Mandarin Garden

The Chinese buffet. Never a great place to find good food and really not my cup of tea. Where else can you find fried meat coated in sauces that represent all the colours of the rainbow? Well, call it a moment of weakness, desperation or just plain lack of judgment. We went to a Chinese buffet, in Abbotsford no less. Okay, lemme set up the scenario first. We were at Castle Fun Park which was the reason we were in Abbotsford. We had not been out here since our University days when boredom meant driving out to Abby for Jungle Golf. Well, my son loves mini-golf and that is why we made the trek out. Sure, there is mini-golf at Playland; but we decided to make things interesting.

So afterwards, we were hungry and despite all the other choices of eats, we ended up at Mandarin Garden. The idea of a Chinese buffet was thanks to a Facebook comment from a friend. The didn't say which restaurant; but I took an educated guess. I'm still not sure if this was the right restaurant. Whatever, we were hungry and they had a 50% off the second meal special on Tuesdays. Good enough for me. On my first pass through the buffet, I gotta admit that the food didn't look all that appetizing. That was probably a given due to my aversion to this type of food. So as you can see on my plate, there is a very yellow Chicken Curry, a very red Sweet & Sour Pork, some Fried Rice, a Fried Pork Chop and hiding in the back, a Fried Chicken drumstick. Okay, first things first. The fried rice was laughable and so was the really dry pork chop. However, the curry was not bad except for the precooked chicken tossed in. The sweet 'n sour pork looked like someone just had their jugular sliced wide open; but it did taste okay and the pork was moist. The fried chicken was surprisingly juicy and flavourful.

There was a feeble attempt at Dim Sum with such items as Sui Mai, Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves, Bean Curd Skin Rolls and Black Bean Chicken (?). The only thing that stood out was surprisingly the black bean chicken. Great flavour and moist too. The Black Pepper Beef looked strange as well in large cubes; yet it was tenderized perfectly and had a nice rich flavour. There was regular Chow Mein and also Black Bean Fried Flat Rice Noodles. Well, we really didn't get to try the latter because there was only a few strands and it was never refilled. There were the standard Wonton Soup and Hot & Sour Soup to choose from - both surprising decent. Of course our expectations were tempered. The all-pork wonton was actually of a decent texture while the broth tasted quite good. The hot 'n sour soup was mostly sour and lacking in depth; but in a buffet setting, it was half-decent.

As for dessert, there was a strange assortment of items including Fruit Gelatin, Rice Krispy Squares, Gum Drops, Candy Bar, Fortune Cookies and Jelly Beans??? Well, it's kid-friendly then. I must really give them kudos for a nice selection of hard ice cream. It was actually quite good. Okay, I know my description of the food here is pretty boring and non-descript. You have to understand that there is not much to get excited about. However, the food was actually decent considering everything. It could've been more fresh; but I forgive them since we arrived after 1:30pm and it was a weekday. If the food was refilled and hot, I could see it being better. Honestly, I have not much to complain about since it only cost $8.99 for each adult lunch and the second one was only $4.50 (Tuesday special).

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Friendly staff
- Cheap

The Bad:
- Although there was some decent items, most were pretty average at best

Nagoya Sushi

With all the random sushi joints in Surrey, it is really hard to get excited about any of them. C'mon, there is only that much difference between them. Most, if not all are pretty average and only serve the neighbourhood they are situated in. *Yawn* Excuse me if I seem completely bored. That was my attitude going into my meal at Nagoya Sushi. Think of it. The place is small and it's located in a fairly non-descript strip mall away from most other services. I wasn't holding out for much really. By shear coincidence, the day (Wednesday) I chose to visit Nagoya was the day they feature all their sushi with brown, white and black rice.

To get a true sense of the menu here, I decided to go for their Dinner Combo which seemed to include quite a bit of food (which I was about to learn...). As a bonus, they served up some Salmon Belly as an appetizer first. It was a pretty large portion and incredibly moist. It literally melted in my mouth with a nice crispy skin. Despite the large amount of sauce, it was neither too salty nor sweet. After that, I was presented with a really large bowl of Ebi Sunomono. I found the dressing to be on the lighter side with only a mild vinegar taste and an equally mild sweetness. The noodles still had a bite while the cucumbers were fresh and crunchy. The ebi were a touch soft, but not fishy.

After the 2 smaller appies, the Appetizer Tempura arrived. Despite the appearance of too much batter on the prawns, it was actually quite crisp and not heavy. I found that the veggies were perfectly cooked and of good quality. At this point, I was getting worried because I hadn't even gotten my main items yet. This was a lot of food! I was already getting kinda full and then I was presented with a really impressive plate of food. It included a whole Dynamite Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll and Sashimi. I gave the Sashimi a try first and it was pretty good. The texture of the salmon was pleasant and it was quite sweet. The tuna was good too, but I found it sliced a bit too thick (which is not necessarily a bad thing if it were down to portion size). It was a bit dense to eat, but then again, it was good nonetheless. Due to the use of rice other than plain ol' white sushi rice, it was a bit difficult to make a proper assessment. Predictably, the sushi was more heavy and filling. The Dynamite Roll was packed with imitation crab, cucumber and a relatively crispy ebi tempura. I enjoyed eating it. I'm not sure what happened when I got to the Spicy Tuna Roll because I couldn't eat anymore. Really. I was too full to eat another bite. This is rare. A normal dinner combo defeated me. Not that a spicy tuna roll is ever that spicy, but this one was a bit bland and the tuna was in big chunks once again and was rather dense. Again, I'm not sure if the fact I was super full had anything to do with it.

I really couldn't believe it. A measly dinner combo kick my ass. Well, I guess it wasn't so small after all... I was not only impressed with the portion size here, I was equally happy with the quality as well. The food was prepared with care. Furthermore, the proprietors are super-friendly. Fine. I'll concede that this Japanese food foray in Surrey was better than I expected and in fact, a candidate for a return visit. Now excuse me while I... *YAWN* And it is not because of boredom. More like a food coma!

The Good:
- Good portions
- Decent quality
- Friendly owner/operator

The Bad:
- Not a whole lot of seats, don't bring a big group

Fenders

You know what? I never really paid attention to how much gas my car was thirstily slurping up each month. Until now. One look at the total damage and I was about to freak out like I just lost my parking spot at Aberdeen. $500.00?!!?!?! WTF? You know how much food that can buy??? Yah, one meal at Tojo's! LOL... Okay, the gas consumption needed to change. Pronto! So without too much debate, we decided to take the plunge and buy a hybrid. Originally, I would've preferred buying the car at a dealership close by, however, it turned out that I'd have to wait until December at the earliest for it arrive. Ultimately, I had to head to the Richmond Auto Mall instead, where my car would be available in September. Originally, I had my heart set on Central Richmond for eats (LOL... The things I do for food...), but a longer than needed visit to Watermania meant we had to eat nearby. Well, the only "restaurant" that is close to the Automall is Fenders. Nope, not necessarily a place I would visit otherwise...

By virtue of being the only full-service restaurant in the Richmond Automall, Fenders tries to be everything to everyone. There is a little bit of diner, a dash of Chinese food, some Italian and breakfast items. One thing is for sure, they are really friendly here. From the moment we walked in to the time we left, they made us feel at home and valued as a customer. As for the food, I decided to try one of the lunch specials which included a choice of soup - I had the Clam Chowder. Now, if you've ever had clam chowder in a HK-Style cafe, then that describes this one. With no clam taste despite the presence of clams and a creaminess only reserved for starch-thickened broths, this would make most chowder purists cry. However, I have been exposed to this type of chowder all my life and I really didn't mind it. I merely accepted it for what it was - a starchy vegetable soup with clams. I opted for the Curry Beef on Rice as my main and it was a pretty typical Chinese curry. Ignoring the one piece of beef that was slightly rare (bottom right-hand corner), the rest of it was tender with still some chew. The curry had some spice, yet could've benefited from more salt. The chewy and dry rice was the perfect canvas for the plethora of sauce.

Continuing on the Chinese theme, we also got the Flat Rice Noodles with Beef. There were 2 versions to this dish - one with sauce and the other wok-fried. We had the "wet" version and hence, it would never be as flavourful as the fried version due to the lack of caramelization with dark soy. Therefore, this one is usually on the bland side and it was indeed light in flavour. It had the same tender beef and vibrant veggies though. Lastly, we moved away from Chinese and had the Meat Lasagna. Okay, we knew not to expect an authentic lasagna, so bear with me here. The tomato sauce was a starch-thickened concoction consisting of tomatoes, onions, meat and lots of salt. It was goopy and did not resemble a tomato sauce at all. With that being said, it was alright in a convoluted kind of way. It was a pretty large portion and the noodles were not too soft. Now if you have been paying attention, you would get the sense that the food is pretty mediocre here. However, with very reasonable prices and good portions, one can almost overlook that. Considering there are no other restaurants really nearby, Fenders does the job for people who are there and need food.

The Good:
- Wonderful people
- Large portions
- Low prices

The Bad:
- Food is pretty mediocre
- Decor is a bit dated

Tokachi Revisited

How many times have you heard that one can find good food in the strangest of places? Sometimes, that can be a gimmick that precedes the food. For example, Save-on-Meats is located in one of the most infamous neighbourhoods in Canada and the fact you can get a good burger for $6.00 makes the place "special". I can't vouch for the rest of the menu there; but you can see how the strangeness of the location almost becomes a draw. Well, I can tell you that this does not apply to Tokachi in Whalley. I'm sure many have driven by this place without even thinking twice about dining there (assuming that you actually travel out to Surrey). Awhile back, I stumbled upon this little gem tucked away in the forgotten part of the GVRD. Sure, the area is still in transition; but give it some time. Watch Whalley transform into a desirable place to live and do business. It's already happening... With that being said, the last time I wanted to revisit Tokachi, there was police tape around the plaza. Something about a shooting...

Besides, a little bit of danger has never been an obstacle before. So when Eternally Late Girl wanted to meet up for eats in Surrey, I suggested Tokachi. It's been awhile since we've seen ELG ever since she moved to Edmonton. Her nickname is very appropriate because we once waited for her at the Commercial Skytrain station for 1.5 hours. Better yet, Marshmallow waited 3 hours in the snow once at a bustop for ELG. Someone needs to buy her a watch with a shock device... Anyways, to show how much confidence I had in the area, I brought my whole family out including my hockey gear in the car (had a game after). Joining us was Sexy Nurse and Postman who decided to share items with myself and Viv. We started out with the Assorted Sashimi which included 3 pieces of salmon and tuna, 2 pieces of hamachi, tai, hokkagai and red tuna with one ebi. As evidenced in the picture, the fish had a nice sheen and were sliced in well-proportioned pieces. It was both visually and texturally appealing. This was good quality fish that was also prepared properly.

Next we had the Deep Fried Roll which consisted of salmon, snapper, scallop and avocado fried with tempura batter. For the price, this was a substantial roll which was done very nicely. The salmon was still moist and since the rice was "protected" by the salmon, it remained chewy. Usually, with a fried roll, the rice becomes quite soft otherwise. Furthermore, there was just enough crispy tempura batter to coat the roll; rather than overwhelming it. We also ordered 2 regular maki rolls - Spicy Chopped Scallop and House Roll. The SCS was pretty standard with chopped scallop, mayo and tobiko. It really wasn't all that spicy though (and it normally isn't). As you can clearly see in the picture, the roll had plenty of large scallop pieces which were fresh. As for the House Roll, the name was kind of deceiving. We envisioned something bigger. Instead it was merely a roll consisting of steamed ebi with cucumber and radish sprout with smoked salmon on the outside. It was very modest looking. However, the roll itself was very good. The ebi had the perfect bounce texture which contrasted the soft ingredients quite well. The smoked salmon didn't overwhelm the roll either.

For myself, the best dish of all was surprisingly the Tonkatsu. The 2 pork cutlets were fried perfectly with a crispy, non-oily exterior. On the inside, the pork was moist and juicy. The relatively thick pork cutlets were meaty while not being too heavy. Continuing with the deep-fried items, we also got the Assorted Tempura. Again for the price ($9.95), it was a large plate of food. Just like the others, this was a well-prepared dish. All the veggies were still intact while cooked. The tempura batter was crisp and light (despite its appearance). I particularly liked the fried piece of fish, it was super moist and flaky. Continuing on with even more fried items, we next had the Chicken Karaage. Arriving as whole wings without the tip, these were juicy (by not cutting them up probably helped them keep moist). Definitely the right amount of seasoning where it was just salty enough. I liked the fact that there was not a huge amount of starch on the outside. The skin was crisp while not being overly heavy.

If that wasn't enough fried items, Postman added an order of Agedashi Tofu as well. I guess there goes the "Japanese food is healthier" mantra due to our menu selections... Although the tofu had a nice texture and consistency, it probably could've used a bit more frying since it the exterior wasn't that crisp (and that's accounting for the top pieces not soaked in the dashi sauce). For the kiddies, we got them an order of the Chicken Udon . It arrived pretty plain looking, which is exactly how we like it. For me at least, I am not really looking for the versions out there that are filled with napa cabbage, carrots, onions and whatever else they can find in the fridge. Just gimme a nice tasting broth and perfectly cooked noodles, which was the case. The broth was not salty and in fact, a bit on the light side. Despite this, there was still an underlying depth to it. The only thing I didn't like about the udon was the chicken, it was a tad dry.

At this point we still had a bit of room in our tummies and did a second round of food. We ended up with the Gyozas. Right from the get go, these probably needed just a touch more time on the grill. The colour and texture of the bottom was just a bit off. Looking past that, the gyoza wrapper was thin and nicely textured. The filling was equally good with non-gritty meat which was seasoned properly. For our last dish, we weren't very creative. It was partly due to the simple menu since there are not a whole lot of choices. However, the biggest reason would be *gasp*, we like California Rolls... That's right, although we like variety and some of the more exotic stuff, there is nothing inherently wrong with a Cali Roll. And this one was done right with plenty of ripe avocado and shredded imitation crab meat that wasn't too heavy on the mayo. So there you have it. A successful revisit of Tokachi where I got to try more of their dishes. Of course it wasn't perfect, but considering where it is located, the quality and execution was solid. I wouldn't hesitate to return for another visit down the road.

The Good:
- Food is prepared right
- Japanese sushi chef, if that matters to you
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Friendly staff, but not enough of them
- Can get pricey

Aree Thai

Authentic Thai food. Does that really exist in Vancouver? Well, I'm not about to tell you I've been to Thailand and blah blah blah blah. I haven't and I can only speak from experience and guidance from those who do know authentic Thai food. Let's take the Thai House for instance. That, my friends is not authentic Thai food. Yes, they do have Thai chefs and staff, but that doesn't mean they are serving what someone would eat in Thailand. And should they? Well no. That chain of restaurants didn't become successful by being stupid. As I have said over and over again, restaurants are out to make money. NOT to satisfy a select few people who slam them for their feeble attempt at authenticity. There are many that want mild, unoffensive Thai food, then Thai House will always have a clientele. Besides, does authentic always mean good? Absolutely not. I've been to my fair share of authentic food and it has been forgettable. If someone can't cook right, it doesn't matter if it is authentic or not (doesn't this sound like the rant from Penang post?).

Well, Rich Guy, Viv, Herbie the Lovebug, Lana Banana and I were all in search of authentic Thai food at Aree Thai. Seeing how Herbie has eaten his fair share of South Asian food and Rich Guy hails from South Asia, we had some form of "authenticity" police present. To be frank, the meal didn't start off particularly well. The Chicken Satay was far too salty where it became the dominant flavour. Even the sweet peanut sauce didn't do much to quell the stinging saltiness. On the other hand, the satay sticks were very meaty and not overly dry. Despite being slightly rubbery, the Fish Cakes were pretty good. There was definitely a fishy taste to them, in a good way though. Furthermore, there was a hit of lemongrass which was aromatic. We really liked the accompanying cucumber dip consisting of crisp cucumbers, sweet chili sauce and ground peanuts. The one thing that stood out was the predominant fresh cucumber taste.

Back to the topic of authenticity, there are actually 2 choices for Pad Thai: Original Pad Thai or Pad Thai with tomato sauce. Naturally, we chose the Original Pad Thai prepared with tamarind. First and foremost, we were happy to see a version of Pad Thai without the use of ketchup and sweet chili sauce. Therefore, the flavour was pretty spot on with the natural sweetness and zing of the tamarind. Personally, I would've preferred a bit more spice. It was too bad that the noodles were on the softer side. Curiously, it was missing the normally present preserved turnip. By virtue of having it recently, Herbie the Lovebug suggested we try their Massaman Curry with beef. This was a pretty creamy curry due to the copious amount of coconut milk used. We had our curries prepared medium spicy and it did have a kick while not totally killing our taste buds (secretly, I would've preferred spicy though).
For our second curry, we got the Chicken Green Curry. I really liked this a lot. The curry had a good consistency which was neither too thick nor runny. There was the usual coconut milk, but it wasn't overbearing. Much like the Massaman curry, there was some spice to it. With all of the components prepared correctly, this went well with the equally good coconut rice. Our next dish was not something I would normally order - Spinach with Peanut Sauce. Although the spinach was not overcooked while the chicken was still moist, the overly sweet peanut sauce made this dish taste like some weird rendition of spinach gomae. Lastly, we had the Goong Ob Woon Sen or shrimp with glass noodles in garlic sauce. The dish itself was cooked perfectly with snappy shrimp, crisp veggies and chewy al dente mung bean noodles. Flavourwise, they were far too aggressive with the salt. After eating this dish, I was super thirsty, as with the others. The menu clearly states that they do not use MSG, so we can only assume it was too much salt.

So was this an authentic Thai meal? Well it depends what you consider as authentic. Does it have to be super spicy? Well it was spicy, but by virtue of our choice of medium, we'd never know right? Besides, just like any other form of cuisine, every dish is up to the interpretation of the chef. In this case, there were some winners (the curries, fish cake and pad Thai) and some "meh" items (satay, spinach and glass noodles). So where does it put Aree Thai? Well, if you order the right dishes, it can be a solid experience.

The Good:
- Great service
- Some good flavours going on, just pick the right dishes
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- A little heavy on the salt

Yummy Yummy Sushi

*Restaurant is now Osaka*

At one point, I tried calculating how long it would take to try all of the Japanese restaurants in the lower mainland. Assuming one would not eat Japanese food everyday (let's say once a week), it would take over 14 years since there are at least 700 of them. Strangely enough, most of them are not even Japanese-run. Does that matter? Well, it depends on who you ask. A sushi connoisseur might be very concerned if the sushi chef was not Japanese. To the rest, if the food is decent with good portions at low prices, that would probably be all that matters. Hey, if you don't believe me, look at places such as Samurai Sushi. They are doing killer business doling out huge slices of sashimi and oversized maki rolls at a reasonable price. The place is Vietnamese-owned and operated. Does that matter? Once again - only to a small minority.

So when we needed a quite bite to eat with Viv craving sushi, we headed over to a local spot nearby. Yummy Yummy Sushi was one of the last remaining Japanese restaurants I haven't tried in the area. It is Vietnamese-owned and operated, for those who care. I really do not if the food is good. Besides, the family who run the place are extremely friendly. However, friendly is one thing because a restaurant can't just run on smiles (well, I guess there are some of those I guess). As for the food, we started with the usual Salmon and Tuna Sashimi. It was nice to see slices of fresh-looking sockeye salmon along with large pieces of tuna. The texture and taste of the salmon was on par with its appearance. Same with the tuna except it was a little on the cold side being slightly frozen. For our maki rolls, we got one order each of the Futomaki and Scallop & Ebi Roll. The futomaki was rolled relatively nicely packed with plenty of attractive ingredients. All of the usual items were there including imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, oshinko, sweet shiitake mushroom, tamago, beni shoga and pickles. We found the rice to be on the wetter side which made the roll a bit dense despite the modest amount. The scallop and ebi roll was quite good with again, a good amount of filling (scallop, ebi, tobiko and avocado.

The Assorted Tempura was hit and miss all on one plate. The veggies were fried perfectly crisp with only a conservative coating of batter. However, the ebi were not very good. The batter was thick, dense and gummy. This was confusing to us since it was the same batter in the same batch of cooked food. The ebi itself was fine, the batter just destroyed it. The Oyako Don was another item we had mixed feelings about. The rice itself had the desired chewy texture while it was mostly penetrated by the mirin, soy and sugar mix. Moreover, there was plenty of chicken, mushrooms and egg on top. The real miss in this bowl of rice had to be the overly dry chicken breast slices. For me, it appeared that the chicken was overcooked rather than it merely being white meat. On the positive side, the bowl was quite substantial and there was a lot of chicken meat.

With the dry chicken meat still fresh in my mind, I guess it wasn't a surprise to discover the same problem in the Yaki Udon. The chicken meat was equally dry and the noodles were on the softer side. The udon needed a bit more seasoning as it was quite mild tasting. Again, it was a fairly large portion though. At the end of the meal, it was pretty clear what was good and what was not. The sushi and sashimi were actually more than acceptable in terms of quality and price. The same could not be said about the cooked food. There certainly was value considering the amount of chicken in both the oyako don and yaki udon. However, portion size is one thing while execution is another. So my thoughts about Yummy Yummy Sushi are this: go for the raw stuff and you'll be satisfied. Just stay away from the cooked food.

The Good:
- Really friendly owners
- Raw stuff is above average
- Decent pricing

The Bad:
- Cooked food is sub-par
- Place is tiny, keep your party small