Chace's Pancake Corral

"Yee Haw!" Round up the children and mosey on down to the Pancake Corral, Chace's to be exact. Where the heck are we? No, not Texas. If you can believe it, in Bellevue. Yup, in this bustling, ever-changing, modern suburb of Seatte, we are kickin' it ol' skool. Driving down Bellevue Way, away from the Downtown core of trendy shops and restaurants, we find a lil' ol' shack of sorts in the middle of a residential area. You see, this place has been around for a very long time. Long before all of the other development that has occurred 10 blocks North. It is almost as if time has stood still. The place looks uniquely un-modern, the interior is much of the same. The real plus? Service that you can rarely find elsewhere these days.

Now what else would one order at this place? Well, pancakes of course! My son took one look at the menu and zeroed in on the Chocolate Chip Pancakes (yes, he is only 5 and can read easily, we are so proud...). Now if you are wondering where are the chocolate chips, they are actually on the underside of the pancake. The ones on top are only for show. I wouldn't say these pancakes blew us away; yet they were fluffy and did do the namesake justice. The really over-done-looking sausage link was much better than it looked by-the-way. My daughter ended up with the French Toast and if you were wondering what's with the pancake batter on it, you are not alone. I was a bit perplexed as well; but it worked in some strange way. Mind you, the other side did have the typical egg. As for the scrambled egg, just on looks alone, you can tell it was done properly. It was fluffy and buttery.

Viv ended up with the Strawberry Pancakes which ended up to be more crepe-like than anything. Rolled and topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, these were pretty standard. Mind you, I would take these over IHOP any day. For myself, I didn't go the pancake route and went for the Corned Beef Hash. When it arrived, it looked more like a hockey puck than a hash. Maybe it was merely foreshadowing the absence of hockey for the 4 days I would be away from Vancouver. Anyways, once I played around with the "puck", it was a typical corned beef hash consisting of small diced potatoes and canned corned beef. Nothing particularly interesting about this dish other than the nice crispy exterior on both sides. They did poach the accompanying eggs perfectly though and it went well with the toast. However, the toast was a bit soggy. So as you can clearly see, the food ain't spectacular; but it is indeed solid. Prices are good and the service we got was reminiscent of yesteryear. Hey, especially with the kiddies in tow, works for me.

The Good:
- Homey place, homey service
- Inexpensive
- Food does the job

The Bad:
- Place is small, I can see a wait on weekends
- Food won't set the culinary world on fire and it isn't intended to either

Din Tai Fung

Finding good Shanghainese food in Vancouver is as easy as being cut off by a luxury SUV. When good Xiao Long Bao can be found anywhere from Richmond to Coquitlam, we really take it for granted. Now, on the other hand, if someone told you that good XLBs could be found in Bellevue, Washington, would you now be safe from dangerously-driven luxury SUVs? No, not exactly. But there really are good XLBs to found here. Din Tai Fung, the famous XLB joint hailing from Taiwan opened their brand-spanking new location in Bellevue less than half-a-year-ago. With a staff that boasts as many non-Asians as Asians, it might on the surface seem a bit distressing. Yet, that doesn't nearly tell the whole story. Take a tried-and-true formula, replicate it with well-trained staff (no matter the nationality) and you have authentic Shanghainese/Taiwanese food.

On my way to Portland, we decided to make a pitstop at Goose's house for one night. Hey, with kiddies in tow, this is a good idea to split up the 5 hour drive into 2 parts.  We headed out to the aforementioned DTF for dinner.  We got down to ordering and got a whole whack of food starting with the large Hot and Sour Soup. The portion size was full of tofu, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots with enough for more than 10 bowls. The base broth was very meaty and full of depth. That in itself made the soup legit from the start. However, it was lacking in both hot and sour. But then again, that could be rectified easily with a few more drops of chili oil and vinegar. Naturally, we had to order the Xiao Long Bao. In fact, we got 3 orders! They were very smart about it. They brought 2 first and the 3rd much later to keep everything fresh. One order consists of 10 little XLBs. 1.5 of them is probably equivalent to one you'd find in a typical Vancouver Shanghainese restaurant. For almost $10.00, these were not exactly cheap. Immediately, we noticed the extremely thin dumpling skin with a slightly chewy top where the dough swirls. The meat filling was slightly gritty while the ample soup was very tasty without being salty. I found the XLBs to be very good; but not any better than the ones we have in Vancouver.

For curiosity sake, we ordered 2 dishes of fried rice. For the sole reason of sounding interesting, we got the Pork Chop Fried Rice. I thought it would be pork chop slices in fried rice; rather, it was a fried rice base with egg topped by a fried
pork chop. The fried rice itself was quite nice. With chewy discernible grains of rice, it was texturally pleasing while being properly seasoned. I wasn't a huge fan of the pork chop though. The coating ended up to be quite mushy and lacking in overall flavour. I would've preferred a crispy fried chop instead. The second dish was Shrimp Fried Rice and it exactly matched the description. With the same fried rice base, except for the addition of crunchy shrimp, this was a solid, if unspectacular dish. 

 For the kiddies, we got the Chicken Noodle Soup. Despite the obvious, this is not your Campbell's version. Rather than using salt as a primary flavouring agent, this soup base was light while still exhibiting enough natural flavour. The best part was the excellent noodles. They were fresh and cooked perfectly al dente. Tender chicken and crispy veggies rounded out the good bowl of noodles. The Spicy Beef Noodles were even better. Much like the hot and sour soup, the broth was very meaty and only mildly spicy. The noodles were once again perfectly al dente. The best part was the extremely tender pieces of stewed beef shank. It literally melted in my mouth; but it still retained its integrity.

While not on the menu, we spotted the Shrimp and Pork Potstickers advertised on a placard. We got 2 orders of those. When they arrived, they didn't look like any potstickers we'd ever seen before. Totally covered by a crispy skin of dough, these dumplings were pretty good. With similarly delicious pork filling as the XLBs combined with a whole cold-water shrimp, these had a just-thick-enough dumpling skin. One thing I was not fond of was the sweet and spicy dipping sauce. Stick with the vinegar and ginger on this one. Curiosity struck again when we decided to try out the Pork and Shrimp Sui Mai. We didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be essentially XLBs topped with a whole shrimp. Hence, there was the same tasty soup and thin dumpling skin. Still not convinced with the pork filling though. These ended up to be quite large with the addition of the shrimp. Not bad, I'd stick with the regular XLBs though. 

With already 2 noodles, I thought we should have a 3rd one. I really wanted to try their version of the Tan Tan Noodles. It turned out to be a good idea because it was excellent. The noodles were al dente as per the other dishes we had. But the thing that put it over the top was the excellent sauce. Just the right combination of peanut, sesame, spiciness, sweet and salty, this was a well balanced tan tan noodles. Furthermore, there was just enough liquid to noodle, so it coated all the noodles without drowning it. For our last savoury dish, we got the classic Shanghai Fried Rice Cake. Unlike many other places, these rice cakes slices were freshly made. We could tell the freshness from the texture and appearance. Slightly softer on the first bite while becoming slightly chewy at the end, the rice cake was also very good. From the just barely cooked veggies to the tender julienned pork and balanced seasoning, this was a properly executed product.

Finally, we ended the meal with Sweet Red Bean Steamed Buns. Something so simple was also done to perfection. The bun itself had the perfect consistency of being soft while having some chewiness. It did not stick to our teeth, which is an indication of proper execution. The red bean filling was only sweet enough without being overly so. That was a nice end to a surprising meal. Honestly, I was ready to hate this place. After all, there was so much hype surrounding the opening. Furthermore, from the perspective of a Vancouverite, we expect good Shanghainese and/or Taiwanese food, so DTF shouldn't be much of a revelation. However, what impressed me the most was not that it is any better than anything we have in Vancouver. Rather, it was the level of execution and high quality of ingredients. I guess DTF has a reputation to uphold and they take it seriously. I heard of some kinks when they first opened and I can assure you from the experience I had, they have ironed it out. We were thoroughly satisfied with our meal and went away not noticing the hefty bill of $132.00 before tip. Expensive? Yes. Smallish portion sizes? Probably. Good food? Absolutely.

The Good:
- Food is executed properly
- Excellent service
- Clean and modern

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Smallish portions
- Crazy wait

5 Spot

The last time we passed through Seattle on our way to Portland, we had originally planned on doing breaky at 5 Spot. Unfortunately, there was a wait out the door and with 2 hungry kiddies in tow, that was not exactly what the prevailing situation ordered. Hence, we went a block up and had a wonderful breakfast at Cafe Bonjour, which now has since closed. Fast forward 8 months later, we find ourselves heading to Portland again and in need of food in Seattle. This time around, we were arriving on a Monday and prior to lunchtime. Bingo! After only a short wait, we got a table and the one right by the window no less! 

Looking over the menu, it was a bit difficult to choose from the decent array of options. I was torn between the Plank Cut Fish 'n Chips and the Red Flannel Hash. So the solution was to order the Fish 'n Chips for my daughter. Hey, she won't mind me trying her food right? We ended up getting the kids portion and that worked out quite fine since it wasn't very big. What makes this fish 'n chips interesting is the cornmeal batter. It really gives a profound textural contrast to the soft, flaky fish. We like it and also the very crispy fries. We enjoyed the tartar sauce, although it could've used more zip.

As for the Red Flannel Hash, it is named as such because of the beets combined with potatoes and corned beef topped off by 2 poached eggs. As you can see the eggs were perfectly runny while the hash is noticeably red. I liked the addition of beets to this. It made the hash less heavy and added a whimsical colour. The potatoes were nicely done while the corned beef got kind of lost in the whole thing. Now lost would be the complete opposite of the Memphis Blues BBQ Pork Sandwich which Viv ordered. The shredded meat was absolutely in-your-face good. The meat was remarkably tender with just the right amount of sauce while hitting you in the gut with a pronounced smokiness. We felt the BBQ sauce had a good balance between the tang and sweetness. The only thing we would've liked was a sturdier bun because it began to disintegrate shortly into a few bites. The side of coleslaw as very good with a nice crunch and tang.

As drum roll... Guess what my son had? Ah yes, the Mac 'n Cheese. What else? Arriving in a honking huge bowl, this was enough for both kids (which it turned out to be). The noodles were perfectly cooked being on the al dente side. Believe it or not, my kids prefer this over mushy, even though that is the safer texture for most. There was a subtle cheese flavour; yet maybe too subtle. Even the kids thought there needed to be more salt. And we did add salt. That made it sing. So not a huge problem. They might've done that on purpose to appease more kids. All-in-all a very pleasant meal at 5 Spot. Is it worth the usual wait? I'm not completely sure since I had lineups; but our short wait was fine. Food was solid, prices were okay and service was good.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Uber kid-friendly
- Interesting and diverse menu

The Bad:
- Well, the lineup (good for them though!)

Kurumba

Normally, when my parents are out-of-town, I look after their place. Well, I also "borrow" their Benz for joyrides. I know. I'm pathetic, I still take my parents car out for a spin. As Viv has remarked on many occasions, I'll never grow up. In turn, when we are out-of-town, my parents look after our place. No, they don't take my car out for joyrides. LOL. But what happens when we're both out-of-town? Good question. That hasn't happened quite often. Normally, we'd call Wolvie since she lives quite close. But she is getting ready to pop with her first child, so no can do. Ah ha! Rich Guy. He's in town and I've helped look after his house a few times! In fact, a while back, I looked after his apartment in Yaletown. And yes, I took his M3 for joyride as well. Serves people right for leaving their car keys for me to see! So to get both of our house keys to him before we took off, we decided to meet for dinner. Yah, what else did you think we were gonna do? Hehe...

Since he lives in Coquitlam, we decided to meet halfway in Port Moody. Originally, we were planning to eat at Osamu; but it is closed on Sundays. As an alternative, we chose Kurumba. Similar to Banana Leaf and Tropika; but not really, Kurumba serves up specialties from South Asia, particularly Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thai. They also have a page on the menu dedicated to Chinese food. We figured that is merely there to satisfy the general population; rather than be representative of their cuisine. We decided to start with their Kurumba Platter which consisted of Roti Canai, Hot Garlic Wings, BBQ Pork, Calamari and Veggie Spring Rolls. The best part of this platter was the curry dip for the Roti Canai. Normally, it is sweet and exhibits only a hint of heat at Banana Leaf and Tropika. Not here. It was spicy and had a lingering aftertaste. The roti itself was crispy on the outside and somewhat doughy on the inside. In regards to the aforementioned restaurants, I do not blame them for "watering" down their food since most of the diners out here would not be able to handle the heat. We were a little less enthused about the Chicken Wings, the batter was too thick and crusty. However, the wok tossed ingredients that flavoured the chicken wings were pretty good - once again with heat. The Calamari was tender and the batter was light while the Spring Rolls were pretty much your typical spring roll. The BBQ Pork was on the slightly chewier side; but that was not too bad.

Once again, we did the order-too-much-food thing. We went for smaller sizes of their curries; yet they still turned out to be quite large. The Beef Rendang was pretty much a large bowl of meat. We thought the meat was moist and surprisingly not dry. The flavours were subtle with only a hint of heat. We realize that this is not supposed to be a spicy nor wildly flavourful dish; but it was bordering on bland. We liked the Yellow Basmathi Rice, it was very aromatic and dry (which is good for absorbing sauce). Next was the Chicken Green Curry. This particular version was coconutty without being too thick. There was a strong underlying heat to this and we absolutely loved it. Big pieces of white meat mixed with fresh veggies completed this well-executed curry. Let's see, we had beef and chicken; so naturally a Pork Curry was in order. The pork was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth soft while the sauce was mild and somewhat sweet. A nice change from the spicier green curry.

To fulfill our vegetable quota, we ordered the Sambal Green Beans. The beans were slightly soft from the flash frying, while the sauce was quite spicy. This was definitely not your typical Banana Leaf/Tropika version, which usually tastes much more sweet than anything else. Overall, the meal was quite good. We weren't wow'd per se; but we did appreciate the level of heat in most of the items. It might be a bit too strong for more conservative diners though. We also found that the prices were quite reasonable for the portion size. No wonder the Vancouver Sun puts Kurumba down as one of their featured restaurants for 25 meals under $25.00.

The Good:
- Plenty of spiciness (well, for us at least)
- Friendly service
- Good portion-to-price ratio

The Bad:
- Could be too spicy for some

Green Lemongrass

Quick. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear these 2 words: Restaurant and Richmond? If you answered stolen parking space, you are partially right; but there is a better answer. The correct answer would be Chinese restaurant. If you had that in mind, then you realize that the plethora of Chinese restaurants completely overshadow everything else. Sure, there are Japanese restaurants as well; but that would the extent of diversity you'd find here. However, housed in a little building that resembles the shack from Gilligan's Island resides Green Lemongrass Vietnamese Cuisine. Sharing the same parking lot issues as its bigger Chinese restaurant neighbours, the place looks really out of place amongst more modern buildings. As for the limited parking spots, you'll probably be better off parking somewhere else. The lot is narrow and always full.

Meeting up with Rich Guy for lunch, the place was completely packed. No matter, Rich Guy was having a bit of difficulty finding a parking spot, so waiting was a given. I wonder if he lost his parking spot to anyone? So when we got down to ordering, I stupidly picked 2 different salad rolls. We started with the regular Salad Rolls. These were pretty good. With just the right mix of shrimp, pork, vermicelli, lettuce, beans sprouts and perfectly textured rice paper wrap, it was texturally pleasing. However, the peanut dipping sauce was a bit unbalanced with too much hoisin. We also got the Phnom Penh Salad Roll partly because it had sausage in it. Wait, that didn't come out right... Anyways, it was a combination of sausage, pickled carrots, onions, lettuce and mushroom. It could be eaten without any of the dip since it was flavourful in itself, albeit dry.

Now the obligatory Phở đặc Biệt with all the meats. The first thing that struck me was the very flavourful and aromatic broth. It had a good amount of meat taste and full of body. My suspicious pointed towards MSG. Shortly after my meal, it was confirmed when I was craving a really large Big Gulp. The noodles were done perfectly; but the meats were not to my fancy. They were coarsely sliced and not tender at all. That itself ruin it for me. I don't prefer my meats to be chewy.

Rich Guy ended up with the Lemongrass Chicken. Hmm... What's up with this dish? Even without Viv, we have it on the table... again! Anyways, there was plenty of tender, charred chicken on perfectly cooked rice accompanied by a fresh salad. Everything on the plate was good except that the chicken was sorely lacking in lemongrass flavour. It was as if it wasn't there at all. Too bad really. In fact, the food as a whole was not bad; but the Pho was disappointing. Too much MSG and chewy meats. I'll take a pass.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Friendly, if not sparse service
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Tight parking lot + Richmond = disaster
- Pho has too much MSG and the meats are chewy

Coma Food Truck

*No longer operating*

Awhile back, Dennis Pang of Popcorn contacted me about trying out one of the newest food trucks in Vancouver. For those who don't know, Popcorn is a new social media and promotions agency that helps restaurants increase their exposure. It was to try out Coma Food Truck which is much like the Roaming Dragon where it goes from site to site daily. You can get their location via Twitter every day. Also much like the Roaming Dragon, there is a Korean slant to the food, albeit more towards the Korean side of things. Since I was helping out with the Foodie Feast, everything was put on hold until afterwards. Well, afterwards arrived and I actually had time to seek out Coma.

So for my one free item, I decided to go for the Bibimbap. Regularly $6.99, I found this to be a good value since the bowl is actually quite substantial in size with plenty of ingredients which included daikon, carrots, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, ground beef, fern brakes, gochujang and a sunny-side egg. Well, everything was vibrant and had all the right textures, including the rice (which was not mushy at all). Mixed together, it was a satisfying meal. I personally could've used more gochujang; but that can easily be requested. Included with the Bibimbap was a small bowl of Miso Soup. Sure, miso soup has all the excitement of white paint; but this one was different. It had a pronounced spicy kick and it was chalk full of enoki, wakame, tofu, tempura bits and green onion. Not bad for a throw-in.

Beyond the Bibimbap, I decided to sample 2 more items at my own cost starting with the Korean Style Chicken Nuggets. For $4.99, compared to other street food offerings, this can be considered a good value. These are essentially deep-fried chicken thigh meat which is then tossed in a spicy sweet sauce. Despite its sweet 'n sour appearance, it does not taste like sweet 'n sour pork. Rather, it has more of a kick and a richer flavour. I liked this and couldn't stop eating it. However, the one thing I would've liked is a slightly less thick batter. Lastly, I picked up an order of the Stuffed Seaweed Rolls. These consists of sweet potato noodles, carrots and onions stuffed into nori, then coated with tempura batter and fried. These were only okay for me. Possibly since I really love meat. I believe these are supposed to be served with a yuzu soy dip, which would've provided the much needed flavour because none of the ingredients are actually that flavourful. However, the dip was left out of my order. Therefore, I really didn't get a true sense of this dish. Served as a side to the chicken nuggets was pickled daikon. I liked the size of the chunks as it afforded a lot of crunch and texture. Very appetizing.

I know I totally ignored the Mexican fusion part of the menu. Hey, I can only eat so much! Therefore, I probably have to find them on Twitter again to give their "burrito" and "quesadilla". They certainly sound interesting; yet questionable at the same time. As for the items I did get to try, they were mostly good and offered up a decent value. I found the bibimbap particularly good since it was a large portion and well-priced. So at the very least, the Korean part of the menu seems to be pretty decent. The only issue is that they do not have a consistent location, which is not their fault. With the limited amount of street vendor permits offered by the city of Vancouver, they are forced to roam around location-to-location.

The Good:
- Good value
- The Bibimbap is both big and good
- Decent amount of choice

The Bad:
- No consistent location (not their fault though)

Il Giardino

As long as I can remember, I have watched cooking shows. This was especially true during summer holidays when there was nothing much else on TV other than cooking shows and soaps. I mean, who would like to spend all day watching soap operas? Geez, like how many tragedies do Bo and Hope go through on Days of Our Lives... Uh... I mean, so I've heard... So... those cooking shows were a staple of my daytime viewing. Hence, I have always had a love for food. Long before the Food Network or the Cooking Channel, my attention was squarely on the Galloping Gourmet, Wok with Yan and of course Umberto Menghi. He has been and still is one of the first Celebrity Chefs on the West Coast. So it's really strange to me that I've never visited Il Giardino. Therefore, I gathered up the troops for lunch. Since Rich Guy is in town, he was a natural choice. Vandelay, Whipping Girl and Pomegranate rounded out my eating army...

We shared 2 appies starting with the Salmon Carpaccio. Dressed in a soya vinaigrette, we could not get much of the natural salmon flavour. Rather, the soy completely overwhelmed the delicate fish. The individual components were fine, it just didn't work together. Our second appy was the Steamed Mussels with a white wine and garlic broth. These were some pretty plump mussels in a well-balanced broth. It had the perfect amount of wine so that it didn't overwhelm everything else. It was quite garlicky though; but no one seemed to mind that. The fresh tomatoes and basil added some brightness to the dish.

For his main dish, Rich Guy had the Braised Veal Cheeks in a rich demi-glace. There was a pronounced red wine flavour to the sauce; yet it wasn't dominating. The cheeks themselves were so tender, they felt apart on contact. As with any cheeks, it had the desired gelatinous texture. The accompanying veggies were vibrant and still crisp. Pomegranate and I were eying the Braised Lamb Shank; but due to my "no duplicates" policy, I let him do the honours. He was a victim of a foodgasm after his first bite into the soft, moist, gelatinous flesh of the lamb shank. Of course I took a sample and indeed it was foodgasmic. The rich red wine reduction was very strong while not being too strong at the same time. The braising liquid successfully penetrated (is that an intentional Freudian slip???) the meat which helped flavour the shank evenly.

Of course no visit to Il Giardino would be complete without pasta. Thankfully, Whipping Girl fulfilled that quota by ordering the Rabbit Ragu Parppadelle. With a generous amount of meat atop perfectly al dente pasta, there was not much to complain about this dish. The Ragu was nicely balanced and rich while not heavy. I particularly liked that it was the right consistency. It flavoured the pasta without being watery. However, for some reason or another, I felt the parppadelle I had at Cioppino's had more "wow" factor. Yet, that is splitting hairs since both are superior pastas. For myself, I went for the Baked Black Cod in a beautiful lobster lemon butter reduction. As much as it is very hard to mess up black cod (aka Sablefish), it can be done. So, I can honestly say that this fish was perfectly prepared. Each flaky piece was moist and buttery. The fatty flesh was further enhanced by the aromatic lobster lemon butter. A sauce so simple had layers of flavours starting with the butter, then the zing of lemon and finishing off with a aromatic lobster flavour that cannot be mistakened. Once again, the veggies were perfect and I liked the somewhat firm white beans on top.

Although the black cod was a great dish, it was not the best dish at the table. That belonged to Vandelay and his selection of the Porcini Risotto with Roast Quail. One bite into the perfectly cooked risotto was a OMFG reaction on my part. The intense earthiness from the mushrooms exploded in my mouth and danced on my tongue. The flavour lingered and only relinquished its grasp when it felt like it. By then, I was munching on a piece of roast quail and that in itself added a certain umaminess to it. On that note, the one thing we could ascertain from this meal was that Umberto has still got it. Sure, he wasn't cooking in the kitchen. Rather, he was roaming the dining room floor. I love it when a restaurateur is actually present at his/her establishment. And that establishment is classy. Traditional classy, not the Yaletown glitzy type though. Suited us fine because the food was fantastic and the service equally so.

The Good:
- Almost flawless execution
- Excellent service
- Classy

The Bad:
- Even for lunch, it was pricey, dinner is even more so
- As observed, not a particularly young crowd present (which is a positive for some)