North Garden

For the longest time, we have avoided North Garden. I'll admit it. We were influenced by what others have said about the place. Honestly, I often wonder if businesses understand the "word of mouth" principle. If you build up a poor reputation, it'll catch up to you sooner or later. So with all the bad vibes about the place, we just didn't feel the need to try it out. However, that has never stopped me before since each individual experience is different. Although I put considerable trust with my friends in terms of their tastes and opinions, it is best that I find out for myself. So, with a little trepidation, we were hoping this wasn't going to be a Kawawa. As much as North Garden is a Chinese restaurant, complete with Peking Duck on the menu, it doubles as a Hong Kong-style Cafe. Located in the former Lonestar (long gone BBQ restaurant), it is a relatively spacious restaurant with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. Despite the this, the laminate floors have definitely seen their better days. Some renovations might do wonders here.

Although we were only here for lunch, I was actually pretty hungry and went for their 4-Item Combo. I opted for the Beef Steak, Pork Chop, Chicken Steak and Fried Imitation Scallops. I had a choice of sauce and chose black peppercorn. As always, the meal started with the Chinese version of Borscht. With no beets whatsoever, this is pretty typical. The Hong Kong-style cafe take on borscht is vegetable soup with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. With that in mind, this was pretty standard stuff. As for my meal, the meats were prepared surprisingly well. I asked for my steak to be rare and it was exactly that. Hence, the thin minute-steak was not tough at all (probably tenderized). The chicken steak, which is a deboned leg, was juicy while the pork chop was slightly dry. As for the "scallops", they were fine if you were expecting fried pollack. I found the peppercorn sauce to be kinda weak. It was more of a gravy of sorts than being peppery. I really liked the veggies, they were vibrant and still crisp.

Viv chose another HK-style cafe favourite in the Baked Pork Chop Rice. It is a fried pork chop on top of fried rice and baked with a diluted ketchup-based sauce. Sounds sketchy I know; but if done right, it is one of my favourites. This one was pretty good in my books. The fried rice was dry, which is a good thing since there is an abundance of sauce already. The sauce itself was mildly sweet with some tomato tartness. We found the pork chop to be moist and meaty with a slight crunch on the sides. For the kiddies, we got the Pickled Greens and Pork Vermicelli. Once again, this was a pretty typical version of this soup noodle. I thought the tenderized julienned pork was the perfect texture (which is slightly chewy while still super tender). Combined with the right amount of pickled snow cabbage, it was a good compliment to the al dente vermicelli. The soup was somewhat bland; but that didn't matter since there was enough flavour from the other ingredients.

Seeing how we didn't get to try their dinner items, we returned the next week with the whole family. We ended up with the dinner for 4 which included a choice of soup. We went for the Hot & Sour Soup since we could safely assume the wonton soup would not be great. From the rich colour to the ample ingredients, this was a respectable hot & sour soup. It was definitely tart and plenty spicy. For our first dish, we had the Stir-Fried Seafood with snow peas. With a bevy of properly cooked basa, prawns and squid, this was a pretty good value considering it was included as an option for the "build-your-own-meal". The peas were also cooked properly being vibrant and crunchy.

Next up was the Satay Beef with Vermicelli Hot Pot which arrived nice and hot. Too bad there wasn't much liquid left, which made the vermicelli a bit clumpy. Well, at least that is better than soggy vermicelli I suppose... There was a good amount of properly tenderized beef mixed with peppers and pineapple. Although there was sufficient seasoning, I would've preferred this to have more satay flavour. It didn't exactly scream out spice. Now for a dish that might confuse people who have never seen it before. The Fried Fish with Cream of Corn Sauce may not exactly sound that appetizing; but if you grew up eating it... Yes, it really is merely fried pieces of basa with a side of diluted and thickened canned cream of corn. Well, the fish itself was fried nicely being moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sauce was typical, nothing much to talk about. We ended up getting the sauce served on the side because the fish tends to get soggy with it on top.

Lastly, we got the Sweet & Sour Pork. Despite its bad rep due to the perception it is a North American Chinese dish, we still love it. Goes well with rice! When it arrived, it was aesthetically pleasing with a deep red colour (more food colouring!). However, the sauce was merely sweet. No tang, no sour, no nothing. The meat itself wasn't bad per se, it was fairly moist. But for some reason, it was dense. Possibly a refry? Most Chinese restaurants cut cooking time by frying the pork either the night before or the morning of and then refrying it to order. No problem with that if it doesn't affect the dish. In this case, it did. So after 2 meals here, it is clear the food is mostly acceptable. There is definitely better nearby, so this would probably not be a return visit. Furthermore, the service as a whole is quite indifferent and inattentive. I wouldn't go as far as saying it is bad; yet it is not a plus either.

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Lots of room
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- Lots of indifferent service
- Washrooms and floor need some repairs

Lee's Chicken (Newton)

*Restaurant is now closed*

When I used to live in Coquitlam, my go-to place for fried chicken was Lee's Chicken. However, much like many of their other locations, it went the way of the dodo bird. So then I was merely stuck with Church's and KFC. There were some options though. LA Chicken (a spinoff of sorts from the defunct Lee's) in Richmond continued the "freshly" fried tradition in its current location. Then not too long ago, I got to once again experience Lee's out in Abbotsford. However, for some reason or another, the Newton location of Lee's never showed up on my radar. I knew it was there; but I kept forgetting about it... until now. Getting a little bored of eating Asian food all the time, I decided to grab some fried goodness at Lee's.

Ever since the chain began to downsize, the locations have not exactly kept up with the times. Looking very much like how it looked 20 years ago, it is not a place one would necessarily want to linger. However, I did linger and ordered a 4-Piece Dinner to boot. I opted for half original and half spicy with a potato salad. Just like I remembered it, the chicken and fries arrived hot and fresh. The chicken was super juicy, even more so than Church's. And it was flavourful, in a KFC kind of way. Hey, it's like a hybrid of Church's and KFC - the best of both worlds in my opinion. On a side note, I'm stiff baffled as to why KFC continues to make consistently dry chicken. Well, I'm in the minority it seems because KFC seems to do very good business. Anyways, the spicy was decently flavourful while not being overy spicy. I think the one from Church's is much spicier. Sure, the fries were your frozen Sysco-type (and the Sysco truck was out front I might add...); but they were fried perfectly crisp. As for the side of gravy, it was pretty scary looking; but it was not clumpy and had a nice peppery kick.

I didn't care for the potato salad though. It was too mustardy. If I had to choose, I'd much rather have the KFC potato salad (if I had only those 2 options). Now if I had to choose which fried chicken I prefer most, it is no contest. Even when Popeye's existed here, I still liked Lee's more. At the very least now, if I want my Lee's fix, I don't have to go out to Abbotsford.

The Good:
- Tasty batter
- Moist, juicy chicken

The Bad:
- A bit more expensive when compared to the specials offered by KFC and Church's

Izumo Japanese

Much like the time I ended up at Northern Tadka, I was actually on my way to Taste of Punjab for a revisit. And the same thing happened again. I didn't make it to the Taste of Punjab for the second time. You see, Mijune was wanting to try out the place and well, my conscience too over. I had promised to dine with here there. Hence, I decided to wait until she was available. So I ended up at the Japanese restaurant in the same complex instead. Now, there seems to be a Japanese restaurant in every strip mall in and around Vancouver. So for me at least, I wasn't expecting much. Yet, I am always ready to be surprised by a great find.

Walking into the place, it was quite obvious it was not Japanese-run. Again, that is not really important if the food is good. Think about it. Just because it is Japanese-run, doesn't necessarily result in good food. I must concede that it would be a good start at least. Now, I'm not going to make this post that long because Izumo is another example of a non-Japanese-run restaurant that is quite average. These are a dime-a-dozen in this city and it only exists to serve the locals. For the Lunch Combo I tried, I would have to say that sashimi was neither good nor bad. It was pretty typical. I thought the teriyaki chicken was to meager with the meat. Hence it was dry and not satisfying. The tempura was pretty average as well with the batter slightly too thick. I got a Rainbow Roll so I could try their sushi rice and yah, it was pretty average as well. The best way to describe it would be dry and mealy. Too bad really since the ingredients were not bad as you can clearly see. Yah, as you can tell, not much enthusiasm from me in this post. A total reflection of the eating experience...

The Good:
- Staff are friendly
- Dining room is clean and spacious

The Bad:
- Food is so-so
- Prices are a bit high

Westview Oriental

The Easter long weekend was an epic fail in terms of eating out. 4 days off and only a few meals to show for it. The reason? No hockey games to play means no eating out afterwards. Furthermore, Viv was not really in the mood for eating out since she had a lot of work to do. Arghhh.... The agony. To compound the issue, Rich Guy was unavailable to eat either. I might have to resort asking strangers to eat with me. Wait, that is normal for Mijune. She is often seen asking complete strangers if she could try their food. Alas, I am not so brazen. So when Sunday hit and we were without eats in the morning, I declared we were going out for Dim Sum. No ands, ifs or buts. However, Dim Sum on a Easter Sunday is akin to boxing day. So I had to find an obscure place to try without the crowds. Aha! Westview Oriental! What? Dim Sum in North Van... Doesn't sound promising does it? Well, I've passed by this place countless of times. It's in the same plaza as where Sizzler used to be. Yes, remember that place?

Just as I thought, the place was none-too-busy when we arrived at opening (11:00am). In fact, this was one of the most relaxing Dim Sum environments we've ever seen. No chatter, no mess, no lineup or some random employee yelling out stuff. So this is how they roll out here. I don't mind it at all! Of course, it is a moot point if the food ain't good... We started with the Soya Fried Rice Noodle Rolls (again... for the kiddies). They were quite dark, almost burnt in appearance. In actuality, it didn't taste burnt; but it was getting close. Despite the colour, it could've used a bit more flavour. Yes, I realize there is hoisin and sesame dipping sauces; but it needed a bit more soy sauce nevertheless.

Next up was the Sui Mai (Shrimp & Pork Dumplings). These were really large with a pleasing amount of tobiko on top. However, the texture was not exactly pleasing though. The dumplings were far too soft and did not exhibit the bounce and chew we were looking for. Furthermore, we found it slightly underseasoned. When the Shrimp Spring Rolls arrived, my son perked up from playing his DS. He loves spring rolls albeit only the crispy exterior. And yes, these were really crunchy. Too bad they were oil-soaked and the interior was doughy. The shrimp was both plentiful and texturally pleasing though. Something we don't see on most Dim Sum menus these days is the Shrimp Toast. I remember eating this as a kid and I also remember how oily they were. Nothing has changed. Take white bread and fry it and it will do its best impression of a sponge. Oil aside, this shrimp toast was pretty good. Crispy and a good amount of shrimp mousse on top, my daughter loved it. My son, he didn't touch it. Something to do with sesame seeds...

Another one of my favourite items at Dim Sum is the Black Bean Spareribs. Normally, the draw of this dish is tenderized pork that is soft enough to chew while still maintaining some bite. Sadly, this one was over-tenderized. Therefore, it was too easy to chew. At least the seasoning was good, a nice combination of salty black beans, garlic and some chili flakes. Arriving next was the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) or AKA "the standard". If a Dim Sum joint gets anything right, it has to be this. I would give this attempt a passing grade since the shrimp was perfectly textured being crunchy and just cooked. However, it was severely under-seasoned. It needed everything including salt, sugar, white pepper and sesame oil. I resorted to using hot sauce to eat this since there was so little flavour. As for the dumpling skin, it was a little on the thicker side; yet not overly so. Strangely, the Crab, Shrimp and Corn Dumplings fared much better in the flavour department. With essentially the same shrimp filling, the addition of imitation crab meat and sweet corn provided the necessary enhancements. As such, the dumpling was savoury and sweet with a nice pop provided by the corn niblets.

We got an order of the Beef Meatballs in hopes the kiddies would have some. Silly me, what was I thinking? The meatballs have green things in them, the kids refused to touch them. Fine, it was up to me to touch the balls... Ahem... Well, these were some fine balls. Mixed with just the right amount of green onion and water chestnuts, the meat was texturally bang-on. Not too chewy, not too soft, these were some bouncy balls! After this, we were essentially done; however, there was a roaming platter of freshly-baked Egg Tarts. We didn't need any convincing. We got an order despite being full. As with anything hot out-of-the-oven, these were probably good on that fact only. However, they were indeed very good. The tart shell was flaky and a tad oily (hope that was vegetable shortening... I hope...). As for the egg custard filling, it was quite sweet. It had a nice silky texture though.

Initially, I gotta admit that Westview Oriental was not what I thought it would be. The Dim Sum experience was a lot better than I expected. First of all, the place is actually appointed with nice furnishings and decor. It was almost soothing to dine here. Plenty of space. No yelling or overly loud discussions from the neighbouring tables. Even the washrooms were acceptable. In general, the service was quite good bordering on friendly. Is this really a Chinese restaurant??? Apparently so. And to boot, the Dim Sum was more than acceptable as well. Sure, I've had better; but considering the location, it's certainly an option for the locals.

The Good:
- Clean and inviting dining space
- Food is decent
- Service is also acceptable

The Bad:
- Prices are a little on the higher side

Omakase @ Kimura

Probably the first place that comes to mind when most people think of Omakase is Tojo's. Naturally, for those who have ventured to other Japanese restaurants, Tojo's would not really be their first choice. After all, you can't really get out of there without spending at least $100.00 each for his Omakase. And if you sit at the bar and give him the reigns, just make sure you bring along 5 brown notes. Yes, the last time I had the Omakase there, it cost nearly $500.00 for 2 people. I must admit some of the offerings were really good; but it didn't feel like I was getting my money's worth. But then again, as I have stated, people don't go to Tojo's for value. Much like purchasing a Bentley, there is no thought put into: "Am I getting a good deal?". It's the type of place where you have been there and done that. It is also a place where you'd find people with too much money. For me, the Omakase at Octopus' Garden was better in value and overall eating experience. Now, it was about time to see what Kimura had to offer with their reasonably-priced $50.00 Omakase.

We started with an Arugula and Baby Spinach Salad with fresh Parmesan. This was a pretty typical salad with a light vinaigrette that I personally found a tad greasy. I did like the liberal use of pepper and ample amount of Parm on top. It added the necessary saltiness. Next up was a platter of many different items consisting of 2 Oysters on the half-shell, Marinated Smelt, Sea Snail & Spinach Gomae, Akimono with berry jam, Squash & Lotus Root and in the centre, an Oyster and Quail's Egg Shooter. I found the oysters to be fresh and the light ponzu was just enough to enhance the natural sweetness. The marinated smelt was really sweet with a touch of tartness. This was okay for me, I wish it was less sweet. As for the Gomae, I found that the spinach itself was missing the roasted sesame seeds because all of it was on the sea snail. The texture of the spinach itself was perfect though. I love the snails, they were chewy in an abalone kind of way and once again, they were very sweet. I really love Akimono (Monkfish Liver); however, it was topped with an inordinate amount of house made berry jam. I found it too sweet and it overwhelmed the liver. With just a little bit, it was excellent as an accent. The piece of lotus root and squash were simply prepared, which highlighted their textures and natural flavour.

Our next course was Sashimi consisting of Tako, Amberjack, Red Tuna, Hamachi, Ebi/Uni and Fried Prawn Head. Although everything on the plate was fresh and ultimately tasty, my favourite was the red tuna. I loved the meaty texture and natural sweetness. Of course the fried shrimp head was a crunchy treat. Our first "cooked" course consisted of Roasted Quail and Pork Rib. The rib was pretty good. The meat was hardly moist; but it wasn't dry either. The meat fell off the bone and had a nice sweet and savouriness to it. I really liked the quail. It had good colour and the skin had been cooked perfectly. The meat was still moist and a bit chewy (but that is normal). Roasted potatoes and a shishito pepper completed the dish.

Our next dish consisted of Pan Seared Salmon and Scallop. Of the five people at the table, 2 were cooked all the way through while the others were slightly rare. Unfortunately, Mijune and I were the ones who had the slightly overcooked portions. For me, this was a very "meh" offering. Nothing terrible about it; but it was uninteresting. The salmon was slightly dry and the scallop had no caramelization. The only flavouring was a splash of sweet soy. Arriving shortly after and steaming hot was the Clam Miso. As you can clearly see, these were big, fat clams. Normally, miso soup has all the appeal of plain green salad. However, the one here was not your typical "Japanese-wannabe" version. Rather, it was not salty at all. Instead, it had depth and a certain "hearty" quality to it. I normally am indifferent when it comes to miso soup; but I did like this one.

The meat portion of our meal consisted of the Kobe Beef. Rather than being prepared as a whole "steak" and then sliced, this one was pan seared in pieces. This way, they were cooked all the way through (which is fine for Kobe beef) and uniformly seasoned. However, I personally was not a big fan of this preparation. The Kobe-ness of the beef seemed to be lost here. If this wasn't enough food by now, we were also given a choice of Nigiri. The ones we settled on were Toro, Uni, Amberjack and Amaebi. On separate plates were Unagi and Tamago. Just like last time, I was happy with the sushi rice; but it's still a bit gummy for me. Maybe it's personal preference? Others have liked it very much... Whatever the case, the fish, ebi and uni were fresh and appealing despite a poor cutting job on the toro. Interestingly enough, I liked the toro the most due to its texture and taste. Once again, we were served the prawn heads fried on a separate dish. Gosh, I really love these. I really like them alot. The fried taste of prawn shells with the sweet innards there for the chewing or sucking. Guess what Mijune did with the head? And I do have a picture of it (it's not posted here due to an R-rating)!

Lastly, we were offered the choice of Ice Cream - sesame, mango or green tea. Seeing how she wanted to try every flavour, Mijune created her own "Asian" spumoni. She claimed it was good and well, I suppose. I stuck with a straight sesame ice cream and it was pretty smooth; yet not too strong in the black sesame flavour. Whatever the case, we all felt that the $50.00 for this omakase was well worth the price. Sure, not everything was perfect; but really what is? Most of the dishes were made with expensive ingredients and some were very well-executed. However, I still prefer the omakase from Octopus' garden over the one here. But I don't think you can go wrong with either. At the very least, it further illustrates how overpriced Tojo's is (quality and execution withstanding).

The Good:
- Good value
- Friendly staff
- Quality ingredients

The Bad:
- Not as refined as some other omakases

True Confections (Broadway)

After a less-than-filling meal at Migz, Mijune and I decided to get some dessert. It didn't take much convincing really. It is no secret that Mijune loves desserts. I think I had her at "cream pie"... Er... Anyways, since we were relatively near True Confections, it was as good as anytime to pay the place a visit. Wow. I haven't been here in literally 15 years. This used to be a late night option when I was in University. Strangely, at the time I was at SFU, so I'm not sure why I was out all the way near UBC. No wonder my car had some many kms! There are other locations though; but this one is more parking friendly. And you know me and parking! One of the reasons I haven't been back since then is the "average-ness" of their desserts. I guess we'll have to see if anything has changed...

For myself, I only had one thing on my mind after watching the Food Network earlier in the day - it was the Boston Cream Pie throw down. Yes, with the Canucks playing the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final, I guess I should call this a Vancouver Cream Pie? Wait. That didn't sound right. No wonder Mijune was giving me a dirty look all night after I asked if she wanted cream pie... She did eventually relent and had some cream pie... LOL... Okay, enough of that. I found the chocolate on the outside too thick and dense. It actually detracted from the overall dessert. The cake itself was a little dry while still airy. I found the custard to be acceptably sweet and there was plenty of it. A pretty average cream pie. We also shared a Banana Split Cheesecake. It sounded good on paper; but for me at least, it was not that good. In terms of the cheesecake itself, there was nothing wrong with it. It was your typical baked New York style. The problem was with the banana. It almost made the cheesecake even more heavier and dense. Then the aroma of banana didn't seem to have the right impact either. Maybe I'm used to something tart such as mango, lime, lemon or strawberries? There was pineapple in the cake, so at the very least, when I got a chunk, it broke up the heaviness.

Not to be outdone, we also had the Devil's Food Cake. A play on angel's food cake, this consisted of chocolate cake with chocolate cream and marshmallow frosting. I actually didn't mind this cake. It wasn't too sweet despite its appearance. The cake itself was fluffy and light while the frosting and cream were not heavy at all. Lastly, we got Mijune's favourite in the Diplomat Cake. Looking like a cross between a vanilla cake and a Napoleon, this consisted of cake, custard, cream and puff pastry. Since I'm not a huge fan of Napoleons, I only had a passing interest in this cake. It didn't have the textural contrast I was looking for and honestly, I found the cake to be boring. I didn't get any flavour from it. However, the cake itself was light and fluffy. Meh. Nothing has changed. The desserts here are passable if there were no options open late at night. Seeing how Vancouver is not really a dessert city, there are not a whole lot of dessert only stores around, particularly open late. That's probably why True Confections continues to exist. For me at least, I'd much rather hit up a nice restaurant after dinner service and only order dessert. But then again, I'm not a huge dessert person, so I'd probably eat another dinner instead...

The Good:
- Lots of options
- Open late

The Bad:
- It's pretty average
- It's not cheap

Migz BBQ

BBQ. That could mean many different things in Vancouver. It can range from Chinese BBQ shops to Korean tabletop BBQ dinners. In fact, those would come to mind first over what we normally associate with BBQ in North America. You see, American BBQ, whether it be Texan, St. Louis or Kansas City, is not exactly that prevalent here on the Wet Coast. It is quite possible due the large distance away from the source could be a reason. Maybe it could be the demographics as well. It would explain the plethora of Asian restaurants, which completely dominate the culinary landscape of our city. Whatever the case, this is all we got and we can only do a locational comparison. Comparing to authentic joints in the South would be just plain ludicrous. So Mijune and I went on another eating escapade - this time at Migz BBQ.

Of all the offerings in the menu, we only had our eye on one - The Pig Out Platter. With a choice of 3 meats and 2 sides, it looked like a good way to sample what they got. We settled on the Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork and Duck. When the food arrived, we were pretty underwhelmed at the portion size. For me, this surely didn't seem like enough to feed 3 people. Moreover, the Pulled Pork looked more like chopped meat. My question is - how hard is it to hand pull the meat? It is pulled pork... Now with that being said, the pork itself was fork tender while just a shade dry. But again, how hard is it to slather it in sauce? With such a meager amount of BBQ sauce, it looked more like boiled meat. To be fair, once we asked for more sauce, the pulled pork was not bad. I would've liked to see a bit less liquid smoke and some more sweetness.

Now, by eye-balling the Baby Back Ribs, I knew there would be issues. You see, rather than being served as an intact rack of ribs, they were cut up into individual ribs. This practically guarantees that the meat would be dry and all the edges would be hard. I had a total of 4 ribs and the first wasn't too bad; but the rest were very dry and hard. To be fair, as dry and hard as it was, all the meat was still edible. So for those who like their meat this way... For me at least, I found the Duck to be the highlight (it's all relative though...). It was a cross between a Chinese BBQ duck and a smoked duck. The meat was chewy and slightly difficult to break down. However, it was "juicier" than the ribs and it had a nice smokey aroma. I had to pick the skin off though, it was too thick and chewy. Other than the duck, the other item that I didn't mind was the Coleslaw. It was crunchy, fresh and full of flavour. I found the dressing to have a nice tang; but it was too heavy on the pepper - maybe that's why it had flavour... Although the dressing was creamy, they should've not put so much into the slaw because it became almost soup-like and ultimately watery. It looked like cream soup at the end. As for the Corn Bread, it was presented in a way that it resembled pound cake. When I picked up the crumbly "cake", it really did feel like I was eating pound cake. It had a wet, dense texture to it and was extremely buttery. I liked how it wasn't too sweet; but there was a noticeable absence of cornmeal. Hence, it didn't have a crunch to it. Not terrible, not good either.

Now, if one was to look at all the comments about the BBQ at Migz, it would appear the food is inedible. Honestly, I wouldn't go as far to declare that. I will say that the BBQ at the Hog Shack, Memphis Blues and even Montana's to be superior. If I had to draw a parallel, the BBQ here most closely resembles BBQues in Yaletown. We didn't get to try any of the other items on the menu, so the jury is still out on that. As for the BBQ items we did try, it is true that there is better elsewhere. I guess with the increasing choices of many different types of food in Vancouver (that is not Asian), restaurants have to up their game in order to compete. Merely serving something that is average will not cut it for most anymore.

The Good:
- Pretty comfortable surroundings, quite spacious actually
- The service we got was good, although the place wasn't busy
- Give them kudos for offering duck

The Bad:
- In terms of the BBQ, we didn't think the portions were inline with the regular prices
- BBQ is pretty average to below average