Boom Noodle

*Restaurant is now closed*

Out of nowhere, Viv thought it would be a great idea to head down to the States on the Canada Day long weekend. Well, that is not really a stretch except we were going to head to San Diego a little over 3 weeks anyways. Whatever. I offered up little resistance since we had Nexus and heading to Seattle meant we could do more eating! So, changing up things this time, we decided to head down after dinner. Since we had a relatively early dinner, Viv thought it would not be a good idea to not eat something before bedtime. Hey, I ain't gonna argue with that brilliant idea. Checking up on the late night dining spots in
Bellevue (we were staying at Goose's house), Boom Noodle caught my eye. Now, when one finds out it is a place where you can get Pho, Ramen and Yakisoba, it might send shivers up some peoples' spine. I was curious though and especially with one kid in tow, we needed kid-friendly late night eats.

Located in Bellevue Square, Boom Noodle is right next to its sister restaurant, C Sushi. With a hip decor and attractive non-Asian staff, it appeared I was heading straight down a path of noodle hell. However, we stuck with it and went about our ordering. I decided to go for the Shio Ramen as a comparison to what we have in Vancouver. And you know what? It was actually not bad. I gotta admit that I was expecting something less. It had all of the usual components such as bamboo shoots, corn, shiitake mushrooms and naruto in a chicken-pork broth. I found the broth to be rather salty; but then again, it is shio. It had lots of flavour and depth. The noodles were perfectly al dente and remained chewy throughout. Although there were some moist chunks of chashu, the leaner cuts were a bit stringy. It did have a nice meaty flavour though. I'm not afraid to admit that this was a decent bowl of ramen, even when compared to the ones we have in Vancouver. I also added a Soy Marinated Egg and it was more or less what is offered at most Japanese ramen shops.

For my son, we got him the kid's Chicken Pho. For $4.00, this was a very good value. Equivalent in size to a small pho at most other Vietnamese joints, this was more than enough food for him. I tried the broth and it was actually quite light (it could've used more salt). Despite the lack of initial flavour, it was high on fragrance, this was not a traditional beef pho broth (it is beef-chicken broth); but it was good in its own ways. There was a nice lemongrass note to it and natural sweetness. Add in the usual cilantro, lime, basil and sprouts with al dente noodles and again, I am not afraid to admit this was more than acceptable. Moving away for soup noodles, we also tried the Yaki Udon consisting of marinated chicken, fresh mushrooms, cabbage, red chilies, dancing bonito flakes. We omitted the chilies so my son could actually eat some. Even without the chilies, the udon was flavourful. I thought the udon itself could've been less wet and soft. Otherwise, the cabbage was crisp and the fresh shiitake added much Earthiness. Lastly, we had a side of Kimchi and this was a bit too sour. It had a moderate amount of spice and was crunchy though. Okay, I'm not afraid to put myself out there. It is so easy to pan a place like this since it does not look like or is run like an authentic noodle joint. But let's be honest here, all this talk about authenticity and "who" runs the place is plain silly if we do not focus on the food. For me at least, it was more than acceptable for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- The noodles are surprisingly decent
- Reasonably-priced kid's menu
- Non-typical noodle joint decor (although it is still spartan)

The Bad:
- Prices are on the higher side for noodles; but it is okay considering all factors
- The authenticity police will be sure to make an arrest (even though it was close enough for me)

Makoto

Authentic Japanese-run restaurants. If that sounds more like a joke to you than a statement, then you're probably well-versed with the Japanese food scene in Vancouver. It is true. In such a large city with predominant Asian influences, there are very few Japanese-run Japanese restaurants. And considering the plethora of "Japanese" restaurants, that is really too bad. Now, if you read this blog often, you know my ranting about how Vancouver deserves the restaurants it gets. What I mean is, that most people are not really all that concerned about authenticity, so a restaurant is not necessarily all that interested either if there are customers and they make a profit. I accept this and I am generally not crying foul about authenticity unless the food is not fit to eat. With that being said, I still enjoy a Japanese-owned and operated restaurant. The ones that I have been to are Ajisai, Tojo's, Takarabune, Octopus' Garden, Fuji and Toshi. Another one to add on the list is Makoto stashed away on Rumble in Burnaby South.

It's a small place run by some friendly people. We were greeted warmly and it felt very comfortable right away. As for the food, we started with the Salmon Sashimi, which at first, concerned us. When it arrived, the salmon had very little colour. However, one bite into the flesh, our fears were alleviated. It was fresh and very sweet. How looks can be so deceiving. Well, I should of known this since the pigment in the flesh is a result of what the salmon eats and is not indicative of the flavour per se. Next, we had the Volcano Roll, which looked much different than its description in the menu. What it turned out to be was a fried roll consisting of spicy tuna with scallops and tobiko topped with lots of sweet mayo and black sesame sauce. As a result, the roll was very wet and soft. Texture aside, the combination of flavours was quite good though. I really liked the sweetness of the scallops with the aromatics of the black sesame. We ended up ordering 2 dishes that the kiddies *might* eat starting with the Chicken Yaki Udon. I know a plate of fried noodles is not exactly the most exciting thing to talk about; but this was very good. The udon was perfect. It had a nice chewiness and bite to it while not being overly doused with oil. There was a good amount of moist chicken meat, crunchy snow peas, mushrooms and carrots with a small topping of pickled ginger. It was seasoned just enough so it was neither too salty or sweet. The kids loved it too and I ate the remaining portion of it since it was so good.

As for the "backup" dish, we opted for a rice bowl in the Oyako Don. This was a substantial amount of food with lots of tender chicken and nicely cooked egg on top of chewy rice. Now, it is always a welcome sight when the rice is properly drizzled with mirin and soy. However, there was so much in this bowl, the rice was completely soaked and becoming wet. The flavour was good; but there was just too much of it. Hence, it was very sweet in the end. Lastly, we got the Assorted Tempura for the kiddies. Let me rephrase that. We got the tempura batter for them. They are not so hot on the fried veggies; rather, they feast on the batter only. Maybe I should just ask for tempura bits next time... This was good as well - crisp and not too oily. From what we had, I can say we were happy with our meal. Nothing mind-blowing; but definitely a step above the generic Japanese restaurants that litter the Vancouver landscape.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Friendly owner/staff
- Not dirt cheap; but reasonably-priced considering the food quality

The Bad:
- Again, it's not exactly cheap; but it is fair for the quality of food
- The place is very small, difficult for a large group

Hog Shack Cook House (Revisted)

Okay, it is no secret that I've been doing quite a few revisits to restaurants which I haven't been to in awhile. If there has been any significant changes, I end up putting up a new post while taking the old one down. However, some are merely an add-on to an existing post. This time around, I couldn't do either. You see, I've just recently been to the Hog Shack, so nothing has really changed all that much. Secondly, I really couldn't add onto the existing post since this was almost like a repeat of sorts with a whole bunch of new items. Somehow, it just seemed like a good idea to do a separate post. The actual reason I was back was due to Mijune's "birthday" event at the Hog Shack and subsequent dessert-a-thon at The Apron afterwards.

The deal here was we pay one flat fee and we would be presented an array of food to share amongst our tables. Miss Y ended up joining me since she and Mijune seemed to hit it off ever since they met. We were joined by Anita and her friend to complete our table of 4. Apparently, we are nearly at the bottom of the friend totem pole since we got our food last at the same time as another lowly table of bottom-feeder friends. Now I know where I stand with Mijune! So with practically every table finished eating while we were just starting, you can imagine the barbaric eating display we put on. Well, it is food meant to be eaten with our hands right?

So I'll start with the sides. Last time, I had concluded that the sides were probably the weakest part of the meal. So we'll see how they fared this time. The Corn Bread, served as mini-loaves were pretty much the same being crumbly and moist. It wasn't too sweet which is something I personally like. I would've liked more crunch from more cornmeal though. The Coleslaw was crunchy and had a decent amount of zing. It was creamy from the liberal use of mayo. Overall, an okay coleslaw. The same could be said about the Baked Beans. Much like last time, the beans were rich and slightly smoky. Naturally, it is plenty sweet due to the molasses. Now, saving the best for last, the Creamed Corn was the table favourite. We had none left at the end. The corn niblets were sweet and crunchy. They were bathed in a creamy sauce that was also sweet; but complimented the corn at the same time. Loved the consistency of it.

Moving onto the main event, we were presented a platter consisting of things not easily found in the GVRD. First, we have the Pulled Pork Pancakes. I know that the Red Wagon has them and Deacon's Corner does a version as well. Other than that, I personally do not know many places that have it on their regular menu. Starting with the pancakes, they were soft, fluffy and only slightly sweet. Sandwiched in between was a good amount of tender pulled pork slathered in just enough BBQ sauce. Just like last time, I found the sauce to be not as "deep" or smoky as I would've liked. It is more sweet and "zesty" (if that is the right word) than anything. I like the combination of pancakes and puled pork. For me, I think this is just as good as the one from the Red Wagon. It surely is bigger with one more layer.

Another rare item on the platter was the Chicken and Waffles. Now this is not usually found up here in Vancouver. Some may not understand the combination; but just google Roscoe's and you'll get the idea. Another winner in my books. For me, it was all about the fried chicken. Each piece was crispy and well-seasoned. Yet, the most important thing of all was that the chicken itself was moist and juicy - each and every piece. Combined with the sweet waffles, it was a nice contrast. The only thing I would've liked to see was a crispier waffle. The St. Louis Style Ribs that were on the platter were appreciably more moist and juicy this time around. Coincidence? Not sure. But I did noticed that the rack of ribs were more meaty and thick which could've helped keep the moisture in.

I've saved the best of last because I can't get enough of the Burnt Ends. These consist of slow smoked brisket which is cut up, sauced and put back into the smoker for another go around. The result is a very smoky, flavourful chunk of meat. The flavour burst will knock your socks off. This is a must try here. Once again, this is not a typical item found anywhere else in Vancouver. And this can be the theme of the revisit - foods that you can't find readily anywhere else. Unique items to our part of the world is what makes the Hog Shack special.

The Good:
- Unique items not normally found in Vancouver
- Two words: Burnt Ends
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- They cooked their meats from a raw state, can be dry for some people

A Taste of Ukraine

As I have said over and over again, for such a diverse city, Vancouver is pretty much dominated by Asian cuisine. Although there are many Italian and Greek restaurants to choose from, there is little else in terms of diversity. And let's not include North American food in this mix. It almost seems like other ethnic cuisine are under-represented. In a city as large as Vancouver, those "other" cuisines are indeed not very prevalent, even when there is a significant population of certain ethnic groups. For instance, according to the statistics for Vancouver, there are over 200,000 people of Eastern European origin. But then when one looks at the available restaurants that serve Eastern European food, there aren't many. If we break it down even further and focus on Ukrainian food, it gets even smaller. Heck, the most recent Ukrainian eating experience I had was from a co-worker who made authentic borscht. And no, it's not like what a Hong Kong style cafe serves. Now, I'm not going to profess that I know much about Ukrainian food. Heck, look at the options we have here. Other than perogies, cabbage rolls, borscht and kovbasa (kielbasa) sausage, I haven't had much "Ukrainian" eats. The last time I even had such food was from Hunky Bill's at the PNE (which I've done for many, many years...).

Since last year, a little shop that opened up on St. John in Port Moody has piqued my interest. A Taste of Ukraine didn't look like much; but there was some good words from reliable friends. Seeing how I was hungry and with no one to eat with, it seemed like as good of a time to grab some take out. Now, if one wanted to eat in, there are 2 tables available. For me, I grabbed a few items and headed home anxiously. Naturally, I got some Perogies with Kielbasa. There were 2 kinds of perogies - cheddar cheese & potato and sausage & potato). The first thing I noticed about the perogies was the ample filling which was not dense. I found that the cheese perogi was simple in taste while flavourful at the same time. The fat from the pan fried kielbasa provided a certain level of smokiness and flavour as well. As for the sausage itself, it was meaty with a nice sear. There was not too much sausage in the other perogi; hence it was not as flavourful. I much preferred the cheese one.

Continuing on with my "tourist" approach to Ukrainian food, I had one each of the Pork Cabbage Roll and Beef Cabbage Roll. Due to the nature of the meat, the pork roll was more tightly packed than the beef. As for the filling as a whole, there was lots of it and it held together. This could be a bit dense for some people; but I liked how it didn't fall apart while I was eating it. I found that the rice was cooked just right where it was not mushy nor too hard. With the sour cabbage combined with the tart tomato sauce, there was a level of zing as well as a hint of pepper. I thought these were good and well-priced (they were huge!).

Lastly, as I was paying, I noticed a tray of various Piroshki. I ended up getting a Meat Piroshki just to try. I found the bottom of the piroshki a little overcooked but it didn't affect the taste nor texture very much. It was okay, I found the meat to be a bit dry and tasteless. Maybe if this was a fried piroshki, it would've been more interesting. However, other than that, the perogies and cabbage rolls were fantastic. I'm definitely going to hit them up again to try some other items.

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Large cabbage rolls

The Bad:
- Not really a bad; but it's most take out, don't plan to eat-in

Pho 24 Express

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... Okay, it wasn't in another galaxy and it wasn't really that long ago; but for Polka King, it seemed like a different reality. You see, he is an accountant by trade and when we last visited Gold Train Express out on Kingsway, there was some very strange mathematics at play. Hence, he was perturbed to the point of never returning. Oh and the large neon sign proclaiming "fresh washrooms" concerned him as well. Fast forward almost 3 years and here we are heading to the newest addition to the Gold Train family - Pho 24 Express, also on Kingsway. Now, 3 years later, we also see less and less of Polka King because he is so infatuated with Polka Dot. Well, I don't blame him really. She is a lot better looking than all of us and would you blame him for hanging out with her more than us? Besides, we had more than enough willing participants for our after-hockey-eats. Unbeknownst to him that we were heading to a place affiliate with Gold Train Express was Milhouse. He was with us last time and he has not forgotten as well. Emilicious willingly joined us since she doesn't mind the location out near UBC. Apparently, their math skills are more sharp out there. Sweet Tooth, Gordo and Apu rounded out the group.

Now if there was any doubt of its affiliation with Gold Train, the abundance of neon on the outside was a dead giveaway. Hey, at least it is easy to find... Sweet Tooth had a hard time deciding what she wanted and eventually settled on the Spring Rolls. We loved the presentation. It appears more and more places are cutting them diagonally, which makes them look "fancier". Despite appearing overfried, these were not greasy and crispy according to Sweet Tooth. It was nice to see that they were not made with wheat wrappers nor made to look like Chinese spring rolls. Since that was not enough food for her, she tacked on a Salad Roll as well. Also "artistically" plated with open ends, the roll itself was pretty standard. As for the dipping sauce, it was too peanutty. There was not enough hoisin sauce which made the sauce bland and one-dimensional. Milhouse suggested that we merely squirt some hoisin in ourselves. I guess we could've done that.

Now Apu, Gordo and Emilicious all had Pho in some shape or form, so there is no point in describeng them all. The corresponding picture is of Emilicious' Pho Tai (with the addition of vegetables). I tried some of the broth and to me, it was predominantly sweet and with a definite MSG slant. Not a bad broth per se, just not enough meat flavour and savoury elements. The meats were tender and plentiful while the rice noodles started off a bit clumpy before loosening up in the hot broth. For myself, I had an X-Large Bun Bo Hue. Maybe this is an unfair comparison; but I didn't find it any bigger than the large at Pho Tam. In fact, it was smaller. On the menu, it stated that there was beef, Vietnamese ham and pork's leg. There was definitely a lot of ham and tender beef; but I didn't see any pork's leg. The noodles were plentiful and cooked just right. I found the broth acceptable where it had some spice and sweetness. I didn't get any hints of lemongrass though. Milhouse went for the Bun Bo Nuong, Cha Gio and Nem Nuong (grilled beef, spring roll and marinated pork on vermicelli). This was also pretty standard stuff with the same spring rolls and meats. Nothing Earth-shattering; but solid nonetheless. This was pretty much our experience here (with proper mathematics). Decent for late-night eats.

The Good:
- Open late
- Food is okay
- Prices are okay

The Bad:
- Food is okay
- Is the X-Large really that much larger?

Docker's Diner

For the longest time, JuJu has been wanting to head to Docker's Diner for some breaky after Sunday morning hockey. Fate would have it that we would be going the very week he misses hockey. Oh well, them the breaks. I'm not sure if I want to see his reaction when we see him next. It's almost like cheating on him food-wise. Well, not all was lost since Mijune was going to make a cameo appearance on my Sunday food adventure (but due to scheduling issues, she didn't make it...). And this was somewhat of an adventure. Located on Powell Street, Docker's Diner is not in the usual places we would go get Breakfast. For us, Powell Street is a thoroughfare to bypass the traffic on Hastings. Hence, anything on the street itself is just a blur as we are traveling to our destinations.

Well, for today at least, we stopped and headed into Docker's Diner. What can I say, it looks like a diner on the outside and it looks like a diner on the inside. Nothing fancy, except for the nostalgic pictures adorning the walls. Kaiser Soze decided to go for the standard Breakfast, which included 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 strips of bacon, hashbrowns and 2 slices of toast for $5.45 tax inclusive. Not a bad deal in my books. As you can clearly see, it was a standard breakfast. Although the bacon was crisp and the sausages cooked right, the hashbrowns were a bit too hard in some places though. Another breakfast item was the Omelet special consisting of spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms. Overlooking the obvious overcooking of the egg (this is a diner), the omelet itself was very bland. All of the ingredients do not lend itself to flavour; thus there was a lack of seasoning.

For myself, I had the Roast Beef Sandwich served open-faced. When it arrived, I have to admit it scared me a bit. With a copious amount of pale lumpy gravy, it didn't look all that appetizing. Despite its dry appearance, the roast beef was actually very tender. But the gravy was as bad as it looked. It was bland and unappealing. The mash potatoes were more starchy than creamy, which I didn't mind except the gravy didn't help things. I really like the bread though, it was really soft and the crust was removed. Milhouse went for lunch menu and had the California Clubhouse with fries. The twist is the imitation crab in place of turkey for this sandwich. He thought it was alright since there was nothing amiss. The fries were your typical frozen krinkle-cut; however, they were decently crisp. So as you can tell by the photos, the food is pretty simple and honest here. It is advertised as home-cooking and I guess they are exactly that. Expectations cannot be too high. I really wish I didn't order the roast beef sandwich because if I didn't, my overall impression would be more favourable. But since I did, I would say the food is passable, especially at the prices they charge. The one thing that is an intangible is the real people that work there.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Real people, real service

The Bad:
- Food is average

Atithi

As much as I love Indian food, I tend to avoid it when I'm in Vancouver. Not that Vancouver doesn't have good Indian food - check South Main Street. However, I'm spoiled by the great, inexpensive Indian food available in Surrey. So it has not even occurred to me to go for it after softball on Mondays. And possibly I was assuming too much as well. I didn't think anyone on my softball team wanted to go for Indian food. How wrong I was. It seemed like the prevailing choice. So with a few options nearby after a game at Canarvon, we headed over to Atithi on Burrard. With the limited amount of free parking spots in the area, I decided to try my luck with the first one I spotted on 8th Ave. Despite being just big enough for my car, I made it with the aid of the backup cam. Hence, no cars were harmed in this food adventure. I can't guarantee that on my next Richmond foray...

As a table, we decided to share a couple orders of Samosas to start. They split them up for us since we had 7 people at the table. This maybe a bit nitpicking; but we would've preferred the tamarind chutney and cilantro sauce to be served on the side rather than directly on the samosa. As for the samosas, they were fried until crisp with a soft potato filling which had an underlying heat. I personally like the tamarind chutney more since it has a nice zing to it. In this case, the cilantro sauce was quite flavourful where it actually had a pronounced chili pepper kick. I was not satisfied sharing samosa's and also ordered a Chili Gobi. This consisted of lightly battered and fried cauliflower tossed in a sweet chili sauce. Not too dissimilar to a Thai sweet chili, this one had more kick to it. The cauliflower was perfect - cooked all-the-way through while still crispy outside. Everyone at the table universally liked this appy and would gladly order it for themselves if they had the chance.

Milhouse was famished. So just like me, he got an appy all for himself. I was secretly hoping he would do so and also, I was routing for the Frankie. As if he had telepathic abilities, he did order it. Looking almost like a Taiwanese pancake roll, the Frankie consisted of egg, lamb curry and cucumber. It was accompanied by the same cilantro sauce and tamarind chutney (and a few fries). Now this particular item is one of the specialties and I wouldn't go as far as to rave about it; however, it was quite good nonetheless. I found the wrap to be soft and easy to eat while the lamb was tender and well spiced. With the appies out of the way, we all had our own entrees. To my horror, both Miss Y and Judes had the Butter Chicken. Duplicates! Anyways, the butter chicken was um... "different". It was rather sweet and didn't have any other distinguishing flavours. We felt more tomato paste was needed. There was, however, lots of tender white meat.

Now duplicates was bad enough. Try triplicates! To my utter shock Bear, Milhouse and Hot Chocolate all had the Lamb Palak. If Mijune was here, she would've put them in their place! This was really thick and in somewhat of a smaller portion compared to all the other dishes (even with the sauces taken into account). Despite this, it was full of tender pieces of lamb and was quite filling in the end. The flavours were quite muted which suited most people quite fine. Boss Woman mercifully had something different in the Railway Station Curry with lamb, tomatoes and cilantro. This was also a very mild offering which didn't mean it wasn't good. The flavours were just muted (which I'm sure tailored to the prevailing clientele). Other than the muted flavours, the lamb was plentiful and moist while there was plenty of tomato goodness.

For myself, I had the Punjabi Style Goat in light tomato & cilantro curry. Even though the ingredients seem similar to the Railway Station Curry, the flavours were much more prominent. There was a certain richness that highlighted the ingredients, particularly the tomato. Moreover, a certain level of spice made itself known without being offensive. Coupled with large pieces of moist, tender goat, this was probably the best dish at the table. Miss Y and Boss Woman kept returning to the sauce and ignoring their own dishes. A good sign. Now all of our meals included rice and Naan. The naan was was quite pale and doughy. They probably didn't have a tandoor on-site which would greatly hinder their abilities to pump out really good naan. With that being said, I've had decent naan cooked without the use of a tandoor as well. One side note is that we ran out of naan partway through our meal and we were offered more naan. We were never notified of the extra charge for the naan. To be fair, we would've been fine with the charge since it was negligible. It just would've been nice to know ahead of time. Despite all of our reservations about the muted flavours at Atithi, we still enjoyed our meal. In all fairness, a restaurant is only there to satisfy the majority of diners. Hence, our expectations were not unreasonable considering the location. It is nowhere near Main Street nor Surrey. With that taken in consideration, the meal as a whole was alright and reasonably-priced.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Service is quite friendly

The Bad:
- Some flavours are muted
- Naan needs some improvement