La Brasserie Street

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 As Vancouver's street food experiment enters its second year, there has been the good, bad and the ugly. I think this has to do with the randomness of issuing permits the first time. Apparently, the second round was a bit more comprehensive. I guess we won't know the results until the new carts start appearing on a Downtown corner near you (or not near you, since many do not live or do business in Downtown). One of the newest carts it one offered up by La Brasserie. For those who are unfamiliar, La Brasserie is a popular bistro on Davie which serves up Alsatian cuisine. Simply tagged as La Brasserie Street, there is only one item available. And that one item is the Brass Chicken Sandwich. It is beer-brined rotisserie chicken with gravy and crispy fried onions on a buttermilk bun.

Seeing how there is only one item on the menu, it's easy to guess what I had... The first thing anyone will notice about the sandwich is the plethora of aesthetically-pleasing fried onions. So much so, it somewhat hides the chicken and gravy. But with one bite, the gravy really makes its presence known by slowing dripping down your fingers and hand. For me, I love this, the messier the better. For others, I can see this as a potentially disastrous affair with work attire. Then again, the sandwich comes with a really substantial bag which keeps everything where it should be. As the visuals suggest, the most noticeable ingredient is the fried onions. Texturally, they provide a light crunch and plenty of oniony sweetness. The chicken is merely a bystander for the rich gravy and onions. The buttermilk bun was an easy chew while still holding up to the moisture. All-in-all, a solid sandwich. A fine addition to the street food scene in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Does one thing and does it well
- Fair pricing (considering the nearby competition - Re-Up and Lully's)
- Great location

The Bad:
- The chicken gets a bit lost (but then again, that might be the idea)
- Gets messy, but the wrapper is sufficient in keeping it in

Waffle Window

Attempting to squeeze one last meal in before we left Portland, I woke up early and headed out in search of breakfast. I didn't really tell anyone so I really hoped that Viv and kids realized what I was up to. After all, it sure looked like I ditched them. But in reality, I was just grabbing breaky. Heading just a bit East of Downtown, I ended up at The Waffle Window. Honestly, the name says it all. It's a window on the side of Bread and Ink Cafe that sells waffles. Simple concept but if you think of it, why not do one thing and do it well? Sorta like Nong's Khao Man Gai. When I first walked up to the window, they were a bit busy and it took awhile to be served. No matter really. I wasn't in any rush; however, it was really cold! The things I do for food! And to top it off, the wait was approximately 10 minutes. These waffles better be worth it...

So I ended up getting one waffle for each of us starting with the Three B's for myself. The 3 B's represent bacon, brie and basil. What? On a waffle? And that wasn't all, there was peach jam too. If you think about it, the flavours should technically work. First, the waffle itself was crisp, sweet and slightly chewy. Definitely a Liège waffle, which has chunks of sugar in the batter which gives it a nice crunch. Then add some smokiness/saltiness from the bacon combined with the creamy-umaminess of the brie and herbiness of the basil, you got a good mix. Not sure if the peach jam was all the necessary since the waffle was already sweet.

Viv ended up with the one of their specials which was the Spicy Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno Waffle. The savoury ingredients helped temper the sweetness of the waffle. It had similar elements to the Three B's except with a punch from the jalapenos. The avocado-tomatillo salsa added some cooling while the cheese brought it all together. This waffle had it all: sweet, savoury, smokiness, spicy and tart. For my daughter, I know she likes strawberries. In fact, she loves it so much, she is a big fan of Strawberry Shortcake (the doll and cartoon). So it was without any hesitation that I got the Strawberry and Whipped Cream Waffle. Honestly, they are not shy about piling on the toppings. An inordinate amount of fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream made this a filing breakfast. No, she didn't finish it. The strawberries yes; waffle no. Lastly, for my son, I know he likes Nutella, so Nutella & Fresh Bananas it was. Well, I removed the bananas though. Sorry, this one was too sweet due to the obscene amount of Nutella, whipped cream and fudge sauce. Remember, the waffle is sweet to begin with. Even he thought it was too sweet. The Nutella waffle withstanding, the rest were very good and with the first 2 being interestingly different. This is another case of something made well which has unique twists all served from a not-so-normal location.

The Good:
- Crispy, sweet, chewy liege waffles
- Creative toppings
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- When the weather is not-so-nice...
- With too many sweet toppings, the whole thing might be sugar overload

H5O Bistro & Bar

Alright, for some inexplicable reason, the food blogging community in Portland is not very active. Okay, let me rephrase that. Compared to Vancouver, there is no other place that has a more active food blogging community. Hence, everywhere else pales in comparison. That is probably why I get media releases for gastronomical happenings in the largest city in Oregon (although I am in Vancouver). I usually ignore them and just delete. Well, what am I to do about them anyways? I just can't get and head over to Portland on a whim to eat (well, technically I could). So when I got an invite to H5O Bistro & Bar from Sarah for a tasting of their new Spring menu, I simply ignored it. It wasn't until Sarah followed up with me that I actually took a look at it. Well, it was smack dab during Spring Break and I was planning on heading to Seattle already... When I mentioned that to Sarah, she convinced me to drive another 3 hours down the I-5. Well, it wasn't that simple really. She sealed the deal when she offered a 2-night stay at Hotel Fifty. You see, H5O is located in the hotel. Fine. That was an offer I couldn't refuse, so I dragged the kids and wife on a 3 hour detour to Portland. Would this be considered a working vacation?

When I looked the place up on the internet, it looked vaguely familiar for some reason. When we pulled up, I realized why. We had stayed at this hotel before when it used to be Four Points by Sheraton. Well, let me say this. The renovations are substantial and the place looks swank compared to what it was before. Previously, the restaurant in the hotel was just there "because". You know those types of hotel restaurants that only exist because they need one on-site. Thus, you could only imagine the food quality... Well, I guess this tasting would determine if the changes were beyond the decor. Now for those haters who would like to point out that the meal is free as with the hotel room, let me make one statement. If you read this blog, you know I'm fair and will speak my mind no matter if the meal costs me $0 or $500. I've personally spent over $25,000 of my own money on food. Much like anything else, I'm sure people can make their own judgment about things, so there is no need to hate on freebies. After all, most "official" media never pay for their food. Hence, do we suddenly consider people like Anthony Bourdain irrelevant because they get comped eats? I'm jus sayin'. I digress.

So back to the tasting... We started with an Amuse Bouche which was a Avocado Gazpacho that was accented with orange & grapefruit segments, sea salt and poppy seeds. It was very refreshing with a nice tang and a hit of salt. Next up was the Asparagus & Garlic which was comprised of grilled green and white asparagus tips, roasted garlic espuma, tonic #5, Parmesan and 20-year old sherry vinegar. Such a simple ingredient; but what a punch of flavour. First of all, the smell was intoxicating. The char on the asparagus gave a smoky flavour while at the same time being crisp. There was a little of everything in this dish including creamy, tart, savoury, sweet and umaminess. Very delicious.

We were presented next with a plate of Sweet Potato Ravioli accented by baby zucchini, cherry tomato, rosemary, sage and beurre fondue. Of course the flavour profile of this dish would lean towards sweet due to the sweet potato. The herbs somewhat balanced it out; but for me, I would've preferred some more savouriness. Again, I do realize this is not the intention of the dish, it's just my personal preference. Otherwise, it was a nicely executed ravioli. After this, the St. Pierre Fish arrived
(also known as a John Dory). Yes, the same one from Finding Nemo. We were eating Dory!!! So Dory was wonderfully seared and served with a side of clownfish... Wait. No it was served with a roasted lemon emulsion, radish, chive, lemon supreme's and lemon mint. The first thing I noticed was the appetizing fish oil smell activated by the sear. The fish itself was flaky and sweet while there was a contrasting crunch from the radish. However, for me, I felt there was too much acid on the plate. I suppose that could be alleviated by not eating it.

After we finished up Dory, we were presented with the Roasted Chesapeake Bay Bass accompanied by a carrot and white balsamic crema, watercress and chamomile tea & honey foam. For me, the thing that did it for me was the crispy skin. With a nice textural contrast to the buttery fish, it was a party in my mouth (especially with the hit of sea salt on top). Unlike some other foams, I could really taste the chamomile tea in this one. It was nice that nothing on the plate interfered with the delicious fish. Sauced tableside, the Muscovy Duck Breast was fantastic. It was served with house-made gnocchi, fennel pollen, tomato and English peas. As for the duck itself, it was cooked perfectly being tender with crispy skin. There was confit thigh meat underneath as well. However, the entire dish as a whole was too salty. The thigh meat itself was salty as with the demi-glace. Add some sea salt and you get the idea. With that said, the English peas helped balance the saltiness to a degree.

For our last savoury dish, it would be the largest and probably the best. The Beef Cheek Wellington was completely stuffed with shredded braised beef cheeks and mushroom duxelles. It rested on mashed potato with heirloom carrots. Normally, this dish would find a rare piece of beef tenderloin in the middle. However, I don't mind the substitution of beef cheek because it was fantastic. It was soft, gelatinous and very flavourful from the red wine, mushrooms and shallots. Furthermore, there was a pronounced meat flavour that was not salty. I also liked that the puff pastry was thin and flaky, which ultimately let the beef cheek take centre stage.

For dessert, we had the H5O "Candy Bar" served with a Thai Iced Russian. Consisting of crispy chocolate, chocolate brownie, chocolate ganache and raspberry mousse, this was like a chocolate millefeuille of sorts. Despite the appearance of sugar overload, it was only semi-sweet. It was definitely rich; but was nicely balanced by the mousse and the candied pistachios. The accompanying cocktail was very light and hence worked with the rich dessert. As I have said again and again, it appears that hotel restaurants are stepping up their game to compete with other fine-dining establishments. Executive Nicholas Yates has been given free-reign to do his food and it shows. This is certainly not your typical boring hotel food.

The Good:
- Expert execution
- A combination of classics with some risk-taking
- Not shy on the flavours

The Bad:
- A tad over-aggressive with the sea salt at times
- Pricey

Legin

Last summer, I did something that was a bit daring. No, I didn't go on a diet. And no, I didn't do a return visit to Kawawa. Rather, I attempted to find respectable Dim Sum in Portland. Okay, okay. Stop laughing. I really did end up finding decent Dim Sum at Wong's King. Of course it doesn't compare to Vancouver; but it did the job. Roughly half-a-year later, I get this comment on the Wong's King post that I really should've tried Legin instead. Also on Division street, Legin serves up inexpensive Dim Sum daily. Well, here we were in Portland once again and well, why not give it a shot. What's the worst that can happen? Famous last words...

So we arrive at the place and headed inside. Wow, for such a relatively big restaurant, the tables were spaced out quite spaciously. Unlike the restaurants in Vancouver, one could actually do cartwheels in between the tables here. On the topic of carts, this place is really ol' skool. From the decor, to the push carts, all the way down to the food. We started with the 2 staples of Dim Sum - Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) & Sui Mai (Pork Dumplings). I would say these were pretty average haw gow. The dumpling skin was quite thick and chewy while the shrimp inside was a little overdone and didn't exhibit that snap texture we normally see. With that being said, it did the job. Normally, the sui mai has some shrimp in it; however, these ones were all pork with a bit of shiitake mushrooms. These were also passable with slightly chewy mild-tasting pork.

What was not passable were the Beef Meatballs. Egads! These were plain terrible. Viv bit into one and gave me a really funny face. She immediately told me to try one. So I did. Wow, these balls were all wrong. Normally, one would expect the meat to be slightly resistant with a bounce-like texture. Here, it was plain mush. Even mashed potatoes have more texture than these balls. But the worst thing about them was the taste. Viv thought they had the essence of hamburger meat. And yes, there was a certain aftertaste that gave off hamburger meat seasoning. My word. These were very substandard balls. The disappointment didn't end there. The Pork Spareribs were also pretty bad. Typically, these are marinated until they are tender with a slight chew. However, these were far from tender. In fact, they were just plain chewy. Furthermore, there was little in the way of flavour to them as well. It was as if they didn't put anything other than salt on them. Sure, there were a few black beans; but there was no distinguishing flavour. Totally missing the garlic on this one.

It didn't get much better with the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll either. Unlike what I am used to, this rice noodle roll was thick and chewy. Typically, a good rice noodle roll should be somewhat thin and pillowy soft while still maintaining its integrity. This one was so hard, I could barely divide it with my chopsticks. I had to resort to borrowing the kiddies food scissors to cut it. At the very least, the shrimp was pretty good. It was surprisingly cooked perfectly and had a nice snap. Okay, back to disappointment with the Honeycomb Tripe and Daikon. The tripe itself was not cooked long enough; hence it was akin to chewing on rubber bands. I eventually broke it down enough to swallow it; but honestly, that was not fun. Furthermore, it was a bit gamy, which indicates improper cleaning and rinsing prior to cooking. At least that provided some flavour because it didn't have much otherwise. Also devoid of flavour was the Bible Tripe. Yes, I really like tripe and I'll take it any which way, even if it's mediocre. Well, maybe I am going to revisit that belief because the bible tripe was also very marginal. Also a bit gamy, due to a lack of rinsing, the tripe was bland. Furthermore, it was overly chewy once again.

Normally, we get the Spring Rolls for my son since he likes crunchy things. Too bad he only eats the outer wrapper. So Viv and I end up eating the filling. That is not really a bad trade-off since the filling can be quite tasty, especially if it is shrimp. Not here. The filling was very dense. Furthermore, the pork was not really all that tender. We basically ended up not eating the filling my son left behind. Despite this, the outside was fried up quite nicely without being oily. I guess my son got it right this time. Another item the kids really like is Congee. They had the usual preserved egg and salted pork congee in a heated push cart. When we started to spoon some of it out of the bowl, we were wondering where is the egg and pork? It was there; but the egg had totally melted into the congee while the pork was in little bits no bigger than a Tic Tac. This is very similar to home-made congee where everything is boiled together rather than having a plain congee base, then adding the ingredients. However, the picture clearly shows that there is barely any ingredients at all. Might as well call it plain congee. It was a little on the thin side while exhibiting some flavour.

Lastly, we got the Pineapple Custard Buns for the kiddies. There is actually no pineapple in these buns; rather the sweet topping looks like a pineapple when baked. My son seemed to like this quite a lot, so this was not a bad dish I suppose. But honestly. Even for Portland, this is substandard Dim Sum. The experience I had at Wong's King was much better than this. Sure, it is cheaper; but this has to be one of the worst Dim Sum experiences in my life. I do realize that since I am completely spoiled by the wonderful Dim Sum we have in Vancouver, everything else pales in comparison (other than in Hong Kong). With that being said, if we look at the food as a stand-alone, it was poorly executed. Just do yourself a favour and stick with Wong's King.

The Good:
- It's cheap
- Service is quite friendly
- Wide open dining area

The Bad:
- Dim Sum is just plain bad
- Place is a bit dirty

Nong's Khao Man Gai

Chicken and Rice. There are so many variations of this dish. You have the Chinese version which consists of plain poached chicken with plain white rice. I never understood why this was so popular. I guess it is highly dependent on the ginger condiment. Then you have the ever-so-popular Singaporean Hainanese chicken. It is also poached chicken; yet in a flavourful broth which is also used in the rice along with chicken fat. I really like this one. Then there is the Thai version which is very similar except for the accompanying sauce. This is where Nong's Khao Man Gai comes into play. A tiny food cart among the many near the corner of 10th & Alder in Portland, it serves up only one dish - Thai chicken and rice.

The cart owner is from Thailand and used to work at Pok Pok before opening up her chicken & rice cart. Last year, I attempted to snag an order of this famous grub; but was thwarted by supply and demand. You see, the demand was more than the supply. Yup, when they sell out, the cart closes. I was too late. This time around, I had a plan. I was there nice and early at 10:30am. Yes, a bit early for lunch; but I would get my prize. Indeed it was like a prize or gift will you. Wrapped in paper like a present, it opens up with the waft of ginger and the nuttiness of cooked rice. The chicken itself is nothing much to look at and to taste really. Neither is the rice. It is chewy and fragrant though. The thing that brings it all together is the sauce. Oh that sauce. A combination of ginger, garlic, vinegar, peanut, sweet chili and other things I couldn't figure out made the chicken & rice sing. I kept heaping spoonfuls of it into my mouth. It is as good as people say. Go get some.

The Good:
- Does one thing and does it well
- Inexpensive
- That sauce...

The Bad:
- Limited supply
- Without the sauce, it's only chicken and rice

Cheesecake Factory

Alright, you already know my thoughts about chain restaurants - not usually my first choice of dining destinations. Generally generic and uninspiring, chain restaurants do serve a purpose. In fact, there are a select few that I actually don't mind. Cactus Club is one of them (despite the high prices) and White Spot (due nostalgia and being kid-friendly). One other chain restaurant that I have nothing but love for is The Cheesecake Factory. Yah, I'll admit it and I'm willing to defend it too. I've eaten there many times and I've never come away disappointed. Naturally, they are famous for their cheesecakes, that is a given. They are also known for their extremely large and diverse menu which has a little of everything. Oh, and of course, the portion sizes are generally quite large as well. But then again, this is the US we are talking about, so that would just be normal.

The last time we visited the Cheesecake Factory, it was on Black Friday in 2008, when I first starting blogging. Unfortunately, I was using my Blackberry and the photos were as nasty as the floor of a Chinese restaurant washroom. Hence, I've been dying to do a return visit for awhile now. After doing some shopping at Washington Square, we were originally gonna hit up some sushi; but it appeared that there was only sushi on the menu which didn't really sit well with the kids. So we ended up returning to the mall and headed to the Cheesecake Factory. Since my last visit, they have finally added a kid's menu. I guess the multitude of families visiting the place gave them a hint. And guess what my son selected as his kid's meal? Yes, Mac 'n Cheese. He might as well try out for Kraft Dinner commercials. For a kid's meal, this mac 'n cheese was pretty good. The noodles were towards the al dente side and there was plenty of seasoning. There was just enough creamy cheese sauce to coat the macaroni without soaking it.

We got the Mini-Corn Dogs for our daughter and we think she ate some of it. She makes such a bloody mess, we're never sure if she ate anything or if she merely made a "Cookie Monster" mess. Despite looking cute, these were little nuggets of death on a stick. The wiener inside was really oily and salty while the batter was equally oily. I guess some kids would like these. As for Viv, she went for something "lighter", if there is such a thing here in the Thai Lettuce Wraps. This is actually an appetizer which she ended up ordering as her meal. Essentially a build-it-yourself dish, this is "fun" food. If the veggies are fresh and the chicken is cooked properly, you can't really go wrong. It consisted of satay chicken, carrots, bean sprouts, coconut curry noodles and lettuce leaves with three sauces including peanut, sweet red chili and tamarind-cashew. The sauces were quite good except for the tamarind-cashew, it tasted like liquid candy.

Since I've had nearly everything good on the menu including the Miso Salmon, Chicken Madeira, Chicken & Biscuits, Garlic Noodles, Shrimp with Angel Hair, Bistro Shrimp Pasta, Shrimp Scampi and Fried Mac 'n Cheese, I decided to go for one of their featured items. For some reason or another, I didn't write down the name. I believe it was the Spicy Shrimp and Rice. Whatever it's called, I do know is that it resembled a shrimp gumbo. As you can see, it is a combination of shrimp, sausage, peppers, onions and mushrooms in a spicy sauce. I quite liked this dish since there was plenty of properly cooked shrimp within a spicy, rich sauce.

Now a visit here would not be complete without a slice of cheesecake. Despite being quite full, I pulled a Mijune and got the Original with fresh strawberries. The cheesecake here is baked; yet at the same time, it is not too heavy. As a dessert, I don't personally find it too sweet, so I can get a nice cream cheese hit. Unlike many other places, the strawberry topping is fresh. Well, another good meal at the Cheesecake Factory. I don't care what other people say.

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Great cheesecakes
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Not exactly cheap (but the portions make up for it)
- When is there not a lineup?

Bunk Sandwiches

After driving straight down the I-5 from Bellevue to Portland, it was clear that everyone was quite hungry. We hadn't eaten since breakfast at Chace's Pancake Corral. That was over 3 hours ago! Yes, the horror. Now, we weren't really in the mood for a sit-down lunch since it was so late already. Furthermore, we wanted to go somewhere near our hotel. But of course, the place had to be interesting. Enter Bunk Sandwiches. Located just across the Morrison Street bridge from Downtown, this small little joint has made headlines including Triple D's on the Food Network. Now for some reason or another, I missed the Food Network part. Maybe I didn't watch that episode? It's possible. Too much of Triple D's can cause health problems, even if one was only watching the show! LOL...

So with that much notoriety, it is no wonder there was a lineup out the door even at 2:30pm on a weekday. Well, I patiently waited even though I really hate lineups. The sandwiches better be good! I ended up getting 4 of them, one for the kiddies, one for Viv and 2 for me! When we got back to our hotel, which only took 5 minutes, we attacked the sandwiches starting with the Meatball. One look at the thing and it is safe to assume why Bunk made Triple D's. This ain't diet food. In fact, let's just say it takes the word diet and stuffs it into the trash. The meatball was filled tightly with soft, nicely spiced meat soaked in a zesty marinara with plenty of melted mozzarella and Parm. This was ooey gooey and freakin' delicious.

But Viv and I both agreed that the Pork Belly Cubano was the best of all. With plenty of house-made pork belly that literally melted in our mouths, this was a heavy; yet satisfying sandwich. All of the elements of a Cubano were there including the cured ham, Swiss, mustard and pickles encased in a crunchy pressed bun. A nice balance of flavours from the salty ham, tart pickles and buttery pork belly. So if that was our favourite, then the Roast Beef was our least. No, it wasn't a bad sandwich per se. It probably suffered from the "too normal" phenomenon since it was merely roast beef with caramelized onions, horseradish and cheddar. Well, there were parts of the roast beef that could not be chewed due to some gristle. That turned Viv off a bit. With that being said, the good parts of the beef were very tender and meaty which went well with a natural condiment such as horseradish. For the kiddies, we got them the Grilled Tillamook Cheese. Lots of melted cheese between perfectly grilled bread. The kids liked it, end of story. Each sandwich came with a side of house-made kettle chips and those in itself were as much as a star as the sandwiches themselves. And about those sandwiches... Very good, nicely priced and generally unique. I want to eat them again.

The Good:
- Pricing is reasonable for the portion size and quality of the ingredients
- Full of flavour and full of fat = yum
- Excellent house-made chips

The Bad:
- If you hate lineups
- Small place, not a lot of seats