Cuu Long

"That place?" is what both Kaiser Soze and JuJu exclaimed when I suggested we do Pho at Cuu Long. That place has been around as long as I can remember. I keep driving past it; but have never stopped to eat there. I've even spotted people I know walking in while driving by. So after hockey, we decided to give the place a try despite some apprehension. It's not much to look at from the outside and the same goes for the inside. However, it is clean and well-kept though. The first thing that struck us was the genuinely pleasant attitude of the staff/owners. We felt welcomed and very comfortable right away.

Kaiser Soze waffled between ordering the Bun Bo Hue and a Pho Dac Biet. As always, I let him do the ordering first before I figured out what to have. He settled on the Bun Bo Hue. The reason he was having a hard time deciding was due to the bad experiences he's had with Bun Bo Hue. You see, some places merely pour some chili oil on top of regular broth and call it Bun Bo Hue. The version here was somewhere in the middle. There was lemongrass and chili which made it a somewhat flavourful broth but I didn't get a sense of any heat at all. A bit mild for my tastes; but Kaiser Soze seemed to like it. He remarked that the noodles were good while the meats were sufficiently tender. JuJu went for the Com Bo Kho or Spicy Beef Brisket with Rice. We found that it wasn't really all that spicy; in fact, it was rather sweet with a touch of savouriness. JuJu enjoyed it with the rice and used up most of the broth. As for the the beef and tendons, they were super tender and practically melted in my mouth.

For myself, I wanted something different this time and had the Hu Tieu Dai Dac Biet or clear noodle in soup with pork and seafood. Unlike Pho, the soup here was clear and very light. Now it was light in colour only since it had plenty of flavour. Again, mostly sweet with a bit of aromatics. Although it was sitting in broth, the clear noodles retained its texture. There was a mix of pork, meatballs and offal along with shrimp and squid. I found the pork slices to be slightly chewy while the offal and meatballs to have a nice bounce texture. The shrimp had a good snap while the squid was a tad too chewy. Not a bad bowl of noodles; however, I found it to underwhelming in terms of portion size. And believe it or not, I actually added another order of noodles - the Pho Dac Biet. What immediately struck me was the size once again. With only one size to choose from, it was rather small and I knew I could demolish it even though I had just finished a bowl of noodles. I found the broth to be light while flavourful at the same time. I wouldn't exactly call it a meaty taste; rather it was sweet and a little bit fragrant. There was a modest amount of noodles which were al dente. The small amount of meat was alright. It was mostly tender.

Was that all the food we ate after hockey? Heck no! Everyone decided to add a Banh Mi as well. Kaiser Soze had the BBQ Pork, Juju went for the Lemongrass Chicken and I had the lowly Ham Banh Mi. I went for that since there were only 3 choices and the other 2 were taken already. No duplicates! At least for my Banh Mi, I found it be rather bland. No fish sauce, no pate, no mayo, no flavour. The pickled carrot and daikon were not impactful and the lack of peppers didn't help either. At the very least, the bread was light, airy and crunchy on the outside. Due to having more flavourful meat, Kaiser Soze and JuJu's Banh Mis were better tasting. And that would be it right? No. JuJu, the eating machine, had an order of the Salad Roll, all to himself. Nothing exciting to report here other than a typical salad roll. It was rolled tightly and the ingredients were well-balanced and sufficient. The dip was a good mix between hoisin and peanut sauce. In the end, we were satisfied with the eats here. It didn't blow us away; but it was solid. In fact, the one thing that will keep us coming back was the personable service we received. It was noticeably better than most Vietnamese restaurants.

The Good:
- Great service
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Portions are slightly small

Skyhawk

So many times, there are restaurants with interesting food. That can draw people from far and wide. Then there are times where the location of the restaurant is the draw. It's even better if both the food and location are interesting. Call it the strange food in a strange location phenomenon. It's almost like finding treasure on a desert island. For the one who made the discovery, it is almost like a badge of honour. Well, I wasn't looking for treasure nor was I wanting any badge of honour on this food adventure. I merely just wanted to eat something other than fast food in Ladner. Yes, it's true. Ladner is not really a great place to grab interesting eats. Other than La Belle Auberge, there are not many places one would drive out here to visit. So on my way in, I took a slight detour off Ladner Trunk Road into the Boundary Bay Airport. Nope, I wasn't leaving town to eat; rather I was paying a visit to Skyhawk.

A completely random restaurant in a hidden location, this was the something different I was looking for. For those who have not been out here, the restaurant is actually quite nice inside with high ceilings and a fabulous view. In terms of the menu, well, it is an eclectic mix of typical American food with a dash of Chinese and some near-gourmet items for dinner. Since I am a masochist, I started with a bowl of Wor Wonton Soup. Hey, the kitchen staff were Asian. I thought to myself: "why not?". Believe it or not, it was actually decent. The broth was somewhat close to an real wonton soup (which is light brown in colour). I wouldn't say it was extremely flavourful; but it wasn't bland nor plain salt water either. As for the wontons themselves, I was in total shock when I bit into them. There was shrimp! Yes, in a non-Asian restaurant in Ladner at the Boundary Bay Airport, we had semi-authentic wontons... In addition, the pork filling had a nice texture while being seasoned nicely (with hints of white pepper and sesame oil). The only problem I had with this wonton soup was the price. For $12.00, I was expecting something a bit more substantial.

I ended up ordering their MOT Burger for my main. Now, the burger itself was nothing special; but boy was the beef patty cooked perfectly. I haven't had a juicy burger in some time and this was moist and juicy. The fries were your typical frozen type; but once again, it was cooked properly being crispy. Now trying 2 dishes was not enough for me. Thus, I returned again for some more. This time, I brought Ma and Snake Eyes with me. For me, I started with a large Poutine. as you can see, this would never pass off as a true poutine since the cheese (which were not cheese curds) was completely melted. I like a tad of melted cheese; but that was too much. The gravy wasn't bad, it had the right consistency and enough flavour. This was essentially a poutine in name only.

For my main, I decided to try a breakfast item in the Corned Beef Hash. This was a pretty basic; yet nicely made hash. Simply shredded hashbrowns and brisket corned beef, this was good if not unexciting. The hashbrowns were pretty good being fluffy with a touch of crispiness. With my choice of eggs, I went for poached and they were done perfectly. Snake Eyes did the unthinkable and had the MOT Burger (darn duplicates...), so nothing to talk about there. On the other hand, Ma had her favourite - the Beef Dip. She thought the roast beef was quite tender; but there wasn't really enough of it. The dip was very flavourful with the addition of caramelized onions. Overall, a solid beef dip. Considering the location of the restaurant, the food is surprisingly good. Again, it's not going to knock anyone's socks off; yet, it does the job in a pleasant environment. With that being said, the prices are a bit confusing. Some items are reasonably-priced while some are not. Furthermore, for each time I was there, the wait for the food to arrive was approximately 30 minutes. Not a huge deal for me; but it could be if you were in a rush.

The Good:
- Solid food for what it is
- Comfortable surroundings
- Good service

The Bad:
- Food comes out slow
- The Chinese food is grossly overpriced

Pho T & T

Last time when we were doing our best impression of "yum cha" at Ruby Chinese in PoCo, I noticed a Pho joint around the corner. Oh, if you are wondering why it was an impression of Dim Sum, just read the post. The food surely didn't resemble what good Dim Sum should be like. Anyways, Pho T & T caught my attention and wondered how it was. Hey, PoCo is not the hotbed of Asian food you know! So when I needed to take my son out for lunch, it seemed like a good idea. He likes Pho and so do I. No need to worry if he was gonna eat the food or not. When we arrived at the place, I asked him if he remembered going to Ruby Chinese next door. He replied with a negative. Strange, he has a good memory... I guess the Dim Sum was so bad, he had blocked out that experience!

With any order of noodles, there is an option to add a Spring Roll for $1.00. I thought the filling was quite good with pronounced hints of fish sauce, onions and pepper. I as a bit disappointed that they did not use rice paper wrappers though. My son didn't mind since that's all he eats. He leaves the filling for me... So I ended up ordering a small Pho Dac Biet for him and not surprisingly he ate the noodles and soup. As for the meats, well that was for me and I wasn't complaining. The meats were tender. I found the broth itself to be more on the sweet side with a soy sauce aftertaste. Was the dark colour a by-product of that? Whatever the case, the broth was above-average.

For myself, I had the Bun Bo Hue. It really wasn't all that spicy but it did have hints of lemongrass which made the broth aromatic. There was a good amount of meat though. I wished there was pork knuckle; but I guess we can't expect it everytime right? Now, at the entrance to the place, there is a placard boasting about great food, good prices and excellent service. Normally, that is an indication of a self-belief that really doesn't come to fruition. However, I must confirm the food was pretty good considering the location and the prices were really inexpensive. A large bowl of Pho is only $6.00! In terms of the service, it was very personable. I was even asked halfway through the meal if my food was okay! And that was with all tables in the restaurant.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent eats
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- Some compromises have to be made (ie. lemon instead of lime, wheat wrapper instead of rice wrapper and so on...)

Brit's Landing

*Now Salty's*

Sometimes, when there is a location where restaurants come and go like Canuck bandwagon jumpers, one has to be nervous. After all, why do restaurants not succeed here? That would be case of Brit's Landing. This is the third version of a fish 'n chip joint in the last couple of years. At first, it was the longtime tenant, the Sea Shanty. Then it became the Dock House and shortly afterwards, what we see now as Brit's Landing. Apparently, there are new owners. With some subtle renovations, the interior is still mostly the same. In fact, the lady who served me is the same as before. So at the very least, they kept the staff.

When it comes to fish 'n chips, there are not many choices in North Delta. We have Ocean Ave, Saturday's and if we stretch it a bit, Mr. Pickwick's. I've been to them all and Ocean Ave is the best of the bunch by far. Saturday's and Mr. Pickwick's cannot even be called fish 'n chips in my opinion. So lucky for me, it happened to be All-You-Can-Eat Wednesday on my visit. Not that I was that hungry; but the AYCE price was even cheaper than their regular menu. To change it up a bit, I went for their AYCE Fish, Shrimp and Chips for $15.00 (AYCE Fish 'n Chips is $12.00). When my order arrived, there was more than enough to feed a hungry person. In order to eat more, one would have to be really hungry. I started with the fried shrimp first and they were actually quite good. Within the crunchy breading, there was cold-water shrimp. Although, I did find the cocktail sauce to be too sour.

The fresh-cut chips were hot and crunchy. It was a little on the dry side; but not overly so. The cod fillet was large and flaky. It was fried up crispy on the outside and wasn't too oily. The batter was pretty minimal. It did start to get slightly soggy on the bottom of the piece of fish though. Yet, that really didn't bother me that much. I found the tartar sauce to be acceptable. It was on par with places such as C Lover's and Pajo's. So all-in-all, it was a pretty satisfying AYCE meal even though I didn't put in a second order. I'm still not convinced that the food is significantly different from the previous place, if at all. However, that is not a bad thing really since the food was decent the last time around. Brit's Landing does the job for a reasonable price. I would say it ranks a very close second to Ocean Ave (in terms of North Delta that is...)

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Food is what you'd expect, no more, no less

The Bad:
- Batter on fish could've been more crisp
- Nit-picking here... the cocktail sauce needs improvement

Ogenki Ramen

Ramen ramen everywhere, especially along Robson and over there. We have good, bad and fakes, why oh why, are people in Vancouver so baked? Wait, scratch the last comment, that has nothing to do with food... or does it? Anyways, for some reason or another, Ramen fever has taken over Vancouver in the past couple of years and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Take Benkei for instance. It grew from one location to 4 in one year. It is true most of the best ramen joints reside along the Robson corridor; however, we are increasingly seeming a trend of ramen shops far way from the epicentre. Places like Menya, Q Go, G-Men, Takano and Kawawa are either in Vancouver or the burbs. Now a relatively new place has opened up next to its next door sushi neighbour. Ogenki Ramen boasts a Japanese chef who has been at the business for over 20 years. However, the place is clearly not Japanese-owned. This was quite evident when I tried ordering a Chashu Rice and the server did not know what that was. She actually had to go to the kitchen to ask!

Okay, with the authenticity of the place out of the way, Uncle Willy and I got down to ordering some grub. We started with the Gyoza which was a sign of things to come... They seemed to have almost "deep-fried" the darn things because it was browned in places where it shouldn't have been. The result was a very greasy dumpling that was not even all the crispy on the bottom. Furthermore the filling was skimpy and one-note in flavour. Remember the Chashu Rice? Well, the server eventually figured out what it was and I probably wished she hadn't. The rice itself wasn't bad per se being chewy while moist. However, the chashu was not right. The edges looked like it had "microwave-damage". It was hard, discoloured and dry. So very wrong. Furthermore, the sauce was a very sweet teriyaki which didn't go with the rice nor meat.

Uncle Willy had selected the Karaage Miso Ramen with the karaage served on the side. I must admit that this was pretty good. The meat was very moist, juicy and flavourful while the exterior was crisp. However, the darn things were greasier than Luongo's hair. It could've been good; but ultimately the grease was a turn-off. As for the ramen itself, it was actually not bad. I would say it was a touch past al dente. The miso broth was not really all that flavourful. We found it lacking depth. But in the end, it wasn't horrible either. The egg a bit strange though. It was a cross between a Taiwanese tea egg and an Ajitama egg. Not bad actually. Just strange.

What was even stranger was that my noodles in the Genki Ramen (in Tonkotsu broth) was actually perfectly al dente. And actually, the tonkotsu broth was acceptable. I wouldn't say it had an incredible amount of depth; but it did exhibit a level of silkiness. It wasn't particularly bursting with flavour; yet it wasn't bland either. I'm not sure why they dumped the karaage into my bowl and not Uncle Willy's. It became waterlogged and unappetizing. The chashu was slightly better than the one I had in the rice because it was not damaged by the microwave. Too bad it didn't particularly taste like anything. There is an option to choose fattier meat though. With everything taken into consideration, the food at Ogenki Ramen is mediocre at best. Uncle Willy summed it up best, "it's okay for Main Street, but certainly not compared to the big boys in Downtown".

The Good:
- Service was pretty friendly despite not knowing what they serve on the menu
- Fairly spacious for a ramen joint

The Bad:
- Mediocrity at its best
- Chef is authentic; but nothing else is

Nahm Thai Bistro

"You can't get real Thai food here anyways", exclaimed Grayelf while we were dining at New Age Chinese Cuisine. I completely agree. For as much as our food scene is full of Asian cuisine, most of it is tailor-made to the majority of diners. For instance, there are not a whole lot of people who can put up with the heat level from places such as Alvin Garden, Hotluck and Spicy Legend. I personally like spicy and even some of the offerings from the aforementioned restaurants destroy my tastebuds. Hence, imagine those who cannot take heat. So if you find watered down Thai food in Vancouver, don't hate. Just understand the restaurants are there to make money. Not to satisfy a small minority of people. With that in mind, finding good local Thai food is sometimes even more difficult as we head into the burbs.

So imagine my curiousity when I found out about a new Thai bistro on 102nd and Whalley Ring Road. Not since the closure of Full Moon Laos-Thai has there been Thai food in this area. Luckily for me, Toolman was interested in joining me which would mean only one thing - more food! Well, and good company as well I suppose (this is just in case he is reading this!). Upon our arrival, we were pleasantly surprised that they had lunch specials. Initially, by the looks of their website, there didn't appear to be any. We ended up ordering 3 items to share starting with the Pad Thai with prawns. It arrived with lots of properly cooked prawns, pressed tofu, turnip, egg, ground peanuts and sprouts. So in terms of ingredients, it was legit. However, much like many Thai restaurants in the lower mainland, the sauce was ketchupy. Despite this, we still enjoyed it since the noodles were al dente and there wasn't an overabundance of sauce. We also had a couple of curries starting with the Chicken Green Curry. We found it to be very mild and somewhat creamy from the coconut milk. There was plenty of chicken meat and basil which made it pleasant, if not unexciting, to eat. As for the Beef Red Curry, it had much more impact. It was significantly spicier (but still mild for us) and thicker with much more coconut milk. There was plenty of tender slices of beef with crunchy slivers of bamboo shoots and green peppers. We thought this curry was quite good.

Lastly, each lunch special included rice (except for the Pad Thai) and a Spring Roll. I mean, what can I say about it... The spring roll was packed with cabbage and carrots while being fried up perfectly crisp. It wasn't too oily either. Pretty decent, much like the rest of the food. I'm sure some purists will do the "it's not authentic thing" again; but frankly I think that is unfair. Much like what Grayelf believes, I think that these Thai restaurants are only offering up what will appeal to the locals and what will keep them in business. If we look at Nahm Bistro from this point-of-view, it is a pretty solid place for Thai food in Surrey at a reasonable price in a pleasing environment complete with great service.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Pleasing and modern decor
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- If you insist to be the authenticity police, yes, there is ketchup in the Pad Thai
- Modest portions

Barcelo's Flamed Grilled Chicken

If you listen to the TEAM 1040, amidst the whining about NHL officiating and the constant broken ankles from Canuck bandwagon jumpers, B-Mac extols the virtues of "Flame-Grilled Chicken Time" brought to you by Nando's. Yup, that's the chain of restaurants that offer up spicy (if you choose to) flamed grilled chicken. Hey, as much as it is expensive, I do have the occasional craving for Peri-Peri sauce. However, did you know that there is a similar place out there that hails from South Africa? Barcelo's is the name and flame-grilled chicken is its game. With its first ever location in Canada, it seems to be moving in on Nando's flame-grilled chicken monopoly. Down to the ordering at the counter, choosing your sides and how hot you want your chicken, Barcelo's is very much like Nando's except with the addition of beef burgers. But wait a sec. There is one more significant difference. Try lower prices.

I decided to go for the Half-Chicken meal with 2 sides. At $12.50, it is a full $2.00 less than Nando's. That is roughly the savings you'll see across the board here. I went all out and had it Supa Peri, which is their equivalent of Extra Hot Peri-Peri at Nando's. Since they flame grill their chicken to order, I had to wait approximately 15 minutes. No matter though, I much prefer freshly made food than something that has been sitting around. When it did arrive, it was a substantial amount of food. It wasn't a small half-chicken. Nicely charred on the outside without being burnt and smothered with hot peri sauce, there was also no absence of flavour either. I dug in and the meat was very moist including the breast. Smoky, spicy and zesty, this could give Nando's a run for their money. In fact, I really liked it. Considering that it was cheaper, this would have a leg up on Nando's (sorry for the pun).

The first of my 2 sides was the Spicy Rice. I'm not sure if it was really all that spicy. But with my tongue tingling from the Supa Peri sauce, nothing would be spicy in comparison. I did like how it was served piping hot and the rice was the perfect texture (chewy and completely separate grains). For my second side, I opted for the ol' standby being the Fries. Although the fries were nothing to get excited about (being generic fries), they were cooked up perfectly. They were golden brown and very crispy. Inside each fry, there was still an appreciable amount of potato as well. All-in-all, a very solid first experience at Barcelo's. I would definitely say that considering the prices, it ranks above Nando's. I think the food quality is roughly the same and in fact, it was probably better on this visit. My biggest complaint with Nando's has been their pricing and Barcelo's seems to have alleviated that problem. I'm curious to see how well this location does and if any more will open. If one opens up close to me, I would probably pick up their family dinner pack quite often.

The Good:
- Reasonable-pricing
- Moist, flavourful flame-grilled chicken
- Inviting and clean dining space

The Bad:
- Despite the fast-food ordering, it isn't fast food (I personally don't care though)