Hurricane Grill

*Restaurant is closed*

Once again, I was scheduled to play a hockey game at the same time as the Canucks tilt with the Blackhawks. It's almost a great excuse to skip our game. However, most of us made it to our game, unlike Polka King (who got free tickets). Well, karma reared its ugly head. While we won our game 6-3, the Canucks lost 7-4. We all had a good laugh at Polka King's expense. Deciding where to eat after Friday hockey has become somewhat of a tedious experience since some of our games don't exactly end early. Thus, our dining options get severely limited. Sometimes, it gets so desperate, Knight & Day starts to creep into the conversation. Noooooo! I'd rather drive the wrong way in the Crystal Mall parking lot with a bulls eye pasted to the front of my car. That way, I'd be dead, I wouldn't have to eat at K & D.

Okay, enough of the morbid thoughts. I had something on the North Shore in mind dependent on the outcome of the Canucks game. I thought that we could give the Hurricane Grill a try since it's relatively nearby and open late. Now if they had won (ya right!), people would be happy and drink 'til the bar closed. But if they lost, I figured people would clear outta there faster than the end of discounted Dim Sum at 11:00am. And you know, I was right. Upon arrival at the Hurricane Grill, there were more frowns than a bunch of football players at a salad bar. With plenty of seating abound, we could pick our table. So, by virtue of being a bar that serves food, one might assume that the eats here are ho-hum. Well, at least everything sounded good on the menu.

Gadget Girl and Lionel Hutz took a chance with the Warm Seafood Spinach Salad. Yes, it's generally not the most natural choice at a bar. However, the salad looked quite good. With a bounty of shrimp, prawns and scallops atop fresh greens, mushrooms, goat cheese, roasted almonds and Mandarin slices, this was not a small salad. Gadget Girl was pleasantly surprised with the honey mustard dressing since it did not taste like the stuff you get with your chicken strips. Sweet Tooth also had the salad, albeit a heartier one in the Grill Salad. Consisting of a 6oz NY Steak atop grilled veggies and spring mix with a balsamic reduction, she was quite happy with it. The steak was cooked slightly beyond her request, but it was still easy to eat. Furthermore, the veggies were fresh and cooked perfectly. Both Boss Woman and Mr. Blueberry had the Seafood Linguine which consists of prawns, scallops, shrimp, onion and mushrooms in a rose sauce. While Boss Woman liked her pasta indicating that the sauce was well-balanced, Mr. Blueberry was less enthusiastic. He thought the pasta was a bit soft and sauce weak.

Now, what's a visit to a bar without a burger? Emilicious and Milhouse both had the Danish Burger. Yes, all this repetition of food was killing me... Anyways, the burger is made with a 7oz homemade patty with Danish bleu cheese. It was a consensus that the burger was solid. The meat was well-charred and there was no shortage of sharp bleu cheese flavour. Not much to comment about the fries, they were of the generic variety. For myself, I went for the 16oz Lamb Shank with veggies and roasted potatoes. Although I'm sure that the 16oz measurement is the pre-cooked weight, it just didn't look all that large to me. It was extremely tender with a nice gelatinous meat falling off the bone. The sauce was quite understated and really didn't add much to the flavour profile. The veggies were crisp and the potatoes were perfect. Curiously, the lamb shank itself was luke warm, which detracted from my eating enjoyment. Ginseng was not that hungry and went for the Yam Fries. Although they are probably the frozen variety, they were fried nicely with a crisp exterior. In general, the food execution was quite good here. Nothing spectacular; but surprisingly good food for this type of restaurant. Not exactly cheap by any stretch of the imagination, the prices are on par with popular chain restaurants.

The Good:
- Pretty decent food
- Lots of menu items to choose from
- Nice vibe

The Bad:
- Service is a bit slow
- Some items are not cheap

New Town Bakery & Restaurant (Surrey)

If you know me, there aren't many places I won't eat at. In fact, there are times I intentionally visit places most people wouldn't dare set foot into. Call it stupidity, stubbornness or just plain disregard for my personal well-being. Sometimes it's almost a game of "I dare you..." with Kim and Karl. Yah, let's see who can eat at the crappiest looking establishment we can find. Well, I think it's quite safe to say that some of the best places are the least appealing. Well, this time, I finally chickened out. Yes, I admit it. I was scouting this banh mi joint right next to Pho T&A in Whalley. I was just about to walk in when I got a case of the nerves. There were many unsavory characters around and for some reason or another, I just balked. I headed straight for my car (not before updating an exterior photo for Pho T&A), and got the heck outta there. Maybe it was not my day, probably off my game...

So what to eat now? How about something that is relatively safe? Located right next to Pho Tam is the Surrey location of New Town Bakery. Mostly known for their excellent apple tarts and dai bao (big bun), they also serve up Chinese food and the occasional Filipino dish. On the topic of uninviting, the interior of New Town is not a work of art. Of course, I wasn't expecting as such; yet, after all the aforementioned things about crummy looking places... I leave one and end up at another. I suppose I'm drawn to these places subconsciously. Not knowing the system, I just grabbed a menu and seated myself. There wasn't a staff member available for a little while.

When a server did notice me, I have to admit she was pretty friendly. I ended up ordering the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice and the Filipino Style Vermicelli. Although the rice had a nice salty kick to it, it was far too mushy. Obviously fresh rice was used rather than dry day-old rice. Chock full of squid, pork, fish balls and shrimp, the vermicelli was quite good. This was more of a Chinese version of this dish; but I liked the subtle flavour. I got an order of Sweet & Sour Pork on rice to go for Ma. I didn't get to try it; but she remarked that the pork was moist and the sauce was indeed flavourful. To me, it looked quite good! So in addition to their wonderful bakery products, New Town succeeds in offering decent eats at reasonable prices.

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Decent portions
- Very good bakery products

The Bad:
- No, you're not going there for ambiance or attentive service
- Mostly decent food, but there is better

Il Uk Jo

*Restaurant is closed*

Alright, I'll admit it. There once was a time that I feasted on all-you-can-eat joints. Yah, I was hungry and quality did not matter much. However, as time passed, it became apparent that this type of gorging was unhealthy and not very tasty. Mind you, there are some exceptions to the rule; but for the most part, we really do make compromises when we do a buffet. Naturally, there must be realistic expectations and trust me, I do go into an AYCE with minimal needs. Despite those minimalistic expectations, there are some places that just defy the point of a restaurant. You know, that place that you must travel to, spend money on and hopefully be an edible experience. If you've been reading this blog, you know that Kawawa would inevitably be mentioned. Yah, it's not a fine-dining experience nor is it even authentic Japanese food, so I should not complain right? That's what someone told me to do. Hello!?!? I'm paying well over $20.00 per person for unacceptable food. I don't care if I'm paying $2.00. If it ain't good, it ain't good. Okay, with that off my chest, I now bring you to the next candidate for worst AYCE in the GVRD. When you think that it can't get much worse than Kawawa, we have Il Uk Jo (or should I call it "Ill, Yuk, No!").

Proclaiming themselves as a Japanese and Korean buffet, I should've known better already. However, ever since I spotted the place quite a while ago and then being almost tempted to try it when I ate next door at Saigon Pho To Go, I finally did it. A few people had asked if I had tried it and were quite curious. Well, I think curiosity not only killed the cat, I probably would've done better eating it. So originally, Pomegranate and I were going to eat at another place; but due to certain events, it led us to Il Uk Jo. Either it was fate or someone wanted me to suffer today. Everything started alright as we got a good parking spot and were led to a nice semi-private booth. Unfortunately the place was devoid of natural light and I had to use the flash.

We had 2 choices for the AYCE lunch menu. There is the standard AYCE for $12.99 and the deluxe for $15.99 (or should I say "delux" like the misprint on the menu). We went for the deluxe since it included sashimi, sushi and prawn tempura. As with most Korean meals, we started with some Banchan which consisted of bean sprouts, stewed potatoes, kimchi and gomae (yah I know, that's Japanese, but I threw it in there anyways). Although it was a crunchy kimchi, I actually liked it, as with the other items. The gomae was a bit too sweet though. After that, this is where the roller coaster ride starts. Looking more like perogies than Gyozas, these pathetically oily things were terrible. Despite its deep-fried appearance, these are actually pan fried (in how much grease, I can only imagine). Pan-fried gyozas should not have the texture of fried wontons. Oh, it gets better (or worse should I say). The Tonkatsu sure looks alright in the picture; yet looks can be deceiving. The pork hidden within the crunchy breading had the texture of cartilage. Yes, it would've been okay if we were expecting cartilage... And don't even get me started on the sauce. Let's just say they make a great sweet & sour cartilage.

However, the Prawn Tempura was fantastic! Yah, you heard me right, it was excellent. Served hot and crispy, the prawn itself was sweet and cooked perfectly. Mind you, that was probably the eye of the storm passing through because the sushi was terrible. Okay, looking at the Dynamite Roll, it looks decent, right? Well, one bite into it and *crunch*. Oh, the prawn tempura must be crunchy, yes? Nope. Huh??? Look at the piece of avocado. It had the texture of an apple. For the love of... why put a severely unripe piece of avocado in the roll??? Were they looking for a textural contrast with the gummy rice, which was devoid of any flavour? No idea, but it sucked. Surely the rest of the sushi was better right? The picture sure looks decent! Yah, it does look okay eh? However, the rice, as mentioned, is just horrible. It was hard, gummy and dry all at the same time. Don't ask me how they accomplished that. As for the fish, the salmon was decent, while the tuna was not. I'm not sure if they were mimicking Lost because the Spicy Salmon and Tuna were in an alternate reality when spicy means sweet.

But the strangest thing of the entire meal was the Korean BBQ. All the beef and chicken (in its marinade) arrived on the grilling plate. So when placed on the burner (which was weaker than a hotplate), it essentially began boiling the meat in its own marinade. So, trying to prevent having a weird version of shabu shabu, we moved the meat onto the cooking surface (which was stone cold). As you can see, the result was essentially boiled meat that finished cooking on a lukewarm "BBQ". This has to be the most unsatisfying version of Korean BBQ I've ever had. We've had hot pot that is closer to BBQ than this (at Grand Honour).

Fortunately, the Chicken Karaage was quite juicy and flavourful. However, there was enough batter on these things to make Tammy Faye Baker's face look normal. I had to remove it so I could actually get to the meat. When the Motoyaki arrived, I was a bit confused at the serving vessel. Looking like French-Japanese fusion gone wrong, the various versions of motoyaki (oyster, mussel and fish) were actually quite decent. The tangy almost like "thousand islands" sauce with the fish was surprisingly good. In the same class as Kawawa, this unsatisfying meal was not to be unexpected considering the location. However, it had some extremely low points such as the sushi rice, pathetic Korean BBQ, gyozas and tonkatsu. Yes, there were some good items; but honestly, for the price we paid, it cannot be considered acceptable. Luckily for them, there is not much in the way of competition nearby.

The Good:
- Good selection of items on the AYCE menus
- For us at least, the service was decent
- It made me forget about Kawawa

The Bad:
- Other than a few decent items, overall food quality is poor
- Hot items were not really all that hot
- The Korean BBQ is a joke

Sunday Brunch @ Griffin's (Hotel Vancouver)

*Restaurant is closed*

When it comes to Sunday brunch in Vancouver, the Pan Pacific (held at Cafe Pacifica) is the most elaborate and expensive hands down. However, other than the view and a few unique items, I don't consider it a good value. At $50.00 per person, it's downright crazy in my books. Thus, it's always good to look at other options. One of these options is Griffin's at the Hotel Vancouver. The last time I had the brunch, it was pretty decent in my books, especially for $39.00. Yes, that is not chump change; yet considering the location and what you get, it's good. Today, we celebrated a belated Mother's Day at Griffin's. One good thing about these Sunday brunch setups is that kiddies are welcome and there is no charge for those under 6 years of age. This is particularly good since my son won't eat anything but the cheapest of items such as the waffles and sausages. I wonder if he has any Chinese in him really... It's all about the seafood and meat for me!

So the food is separated into 4 sections for the buffet brunch. The Cold Food Station consists of breads, smoked herring, artichokes, mushrooms, bean salad, mixed greens, pasta salad, king crab, shrimp and scallops, cheeses and cold cuts. Personally, I'm only interested in a few things in this section, namely the crab, shrimp and scallops. I'm happy to report that all 3 were good, especially the large meaty scallops. The Hot Food Station consists of some standard breakfast items mixed in with some unique offerings. Of course the sausages, bacon, waffles and eggs benny are present (salmon benny too). Despite being served on a buffet line, the eggs benny was fantastic with a perfectly poached free range egg (runny yolk). The rest of the spread included veggie mix, 7-grain rice, pasta, roast potatoes, chicken, roast pork loin, herb roast leg of lamb, spring salmon, halibut, clam & mussels saute, chirizo & merguez sausage, crispy oysters and seafood chowder. Predictably, the fish were overcooked. I'm sure they were not prepared as such; but it's very hard to serve fish properly in this manner. As for the pork loin and lamb, both were a tad dry. However, I really enjoyed the mussels and clams (I'm all about the seafood!). As for the seafood chowder, it was more like fish soup than anything. It did taste quite good exhibiting natural sweetness of the sea.

Related to the hot food section; but in a station attached to the omelet bar is the Prime Rib. Under these circumstances, it is forgivable that the meat is not more rare. After all, there are some people who would not even touch it if it were dripping with bloody juices. For me, I like it medium-rare and the best they could do was medium. Despite this, the prime rib was absolutely fabulous. It practically melted in my mouth and didn't need much chewing. This, my friends was a beautiful piece of meat. As mentioned, the Omelet Bar resides right next to the carving station. I actually didn't try an omelet since I deem it as a filler and there wasn't anything special with the selection of ingredients. My dad did have one and it was made properly looking just cooked.

The Dessert Station is somewhat of a signature feature at Griffin's. It is offered during regular dinner hours as a dessert option. For a buffet, the desserts did look quite appealing. The spread included fruit flan, cheesecake, chocolate torte, rice pudding, creme caramel, white and dark chocolate mousse, profiteroles, fruit tart, berry calfoutis, apple pie, English trifle and fresh fruit. I tried to sample as many items as possible and on the whole, everything was quite good. For a buffet setting, the desserts were both varied and consistent. Also included with the brunch was juice, coffee and tea. Service throughout our meal was attentive and unobtrusive. Much like our last visit to Griffin's for brunch, this time was no different. A solid experience at a reasonable price, considering the venue, location and quality of food.

The Good:
- Generally, the food quality is good
- Good service
- Desserts station is better than most

The Bad:
- Some of the proteins were overcooked (excusable for this type of meal)
- Maybe not as "classy" as some other places
- Omelet station could use more higher end ingredients

Brado

Generally, I'm a pretty busy person as it is. When it gets to the weekend, it's not really a time to relax; rather, it is merely an extension of the week. In fact, there are times that I need some weekdays to recover from the weekend. Chalk that up to activities with the kiddies and sports. So when I got a message from Jessica about a mid-afternoon meet-up with former Vancouver resident, now New York-based blogger Phyllis (Me Hungry!), I really had to see if I could squeeze that in. C'mon, who am I kidding? Pass up an eating opportunity, especially with other foodies? It's like me refusing free samples at Costco. Ah yes... Sunday brunch at Costco... It's a cornucopia of little treats! Anyways, Phyllis had the idea to try out Brado's Poutine Pizza out on the Drive. That sounded quite interesting.

I showed up a bit early so that I could take some exterior shots of restaurants I had visited in the past. Why? Because I wanted better pictures! Yah, chalk that up to my OCDness... Finally meeting up at Brado with Jessica, Mark, Phyllis and Kris, we were wondering if Kim would show up. Of course he would. And bearing treats from Cake-Ya! This... was not going to be a low-cal afternoon! Now, the actual "restaurant" itself is a bit strange. The actual store is shared by another business that really has nothing to do with Brado specifically. With limited seating, we essentially took all the tables. Phyllis and Kris were generous enough to treat us to the Poutine Pizza. As the name implies, it's a pizza with lots of cheese, gravy and fries. For me, the actual taste of the pizza wasn't bad per se. It resembled eating poutine on top of pizza dough. But therein lies the problem. We have starch on top of starch. Not really my thing. I thought the crust could've been lighter considering the heaviness of the toppings.

With that in mind, I had try their actual poutine. Thus, I got the large Smoked Meat Poutine. When I got back to the table and informed everyone of this, I got looks of shock. Apparently, their large is extremely large. So large, it makes Belgian Fries largest size look like a small. No matter really, I was going to share it with everyone anyways. Besides, it wasn't that expensive at around $8.00. Yah, when I did get it, it was freakin' huge. I'm not sure even in my finest hour (or worst) that I could finish it myself. As we dug into the poutine, I noticed that there was quite a lot of cheese curds (although most of it had melted). Thus, I couldn't necessarily get the squeak I was looking for. I did like the gravy, it was on the salty side; but it was hot and thick. As for the fries, I personally couldn't stand them. They were of the generic frozen variety. Call me a fry snob; however, I would much prefer fresh cut potatoes that are double-fried. With all that being said, the owner is a charismatic guy who cares about his business. I think with some tweaks with the pizza and the poutine, it can be much better.

The Good:
- Huge portions
- Inexpensive
- Owner cares about his business

The Bad:
- For a place that serves poutine, the fries need to be a whole lot better
- Poutine pizza sounds good, but in reality, it is too heavy on the carbs
- Not a place to linger

Boulangerie la Parisienne

*Location is closed*

To be completely honest, I'm not really into sweets. Well, it's not that I don't like sweet things, I just prefer finger food more than anything (such as appetizers). Thus, I am never one to save room for dessert or a sweet drink after a meal. Unlike Mijune, who has a 2nd stomach reserved for desserts, I tend to subliminally avoid pastries. However, this time around, as I was leaving Bistro Sakana, I had the sudden urge to walk over to Boulangerie la Paisienne. Consider it reminiscing about ol' times. I used to live within a stone's throw from here; but haven't been back since I moved 5 years ago.

I only wanted to get a few items; but call it the power of suggestion or just plain lack of self-control, I ended up with almost a dozen. Seeing how Mijune not particularly liking the items she tried on her visit, I went for a different selection. One of the first things that caught my attention was the Tiramisu. It was pretty mild being not too sweet. However, I thought the whole thing was rather bland in general. I didn't think that there was enough sweetness or espresso flavour. With that being said, the texture was silky smooth and the lady fingers were not dry.

I gave the entire Blueberry Tart to my daughter though (well, not before taking a bite). The blueberries were really fresh and I enjoyed the semi-sweet custard. However, I wasn't that big of a fan of the crust. It was a bit hard and not as buttery as others I've had lately. That would be the same for the Lemon Tart as well. If I wasn't a sucker for lemon tarts, I probably would've never chose this one based on its appearance. I know, I know, many lemon tarts look this way and its all in the taste and texture. Yet, this time around, the looks said it all. The same hard flavourless crust gave way to a lemon filling that I can only describe as unrefined. Unlike the lemon tart from Thomas Haas and the lemon pastry from Bakery Nouveau, this filling was quite pedestrian.

The last item I'm going to write about is the Napolean. I didn't get to try this one because I gave it to my mom. She really loves this particular dessert and since I'm indifferent towards desserts... My mom has had many Napoleans and her favourite is still from Bon Ton. This particular one was very disappointing. The mille feuille was far too sweet and she thought it was almost like eating candy. Furthermore, the pastry was dry and hard to eat. Okay, I have to admit that this visit changed my feelings about this place. Nothing was horrid; but there was something off about everything we had. If one wasn't picky, I'm sure that the pastries here would do the job. However, if one was looking for better, just venture further into downtown visit La Boulangerie attached to the Sutton Hotel or Boulangerie Cho Pain.

The Good:
- Great location in Yaletown
- A decent selection of goods

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Average pastries

Bistro Sakana

It's interesting that we have varied expectations for food based on location. Normally, we put up with generally inferior food in the burbs since competition isn't necessarily an issue. In the more extreme cases, we might need to put up with crap because that is all there is. Reminds me of the time my parents took me on a road trip and we passed through Roseburg, Or. Apparently we visited the "best" Chinese restaurant in town. To our complete horror, "chow mein" translated into those prepackaged crunchy orange-coloured noodles you'd find in the Asian section at Safeway. Ugh... Fortunately, when we deal with Vancouver's Downtown core, it becomes a whole new ball of wax. Much like the triangle of ramen near Robson and Denman, there are certain expectations and intense competition. If we look at Japanese food in general, Downtown is the hub of Izakayas and higher end sushi joints. Of course, there are good Japanese restaurants all throughout Vancouver; but once again, if they're in Downtown, they'd better be good.

And that brings me to Bistro Sakana. Japanese food in Yaletown, which essentially means, food at premium prices. At the very least, Pomegranate and I were here for lunch, which tempers the cost. Looking over the menu, the prices weren't as scary as first thought. Lunch specials hovered around the $10.00 mark with large regular items around $15.00. Pomegranate decided to go for the Deluxe Sushi Combo for $17.00. When it arrived, it looked like something that would normally go for $10.00 or less at most other sushi joints. Consisting of a partial California roll, dynamite roll, salmon and tuna maki and 2 pieces each of tuna and salmon nigiri, it sounded like a lot in the menu. Realistically, there wasn't much. With that being said, the sushi was pretty bang on. Everything was fresh and the sushi rice was pretty good. It could've been a bit drier; but not a huge problem.

For myself, I went for their Lunch Bento Box which included sashimi, tempura, teriyaki chicken and California roll. Not bad for $12.00. Once again, the sashimi was fresh; albeit in pretty small slices. I thought the tempura was both executed perfectly and consisted of quality ingredients. It just seemed to be made with care, which translated into a nice crispy eat. As for the teriyaki chicken, I appreciate the use of white meat. I really do. However, for me at least, it never translates into a good chicken teriyaki. More often than not, the chicken is dry and since it has less fat, doesn't have the depth of flavour as dark meat. In this case, they tried to make as moist as it could be; but all I got was out of it was dry chicken with sauce. Despite this, we thought the food overall was quite good, if not a bit boring. We did enjoy the ambiance, being Yaletown and all. Great place to grab a bite and do some people watching. And that usually comes at a premium.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients
- Carefully prepared food
- Courteous and unobtrusive service

The Bad:
- Pricey, especially at dinner
- Portions are quite small
- The place is quite small (hence the "bistro" in the name)