Kadoya (Denman)

It's nice to have a day off. Time to sleep in, spend time with love ones, do some chores, run some errands... and in my case, go out to eat! Costanza had called me up earlier in the morning and wanted to see if I was up for breaky. Well, I would've been if I had been awake! Don't you hate people calling and waking you up? I suggested we go for lunch instead and he was game. I checked in with Rich Guy and he was available as well. What does he do all day anyways? Since we were planning to eat in Downtown, I also texted Kim. He is always game to eat! More the merrier! To make things convenient, we chose the new 2nd location of Kadoya on Denman at Davie. Kim arrived first and was able to score a table nearby the window. Not right by the window, but close enough.

Kadoya is known for their specialty rolls and despite having 3 diners, we could only order so much. Thus, Kim hatched up a plan of ordering 2 of their lunch specials which gave the option of choosing 3 of their specialty rolls in smaller portion sizes. Hence, we ended up with 6 of their specialty rolls to try. A pretty good deal at $9.95 per lunch special. But before that, we had their Friday special in the Daily Sashimi, which was Spicy Salmon. Another good value at $8.99. Unlike some other places, the cubes of salmon were not merely hidden with an explosively hot sauce. Rather, we could still taste the salmon which had a fresh texture. It was slightly sweet with some kick; but only moderately. A good portion size for the money.

Now onto the rolls starting with the Kadoya. Having been named after the restaurant, I had high hopes. Well, consider it meeting expectations. First of all, I loved the presentation with the different colour tobiko. The rice was moving towards the gummier side; yet it was not a big issue. I did get a hint of vinegar and some sweetness. As for the roll itself, it is a combination of deep fried salmon skin and cucumbers on the inside with tuna tempura, tobiko, mayo and teriyaki sauce on the outside. This was a well-balanced roll with some nice crunch and just enough flavour from the sauces. I can't say the same for the King's Roll though. Consisting of prawn tempura (cold and soggy) and avocado on the inside with wild salmon, tobiko, green onion, garlic chips and honey mayo on the outside, the flavours just didn't seem to work. This is especially true with the honey mayo. The sweetness completely overwhelmed the other components. This would've been much better with an unagi sauce combined with something less sweet.

Also consisting of prawn tempura and avocado on the inside was the Paradise Roll. On the outside, there was wakame salad, tobiko and sweet mayo. For me, this one was okay. Disregarding the stone-cold and soggy prawn tempura, the flavours were mild. The wakame provided the necessary flavour and the smoothness of the mayo brought it all together. The Volcano Roll was something truly a bit different. Inside, there was a mix of spicy salmon and tempura bits. On the outside, there was slices of scallops topped with tobiko and black sesame sauce. For me, the black sesame was the highlight of the roll.T he tempura bits did not provide the necessary crunch since they were soggy. If it weren't for the black sesame, nothing much good about this roll. Moving on, we got the Dragon Roll, which is a bit more common. Consisting of prawn tempura and avocado on the inside with unagi, tobiko and mayo on the outside, this was a pretty standard Dragon Roll. Once again, the soggy and cold prawn tempura took away from the roll. No textural contrast; yet it did taste okay due to the sweet BBQ unagi.

Now the award for worst roll of the bunch was the Canucks Roll. Much like the Canucks from the 80's, this roll was partially orange and really bad. Inside, there was Tony Tanti and Petri Skriko... uh... I mean spicy tuna with tempura bits. Outside, there was salmon tempura, tobiko, bonito flakes and sweet mayo. Due to the soggy nature of the tempura bits, the inside was chewy. To compound this issue, the salmon tempura was not only not crispy, it had the consistency of Ron Delorme (I mean tough...). So we ended up gnawing on this roll without any joy of eating it. Our roll adventure didn't end there. We also got an order of their California Tempura Roll. At only $4.50 for 10 pieces, this was a pretty good value. However, the roll itself was pretty ordinary. Due to the deep fry job, the rice became very soft. In the end, the result was a roll devoid of any texture, it was all one mushy mess. However, it wasn't terrible. It's a standard California roll deep fried. I wouldn't complain much about it since it wasn't very expensive.

For comparison's sake, we got a few cooked items to try. Since we had a huge overload of rice already, we opted for the Beef Yakisoba. I know, more carbs. What can you do? Hard to do any Atkin's in an Asian restaurant! The portion size of the yakisoba was quite good while there was a good mix of ingredients. However, the noodles were too soft and the whole thing was over-sauced. It was a bit wet. Curiously, it was served on a hot plate; yet it was not really sizzling. Not a horrible yakisoba, just a very average one. The second cooked entree was the Chicken Teriyaki. Once again, nothing inherently terrible with it; but nothing special either. It was a decent sized portion with plenty of fresh veggies underneath. Much like the yakisoba, the hot plate was not really all that hot. The chicken was decently tender and there wasn't too much sauce. The batter was okay in spots while a little soft in others.

I have mixed feelings about Kadoya. There were some decent items mixed in with some forgettable items. I must admit that their rolls are quite aesthetically pleasing, in addition to being quite large in size. However, only a few worked. The other dishes we had were generous in size; yet, the execution in general was quite inconsistent. Almost all the fried components were universally cold and not crispy. They ranged from soggy to chewy. Not a good texture, especially in a roll that desperately needs crunch. With that being said, I thought their pricing was fair. It is very reasonable for what we got and considering the Downtown location. In terms of service, the one server was extremely overworked.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Reasonable prices
- Large selection of specialty rolls

The Bad:
- Cooked food wasn't that impressive
- Lack of staff
- As with anything on Denman, parking is an issue

A Taste of Asia

It always seems like we avoid/ignore/take for granted the restaurants that are located closest to us. I seem to travel far and wide in order to experience interesting food. Well, it's quite possible that I tend to forget about the local establishments for that very reason. They are generally not all that interesting. Face it, usually, the most popular and unique restaurants are not located in the burbs, particularly residential areas. Of course there are exceptions; but that is not often the rule. So when I asked Viv if she was in the mood for Vietnamese food, she got all confused when I said we'd go to this place on Hastings near Willingdon. "There's a Vietnamese place there???" she questioned. Well, a Chinese-run Vietnamese restaurant that is...

So how do I know about this place? Well, much like the 6th Sense, I see can see restaurants, where others might ignore. Where some men would nearly sideswipe the car next to them while checking out women, I'd do the same when I excitedly see a restaurant. Oh, those awnings with various fonts are ever-so-sexy! Alright, A Taste of Asia doesn't exude anything sexy, in fact, it is probably as un-sexy you can get for a restaurant. Essentially a mom & pop operation, the prices are rock-bottom and the entire setup is merely functional. I kept this in mind as we were seated at a table which was serenaded by an oscillating fan every 2 seconds. Reminiscent of Eatwell in Coquitlam, the prices could give food fair joints a run for their money.

We started with a Shrimp Salad Roll. For $2.25, we weren't expecting a lot of shrimp and there really wasn't much. However, the roll was fresh and did what it was supposed to do. The peanut dipping sauce was quite thick and a bit too sweet. I tacked on a Cold Cut Banh Mi as well. The bread was crispy and quite chewy. I like mine lighter; however, I know some people prefer chewy, so chalk this up to personal preference. I did like the liberal use of pâté, even though it was not very flavourful. A decent amount of meat with crisp cucumber, carrots and daikon rounded out the sandwich. Good thing I ordered a Banh Mi because the Special Pho was small. I ain't complaining though since it only costs $5.00. Despite its size, there was ample amount of tender rare beef, brisket, tripe, tendon and meatballs. The broth was not too heavy or salty while being slightly oily. Viv went for her usual - Lemongrass Chicken Rice. Now the amount of chicken looks like a lot, in reality, it was thin. Regardless, it was tender with lots of lemongrass flavour. So the food here is okay and probably gets lost among the many other Vietnamese restaurants in town. Mind you, it is their prices that sets them apart. There are not many places where you can order 4 items and spend under $20.00.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Friendly owner/operators
- Food is alright for the price

The Bad:
- When prices are low, compromises have to be made
- Service is extremely sparse

Bento Nouveau

Pre-made, take-out sushi... Sure, that doesn't sound all that appetizing does it? To be honest, that has never been my favourite way of eating sushi. However, for some reason or another, I do my occasional Fujiya run every now and then. Possibly it has something to do with reasonable expectations. Much like the pre-made sandwich or prepackaged Chinese food, there will need to be compromises. Hence, we can't expect too much. At the same time, the food has to be edible, otherwise, it defeats the whole purpose. Now, consider my dilemma. I was approached by Bento Sushi to try some of their takeout products in hopes I blog about it. You see, Bento is almost purely takeout much like Fujiya. Now, with that being said, it is prepared on-site. I decided to give it a try since I've already put myself in harms way by eating at all sorts of Japanese restaurants already.

I was supplied with 3 sushi "club boats" to try starting with the basic California Roll Boat. Uniformly made, the rolls looked pretty standard. Nothing fancy here. As for the sushi rice, it was on the stickier side of things. Can't expect too much from packaged sushi. Not exactly screaming out flavour, there was some vinegar and sweetness. In terms of the roll as a whole, it was pretty textbook, nothing ground-breaking. Best word to describe it is "safe". The next one was the Assorted Maki Roll club boat. In it was more California Roll, Vegetable Roll and a Spicy Surimi Roll. The rolls were once again pretty standard; however, I have to admit that the ingredients were vibrant in colour and fresh. The avocado was ripe with no discoloration while the cucumber and carrots were crisp. Last item was the Salmon Sushi club boat. There were 3 types of salmon sushi consisting of Salmon Maki, Salmon Nigiri and a Salmon & Avocado Roll. Surprisingly, the salmon was actually quite good. It was sweet and fresh. Although, the salmon on the nigiri could've been thicker. I thought this was the best of the boats, partly because I personally like raw fish more than California Rolls. As an aside, the wasabi was
some of the hottest I've had recently. I found that quite interesting.

Now, I'm sure if you are wondering if I actually liked the sushi. Okay, I'll be honest. I have a predisposed biased towards this type of sushi. So I'm generally more critical due to the fact I've had some pretty good sushi in the past. With that being said, I didn't dislike it either. In fact, the salmon boat was quite good. If you compare this to restaurants like Sui Sha Ya (which is not really even Japanese food), the Bento Sushi is better. I'm probably not their target market; yet I have to concede that they do produce a decent product which will satisfy a large number of people. And I'm sure that their intention is to appeal to the masses. It is safe sushi. Not everyone wants things like uni and mirugai in their sushi anyways.

Parker Place Meat & BBQ

After a satisfying meal at Su Hang, it was time for Pomegranate and I to make the trek back to Grand Performance Auto to pick up my dad's car. However, we stopped by at Parker Place first. Originally, I was going to pick up some more Xiao Long Bao at the food court. However, it turns out that Pomegranate had a "stomach malfunction". Well, at least this time, we know it wasn't anything we ate because I felt fine and I made sure he stayed away from raw dumplings (see Fu Lin Hot Pot). While he was doing his thing in the restroom, I spied the resident BBQ Meat shop at Parker Place. I've purchased stuff from here before and remembered that it was quite good. Gives HK BBQ Master a run for its money in fact. Thus, not having anything planned for dinner, I decided to get some items. While I was waiting for my BBQ meats to be chopped and packaged, I was explaining to Pomegranate what was in the adjacent refrigerated display. There was cuttlefish, jellyfish, pork intestines and pig tongue. Pomegranate was none too impressed with some of the items. That is when the guy behind the counter and I started some small talk in Cantonese. He ask me to convince Pomegranate to try some jellyfish. I hinted to him that it was probably not a good idea. That is when he exclaimed that he was able to convince some German tourist to try the pig's tongue. Hmm... impressive; but I'm sure Pomegranate was not in the mood for anything like that.

Immediately after I paid, we hastily sampled the Roast Pork. It was freakin' awesome. The crisp skin gave way to tender, fatty meat which had a nice roasted flavour. The crackling was very easy to eat. If you've eaten a lot of roast pork, you'll know what I'm talking about. Sometimes, the crackling is so tough, it cannot even be chewed. We only wished that they let up on the salt a tad. The BBQ Duck had a nice colour to the rendered skin. Unlike the roast pork, the duck was not salty. In fact, I could still taste duck. Another solid product. Too bad the BBQ Pork was no longer warm when I took a sample of it. As you can see, the fat had already congealed. Despite this, it was still pretty good with a nice sweetness to it. This is good BBQ, no doubt about it. Maybe a shade below HK BBQ Master; but a whole lot better than the stuff you can get at T & T.

The Good:
- Well-executed meats, especially the Roast Pork
- Fair pricing

The Bad:
- Well, it's located in Parker Place where parking is never an easy thing
- It's good; but HK BBQ Master is still better

Suhang

Less than 24 hours later after late night hockey, I find myself in Richmond once again. In fact, I would have to return here for another hockey game the next night. Yup, 3 days in-a-row in Richmond. Tempting fate? Not exactly. Today, I was on my way to Grand Performance Auto to get my dad's spoiler painted. You see, I got him a spoiler for his car as a present. Unorthodox? Absolutely. Makes the car look better? But of course! The entire process would take about 2 hours or so. Thus, there was only one way to pass the time... Eat! Since I carpool with Pomegranate, I kidnapped him for the afternoon. Well, not exactly. He wasn't planning on joining me at all; however, when I mentioned that there might be Xiao Long Baos on the agenda, he jumped at the chance. So after dropping off the car at River Road near Capstan Way, we walked over to Alexandra for some XLB action. WTF? Our destination, Northern Dynasty was closed! Great... Not to worry, I had a backup plan, which was Su Hang Restaurant. Only problem was that we'd have to walk all the way to Ackroyd Road. No matter, anything for food right?

As we entered, the waft of vinegar filled the air. Yah baby, that is the smell of XLBs coming our way! But first, we started with the Drunken Chicken. Served cold, the tender chicken had a pronounced rice wine flavour - slightly bitter (but a good bitter) with a touch of sweet and savoury. Up next was the Szechuan Beef Brisket Noodles. At first, I was concerned with the light colour of the broth and the various bits of fatty floaties. However, the soup had more flavour than its appearance. With a decent amount of spiciness mixed in with a savoury beef broth, it was well-balanced. The brisket was tender enough; but I didn't like the excess fat floating around.

Now for the main event. I had long ago promised Pomegranate we'd go for some "real" Xiao Long Bao. The reason? He had watched Glutton for Punishment and got a craving for some after the XLB episode. Sadly, the ones he's had so far have been subpar. This time around, I assured him that these would be legit. And very legit they were. Super thin skin with a plethora of flavourful, rich broth, these were definitely a winner. I liked how the meat was smooth with a slight bounce as well. Only thing that I was concerned about was the flavourful broth... Was it lots of salt of MSG? Continuing on the dumpling theme, we got an order of Potstickers as well. We were so busy with devouring those tasty XLBs, I almost forgot to take a picture of the potstickers! Luckily there was one left! Almost an epic fail!!! We liked the crispy bottom and the size of the dumpling; however, the skin was slightly thick. Furthermore, the filling was a bit heavy on the veggies. Thus, it seemed a bit unbalanced when eaten. Don't get me wrong here, it was still decent, just not as good as the XLBs.

For our last dish, I let the server do the choosing. She recommended the Meatball Rice. She said it in Cantonese and I really didn't know what it would be like. Well, it turned out to be exactly that... A meatball on top of rice. All the individual components were executed beautifully - from the rice with bits of crunchy veggies to the moist meatball. Despite this, we were only moderately impressed. Could be personal preference really or we were just too full to eat anymore? Ultimately, with the meatball, sauce and rice mixed together, it was a nice balance of textures and flavours. Best to have a few more diners to eat this one since it is quite filling. Quite stuffed, we were presented with a complimentary Coconut Pudding for dessert when we asked for the bill. Pomegranate remarked that the pudding was slightly bland. Yah, I could see that; but at the same time, it allowed the natural sweetness and aroma of the coconut milk to shine. In terms of shining, the XLBs were pretty good and would definitely be in my top 5 in Vancouver which also includes: Shanghai River, Lin, Shanghai Wonderful and Chen's.

The Good:
- For us, the service was pretty attentive
- Good XLBs
- Fair prices

The Bad:
- Once again, the parking gremlin of Richmond appears and there are not enough spaces
- Tight seating

Dirty Apron Delicatessen

Despite its humble existence, the simple sandwich is a staple of the North American diet. Look at it. It's portable, can be eaten without utensils and is generally inexpensive. Like the modest burger, the sandwich has gone upscale. No, it's not a new revelation or concept really. There have been gourmet sandwiches for quite some time. Gone is the bologna on white bread. Enter now artisan sandwiches with high-end ingredients that require deciphering via a culinary encyclopedia. Considering that sandwiches from Subway and Quizno's can set you back a pretty penny, it is not a stretch to pay a bit more for quality. My personal favourite in town is the Pear, Proscuitto and Brie at Finch's. The Porchetta at Meat & Bread comes in at a close second.

Entering the gourmet sandwich ring comes The Dirty Apron Delicatessen. Yup, it's the same Dirty Apron which runs cooking classes. I wasn't really intending on trying it out today; rather, I was on the mission to find some sausages. Wait, let me rephrase that... I was looking for some hot Serious Sausage on a street corner. Er... Okay, I'll stop now. I ended up bypassing the sausages and went down the block to The Dirty Apron. I ended up picking up 3 sandwiches to go. The first and probably the best was the Grilled Proscuitto with figs, watercrest, cambozola and balsamic onions. I thought the combination of the ingredients covered the spectrum of flavours from the saltiness of the proscuitto to the bitterness of the watercrest. However, Viv thought there was too much going on. Difference of opinion I suppose. We can't let a sandwich come between us can we?

Of course I had to get their popular BBQ Pulled Pork Baguette. You see, it does its very best to emulate a Vietnamese Banh Mi, albeit at more than double the cost. It is a combination of pickled carrots & daikon, cilantro, jalapeno and mayo with Asian-spiced pulled pork. Without thinking about a Banh Mi, the sandwich itself was good. Of course the flavours work since it is essentially a take on a Vietnamese sub. Taken for what it is, I liked it. Thinking about spending 1/2 the price on a grilled pork Banh Mi made me think twice. Our last sandwich was the Crab & Shrimp Baguette with Aji vinaigrette, avocado, peppadew and pea shoots. Predictably mild tasting, I did get the natural sweetness from the shrimp and saltiness of the crab. The peppadew added some sweetness with a touch of spice and the pea shoots offered up some fresh greens. However, I personally would've liked impact, possibly more peppadew. On average, the sandwiches are roughly $8.00 each at The Dirty Apron. Certainly not inexpensive while not exactly breaking the bank either. Consider a "seafood" sub at Subway costs just as much for imitation crab (albeit bigger). We thought the sandwiches were made with high quality ingredients and with care. It definitely warrants another visit to try some of the other offerings.

The Good:
- Quality stuff, it shows in the end product
- Not cheap, not unreasonable either
- Trendy in its own ways

The Bad:
- Pretty good, not mind-blowing either
- I liked the Pulled Pork sandwich; but reminds me too much of a Banh Mi (which costs much less)

Locus

With every passing late night food adventure, the pool of late night eateries dwindles down further and further. In actuality, there are still many places to eat in the wee hours, they're just located in areas we don't normally frequent. Soon, we will need to go exclusively into Downtown since that is where many of them reside. However, this time around, we made plans out on Main Street, in particular, Locus. For Friday night hockey, this is quite the drive from the North Shore. The reason for heading in the opposite direction of where many of us live was due to Gadget Girl. She lives in that direction and we would do anything for her! Well, since she organizes the team, I guess we do it in fear more than anything else. Turns out she couldn't make it after all. Too bad really. Next time, we're gonna go to Surrey! To spite her! LOL... The one benefit of this location is that Rocket could join us. So not all was lost. Also, after a considerable absence, Polka King made a cameo. Apparently, he's been busy with a newly crowned "Polka Dot". I see... That is more important than hockey and food! When we arrived, there was a slight wait for a table. Seems to be a happenin' place for a Friday night. Lots of hipsters doing their hipster thing.

Sweet Tooth was there for the dessert only; but ordered a token appetizer being the Gin & Ginger Prawns with sesame wonton chips. She thought the prawns were prepared correctly with lots of ginger; yet lacking in gin. She would've liked more impact in terms of flavour. I personally didn't like the wonton chips, as you can see they were oil-logged. Both Polka King and Lionel Hutz had the Grilled Ahi Tuna Club with lettuce, tomato, pancetta, avocado and olive tapenade. Duplicates! Well, in the end, it was a good thing to have 2 differing opinions. Both agreed that the tuna was cooked perfect and seemed fresh. Lionel Hutz enjoyed the flavours while Polka King complained that the olive tapenade left a funny aftertaste. Whatever the case, it was fairly priced at $13.00. Milhouse went for the ol' standby - the Organic Beef Burger. As stated from the menu, it is topped with caramelized onions, edam, lettuce, tomato, shaved red onion, roasted garlic mayo and served on a whole wheat kaiser bun. Milhouse thought that the meat to bun ratio was a bit off; yet the whole thing did taste quite good and the meat was not dry. The roasted potatoes were a nice departure from fries.

For myself, I started with the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with horseradish aioli, grilled bannock and truffle oil. A fairly solid offering with melt-in-your-mouth thin slices of beef. The truffle oil added a nice earthiness while the aioli had a nice kick. I didn't care for the "bannock". I would've preferred a crunchy textural contrast instead. For my main, I had the Maple Hills Pulled Chicken Carbonara. Consisting of roasted garlic, wild mushrooms, bacon & sweet peas, fresh herb fettuccine, creamy egg yolk sauce and grana podano cheese, this was not bad. I found the pasta to be slightly soft; but not gummy or clumpy. Although this version does not follow the classic recipe, there was a good balance of saltiness from the bacon, nuttiness from the cheese and earthiness from the mushrooms. A minor complaint would be the some clumps of uncooked egg yolk. It wasn't a huge deal though. After all, you'll rarely find me being too picky about late night eats (unless it plain sucks) since there is not much choice. Locus does decent late night eats in a hip environment with some inexpensive options.

The Good:
- Burger and sandwich prices are reasonable
- Decent eats
- Hip environment

The Bad:
- Food is okay; but nothing to write home about
- Other than the burgers and sandwiches, some of their entrees are pricey