances of me finding a Banh Mi are not good. A good samosa yes, Banh Mi no. Wait. There's the Surrey location of Ba Le! But that's all the way in Guildford! Hey, it's only a 15 minute drive to the Guildford T&T (where it is located). Fine, that's it, when I have a craving, I need to satisfy myself or I'll totally space out. Case in point. In both softball and hockey, my teams are constantly frustrated when I start thinking about food prematurely prior to a game ending. When that happens, they know that it's a lost cause. Might as well throw the game, Sherman is useless. So, not trying to be a useless zombie for the rest of the afternoon, I headed over to Guildford on a quest for my Banh Mi.

Well, either there was no traffic or I broke some speed laws because I made it out there in less than 15 minutes. The wait for the subs seemed to take longer. I ended up picking up 4 of them - 1 cold cut, 1 satay beef, 1 meatball and 1 grilled marinated pork. No, not all for me, I got some for Ma as well. Okay, either they didn't use fresh bread or something was amiss. Instead of the usually light, airy, crusty baguettes which Ba Le is known for, these were dense, chewy and hard. I'm hoping that this is a one time thing. It's too bad really since the meats and fillings were plentiful. I particularly liked the meatball sub the most. The cold cut was pretty standard with usual meats, pate, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, hot peppers and fish sauce. Ma's satay beef was excellent, with plenty of meat, peanuts and the aforementioned fillings except for the pate.

The marinated grilled pork was probably my least favourite. I didn't mind the "jerky" type of texture and flavour of the pork, it was actually good. There just wasn't enough filling to overcook the dense bread. Once again, it's too bad the bread did not work out for me today. I'm sure that this is not the norm since I've rarely had a bad experience at any of the Ba Le locations. I'm just glad there is one in Surrey. Now only if they had one a bit closer, say... in North Delta...

The Good:
- A nice selection of different subs
- Inexpensive
- Decent amount of filling

The Bad:
- Bread was not good this time (chewy and dense)

Ozark's

Good ol' Southern BBQ - baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork with all the fixins'. Well, hold that thought because there ain't much of that in these neck of the woods. Sure, there's Memphis Blues (which is probably the best of the lot), Migz, Dix, Burgers Etc and if you want to stretch the genre, Montana's. No, we're too far North for really good BBQ. But we do rule in the realm of Asian food. How about Korean BBQ, Chinese BBQ meats or even Tandoori? I know, I know, it's not the same thing. Thought I'd try... Well, other than the aforementioned establishments, there are others; but Ozark's has been on my radar for some time. One problem, it's in Langley. Well, it really isn't that big of an issue since I have been out to Abbotsford for pizza.

Nikita and Bluebeard (fine residents of Langley) were up to trying this place out and I had planned to meet up with them. Kim joined us as well since Ozark's was on his "to try" list as well. Driving out to Langley was a breeze, no traffic really. I'd passed by Ozark's quite a few times in the past and for some strange reason, I was doubting my own memory. Thinking I had passed the place, I decided to make a U-turn on Fraser Hwy. Turns out that I made the U-turn right in front of Ozark's! If I had only looked to my right... Finally arriving at the place, I was so excited to see their "all-you-can-eat" ribs sign that I walked right into a planter. How embarrassing, I got charley-horsed by a stationary object. Originally, I was worried that my son would have nothing to eat since it is a BBQ joint. The chances of him eating ribs are as good as me becoming vegetarian. To our surprise, they had a kid's menu that included... grilled cheese... We have been saved! With his choice of food out of the way, Kim and I devised out strategy. Strategy? Yes, we made sure that most of the meats were well represented at the table. Thus, after seeing that Nikta had selected the Side Ribs and Baby Backs for Bluebeard, Kim went for the Brisket Plate while I had the Beef Ribs. To make sure of things, Kim and I split a Pulled Pork Sandwich. Viv had ordered the same thing; but that would've been hard to share with us. Yes, Kim and I are dedicated to our craft.

I actually refrained from the AYCE since I was meeting up with Costanza and Elaine for dinner later in the evening. Well, it turns out that the AYCE special was not necessary since the plate of 6 big beef bones was more than enough, especially for lunch. The consensus was that these ribs were pretty good. These were cooked until most of the fat had been rendered from the meat, resulting in a tender product. Flavour wise, there was only slight hints of sweet and saltiness. But there was no need for extra BBQ sauce. We liked that the meat was not overly charred, so that all of the it was edible. The 3 sides to my dish were all pretty decent as well. The coleslaw was pretty standard, quite similar to the one you'd find at KFC. Not really all that tart, it was crunchy and a bit creamy. The baked beans were soft while still retaining their shape. They were slightly sweet with strong onion flavour. The baked potato was alright, it was still slightly firm.

If that was the best dish of the meal, Nikita's side ribs must've been the worst. Dry, hard and lacking any real taste, these were not good. We realize that authentic Southern BBQ is based on cooking the meats from a raw state at a low heat over a long period of time. Thus, it will never be "juicy" per se. Well, call it personal preference, we weren't all that impressed by them. Fortunately, Bluebeard's baby backs were a bit more tender and moist. It was probably due to the baby backs having more meat and a bit more fat on them. With that being said, there was a lack of flavour and they weren't exactly moist. The pulled pork sandwich was another example of dry meat. It was a bit stringy and needed copious amounts of sauce. To be fair, it was probably their intention not to douse it with too much BBQ sauce since it's a lot easier to adjust it if had very little sauce on it as opposed to arriving drenched. On that note, the BBQ sauce itself was slightly smokey and predominantly sweet. The side of fries, to me at least, were good and bad. On one hand, they were nicely seasoned; yet on the other, they were not crispy at all. At least they were quite potatoey.

Finally, Kim's brisket plate was alright. I liked that the brisket was not overly charred since it only takes away from the edible portions of meat. It was fairly tender and with a nice dousing of BBQ sauce, I didn't mind it. The side of mash potatoes was actually quite good with big hits of garlic. Now feeling quite bloated from all the meat, Kim and I decided to go for the Fried Cheesecake. Yes, we are indeed gluttons for punishment. Similar to the one found at Dulcinea, the cheesecake is wrapped in a tortilla and then deep-fried. French vanilla ice cream is served on the side. Unexpectedly, the dessert worked quite well. The tortilla was crispy without being oily and the ice cream went well with it. We thought possibly there could've been more cream cheese flavour. This was a nice treat to end off the meal. It's too bad that most of the meats were quite dry and lacking in flavour. With that being said, the beef ribs were very good while the brisket and pulled pork were alright. They just needed more sauce. In my mind, Ozark's is passable. Nothing really all that special; although the side ribs were not very good. Probably okay if you live in the area (and if Memphis Blues is closed); but certainly not worth the drive if you're not.

The Good:

- Reasonable prices

- Generally good portions

- Attentive service

The Bad:

- If you don't like dry meat...

Lu Lu Cafe

Despite my close proximity to the North Road area of Burquitlam, I have yet to fully explore all the restaurants that line the street. Tonight, we were racking our brains trying to figure out what to eat. Since we were going out as a family, the food needed to appeal to the kids. Wait, I mean my son. So that eliminates 75% of the food out there. Thus, we went for the ever so prevalent Chinese food. Hey, there is a Chinese restaurant of some sort every couple of blocks. It's almost like a rule of something here in the GVRD. So, we decided to try out Lu Lu Cafe, which happens to be on North Road. I vaguely remember eating here before; but it was a different restaurant. If I don't recall, then I guess it wasn't worth remembering then! As we arrived, I noticed that Sushi California was going through a major renovation. Maybe they'll renovate their service too. Yah I know, that was cheap.

One thing that struck me about the menu was the prices. Most items are roughly $10.00, which is quite reasonable in my opinion. To satisfy the kiddies, we got the Stir-Fried Shrimp and Eggs. As you can see in the picture, the portion size is pretty large with lots of egg and big juicy shrimp. The shrimp were cooked perfectly with a good crunch. It's too bad that the egg was slightly overdone and not really all that smooth. It was also a tad on the salty side too. To add some veggies into our diet, we went for an ol' standby in the Gai Lan with Beef. This dish was pretty solid with crunchy stalks and tender beef. I particularly liked how the beef was seasoned with just enough oyster and soy sauce to give good colour and flavour.

Next up was a dish that I normally do not order; but for some reason or another it caught me eye. Now for some people, they would rather avoid it. The Tofu, Chicken and Salted Fish Hot Pot is not for everyone because the salted fish is quite pungent. For me, it's delicious and provides a distinct flavour, especially in a dish that is predominantly consisting of tofu. This particular version was decent with large pieces of soft tofu. I would have preferred it to be a bit more salty. The Xiao Long Bao was something that I wasn't intending on ordering; but Viv wanted to try it. I normally stay away from it unless it's at an actual Shanghainese restaurant because it's never done right otherwise. Predictably, these were just okay. Surprisingly, there was a decent amount of juice inside each bun; but the dumpling skin was far too thick. Texturally, it was not a pleasant chew.

Despite the average XLB, the rest of the meal was quite decent with good portions. I thought the prices were extremely reasonable considering the quality and overall execution of the food. Moreover, the service was actually quite attentive and friendly. Our server was actually a Mandarin speaker; but managed to understand my Cantonese when we ordered. The fact that she got the "no onions" part was extra impressive.

The Good:
- Reasonably priced
- Good portions
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Seating is a bit cramped
- Parking lot is woefully insufficient for the number of stores

NFA Dinner (No Fixed Address)

With dining out getting more and more expensive, it's only natural that underground restaurants would come to the forefront. Tack on the impending HST and it's only a matter of time that there will be more of them. Tonight, I joined Jonathan, Drea, Anita, Victoria, Frank, Melody, Jessica & Mark and TS/JS for a dinner at a "secret" location. Steve of NFA (No Fixed Address) contacted Jonathan about a blogger's dinner at a reduced rate. Normally, the cost per person for a 6-course dinner (excluding beverages) would cost $50.00.

Normally, one would contact Steve via email and a location would be setup for a private meal. The place we dined at tonight is best suited for 8 - 10 guests. We had 12 and it was a bit tight. The table was set up complete with the requisite flatware and wine glasses. Diners are responsible for their own beverages. After a short while of chatting and mingling, we were presented with our appetizer - Thai Beef Salad. Steve put his own stamp on this by adding a sweet corn fritter on the bottom. The more standard items such as cilantro, mint, lemongrass, fish sauce and sweet chili sauce were all there and worked in perfect harmony. I liked the fried garlic chips on top. It added both aromatics and texture. But the star of this dish had to be the perfectly cooked beef. It was buttery tender and was the key component to this well balanced appetizer.

Next up was the Trio of Scallops presented on a long platter. The first one was pan-seared with miso dressing topped by leek and apple. The scallop was perfectly seared. The combination of the miso and the sweetness of the apples really enhanced the scallop. We thought the best variation on the plate was the scallop with caper raisin emulsion. It was topped off by a piece of caramelized cauliflower reminiscent of Nuba. It was the perfect little bite that once again let the natural sweetness of the scallop shine. The last item on the plate was scallop ceviche with ginger, avocado and radish. It was pretty good with a nice zing.

Next up was the Slow Cooked Fennel Pork Belly. This, apparently is NFA's signature dish and... it delivered. The piece of pork belly was cooked perfectly with tender flesh and sinfully delicious pork skin. I particularly liked the gelatinous and fatty layer directly under the skin. It rested on a rather dry serving of mash potatoes; however, the roasted garlic on top made up for it. Served on the side was Serrano ham and endives drizzled with a thyme vinaigrette. As a palate cleanser, we were served a spoon of Grapefruit Sorbet with Sliced Candied Ginger and Campari. This was a nice tart interlude before the next dish. Alright, I completely forgot to take a picture of the Sake Marinated Sablefish with Cantonese Vegetable Sauce because it looked strange. I thank Victoria for letting me use her picture (her fish also mushy like mine) Well, the piece of fish that I got was quite small compared to Mark's (his was perfect though) and it didn't look like sablefish. Rather, it beared a striking resemblance to pureed baby food. To be fair, we were informed that some pieces may have broken down due to the marinade and enzymes. Yet, I've never had a piece of sablefish with this type of texture before. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it. However, I did like the Chinese flavours of this dish. It was served on bak choy and topped with mui choy. Served on the side was a wonderful coconut cilantro sweet potato cake coated with panko.

Finally, we were served a Dark Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Coulis for dessert. Apparently, the mousse was prepared with no egg or cream, so that it would be lighter. I'm not so sure about that since it was still quite decadent. I particularly liked the hazelnut praline on top, it added a nice sweet crunch. I wasn't a huge fan of the coulis because it had seeds in it. It tasted fine; but I didn't like the texture. By this time, I was bursting at the seams. Even if I had paid the actual cost of $50.00, it would've been well worth it. Most of the food was spot on (except for the sablefish) and definitely restaurant quality. I can definitely see this type of "restaurant" becoming more prevalent and popular. It serves as both a viable option and alternative to dining at a real B&M restaurant.

The Good:
- Excellent value
- Food is prepared with care
- A neat experience

The Bad:
- As in my case, you can't send back your dish (sablefish)

Cafe D'Lite

Hainanese Chicken, an often misunderstood dish since the name implies an origin within China; yet it is a dish associated with Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia as well. Widely considered the national dish of Singapore, there are a few variations of Hainanese Chicken among the different areas. However, the basic items are constant such as the poached chicken and chicken oil rice. The trick to make the chicken tender and juicy is to never let the water boil. Moreover, the proper technique to make chicken oil rice is, as in the description, to use the leftover chicken oil to stir fry the rice before cooking it in the leftover chicken broth. Many places cheat and do not use this process, resulting in a mushy and non-aromatic rice. So far, it's been difficult to find the perfect Hainanese Chicken; but Prata Man does a pretty good version (I'm not sure about their other dishes though... a bit substandard). You can find other variations at Mui Garden (free range, it's chewier), Banana Leaf, Tropika and Hawker's Delight.

Today, on our way to the women's ice hockey game between China and Finland, Viv and I stopped by Cafe D'Lite to give their Hainanese Chicken a try. I decided to order the large single order since it looked so pretty in the picture. You see, it's a formed bowl of rice surrounded by boneless pieces of dark meat. I'm happy that it was boneless since that is the correct way of serving it. Too many a time, there are bones, which is a no-no. The chicken, in my mind, was pretty good. Tender, juicy and with a light drizzle of sweet soy, this would give Prata Man a run for its money. However, and this is a big however, the rice was terrible. Consisting of mainly broken rice, it was mushy and dry and the same time (not sure how that can be). Furthermore, it was flavourless and lacked the oil gloss that makes the chicken rice taste and look good. That in itself spoiled the dish for me.

We also got a Beef Laksa and it looked pretty good. Yah, oil slick at the top is normal. I thought noodles were done right and the broth itself was decent, maybe lacking a bit of coconut flavour. It wasn't as spicy as I would've liked it; but it's my bad for not specifying. Honestly, except for the rice, I thought the meal was solid and I'll probably return. However, I hope this was an off day for the rice because it was not very good at all.

The Good:
- Properly prepared Hainanese Chicken
- Reasonable prices considering the location

The Bad:
- Terrible chicken rice (maybe only this time?)