Chilli House Thai Bistro

*Restaurant is now closed*

There was a time when we would do the AYCE lunch at Thai House (which has recently been revived) with a big group of friends. And why not? It was inexpensive while offering up lots of choices. Sure, there are those who will immediately point out that Thai House isn't exactly the pinnacle of Thai cuisine. But honestly. We're in Vancouver, not Thailand. As mentioned over and over again, restaurants are in the business of making money, paying their bills and employing a bunch of people. Consequently, they are not really all that interested in satisfying a minority of people who want over-the-top Thai food. Restaurants conduct their day-to-day operations to satisfy their largest customer base. If it is "safe" Thai food they want, that is what we'll all get. For all those whiners who want to slam any ethnic restaurant for their lack of authenticity or proclaim the "food is better in Thailand", they can buy themselves a plane ticket and go there. We live in Vancouver, the restaurants operate in Vancouver and voila. End of discussion. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now... For me, I consider Thai House the McD's of Thai food. That in itself is not necessarily an insult. Thai House does what it does well - makes Thai food accessible to all for a reasonable price.

As we all know, going out for Thai food can sometimes be a pricey proposition due to the modest portion sizes. Unless we want to visit hole-in-the-walls such as Lhy Thai, one can easily spend $20.00+ for dinner. So imagine my curiosity when I found out that Chilli House Thai Bistro began offering an AYCE dinner for only $16.00. If you don't already know, Chilli House is affiliated with Thai House as with Urban Thai, Charm and Samba. So yes, there are similarities between all of them except Samba. Other than the fact I wanted to try their AYCE, it was a perfect opportunity to meet up with some friends over the holidays. Joining us tonight were Bluebeard, Nikita, Herbie the Lovebug and LanaBanana. Good thing too, that means we could order lots and try almost everything on the menu!

Little did I know, there is actually free underground parking. We parked a couple of blocks away. For me that is a real bonus since the parking is expensive in Downtown. Anyways, we finally got down to ordering starting with some appies. The first to arrive was the Tia Muk Tod or fried squid. Nothing wrong with this dish. The squid was tender with some chewiness and the breading was crispy and none-too-oily. The same can be said about the Fried Chicken Wings. Fried until crispy and juicy inside, these were gobbled up quickly. I particularly liked that they had flavour of its own, so it wasn't solely up to the sauce. As for the sauce, it was sweet and tangy. Not too sound repetitive; but the Por Pia Tad or spring rolls were also crunchy. It had a nice colour and the vermicelli and veggie filling had a nice fish sauce flavour to it. Didn't really need the accompanying sweet chili dip.

We ordered some salads as well starting with the Yum Neau or beef salad. By the looks of it, we weren't expecting the salad to have any impact. As it turns out, the salad had quite the kick. Although, the heat did not detract from the other flavours such as fish sauce and lime juice. The beef was quite tender as well. The second salad was Yum Woon Sen which consisted of shrimp, minced pork, vermicelli, onions, peppers, scallions, chili flakes, lime juice and fish sauce. Once again, the salad had an apparent heat to it with a nice kick of tart and saltiness. I think other than the green salad and tofu appetizer, we had ordered everything that was available. We ended up getting the only soup which was the Tom Yum Goong. It's essentially Tom Yum soup with prawns. Curiously, it was not as flavourful as the one we had at Charm. That doesn't mean it wasn't good though. It still had obvious hits of galangal, lemongrass and fish sauce while the prawn was perfect. Ultimately, it ended up to be quite mild tasting.

The Chicken Satay would be our second last out of the "appetizers". By this point, we were actually getting full. I must give it to my eating companions, they stuck with it. Anyways, the chicken satay was quite meaty employing all white meat. For me, I much prefer dark meat since it is generally more moist and flavourful. However, more people prefer white meat and I can understand why they would use it here. With that being said, it wasn't dry and the peanut sauce was pretty good. Unlike some other versions, this one was light and not sweet; rather, it was very nutty. Okay, now for our last appy which was BBQ Short Ribs. The short ribs were tender and meaty albeit quite salty (too much fish sauce?). However, this was completely rectified by the fabulous dipping sauce which has a slight kick and tonnes of tartness. This easily cut through the heaviness and saltiness of the ribs.

By now, we were seriously doubting we could handle the main dishes; but we wouldn't stop would we? So we got down to business with the curries staring with the Beef Green Curry. With obvious similarities to the Thai House version, there was a pronounced coconut richness with only a mild amount of spice. The beef was both plentiful and tender with lots of nicely cooked eggplant and peas. For those who complain that the curry should be spicier, you have to realize that the food is made to satisfy the lowest common denominator. Hence, if you want it spicier, just ask. In terms of spice, the Pork Red Curry was milder than the green curry despite the red hue. This is generally the case, which is why I prefer green curry. With less spice, the other flavours, specifically the bamboo shoots, came through. Tender pork, green peppers and basil rounded out the ingredients. Our last curry was the Chicken Yellow Curry. I'm a bit biased when it comes to yellow curry. It is not personal favourite, possibly since it most closely resembles the Chinese version. I've never been a huge fan of it. It is more aromatic and less spicy than green and red curries. Ultimately, it has less impact which actually goes well with the chicken. This one here was what it was. I did like the potatoes though, nothing better than soft potatoes in curry!

Well, it was inevitable that we got a couple orders of Pad Thai. Seems like I have it every time I'm in a Thai restaurant. Call it the "tourist" approach to eating ethnic food. Anyways, it is widely known that there is no tamarind in the Thai House version of Pad Thai. Now, for me, I prefer tamarind; but... and this is a profound but... most people wouldn't really know the difference and frankly do not care. The main question here is: was it still decent to eat? Yes it was. The noodles were perfectly chewy with just the right amount of moisture. The lack of tamarind was partially alleviated by the abundance of pickled turnip with added a nice tang and crunch. The requisite pressed tofu, egg, sprouts and ground peanuts rounded out the dish. Did I miss the tamarind? Yah. But that's just me. I can't speak for everyone. The other well-known Thai noodle dish is the Pad See-Ew. It most closely resembles a Chinese fried noodle dish due to the use of soy as its main flavouring agent. Despite the mild taste, in some ways I enjoy this more than Pad Thai. This one was more than acceptable with a plethora of crisp veggies and chicken. The noodles were perfectly cooked and there was no excess moisture.

We were a bit ambitious with our ordering. Wait, lemme rephrase that. I was too ambitious with the food selection and ended up ordering another noodle dish in the Pad Mee. In some ways similar to Pad Thai, the flat rice noodles are replaced with thin vermicelli noodles. Generally, it is more spicy as well. In this case, it wasn't appreciably spicier. It was sweet with some tang with a bit of hot. I did like the texture of the noodles, they were al dente and coated with just the right amount of sauce. Once we got through the noodle section, it was onto the main dishes starting with the Garlic Pork. As a whole, everyone seemed to like this dish the best. Lots of tender pork intermingling with a slightly sweet, slightly spicy and garlicky sauce. Now for the rest of the dishes, I put them in one picture because they were all somewhat similar on some levels. There were subtle difference; yet not enough for me to go into much detail. Going clockwise starting on the top left is the Gai Pad M-Mung Him Ma-Pan (Cashew Chicken), Pad Bai Grapua (Basil Chicken), Pad Makuayaw (Pork with Eggplant) and Pad Prig Khing (Beef with Green Beans). I thought the best of the bunch had to be the chicken with basil. It had the most unique taste of basil with Thai chilis. The cashew chicken was almost the same minus the basil and add cashews. The other 2 dishes were not bad and ended up to be what was expected of them.

As for dessert, there were 2 choices and of course we had both. In fact, we had one of each for everyone at the table. Yes, we are indeed gluttons. Anyways, the first one was the Black Glutinous Rice Pudding. Served with sweet coconut milk, we thought it was only "okay". We did like the chewy texture; but the dessert had very little impact in terms of flavour. We realize it is supposed to be mild. It's just not our personal favourite. We all liked the second dessert - Kanum Sakoo (Tapioca Pudding). A combination of sweet corn, taro and carrot mixed with tapioca in sweet coconut milk, this was naturally sweet. Interesting combination of ingredients that worked together. This was a pleasant finish to a truly value-packed meal. For $16.00/person, there is not much to complain about really. Sure, it was not the best Thai we ever had nor were we expecting it. But it was serviceable and at-most-times, surprisingly good. Say what you want about the Thai House Group. For me, they make Thai food accessible and at a reasonable price. Consider the many locations that exist in the GVRD - they must be doing something right.

The Good:
- If you do the AYCE, it is a fabulous value
- For us, the food was more than acceptable
- Service was very good

The Bad:
- For those who travel to Thailand frequently, are originally from Thailand, are experts in Thai food or Thai food snobs... well you get the point...

Sun Yee Cafe

*Restaurant is now closed*

Once again, choosing an eating destination after Friday hockey can be somewhat of a challenge. You see, we have people on the team that live in different parts of the GVRD. Hence, we need to generally find centrally located destinations. Not too difficult right? Well, tack onto the fact that we need to find places that close late as well makes it tricky. This week, it was made even trickier since Gadget Girl wanted to find a place that would be close to Ketchup's house. She had given Ketchup a ride to the game and needed to drop her off at home before we met up. That further narrowed our search for late night eats. After some negotiations, we settled on Sun Yee Cafe. It seemed to satisfy all the criteria and no one objected. It's a tough job finding an agreed place to eat! Anyways, I've been curious about this place for quite awhile since I drive by it every time I go for late night Wednesday hockey.

From the outside, Sun Yee is very hard to miss. It has got the classic bright yellow Asian awning. To me, it looks like any other Chinese restaurant. Not so fast. It is actually a Hong Kong-style cafe complete with late night specials which include a beverage. Being the greedy people that we are, Boss Woman and I shared 3 dishes. We started with her favourite Scrambled Eggs & Shrimp on flat rice noodles. All the individual components of this dish were cooked correctly from the slightly chewy noodles to the crunchy shrimp. Despite the nice appearance of the dish itself, it was sorely lacking salt. Our second dish was the XO Seafood Fried Rice. The XO represents a sauce consisting normally of chili oil, dried scallops, garlic, dried shrimp and sometimes Virginia ham. Hence, the rice is fried with the sauce and seafood. We liked the chewiness of the rice and the decent amount of seafood. There was a some kick from the XO sauce; yet the rice was also lacking a bit of salt.

Our last dish was the Taiwanese Beef Noodle. I know, I know... Ordering a Taiwanese dish in a Hong Kong-style cafe is asking for it. And you know what? We deserved what we got. I bet Miss Y is laughing at me somewhere... You see, I give her a hard time for ordering stuff that a restaurant is not known for. As you can see, the broth was really light in colour. That was indicative of the taste as well. There was none. Bland, lacking depth, colour and salt, the bowl of noodles didn't taste like anything. In fact, the preserved veggies couldn't even save it. On the plus side, the noodles were al dente albeit too thick. Also, there was plenty of tender beef shank. Gordo, who was less ambitious than we were, only had the smaller version of the Soy Fried Noodles. I gave this one a try and it had very good "wok hay" exhibiting good caramelization from the high heat. No shortage of flavour in this one. The noodles were still chewy and it was only moderately oily.

Milhouse deviated from his usual Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice and ended up with the House Special Chow Mein. It usually consists of everything but the kitchen sink such as squid, BBQ pork, mushrooms, chicken, shrimp and bak choy. The noodles were crisp, ingredients were plentiful and there was just enough sauce. A decent version. He tried to offer me some; but honestly, I could only eat so much. Yes, I do have my limits! Lionel Hutz and Trudy-Frutti arrived much later since he drove all the way back home before meeting up with us. Home is actually somewhere around Kits. Apparently he had to drop off is hockey equipment first... Really? Hm... or is that a code word for something? I'm not going to speculate much more... So, when he did arrive, he ordered the Fried Rice with Curry Prawns and Chicken. There was definitely a good amount of properly cooked shrimp, not sure if they could qualify as prawns necessarily. He thought the rice had a good amount of flavour and curry which was only mildly spicy. Ginseng went for something that was on the regular menu. I didn't even know it was an option because we were too busy looking at the late night menu. Trudy-Frutti decided on the Preserved Vegetable and Pork with Rice Noodles in soup. It didn't look like much; but she remarked it was quite flavourful, especially when the stir-fried ingredients mixed with the soup. The noodles were just right with a bit of chew.

Ordering off the regular menu, Ginseng went for the Sizzling Black Cod Hot Plate. It came as a "Taiwanese"-like combo with rice and pickled veggies. I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of fish there was on the plate. Ginseng remarked that the fish was moist and there was good amount of seasoning as well. I asked if it was oily since it did exhibit a nice sheen and she thought it wasn't too bad. In terms of the food overall, it really wasn't too bad. Some items worked better than others, which is quite normal for a restaurant. However, the real draw here are the prices. They are very reasonable for the amount of food you get. Considering the fact it is open late makes it extra attractive since it gives an alternative to the wonton noodle joints nearby. Not great food, just okay food for a great price.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Inexpensive
- Lots of choice

The Bad:
- Food is largely hit and miss

Cibo Trattoria

Snake. Where art thou Snake? Under a rock? In a cave? In soup? Oh I see. He's turning the big 4-0! Wow, that is indeed a milestone. Normally quite reclusive, even he admits it was time to celebrate. Inevitably, the question of where to go comes up. The criteria? Trendy, moderately-priced and located in Downtown. Naturally, it should serve good food too; but that is always subjective. So after a few ideas, I remembered a place that I had first read about in En Route on my flight down to San Francisco. It had awarded Cibo Trattoria the distinction of the best new restaurant in Canada for 2009. Honestly, these lists elicit much debate since they are generally the opinion of only a few. However, that would be true with any publication or website that does something similar. Hence, there is only one way to see if there was any credence for its lofty title - go try it out. Funny how I intended to visit Cibo immediately when I got back from San Francisco in November 2009. It has taken me over a year to do so! There are a lot of eats in Vancouver. Hard to get to them all.

Since it was a milestone birthday, Costanza, Vandelay and I wanted to go in style. Thus, I borrowed my dad's Benz for the evening. Funny thing too. We're grown adults and I'm still borrowing my dad's car... I really had to watch my alcoholic intake for the night since my dad would not be impressed if I got his car impounded. Furthermore, on a my serious note, drinking and driving is never cool... So we decided to order everything to share which made me a very happy man! We started off with one of their featured appetizers which was the Veal Bone Marrow. Roasted and served with crostinis and a side of relish consisting of capers, shallots, cornichons and parsley, this would be considered as one of those "wow" dishes. Such a simple product yielded the most "mmms". The tartness of the relish went well with the buttery marrow and crunchy crostinis. At the same time, we also had the Buffalo Mozzarella with crispy polenta, preserved eggplant, chilli and mint. We could see where they were going with this dish - the soft mozzarella contrasting the crunchy polenta. However, the cornmeal crust on the polenta was not necessary in our opinion. It made it rather hard and overly crunchy. However, the rest of the dish was really good. The eggplant added a nice flavour to the otherwise mild mozzarella.

Our last appetizer was the Bruscetta of Dungeness Crab with preserved cherry tomatoes, arugula, chilli and herb aoili. I really liked this dish. There was a good balance of flavours and textures. The crab was able to stand up to the mild herb aoili while the crunchy crostini provided a nice crunch to an otherwise "soft" dish. Add in the tartness of the tomatoes and the bitterness of arugula, there was no absence of flavours. From our appies, we went to 2 pastas starting with the Fresh Spaghetti Carbonara with guanciale, cream, black pepper, egg yolk and pecorino. First, I must give kudos for the al dente fresh pasta. Generally, it is more difficult to achieve; but they did it. Possibly a bit too al dente actually. It could've used probably a minuscule more time in cooking in the sauce. But that is nit-picking. This pasta was not short on taste despite the modest amount of sauce. This is probably due to the strong elements of the guanciale and pecorino cheese. With all that, the pasta was not heavy at all. Our second pasta was the Ravioli of Potato and Caramelized Onions with sage butter, aged balsamic and Parmesan. This was delicious with al dente pasta and a filling that was not dense while being naturally sweet from the onions. The sweetness was offset by the aged balsamic and it was brought together by a beautiful sage butter.

We also got 3 main dishes to share starting with the Crispy Duck Leg with prosciutto-wrapped treviso and preserved blueberries in grappa. As advertised, the skin was crispy and partially rendered. Inside, the duck was moist and not overly seasoned. The bulk of the flavour came from the prosciutto-wrapped around treviso (or red radicchio). The bitterness from the treviso combined with the cured saltiness from the prosciutto was a nice compliment to the rich duck meat. As for the blueberry grappa, there was very little and so it should be since it is quite strong. Next up was the Red Wine Braised Beef with soft polenta, Gorgonzola and wild mushrooms. With a pronounced wine flavour, the beef was very tender and moist. Despite adding more softness to the dish, I thought the polenta was a perfect match for the beef. It was an accompaniment that made its presence felt while not taking away from the star of the dish. The Gorgonzola added a slight sharpness that was just enough while the mushrooms were also a great compliment adding some texture and woodsiness.

Our last dish was the Veal & Proscuitto Meatballs with San Marzano tomatoes, sage, olives, slow cooked kale and pecorino. I really liked these meatballs. They were a nice compromise between being soft while still "meaty". They held up from all the cutting and prodding we did to them. Um... it's not what you think! Now the real star of the dish was the beautiful San Marzano tomato sauce. It was extremely flavourful which benefited from the plethora of olives which added a nice tang and saltiness. It might be a bit strong for those who don't like olives though. The creamy white beans underneath helped bring down and balance the bold flavours. Honestly, I've heard some negative opinions about Cibo and for what it's worth, I personally like Cibo. For the items we tried, nothing was bad and in fact, some were very good. The service we got was both attentive and courteous. The prices are not exactly cheap; but not outrageous either. Considering that 4 guys were full after sharing 3 appies, 2 pastas and 3 entrees, the portions were more than respectable.

The Good:
- Some bold flavours
- Pretty solid execution
- Nice little dining space

The Bad:
- The portion-to-price ratio might concern bigger eaters

Applause

*Restaurant is closed*

All throughout the softball season, Inspector Gadget had been pestering us to try Applause Japanese Restaurant in Marpole. For various reasons, we never made it out there as a team. He threw out the idea of meeting up for a weekend lunch or something. Yet again, it never happened. Was it never meant to be? Well, he made sure that I got to try his favourite local Japanese restaurant by suggesting we meet up during the Christmas holidays. We set a date and yes, we finally made it. So what's so special about Applause anyways you might be thinking. First of all, it is not exactly located in the hub of activity. Located in a small strip mall in the middle of residential Marpole, Applause advertises itself as an "Izakayaish" Japanese restaurant. Oh really? A restaurant with an identity problem. Great, we've all seen that before haven't we? Well, all the staff are Japanese except for the sushi chef/owner who is Taiwanese. Hey, I have an open mind. Let's allow the food to do the talking shall we?

We were a little late arriving due to Christmas traffic. Actually I think the sinkhole on Marine Drive helped make 49th resemble #3 Road in Richmond. Sorry, I had to sneak a Richmond reference in there! For a weekday, the restaurant was packed. Apparently this is the norm. When we finally got down to ordering, Inspector Gadget made sure we didn't order any duplicates and in fact, selected some items for variety purposes. Once again, I am so lucky that people go out of their way to help me out! Either that or I've got them well-trained. If I hear the word Izakaya, I must get Ebi Mayo. I just have to, it's my favourite. As with most versions of ebi mayo, there is usually an obscene amount of sweet mayo drizzled on top. Hence the name... However, by looking at the picture, you can see that there was not only an obscene amount... the whole darn thing looks "obscene". Make what you want of it... Anyways, the shrimp itself was only lightly battered and fried. Thus, it was not crispy per se. It was still perfectly cooked in terms of the shrimp itself exhibiting a nice snap. As mentioned the mayo was sweet and ahem... once again, I got it all over my face... (see Zakkushi).

One of their daily specials was the BBQ Black Cod Collar. Now if you are familiar with black cod, the flesh is quite oily and moist. However, for those who eat whole fish, the meat around the fins, collar and cheek is where its at. The meat tends to be slightly chewier with some bite. Of course, I had to order it. It was exactly how I like it. BBQ'd until it had a nice colour while not overcooked. Yummy. I love picking at bones, whether it be pork or fish. For his appetizer, Inspector Gadget had an order of the Amaebi. As you can see from the visuals, the shrimp was glistening with freshness. He remarked it was naturally sweet. The second part of this dish was the Fried Shrimp Heads. You gotta love a place that serves Japanese food the right way eh?
These were fried up perfectly. How so? When the heads are crunchy enough to eat whole without splitting your tongue or mouth open, that is perfect. The natural sweetness of all the great things you find in the shrimp head (minus the bitter sac) makes it a joy to eat. How I love head... uh! I mean fried shrimp heads!

For my main dish, I went for the Chicken Katsu Curry. For those unfamiliar with Japanese curry, it is very different than authentic Indian curry. Rather than being spicy or even complex in flavour, it is predominantly sweet. Depending on the version, you might not even know you are eating curry. The one I had at Fujiya was so sweet, it was more like liquid candy atop steamed rice! This one was sweet while not being overly so. It still had a bit of curry flavour and some spice. The chicken katsu was fried up nicely with a crispy coating yielding to tender chicken meat. Combined with the chewy rice, it was a satisfying and large dish. This reminded me of the one I had at Kimura except we had beef instead of chicken. Inspector Gadget surprised me by ordering the Miso Ramen. Based on my past experiences, regular Japanese restaurants not specializing in ramen produce a sub-par product. Imagine my surprise when I was proven wrong in this case. I got a good portion to try and the soup was pretty decent. There was actually some depth and it didn't merely taste like miso soup. Furthermore, the noodles were al dente and not too thick. Of course, I need to talk about the pork (or chashu) and it was not too bad either. It was a relatively large piece which has a nice pork taste with a bit of fat. Decent ramen for a non-ramen shop.

Guess what we ordered for the kiddies? Uni? Yah right, the chances of them eating uni are as good as my chances of returning to Kawawa. Naturally, we got the Tempura Udon for them. Served on the side, the assorted tempura had a disturbingly thick batter. Despite this, it was crunchy and didn't seem heavy. Even after sitting around for awhile, it still stayed crunchy. Definitely better than it looks. As for the udon, it was still chewy and the broth was quite light. Nothing amiss or amazing about it. Viv wanted a bit of variety and settled on Bento Box D which included Salmon, Tuna & Hokkigai Sashimi, Assorted Tempura, Salad, Chicken Teriyaki on rice, Salmon Maki, Miso Soup and Fruit. We enjoyed the large slices of sashimi, it was fresh looking and tasting. In fact, the wild sockeye salmon was very sweet while the tuna had pleasing texture. The hokkigai had its requisite chewiness and sweetness. As for the chicken teriyaki, it was okay, if not a bit dry. The modest amount of sauce was welcomed since too much results in everything tasting sweet. Much like the curry, the rice was slightly chewy and acted as a good base for the chicken teriyaki. In terms of the sushi rice, I tried a leftover piece of inari nigiri from Inspector Gadget's daughter. She ate the sweet fried tofu skin and I had the rice. Consequently, it was somewhat sweet from the remnants of the tofu skin. However, I still sensed rice vinegar and the texture of the rice has bite and chewiness. Pretty good sushi rice. In fact, the food here at Applause is very solid. For the variety we tried, the restaurant does succeed in being the jack-of-all-trades. From the Izakaya dishes, to regular Japanese fare and the decent ramen, nothing was amiss. Sure, there is better in all 3 categories within Vancouver, no doubt about it. But if it's a variety you want that also looks the part, Applause is more than acceptable.

The Good:
- Surprisingly, does everything quite well
- Food is fresh
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Not expensive; but not cheap either
- Pretty small place, gets packed easily

Pho Saigon

Once again, my search for good Pho has brought me to an area that is not even remotely synonymous with Vietnamese food (which is Ladner). In fact, Pho Saigon is the only Vietnamese restaurant in Ladner. Other than North Delta, there is not a lot of diversity in Delta itself. But that doesn't mean you can't get good ethnic food out here. Case in point, Maguro is more than acceptable considering its location. I happened to be in Ladner because of a meeting. Naturally, with my luck, it had to be snowing. Long drive home considering I live in Burnaby. For a change, I could actually justify owing an SUV. With snow tires too! However, the actual amount of snow we usually receive in the GVRD is laughable to the rest of Canada. It's like our city is paralyzed at the first sight of snow! And yes, I was fully aware how close I was to Richmond. Close, but far enough away...

Unlike many other Vietnamese joints, Pho Saigon is clean and generally decorated in a relevant theme. Since it was cold and snowing outside, a steaming hot bowl of noodles was the perfect lunch. As always, I went for the Pho Dac Biet, which usually has everything. However, in this case, there was only 3 types of meat without the tripe or tendon... Is this the Ladner version? Tamer and less offal? Slightly lacking in noodles (al dente though); yet with a decent amount of tender rare steak, brisket and meatballs, the Pho was alright. The broth itself was a little weak exhibiting very little meat flavour with a touch of sweetness. If I had to compare it with another restaurant, I would say it isn't too far off from Pho Hoa. I know Pho Hoa is not the pinnacle of Vietnamese food; but you know what to expect there. As a side note, I would've preferred a lime instead of a lemon; yet it is winter, so I'll cut them some slack.

When the server was taking my order, he was a bit shocked I ordered the House Rice Special in addition to the Pho. He looked a me funny and warned me that I wouldn't finish it. I assured him that I was bringing some home. Consisting of 2 Spring Rolls, Lemongrass Chicken, Minced Pork and a Fried Egg on rice, this was a fairly large dish. I was pleasantly surprised with the spring rolls since they used rice wrappers; rather than the wheat ones. Moreover, the filling was plentiful and a good mix. The lemongrass chicken was quite flavourful; yet I found it to be a bit dry in some areas. The minced pork patty was sweet and chewy. Went well with the rice as well as the runny yolk of the fried egg.

Not bad. I was a bit apprehensive since Ladner Village is not the hotbed of Asian food. Yet, the food was ultimately authentic and did do the job. Sure, there is better Vietnamese food in the GVRD. However, there is no competition nearby and I must give them kudos for staying true to the food despite this. Combined with a clean environment and good service, I'd have no problem visiting them again if I were in the neighbourhood.

The Good:
- Decent food
- Clean
- Good service

The Bad:
- Pho could use more noodles
- Of course there is better; but not in Ladner

Charley's Grilled Subs

*Restaurant is closed*

I'm sure everyone south of the border has heard of Charley's Grilled Subs. After all, they have 400 locations! However, we have only one lonely location up here in Vancouver. In fact, it is not even really located in Vancouver itself. Situated in the food court at Surrey Central, Charley's is known for its freshly made grilled sandwiches prepared right in front of the customer. Just think Quizno's with grilled meat. Now, whenever we have limited access to something that is widely available in the states, it seems to be quite popular. Why? For no other reason that it is "different" and "we can't get it here phenomenon".

So here I was at Surrey Central Mall running some errands and frankly getting a bit hungry. Ha! When am I not? So I decided to pay the food court a visit. *Yawn* The same ol' places like every other mall... Aha! Not Charley's. Sure it's common in the US; but not here... and since I had my camera with me, why not? Being the ambitious eater that I am, I ordered the 2 items starting with the Philly Cheesesteak with a side of fries. Prepared right in front of my eyes, the thinly sliced beef was cooked on a flattop with onions. Much like Subway and Quizno's, there is a choice of veggies and condiments. I'm not sure if cucumber and tomato go with a cheesesteak; but I wanted something to make it healthier. At first, I was concerned that the meat would be dry and chewy. Nope, it was actually decently moist and the rest of the items kept it from being too dry. The onions were nicely caramelized and it turned out to be a decent sandwich, although it would've been better with a bit of grease (if you can believe that...). As for Fries (healthy eating?), they served their purpose without being offensive. Slightly crispy while not being memorable.

Lastly, I also got the California Chicken and it was a little less successful than the cheesesteak. This time around, my fears of the thinly sliced chicken being dry came to fruition. It was quite dry and not all that flavourful either. The cheese and fresh condiments did their best to save the sandwich. To a degree it did; but it never fully hid the dry chicken meat. You know what? The sandwiches were nothing really all that special; yet it didn't offend me either. It's a good alternative to Subway or Quizno's if you wanted to try something new.

The Good:
- Everything is freshly made
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Grilling thin meat may lead to dryness
- It's okay, nothing amazing though

Connie's Cookhouse

Typically, finding good, cheap Chinese food on the Eastside of Vancouver is as easy as having your parking spot stolen in Richmond. Hence, good little dives don't drum up much excitement since there are so many. However, this is not the case on the Westside. Generally, we will find much more fancy establishments that are neither inexpensive nor guaranteed to be any good. At first, I figured that the popularity of Connie's Cookhouse could be attributed to the "novelty" factor. You know, much like the token Asian on a rec hockey team. Or in the case of Richmond, the token non-Asian on a rec hockey team. Yes, there are smaller Chinese restaurants on the Westside. There are just not that many of them. So I was thinking that Connie's fits the "token" Chinese restaurant among coffee shops, cafes and high end restaurants along West 4th. Of course it would be popular... since there is nothing much to compare it with, right? Well, Viv and I with the kids were about to find out.

Naturally, we weren't out in Kits for the sole purpose of trying out Connie's. I'm dedicated to eating; but not that much so. Rather, I had purchased a Groupon for the Candy Aisle and that is only a block away. Sure I saved $5.00 with the Groupon; yet I probably spent more in gas just driving there! Anyways, the great thing about Connie's is that they have an extensive lunch menu where eat dish includes soup and rice (unless it is a noodle dish). With 2 choices of soup, we one of each (well, 3 soups really; but 2 were the same). The Wonton Soup was a pretty typical non-wonton restaurant version. Consisting of all pork, it was alright. The meat didn't have much in the way of texture while the soup was pretty one-dimensional in flavour. As for the Hot & Sour Soup, it was tart with a surprising kick. However, it lacked depth. Once the initial flavour wore off, the soup was quite thin. Viv had the Black Bean Chicken on Rice and it was a decent portion for the price. Lots of barely cooked zucchini, onions and peppers with tender chicken in a flavourful black bean sauce. There was definitely good "wok hay" which means the wok was hot enough so that there is caramelization and ensuring nothing is soggy.

I ended up with the Szechuan Beef which curiously looked a lot like ginger beef with veggies. What I mean is that the beef was deep-fried; rather than wok-fried. The beef was in big pieces so it didn't end up being dry or anything like that. Although slightly spicy and sweet, it didn't resemble ginger beef in flavour. Thus, I suppose it could be called Szechuan... It wasn't bad. It went well with the rice. For the kiddies, we got them an order of the Stir-Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Beef. Or what we really mean as in, "the kids eat the noodles and we eat the beef and veggies". Too bad for them because the beef was both plentiful and tender (of course tenderized). The bean sprouts and onions were crisp while the noodles were soft; yet held together. The knock on this dish is the copious amount of oil used to prevent the noodles from sticking together and the wok. I'm glad to say this was not too oily and had a nice caramelized dark soy flavour. Hey, I wasn't exactly expecting too much from this place, especially since we were the only Asians eating there. However, the food is generally decent enough for the price. So in the end I actually didn't mind it. Yah, it's not exactly in the mold of what you'd find in East Van. But the food ain't bad and it's both plentiful and inexpensive.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- It's not bad

The Bad:
- Some dishes suffer from slight "North Americanization" but they are only catering to their clientele
- Family-run, thus you need to be patient with the one server