Pirate Pak Day @ White Spot

*This location is closed*

I'll admit it. I have a soft spot for White Spot. Ever since I got my first Pirate Pak and laid eyes on that chocolate doubloon, the scoop of melting ice cream, burger, fries and drink all laid out neatly in a paper ship, I've been a fan. Sure, there are much fancier burgers to be found in Vancouver nowadays; but I keep coming back to the "Spot" for their mayo, Triple-O ladened burgers. Now my son and daughter have the same love for the paper pirate ship; although my son only opts for either the mac 'n cheese or grilled cheese. We dine at White Spot a fair amount relatively since I usually am out trying new stuff. I guess the family-friendliness of it all works for us, particularly the Pirate Pak for the kiddies. However, each time we are here, I longingly watch my kids enjoy the Pak while I'm left out in the cold. How I wish to be under 10 years of age once again... Well, Viv thinks I'm permanently juvenile so I guess that is not a stretch. No Pirate Pak for me... until now!

On August 18th, White Spot is once again doing Pirate Pak day. For the first time ever, there will be an ADULT version of the Pirate Pak. Starting at $9.99 with the Legendary Burger, you get endless fries, coleslaw, soft drink, ice cream and that precious gold coin all served in... wait for it... the same paper pirate ship! Nostalgia! Reliving your youth! Be a kid! Whatever you call it, I call it an awesome idea. What is even more awesome is that for every Pirate Pack sold on August 18th, $2.00 will go towards the Zajac Ranch for Children. It is a longtime B.C. charity dedicated to bringing a summer camp experience to children with serious medical conditions. These deserving kids are given the opportunity to participate in activities including horseback riding, swimming, water sports, canoeing, arts and crafts, archery and much more.

When White Spot contacted me (and many other bloggers as well) about spreading the word about this event and fine cause, I had no hesitation. Furthermore, I'll be honest. I'm completely biased since I grew up with the Pirate Pak and it is very dear to my heart. So I grabbed the whole family and headed out to the Georgia & Cardero location for a sneak peak of the adult Pirate Pak. As such, White Spot was gracious enough to comp all of our meals. For my pak, I ended up with a Monty Mushroom (add $1.49 for the mushrooms and cheese). Viv decided on the Mediterranean Chicken. I'm not sure if that is exactly available as an option on the 18th; but the B.C. Chicken Burger is on the menu for sure. Presented exactly like a Pirate Pack should be, there was a definite novelty factor. With refillable soft drink and fries, ice cream and gold coin, this is actually a very good value. Too bad they don't offer the adult Pirate Pak as a menu item! As per usual, my son made it clear he wanted the Mac 'n Cheese. Oh and he also made it very clear that he wanted the gold coin too. My daughter did the more classic Pirate Pak with a Cheeseburger.

For an extra $3.00 bucks, you can add their Blueberry Pie. Knowing that my daughter is literally the blueberry monster, we got an order. She practically ate the whole darn thing. My son would take a week to accomplish that... if he actually ate fruit. How fun was that? I had a Pirate Pak! It's been a loooong time since I could say that. Make sure you do the same on August 18th, it'll be fun and it's for a good cause. For today (and on the 18th), I didn't have to live vicariously through my kiddies and have evil thoughts of stealing their gold coin.

Royal Fork

*Royal Fork is now closed*

Ah yes, the Royal Fork. You and I go back a long ways don't we? Way back in those elementary years, I would remember my parents taking me across the Peach Arch border crossing into Bellingham for some buffet action. You see, the good ol' American all-u-can-eat never really caught on in the GVRD. Sure, there was the Copper Kettle and Uncle Willy's; but that fad didn't last too long. Only one Uncle Willy's left! So we'd tack on a visit to the Royal Fork with shopping at K-Mart (yah, really, that long ago!) and the sort. Yup, that was pre-Bellis Fair and outlet shopping! Talking about ol' skool! I remember loading up on mashed potatoes, corn and fried chicken. Then upon returning to the table, get a lashing for picking up such stupid fillers... You see, the "Chinese" etiquette for dining at a buffet was ingrained into me at an early age. Well, the Royal Fork in Bellingham is long gone. Besides, Old Country is bigger and better (loose definition of "better"). So today, as we were in Burlington already, a quick jaunt over to the adjacent Mt. Vernon led us to... Royal Fork.

With both kids in tow, it is almost deja vu as I am now taking them to Royal Fork. Unfortunately, there is no way I can ingrain any "Chinese" buffet etiquette into my son since he will not eat anything. Yah, mac 'n cheese all the way. Wait, throw in some croutons and tater tots as well. Oh the shame... Price-wise, it is $10.99 for dinner and 80 cents per year for the kiddies. That doesn't include beverages. From the price alone, I'd hit up Old Country instead. Or better yet, drive 20 minutes south and dine in much more style at the Tulalip Casino buffet. However, that is not the point of this visit. The reason is pure nostalgia and the fact that the kiddies could be kiddies without anyone caring.

After we grabbed a seat, I took a look at the offerings. At the first hot food station, there was mac 'n cheese, corn, carrots, green beans, mixed veggies and tater tots. The green beans were so mushy, I've had better from a can. I've heard of candied yams before; but candied carrots? The boiling liquid had so much sugar in it, the carrots were sweeter than eating Starbursts. The mixed veggies were so pale that it would make Nicole Kidman jealous. Over at the adjacent hot food station were cinnamon buns, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fries, fried fish, sole and gravy. I gotta admit, the fried chicken was pretty good. Still tender and juicy with a nice crispy coating. I swear the mash potatoes had some weird aftertaste. You know, like the one you get from instant butter flavoured potatoes? I only hope this wasn't the case. Viv dared to have the fish and honestly, no buffet can do fish correctly anyways.

The last hot food station consisted of shrimp bow tie pasta, fried shrimp, fried oysters, Spanish rice, roast beef and ham. Surprisingly, the oysters were pretty good, as with the shrimp. The bow tie pasta was okay; but the shrimp were overcooked. Roast beef was tender; but the ham was saltier than a Bukkake Soba (sorry, I just had to slip that in there). As for the salads, they did the job; however, some items didn't look all that fresh, especially the fruit. The honeydew looked to have suffered refrigeration damage of some sort. Surprisingly, the dessert station was quite diverse. That doesn't mean it was necessarily good; but at least there was choice. Fresh waffles, build-your-own strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, apple crisp, chocolate cake, pistachio cake, cheesecake, sugar-free pudding and soft serve made for a good variety. The one thing I could say about the desserts would be "cafeteria-style". You can make what you want with that.

I know buffets are absolutely the last place you'd normally find great food and I get that. However, the Royal Fork is not very good. Plain and simple. Sure, it'll fill you up and it's great for families; but as Viv put it, "I wanted to eat to fill myself up; yet I really didn't feel like eating any of it". Old County is better if you really wanted to do a buffet. As for nostalgia, I think it's best that Royal Fork remain a memory.

The Good:
- If you wanted to stuff your face
- Good for families
- Well, it isn't exactly expensive I suppose

The Bad:
- Makes fast food look attractive
- Some items were very poorly made
- Some things didn't look that fresh

Legendary Noodle (Main Street)

*Restaurant is now closed*

For me, I call it the "trap". Trap? What trap you might ask... Let me explain. The trap I am referring to is the seemingly endless "featured" restaurants on the Food Network. You know, the ones that a celebrity host/chef visits and raves about. Funny how none of them visit any restaurants that suck. I'm sure you will never hear Rachel Ray replace her "yum-o" with "yuck-o". Or better yet, find Guy Fieri exclaiming "That's crummy!" over his catch-phrase of "That's money!" That's right, the celebrity endorsement (well, sorta) strikes again. Much like how Don Taylor boasted about his "no pain" visit to Dr. Pollock, we fall into the dreaded "trap". Hey, if they like it, I should too! How very wrong that can be... Although I knew about Legendary Noodle for awhile now, it wasn't until Bob Blumer's Glutton for Punishment that it became a must visit for me. Yes, I fell into the "trap". You see, they were one of the featured restaurants in the Xiao Long Bao Competition (which Lin ended up winning). So with unrealistic expectations, we headed over to the Main street location for dinner. I ended up dragging Costanza and Elaine with us as well.

Known for their hand-pulled noodles, Legendary is very much a hole-in-the-wall establishment. Another similar, albeit more well-known (not necessarily better) restaurant is Sha-Lin. Naturally, the first thing that Costanza wants to order is the Beef Brisket, Peppers & Gai Lan on Rice (in a noodle joint of all things). Yah, call it foreshadowing; but none of us were holding out any hope that it would be good. And man it was no good. Topped by a flavourless and greasy sauce, it was like eating rice with brown-coloured water. The few bits of meat were okay though. I originally wanted to get their award winning Lamb Shank Noodles; but other than myself, no one wanted lamb. So we opted for the Beef Noodles instead. I have to wholeheartedly admit that the noodles themselves were very good. A bit chewy, a bit starchy and just soft enough. However, the broth was bit too light, bordering on bland. The soup base lacked depth. I could barely taste much meat flavour. We also got the Shredded Pork & Pickled Vegetable Noodle Soup and due to the topping being stir-fried, this resulted in a much more flavourful product. Just like the beef noodle, we got the thin noodles and they were perfect.

Now for the biggest disappointment of the meal. The Xiao Long Bao. Yes, I know that this should not be their specialty since it is predominantly a noodle shop. However, they were featured in the XLB competition at the Richmond Night Market last year, one would think that it would be at the very least decent. Sadly and amazingly, they were one of the worst XLB we've had other than Cantonese Dim Sum and frozen. Yes, I am being harsh here; but there was absolutely no juice in the dumplings and the skin was relatively thick and gummy. Maybe my expectations were too high? I guess I should have taken a hint when they finished 4th out of the 5 competitors with Bob Blumer taking 5th. That probably explains Lin winning so handily. Look at the competition! Where was Shanghai River, Shanghai Wonderful or Wang's???

I guess the disappointment was slightly tempered by the decent Pan-Fried Dumplings. Albeit greasy, the dumplings were crisp while the pork filling was flavourful. Continuing on the grease theme, the Stir Fried Shredded Pork Noodles were so oily that I had issues picking them up with my chopsticks. In fact, once finished, there was a disturbingly large pool of oil on the plate. Despite that, the cut noodles had a nice chewy consistency bathed in dark soy. We also liked the plethora of crunchy veggies. Curiously, this large plate of noodles cost roughly the same as the small plate of rice.

Our last dish was the Green Onion Pancakes and honestly, they were more like fry bread than pancakes. They were crunchy and stiff with little in the way of green onion flavour. In fact, we could barely see much in the way of green at all. At the very least, they were not greasy. Wow. I never in a million years thought this meal would turn out the way it did. How can it be that so many people like this place? I'm not saying that it was terrible; but it definitely wasn't good either. Practically everything was greasy and had execution issues. I can't believe these XLB were in a competition to tell you the truth. That totally blows me away. To be fair, the noodles were not bad, so they are able to make something right. Excuse me while I figure a way to crawl outta this trap I seemed to have fallen into...

The Good:
- Fresh and well-prepared noodles
- Uh, you were expecting more good?

The Bad:
- Greasy food
- The Xiao Long Bao were in a competition? No way...
- Not as cheap as you think it might be

Montana's (Langley Bypass)

It was roughly a year ago that I last visited Montana's out at Coquitlam Centre. I find that with most people, it is a love or hate relationship in regards to the food. Why such a polarizing sentiment? I guess it is partially due to the menu itself. After all, it is not a vegetarian-friendly place. With a giant moose head hanging from the wall, this is probably a vegetarian's worst nightmare (other than Samba). In fact, if it's your birthday, you'll be presented with a moose antler helmet while they sing "Happy Birthday" to you. So for those who are not meat lovers, it is quite obvious that the food needs to be outstanding for them to even tolerate it. Much like how a vegetarian meal must absolutely blow me away in order to not elicit gag-like reflexes. So I totally get where people are coming from. To further complicate matters, being a chain restaurant, Montana's doesn't have that "originality" factor. To many, it's a ho-hum place that serves up generic food. Now by virtue of being a chain restaurant, you'd assume there would be consistency. Yes and no. Definitely the decor is consistent, as well as the service and attire. However, from my personal experience (having eaten at Montana's a good dozen times), the star of the show - the ribs - can be hit and miss. Sometimes, they can be super tender and very meaty. And at other times, they can be charred beyond recognition and stringy. For their sake, I really hope they can fix that because it annoys me. Furthermore, for those who don't admire meat on bones, it could be the last time they visit Montana's if that was the case.

Today, we had a fairly large group visiting the Langley Bypass location. We weren't really planning on such a carnivore adventure for lunch; but Olive Garden was packed. I still really can't figure out why that is either... Maybe it has something to do with it being the only location of Olive Garden in BC? Anyways, Montana's was empty and that suited us fine. I guess a full rack of ribs for lunch may or may not be that attractive compared to a plate of pasta with AYCE salad and breadsticks. Honestly, I'd rather go to East Side Mario's instead. They have soup and choice of salad. I digress.

We started with the Beef Nachos to share. Not a really exciting dish to talk about; but they were good. The chips were thin and crispy, lots of beef and fresh toppings. However, they were a bit stingy with the cheese. So for this visit, I decided to do something different as in the Beef Short Ribs. Now, unlike the short ribs you'd normally see at a Korean restaurant, these big bones are not cut across the bone into thin slices. Rather, they are cut lengthwise with all the meat intact along the long rib bone. Thus, the meat is able to retain quite a bit of moisture and flavour. These bones were massive. Think the Flintstones. I felt like a barbarian eating those ribs. I got 2 and I swear each of them had at least 12 ounces of meat on them. As mentioned, the meat was extremely tender and moist. There was a good smoky char on the outside and just enough BBQ sauce to provide the necessary flavour (in this case, I go the Apple Butter). Either I'm completely losing it or I'm a wimp. I could only finished one of them.

Juan Valdez went for the 12oz Sirloin Steak prepared medium-rare (more to the rare). As you can see, there are perfect grill marks on the outside and absolutely flawless execution on the inside. It was tender, juicy and full of flavour. He devoured it so quickly, I'm amazed I even got a chance to take a picture of the cross-section. On a side note, the veggies on both my order and his were still crunchy while cooked completely through. Pomegranate went for the classic - Pork Baby Back Ribs. This time around, the ribs were tender, not overly fatty and nicely charred on the outside. I wish the ribs would turn out like this every time. Unlike the ribs at places such as Memphis Blues and Ozark's, the ribs here are precooked prior to BBQing. Thus, they are usually quite moist. Sacrilegious if you were to serve this to true Southern folk, it works for me at least since I don't prefer dry ribs.

On the topic of sacrilegious, Hot Mama opted for the Apple Pecan Harvest Salad. I am beginning to think that she can give Miss Y a run for her money in terms of ordering the wrong items at restaurants that specialize in a particular type of food. With that being said, everything was fresh and there was no absence of flavour and texture. She enjoyed it and didn't even want to eat meat! Fortunately, to exorcise the demons that possessed her to order a salad, Double H went for the Great Canadian Burger. With bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce, it was a pretty decent burger. Nothing ground-breaking; but it does the job if someone wanted a burger here. The fries were forgettable though. It was your standard frozen fries. Something that I've never had here are the Sizzling Chicken Fajitas. Probably since I come here for the ribs, I don't pay attention to anything else... I didn't get a chance to sample it, but it looked alright. No better or worse than any other chain restaurant fajita I've seen in the past. And of course that sums up Montana's quite nicely. Nothing ground-breaking; but it does satisfy the meat-cravings. I personally like the place; yet there have been times the food has not come out the way I would've liked.

The Good:
- If you like meat...
- Good family-friendly place
- If you want precooked meats prior to BBQing, this is it

The Bad:
- Can get expensive (due to the high cost of the ingredients)
- Sometimes inconsistent with food execution
- If you want true Southern BBQ, this isn't it

Sushi Turn House

*Restaurant is closed*

Once again, Rich Guy has returned from the Philippines. That can only mean one thing - food! Oh, not only eating out; but also goodies that he brings back for me. He always good for some Cornnick and this time he brought back nukeable chicharrón. Score! Instant pork rinds, nothing can get better than that! Well, snacks can be good; yet what I was really looking forward to was more eating out. He and Rich Gal were in the mood for some Japanese food, so we picked spot somewhere in between. Thus, it led us to Sushi Turn House in Coquitlam. I've actually had their sushi a number of times and so far, its been pretty solid. Mind you, we've never actually set foot into the place itself since the times we have tried it were at family get-togethers where someone would buy the party trays. Not knowing what to expect, we were a bit taken aback as to how small the place was. Luckily for us, Rich Guy had arrived early and snapped up probably what was the best table.

Actually, we were a bit late because of the parking lot known as Clarke Street in Port Moody during rush hour. I think we essentially crawled bumper-to-bumper from Barnet Hwy to Lansdowne. Good thing Rich Guy ordered some stuff beforehand since he food arrived as we sat down. Presented on a bed of ice, the Salmon Sashimi was decent. It looked, smelled and tasted fresh (of course as fresh as flash frozen can be). I know this might sound picky, but the pieces were oddly cut into big thick chunks. We also got an order of Toro, which was presented on a bed of ice as well. If we compare it against the salmon, the toro was not as good. I wouldn't say it was not fresh; rather it was softer and slimier than I'm accustomed to. It was a little on the bland side as well.

He also got an order of the Fresh Oysters from the featured menu. Lightly dressed and served with lemon and Tobasco. These were more or less decent. Once again, it was served on a bowl of ice. Not a big deal really, since it keeps the items cold; but the presentation was a big haphazard (especially with the sashimi). On the topic of presentation, the Rainbow Roll was poorly made. With each piece, it was akin to picking up a plate of marbles. If we weren't steady with our chopsticks, the entire thing would became a sushi salad. With that being said, the roll is a fantastic value since it was large enough to be counted as 2 separate rolls. Consisting of what is essentially a California roll in the middle and with bands of hamachi, ebi, tai, salmon and tuna on the outside, it tasted better than it looked. Of note, I found the rice on the gummier side of the sushi rice continuum.

Now as we moved into the cooked foods, the meal started to turn sideways. We found the Gyozas to be quite average. A bit light in colour, these dumplings had quite the chewy exterior while the filling lacked flavour. As per usual, we got a Tempura Udon for the kiddies. The udon itself wasn't too bad being slightly chewy. On the other hand, the broth was no good. It was bland. The accompanying tempura was also a miss. The combination of too much batter and old oil didn't make it look appetizing. And predictably, it was both greasy and doughy. With the small order of Chicken Karaage, the use of old oil was even more evident with the resulting dark colour. Texturally, it was fine with a tender and juicy meat. A sprinkle of salt added some flavour.

For some reason or another, we added some Nigiri at the end of our meal. We really shouldn't have and pretended we did. The nigiri was very poorly made and no matter how I angled it, I couldn't get a nice picture. Taste-wise, it was alright; but the presentation was quite lacking. Actually, all of the food was pretty much rough around the edges. Nothing was particularly carefully made or outstanding. I realize that this is a small Chinese-run sushi joint and we shouldn't expect much. So really, with the large portions at reasonable prices, this is your typical good value, not necessarily great Japanese food joint.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Reasonable prices
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Food lacks refinement
- Food is mediocre
- Very tight seating

Cork & Fin

*Restuarant is closed*

Have you ever looked in the Entertainment Book and after perusing all the restaurants, you end up not ripping out a single coupon? Is it just me, or are most of the restaurants in the book just not all that appealing? And even if something does look interesting, one look a online reviews, it turns out to be a bust. After I hit all my usual favs in the book, it begins to collect dust. Furthermore, some places seem to think that their coupons are not applicable. Such was the case at Red Fort. Viv had gone to meet up with the girls and when they presented the coupons, the staff denied them! Yah, and how about the times you pull out the coupon and the staff give you dirty looks like you've just committed a crime? If you don't want people to use coupons, then don't offer any!!! Duh! So every 1st of November, I end up throwing a barely used book into the recycling bin. Then you can understand my excitement with discount programs such as Let's Go for Dinner and Groupon. Finally, there are actually some restaurants that I would like to visit and I can use it over and over again. As I was browsing through the Let's Go For Dinner site, I noticed a new seafood tapas place in Gastown. After a quick look at their web page, we decided to give Cork & Fin a go. Joining us tonight are Vandelay and Donna Chang, who have been MIA for quite a while. That's what happens when you have a kid...

Located across the street from The Irish Heather on Carrall Street, Cork & Fin is situated in what is fast becoming the hub of activity in Gastown. Places like Chill Winston, Terracotta, Six Acres, Judas Goat, Salt, Cobre, L'Abattoir and Alibi Room are all nearby. With outdoor seating and nearly outdoor seating along the front, we really couldn't have picked a better day to dine here. Fresh air, great lighting for my pictures and random yelling from the locals (it borders the Downtown Eastside), it was truly the Gastown experience. Since the menu is all about the small plates, we ordered a bunch of items to share. Well, the first item wasn't exactly small though. We went for their Large Seafood Tower. With a bevy of seafood laid out on 2 tiers (with the 3rd being mostly condiments), the darn thing looked impressive. We were treated to fresh prawns, clams, mussels, oysters and crab legs. I found that most of the items were perfectly cooked, especially the crab which was meaty and fluffy. The prawns were slightly more cooked than we would've liked. Lime and lemon wedges with house-made cocktail sauce, red wine vinaigrette and a cucumber sunomono rounded out the platter. For $55.00, I think the tower is a pretty good deal considering that Blue Water and Joe Fortes charge much more. It's true that the one here is smaller; but in terms of what you get for the price, it's well-priced.

While we were listening to our server explain the daily features, I heard Lobster Salad and that was enough, it was as good as ordered. And I'm glad we did since there was a good amount of lobster for the $12.00 we paid. The lobster had the slightly chewy texture we were looking for and the sweetness too. The pickled shimeji mushrooms were very potent; but combined with all the ingredients it worked. I only wished they eased up on the salt. Our Tuna Steak seemed more like thick pieces of tuna tataki than anything else. However, it was perfectly cooked and the accompanying tapenade was surprisingly subtle. This way, it didn't overwhelm the delicate tuna; rather it provided only a understated salt compliment.

Next up was the Crab Pappardelle with peas and crème fraîche. If there was ever an example of being over al dente, this would be it. It was very chewy; but you know what, I personally like it. I can see how some wouldn't. To get it this al dente, dried pasta would've been used. I have no problem with that since I prefer it. As for the dish itself, the sauce was very understated. That allowed the ample pieces of crab to be the star. And the natural salty sweetness is all the pasta needed. Staying with seafood (since this is their specialty, although I was tempted to order the lamb...), we got the Sablefish poached in milk and grainy mustard. Yet another delicately flavoured dish. With the natural sweetness of Napa cabbage and a slight tartness from the mustard, we could still taste the fish (which is good since sablefish is quite mild tasting).

We also got a couple of sides to round out our meal. The Crab Mashed Potatoes were pretty good in my books. I could really tell that there was a generous amount of butter in the potatoes (so darn creamy). Furthermore, lemon butter was drizzled all over it too. Heaven. You can't see it in the picture; but there was plenty of crab meat as well. I really liked this. Lastly, we got an order of the Pomme Frites with aioli. I'm sorry to say this was an epic fail. The fries were cut quite thick resulting in a soggy product. They were not crispy at all. Yet, this was probably the only major hiccup in an otherwise very pleasant meal. I liked how they didn't use seasoning to hide the natural flavours of the seafood. Moreover, I felt that the prices were quite reasonable for what we got (especially with the LGFD discount too!). Combined with good service, I can honestly say that I'm planning a return visit.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Generally well-executed seafood items
- Loved the ambiance (even with the random yelling from the streets)

The Bad:
- Limited menu
- Restaurant is quite small, best to keep your party small