La Belle Auberge

*Restaurant is now closed*

When it comes to fine dining in the Lower Mainland, Ladner would not probably come to mind. In fact, there is not a whole lot of dining options in Ladner in general. However, the top-rated Zagat restaurant in the GVRD happens to be located here. Really now... I'm not pulling your leg. Leg... Mmm... Roasted... Oh, I digress. Only a short walk from the quaint Ladner Village, La Belle Auberge has been serving fine French food for the last 30 years. This place has been on my culinary radar for quite some time. You see, Bubbly and Chill have been here quite a few times. They have been raving about the place and really wanted us to try it. So much so, that they decided to crash our birthday dinner for the second straight year (it was Cru last time)! When I remarked to Costanza and Elaine that we try the Table d'Hote menu at La Belle Auberge, it elicited 2 responses - Where is this place? And $95.00 per person??? Yah, I had to do a bit of salesmanship to build-up a bit of excitement. In fact, I arranged that we watch the new Harry Potter movie at Riverport prior to dinner so we were in the general vicinity. I am indeed quite sinister and persuasive when it comes to dining destinations.

Located in a primarily residential area, La Belle Auberge is an actual house converted into a restaurant. We were warmly greeted by the Maître d’, Elmond and seated at a nice round table. I love round tables because you can actually have a conversation with everyone as opposed to a long rectangular table. The proprietor, Bruno offered up personalized service throughout the evening. We really didn't need to look at the menu, we were solely here for the Table d'Hote. Hey, we were going for the best thing here! We started with an Amuse Bouche consisting of Gemini Tomato, Terrine of Goat Cheese, Smoked Salmon Roulade, Roast Pheasant Leg and Prawn Terrine with Saffron Mayo. I really enjoyed the prawn, it had a nice snap and crunch from the beans. The mayo spoke up; but did not overshadow the sweet prawn. The pheasant was tender and had a deep roasted flavour while the roulade was buttery smooth with a nice pop from the tobiko. The goat cheese terrine reminded us of a fluffy cheesecake, especially with the berry topping. Finally the tomato was a refreshing end (not sure if that was supposed to be eaten last; but it worked out for me). Early on, it was apparent they take their service very seriously here as the Chef de Cuisine, Tobias MacDonald, personally served a few courses at each table.

Our first course consisted of the House Smoked Sockeye Salmon atop a phyllo cracker and topped with a pea sprout salad, beets, capers and a grainy mustard dressing. Costanza astutely noticed the fennel in the sprout salad even though it was very mild. The combination of the fennel, salty capers and sweet mustard dressing complimented the buttery smoked salmon. The phyllo cracker acted as a textural contrast; but was a bit clumsy to eat. Second course was the Seared Foie Gras with apple tart tartine, snap peas, fennel and port wine sauce. Normally, foie is akin to eating a stick of butter since it is predominantly fat. However, the nice seared gave an almost smoky crust which provided some texture and caramelization to the otherwise melt-in-your-mouth foie. Of course pairing it with apple is a classic choice and predictably provided plenty of sweetness and a touch of tartness. In some ways it was probably a bit too sweet; but not in a bad way. The snap peas added another layer of textural crunch while the fennel attempted to provide some balance to the very sweet apples.

Up next was the Rabbit and Chantrelle Fricassee in a vol-au-vent served with spinach and tomato confit. First off, the rabbit white meat was super tender. It went well with the sauce and the salty spinach. I'm assuming the wilted spinach was extra salty to make up for the mild rabbit. The dark meat filled up the vol-au-vent. I wasn't able to detect much chantrelle if at all. Not a big deal since chantrelles aren't naturally bursting with flavour. With the close of our "appetizers", we were served Fresh Fruit Sorbet with sour apple explosion as a palate cleanser. The star of this duo was no question the white chocolate ball with a hidden surprise when eaten. A burst of sour apple syrup not only cleanse the palate, it was a taste experience in itself. The sorbet was only semi-sweet and completely refreshing.

For our mains, there was a choice of 3 items. I went for the AAA Beef Tenderloin with foie gras en torchon and burgundy jus. I asked for my tenderloin to be prepared medium-rare closer to the rare and it turned out to be medium. Strangely, Bubbly had hers prepared perfectly medium rare. Wonder if they gave us the wrong orders? Whatever the case, the meat was predictably tender and moist. The burgundy jus and foie gras provided the flavour necessary for beef tenderloin since it is not inherently flavourful. Served with every dish was a potato pave, aspargus, green beans, tomato, beets, red cabbage and squash. The bevy of veggies were prepared flawlessly with maybe the exception of the green beans which were slightly limp. Elaine ended up with the Seared Qualicum Scallops with veloute cream. I only tried a small piece; yet that was enough to illustrate the skill of the chef. The scallops were seared perfectly, just barely cooked. The veloute sauce was creamy with tarragon I believe. I only tried a small piece so I'm not completely sure.

Arguably the best dish of the night was the Wenzel Farms Duck Breast with blueberry sauce. At first, I thought the duck was sous-vide first before searing because it was so tender and moist. Tobias confirmed that it was only roasted. That in itself exemplifies the quality of the duck as well as the skill of the chef. The blueberry sauce was understated (since blueberries are not exactly overwhelming). That worked in this case because we could taste the duck. Perfectly executed dish. After our entrees, we got a Cheese plate consisting of a piece of what we figured as Gouda and Edam with candied walnut, grape and green apple salad. The candied walnut went really well with the cheese. Mercifully for Constanza (who was about to take off his belt), we finally reached the last course which was a choice of dessert. Inexplicably, he went for the most decadent of them all - Chocolate, Hazelnut & Passionfruit Mousse Cake. The Maître d’ warned him that it was the richest dessert on the menu and indeed it was. However, the beautifully presented passionfruit helped temper the rich chocolate.

Elaine decided on the Vanilla Crème Brûlée. I would've preferred a more burnt sugar topping; however, the custard was smooth and had a nice consistency. It was sweet; but not overly. It could've used a touch more vanilla. For myself, I had the Caramelized Plums, Chocolate Mousse & Ice Cream. Costanza kept warning me that it would purge my stomach; but I didn't mind a cleanse after this meal! Anyways, the plums were pretty good. Soft, sweet and tart, it was a nice compliment to the semi-sweet chocolate mousse. The ice cream was very nice, as it wasn't too sweet and acted as the bridge from the plums to the mousse. Just like they intended? Finally, Viv's dessert was the most visually striking. She had the Tiramisu Chocolate Tear Drop. Viv thought it was very creamy while being light tasting. Not too sweet and not exhibiting much in the way of any liquor or coffee flavour. The passionfruit and strawberry coulis added some vibrant colour to the dish. As if we needed anymore food, we received a plate of Mignardises which happened to be a melt-in-your mouth chocolate on a crispy wafer topped with sea salt. It reminded us of a Ferrero Rocher without the hazelnuts. The sea salt intensified the flavours at the end and left a strong; yet pleasant aftertaste.

What a culinary experience! Sure, it was $95.00 per person before wine, tip and tax; but for me, it was well worth it. Almost everything was perfectly executed and carefully prepared. Of course it wasn't perfect. Nothing ever is. It amazes me that La Belle Auberge is hidden out in Ladner of all places. Actually, it adds to the charm really. Despite its inaccessible location (for most who don't live nearby), it was a busy night with practically a full-house. Well, I can see why. Outstanding food, honest service, quaint dining space and people who really care about their craft can only have one outcome - a dining experience worth paying and driving out for.

The Good:
- Superior execution
- Impeccable service
- The food speaks for itself

The Bad:
- Out-of-the way location for many
- Expensive (yet in line with most fine dining establishments)

Yami Yaki

Last time, while I was regrettably picking up "Chinese" food from Hang Lee at Scottsdale Mall food court, I noticed Yami Yaki nearby. Now, when I say food court, I really mean Hang Lee and Yami Yaki only. You see, there used to be more food stalls here including McD's; but the place just ain't too popular and places to eat has dwindled down to 2. This time, I aim to complete the Scottsdale Mall food court experience by getting some takeout from Yami Yaki. Since there are only 2 places to eat here, I guess Yami Yaki tries to be more than merely Sushi and Tempura. Rather, it's got this Koya/U-Grill thing going on where you can pick your ingredients and they'll cook it to order. I stuck with the Japanese food this time with a combo; but they ended up cooking my Yakisoba fresh on the flattop.

As for that Yakisoba, by virtue of being prepared fresh, it was pretty good. The noodles were slightly chewy, chicken was tender and veggies crisp. Maybe a touch too much sauce though. I realize that I shouldn't expect much out of the food here; but the Tempura was awful. There was an obscene amount of gummy gooey tempura batter on each veggie. It acted like an impenetrable barrier between me and my veggies. Believe me, there is already many obstacles that stand in my way of vegetable consumption. Mind you, fried veggies don't really count when considering a healthy meal. Last item in the combo was the obligatory California Roll. Yah I know, nothing really all that exciting; yet it is user-friendly and safe. When you are 1 of 2 food stalls in a mall, it's best to not put something strange into the food. As expected, the roll was pretty darn average. The rice was bland and a bit too soft. The roll was not made with care and slightly stingy on the filling.

Okay, despite my rumblings about how the food isn't that great, Yami Yaki remains a viable option for those in need of quick eats. Sure, the food ain't great; but it's made fresh and doesn't cost very much. The proprietors are friendly and honest people, who try their best to put out a decent product. With very little to compete against, in the mall at least, they will have their customers.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Food is made to order
- Nice staff

The Bad:
- Food is so-so, but the freshly cooked noodles were good
- It's fast food; but prepare to wait a bit since they make it to order (which is good)

Ben Laila Donair

*This restaurant is now closed*

The Donair. A relatively easy food to find in Vancouver. Sometimes, it is the only late night option in Downtown. However, other than Surrey, you won't find too many of these joints in the burbs. Imagine my utter confusion when a new donair spot opened up in Port Moody. Get this, it wasn't even in the heart of the action. In fact, it is at the top of Clarke Road hill where there are very few businesses. The only other place that even catches anyone attention is KY Market. Insert joke here. Anyways, the reason I know about Ben Laila Donair is because I drive by it daily. Where Pomegranate is busy looking at women, I'm in search of new restaurants. Imagine the humour of the moment when I snapped my head towards the right when I was driving. He thought there were some pretty females around. No, no females. A restaurant! Ah yes, I had spotted a new restaurant! Check it out!

So weeks passed. Eventually even months passed and I would drive past Ben Laila. Finally, we decided to stop and try it out. Initially, I had a hard time deciding what to have. Beef? Chicken? Lamb? The friendly owner decided to offer some samples of each. They were all pretty good. I eventually went for the Chicken Platter with rice, salad, hummus, tahini and tzatziki. The chicken was tender, although it could've used a bit more flavour such as the one at Al Basha. I really liked the accompanying salads. They included Red Cabbage, White Cabbage, Hot Carrot, Tabbouleh and Arabic Salad. All were very vibrant and fresh. Pomegranate got the Lamb Donair with extra meat. As you can see, there was a lot of filling. From what I sampled, the lamb was moist and flavouful. The donair itself could've used a bit more condiments to up the flavour intensity.

Lastly, we got some Falafels to try. I'm not a huge fan of falafels (probably since I'm a big meat-eater); but these were fantastic. At first, they didn't appear fluffy. However, one bite past the crispy exterior, it was fluffy and flavourful. I could sit down and eat these with a cool one. That was a nice end to a pleasant meal. We were surprised to find such a place out here, especially since it was pretty good too. I'm still a bit impartial to Al Basha; yet for something that is a bit closer for me, Ben Laila does the job.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Solid eats
- Super friendly owner

The Bad:
- Possibly more impact from the sauces would kick up the flavour quotient

Tropika (Cambie)

Now this is a classic food adventure. You see, Tropika was one of our usual hangouts during University. Whenever we met up for a "just because" dinner, we'd hit this place up. In addition to Banana Leaf, we got our fill of Malay food quite often. Hey it was a great departure from the other usual joints such as Milestones and Cactus Club. Okay, before the authenticity police sends out a warrant, I fully realize that Tropika is Chinese-owned. But once again, let's have the food speak for itself first. This time around, it was for Guy Smiley's birthday. Since it was 2 days before our Entertainment coupons were set to expire, that was another reason. We never actually end up saving any money when we use our Entertainment coupons anyways. I always end up ordering 2 extra dishes to make up for the coupons. Thus, we just get more food as a result. Besides, I felt a bit sheepish treating someone and using coupons... So, we decided on heading over to the original location out on Cambie and 14th since it was closer for the both of us. And it wasn't anything against Richmond this time. I swear!

It's funny how things often seem like they're in a time warp. As if it were still in the 90's, the decor and menu items at Tropika seem exactly the same. It's like Viv and I were meeting up with friends on a regular weekend night. Wait, our two kids in tow immediately reminded us that was awhile ago. Instead of 2 free hands, I had a portable booster seat in one and cooler bag in the other. Don't I look cool? Right... So after we sat down, we got down to ordering. While we were doing so, our server was hinting that we were ordering way too much food. That was the intention! We started with the 2 most popular appetizers - Roti Canai and Satay Skewers. The roti here is very similar to the ones at Banana Leaf. Slightly chewy and relatively loose, these were not oily at all and had a nice crisp exterior. The accompanying curry dip is of the sweeter variety much like Banana Leaf once again. We actually prefer this type more than the actual predominantly curry dip found at other places, such as Bo Laksa's. We got one each of the pork, chicken and beef satay skewers and they did what they were supposed to. Tender enough, with lightly sweet curry seasoning and nice charring.

Since it was Guy Smiley's birthday, I insisted he pick a dish despite his indifference. Thus, he chose the Sambal Clams being his favourite. With only a few unopened mollusks, this was a solid dish. The juicy clam meat was accented by a mildly spicy and savoury sauce. Despite not being a Malaysian specialty, we always seem to get the Hainanese Chicken anyways. In that sense, it is expected to be nothing like the Singaporean version. Rather, it is of the free-range chicken variety that is not de-boned. No matter, I like both, each with their own qualities. The one here was prepared well with a nice layer of gelatin underneath the "springy" skin. The meat was moist including the white meat. A better than average attempt.

Finally, a classic Malay dish, the Rendang Lembu or Beef Rendang. In terms of overall depth of flavour, I liked the one at Tamarind Hill more; but this one was not bad either. The beef was not too fatty, although there were a number of drier pieces. The sauce had hints of coconut; but was mostly dominated by the chili spices. It wasn't hot by any stretch of the imagination; however, it was very evident. Our next dish was one of the specials on the menu board. The Oxtail Stew seemed interesting, so we decided to give it a go. We liked the tender oxtail meat which still retained a good amount of meat texture. However, we were not that impressed with the stewing liquid. It was very sweet with little other apparent flavours. We could see it was tomato-based; yet failed to get any impact. A one-note dish.

From one-note to very flavourful were the Sambal Bunchies. We get this every time at any Malay restaurant since it's Viv's favourite. Comparatively, this version was generally not lacking in the flavour department. So much so, maybe a bit too much. Sure, green beans need to be seasoned aggressively since the flavour doesn't really "stick". However, it ended up being quite sweet with big hits of belacan and dried shrimp. The beans were slightly on the overcooked (or should I say overfried) side. Went well with rice though. Alright, the next dish is something that I personally like even though it was never all that popular with my friends when I always ordered it. The Tropika Homestyle Chicken is essentially fried chicken with a spice rub consisting of coriander, cinnamon, cumin and anise. It is very obvious that there is anise since the licorice flavour really comes out. But the one issue that I can see about this chicken is that once again, it is predominantly sweet. It almost drowns out the other spices. With that being said, the chicken remains tender.

Our last dish was mainly for the kiddies and in no way would I order this for myself. The Char Hor Fun consists of fried flat rice noodles with enough sauce to drown in. This dish is bland and devoid of any texture. Not Tropika's fault in that respect because it has been like this everywhere I've ordered it. With that in mind, the rice noodles were horribly overcooked here, disintegrating on contact. Alright, I gotta admit the food in general is only okay. But for some odd reason, I don't mind it. I really can't explain it. Could it be habit or even nostalgia? Not sure. I do know that it is predictable and reasonably-priced for the portion size. In a way, it's "safe" Malaysian food. You can see that in the clientele. Whatever the case, you could do better at other places; but Tropika does the job if expectations are not high.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Portions aren't bad
- User-friendly food

The Bad:
- Lacking a bit in the flavour balance department
- Not Malaysian-run if that matters to you

Burgers Etc...

I had first visited Burgers Etc. over a year and a half ago. Back then, I had stated that I would love to return to try their BBQ meats since Viv and I only tried the burger and brisket sandwich. Funny how it took us so long to pay them another visit! Looks like other food got in the way first... Well, we really didn't plan on a return visit actually. However, after a full day of my daughter's birthday, we were not wanting to cook or take care of the kiddies anymore. Lucky for us, the grandparents took 'em and we could go out for a bite. Since Rich Guy was at the party already, he had initiated the idea of eating out. Originally, I was thinking of Indian food; but Viv wanted BBQ instead.

Burgers Etc. is a really small joint that slightly resembles any Memphis Blues location. In fact, it serves up many of the same items including sharing platters. Yet, their one claim to fame are there burgers which were voted as the best by CTV News viewers. With that in mind, Rich Guy was determined to give their "Best" Burger a go. As described, it consists of a 6 oz ground chuck steak cooked medium well with the usual condiments. It comes with a choice of corn niblets, potato salad, coleslaw or baked beans. From past experience, stay away from the niblets, it's just boiled generic corn. Much like last time, the burger was pretty good. The homemade patty was moist and had good beef flavour. All the ingredients were fresh, not much to complain about. Is it the best? It's up there; but there is better.

Burger, been there, done that. We were here to try the Etc. Platter which is comprised of Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Ribs, Spicy Italian Sausage and Spicy Chicken Wings with a choice of 3 sides. We decided on the Potato Salad, Fries and Baked Beans. The best part of the platter is the pulled pork. It's actually quite moist while still retaining a slight chew. The BBQ sauce is more tangy tomatoey rather than smokey. Unlike Memphis Blues, the brisket here is not fall-apart tender. Rather, it very much resembles the brisket you'd get in Vietnamese Pho, except chewier. I personally prefer the one from Memphis (dry, burnt parts withstanding) over the one here. To me, the spicy sausage was fantastic. Meaty and easy on the fat, the sausage was moderately spicy with great meat flavour. The ribs are very similar to the ones at Memphis. Slightly dry with most of the moisture provided by the sauce, these are moist, just not juicy. As for the BBQ chicken, we got 2 portions of white meat. For me, that means dry and chewy. Yup, that's how it turned out. I fully expected it to be so though. The spicy chicken wings were not really that spicy (but we have a high tolerance for that). They were your typical BBQ wings.

Previously, I thought the fries here were not very crispy and generic. Well, they are still generic; however, they were very crispy this time. We liked the texture of the potato salad, too bad it was bland. The baked beans also had good texture as each kidney bean retained its shape. Mostly sweet and lacking depth, the baked beans were not that impressive. As for the coleslaw, that was a real winner with thinly shredded cabbage in a light tart mayo dressing. Much like last time, I'm not sure if the burger is the best in town; but it is indeed solid. As for the BBQ items, I have mixed feelings. Some were good, some were not. But definitely a good value in terms of portion size. Bottom line is - I would come back.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Solid burgers
- Decent portion size

The Bad:
- Some sides need work
- Some of the BBQ items are pretty average

Guu with Otokomae

I love the Canucks. Yes, even though they have given me my fair share of disappointments over the years, my support for them is unwavering. I do go to the occasional game here and there; but due to my busy schedule (and the freakin' expensive ticket prices), I haven't been to many games lately. Hey, the stadium was still GM Place the last time I watched a game. In fact, it was courtesy of Rich Guy. He had invited me to watch a game in his brother's private suite. Now you can see why his brother has the nickname of Richer Guy! Last week, Rich Guy had invited me again to a game; but I was unable to go. Fortunately for me, he asked me to go again and I jumped at the chance. Apparently, Costanza and Toolman jumped at the chance too. Ah, nothing like watching a Canucks game from a suite. The private washroom is worth it alone! However, who really orders stuff from the menu? $80.00 for a prime rib sandwich??? Uh, no thank you very much. I can get a whole prime rib at that price. Consequently, we left our eating until after the game.

Since we were in Downtown, we headed over to Guu with Otokamae in Gastown. Wait, aren't there closer locations to Rogers Arena? Yup, but I've been to every Guu in the GVRD except the one in Gastown. Now it is complete... Since we didn't have an actual dinner, we were quite hungry. So we ended up ordering 15 dishes. Our server was giving us the funny face when I got to about the 11th dish while ordering. I guess he assumed we were here for a snack. Well, Izakayas are not technically meant for dinner since it is supposed to be an after work drinking establishment with some small bites.

We started with the Sashimi Salad and it looked big due to the large amount of spring mix and daikon underneath the fresh slices of salmon, tai and scallop. The garlic dressing with wasabi mayo added nice flavour to all of the components without being overwhelming - a nice start to the meal. From healthy to no-so-healthy were the Japanese Yam Fries with honey mayo. Unlike the common yam fries we are accustomed to, these ones were appreciably thicker and less crunchy. The outside was still somewhat crispy while the inside was noticeably smooth yam. Thus, there was a nice textural contrast within each fry. The honey mayo was nice; but personally, I would've like to see a dip with some zing (with some balsamic or acid). Rich Guy loves Beef Tataki, so it was natural we order it. In fact, he merely looked at me and I already knew. It's like ESP or something. Maybe he's just predictable, much like his aversion to cheap food... This was a textbook version of the dish with lightly seared beef served in thin slices topped with ponzu, garlic chips and green onion. I like this combination of flavours the best, unlike some other less authentic Izakayas that employ a vinaigrette of some sort. The only negative in this case was the slightly chewy beef.

When I spotted Eel & Egg on the fresh sheet, I thought we should give it a shot. It's basically a breaded piece of eel topped with a half-boiled egg and teriyaki sauce. Texturally, this worked because the soft egg was a nice contrast to the crunchy eel cutlet. However, I personally wasn't all that convinced of the flavour. Let me rephrase that, the lack of flavour. Since the eel was fried, it got lost in the breading. The egg had no inherent flavour of its own and the modest amount of teriyaki sauce didn't have much impact. Meh. Okay, call us crazy; but we decided to give the Crab & Shrimp Dumplings a try. I know, this is an Izakaya, not a Dim Sum joint. However, it just seemed so interesting to us, especially since they were steamed in a bamboo steamer exactly how it would be at Chinese Dim Sum. They weren't bad per se; but there were some issues. First, the dumpling wrapper was too thick, resulting in a gummy product. Furthermore, I didn't taste or see much crab. Sure, there was plenty of shrimp and good shrimp at that (crunchy and sweet, slightly overcooked), just not much in the way of crab. Well, crab is pretty delicate anyways and it can get lost if it is overwhelmed by other components. I think the thick dumpling wrapper aided in that respect.

Another dish selected by Rich Guy was the Saba with Garlic Herb. It turned out to be a pretty large fillet of grilled mackerel with garlic chips, dill, soy and olive oil atop a bed of peppers and onion. Naturally, mackerel will never turn out to be buttery soft such as black cod; however, it was prepared nicely since it was still quite moist. I'm not a huge fan of mackerel; yet this was not bad. Despite the large amount of aromatics and flavouring agents on the cast iron plate, I found the fish to be surprisingly bland. On the topic of bland, it was quite disappointing to find that the Grilled Beef Short Ribs to be lacking in flavour. Maybe because it was only seasoned with salt and pepper? On the menu, it states that it's very tasty with the green onion oil. No one at our table thought it was very tasty. Furthermore, the short ribs were cold and very chewy. We've definitely had better elsewhere.

Not to worry, the meal got back on track in a hurry with the Duck Breast which is braised in red wine and soy topped with a blueberry and mango sauce. It's amazing how a place like Guu can outdo many finer establishments in terms of preparing a duck breast. As they say, we eat with our eyes and if the presentation is any indication, the dish was excellent. Perfectly cooked and uniform looking, the meat was moist and tender. The accompanying sauce was neither too sweet or too savoury - it let the duck have its day. Costanza really wanted Ebi Mayo. It's his favourite dish. He likes it so much, he wanted to order two. Our server looked at him weird and this was on top of him already wondering why we were ordering so much. We only ended up with one in the end. Although we liked this version of Ebi Mayo, it certainly pales in comparison to the one at Hapa. The liberal use of tempura batter added too much to the shrimp and thus partially obstructed the natural texture of the shrimp. The chili mayo had a nice kick though which is always welcomed.

Another fish dish, guess who ordered it? Yes, Rich Guy. He and his rich tastes... This time it was the Maguro Tataki. As you can see in the picture, very nice tuna, lightly seared topped with a light ponzu dressing, garlic chips and green onion. The natural sweetness of the tuna really shone in this dish and the little amount of ponzu provided a slight acidity and saltiness as an accent. Next up was the Spicy Ika Garlic. Beautifully presented as a town of fried squid, this was one of my favourites of the entire meal. Although the squid had lost much of its crispiness due to being tossed in a spicy tomato sauce, the moisture-soaked batter made for an interesting texture. A little chewy while still easy to eat, the squid was very flavourful and spicy (not too much so). I could've had a few orders of this with a few beers. Alas, I didn't, even though I wasn't driving. That new .05 limit keeps me on my toes!

When dining at an Izakaya, it is often prudent to get some "filler" dishes just to ensure satisfaction. We never did order a rice or noodle dish; but we did get the Okonomi-Yaki. It's often called a Japanese pizza or pancake. Whatever the name, it usually consists of flour, cabbage and some sort of seafood and/or meat (squid in this case). The whole thing is pan-fried and topped with wasabi mayo, tonkatsu sauce, bonito flakes and nori. The one we had here was very soft, almost falling apart when we picked it up. Personally, I like this texture more than it being stiff. The large amount of toppings and sauce made it messy to eat, but it was delicious. A good combo of sweet (predominantly), savoury, slightly spicy and tart.

Alright, whenever at Guu, I get the Takoyaki or affectionately known as octopus balls. I know what you are thinking, and not it's not a bunch of ball-less octopi left as a result of this dish. Rather, it is bits of octopus combined with a flour mixture then pan-grilled in a mold. The ones here are deep-fried and topped with tonkatsu sauce, wasabi mayo, bonito flakes and dried seaweed. Good as usual. Last dish of the night was probably our least favourite - Maguro with 5 Colour Sauce. It's a combination of chopped tuna, avocado with mango sauce, wasabi mayo, sour cream, teriyaki sauce, yuzu pepper sauce topped with seaweed, radish sprouts and crispy wonton skins. Even the crispy wonton skins couldn't hide the mushiness. There was just too much going on here, too muddled and over-ambitious. However, a typical Guu experience is not like that and in fact, is very good for the price. No different this time around. Solid eats, reasonable prices, friendly loud staff along with good friends. Good times.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- All around good food
- This location is actually quite comfortable

The Bad:
- Maybe a little less refined than Kingyo and Hapa, but it is less expensive too