Deacon's Corner

"What??? What are we going to do without you?" That was the sentiment from JuJu and RBC when I mentioned that I would miss Sunday morning hockey while we were at the Acme Cafe. I suggested that they could still go out to eat without me. "It won't be the same!" exclaimed JuJu. What? They enjoy having their food violated (with my action shots) and pictures taken while it gets cold? Apparently yes. Man! They are keepers! What more can you ask for in a dining companion? So imagine their elation that I was back for Sunday hockey and with another eating destination in mind. For some odd reason, after Acme (which is located on the Downtown Eastside), we were heading to Deacon's Corner, which is on the edge of Gastown and very near the Downtown Eastside. Heck, why not. Let's just go to all the places that are in the shadiest areas. As I remarked to RBC, gems are often found in the oddest of places.

Once we sat down, even before we cracked open the menus, I stated what I wanted. RBC was a bit taken aback. JuJu filled him in that I always check out the menu prior to visiting a place. Yes, I have a game plan and today it was to tackle the Carolina Pancake & Eggs. What we have here are 2 large buttermilk pancakes topped with a nice amount of house-made pulled pork. Slap on 3 eggs with harshbrowns and toast on the side, we have a large mound of food. Perfect! I'm always hungry after hockey! I must say that the pancakes were really fluffy and light. Strangely, it went well with the soft and adequately-sauced pulled pork. The sauce was understated with a sweet tang. Although the hashbrowns tasted quite good, they were dense and not crispy. As if I didn't have enough food already, I tacked on a side of Mac 'n Cheese. Not as cheesy as the one I had at Acme Cafe, the one here was much more wet. Instead of cheesy strands when I plucked the macaroni out, it was soupy. However, as I let it sit for awhile, it thickened up and was quite good. I liked how it wasn't too heavy (for a mac 'n cheese that is). It was mild tasting and probably needed a little more sharp cheese.

RBC went for the Farmer's Omelet. The thing was stuffed full of cheddar, ham, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns. I tried some of RBC's sausage (wait... that didn't come out right) and it was very flavourful (egads! that really didn't sound right, I'll stop now). He thought the omelet was tasty, one of the only ones he didn't have to use ketchup. Sausage was tasty, maybe a little on the salty side. The eggs were fluffy and well cooked through, the addition of hash inside the omelet was a surprise; but ingenious. It could have used more bacon, but then again what couldn't. He completed his meal with a beer, which for $3.50, was a good deal in his books. All round great value for an American-type diner, beer, omlettes and pie.

JuJu had the Corned Beef Hash & Eggs. For a hash, he was surprised at the lack of grease. He liked it and wished that the portion was larger. Possibly that he was missing the grease from the hash, he proceeded to ask for the menu and order Fries & Gravy! He really lived up to his nickname this time (JuJu was given to him by his wife, meaning little piggy in Chinese). Fresh cut, fried until crispy while being very potatoey, the fries were pretty darn good. The gravy was not salty at all and provided just enough moisture and flavour. RBC was not done with his beef and breakfast. He noticed the featured pie on the wall and got one of those too. The Cherry Blueberry Pie had a firm centre with not too much sugar and the crust wasn't soggy - it was light and flaky on top with good flavour, being heated and a la mode didn't hurt either. After that, we were finally finished and quite satisfied. Despite what others have said, we got great service with a side of humour. It's a neat little diner in an interesting location. For us, the food was solid. Nothing to make you run out and get some right away; but it is a good option if you're in the area.

The Good:
- Generally decent portions
- Solid diner food
- Great vibe

The Bad:
- Location is a bit iffy; but not too bad
- It's a dive; but adds to the charm

Bengali Fish & Curry

*Restaurant is now closed*

For some reason or another, there are restaurants hidden throughout the industrial parks of Surrey. Sometimes, if you didn't know the exact location of these places, you would've never guessed they existed. Calypso is a classic example of this. If it weren't for a reader who tipped me off about Bengali Fish & Curry, I would have never visited the place. In fact, our resident Indian food expert in Surrey, Nikita, never even heard of it. Thus, when I mentioned it to her, she was more than game to try it. From the outside, the place looked pretty good. Not the hole-in-the-wall as I expected.

Now, entering the place, our first reaction was, "where do we sit?". There is a counter with a kitchen behind it and just a few bar type seats near the window. However, after ordering, we were pointed in the direction of a fairly nice-looking dining space. It confused us slightly since it is the equivalent of ordering food at a cafeteria and then being seated in what looks like an actual restaurant. No matter really, I think this setup helps keep the costs down. And about the cost... The lunch specials are dirt cheap. For $7.00, you get a choice of curry that includes salad, rice, naan and raita. I ended up going for the Fish Curry while Nikita went for the classic butter chicken. With big chunks of tender fish (not really sure what type of fish it was), the curry had hints of tartness which resembled a vindaloo. I enjoyed dipping the soft naan into the mildly spicy curry.

Nikita's Butter Chicken was quite smooth and creamy. The sauce was quite balanced where it was neither too salty, sweet or tart (from the tomato). The only complaint about the butter chicken would be the lack of chicken. Well, we made up for the lack of meat with a half Tandoori Chicken. For $8.00, we thought this was a good value. There were big pieces of perfectly cooked chicken. The moist, tender flesh gave way to a spicy and flavourful exterior. This version was a bit spicier than normal; but I liked the extra kick personally. Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Bengali. The food is solid and when you factor in the low prices, it trumps many of the other Indian restaurants nearby. However, with that being said, albeit friendly, the service is quite sparse.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- For me, the food is solid

The Bad:
- Not much in the way of service
- Not really near anything I suppose

Sabai Thai

The prevailing belief is that food gets progressively worse as we move away from Downtown. That is especially true when it comes to fine dining. Yup, there are some gems in the burbs; but that is usually the exception. This thinking doesn't hold true for many ethnic cuisines including Thai. It is almost at random where you'd fine good Thai food. Now, good Thai food is all relative and subjective. You see, most Thai food found in the GVRD is made to satisfy the masses. However, this is what we get here and honestly, to compare with the originating country is irrelevant. Unless we can beam over to Thailand, we are stuck with the watered-down stuff.

My food adventures take me into the Guildford area of Surrey today. Yes I know, not somewhere you'd think to find good Thai food. However, I decided to give Sabai Thai a go. I arrived as it was supposed to open; but they were apparently not ready. I had to wait in my car for about 10 minutes. The food better be good. I don't like waiting for anything! Since I was there for lunch, I decided to get 2 of the lunch specials. No, I didn't finish both of them, I packed almost a whole meal to go. Mind you, I finished it as a "snack" 2 hours later... Hey, didn't they say eat every 2 hours or something like that??? Wait, I think they meant fruit or something. Whatever. So, each special includes a Spring Roll and it did what it is generally supposed to do.

I got the Pad Thai first and it was a pretty decent portion with rice noodles with tofu, prawns, eggs, green onions and preserved turnip topped with bean sprouts, julienned carrots and ground peanuts. This version was quite mild while still exhibiting a slight tang. Not exactly packed with tamarind flavour; yet not completely bland either. The noodles were definitely al dente and I really liked the abundance of preserved turnip. As for the Beef Red Curry, it had a bit more spice and aromatic coconut flavour. The beef was tender and the vegetables were alive (as opposed to being mush). I personally would've liked it to be more aggressively spiced; but I can understand them appealing to a wider audience. All-in-all, the food was decent and the service friendly. Not bad for Surrey and really not bad at all in general.

The Good:
- Food is above average
- Service is good
- Lunch specials are a decent value

The Bad:
- Could've been spicier (I guess that can be arranged)
- Dinner pricing is on the higher side

Eatwell Vietnam Noodle Soup

Last time while we were leaving Sushi Turn House, a restaurant caught my eye. Really, it wasn't anything special. Nothing more than your hole-in-the-wall noodle joint. However, the name, Eatwell, seemed very familiar. Ah yes, Jessica had blogged about this place before. If she hadn't, I would've overlooked this place easily. Honestly, this is not really a place anyone would drive far and wide to visit. Rather, it merely serves the locals. When we arrived, the owners were sending some customers off, much like you'd do with friends. If the place wasn't much to look at from the outside, the inside doesn't get much better. The place is functional, let's say that. We were greeted warmly by the staff and it was quite apparent that they do treat their customers very well. Every other customer that walked in seemed like a regular.

Now, the place advertises itself as a Vietnamese restaurant; however it is Chinese-run. Once again, it's not who runs the place that is important. The food always does the talking. The first thing that struck me was the extremely low prices. A small bowl of Pho is only $5.25 and a large is a buck more. They have some combos that give a choice of bubble tea or spring roll with a large bowl of Pho for $7.25 - $7.75. There is also a student special that runs under $5.00. That probably explained the steady stream of teens walking in for take-out. Regardless of the food, these are the type of places that hold a special place in my heart because it's an honest business run by good people. Yet, I still have to talk about the food!

For myself, I went for Combo B which gave me a choice of large Pho and a bubble tea. As per usual, I had the Special Pho, which comes with all the meats. When they say large, they mean it. Unlike some places that merely give you a larger bowl with the same amount of food (ahem... Pho Hoa), there were plenty of noodles and meat in my large. The noodles were slightly on the softer side while the meats were tender including the rare steak. The soup was flavourful while lacking depth. This is probably due to extra salt or MSG. For the price, I'm not really complaining though. I ended up passing the bubble tea to Viv and she thought it was average, not enough flavour. I added a Banh Mi for good measure. Um... I have to say that it was a fail. The bread itself was crunchy; yet everything else was not right. There was a lack of meat and other usual ingredients. Only pickled daikon and lettuce??? with no carrots, hot pepper, cilantro, pate or fish sauce. I think they replaced fish sauce with Maggi.

Viv ended up with the Grilled Chicken with rice and spring roll. The chicken was both flavourful and very tender & juicy. After the Banh Mi, we expected the wheat wrapper on the spring roll. Despite that, it was alright. Now, after reading this, you might think that I wouldn't return due to the unauthentic, generally average food at Eatwell. Actually, I would. For the prices they charge, I can see why there are so many regulars. Furthermore, I felt like we were visiting someones' house rather than a restaurant. Yes, they were that nice and friendly. When we left, they chatted with us and played with our kids. Lollipops were given out and that made the kiddies very happy. As you can see, even with some shortcomings, this is a type of place where you can overlook them.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Good portions
- Super-friendly owners

The Bad:
- Not really all that authentic
- Food is pretty average

Golden Fortune

*Restaurant is now closed*

Originally, I had promised Pomegranate some good Xiao Long Bao last week. He got the XLB cravings from watching the XLB episode of Bob Blumer's Glutton for Punishment. He really wanted to try Lin's XLB since it was featured in the show. Alas, I was a bastard and went to Lin that night instead. He was so disappointed that I promised to take him somewhere with good XLB. Once again, we ended up eating Japanese food instead at Victoria Sushi. Watching his expression was like ripping an ice cream cone out of a child's hand. Fine, this week, we were determined to get some XLB action. For some reason or another, we were led to believe that this little mom & pop joint called Golden Fortune on Joyce had some pretty good XLB. Imagine Pomegranate's reaction when we found out it was a vegetarian restaurant! Our quest for good XLB had led us to the land of meatless horror... Oh the pain, the agony! We considered leaving; but we decided to stay and take our poison.

Honestly, there a few vegetarian items that I truly do like. So, it wasn't all that bad. However, Pomegranate had never eaten Chinese vegetarian before. This was going to be interesting. Well, at the very least, there is no threat of him popping raw pork dumplings into his mouth like he did at Fu Lin! So we started with the Hot & Sour Soup. Naturally, it lacked depth since the soup base did not have any meat. However, it was not devoid of flavour as it was both quite spicy and tart. I liked the addition of enoki mushrooms since it provided some chewy texture. Next up was the "Shrimp" Rice Noodle Roll. The mock shrimp was actually not bad since it imitated the meatiness of shrimp quite well. Of course the flavour was not even close; yet it really doesn't matter in this case. The addition of celery added some crunch to an otherwise soft noodle roll.

The next dish was something that I absolutely love and can eat practically anytime (even snacking on it while watching TV!). In fact, I would drive all the way to Chinatown to pick up some Assorted Fried Gluten from Bodai on Hastings. Now you can get it easily from T&T. However, Pomegranate had no reference point for fried gluten. I tried explaining it was a textural item which is flavoured with curry, sweet & sour and sweet soya broth. It wasn't until it showed up that he could really understand the final product. He was only marginally okay with the gluten, while I enjoyed it thoroughly since it was just like all the other ones I've had. From that we head over to a dish that he chose - Fried Wontons with sweet & sour sauce. Yes, insert joke here. Anyways, the fried wonton skins were not as crisp as we would've liked. However the sweet & sour sauce was plenty flavourful with assorted veggies and some more fried gluten.

Our last dish was something that is quite standard on Chinese menus, even though it has a name that would mean otherwise. The Singapore Fried Noodles were a tad on the dry side; yet there was a good amount of curry flavour. The lack of BBQ pork hurt this dish; however, it was good for what it was. By virtue of not ever considering on converting to vegetarianism, I am a bit biased. Yet, the food was decent enough to eat, prices were good and the service friendly. Not particularly my cup of tea while I can see those who are vegetarians, enjoying the food here.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Friendly, homey service
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Food lacks depth (but that would be the lack of meat too, not necessarily their fault)

Victoria Sushi

There's a Japanese restaurant where? That's what Pomegranate exclaimed when I told him about Victoria Sushi which is located on Queens Ave near McBride. If you know the area well enough, there really isn't much at that address since it is essentially an overpass. When I used Google Maps and Street View to get the scoop on the place, it was an epic fail. What I got was an older apartment building on the West side of McBride. Problem being is that this was neither the right address or the location of Victoria Sushi. Some help Google Maps turned out to be! We ended up parking and searching for the place to no avail. Then I finally used another map and realized it was on the East side of McBride on Queens. When we made our way into the relatively new condo developments, it sure didn't seem like a Japanese restaurant would be found. Yet, lo and behold, there it was, on the ground floor of a high-rise condominium. Problem being is... where to park? There is practically no street parking around, although there is underground parking available. We didn't go for that because we were able to snag one of the precious few street spots.

As we entered the restaurant, I was surprised how small the place was. Again, we were lucky to snag the last table available. It definitely looks like a family-run operation with only one server (wife?). Despite being a small restaurant, she looks to be completely overworked when the place is packed. Being the greedy and foolish person that I am, I suggested to Pomegranate that we get the Dinner for 2. Nothing inherently wrong with that except it was lunch time. After the obligatory Miso Soup, we started off with the Tempura. Served hot and crispy, it was quite light
despite the appearance of too much batter. I guess the fact we ate it up right away helped.

Included in the dinner for 2 was the daily special which was the Korokke. I couldn't make out all of the ingredients; but what I could gather, it was made of pork, peppers and onions. We really liked the crispy panko crust; however, I felt that the filling was a bit on the dry side. It did taste pretty good with the natural sweetness from red peppers and onion. Next up was the assorted Sashimi which included 2 pieces each of wild salmon, tuna, hokkigai and halibut. Nothing much to say here other than it was good. Fish looked and smelled fresh. Texturally it was good too, the flesh exhibited a nice bounce. However, I cannot say many nice things about the Gyoza though. We found the skin to be much too doughy and hard. It was equivalent of eating cardboard.

Arriving on the same platter, we got a Dynamite Roll and 2 pieces each of salmon, tuna and ebi Nigiri. With the freshness of the ingredients already established, the rice was my next focus. Taking bites into the roll and nigiri, the rice did exhibit good "rebound", albeit on the drier side. There was some vinegar flavour; but only a little bit. So with decent rice and fresh ingredients, both items worked out well. I liked that the ebi tempura in the dynamite roll still retained some crispiness. If that wasn't enough food already, there was more. The Tuna Tataki arrived on a long plate and it looked quite appetizing. With a perfectly uniform sear on the outside swimming in a vinaigrette (not ponzu), this was pretty decent. Finally, we got to our very last dish which was the Chicken Teriyaki. Served on a cast iron plate (which was not really sizzling, thus negating its purpose), this was a pretty large portion. We felt that this was a miss. First, the chicken was overcooked resulting in a dry product. Second, I wasn't all that fond of the red and green peppers in the teriyaki sauce. It completely changed the flavour profile and overwhelmed the other components. Not that we needed any; but it would've went well with some steamed rice.

Curiously, we got one more item after this even though we were certain that our meal was over. It was quite apparent that they forgot to give us our Sunomono Salad at the start of the meal. Therefore, we unexpectedly got it the very end. We're not that picky in that respect, so it didn't really bother us; however, an explanation would've help. It was just plopped on our table hurriedly. However, that was the only hiccup regarding the service. Besides, one person can only handle so much without making an error. She did the best she could with a good attitude. In terms of the food, it was mostly good mixed in with some not-so-good. But given the pricing, portion-size and general quality of the food, Victoria Sushi is a decent choice out in New West.

The Good:
- Decent value considering the quality of the ingredients
- Friendly owners
- Mostly good food

The Bad:
- Not enough staff
- Some items are not prepared authentically

Paul Croteau Confections Chocolate Tasting

It's pretty obvious that I love to eat. After all, this blog is about eating and lots of it. One thing you might've noticed is the very small amount that I allocate to sweets. Hey, don't get me wrong, I like sweets, I just don't love them. That would be reserved for people like Mijune. So, when I was invited to the Paul Croteau Confections tasting, it didn't elicit an immediate response. I mulled around the idea for a time. In the end, I was curious enough to accept the invitation. The venue for this tasting was Refuel. Why this location? Paul Croteau happens to be the dessert chef at Refuel and Campagnolo. His resume is impressive, having worked at Lumiere, Boneta and currently with Refuel. It happened to be a rainy Thursday morning in Vancouver. What better to have sweets for breakfast?

Traffic was light and I arrived much too early for the tasting, so I drove around doing re-shoots of restaurant fronts. Yes, I'm pretty OCD about that. Walking through the doors into Refuel, Paul was carefully plating his sweet creations. They sure looked good! After a short wait, we were escorted to a long table with little bites waiting to be tasted. Starting from left to right, we started with the Passionfruit Jelly. There was an intense flavour with strong essence. It was very sweet, slightly tart and tasted exactly like passionfruit. The Raspberry Jelly had a deep flavour with several layers of taste finishing off with nice aromatics. Both jellies were soft. Next was the Nougatine with hazelnut, pistachios, almonds and cocoa nibs. At first bite, there was a definitive pistachio hit with a hazelnut finish. It was not too sweet and had a nice crunchy contrast to the chewy nougat. Lots of roasted nut flavour with crunchy bits.

Moving along, we made it to the Almond Square. Consisting of roasted almond slices, candied grapefruit with honey caramel, this was very buttery and sweet. This was partially balanced by the candied grapefruit. Waiting to be unwrapped, the Salted Caramel was very buttery. Naturally, it was also very sweet which was further intensified by the salt. It was very smooth and had a nice aftertaste. The last item on the plate was a pile of Hazelnut Grignotine. This was hands-down the best item in my opinion. These consisted of roasted
hazelnuts coated in dark chocolate and cocoa. From the first bite, my taste buds were greeted with intense roasted hazelnut and dark chocolate. Nutty, crunchy and only semi-sweet, these are addictive.

If that wasn't enough, we moved onto the Macarons. We had 3 to try, starting from the left, was the Pistachio filled with a white chocolate and pistachio paste. There was a sugary, understated nutty, pistachio flavour. In the middle lay the Salted Caramel consisting of a butter caramel with sea salt. It was very buttery with an intense caramel taste. A little too sweet for me; but then again, that's just me. Last up was the best of the Macarons - Valrhona Chocolate Ganache. Consisting of chocolate liquor on the outside and 100% chocolate on the inside, there was a rich, bittersweet chocolate hit. I liked how this was least sweet of the 3. Thanks to Vandelay, I've had Pierre Hermes Macarons before and of course it would be unfair to compare them with Paul Croteau (since Pierre Hermes is in Paris). But my point is that although Paul Croteau is nowhere near Pierre Hermes, the Macarons are still good (especially for Vancouver).

Pretty good. That's the bottom line here. Despite not being a dessert lover, I do know what I like and do not like. In this case, I generally liked all of it and not because it was free either. Paul Croteau is passionate about his work which in turn is translated into his products. Although he is just opening up shop with his new location above Campagnolo, Paul Croteau has already established himself as a someone to keep an eye on.

The Good:
- No lack of flavour
- Fairly reasonable pricing
- Paul Croteau is passionate and it shows in his creations

The Bad:
- Some items maybe a bit too sweet
- Macarons should be packaged in a box, so they won't be crushed