Dynasty Seafood Restaurant

Don't you ever get completely confused when it comes to Chinese restaurant names? I mean, how many have the word "Fortune" in it? Or how about "Golden"? Trust me, one has to be very careful when they say something like, "meet me at Fortune". That could mean one of over 20 restaurants in the GVRD. You could either be dining at Oakridge Centre, Metrotown or somewhere on Hastings! Fortune Restaurant, Fortune House and Fortune Court respectively. Make sure you use the entire name! Wouldn't it be funny if somebody intended on treating their friends to an expensive meal at Victoria Seafood Restaurant; yet everyone showed up at Victoria Chinese Restaurant instead? You see, the latter is a hole-in-the-wall. Or better yet, how about Happy Valley Seafood Restaurant and Happy Valley Chinese Kitchen? Imagine if there were 6 different restaurants named Cactus Club, Grand Cactus, Cactus Seafood Restaurant, Lucky Cactus, Cactus Fortune or Rich Cactus? Oh, how about we just add some 8's into it and call it Cactus 888?

After just trying out the Dim Sum at the new Grand Dynasty in the Delta Hotel, we ended up having Dim Sum at Dynasty out on Broadway in Vancouver. Honestly, can't they think of more unique names? Well, there have been interesting names in the past. Some of which have actually ended up on Leno, such as Fook Yue out on Renfrew. Thankfully it no longer exists. I bet the greeting over the phone is priceless for the people who were not in the know... "Good evening, Fook Yue!". I seriously digress. In addition to my parents, joining us for Dim Sum were Goose and Mother Goose along with all the kiddies. As per usual for the kiddies, we got an order of the Soya Pan Fried Rice Noodle Rolls. It's either this or the steamed kind for them; but they don't make the steamed kind at Dynasty. For real? This is one of the very few times where we could not order steamed rice noodle rolls. As for these pan fried ones, they were soft and held up well to the cooking; however, they were very bland. Lack of flavour and colour. I know there is hoisin and sesame paste provided; however, it just ends up being sweet with no saltiness to balance it out. My personal preference is to not have bean sprouts in this dish. Despite being a textural contrast, I find it gets in the way of the noodles. Something we haven't had in awhile was the Deep Fried Chicken Knees. For those who are a bit turned off by what this represents, it is merely the cartilage from the leg joint with some meat attached. Think of it as crunchier chicken nuggets. We liked these ones since there was a good amount of meat on them. Hence, they were not dry and we felt like there was some substance. They were not particularly flavourful though. I thought the addition of edamame interesting.

I found the Black Bean Spareribs to be quite strange. Okay, the texture was pretty good walking the line between tender and slightly chewy. However, there was a pronounced pork flavour. Before anyone decides to do the, "hey, its pork moron" line, you have to understand that it was almost gamy. Even the black bean, garlic and peppers could not hide it. I can only speculate why it was so gamy. So I'll just leave it at that. You make your own conclusions. Now onto the 2 standards of Dim Sum - Haw Gow & Sui Mai. The haw gow (or shrimp dumplings) were mostly good with a properly made dumpling skin which was slightly chewy and not too thick. The filling was a bit hit and miss. I liked the snap texture of the pieces of shrimp; yet they used too much shrimp mousse as a binding agent. It detracted from the overall texture. I thought the filling was quite tasty. It can probably be attributed to the liberal use of shrimp mousse though. I liked the sui mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), especially the large amount of tobiko on top. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, the pop just gives another textural component to the dumpling. The combination of pureed and diced pork had a nice rebound to it while the shrimp has a good snap. Flavour was understated with only a touch of sweetness and not too much salt.

The epic fail award went to the Phoenix Talons (or chicken feet). Look at them! Scrawny, fried too long and probably over-steamed, these were pathetic. It sure didn't look like $4.50 worth of food on the plate. Beyond the dry skin, there was nothing much underneath, in particular, the gelatin. Furthermore, it was too salty. From chicken feet to beef balls, or in actuality Beef Meatballs, these were not much better. I found them to be quite mushy. Typically, the pureed beef should exhibit some resistance and bounce. Secondly, the balls were bland. I hate flavourless balls... Chef (South Park) knows best, salty balls rule! For once, I felt there was not enough cilantro/green onions. From 2 sub par dishes to a good one, we have the Shrimp & Garlic Spring Rolls. As evidenced in the picture, there were lots of whole pieces of crunchy shrimp within the crispy spring roll. Interestingly, the filling in the spring roll was better than the haw gow. Was it just by fluke? The shrimp filling was not mixed well? I would say a bit of both.

Another solid dish was the Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Fried Eggplant. What they should've called it was shrimp mousse with a bit of eggplant instead. As illustrated by the picture, there was lots of sweet bouncy shrimp mouse atop perfectly cooked eggplant. The black bean sauce was a tad weak with more of a peppery kick to it than the saltiness of black bean. Normally, there is not too much to say about any Pan Fried Daikon Cake with Conpoy other than the texture since it is a very mild tasting item. Unlike most of the daikon cakes I've had recently, there were big chunks of tender daikon hidden within each slice. That added a nice mild daikon flavour which actually stood up to the Chinese sausage and dried scallop (which was a nice addition of flavour and texture). Furthermore, the texture was perfect. It was soft while still maintaining enough integrity to not fall apart when picked up with chopsticks.

Seeing how we needed more substance to our meal as well as a backup food if the kiddies didn't like the rice noodle rolls, we ordered the Seafood and Pumpkin Rice in cream sauce. This was a very strange combination and honestly, it did not work for me. The pumpkin did not add anything to the already sweet seafood and cream sauce. On top of this, the pumpkin was rock hard, in dire need of more cooking. It had a texture akin to undercooked potatoes. The cream sauce, as mentioned, was sweet and nothing else. Also, it was too thick. Too much corn starch. The only good thing about this rice was the seafood. It was cooked properly. Another interesting item was the Steamed Foie Gras, Shrimp, Pineapple and Chive Dumpling. Let's just say it was interesting on paper only. The little dollop of "foie" on top did not have any impact whatsoever. I give them full marks for creativity. Not so much on the final product. It wasn't bad by any means since the shrimp was cooked right and curiously better than the haw gow as well. I didn't think the use of pineapple was really necessary because it was sweet on sweet with the shrimp, especially in a delicate preparation such as a steamed dumpling. If it were charred pineapple and shrimp, I could see it being more impactful due to caramelization. Maybe it was to compliment the foie? Sorry, not enough foie to compliment. I guess we probably couldn't expect much for the $4.88 (interesting use of 8's eh?)

The next item was far from creative. Rather it was the good ol' Lo Mei Gai or steamed sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves. I thought these were really good. The rice was perfectly soft while still a bit chewy. Yet, the best part was the ample amount of tasty filling which was a combination of salted duck egg yolk, ground pork, imitation crab and shiitake mushrooms. Now, there has been no offal in this meal up until now. You know Dim Sum is not Dim Sum without some internal organs or things like that! We got an order of the Tendon in Teriyaki Sauce. If your reaction was less than normal, that would be mine as well when I read it on the menu. Teriyaki sauce? Fusion? Well, it really didn't taste like any teriyaki sauce I've ever had. It just seemed like any other braised, then steamed tendon in an oyster-based sauce. Maybe I was missing something? The tendons were tender; yet still retained some bite. I thought that the sauce was one-note being predominantly sweet.

Finally, for dessert, we got a couple of orders of the Egg Tarts. Although they were quite small, whatever in quality made up for it. You see, this type of egg tart is the one I like most. With a flaky puff pastry shell and only a semi-sweet custard, these were served hot. A nice ending to a very uneven meal. There were highs and lows while not much in between. If we averaged it out, it would be exactly that - average Dim Sum. Not exactly sure if I would categorize it as expensive. With that being said, it wasn't cheap either. However, the pricing is fair for the level of service and comfortable digs. Lastly, they validate parking, just remember your stall number.

The Good:
- Considering this is a Chinese restaurant, the service is very good
- Nice dining space
- Validated parking

The Bad:
- Hit and miss food
- Not expensive; not cheap either

La Ghianda

Okay, this has been quite frustrating. Another great place to eat and it's both far away and not open for dinner! Much like Chez Meme, La Ghianda is not exactly accessible for those who work during the day (unless you work nearby that is). Hence, it has taken a bit of time for me to visit the place since it opened. Part of the La Quercia family, La Ghianda is an Italian deli which offers up fresh, inexpensive fare. I dragged Pomegranate out for this food adventure so that I could try more food. We decided to try one item from each of the categories starting with the Roast Beef Panini with horseradish & arugula. Since the place is extremely small, we had to share a table with some other people. They were already munching happily on the same sandwich. They were raving about the bread and indeed it was very good. It was crusty and chewy, which made it a bit difficult to eat. Yet, that didn't take away from the tender medium-rare roast beef and wonderful horseradish dressing. There was just enough horseradish bite without being overwhelming. By virtue of using arugula rather than lettuce (such as romaine), resulted in the addition of some welcomed bitterness.

For our pasta dish, we decided to try the Orecchietti with Meat Sauce. The pasta was very al dente and personally, I like it this way. For fresh pasta, it is usually very difficult to make it al dente without under cooking it to a degree. In that respect, I thought it was executed perfectly. The meat sauce was surprisingly light and mild tasting. I often complain that pastas are either too salty or bland. Not this one. It was perfectly balanced. For our meat course, we opted for the Pork Scaloppine alla Limone. With everything here, it is only $10.00. I don't know about you; but that is a pretty good value in my books. The thin slices of pork were perfectly cooked and bathed in a tasty lemon caper sauce. The sauce was gentle enough that I could still taste the meat while there was enough impact to add flavour. Pickled beets, zucchini and fennel salad rounded out the dish. Pomegranate thought that the fennel really went well with each bite of pork.

We were already quite stuffed at this point; but something told me to go get a Leek & Potato Soup as well. Actually, there is always a voice telling me to eat, so I guess it's normal... Anyways, the soup was fantastic. Silky smooth and balanced, this was elevated above its modest ingredients. In fact, we were both very impressed with what we were served for the price. Except for the soup, everything was $10.00. Sure, $10.00 for a sandwich is somewhat steep; but that is fast becoming the norm anyways. Considering the quality and execution of the food, one would expect to pay more. Much like La Quercia, Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme have another hit on their hands.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Food is solid
- Fresh house-made ingredients

The Bad:
- If you choose to eat-in, there might not be any tables and if there are, you'll need to share
- Sandwiches for $10.00 could be steep for some people

Pho 98

I'm sure you've noticed that I eat a lot of Pho. Hey, I really like the stuff! I remember once having it 3 times in one day! Well, it's not very hard to do in the GVRD since there is a Vietnamese restaurant every couple blocks. Take into account that some of these establishments are less expensive than some food courts and street food, it's also very accessible. Now, Pho can easily be found in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam and even New West (to a degree). One place we do not find many Vietnamese restaurants is on the North Shore. It could be the demographics and/or it could just be the higher operational costs. To the best of my knowledge, there are less than 5 places for Pho in North Van. Since we were on the North Shore already, we decided to hit up one of them. Pho 98 carries on the tradition of Vietnamese restaurants with a number in the name. We all know Pho 99, Pho 101 and the former Pho 66. Wonder if there will be a brave enough restaurant that will use the number 69? That would be some interesting spring rolls!

Arriving just before closing, we quickly ordered. The owners were very friendly and did not rush us at all. Viv had the large Brisket Pho and while I was getting her to "pose" the noodles, we noticed how little food there was. In terms of the broth, it was not bad. I definitely could taste beef and there did not appear to be much salt or MSG. The broth was more savoury than sweet. The meats were slightly dry while still tender. Noodles were done right with a bit of chew left. I ended up with the Spring Roll & Lemongrass Chicken Rice. Again, for the price, there wasn't a huge amount of food. A modest piece of nicely grilled chicken was accompanied by 2 spring rolls. I didn't get a lot of lemongrass flavour; but the chicken was hardly bland. The spring rolls were okay; however, I wish more Vietnamese places would use rice wrappers. I did like the filling, it was not too loose or overstuffed.

In general, the food was okay. Nothing offensive and nothing spectacular. Prices are on the higher side; but not uncommon in this area. Portion size is a bit smaller than most other Vietnamese restaurants. The owners were extremely friendly and even let us be, despite the fact we were there after closing. Nothing we'd make a special trip for; but it does the job for the locals or if you're in the area.

The Good:
- Acceptable food
- Nice owners

The Bad:
- Smallish portions
- Slightly pricier than other Vietnamese restaurants

Huaxi Noodle Specialist

Oh how I loathe thee, Crystal Mall. You are able to frustrate me like no other. Alas, your bounty of delicious eats entice me to suffer the consequences of such poor self-control. The horror of your circular parkade which affords me only one means of entrance and escape. The patience I must hone while watching a full-face masked Corolla driver take 10 minutes to get out of their parking spot. The zen-like meditation I must practice while almost being hit by drivers who do not realize that other people exist in the narrow ramps from P1 to P2. Yes, Crystal Mall, you test my resolve. But here I am again. Much like hearing the Sirens in Greek mythology, I heed thy call...

Tonight, Viv and I needed a quick bite and needed some Chinese pastries; thus the decision to pay Crystal Mall a visit. We ended up getting some items from Wang's, which in my mind has some of the best Xiao Long Baos in time for cheap. Seeing Kim's post on Huaxi Noodles, I went to try it for myself. I ended going for the Beef and Tripe Noodles and I asked for them to make it as spicy as possible. She was a bit hesitant to do so; but I insisted I could handle it. Besides, I made it out of the parking lot didn't I? What can possibly be worse? Well, she wasn't kidding. Viv stopped eating it altogether, not because it was too spicy per se; rather, it was really greasy from the copious amount of chili oil. I mean, it was still quite spicy; but we could handle it. Getting past the oil, the beef noodle was quite good. The noodles were soft while still exhibiting some rebound. The beef was alright with the tripe being more on the chewy side. With all that chili oil, I couldn't really get a sense of the broth; yet it did have depth and good colour. A good beef noodle; but not great.

On a return visit (yah, tempting fate with the parking lot, I know), I decided to try the Guiyang Style Spicy Chicken Noodles. This time I decided to try it in medium, so I could get a better sense of the broth. The broth was still quite spicy and oily; but the soup was quite flavourful without being salty. This time around, the noodles were perfectly al dente and I enjoyed them very much. I wasn't a big fan of the chicken. Just too small and bony. Hard to eat in soup. Whatever the case, the noodles are solid here. Perfect for a cold, rainy day.

The Good:
- From what I could taste, the broth had depth
- Tender beef
- You can get it pretty spicy if you want

The Bad:
- Portion size is modest for the price
- Takes awhile, but then again, that can be good
- That parking lot...

Dim Sum @ Chong Lum Hin

We all know that Dim Sum can be found at all the major Chinese restaurants in town. Hey, you just have to look for the big lineups in front while driving by on a weekend morning. On that note, is there really any place that does not have a lineup during peak hours? That is probably why I hesitate to go for Dim Sum between 11:00am - 1:00pm without a reservation. I absolutely hate lineups. Even with a "reservation", some Chinese restaurants consider it no more than a politician's promise. It's all fine and dandy at first; but when it comes to delivering, it doesn't exist. So imagine my dilemma when I woke up late on a Sunday at 11:00am? I felt like Dim Sum while not feeling it for lining up. Hmm... How about a smaller place? Wait. Western Lake is an example of a smaller Chinese restaurant and they have lineups to end all lineups... Okay, I had to reach deep into my subconsciousness for this one - Chong Lum Hin. As you know, I have a 6th sense. No, I don't see dead people. Rather, I can see restaurants. While driving, I'm always on the lookout for places to eat. I've driven by Chong Lum Hin countless times without stopping to eat at the place. Why? Well, it looks dumpy. I'm not adverse to dives; but this place was just never a priority... until today.

Hoping that there would be no lineup as well as inexpensive Dim Sum, I loaded the family into the SUV. We ended up parking across the street rather than their parking lot. I really should've done that instead. You see, we parked right in front of a sex shop. My son who can read very well asked, "what are adult toys?" Uh... Viv interjected and replied that they were cell phones and stuff... Well... I guess that is somewhat legit since some people have been known to use cell phones... as "toys". Ahem. Anyways, once across the street and into the restaurant, we noticed that it is indeed a dive. Reminiscent of the 80's, this place is short on decor; but really, that was expected. With most items at only $2.75, I don't really care about the decor. Luck would have it, we ended up with a table at the corner with windows on both sides! It must be my lucky day... Should visit the that sex shop after Dim Sum! Er... Okay, onto the food... Since the place is incredibly cramped, they employ the order checklist rather than push carts.

Everything seemed to show up at once, so there was really no real order to the food. I'll just starting taking about the Haw Gow (shrimp dumpling) first. For $2.75, these were pretty solid shrimp dumplings. The filling had the proper snap texture while not being over-seasoned. The natural sweetness of the shrimp was present. The dumpling wrapper was very respectable as well. Not too thick and steamed perfectly. The same could be said about the Sui Mai (pork & shrimp dumpling). Also nicely cooked with the desired bounce from the meat. For one the one dumpling that I did eat, I didn't notice any shrimp. It could be a bad mix or there was no shrimp? That didn't hurt the flavour though. It was a nice balance of sweet and saltiness with some shiitake mushrooms bits. As much as the 2 dumplings were good, the Beef Rice Noodle Roll was not. They put way too much water in the rice flour mix; hence the noodle could not be picked up without it totally disintegrating. Furthermore it was too thick. We did like the beef filling though, it was tender and had a right amount of cilantro. Of course, here comes the offal in the form of the Satay Tendon and Tripe. It wasn't the most pleasing of colours since it was very pale (especially for satay). However, the flavour was right with plenty of garlic. Both the tendon and tripe were tender and easy to eat. We thought the Shark's Fin & Dry Scallop Dumpling in soup was alright. The broth was naturally flavourful from the dry scallops. The dumpling itself was large and full of seafood. However, it could've done without the imitation crab meat.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of overstuffed Steamed Bean Curd Rolls. It just becomes a chore to eat and the fried bean curd sheets become lost. However, I didn't mind this one since it wasn't all meat inside. Rather, there was a mix of veggies which kept the roll quite light despite its size. The next dish was Viv's pick. She loves Deep Fried Eggplant stuffed with shrimp mousse. We both agreed that this was done very well. The eggplant was fully cooked without being slimy while the shrimp mousse was both plentiful and right texturally. The only negative was the bland black bean sauce. Rather than ordering a plate of spareribs, we did the "Chinese-value ordering strategy" and got the Steamed Spareribs and Chicken Feet on Rice. Normally, this dish is "come bao" which means it can fill you up quickly. Thus, people order it so they don't need to order much more food to be full. It really didn't matter in this case since we ordered 14 dishes for 2 adults and 2 young children! Anyways, the rice itself held up to the ingredients and still had some chew. The spareribs were very good being soft with a bit of chew left. We liked how most of the pieces were meaty and not that cartilage crap that has no meat and all fat. Taste-wise, it was very garlicky, just the way we like it. The single chicken feet (foot?) was big and plump.

On the topic of feet, we got an order of the Steamed Duck Webs with taro root. Much like the chicken feet, the duck webs were equally large and plump. Lots of gelatin and soft tendon underneath. Yah, if you didn't grow up eating this, this might be slightly gross sounding... Once again, there was plenty of garlic in the flavourful sauce. The large pieces of taro helped soak it all up at the bottom of the plate. As mentioned, we got 14 dishes, so the food kept coming. The Pan Fried Daikon Cake had a beautiful crust with an appetizing colour. Normally, that would mean there was copious amounts of oil used to achieve this. Now, there still might been a lot of oil; but it didn't show up on the cake itself. It was soft while maintaining its form, even after separating it into quarters. Lots of big daikon slivers and the right amount of dried shrimp and diced Chinese sausage made for a great tasting cake (somehow that didn't come out right).

So the next dish was strictly for the kiddies. Nothing like deep fried goodness in the form of Garlic Shrimp Spring Rolls. Somehow I get the idea that this place likes using garlic... And yes, there was lots of garlic mixed in with the shrimp. They were good. Crispy on the outside while not being oily with loads of crunchy shrimp on the inside. Not sure if the plum sauce was necessary since the spring roll had plenty of flavour on its own. Another thing for the kiddies was the Preserved Egg and Salted Pork Congee. Well, at least most of it was for the kiddies, we ended up eating the preserved egg. They're not into the black egg thing yet. It's funny how we watch Fear Factor where people are so freaked out at eating it. I guess growing up having it in everything tends to desensitize people. Anyways, the congee itself was on the watery side. It did taste great though. I suspect there was a fair share of MSG in it. There was no shortage of ingredients either. A decent Dim Sum congee. The best congee is usually best to be had at a place that specializes in it such as Congee Noodle King.

Lastly, we got an order of the BBQ Pork Buns and Custard Buns. Since they are essentially the same except for the filling, I've only posted the picture of the custard buns. The bun itself was soft and fluffy if not a bit sweet. That was significant since the BBQ pork filling was quite sweet too which resulted in an overly sweet product. Yet, that's nitpicking really. The Dim Sum in general was more than acceptable given the price. In fact, we thought it was good. Sure, the place ain't much to look at from the outside and inside; but it fits the bill for inexpensive Dim Sum in the New West/Burnaby area. Furthermore, the service we got was more than adequate and bordered on friendly. As for the sex shop we parked in front of... we rushed the kids into the car. We weren't interested in explaining what XXX meant.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Pretty decent stuff
- Service ain't bad

The Bad:
- It ain't much to look at (if that matters to you)
- A bit cramped

Eli's Serious Sausage

Ever since Eli's Serious Sausage opened up on Pacific Blvd a while ago, it was on my agenda. There I was. Every now and then, trying to find Eli's sausage... Um... And it was ever so elusive. Much like all of the other food carts in Vancouver, the operating times are highly dependent on weather, equipment issues and plain ol' traffic. Thus, I missed Eli every time. In fact, the cart eventually moved to a more foot-traffic friendly spot on the corner of Beatty and Dunsmuir. The day I visited The Dirty Apron, he was right there, sausages and all... However, I do have my limits and I didn't end up getting any. I would not end up getting any sausage for quite a while (is that too much info?). Several times again, I missed him. Undeterred, I finally caught up with the sausage cart on a rainy January. He had constructed a weather barrier which had a big spot for a possible ad facing the viaduct traffic. I suggested that he merely put "Come and Get My Sausage" on it. He thought it was a little too edgy. Hey, if it sells...

Anyways, I decided to pick up two items starting with the Original German as a baseline. I was in a bit of a rush and almost forgot to put condoms, er... condiments on my sausage. I did a combination of sauerkraut, pickled red cabbage and grainy mustard. I really liked the fennel seed bun since fennel is such a natural compliment. Furthermore, the bun is dense enough to hold up to the substantial sausage and the snappy casing. The sausage itself was really meaty and not fatty. Mildly seasoned, it had just enough meat flavour that it stood up to the toppings.

Of course I couldn't track down Eli without only having one sausage. Hence, I also had the Currywurst. A combination of a tomato-based sauce with curry powder, this was one tasty sausage. I could taste the curry; but it was not overpowering. A good balance of tartness with a tinge of spice and savouriness. Combined with the excellent bun and sausage, I really enjoyed it. Despite the appearance of merely being another hot dog stand, Eli's Serious Sausage offers a solid product which is subtlety different at a similar price. Indeed the sausage is the star of the show though. It has a great snap, texture and taste.

The Good:
- High-quality brat
- The bun is more than just bread, it compliments the sausage
- Eli is a great guy

The Bad:
- Not cheap, but worth it with everything taken into consideration