Guu Garden

Originally, Rich Guy, Vandelay and I were hoping to try out Hokkaido Ramen Santouka on Robson. However, when we did a drive-by (no, not that kind, the only guns we have are plastic ones), there was a lineup. You see, it was the official grand opening today and I suppose people were curious, similar to how there was a lineup at Chef Hung. Hey, I love ramen; but I'm not going to lineup for it! In need of food, we decided to try out the newish Guu Garden. While driving by the original Guu on Thurlow, we were presented with an ominous sign. There was quite a lineup. Was Guu Garden going to present us with a similar situation? I hate lineups and it serves us right for trying to eat in downtown on a Friday night (albeit late). Never having been to the new Guu Garden, we weren't sure where the entrance was located. It's address indicates Nelson; but the actual entrance is a non-descript stairway located on Hornby halfway down the block. We were lucky to get a parking spot right across the street and proceed up to find that... there was no lineup! In fact, there was a nice table waiting for us! Now that is good luck for a change.

Unlike the other locations, Guu Garden is not dark and cramped. Rather, it is relatively spacious and well-lit. While looking through their menu, we noticed that it focused heavily on Oden and seafood. There was an obvious lack of meats. Thus, we ended up ordering a bunch of things we usually do not order while at Guu. We started with something similar to the Jellyfish Salad offered at their Robson location. Rather than just jellyfish, this salad consisted of Jellyfish, Chicken and Cucumbers. Naturally, with addition of chicken and cucumbers, the salad had a meatiness and fresh crunchiness that the other version lacked.

Something we had little knowledge of; yet decided to try was the Wasabi Mountain Potato. If my facts are right, this is not really a potato; rather, it is more like a yam which has the texture of a radish. I wasn't a huge fan of this personally. Other than the wasabi and vinegar marinade, the dish was a bit bland. I'm sure someone likes this; but I didn't. Next up was the Wasabi Marinated Octopus & Uni. The side of nori served as eating vessels. A bit sweet and with a nice contrast of textures, I liked this dish. Too bad it was a real chore to keep everything on the nori before we got it into our mouths. Rich Guy picked something that was more "ordinary" in the form of Fried Chicken with Mayo. Resembling chicken karaage, this was exactly as described. Crispy fried chicken with the skin accompanied by a side of mayo.

Since the specialty of Guu Garden is Oden and the fact it takes up a big portion of the menu, we decided to give a shot. There are 2 types of Oden (Miso-oden and Kanto-daki) with specific items. From that list, we picked out daikon, fried tofu, tamago and pork belly in a rich, slightly sweet Miso-oden. Not exactly that complex per se, everything was soft with the braising liquid completely penetrating each item. I particularly liked the pork belly (naturally!) since there was melt-in-your mouth fat and meat. Another one of Rich Guy's choices was the Tuna Tataki. He really never needs to vocalize his preferences since he always chooses raw meat and fish. Well, as expected, the tataki was well prepared and fresh. Served with onions, garlic chips, lemon and ponzu, the slices of tuna were sweet and had a nice texture (which was not mushy).

Naturally, the last item that Rich Guy ordered was another raw fish dish being the Marinated Seared Black Cod Sashimi. Due to its high fat content, we could really taste the "fish" flavour of the black cod. It could easily be mistakened for bad fish; but the texture was not mushy and still had a bit of "bite". I didn't mind it so much; but Rich Guy wasn't all that impressed. I guess this would be a case of personal preference. As with any Izakaya meal, I go for the Ebi Mayo. In addition to being fried perfectly, the shrimp had a nice crunch to them. I was happy to see streaks of sriracha on the plate with the big blob of mayo. This essentially created a chili mayo which I much prefer over plain mayo.

Last dish to arrive was our "filler", as in the Yakiudon. Normally, Izakaya is not exactly the best way to get really full, unless you're ordering 3+ dishes for each person. After all, in Japan, it's not suppose to be an actual meal. The food is merely an accompaniment to the booze after work. But, we eat it as a meal here and a plate of carbs usually helps fill in the gaps of hunger in between small morsels of food. Therefore, we didn't expect much and I really have not much to say other than that the udon was nice and chewy with a smattering of flavour. Moreover, it wasn't greasy or slimy (unlike the cod roe and mayo udon at Hapa). So once again, another solid meal at a location of Guu. Guu Garden is definitely a bit different in terms of the menu and the layout of the physical dining space. Not really a classic Guu experience; but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Good:
- Predictably solid food
- Great service at this location
- Comfortable seating arrangements (unlike the other locations)

The Bad:
- Heavily focused on Oden and seafood, less meat items available
- If you don't know where it is, the entrance is extremely hidden

Bao Chau

To some people, a spring roll is a spring roll. Merely a fried cylinder of various meats and/or veggies encased within a flour wrapper. However, there are significant differences between a Cantonese and a Vietnamese spring roll. The first and most important difference is the wrapper itself. A Cantonese spring roll uses a wheat-based wrapper while a Vietnamese spring roll employs a rice-based wrapper. Thus, the actual physical appearance of the fried roll is quite different between the two. The Cantonese one is smooth and uniform while the Vietnamese one is blistered and irregular. The filling is quite different as well. The Vietnamese roll consists of cellophane noodles, carrots, ground meat and wood ear mushrooms. Sure, there are other variations; but those are the standard ingredients. Now with that in mind, it's incredible so many Vietnamese restaurants in town serve the Cantonese version. To me, that's akin to going to a Japanese restaurant and being served sweet 'n sour pork.

Thankfully, there are places that serve the authentic Vietnamese spring roll. Bao Chau goes as far as claiming that they are the place for spring rolls. Viv and I have been here before, albeit quite a while ago. We return to try the spring rolls again. As you can see in the picture, the spring rolls are indeed very crispy. Not greasy at all, these rolls had the perfect fried texture. However, I wasn't that impressed with the filling. It tasted fine with a hint of fish sauce; but it was way too mushy and loose. I would've preferred a bit more texture. For my main dish, I went for a Vermicelli Bowl with Grilled Pork, Chicken and Shredded Pork (aka pork rind, yum!). The bowl of food was enjoyable to eat with lots of well seasoned and grilled meat.

Viv had the House Special Pho which includes every meat possible. The noodles were perfectly al dente and the meats were good; but... the soup was disappointing. It was quite sweet and lacked any rich meat flavour. I still think Pho Tam has the most meaty tasting broth so far for me. Despite its faithful following, Bao Chau was only average for us. Maybe our expectations were too high? Don't get me wrong, it was plenty decent, just nothing all that special. At the very least, they do make a proper Vietnamese spring roll.

The Good:
- Authentic Vietnamese spring rolls
- Prices are decent
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Beef soup a bit one-dimensional in flavour

Nan Chuu Izakaya

Well, well, well... Look who's back in town... Rich Guy! The dude (another one of his nicknames) seems to come and go. Well, it's nice to see him again; but in all honesty, there is something more important to his return. Yes, it could only mean one thing - more eating! When both of us lived in Yaletown, we would meet up with Vandelay frequently for lunch (since he worked there). But those days are long gone (well, I do try to buck the trend...) due to change of residence and having kids. No, the carefree lifestyle is permanently in the rear view mirror. So with our busy schedules, it didn't look good for any meeting of any sort. Ah, when there is a will, there is a way! Seeing how Rich Guy had to pickup a Sony Walkman I had helped him purchase on boxing day and the fact I had to pay Vandelay a visit to borrow his parking pass (to see all the sights and sounds of the Olympics in Downtown), I devised a plan. The plan was for Rich Guy to come over to pick me up and head over to Vandelay's place. Then, we could go out for some late night eats... on a Monday. Hey, whatever works!

Vandelay suggested we go get some Izakaya since we'd all eaten dinner already. I originally thought we should try out Manzo; but he had a better idea, which was Nan Chuu. I have heard of Nan Chuu before; but for some odd reason, I didn't know it was run by Gyoza King. Well, that was welcome news since I love Gyoza King! And just like at Gyoza King, Vandelay went for 2 of his favourites which were the Large Green Salad and the Chikuwa Cheese. Normally, a green salad would evoke as much excitement as watching a rerun of the new Knight Rider. However, there is something about this "secret sauce". A generous amount of this slightly citrusy dressing lay hidden underneath the fresh slices of cucumber, tomatoes and mushrooms. For some strange reason, the chikuwa cheese was not very crispy. The batter was bordering on mushy. At least the chikuwa had a nice chewy/springy texture with cheese oozing out of the middle.

Rich Guy's choices were the Gyu Tataki and Marinated Salmon. I have to say the tataki was probably the best dish of the meal with tender slices of meat accompanied with a citrus ponzu shoyu. Unlike the one I had at Irashai recently, the thin slices of meat needed barely any chewing. The salmon was a bit sweet and slightly tart from the shoyu vinaigrette. It had a nice buttery consistency and merely melted in our mouths.

For my choices, I convinced them that we needed 3 more dishes and they wholeheartedly agreed. Such compliant dinning companions! I opted for the Takoyaki, Ebi Mayo and Usugiri Gyu Tan (Grilled Beef Tongue). The takoyaki was pretty good being soft and fluffy (maybe a tad too soft) with a good amount of bonito on top. There was just enough sauce and a side of mayo accompanying it. I thought the ebi mayo was fantastic. Unlike the one I had at Hapa Izakaya Yaletown a few weeks ago, these ones were crisp (where there wasn't any mayo) and the prawns were cooked perfectly. A tad heavy on the mayo; but it did taste good nonetheless.

Naturally, I would gravitate towards the grilled beef tongue because you can never get enough tongue... I think Viv is getting tired of this joke... Seems like Rich Guy and Vandelay didn't mind getting tongue either (geez, that doesn't sound right). We ended up with the thinly sliced version and it really helped enhance the experience. Otherwise the thick cut would've been a bit hard to chew. These ones were still chewy; but pretty easy to eat. Taste wise, they were butteryish since tongue has a high fat content. As expected, with Nan Chuu being run by Gyoza King, the food was solid and the prices were reasonable. In addition to Guu, I think that Gyoza King and Nan Chuu are the best combination of quality, taste and price when it comes to Izakaya in the GVRD.

The Good:
- Good value
- Most dishes are consistently good
- Service was actually quite good

The Bad:
- As with most Izakayas, it's cramped
- It's located on Alexandra Road in Richmond, good luck finding parking without getting towed

The Pen

*Restaurant is now closed*

Back in my Pho Tan post, I joked about how I was tailed by a police cruiser while I was circling in Whalley. I remarked that if arrested, it would become Sherman's Jailhouse Adventures. While I'm in no rush to be incarcerated, especially given the lack of food choices, Viv and I did come as close as we could to a corrections institution. How about a former penitentiary now housing a restaurant? Yup, the premise behind "The Pen" is it's jailhouse theme. Located in the now defunct BC Penitentiary, the restaurant is complete with barred windows and servers with prisoner numbers on their backs. Yah, there is a certain charm with the place, especially with its quaint location and nice view of the Fraser.

Seeing how we were without food on a Sunday morning, we decided to take the whole family out for breakfast. Well, that's not totally true, we did have eggs, sausage and pancake mix at home; however, that's not very interesting. So off we went to The Pen! Of course, a breakfast is not a breakfast without pancakes. At least that's what my son would like everyone to believe. Thus, we ordered The Works Pancakes for my son and daughter to share. In addition to the 5 fluffy pancakes topped with berry sauce and whipped cream, there were 4 sausages and scrambled eggs. Breakfast is not rocket science; but it was nice to see that the eggs were indeed scrambled and the sausages cooked without being burnt.

Viv went for the Eggs Benny with bacon and tomato. Nothing particularly amazing about this breakfast; but nothing bad either (well, except for the squishy hash browns). English muffin was toasted, tomato fresh, bacon crispy and poached egg runny. Hollandaise sauce was not bad, could've used a bit more lemon. Otherwise a decent eggs benny. For myself, I went for the Cheese and Mushroom Omelet. Served once again with the squishy hash browns, the omelet was a bit small. Furthermore, I found the eggs to be cooked a bit too long. I did like the toast though, it was crunchy and well-buttered.

Overall, I thought the food was alright. Once again, breakfast is not rocket science. I'm not sure if it warranted the price we paid; but the real draw here is the location and the "uniqueness" of the place. Looking out the window, there is a view of the Fraser River and honestly, on a sunny day, it made for a pleasant breakfast.

The Good:
- Quaint location
- Fairly comfortable digs
- Hey, there's a parking lot (good for those who don't want to look for parking)

The Bad:
- A bit pricey for what you get
- Although friendly, the service is quite sparse

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)