Sherman's Food Adventures

Hapa Umi

*Transitioned into another Hapa Izakaya*

Confusion. I think that is the best word to describe what people are faced with when it comes to Hapa Umi. With the Hapa name attached to its latest venture, many people expect much of the same. You know, a hip place with hot staff and a wide selection of small dishes for all to share with a side of drinks. Yes, that would be so true if we were thinking along the lines of an Izakaya. But Hapa Umi is not an Izakaya. In fact, the menu reflects somewhat of a fine dining slant complete with fine dining prices. So when I gathered up the boys to try the place out, they were expecting Izakaya. As we walked into the

place, it had all the earmarks of Hapa, However, one look at the menu and Constanza pipes up, "Where's the Ebi Mayo???". Um, there is none. He looked utterly dejected since that is his favourite item from Hapa. Hey, I don't blame him, it is my favourite as well! Undeterred, we decided to order a bunch of items to share, although it really didn't seem like a sharing place. There we go again, it's not an Izakaya. Stop thinking that!

So we started with probably the most famous item on the menu - th

e Award-Winning Ocean Wise Chowder. This version beat out all others at the 2010 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown. We ended up getting 2 orders split into 4 bowls. The boys were happy about that since they could start eating without needing to wait for me to take photos. It's not a thick chowder per se; yet it does have lots of chunky items that make it hearty. From the perfectly cooked potatoes to the large pieces of scallop and halibut to the wonderfully crisp croutons, the soup is indeed quite good. The broth is a combination of cream, dashi and a proper dose of seafood flavour. The bacon bits add some smoke and

saltiness; however, I personally found them a bit too hard. Next up was the Fraser Valley Duck Tataki prepared sous-vide and sauced with a sake, soy, red wine marinade and dijon. I found the duck itself to be naturally flavourful while the sauce was understated. Rich Guy thought it was a bit chewy; yet that is understandable since the duck is practically raw. I didn't mind it so much because it was good quality duck.

Normally, on the menu, there is a chilled oyster appy; but for today there was a Tempura Fried Oyster in lieu. We gave this one a try and

it was pretty straight forward. Kudos for the fresh oyster and the light tempura. Pretty textbook version of fried oysters. The Albacore Tuna and Sockeye Salmon Sashimi was the highlight of the meal. You might wonder how pieces of raw fish can be a "wow" item. Well, if you know your sashimi, you will realize this is a cut above your regular sushi joint. As Vandelay remarked, it was extremely fresh in appearance and in taste. The tuna had the texture of fish only found at Tojo's. It was soft; yet a good soft (not mushy, retaining a level of texture). The salmon was equally as good, again exhibiting a textur

e that can only be experienced by eating it, not through words. We also got 2 orders of maki starting with the Spicy Tuna. So you might be wondering what justifies spending $8.00+ on a common sushi roll? Well, a good sushi roll depends on the ingredients, the sushi rice and the construction. This particular one was pretty much solid in all 3 areas. Nothing mind-blowing but solid nonetheless. Once again, the tuna was very high quality as with the rice.

Similarly, the Dynamite Roll was also well

made with large prawn tempura. It was quite evident that this was made with high quality ingredients as well and carefully constructed. However, as Costanza summed it up, it was an expensive dynamite roll. For the main dishes, we shared the AAA Alberta Beef Tenderloin first. It came with mushroom ankake, vegetable chips and garlic ponzu. We ended up with this since they were out of the beef tataki. Apparently, the previous restaurant was designed with a complete lack of storage facilities; hence the limited menu and certain items selling out. We asked for the tenderloin to be prepared

medium rare and it arrived that way more or less. The beef itself was quite good and so were the mushrooms. A solid, if not pretty standard dish for the price. We shared the Sablefish Wakasayaki next. Marinated in soy, sake and dashi and served with sembei-crusted asparagus, kabocha chips and arugula gel, it looked visually appealing. The sablefish itself was prepared nicely while the other components were spot on. However, the sablefish seemed to lack any distinguishing flavour. Sure, you never want to overwhelm delicate fish; but a bit more marinade would have helped. The arugula gel was

beautifully presented and could've alleviate the lack of flavour, if it wasn't permanently dried to the plate. Maybe there needed to be more? Or it could've used more moisture? For the parts we could scrap off, it was pretty nice, especially with the delicate fish. I really liked the asparagus, the rice cracker added a nice crunch.

Lastly, we got 2 sides to go with the entrees. The first was the Takikomi Gohan which consisted of rice, veggies and bacon. It was a bit on the dry side; but it isn't supposed to be wet either, so no real issues with that. I did like the bacon, it added

the necessary saltiness. It could've stood for even more flavour in my opinion. As for the second side, there was no need to change anything. The Yuzu Pommes Puree was fantastic. Very rich and buttery and full of flavour which was well-balanced, we could only have a little bit each. Light, this is not. But oh so good. Now we didn't end up going for dessert. Too bad really since the word is that they are pretty good. Now, the buzz around Hapa Umi has been rather mixed. I truly believe it is a result of this confusion over what the restaurant represents. Once again, it is not an Izakaya. Being associated with the name Hapa is

a double-edged sword. It is a great brand name to flaunt; but then people have this image which is hard to shake. Hence, when one opens up the menu and experiences sticker shock while being perplexed as to where their Hapa favourites have gone, negative thoughts possibly creep in. Therefore, the food may be judged from an unfair perspective. There is considerable overhead for its location and operating costs. With that being said, even if one looked at Hapa Umi from a fine-dining approach (due to their prices), it is a bit expensive. I expressed my concerns and it appears that they are aware of this and they are still going through growing pains. Once the dust settles, we might get a better picture of what Hapa Umi represents.

The Good:
- Kudos for style points
- High quality Sashimi
- Despite what others have said, food is fine

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Flavours are delicate (much like most Japanese food); but for some, it might be too delicate
- It'll be hard for people to shake their preconceptions of the place since it has Hapa in the name

Yellow Chilli

Way back when, we'd often visit Bombay Palki for their lunch buffet out on 128th at 72nd. Of course, a buffet is never the optimal way to experience good food; but this one wasn't bad. Furthermore, many of the curries were practically the same as the one off the menu. Well, I suppose the one off the menu would be served hotter and wouldn't be sitting around. But you get the idea. Then, all of a sudden, the buffet was removed from the menu. Furthermore, suspicious "reviews" showed up on Urbanspoon extolling the virtues of the restaurant by first time users. Then the restaurant changed their name to Sohi's Incredible Ind

ian Cuisine. That didn't last long and now we have the Yellow Chilli. Nikita had already tried the new buffet they had there and suggested that I give it a try.

Walking into the place, it sure didn't seem like anything had changed other than the name. But to be honest, they really didn't need any renovations, the place was pretty clean and inviting anyways. The one good thing about a buffet is that you can start to eat immediately and so we did. In addition to green salad, raita and a few desserts, there was rice, Papadum, Saag Paneer,

Aloo Mattar, Dahl Makhani, Goat Rogan Josh, Mango Chicken, Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken. For my first dish, I gave a few items a try starting with the Butter Chicken. Although a bit lukewarm, it was not bad. It was pretty creamy with only a touch of tomato. The white meat was tender and not overcooked. I give them kudos for including Tandoori Chicken; however, it was a tad dry. On the positive side, the chicken was marinaded evenly and it did taste good. What I really liked was the Goat Rogan Josh. There was a complex mix of spices with cloves and ginger standing out. The goat was tender and had the

desired gelatinous texture to it. It went well with the freshly-made Naan. It was nicely blistered and a good combination of chewy and soft.

I went up for another plate to try some of their other items despite being quite full already. Starting from the top left clockwise, we have the Mango Chicken, Aloo Mattar, Saag Paneer and Dhal Makhani. Surprisingly, the Mango Chicken tasted like... mangoes! It was slightly on the sweeter side, but the creaminess of the sauce went well with the nann.

While not trying to sound boring, the other 3 items were pretty much standard, not being offensive or particularly memorable. It probably has something to do with the fact they are meatless... LOL... Whatever the case, this has been one of the better Indian buffets I've had in the last little while. There is no comparison between this one and Urban Masala down the street. The buffet at Yellow Chilli exhibits much better execution. My only wish would be more customers since the food gets kinda cold otherwise.

The Good:
- Everything in the buffet looks and tastes like it should be
- Reasonably-priced
- Comfortable dining space

The Bad:
- Lack of customers for the buffet, food gets cold

Yellow Chilli Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon

Noodle Island

After an exhaustive day of shopping, I really only wanted to go home. While I can easily shop for clothes and be out of a store within 10 minutes, Viv can take 10 times as long easily. We already hit the outlets, Ross, Fred Meyer and now Target. The only reason we didn't end up at Wal-Mart was that she suddenly realized the total amount spent exceeded $600.00 in only a 5-hour period. And that was only on clothes... for the kids mostly! They'd better thank us for this... someday. Gawd, I sound like my parents! Thus, we hightailed it out of there and made our way to the border. Of course we had to eat before

heading straight home. Nothing too fancy and definitely nothing too expensive either. So we decided to drive through Fleetwood and stop off at Noodle Island. Advertised as a Vietnamese restaurant, we were curious to find items like Broccoli and Beef on the menu. Oh well, trying to be everything to everyone?

Well, we weren't here for that so we stuck with the Vietnamese food staring with the Banh Cuon with are rice noodle rolls filled with ground pork and wood ear mushrooms topped with Vietnamese ham, fried onions and served with a fish sauce

dip. Also on the side was blanched bean sprouts, pickled daikon/carrots and a green salad with cucumber. For $6.95, the was a fair amount of food. As for the rolls, the noodle itself was made with too much water; thus it fell apart when we tried to pick it up. I did like the tasty filling though. Of course I would have the Pho, in particular the Pho Dac Biet (with everything). Once again, there was a good amount of food for the price. Lots of noodles and tender meat. No complaints there. The broth was on the blander side; yet was still not bad exhibiting some aromatics.

Viv had the Vermicelli Bowl with pork patty and spring rolls. Despite being crispy with a nice filling, it was too bad they used wheat wrappers for the spring rolls. The pork was predictably sweet and salty with nice charring. The picture doesn't do it justice because the bowl was very large. Yes, for whatever the food lacks in execution, it is completely made up in quantity. The prices aren't necessarily cheap; but you do get a lot of food. Considering its location, Noodle Island is an okay choice if you are not too picky about your Vietnamese food (or available Chinese food too in this case...).

The Good:
- Large portions
- Okay food
- Pretty good service

The Bad:
- Food is only okay
- Not expensive; but not exactly that cheap either

Moxie's (West Broadway)

*This location is closed*

The dreaded chain restaurant. For many food enthusiasts, it is the anti-thesis of creativity and good taste. Think of it. A chain restaurant mainly exists to provide a predictable product that will suit many different tastes and preferences. In that case, this is actually a good thing because not everyone is interested in dining at a hole-in-the-wall, certain ethnic restaurants and "fine-dining" establishments. However, these chain restaurants are walking a fine line these days. The prices seem to be rising dangerously close to fine-dining and the food is being influenced by Asian cuisine. Personally, I happen to like Cactus

Club despite being one of the more prominent chain restaurants in Vancouver. With that being said, I still find the prices to be quite high.

There has been an explosion of restaurants that fall into the "Cactus Club" formula, namely Earl's, Joey and Moxie's. I've been to them all except for Moxie's until tonight. Why? Well, let's just say the first time I visited this location, I got a moldy bun - not cool. Hey, I'm willing to let that go, it was probably a one-off. Now Moxie's was not always a hip place with modern decor and attractive staff. Along with Joey's, it used to be a family-friendly restaurant. Now Moxie's has gone upscal

e and the prices have gone up accordingly. Boss Woman wasn't really all that hungry and went for the Calamari. Reminiscent of the one they serve at Cactus Club, this one was pretty good. The squid was tender with some bite and the breading was crisp. The accompanying tzatziki was a little weak; but it did the job. For awhile now, I've been on this Yam Fries kick. This has probably been my 5th order of this in the last month. And this one was one of the better ones. The fries were the right thickness and came out very crispy. Nothing worse than soggy yam fries. There were 2 dips - curry mayo and g

arlic aioli. I liked the aioli more, the curry just didn't seem to work for me. Trying to offset my unhealthy appie, I went for the Maple Glazed Salmon with pineapple salsa and wild rice pilaf. The dish looked pretty enough with bright, fresh colours and great ingredients. It's too bad that they totally overcooked the salmon. It was quite stiff and dry. The sweet salsa somewhat saved the dish a bit; but when the protein is not done right, it is a fail. I did like the perfectly cooked rice and asparagus though.

Now Gadget Girl ended up with the Salmon &

Prawns Capellini and if you were wondering about the salmon... yes, it was overcooked as well. In fact, it was probably more cooked than mine. However, the prawns were perfect and so were the al dente noodles. The citrus butter and fresh basil gave the dish balance as there was some freshness and savoury elements. They enjoyed the pasta despite the dry salmon. Milhouse has been resisting temptation and has stuck with salads as of late. Apparently, he is trying to acquire that perfect figure. Uh... Okay... But he gave in this time in the form of the Pancetta and White Cheddar Veal Burger. He found it

sufficiently interesting enough to try it. I don't blame him, it did sound very different than the regular burgers we often see. Well, the description on the menu, for once, translated to a great burger. The meat was nicely charred while still being moist and juicy. The combination of white cheddar and pancetta provided a very different taste. Too bad the fries were your typical run-of-the-mill variety. I suggest substituting for the yam fries for an extra charge.

As expected, Sweet Tooth opted to have dessert. Her choice was the Callebaut Chocolate

Espresso Mousse served with biscotti and whipped cream. Resembling a pile of turd, the dessert didn't look promising when it arrived. However, it wasn't bad. Not too heavy nor sweet, there was some coffee hints in the mousse. It actually need the whipped cream for more sweetness. It was decent, along with the rest of the food actually. Typical chain restaurant fare from the cookie-cutter mold which employs a nice space, attractive servers, safe food and high prices. Does the job when looking for late-night eats.

The Good:
- Nice decor and nice staff
- Predictable
- Open late

The Bad:
- Predictable
- Pricey

SIlver Tower

Once again, I get the call to play on a rare Saturday night at Richmond Ice (otherwise known as RICE). With this group, the good news is that they always eat out afterwards. The bad news is it's Alleluia or bust. Hey, I like the place; but honestly... every time??? They're killing me here! This would've been the 5th straight time for me. Finally, I decided to speak up. I begged that we go somewhere else. I've been a good boy. I've played along each and every time without complaining. Don't I deserve something different? Fortunately, they gave in and decided to go to Silver Tower instead. Either it was my whining or the threa

t of writing them off the blog that they accommodated my wishes. LOL... So Silver Tower is not exactly foreign to us. In fact, this was our usual spot after Saturday hockey before they decided to make Alleluia the default. Since then, there have been extensive renovations to the place. Rather than looking like a wonton noodle shop, it now resembles the "Pearl Castle" look. Much like Alleluia, Silver Tower is a Hong-Kong style cafe. For those who are unfamiliar, think Chinese restaurant with Hong Kong interpretations of various international cuisine. On

ly at these places where you will find an Oscar Meyer (if you are lucky) in place of a sausage and spaghetti topped off with a Heinz-based sauce (also if you are lucky). If you haven't been grossed out yet, please continue reading.

For the first time in ages, I picked up Goose for hockey tonight. Since he's moved to Seattle, we haven't played hockey together much, let alone sharing a ride. Once again, riding in my car means only one thing - kidnapped for food! He ended up with the Curry Brisket with Rice. As with most Chinese curries, this one was more sweet tha

n spicy. There was a hint of heat; but not very much. Solid Chinese-style yellow curry with tender brisket and soft potatoes. For myself, I always go for broke at a Hong Kong-style cafe. Nothing but the 3-Item Meal with spaghetti or rice, veggies, soup and drink. Similarly priced at $9.95 just like Alleluia. Predictably, I went for the Tongue, Short Ribs and Chicken Steak. The chicken steak (deboned chicken leg) was very juicy and well-seasoned. I wasn't a big fan of the beef short ribs though, it had very little meat and was chewy. On the other hand, the tongue was perfect. Soft

, moist and lightly salted, I offered it to everyone. For some strange reason, I got many strange stares. What? What's wrong with me sharing my tongue??? Miss Soda gleefully accepted it and enjoyed it very much! I knew she'd like my tongue! Uh...

Anyways, she ended up sharing the Yeung Chow Fried Rice (BBQ Pork & Shrimp Fried Rice) with Mr. Vain and it was pretty decent as well. Not as good as last time (they were here last week); but still lots of ingredients and chewy rice. Crazy Goalie (no, that's not me) had the Singapore Fried Vermicelli and I got to try some. The noodles were al dente with lots of

shrimp, BBQ pork, peppers, onions, bean sprouts and egg. The best thing about the dish was the minimal use of oil. This dish is usually very oily. Now don't laugh; but someone actually ordered the Laksa here. Now, with reasonable expectations, this laksa wasn't too bad. Sure, it was not really all that spicy and honestly, I didn't even know what type it was. It looked to be a curry laksa; yet there was no coconut flavour. Once again, we should not expect too much out of a Malaysian dish served in a Hong Kong-style cafe. Regardless of its authenticity (and there are

many unauthentic items at a Hong Kong-style cafe anyways), there was a fair amount of ingredients and it was edible.

Max Power went for the Brisket & Rice Noodles in Soup. He remarked that the soup was very flavourful and the noodles still had a slightly chewy texture. The brisket was quite tender. Chunkylover73 went for the Club Macaroni in Soup. For those who don't know, it is frozen veggies, ham and a fried egg with macaroni in soup. I know, I know. Some people will wonder why we would pay for such an easy

dish. I think I make this at home sometimes... Yet, that is the beauty of a Hong Kong-style cafe. Despite its simplicity, it was done properly. Once again, a flavourful broth with not-too-soft macaroni. That is the minimal expectations of this bowl of food. Well, the food was generally what we expected it to be and then some. Considering this was well past 1:00am, our expectations were not really high. Silver Tower gave us decent eats at a reasonable price with included refillable beverages. What else could we ask for?

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent food
- Clean

The Bad:
- Located right next to Matsuyama, the parking lot is insufficient

Silver Tower Cafe Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Bubble World (Surrey)

So. What is the normal protocol for Valentine's Day? Spend time with your partner/spouse and possibly go out for a good meal. That sounds about right. Well, you gotta give it to Viv. Not only did we not go out for anything, I ended up meeting Mijune at Bubble World on Valentine's Day. Yah, I met up with another woman! To be fair, Viv knew about this and there was good reason. However, I need to watch it. Viv might be filing the papers at this very moment... So, the reason we picked Bubble World of all places is because it is open late. One of the original bubble tea joints in the GVRD, they added the

"restaurant" portion to some of their locations to offer more than just drinks.

If I had to make a comparison, the bubble tea at Bubble World may not necessarily be the best; but it is fine for what it is. Consider it the McD's of bubble tea. For myself I had a Lychee Slush with coconut jelly while Mijune had a combination of Macha and Coconut. We asked for low sugar and honestly, that works quite well since the bubble teas here are usually quite sweet. As for our food, we started with an order of a the Salty Peppery Chicken. Although the pieces of chicken were

tender and quite large, it fell flat in terms of flavour. In fact, the size of the pieces probably compounded the lack of flavour. It was slightly salty; yet hardly peppery. The attached pieces of chicken skin was not something we preferred either. I'm sure some people like it that way, we didn't.

We got the Fried Egg & Pork Floss Wrap for our next dish. Now don't worry, it is not dental floss made out of pork (although that would be pretty cool), rather it is merely dried pork. The key to this dish is the pancake wrap itself since the pork

floss is store bought and a fried egg is a fried egg. And the pancake was pretty good being thin, soft and easy to eat. It as served with a sweet oyster-based which, in my opinion, was not really necessary since the wrap was pretty flavourful itself. Despite the fact we both had already ate dinner, it didn't stop us from sharing a Spicy Beef & Tendon Noodle as well. Yes, we are dedicated eaters! We weren't holding out much hope for good food here, let alone a good Taiwanese beef noodle; however, it was decent. The soup base was flavourful being spicy and slightly

sweet with a tart kick from the pickled greens. Yet, it did not have a lot of meat flavour nor depth. The noodles were slightly chewy and thick. As for the beef, it was not as tender as we would've liked. Let me rephrase that, the beef was tender; but the tendons within the beef were not. If you can believe it, this was my first time "eating" at Bubble World. I've had their bubble tea many times over; yet I've never had their food. From what we tried, it was a whole lot better than I had envisioned. Of course this is not the best of anything; but it does the job.

The Good:
- One of the bubble tea originals, they do that right
- Reasonably-priced
- Open late

The Bad:
- There is better bubble tea out there

The Official Menu for Vancouver's 1st Annual Foodie Feast

Okay drum roll.... Hit those Rock Band drums! Alright, after great anticipation, here are some of the items being featured at the Foodie Feast on Tuesday, March 29th at District 319, which is tonight!!!! The event sold out in 4 days and there will be no tickets available at the door or anywhere else. All net proceeds go to the Food Bank. We will be taking monetary and non-perishable donations at the event as well. So without further delay, here they are!

Bella Gelateria

Three types of Gelato

EBO Restaurant

Albacore Tuna - Rare Rice Crusted Albacore Tuna Loin, Asparagus and Serrano Ham, Avocado Puree, Soya Gel

Beef Shortrib “Galbijim” – Slow Cooked Beef Shortrib, Sweet Daikon, Kimchi, and Sesame

EBO Chocolate P Nut Butter Bar with Smoking Orchard Shooter – Peanut butter chocolate bar, passion fruit gelée, cinnamon honey comb and peanut butter ice cream

El Barrio